MODULE 4 Manual (lecture notes)

MODULE 4: Communication for Academic Purposes

Part l: TARGETED COURSE OUTCOMES AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Course Outcomes

At the end of the course, the students should be able to:

1. Describe the elements of communicative competence as framework for effective

communication;
2. Evaluate critically texts including multimodal texts;
3. Convey ideas through oral, written, audio-visual and/or web-based presentations for
different target audiences in local or global settings.
Learning Objectives

At the end of End term, students should be able to:

1. Distinguish the differences between thesis/dissertation and research article ;

2. Point out the salient language features, writing convention and elements in the

different parts of research article; and

2. Perform Genre Analysis Project using Research Article.

PCOM MANUAL

Students need to understand the differences between thesis/dissertation and research

article to be aware of the distinct functions of these two academic papers.

DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THESIS/DISSERTATION AND RESEARCH ARTICLE

THESIS or DISSERTATION RESEARCH ARTICLE

 Undergraduate Thesi
Masteral Thesis (Scientific Journal Articles)
Doctoral Thesis
 Submitted to panel of experts  Published in journals and has
in a school or institution. passed the standards of
experts in the field

 Unpublished research work  Published research work

 To demonstrate disciplinary  To contribute to any field of
knowledge and understanding study or discourse community
as part of the requirement for
a degree.
 Longer than a research article  Shorter than a thesis depending on
the field and journal
 Detailed review of the related  Uses synthesis and concise style in
literature presenting the Literature Review
 Detailed presentation of results  Summarizes the presentation of
findings results

 Novice writing  Professional writing

*Although Research articles can have different formats (components and sub-components) based
on the standard of the journal where they are published or the orientation of the discipline or
field where they belong, they have common elements such as the Abstract, Introduction,
Method, Result and Discussion and Conclusion.

*Thesis varies in its format depending on the school or institution. However, this established
form of writing may contain similar components found in research articles.

*The following formats are common among thesis and research articles: IMRD, IMRAD,
ILrMRDC, and IMRDC.

*The citation styles used in thesis and research article also vary depending on the discipline.
Citation styles can be APA, MLA, Number Referencing etc.

MAJOR COMPONENTS OF RESEARCH ARTICLE (RA)

The first component of the RA is ABSTRACT

Abstract is both a summary and a ‘purified’ reflection of the entire article. It provides the reader
with a summary of the contents of the dissertation (Bhatia, 1993). It is a faithful and accurate
summary, which is representative of the whole article. (Swales, 1990, p. 82).
Based on the results of various studies on Abstract, the following ideas are expressed concisely
in this part of the research report: Introduction which may contain the research objectives, aims
or purpose, Methodology, Results/Findings and Conclusion or Implication .

The following are examples of Abstract that contain brief description of the research’s
Introduction, Methodology, Results, and Conclusion or Implication.

In the Abstract of Study A, sentence 1 is the Introduction because it contains the aim of the
study. Sentence 2 and sentence 3 contain the methods and samples, thus they belong to
Methodology. Sentence 4 and sentence 5 give the Results of the study, and sentence 6 provides
the Conclusion.

A. Title: Relationship Between Different Combinations of Personality Traits and Motivation Mechanism:
Change Leadership as Mediator

Abstract

1. The aim of this study is to identify combinations of different personality traits among teaching faculty and
explore for which combinations college managers should use change leadership to mediate their cognition in a
motivation mechanism and for which combinations doing so is not necessary. 2. In this study, two-stage cluster
analysis and partial least squares are the methods for identifying different combinations of personality traits and
test mediation. 3. This study uses 350 samples for analysis. 4. From the test results, this study first identifies three
combinations of personality traits, including “high central force but outgoing”, “middle-high central force but
outgoing and a little nervousness”, and “synthesizing type”. 5. The “highly central force but outgoing” and “middle-
high central force but outgoing and a little nervousness” do not need to be mediated by change leadership, and
teaching faculty who have these two combinations of personality traits will have positive attitudes or thoughts
towards the motivation mechanism. 6. Regarding the “synthesizing type”, those with this combination of personality
traits will demonstrate complex attitudes, reactions, or thinking, and therefore, college managers should think about
how to change their attitudes or behavior through change leadership to communicate and guide them to accept the
motivation mechanism.

