‘SECOND DEGREE ENGLISH-MAJOR’ AT SAI GON UNIVERSITY: AN ANALYSIS OF RECENT STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the self-assessment data of students participating in the ‘Second-Degree English-Major’ (SDEM) program at Sai Gon University (SGU). Using data from a recent survey conducted in October 2023 with a graduating batch of 55 students, this study examines students’ perceptions of their improvements in listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills. Data from 37 students (though for some skills it was 38 as well as 39) with complete information were analyzed using the logistic regression model as well as the bootstrap method (to assess the variations in the estimates of the model parameters) to determine whether the level of improvement depended on their background factors (such as - gender, age and the type of job held). The results show no significant impact of background factors on the students’ self-assessment, suggesting that improvements were evenly distributed across different student groups (identified by the background factors). The subjective nature of the self-assessment data is recognized as a potential source of bias which needs to be addressed in future studies.