Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 14. Number 1 March 2023                                             Pp.153-165
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol14no1.10

Full Paper PDF

 Goal-Setting Displayed by Vietnamese EFL Students 

Do Minh Hung
Foreign Languages Faculty
Dong Thap University, Cao Lanh City, Vietnam
Email: dmhung@dthu.edu.vn

 

Received:12/13/2022         Accepted:03/01/2023                 Published: 03/24/2023

  

Abstract:
Goal-setting behavior for learning courses displayed by college students of English as a foreign language (EFL) has yet to be substantively documented in the current literature. The present study, therefore, examined this topic to activate students’ goal-setting behavior in learning, which is deemed to increase their engagement in learning and ability to initiate action plans for goal attainment. The study results also provide pedagogical implications for teachers to tailor their teaching methods, techniques, and course contents in alignment with students’ goals. Thus, the main research questions raised in the study are what goal patterns students set for their specific learning courses and what action plans they make to meet the goals set. For data collecting instruments, an assignment template was completed by 58 EFL students from a university in Vietnam, followed by short phone conversations between the researcher and involved students for self-report validity. The analyzed data results identify three common goal-setting patterns displayed by students and confirm their ability to self-initiate action plans for set goals.
Keywords: Action plan, course, EFL students, goal-setting, template

Cite as:   Do, M. H.  (2023). Goal-Setting Displayed by Vietnamese EFL Students. Arab World English Journal,
14
(153-165.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol14no1.10

References

Arbona, C., Fan, W., Phang, A., Olvera, N., & Dios, M. (2021). Intolerance of uncertainty, anxiety, and career indecision: A mediation model. Journal of Career Assessment29(4), 699–716. doi: 10.1177/10690727211002564

Austin, J. T., & Vancouver, J. B. (1996). Goal constructs in psychology: structure, process, and content. Psychological Bulletin, 120(3), 338-375. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.120.3.338

Berkman, E.T, Falk, E. B., & Lieberman, M. D. (2012). Interactive effects of three core goal pursuit processes on brain control systems: goal maintenance, performance monitoring, and response Inhibition. PLoS One, 7(6), e40334. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0040334

Bhattacherjee, A. (2012). Social science research: principles, methods, and practices. South Florida: Scholar Commons.

Blerkom, D. L. V. (2009). College study skills: Becoming a strategic learner (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Caniëls, M.C.J., & Baaten, S.M.J. (2019). How a learning-oriented organizational climate is linked to different proactive behaviors: The role of employee resilience. Soc Indic Res, 143, 561–577. doi: 10.1007/s11205-018-1996-y

Carleton, R. N., Sharpe, D., & Asmundson, G. J. G. (2007). Anxiety sensitivity and intolerance of uncertainty: Requisites of the fundamental fears? Behavior Research and Therapy, 45, 2307–2316. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2007.04.006

Çıkrıkçı, Ö., & Gençdoğan, B. (2022). Clarifying the associations among belongingness, setting life goals, need satisfaction and positive orientations: The model testing in accordance with the attachment styles. Current Psycholology, 41, 643–658. doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00587-1

Clements, A. J., & Kamau, C. (2018). Understanding students’ motivation towards proactive career behaviours through goal-setting theory and the job demands–resources model. Studies in Higher Education, 43(12), 2279-2293. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2017.1326022

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Dempsey, R. C., Eardley, K., & Dodd, A. L. (2022). The role of tenacious versus flexible goal pursuit in the vulnerability to bipolar disorder. Current Psychology, 41, 2382–2389. doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00748-7

Do, M. H. (2022). EFL students’ self-regulated learning strategies during the covid19 pandemic. Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), 2nd Special Issue on Covid-19 Challenges (2), 22-34. doi: 10.24093/awej/covid2.2

Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner individual differences in second language acquisition. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers.

Dörnyei, Z. & Ushioda, E. (2011). Teaching and researching motivation (2nd ed.). London, UK: Pearson.

Erez, M., & Kanfer, F. H. (1983). The role of goal acceptance in goal setting and task performance. Academy of Management Review, 8(3), 454-463.

Fishbach, A., & Ferguson, M. J. (2007). The goal construct in social psychology. In A. W. Kruglanski, & E. T. Higgins (Ed.), Social psychology: handbook of basic principles (2nd ed., pp.490-515). New York: The Guilford Press.

Gkizani, A., & Galanakis, M. (2022). Goal setting theory in contemporary businesses: A systematic review. Psychology13(3), 420-426. doi: 10.4236/psych.2022.133028

Huang, J., & Hsieh, H. (2015). Supervisors as good coaches: Influences of coaching on employees’ in-role behaviors and proactive career behaviors. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(1), 42–58. doi: 10.1080/09585192. 2014.940993

Jeffrey, V. B., & Putka, D. J. (2000). Analyzing goal-striving processes and a test of the generalizability of perceptual control theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 82(2), 334–362. doi:10.1006/obhd.2000.2901

Kernan, M. C., Hance, P. J., & Heiman, B. (1991). Effects of goal choice, strategy choice, and feedback source on goal acceptance, performance, and subsequent goals. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 21(9), 713-733.

Konstantara, M. K., & Galanakis, M. (2022). Organizational & industrial psychology in the 21st century—Goal-Setting. Theory and performance management: A systematic literature review. Psychology, 13, 790-797. doi: 10.4236/psych.2022.135052

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting: A 35-year Odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–17.

Max, D., & Bacal, R. (2004). Perfect phrases for setting performance goals. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Oflu, C., Baluku, M. M., & Otto, K. (2022). Career success in the university setting: Examining the role of narcissism facets. Current Psychology, 41, 877–887. doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00614-6

Ozimek, P., Bierhoff, HW., & Hamm, K. M. (2022). How we use Facebook to achieve our goals: a priming study regarding emotion regulation, social comparison orientation, and unaccomplished goals. Current Psychology, 41(5), 3664–3677. doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00859-1

Parker, S. K., & Collins, C. G. (2010). Taking stock: Integrating and differentiating multiple proactive behaviors. Journal of Management, 36(3), 633–662. doi: 10.1177/0149206308321554

Schienle, K. (2009). Achieving goals. HarperCollins e-books.

Schraw, G., & Dennison, R. S. (1994). Assessing metacognitive awareness. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 19, 460–475.

Starkey, L. B. (2004). Critical thinking skills success. New York: Learning Express.

Steel, P., Svartdal, F., Thundiyil, T., & Brothen, T. (2018). Examining procrastination across multiple goal stages: A longitudinal study of temporal motivation theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 1-16. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00327.

Tracy, J., & Robins, R. (2004). Putting the self into self-conscious emotions: A theoretical model. Psychological Inquiry, 15(2), 103– 125.
doi: 10.1207/s15327965pli1502_01

Uncuoğlu-Yolcu, İ., & Çakmak, A. F. (2017). The mediating effect of psychologic empowerment workers in the relationship of proactive personality and proactive work behavior. International Journal of Management Economics and Business, 13(2), 425–438. doi: 10.17130/ijmeb.2017228692

Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner: An overview. Theory into Practice, 41(2), 64–70. doi: 10.1207/s15431tip4102_2

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Tumblr
Reddit
Email
StumbleUpon
Digg
Received: 12/13/2022
Accepted: 03/01/2023
Published: 03/24/2023
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9140-8404
https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol14no1.10 

Dr. Do Minh Hung has been teaching English at Dong Thap University, Cao Lanh City, Dong Thap Province, Southern Vietnam, for 25 years. He holds a doctoral degree in Applied Linguistics and has published several journal articles in the areas of English instruction and English-Vietnamese translation. ORCID ID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9140-8404