MINISTRY OF EDUCA TION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES GRADUATION THESIS PERCEPTIONS OF ENGL
INTRODUCTION Q2 22122221221 21222222 my ra 2 1.1 Research background - : + 2: 2201220111231 11521 111155511115 551 111tr sey 2 1.1.1 Problem OV€TVICW - Q20 12112 112 11H T111 1111111120111 0 xkg 2 1.1.2 Problem stateimeit : 2c 2212211211221 1211121121 2171201111111 se 3 1.2 Research purpO§e - L1 2201222011211 1121 1152111811110 12011811111 nu 4 1.3 The sipgmificance of the research - 2 2201121 112321 11111551 xsse 4 1.4 Research questIO'5 - - L2 010220112011 1211 11211121 111111 1525111115111 1 ke Hu 6 1.5 The scope of the research - - 2 1201220111211 1121 111115211111 5811 11x rey 6
1.1 Research background 1.1.1 Problem overview Nowadays, we are at the beginning of The Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is the trend of developing the digital - physical - biological comnection system along with the inventions of science, technology and artificial intelligence This Industrial Revolution 4.0 could bring the nations opportunities, but many challenges The countries have to deal with the challenges if they want to take the most of the opportunities to develop sustainably One of the biggest challenges the countries are facing is human resource training With the explostve development of the Internet, the Industrial Revolution 4.0 has created inventions that completely change the way businesses operate through modern technologies such as Big Data, Cloud, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, etc These technologies are used to automate all human labor, replacing workers with machines However, machines themselves have limitations and only work if humans know how to operate Thus, the skills and education of people working in processes based on Industry 4.0 need to be improved and updated so that the workers can be possible to catch up with technological and scientific advances and integrate into the times It has led to the creation of a job market that is increasingly segregated into segments: “low-skill/low-wage” and “high-skill/high-wage’, leading to more severe social stratification Facing to the challenges of the new era, each country is required to effectively promote all resources, including natural resources and human resources, in which human resources is the pivotal one When human resources is maximized, the country can bring other resources into play Improving the quality of occupational training, developing a staff of highly qualified workers who can seize the control of sciences and technologies, have good occupational skills are the keys for countries to develop strongly and sustainably in the new age To meet these requirements of high quality of human resources, nations increasingly pay more attention to students who play an important role with the countries’ future human resources They focus on the quality of education programs, especially higher education Nowadays, colleges and universities are organizing education programs towards reducing academic knowledge and enhancing practical education because they believe that reality experience is necessary and significant for students’ future career They suppose that students should expose themselves to the real working environment early at university to train their skills, comprehend and apply the knowledge learned to their career As a result, internship has become a popular education form that allows undergraduates and graduates to work and get practical experience in their chosen career Internship is increasingly considered as a crucial step that firstly connects academic knowledge with occupational skills
In Vietnam, it is compulsory that students need to carry out theoretical researches to have a thorough grasp of the knowledge and strengthen practice to improve career skills at universities at once Internship is so appropriate that colleges and universities will not allow students to graduate if they do not finish their internship periods and complete a report It is a standard of national education program Internship results often account for a large proportion of the semester result, affecting the graduation ranking of students In both subjective and objective nature, internship is also so important Through actual observation, a large part of students has a sense of actively training vocational skills as well as corporate cultural behaviors They prepare carefully and seriously doing their internship However, many students are not aware of the crucial role of the internship They just regard
It as a compulsory condition for graduation That students do not undergo, ignore or are afraid of internship is not rare This leads to many consequences that affect their university performance and their quality of practical skills They have had difficulty seeking jobs because of lack of occupational skills or have been laid off due to the shortage of proficiency Hence, the researcher finds that it is time to find out the reason why several students do not appreciate the internship, analyze challenges they have to face to and recommend effective solutions to raise their awareness of internship and help them have a favorable internship
1.2 Research purpose The final results of precision and transparency will strongly reinforce the following study objectives:
- To find out the perceptions of English major students about internship with respect to whether it helps them in their regular studies
- To find out the constraints faced by the English major students during the internship and compare them to those faced by other major students
- To find out advantages and disadvantages of English major students compared to other major students when doing internship
