Non – academic difficulties in studying encountered by freshmen of school of social sciences and humanities – cantho university

CANTHO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES B.A THESIS Non – Academic Difficulties in Studying Encountered by Freshmen of School of Social Sciences and Humanities – Cantho University Supervisor: Truong Thi Ngoc Diep, M.Ed Student: Vo The Hien Code : 7075957 Class : English Studies 01-C 33 Cantho, May 2011 STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I certify that this work has not been submitted in the whole or in part to this university or to any other educational institutions for marking and assessment either previously or concurrently I also certify that I have not received any outside help and that unless otherwise attributed the material presented is all my own work Võ Thế Hiện May 2011 i ABSTRACT Non – academic factors and their influences on students’ studying have been researched and reported in literature to benefit students’ studying This paper aims to investigate and identify non – academic factors as well as their influential levels on freshmen’s studying in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Cantho University The current study is both qualitative and quantitative, and it employs semi – structured interviews and a 35 – item questionnaire as two main instruments for data collection Participants involved in the current study were 104 freshmen, counselors of Course 36 from different departments, including the Department of Foreign Languages, Department of History, Geography and Tourism, Department of Vietnamese Linguistics and Literature, and Department of Information and Libraries, of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities The results of the study indicated that participants faced five groups of non – academic factors: Individual Psychological Factors, Family – Related Factors, Career Planning Factors, Lecturer – Related Factors, and Other Factors Influential levels of all five groups on freshmen’s studying were also measured Although the influential levels were not very strong, the concurrent impact of the five groups caused many difficulties in freshmen’s studying Finally, some valuable suggestions were given by counselors to partly help freshmen soon overcome the difficulties, and study well ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This study has been completed with the help and support of many people Therefore, I am thankful to all of them First and foremost, I would like to express my special thanks to my supervisor, Mrs Truong Thi Ngoc Diep She always gave me timely and valuable suggestion on the topic of the thesis, and supported me during the time I was conducting the thesis Mrs Diep has devoted a lot of her valuable time and energy to correct my thesis Without her dedicated support and patience to me, I would have had difficulties in completing the thesis Working with her, I have learnt a lot of valuable knowledge and experiences in conducting research Next, I would like to send my deep gratitude to Mr Huynh Minh Hien, who instructed data analysis with Statistic Package for Social Sciences Software to me, and gave me valuable suggestions on my thesis I also would like to express my appreciation to Mr Thai Cong Dan, and Ms Ho Phuong Thuy for their valuable advice in my process of conducting a research study My thanks are to all participants of thesis Without their assistance, my study could not have been conducted Finally, I own everything to my parents They have been always with me whenever I am in trouble iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Research Objectives and Significance 1.3 Thesis Organization CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 An Overview on Freshmen 2.1.1 The Transition from High School to Higher Education 2.1.2 Freshmen Expectations at Colleges 2.2 Non – Academic Factors 10 2.2.1 Definition 10 2.2.2 Working Definition of Non – Academic Used in the Study 13 2.3 Interrelationship Between Freshmen’s Studying and Non – Academic Factors 13 2.4 Some Features of Vietnamese Freshmen and Their Difficulties in Studying 17 2.5 Research Questions……………………………………………………………21 2.6 Hypotheses 21 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 22 3.1 Research Design 22 3.2 Participants 23 3.3 Data Collection Instruments 23 3.4 Research Procedure 26 3.5 Research Ethnics 28 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 29 4.1 Results 29 4.1.1 From the Questionnaire 29 4.1.2 From the Interview 30 4.1.2.1 Findings from the Interview with Freshmen 31 4.1.2.2 Findings from the Interview with Counselors 35 4.2 Discussion 37 4.2.1 Personal Psychological Factors 37 4.2.1.1 Poor Time Management 37 4.2.1.2 Lack of Self – Study Skill 38 4.2.1.3 Lack of Persistence and Insufficient Effort 39 4.2.1.4 Lack of Self – Confidence 40 4.2.1.5 Lack of Academic Competence 41 4.2.1.6 Poor Examinations Techniques …………………………………… 42 4.2.2 