VNU Journal of ScicncC; R)reign Languages 24 (2008) 184-197
Student writing process, perceptions, problems, and strategies in writing academic essays
in a second language: A case study
L u o n g Q u y n h T r a n g \ N g u y e n T h i M a i H o a
Dquìrtĩììưnt o f EĩĩsỊli^h “ Am erican LíW*Ịuaỵe aìĩii Culture, Coỉỉe<ịL' of Foreign Lnìì^Ịua^Ịes,
V h ' t n a m N a t i o n a l U ì ỉ i v c r s i t y , H a n o i , P h n m V a n D o n * Ị S t r e e t , C a u d a y , l l i i n o i , V i e t n a m
Rcceh»ed 19 AÍÍĨV 2(X)S
A b s t r a c t W h e n s t u d y in g In A u s tra lin , In te rn a tio n a l s t u d e n t s in g e n e r a l And V ie tn a m e s e s t u d e n t s in piTThculiir m e e t m a r y d iffic u ltie s , o n e o f w h ic h is w r itin g a c a d c m is c s s n y s /a s s ig n m u n ls in E n g lis h . T h e c u r r e n t c a s e s t u d y , « i p p l y i n g t h e c o g n i t i v i s t v i e w , A i m s M e x p l o r i n g t h o p r o b l e m s a s w e l l a s t h e p ro c c s s OÍ w r i t i n g a c a d e m ic a s s ig n m o n ls o f a p a r tic u la r V ie tn a m e s e s l u d e n t s tu d v i t i g a t a n A u slra li« in u n iv e r s ity . B a s e d o n th o c o d in g s c h o m o a p p lie d b y C u m m i n ^ |1 9 8 9 | a n d B o s h e r [1998Ị, th e s t u d y s p e c ific a lly a d d r e s s e s th r e e m a jo r q u e s tio n s : (1) H o w d o e s th e s t u d e n t p e r c e iv e th e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h o a c a d o m i c e s s a y ? ( 2 ) W h a t dt>e.s ht* a c t u a l l y d o i n t h e p r o c e s s o f W T i t i n g ? ( 3 ) W h«it a r c th e p r o b le m s h e e n c o u n te r s o n d s tr a te g ie s h e u s e d d u r i n g t h e p rtK c s s o f w r itin g t h e e s s a y in Enghi»h? D a ta r e le v a n t fo r t h e s t u d y w a s co Ilc c te d b y m e a n s o f in - d e p th in te r v ie w s , s tim u la lu d recall, a n d in te r p r e ta tio n 0Í t h e s t u d e n t 's w r itte n p rix iu c ts . D a ta a n o lv s is h a s s h o w n th a t ih e su b )c c t d ĩđ n o t p a y m u c h ìíttL*ntii>n to g r a m m a tic a l e r r o r s o r s p o i l i n g m is ta k o s n n d h e m o t m a n y p r o b le m s
and used a lot of Str.itopics to solve them.
1. In tro d u ctio n
Sccond Lmguage (L2) com posiiion research a n d ỉcaching have d ev elo p e d an d m atu re d to a great exlent for the lasi few dccades (Roca d c Larios, M u rp h y & Marin [1]), L2 com position specialists have found guidance, how ever, in first lan g u ag e (LI) composition research, w hich has a history dating to the early 1900 (H aynes, 1978, as cited in Krapels [2]). After th e m id tw entieth century; LI com position research in English
* C o r r c s p o n d m p a u th o r . T ci.: 84-4-8255103 E -m ail: l u o n g q u y n h tr a n g ộ y a h o o .c o ĩìì
sp eakin g counlrics ch a n g e d its atten tio n from ex am ining ihe effects of som e pedagogicaJ treatm ent on s tu d e n t w riters' p r o d u c ts to exploring the act o f w ritin g (Krapels [2|).
Later in 1971, Em ig's LI w ritin g research w as ỉhe first m ajor stu d y to officially signal the shift in com position research from p ro d u c t to process (Krapels [2]),
A sim ilar shiit can b e ob serv ed in ihe field of L2 com position research a n d practice.
F r o m t h e s o c i o - c u h u r a l c o n i c a l w h e r e t h e
w rilc r w rites a n d learns to w rite a n d the text the w riter p r o d u c ts , L2 w ritin g research has shiilcd its focus of concern to the acts of thinking th e w riter en g a g es in to p ro d u c e Ihe 184
Luoỉii,: Qttụiĩỉĩ Trnn^, N<ịuựeìĩ Thi Mãi i ỉoa / VNU loumal of Sàưncc, Foreign iMìiịỊUiìỊịes 24 (2()()8) Ĩ84-Ĩ97 185
text (C um m in g [3]). T he process m ovement, according lo Rocn d c Larios, M urphy; and Míirin [1|, o rig inated from the belief that for teoching L2 w ritin g cffectiv'oly the teaching procedures sh o u ld bo bnsed on a theory that accounted for whcit stu d en i w riters actually
d i d i n t h e p ro c c 5 f> o f c o m p o s i n g a te x t-
The c urren t stu d y aim s at exploring the p roblem s as well a s Ihc process of w riting academ ic assig n m en is of a particular Vietnam ese ESL s tu d e n t stu d y in g at an A ustralian university. It is significant because stu d y in g at A ustralian universiiies, ESL slu d o nls m ccỉ quite .1 few p roblem s writing essays, rcporls, tissignmcnts, etc. in English as they not only h av e to w rite in another language, English, b u l com e u p with strange p attern s nnd con v en lio n s of academ ic written discourse in a new university culture {Ballard an d Cltinchy [4]).
A lth o u gh {his s tu d y was carriod out as a case stu d y , it is h o p e d thcit its findings can help o th e r Vielimmese stu d e n ts stu d y in g at Australinn universities to bo aw are of how one of their poors copes with writing academic
i n l l i c o l u J y t n a y
provide ESL support unit with some implications if they arc to help Vietnamese ESL
•students wilh their ncademic writing.
2. L iteratu re review
As m e n tio n e d enrlicT, co m p o sin g process has b een a m ajor focus of L2 w riting research for the last several decades. Rescarchcrs have invo.sti gated different aspccts of L2 co m p o sin g process for different g ro u p s of participants, Bnsod on LI w riting models, they h a v e c o m p a re d L2 skilled an d unskilled w riters o r co n sid ered L2 w riting skill as a co n iin u u m of abilities evolving at different rates (Roca d e LarioS; M u rp h y an d Marin
Ị1]). T here are also studies c o m p a rin g LI and L2 com p o sin g b eh avio urs to cxnm ine the transfer of w ritin g abilities across languages, or an aly zin g the relaiionship between w ritin g ability a n d L2 proficiency (Roca de LarioS; M u rp h y an d Marin [1]).
