i THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines ENGLISH WRITING SKILLS AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS OF FRESHMAN COLLEGE STUDENTS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM: BASIS FOR FUNCTIONAL WRITING ACTIVITY A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Graduate School Batangas State University Batangas City, Philippines In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Of Doctor of Philosophy Major in English By: NGUYEN THANH TU April 2015 ii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation entitled “ENGLISH WRITING SKILLS AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS OF FRESHMAN COLLEGE STUDENTS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM: BASIS FOR FUNCTIONAL WRITING ACTIVITY” prepared and submitted by NGUYEN THANH TU in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy major in English has been examined and is recommended for Oral Examination MATILDA H DIMAANO, Ph.D Adviser PANEL OF EXAMINERS Approved by the committee on Oral Examination with a grade of _ DR AMADA G BANAAG Chairman DR MARIA LUISA A VALDEZ Member DR FELIX M PANOPIO Member DR MYRNA G SULIT External Representative Accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy major in English Comprehensive Examination: PASSED _ Date MATILDA H DIMAANO, Ph.D Dean, Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences iii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines ABSTRACT Title : English Writing Skill and Critical Thinking Skill of Freshman College Students in The University of Transport Technology System: Basis for Functional Writing Activities Author : Nguyễn Thanh Tú Degree : Doctor of Philosophy Major : English Year : 2015 Adviser : Dr Matilda H Dimaano Summary: This study aimed to assess the English writing skills and critical thinking skills of Freshman College students in the University of Transport Technology System in the three provinces of Vietnam to be utilized as basis for functional writing activity It made use of the descriptive method of research There were 306 students and 20 teachers who were the respondents of the study The data gathering instruments used were the teacher-made test for student respondents and survey questionnaire for teacher respondents The statistical tools used were the mean, percentage, percentile rank, ranking, standard deviation, t- test Results of the study showed that majority of the respondents are iv THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines males which comprise 98 percent or 300 of the 306 total populations This indicates that in the universities that were studied, they were gender-based either, they were all male school and have only started to accept female students In their parents’ educational attainment majority of the students’ parents have educational attainment in the “other” level or education higher than the tertiary with 48.7 percent For place of origin, the students come from at least 13 different places in Vietnam with majority or 21.0 percent coming from “Others” or different places in Vietnam, which indicates that the three University campuses under study cater to students coming from different places in Vietnam As to type of school, majority come from public high school which comprise 287 of 306 respondents or 93.8 percent which indicates that the public high schools are the main institutions catering to the students because public high school is free and subsidized by the Vietnamese government Further, the level of writing skills of student in terms of the discourse component is average as indicated in their average score of 9.5 correct items with a mean score equivalent of 67.8 percent which is above 50 percent This value has a percentile rank of 34.3 percent In terms of grammatical components, the level of students’ writing skills is average based on the v THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines average score of 6.6 correct items with an equivalent mean correct score of 66.3 percent The students have average level of skill performance in mechanics; component skill of morphology as well as in syntax As regards teachers’ assessment of the critical thinking skills of students, findings of the study showed that the critical thinking skill that most respondents agree garnering a score of 19 or 95 percent belongs to the cognitive skills classification This is followed by four skills that rank position and all belong to the affective skill classification The evaluation of critical thinking skills of students according to their frequency of use as perceived by teacher respondents indicated that the skills ranged in frequency from 2.20 to 3.95 with equivalent rating of “Rarely” to “Often” respectively The same critical thinking skills were evaluated by the teacher respondents according to their degree of importance of which result ranged from 2.45 to 4.25 with equivalent ratings of “Less Important” to “Moderately Important” respectively In terms of relationship of the ratings on level of writing skill to the teachers’ assessment of critical thinking skills of students, findings of the study showed that majority of the p-values of the different mean combinations were greater than or equal to 0.05 with 104 combinations out of 165, indicating vi THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines these means as not significantly related This implies that these mean combinations that is critical thinking item skill x writing test component skill are statistically independent of each other In relation to the output of the study in the form of functional activities, it is designed to improve the students’ critical thinking especially for this population of Vietnamese students The study recommended that English teachers must engage students to varied writing activities; that the writing activities developed may be reviewed by language teachers prior to its utilization; and further studies may be conducted on other components of language to determine students’ English proficiency vii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines ACKNOWLEGMENT The researcher wishes to express her sincerest thanks and appreciations to those who, in one way or another, have helped her make this dissertation a reality The author is most grateful to: Prof Dr Dang Kim Vui, President of Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam for his contribution and support to the Doctor of Philosophy major in English Program in collaboration with Batangas State University, Republic of the Philippines; Dr Matilda H Dimaano, Dissertation Adviser, for her guidance, suggestions, critical comments and tenacious effort to see through the completion of this work; The Panel of Examiners: Dr Myrna G Sulit, Dr Amada Banaag, Dr Ma Luisa Valdez, Dr Corazon B Cabrera, Dr Felix Panopio for their invaluable insights, candid remarks and recommendations to enhance this study; Dr Do Ngoc Vien, Rector of University of Transport Technology for the approval of the request to conduct the study; The Respondents of the Study, for their active involvement and cooperation in making this study possible; Her Classmates and Colleagues, for their support friendship and viii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines inspiration; and Finally, to her Parents, Husband, Beloved Children, Relatives, and Friends for their whole-hearted encouragement, financial, moral and spiritual support Nguyen Thanh Tu ix THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my loving and ever supportive husband, Mr Nguyen Van