In the Abstract of Study B, sentence 1 serves as the Introduction because it gives the purpose of
the study. Sentence 2, sentence 3, sentence 4 and sentence 5 belong to the Methodology section
because they contain the participants, interventions employed and questionnaire. Sentence 6 and
sentence 7 tell the Results of the study and sentence 8 gives the implication.

B. Title: How to Enhance Teachers’ Bullying Identification: A Comparison among Providing a Training
Program, a Written Definition, and a Definition with a Checklist of Bullying Characteristics

 Abstract

1. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether teachers’ ability to detect bullying incidents could be
enhanced by offering bullying identification trainings. 2. The participants of this study were 532 primary, middle,
and high school teachers in Taiwan, who were recruited to participate in one of the four study groups (three
treatment groups and one control group). 3. Those in the three treatment groups were provided with the following
interventions: a 1.5-h training on bullying identification (Group X); a definition including the features of bullying
in written form (Group Y); and a written definition accompanied by checklist of three bullying characteristics for
each scenario (Group Z). 4. A 24-item Recognition of Bullying Incidents Questionnaire (RBIQ) was used in this
study. 5. Of these 24 scenarios, 12 were used to assess participants in the pre-test phase, and 12 were used for the
post-test. 6. The results, using a mixed-model two-way analysis of variance, indicated that the teachers in Group X
were significantly better at bullying identification than those in other groups. 7. Teachers in Group Z also were
significantly better at bullying identification than teachers in Group Y and the control group. 8. These results imply
that merely providing a definition does little to enhance teachers’ ability to identify school bullying.

 The second component of RA is the INTRODUCTION

1. The communicative purpose of RA introduction is to mark a link between what has gone
before in the relevant field of research and the present work that is being reported, making it
relevant by placing it appropriately in the context of… previous research in a particular field of
Study. (Swales, 1990)

2. Introductions play a key role in showing the relevance of the research about to be reported in
the thesis to previous works (Bunton, 2002)

3. Introduction shows the link between what has gone before and the present work (Bhatia 1993:
82)

4. Introduction includes the background literature related to the problem and gaps that still
remain...In this chapter, you need to support all of your claims and positions using citations from
empirical research studies, government reports and data, websites, and theory and opinion
papers. (Bui, 2013, p.10)

5. Research introductions take the form of writing first about what is already known; then about
what is unknown (Fahy, 2008)

6. Studies of introductions in research articles and PhD theses have made it clear that a crucial
rhetorical function of introductions is to justify the study being reported (Bunton, 2002; Swales,
1990 as cited in Samraj, 2008, p.56)

Based on the research works done by John Swales on research articles (or journal articles), the
Introduction section of the research articles from different disciplines include three major
components termed as MOVES by Swales: MOVE 1 (Establishing a Territory), MOVE 2
(Establishing a Niche), and MOVE 3 (Occupying a Niche). These three major components of the
introduction refer to how the RA writers organize their ideas in the introduction.

The following moves are steps or rhetorical strategies that can be employed in establishing the
different moves.

Move 1 Establishing a Territory

Step 1. Making topic generalization

Step 2. Claiming Centrality
 Step 3. Reviewing previous research

Move 2 Establishing a Niche

Step 1. Counter claiming
Step 2. Indicating a gap
Step 3. Question- raising
Step 4. Continuing a tradition

Move 3 Occupying the Niche

Step 1. Indicating the main purpose or purposes.

Step 2. Announcing principal findings
Step 3. Indicating article structure

Move 1 (Establishing a Territory) in research paper introduction is realized using the following
steps: Step 1. Making topic generalization(s); Step 2 .Claiming centrality; Step 3. Reviewing
previous research.