T h i s s c c t i o n , h o w e v e r , w i l l n o ! a t t e m p t t o
review all of Ihe literature on L2 com posing process. O f intcresl to this particuli^r study are those stu d ies w hich ex am in e ih c writers' m icro cognilive processes w hile com posing in English a n d give insights into the pro b le m s an d solutions of Ihe writers. This section will firstly review som e key studies in this field. After thaỉ i( will discuss w h at the stu d ie s h av e found. Also, it will show the g a p s in the literature and how the present s tu d y can fit in.
3. R ev iew o f th e studios
O n e of the earliest investigations is carried o u t by Zamel Ị5Ị. A d o p tin g the case s tu d y approach, tho rescarcher analyzed in d etail o b s e r v a tio n a l daUi collccled w hile six ad v a n c e d ESL stu d en ts w ere w ritin g a ''course-rcliilcd w rilin g ỉask" (Z<imel [5]).
A lthough th e stu d e n ts w ere cn co u rag ed to s p e n d as m u c h tim e as neccssiiry to complete the task; a ỉcK>k them from four lo eighteen h o u r s to w rite several drafts. A m o n g the six stu den ts, fo ur w ere identified as 's k ille d "
a n d tw'O a s " u n s k ille d ' b a s e d on Ih e "holistic assessm ents" of experienced read ers (p. 172).
Instead of '"think aloud'" protocols, the m osl effective w ay to investigate th e writing process (p .169), Zamel interview ed the stu d e n ts an d ob served thcir com posing be h av io u rs because ''th ere is so m e doubt ab o u t the exten t to w hich verbalizing aloud on e's th o u g h ts w hile w ritin g sim ulated the real co m po sin g situation" (p.l69).
186 i.ruvi^ Quynh Tranị^, N^nyeti Thi Mai Hoa / VNU ỊourìiaỊ o f Science, Forei*ỊU bìH^ịuaịics 24 Ĩ84-Ĩ97
O n th e contrarV/ ủ d o p íin g the m eth o d s em ployod in LI process w ritin g stu d ie s and adapHng P erl's [6Ị c o d in g scheme; Raimes [7| exam ined concurrent Ihink-aloud data collected from eight unskilled ESL stu d en ts while they w ere w ritin g a n arra tiv e d u r in g 65
m i n u t e s . D a t a f o r t h e s t u d y w a s a l s o
g athered from the results of the M ichigan Test of English Language Proficiency, holistic scores on the essay, an d a n s w e rs to a 12-page questionnaire.
In an o th er study, Kelly [8], again using the participants' th ink -alo u d protocol data, investigated the co m p o sin g processes of nine advanced ESL learners form seven different Lis. The stu d y followed the design a d o p ted by Zamel [5] and Raim es [7] a n d a d a p te d the coding system from Perl [6]. A lthough similar techniques (co ncu rrent ihink-aloud protocols) w ere used, th e n a tu re of the w riting task given to th e subjects w as changed. T he w riting lask assigned to the subjects w as oxposiỉory in nature. Kelly's results co rresponded to a fairly g re a t extcnl with those of other researchers w ritin g ab out
i h c d d i n c U u i c UĨ ứ l U U u K ỉ l c i .
A m uch larger scale s tu d y w a s o n e by G u m m in g (9] w hich investigated the English w riting processes of 23 French- spcaking college s tu d e n ts u sin g their written texts and think-aloud data. T he stu d y had som e notable characteristics. F irs t it used m ultivariate statistical analyses, w hich was m a d e possible by the relatively large sam p le size. Second; the s tu d e n ts ' w ritin g processes for three different tasks (letter writing, su m m ary , a n d argum cntaH on, on e to three h o u rs each) w ere co m p a re d . M oreover, the s tu d y introduced controlled variables of LI w riting expertise a n d L2 w ritin g proficiency.
D ep e n d in g on th e subjects' decision statem ents in the th in k -alo u d protocols,
G u m m in g investigated Ihe fou r aspccLs of w ritin g {language use, discourse organization, g i s t a n d p ro c e d u re for w riting) the stu d e n ts atten d ed to in the w ritin g process. Five ty p es of prob lc m -so ivin g b eh av io u rs including heuristic search es wilh
a n d w i t h o u t r e s o l u t i o n , p r o b l e m r e s o l u t i o n ,
problem identification, an d k n o w led g e telling w e re also focused on.
Similarly, Boshcr [10] c o m p a re d th e L2 w ritin g processes of three S o uỉh easl Asian ESL college stu d e n ts w ith different educational b ackg ro un d s. W hile a d a p tin g the coding schem e from G u m m in g [9], Boshcr use d a technique which w a s n o t only different from C u m m in g b u t also different from o th er researchers. Stimulated retrospective protocols gathered from the subjects w ho recalled their composing processes while watching their o w n videotaped writing behtiviours were Itsed as alternative data to think-aloud protocols. Pnrtiripants' written texts were also analyzed.
Roca d e Larios, M u rp h y , a n d M anchon [11] carricd o u t tw o small case studies, again
a p p l y i n g l h i u k 'i i l u u i . 1 p i u l u L u l b
fro m th e p a rtic ip a n ts w h ile w ritin g , ỈO exam ine th e restru ctu rin g proccss w here the w riters look for "an alternative syntactic plan onco the w rite r predicts, anticipates, or realizes th a t the original plan is not going to be satisfactory for a varieỉy of linguistic, ideational or textual reasons" {Roca de Larios, M u rp h y an d M anchon [111). Unlike o th e r studies review ed above, th e stud y by Roca d e Larios, M u rp h y a n d M anchon fo c u scd o n th e p a rtic u la r w r iti n g s tra te g y o/
restru ctu rin g which, according to the researchers, received not m u c h attention in research o n co m p o sin g proccss.
M ore recently^ Sasaki [12] carried o u t a rather large-scale stu dy on the writing
Q uynh Trang, Nịịuỵetì V ìi M ai Hoa / VNU Ịouníaỉ o f Science, Foreign Languages 24 (2008) Ì84‘Ĩ97 187
processes of tw o g ro u p s of Japanese EFL learners (34 in total): an expert w rite r g ro u p of 12 learners an d a novice w riter g r o u p with 22 college stu d ents. T he m e th o d w a s similar to th e o n e u s e d in Bosher [10Ị in that the subjects p ro d u c e d recall p rotocols while
w a t c h i n g I h e i r v i d e o t a p e d w r i t i n g
beh aviours; how ever, th e p artic ip an ts could choose the lan g u ag e in w hich they p ro d u c ed the protocols. Also, the s tu d y a d o p te d a different coding schem e specifically d ev e lo p e d for this type of d a ta . Besides ih ink -alo u d protocols, th e d a ta in clu d e d the p artic ip a n ts' written texts, their p au sin g b e h a v io u rs w hile writing, a n d analytical scores g iv e n to the w ritten texts,
4. F in d in g s o f th e s tu d ie s
T h e ab ov e stu d ies invesrigating p a rt of or the e n tire process of L2 w ritin g com m only h av e reach ed to so m e conclusions- Firstly, u n sk illed L2 w riters are sim ilar to unskilled LI w rite rs in that they tend to p la n less an d
r c v ir .o m o r e a t t h o w o r d n n d p h r í ì í ĩ c l e v e l
(e.g., Z a m e l [5Ị; Raim es [7]; Roca d e Larios, M u rp h y a n d M iinchon [11]; Sasciki [12]).