Family – Related Factor 43 4.2.3 Career Planning Factor 43 4.2.4 Lecturer – Related Factors 44 4.2.5 Other Non – Academic Factors 45 4.2.5.1 Too Many Extra Concerns 45 iv 4.2.5.2 Financial Problems 46 4.2.5.3 Freshmen’s Studying Plan and Online Registration 47 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND DIRECTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 49 5.1 Conclusion 49 5.2 Implications 50 5.3 Recommendations………………………………………………………………… 50 5.3 Methodological Limitations 52 5.4 Recommendations for Further Research 52 REFERENCES 54 APPENDICES 57 Appendix 1: Questionnaire Item (Fraser & Killen, 2003) 57 Appendix 2: Questionnaire (Vietnamese Version) 59 Appendix 3: Questionnaire (English Version) 61 Appendix 4: Interview Questions for Freshmen 63 Appendix 5: Interview Questions for Counselors 64 Appendix 6: Mean Score for Each Item 65 Appendix 7: Mean Scores for Groups of Non - Academic Factors……………… 66 Appendix 8: Covering Letter 68 Appendix 9: Translation of the Covering Letter 69 v Introduction CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter describes (1) the rationale of the current study, (2) research objectives and significance, and (3) thesis organization 1.1 Rationale Annually, the School of Social Sciences and Humanities – Cantho University (CTU) welcomes hundreds of freshmen Beside freshmen coming from cities, most of them come from rural areas in Mekong Delta provinces These freshmen got used to living with their parents and studying environment in high school, so entering new living and studying environment in Cantho city confuses them greatly Many new risen factors appear in their first independent life, and provoke difficulties, especially in studying Meanwhile, the first year at universities is a critically transitional phase, and academic success in the first year at college plays crucial role in achieving expected results in the coming academic years (Olani, 2009) Therefore, freshmen will experience an unsuccessful academic year if they not find feasible solutions for their difficulties in studying The studying process of most freshmen does not go smoothly due to the influence of many non – academic factors (Fraser and Killen, 2003) Initially, freshmen have much concern about many extra new factors in their new living environment which indirectly make negative impacts on freshmen studying Since they are quite new to the circumstances, they are ill – prepared to cope with rising factors If their concerns are much on these factors, this fact will certainly affect freshmen’s psychology, and then their studying is more or less distracted Besides, Nguyen (2009) confirmed that the differences between high school studying environment and higher education one are difficulties in freshmen’s studying because they find it hard to adapt to the new studying Introduction environment In the current socialized direction in education and training area, higher education institutions, including CTU, have increasingly modified their training curricula so that their students can equip requisite knowledge for their future Therefore, freshmen must be active and flexible in their studying so as to gain expected academic results in their first year at universities Nevertheless, it takes freshmen time to be well - integrated to the new studying environment Moreover, difficulties in freshmen’s studying also derive from freshmen’s lack of essential studying skills such as self – study, peer study, group study, and so on Nowadays, student – centered teaching mode becomes approach and more popular, so students need to familiarize themselves with these study skills as they enter higher education institutions However, high school students’ familiarization to traditional teaching and learning methods impedes their adaptation to new studying skills Finally, freshmen’s studying may be easily distracted by personal psychological factors, family – related factors, and lecturer – related factors In fact, freshmen are responsible for their studying, but their families, institutions and lecturers also have considerable influence on their studying process For example, family crisis, lack of facilities serving students’ studying, lecturers’ apathetic attitudes towards lecturing may provoke certain difficulties in freshmen’s studying (Fraser et al., 2003) Many studies on the first year of students have been conducted worldwide However, there has been a limit in the number of studies found on the influence of non – academic factors on freshmen’s studying in Vietnamese context (Nguyen, 2009) conducted a study on the difficulties in studying of freshmen, but the study only limits in the scope of English – majored freshmen’s studying process in Danang University In fact, such studies in this field have not been conducted in CTU yet In short, the impact of non – academic factors on freshmen studying in CTU has raised much interest From my own experience, I have noticed that Introduction