The perception and use of english discourse markers in essays of efl learners in an ielts preparation courseat a chau language center

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY - PHAM THI HONG VAN THE PERCEPTION AND USE OF ENGLISH DISCOURSE MARKERS IN ESSAYS OF EFL LEARNERS IN AN IELTS PREPARATION COURSE AT A CHAU LANGUAGE CENTER Major: English Language Course code: 8220201 HO CHI MINH CITY, SEPTEMBER 2020 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY - THE PERCEPTION AND USE OF ENGLISH DISCOURSE MARKERS IN ESSAYS OF EFL LEARNERS IN AN IELTS PREPARATION COURSE AT A CHAU LANGUAGE CENTER Submitted to the Faculty of English Language in partial fulfillment of the Master‟s degree in English Language Course code: 8220201 By PHAM THI HONG VAN Supervised by NGUYEN THI KIEU THU, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, SEPTEMBER 2020 The thesis entitled THE PERCEPTION AND USE OF ENGLISH DISCOURSE MARKERS IN ESSAYS OF EFL LEARNERS IN AN IELTS PREPARATION COURSE AT A CHAU LANGUAGE CENTER was successfully defended and approved on ……… … at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH) Academic supervisor: NGUYEN THI KIEU THU, Ph.D Signature: ………… Examination Committee 1…………………………………………………………………… Chair 2…………………………………………………………………… Reader 3…………………………………………………………………… Reader 4…………………………………………………………………….Member 5……………………………………………………………………Secretary Member On behalf of the Examination Committee Chair HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE HCMC, September 2020 MASTER’S THESIS REPORT Student name: Pham Thi Hong Van Sex: Female Date of birth: 07/12/1985 Place of birth: Lam Dong Province Major: English Language Student code: 1941900012 I- Thesis title: THE PERCEPTION AND USE OF ENGLISH DISCOURSE MARKERS IN ESSAYS OF EFL LEARNERS IN AN IELTS PREPARATION COURSE AT A CHAU LANGUAGE CENTER II-Objectives and contents: This study aims at investigating the students‟ academic writing ability by analyzing EFL learners‟ perception of Discourse Markers in academic writing and the way they use Discourse Markers in their essays, especially, in IELTS preparation courses The objectives of this study are as follows:  To investigate EFL learners‟ perception of Discourse Markers in English essays in an IELTS preparation course at A Chau language center according to pragmatic value, indispensable value and learning value of Discourse Markers  To examine how EFL learners in an IELTS preparation course use Discourse Markers in writing English essays in terms of types, functions and the appropriateness The current research was conducted at A Chau language center, Le Van Khuong campus, Ho Chi Minh City The participants were students who were in an IELTS preparation course at this center In order to gain the results, the mixed approach was applied Precisely, two instruments used for data-collection were questionnaire and document analysis 52 types of DMs were analyzed from 120 scripts written by 60 participants The results revealed that learners overused Elaborative Markers (63%), followed by Contrastive Markers, Temporal Markers, and Interpersonal Markers The lowest figure was given to Topic Change Markers (1%) It can be implied that the limitation and the imbalance in using DMs might impact the quality of their essays Furthermore, the overexploitation of one kind of DMs led to the ignorance of the interpersonal function of DMs, which is regarded a key factor conveying writers‟ influence Also, the findings of this study concluded that although the participants had shown their consciousness of DMs‟ role in academic writing, there were some problematic matters that they need to improve, namely wrong relation, overuse, distraction, nonequivalent exchange, semantic incompletion, and surface logicality III- Starting date: 30/03/2020 IV-Completing date: 30/09/2020 V- Academic supervisor: NGUYEN THI KIEU THU, Ph.D SUPERVISOR Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Ph.D DEAN OF FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, Ph.D CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled: THE PERCEPTION AND USE OF ENGLISH DISCOURSE MARKERS IN ESSAYS OF EFL LEARNERS IN AN IELTS PREPARATION COURSE AT A CHAU LANGUAGE CENTER 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, September 2020 Sgnature ………………………… PHAM THI HONG VAN i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, PHAM THI HONG VAN, 