Move 1, Step 1 (making a topic generalization) represents a more neutral kind of general
statement. Step 1 can take a variety of forms, but generally fall into two categories: statements
about knowledge or practice, or statements about phenomena.

The following are examples, abbreviated statements about knowledge or practice or statements
about phenomena.

Breast cancer is one of the oldest known forms of breast cancer…

Food is one of the most basic needs of people…
Parents are generally shocked when they discover that their children have head lice…
Breast-feeding is critical for sustaining the health and well being of …
Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity...

Move 1, Step 2 is accomplished by RA writers through centrality claims or claiming importance.

This means that RA writers rationalize the importance of their research topic. Research paper
writers may express centrality through the following rhetorical strategies: claiming interest, or
importance, mentioning the classic, favorite or central character of the issue, or claiming that
there are many other investigators active in the area. The following are abbreviated examples of
Move 1, Step 2 (Swales, 1994, p.144).
Recently, there has been a spate of interest in how to…
The time development…is a classic problem in fluid mechanics.
The explication of the relationship between…is a classic problem of….
The study of…has become an important aspect of…
The effect of …has been studied extensively in recent years
Move 1, Step 3 (Reviewing items of previous research) is one of the main occasions where the
author needs to relate what has been found (or claimed) with who has found it (or claimed it).
The writer provides a specification of previous findings, an attribution to the research workers
who published those results, and a stance towards the findings themselves. (Swales, 1990, p.148)

It is the part of the introduction where you can find citations of research works that help in
rationalizing the need to do the study or the importance of the research topic.

Move 2 (Establishing a Niche) refers to RA writers’ way of rationalizing their distinct

contribution to the field through the following strategies: Counter claiming, Indicating a gap,
Question- raising or Continuing a tradition.

Move 2 is usually established by expressing the following: contrasting viewpoint, critical

evaluation of gaps in literature, or a perceived weakness in prior research. (University of
Southern California, 2019)

Examples of Extracts (Move 2) taken from Research Article Introduction

1. Title: They see Us as Lesss Than human: Metadehumanization Predicts Intergroup Conflict via Reciprocal
Dehumanization by Kteily and Hodson
In summary, people think about how they are perceived by other groups, and these metaperceptions are frequently
negative in content (Frey & Tropp, 2006)… Despite this prior research, no work has examined the (meta)-
perception that another group perceives the in group as less than fully human.

2. Title: How being busy can Increase Motivation and Reduce Task Completion Time by Wilcox et.al

Consistent with this notion, research has shown that people take longer to complete a task when they miss a deadline
compared to those who did not set a deadline at all (Soman & Cheema, 2004). However, this research did not
account for how busy participants were when they missed the deadline…. We offer a perspective on how being
busy can mitigate the negative effect of missing a deadline… (Continuing a tradition)

2. Title: The Role of Physical Formidability in Human Social Status Allocation by Anderson, et al.
In short, although the extant literature implicates a potential role for perceived leadership ability, it does not contain
a clear explanation for the link between men’s formidability and attained social status. In the current article we
advance the hypothesis…

3. More Than Just Skill: Examining Mathematics Identities, Racialized Narratives, and Remediation Among
Black Undergraduates by Larnell
NCBR (non-credit-bearing remedial)mathematics courses have a long curricular history in both 2-year and 4-year
universities, but curiously, students’ mathematics-learning experiences in these courses have been largely
unexplored…The combination of curricular gatekeeping and racialized disparities is a particularly cogent rationale-
an equity-oriented rationale- for further and intensive study

4. Title: Improving Mathematics Learning of Kindergarten Students through Computer-Assisted Instruction

by Foster, et al.
The extant literature, however, includes few rigorous evaluations of mathematics curricula (Rutherford et al., 2014)
especially of CAI programs for Kindergarteners. Consequently, little is known with regard to the “ingredients”
needed for specific instructional methods or programs to be most effective at improving the mathematical
competencies of young children…

5. Title:Exploring Publication Productivity in the Philippines by Reyes,C.& Reyes, J.

However, at present only a handful of papers, such as those made by Dela Torre (2009) and Ynalvez and Shrum
(2011), particularly tackles gender in research productivity in the Philippines. And as such, this presents an
opportunity to add to the sparse discussion on gendered research productivity in the country…This paper aims to
contribute to the literature using bibliometric analysis in the hopes of exploring publication productivity in the recent
decade focusing on the two universities of the country with the most prolific academic scholars in their respective
fields.

