Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in Import Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited

Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in Import Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in Import Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in Import Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in Import Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in Import Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in Import Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in Import Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in Import Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in Import Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in Import Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in Import Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in Import Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited

ABSTRACT Correspondence is very important in export – import business It has a crucial role because it is the alternative way for importer and exporter to communication Many businesses, including those in Vietnam, use English for communication because of its efficiency in conducting business across the world Ideally, the commercial correspondence in the export – import computer and telecommunications devices and components on e-commerce channels has a good structure and grammar and the most important is understandable But, when the researcher was doing observation, she found that almost all export – import components business employees ignore to use good structure and correct grammar in creating correspondence exactly to foreign companies In order to complete the graduation paper, the researcher had the opportunity to practice at Techanic Vietnam company limited, where she learned about the status of using correspondence at work as well as the difficulties that staff face Therefore, the researcher chose the study “Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in Import - Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited” The purpose of this research is to describe the components of correspondence which was used in Import - Export computer and telecommunications devices and components business in Techanic and to find out the difficulties of staff in making English business correspondence of Import - Export Department in Techanic Vietnam Co., Ltd I sincerely hope that, as a result of this research, the staff will be more aware of the writing skills needed and will find new ways to address all of the challenges encountered during the writing correspondence task in the long run ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In the process of doing the graduation paper, I have received a lot of help, assistance, guidance, encouragement and idea contribution from my teachers, family and friends First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to all the teachers of Thuongmai University and the teachers of English faculty for conveying valuable knowledge, creating a convenient and efficient learning environment for all students I am also thankful to my advisory teacher Nguyen Bich Hong from the core of my heart for her kind support, for her passionate enthusiasm and insightful guidance that she was given me in the process of doing my thesis She is always willing to answer all the questions of mine and help me to find the most effective ways to complete my tasks successfully.and for motivating me to my paper During the process of doing my thesis, although I was careful, this research paper is still limited and there are surprises so I cannot avoid shortcomings Therefore, I hope that teachers can sympathize with my study In addition, I am looking forward to receiving your valuable comments and suggestions for my knowledge in this field It will assist me in completing my thesis to the best of my ability and gaining valuable knowledge I sincerely thank you! Hanoi, April 16th, 2021 Student Linh Nguyen Dieu Linh TABLE OF CONTENT ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii TABLE OF CONTENT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vi CHAPTER I: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale: 1.2 Previous studies: 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Research Subjects 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Research methodology 1.7 Organization of the study .6 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW .7 2.1 An overview of business correspondence Definition of business correspondence .7 Importance of business correspondence Parts of business correspondence .8 Several types of typical business correspondence 11 2.2 Qualities of English business correspondence 12 Inner Qualities 12 2.2.1 Outer Qualities 13 2.3 Difficulties in writing English business correspondence 14 CHAPTER III: RESEARCH FINDINGS 17 3.1 Overview of the Techanic Vietnam Company Limited 17 3.1.1 The field of operation .17 3.1.2 Information about the Import-Export department of the Techanic Vietnam Co., Ltd 17 3.2 The current situation using business correspondence made by Staff in the Import- Export Department of Techanic Vietnam Co., Ltd 19 3.3 Some difficulties and common errors in writing English business correspondence made by staff in the Techanic Vietnam Co., Ltd 23 3.3.1 The difficulty in using grammar 23 3.3.2 The difficulty in using lexis 25 3.3.3 The difficulty in mechanical matters 26 3.3.4 The difficulty in composition 27 3.4 Some suggested solutions to improve writing English business correspondence skills given by staff in the Techanic Vietnam Co., Ltd .28 CHAPTER IV: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS .30 4.1 Summary the research 30 4.2 Some suggestions for the company as well as the manager 30 4.3 Some suggestions for the staff of the company 31 CONCLUSION .33 REFERENCES QUESTIONNAIRE LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS No Abbreviation English full name Vietnamese Meaning Techanic Vietnam The Techanic Vietnam Công Ty Trách nhiệm hữu hạn Co., Ltd Company Limited The Techanic Việt Nam The Techanic Private Limited Công ty tư nhân trách nhiệm