Secondly, unskilled L2 w riters a r e different from LI co u n te rp arts in that ỉhey arc’ less con cern ed a b o u t surface level revisions an d m ore c o m m ilte d to Ihe given assig n m en t (e,g., R a im e s [7]; Sasaki [12|). Besides, skilled L2 w r ite rs are sim ilar to skilled LI w riters in that th e y h a v e th e tendency to plan more, revise m o r e at the discourse level, an d spend
m o r p H m r f i n d i n g t h e m o s t p f f e c t i v i ’ w a y t o
d o t h e ta sk (e.g, Zam el [5j; Kelly (8);
G u m m in g [9]; Roca d e Larios, M u rp h y &
M a n ch o n [11]; Sasaki [12]). Also, co m p osing proficiency w hich is in d e p e n d e n t of L2 proficiency a p p e a rs to have influence on L2
w ritin g (e.g., Raimes [7]; G u m m in g [9];
Bosher [10]). Lastly, learners' attention p attern s a n d their problem-solving b eh a v io u rs are different d e p e n d in g on their LI w ritin g expertise and the type of tasks they h av e to d o (e.g., C u m m in g [9])-
5. L im ita tio n s o f th e stu d ies
A lth o u g h the above studies have p ro v id e d useful insights into ih e writing process of ESL students, they are not w ithout limitations. Firstly, except for the stu dy bv Zam el [5], all the described studies d e p e n d o n th e controlled conditions of m o st process studies, re q u irin g the participants to co m p o se ab o u t an artificial topic for a p re d e te rm in e d a m o u n t of time. This m ay result in w ritin g that is not truly rep resen tativ e of the w ritin g m o st students d o m ost often. W riting in controlled co n ditions im plies "a co m p o sing process that is radically different from the process each of us u n d e rg o e s in the course of o u r norma!
w r i t i n g " ( F r o c d m a n a n d P r i n g l e [1^1/ p ^ 1 2 )
Secondly, the stu d ies (apart from Zamel [5 ];
Boshcr [10]; Sasaki [12]) exclusively use th in k -alo u d protocols as the m ain data source. A lth o u g h collecting concurrent verbal data can p ro v id e real-time d ata on the w riting processes (Ericson an d Simon Ị14];
Gass a n d M ackey [15]), this m e th o d presents so m e in h eren t p roblem s (Sasaki [12]). It is very difficult for som e p articip a nts to p ro d u c e th in k -alo u d data while w riting in 1.2, psp£»rially w h e n they are asked to speak in L2 (Raimes (7]; Sasâki [12]). Also, there is so m e d o u b t a b o u t the extent to which verbalizing a lo u d o n e's th o u g h ts while w riting sim ulates the real com posing situ atio n (Zam el [5]). M oreover, the fact that
188 /.ÍÍIUỈ^' Q uỵnh Tranỵ, Nị^uị/cĩỉ Thi Mai Hoa / VNU lứurm ỉ o f Sciencc, Foreign inìĩ<^ua<^eíi 24 (2()í)8) Ĩ84‘ H97
o u r s tu d y investigates tho w ritin g process of an ESL s tu d e n ts w riting his real academ ic assig n m en t in Ù long period of time m akes th ink -alo u d protocols alm ost im possible io conduct. Last b u t not least, a prelim inary investigaHon of ESL w ritin g research has revealed that few studies p ù v attention to V ietnam ese ESL learners w hile writing.
Bearing these lim itations in m ind, we c o n d u c te d ỉhe present s tu d y to explore the w ritin g process of a V ietnam ese ESL un iv ersity s tu d e n ỉ stu d y in g at an A ustralian un iv ersity w hile co m p o sin g his real academ ic essay w ith th e h o p e that it will m a k e a very little con trib utio n to the c u rre n t w riting process research.
6. M e th o d o lo g y
6.1. The subject and his w i t i n g task
T he subject involved in this stu d y is a secon d -y ear Vietnam ese s tu d e n t of A rchitecture. H ai (noi his real nam e) spen t o n e y ear ta k in g ihc fo u n d a tio n COUĨ5C Trinity College before en terin g th e University of M e lb o u rn e to s tu d y A rchitecture. Besides English, he can use Japanese quite fluently. Hai app eared to be suitable ior the stu d y becuase at the time to begin the study Hai h ad to write his 2000-w ord assignm ent for the subject called
"Asian Architecture B: China, Korea, Japan".
H e w a s given a h andout w ith eight topics for the assignment an d had to choose on e to write about. In addition, he was pleased to take part in o u r mvestigarion.
6-2. Approach o f the stud'^
A d o p tin g the case stu d y ap p ro a c h of the q u alitativ e tradition, the stu d y aim s at ex p lo rin g h o w this particular ESL stu d e n t
copes w ith w riling his acadcm ic e s s a y in English. The stu d y specifically a d d r e s s e s three major questions: (1) H ow d o e s the stu d e n t perceive ỉhe re q u ire m e n ts of the academ ic essay? (3) W h at do es he a c tu a lly do in the process of w ritin g ? (2) W h a t are the problem s an d strategics he uses ÌO so Ive the problem s d u r in g th e p roccss of writiing the essay in English?
T he s tu d y a d o p te d the post-pcỉsitivist tradition an d case s tu d y as the generdi ap p ro a ch for so m e reasons. To b e g i n with, the s tu d y aim s to explore the subjeci's w riting process in real co n d itìon s, c o rresp o n d in g to the p u r p o s e o f q u aiiỉa ỉiv e research w hich is to "explore, ex p la in , or describe the p h e n o m e n o n of in terest"
(Marshall a n d R o ssm an ịl6]) in '"natural settings" {Denzin a n d Lincoln [17]).
M oreover, the stu d y is n o t "theory b u ild in g "
(Stake [18]) a n d does n o t try to g en eralize the findings; w hich m ak es the q u a lita tiv e case s tu d y a suitable a p p ro ac h to follow acco rd in g to N u n a n [19], Also, o u r subject's p ro b le m s a n d percep tio n s typify th e a b s tra c t and u nquantifiabic n a tu re o f d a ta f ro m a q u alitative s tu d y (M crriam Ị2DỊ). F o r this very reason, the case s tu d y design w h ic h can p ro v id e insights as w ell a s result in a "rich a n d holistic account of a p h e n o m e n o n "
(M erriam [20]) in real-life situatio ns p r o v e s to be ap p ro p riate. Last b u t not l e a s t t h e case s tu d y ap p ro a ch is particularly a p p r o p ria te if researchers are interested in process (Merriam [20]). That is the reason w hy m any studies mvesHgating the process of ESL w riting (Zamel (21); Zâmel [5]; Raimes |7J; Kelly Ị8]; Jones and Tetroe [22]; Silva Ị23]; Sanoi [24J; Bosher [10]) have ado p ted the case stu d y design.