6. Title: The Status of Philippine Lake Studies by Brillo

Overall, the objectives mentioned are designed to empirically substantiate the two propositions forwarded in this
study—there is scholarly deficit in social science-based studies and information on small lakes is scarce.

7. Title: The Role of Cluster Governance in the Process of Firm Internationalization: Based on the Example of
Two Malaysian Halal Industrial Parks by Dube et al.
Indeed, according to a large pool of literature, it is known and recognized that the internationalization process is
fraught with risks and filled with uncertainty (Conconi, Sapir, & Zanardi, 2010)…However despite this beneficial
relation, the question of how exactly—by which mechanisms—industrial clustering helps firms
internationalize remains unclear. (Question raising)

Move 3 (Occupying the Niche)

The role of Move 3 is to turn the niche established in Move 2 into the research space that
justifies the present article. The link between the moves is a strong one. Whenever a Move 2
occurs, Move 3 takes the following functions: substantiates the particular counter-claim that
has been made, fills the created gap, and answers the specific question or continues the
rhetorically-established tradition.

The following are the steps in Move 3: Step 1. Outlining purposes or Announcing present
research; Step 2. Announcing principal findings; 3. Indicating article structure.

Step 1 is a step where the author or authors indicate the main purpose(s), research objectives or
research questions in their study after they have established their niche.

*Move3, Step 1 is commonly employed by RA writers. Step 2 (Announcing principal

findings) and Step 3 (Indicating article structure) may not be found in most of the RA
introductions

Another component of RA is REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE.

The Review of Related Literature in some Research Articles is integrated in the Introduction
section. Other RA writers separate the Review of Related Literature from the Introduction by
providing another heading, Review of Related Literature or Literature Review.
Most RA writers organize the Review of Related Literature through themes/thematic
presentation.

The following are the abbreviated definitions of Review of Related Literature from different
experts:

1. “…literature review, whether it is written for a thesis, a proposal, or a research article is an

extensive survey of empirical and theoretical literature…” (Kwan, 2009, p.5)

2. The main purpose of the LR in a thesis is to justify the value of research, and to show why it is
distinct from what is documented in the literature. (Creswell, 2003; Peters, 1997; Rudestam &
Newton, 2001)

3. An interpretation and synthesis of published research. (Merriam,1998, p.6 cited in Murray,

2010)

4.…a literature review seeks to summarize, evaluate, clarify, and/or integrate the content of
primary reports. (Cooper, 1988, p.107

5. The review of literature review involves locating, reading and evaluating reports of research as
well as reports of casual observation and opinion (Borg and Gall 1989:114)

6. It provides an overview of one’s research, presents the historical background of the research,
discusses the related theories and concepts, shows the related research in which one intends to
indicate gaps as well as clarifies the terminologies and definitions parallel with the context of the
research (Ridley, 2008, p. 141 cited in Manan & Noor, 2014)

CITATION

Citation is as an act of reporting prior work. Citing sources is a way of giving credit to the source
of information included in one’s research paper or academic paper. Citation can be categorized
as integral and non – integral. The cited author can be a part of the syntax of the citing
sentence or stands outside it, either in parentheses or as represented by a number. The former are
called integral citations and the latter non – integral ones. Integral citations tend to focus the
attention more on the researcher and rather less on the research while non-integral citations
give more importance on the research than the researcher. (Swales, 2000)

Example: Integral citation

Petric (2007) compared eight high- and eight low-graded master’s theses in the field of gender
studies which were written in English as a second language. He identified rhetorical functions of
citations as attribution, exemplification, further reference, statement of use, application,
evaluation, establishing links between sources, and one’s own work with that of other authors.

