Investigating difficulties faced by second-year English major students in learning English writing skills at Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment

Abstract

This study aims to identify the problems faced by English major sophomores at Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment (HUNRE) in acquiring writing skills. It also aims to propose solutions that may be helpful for students to overcome writing difficulties. The participants of this research were eighty-eight students who were English major sophomores at HUNRE. The instruments used in the present study were two questionnaires. The results showed that the students had eight difficulties in learning English writing including difficulties with Motivation and Confidence, Background Knowledge, Grammar, Vocabulary, Ideas and Developing Writing, Coherence, Organization, and Cultural differences. Among these difficulties, “Background knowledge” caused the most difficulty for the students.