Liability Company hữu hạn The Techanic et cetera Vân vân The Techanic Pte Ltd etc LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 2.1.3.1: Complimentary close in business correspondence Table 2.1.3.2 Format of a business letter 10 Table 3.1.2 English learning time of staff in Techanic Vietnam Co., Ltd 18 Table 3.2.1: Time spent on writing and replying to English business correspondence per day 20 Figure 3.2.1: The percentage of staff who have studied business correspondence .21 Figure 3.2.2: Techanic staff's proficiency in writing English correspondence 22 Table 3.3.1: The difficulty in using grammar .23 Table 3.3.2: The difficulty in using lexis 25 Table 3.3.3 The difficulty in mechanical matters 26 Table 3.3.4: The difficulty in composition 27 CHAPTER I: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale: In the era of globalization, the relationship between a country and another country is a crucial thing And to prepare for cooperation with other countries, English is positioned as the most important tools to communicate with others English as International language is not only used in education but also on the other side One of them in real communication or we usually call it English for Specific Purposes Among countries around the world cooperate in almost all aspects of life with other countries One of the corporations is international trade In the trade between countries or usually called export and import trade, there are many things which must be considered not only by the exporter but also the importer One of them is communication Almost all of the companies used written communication to communicate with each other They usually used correspondence or we can say it business letter that belongs to short functional text The correspondence is very important in export – import business It has a crucial role because it is the alternative way to importer and exporter to communication Face-to-face communication between importers and exporters is uncommon So, in order to keep contact going, exporters and importers had to communicate in writing with each other to send a letter via email People communicate in English in the workplace because it is truly an international business language Both the exporter and the importer must be fluent in English To gain access to global commerce and trade, everybody in the business must learn it Many businesses, particularly in Vietnam, make it mandatory for their employees to learn and master English One of the businesses which use English as their communication is import – export computer and telecommunications devices and components business The business of importing and exporting computer and telecommunications devices and components is one of the industries where English is needed for communication One of the reasons for using English is to prevent miscommunication with international companies The commercial correspondence in the export-import market should ideally have a good structure and grammar, as well as be understandable But, when the writer was doing observation, she found that almost all export – import staff struggles with using proper structure and grammar while writing correspondence to foreign partners Based on the above, the writer aims to describe the correspondence in the export-import business in her graduation paper entitled: “Difficulties in writing business English correspondence of staff in Import - Export department of Techanic Vietnam company limited” From this research, the writer believes that the chosen topic would be useful for educational purposes as well as for the export-import business 1.2 Previous studies: Many studies have been conducted on the difficulties that people face when writing business correspondence For their studies, each researcher has their own aims and conclusions The author reviewed several documents related to the research she is currently working on in order to conclude the thesis in the best possible way In general, in previous studies (both Vietnamese and foreign languages), researchers would provide background theories on the topic they were studying While making this paper, I have consulted it and selected some good ideas from the following studies: The first study is the study of Dr Hemabati Ngangbam The study investigated the topic: “An analysis of syntactic errors committed by students of English language class in the written composition of Mutah university” The purpose of this article is to identify typical syntactic abilities in college-aged children and adults, with a specific emphasis on English second language learners, especially Arabic speakers This study would aid in the continuous development of syntax for more efficient written and spoken expressions The aim of this thesis was to look into the English syntax issues that Mutah University's first-year English language students had in their writing The author gathered basic knowledge about students' English proficiency through a survey of 60 native Arabic-speaking students, focusing on the syntax errors they made in their writings The origin of syntax errors, which are more common, weaknesses, and difficulties that appear to arise while writing texts has been divided into fifteen categories of errors The findings indicate that writing issues are caused by intervention from the mother tongue, misuse of sentences, overuse, a lack of grammar and vocabulary, data, and development errors Second language learners, according to the study, seem to overuse coordinated clauses Furthermore, students struggle with English tense, verbs, articles, conjugations, prepositions, phrase use (grammar) and punctuation, vocabulary registration, concept structure, pronunciation, and lexical and grammatical errors The second study is the study of Mohamed Ali Mohamed Kassem (February 15th, 2017) The study investigated the topic: “Developing Business Writing Skills and Reducing Writing Anxiety of EFL Learners through Wikis” The aim of this study is to see how using wikis affects the growth of business writing skills and the reduction of writing anxiety among Business Administration students at Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz University The author chose 60 students at random and split them into two groups: the control and experimental groups The Business Writing Skills Test (TBWS) and the Writing Anxiety Inventory (WAI) were provided to gather data The difference between the mean scores of the two groups before and after the intervention was calculated using a T-test The results of the study reveal a statistically important discrepancy between the mean score of the experimental and control groups after TBWS Furthermore, during the intervention, the study group's writing anxiety was slightly lower than the control group's writing anxiety The aim of this study was to see how wikis affected the development of business writing skills and the reduction of writing anxiety The results of this study can be explained in two ways Firstly, wikis have been shown to help learners develop their business writing skills The explanation for this is that the participants' success has improved significantly in terms of form, organization, content, and mechanism The shared aspect of wikis is credited with the positive impact of wikis on student business writing Wikis have given students many opportunities to establish a solid base for their collaborative efforts Wikis are used by the author to aid in the creation of high-quality articles Secondly, the results of the study revealed that using wikis will help students feel less anxious and stressed while writing Students are less apprehensive about writing and more eager to engage in writing tasks Students' experience with computers seems to be one of the factors leading to the wiki's effectiveness in lowering anxiety levels Students consider using a web-based tool to learn how to write business letters to be a valuable tool According to the findings, wikis have proved to be a useful and constructive medium for writing business correspondence to university students The next study is the study of Iamsiu, C (2014) The study research about the topic: “An analysis of grammatical errors in Srinakarinwirot university students’ writing” The aims of the research were to look at and discuss the five categories of errors that students make in their learning, as well as how mother tongue intervention affects student writing The author gathered data from 20 English students at Srinakarinwirot University who applied for Basic Writing in the second semester of the 2012 academic year Twenty student writing papers were analyzed, and it was discovered that students make the most mistakes in the five types of mother language intervention errors: word choice errors, sentence form errors, subject verbs agreement, word order, and concatenation The last study is the study of Thawanyaporn Khamthakrua (August 2018) The study research about the topic: “An analysis of writing errors in corrective action reports (cars) of Thai staff in an automotive industry company” The aim of this research is to look at written mistakes in a Thai employee's corrective action report (CAR) Verb tenses, sentences, punctuation, word order, prepositions, nouns (form/function), singular nouns/pronouns, plural nouns/pronouns, adjectives, and combination/dependent errors are all examples of staffed writing errors It often occurs in conjunction with lexical errors such as exclusion, miswriting, misclassification, and over-inclusion As a result, for Thai employees in this international company, writing English is the most critical form of business contact The findings, on the other hand, highlight the importance of being able to write in English As noted, Thai workers in the auto industry have graduated from a variety of faculties, including Engineering The majority of them are involved in the manufacturing process They may not insist writing business letters" Punctuation is important for making the reader more receptive to the letter's content, as well as contributing to the letter's rhythm and expressive nuance Many staff have difficulty in using punctuation in the right position and for the right purpose Moreover, the respondent neutral with the statements “I have difficulty in using capital letters in business correspondence” (Mean = 3.01), "When writing a business letter, I don't often double-check spelling before sending it" (Mean = 2.92), and “I have difficulty in realizing spelling mistakes” (Mean = 2.67) 3.3.4 The difficulty in composition Table 3.3.4: The difficulty in composition No Description Minimu Maximu m m Mean S.D D.A 2.69 1.77 Neutral 2.72 1.64 Neutral 3.77 2.07 Agree 2.61 1.52 Neutral I have difficulty in following the standard business letter format My communication with partners is disturbed by following the standard business letter format I have difficulty choosing the right format for the appropriate type of English business correspondence I usually use the informal format (which consist of opening, content, and closing) when I sent a business letter As can be seen in Table 3.3.4, most of the staff also agreed with the statement "I have difficulty choosing the right format for the appropriate type of English business correspondence" (Mean = 3.77) The staff has to select the right format for their correspondence based on the targeted person and purpose of the correspondence Furthermore, the respondent neutral with the statements "My communication with partners is disturbed by following the standard business letter format" (Mean = 2.72), "I have difficulty in following the standard business letter format" (Mean = 2.69), and "I usually use the informal format (which consist of opening, content, and closing) when I sent a business letter" (Mean = 2.61) 3.4 The major causes of the difficulties in writing English business correspondence made by staff in Techanic  Poor knowledge of English grammar and lexical The importance of grammar and vocabulary when using English cannot be denied Most of the staff are always exposed to English grammar and vocabulary every day However, the import-export staff of Techanic company has a little habit of checking grammar and vocabulary frequently Poor grammar, limited vocabulary are the main reasons