UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH

4112792 - RESEARCH METHODS

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

AN INVESTIGATION INTO DIFFICULTIES OF SECOND -YEAR STUDENTS OF

THE ENGLISH FACULTY AT UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - DA
NANG UNIVERSITY IN USING ACADEMIC VOCABULARY FOR IELTS
WRITING TASK 2

Class: [PPNCKH-03]
Group: 4
Group members:
Vĩnh Tôn Nữ Bảo Ngân
Lê Đoàn Mỹ Quyên

Word count: 3559 words

1. Introduction
1.1. Rationale
Learning English may have a huge impact on us because it helps us to grow in all
aspects of our life such as knowledge, work, communication. Students who learn English still
have many problems to overcome and master different skills such as listening, speaking,
reading, writing. However, like other skills, writing is also an important skill and causes some
challenges for learners. Of all issues related to writing, facing the difficulty in using academic
words would be the hardest one in writing an essay. Academic vocabulary is typically
uncommon and hard to remember. However, academic vocabulary plays an important role in
writing. Especially, in the context of today's developed society, the development of using
academic vocabulary should be promoted by learners. The use of academic vocabulary helps
students express themselves better while writing, which allows the reader to easily understand
or capture the writer's thoughts. This research entitled “An investigation into difficulties of
second –year students of the English Faculty at University of Foreign Languages – Da Nang
University in using academic vocabulary for IELTS writing task 2” would be essential. It
represents one of the problems that students face in writing an IELTS task 2 essay. For most
students, the ability to use English fluently, grammatically, and correctly has not yet been
recognized. It has been assumed that a variety of academic usage in terms of vocabulary and
the right choice of words in writing an essay would be highly classified for writing fluency.
According to Al-Mukdad (2019), learners have faced many difficulties in writing an essay.
Some learners often use common words in communication which leads to the lack of using
academic words in writing an essay. Besides, in the study of Afzal (2019), some problems
with the process of learning academic vocabulary are also a problem faced by learners.
Learners may have a chance to learn English academic vocabulary but only at the surface
level, not deep learning. Especially, learners only know one or some meanings of a word, but
rather do not know how to use it in other cases. Therefore, using academic words is not
commonly utilized by writers. The language users may encounter the situation of expressing
or using the phrase or words in the wrong context or with different collocations (Ashraf et al.,
2020). Finally, academic words are not commonly used because academic words are hard to
remember, and require good writing skills and high learner awareness.
Based on the above, this research helps students who are experiencing difficulties in using
academic vocabulary in writing IELTS task 2. From there, learners will have a better
awareness of learning and using academic vocabulary for IELTS writing task 2. In addition,
students will easily detect and improve their problems. This study also hopes that students can
overcome the problems of using academic vocabulary to achieve good quality in essay writing
IELTS task 2.
1.2 Aims and Objectives
1.2.1. Aims
This study aims to identify the difficulties in using academic vocabulary for writing
task 2 for IELTS, then help second-year students of the English Faculty at University of
Foreign Languages – Da Nang University to get some solutions for better understanding and
improve their writing skills more academically.
1.2.2. Objectives
In order to accomplish the study's goal, the following objectives are intended:
+ To identify the factors that affect the use of academic vocabulary faced by second-year
students in writing task 2 for IELTS.
+ To point out the reasons causing those challenges.
+ To put forward some solutions for second- year students’ in using academic vocabulary
for writing task 2 for IELTS.
 1.3 Research questions:
In this study, we will provide answers to the following questions:
1) What difficulties do second-year students of the English Faculty at University of
Foreign Languages – Da Nang University in writing academic task 2 for IELTS encounter?
2) What are some causes of the difficulties in using academic vocabulary in writing
task 2 for Ielts of second –year students of the English Faculty at University of Foreign
Languages – Da Nang University ?
3) What are some suggested solutions for the improvement of second-year students of
the English Faculty at University of Foreign Languages – Da Nang University in using
academic vocabulary in writing task 2 for IELTS ?
