VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE FACTORS ACCOUNTING FOR WRITING APPREHENSION OF VIETNAMESE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS MAJORING IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfilment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By TRẦN HỌA MI Supervised by Đặng Tấn Tín, PhD HO CHI MINH CITY, JULY 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude to my esteemed supervisor, Dr Đặng Tấn Tín, who has always provided me with valuable insight and well-considered advice I am grateful to him for being patient and supportive Without my advisor’s great guidance, I would have never reached this destination In addition, I owe a special debt to the students and teachers in Nguyễn Tất Thành University, Hochiminh City, Vietnam for their kind cooperation during my data collection process My thesis could not have been completed without their participation and contribution I truly appreciate the time and effort they put into this study My grateful thanks also go to my teachers in Faculty of English Linguistic & Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University - Hochiminh City for their help in broadening my horizons Moreover, sincere thanks should go to my classmates for sharing both difficulties and enjoyment during our studying time Finally yet importantly, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my parents and my brother for their understanding, support and encouragement i TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements i Table of Contents ii List of Tables v List of Figures vi List of Appendices vii List of Abbreviations viii Abstract ix CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationales 1.2 Context of the study 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Scope of the study 1.7 Outline of the study CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definition of writing apprehension 2.2 Indications of writing apprehension 10 2.2.1 Written products 10 2.2.2 Writing process 11 2.2.3 Writing behaviors 12 2.2.4 Writing attitudes 12 2.3 Factors accounting for writing apprehension 15 2.3.1 Students’ experience and knowledge 15 2.3.2 Students’ perceptions of writing matters 18 2.3.3 Writing tasks 19 2.4 Summary 2.5 Conceptual framework 20 21 ii CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 27 3.1 Research questions 27 3.2 Research design 27 3.3 Participants 28 3.4 Instruments 29 3.4.1 29 Questionnaire 3.4.1.1 Questionnaire development 29 3.4.1.2 Procedures 37 Semi-structured interview 40 3.4.2 3.4.2.1 Interview questions development 41 3.4.2.2 Procedures 42 3.5 Data analysis procedure 42 3.6 Reliability and validity 45 3.6.1 Reliability 45 3.6.2 Validity 45 CHAPTER RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 49 4.1 Analysis of data 49 4.1.1 Distribution of data 49 4.1.2 Reliability of the questionnaire 51 4.1.2.1 Reliability of writing apprehension measure 4.1.2.2 Reliability of seven scales regarding factors accounting for writing apprehension 4.2 51 53 4.1.3 The level of writing apprehension 55 4.1.4 Mediating factors of writing apprehension 56 Discussion 64 4.2.1 The level of writing apprehension 64 4.2.2 Mediating factors of writing apprehension 66 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 75 5.1 Summary 75 5.2 Pedagogical implications 76 5.3 Limitations of the study 78 5.4 Recommendation for further study 79 5.5 Conclusion 79 iii REFERENCES 80 APPENDICES 88 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Categories in WAT, SLWAT and the Current Study Table 3.2: Sources of Items in the Scale of Avoidance of Writing Table 3.3: Sources of Items in the Scale of Negative Perceptions of Writing Ability Table 3.4: Sources of Items in the Scale of Unpleasantness about Writing Table 3.5: Sources of Items in the Scale of Fear of Evaluation Table 3.6: Sample Items in the Four Scales in Writing Apprehension Measure Table 3.7: Sources and Sample Items in the Scales Regarding Factors Causing Writing Apprehension Table 3.8: Tests Used to Analyze Quantitative Data in the Current Study Table 3.9: Sample of the 18-item List Categorized in Four Indications of Writing Apprehension Table 3.10: Sample of the 24-item List Categorized in Seven Mediating Factors of Writing Apprehension Table 4.1: An Extract of Skewness and Kurtosis Values of 18 Items in Writing Apprehension Measure Table 4.2: An Extract of Skewness and Kurtosis Values of 24 Items Regarding Factors Accounting for Writing Apprehension Table 4.3a: Reliability Statistics of the Scale of Avoidance of Writing Table 4.3b: Item-total Statistics of the Scale of Avoidance of Writing Table 4.4: Cronbach’s Alpha Values of Four Scales in Writing Apprehension Measure Table 4.5: The Cronbach’s Alpha Values of Scales Regarding Factors Accounting for Writing Apprehension Table 4.6: Descriptive Statistics of Four Scales in Writing Apprehension Measure Table 4.7: The Correlations between Indications of Writing Apprehension and Factors Accounting for Writing Apprehension v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Conceptual framework Figure 2.2 Conceptual framework employed in the current study vi LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1: Five Raters’ Categories of the Questionnaire Items Appendix 2: Items of Scales in the Questionnaire Appendix 3: Questionnaire (English Version) Appendix 4: Questionnaire (Vietnamese Version) Appendix 5: Skewness and Kurtosis Values of the Questionnaire Items Appendix 6: The Reliability Test of the Scale of Negative Perceptions of Writing Ability Appendix 7: The Reliability Test of the Scale of Unpleasantness about Writing Appendix 8: The Reliability Test of the Scale of Fear of Evaluation Appendix 9: The Reliability Test of the Scale of No Prior Learning of English Writing Appendix 10: The Reliability Test of the Scale of Negative Experience of L1 Writing Appendix 11: The Reliability Test of the Scale of Low Grades on Previous English Writing Exams Appendix 12: The Reliability Test of the Scale of Lack of Teacher’s Feedback Appendix 13: The Reliability Test of the Scale of Teacher’s Ineffective Feedback Appendix 14: The Reliability Test of the Scale of Teacher’s Criticism Appendix 15: The Reliability Test of the Scale of Lack of Linguistic Knowledge Appendix 16: Interview Form (English Version) Appendix 17: Interview Form (Vietnamese Version) Appendix 18: A Sample of Interview Script (The Translated Version) vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL English as a Foreign Language ESL English as a Second Language FL Foreign Language HCMC Ho Chi Minh City L1 First Language L2 Second Language M Mean Max Maximum Min Minimum N Number NTTU Nguyen Tat Thanh University SD Standard Deviation SLWAT Second Language Writing Apprehension Test SPSS Statistic Package for Social Sciences WA Writing Apprehension WAT Writing Apprehension Test viii ABSTRACT EFL learners’ writing apprehension is suggested to significantly affect learners’ writing skill development and even prevent them from ever achieving a high level of writing proficiency However, this disorder has just been paid initial attention since 1990s In the context of EFL education in Vietnam, students often indicate that they are afraid of writing in English Therefore, research on writing apprehension is important This study was conducted to investigate the extent to which Vietnamese EFL students majoring in English language experience writing apprehension and understand associated reasons This study employed a mixed methods research design 130 students in Nguyen Tat Thanh University, HCMC, Vietnam were invited to complete a questionnaire, designed in a five-point Likert scale format The instrument was developed from Daly and Miller (1975a), Gungle and Taylor (1989), and related literature Among 130 responses, 116 valid responses were taken into the analysis procedure Statistical tests were conducted to examine the distribution of data, the reliability of the questionnaire, the extent to which students experience writing apprehension, and understand mediating factors of this disorder Based on preliminary results obtained from the analyses of questionnaire data, a qualitative semi-structured interview was conducted with 16 volunteer participants to understand how the factors affected their writing apprehension The data were transcribed, translated, and organized into categories for interpretation The data analyses indicated that the participants held negative perceptions of their writing ability and were afraid of the evaluation of their English writings Besides, the data analyses showed six issues about the correlations between indications of writing apprehension and factors accounting for the disorder First, students who did not learn how to write in English previously avoided writing and perceived their writing ability negatively Second, when the feedback from teachers was insufficient, students tended to avoid writing situations, hold negative perceptions of their writing ability and feel unpleasant about writing in English The ineffectiveness of teacher’s feedback contributed to students’ avoidance of writing Third, when students’ linguistic knowledge was inadequate, they tended to avoid writing situations, perceive their ix APPENDIX 14 THE RELIABILITY TEST OF THE SCALE OF TEACHER’S CRITICISM The internal consistency of three items in the scale of Teacher’s criticism (items 37 39) was tested As shown in Table 0.11a, the Cronbach alpha value was 741, which indicated that the scale was reliable Based on the results of item-total statistics, the Cronbach’s alpha value could increase to 788 if item 39 was deleted (Table 0.11b) However, to remain at least three items in one construct, item 39 was not removed Therefore, at last, items 37-39 regarding teacher’s criticism were remained for further analyses The statistics was shown in Table 0.11a and Table 0.11b below Table 0.11a Cronbach’s Alpha Value of the Scale of Teacher’s Criticism Cronbach's Alpha 741 N of Items Table 0.11b Item-total Statistics of the Scale of Teacher’s Criticism Scale Teacher’s criticism (3 items) Items 37 38 39 Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted 525 584 788 112 APPENDIX 15 THE RELIABILITY TEST OF THE SCALE OF LACK OF LINGUISTIC KNOWLEDGE The internal consistency of three items in the scale of Lack of linguistic knowledge (items 40-42) was tested The Cronbach’s alpha was 815, which indicated that the scale was highly reliable (Table 0.12a) Based on the results of item-total statistics, the Cronbach’s alpha value could be increase to 855 if item 40 was deleted (Table 0.12b) However, to remain at least three items in one construct, item 40 was not removed Therefore, at last, items 40-42 regarding lack of linguistic knowledge were remained for further analyses The statistics was shown in Table 0.12a and Table 0.12b below Table 0.12a Cronbach’s Alpha Value of the Scale of Lack of Linguistic Knowledge Cronbach's Alpha 815 N of Items Table 0.12b Item-total Statistics of the Scale of Lack of Linguistic Knowledge Scale Lack of linguistic knowledge (3 items) Items Cronbach's Alpha if Item Deleted 40 41 42 855 652 711 113 APPENDIX 16 INTERVIEW FORM (ENGLISH VERSION) Interviewer: _ Date: Interviewee: _ Time: from to _ Place: _ Issue 1: Did you receive any training specifically designed to improve your English writing skills before? _ If no, does it affect your confidence and engagement in writing activities? Is there any experience that you can share? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 114 Issue 2: Did your teachers provide you with feedback on your English writings? _ If NO, does the lack of your teacher’s feedback make you afraid of writing in English? Could you explain further? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ If YES, it seems that teacher’s ineffective feedback makes students avoid writing in English Are you the case? Could you explain further? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 115 Issue 3: When your English is better, you think that you will be more confident and more engaged in writing in English, and will not be afraid of the evaluation? Could you explain further? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Issue 4: Are you good at writing in Vietnamese? _ If your writing skills in Vietnamese are not good, you think that you will be afraid of writing in English? Why (not)? _ _ _ _ _ 116 Issue 5: How were the scores of your previous English essay exams? If your scores are low, you think that you will be afraid of writing in English? Why (not)? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Issue 6: My research has showed that teacher’s criticism does not make students afraid of writing in English What you think about it? Do you have any experience to share? _ _ _ _ _ _  THE END  117 APPENDIX 17 INTERVIEW FORM (VIETNAMESE VERSION) Người vấn: Ngày: _ Sinh viên: _ Thời gian: từ _ đến Địa điểm: Vấn đề 1: Trước đây, bạn có tham gia khóa học thiết kế riêng cho việc phát triển kỹ viết tiếng Anh bạn hay không? Nếu khơng có, điều có ảnh hưởng đến tự tin bạn khả viết tiếng Anh hay khơng? Có ảnh hưởng đến việc bạn tham gia hay không tham gia viết tiếng Anh hay khơng? Bạn chia sẻ thêm kinh nghiệm thân vấn đề không? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 118 Vấn đề 2: Giáo viên bạn có nhận xét viết tiếng Anh bạn không? _ (Nếu không) Việc giáo viên không nhận xét viết tiếng Anh bạn có làm bạn lo lắng việc viết tiếng Anh hay không? Tại (không)? _ _ _ _ (Nếu có) Dường nhận xét giáo viên mà không hiệu (khơng rõ ràng, khơng có tính xây dựng) làm cho sinh viên tránh viết tiếng Anh Bạn có nằm trường hợp khơng? Bạn giải thích thêm không? _ _ _ _ _ 119 Vấn đề 3: Khi tiếng Anh bạn tốt hơn, bạn có nghĩ bạn tự tin khả viết tiếng Anh bạn tham gia viết tiếng Anh nhiều không? Bạn không sợ viết bạn bị đánh giá không? Tại (không)? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Vấn đề 4: Bạn viết (văn) tiếng Việt có giỏi khơng? _ Bạn có nghĩ kỹ viết bạn tiếng Việt không tốt làm bạn sợ viết tiếng Anh không? Tại (không)? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 120 Vấn đề 5: Điểm bạn kỳ thi viết tiếng Anh trước nào? _ Bạn có nghĩ bị điểm thấp kỳ thi viết tiếng Anh trước mà bạn sợ viết tiếng Anh hay không? Tại (không)? _ _ _ _ _ Vấn đề 6: Nghiên cứu cho thấy việc giáo viên trích viết tiếng Anh sinh viên không làm cho sinh viên sợ viết tiếng Anh Bạn nghĩ ý kiến này? Bạn có kinh nghiệm vấn đề để chia sẻ không? _ _ _ _ _  HẾT  121 APPENDIX 18 A SAMPLE OF INTERVIEW SCRIPT (THE TRANSLATED VERSION) Interviewer: Trần Họa Mi Date: September 25, 2013 Interviewee: Student 11 Time: 11:00 - 11:28 A.M Place: Nguyen Tat Thanh University Interviewer: Good morning How are you? STUDENT 11: I’m fine Thanks Interviewer: After five-period learning, are you tired or hungry? STUDENT 11: Don’t worry I’m good Interviewer: I’m very thankful that you were accepted to join with me today My name is Trần Họa Mi I once introduced myself and the purpose of the study when I administered the questionnaire in your class However, I would like to emphasize again The study aims to examine the extent to which Vietnamese undergraduate students who major in English language experience writing apprehension and examine possible mediating factors accounting for the students’ writing apprehension After the questionnaire administration, factors accounting for your friends’ writing apprehension and yours were revealed However, I would like to get insights into how the factors affect your writing