6.3. Data collection
D ata relevant for the s ỉu d y w as collecied b y m ean s of in -d ep th interview s, stim ulated
Luotìiỉ Qíỉyĩỉh Tríĩtỉị*, N^uycỉì Thi Mai ììo a ! VNU lourn/ìì ứf Science, Foreign Lmgua^es 24 (Ĩ(X)8) Ĩ84-Ĩ97 189
recall, ãn d interpretation of tho stu d ent's w ritten products. It is realized that each of the three techniques has iỉs o w n strengths a n d weaknesses; however; if triangulated w ith other techniques, ỉhey can provide extensive d a ta to prcxluce u n d e r s ta n d in g of the entity b eing investigated,
The d ata p ro c e d u re started with the subject being inỉcrvievved to probe his experiences in wriHng essays in English as well as to u n co v er his p roblem s of w riting academ ic essays in general. Right after the subject finished writing, another i n t e m o w was conducted to get information on the shadent's vvritìng process as well as the aspects the subject paid altenHon to w hen writing-
Secondly, his p lan s of w ritin g an d his first d raft w e re exam ined. In terp retin g these d o c u m e n ts w as the s u p p le m e n ta ry m ethod to triangulate w ith o th e r two m e th o d s of data collection. The d o c u m e n ts w ere used later as stim u lu s for follow -up recalls. Also, I he in fo rm a tio n g a in e d fro m I lit' in te r p r e ta tio n of the w ritin g co uld lend to more u n d e rsta n d in g of th e w riting proccss. It was
d c c i J c d llu ^ l u i i l y li»L* iirrit d i i i f l o f t h e
s l u d e n f s w r itin g VV<1S cx*iminod b c c a u s e H ai revealed that he diwavs won! th ro u g h revision stage w ith o n e of his friends.
T w o sHmulilted rccalls w ere carried out.
D u rin g [he first recall sossion, Ihe stu d ent looked tit ihe topic pnpcr p r o v id e d bv his iccturer and reflected on any percep tion s of (he req u irem en ts of th e assignm ent. Right after Ihe s tu d e n t finished writing; another rocall session w as ad m in istered to reveal m ore ab o u t th e process of his w ritin g as well as any p ro b le m s he had d u r in g this process.
The recall also u n co v e re d the solutions the subject u sed to o vercom e his problems.
T h e interview s a n d stim u lated recall sessions w e re c o n d u c te d in English an d were iape-recorded an d tTiinscribed for analysis
p u rposes. These tw o techniques w ere piloted w ith another Vietnam ese s tu d e n t before they w e re u se d w ith ỉhc subject of the stu d y . We also h ad tw o informal talks w ith Hai in V ietnam ese before and after h e w ro te the p a p e r to get inform ation ab o u t him self a n d to
m a k e c l e a r s o m t* p o i n t s .
6.4. Q uestions fo r the ifitervieios and the coding scheme for data analysis
T h e first interview w as co n d u c te d in an u n s tru c tu re d w ay wilh no fixed questions.
T he second interview w a s stru c tu re d in n a tu re w iih p re p a re d q u estio n s a d a p te d from Bosher [10Ị- The q u e stio n s u se d in Bosher's s tu d y ap p ea re d to b e detailed an d could p ro v id e relatively co m p reh e n siv e in form ation on \h c subject's process of w riting. To explore the aspccts of w ritin g focused in the w riting process, th e co ding schem e w as n d a p tr d from G u m m in g Ị9).
M o re details of the coding schem e can be found in A p p e n d ix A.
M ore d ata of the w riting process as well as fhe prohlom s w hile writinp. cind ‘ĩtra todies to deal w ith these p roblem s w ere collected d u r in g sUmulatod recalls. T h e subject's resp o n ses w ere catcgorizod according to w h a t strategics h e em p lo y ed to help gen erate a so lution to a pcrceived p ro b le m in his writing- C u m m in g 's coding s y ste m w a s u se d in this s tu d y b eca u se C u n im in g is considered to b e a notable theorist in ihe field (Sasaki Ị12Ị). T he coding schcmc w a s app lied in Bosher (10] an d seem ed to p r o d u c e desirab le results. As for us, the c o d in g schem e w as easy to follow a n d convenient io analyze the data. Explanation of the c o d in g sch em e is p ro v id e d in A p p en d ix B-
In short; follow ing Ihrce principles of d a ta collcction including m u ltip le sources of ev id ence o r triangulation, a case stu d y
190 Trang, Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa / VhJU Ịoumaỉ of Sáence, Foreign LatiỊỊUữỊỊes 24 <2(XW 184-797
database, an d a chain of e vid en ce (Yin [25]) an d adopting a system atic and com prehensive d ata analysis schem e has helped increase Ihe reliability a n d validity of the study.
7. Results
The d ata collected w e re a n aly zed and interpreted u n d e r four m ajo r headings: the subject's experiences a n d p ro b le m s w hen w riting essays in English, h is percep tio n s of the requirem ents of this p a rtic u la r essay, ỉhe process of w riting th e assignm ent, a n d {he problem s arising d u r in g the process of w riting this essay a n d strategies to deal w ith them. T he techniques of d a ta collection su p p lem en ted an d trian g u lated o n e another to produce the results of th e study.
Hai's experiences and problems when writing academic assignments.
A lthough the research q u estio n s d o not include th e subject's experiences and problem s w h e n w ritin g acad em ic essays in general; il b wunliwl»ile to k n u w w h e th er Ihe subjcct is experienced o r skilled in academ ic w riting o r not. T h e reaso n is th<it other studies h av e revealed there are differences betw een skilled an d unskilled writers. We w o u ld like to see if the subject has any characteristics of the skilled o r unskilled vvriỉers Ì0 com pare o u r findings w ith o n es 0Í other studies. In ad d itio n, it is good to un cover w hether H ai's p ro b le m s w h en vvriỉing this essays are Ihe sam e as Ihe problemb he ui>ually en cuunterb w h en w riting in general.
T he first interview s h o w e d that Hai did not have m uch experience in academ ic w riting as d u rin g the first y ear at the university he h ad to w rite only o n e essay.
This year h e is s tu d y in g Asian Architcct B as an elective subjcct w hich req u ire s the stu d e n ts to s u b m it tw o w ritin g assignm ents.