freshmen of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, CTU, have been influenced by many typical non – academic factors Based on theoretical background on the impact of non – academic factors worldwide, and the realistic circumstances in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities – CTU, the current study is conducted to investigate and identify what non – academic factors and their influences on freshmen’s studying 1.2 Research Objectives and Significance Studying in CTU is a long and challenging process Beside the decisive roles of academic factors in students’ academic achievement, non – academic factors make considerable contribution to students’ success or failure (Fraser et al., 2003) The current study aims to investigate and identify non – academic factors causing freshmen difficulties in their studying in the real context of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Cantho University Another aim of the current study is to measure the influential levels of the non – academic factors on freshmen’s studying The final objective of the study is to present possible solutions for freshmen’s difficulties in studying caused by non – academic factors so that freshmen can soon overcome the difficulties, and study well The results of the study are significant in terms of helping freshmen, educators, and teaching staffs to recognize and find out possible solutions for freshmen’s difficulties in their studying so that freshmen can quickly reach their full academic potentials for academic years to come Introduction 1.3 Thesis Organization The thesis consists of five chapters, including (1) Introduction, (2) Literature Review, (3) Research Methodology, (4) Results and Discussion, and (5) Implications, Conclusion, Limitations, and Recommendations Chapter One presents the problems related to freshmen’s difficulties in studying caused by non – academic factors in the context of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Cantho University The background information and reasons to conduct the thesis are also mentioned Then, research questions, research objectives and significance are introduced Organization of the thesis is included in the last part of the chapter Chapter Two Literature Review defines the term non – academic factors used in the thesis The chapter also mentions an overview on freshmen, the interrelationship between freshmen’s difficulties in studying and the influence of non – academic factors which are clarified by citing and analyzing related theoretical background The final part of the chapter, some features of Vietnamese freshmen and their difficulties in real CTU’s context are introduced Chapter Three concentrates on research methodology It describes the research designs, participants, and research procedure used in this thesis A detailed description about the instruments and data collection is also presented Chapter Four shows the results of the questionnaire analyzed by SPSS, and the results of the interviews The chapter also mentions a deep discussion Hurtado, S; Carter, F.D; and Spuler, A (1996) Latino Student Transition To Colleges: Assessing Difficulties and Factors in Successful College Adjustment Research in Higher Education, Vol 37, No 2, 1996 James, R (2002) Students’ changing expectations of higher education and the consequences of mismatches with the reality Paper for OECD-IMHE conference Management responses to changing student expectations QUT, 24 September 2001 Kenneth, P (2005) Living the College Life: Real Students Real Experiences Real Advice Cliffs Note Krause, K (2005) Engaged, inert or otherwise occupied? Deconstructing the 21st century undergraduate student Keynote paper presented at James Cook University Symposium: Sharing Scholarship in Learning and Teaching - Engaging Students James Cook University, QLD, Australia, 21-22 September 2005 Lotkowski, V A.; Robbins, S B.; Noeth, R J (2004) The Role of Academic and Non-Academic Factors in Improving College Retention ACT Policy Report Retrieved December, 17th, 2010 from: www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/college_retention.pdf McPhail, R., Fisher, R., McConachie, J (2009) Refereed Paper Becoming a Successful First Year Undergraduate: When Expectations and Reality Collide Griffith University Nelson, K., Kift, S., and Clarke, J (2008) Expectations and realities for first year students at an Australian university Queensland University of Technology Retrieved December, 17th, 2010 from: www.fyhe.com.au/past_papers/papers08/FYHE2008/content/pdfs/6a.pdf Nguyễn, Vũ Phong Vân (2009) “Bài nghiên cứu khó khăn học tập sinh viên năm thứ nhất, khoa Tiếng Anh trường Đại Học Ngoại ngữ- Đại học Đà Nẵng gặp phải học trường đại học” Đại Học Ngoại ngữ- Đại học Đà Nẵng Nguyễn, Thùy (2009a) Hành trang tân sinh viên - (Part 1) http://www.globaledu.com.vn; Retrieved December, 12th 2010 from: http://www.globaledu.com.vn/Thong-Tin-Chi-Tiet/617/HANH-TRANG-CUANHUNG-TAN-SINH-VIEN