Linguistics features of online english writings in vietnamese higher education context

THE UNIVERSITY OF DANANG UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES PHẠM THỊ THU HƯƠNG DOCTORAL THESIS LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF ONLINE ENGLISH WRITINGS IN VIETNAMESE HIGHER EDUCATION CONTEXT Major: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS Code: 9.22.02.01 SUPERVISOR: ASSOC.PROF DR.NGUYỄN VĂN LONG Da Nang, 2023 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgments in the thesis This thesis has not been submitted to award any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution Da Nang, January 2023 Phạm Thị Thu Hương ii ABSTRACT The rapid development of high technology and the Internet has contributed to English language education for the past few decades Technology provides learners unprecedented opportunities to practice English and involve themselves in authentic language use environments Since the 1980s, many communication and linguistic scholars have done interesting research on computer-mediated communication, which often concerned four aspects: linguistic perspectives, social and ethical perspectives, cross-cultural perspectives, and CMC and group interaction In Viet Nam, before the year 2020, conducting blended-learning English courses on online English teaching platforms or software was optional and less common in colleges or universities in Viet Nam than it is today Hence, there needs to be more research on linguistic features or the relationship between linguistic items and computermediated discourse/ online English written texts made by EFL students in Viet Nam and abroad The study aims to investigate the linguistic features remarkable in online English writings made by EFL students at some universities in Viet Nam in the last five years Besides, it tempts to determine the relationship between these linguistic features' use and the students' English online writing quality Therefore, it can provide English writing instructors with suggestions for teaching and assessing Vietnamese EFL students' online English writings To conduct the study, the researcher applied descriptive and comparative methods and some instrument tools like the software Antconc, the software Virtual Writing Tutor, and a questionnaire Firstly, it found that the fifteen analyzed linguistic features were frequently used in the EFL students' online English writings Generally, they appeared more frequently in the final writing version than in the drafts Secondly, most were exploited with correct functions and no grammatical errors, except for the modal verb of ability/possibility and adverbial conjunctions referring to 'concession' Thirdly, in comparing three groups of writings at different English levels, the research revealed a considerable difference in using the linguistic feature regarding their quantity and iii frequency caused by the different writing genres, the writing topics, and the authors' English levels Finally, the research findings showed that lexical diversity, number of academic words, language accuracy, number of complex sentences, and some cohesive devices (like subordinating and adverbial conjunctions) had considerable and positive influences on the quality of students' online English writings iv CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION Rationale Aim Objectives .2 Research questions Scope of the research .3 Definition of terms Significance of the study Organization of the thesis CHAPTER TWO – THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW 10 Theoretical background 10 2.1.1 Computer-mediated communication and computer-mediated discourse analysis .10 2.1.2 Online English writing 19 2.1.3 Linguistic features in English second language writings 22 2.1.4 The relationship between linguistic features and English writing quality 24 Review of previous related studies 26 2.2.1 Previous studies of computer-mediated communication and computer-mediated discourse analysis .26 2.2.2 Previous studies of linguistic features in English writings 34 v 2.2.3 Previous studies of the link between linguistic features and English writing quality 37 CHAPTER THREE – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .40 Research context 40 3.1.1 Teaching and learning English writing skills at the University of Da Nang 40 3.1.2 Research Design 42 3.1.3 Subject of the Study .42 Data Collection and Analysis 43 3.2.1 Sample collection 43 3.2.2 Setting the corpora 45 3.2.3 Selecting linguistic features for analysis 48 3.2.4 Data analytical framework .50 Data collection and analysis instruments .51 3.3.1 Software AntConc 51 3.3.2 Software Virtual Writing Tutor .52 3.3.3 Questionnaire 53 Reliability and Validity 54 CHAPTER FOUR – RERULTS AND DISCUSSION OF LEXICAL FEATURES .56 Interpretive nouns 56 Vague nouns 61 Be as main Verb .65 Public verbs 69 vi Private verbs 75 Predicative adjectives .80 Intensifying adverbs .86 CHAPTER FIVE – RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF GRAMMARTICAL FEATURES 95 Modal verbs 95 5.1.1 Modal verbs of ability