An investigation of the problems with first-year students' English writing skills at FPT University

Abstract

In the 21st century, communicating in English has become an indispensable skill and it is a popular language for global communication. Besides oral communication, people can communicate through writing. Writing is considered the most difficult skill not only for native speakers but also for millions of students learning English as their second language. The present study was conducted with the aim to investigate the factors affecting the writing skills of firstyear students at FPT University (Hanoi Campus). To provide a deep understanding of students’ weaknesses in writing skills, a mixed methods approach was selected in this research. In the study, the survey responses were collected from 200 students who are first-year students to find out the most recurrent writing problems. Eight students were also interviewed to know their perceptions about their writing difficulties and factors that hamper their English writing development. The findings revealed that most of the students made many mistakes related to writing aspects such as grammar, vocabulary, cohesion, coherence and organization. Besides, although both internal and external factors were found to contribute to the writing problems students encountered, the latter seemed to be more dominant. Finally, solutions for students to overcome these problems were also discussed. Most students agreed that spending more time reading would help them to overcome difficulties and problems in writing. It is hoped that the study will not only point out the problematic factors that cause student hindrance in writing English, but also suggest some educational measures to improve the situation. Thus, there might be some significant values to stakeholders such as English language teachers and learners.