Self regulated learning strategy use in learning english as a foreign language of non english majors at van lang university

CERTIFICATION OF THESIS DEFENSE The thesis entitled “Self-regulated learning strategy use in learning English as a foreign language of non-English majors at Van Lang university” was successfully defended and approved on 19th October 2021 at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH) Academic supervisor: ……………………………………………………………… Examination Committee ……………………………………………………… Chair …………………………………………… ………… Reader ……………………………………………………… Reader ……………………………………………………… Member ……………………………………………………… Secretary Member On behalf of the Examination Committee Chair i HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE HCMC, December 2020 MASTER’S THESIS REPORT Student name: Nguyễn Xuân Quỳnh Sex: Female Date of birth: 27/04/1990 Place of birth: Dong Nai Major: English Language Student code: 1841900024 I- Thesis title: Self-regulated learning strategy use in learning English as a foreign language of non-English majors at Van Lang university II- Objectives and contents: This study aimes to explore the self-regulated learning (SRL) strategy use level among Vietnamese first-year university non-English majored students, the relationship between SRL strategy use level and English proficiency along with the differences in SRL strategy use among non-English majored juniors of different genders, disciplines, and years of learning English The research shows that the SRL strategy use among students is at the medium level Male students reported a slightly higher level of learning strategy use than females Figures also shows that SRL strategy use has a positive relationship with participants’ English proficiency The results show that English proficiency scores have a significantly positive relationship with students’ report of SRL strategy use while years of learning English not predict SRL strategy use III- Starting date: 30/3/2019 IV- Completing date: 31/12/2020 V- Academic supervisor: Phan Thế Hưng ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR FACULTY DEAN ii CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY To be applicable only in the official version, i.e the revised version after the defense session has been conducted I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled: Self-regulated learning strategy use in learning English as a foreign language of non-English majors at Van Lang University In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s programs issued by The Higher Degree Committee of Faculty of English Language, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology Ho Chi Minh City, May 2021 NGUYỄN XUÂN QUỲNH iii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, NGUYỄN XUÂN QUỲNH, being a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (English Language) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Thesis deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan, and reproduction for theses Ho Chi Minh City, January 2021 Signature …………………………… NGUYỄN XUÂN QUỲNH iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor, Dr Phan The Hung, who offered me academic advice and constructive comments on the writing of this thesis Definitely, this work would not have been completed without his encouragement and assistance I highly appreciate his thoughtful supervision and his great perseverance I also would like to express my gratitude to Dr Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu and the Faculty of English Language of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, who are incredibly supportive and have offered me and my classmates all the knowledge and materials we need for our theses I am grateful to the sample schools’ principals and co-workers and students for their co-operation during data collection Last but not least, I am indebted to my family, especially my parents who are always by my side when I was attending MA classes and was doing my thesis v ABSTRACT It is shown in different studies that when learners are tasked to complete missions during their learning process in English language, they use particular learning approaches, strategies and eventually undergo self-regulatory processes So, this study aimes to explore firstly the self-regulated learning strategy use level among Vietnamese first-year university non-English majored students, seondly, to investigate the relationship between self-regulated learning strategy use level and English proficiency and finally, to find out the differences in self-regulated learning strategy use among Vietnamese first-year university non-English majored students of different genders, disciplines, and years of learning English The quantitative method was employed in this study Data were collected from questionnaires The participants were 328 non-English majored first-year