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15(2)2025

Predicting factors impacting EFL students’ writing competence: Examining the moderating effects of personal characteristics


Author - Affiliation:
Phe Quang Chu - University of Finance - Marketing, Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam
Trang Hoang Trang - University of Finance - Marketing, Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam
Dao Thi Anh Vo - University of Finance - Marketing, Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam
Corresponding author: Phe Quang Chu - cq.phe@ufm.edu.vn
Submitted: 13-08-2024
Accepted: 27-09-2024
Published: 18-10-2024

Abstract
This paper quantitatively predicts the factors that impact English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ Writing Competence (WC), examining the multiple-level effects of three independent constructs (Environmental Factors [EF], Personal Beliefs [BL], Behavioral Factors [BF]) and three moderating variables (gender, academic performance, and self-study time) on EFL students’ WC. The questionnaire was delivered to 85 EFL students at a university in Vietnam, and the findings show that the SRMR index of the estimated model is .46, meaning a good fit. Hypothesis testing validated the positive causality between the exogenous constructs and their corresponding endogenous ones. In the direct relations, EF affects BL the most (75.1%), BF impacts WC (69.3%), and finally, BL influences BF the least (38.4%). In the indirect relations, EF affects WC the most (55.1%), then EF influences BF (28.9%) and finally, BL impacts WC the least (26.6%). The analytical result also revealed the moderating effect of gender on the relation between BF and WC. Still, the moderation of academic performance and self-study time on the relation between BF and WC was rejected. Finally, the authors discuss some major administrative measures to target if stakeholders wish to improve EFL students’ WC.

Keywords
collaborative learning; collaborative writing; English as a foreign language; SCLT; writing competence

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.46223/HCMCOUJS.soci.en.15.2.3644.2025
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