English majored students’ perceptions and practices of critical thinking in academic writing a study at a university in vietnam = mức Độ nhận thức và khả năng thực hành tư duy phản biện củ

English majored students’ perceptions and practices of critical thinking in academic writing a study at a university in vietnam = mức Độ nhận thức và khả năng thực hành tư duy phản biện củ

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

MAI THỊ HIỀN

ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES

OF CRITICAL THINKING IN ACADEMIC WRITING:

A STUDY AT A UNIVERSITY IN VIETNAM

(Mức độ nhận thức và khả năng thực hành tư duy phản biện của sinh viên chuyên Anh trong kỹ năng viết học thuật: Nghiên cứu tại một trường Đai học

The study was conducted at

University of Languages and International Studies, VNU

Supervisors: 1 Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Thi Mai Huong

2 Dr Huynh Anh Tuan

Reviewer 1: ………

Reviewer 2: ………

Reviewer 3: ………

Luận án sẽ được bảo vệ trước Hội đồng chấm luận án tiến sĩ họp tại:

Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ, Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội vào hồi giờ ngày tháng năm 2023

Có thể tìm hiểu luận án tại:

Thư viện Quốc gia Việt Nam

Trung tâm Thông tin - Thư viện, Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale of study 1

1.2 Aims and objectives of study 1

1.3 Research questions 1

1.4 Scope of study 2

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2

2.1 Critical thinking 2

2.2 Academic writing 2

2.3 Connecting critical thinking and academic writing 3

2.4 Potential research gaps from previous related studies 3

2.5 Theoretical framework for the study 3

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 4

3.1 Study context 4

3.2 Research design 4

3.3 The research participants and sampling strategies 5

3.4 Data collection instruments 5

Questionnaire survey 6

Writing samples 8

3.5 Data collection 8

3.6 Data analysis 9

3.7 Triangulating the qualitative and quantitative results 9

CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 9

4.1 Analyzing perceptions of the most important features of critical thinking in academic writing via closed-ended questionnaire 9

4.2 Analyzing perceptions on approaches to critical thinking in academic writing via open-ended questionnaire 10

4.3 Analysing critical thinking practices from writing samples 11

CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSIONS 12

5.1 Connecting theoretical framework to findings 12

5.2 Matches and mismatches: from perceptions to practices 13

CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION 15

6.1 Implications from the study 15

6.2 Limitations of the study 17

6.3 Main contributions of the study 18

6.4 Concluding remarks 22

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale of study

During my time as an English instructor, I noticed a recurring issue regarding students'

"critical thinking." This led me to explore how students grasp this concept As a PhD student and language instructor, I'm eager to enhance students' critical thinking This drove me to choose it as my thesis topic Understanding students' definitions of critical thinking is crucial for academic and life skill development Teachers can improve this skill by addressing misconceptions, guiding analysis, and tailoring lessons Assessing opinions helps identify areas needing support Investigating how English students apply critical thinking in complex academic writing offers insights into their engagement with ideas, source evaluation, and

instructional effectiveness

1.2 Aims and objectives of study

This study aims to explore how English-majored students at a university in Vietnam perceive

of critical thinking and how they practice critical thinking in their essay writing The ultimate goal of the study is to help them improve their critical thinking strategies in their English writing skills – an important requirement of English language learning and teaching at the university The study sets for itself the following objectives:

1 exploring what English-majored students at the studied university perceive as the most important features of critical thinking in academic writing

2 exploring what English-majored students at the studied university perceive as approaches to features of critical thinking in academic writing

3 exploring how English-majored students at the studied university practice their critical thinking in academic writing

1.4 Scope of study

This study investigates the perceptions and practices of critical thinking among English major students at a public university in Vietnam It involves 239 carefully selected participants from this group and primarily uses surveys for data collection The survey consists of 26 questions designed to understand how these students perceive critical thinking

in academic writing Additionally, qualitative data is collected through open-ended questions via Google Forms to gather in-depth narratives Furthermore, the study analyzes 250-word essays written by the participants to gain a reflective perspective on their practices By taking this focused approach, the research aims to reveal specific insights into how English major students at this particular university in Vietnam view and apply critical thinking in their academic endeavors

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Critical thinking

critical thinking involving students reflecting on their knowledge and simultaneously developing powers of critical thinking, critical self-reflection, and critical action—and thereby developing (as a result) critical being (Barnett 1997; 2004; Johnston,

