Indonesian EFL Students' Barriers in Writing Undergraduate Thesis: A Descriptive Phenomenology Study
Keywords:
Undergraduate student, barriers or challenges, thesis writing, EFL studentsAbstract
The purpose of this study is to examine how Indonesian EFL students employ international literature when writing their theses. This study involved several EFL students who had experience accessing international journals and writing theses. A phenomenological-descriptive method was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, and Colaizzi’s phenomenological analysis was applied. The findings indicate that participants faced three main challenges: technical barriers in finding suitabel references, barriers in technical academic writing, and psychological barriers in the thesis writing progress. technical barriers in finding suitabel references included paywalls that limited access to international journals, and academic writing technical barriers, such as dificulty in discussion or conten sections, limited academic vocabulary, difficulty understanding academic English, and the complexity of sentence structures in scientific articles. Additionally, demotivation barriers in the thesis writing progress included stress, stuck, down, frustration, loss of motivation, lack of self-confidence, and mental fatigue. Nevertheless, EFL students demonstrated resilience and adaptive strategies by improving their English language skills, expanding their academic literacy, utilizing AI-based translation technology and seeking social support from friends, family, and their teachers or faculty. This study found that thesis writing for EFL students is not only an academic process but also an emotional and psychological experience.
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