Example: Non-integral citation

Different functions of citation have been found by comparing scholars’ papers to those of novice
academic writers within the same field. It was found that novice writers use citations in isolation
but expert writers use them to synthesize several sources. Novice writers use citation for
attribution while the experts use citations in order to provide support and justify their claims
(Mansourizadeh, 2011).

COMMON CITATION STYLES

1. APA 6th Edition style American Psychological Association
2. MLA 8th edition style Modern Language Association
3. Chicago and Turabian stlye
4. Number Referencing/ Numeric Style

REPORTING VERB

Reporting verb is the verb that is found after the cited author/source found in the integral
citation. It is used by RA writers for any of these general rhetorical purposes:

a. It allows the writer to show his\her responsibility towards the statement made (Charles,
2006 cited in Manan & Noor ,2014)
b. By using reporting verbs, the writer is able to use the most appropriate words to relate to
the source which they have found convincing and suitable to support their claim ( Manan
& Noor ,2014, p141)
c. It can be used to introduce reports that allow writers to convey both the kind of activity
reported and whether the claims are to be taken as accepted or not (Flowerdew, 2002).
Below are authentic examples of reporting verbs from Research Articles. The examples of
reporting verbs in the past tense are used to report the activities and ideas of the previous
researchers. The reporting verbs in present tense form are used to make reference to the state of
current knowledge, to express ideas which relate to the result of the study of the cited author/s,
and to present synthesis of previous research. Some researchers may use present perfect tense
to introduce examples of previous research or researchers.

Past Tense

Bernier (1891) also gave knowledge on astronomy, geography, and anatomy to his Agah or Danechmend Khan and
translated for him recent discoveries of Harveus and Pecquet in anatomy and also philosophy of Gassendi and
Descartes.
Harris (1966) opined that the sacredness of cow in India is an emergent practice, a consequence of the greater
benefits that one accrues from this animal, either in the form of traction or as a source of cheap fuel for domestic
use.

Sahlins (1990) believed that a binary opposition between object-subject is modulated into another grouping which
differentiates internal from external self.

An enduring legacy of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari (1988) lied in their assumption about the ontological nature
of the social world as rhizomatic.

Present tense

Rozin (1999), for instance, discusses the process of moralization, noting that the adoption of new
moral principles gives moral value to anything else that seems related to them. (Psych)
The research by Wyer (2008) raises the possibility that a similar outcome may occur at the
interpersonal level ¬– i.e., excluding others may enhance one’s sense of inclusion in a dyadic
relationship and, relatedly, may be a signal to others that the relationship is a close one. (Psych)

Past research (Wyer, 2008; Mashek, Aron, & Boncimino, 2003; Sedikides, Olsen, & Reis, 1993)
suggests that conditions that foster the perception of closer relationships also promote greater
memory confusions (i.e., misattributing responses associated with one relationship partner to the
other partner). (Psych)

Similarly, Feinberg and Willer (2013) demonstrate that media communications strongly favor
framing environmental issues in terms of levels of harm and care, which are more relevant to
liberals than conservatives, as predicted by Moral Foundations Theory (Graham, Haidt, &
Nosek, 2009; Haidt & Graham, 2007). (Psych)

Present Perfect

Previous studies (e.g., Hu 2013) have found that while these groups share the similar features
and functions with PLCs in western contexts, they exhibit their own distinctive characteristics
which are influenced by the Chinese educational systems (featured by top-down management
with an emphasis on command and control) and socio-cultural factors (such as collectivism)
(Chen 2006).

While debating of pre service teachers’ technological knowledge (e.g. Alayar et al. 2012; Gao et
al. 2011; Lei 2009), some researchers (e.g. Lee and Lehto 2013) have investigated factors
affecting the use of social media, for example, YouTube, for procedural learning through the
Technology Acceptance Model.

In language learning and technology research, investigators (e.g. Wolfe and Manalo 2004) have
called for studies to address the cognitive mechanisms (e.g. experience and comfort with
computers) by which students compose essays, during writing assessments, using each of the
composition media of word processing and handwriting.
Next to Review of Related Literature is METHODOLOGY.

