DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY NON – ENGLISH MAJORS IN LEARNING IELTS WRITING AT a UNIVERSITY IN HO CHI MINH CITY

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES _ Nguyễn Phú Đại DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY NON – ENGLISH MAJORS IN LEARNING IELTS WRITING AT A UNIVERSITY IN HO CHI MINH CITY MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE HO CHI MINH CITY , 2021 VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES _ Nguyễn Phú Đại DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY NON – ENGLISH MAJORS IN LEARNING IELTS WRITING AT A UNIVERSITY IN HO CHI MINH CITY Field: English Language Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Nguyễn Nhân Ái, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, 2021 DECLARATION BY AUTHOR I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the thesis entitled “Difficulties encountered by non – English majors in learning IELTS writing” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Language The thesis has not been applied for any other degree, in whole or in part, to any other universities or institutions Except where reference has been made in the text, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person The study reported in this thesis was approved by Graduate Academy of Social Sciences Author’s Signature Nguyễn Phú Đại Approved by SUPERVISOR Nguyễn Nhân Ái, Ph.D Date:…………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Although only one name appears as the author of this work, writing a thesis is indeed a collaborative effort I would like to express my sincere thanks to the many people who made it possible First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and deep appreciation to Ms Nguyễn Nhân Ái, Ph D, my supervisor, for her helpful and warm encouragement as well as her insightful comments on my work from the beginning to the end of the study Next, without the cooperation of the respondents (students at Ton Duc Thang University) who have been willing to take part in this research, this study would not have been able to be completed I am very grateful to all of them for providing detailed information for the analysis of the study In addition, I would like to thank all of the lecturers who gave me interesting lessons, dedication and advice during my study at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences I'd like to express my gratitude to my colleagues and friends, whose motivation and support have enabled me to complete this study Last but not least, I must express my gratitude to my family It is their endless love and expectations that have motivated me to complete this thesis I am immensely thankful for all the assistance they have given me ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION BY AUTHOR i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aim(s) of the Study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Significance of the Study 1.6 Research methods 1.7 Structure of study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The IELTS Test Battery and the Writing Sub-test 2.2 The Writing and Academic writing skill Defined 2.3 Writing strategy 13 2.3.1 Modelled writing 14 2.3.2 Think aloud writing 14 2.3.3 Guided writing 15 2.3.4 Independent writing 15 2.4 Writing and academic writing difficulties 15 2.5 Factors influencing non-English-major student’s writing skills 17 2.5.1 Problem with vocabulary 17 iii 2.5.2 Problem with grammar 18 2.5.3 Problem with spelling and punctuation 18 2.6 Factors influencing non- English major students’ writing skill 19 2.7 Error analysis of learners’ writing 24 2.8 Previous studies 27 2.9 Chapter summary 28 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 30 3.1 Overview of research methodology 30 3.1.1 Research design 30 3.1.2 Research question 30 3.2 Research Participants 30 3.3 Data Collection Instruments and Procedure 32 3.4 Chapter summary 35 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 37 4.1 Data Analysis from Questionnaires 37 4.1.1 Part one: Background information 37 4.1.2 Part two: Students’ writing proficiency and writing difficulties 38 4.1.3 Part three: Academic writing 46 4.1.4 Part four: Students’ difficulites in learning IELTS writing 51 4.2 Data Analysis from Interviews 57 4.3 Chapter summary 61 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 63 5.1 Recapitulation 63 5.2 Concluding remarks 64 5.3 Implications 65 5.4 Limitations and suggestions for further studies 66 REFERENCES 67 iv APPENDIX I APPENDIX VIII APPENDIX IX v ABSTRACT This study aims at investigating the difficulties of non-English majors in IELTS writing The participants in the study are 30 students selected in IELTS class of Ton Duc Thang University To achieve the research aims, a mixed methodology was employed, whereby data was collected through the Students’ Questionnaire, and semi-structured Interview The results obtained from the Students’ Questionnaire revealed that the majority of students encountered difficulties in vocabulary, grammar and academic style in writing To be specific in IELTS, they have problems in choosing information and interpreting information of the graph in task On the other hand, they also meet obstacle in types of task which are Problem - Solution and Cause – Effect In addition, those difficulties in IELTS writing task share the same issues in Coherence and cohension and time-pressure problems.Based on these findings, teachers are advised to take into account students’ writing problems, and the elaboration of more writing sessions are among the pedagogical implications Key words: IELTS writing, IELTS writing difficulties, academic writing vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS IELTS: International English Language Testing System TDTU: Ton Duc Thang University SMS: Short Message Service NSW: New South