2. Literature review
2.1. Theoretical background
2.1.1. What is the definition of IELTS Writing Task 2:
IELTS Writing Task 2 is the second part of the writing test, where you are presented with
a point of view, argument or problem and asked to write an essay in response. Your essay
should be in a formal style, at least 250 words in length and you should aim to complete it in
under 40 minutes (IELTS, n.d.).
2.1.2. What is the definition of academic vocabulary:
Academic vocabulary are words that are more complex than common words in terms of
meaning and word structure. Moreover, the academic vocabulary is used in different fields,
which can appear in books, newspapers, magazines. (Felicity & Michael ,2008).
2.2. Previous studies
IELTS was first introduced in 1980 and started to be accepted as a requirement for
courses in English-speaking countries in 1989 with two general tests – Listening and
Speaking – and two specialized tests – Reading and Writing(Charge & Taylor, 1997). The
examination is co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge Assessment English
(IELTS, n.d.) and held in 120 countries worldwide, being one of the most prevalent tests
(Uysal, 2009).
Therefore, the registration and participation rates for the IELTS test have shown slight
growth over the years, indicating the prevalence of IELTS in assessing English language
proficiency worldwide which is reasonable because this module is required for university or
college entrance, and many of the test attendees are students; however, it is undoubtedly more
difficult than the other module owing to the need to employ academic language.
Task 2 Writing is required to include the IELTS Academic and General Training
Modules, which is an essay-writing task in which test-takers are asked to write a formal essay
of at least 250 words in response to a prompt. The prompt can be any topic related to
academic or general topics, and the essay can be in the form of a discussion, argument, or
opinion piece. The essays are based on four main criteria: Task Response, Coherence and
Cohesion , Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
Writing is the most challenging talent to master, according to Cullen (2017), and many
individuals consider writing to be a laborious process. In reality, applicants may experience
extreme stress throughout the writing test due to the time constraints, the unpredictable nature
of the topics, as well as their mentality (Pearson, 2018).
When it comes to the study of Slater (2002) found that candidates confront problems due
to the prompt of the task. Since test takers are non-native English speakers and their culture is
different from that of their English counterparts, it can take them longer to be able to
comprehend what the task means fully.
 Besides Slaster, Cullen (2017) states that examinees often misunderstand the task as a
result of ignoring the background information given in the task or identifying too broad a
topic. This leads to the essay going off-topic and unclear.
Another problem pointed out by Bagheri and Riasati (2016) is that the writing is not
adequately focused and the aspects of the topic are not equally addressed which inhibits
candidates from improving their band scores. In addition, the lack of knowledge about the
topic in the task can also be a critical problem for any test taker since they have no idea what
to write.
For example with Iran students, Panahi and Mohammadi Tabar (2015) highlighted that, in
Iran, students are weakest. Their study finds that candidates cannot link the ideas, hence
unable to show clear development in their essays, and find producing a cohesive and coherent
essay troublesome.
On top of that,Liu and Deng (2019) emphasized the problem of paraphrasing candidates.
As long as they are not capable of paraphrasing, they exhibit their limited range of
vocabulary, thus lowering their scores. Using memorized words is also a serious issue as test-
takers are prone to fill their essays with uncommon words thinking that rare words will
enhance their bands, resulting in texts full of inaccurate word use (Liu & Deng, 2019).
Though there has been a rise in students using dictionaries – both paper and online to
assist them with acquiring new lexical items, the endeavor (no luc) does not ensure that they
will use them right (Trinh et al., 2021).
One of the problems associated with grammar is the overuse of complex structures
(Cullen, 2017). According to Cullen (2017), using too many complex structures can lead to
adverse (BAT LOI) effects as they complicate the writing. Instead, she claims that complex
structures are only beneficial when they are used to elaborate ideas appropriately. Similarly,
Liu and Deng (2019) believe that long and complicated sentences induce tediousness for
readers. They also suggest that an essay with too many simple sentences yields the same