that make employees difficult to write business English correspondence While writing, employees only think about what and how they will write about that topic without considering whether the grammar is correct or not The staff in the department are only taught customs procedures, letters, and ordinary invoices Besides, they are not provided with relevant knowledge and experience Moreover, they not understand specifically the structure and functions of the components of the sentence, writing confusing and misleading sentences  Less experience in writing English business correspondence Lack of experience will create many errors in writing text It can cause staff to errors, such as mixed-up tenses in a text One of the main reasons is they are still a novice or non-native writers This thing is also caused to have mechanical errors and other errors in writing, such as grammatical errors, not flowing ideas, and the error of structure  Carelessness Carelessness is also the cause of the difficulties that employees face when writing Carelessness and lack of concentration can affect the quality of an employee's letter at the same time, this definitely causes some flaws the employee may have been in a hurry, trying to get the job done as soon as possible This causes the business correspondence to contain many errors Carelessness in the writing process needs to be reduced so that the staff can produce good writing  Less reading and writing practice References play an important role in helping employees grasp relevant specialized vocabulary and structures The lack or less reading of these documents has made it difficult for staff to write business English correspondence New staff cannot know how to apply vocabulary in the right place, which structure is reasonable when they not refer to the previous letter documents In addition, never or rarely practice writing an English text will also affect the writer making some mistakes in the article Staff needs to learn to write, the elements to write by reading a lot Indeed, less reading may cause students to have no views on good writing 3.5 Some suggested solutions to improve writing English business correspondence skills given by staff in the Techanic Vietnam Co., Ltd After aggregating the collected data, the researcher summarized some of the proposed solutions given by Techanic's staff that would help them improve their business writing skills ● Taking part in advanced English writing skills training: A significant portion of staff agree that the business should provide in-depth professional training courses This would be a useful option that would take effect Staff enhances their writing knowledge and skills in order to perform more quickly as a result of the courses ● Utilizing new technological solutions: civilization is evolving at a rapid pace, and with it comes the appearance of modern tools to fulfill everyone's needs Tools that assist in the writing of letters are often commonly used Staff at Techanic believe that using these tools can improve the efficiency of their business correspondence, make it look better, and save more time ● Participate in the company's writing competitions: This activity not only allows staff to develop their knowledge and business correspondence skills but also creates excitement in a stressful working environment ● Referring to previous documents: Techanic staff believes that reading relevant documents will help them avoid mistakes and improve their vocabulary and information Their reading comprehension and writing style will also improve CHAPTER IV: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS This final chapter primarily contains the study's summary and suggestions The previous chapter's analysis has been completed, and the writer then will try to propose some key points for consideration of this thesis These recommendations are deemed essential for all, including companies, their staff, students and educators 4.1 Summary the research Based on the research results in Chapter III, it can be concluded that the writing English business correspondence skills of staff in the Import-Export Department of Techanic Vietnam Co., Ltd are not perfect The below are some of the components that the researcher analyzed Firstly, the correspondence's grammar isn't flawless yet Some of the staff sometimes make grammatical errors Secondly, we will find several technical words about parts and advanced terminology in the business correspondence because of Techanic's specific business in electronic components There are several difficulties that the respondent encounters when it comes to conducting Techanic business correspondence Thus understanding and remembering new words in electronics business techniques or the import and export process is challenging Besides, another difficulty is to ensure that messages are correctly composed in terms of form, content, grammar, vocabulary, and presentation After observing and analyzing the data, the researcher would like to give the suggestion for the recent staff or the future staff in making correspondence especially to foreign companies 4.2 Some suggestions for the company as well as the manager Employee development is significant because it demonstrates a willingness to provide a supportive environment in which staff can track their professional development at each level At the same time, assisting staff in their improvement is a long-term strategy that has significant implications for work performance, organizational trust, and companionship The business and management can assist staff in developing their skills and knowledge in the following ways: The first measure is to have a discussion Under the management of a supervisor, the company can encourage a group of workers to train each other That form of participation is called training including skills and strategies for letter-writing, for example Examine and re-examine the common difficulties staff encountered as well as the appropriate modifications for him/her This measure would assist practice staff in resolving problems and working together effectively Additionally, the business can have