The employment of self-regulated strategies in writing process by English-major freshmen at Ho Chi Minh City Open University

Abstract

    The current study aims to investigate the employment of self-regulated strategies (SRS) and the gender differences in using SRS in learners' writing processes. Zimmerman's model of self-regulated learning and thirty SRS are used. This is the survey study and its research instruments are the questionnaire and the interview. The participants of the study are ninety-three first-year students who major in English language of Faculty of Foreign Languages at HCMC Open University. This study finds that learners used twenty-seven SRS in their writing processes including fifteen sub-strategies of self-efficacy strategies and twelve other SRS such as organizing and transforming strategies, goal setting and planning strategies, seeking information strategies, environmental structuring strategies, time management strategies, imagery strategies, self-instruction strategies, self-consequence strategies, keeping records and monitoring strategies, seeking for social assistance strategies from friends, seeking for social assistance strategies from teachers, and self-evaluation strategies. Also, the study finds the gender differences in using five SRS including self-efficacy strategy to write the introduction paragraph, organizing and transforming strategies, seeking information strategies, self-efficacy strategy to refocus on writing when the distractions are occurred, and keeping record and monitoring strategies for note taking.