Phan-1 On Nguyễn, Thùy (2009b) Hành trang tân sinh viên (Part 2) - Các mẹo phân bố thời gian hợp lý – On http://www.globaledu.com.vn; Retrieved December, 12th 2010 from: http://www.globaledu.com.vn/Thong-Tin-Chi-Tiet/627/Hanh-trang-cua-tan-sinhvien-Phan-2 Cac-meo-phan-bo-thoi-gian-hop-ly 55 Nguyễn, Thùy (2009c) Hành trang tân sinh viên (Part 3) - Cách làm quen với người môi trường đại học – – On http://www.globaledu.com.vn; Retrieved December, 12th 2010 from: http://www.globaledu.com.vn/Thong-Tin-Chi-Tiet/629/629 Nguyễn, Thùy (2009d) Hành trang tân sinh viên (Phần 4) - Đại học phổ thông có khác nhau? – – On http://www.globaledu.com.vn; Retrieved December, 12th 2010 from: http://www.globaledu.com.vn/Thong-Tin-Chi-Tiet/2263/Dai-hoc-va-pho-thong-cogi-khac-nhau Olani, A (2009) Predicting first year university students’ academic success Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, v7 n3 p1053-1072 2009 Philosophy statement for the first-year experience at CLC (2010) The College of Lake County www.clcillinois.edu/collegeready/pdf/FYE_PhilosophyStatement.pdf Protocols: First Year Experience (2009) Protocols to accompany the policy for First Year Experience (Manual of Policy and Procedures C/6.2) Queensland University of Technology Retrieved December, 12th 2010 from: www.otq.qut.edu.au/curriculum/documents/protocols_fye.pdf The Role of Nonacademic Factors in college readiness and success Issue in college success (2007) ACT, Inc 500 ACT Drive, P.O Box 168, Iowa City, IA 522430168 Tel: 319-337-1270; Web site: http://www.act.org Retrieved December, 15th, 2010 from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERIC ExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED501273&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno =ED501273 APPENDICES 56 Appendix 1: Questionnaire Item (Fraser & Killen, 2003) Inadequate or poor exam preparation Lack of self-discipline # Lack of self-motivation # Lack of persistence # Insufficient effort (e g study, exam prep) # Inefficient time management # Irregular attendance at lectures/tutorials # Poor study techniques # Inability to distinguish between important and unimportant information Failure to understand the depth of understanding required at tertiary level # Poor literacy skills of students # Inability to make use of higher order thinking skills Laziness or apathy # Poor examination techniques # Too many extra mural interests # Lack of interest in the course content # Lack of provision of a bridge between theory and practice Lack of insight into the field of study Low self esteem Late submission of assignments # Inability to balance study and social commitments # Badly structured presentations by lecturers # Failure to approach lecturers/tutors for help # A perceived lack of relevance of course content # Lack of self assessment Lack of confidence # Lecturers/tutors who does not understand the students' needs # Inability to cope with stress # Boring presentations by lecturers # Lack of academic ability # Lack of a clear career goal # Poor language abilities of lecturers Low input from lecturers in the motivation of students and minimization of anxiety Changes made to schedules without the consent of all participants Too much reliance on directions/guidance by lecturers # Unclear criteria and lecturers' expectations of assignments # Too many demands on students' time (work, travel, study, family) # Misinterpretation of course requirements # Inappropriate and biased assessment procedures used by lecturers # Lack of maturity # An attitude where the lecturer is expected to train the students in preparation for examinations Personal or family crisis # 57 Inadequate distribution of schedules Financial problems and stress # Heavy course workload # Fear of failure # Lack of rewards for student efforts # Part-time jobs held by full-time students # Lack of personal interest in students by lecturers/tutors # Uncertainty about where the content fits into the course Textbooks available in one language only A lecturer who doesn't work according to the outcomes in the study guide Inadequate university library facilities # Lecturers who regard the student only as being lazy Lecturers/tutors with unrealistically high expectations of students # # Indicating a similar item was used in the Australian research of Killen (1994) Appendix 2: Questionnaire (Vietnamese Version) Trường Đại học Cần Thơ Khoa Khoa Học Xã Hội Nhân Văn Bộ môn Ngoại Ngữ Họ tên : Lớp : 58 Phiếu điều tra nhân tố phi học thuật gây khó khăn học tập sinh viên năm Các bạn gặp phải khó khăn học tập học năm trường Đại học Cần Thơ? Các bạn vui lòng đánh dấu (P) vào ô tương ứng theo thứ bậc Lưu ý: đánh dấu (P ) cho câu, chọn tất câu : Hoàn toàn không đồng ý : Không đồng ý : Không có ý kiến : Đồng ý : Hoàn toàn đồng ý Các yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến việc học STT 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Trả lời Thiếu tính kỷ luật