Efl undergraduate students’ perceptions of paraphrasing in academic writing = nhận thức của sinh viên tiếng anh bậc đại học về kỹ thuật diễn giải trong viết học thuật

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER EFL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PARAPHRASING IN ACADEMIC WRITING Supervisor: Nguyễn Thu Hiền, Ph.D Student: Nguyễn Thị Thanh Tâm Course: QH2017.F1.E1.SPCLC HÀ NỘI – 2021 ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP NHẬN THỨC CỦA SINH VIÊN TIẾNG ANH BẬC ĐẠI HỌC VỀ KỸ THUẬT DIỄN GIẢI TRONG VIẾT HỌC THUẬT Giáo viên hướng dẫn: TS Nguyễn Thu Hiền Sinh viên: Nguyễn Thị Thanh Tâm Khóa: QH2017.F1.E1.SPCLC HÀ NỘI – 2021 ACCEPTANCE I hereby state that I: Nguyễn Thị Thanh Tâm, class QH2017.F1.E1.SPCLC, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper Signature Nguyễn Thị Thanh Tâm Hanoi, May 4th, 2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my supervisor, Mrs Nguyen Thu Hien for her invaluable guidance and support throughout the process Her advice and feedback had a profound impact on my way of conducting the study and writing the paper Without her, the thesis would hardly have been completed In addition, I am grateful to students of University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS) for their cooperation More specifically, I wish to thank 25 interviewees from the Faculty of English Language Teacher Education (FELTE) Their active participation in the interview greatly assisted the data collection process and was instrumental in the success of the study Last but not least, I gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments and suggestions from my classmates, the members of class 17E1 Besides, the completion of my thesis would not have been possible without the continuous encouragement from my parents who always have profound belief in my abilities i ABSTRACT Paraphrasing is one of the skills that academic writers, especially EFL ones struggle most In order to enhance the paraphrasing skill of students, apart from equipping them with a host of strategies, it is vital to examine their perceptions of the matter first Nonetheless, this has not been the subject of many studies To address this gap, the research utilized semi-structured interviews, whose data indicate that the L2 university participants have fair knowledge of what paraphrasing refers to and what acceptable paraphrases entail However, they have yet to develop full awareness of its purposes and some of them still made mistakes when asked to identify appropriate paraphrasing versions Regarding the paraphrasing difficulties, limited lexical repertoire is the major one Based on the findings, several pedagogical implications are provided for teachers in the process of introducing the concept and designing tasks for practice ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Abstract ii List of abbreviations v CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study 1.2 Aims and objectives 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Organization of the study CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The concept of paraphrasing 2.1.1 Definition of paraphrasing 2.1.2 The role of paraphrasing in academic writing 2.1.2.1 Purposes of paraphrasing 2.1.2.2 The importance of paraphrasing 2.2 Appropriate and inappropriate paraphrasing 2.2.1 A topic of controversies 2.2.2 Classification of paraphrasing 2.3 Past research on paraphrasing in academic writing 11 2.3.1 Students’ perceptions of paraphrasing in academic writing 11 2.3.1.1 Students’ conceptualization of paraphrasing 12 2.3.1.2 Students’ recognition of appropriate paraphrasing 14 2.3.1.3 Students’ perceived difficulties in paraphrasing 15 2.3.2 Summary 17 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 19 3.1 Setting of the study 19 3.2 Target population 19 3.3 Research design 20 3.4 Sampling method 20 3.5 Data collection instrument 20 3.6 Procedure of data collection 23 iii 3.7 Data analysis method 24 3.8 Ethical considerations 24 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 25 4.1 Students’ conceptualization of paraphrasing 25 4.1.1 Students’ understanding of the concept 25 4.1.2 Students’ perceptions of the purposes of paraphrasing 27 4.2 Students’ recognition of appropriate paraphrasing 29 4.3 Students’ perceived difficulties in paraphrasing 31 4.4 Summary 33 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION 34 5.1 Summary of findings 34 5.2 Pedagogical implications 34 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further research 36 5.4 Concluding remarks 37 