TRA VINH UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE

THE THIRD AND FOURTH-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS FACTORS AFFECTING THEIR LEARNING OF AMERICAN AND BRITISH LITERATURE AT TRA VINH UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM

Ngoc Boi Trinh — 2024-07-23

The purpose of this study was to explore the third and fourth-year English majors’ attitudes towards factors influencing their learning of American and British literature courses. The participants included 50 English majors at Tra Vinh University. The only instrument employed in this study was the questionnaire which focused on literature’s genres, eras, themes, writing styles, class activities, and personal development and career aspirations. The results showed that the participants favored reading short stories, dramas, and films. Concerning eras, they tended to read stories written in the ancientclassical as well as contemporary eras. Concerning themes, they preferred stories about love, relationships, nature, and mystery. Regarding class activities, they hoped to participate in topic discussion, exercises, quizzes, role play, watching films, and playing games. The participants also recognized the benefits of reading literary texts as they could help to develop students’ language and critical thinking skills, master diverse cultures, exhibit good characteristics, and show empathy towards others. Based on the findings, the authors suggest some recommendations that can assist teachers of American and British literature in improving their ways of teaching literature courses to students more effectively.

ENGLISH-MAJORED SENIORS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE INFLUENCES OF LITERATURE LEARNING ON READING AND CULTURAL AWARENESS – A CASE STUDY AT A UNIVERSITY IN THE MEKONG DELTA, VIETNAM

Bao Hoang Gia Tuong — 2024-07-23

Using literature as a subject to gain students’ language comprehension and cultural knowledge has been focused on in those days. Therefore, this study aimed to determine English-majored seniors’ attitudes towards the influences of literature learning on English majors’ reading and cultural awareness since these are two factors that are directly affected by literary texts. First, eighty-eight seniors who were English majors at a university in the Mekong Delta completed the questionnaire. After that, twenty seniors from the eighty-eight participants were asked to deeply express their thoughts about the topic through the interview. The mean and standard deviation of each closed-ended item in the questionnaire were calculated, and the number of interviewees mentioning each cluster was classified. Regarding the findings about the influences on reading, literature learning was believed to help students enrich their vocabulary, enhance their reading motivation, and improve their reading strategies. For the influences on cultural awareness, the results showed that students could have knowledge about aspects of other cultures and identify multicultural differences after learning literature. Finally, some recommendations were produced based on the findings.

UNVEILING VIETNAMESE ENGLISH MAJORS’ PERCEPTIONS OF AI CHATBOTS: A REFLECTIVE EXPLORATION THROUGH CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS AT TRA VINH UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM

Thao Hieu Nguyen — 2024-07-23

Conceptual metaphors are a fundamental aspect of human cognition that allows people to understand abstract ideas through more objective experiences. Recent studies show that metaphors are widely used in language and significantly influence human thought processes. However, how conceptual metaphors represent language learners’ perspectives, has been required for more attention. Adapting the Conceptual Metaphor Theory proposed by Johnson and Lakoff, this study aims to analyse the conceptual metaphors employed by Vietnamese English majors to reflect their perceptions regarding the use of AI chatbots, especially ChatGPT, in language learning in general and Englishspeaking skill enhancement in particular. Data involves the collection of reflective statements from 32 participants, followed by frequent occurrences analysis to identify recurring conceptual metaphors and associated perceptions. The findings revealed that varied metaphors are illustrated, and that tool and learning companions appear to be the two most popular. Furthermore, the metaphors have been categorised into underlying sub-themes. While the majority of representations seem beneficial, concerns are also raised regarding creativity and critical thinking abilities may be replaced if students overuse ChatGPT. Based on the results, digital literacy development for both instructors and students, academic integrity accountability, and plagiarism’s consequences are also discussed. This hopes to offer some insights for future research into various applications of ChatGPT for the analysis of specific language-learning settings.

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS’ FEEDBACK ON THEIR WRITING SKILLS AT TRA VINH UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM

Duy Thi Thuy Pham — 2024-07-23

In the context of language learning, students’ perceptions of teachers’ feedback on their writing skills play a crucial role in their overall development. Understanding how students perceive and apply feedback can provide valuable insights into effective teaching strategies and help educators tailor their approach to better support students’ learning. This study aims to explore various ways in which students perceive feedback from teachers on their writing skills, with a focus on the importance of feedback and students’ preferences for types of feedback. A 5-point Likert scale questionnaire and descriptive technique will be used to gather and analyze data on students’ perceptions of feedback. The findings show that
students realize how feedback from teachers plays a part in their writing assignments since it can help them enhance their writing performance. When instructors give students feedback, especially direct feedback and written notes to help
them make fewer mistakes, they are tremendously satisfied. Indirect feedback is believed to be a useful technique. The findings help teachers understand more about how students perceive feedback on their writing skills, enabling teachers
to tailor their teaching methodology in teaching practices to suit their students’ needs. As a result, students can improve their writing performance as well as their academic achievement.