internal instruction in letter-writing skills in English Staff members should be trained by the company's educational courses and programs This is the fundamental process for the success of any organization or business Internal training is related to retaining employees, upgrading skills (specifically, writing skills), and professional knowledge, as well as enhancing job efficiency for each individual in the organization External instruction is now available in a variety of formats Via online activities and programs, businesses may develop internal training programs for employees Online courses created by top experts are used to teach soft skills Alternatively, companies may mix forms to achieve the best outcomes Furthermore, developing the manager into a professional advisor to staff is extremely helpful The manager is the one who can assist staff with adequately monitoring and evaluating each employee's success and rate of change on their own personal advancement roadmap Managers should become truly effective mentors and help staff develop their abilities to write business correspondence A professional advisor's role is to accompany and report on an employee's efforts; what strengths should be emphasized and what limitations should be addressed In addition, the manager must comprehend the employee's desires, such as what motivates them to work, what exhausts them, and so on, in order to offer strategies that enable them to adapt and improve accordingly Managers can use a few easy questions like "Are there any difficulties you're facing by using business correspondence and can I help?" or "What else would you like to learn that would make you your job better?" to quickly understand and train staff 4.3 Some suggestions for the staff of the company Reading a lot is one way to develop your writing skills The styles in those documents will scan our memory while we read Continue reading to learn a great deal of useful knowledge and vocabulary They can see a ton of words being utilized in a specific setting as they read, and this is the point that makes it considerably more fruitful than learning a list of new words The phrases and words you use will become more complex Moreover, through extending practices to read documents in English, staff's experience of specialist fields is broadened Since then, employees don't have to spend much time brainstorming and coming up with suggestions for future articles since then The previous documents will assist you in the production of your current documents Furthermore, staff must enhance successful vocabulary and grammar learning Vocabulary is crucial in assisting writers in using a foreign language Mastering grammar rules can help staff express concepts, feelings, and thoughts more clearly and efficiently, whether they are in the form of verbal or written communication Mastering vocabulary and grammar skills can help the writer in easily identifying and correcting mistakes throughout the writing process Moreover, when learning a new word, students should look for as many connected and identical words as possible This would make it easier for them to remember details and broaden their vocabulary The terms "accessories" and "gadgets, parts," for example, have a similar meaning In addition, the selection of appropriate textbooks and references is essential to ensure practicality and coherence of content and topics among different skills This creates excitement and excitement in their own learning process and has the opportunity to apply their knowledge into practice Rather than learning on paper, learners can also learn new words by taking a vocabulary quiz on an online website or apps, such as wikis, etc Simultaneously, it is incredibly convenient to contact and collaborate in the learning process via wikis, forums, and glossary tools Since then, they would have a larger vocabulary to solve new word problems in English writing Efficient writing skills are increasingly improved from there Last but not least, staff need to raise awareness of self-discipline and initiative in learning To write a sentence, a paragraph, or a full letter as required, they must have an investment of time and at the same time have a self-conscious and active learning attitude Well-regarded writing is the product of a process that includes brainstorming, organizing, writing a draft, revising, and editing They must thoroughly comprehend and apply these steps in order to write well This may take a long time at first, but after they've learned the steps, it becomes a good habit and assists in the growth of their writing skills CONCLUSION The use of English in business correspondence is fairly common and it often brings significant concern to those working in an international environment This graduation article is intended to help staff understand the challenges and obstacles that they face while writing letters in English At the same time, through this report, staff will also use the beneficial suggestions in a more comprehensive way The purpose, scope, and rationale of the study are presented in chapter for the introduction Then, the second chapter has certain theoretical definitions such as the definition of business correspondence, types of correspondence, and so on In particular, the study of the difficulties and obstacles of employees when writing business correspondence has been included in Chapter As a result, several recommendations are given in Chapter These suggestions can assist staff in practicing writing skills on their own as well as identifying the most alternative approaches that businesses and managers can employ in the hopes of maximizing employee quality and motivating employees to develop the required skills in the most efficient way possible Due to the researcher's limited experience and a variety of other factors, shortcomings and mistakes were unavoidable in this graduate paper Hopefully, my paper would be beneficial to staff and readers who are engaged in correspondence and will assist them in resolving a variety of problems related to English writing skills REFERENCES Ngangbam, Hemabati (2016) An Analysis of Syntactic