- To analyze and compare the quality among English major students who undergo internship and those who do not undergo internship
- To evaluate the impact of internship program on English major students
- To suggest solutions for problems that English major students are facing
- To recommend the effective ways of studies for English major students when taking up internship program
1.3 The significance of the research The internship leads to the interns’ individual development through challenging occupational coursework The Acharya Ramamurti Committee
(1990) in its review of the NPE 1986 observed that an internship model for students should be adopted because the internship model is based on the primary values of actual field experience in a realistic situation and on the development of working skills by practice over a period of time The Yashpal Committee Report (1993) on learning without burden mentioned that the focus of these internship programs should be on facilitating the students to acquire and improve the ability for self-studying, active working and independent thinking According to Dr Kirti Mottwala, internship helps students build an awareness of professional working style and good working habits With all these observations, at first, we can say that internship plays a significant and prominent role in the course of any major education Hence, the researcher felt the need to evaluate the impact of the school internship program on students Technology and English are two of the majors that are essential and pivotal in the Industrial Revolution 4.0 With the boom of the global trade, commerce and communication, it is required more skillful trained labor force with high English level English major students who have to work in a specific working environment that requires professional knowledge and high level of English proficiency They are those who will represent their company, even their country, in meetings or negotiations with international partners The difficulties they face in the working process are not only related to specialized knowledge and skills, but also to cultural behaviors and values If they are not exposed to specific situations before, it will be difficult or take a long time for them to adapt to the working environment Therefore, an internship if so essential Up to now, there have been many research papers highlighting the important and essential roles of internship for students in general and giving them some advice on what things they need to notice or how to get a better internship period But few in which specifically studies internship in English major students to find the advantages and disadvantages of this group of students in internship when compared to the rest It 1s really essential to get a thorough study in English major students’ internship
1.4, Research questions From the problem background, the purposes of the study, and the significance of the study, interests of this study are focused on the following issues:
1) Do English major students think internship is important or just consider it as a compulsory condition for graduation?
2) Ifso, why do they think it important?
3) What benefits do English major students get from internship?
4) What difficulties do English major students have to face with in their internship?
5) What advantages and disadvantages do English major students get when doing an internship when compared to other major students?
LITERA TURE REVIEW Q LH re 8 2.1 Definitions of 1ntermnsHIp - c2 02221 112111101 1111111211111 11111211312 8 2.2 Benefits of 1nternslIp - 5 2 0221120111101 11101 111111111 11111111 1111 k2 9 2.2.1 Bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical „7
Enhancing occupational skills and experlences
Mrousseau, 2010) Then, internship experience has a profound influence on the professional growth of students and helps them to receive better financial incomes in their first job Students also learn the required knowledge and skills which are acquired for their professional success in the future Furthermore, internship helps students to develop good personal qualities and build professional working habits as well as confidence in their ability (Armold & Cannon, 1998; Sapp & Zhang, 2009) Internship gives the students many opportunities to receive offers for high-quality job sooner These offers help them to directly interact with professionals of companies, and thus, build a strong step for their first job (Johari & Bradshaw, 2006)
From a variety of available research, internship benefits students, employers and the students’ universities For students who want to become potential employees, the internship is always an important activity for them because it creates good conditions for interns to prepare for their future career while they are in university Benefits comprise learning about business, gaining experience, and advancing problem solving skills, according to research (Abeysekera, 2006; Chang & Chu, 2009; Barr & Busler, 2011) Whether the things obtained during this period are positive or negative, they will influence future years spent in their career Employers benefit from internship because interns are sources of future employees (Thilakerathne, Madurapperuma & Wasanthi, 2013) Corporates generally favor job applicants with working experience and practical occupational knowledge and skills Therefore, they usually keep an eye on their interns to choose them as their future employees In this way, companies also save their hiring and training costs (Beard, 1998; Redington & Schlager, 2000)
