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Description
In competency-based higher education, scientific research competence is increasingly seen as an essential outcome, especially in English language programs where students must manage both research demands and academic language challenges. This study investigates the scientific research competence of English Language students at Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology (HUFLIT) through the sequential Project 1-2 courses. It aims to assess students’ current competence, evaluate the quality and continuity of the two courses, identify key influencing factors, and propose directions for developing a student research competency framework and improving course quality. A mixed-methods design was employed. Quantitative data were collected through a survey of the entire population of third-year students enrolled in the English Language program. Qualitative data were obtained from 20 semi-structured interviews with lecturers and students, together with analysis of student project artifacts.
The findings show students demonstrate developing but uneven research competence. They appear more confident in topic selection, group collaboration, and basic data collection, but continue to face difficulties in formulating research questions, justifying methods, analyzing data, and producing academically rigorous writing. Although Project 1 and Project 2 form a meaningful developmental sequence, stronger alignment, clearer scaffolding, and more consistent assessment practices are still needed. Four factors significantly shaped competence development: pedagogical engagement, methodological and linguistic barriers, institutional scaffolding, and assessment standardization (all ps < .001). Overall, the study proposes a contextualized research competency framework to strengthen curriculum alignment, support systems, rubric-based assessment, and the responsible use of AI in Project 1-2 courses.