university students from different disciplines from Van Lang university in HCM city, Vietnam The results of the study indicated that the self-regulated learning strategy use level among Vietnamese first-year university non-English majored students was at a Medium level (Mean = 1.65) In addition, there were no significant differences in the use of selfregulated learning strategies between male and female students Also, the more frequently students used self-regulated learning strategies in learning English, the higher their English proficiency would be Lastly, factors such as years of learning English, and disciplines did not predict self-regulated learning strategy use Keywords: Self-regulated learning strategies, university student, English proficiency vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Certification of thesis defense ……………………………………………………… i Master’s thesis report ……………………………………………………………….…ii Certificate of originality ………………………………………………………………iii Retention and use of the thesis …………………………………………………… … iv Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………… ….v Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………….vi Table of contents …………………………………………… ………………………vii List of tables …………………………………………………………………….….…x List of figures ……………………………………………………….……….……… xi List of abbreviations …………………………………………………… ………….xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study …….……………………….……………………………1 1.2 Statement of the problem …… ………………………………………………… 1.3 Aims and objectives of the study ………………………………………….………4 1.4 Research questions ……….…………………………………………………… …5 1.5 Scope of the study ………………………………………………………………….5 1.6 Significance of the study ………………………………………………………… 1.7 Definitions of the key terms ……………………………………………………….6 1.8 Organization of the thesis ………………………………………………………….7 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Social Cognitive Theory ………………………………………………………… 2.2 Self-regulated learning model ……………………………………………………10 2.3 Characteristics of self-regulated learners ……………………………………… 13 2.4 Vietnamese learning styles and learning strategy …………………………………… 16 2.5 Previous studies ……………………………………………………………………… 23 2.5.1 The relationship between the level of foreign language ……………………… 23 proficiency and the learning strategy……………………………………………… 23 vii 2.5.2 The relationship between gender and learning strategy ……………………… 29 2.5.3 The relationship between disciplines and learning strategies………………… 30 2.5.4 The summary of previous studies …………………………………………… 31 2.6 Conceptual framework………………………………………………………… 32 2.7 Summary………………………………………………………………………….33 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research design……………………………………………… …………………….…34 3.2 Research site …………………………………………………………………………… 34 3.3 population……………………………………………………………………………… 34 3.4 Sampling……………………….…………………………….………………… 35 3.5 Instruments ……….…………………………………………………………… 35 3.5.1 English Proficiency Test ……………………………………………… 35 3.5.2 The Questionnaire ………………………………………………………36 3.6 Data collection procedures…….………………………………………………….37 3.7 Data analysis procedures …….………………………………………………… 37 3.8 Validity and reliability………….……………………………………………… 38 3.8.1 In the first phase …………………………….………………………… 38 3.8.2 In the second phase…………………………………………………… 39 3.8.3 In the third phase …………………………….………………………….41 3.9 Demographic report of participation ……………………….…………………….44 3.10 Ethics………………….……………………………………………………… 49 3.11 Summary ……………….…………………………………………………… 50 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Correlations between independent variables and dependent variables ………… 51 4.3 Primary analyses ………………………………………………………………….52 4.4 Discussion ……………………………………………………………………… 60 4.5 Summary………………………………………………………………………… 64 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION viii 26 Categorize new words so that I can remember them 27 Guess what the characters mean by reading their expressions and movements when I watch an English film 28 Write new words many times to memorize their spellings 29 Use recently learned pattern to make new sentences for practice 30 Proofread the English essay after I complete writing 31 When I come across a new word that does not hinder my understanding, I will skip it 32 When I listen to English, I pay attention to stressed words or phrases to understand sentences 33 Use Vietnamese phrases that have similar pronunciation with the English words in order to remember how to pronounce those words 34 Use the title of a piece of English writing to help understand that piece of English writing 35 When someone speaks English, I will guess what they will say by basing on what they have said 36 When I speak English to someone, I will notice their emotional expressions to check if they follow what I am saying 37 When I read a piece of English writing I imagine the scene described in the writing so that I can remember what I read 