REFERENCES 38 APPENDICES 51 APPENDIX A 51 APPENDIX B 53 APPENDIX C 57 APPENDIX D 61 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL English as a Foreign Language ESL English as a Second Language L1 First Language L2 Second Language PKS Plagiarism Knowledge Survey v CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION The first chapter presents an overview of the research, which consists of six main parts (1) statement of the problem and rationale for the study, (2) aims and objectives, (3) method of the study, (4) significance of the study, (5) scope of the study and (6) organization of the study 1.1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study Making use of source texts has become an indispensable part of tertiary education (Carson, 2001) To illustrate, students have to compile information from related sources for such writing assignments as evaluative essays, reports, article summaries and critiques, and research papers (Keck, 2006) As a result, the process of writing from sources, or more specifically, of “reading source text material and transferring content from that reading to writing” (Hirvela & Du, 2013, p.1) plays a key role in academic success Given the ultimate importance of this “new literacy” (Wette, 2017, para 1), it has been a central issue in academic writing instruction over the past decade (Carson, 2001; Choi, 2009; Keck, 2006) Looking into the combination of reading and writing in academic contexts, Barks and Watts (2001) have proposed the term ‘‘triadic model’’ which includes ‘‘paraphrase, summary, and quotation’’ (p 252) According to this model, paraphrasing, apart from summarizing and quoting, is a core skill for incorporating source texts into writing that students need to develop, which has been acknowledged by several researchers (Barks & Watts, 2001; Loranc-Paszylk, 2019; Shi, 2001) The significance of paraphrasing also lies in the fact that it acts as one of the commonly used plagiarism avoidance strategies in academic writing (Keck, 2006; Shi, 2004) As noted by Campbell (1990), the inability to paraphrase well may lead to illegitimate use of sources Nonetheless, paraphrasing is, at the same time, “a complicated device for the treatment of source text material” (Hirvela & Du, 2013, p.1) It is demanding in that students have to make use of both cognitive and metacognitive strategies (Khrismawan & Widiati, 2013), not only comprehending the materials and selecting the suitable information for their writing but also knowing how to effectively integrate that information into their own texts for the sake of the writing purpose (Hirvela, 2004) This is a universal challenge (Howard, Serviss, & Rodrigue, 2010; Keck, 2014; Shi, 2004), particularly for second language (L2) writers who “move between dual (if not multiple) languages, cultures, and rhetorical systems” (Hirvela & Du, 2013, p.2) Both studies and classroom observation have indicated that L2 writers struggle with this activity (Hirvela & Du, 2013) and often commit either intentional or unintentional plagiarism when using source texts (Pecorari, 2003, 2008) One of the main reasons is their limited understanding of paraphrasing, as confirmed by various studies such as those of Hirvela and Du (2013) and Khairunnisa, Sutapa and Surmiyati (2014) Paraphrasing instruction, therefore, is not simply a matter of helping students master a set of paraphrasing strategies To maximize instructional effectiveness, it is essential to investigate into how students perceive the concept first as a way to help them build the solid foundation for later paraphrasing practice (Hirvela & Du, 2013) Nonetheless, this research area has not been fruitful with few studies exclusively digging into students’ perceptions (Hirvela & Du, 2013) In light of these facts, the researcher feels the urge to conduct a study entitled “EFL undergraduate students’ perceptions of paraphrasing in academic writing” 1.2 Aims and objectives The researcher’s aim is to gain additional insights into students’ understanding of paraphrasing within the paradigm of academic writing To be more specific, their conceptualization of paraphrasing, appropriate paraphrasing as well as their perceived difficulties was examined In other words, the study sets to find the answer to the question: What are students’ perceptions of paraphrasing in academic writing? The three following sub-questions help to address the overall question: Rogerson, A M., & McCarthy, G (2017) Using Internet based paraphrasing tools: Original work, patch-writing or facilitated plagiarism? International