This is th e th ird time he h as d ealt with academ ic w ritin g at tertiary level. It ca n be said that H a i is a "novice" (Sasaki Ị12Ị), or
"u n skilled " (R aim es (7]) s tu d e n t writer.
While w ritin g academ ic a ssig n m en ts in English at th e u niv ersity the subject m et such diificulties as n o t being able to find the sources o f inform ation, b e in g late for b o rro w in g b o o k s from the library, reading too m u c h a n d forgetting w h a t w a s read, and not re m e m b e rin g w h e re the ideas cam e from.
He th en s p e n t a lot of time re a d in g ihe books again a n d again. H ai also revealed in the iniorm al ta lk after this interview that he did not have e x p erien ce in w ritin g academ ic essays like th is o n e in Vietnam ese. H e jusi received s o m e w ritin g instruction w h en he atten d ed Trinity College.
Hat's perceptions o f the requirements o f this assignment
T he first stim u la te d recall w ith the topic p a p e r as th e s tim u lu s gave inform ation on the subject's percep tio n s o i ih e requirem ents of the essay. H ai chose topic six to write about becau se he th o u gh t that each of the o th er topics ju st focused on o n e aspect of the u rb a n structures. O n the o th e r h a n d , topic six reflected all a sp ects of ih e city which oUractod h im th e most. Specifically in ihis class p ap er, he ch o se to w rite a b o u t Edo, the old n a m e of Tokyo, in the process of dev elo p in g fro m a small village to a capital city in the 17*^ cen tu ry .
" I f you can ptclurc the city so y o u can ịyicture aỉỉ that aspect sm all aspcct $0 garden how you develop and how you plan a palace or hơuĩ domestic house in a partiailar c ity so i f ỊỉOU can picture the whole c itỵ you can.. - it means you can picture all the small parts''
Luon^ Quyìĩh Trang, N<ịuycti Thi M oi ỉìo n ! VNU journal o f Science. Foreigu iauỊỊUiĩges 24 (200$) ĨH4-Ĩ97 191
The e.ssay or class p a p o r that Hai was d o in g required him to describe a n d a n a ly ze the characteristics of an ideal capital. In his porccpHon, it m ean t th a t he h ad to read the books to get the sim ilar o p in io n s ã b o u ì the city lo s u p p o rt the m ain ideas of iho essays.
th e qt4cstion sa y t h n f n 'q u ir c to a m lỵ ^ e
or describe the characteristics of one ideal capital
<iỊcm'rallụ \fOu read the book and you describe what [/our uĩìdcrstandÌHịỊ and reinforcc that ỉiica ỈHỊ coilcctin\* more Sũi4rce that soy the same thinỵ''
He th o u g h t lhal m o st of th e m ain ideas in th e essay w e r e taken fro m the books as hisiory in cluded facts. In his opinion, history d ep en d e d o n old sources, so so m etim es the informtiHon m ight be right o r wrong.
Thert’fort?, h v hnd to read m a n y sources to com pare a n d l a com bine ideas.
'7 b d i c v c t h a t o f c o u r i i e t h e h i a t o n f iilt i s n o t l O r n x t h u t i f y o u c o m p a r e a l o t o f : > o u r c c ĩ i tO ỉ ị c t h c r
ỊỉOíỉ Ciìn fitui out what is wrofi*^ iifui wluit ;s íOítỉ f r o m t h a t y o u t h e i i i c a "
"You compare w ith other >ourcci> do thcụ say
t h e $ i i m c t h i n s Ị o r n o t i f t h c } / Sđỉ/ t h e s a m e thiti>ị it
f i u ư t t ĩ > t ỉ ĩ V ị f t i f v Ì . V Ĩ U Ì . Ỉ o r t l ỉ v ự i . o r f t v f ĩ u t ĩ i i h v Ĩ » U I Ỉ I C
Sí»i/ra'"
"AĩUỈ of course if people differcntli/ it tficans
t h e n ' i s f W t a c c u r a t e s o u r c e a u d t h e r e i s
asỉiumpíioĩì so you hiivc to nuĩki' ĩ/our own
a s s u m p t i o n o f t h a t a s p e c t "
TciIking ab o u t the w ritin g conventions, he snid that his tu to r preferred footnotes.
The re fore, h e w o u ld u se foolnoics a n d follow the co n v en tio n s as explciined in Essay and Report W rith i'f pu b lish ed by the Faculty of Architecturo-
The p ro c ess of w ritin g a n d aspects focused on d u r in g this process
A nalysis of th e second interview p ro v id ed a lot of in fo rm atio n on H ai's proccss of w ritin g an d aspocts he focused on
d u r in g ỉhis process. The second stimulilted recall and Ihe interpretaHon of the stud en t's plan an d iirst d r a i t also g av e o u t additional insights. Inform al discussions as well p ro d u c e d so m e information. The s tu d e n t's w ritin g stages are usually characterized as pre-wriHng, wriHng/ an d revising (Zamel Ị5Ị); how ever, H a i's w riting b eh av io u rs w ere not entirely am en ab le to ỉhis breakdow n.
D u rin g Ihe pre-w riting stage, after choosing th e ỉopic Hai b o rro w e d m any books from the library an d k ept reading. He ch a n g e d the topic a little an d decided to discuss w h y p eo p le chose Edo as th e capital city. It d id not sim ply describe the characteristics o f the city. At first he did not k n o w w h a t to b e included in the paper, so he w ro te d o w n the m ain p o ints of w h a t he was read in g an d e v e ry th in g related to ih e topic.
T h e n he m a d e a plan for the essay.
" I c h a n ^ c d t h e top'>ic i s w h y t h e y c h o o s e t h a t p a r t i c u l a r c i t y a s t h e c a p i t a l c i t y b e c a u s e i t i s i d e a l
city, ideal capital and I w nnt to fiiu i out wluit is
t h e r e a s o n h e h u u i ’'
" A c t u a l l y w h e n I r e a d t h e U yp ics I j u $ t d i d u ' t k í t o í ự w l i u i i/jc i Ị U C ữ t i v n / j t i > t k v v ^ f a i d i n ' ^ , I
j u s t clĩOỉie o n e c i t x f a m i j u s t r e a d a b o u t t h a t c i t y "
W h en ex a m in in g Ihe plan of his w riting at differcnl p o ints of ỉimo w e realized Ihtit he h ad m o re th a n ono outline for the p a p e r and asked him ab o u t thnt. Hai revealed that as he kep t w riting h e finally found o u t w h at ho liked to w rite about. Therefore, he decided to c h an ge the p lan of th e writing.
" Ỉ j u s t k e p t w r i t i n g ( ĩ f ĩ d i d o t i ' t k m y w t h a t I ' m
w riting. A n d at the end oh that's interestitig
t h a t ' s t h e i s s u e t h a t I w r i t e Ỉ ĩ ư í t n t t o w r i t e a b o u t .