The methodology section includes the following sub-components:

1. Research Design. This part states the research design used, briefly discusses the
characteristics and applicability of the research design, and explains what methods have been
employed in using this design.

2. Participants. This part identifies the population, sample size and sampling technique,
mentions the grouping that need to be categorized and states the time/period during which tey
were involved in the study and the place wher the study was conducted.

3. Instrument. This part describes the instrument/s used, explains what the instrument includes
and how it was used, discusses how the instrument was tested for validity and reliability, and
discusses also how the data from the administered instrument were analyzed and interpreted.

4. Data Gathering Procedure. This part states the steps in gathering data.

5. Statistical Treatment/Data Analysis. This part states the statistical method/s used in treating
each problem and the statistical software used in processing the data. It also describes how
qualitative data is analyzed.

6. Ethical Considerations. This part states the principles related to research ethics that are
followed by the researcher/s in conducting the study.

After the methodology, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION SECTION follows.

The Result and Discussion sections in Research Articles are usually organized in two ways. The
first is to combine the research results or findings with the discussion and the second one is
to separate the results from the discussion.

The Result and Discussion section or Discussion section of research papers/Research Articles
may include the following components (moves) based on studies that explore this part of a
research report:

1.Preparatory / Background Information may contain statements that describe the research
questions, aims or purposes of the study, the theoretical background or established knowledge,
and the study’s research methodology.

2 Reporting Results

3. Summarizing results

4. Commenting on results. This part shows the following communicative acts of the writer:
interpreting results, comparing results with the literature, accounting for the results, and
evaluating the results. Data commentary or Commenting on results is the most important
component in the presentation of the research results.

5. Summarizing the study

6. Evaluating the study refers to the ideas in the Discussion section which express the
following: limitations in the study, significance or advantage of the study and the evaluation of
the methodology employed in the study.

7. Deductions from the research include the inferences drawn from the results and the
suggestions on how to solve the problems identified in the research, statements on the need for
further research, and pedagogical implications

HEDGES/HEDGING DEVICE

According to Salager- Meyer (1997) hedging is a linguistic resource which conveys the
fundamental characteristics of science of doubt and skepticism. This often neglected language
forms has been found to be functional/ dominant in the different parts of a scientific paper.

It is often believed that academic writing, particularly scientific writing, is factual, simply to
convey facts and information. However it is now recognized that an important feature of
academic writing is the concept of cautious language, often called "hedging" or "vague
language". In other words, it is necessary to make decisions about your stance on a particular
subject, or the strength of the claims you are making.

Research Article writers usually employ hedges in the Discussion section and Conclusion
section.

TYPES OF HEDGES

1. MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS: MAY, MIGHT, CAN, COULD, WOULD, SHOULD.

2. MODAL LEXICAL VERBS: TO SEEM, TO APPEAR, TO BELIEVE, TO

ASSUME, TO SUGGEST, TO ESTIMATE, TO TEND, TO THINK, TO ARGUE, TO
INDICATE, TO PROPOSE, TO SPECULATE.

3. ADJECTIVAL, ADVERBIAL, & NOMINAL PROBABILITY ADJECTIVES:

POSSIBLE, PROBABLE, UNLIKELY.

4. NOUNS: ASSUMPTION, CLAIMS, POSSIBILTY, ESTIMATION, SUGGESTIONS.

5. ADVERBS: PERHAPS, POSSIBLY, PROBABLY, PRACTICALLY, LIKELY,

PRESUMABLY, VIRTUALLY, APPARENTLY.
 6. APPROXIMATORS OF DEGREE: QUANTITY, FREQUENCY, & TIME,
APPROXIMATELY, ROUGHLY, ABOUT, OFTEN, OCCASIONALLY,
GENERALLY, USUALLY, SOMEWHAT, SOMEHOW.

