CHAPTER IV
DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
In this study, the instruments were applied are a questionnaire and a test as well. These two instruments were applied to collect the data required in this study.
Each instrument was used for a specific purpose that may help the study to come out with the results needed. The data collected will be analyzed contrastively i.e. the
students performance will be measured and the errors will be counted taking in consideration the differences between the two languages. The answered papers will
be observed to highlight the problems that face the learners in writing English and the caused behind them.
4.1. The first instrument
The questionnaire was applied to know the students attitude towards their mastering of English language and to know the causes behind and problem they face
in their writings of English. It was distributed to the participants that were selected randomly. The participants were some of the Libyan students studying in
Diponegoro University in Semarang, Indonesia. The population of the study is about 32 students who study in different master programs. All of them are academic
students engaging the postgraduate program for getting the master degree. The participants were selected randomly by lottery from different study programs. The
study programs of the students were discussed before in chapter three under the heading population of the study.
The questionnaire was distributed on 20 students out of 32 students studying in Diponegoro students. The participants who were selected randomly were as
follows:
Accounting: six students
Public health: two students
Engineering: eight students
Pathology and immunology: two students
Environment: two students The first part of the questionnaire has the heading beliefs which investigate about the
participants beliefs about the learning of the foreign language English. It provides the study with some information about the participants’ beliefs about learning
English which may effect on their learning process. This part of the questionnaire investigates about the beliefs of the students regarding the following:
the ability to learn independently
whether the participants thought they needed a teacher
how they rated English as a language to learn and their own ability as language
learners
whether English required a lot of effort to learn
Whether or not they believed it was necessary to live in an English-speaking
country to know English.
Whether the practice with native speakers is the way to be professional. Table 1: Beliefs
Beliefs Agree
Neutr Disagre
I can easily find ways to practice English by myself 55
30 15
I expect a teacher to be responsible for telling me what and how much to study and evaluating what I have
learned 45
30 25
I consider myself to be a good language learner ie: I can pick up languages easily
70 25
5
English is an easy language to learn 80
20 --
It takes a lot of effort to become good at English 40
35 25
You can’t really know English unless you live andor study in an English-speaking country
50 20
30
The real practice of using the target language is the key to be professional
45 25
30
Most respondents 80 agreed that English was an easy language to learn, and two -thirds considered themselves to be good language learners. Over half 55
stated they could easily find ways to practise English by themselves, while just under half 45 agreed they expected a teacher to be responsible for telling me
what and how much to study and evaluating how much I have learned. Fifty percent agreed that you can’t really know English unless you live andor study in
an English -speaking country, but 30 disagreed with this statement. Concerning the effort required to learn English, 40 thought it took a lot of effort to become
good at English, while 35 were uncommitted and 25 disagreed. 45 agreed that the key of mastering English is through practising it where as 30disagrred. It is
impossible to make any generalizations about the beliefs, other than that, in this group as a whole, there seems to be a general agreement that English is an easy
language to learn. However there is less agreement about the amount of effort required to learn it, or the need to live in an English-speaking country to know
English. The second part of the questionnaire investigates about the ways that
students do to improve their English when they finished the required courses. It also inquires about some of the some aspects in English and Arabic if they think
that they effect on their learning of English. This part starts with the inquiry about the ways that the students used to
improve English in the past and present. Seventy five percent of the participants
said that they do not use the self access center or library to improve their English in the present whereas the rest said that they always and sometimes used them for
improving their English 10 always, 15 sometimes. In the second statement of the inquiry about managing English was about the usage of ILC or SAC in the
past, the result more or tests the same. More than the half of the respondents 65 said that they never used it while the rest said that the used them to
improve their English. The majority of the participants said that they use internet to improve their
English and watching Tv and movies in English as well. 50 used internet to practise English with their friends also they said that they used English among
their friends in the classes of English. On the other hand, the majority of the participants do not read magazines and newspaper in English, about 60 while
the 20 percent said that they sometimes read books to improve their English, and the rest are always using these aids to improve their English.
Table 2 : Method used to learn English
Method Used Always or often
Sometimes Rarely or
never I improve my English by myself by
studying in an independent learning centre ILC, self-access centre SAC or library in
my university. 10
15 75
I don’t use the ILC, SAC or library now to improve my English, but I have used this
method in the past. 10
25 65
I improve my English by practising with my friends.
If yes, how do you practise? 50
30 20
I use the internet to improve my English. If yes, how do you use it?
70 20
10 I watch TVmovies in English.
75 15
10 I read books, magazines, newspapers
that are not related directly to my studies to improve my English.
20 20
60
65 of the participants agreed that their mother tongue always influence their writing especially the grammatical differences. Moreover, the majority of
them agreed that they always or sometimes translate their ideas from the mother tongue into English. Just 15 who said that they don’t translate their ideas. The
participants added that the influence of the mother tongue is negative because of the differences between the two languages. Only one said that it effects positively
because he said that it is easier to learn the language when you compare it to your mother tongue.
70 of the respondents consider semantics is a weakness area of their learning and about half said that they have a problem n dealing with the multi-
meaning words. Table 3 : Difficulties Realization
Difficulties Realization Agree
Neutral Disagree
Does your mother tongue influence your writing in English
If yes, how negative or positive? 65
25 10
Do you try to translate your ideas when you write in English?
70 15
15
Does your culture affects your writing in English?
40 20
40
Do the differences between English and Arabic grammar causes problems for you in writing?
65 35
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Do the multi-meaning words of English make your writing difficult?
50 5
45
Are the semantic differences a weakness area of your writing?
70 10
20
The various usage of preposition is confusing me.
55 10
35
In the next part of the realization of writing competence, the participants were asked to answer wit yes or no , either they have some difficulties in writing
tasks or not. the first statement was inquiring about whether the participants have problem in spelling or not. Most of the participants who said yes that they have
problem said that the reason behind that is the differences between the way a word is pronounced and the way it is written. Unlike the Arabic system of writing
which is the same as a word is pronounced, it is written. They also gave the same reason when they were asked about the subject and verb agreement and the
capitalization. The majority said that it is not found in Arabic, so they face problem in understanding it.
More than half of the participants said that they can not use appropriate words as well as they face a problem in the sentence order. The reasons behind
those two problems are:
The multi-meaning of the English words
The lack of vocabulary
The mother tongue influence The majority of the respondents have problem in the English tenses
specially the perfect tenses, passive voice and verb to be usage. They said that
their teachers did not give them more attention. Some others said that the perfect tenses are not available in their mother tongue Arabic, so they do not know the
usage of these tenses. Moreover, they said that the irregular verbs confuse them as a verb is changed according to the tense it is used with.
4.2. The Second Instrument