Through internship, undergraduates will take their first steps into their profession At this time, the theoretical knowledge acquired during their education will be first applied to real-life situations Almost all skills and knowledge taught at the university seem not to go beyond the theories unless
11 they are practiced However, students may not know how to realize the knowledge gained from a specific subject Internship helps them have opportunities to practice what they have learned in the classroom, test career choices, and develop hands-on workplace skills Moreover, through internship, undergraduates can build specific perceptions of their future profession (Walo, 2001) A comparative study was carried out by Lee
(2006) to clarify the benefits of internship Students took part in a tourism management program which consists of school-time and internship They were set into 3 groups: career development, academic achievement development, and occupational and individual skills development The findings highlight that groups of students doing internships of development of professional and individual skills easier adapted to change and had better leadership and financial management skills
Harrison and Kennedy (1996) stated that a good internship program can bring students success through proper identification of plans for internship, picking out potential interns, and through evaluation, monitor and feedback of internship program Moreover, they also determined that educational institutions and academic advisors should play an important role in executing an internship program In the other studies, the benefits of internship are determined to practice theoretical knowledge in a specific business setting for the purpose to improve them and learn new practical skills at once (Emir, Arslan & Kilic Kaya, 2008) Internship helps seniors be more mature and gain expertise in their career (Busby & Gibson, 2010) The benefits of internship have also been proved in a research study in 1993 (English and Koeppen) It showed that internship improved academic performance In addition, Busby and Gibson (2010) and Ross and Elechi
(2002) identified the benefits of internship as:
1) Learning how to complete tasks, be involved in proper conduct, be responsible
2) Gaining experience in managing others and management methods
3) Developing maturity and self-esteem, analyzing problems and finding solution standards
4) Bringing opportunities and choices for career in the future
Research has discovered that internship programs are not only advantageous in their own right, but can also have beneficial influences on future learning related to students’ knowledge, skills and grades (Farazmand and Green, 2011), sense of worth (Liu et al., 2011), self-perception of employability skills (Qenani et al., 2014) and determination of career goals (Burns and Chopra, 2017; Schambach and Dirks, 2002) Fleming and Eames
(2005) stated that students believed that, when attending the workplace, they learned multiple skills consisting of communication, time management, critical thinking, and problem-solving along with a greater understanding of the workplace and its environment Kift, Butler, Field, McNamara, and Brown (2013) found that students consider internship as a period of gathering real-life experience before graduation in order to be ready for future work upon graduation Schambach and Dirks (2002) discovered that students tend to undergo internships to understand coursework more comprehensively and get a new emphasis toward completing their academic course excellently According to Schambach and Dirks (2002), upon finishing an internship, students would:
1) Get a greater understanding of school learning and how the knowledge gained in the classroom relates to the situations at the workplace
2) Get more practical job skills which can enhance their employability in the future
3) Be able to clear up their career goals
Hence, it is essential that the internship process has to be clarified as an important part of the association of knowledge and experience of students
2.3 The perceptions of students about internship What do students perceive about internship? Do students think internship is crucial or just consider it as a compulsory condition for graduation? A large number of students in research found internship beneficial and strongly supposed that it would be helpful for their future career These are discoveries from research carried out by Schambach and Dirks in 2002 with the aim of exploring how students perceive internship Hauck et al (2000) also researched if there were any changes in the academic performances of students who engaged in internship programs versus those who did not Their findings pointed out that the connection between academic performance and internship is not really strong Whether they engaged or not, their academic performances were stable Nevertheless, they stated that internship significantly contributed to their profession Especially, their thoughts and perceptions of beneficial internship were gradually reliable and proved In another research, students place a great value on the internship experience This is extraordinarily true when the internship is directly related to their ultimate career goals It is clear that students appreciate the benefits of internship programs, particularly when designed to meet their needs (Michael Hergert, San Diego State University, USA, 2009)
Discoveries from Akash Gupta’s study in 2020 pointed out that most students have positively responded about the internship as they feel it is very helpful to enhance their practical knowledge Others believed that internship is valuable to achieve professional competencies whereas some students responded internship helps them to understand curriculum better However, few students stated that due to internship, they could not attend the lectures and they find it very difficult during their exam days due to time constraints respectively