and possibility .95 5.1.2 Modal verbs of obligation and necessity .100 The passive voice 105 Adverb clauses of cause .110 Cohesive devices 114 5.4.1 Coordinating conjunctions .115 5.4.2 Correlative conjunctions 118 5.4.3 Subordinating conjunctions 120 5.4.4 Adverbial conjunctions 126 CHAPTER SIX – THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LINGUISTIC FEATURES AND THE STUDENTS’ WRITING QUALITY 133 The scores of the students’ online English writings 133 Lexical items and the quality of the students’ online English writings .134 6.2.1 Lexical diversity and the students’ online English writing quality 134 6.2.2 The ratio of word types/word tokens and the writings' quality .136 6.2.3 Lexical density and the students’ online English writing quality 137 vii 6.2.4 Lexical sophistication and the students’ online English writing quality .138 Syntactic complexity and the students’ online English writing quality .141 6.3.1 The length of texts and the students’ online English writing quality 141 6.3.2 Complex sentences and the students’ online English writing quality 143 6.3.3 Cohesive devices and the students’ online English writing quality 145 The English teachers’ perspectives on the linguistic features’ influence on the students' online English writings 147 CHAPTER SEVEN – CONCLUSION 149 Summary of the findings 149 7.1.1 Lexical features used in the students’ online English writings .150 7.1.2 Grammatical features used in the students’ online English writings 156 7.1.3 The relationship between linguistic features and the students’ online English writing quality .164 Suggestions for learning and teaching English writing online in Viet Nam .167 7.2.1 Suggestions for English language teachers and learners .167 7.2.2 Suggestions for Foreign language universities, colleges, or institutions in Viet Nam 168 Limitation of the study and recommendations for further research 169 7.3.1 Limitation of the study 169 viii 7.3.2 Recommendations for further research 170 Reference 171 APPENDIX 179 APPENDIX 203 APPENDIX 210 APPENDIX 215 ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to all those who have given me help with the completion of this Ph.D thesis First and foremost, I would like to express sincere thanks to my supervisors, Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Van Long for all his support and encouragement during my long Ph.D research period Without his advice and constant feedback, this Ph.D thesis would not have been completed Secondly, I owe my sincere gratitude to Assoc Prof Dr Trần Hữu Phúc, and other academic panelists who advised and helped me during many discussions and seminars conducted during this Ph.D thesis Their constructive comments have kept my Ph.D thesis focused on the central goals of the study Thirdly, I would like to thank the lecturers and staff in the Faculty of English and Department of Academic Affairs at the University of Foreign Language Studies - University of Da Nang for their expertise and familylike support during my Ph.D academic life Fourthly, I wholeheartedly thank my who were always very helpful and provided me with their assistance throughout my Ph.D research period Lastly, I would like to thank all members in my family for their love, care, and unfailing support me while completing this Ph.D thesis x APPENDIX – AntConc Software Results APPENDIX 1.3 Frequency of Grammatical features–Adverbial conjunctions Adverbial conjunctions of addition in V1 Adverbial conjunctions of addition in V2 201 APPENDIX – AntConc Software Results – Antconc File Review - 202 APPENDIX 2- VIRTUAL WRITING TUTOR –SCORE ESSAY EXAMPLES EXAMPLE 203 APPENDIX 2- VIRTUAL WRITING TUTOR –SCORE ESSAY EXAMPLES 204 APPENDIX 2- VIRTUAL WRITING TUTOR –SCORE ESSAY EXAMPLES 205 APPENDIX 2- VIRTUAL WRITING TUTOR –SCORE ESSAY EXAMPLES 206 APPENDIX 2- VIRTUAL WRITING TUTOR – SCORE ESSAY EXAMPLES EXAMPLE 207 APPENDIX 2- VIRTUAL WRITING TUTOR – SCORE ESSAY EXAMPLES 208 APPENDIX 2- VIRTUAL WRITING TUTOR – SCORE ESSAY EXAMPLES 209 APPENDIX 3- QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS SURVEY 210 APPENDIX 3- QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS SURVEY 211 APPENDIX 3- QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS SURVEY 212 APPENDIX 4- QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS SURVEY 213 APPENDIX 3- QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS SURVEY 214 APPENDIX4 - LINGUISTIC FEATURES AND THE STUDENTS’ WRITINGS’ SCORES 215 ... '' Linguistics Features of Online English Writings in Vietnamese Higher Education Context'' ’ Aim This study investigates the remarkable linguistic features in online English writings made by English- major... study in order to bring new contributions to the field of linguistics in CMDA or online English writing learning and teaching in Vietnamese higher education context 33 2.2.2 Previous studies of linguistic... English writings refer to written texts, essays, or pieces of writing in English made by English learners while taking part in online English sessions or courses In this study, online English writings