So at last I fo u n d out ivhat I w ant to w rite and I chartịỊcdt''
u can be seen thaỉ d u r in g the w riting stage, H ai did so m e im p o rtan t planning. In addition, he k e p t m o v in g from w ritin g to
192 Q uynh TrauỊi, Nỹ^uxỊcn Thi Mai iioa / VNU lournnl of Sciencer Foreign iatỉỊiiuaỵcs 24 (2(X)S) 184-Ỉ97
revising a n d vice versa. As h e con tin u e d his w ritin g process, ho explored ỉhe d irc ch o n he h ad to follow a n d m a d e necessary global revision. T he second s i m u l a t e d recall p re se n te d interesting in form ation on H ai's w ritin g th e introduction.
"N onnallif the ifilnniuction is the Ịỉaragrayh that shows w hat you're ^oing to saự in the body so as I m entioued that Ì had no idea w hat i'm going to say so Ị ju s t introduced the the aspect of
that c ity and and Ỉ have no introduction o f w hat Vm ỊỊOÌng to w r ite the body p a rt so Ỉ ju s t leave it after Vve done the body part and I know w hat ưm goitìỊỊ to say and come back to the introduction"
H ai basically took th e ideas from the b o o k s h e h a d read. He fo u n d w ritin g this p a p e r q u ite h a r d as he w a s n o t s u re w h a t to
w rite about. H e k ept c o m p la in in g iibuuỉ that He revealed that h e often got stuck as "thi w ord doesn't come o u t” a n d h e w as confused To g et m o re energy for w ritin g , h e "leave the dc$k, go fo r a drink, or listen to m usic or do somethin<ị else not related to the essay"-
D u rin g th e process O Í vvriỉing, H ai paid attention to different asp ects o f the writing.
G u m m in g [9] presents five asp ects of w riting p e o p le m a y fo c u s t h e ir a tte n tio n ÍO w h ile com posing: la n g u a g e use, discourse organization, gist, intentions, a n d p ro ced u re of wriH ng (see A p p e n d ix A for explanation).
Table 1 belo w lists the frequency of v arious aspects the subject p aid focuscd on d u rin g his w ritin g process as w ith d r a w n from the second interview data. E x am ples of the aspects are p r o v id e d in A p p e n d ix A,
Table 1. Aspects of writing
Language use Discourse organization Gist Intention Procodurc Alton I ion to two or more
(LU) (DO) (C) H) (P) aspccts
0 4 7 3 5 2 P+G; 1 G+DO: 1 c^l; 1 r+l;
\C*\*P: 2 P+DO; 1 P^C+DO It can be seen that Hai a tte n d e d to gist in
h i o w r i l i n g m o r t l h a n l u a n y o l h c i I n
o th er w o rd s h e cared m u ch ab o u t the points o r m a in ideas of th e paper. T he p ro c e d u re for w ritin g w a s also usually p a id attention to.
Interestingly, h e d id not a tte n d to language issues in the w riting. The stim u la te d recall also revealed n o th in g a b o u t lan g u ag e use.
H o w e v e r the informal discu ssio n after the second recall s h o w e d th a t h e w o u ld correct g ram m a tic a l e rro rs and v o cab u lary usage w ith o n e of his friends to g et the final version. It w a s realized th a t Hai atten d ed to m o re th a n one aspect in h is w riring m ore th a n to each in d iv id u a l aspect.
T he e x am in a tio n of his first d ra ft show ed th a t H ai w as co m m itted to th e task an d the re q u ire m e n ts o f his tutor. H e followed the w ritin g co n v e n tio n s set u p b y his Faculty.
H is w ritin g w as also well s u p p o rte d by
i L ' i c v a i i l l U d p d a n d p k t u i c b t u b U u n ^ d i c i i l)it'
m ain ideas. T he m ain ideas of ihe p a p e r were ralh er clearly org anized . H o w ev er, there are q uite a few erro rs in te rm s of g r a m m a r and vocabulary usage, w h ic h m a d e his ideas so m etim es not easy to follow.
7.1. Problems and probleni'Solving strategies H a i's second protocol w a s aOiilyzed for the p roblem s and strategics h e h ad used d u r in g the w ritin g process to h e lp generate solutions to perceived problem s.
Problems
D ata analysis s h o w e d that Hai en co u n te red som e p ro b le m s in the writing process. Firstly, h e d id not k n o w w h a t to in clu d e in th e ínlroductìon. H e revealed "/
Luong Quỵnh TraĩiịỊ. NỊỊuyen Tfù Mai H o a ỉV N U loumnì o f Science, Foreign iarĩgĩtíì<Ịe$ 24 (2008) 154-197 193
had a hard ttm c fo r like w hat to be inirodiiccd for the ones w ho fir st rcữd about Edo a» a city. What aspects $houlJ I ahow ift order to in a short parasỊraph and you can ỊỊet imaỊỊC o f w hat the city lik e '\ Secondly, he d i d not h av e th e direction to follow w h e n h e w ro te ih e b o d y of ihe p a p e r a n d just k e p t repeating the w o rd s from ihe books he h a d read. He h a d this problem three tim es d u r i n g th e p ro cc ss until he m oved to th e m id d le of the essay.
"A t the beginning I ju s t like repeat the words, rq^eat like I read. A n d the problem is as / m entioned I ju s t w rite down the aspect, I don't huno, i ju s t w rite dow n the fact"
"So... (ĩt the tuiddle part o f the essay I know what I'm <Ị0ÌHịỊ to w rite''
Also, Hai lacked w o rd s to express his exp lan atio n b ecau se he did not w a n t to m ake so m u c h repetition, He, as well, sometim es found that his a r g u m c n is w e re not "stron<Ị L'Hou'^h". It W iis interesting to k n o w that Hai h ad read bo o k s in Japanese to w rite th e essay as he fo u n d th a t b o ok s in English w ere nol
"tlw best hooks to read'' an d "unfortunately EĩĩỊỊlish doesn't mean Irauslate everything every aspect o f the rcỊỊÚm or the citv, it is not in a iltu re y v o p lt >f)cuktns^ T h i a f u e l al:>u
presen ted a difficulty for him because so m etim es h e co uld not find th e direct translation fro m Ja p an ese to English.
"So I had a hard tim e how to translate this, how to translate''
"So Ỉ cannot have direct translation, it's very hard"
T he in ỉerp reỉatio n of H a i's first draft s h o w e d that h e used a lot of pictu res an d m a p s to s u p p o r t his ideas, H ow ever, Ihis did n o t p re se n t â p ro b le m to him.
