Predicting factors impacting EFL students’ writing competence: Examining the moderating effects of personal characteristics

This paper quantitatively predicts the factors that impact English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ Writing Competence (WC), examining the multiple-level effects of three independent constructs (Environmental Factors [EF], Personal Beliefs [BL], Behavioral Factors [BF]) and three moderating var...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Phe Quang Chu, Trang Hoang Trang, Dao Thi Anh Vo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE 2024-10-01
Series:Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of Science - Social Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journalofscience.ou.edu.vn/index.php/soci-en/article/view/3644
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849733102480392192
author Phe Quang Chu
Trang Hoang Trang
Dao Thi Anh Vo
author_facet Phe Quang Chu
Trang Hoang Trang
Dao Thi Anh Vo
author_sort Phe Quang Chu
collection DOAJ
description This paper quantitatively predicts the factors that impact English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ Writing Competence (WC), examining the multiple-level effects of three independent constructs (Environmental Factors [EF], Personal Beliefs [BL], Behavioral Factors [BF]) and three moderating variables (gender, academic performance, and self-study time) on EFL students’ WC. The questionnaire was delivered to 85 EFL students at a university in Vietnam, and the findings show that the SRMR index of the estimated model is .46, meaning a good fit. Hypothesis testing validated the positive causality between the exogenous constructs and their corresponding endogenous ones. In the direct relations, EF affects BL the most (75.1%), BF impacts WC (69.3%), and finally, BL influences BF the least (38.4%). In the indirect relations, EF affects WC the most (55.1%), then EF influences BF (28.9%) and finally, BL impacts WC the least (26.6%). The analytical result also revealed the moderating effect of gender on the relation between BF and WC. Still, the moderation of academic performance and self-study time on the relation between BF and WC was rejected. Finally, the authors discuss some major administrative measures to target if stakeholders wish to improve EFL students’ WC.
format Article
id doaj-art-a43e443b9e1e4a5abb5e18fe6f928dc6
institution DOAJ
issn 2734-9357
2734-9624
language English
publishDate 2024-10-01
publisher HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE
record_format Article
series Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of Science - Social Sciences
spelling doaj-art-a43e443b9e1e4a5abb5e18fe6f928dc62025-08-20T03:08:06ZengHO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SCIENCEHo Chi Minh City Open University Journal of Science - Social Sciences2734-93572734-96242024-10-0115218019610.46223/HCMCOUJS.soci.en.15.2.3644.20252275Predicting factors impacting EFL students’ writing competence: Examining the moderating effects of personal characteristicsPhe Quang Chu0Trang Hoang Trang1Dao Thi Anh Vo2University of Finance - Marketing, Ho Chi Minh CityUniversity of Finance - Marketing, Ho Chi Minh CityUniversity of Finance - Marketing, Ho Chi Minh CityThis paper quantitatively predicts the factors that impact English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ Writing Competence (WC), examining the multiple-level effects of three independent constructs (Environmental Factors [EF], Personal Beliefs [BL], Behavioral Factors [BF]) and three moderating variables (gender, academic performance, and self-study time) on EFL students’ WC. The questionnaire was delivered to 85 EFL students at a university in Vietnam, and the findings show that the SRMR index of the estimated model is .46, meaning a good fit. Hypothesis testing validated the positive causality between the exogenous constructs and their corresponding endogenous ones. In the direct relations, EF affects BL the most (75.1%), BF impacts WC (69.3%), and finally, BL influences BF the least (38.4%). In the indirect relations, EF affects WC the most (55.1%), then EF influences BF (28.9%) and finally, BL impacts WC the least (26.6%). The analytical result also revealed the moderating effect of gender on the relation between BF and WC. Still, the moderation of academic performance and self-study time on the relation between BF and WC was rejected. Finally, the authors discuss some major administrative measures to target if stakeholders wish to improve EFL students’ WC.https://journalofscience.ou.edu.vn/index.php/soci-en/article/view/3644collaborative learningcollaborative writingenglish as a foreign languagescltwriting competence
spellingShingle Phe Quang Chu
Trang Hoang Trang
Dao Thi Anh Vo
Predicting factors impacting EFL students’ writing competence: Examining the moderating effects of personal characteristics
Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of Science - Social Sciences
collaborative learning
collaborative writing
english as a foreign language
sclt
writing competence
title Predicting factors impacting EFL students’ writing competence: Examining the moderating effects of personal characteristics
title_full Predicting factors impacting EFL students’ writing competence: Examining the moderating effects of personal characteristics
title_fullStr Predicting factors impacting EFL students’ writing competence: Examining the moderating effects of personal characteristics
title_full_unstemmed Predicting factors impacting EFL students’ writing competence: Examining the moderating effects of personal characteristics
title_short Predicting factors impacting EFL students’ writing competence: Examining the moderating effects of personal characteristics
title_sort predicting factors impacting efl students writing competence examining the moderating effects of personal characteristics
topic collaborative learning
collaborative writing
english as a foreign language
sclt
writing competence
url https://journalofscience.ou.edu.vn/index.php/soci-en/article/view/3644
work_keys_str_mv AT phequangchu predictingfactorsimpactingeflstudentswritingcompetenceexaminingthemoderatingeffectsofpersonalcharacteristics
AT tranghoangtrang predictingfactorsimpactingeflstudentswritingcompetenceexaminingthemoderatingeffectsofpersonalcharacteristics
AT daothianhvo predictingfactorsimpactingeflstudentswritingcompetenceexaminingthemoderatingeffectsofpersonalcharacteristics