Wales vii LIST OF TABLES Table Band score of countries in Asia Table 2: Format of the IELTS Writing Sub-test 11 Table Students’ gender 37 Table Students’ English level 37 Table The level of writing proficiency 38 Table Following the writing instructions in other modules 42 Table Writing outside the classroom 42 Table The integration of reading in writing session 44 Table The importance of reading in improving writing 44 Table 10 The degree of reading 45 Table 11 The type of English students use when using internet or SMS 46 Table 12 Students’ justifications to the type of English they use 48 Table 13 Students’ justifications about the effect of internet and SMS on their English writing 51 Table 14 Common errors of Students in learning IELTS writing 51 Table 15 Students’ difficulties in learning IELTS writing task 52 Table 16 The most difficult types of IELTS writing task 53 Table 17 Students’ difficulties in learning IELTS writing task 54 Table 18 Students’ expectation to overcome difficulties in task 55 Table 19 Students’ expectation to overcome difficulties in task 57 viii overcome those difficulties?” S1: For me, I write every day, one essay per day, I believe I can improve my writing skills (S2=student 2, IELTS class A, female; I=interviewer) I: Hi, I am doing an interview for my thesis, I am so happy that you agree to join my interview So, the first question is “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S2: Actually, we all, I mean all of the students in my class, not have any difficulty in punctuation and spelling because we are taught seriously in the preparation course before enrolling in IELTS courses in this university Instead, we all face difficulties in academic aspects such as style and vocabulary Another problem that we face is time pressure It is really serious I: According to your difficulties, in your opinion, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S2: Reading is an important part affecting our writing as well, it helps us improve our vocabulary and structures, get a better understanding of how foreigners express their idea and the way they write I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S2: Practice, of course Practice helps us strengthen writing skills, vocabulary Besides, we can get used to academic style as well (S3=student 3, IELTS class A, female; I=interviewer) I: Thanks so much for taking part in the interview for my MA Thesis Your information will be valuable for my research The first question is “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” X S3: It is very difficult for us to use academic words and style in writing because we not often write in that style And I think other students in my class as well I: During your learning process along with your difficulties which you mentioned, “Which factors affect your writing?” S3: For me, I am affected by many factors such as reading material, people whom I talk to, etc I usually read article of British people, therefore, their writing affects me a lots, for example, the spelling of some words of British is different from America And chat through messages as well We try to use as few words as we can due to the word limit of message I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S3: I think if we write everyday, we can improve writing band score (S4=student 4, IELTS class A, female; I=interviewer) I: Let’s begin with the first question “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S1: Doing task 1, it is really difficult to choose which information we should write to the essay and some graph or diagram, we could not interpret the information of the graph although we understand it After that, I could not remember sentence structures which are used in the task Therefore, it leads to another problem which is time pressure I: Do you think which factors affect your writing during your learning process? S4: Absolutely reading because it is the best way to help us improve knowledge to write task and enlarge vocab as well as structure I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you XI overcome those difficulties?” S4: I use modelled writing to overcome When we use modeled writing strategy, It is easy for us to choose appropriate words and imitate texts (S5=student 5, IELTS class A, female; I=interviewer) I: Let’s begin with the first question “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S5: We think vocabulary is the most difficult for us because it is quite difficult to use higher vocabulary to get a higher mark Specifically, in task 2, we have to learn many kind of essays and we have to learn lots of academic words which causes us many problems during learning process And time-limit is also a problem that we are hard to overcome I: During your learning process, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S5: I think Facebook I use FB everyday to chat with my friend and my teacher Depend on person whom I talk to, I will use an appropriate style with them I think it has both negative and positive because when chatting with my friend, I use short words, no grammar, no structure in writing By contrast, with my teacher, I have to use formal style I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S5: I try to practice using formal English in writing, chatting I try to use academic words as well (S6=student 6, IELTS class A, male; I=interviewer) I: Thank you very much for taking the time to participate in my MA thesis interview Your data will be really useful in my research The initial question is “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” XII S6: Absolutely is academic style and vocabulary Academic style in task and vocabulary in both tasks You know, in high school, we don't practise writing much, we just focus on grammar but not style I: During your learning process, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S6: During learning writing process, I think the most effective factor to my writing is reading We can learn new words, new structures, and information from the article or passages in reading I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S6: I read and write every day in my free time I try to practice creating writing habits that I need to use in IELTS writing and learning IELTS as well (S7=student 7, IELTS class A, male; I=interviewer) I: Hi, I am doing an interview for my thesis, I am so happy that you agree to join to my interview So, the first question is “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S7: We can not use one word or structure many times in IELTS writing, we have to paraphrase words and structures to express the same idea in tasks That is also a problem Last but not least, it is time-pressure, I sometimes write task over time due to choosing information in the graph I: During your learning process along with your difficulties which you mentioned, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S7: Reading has a significant impact on our writing since it helps us develop our vocabulary and structures, as well as gain a better knowledge of how foreigners express themselves and write I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you XIII overcome those difficulties?” S7: I read newspapers, highlight new words and structures which I don’t know After that, I try to apply them to my writing I write one essay per day to practice it and submit it to my teacher to correct them (S8=student 8, IELTS class A, male; I=interviewer) I: Let’s begin with the first question “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S8: We believe that vocabulary is the most challenging problem for us since it is tough to employ a larger vocabulary to achieve a higher grade In particular, in task 2, we must master a variety of essays as well as a large number of academic terms, which presents a number of challenges throughout the learning process I: During your learning process, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S8: Strategies, material, learning method are factors that influence my reading, I think so writing and reading are linked, reading also can help us master writing as well as support us gain knowledge, information during reading process I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S8: My teacher advise me to write every day to improve writing skill Therefore I try to write everyday, I learn one structure per day and try to use it in my writing (S9=student 9, IELTS class A, male; I=interviewer) I: Thank you very much for taking the time to participate in my MA thesis interview Your data will be really useful in my research The initial XIV question is “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S9: Our limitation is vocabulary We can only use general or basic vocabulary to write We limit in word use due to the lack of reading and learning new vocab Besides, I don’t have any problem with punctuation and spelling I: During your learning process, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S9: Vocabulary, of course I can not use a wide range of vocabulary I meet many difficulties in learning writing and writing as well Sometimes, I can not understand the question of the writing topic, so it leads me to misunderstand the topic Reading as well, many of us are affected by information, words and structures from the reading document I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S9: I learn vocabulary, structures everyday from documents and read other writing samples and see how they express their ideas and I try to follow their strategy (S10=student 10, IELTS class A, male; I=interviewer) I: Let’s begin with the first question “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S10: Time pressure is a big problem in doing task 2, we just have 40 minutes to complete it, but we have to deal with many things such as choosing vocabulary, structures, organising writing ideas, content, coherence and cohesion as well In IELTS writing, we are not permitted to use the same word or structure multiple times; instead, we must paraphrase phrases and structures in tasks if we want to achieve a good score That is a problem to which we will have to devote a significant amount of time XV I: During your learning process along with your difficulties which you mentioned, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S10: I chat with my friends through social media networks everyday, we always use reduced forms of words which I think we can not use for IELTS writing or any academic style Because when we often use informal language in chatting we are so affected by it and when writing an academic work we sometimes use that language, but we realize that it is not correct so we have to correct it In addition, I think reading material affects our writing also I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S10: I believe if we practice writing often, we can strengthen writing band score, also we can get used to with new vocab and new structures that we learn from reading section (S11=student 11, IELTS class B, female; I=interviewer) I: Hi, I am doing an interview for my thesis, I am so happy that you agree to join to my interview So, the first question is “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S11: Our only constraint is a lack of words To write, we can only utilize generic or basic terminology Due to a lack of reading and learning new vocabulary, we restrict our word usage In both tasks, as you know, we have to use a wide range of vocab if we want to get high score It is quite hard for me to remember many academic words which is we don't use much in our life Besides, time is also a problem of us We have to use more time than its limitation I: During your