Thiếu động lực Thiếu kiên trì Thiếu cố gắng Quản lý thời gian không hiệu Không đến lớp điều đặn Kỹ học Không có khả phân biệt thông tin quan trọng không quan trọng Không có hiểu biết sâu yêu cầu bậc đại học Không có khả vận dụng kỹ tư bậc cao Lười biếng thờ với việc học Các kỹ thi cử Có nhiều thứ cần quan tâm Không thích thú với nội dung môn học Thiếu cung cấp cầu nối lý thuyết thực hành Thiếu hiểu biết rõ ràng ngành học Nộp trễ Không có khả cân việc học trách nhiệm xã hội Thiếu tự đánh giá Thiếu tự tin Giảng viên không hiểu nhu cầu sinh viên Không có khả đối phó với căng thẳng Thiếu mục tiêu nghề nghiệp rõ ràng Giảng viên tạo động lực cho sinh viên có tác động việc giảm thiểu lo lắng sinh viên Thay đổi thời khóa biểu mà đồng ý sinh viên Quá nhiều yêu cầu thời gian sinh viên Hiểu sai yêu cầu môn học 59 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Thiếu chín chắn Khủng hoảng mặt cá nhân gia dình Vấn đề tài căng thẳng Khối lượng học tập nặng nề Sợ thất bại Công việc bán thời gian chi phối nhiều đến thời gian sinh viên Trang thiết bị thư viện trường thiếu trang thiết bị phục vụ học tập Giảng viên mong chờ cao không thực tế sinh viên hhhhhh XIN CHÂN THÀNH CÁM ƠN ffffff 60 Appendix 3: Questionnaire (English Version) Cantho University School of Social Sciences and Humanities Department of Foreign Languages Full name: Class: The investigation sheet on non – academic factors provoking difficulties in What non – academic difficulties facing you when first entering and studying at Cantho University? Please put one check (P) for each blank according to the following scales: : Strongly Disagree : Disagree : No Idea : Agree : Strongly Agree No Answer Questionnaire items 1 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Lack of self-discipline # Lack of self-motivation # Lack of persistence # Insufficient effort (e g study, exam prep) # Inefficient time management # Irregular attendance at lectures/tutorials # Poor study techniques # Inability to distinguish between important and unimportant information * Failure to understand the depth of understanding required at tertiary level # Inability to make use of higher order thinking skills * Laziness or apathy # Poor examination techniques # Too many extra concerns Lack of interest in the course content # Lack of provision of a bridge between theory and practice * Lack of insight into the field of study * Late submission of assignments # Inability to balance study and social commitments # Lack of self assessment * Lack of confidence # Lecturers/tutors who does not understand the students' needs # Inability to cope with stress # Lack of a clear career goal # 61 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Low input from lecturers in the motivation of students and minimization of anxiety * Changes made to schedules without the consent of all participants * Too many demands on students' time (work, travel, study, family) # Misinterpretation of course requirements # Lack of maturity # Personal or family crisis # Financial problems and stress # Heavy course workload # Fear of failure # Part-time jobs held by full-time students # Inadequate university library facilities # Lecturers/tutors with unrealistically high expectations of students # # Indicating a similar item was used in the Australian research of Killen (1994) * Indicating a similar item was used in the research study of Fraser & Killen (2003) eeee THANK YOU ffff 62 Appendix 4: Interview Questions for Freshmen Vietnamese version Bạn trải qua trình chuyển tiếp từ học phổ thông lên đại học nào? Khi đậu đại học, bạn mong chờ giáo dục này? Và sau khoảng thời gian học, thực tế có bạn hy vọng không? Việc học bạn tiến triển nào? Bạn có gặp khó khăn việc học không? Bạn thường gặp khó khăn học tập? Theo bạn, khó khăn xuất phát từ thân mình? Các yếu tố bên gây trở ngại đến việc học bạn? English version How did you experience the transition from high school to university? After passing the entrance examination to university, what did you expect in this mode of education? And after having studied for one semester, the realities match your expectations? How does your studying progress? Have you encountered any difficulties? In your studying process, what difficulties you usually face? In your opinion, what difficulties personally come up? What external factors hinder your studying? 63 Appendix 5: Interview Questions for Counselors No Mean (M) Items Vietnamese version Theo quan sát thầy (cô), tân sinh viên thường gặp khó khăn học tập bước vào trường đại học? Tình hình cải thiện sau học xong học kỳ đầu tiên? Thầy (cô) có đề xuất để giúp sinh viên nhanh chóng vượt qua khó khăn hòa nhập tốt vào môi trường đại học? English version When freshmen first entering university, what common difficulties facing their studying have you observed? How has the situation been improved after the 1st semester? What you recommend to help freshmen quickly overcome the difficulties and integrate to tertiary education? 