Journal for Educational Integrity, 13(1), Roig, M (1997) Can undergraduate students determine whether text has been plagiarized? The Psychological Record, 47, 113-122 Roig, M (1999) When college students' attempts at paraphrasing become instances of potential plagiarism Psychological Reports, 84(3), 973-982 Roig, M (2001) Plagiarism and paraphrasing criteria of college and university professors Ethics & Behavior, 11(3), 307-323 Ryan, F., Coughlan, M., & Cronin, P (2009) Interviewing in qualitative research: The one-to-one interview International Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation, 16(6), 309-314 Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M (1987) An attainable version of high literacy: Approaches to teaching higher-order skills in reading and writing Curriculum inquiry, 17(1), 9-30 Sedhu, D., Lee, M., & Choy, S (2013) The influence of teaching strategies on students’ paraphrasing strategies: A case study International Journal of Independent Research and Studies, 2(3), 130-137 Setiawati, A (2011) The Effectiveness of Paraphrasing to Improve Students’ Reading Comprehension Skills of Hortatory Exposition Text (a PreExperimental Study at Grade XI of SMA Negeri Kutowinangun in the Academic Year of 2010/2011) (Doctoral dissertation, Universitas Negeri Semarang) Shanmugaraj, N., Wolfe, J., & Wodzak, S (2020, March) Rhetorically-grounded Paraphrasing Instruction: Knowledge Telling versus Transforming In Composition Forum (Vol 43) 47 Sherrard, C (1986) Summary writing: A topographical study Written Communication, 3, 324–343 Shi, L (2004) Textual borrowing in second-language writing Written Communication, 21, 171-200 Shi, L (2012) Rewriting and paraphrasing source texts in second language writing Journal of Second Language Writing, 21(2), 134-148 Shi, L., Fazel, I., & Kowkabi, N (2018) Paraphrasing to transform knowledge in advanced graduate student writing English for Specific Purposes, 51, 31– 44 doi:10.1016/j.esp.2018.03.001 Stefani, L., & Carroll, J (2001) A briefing on plagiarism New York: Learning and Teaching Support Network Generic Centre Stevens, E A., Park, S., & Vaughn, S (2019) A review of summarizing and main idea interventions for struggling readers in grades through 12: 1978– 2016 Remedial and Special Education, 40(3), 131-149 Stevens, E A., Vaughn, S., House, L., & Stillman-Spisak, S (2020) The effects of a paraphrasing and text structure intervention on the main idea generation and reading comprehension of students with reading disabilities in grades and Scientific Studies of Reading, 24(5), 365-379 Sun, Y C (2009) Using a two-tier test in examining Taiwan graduate students’ perspectives on paraphrasing strategies Asia Pacific Education Review, 10(3), 399-408 Sun, Y C (2012) Does text readability matter? A study of paraphrasing and plagiarism in English as a foreign language writing context Asia-Pacific Education Researcher (De La Salle University Manila), 21(2) 48 Sutherland-Smith, W (2005) Pandora’s box: Academic perceptions of student plagiarism in writing Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 4(1), 8395 doi: 10.1016/j.jeap.2004.07.007 Tabor, E L (2013) Is cheating always intentional? The perception of college students toward the issues of plagiarism (Doctoral dissertation, Capella University) Trupe, A L (2005) Understanding Verbs in Writing Assignments Bridgewater College Writing Center nd, http://www bridgewater edu/WritingCenter/manual/verbs htm Thadphoothon, J (2019) EFL Students’ Perceptions of Paraphrasing Skills and their Paraphrasing Challenges The 4th International Conference on Innovative Education and Technology (ICIET2019), (July) Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334319165_Students’_Perception s_of_Paraphrasing_Skills_and_Challenges Uemlianin, I A (2000) Engaging text: assessing paraphrase and understanding Studies in Higher Education, 25, 347–358 Vaismoradi, M., Turunen, H., & Bondas, T (2013) Content analysis and thematic analysis: Implications for conducting a qualitative descriptive study Nursing & health sciences, 15(3), 398-405 Walker, A L (2008) Preventing unintentional plagiarism: A method for strengthening paraphrasing skills Journal of Instructional Psychology, 35(4) Wati, H (2018) The Difficulties of Paraphrasing in Academic Writing for the Seventh Semester of English Department at UIN Antasari Banjarmasin Academic Year 2017/2018 Wette, R (2010) Evaluating student learning in a university-level EAP unit on writing using sources Journal of Second Language Writing, 19, 158-1 77 49 Wette, R (2017) Source text