7. INTRODUCTORY PHRASES: I BELIEVE, TO KNOWLEDGE, IT OUR VIEW

THAT, WE FEEL THAT.

8. COMPOUND HEDGES: IT WOULD APPEAR, IT SEEMS

REASONABLE/PROBABLE, IT MAY SUGGEST THAT, IT SEEMS LIKELY THAT,
IT WOULD INDICATE THAT, THIS PROBABLY INDICATES, IT SEEMS
REASONABLE TO ASSUME THAT, IT WOULD SEEM SOMEWHAT UNLIKELY
THAT, IT MAY APPEAR SOMEWHAT SPECULATIVE THAT

Usually, the last component of RA is the CONCLUSION SECTION

Not all RA writers separate the Conclusion section from the Discussion section. If the
Conclusion section is a separate section in the research report the following components
may be found:

In Yang and Allison’s (2003) study

Move 1: Summarizing the study

Move 2: Evaluating the study
Step 1: Indicating significance/advantage
Step 2: Indicating limitations
Step 3: Evaluating methodology

Move 3: Deductions from the research

Step 1: Recommending further research
Step 2: Drawing pedagogic implications

In Moritz et al.’s (2008) study,

1. Restating the introductory statement

2. Consolidating the research space
3. Summarizing the study
4. Commenting on results
5. Evaluating the study
6. Making deductions from the research
The following are EXAMPLES of Conclusion Section taken from the Research Articles.
Analyze each example and be able to identify the components (moves) that are included in
the Conclusion section of the research report.

1. Title: A Mixed Methods Evaluation of college English Writing: A Case Study in China
Conclusion

This study provides both theoretical and practical implications for teachers, educators,
and policy makers on the design and implementation of college English writing courses in China.
In Phase 1 of the curriculum reform, adding social and intercultural dimensions in EFL
classrooms received positive outcome in general. Viability of the course and its suitability in the
local context of BFSU were confirmed. All language objectives were well addressed, but
intercultural objectives were only partially fulfilled and might face situational constraints. For
this course to be better implemented, it is necessary to discuss the role and benefits of
intercultural competence with all students. Students’ communicative and intercultural
competence should also be encourage and developed. In addition, adequate training of teachers
might be needed for teachers to be persistent in practicing and currently effective teaching
approaches, and to develop intercultural teaching plan more suitable for Chinese language
classrooms.

In conclusion, English Language competence and intercultural competence are goals

placed in tandem in College English course required by Ministry of Education in China. This
writing course, as part of the reformed English curriculum. Represents the first step in combining
development of intercultural competence with linguistic knowledge. Students are cognizant and
supportive of the course design, implementation, and benefits. There are, of course, limitations
for optimal implantation of the intercultural component of the course. Apart from the short time
constraints of the implementation, reasons for factors that hinder the implementation of
intercultural teaching need to be further investigated in future studies.

2. The Moderating Effects of Internet Parenting styles on the Relationship between Internet
Limitation and Conclusion

The overarching aim of this study was to examine the mediating role of IE on the
relationship between Internet Parenting behaviors and Internet addiction as well as the
moderating effect of IPSs on the above relationship. Nevertheless, the results should be
interpreted in light of limitations. First, IPSs were rated through children’s self-reported data.
Future studies can be conducted with data from both sources to validate the result. Second,
parenting behavior may be dependent upon cultural differences (Chao 1994). The current sample
focused only on Taiwanese adolescents; therefore, the result may not be the same for adolescents
and parents on other countries. Future research can be conducted on culturally diverse samples.
Third, the current research design was across-sectional, which implied that the research result
was correlational. Future studies can employ a longitudinal design to further test causality in this
relationship.

Despite the limitation, this study has a number of theoretical and practical implications.
At the theoretical level, we verified the existence of four theoretical IPSs in guiding children’s
Internet use. At the practical level, we provided suggestions for effective prevention and
intervention of IAT based on different IPSs. Providing both emotional warmth and physical
involvement for internet use nay be readily helpful for students of authoritative, authoritarian,
and neglectful parents. For students of permissive parents more efforts can be invested to provide
intervention program such as effective communication and nurturance in children’s Internet use.

