Effectiveness of using technology in learning english writing of legal english students of ho chi minh city university of law

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HCMC UNIVERSITY OF LAW FACULTY OF LEGAL LANGUAGES GRADUATION THESIS B.A DEGREE IN ENGLISH EFFECTIVENESS OF USING TECHNOLOGY IN LEARNING ENGLISH WRITING OF LEGAL ENGLISH STUDENTS OF HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF LAW Supervisor: Mrs PHAM THI PHUONG ANH Student: DUONG THI THU DAO Student ID:1952202010011 Class: LE44A Ho Chi Minh City, 2023 STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY I hereby declare that this thesis represents my own work and has not been previously included in a thesis or dissertation submitted to this or any other institution for a degree, diploma, or other qualifications As the author of this study, I present myself as an up-and-coming specialist in the field of the English language, with a particular interest in applying technology to English writing instruction As a senior in the Legal Faculty of Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, I have amassed a vast amount of knowledge through the numerous coursework and research assignments assigned to me throughout my academic career The combination of my theoretical and practical knowledge of language learning and education within the context of the English language curriculum positions me as an authority on the subject In addition, my personal experience as a student in the Legal Eglish Faculty has given me insight into the significance of English writing in the future profession and what students may need to succeed in a globally-oriented industry where proficiency in writing, among other essential skills, is crucial As such, I present myself at this juncture as a respected partner willing to collaborate with instructional professionals in the field to develop well-informed strategies based on the study's findings and recommendations Ho Chi Minh City, June 21, 2023 Duong Thi Thu Dao ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Even though I wrote my thesis, I wouldn't have been able to complete it without the help of my friends and family I am writing to express my gratitude to everyone who has offered encouragement and support while I work on my thesis My selfassurance has been bolstered, and my resolve strengthened by the comments, recommendations, and praise I've received I owe outstanding gratitude to Mrs Pham Thi Phuong Anh, my advisor, who spent many hours helping me complete my thesis Thesis work is already challenging and time-consuming, and it would be much more so without the teacher's careful supervision Due to my lack of previous research experience at university, this project is both an exciting and daunting opportunity In addition, I would like to express my appreciation to our current and former instructors and the other lecturers in the Legal English department All of our instructors provided us with the most essential information in the field In addition, the instructors' energy is the primary reason I want to complete the thesis As a culminating experience in my undergraduate career, I want to original research I would like to thank Mr Luong Minh Hieu, our head teacher, for always responding promptly to our queries I'd also like to thank the faculty and staff at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law and so many others Finally, I want to thank my loved ones for supporting me throughout my life, keeping me safe, and allowing me to make this choice When I'm most vulnerable, my family is there to unconditionally love and cheer me on as I progress through life I owe a great debt of gratitude to my parents for providing me a first-rate place to study and develop my skills So many people cheer me on at this critical turning point that I would be here all day if I named everyone who has supported me in silence over the last several months Last but not least, I want to express my deepest gratitude to all the individuals iii I hold dearest, even if their names aren't included above, for helping me when I needed it most and inspiring me to become the best version of myself June 27th, 2023 / Ho Chi Minh City iv ABSTRACT The study investigates the effectiveness of technology in improving English writing skills among students in the Legal Faculty at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law The research aims to identify the most effective form of technology for improving English writing skills and to understand students' perceptions of using technology for learning Two main research questions guide this study: What is the most effective application to improve English writing skills among Ho Chi Minh City University of Law students? And, what are the perceptions of students at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law about using technology to learn writing skills? A survey and interviews were conducted with Legal Faculty students as part of a mixed-methods study designed to address these issues The survey data investigates how frequently and effectively students use various technological applications to enhance their command of the English language In contrast, the interview data aims to shed light on how students perceive the efficacy of such educational approaches After conducting research, the author concluded that Grammarly is the most effective application for acquiring English writing skills among students of the Legal English Faculty at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law In addition, most students positively perceive using technology to teach writing skills The outcomes of this study can potentially improve the teaching and learning of English composition at the Legal English Faculty by recommending effective technological combinations for this purpose The findings also propose methods in which English composition instructors may incorporate students' preferable technological applications In addition, the overarching objective of the research is to improve communication between educators and their students by increasing the latter's understanding of the former's attitudes towards the application of technology to the study of English v TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii ABSTRACT v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF FIGURES ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study 1.2 Rationale 1.3 Aims Of The Study 1.4 Scope of the Study 1.5 The Significance of the Study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Technology 2.1.1 What is technology? 