INSTRUCTION-GIVING STRATEGIES IN NON-ENGLISH MAJOR CLASSES: A CASE STUDY IN THE MEKONG DELTA, VIETNAM

Loan Nhu Pham — 2024-07-23

In the era of integration, teaching and learning English is one of the significant issues in Vietnam. Effectively teaching and motivating students are perpetual concerns for educators. Providing clear instructions stands out as an essential method to trigger students’ learning motivation. This study was conducted at a university in the South of Vietnam. The descriptive study was carried out with 129 nonEnglish-major freshmen. The questionnaire was delivered to investigate the frequency with which teachers use strategies in giving instructions in EFL classrooms and students’ feedback on those strategies’ usage. The findings revealed that teachers flexibly combine all strategies when giving instructions in class. In addition, students
have positive feedback on the teacher’s instructions. This means that, in giving instructions, what the teachers do is similar to what students expect them to do. This study enriches the quality of English teaching and learning in order to meet
the learners’ needs.

INFLUENTIAL FACTORS ON VIETNAMESE NON-ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS’ AUTONOMY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING: A CASE STUDY AT TRA VINH UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM

Nhung Thi Tuyet Nguyen — 2024-07-23

Learner autonomy plays a crucial role in language acquisition, particularly in English as a foreign language contexts. This mixed-methods study aims to investigate the internal and external factors influencing English language learning autonomy among non-English majors at a university in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Ninety second-year students from diverse fields participated in a structured questionnaire, while five students were further engaged in semistructured interviews. Results reveal that high motivation and effective self-regulated learning strategies positively demonstrate greater learner autonomy, while low self-confidence in real-life English communication remains a challenge for students to increase their autonomy as internal factors. Additionally, the study highlights the crucial role of a supportive educational environment, teacher support, and technological access as external factors in fostering learner autonomy. Based on these findings, the research proposes recommendations for enhancing learner autonomy in English language learning by leveraging these identified factors.

EXPLORING NON-ENGLISH MAJORED SOPHOMORES’ DIFFICULTIES IN LISTENING COMPREHENSION AT TRA VINH UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM

Thuy Thi Thu Huynh — 2024-07-23

Listening is a crucial communication skill that helps learners communicate effectively in various contexts. Learners often encounter listening barriers, which can result in misunderstandings and even disrupt their conversations. This study aims to understand the difficulties in listening comprehension faced by 45 non-English majored sophomores at Tra Vinh University in the second semester of the 2024 academic year. An investigation using a questionnaire that focused on the challenges faced by learners is conducted while listening. The results of the study show that learners encounter various challenges when learning listening skills, including background knowledge, vocabulary, text length, speed, and different accents. The study provides valuable insights into the difficulties experienced by the learners and offers some effective strategies to overcome them. Lastly, some recommendations were suggested based on the findings.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE LECTURERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON TEACHING CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM: A CASE STUDY AT TRA VINH UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM

Tu Cam Do — 2024-07-23

In the era of modernization and globalization, it is crucial to promote cultural integration and intercultural awareness in foreign language classes. The study investigates the perspectives of contractual and visiting lecturers of a tertiary education institution in Vietnam on teaching cultural elements in the foreign language classroom. This study aims to determine the perspectives of language instructors about intercultural knowledge in language curriculum, as well as their views toward the development of interpersonal skills and cultural openness and adaptability. The descriptive statistics of forty responses to a questionnaire from the participants show that the lecturers evaluate the current training program as having rich content of cultural knowledge of various countries, enabling lecturers to cultivate their cultural understanding and apply it to teaching effectively. The participants also believe that understanding different countries’ cultures helps improve teachers’ language proficiency and the ability to work effectively in various cultural contexts. In addition, the significance of foreign languages in the global context is considered an influencing factor in teachers’ motivation to teach a foreign language. These results highlight the value of intercultural competence and shed light on the perspectives of foreign language lecturers in conveying cultural content in their classes.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EFL STUDENTS’ AWARENESS OF SOCIAL ISSUES AND PERSPECTIVES ON ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING: A CASE AT TRA VINH UNIVERSITY, VIETNAM

Tieu Binh Khac Nguyen — 2024-07-23

Society is changing rapidly in modern times, causing people to attempt to keep up with the latest information, while argumentative writing requires students who are learning English as a foreign language (EFL) to clearly state their ideas about a social problem using a wide range of knowledge and critical thinking. This study aims to find out these students’ awareness of primary social issues, figure out their perspectives on argumentative writing, and examine the correlation between their awareness of primary social issues and perspectives on argumentative writing. Mixed approaches with questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data from 150 English majors at Tra Vinh University. The findings indicate that students’ concern about social issues can diversify their viewpoints on argumentative writing through general input, lexical enrichment, and critical thinking processes. Based on the findings, the authors suggest several methods for students to absorb information about rising problems in society and recommend students how to apply them to their argumentative writing.