Khanh and my loving sons, Khanh Nam, Duc Minh, to my family, and to my dear University of Transport and Technology (UTT) community Nguyen Thanh Tu x THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE .i APPROVAL SHEET ii ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGMENT .vii DEDICATION ix TABLE OF CONTENTS x LIST OF TABLES .xiii LIST OF FIGURES .xv CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Introduction Statement of the Problem Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study Significance of the Study .9 II REVIEW OF LITERATURE Conceptual Literature 11 Research Literature 42 165 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines (3) Validation Letter of the Questionnaire for Teachers 166 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Appendix D: Request Letters (1) 167 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines (2) 168 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines (3) 169 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Appendix E Documentations Ha Noi Campus 170 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Thai Nguyen Campus 171 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Vinh Yen Campus 172 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Dr Do Ngoc Vien – Rector of University of Transport Technology 173 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Mr Nguyen Duy Hoa – Leader of Thai Nguyen Campus Mr Nguyen Van Bang – Leader of Vinh Yen Campus 174 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines The student respondents in Ha Noi Campus The student respondents in Thai Nguyen Campus The student respondents in Vinh Yen Campus 175 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines The teachers respondents in University of Transport Technology 176 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Appendix F Psychrometric Conversion Table 177 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Source:http://faculty.pepperdine.edu/shimels/Courses/Files/ConvTable.pdf Accessed 05/08/2014 178 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines CURRICULUM VITAE NGUYEN THANH TU Phan Dinh Phung, Thai Nguyen Mobile no 0988774489 E-mail add: thanhtucdgt@gmail.com PERSONAL INFORMATION Date of Birth : April 28, 1981 Place of Birth : Thai Nguyen Province, Viet Nam Age : 33 Nationality : Vietnamese Religion : Buddhism Sex : Female Civil Status : Married Spouse : Nguyen Van Khanh Sons’ names : Nguyen Khanh Nam, Nguyen Duc Minh EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND Elementary Level 1986-1991 Doi Can School, Thai Nguyen province Lower Secondary Level 1991-1996 Nguyen Du Secondary School, Thai Nguyen province 179 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Upper Secondary Level 1996-1999 Luong Ngoc Quyen Upper Secondary, Thai Nguyen province Tertiary Level 1999-2003 College of Foreign Languages, Viet Nam Thai Nguyen Teachers’ Training University Master of Arts in English Laguna State Polytechnic University, 2009 Thai Nguyen U niversity of Agriculture and Forestry Siniloan, Laguna, Philippines WORK EXPERIENCE Lecturer University of Transport Technology Thai Nguyen Campus August 2004 - present [...]... Statement of the Problem This study aimed to assess the English writing skills and critical thinking skills of Freshman College students in the University of Transport Technology System in the three provinces of Vietnam to be utilized as basis for functional writing activity Specifically, the study sought answers to the following questions: 1 What is the demographic profile of students in terms of 1.1... activities for their future students Administrators Results of the study will benefit them as they will be guided by the findings on what decisions they will make regarding the adequacy of the students writing skills and implement remedial measures that will improve students English writing skills of their schools Parents Findings of the study give them information as to the level of writing skills of their... meaning They may also analyse concept into its logical parts They can also make comparison and contrast and analyze similarities and differences Students then may engage in evaluation using set of criteria and may identify references and construct their own meaning Rational thinking and finding solutions are clearly the focus of critical thinking Students must focus on the quality of their thinking and. .. knowledge of the world and lexical 18 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines and grammatical cohesive devices to make the foregoing inferences, predict outcomes, and infer links and connections among the parts of the text including getting the main point or the most important information, distinguishing the main idea from supporting details,... development Critical thinking on the other hand as stated by Michael Scriven and Richard Paul in the Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and 5 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines skilfully conceptualizing, applying, analysing, synthesizing, and/ or... language domains such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing The CELP/WIDA has six English language acquisition proficiency levels namely entering, beginning, developing, expanding, bridging and reaching Meanwhile, the proficiency levels identification includes looking at linguistic complexity, the amount and quality of speech or writing for a given situation; forms and conventions, the types and variety... Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines 3.2 affective disposition skills? 4 Are there significant relationships between the levels of students writing skills and critical thinking skills? 5 What functional writing activities may be proposed to enhance student's writing and critical thinking skills? Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study This study... Bases for Functional Writing Activity 97 xv THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Title Page Conceptual Paradigm of the English Writing Skills and Critical Thinking Skills of Freshman College Students 56 1 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines... where learning begins with listening followed by speaking, then by reading, and finally writing Thus, the four language skills referred to are: listening, speaking, reading and writing (www.englishclub.com/learn -english/ language -skills. htm) It is understood that these four language skills are related to each other in two ways: the direction of communication whether in or out and the method of communication... Students Affective Skills According to the Frequency of Use 88 11 Students Cognitive Skills According to the Degree of Importance .89 xiv THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam 12 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Students Cognitive Skills According to the Degree of Importance 91 13 Levels of Writing Skill and Critical Thinking Skills of Students ... assess the English writing skills and critical thinking skills of Freshman College students in the University of Transport Technology System in the three provinces of Vietnam to be utilized as basis. .. improve students English writing skills of their schools Parents Findings of the study give them information as to the level of writing skills of their children and may find ways of helping them... critical thinking Students must focus on the quality of their thinking and explore whether or not their thinking is good to their lives They must also think about their choices, engage in fair-minded