Many researchers also found that students are afraid of doing an internship although they are aware of its advantages It is because there are many challenges and difficulties which they have to face in internship but do not know how to solve Additionally, most students feel nervous and puzzled when doing internship first due to their awareness of doing in a company or organization not learning in their university They are anxious about not finishing their work and being reprimanded Some lacks of knowledge and skills also make them feel worried and unconfident
Therefore, research on internship is insufficient Identifying the difficulties and challenges students experience during their internship is an essential first step that will help to maximize the benefits of internship to a university education
2.4, Challenges and difficuties in internship Most of students in former researches felt confused on who should be responsible for guiding and assigning their internship employment The majority of students supposed that it was lecturers’ duties (Tackett et al., 2001; Makoski et al., 1998) Many former researches also showed that a short internship is not enough for students A number of students supposed that the appropriate internship period should be six months (Oliver, 2010; Mihail, 2006) According to Mihail (2006), most students would rather have an internship with periods from six to nine months than three months as usual because they believed that they can learn more within a six-month period Nevertheless, Oliver (2010) stated that a longer internship does not really help the students become better due to not taking much for them
According to Akash Gupta (2020), students who have not opted for internship responded that they find it difficult to do internship during their regular studies as they cannot manage both together It is not enough time for them to both study courses at university and do an internship in companies Moreover, they stated that they hardly do both well even though they get
15 sufficient time to do So, how do they develop their skills? When asked, they responded that they enhance their different skills through participating in intra- collegiate and inter-collegiate events
The perceptions of students about 1nternshiIp -‹: 5-5555: 14 2.4 Challenges and difficuties 1n 1nternship - - - 25522 *+225*2 5+2 15
In this research paper, the method of experimental research is inappropriate Experimental research allows the researcher to test and compare two sets of variables based on results of experimental tests It is used to test hypotheses in laboratories, test cause and effect relationships through field experiments, quasi- natural or natural experiments This paper is conducted with the primary aim of collecting information from a large number of respondents Therefore, the method of experimental research is not working in this case
An interview has more advantages in some ways It provides the interviewer the flexibility The interviewer can control over the order of the questions, as in the questionnaire, but can also observe the spontaneity and behavior of the respondents through their body language and emotions during the interview The interviewer can more easily collect supplementary information about the respondents by posing new questions or check-questions if necessary However, the method of interview has some disadvantages which make it unreliable to be chosen as the primary method for this paper In an interview, respondents may give answers to please the interviewer This can affect the final result Moreover, the interview has no anonymity and confidentiality, so the respondents may hesitate to give correct answers because of fearing that their answers would affect their images Thus, information recorded by the interviews may be inaccurate and incomplete
In this case, a questionnaire is perhaps the best choice First, compared to other methods like interview or experimental research, it is probably the best method to collect data and information It permits a large coverage to participate without any face-to-face situation because the Internet is so helpful in this way Second, apart from large coverage, a questionnaire is also a practical way to gather data and information The questions posed may be in the format of open- ended or multiple choice The questionnaire is quantitative, so it allows the
METHODOLOGY Q0 222221211 221121111222 tre 17 km,
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19 questionnaire were given directly to respondents at the university Answered questionnaires were gathered after the respondents replied in observation
3.3.4 Data statistics The questions in the survey are analyzed one by one The familiar answers were counted and converted to percentage out of 100 percent Then, all the outcomes were changed into tables, bar and pie charts Data collected was analyzed by the quantitative and qualitative approach, which are intended to result in conclusions that are more empirical than subjective In addition, statistical, mathematical and computer analysis approaches are also performed to analyze data faster and more conveniently
3.3.4.1 Qualitative Qualitative research engages in gathering and assaying non- numerical data (e.g., text, video, or audio) to understand concepts, thoughts, or experiences It can also be employed to collect comprehensive and thorough insights into a problem or result in new ideas for the study Qualitative researchers usually regard themselves as