64 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Lack of self-discipline Lack of self-motivation Lack of persistence Groups Itemsprep) Mean Insufficient effort (e g study, exam Individual 3.01 Inefficient time management Lack of self-discipline psychological Irregular attendance at lectures/tutorials Poor study techniques Inability to distinguish between important and unimportant information Failure to understand the depth of understanding required at tertiary level Inability to make use of higher order thinking skills Laziness or apathy Poor examination techniques Too many extra concerns Lack of interest in the course content Lack of provision of a bridge between theory and practice Lack of insight into the field of study Late submission of assignments Inability to balance study and social commitments Lack of self assessment Lack of confidence Lecturers/tutors who does not understand the students' needs Inability to cope with stress Lack of a clear career goal Low input from lecturers in the motivation of students and minimization of anxiety Changes made to schedules without the consent of all participants Too many demands on students' time (work, travel, study, family) Misinterpretation of course requirements Lack of maturity Personal or family crisis Financial problems and stress Heavy course workload Fear of failure Part-time jobs held by full-time students Inadequate university library facilities Lecturers/tutors with unrealistically high expectations of students 2.7 2.9 3.03 3.18 3.59 2.83 3.23 3.12 3.19 3.14 2.79 3.02 3.6 2.82 3.38 3.05 2.61 2.96 3.01 3.25 3.24 3.2 3.06 3.17 2.75 3.09 2.84 2.86 3.33 3.15 2.99 2.77 2.66 2.98 Appendix 6: Mean Score for Each Item Appendix 7: Mean Score for Groups of Non – Academic Factors 65 psychological factors Family – Related factors Career Planning Factors Lecturer – Related factors Other Factors Lack of self-motivation Lack of persistence Insufficient effort (e g study, exam prep) Inefficient time management Irregular attendance at lectures/tutorials Poor study techniques Inability to distinguish between important and unimportant information Failure to understand the depth of understanding required at tertiary level Inability to make use of higher order thinking skills Laziness or apathy Poor examination techniques Lack of interest in the course content Lack of insight into the field of study Late submission of assignments Inability to balance study and social commitments Lack of self assessment Lack of confidence Inability to cope with stress Lack of maturity Misinterpretation of course requirements Fear of failure Personal or family crisis Lack of a clear career goal 3.06 Low input from lecturers in the motivation of students and minimization of anxiety Lecturers/tutors who does not understand the students' needs Changes made to schedules without the consent of all participants Lecturers/tutors with unrealistically high expectations of students Too many extra concerns Lack of provision of a bridge between theory and practice 3.1 3.14 Too many demands on students' time 66 (work, travel, study, family) Financial problems and stress Heavy course workload Part-time jobs held by full-time students Inadequate university library facilities 67 Appendix 8: Covering Letter Xin chào bạn! Tôi tên Võ Thế Hiện, sinh viên năm thứ ngành Anh văn, khóa 33, Trường Đại học Cần Thơ Hiện làm luận văn tốt nghiệp với đề tài “Những yếu tố phi học thuật gây khó khăn học tập sinh viên năm Khoa Khoa Học Xã Hội Nhân Văn – Trường Đại học Cần Thơ” hướng dẫn Cô Trương Thị Ngọc Điệp, giảng viên Trường Đại học Cần Thơ Mọi thắc mắc xin vui lòng liên hệ: Cô Trương Thị Ngọc Điệp Khoa Khoa Học Xã Hội Nhân Văn – Trường Đại học Cần Thơ Email: ttndiep@ctu.edu.vn Để đề tài hoàn thành, mời ngẫu nhiên bạn sinh viên năm cố vấn học tập đến từ môn: Bộ môn Ngoại ngữ, Bộ môn Ngữ văn, Bộ môn Địa lí Du lịch Bộ môn Thông tin thư viện – Khoa Khoa Học Xã Hội Nhân Văn – Trường Đại học Cần Thơ- để vấn Cuộc vấn ghi âm trả phí Tất thông tin người tham gia vấn giữ bí mật tuyệt đối theo quy ước D E APA Nội dung vấn không sử dụng cho mục đích khác Nếu người tham gia vấn có nhu cầu nghe lại nội dung vấn sẳn sàng cung cấp cho bạn( Thầy, Cô) Tiếng Việt ngôn ngữ vấn Nếu bạn (Thầy, Cô) đồng ý, bắt đầu vấn, không đồng ý bạn (Thầy, Cô) thẳng thắn từ chối Cám ơn bạn (Thầy, Cô) đồng ý Vậy bắt đầu vấn 68 Appendix 9: Translation of the Covering Letter Hello! I’m Vo The Hien, English – majored senior, course 33, CTU I’m conducting a graduation thesis with the topic : “Non – Academic Difficulties in Studying Encountered By Freshmen of School of Social Sciences and Humanities – Cantho University” under the instruction of Ms Truong Thi Ngoc Diep, lecturer of CTU For detail, please contact my supervisor: Ms Truong Thi Ngoc Diep School of Social Sciences and Humanities Email: ttndiep@ctu.edu.vn To finish this thesis, freshmen and counselors of course 36 are randomly invited to participate in