An investigation into efl undergraduate students research competence development at university of foreign languages and international studies hue university

HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES VO THI TIEU MY AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ RESEARCH COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT AT UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, HUE UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University THUA THIEN HUE, 2022 i HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES VO THI TIEU MY AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ RESEARCH COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT AT UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, HUE UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 8140111 SUPERVISOR: Assoc Prof TRUONG VIEN, PhD THUA THIEN HUE, 2022 ii ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ VÕ THỊ TIỂU MY NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC PHÁT TRIỂN NĂNG LỰC NGHIÊN CỨU CỦA SINH VIÊN NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 8140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: PGS TS TRƯƠNG VIÊN THỪA THIÊN HUẾ, 2022 iii STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree in any university I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Signed: ……………… Võ Thị Tiểu My Date: 18/12/2022 i ABSTRACT This study aimed at exploring EFL students’ perceptions of doing research at the undergraduate level, the perceived practice of research competence and the perceived factors facilitating the development of research competence The population of the study was EFL undergraduate students studying at University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University The sample of the study comprised 120 second-year, third-year and fourth-year students majoring in English Language Teaching and English Language Studies The data was collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews The results show that EFL students thought that doing research is important to their future career path, but they were not confident to their own research In terms of EFL students’ perceived practice of research competence, thinking of a research topic and writing theoretical background posed challenges for EFL students, while using powerpoint to present their research was the activity they felt most confident to The participants did not show entire support for the role of the library and the faculty in facilitating the research competence development at a high level These findings imply that the library and the faculty should provide more various databases for students as well as opportunities to be familiar with doing research Keywords: Research competence development, EFL undergraduate students, facilitating factors ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my special thanks to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Truong Vien, who has provided me with great help during the process of doing this research Without his enthusiastic support, experienced guidance and valuable advice, my research would not be completed I would also like to express my thanks to EFL undergraduate students at University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University They helped me complete my questionnaires as well as their willingness to take part in the interviews and share their ideas I also want to thank the teachers of the English Department, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University for their help and care for me during the time I conducted this study Further, I am grateful for having friends who have kindly given me support and encouragement, without whom, I would have no such great motivation to my research Last but not least, I would like to express my special thanks to my family members for their support and encouragement throughout my study Thua Thien Hue, November 7th, 2022 iii List of Tables Table Three Main Clusters of the Questionnaire 25 Table Criteria to Measure the Reliability Coefficient via Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient 28 Table One Sample T Test of Cluster 32 Table EFL Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Doing Research and Research Competence 33 Table EFL Undergraduate Students’ Perceived Practice of Research Competence 37 Table Perceived Factors Facilitating EFL Undergraduate Students’ Research Competence 41 iv List of Figures Figure Structure of research competence 13 Figure Participants' majors 22 Figure Participants' English proficiency 23 Figure Mean scores of three main categories in the questionnaire 31 v List of Abbreviations EFL ……………… English as a Foreign Language HUFLIS ………… Hue University of Foreign Languages and International Studies vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Statement of Original Authorship i Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii List of tables iv List of figures v List of abbreviations vi Table of contents vii Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Rationale of the Study .1 1.2 Research Aims and Objectives 1.3 Research Questions 1.4 Scope of the Study 1.5 Significance of the Study .4 1.6 Organisation of the Study Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Overview of Research .6 2.2.1 Definitions of Research 2.2.2 The Importance of Research .7 vii 29 I was able to in-text 5 5 citations in my research 30 I could present and arrange the reference section fully and appropriately as required 31 I could present my research orally by using powerpoint 32 I could write an article from my research 69 C PERCEIVED FACTORS FACILITATE EFL STUDENTS’ RESEARCH COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT Strongly STATEMENTS Strongly Disagree Undecided Agree disagree agree 33 The instructor is thoughtful 5 5 5 and enthusiastic 34 The instructor takes care and is willing to provide support regularly 35 The faculty facilitates students in supporting them physically and mentally 36 The faculty provides students with a variety of reference materials 37 The library system at university offers different kinds of books as well as a wide range of databases 38 The resources in the library can be accessed offline as well as online 39 The database in the library is updated constantly 70 40 The faculty organises seminars and workshops providing useful and practical 5 information on doing scientific research for students 41 Friends are helpful during the process of research Thank you very much for your cooperation! 