learning process, “Which factors affect to your writing?” XVI S11: I believe that reading English articles and megazines is beneficial to our writing Because it is an excellent approach to expand your vocabulary and learn how to write in a structured manner I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S11: To strengthen my writing skills, my teacher advised me to write every day As a result, I strive to write every day, learning one new structure each day and attempting to apply it to my writing (S12=student 12, IELTS class B, female; I=interviewer) I: Let’s begin with the first question “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S12: In IELTS writing, we cannot use the same word or structure several times; instead, we must rephrase words and structures to communicate the same concept in assignments This is an issue as well Last but not least, there's the issue of time constraints; I occasionally go over time on task since I take so much time to pick information from the graph I: During your learning process, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S12: I usually talk with my friends on social media, and we always employ reduction forms of words, which I believe are inappropriate for IELTS writing or any academic style I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S12: We can improve our writing abilities and vocabulary by practicing Furthermore, we can get used to academic style XVII (S13=student 13, IELTS class B, male; I=interviewer) I: Thank you very much for taking the time to participate in my MA thesis interview Your data will be really useful in my research The initial question is “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S13: I can divide my essay into three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion; but, stating the main point and supporting point in each paragraph is a concern of mine, causing them to be disorganized And the most difficult during learning and writing is style academically In addition, I can not use various structures due to lacking of practise I: During your learning process along with your difficulties which you mentioned, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S13: uhhhh… Personally, reading English material is affect our writing, it helps us improve our language such as approach the way foreigners write, vocab they use, etc Besides, we also use social media a lot, it is also harmful to our writing because people not use much grammar correctly, and they usually use slang I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S13: I applied writing strategy I learn in class and practice it It is simple for us to find acceptable phrases and reproduce texts when I utilize the modeled writing strategy.” (S14=student 14, IELTS class B, male; I=interviewer) I: Hi, I am doing an interview for my thesis, I am so happy that you agree to join to my interview So, the first question is “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” XVIII S14: I find it difficult to arrange ideas or words like the way the teacher does Honestly speaking, I am very bad at imagination I only learn to remember words or ideas just by repeatedly write them down many times I: According to the difficulties you encounter during learning process, in your opinion, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S14: Reading helps us strengthen our vocabulary and structures, as well as obtain a better understanding of how foreigners express themselves and write, which has a huge impact on our writing I: Thanks so much for your sharing With the difficulties and affecting factors you mention, How you overcome those difficulties? S14: Of course, practice is essential Practice allows us to improve our writing skills and vocabulary Furthermore, we can become accustomed to academic style (S15=student 15, IELTS class B, female; I=interviewer) I: Thank you very much for taking the time to interview me for my MA thesis Your information will be really helpful to me in my research The first question is “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S15: We write the main idea in the paragraph but not how to write a supporting sentence for it or we could not distinguish main idea and supporting idea in the paragraph They are similar I: During your learning process, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S15: We spend a lot of time saying things that are not important at all as our daily problems then I think that internet and chatting affect our English writing most I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you XIX overcome those difficulties?” S15: I practice writing academic style more often from the basic first I write paragraphs first, apply style, words, structures academically (S16=student 16, IELTS class B, male; I=interviewer) I: Thank you very much for taking the time to participate in my MA thesis interview Your data will be really useful in my research The initial question is “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S16: Actually, none of us, that is, all of the students in my class, have any problems with punctuation or spelling because we were taught well in the preparatory course before enrolling in IELTS classes at this institution Instead, we all struggle with academic issues such as style and terminology I: During your learning process along with your difficulties which you mentioned, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S16: I think Internet is the first factor When surfing on the internet I use informal one because it is between friends, when I am in the classroom, I use formal English The second is the materials that we read We gain information, words, structures which could support us in writing I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S16: I just practice writing and ask my teacher to correct it and give