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 Theses 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, September 2020 Signature …………………………… PHAM THI HONG VAN ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Undoubtedly, the accomplishment of my thesis was attained by many prominent people‟s contributions and support I would like to express my special thanks to all those who have lent me down-to-earth experience, unparalleled knowledge and sentimental values For the most part, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Ms Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu Ph.D., who has had my utmost respect for her continuous guidance, forbearance, integrity and particularly her immense knowledge To me, such is an exceptional teacher that she always inspires students with her incredible wisdom and her appealing teaching methodology The countless enlightening discussions that I had with her tremendously deepened insights in this research Her characteristics are plainly shown by the way she checked my work She is extremely conscientious to read every single word of my thesis, thereby spotting my mistakes Without her persistence, incentives and rigor, the goal of my thesis would not have been recognized I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude to many lecturers at HUTECH university who delivered a host of intriguing lessons throughout my studying process Ultimately, I wish to acknowledge the unfailing support and overwhelming love of my family and friends They are inherently a source of my motivation, my anchors and will always be iii ABSTRACT Driven by students‟ needs of achieving higher scores in IELTS writing, this study was conducted to explore learners‟ perception of Discourse Markers (DMs) and the use of DMs in academic writing The questionnaire adapted and modified from the survey developed by Fung (2011) and Albester, Farid and Raja (2017) was administered to 60 participants enrolling in an IELTS preparation course at A Chau language center The responses collected and then analyzed by SPSS 20 revealed that learners were well aware of the significance of DMs The results of 120 scripts consisting of two samples written by 60 learners were scrutinized by Antconc software The findings highlighted that Elaborative Markers (63%) were the most frequently used in comparison with Inferential Markers (16%), Contrastive Markers (9%), Temporal Markers (7%), Interpersonal Markers (4%) and Topic Change Markers (1%) It can be included that the overuse of one specific DM can lessen the quality of a text Remarkably, the interpersonal function of DMs was not absolutely exploited Content analysis, furthermore, showed six chief misapplications of the use of DMs in learners‟ compositions including wrong relation, overuse, distraction, non-equivalent exchange, semantic incompletion, and surface logicality Taken together, these findings suggest that the proficiency in writing can be evaluated by utilizing various DMs with different position successfully Keywords: ELF learners, IELTS preparation course, academic writing, perception, the use of DMs, function, misapplication iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ……………………………………………… i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS……………………………………… ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ………………………………………………………….iii ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………iv TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………….v LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………… ix LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………….xi LIST OFABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………………… xii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Statement of the problem .5 1.3 Research Objectives of the study 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study .8 1.7 Definition of key terms 1.8 Organization of the study……………………………………………………….10 CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 12 2.1 Discourse and Discourse Analysis 12 2.1.1 Definition of Discourse 12 2.1.2 Definition of Discourse Analysis 13 2.2 Discourse Markers 13 2.2.1 Definition of Discourse Markers 13 2.2.2 Characteristics of Discourse Markers 15 2.2.3 Discourse Markers and Cohesive Devices 20 2.2.4 Approaches to Discourse Markers 22 2.2.4.1 Coherence-based approach 22 2.2.4.2 Relevance theory 22 2.2.4.3 Grammaticalization theory 23 v Walsh, K (2010) The importance of writing skills: Online tools to encourage success Retrieved December, 27, 2012 Watts, R J (1988) A relevance-theoretic approach to commentary pragmatic markers: The case of “actually”, „really” and “basically” Acta Linguistica Hungarica, 38, 235- 260 Wei Sun (2013) The Importance of Discourse Markers in English Learning and Teaching Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(11), 2136-2140 Yomiyama, M (1980) Grammatical errors and communication breakdown TESOL Quarterly, Vol 14(2), 71-79 Yunis, M M., & Haris, S N F (2014) The Use of Discourse Markers among Form Four SLL Students in Essay Writing International Education Studies, 7(2), 54-63 Zhang, M (2000) Discourse Markers in the expository writing of 24 undergraduates in two Chinese universities RELC Journal, 30 (1), 61- 95 Zhao, H (2014) The textual function of discourse markers under the framework of relevance theory Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4(10), 2105-2113 101 APPENDICES Appendix A: BMI Global Education Fair Vietnam March 2019 visitor statistics Courses of interest 102 Appendix B1: Questionnaire (English version) EFL learners’ perception of Discourse Markers in academic writing I General information Circle the answer that corresponds to your option in each following statement: Gender: a Male b Female Age: a under 17 years old b 18 to 22 years old c over 22 years old How long have you been studying English? a to years b to years c More than years What‟s your purpose of studying IELTS? (you can choose more than one) a To graduate b To apply for a scholarship c To study abroad d To migrate to another country e To gain higher salary f Other purposes II The perception of Discourse Markers in academic writing Circle the number that corresponds to your option in each following statement: 103 Strongly agree Agree Learning value of DMs Neutral Indispensable value of DMs Statements Disagree Pragmatic value of DMs Strongly disagree Category DMs can indicate the writer‟s attitude The sequence of the writer‟s thought can be shown through DMs DMs should be presented as an important part of writing skills Having better understanding of DMs can help process information in writing 5 Learners can achieve higher scores in IELTS writing if they use DMs appropriately Learners can create coherent essays by using DMs Learners can create good essays by including DMs DMs help to orientate the writers to the overall idea, structure and sequence in writing DMs help to signal relationships between two ideas in a text 10 DMs are important in not only writing but also other language skills (listening, reading, speaking) 11 It is necessary for learners to develop awareness of DMs in writing lessons 12 Learners should learn to exploit DMs to improve their writing scores 13 Learners should pay attention to DMs as an important part in academic essays 14 Learners should learn DMs carefully in terms of meaning, types and functions 15 Learners should learn DMs in not only writing but also other language skills Thank you for your cooperation! 104 Appendix B2: Questionnaire (Vietnamese version) NHẬN THỨC CỦA NGƯỜI HỌC TIẾNG ANH VỀ TỪ NỐI TRONG VĂN VIẾT HỌC THUẬT I Thơng tin cá nhân Khoanh trịn câu trả lời tương ứng với lựa chọn bạn câu sau: Giới tính: a Nam b Nữ Tuổi: a 17 tuổi b 18 đến 22 tuổi c 22 tuổi Bạn học Tiếng Anh bao lâu? a đến năm b đến năm c năm Mục đích việc thi chứng IELS bạn gì? (bạn chọn nhiều 1) a b c d e f II Để tốt nghiệp Để xin học bổng Để du học Để di cư sang nước khác Để có lương cao Mục đích khác Nhận thức từ nối (Discousre Markers) văn viết hoc thuật Bạn vui lịng khoanh trịn vào phản ánh thái độ 105 Trình tự suy nghĩ người viết thể thơng qua từ nối Từ nối nên trình bày phần quan trọng kỹ viết 5 5 Người học tạo luận mạch lạc cách sử dụng từ nối Người học tạo luận hay cách đưa vào từ nối Từ nối giúp định hướng người viết ý tưởng, cấu trúc trình tự tổng thể viết Từ nối giúp báo hiệu mối quan hệ hai ý tưởng văn 10 Từ nối không quan trọng khả viết mà cịn kỹ ngơn ngữ khác (nghe, đọc, nói) 11 Người học cần phát triển nhận thức từ nối việc học viết 12 Người học nên học cách khai thác từ nối để cải thiện điểm phần viết 13 Người học nên ý đến từ nối phần quan trọng luận học thuật 14 Người học nên tìm hiểu kỹ từ nối ý nghĩa chức 15 Người học nên học từ nối không kỹ viết mà cịn kỹ ngơn ngữ khác 5 Giá trị thiếu từ nối văn viết học thuật Giá trị việc học