T he stim u la te d recall p ro v id e d m o re pro b le m s Hai m e ỉ while h e w a s w ritin g this essay th a n the general p roblem s h e u su ally en c o u n te re d w h e n w ritin g as reflected in th e first interview (see the p a rt on H ai's experiences a n d problem s w h en w ritin g academ ic assignm ents). Besides the lack of w o rd s to explain, he h a d to deal w ith the difficulty of w ritin g the introduction, th e lack of ideas, an d th e p ro b lem of translating from Japanese to English.
7.2. Problem-solving strategies
To solve th e p roblem s in w riting, Hai used a n u m b e r o f strategics. G u m m in g [9]
pro v id e s fo u r m ain types o f strategies, an d type 4 consists of six sub-categories c o rre sp o n d in g to Ihe six h eu ristic search
'• ♦ r n to g ip q T h o H o t a i U o f th i« i r n d i n g
and th e ex am p les can be fo u n d in A p p en d ix B- Table 2 b elow show s the frequency of strategy u sag e reflected in Ihe second stim u lated recall-
194 l.uonịỊ Quyĩili Trnfĩ<ị, Nguyeìỉ Thi Mai ĩioa / VNU lourvnỉ o f Scicĩice, r orei'^Ji Lứtigua^^es 24 (2008) ĨH4-T97
Table 2- Subject's problem-solving strategics
Str.ìtegv Frcquencv
No soarcb, no resolution 1
82 No scarch, ru'solution 7
S3 Scarch, no resolution 0
•4 Soarch and resolution
»4a Scarch routine 6
ff4b Directed translation or codc-switching 1 Í 4cGenerating and assessing alternatives 1 9AÓ Criterion, standard, explanation, or ruli; 1
Relating parts to whole 1
ff4f Sotting or adhering to a goal 2
Successful straU'gies (í4a-*4f) 12
Automatic solutions to problems (#2) 7
Unresolved problems (ifl, ff3) 1
T h e analysis sh o w ed th a t io solve the p ro b le m s Hai u sed a lot of successful h eu ristic search strategies (12/20 times). O f th e se strategies H ai seem ed to prefer using search routìne. It m ean t th a t h e retu rn e d to ỉhe so u rc es of inform alion, his o w n em ergin g a s s i g n m e n t en g ag ed his m e m o ry , an d used th e dictionary as a source text to deal with th e problem s. H e also identified the problem s th en quickly resolved them ; w ith o u t a p p ly in g an y heuristics searches. T here w as only o n e tim e he m en tio n e d th e problem w ith o u t fin din g a soluHon to it.
A s H ai also read b o o ks in Jap an ese to w rite this pap>er, an d this p resented a p ro b le m to him as m en tio n ed above, w e w ere especially in terested in the strategies to deal w ith this problem . H e revealed:
"E very dim ension o f every word is not consistent, there is no eíỊuivalent in English. So I had a hard tiìììc how ic translate this, how to translate. So / take out the dictionary, the electronic dictionary and ok Ị p u t in C hinese... no Japanese btit no w ord coming out. So lohat I do is ju s t quote it quote it and explain w hat it means.
So I cannot have direct translation, iVs very hard.
So I p u t the fapartese, how to read it alphabet and explain zohat it means''
This extract s h o w e d th a t to deal w ith this specific problem , Hai u s e d both strateg ies #4a an d l*4h. In m y opinion, h e has ap p lied very ap p ro p ria te strategies. T h e e x am in a tìo n of his first d raft fo u n d ihat there w e re ten cases in w hich H ai q u o te d Jap anese w o rd s an d g av e ex p la n atio n s in English.
From the analysis of the p ro b le m s a n d Ihe solutions to the problem s, ii can be said that to deal w ilh a p ro ble m H ai len d ed to u se m o r e t h a n o n e r .tr a lc g y .
6. D isc u ssio n
The c u rre n t case shady has revealed a lot of findings a b o u t the s u b jc c fs percepH ons of academ ic w ritin g in English, his problem s a n d problem -solving strategies, as well as his w ritin g process. T h e d a ia analysis has resulted in a lisl of cognitive processes which is quite sim ilar to th e o n e found in earlier research. Also, th e p ro b le m s a n d strategies fo u n d in o u r stu d y are indicated and identified in C u m m in g [9) a n d Bosher Ị10 . A n o th er sim ilarity b e tw e e n o u r stu d y an d o th e r earlier research is th a to u r subject is not very concerned a b o u t surface level revisions
Luoỉig Quyĩỉĩt Trnĩi>^, N\^uven Tỉĩi Mai H oa! VNU ]oumaỉ o f Sàeĩtce, foreign ÌẨtyìỹua^ịes 24 (2008) ĨS4-197 195
such as gram m atical e rro rs o r spelling mistakes an d quiiC co m m itted to the given assignm ent (Raimes [7]; Sasaki [12Ị), He just paid attention to global revisions such as changing th e ideas of the w h o le parag rap h, u is possible th a i h e relied on the last revision
t i m e w h e n h e w o u l d g o t h r o u g h t h e f i n a l
draft with his friend. H e a p p e a re d to consider the req u irem en ts of th e tu to r a lot a n d try h ard to co m p lete the essay.
However; there are som e differences in findings b eiw ecn o u r s tu d y an d earlier studies that sh o u ld be m en tio n ed . In the first placo, o u r subject is co n sid ered to be
"'novice", "unskilled", o r "basic" according to definitions by Sasaki ([12], p. 56); Raimes ([7|;
p. 234); an d G u m m in g ([9Ị, p.88) respectively.
According to Zam el [5], Raimos [7Ị, Roca de Larios, M u rp h y , a n d M an ch o n [11], and Sasaki [12Ị, unskilled L2 w riters tend to plan less and revise m o re at the w o rd a n d phrase level. It is n o t corrcct in m y subject's case.
A lthough h e is an unskilled writer, ho did m uch p la n n in g before an d e v e n d u rin g the time he w ro te Uie essay. In ad d ition , h e paid
m u r h A i-tp n tin n \ i t or^’ a n Ì7 a H o n
which m e a n s that ht? iocused on the o rg a n i/n tio n of his written discourse an d its siructure b e y o n d th e clause level (sec Tabic 1 in RESULTS). It h as been co n clu d ed that skilled L2 w rite rs h av e ihc ten den cy to plan more, revise m o re cit the d isco urse level, and spend m o re time fin d in g th e m o st effective Wciy to d o the task (e.g, Zamel [5]; Kelly [8);
C u m m in g [9]; Roca d e Larios, M u rp h y , an d M anchon [11]; Sasaki [12])- T h e d a ta analysis has sh o w n th a t Hai h as so m e characteristics of the skilled w rite r as well.
D iscussing the strategies u sed to deal w ith p ro b le m s w hile w ritin g C u m m in g (9]
concluded th a t basic w riters p a id only 2 to 16 percent o f their decision statem en ts to heuristic search strategies. N evertheless, in
o u r stu d y Hai m ostly u sed these strategies (12/20 times) to solve his problem s.