results because examinees only show a lack of variety in structures. Additionally, learners’
writing also contains several punctuation and grammatical errors (Bagheri & Riasati, 2016).
Although the study conducted by Slater (2002) provides important insights into the
challenges that non-native English speakers face when taking the IELTS Academic Writing
task 2. Specifically, the study highlights the difficulties that candidates encounter when
interpreting the task prompt, which can affect their ability to effectively use academic
vocabulary in their writing. But, there are also limitations to Slater's study in that the study did
not specifically focus on the use of academic vocabulary, which is a key aspect of Academic
Writing Task 2. One importance in the study by Cullen( 2017 ) highlights the importance of
examining the task prompt in detail and identifying the specific topic or question that needs to
be addressed. This is particularly relevant for the effective use of academic vocabulary, as
using appropriate vocabulary requires a clear understanding of the topic and context of the
task. However, one limitation of Cullen's study is that it did not specifically focus on the use
of academic vocabulary in the task, and how misunderstanding or misinterpreting the task
prompt may impact a candidate's ability to use academic vocabulary effectively. Therefore,
while the study provides valuable insights into the challenges that candidates face when
interpreting the task prompt, further research is needed to explore the specific impact on
academic vocabulary use. Bagheri and Riasati's (2016) study on the IELTS Academic Writing
Task 2 highlights two important challenges that candidates face when writing their essays: the
lack of focus and inadequate coverage of the topic, and a lack of knowledge about the topic.
One limitation of Bagheri and Riasati's study, however, is that it did not specifically focus on
the use of academic vocabulary in the task, and how the lack of focus and knowledge may
impact a candidate's ability to use appropriate academic vocabulary. Therefore, while the
study provides valuable insights into the challenges that candidates face when writing their
essays, further research is needed to explore the specific impact of academic vocabulary use.
Additionally, Liu and Deng's (2019) study on the IELTS Academic Writing Task 2
highlights the importance of using appropriate vocabulary and avoiding memorized or
uncommon words. This can help students to develop a more effective writing style and avoid
the use of inaccurate or inappropriate vocabulary.
But, one limitation of Liu and Deng's study is that it focuses only on the issue of
paraphrasing and the use of vocabulary, and does not explore the impact of other factors such
as organization, coherence, and cohesion on a candidate's writing score. Therefore, while the
study provides valuable insights into the challenges that candidates face when using
appropriate vocabulary, further research is needed to explore the broader range of factors that
can impact a candidate's writing score.
Although Trinh et al.'s (2021) study on the use of dictionaries by students to acquire new
vocabulary that highlights the limitations of using dictionaries alone to improve vocabulary
skills, a limitation of this study is that it does not explore other potential sources of vocabulary
acquisition, such as reading, writing, or conversation. Therefore, while the study provides
valuable insights into the limitations of dictionary use, further research is needed to explore
the broader range of strategies that students can use to improve their vocabulary skills.
Besides that, The benefit of including studies by Cullen (2017), Liu and Deng (2019), and
Bagheri & Riasati (2016) is that they highlight the various grammar-related issues that
second-year English major students face in Academic Writing Task 2 IELTS. These studies
provide a comprehensive overview of the various grammatical issues that need to be
addressed while evaluating the writing skills of English major students, but they focus only on
specific grammatical issues, such as complex structures, sentence variety, and grammatical
and punctuation errors. There may be other grammar-related issues that could also be
impacting the students' writing, such as subject-verb agreement, verb tense, or word order.
Therefore, further research may be needed to identify and address these issues as well.
Based on the strengths and weaknesses of the research of ‘Cullen, Pearson, Slater, Bagheri
and Riasati, Liu and Deng, and Trinh et al., 2021’ have summarized the requirements and
elements of using academic vocabulary for IELTS writing task 2, but still have not studied
clearly.
3.Research design.
3.1.Sample & sampling technique.
The research will be done thanks to second-year students of the English Faculty at
University of Foreign Languages – Da Nang University. From the total number of