the interviews The interviewees come from departments of School of Social Sciences and Humanities, including: Department of Foreign Languages, Department of Vietnamese Linguistics and Literature, Department of Geography and Tourism, and Department of Information and Libraries This interview will be recorded and take place voluntarily According to principles D and E of APA, interviewees’ personal information will be kept confidentially, and the content of the interview will not be used for any other purposes If the interviewees would like to get the record, we will be willing to provide you The official language used in the interview is Vietnamese If you agree to participate in the interview, we will begin the interview If not, you can refuse frankly Thank you for your consent! So, let’s begin the interview 69 [...]... certain difficulties impeding their studying To get insights into non – academic factors facing freshmen studying is necessary for educators and Vietnamese freshmen in general and CTU freshmen in particular Freshmen s studying is vital to one student’s life time because academic achievement in their first year at colleges has a long – lasting impact on their attitudes towards studying in coming academic. .. Research Questions In order to investigate and identify non – academic factors as well as their influence on freshmen s studying, the current study is to answer the following questions: 1 What non – academic factors challenge freshmen of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities in their studying when first entering CTU? 2 To what extent have these factors influenced their studying? 3 What suggestions... essential for freshmen to find ways to cope with external non – academic factors 2.4 Some Features of Vietnamese Freshmen and Their Difficulties in Studying In Vietnam, there have been few studies found on freshmen s difficulties in studying Vietnamese freshmen in general and freshmen in CTU in particular have experienced many changes when transferring from high school to higher education In fact, the... finally included 5 Literature Review CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter reviews the previous works implemented on the topic freshmen, freshmen s studying and non – academic factors” It includes (1) an overview on freshmen, (2) non- academic factors, (3) the interrelationship between freshmen s studying and the non – academic difficulties encountered by freshmen, (4) some characteristics of Vietnamese... changes create certain difficulties in students’ studying (Nguyen, 2009) More insights into freshmen s studying are vital in aiding freshmen to recognize the influential factors in their studying in order that they can overcome these difficulties and gain good academic achievement, in particular in their first year in higher education Annually, Vietnamese 17 Literature Review colleges and universities... failures in higher education are due to personal, family, schools and lecturers factors Obviously, the findings of Schmelzer and his colleagues did not give sufficient factors contributing to freshmen s difficulties in studying 14 Literature Review Therefore, the findings of Fraser et al (2003) provided a deeper understanding about non – academic factors that impede students’ studying The findings of the... requirements in preparing examinations, freshmen often encounter difficulties in their studying Fraser et al (2003) also found self – motivation an internal strength forcing freshmen s studying Therefore, freshmen will encounter difficulties in their studying if they lack self – motivation Entwistle and Percy (1973, cited in Entwistle, Thompson, and Wilson, 1974) claimed that academic failures in higher... factors in freshmen s academic success were not thoroughly dependent on the entry standards Yet non – academic factors needed to be seriously considered In this way, Fraser et al (2003) also pointed out that non – academic factors could create certain difficulties and consequently diminish freshmen s chances of successful academic performance Non – academic factors could either facilitate or hinder freshmen s... number of freshmen whose studying plays a prominent role as a background for subsequent academic years According to the survey conducted by Nguyen (2009), freshmen s difficulties in studying come from non – academic factors such as new teaching methods, lack of interaction with lecturers in class hours, lack of group study skills, poor presentation preparation and insufficient resources for references In. .. be made to help freshmen cope with the challenges? 2.6 Hypotheses Based on the research questions and related literature, it was hypothesized that there would be many non – academic factors challenging freshmen s studying in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, CTU The researcher also hypothesized that non – academic factors have certain influential levels on freshmen s studying 21 Research