EFL Sophomores Perceptions of Their Self-Study Capability of the Language Skills Courses

In the current educational and social context, the formation and development of students' self-study capacity is one of the crucial factors to the enhancement of quality and effectiveness of the teaching and learning process. Especially, in the credit-based training at universities in Vietnam, students' self-study activities are also considered a mandatory and more frequent requirement when expressed by a certain proportion in the structure of the duration of the course. Accordingly, English teaching and learning reforms should be conducted to enhance students' self-study capacity for the purpose of obtaining expected learning outcomes. This study aims to survey and find out the practical context of self-study activities in the language skills courses of sophomore majoring in English. The study employed a survey on the perceptions of EFL sophomores of two training programs on English Language and English Teacher Education at a university in Mekong Delta. The purpose of the survey is to explore and evaluate the practical situation of self-study activities in language skills courses . Besides, the qualitative approach was also conducted through semi-structured interviews with students and lecturers to better understand the participants' views on the advantages, challenges and possible solutions of the students' self-study process in the university environment. The study also identified the limitations of students' ability and sense of self-study, thereby proposing recommendations to improve students' self-study capacity to meet the course objectives as well as better support effectiveness of innovation in English teaching pedagogy.