me advice in particular structures whether it is appropriate or not (S17=student 17, IELTS class B, female; I=interviewer) I: Hi, I am doing an interview for my thesis, I am so happy that you agree XX to join to my interview So, the first question is “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S17: Task has a lot of time constraints; we only have 40 minutes to it, but we have to deal with a lot of things including vocabulary, structures, organizing writing ideas, substance, coherence, and cohesion The part that takes the most time in choosing the information in the chart of task 1, sometimes I don't know which information that I have to choose to write and supporting idea in task 2, I usually spend more time than allotted time for these parts I: During your learning process along with your difficulties which you mentioned, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S17: Reading helps us strengthen our vocabulary and structures, as well as obtain a better understanding of how foreigners express themselves and write, which has a huge impact on our writing I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S17: I learn vocabulary in the textbook and use it in writing essay and apply in the structure teacher taught me in classs (S18=student 18, IELTS class B, male; I=interviewer) I: Thank you very much for taking the time to participate in my MA thesis interview Your data will be really useful in my research The initial question is “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S18: I am sure it is vocabulary Basically, I could recognise parts of an essay including opening, body and concusion, but how to state the main idea and supporting idea in paragraph is my concern leading them to disorganise I cannot use the same word or structure more than once in XXI IELTS writing; instead, I must rephrase words and structures to convey the same notion in assignments Besides, Using to much time for every single task makes us feel pressure as well Sometimes, I concentrate on task for more than 20 minutes which leads to the lack of time in doing task I: During your learning process, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S18: Reading English content has an impact on our writing; it helps us enhance our language skills, such as how foreigners write, the vocabulary they use, and so on Furthermore, because we use social media extensively, it has a negative impact on our writing because people not use proper grammar and frequently use slang I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S18: Personally, I think if we practice writing frequently, we will improve our writing band score and become more accustomed to the new vocabulary and structures that we learn in the reading portion (S19=student 19, IELTS class B, male; I=interviewer) I: Let’s begin with the first question “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S19: It's tough for me to organize my thoughts or words in the same manner that the teacher does To be honest, I'm not very good at imagining things I only learn to remember words or thoughts by writing them down several times We are not allowed to use same word or structure many times in IELTS writing, we have to paraphrase words and structures in tasks if we want to get high score That is a problem that we have to spend lots of time overcoming And we just have 20 minutes for task XXII and 40 minutes for task 2, I have to deal with many things such as choosing vocabulary, structures, coherence, and cohesion as well It is really a problem I: During your learning process, “Which factors affect to your writing?” S19: We often use informal language in chatting, we are so affected by it and when writing an academic work we sometimes use that language, but we realize that it is not correct so we have to correct it Furthermore, we are lack of reading, so we not have enough vocabulary, I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S19: Every day, I learn language and structures from papers, and I study different writing samples to understand how other people convey their views, and I strive to emulate their method (S20=student 20, IELTS class B, female; I=interviewer) I: Thank you very much for taking the time to participate in my MA thesis interview Your data will be really useful in my research The initial question is “What difficulties you face in learning IELTS writing?” S20: Because we don't write in the academic style very often, it's tough for us to employ academic words and styles in our writing And I believe that my classmates in my class feel the same way Also, we are having difficulty overcoming the problem of time limits The time limit in each task is a barrier that we have to practice to overcome I: During your learning process along with your difficulties which you mentioned, “Which factors affect to your writing?” XXIII S20: When I chat on social media with my friends, we always use reduction forms of words, which I believe are unacceptable for IELTS writing or any academic style I: Thanks so much for your sharing The last question is “How you overcome those difficulties?” S20: We can improve our writing abilities and vocabulary by practicing We can also acquire used to academic style XXIV ...VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES _ Nguyễn Phú Đại DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY NON – ENGLISH MAJORS IN LEARNING IELTS WRITING AT A UNIVERSITY IN HO CHI MINH. .. Task carries more weight in marking than Task Writing responses are assessed by certificated IELTS examiners All IELTS examiners hold relevant teaching qualifications and are recruited as examiners... that function as a stimulator for writing Think aloud is defined by The NSW Department of Education and Training (2007) as a method in which students are saying aloud what they are thinking about