38 Make a chart summarizing the grammar points that I learned 39 Initiate to send an email to my friends in English 40 Recite all the similar new words altogether 41 Compare the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese 86 42 If I cannot follow someone who is speaking English, I will request them to speak slowly 43 Read new words many times to memorize them 44 Memorize English new words that have similar pronunciation 45 Memorize new words by memorizing the place where I learned those words 46 Try as best as I can to find opportunities to practice oral English 47 Consider how to say something in English in my mind before saying it out loud 48 Initiate to watch English programs on TV 49 When I listen to English, I translate it into Vietnamese in order to help me understand 50 Memorize the meaning of words by using prefixes and suffixes 51 Review notes that I took in my English class before the test 52 Initiate to listen to radio programs in English 53 Take a break when I feel tired during learning English 54 Try to use different English phrases/terms/ idioms to convey the same idea 55 Translate what I read in English into Vietnamese to help me understand it 56 Pay attention to English speakers’ tones 57 Pay attention to the introductory and concluding sentences in each paragraph when I read English texts 58 Adjust my reading speed according to the difficult level of each pieces of English writing 87 59 Use my background knowledge to understand pieces of English writing 60 Underline main points when reading English texts 61 Make sure that I write the topic sentence for each paragraph when writing 62 Make sure that the content in each paragraph support the topic sentence when I write in English 63 When I complete my English writing assignment, I take a break and then read it again to check if it needs any correction 64 Initiate to use new words to make new sentences 88 APPENDIX C Pattern loading matrix results for QESRL (N=579) Items Loadings Components Interpr etive Guess SRL36 When I speak English to someone, I will notice their emotional expressions to check if they follow what I am saying SRL27 Guess what the characters mean by reading their expressions and movements when I watch an English film SRL35 When someone speaks English, I will guess what they will say by basing on what they have said SRL37 When I read a piece of English writing I imagine the scene described in the writing so that I can remember what I read SRL25 Guess the meaning of a new word, basing on the context Seekin Orga Setti Transf g nizati Memor ng ormati Opport on ization Goal on unities s and to Plan Practic ning e English 0.692 0.677 0.649 0.622 0.581 89 Rehe arsal Perist ence when faced with challe nges SRL56 Pay attention to English speakers’ tones SRL34 Use the title of a piece of English writing English article to help understand that piece of English writing SRL58 Adjust my reading speed according to the difficult level of each pieces of English writing SRL59 Use my background knowledge to understand pieces of English writing SRL57 Pay attention to the introductory and concluding sentences in each paragraph when I read English texts SRL54 Try to use different English phrases/terms/ idioms to convey the same idea SRL19 Ask my classmates when I have a question in studying English SRL32 When I listen to English, I pay attention to stressed words or phrases to understand sentences SRL52 Initiate to listen to radio programs in English SRL39 Initiate to send an email to my friends in English 0.345 0.547 0.543 0.510 0.327 0.482 0.338 0.435 0.424 0.426 0.399 0.392 0.352 0.388 0.340 0.380 0.303 0.721 0.655 90 SRL23 Listen to British English or American English news to improve my pronunciation SRL48 Initiate to watch English programs on TV SRL50 Memorize the meaning of words by using prefixes and suffixes SRL41 Compare the similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese SRL46 Try as best as I can to find opportunities to practice oral English SRL38 Make a chart summarizing the grammar points that I learned SRL61 Make sure that I write the topic sentence for each paragraph when writing SRL62 Make sure that the content in each paragraph support the topic sentence when I write in English SRL2 Make an outline before writing an English essay SRL63 When I complete my English writing assignment, I take a break and then read it again to check if it needs any correction 0.304 0.611 0.339 0.601 0.518 0.324 0.514 0.435 0.486 0.315 0.411 0.679 0.358 0.602 0.551 0.516 91 0.341 0.315 SRL30 Proofread the English essay after I complete writing SRL18 Summarize the theme of an English article when I read it SRL64 Initiate to use new words to make new sentences SRL60 Underline main points when reading English texts SRL51 Review notes that I took in my English class before the test SRL28 Write new words many times