“instruments” in the study because all observations, explanations and analyses are filtered and through their own personal views (Pritha Bhandari, 2020) This research paper explores the use of a range of qualitative methods to measure the benefits students get from internship and problems that affect students! quality of internship
3.3.4.2 Quantitative Data collected from quantitative research is objective, which is free from the subjectivity of qualitative research By quantitative approach, results can be clearly shown through statistics and numbers It is utilized to test or consolidate theories and hypothesis In this paper, quantitative approach is used to help make the scale of the study large enough to be reliable and used The questions in the questionnaire have a multiple-
20 choice format to generate countable answers which can be turned into quantifiable data to lead to more empirical rather than subjective results
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION co 22ccee 22 4.1 Demographic 1nforimation ¿2 222121222312 12221 1121553112222 2x⁄2 22 4.2 Perceptions of Enplish major students about InternshIp
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Lack of occupational skills and knowledge
For students, internship is a period of being under pressure because they have to deal with many difficulties and challenges This is the first time they are in such an environment, so they are easy to be with work-life problems When
28 asked about difficulties in internship, 55 of 200 respondents (27.5%) stated that they have trouble finding an internship with English-using working environment With English major students, a job with the environment in which they can improve and practice their English is an ideal one Pedagogical internship is an opportunity for students to improve English level, however, it is difficult for students who are not in major of pedagogy to practice in a pedagogical environment Working in foreign companies brings students an international working environment, but it is hard for students to meet the requirements of these companies Therefore, finding an internship like that is really not easy A majority of students (52 respondents, accounting for 26%) also supposed that adaptation to the working environment is a big constraint for them For many students, the internship is their first time to expose themselves to a real working environment For them, to adapt and develop in an environment with many rules, manners and process of work are not easy Internship problems hit very hard especially when you have high expectations and are unaware that there will be problems You become frustrated when your expectations are cut short or some other challenges arose It will be your first time in such an environment and you are yet to become familiar with the new lifestyle and work ethics Besides that, 48 of 200 respondents, accounting for 24%, pointed out that working in non-specialized field is also a serious problem
As stated in the above section, a suitable internship importantly contributes to intern’s final gains However, for many students, it is difficult to find an internship which is suitable for their major and qualification This may be due to high demands of students or companies, unavailability of internship opportunities in their livings and unpopularity of their majors Lack of occupational knowledge and skills is also a problem 45 of 200 respondents (22.5%) stated that they are in trouble with it At the beginning of the internship, students can be confused because they do not know what and how to do They will be trained by instructors at the company, but shortage of occupational skills
29 can make it hard for them to keep up with the process of the work This can be because of the lack of practical course in English major at many universities
4.6 How to solve problems in internship?
Students, in general, and English major students, in particular, both face many challenges However, not every student 1s stuck with them because they can find out many solutions to solve them
Table 4 Ways to solve problems in internship (question 13)
Search for solutions on the Internet 15.5% a
A great number of respondents (155 of 200 respondents, accounting for 77.5%) stated that they need support from university and company, specifically from their teachers and trainer at the company to solve problems Instructors at the company obverse and rate students’ capacity and development during their internship so they are the ones who can understand problems and help students to solve problems directly Moreover, at the university, students are usually instructed by at least a faculty advisor He/she is always ready to help students during their period of internship Some students search for solutions on the Internet instead 15.5% of participants in the survey (34 participants) are in the same way With the development of the Internet, it is not difficult to find solutions from experienced people and former students Their sharing is so useful for students Few respondents (14 respondents, accounting for 7%) informed that they could find out and solve problems themselves Almost all these respondents had taken a part-time job before With the experience of
30 working, they can pass challenges in internship without any support There is a positive finding that none of 200 participants in the survey stated that they disregarded problems in internship It means that they can perceive a part of the important role of internship and try to finish it well This can lead to the formation of good work ethics and manners