Errors Committed by Students of English Language Class in the Written Composition of Mutah University: A Case Study European Journal of English Language 3(1) Iamsiu, C (2014) An analysis of grammatical errors in Srinakarinwirot university students’ writing Master’s Thesis, Srinakarinwirot University Mohamed Ali Mohamed Kassem (2017) “Developing Business Writing Skills and Reducing Writing Anxiety of EFL Learners through Wikis” Thawanyaporn Khamthakrua (2018) An analysis of writing errors in corrective action reports (cars) of Thai staff in an automotive industry company Textbook “Business correspondence” of Thuongmai University https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_correspondence https://coccoer.pressbooks.com/chapter/professional-communications/ QUESTIONNAIRE Instruction: This study is a part of an independent study for the requirement of Master degree of English faculty, Thuongmai university The questionnaire is developed to examine “Difficulties in writing English business correspondence of staff in the Import-Export Department of Techanic Vietnam Company Limited” Your answer will be kept confidential and will be used only for academic purposes Thank you so much for fulfilling this questionnaire and helping me to complete my research Part 1: General information Age: Position: Part 2: Please answer the below questions With question 7, you can choose more than one answer Question 1: How long have you been learning English?  year  2– years  – 10 years  More than 10 years Question 2: How much time you spend on writing and replying to English business correspondences (e-mail, letter and report) per day?  Less than hours  1-2 hours  3-4 hours  5-6 hours  More than hours Question 3: What are your reasons for using business English correspondence?  Asking for inquiries/ giving information/ negotiating prices with suppliers, shipping, forwarders, etc…  Ordering new products/ packages/ promotion  Complaining about products or services  Sending reports, memos, documents, providing project updates, and coordinating activities  Receiving instruction/ assigning tasks  Sharing or providing new information or activities  Dealing within the organization such as managers, colleagues, subordinates Question 4: Have you studied business correspondence?  Yes  No Question 5: How you rate your writing English business correspondences skills?  Excellent  Good  Average  Poor Question 6: Please rate your comments for each item below that reflects your English business writing skills at the workplace Rate scale ranges from "Strongly Agree (5), Agree (4), Neutral (3), Disagree (2) and Strongly Disagree (1)" as follow: Rate scale ranges Item I have difficulty understanding and using the proper verb tenses and verb form I have difficulty in using cohesion and the preposition structure I have difficulty in understanding the rules of using type words and sentence elements In my view, simple grammatical structures are enough for work It's difficult for me to use and adjust English grammar in a reasonable way for each purpose I have difficulty understanding and using the proper verb tenses and verb form I have difficulty in using cohesion and the preposition structure I not have much vocabulary I have difficulty in using polymorphic words correctly as well as correctly applying word structure in the context of the correspondence I have difficulty in understanding and correctly using idioms, metaphors and long phrases in English business correspondence I cannot avoid using jargon and unfamiliar words and phrases when I write my business letter I have difficulty recognizing new words/ memorizing specialized words When writing a business letter, I don't often reread or double-check spelling before sending it I have difficulty in realizing spelling mistakes I have difficulty in using capital letters in business correspondence I have difficulty in using punctuation when writing business letters I have difficulty in following the standard business letter format My communication with partners is disturbed by following the standard business letter format I have difficulty choosing the right format for the appropriate type of English business correspondence I usually use the informal format (which consist of opening, content, and closing) when I sent a business letter Question 7: How have you improved your writing English business correspondence skills at the workplace?  Learn more about your partner's context culture  Find out about your partner's time-zone  Learn more about your partner's observation to your emails  Learn to manage your time for writing correspondences a day  Others (please specify) Question 8: In your opinion, how can the manager as well as the company help you improve your skills in writing English business correspondences?  Organize training session about culture knowledge of the main partners  Encourage the staff to share together experiences and skills in writing correspondences to foreign partners  Decrease the time for writing correspondences at work  Organize some vacations a year to reduce stress at work and stimulate the staff's ability  Others (please specify) INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Question 9: What difficulties have you faced most in writing business correspondences at work? Question 10: Do you have difficulty in choosing grammar, lexis, mechanical matters, and composition when writing letters? Question 11: Can you tell me some ways to improve your skills in writing English business correspondences? ... the correspondence in the export -import business in her graduation paper entitled: ? ?Difficulties in writing business English correspondence of staff in Import - Export department of Techanic Vietnam. .. their English writing skills 1.3 Aims of the study The main purpose of this study is to find out the difficulties in writing business English correspondence of staff in the Import- Export Department. .. components business in Techanic 1.4 Research Subjects In this study, the research subject is the difficulties in writing business English correspondence of staff in import - export department of Techanic