to memorize their spellings SRL43 Read new words many times to memorize them SRL22 Review the vocabulary notes in order to remember new words SRL40 Recite all the similar new words altogether SRL26 Categorize new words so that I can remember them SRL44 Memorize English new words that have similar pronunciation SRL29 Use recently learned pattern to make new sentences for practice SRL45 Memorize new words by memorizing the place 0.318 0.467 0.393 0.408 0.447 0.374 0.440 0.373 0.349 0.308 0.729 0.673 0.542 0.438 0.535 0.313 0.508 0.342 0.458 0.351 0.434 0.336 0.372 92 0.308 where I learned those words SRL3 Review English reading texts that I already read SRL6 Consult lecturers when I encounter difficulties in learning English SRL10 Make a study plan in the process of learning English SRL1 Write down mistakes that I often make in the process of learning English SRL11 Set goals to learn English SRL12 I search for related materials when I have difficulties in the process of learning English SRL4 Take notes in my English class SRL21 Pay attention to words that pronouns refer to when I read SRL47 Think/consider in my head how to say something in English before saying it out SRL65 Think about ideas for an essay in Vietnamese before writing it in English SRL55 Translate what I read in English into Vietnamese to help me understand it SRL49 When I listen to English, I translate it into Vietnamese in 0.309 0.615 0.586 0.375 0.496 0.478 0.472 0.300 0.460 0.310 0.425 0.368 0.345 0.413 0.624 0.575 0.522 0.520 93 order to help me understand SRL42 If I cannot follow someone who is speaking English, I will request them to speak slowly SRL5 Continue to read even when I encounter difficulties in English reading comprehension SRL14 Recite English reading texts in the process of learning English SRL13 Write an outline after reading a piece of English writing SRL15 Reward myself when I make progress in learning English SRL24 Read again English reading texts that I already learnt several times so that I can recite them SRL16 Summarize the main idea of each paragraph when I read SRL17 Find a quiet place to learn when the surroundings are noisy SRL7 When my friend asks me to play during the time which I have not finished my homework, I will not join them until I have finished my homework 0.452 0.466 0.312 0.397 0.405 0.668 0.303 0.631 0.545 0.341 0.370 0.303 0.375 0.522 0.487 0.672 0.627 94 SRL8 Check my English homework before submitting them SRL9 I read an English article several times if I not understand it at the first reading SRL20 I listen to the English recording several times, if I cannot understand all at first listening SRL33 Use Vietnamese phrases that have similar pronunciation with the English words in order to remember how to pronounce those words SRL53 Take a rest when I feel tired during learning English SRL31 When I come across a new word that does not hinder my understanding, I will skip it Number of items 0.310 0.605 0.359 0.439 0.327 0.302 0.301 0.408 11 7 5 Eigen value 22.338 3.261 2.347 1.72 1.442 1.436 1.308 1.187 % of variance 34.366 5.016 3.611 2.646 2.219 2.209 2.013 1.826 Α 0.911 0.856 0.867 0.858 0.801 0.784 0.782 0.750 95 APPENDIX D: A second-order confirmatory factor analysis 96 Appendix E Independent samples T-test for genders and SRL strategy use Independent Samples Test Levene's Test for Equality of Variances t-test for Equality of Means 95% Confidence Mea Sig n Std the (2- Diff Error Difference tailed F SR Equal L variances Sig 0.222 0.63 t df 0.9 326 40 Interval of ) eren Differ ce 0.348 0.04 Low ence er Upper 0.050 - 0.145 0.05 assumed Equal 0.9 18 variances not 25 assumed 08 97 0.356 0.04 0.051 0.05 0.147 Appendix F Coefficients in the stepwise regression model Coefficientsa Standa rdized Unstandardized Coeffi Coefficients cients Collinearity Correlations Statistics Tole Std Model (Constan B Error 1.251 0.094 Beta T Sig 13.268 0.00 t) English Zero- Parti ranc order al Part e VIF 0.308 0.28 0.280 0.93 1.07 0.93 1.07 0.007 0.001 0.291 5.326 Proficien 0.00 cy Scores Years of 0.011 0.009 0.066 1.204 learning 0.22 English a Dependent Variable: SRL 98 0.143 0.06 0.063 -GIẤY XÁC NHẬN THU THẬP DỮ LIỆU DATA COLLECTION ENDORSEMENT FORM Họ tên học viên / NGUYỄN XUÂN QUỲNH Mã số học viên / Student’s ID: 1841900024 Đề tài luận văn / Thesis title: Self-regulated learning strategy use in learning English as a foreign language of non-English majors at Van Lang university Tôi thu thập liệu cho đề tài nghiên cứu với nội dung sau: / I have collected the data for my research as follows: Nơi/Place: In the last week of the training course Stt/No Nội dung/Content Số lượng/Quantity Thời gian/Time Survey 300 /2019 Test 300 5/2019 Xác nhận quan thu thập liệu / Tp, Hồ Chí Minh, ngày 30 tháng năm 2020 Endorsed by Authority Trường đại học Văn Lang Học viên Nguyễn Xuân Quỳnh 99 Plagiarism checker Results 100