2.1.2 Technology in Learning English Language 2.1.3 Forms of technology used to improve writing skills 12 2.1.3.1 Google Docs 12 2.1.3.2 Grammarly 13 vi 2.1.3.3 Electronic Portfolios 13 2.1.3.4 Facebook 14 2.1.3.5 Moodle 14 2.1.3.6 Blog 15 2.1.3.7 Wiki 15 2.2 Writing Skills 16 2.2.1 Definition of writing skills 16 2.2.2 Importance of writing skills 17 2.2.3 Challenges in learning writing skills 18 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 21 3.1 Participants 22 3.2 Study design 22 3.3 Data procedure 23 3.3.1 Data collection 23 3.3.2 Data Analysis 23 CHAPTER 4: RESULT 24 4.1 Research Question 25 4.2 Research Question 27 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 35 5.1 Conclusion 35 vii 5.2 Limitations of the Study 35 5.3 Further Study 36 REFERENCES 37 APPENDIX 46 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure In your opinion, writing skill is… 24 Figure 2.What is the most challenging stage when you write? 24 Figure 3.Do forms of technology (writing tools) help you in solving problems? 25 Figure How often you use forms of technology in learning writing skills? 26 Figure 5.Which is the most effective form of technology for learning writing skills? 27 Figure The advantages of using forms of technology in learning writing are… 28 Figure 7.The disadvantage of using technology in learning writing is that… 29 Figure Do the advantages of using technology in learning writing outweigh its disadvantages? 32 ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as a Foreign Language ESL: English as a Second Language x CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Conclusion The author concluded that, according to Legal English students of the Legal Faculty at Ho Chi Minh City University, Grammarly is the most effective form of technology for learning English writing skills When students use Grammarly, the form of technology analyzes every phrase they write and suggests how to improve it, such as changing the tense of a verb, proposing a better synonym, or providing a more streamlined sentence structure In addition, the students are optimistic about the technology, which has the potential to facilitate the essay-writing process They believe that forms of technology like Grammarly, Google Docs, and Social Media aid them in producing higherquality essays However, using technology effectively in learning English writing skills also depends on how students use them Besides some beneficial advantages such as motivating students, convenience, saving time, and finding information, they will not improve their writing skills if students rely too much on technology 5.2 Limitations of the Study Despite the authors' best efforts, specific issues with this study must be resolved The first limitation is that the poll did not attract as many respondents as the author had hoped, which may have skewed the results Moreover, the author has no confidence in their answers to the surveys It is also challenging to access people who can accurately assess the efficacy of various technological approaches to teaching writing In addition, everyone's writing ability and style are unique, making it impossible to generalize from their comments Their perspectives are heavily influenced by what they have learned and experienced Second, the study does not go deeper into how well students fared on the essay after they finished the writing assignment helped by the writing tools application The author has to consider how the use of writing aids influences the content, structure, language, vocabulary, and mechanics of students' essays 35 5.3 Further Study The findings of this research support the use of technological tools in the classroom to improve students' essay-writing skills The author, however, recommends that the writing instructor show students how to write without relying only on the writing apps on their phones or free online resources The writing instructor should provide students with authentic materials related to the writing topic to increase their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary (Setyowati & Sukmawan, 2019) and encourage students to engage in extensive reading outside of class, whether for pleasure or research 36 REFERENCES Abed, B K (2019) Developing the Writing Skill of the University of Technology'Students by using Clustering Technique Al-Adab Journal, (131), 55-70 Aboagye, G K., Amponsah, K D., & Johnson, E A (2020) Analysis of Study Skills Employed by Ghanaian High 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Which is your class? In your opinion, writing skill is… Very easy Easy Normal Difficult Very Difficult What is the most difficult stage when you write? Difficulty in developing ideas (what to write) Difficulty in grammar/language Lack of vocabulary Difficulty in organizing ideas Do forms of technology (writing tools) help you in solving the problems? Very Helpful Helpful Neutral Unhelpful In the below list, how often you use forms of technology in learning writing skills? 46 Which is the most effective form of technology for learning writing skills? Advantages of using forms of technology in learning writing are 47 The disadvantages of using forms of technology in learning writing are 48 Do the advantages of using forms of technology in learning writing outweigh its disadvantages? Appendix B For Interviews What is the most effective advantage of using technology in learning writing skills? Why? What are the disadvantages of using technology in learning writing skills? Why? Do the advantages of using forms of technology in learning writing outweigh its disadvantages? Why? 49