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 selfregulated 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.