3. Validating an Instrument for EFL learners’ Sources of Self-Efficacy

Conclusion and Implications

The current study validates the research instrument for evaluating EFL learners’ sources
of self-efficacy and academic confidence in English learning. It further provides a clear picture
of the relations among the above two variables and their English language achievement in a
Chinese higher education setting. It would be beneficial for educators and parents to better
understand how Chinese language learners obtain their self-perceptions of their academic
performance and also the roles of sources of learners’ self-efficacy for predicting their academic
self-efficacy and English proficiency.

The most striking finding is the powerful role of ‘social persuasion’, serving as the
primary source during learners’ formation of academic self-efficacy, and predicting all aspects of
their attainment in English language learning. It highlights the potentially positive effect of
learners’ social network on supporting their pursuit of English language competence. Therefore,
we suggest the teachers or the parents to provide more positive acknowledgements to the learners
in China for further sustaining their academic self-efficacy and empowering their English
language learning. Moreover, since China EFL learners have a tendency to rely on the authority
and prefer to learn from other successful adults or peers, we also suggest that the parents or
teachers should function as a role model in learning, using self-modelling as an intervention for
promoting learners’ EFL learning outcome. Finally, physiological states may hinder learners’
improvement in English language proficiency; hence, further pedagogical initiatives and
innovations are recommended for assisting EFL learners to reduce their stress and to further
support them achieving an ‘unobtrusive, effective and enjoyable’ learning process ( Beatty 2010.
P. 234).

Bandura (1997) has cautioned that positive verbal persuasion in limited in its power to
create enduring increases in academic self-efficacy. Also as advised by Usher and Pajares
(2008), none of the sources of self-efficacy may have stable and eternal effects, and they may be
inadequate in their ability to have long-lasting influence on learners’ academic achievement.
Therefore, we recommend that more longitudinal follow-up studies should be carried out to
uncover the complex dynamics between social persuasion and learners’ English proficiency in
China. Besides, due to the difficulty of conducting similar proficiency test, particularly the
speaking test among different universities, this research only invited sample students from the
first author’s university. It is advised that the nation-wide CET and CET-SET scores could be
collected including more representative participants from other universities in the future study.

4. The role of parenting in University Choice: Evidence from Vietnam

Conclusion

This investigation has sought to identify the role played by parents in Vietnam in the
choice of a University for their children. It has also addresses the nature of the parent-child
relationships evident in this decision-making process. As has been widely documented, the
structure of Vietnamese families is markedly different from that found in Western countries: the
family in Vietnam represents the most important unit of society; individuality is not a prominent
feature within Vietnamese family are generally very well defined. These characteristics were all
clearly evident in the comments of the 16 participants in the present investigation. It was evident
that Confucian culture provides a strong cultural force in shaping the nature of family
relationships and decision making in Vietnam, and how it impacts on parenting styles is a topic
for further investigation. What was also clear, though, was that the parent-child relationships
reported by the 16 participants, varied considerably, as did the extent of the extent of parental
engagement in the choice of a university for their child to attend. Some of the parent-child
relationships were clearly authoritarian, in a traditional way, but many others were more in the
form of a counselling nature. The forcefulness with which parents dictated which university their
child should attend also varied considerably. Parents who were more affluent and more confident
about their child’s educational prospects were generally much more likely to decide which
university their child would attend. Other parents abstractly recognized the importance of the
decision but either engaged with it in a cooperative way with their child or left the decision
entirely to their child to make.

This investigation is interpretive, involving multiple case studies. Its purpose has been to
throw light on a cultural phenomenon in Vietnam. Given its methodological approach, the
investigation does not provide a basis for generalizing to the population of parents of university
graduates in Vietnam. The investigation does, however provide insights that might well be
explores more widely by other scholars with an interest in how decisions are made in Vietnam
about the selection of a university to attend, and about the nature of parent-child relationships in
Vietnam may impact on the decision-making process.