The influences of social networks on english self study process of freshmen in english faculty, thuongmai university

ABSTRACT
The study aims to explore the effects of social networks in the process of selflearning English of students belong to English Faculty, Thuongmai university
(TMU) through a number of popular social networking sites such as Facebook,
YouTube,Zing.mp3,etc.A total of 61 students from English Faculty at TMU
participated in this study.The participants were divided into two main groups that
including the first year students and the final year students in order to compare the
difference in the process of using the social network for English self-study and how
the impact of social networks affect them.A mixed method consisting questionnaire
method, interview method and group interview method was implemented to analyze
the collected data. The findings of this study indicate that social networks can
effectively assist college students in self-learning process.Students can improve
their professional knowledge not only from the in-class instruction but also through
social network sites. However, due to the lack of appropriate learning methods,
social networks still exist a few negative effects in the learning process.Finally,some
useful instructional strategies are provided to educators and practitioners in the
English education field.
Keywords: Social networks, self-learning process, research method

HANOI, 2019
1


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This graduation thesis would never have been able to finish without the
guidance of my supervisor, help from my friends and support from my family.
Firstly, to complete this graduation thesis, I have received a lot of helps from
school and teachers.I would like to thank to faculty of English,TMU for giving me a
good learning environment, providing me with knowledge about business English,
as well as opportunity to let me have time to access to practical.
Secondly,I would like to express my sincere thanks to the teacher: Ms.Han Thi
Bich Ngoc. During the time of writing the thesis, I received the guidance of the

teacher.She helped a lot in correcting, supplementing and perfecting the missing
theoretical knowledge to complete the thesis with the best results.
Thirdly, I would also like to thank the library management of Thuongmai
university who has helped me a lot in the process of collecting materials, providing
valuable materials to complete this thesis.
Last but not least, I want to show my appreciation to participants, including
K54,the first year students and K51,the final year students of English major at
Thuongmai university, who provided me with valuable assistance in collecting data.
However, due to limited qualifications and limited research time, the research
and presentation process is inevitable. I really hope to receive comments and advice
from teachers so that my graduation thesis will be more perfect.
Thank you so much!
Hanoi, April, 2019
Tran Thi Cuc

2


TABLE OF CONTENTS

3


LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

4


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
NO

1
2
3

5

ABBREVIATIONS
E.g
TMU
Etc

EXPLANATION
Exempli gratia (for example)
Thuong Mai University
Et cetera


CHAPTER I: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
1.1.Rationale
In the context of international integration, English has become the most widely
used language all over the world. It is considered as the medium communication in
many different fields such as: science, technology aviation, international sport, and
so on.
Businesses are increasingly focusing on their English language skills
(especially English). For medium and large enterprises, foreign language
certification is gradually becoming a mandatory requirement, and is considered a
prerequisite for applicants when interviewing.However, the response and the way
we are implementing so that English becomes a second language for graduates,
there are still many issues to consider.
Back to the university training environment, like many universities in the

country today, Thuongmai University also requires that before graduation, students
need to have a certificate of English as a required condition. Studying foreign
languages at school is not enough for students to apply well what they have learned
in practice. So the core problem for students to improve their foreign language skills
is in students' self-study in addition to the lessons in class.Self-study is really a very
important skill for students. It helps students to grasp knowledge effectively.
However, how self-study is effective and how to have the best self-study method?
Especially for freshmen in English Faculty, finding a suitable method for the
English self-study process is really necessary.While the internet is having a
booming era, new forms of communication are attracting more and more viewers.
Internet users - especially young people, start looking for a place that satisfies all
the needs of information, entertainment, connectivity and social networking that are
launched to meet all those needs.For students, the benefits that social networks
bring have an immense role in self-studying English of students at TMU.
Students through social networking links to work together as a group of people with
the same goal of self-learning English, with interest, online exchange, help each
other improve English proficiency and English skills.Not only that, social networks
6


also expand the scope, allowing students from different schools not only in the
country but also abroad to create sites to help each other learn. This is one of the
channels to help them improve learning efficiency, share knowledge and
materials.Nowaday, the world has hundreds of different social networks like
Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter,... Each social network has a certain success based
on its compatibility with cultural, geographic factors. Facebook and YouTube are
social networks that are commonly used in Vietnam. In addition, having some
appearances of other social networks such as: Zing me, YuMe, Tamtay,etc.
Many young people, especially the first-year students in English Faculty who
have just entered the university environment are still having difficulties and surprise

during their study, the use of social networks will help very much in their English
self-learning process.In addition to studying on the school under the guidance of
teachers, they use social networks to provide more knowledge and exchange skills
to learn English with others. Not only that, networks also provides an opportunity
for students to interact with foreigners who do not need to go abroad or lose the cost
of taking English courses.
Besides convenience, social networks also lead to negative phenomena among
current students. One of the most remarkable phenomena is the "online addiction"
phenomenon.For students, spending too much time using social networks also has
many consequences such as: reduce labor productivity, poor health (vision loss,
insomnia, mental fatigue, ..).A large amount of information that is not original,
uncensored or social networking groups with bad intentions will cause them to lose
money without any effect in the learning process.Besides, the dissemination of
information from social networks is quick and easy, creating an environment for the
bad guys to exploit and entice,which make to reduce the students' will to study.
Students account for the most number of members using social networks during
their self-study process.However, they are faced with multi-dimensional impacts
daily, affecting both awareness and behavior in the process of using social
networks.However, the problem of social network impacts on students, especially
first-year students of English Faculty at Thuongmai University has not been deeply
studied. The problem is: How is the impact of social networks on students major in
7


English? What social network has changed to their habits and needs during the
English self-learning process? These questions need to be addressed by practical,
concrete surveys and based on solid theoretical background.
The things mentioned above are the reasons why I choose “ The Influences of
Social Networks on English Self-Study Process of Freshmen in English Faculty,
Thuongmai University ” for my graduate thesis.

