difficulties encountered by english - majored students when conducting a graduation thesis a case study of department of english language and culture, school of foreign languages, can tho university

CAN THO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE GRADUATION THESIS DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY ENGLISH - MAJORED STUDENTS WHEN CONDUCTING A GRADUATION THESIS: A CASE STUDY OF DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE, SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, CAN THO UNIVERSITY Supervisor: Student: TRƯƠNG THỊ NGỌC ĐIỆP, M.Ed NGUYỄN THỊ XUÂN VINH Student code: 7116894 Class: XH11Z8A1 Course: 37 Can Tho, May 2015 i CAN THO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE GRADUATION THESIS DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY ENGLISH - MAJORED STUDENTS WHEN CONDUCTING A GRADUATION THESIS: A CASE STUDY OF DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE, SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, CAN THO UNIVERSITY Supervisor: Student: TRƯƠNG THỊ NGỌC ĐIỆP, M.Ed NGUYỄN THỊ XUÂN VINH Student code: 7116894 Class: XH11Z8A1 Course: 37 Can Tho, May 2015 ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I hereby declare that this graduation thesis is conducted under the guidance of Ms Truong Thi Ngoc Diep (M.Ed.), at Department of English Language and Culture, School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University This thesis is the work of mine All of information quoted or paraphrased from other materials are acknowledged Nguyen Thi Xuan Vinh May, 2015 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I am particularly grateful to my supervisor, Ms Truong Thi Ngoc Diep for her encouragement and dedicated guidance My thesis would be never perfect without her encouragement, valuable comments, careful proof-reading and corrections Above all, she showed me how to be a real researcher, how to think independently and how to work seriously on my thesis Then, I would like to thank Mr Huynh Minh Hien for teaching me how to use Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) in his course Next, I wish to thank 12 participants who helped me answer the questionnaire The graduation thesis could not be completed without their help Last but not least, I am most thankful to my beloved family and my friends for their support and valuable suggestions ii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vi ABSTRACT vii TÓM LƯỢC viii CHAPTER1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Research objectives and significance 1.3 Research organization CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Role of graduation thesis 2.2 Requirements of a graduation thesis .4 2.2.1 Requirements for writing skill .4 2.2.1.1 Title 2.2.1.2 Abstract 2.2.1.3 Introduction 2.2.1.4 Literature review 2.2.1.5 Methods 2.2.1.6 Results 10 2.2.1.7 Discussion and conclusion 10 2.2.2 Requirements for format of a graduation thesis 12 2.3 Mistakes in students' graduation theses 12 2.3.1 Writing skill 12 2.3.1.1 Abstract 13 2.3.1.2 Introduction 13 2.3.1.3 Literature review 13 2.3.1.4 Methods 13 2.3.1.5 Results 14 2.3.1.6 Discussion and conclusion 14 2.3.2 Research skill 14 iii 2.3.3 Presenting format 14 2.4 Difficulties facing students in the process of conducting a graduation thesis 15 2.4.1 Writing skill 15 2.4.2 Psychology 15 2.4.3 Support from the institutions and from the supervisors 15 2.5 Suggestions for improving thesis quality 16 2.5.1 Using software 16 2.5.2 Asking for other people's help .16 2.5.3 Independent work 16 2.5.4 Supervisors' assistance 17 2.5.5 Institution's assistance 17 2.6 Previous studies 17 2.7 Research questions 21 CHAPTER 3: METHODS 22 3.1 Research design 22 3.2 Participants 22 3.3 Instrument 22 3.4 Procedure 23 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS, DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 24 4.1 The questionnaire 24 4.2 Summary of the questionnaire 24 4.3 Difficulties encountered by students in conducting a graduation thesis 25 4.3.1 Writing skill 25 4.3.2 Research skill 26 4.3.3 Presenting format 26 4.3.4 Psychology 27 4.3.5 Support from the institution and from the supervisors 28 4.3.6 Other difficulties 28 4.4 Remedies for difficulties in conducting a graduation thesis 29 4.4.1 Using software 29 4.4.2 Having the others' help .29 4.4.3 Independent