71 Appendix Cronbach’s Alpha Test (Reliability Test) on Questionnaire Reliability: Pilot Questionnaire Case Processing Summary N % 10 38.5 Excludeda 16 61.5 Total 100.0 Valid Cases 26 a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha N of Items 908 41 Item-Total Statistics Scale Mean if Item Scale Variance if Corrected Item-Total Cronbach's Alpha if Deleted Item Deleted Correlation Item Deleted A1 138.00 228.889 389 906 A2 137.50 224.056 609 903 A3 137.50 218.944 627 903 72 A4 138.40 231.156 353 907 A5 138.30 228.233 574 904 A6 138.20 219.289 612 903 A7 138.20 219.733 787 901 A8 138.30 229.122 347 907 A9 137.70 234.011 206 908 A10 137.90 234.100 186 909 A11 138.10 225.878 389 907 A12 138.50 226.056 525 904 A13 138.10 224.544 696 903 B14 138.70 223.344 664 903 B15 137.30 235.567 188 908 B16 138.40 233.822 158 910 B17 138.40 232.267 406 906 B18 138.60 232.711 195 909 B19 138.40 230.044 403 906 B20 138.40 217.600 822 900 B21 138.30 227.789 470 905 B22 138.30 227.122 367 907 B23 138.40 225.378 512 905 B24 138.30 230.900 337 907 B25 138.20 231.511 296 907 B26 138.20 231.289 305 907 73 B27 138.40 236.933 071 910 B28 138.20 220.622 749 902 B29 138.20 216.844 911 899 B30 138.30 224.678 767 903 B31 137.50 227.833 451 905 B32 138.20 220.400 519 905 C33 137.50 230.278 439 906 C34 137.50 235.611 261 907 C35 137.90 235.433 172 909 C36 138.10 236.322 099 910 C37 137.40 238.933 020 910 C38 137.60 235.378 225 908 C39 137.50 228.278 541 905 C40 137.80 229.511 472 905 C41 137.30 231.789 300 907 Reliability: Case Processing Summary Cases N % Valid 120 100.0 Excludeda 0 Total 120 100.0 74 Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha N of Items 870 41 Item-Total Statistics Scale Mean if Item Scale Variance if Corrected Item-Total Cronbach's Deleted Correlation Item Deleted Alpha if Item Deleted A1 141.61 171.871 339 868 A2 141.15 174.750 231 870 A3 141.08 172.372 317 868 A4 142.12 172.238 260 870 A5 141.61 169.131 420 866 A6 141.65 167.557 463 865 A7 141.74 172.899 255 870 A8 142.09 170.235 338 868 A9 141.36 175.190 162 871 A10 141.79 171.813 371 867 A11 141.56 166.602 483 865 A12 141.78 171.638 365 867 75 A13 141.77 168.718 429 866 B14 142.03 171.293 334 868 B15 141.42 178.800 -.002 875 B16 141.63 176.119 153 871 B17 141.59 171.504 457 866 B18 142.21 167.141 429 866 B19 141.84 172.723 292 869 B20 141.78 165.436 551 863 B21 141.70 166.464 530 864 B22 141.57 171.071 420 866 B23 141.61 172.509 341 868 B24 141.67 170.594 391 867 B25 141.73 171.710 363 867 B26 141.87 170.923 362 867 B27 141.88 173.734 249 869 B28 141.83 169.653 462 866 B29 141.65 171.876 369 867 B30 141.59 171.487 389 867 B31 141.42 171.270 419 867 B32 141.80 173.002 248 870 C33 141.17 173.199 317 868 C34 140.98 175.067 250 869 C35 141.25 171.971 378 867 76 C36 141.24 169.092 453 866 C37 141.08 174.111 237 870 C38 141.16 171.311 320 868 C39 141.36 168.316 481 865 C40 141.32 170.840 375 867 C41 141.02 171.294 371 867 Reliability of Cluster Case Processing Summary Cases N % Valid 120 100.0 Excludeda 0 Total 120 100.0 a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha N of Items 770 13 77 Item-Total Statistics Scale Mean if Item Scale Variance if Corrected Item- Cronbach's Alpha Deleted Item Deleted Total Correlation if Item Deleted A1 41.72 29.364 307 764 A2 41.26 29.588 335 761 A3 41.18 29.680 272 767 A4 42.22 27.436 439 751 A5 41.72 27.953 418 753 A6 41.76 27.344 456 749 A7 41.85 28.045 413 754 A8 42.20 27.052 473 747 A9 41.47 30.201 185 776 A10 41.90 28.040 518 745 A11 41.67 27.132 456 749 A12 41.88 29.297 332 761 A13 41.87 27.035 513 743 Reliability of Cluster Case Processing Summary Cases N % Valid 120 100.0 Excludeda 0 Total 120 100.0 78 a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha N of Items 803 19 Item-Total Statistics Scale Mean if Item Scale Variance if Corrected Item- Cronbach's Alpha Deleted Item Deleted Total Correlation if Item Deleted B14 61.33 45.969 385 794 B15 60.71 50.393 002 817 B16 60.92 49.001 167 805 B17 60.88 46.507 492 789 B18 61.50 44.689 398 793 B19 61.13 47.764 251 801 B20 61.07 43.794 529 784 B21 60.99 44.092 528 784 B22 60.86 45.955 481 789 B23 60.90 47.082 360 795 B24 60.96 46.645 351 796 B25 61.03 46.613 385 794 B26 61.16 46.504 350 796 B27 61.18 46.700 359 795 79 B28 61.13 45.270 513 786 B29 60.94 46.408 423 792 B30 60.88 46.121 453 790 B31 60.71 46.544 429 792 B32 61.09 46.050 364 795 Reliability of Cluster Case Processing Summary Cases N % Valid 120 100.0 Excludeda 0 Total 120 100.0 a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha N of Items 795 80 Item-Total Statistics Scale Mean if Item Scale Variance if Corrected Item- Cronbach's Alpha Deleted Item Deleted Total Correlation if Item Deleted C33 31.53 16.049 332 793 C34 31.34 15.655 486 776 C35 31.62 15.146 496 774 C36 31.61 14.660 481 775 C37 31.45 14.703 527 769 C38 31.53 13.663 604 757 C39 31.73 14.352 523 770 C40 31.68 14.890 450 780 C41 31.38 14.978 462 778 81 Appendix Interview Questions Dear participants, You are receiving the invitation to participate in the research project entitled “AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ RESEARCH COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT AT UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, HUE UNIVERSITY” This interview is a part of my master’s thesis at University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University This study is only for acadamic purposes, so I guarantee that your personal information will be kept secret I highly appreciate if you could spend your time answering the following questions Thank you very much for your time and cooperation! What you think about the importance of doing research at undergraduate level? Is it important for you to research? What you need to prepare for conducting research? What is the most necessary thing you think that one needs to have to be a good researcher? What did you gain in the course at university for doing research? What did you to complete your research to meet the deadline? What did you to help you analyse the data effectively? What was the most challenging part in your research? How did you deal with it? What did you to complete your research properly? Did you get any help from someone or something? 82 What factors you think that can facilitate research competence for EFL undergraduate students? 10 What is the most important factor that can help EFL students develop research competence? 83