sophomores in the English faculty, 40 students will be selected to participate in the survey.
3.2. Instrument.
3.2.1. Reliability.
To check the reliability of a questionnaire item, we will give the same questionnaire to
second- year students of the English Faculty at University of Foreign Language Studies -
University of Danang at the same time points. After that, compare the responses at the two
time points if the results of the test are consistent or not.
3.2.2. Validity.
To ensure the validity of the study, we will discuss with the teacher who understands our
topic and goes through our questionnaire to ensure their accuracy and relevance. She will
review our questionnaire to ensure it captures the theme under investigation, identifying any
questions that are difficult to understand or leading. This ensures that we use correct grammar
and apply them appropriately so as not to impact the research result.
3.3. Provisional procedure of data collection
 In this study, questionnaire will be instrumented for study to collect data. The
questionnaire comprises 30 questions, & 4 parts.
+ Part 1 consists of 10 questions (Question 1-10) to collect personal information of
participants.
+ Part 2 consists of 5 questions (Question 11-15) with 5 response options: Strongly agree
(SA), Agree (A), Neither agree nor disagree, Disagree (D), Strongly disagree (SD), and 1
question (Question 15) with semantic differential scales: Important & Not important to collect
students' difficulties in using academic vocabulary for IELTS writing task 2.
+ Part 3 consists of 7 questions (Question 16-22) to collect the reasons.
+ Part 4 consists of 8 questions (Question 23-30) to collect solutions of participants.
Questionnaires will be conducted online with google forms, we will spread the link to
students through Facebook and Zalo. Participants will be required to complete all 30
questions for 5 days from the day questionnaire is delivered.
REFERENCES
Al-Mukdad, Sarah. (2019). Investigating english academic writing problems encountered
by Arab international university students. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 9, 300.
Afzal, N. (2019). A study on vocabulary-learning problems encountered by BA english
majors at the university level of education. Arab World English Journal, 10 (3), 81-98.
Ashraf, R., Rubab, I., Ajmal, M. (2020). Investigating the problems of organization and
vocabulary in academic writing encountered by students at postgraduate level. International
Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, 29(8), 2766-2779.
Bagheri, M. S., & Riasati, M. J. (2016). EFL graduate students’ IELTS writing problems
and students’ and teachers’ beliefs and suggestions regarding writing skill improvement.
Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 7(1), 198–209.
http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0701.23
Baumann, James and Graves, Michael. (2010). What Is Academic Vocabulary?. Journal of
Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 54, 4-12.
Charge, N., & Taylor, L. B. (1997). Recent developments in IELTS. ELT Journal, 51(4),
374– 380. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/51.4.374
Cullen, P. (2017). The key to IELTS success. https://ieltsweekly.com/product/ielts-
teacher-the-key-to-ielts-success/
Felicity O. and Michael J. M.(2016) . Academic vocabulary in use edition with answers.
IELTS (n.d.). IELTS: Home of the IELTS English language test. https://www.ielts.org/
IELTS (n.d.). IELTS Writing Task 2: Everything you need to know.
https://www.ieltsadvantage.com/writing-task-2
Liu, F., & Deng, Z. (2019). Production-oriented approach to IELTS writing task 2.
Journal of Literature and Art Studies, 9(11), 1200–1211.
Panahi, Reza & Mohammaditabar, Mohammad. (2015). The strengths and weaknesses of
Iranian IELTS candidates in academic writing task 2. Theory and Practice in Language
Studies. http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0505.10
Pearson, W. S. (2018). Written corrective feedback in IELTS writing task 2: Teachers’
priorities, practices, and beliefs. The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language,
21(4), 314–320. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1172568.pdf
Slater, S. (2002). The IELTS writing test: Test issues and teaching strategies. Heian
Jogakuin University Journal, 2, 115–131. https://st.agnes.repo.nii.ac.jp/?
action=pages_view_main&active_action=repository_view_main_item_detail&item_id=1187
&item_no=1&page_id=13&block_id=31
 Trinh, T. L. A., Tran, T. K. N., Vo, T. B. N., & Huynh, T. T. S. (2021). The difference
effects of paper dictionaries vs. online dictionaries. AsiaCALL Online Journal, 12(3), 28–38.
https://asiacall.info/acoj/index.php/journal/article/view/34
Uysal, H. H. (2009). A critical review of the IELTS writing test. ELT Journal, 64(3), 314–
320. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccp026