work 30 iv 4.4.4 Other suggestions 30 4.5 Expectations .31 4.5.1 Expectations from the department and from the supervisors 31 4.5.2 Other expectations 31 4.6 Discussion 32 4.7 Conclusion 33 CHAPTER 5: LIMITATIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .35 5.1 Limitations 35 5.2 Implications 35 5.3 Suggestions for further research .36 REFERENCES 37 APPENDICES 39 APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE 39 APPENDIX B: OUTPUT DATA .42 APPENDIX C: THE QUESTIONNAIRES AFTER COLLECTED 55 v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 2.1 Requirements for writing introduction section Table 2.2 Requirements for writing literature review section .8 Table 2.3 Requirements for writing methods section Table 2.4 Requirements for writing results section 10 Table 2.5 Requirements for writing discussion and conclusion sections 11 Table 4.1 Summary of the questionnaire .24 Figure 4.1 Difficulties in terms of writing skill 25 Figure 4.2 Difficulties in terms of research skill 26 Figure 4.3 Difficulties in terms of presenting format 27 Figure 4.4 Difficulties in terms of psychology 27 Figure 4.5 Difficulties in terms of support from the institution and from the supervisors .28 Figure 4.6 Using software 29 Figure 4.7 Having the other's help 29 Figure 4.8 Independent work 30 Figure 4.9 Expectations from English Department and from the supervisors 31 vi ABSTRACT Conducting a graduation thesis is difficult for English-majored students Previous studies have focused on challenges in thesis writing, or mistakes in theses (Huhta, Varttala & Ervaala, 2007, Han, 2014) Although these studies have mentioned difficulties facing students in conducting a graduation thesis, few researchers have researched on students' perceptions about their difficulties in conducting a thesis in greater depth, which is the rationale of implementing this current thesis This present study is to achieve three objectives: (1) investigating difficulties facing students in conducting a thesis, (2) finding out remedies that students apply to overcome those difficulties, and (3) learning about students' expectations Descriptive, quantitative and qualitative research design have been employed in this project The questionnaire included 37 statements with a five-points likert-scale used to evaluate students' attitude Three open-ended questions were also included in this questionnaire The questionnaires were delivered to 12 English-majored students who were on the process of conducting a graduation thesis The results of the study showed that students faced difficulties in research skill (50% in average), writing skill (17.85% in average), psychology (75% in average), presenting format (25% in average), and support from the institution and from the supervisors (33.3% in average) In addition, students faced difficulties in accessing high quality articles, designing questionnaire, analyzing data, making the participants concentrate on answering the questionnaire They also lacked time to complete the thesis, lacked good strategies and lacked good advice for conducting a thesis This study may be the reference material for students who would like to conduct a thesis, for instructors who guide students in conducting a thesis Also, this study has some recommendations that the Department of English Language and Culture could consider to help students improve thesis quality vii TĨM LƯỢC Thực luận văn việc khó sinh viên ngành Tiếng Anh Có nhiều nghiên cứu thách thức viết luận văn hay nghiên cứu tìm hiểu lỗi luận văn (Huhta, Varttala & Ervaala, 2007, Han, 2014) Những nghiên cứu có đề cập đến khó khăn mà sinh viên đối mặt làm luận văn Tuy nhiên, có nhà nghiên cứu tiến hành nghiên cứu sâu để tìm hiểu nhận thức sinh viên khó khăn thực luận văn Nghiên cứu nhắm tới ba mục tiêu: (1) điều tra khó khăn mà sinh viên vấp phải thực luận văn, (2) tìm phương pháp mà sinh viên áp dụng để khắc phục khó khăn đó, (3) tìm hiểu mong đợi sinh viên làm luận văn Nghiên cứu sử dụng kết hợp thiết kế nghiên cứu mô tả, định lượng định tính Bảng hỏi gồm có 37 mục hỏi, sử dụng thang đo Likert gồm mức để đo lường thái độ sinh viên vấn đề đặt Ngoài bảng hỏi có thêm câu hỏi mở Bảng hỏi phát cho 12 sinh viên trình thực luận văn tốt nghiệp Kết nghiên cứu cho thấy sinh viên gặp khó khăn kỹ nghiên cứu (trung bình 50%), kỹ viết (trung bình 17.85%), tâm lý (trung