use by undergraduate post-novice L2 writers in disciplinary assignments: Progress and ongoing challenges Journal of Second Language Writing, 37, 46–58 doi:10.1016/j.jslw.2017.05.015 Winograd, P (1984) Strategic difficulties in summarizing texts Reading Research Quarterly, 19, 404–425 Wolfersberger, M (2013) Refining the construct of classroom-based writing-fromreadings assessment: The role of task representation Language Assessment Quarterly, 10(1), 49-72 Yamada, K (2003) What prevents ESL/EFL writers from avoiding plagiarism?: Analyses of 10 North-American college websites System, 31(2), 247-258 Zenhausern, R (1978) Imagery, cerebral dominance, and style of thinking: A unified field model Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 12(5), 381-384 50 APPENDICES APPENDIX A THE TAXONOMY OF PARAPHRASE TYPES Paraphrase Lexical type criteria Linguistic characteristics Examples Original Excerpt: Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to Near Copy 50% or more - Copied strings of or Nowadays, words behavior contained within unique links more words - Simplification through synonym substitution and children’s more like adults than they used to deletion Minimal 20–49% - Copied strings of 3-4 Children Revision words words more and more like contained within - Multiple synonym are acting adults every day substitutions unique links Moderate 1–19% - Borrowing of 1–2 word Modern children seem Revision words phrases to be behaving, through contained dress and speech, like 51 within - Combination of adults at an alarmingly unique links synonym substitution and young age the revision of clause structures (e.g., ing to clause) Substantial No Revision links unique - Borrowing of individual words It seems like the things that children and - Revision of clause even the clothes that they wear are more structures adult-like - Use of synonymous than ever before constructions, often in the form of complex noun phrases Note: Unique links, or word strings that could be traced to only one place in the original text, are bolded and underlined Words shared by both the Paraphrase and the original excerpt, but which occurred multiple times in the source text, are underlined (Keck, 2014, p 9) 52 APPENDIX B PARAPHRASE TYPES IN PLAGIARISM KNOWLEDGE SURVEY (PKS) Original excerpt: "Since subjective and objective tests of imagery ability have not resulted in predicted performance differences, the only way to determine if a person thinks visually or nonvisually is to ask that question directly One important finding is that many nonvisual thinkers have rather vivid imagery, but they can state with confidence that they not think in pictures" (Zenhausern, 1978, p 382) No Paraphrase Paraphrase Justifications type One important finding is that Inappropriate - Over 50% of words many paraphrasing contained within (Near copy) unique links nonvisual thinkers have rather vivid imagery, but they can state with - Copied strings of confidence that they not more than words think in pictures Since subjective and objective tests of imagery ability have not resulted in predicted performance differences, the only way to determine if a person thinks visually or nonvisually is to ask that question directly 53 Given that objective and Inappropriate - Over 50% of words subjective tests of imagery paraphrasing contained within have not resulted in predicted (Near copy) unique links differences in performance, - Copied strings of the only way to determine if a more than words person thinks visually or - Copied string of 3-4 nonvisually is to ask that words question - Simplification directly A significant finding is that some through synonym nonvisual thinkers have vivid substitution imagery, but they can say with a lot of confidence that they not think in pictures Subjective and objective tests Inappropriate - Over 50% of words of imagery ability have not paraphrasing contained within resulted (Near copy) unique links in predicted differences in performance and - Copied strings of therefore the only way to more than words determine if a person thinks visually or nonvisually is to ask that question directly One important finding is that many nonvisual thinkers who state with confidence that they not think in pictures have rather vivid imagery 54 According to one researcher, Inappropriate - Over 50% of words objective and subjective tests paraphrasing contained within of (Near copy) unique links imagery ability have yielded inconsistent results and - Copied strings of therefore the only way to more than words determine if a person thinks visually or