Graduate Research and methodlogy

The Impacts of English Grammar on students' writing

Tran Hoang Phuc - 2282202010008

July, 2023
 ABSTRACT
Writing skill is an essential skill which includes all knowledge and abilities to express
one’s ideas through the written word. Most prominently, English writing skill is very
much indispensable to stamp an individual signature in the modern world. The purpose of
this study is to analyze the mistakes that sophomores studying at Van Lang university
often make when applying grammar in writing such as: tenses, paragraph and essay. The
study was conducted on sophomores majoring in English and their assignments or tests,
using the method of error analysis. Research results show that students will make some
groups of errors, and the error structure in each type is different. Thus, for each different
type of essay, students will encounter different problems in terms of language. Various
problems were identified in grammar, syntax, spelling, punctuation and in choice of
vocabulary. In addition to these problems redundancy of content, mother tongue
interference and genre identification were also identified in the study.
Keywords: error analysis, writing skills, tenses, paragraph, essay
Chapter 1: Introduction
The aims of this study are to investigate the impacts of English grammar on students'
especially sophomore writing skill at Van Lang university. Firstly, this chapter goes
through the background of the study. Additionally, it addresses the predicament
confronted by Vietnamese students concerning their writing performance. Finally, the
study's objectives, research questions, significance, and structure are all stated.
1.1. Background of the study
English has established itself as the predominant language of international
communication, education, and business across the world. As a result, learning English as
a second language (ESL) has become an integral component of educational systems
across the world. English writing proficiency is regarded as a critical component in
guaranteeing successful communication and academic accomplishment for students all
over the world. That is the truth, according to "English Proficiency of Pinoy Students"
(2018), the level of English language proficiency of graduates from the Philippines is
lower than the target English proficiency of High School students in Thailand based from
the study conducted by the Hopkins International Partners, the official Philippine
representative to the group called Test of English for International Communication
(TOEIC). In terms of English proficiency, the Philippines is said to fall behind the
majority of its ASEAN neighbors. Furthermore, according to the study's findings, the
level of English proficiency influences Filipinos' chances of getting work overseas.
Although most Filipinos are not native English speakers, they encounter little
apprehension and difficulty in speaking and writing grammatically correct English. It is
found out that fifty percent of the problems in English grammar is due to the changes in
the ending of words since Filipino languages do not have words that change their
conclusions (Barcelon, 2017). According to Truscott (257), the theory describes in details
the factors that affect the acquisition of a second language. The theory claims that the
learner’s first language greatly influences the process of acquiring a second language. If
the learner’s first language is similar to their second language, the leaner will be in a
position to understand the language faster than in cases where the first language is
different. If an individual uses a second language that he or she intends to learn during
interactions with peers, there is the likelihood that writing skills will easily be developed
and thus become easy to learn. The output is another factor that this theory emphasizes on
(Andrews et al. The effect of grammar teaching (syntax) 50). Output and frequent
feedback to learners about grammar in writing is also an important aspect in second
language learning skill growth.

The following are the goals of English language instruction (ELT) in Vietnam at the
general educational level, as reflected in the new curriculum: Students will be able to
utilize English as a method of communication based on grammar at a particular level of
competency in four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing by the conclusion of
the university or college level, as well as read literature at the same level as their textbook
using a dictionary. To have mastered fundamental English phonetics and grammar, as
well as a minimum of 2500 English vocabulary items; To get a basic awareness of
English and American cultures, to become aware of cross-cultural distinctions in order to
be better communicators generally, and to better tell the world about the Vietnamese
people and their culture to take pride in Vietnam, its language and culture. (MOET
2007).

1.2 Statement of the problem

The research feels that all sophomores in the school are not efficient enough to expose or
explain any particular content on their own knowledge whenever they do assignments or
tests about grammar. There are lacunae in the development of writing in English of them.
Through the present study, it is trying to find out the problems existing in the acquisition
of writing skill in English among the students.

Some argue that within the three key elements of grammar in writing, namely content,
writing structure, and language, it is the language aspects encompassing vocabulary
usage, sentence structure, and style that pose the greatest challenges for learners. If they
can correct these language issues can prove to be more demanding. Language acquisition,
development, and application are complex and time-consuming processes, requiring
significant effort from learners. Olsen [11] discovered that second language learners
encounter numerous challenges writing properly owing to their restricted knowledge and
linguistic abilities, and this constraint also makes them difficult to write. Learning to
distinguish between the structures of the first and second languages. At the same time,
Weigle [12] believes that the foregoing constraints will be a significant impediment in the
writing process if the writer concentrates solely on the writing process. Concentrate
solely on language and expression, rather than the essay's subject or organization. Thus,
while learning a second language, writing skill is a particularly difficult talent to obtain if
the two languages have significant structural and grammatical differences.
There are many studies focusing on analyzing the structure and system of writing errors
due to the influence of the first language, and studies show that in each different
language, with different interactions, the structure and fault system are different.
1.3 Aims of the study
The main objective of the researcher is to identify the grammar errors in the writing of
the sophomore students at Falcuty of Foriegn Languages at Van Lang university. After
that we can recommand suggestions to help the overcome the errors.
1.4 Research questions
The findings from these previous studies have provided us some insights into the
challenges Vietnamese students faced and their expectations to ease the practical issues in
teaching EFL writing. Thus, it attempts to explore how sophomores learn this.
The research questions (RQs) posited for this study are as follows:
1) What are the grammatical errors made by students in their writing, and how do
these errors impact the clarity and coherence of their work?
2) What are impacts of students' language backgrounds and mother tongues on their
writing?
1.5 Significance of the study
The study is carried out with the hope to better students’ writing performance. The
answers to these questions are expected to shed more light on learners’ perspectives,
learning practices, difficulties and expectations in learning this. Furthermore, recognizing
the obstacles faced by EFL learners and their expectations should be a fantastic source of
information for teachers to make educated judgments about their teaching strategy in
developing this ability suitably for their unique learners. The findings of this study are
believed to give some information for instructors to provide appropriate and timely
assistance for the efficacy of teaching and acquiring this skill in the setting of Vietnam
and comparable EFL situations.
1.6 Overview of the study
The study includes six chapters.
Chapter one: Introduction: presents the background, problem, aims, scope, significance,
and the structure of the study.
Chapter two: Literature Review: reviews the current situation of testing, teaching and
learning in Vietnam, the theory of Task-Based Language Teaching framework about
grammar, types of tasks, especially the TBSA, and empirical research that have been
done so far.
Chapter three: Research Methodology: describes the research methodology, pedagogical
setting, data collection instruments, and the procedures.
Chapter four-Results and Findings: reports the findings of the oral tests, questionnaires
and the observation note.
Chapter five-Summary and Discussion: summarizes, discusses and interprets the findings
from the oral tests, questionnaires and the observation note.
Chapter six-Conclusions, Implications and Recommendations: represents the major
conclusions of the findings, the implication for teaching writing in the future. It also
releases recommendations for teachers, students and educators in the future.
This chapter introduces the aim of the study, the students’ writing problem and the outline
of the research. The following chapter will refer to the literature review that the
researcher uses in this study