từ nối Hồn tồn đồng ý Từ nối cho biết thái độ người viết Đồng ý Khơng có ý kiến Giá trị thật từ cụm từ nối Khơng đồng ý Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý Quan điểm Hiểu rõ từ nối giúp xử lý thông tin viết Người học đạt điểm cao viết IELTS họ sử dụng từ nối cách hợp lý Cảm ơn hợp tác bạn! 106 Appendix C: Questionnaire designed by Albester, Farid and Raja (2017) 107 108 Appendix D: Sample of Reliability Scale: ALL VARIABLES Case Processing Summary N Cases Valid Excludeda Total 60 60 % 100.0 100.0 Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha 887 N of Items 15 Item-Total Statistics DMs can indicate the writer's Scale Mean if Item Scale Variance if Corrected Item- Cronbach's Alpha Deleted Item Deleted Total Correlation if Item Deleted 61.33 46.938 305 891 60.67 46.463 334 890 60.93 41.623 667 875 60.57 47.029 424 885 60.63 44.711 627 877 60.57 45.945 557 880 attitude The sequence of the writer's thought can be shown through DMs DMs should be presented asan important part of writing skills Having better understanding of DMs can help process information in writing Learners can achieve higher scores in IELTS writing if they use DMs appropriately Learners can create coherent essays by using DMs 109 Learners can create good 61.00 43.932 543 881 60.77 42.792 642 876 60.45 46.150 543 881 60.72 44.545 502 882 60.72 43.596 742 872 60.70 45.231 632 877 60.82 42.661 747 871 60.47 44.626 616 877 60.60 46.142 507 882 essays by including DMs DMs help to orientate the writers to the overall idea, structure and sequence in writing DMs help to signal relationships between two ideas in a text 10 DMs are important in not only writing but also other language skills ( listening, reading, speaking) 11 it is necessary for learners to develop awareness of DMs in writing lessons 12 Learners should learn to exploit DMs to improve their writing scores 13 Learners should pay attention to DMs as an important part of academic essays 14 Learners should learn DMs carefully in terms of types, meaning and functions 15 Learners should learn DMs in not only writing but also other language skills 110 Appendix E: Sample of Concordance 111 112 Appendix F: Sample of learners’ essays Many developing countries are currently expanding their tourist industries What are the advantages and disadvantages of this trend In the context of modern society, tourism trade is now becoming increasingly popular in underdeveloped countries This essay will explain the benefits and the drawbacks of this trend On the one hand, there are a couple of positive aspects of this phenomenon To begin with, tourism undoubtedly brings with tremendous economic value for a host country To be more precise, it touches and impact several industries directly and many more indirectly through tourism spend, creating more decent job opportunities as well as reducing unemployment rate Furthermore, tourism gains importance as an activity which has far reaching favorable impacts on cross-cultural experience To put it differently, by travelling, tourists discover foreign traditions as the same time as they could learn about values of distinct nations, communicate, and exchange experience, which benefits not only to foster respect towards other nations but only promote the uniqueness of local culture On the other hand, there are also some negative aspects worth being taken into consideration First and foremost, in order to meet the needs of a myriad of visitors, novel constructions can exert a drastic influence on the fragile environment In other words, the mushrooming of new resorts that business owners or local authorities draw too much attention on optimizing profits could spoil and deplete local ecology and cultural heritage, not to mention that the flora and fauna are witnessing a disappearance in the long run Second, the volume of delinquents is accelerating at alarming rate Particularly, there has been an upward trend of incidences of crimes, prostitution and antisocial activities such as drugs, human trafficking and gambling That, in turn, might affect the values of the indigenous society Moreover, the outbreak of epidemic diseases such as coronavirus infection might spread faster due to mass tourism To recapitulate, enlarging tourism industries could bring both merits and demerit for developing countries 113 Appendix G: Sample of Analysis of learners’ essays 114 PLAGIARISM CHECKING REPORT 115