bình 75%), trình bày hình thức luận văn (trung bình 25%), hỗ trợ từ viện đại học giáo viên hướng dẫn (trung bình 33.3%) Sinh viên cịn gặp khó khăn việc tiếp cận báo có chất lượng cao, thiết kế bảng hỏi, phân tích số liệu, thu hút đối tượng tham gia nghiên cứu trả lời bảng hỏi Ngoài ra, sinh viên thiếu thời gian để hoàn thành luận văn, thiếu chiến lược tốt lời khuyên tốt cho việc thực luận văn Nghiên cứu sử dụng làm tài liệu tham khảo cho sinh viên lựa chọn làm luận văn giảng viên hướng dẫn sinh viên làm luận văn Hơn nữa, Bộ mơn Ngơn ngữ Văn hóa Anh xem xét đến đề xuất nghiên cứu để từ có biện pháp nhằm hỗ trợ sinh viên việc thực luận văn viii shorter synonyms 22 I use prepositions between nouns instead of using string of nouns in the title of my thesis 23 I fear of having not enough competence to write a thesis 24 I try to make my thesis as perfect as possible 25 My introduction section moves from the general to the specific Other difficulties: Remedies 26 I have used End-Note program in referencing 27 I have talked to my friends or my family's members about my thesis 28 I have chosen high quality papers relating to my topic and noted down useful phrases 29 I have used CrossCheck to examine if I commit plagiarism 30 I have had native speaker edited my thesis 31 I have participated in a writing group 32 I have other people check the title of my thesis Other methods to improve thesis quality: Expectations: 33 More courses of academic writing should be offered 34 More native teachers should be invited to teach English 35 More discussion between supervisor and student is necessary 36 Guidelines for thesis writing should be published on website of the Department 37 More books on research should be provided Other expectations: THE END 41 APPENDIX B: OUTPUT DATA Reliability Case Processing Summary N Cases Valid Excludeda Total % 12 100.0 0 12 100.0 a Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha N of Items 681 37 Item Statistics Mean Std Deviation N minor points 3.5833 1.08362 12 broad topic 2.3333 1.15470 12 wide scope 2.8333 1.11464 12 mother tongue 2.0833 79296 12 synthesize 1.7500 86603 12 high quality 4.0000 60302 12 express 3.5000 52223 12 citation style 4.0000 73855 12 word order 3.9167 79296 12 ambiguous 4.2500 62158 12 verb tense 3.5833 1.16450 12 unnecessary 3.9167 79296 12 logical 4.5000 52223 12 strong tone 2.7500 96531 12 guidelines 2.3333 65134 12 reference 4.5000 52223 12 long 3.4167 99620 12 guidance 3.9167 90034 12 translate 4.1667 1.11464 12 unclear 3.8333 1.02986 12 42 long verb 3.4167 99620 12 preposition 3.6667 77850 12 competence 2.8333 1.46680 12 perfect 4.5833 51493 12 introduction 4.2500 75378 12 end-note 2.5000 1.16775 12 talk 4.0833 51493 12 note down 3.8333 57735 12 crosscheck 2.3333 88763 12 edit 1.9167 90034 12 writing group 2.2500 1.05529 12 check title 3.8333 1.02986 12 more courses 4.3333 88763 12 native teacher 4.2500 62158 12 more discussion 4.1667 83485 12 guidelines 4.3333 65134 12 books 4.3333 88763 12 Item-Total Statistics Cronbach's Scale Mean if Item Deleted Scale Variance if Corrected ItemItem Deleted Total Correlation Alpha if Item Deleted minor points 126.5000 73.182 584 641 broad topic 127.7500 79.114 230 673 wide scope 127.2500 78.386 281 668 mother tongue 128.0000 81.091 242 672 synthesize 128.3333 92.970 -.512 719 high quality 126.0833 77.174 721 651 express 126.5833 82.629 239 674 citation style 126.0833 79.538 386 664 word order 126.1667 82.697 128 679 ambiguous 125.8333 86.879 -.180 693 verb tense 126.5000 68.636 787 619 unnecessary 126.1667 79.970 323 667 logical 125.5833 84.811 009 684 strong tone 127.3333 84.424 -.010 690 guidelines 127.7500 82.568 184 676 reference 125.5833 81.538 357 670 43 long 126.6667 78.424 326 665 guidance 126.1667 76.152 523 652 translate 125.9167 69.902 753 624 unclear 126.2500 72.205 680 635 long verb 126.6667 90.242 -.320 713 preposition 126.4167 82.447 150 678 competence 127.2500 66.386 696 617 perfect 125.5000 82.818 223 675 introduction 125.8333 81.242 248 672 end-note 127.5833 85.356 -.072 699 talk 126.0000 85.091 -.019 685 note down 126.2500 85.477 -.060 687 crosscheck 127.7500 81.659 170 677 edit 128.1667 86.515 -.128 697 writing group 127.8333 84.333 -.014 692 check title 126.2500 82.932 063 686 more courses 125.7500 87.114 -.165 699 native teacher 125.8333 84.515 024 684 more discussion 125.9167 84.083 026 