apprehension That is why this interview is set up STUDENT 11: Yes I got it Interviewer: Before we start, I think it is important to tell you that your name and what you state today cannot be revealed in any way So, be confident and free to tell me your actual problem 122 STUDENT 11: OK Interviewer: Good Can we start now? STUDENT 11: Yeah I’m ready Interviewer: Did you receive any training specifically designed to improve your English writing skills previously? STUDENT 11: No Interviewer: Does it affect your confidence and engagement in writing activities? Is there any experience that you can share? STUDENT 11: Of course Because I did not attend any writing courses before, I lack the basis of writing techniques Consequently, due to my lack of writing techniques and grammatical structures, I cannot write in English well now Interviewer: As you were not trained to write in English, how did you react to writing tasks at initial stages? STUDENT 11: I was very lazy to write Things are very difficult for me I think one should attend even short-time courses in writing in English so that one has the basis of writing in English Then, one becomes more confident when writing Interviewer: Yeah, I agree with you Now, let’s move on to the next issue Did your teachers provide you with feedback on your English writings? STUDENT 11: Rarely, because teachers were too busy Interviewer: Does the lack of your teacher’s feedback make you afraid of writing in English? STUDENT 11: That maybe right I am afraid of writing in English 123 Interviewer: Could you explain further? STUDENT 11: Because the teacher did not correct our English essays, I found writing in English a waste of time My classmates and I did not know how our essays were and how they could be improved We even could not learn from our mistakes which may help us improve not only our writing skills but also our knowledge Interviewer: We may turn to another issue When your English is better, you think that you will be more confident and more engaged in writing in English, and will not be afraid of the evaluation? Could you explain further? STUDENT 11: Of course When my English grammatical knowledge is adequate, I will be more confident in my writing ability, write more, and confident to submit my writings for grading Interviewer: It’s understandable Are you good at writing in Vietnamese? STUDENT 11: Yeah Interviewer: So you think because your writing skills in Vietnamese are good, you are not afraid of writing in English? Why (not)? STUDENT 11: No … no … I don’t think so Writing in Vietnamese and writing in English are completely different Writing in English requires us a lot more than writing in Vietnamese Writers must have lots of words and good grammatical knowledge to write in English Interviewer: Then, you ever wonder why you write in Vietnamese well but your English writings were not that good? STUDENT 11: It’s all due to my lack of English linguistic knowledge Interviewer: OK Move to another issue How were the scores of your previous English essay exams? STUDENT 11: quite low 124 Interviewer: Would you mind if I ask you for an exact score? STUDENT 11: OK My writing scores were around and Interviewer: Do you think that because your previous scores are low, you will be afraid of writing in English? Why (not)? STUDENT 11: Yes, I am afraid of writing in English after get low scores because I am anxious about getting low grades again Interviewer: Have you ever been criticized by your teachers because of your poor English writings? STUDENT 11: Not yet I mean … what teachers tell me is not called “criticism” It is something lighter However, I heard of my teacher’s criticism on my classmates’ English writing texts Interviewer: That sounds great because I’m studying the effect of teacher’s criticism My research has showed that teacher’s criticism does not make students afraid of writing in English What you think about it? Do you have any experience to share? STUDENT 11: Not all students think negatively about teachers’ criticism Some of my friends reacted negatively to it, but many of them acclaimed it Interviewer: Then, whether those who reacted negatively to teacher’s criticism are afraid of writing in English, you acknowledge that? STUDENT 11: Sorry I not know Interviewer: No problem Do you have anything to add? STUDENT 11: No Interviewer: They are all questions Thanks very much for your enthusiasm and your detailed and helpful information 125 STUDENT 11: Never mind I am very interested in your topic All the best with your research, Interviewer: Thank you See you! STUDENT 11: Bye 126 ... as a Second Language FL Foreign Language HCMC Ho Chi Minh City L1 First Language L2 Second Language M Mean Max Maximum Min Minimum N Number NTTU Nguyen Tat Thanh University SD Standard Deviation... which Vietnamese undergraduate students majoring in English language experience writing apprehension and mediating factors of their writing apprehension, teachers of English can set up appropriate... study was Vietnamese undergraduate students majoring in English language at a university in Vietnam They were targeted to participate in the study because, to students majoring in English language,