Ford, Mitchell, and Myles 2011) For the purpose of this Literature Review, three broad aspects of CT are highlighted, these are CT as:

(a) Logical reasoning and argumentation

(b) Cognitive skills

(c) Dispositions, attitudes and epistemological development

These three constituent components are intricately interlinked with the domain of academic writing Prior to conducting a detailed dissection of each element, it is imperative to explicate the intricate nexus that exists between critical thinking and the realm of academic writing

2.2 Academic writing

Scholarly research has extensively examined the complexities of undergraduate academic writing, emphasizing the importance of sharpening critical thinking skills, especially among Vietnamese students Flower and Hayes (1981) emphasize the cognitive processes in writing, Silva (1993) highlights linguistic resources, and Lillis and Scott (2007) stress socio-cultural dimensions Johnson and Rose (2020) emphasize the role of socio-cultural aspects in student engagement Combining these perspectives, it's clear that effective undergraduate academic

writing involves integrating cognitive, linguistic, socio-cultural, and critical thinking aspects

to foster proficient writers

2.3 Connecting critical thinking and academic writing

Evaluation criteria for writing often refer to critical thinking (CT) in explicit or implicit ways, aligning with learning outcomes or national frameworks Academic writing and CT share commonalities, such as goal-directed thinking, planning, and organization, which enhance thought processes and self-reflection Ivani's multi-layered language perspective divides language into four levels, with the first two focused on in this study These align with three CT conceptions: logical argumentation, cognitive skills, and dispositional/developmental Student history plays a role; some prioritize CT based on post-graduation applications The subsequent sections explore the connections between CT and teaching academic writing through various approaches, emphasizing logical argumentation, cognitive skills, dispositions, and contextual elements

2.4 Potential research gaps from previous related studies

To date there has been no research that look at how the notion of CT is understood, valued, and practiced from students’ points of view in the Vietnamese setting To the best of our knowledge, CT is a new idea in the Vietnamese educational system, and it has received little attention in the Vietnamese EFL environment The current study, therefore, attempts to contribute to the body of CT literature by investigating the CT abilities of Vietnamese university students in connection to their writing essays As a result, the purpose of this research is to fill a vacuum in the literature Because of time limitation the researcher only tried to explore the perceptions of CT and the extent of CT practice in academic writing among Vietnamese students Various aspects were then covered, such as the arguments and approaches commonly used, establishing voice and authority, self-monitoring and writing strategy adjustments, the influence of attitudes on critical thinking engagement in writing tasks

2.5 Theoretical framework for the study

CT is a fundamental skill that is essential for success in academic writing, especially in EFL contexts It requires the writer to use their cognitive and meta-cognitive skills, dispositions and attitudes, and knowledge and application to produce a well-reasoned and well-supported argument This diagram provides an in-depth exploration of the key elements of CT in

Cognitive and meta-cognitive skills

Analysis Evaluation Creative synthesis

Dispositions and attitudinal development

Attitudes to learning Reflection on learning Epistemological development

English academic writing Each of these elements is interrelated and builds upon the others, creating a comprehensive framework that can be applied to a wide range of writing tasks (See Figure 1)

1 Figure 1 A framework for understanding CT in academic writing

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Study context

This study is situated within the broader context of Vietnam's culture, history, and education Vietnamese students share a historical background influenced by Chinese domination and Confucian thought Economic development and English language integration are prominent due to Đổi Mới policies The study focuses on students at HUNRE, a university with English language majors, common input quality thresholds, and CT skills integrated into language courses taught by foreign language lecturers These shared characteristics make the research

on CT perceptions and practices highly representative

3.2 Research design

Survey research design is a widely used quantitative research method that involves the collection of data through surveys or questionnaires administered to a sample of participants This approach allows researchers to gather information on variables, attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, behaviors, and practices in a structured and efficient manner (Babbie & Mouton, 2018)

The present study strictly followed this framework by firstly dividing itself into two phases: The first one gathered and analysed the quantitative data (collected via the survey

questionnaire); and the second one collected and analysed the qualitative data (collected via open-ended question survey and documents (writing samples) that followed up on the findings of the first phase