nonvisually is to ask that question directly One important finding is that many nonvisual thinkers who state with confidence that they not think in pictures have rather vivid imagery According to one researcher, Appropriate - Under 20% of the paraphrasing words contained designed to measure imagery (Moderate within unique links have revision) - Borrowing of 1–2 types of yielded instruments inconsistent results He suggests that the word phrases only technique that will tell us - Combination of whether someone engages in synonym visual thinking or not is to ask substitution, word the person directly However, insertion, deletion he and the revision of also notes that some individuals who admit that they clause structures not think in pictures are reported to have vivid imagery 55 Various types of instruments Appropriate - Under 20% of designed to measure imagery paraphrasing words contained have (Moderate within unique links revision) - Borrowing of 1–2 yielded inconsistent results One researcher in this field suggests that the only word phrases technique that will tell us - Combination of whether synonym someone thinks visually or not is to ask the substitution, word person directly However, this insertion, deletion author also notes that some and the revision of individuals who admit that they clause structures not think in pictures are reported to have vivid imagery Note: Unique links, or word strings that could be traced to only one place in the original text, are bolded and underlined Words shared by both the Paraphrase and the original excerpt, but which occurred multiple times in the source text, are underlined 56 APPPENDIX C INTERVIEW GUIDELINES Section 1: What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘paraphrasing’? When did you first learn about paraphrasing (read about, being taught, or hear about it)? What can you remember about that experience? At your university, have you received instructions about paraphrasing? - If yes, when, what and how were you taught about paraphrasing? - Do you think the teaching of paraphrasing at the university is effective for you? In your opinion, what does paraphrasing refer to? In your opinion, what are the purposes of paraphrasing? Are you writing the thesis paper? - If yes, can you explain how the paraphrased texts support or relate to the thesis paper you are writing? Think back on your paraphrasing experience Have you had any difficulties in paraphrasing? - If yes, what were the difficulties? - What you think were the possible causes for these difficulties? - How did you deal with them? Have you ever wondered about how to appropriately paraphrase a text? - If yes, can you describe what you wonder about? Section 2: In this section, there is an original paragraph taken from a research article and six of its paraphrased versions Assume that all the citations in these versions are correct After examining each version, please tell me whether it is an appropriate paraphrase or not and explain why No Original text Paraphrase 57 "Since subjective and objective One important finding is that tests of imagery ability have not many nonvisual thinkers have resulted in predicted performance rather vivid imagery, but they can differences, the only way to state with confidence that they determine if a person thinks not think in pictures Since visually or nonvisually is to ask subjective and objective tests of that question directly imagery ability have not resulted One important finding is that many in predicted performance nonvisual thinkers have rather differences, the only way to vivid imagery, but they can state determine if a person thinks with confidence that they not visually or nonvisually is to ask think in pictures" (Zenhausern, that question directly 1978, p 382) "Since subjective and objective Given tests of imagery ability have not subjective tests of imagery have resulted in predicted performance not differences, the only way to differences in performance, the determine if a person thinks only way to determine if a person visually or nonvisually is to ask thinks visually or nonvisually is to that question directly ask that question directly One that resulted objective in and predicted A important finding is that many significant finding is that some nonvisual thinkers have rather nonvisual thinkers have vivid vivid imagery, but they can state imagery, but they can say with a with confidence that they not lot of confidence that they not think in pictures" (Zenhausern, think in pictures 1978, p 382) "Since subjective and objective Subjective and objective