A COMPARISON OF THE ENGLISH ACADEMIC RESULTS OF K16 NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS BY DIFFERENT ETHNICITIES AND GENDER AT THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCES

Abstract

English teaching and learning has become an essential strategy for the social development of Vietnam. However, the achievement in learning English depends on a lot of factors including the teaching methods, students’ academic backgrounds and also students’ attitudes towards the language learning. This study investigated whether or not gender and ethnicity factors impact on the academic result of university students from different ethnic groups. Also, this descriptive study attempts to compare the academic results of the three compulsory English courses in the university formal syllabus. The data is collected from 304 non-English major students from different ethnic groups of K16 at Thai Nguyen University of Sciences. Results indicated that gender played an important part in the academic achievement of those students. Besides, ethnic factors also partially impacted on the academic results of university students. The findings of the study are expected to be valuable sources for local teachers and researchers who want to investigate the reasons why gender affects the learning English, and the relationship between the students’ identity and English learning outcomes.