Tracing Trends, Challenges and Prospects in Theses on English as a Second Language

For students in the masteral level, one of the requirements for completion is to submit a research that contributes to the body of knowledge. In this study, 185 masters theses in a state university in the Philippines that offers a master's program in English as a Second Language (ESL) were revi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAsian EFL journal (Busan) Vol. 20; no. 12.4; p. 53
Main Author Panolong, Kara Salazar
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Busan Time Taylor Publishing 01.12.2018
Subjects
Content analysis
Dissertations & theses
English as a second language
Graduate studies
Qualitative research
Trends
Philippines
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Summary:For students in the masteral level, one of the requirements for completion is to submit a research that contributes to the body of knowledge. In this study, 185 masters theses in a state university in the Philippines that offers a master's program in English as a Second Language (ESL) were reviewed. A qualitative content analysis of these studies from 1994 -2018 was employed to determine the following: type of approach used, research design, macro skill targeted, type of participants, locale, tools used, statistical treatment and type of output. Data were presented in a frequency and percentage form. Results show that there are more studies that used the quantitative approach with various research designs. Speaking and reading were the most commonly studied language skills among high school students. Survey questionnaire and test were the most common tools. Statistical treatments ranged from descriptive to inferential statistics. From these parameters, trends in ESL were tracked in a fiveyear gap to show the areas in which emphasis on research was placed. With these trends, gaps or research areas were also considered in consonance with regulating bodies requirements.
ISSN:1738-1460