Figure 3.1 Survey research procedure for the study

3.3 The research participants and sampling strategies

The study collected data from 239 English majors in their first and second years at a public university in Vietnam These 239 students answered the questionnaire questions voluntarily, with 65 continuing to answer open-ended questions and 14 going on to write five essays in turn Teachers at the research site served only as raters in this study Five instructors volunteered to participate as raters for the participants' essays They all hold master's degrees

in English teaching theory and methods from esteemed universities in the country and have between eight and fifteen years of teaching experience Before rating participants' writings based on the checklist's criteria, they are encouraged to clarify any ambiguous information During the grading process, they follow the grading process in pairs, rater 1 and rater 2 independently, and then discuss whether there is a difference in evaluation

3.4 Data collection instruments

Develop strategies to address knowledge deficits or perceptions

Interpretation and presentation of results

Data collection and analysis Administration of Questionnaires and writing questions

Final version of questionnaire survey Revising questionnaire based on obtained feedback

Questionnaire pre-testing Revising questionnaire based on obtained feedback Review and validation of instruments by experts Questionnaire and writing question designs Deciding on methods of administration Quantitative vs Qualitative

Identifying research objectives

The current study utilized three instruments to collect data: survey questionnaire to collect quantitative data, and documents and open-ended question survey to collect qualitative data Rationale for and description of each instrument are discussed in turn below

Questionnaire survey

The 24 questions in the questionnaire was designed to explore what students understand of

CT in academic writing Specifically, the following mapping between questionnaire queries and the research framework is modelled:

Logical reasoning I1, I2, I14

I1 Importance of logical arguments in academic writing

I2 Understanding the logical structure of arguments

I14 Evaluating the effectiveness of one's own arguments

Writer’s voice I5, I6, I7

I5 Importance of expressing positions clearly in academic writing

I6 Impact of writer's position on credibility in academic contexts

I7 Influence of writer's position on reader perception

Analysis I8, I9, I10

I9 Importance of analysis skills in critical thinking for argumentative essays I10 Identifying patterns or relationships in argumentative essays

Evaluation I11, I12, I13

I11 Critical evaluation of arguments in academic writing

I12 Confidence in evaluating the effectiveness of arguments

I13 Self-evaluation of evaluation skills compared to peers

Creative synthesis I15, I16, I26

I15 Importance of creative synthesis in effective argumentative essays

I16 Frequency of engaging in creative synthesis

I26 Reflective thinking during review and revision of academic writing

Attitudes to learning I25, I4, I3, I24

I25 Challenging beliefs and values for new perspectives in complex issues I4 Addressing biases and limitations in academic writing

I24 Seeking alternative perspectives and sources in argument development

Reflections on learning I19, I20, I21, I18

I19 Motivation to improve writing skills for academic success

I20 Willingness to seek feedback for writing improvement

I21 Openness to learning new writing strategies and techniques

I18 Confidence in writing effectively for academic purposes

Epistemological development I17, I23, I22

I17 Importance of strong writing skills for academic success

I23 Questioning assumptions and biases in research for academic writing I22 Role of critical thinking in overall performance in academic writing

After analysing quantitative data, participants' perceptions of CT centred on the following themes: (1) Analysis and evaluation skills; (2) Personal motivation; (3) Intellectual openness and self-reflection; (4) Self-confidence and Creative Synthesis; and (5) Logical reasoning and argumentation Therefore, the subsequent phase of data collection is guided by these themes In this study, the survey questions were structured as follows:

(1) Analysis and evaluation skills Q3, Q4

Q3 Analysis of information and arguments in constructing an argumentative essay Q4 Evaluation of the effectiveness of analysis in an argumentative essay

(2) Personal motivation Q5

Q5 Assessment of overall quality in academic writing

(3) Intellectual openness and self-reflection Q8, Q9

Q8 Willingness to challenge beliefs and values in approaching complex issues in academic writing

Q9 Openness to learning new writing strategies and techniques in academic writing improvement

(4) Self-confidence and creative synthesis Q6, Q7

Q6 Approach to creative synthesis in argumentative essay writing

Q7 Strategies for grounding creative synthesis in evidence and research

(5) Logical reasoning and argumentation Q1, Q2

Q1 Construction of arguments in academic writing

Q2 Challenges in using logical arguments in academic writing

In accordance with the framework, the questions are organised as follows, and the two factors, writer's voice and epistemological development, do not appear in SPSS, so these factors will be ordered and analysed in writing samples using the check list

Writing samples

The study used writing papers as a source of qualitative data, beside the quantitative dataset generated by the questionnaire survey and the qualitative data from an open-ended question survey described above Topics of the papers generated by participants at the research site are limited to conventional science-related subjects such as information technology and student life In addition, the researcher applies the criteria to the research framework, the checklist is mapped accordingly as follows:

Logical reasoning

C1 Coherence and Organization: C1.1, C1.2, C1.3, C1.4

C2 Use of Evidence and Reasoning: C2.5, C2.6, C2.7, and C2.8

Cognitive and meta-cognitive skills

C3 Depth and complexity of analysis: C3.9, C3.10

C4 Criteria for evaluation: C4.11, C4.12

3.5 Data collection

The data collection procedures were given special attention in this study because the quality

of the data collection procedures or a systematic collection of data can have significant impact on the research quality In all stages of data collection, the researcher maintained a standard procedure in administering each data collection instrument, be it the questionnaire, open-ended question survey, and writings Such standardization is crucial in minimizing the

potential bias introduced to the study due to varying procedures In addition, to assure systematic and quality data collection, this study considers ethics approval attainment and procedures to collect data using each of the instruments described in the previous section The information concerning ethics approval and specific data collection procedures is presented in the following sub-sections

3.6 Data analysis

The previous sections presented how and what data was collected This section detailed how the gathered data were analysed The section firstly provides an overview of the purposes and sequence in the data analysis process of the study, then describes the specific procedures and techniques employed for the analysis of quantitative data and qualitative data respectively The final part of the section presents the strategies for connecting quantitative and qualitative results to answer the research questions and the measures for assuring validity of data and results

3.7 Triangulating the qualitative and quantitative results

When two databases had been separately and sequentially analysed, the results were connected to answer the research questions The study drew overall inferences concerning the explanatory connection between the results and inferences made in each of the previous phases (qualitative and quantitative) and displayed these ―meta-inferences‖ after the presentation of both quantitative and qualitative findings

CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

4.1 Analyzing perceptions of the most important features of critical thinking in academic writing via closed-ended questionnaire

A comprehensive overview of descriptive statistics for five distinct groups (Group 1, Group

2, Group 3, Group 4, and Group 5) has been provided Each group's N (Number of Observations), mean (Average), median (Middle Value), mode (Most Frequent Value), standard deviation (Std Deviation), minimum, maximum, and sum have been presented This dataset offers insights into distribution, central tendency, spread, and range within each group, facilitating a better grasp of data characteristics

Ranking the groups by importance, Group 5 emerges as the most significant With a mean of 3.9358, highest central tendency, and closely clustered values around the mean (low Std Deviation), it stands out Group 1 follows with a mean of 3.7155, substantial central

tendency, and moderate variability Group 2 ranks third, with a mean of 3.5414, notable central tendency, and moderate variability Group 3 takes the fourth spot, with a mean of 3.3110 and moderate variability Lastly, Group 4 ranks as least important, with a mean of 3.0847 and moderate variability This ranking offers a comprehensive understanding of each group's significance and its characteristics within the dataset, aiding in the interpretation of their respective roles

4.2 Analyzing perceptions on approaches to critical thinking in academic writing via open-ended questionnaire

In culmination, this comprehensive analysis of participants' responses offers profound insights into the intricate tapestry of critical thinking within the realm of academic writing Across diverse themes such as logical reasoning, structured organization, research-based foundation, language proficiency, coherence, idea generation, creativity, and analytical thinking, participants' strengths and areas for growth have been meticulously unveiled The art of language proficiency, coherence, strategic use of evidence, and nurturing creativity stand out as pivotal elements in constructing compelling arguments Concurrently, the pursuit

of logical thinking, often accompanied by uncertainties, signifies a deep commitment to precision and effectiveness

As we conclude this exploration, it is evident that participants' approach to crafting persuasive essays is rooted in the art of analyzing information and arguments A systematic approach that involves careful reading, reliance on factual evidence, and breaking down complex elements into coherent ideas forms the foundation of their strategies The orchestration of clear outlines, direct thesis statements, and integration of well-supported arguments with real-world examples further structures their thought processes The embrace

of diverse perspectives and incorporation of counterarguments elevate their essays to a higher level of credibility and depth

Yet, analysis is not without its challenges As participants evaluate their effectiveness, a spectrum of attitudes emerges, reflecting varying degrees of confidence and introspection These diverse perspectives highlight the intricate interplay between personal perceptions and the act of analysis itself, shaping the way participants integrate it into their persuasive essay construction

In the broader context, participants' willingness to self-evaluate and pursue continuous