APPENDIX
I am a second-year student in class 22CNA09 at the University of Foreign Languages - Da
Nang University. I am conducting research on the “AN INVESTIGATION INTO
DIFFICULTIES OF SECOND -YEAR STUDENTS OF THE ENGLISH FACULTY AT
UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - DA NANG UNIVERSITY IN USING
ACADEMIC VOCABULARY FOR IELTS WRITING TASK 2”. This questionnaire is a
part of my research and all opinions including personal information will be kept confidential
and will only be used for the purpose of this research. I look forward to receiving your
opinions. Your valuable opinions and opinions are students. Please complete the survey
questionnaire within 5 days.
If you feel the answer matches your opinion, please mark "x" in the box. You can select
multiple answers.
Thank you for your cooperation and have a nice day!
PART 1: General information.
1. Your class : …………………………………
2. Gender:
 Male
 Female
3. What sources do you learn vocabulary from?
No. Sources Strongly Agree (2) Neither Disagree Strongly
agree (1) agree nor (4) disagree
disagree (5)
(3)

4. Reading: Reading
books, newspapers,
and articles can
expose learners to new
words and phrases in
context.
5. Watching TV shows,
movies, and
documentaries.
6. Using vocabulary
apps and software.
7. Engaging in
conversations.
8. Using a dictionary.
9. Draw vocabulary from
 your test which you
write.
10. Making use of
available online
resources.

PART 2: Students' difficulties in using academic vocabulary for IELTS writing task 2.
How strong do you agree with these statements? Please put a checked mark (✓) in
the column below.
No. Students’ difficulties / Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly
Feelings agree (1) (2) agree nor (4) disagree
disagree (5)
(3)

11. Lack of vocabulary

makes it difficult to
express my ideas.

12. I usually make

spelling mistakes with
spelling.

13. Using academic

vocabulary makes my
writing task more
logical.

14. Using academic

vocabulary helps me
boost my results
higher.

15. How do you feel about the role of using academic vocabulary for IELTS writing task 2?
Scales
Important 1 2 3 4 5 Not
important

PART 3: Reasons for difficulties in using academic vocabulary for IELTS writing task
2.
What sectors do you feel struggle with you in using academic vocabulary for IELTS
writing task 2 ?
No. Difficulties Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly
agree (1) (2) agree nor (4) disagree
 disagree (5)
(3)
16. Difficulty in
understanding the
question
17. Paraphrasing
difficulty
18. Influenced by
Vietnamese
19. Writing anxiety for
using proper
vocabulary
20. Lack of English
writing vocabulary
exposure
21. Cultural barrier
22. Make mistakes using
formal and informal
vocabulary
PART 4: Solutions.
No. Solutions Strongly Agree Neither Disagree Strongly
agree (1) (2) agree nor (4) disagree
disagree (5)
(3)

23. Whenever I hear a

new words, I write it
down immediately to
memorize them.

24. I take time to practice

writing with academic
vocabulary three times
a week.

25. I read more books to

improve my
vocabulary and
spelling.

26. I find good sources

to learn academic
vocabulary in a
certain field.

27. I access to popular

websites that provide
 high-level academic
vocabulary.

28. I read as many

scholarly articles as
possible, pay attention
to how often the writer
uses words, and then
draws their own
experiences.

29. I need to look at the

collocation
dictionary and
check the words to
see if the words are
appropriate for the
context they are
writing in.

30. I have learned from

scientific research
papers, essays from
Ielts books, and some
other materials from
class.