Problems and Strategies in Learning to Write a Thesis Proposal: A Study of Six M.A. Students in a TEFL Program

Abstract

This study explored how six graduate students of a TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) program learned to write their MA thesis proposals in English in a graduate course. Multiple sources of evidence were collected, including questionnaires, interviews, classroom observations, and presentation profiles. Data analyses showed that the students encountered difficulties in selecting a research topic, designing the proposal research, grasping the genre of the thesis proposal, and doing a critical literature review, but varied in their attitude toward getting support from their supervisors. By holding discussions with their supervisors, observing their peers’ presentations on research proposals, and reading relevant literature, they eventually completed the writing of their research proposals.