686 guidelines 125.7500 87.477 -.224 696 books 125.7500 79.841 287 669 Scale Statistics Mean Variance 1.3008E2 Std Deviation 85.174 N of Items 9.22899 37 Frequencies N Valid Missing minor points broad topic wide scope mother tongue synthesize high quality 12 12 12 12 12 12 0 0 0 express N Valid Missing 12 logical citation style 12 word order strong tone guidelines 12 44 ambiguous verb tense unnecessary 12 12 12 references long guidance N Valid Missing 12 12 12 N Valid Missing translate 12 unclear 12 long verb 12 introduction N Valid Missing end-note 12 talk 12 12 12 preposition competence 12 12 0 note-down 12 writing check title more native group courses teacher N Valid 12 12 12 Missing 0 12 12 Valid Percent disagree 25.0 25.0 25.0 neutral 8.3 8.3 33.3 agree 50.0 50.0 83.3 strongly agree 16.7 16.7 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total broad topic Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent strongly disagree 25.0 25.0 25.0 disagree 41.7 41.7 66.7 neutral 8.3 8.3 75.0 agree 25.0 25.0 100.0 Total 12 100.0 100.0 45 12 12 Cumulative Valid Percent edit guidelines minor points Percent 12 12 more discussion 12 perfect crosscheck Frequency Frequency 12 books 12 wide scope Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent strongly disagree 8.3 8.3 8.3 disagree 33.3 33.3 41.7 neutral 33.3 33.3 75.0 agree 16.7 16.7 91.7 strongly agree 8.3 8.3 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total mother tongue Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent strongly disagree 16.7 16.7 16.7 disagree 66.7 66.7 83.3 neutral 8.3 8.3 91.7 agree 8.3 8.3 100.0 Total 12 100.0 100.0 synthesize Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent strongly disagree 41.7 41.7 41.7 disagree 50.0 50.0 91.7 agree 8.3 8.3 100.0 Total 12 100.0 100.0 high quality Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent neutral 16.7 16.7 16.7 agree 66.7 66.7 83.3 strongly agree 16.7 16.7 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total 46 express Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent neutral 50.0 50.0 50.0 agree 50.0 50.0 100.0 Total 12 100.0 100.0 citation style Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent neutral 25.0 25.0 25.0 agree 50.0 50.0 75.0 strongly agree 25.0 25.0 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total word order Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent disagree 8.3 8.3 8.3 neutral 8.3 8.3 16.7 agree 66.7 66.7 83.3 strongly agree 16.7 16.7 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total ambiguous Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent neutral 8.3 8.3 8.3 agree 58.3 58.3 66.7 strongly agree 33.3 33.3 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total 47 verb tense Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent disagree 25.0 25.0 25.0 neutral 16.7 16.7 41.7 agree 33.3 33.3 75.0 strongly agree 25.0 25.0 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total unnecessary Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent disagree 8.3 8.3 8.3 neutral 8.3 8.3 16.7 agree 66.7 66.7 83.3 strongly agree 16.7 16.7 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total logical Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent agree 50.0 50.0 50.0 strongly agree 50.0 50.0 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total strong tone Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent strongly disagree 8.3 8.3 8.3 disagree 33.3 33.3 41.7 neutral 33.3 33.3 75.0 agree 25.0 25.0 100.0 Total 12 100.0 100.0 48 guidelines Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent strongly disagree 8.3 8.3 8.3 disagree 50.0 50.0 58.3 neutral 41.7 41.7 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total reference Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent agree 50.0 50.0 50.0 strongly agree 50.0 50.0 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total long Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent disagree 25.0 25.0 25.0 neutral 16.7 16.7 41.7 agree 50.0 50.0 91.7 strongly agree 8.3 8.3 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total guidance Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent disagree 8.3 8.3 8.3 neutral 16.7 16.7 25.0 agree 50.0 50.0 75.0 strongly agree 25.0 25.0 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total 49 translate Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent strongly disagree 8.3 8.3 8.3 agree 50.0 50.0 58.3 strongly agree 41.7 41.7 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total unclear Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent disagree 16.7 16.7 16.7 neutral 8.3 8.3 25.0 agree 50.0 50.0 75.0 strongly agree 25.0 25.0 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total long verb Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent disagree 25.0 25.0 25.0 neutral 16.7 16.7 41.7 agree 50.0 50.0 91.7 strongly agree 8.3 8.3 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total preposition Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent disagree 8.3 8.3 8.3 neutral 25.0 25.0 33.3 agree 58.3 58.3 91.7 strongly agree 8.3 8.3 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total 50 competence Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent strongly disagree 16.7 16.7 16.7 disagree 33.3 33.3 50.0 neutral 25.0 25.0 75.0 strongly agree 25.0 25.0 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total perfect Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent agree 41.7 41.7 41.7 strongly agree 58.3 58.3 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total introduction Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent neutral 16.7 16.7 16.7 agree 41.7 41.7 58.3 strongly agree 41.7 41.7 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total end-note Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent strongly disagree 25.0 25.0 25.0 disagree 25.0 25.0 50.0 neutral 25.0 25.0 75.0 agree 25.0 25.0 100.0 Total 12 100.0 100.0 51 talk Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent neutral 8.3 8.3 8.3 agree 75.0 75.0 83.3 strongly agree 16.7 16.7 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total note down Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent neutral 25.0 25.0 25.0 agree 66.7 66.7 91.7 strongly agree 8.3 8.3 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total crosscheck Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent strongly disagree 8.3 8.3 8.3 disagree 66.7 66.7 75.0 neutral 8.3 8.3 83.3 agree 16.7 16.7 100.0 Total 12 100.0 100.0 edit Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent strongly disagree 33.3 33.3 33.3 disagree 50.0 50.0 83.3 neutral 8.3 8.3 91.7 agree 8.3 8.3 100.0 Total 12 100.0 100.0 52 writing group Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent strongly disagree 25.0 25.0 25.0 disagree 41.7 41.7 66.7 neutral 16.7 16.7 83.3 agree 16.7 16.7 100.0 Total 12 100.0 100.0 check title Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent disagree 16.7 16.7 16.7 neutral 8.3 8.3 25.0 agree 50.0 50.0 75.0 strongly agree 25.0 25.0 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total more courses Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent disagree 8.3 8.3 8.3 agree 41.7 41.7 50.0 strongly agree 50.0 50.0 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total native teacher Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent neutral 8.3 8.3 8.3 agree 58.3 58.3 66.7 strongly agree 33.3 33.3 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total 53 more discussion Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent neutral 25.0 25.0 25.0 agree 33.3 33.3 58.3 strongly agree 41.7 41.7 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total guidelines Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent neutral 8.3 8.3 8.3 agree 50.0 50.0 58.3 strongly agree 41.7 41.7 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total books Cumulative Frequency Valid Percent Valid Percent Percent neutral 25.0 25.0 25.0 agree 16.7 16.7 41.7 strongly agree 58.3 58.3 100.0 12 100.0 100.0 Total 54 APPENDIX C: THE QUESTIONNAIRES AFTER COLLECTED 55 .. .CAN THO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE GRADUATION THESIS DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY ENGLISH - MAJORED STUDENTS WHEN CONDUCTING A GRADUATION. .. I am conducting my graduation thesis: "Difficulties encountered by English- majored students when conducting a graduation thesis: A case study of English, Department of English Language and Culture,. .. students at Department of English Language and Culture, School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University Subjects of this study were 12 senior students, males and females All of them studied English