C u m m in g h as fo u n d the b eh a v io u r th a t the particip an ts identified p ro b le m s th en quickly resolved th e m w ith o ut a p p ly in g any heuristic searches accounted for 29 to 49 percent 0Í the
to t i i l s t a t e m e n t s r e g a r d l e s s o f w h p t h e r thf^y
were basic o r expert writers. O u r study has come u p w ith a similar finding. Hai used this strategy 7 out of 20 times.
T he differences in findings b e tw e e n o u r s tu d y an d earlier research m a y be d u e Ì0 the application of the skilled/unskilled distinction. T h e re h av e existed p roblem s related to th e notion of skill in L2 w ritin g (Roca d e Larios, M u rp hy , a n d M arin Ị1]).
Raimes (7] h as su ggested th a t the notion of skill in L2 w ritin g m ig h t be host c ap tu re d as a com bination of variables, in each of w hich w rite rs couid be ju d g ed as m o re o r less skilled: lan g u ag e proficiency^ p ro d u c t quality^ self-evaluation of LI an d L2 w riting ability; k n o w le d g e of w ritin g d e m a n d s , w ritin g b ac k g ro u n d an d teaching experience.
W e think this notion sh o u ld b e m a d e clearer
i n f n h i r p A n r> th < 'r t h i n g {'> t h . i t t h o
w ritin g task that o u r subject has to carry out in this s tu d y is q u ite different in n a tu re with the tasks in o th er studies. This m ay b e a reason for Ihc differences m en tio n e d above.
It is necessary to con d u ct m ore research u sin g real v\TÌtìng tasks in real situ ation s to h av e m o re co m p reh en siv e conclusions.
9. C o n c lu s io n
T he s tu d y h as given so m e insights into th e process of w ritin g 3 real academ ic essay in real con ditions of V ietnam ese ESL s tu d e n ts s tu d y in g at a n A u stralian university. Its findings are firstly useful for u s as teachers of English m ajo rin g in teaching wriHng skills in
196 Quyith N<ịityeìt V ù Mat Hon / VhJU lourual of Science. Foreign LatiỊ^ua<;cĩỉ 24 <2(K)8) Ĩ84-Ì97
L2 at tertiary IcvL'l. The s tu d y has m a d e a liitle coniribuHon to th e c u rre n t research of L2 wriiing in the sense that it w a s con d u cted w ith a real w riting task a n d it helps increase the n u m b er of studies investigating w riting processes of Vietnam ese stu d en ts. A lth o u gh ihe results of this small case s tu d y w ere not intended to b e generalized; it is necessary for other Vietnamese s tu d e n ts stu d y in g at Australian universities to b e a w a re of h ow on e of their peers copes w ith w riling academ ic assig nm en ts in English. Also, the findings have given the ESL s u p p o rt unit with som e im plications if they are to help Vietnamese ESL s tu d e n ts w ith their academ ic writing- Last b u t not least, this s tu d y can be use d as the basis for o u r fu tu re research in w hich we intend to investigate more Vietnamese EFL tertiary s tu d e n ts in the process of w ritin g academ ic assig n m en ts at universities in Vietnam.
O n the o th er hand, it is realized th ai the s tu d y has som e limitations. W e th in k that the findings are not co m p reh en siv e e n o u g h in term s of the "thick" an d '"rich" d a ta g athered from the research. It w o u ld h a v e b een better if we h ad b een ablu lo inierview Ihe subject's lecturer o r tu to r on the percep tio n s of the requirem ents of the p a p e r This could set up the basis for a c o m p a riso n b etw een the s tu d e n t's a n d lechircr's perceptions. Also, if the subject h a d had m o re lim e to sh are the know ledge of architecture w ith us, the interpretation of his w ritin g w o u ld have resulted in m o re desirable findings.
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Nghiên
C Ú X Itrường hợp về quá trình viết, nhận thức, các vâh đề mắc phải và các chiến lược trong khi viết bài
uận bằng ngôn ngữ thứ hai
L ư c ì n g Q u ỳ n h T r a n g , N g u y ễ n T h ị M a i ỉ ỉ o a
K/u)íi N \ị ô h >ĩ<;Ịữ Dà V ă ĩ ĩ h ó a A ì ĩ h - M v, T n r ờ n g D ạ i h ọ c N<^oại rì^ịử,
D i ì i h ọ c Q i i o c 'ịiii l i à N ộ i D ư ờ ĩ ỉ ị i P h ạ m V ã ì ĩ Dõfĩ>^, C ẵ u G i â y , H à N ộ i , N ỉ u u
S i n h v i õ n lìiK K n ^ o à ĩ ncSi c h v i n g S'à c i n h v i c n V i ẹ l N j> m n ó i r i c n g k h i t l õ n ú c K ọ c g ặ p t i r o n g
đòi nhiỂu khcS khcỉn tro n g c!ỏ phái kê đ ế n khó kh ăn khi viê't các bài luận/bài tập kVn (assignment) b a n g ticng Anh. N g h iên cúu n à y d ư ợ c ihực hiện theo p h u ơ n g p h á p đ ịn h tinh (qualitative) n hằm tim h iế u n h ữ n g khó k h ã n cù n g n h ư qu á ư in h viết bài tập lỏn b ằ n g ỉicng Anh cú a m ộ t sinh viên Việỉ Mam cụ the đ a n g hi>c tộp íại ú c . Dựcì trôn cơ s ò n g hiên cứ u của C u m m in g (1989) và Bosher (1998) n g hiên cứii này tập tr u n g vào 3 câu hòi chính: (1) Đ61 ỉư ự n g nghiên cứu hicu các yêu cẩu cùa bài tộp n h u the nào? {2) ĐÒI lư ợn g n ghiên cú u th ự c sự làm gi ư o n g quá trin h vie't? (3) N h ử n g khỏ k h ă n đôi Uiọng n ghiên cứ u g ặ p phãi và các chiến lược giải quyé't khỏ khản đ ư ọ c s ử d ụ n g khi viêl b ài lập b a n g tieng Anh lâ gì? Sô* liệu cho nghiên cứ u này đ ư ọ c thu th ậ p th ô n g q u a phỏng vâh, hổi tư ở n g và n g h iê n cứu bài viô't v à yẽu cẩu bài viẽV của dòi tư ợn g n ghicn cứu, Kết quà n g h iên cứu c h o thây đóì tư ợ n g nghiên cứ u không q u a n lâm lắm tới các lỏi n g ư p h á p và chính tả,
đ ổ n g t h ờ i g ặ p n h i ổ u k h ỏ k h ă n I r o n g q u á t r ì n h v ie 't v à đ â s ử d ụ n g n h i ẽ u c h i ô h ỉ h u ậ l đ ế g i ả i q u y e t
các k h ó kh ăn đỏ.