tests of tests of imagery ability have not imagery ability have not resulted 58 resulted in predicted performance in predicted differences in differences, the only way to performance and therefore the determine if a person thinks only way to determine if a person visually or nonvisually is to ask thinks visually or nonvisually is to that question directly One ask that question directly One important finding is that many important finding is that many nonvisual thinkers have rather nonvisual thinkers who state with vivid imagery, but they can state confidence that they not think with confidence that they not in pictures have rather vivid think in pictures" (Zenhausern, imagery 1978, p 382) "Since subjective and objective According to one researcher, tests of imagery ability have not objective and subjective tests of resulted in predicted performance imagery ability have differences, the only way to inconsistent results and therefore determine if a person thinks the only way to determine if a visually or nonvisually is to ask person that question directly One nonvisually is to ask that question important finding is that many directly One important finding is nonvisual thinkers have rather that many nonvisual thinkers who vivid imagery, but they can state state with confidence that they with confidence that they not not think in pictures have rather think in pictures" (Zenhausern, vivid imagery thinks yielded visually or 1978, p 382) "Since subjective and objective According to one researcher, the tests of imagery ability have not types of instruments designed to resulted in predicted performance measure imagery have yielded differences, the only way to inconsistent results He suggests 59 determine if a person thinks that the only technique that will visually or nonvisually is to ask tell us whether someone engages that question directly One in visual thinking or not is to ask important finding is that many the person directly However, he nonvisual thinkers have rather also notes that some individuals vivid imagery, but they can state who admit that they not think with confidence that they not in pictures are reported to have think in pictures" (Zenhausern, vivid imagery 1978, p 382) "Since subjective and objective Various types of instruments tests of imagery ability have not designed to measure imagery have resulted in predicted performance yielded inconsistent results One differences, the only way to researcher in this field suggests determine if a person thinks that the only technique that will visually or nonvisually is to ask tell us whether someone thinks that question directly visually or not is to ask the person One important finding is that many directly However, this author nonvisual thinkers have rather also notes that some individuals vivid imagery, but they can state who admit that they not think with confidence that they not in pictures are reported to have think in pictures" (Zenhausern, vivid imagery 1978, p 382) Do you have any other thoughts about paraphrasing that we haven’t discussed in this interview that you want to share? 60 APPENDIX D CONSENT FORM CONSENT FORM FOR PARTICIPATING IN INTERVIEW ABOUT EFL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT’S PERCEPTIONS OF PARAPHRASING IN ACADEMIC WRITING I, , have carefully been informed about the purpose and nature of the study “EFL undergraduate students’ perceptions of paraphrasing in academic writing” I understand that the information I give will be kept confidential I also understand that I may decide not to answer any specific question or withdraw from the research at any point without negative consequences My signature below verifies that I have agreed to participate in the interview about “EFL undergraduate students’ perceptions of paraphrasing in academic writing” My signature below also verifies that I grant the researcher permission to record the interview session and use the data collected from this interview in the researcher's publications on this topic Agreement to Participate Participant’s Signature Date 61 ...ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP NHẬN THỨC CỦA SINH VIÊN TIẾNG ANH BẬC ĐẠI HỌC VỀ KỸ THUẬT DIỄN GIẢI TRONG VIẾT HỌC THUẬT Giáo viên. .. paraphrasing in academic writing 11 2.3.1 Students’ perceptions of paraphrasing in academic writing 11 2.3.1.1 Students’ conceptualization of paraphrasing 12 2.3.1.2 Students’ recognition of. .. concept of paraphrasing 2.1.1 Definition of paraphrasing 2.1.2 The role of paraphrasing in academic writing 2.1.2.1 Purposes of paraphrasing 2.1.2.2 The importance of