Hopefully, it will be beneficial to learners of Vietnamese, who have a passion for
English.
1.2.Previous Studies
Considered as a new communication channel, the explosive growth of social
networks attracted the attention of researchers. In the world, there have been many
research projects, articles on social networks and young people that have attracted
many achievements, such as: Research: “Social Networks and Internet Usages by
The Young Generations”(Ehrhardt,2013). This study has shown the habits of young
people when using social networks and the internet, comparing these habits with
real life behaviors as well as the views of the younger generation on social
networks. At the same time, the study also emphasizes the importance of social
networks in modern society.
A different study of with a multiple name “Young and Old Use Social Media
for Surprisingly Different Reasons” (Ladegaard,2014) indicates the reasons that
people participate in social networking. How it has changed their habits and
lifestyles as well as the trend of using social networks in the future.
Besides, there are also many discussions around the negative and positive
impacts of social networks on the younger generation, such as Debate.org website
with the title: “ Is Social Networking Bad for Today’s Generation?”.There have been
a lot of opinions in the debate, of which 58% agree that social networks are having
negative impacts on the younger generation, 42% disagree and tell the advantages
that social networks bring.
In Vietnam, Social networks have only been introduced in recent years but it
has also attracted many people's attention and interest. There are many studies as
well as articles written about the power of social networks in the multilateral media
8


era. However, these studies only stop at a general level and often focus mainly on
features as well as ways of communicating on social networks, the interaction

between social networks and traditional communication. It has not shown the true
impact on young people, especially students who studying in the university
environment.
Through the process of surveying and researching this topic, I have the
conditions to refer to the documents at the faculty offices, libraries of TMU,
national universities, national libraries as well as materials from different sources
and found that in forums, libraries, research on social networks, there have been
quite a number of research projects on social networks, such as: Graduation thesis
with the theme:“Social Network Movement in Vietnam”(Quynh,2013) (surveyed
through 3 manifest social networks now in Vietnam: Vietspace, Cyworld Vietnam
and Yahoo).This thesis mainly studies the participation of social networks of young
people and regular internet users in Vietnam through three social networks.The
thesis also assesses the consequences as well as the implications of social networks,
thereby proposing some development solutions and ideal models for social
networks in Vietnam.
In addition, there are many other interesting research topics that address social
issues and young people. However, these topics are concentrated in a different
aspect and unconnected together . Another problem that I found is that even in my
school environment( TMU), the social network problem has not really been studied
deeply, especially for the first year students who are having many difficult problems in
English self-study. That is reason why I am implementing research topic: “The
Influences of Social Networks on English Self-study Process of Freshmen in English
Faculty, Thuongmai University ”. This is one of the first topics of comprehensive
systematic research on the impact of social networks with the specific object is student
of TMU and specific aspect is English self-study.This is a non-overlapping and
interesting topic at TMU, promising to attract the attention of students and teachers.
1.3.Aims of The Study
Thesis studies,analyzes and assesses the impact of social networks on young
people in collecting, receiving, connecting, sharing and transmitting information to
9

serve the special needs of self-learning English for the first year students major in
English as well as their views on social networks from which to give ideas and
suggestions aim to help students have the right direction in using social networks to
their learning.
Specifically, the study aims to answer the following three questions:
Research Question 1:How is the current situation of using social networks of
the first-year students of English Faculty,TMU in English self-learning process
today?
Research Question 2: What are the effects of social networking on English
self-learning process?
Research Question 3: What are the solutions to limit the problems that exist in
the process of using the social networking?
1.4. Research Subject
The research subject of the thesis is the impacts of social networks on young
people especially the first-year students of TMU on the needs, habits of collecting,
receiving, connecting and giving change, sharing as well as their views on social
networks.
In the framework of a dissertation project, in order to study more deeply and
in detail, the dissertation only focuses on surveying some main social networks
which are Facebook, YouTube and Zing.mp3.
Facebook is a social network that is at the peak of its development period.
Currently, Facebook has the number of members in all social networking sites with
over 800 million members. According to the newly published report of the internet
market research firm: Global Web Index( England). Specifically, by the end of
12/2012, Facebook had 693 million users piercing through and became the largest
social network in the world.In Vietnam, according to Facebook's research report on
users in countries, Vietnam has the highest number of users in Asia in 2012. The total
number of Vietnamese members participating in this largest social network reached

nearly 5.5 million, a strong increase of 55.6% compared to the previous quarter.
YouTube is the world's largest video sharing website. This is the most visited
and popular address among entertainment services.According to the internet market
10


research: Global Web Index( England), YouTube social network ranked 3rd among
10 social networks with the largest number of users in the world.The topics with the
diverse areas that YouTube covers make video sharing become one of the most
important parts of internet exchanges.Clips uploaded to YouTube also have a lot of
influence on the society. There are many videos with a wide spread. The video
reached the highest viewership on YouTube up to over 1 billion viewers.
Zing.mp3 is an online music community website which first released from
August 1, 2007.It integrates a system of searching for modern technology, robots
will automatically search for links containing music content on some popular music
websites in Vietnam, helping users just go to the music search section and then able
to search for music from various sources. It also allows people to listen, download,
embed blogs or send friends their favorite songs.With the music store containing
over 1 million songs which always updated regularly with the latest trends with the
hottest singers today, Zing.mp3 is considered one of the most popular and
interesting music websites at Vietnam.Not only enjoying the music in this country,
Zing.mp3 also helps students come to a variety foreign music store. Listening to
English songs is not only a great form of entertainment after stressful classes but
also helps you improve your English listening skills through English melodies and
lyrics.This is also a very unique form of English learning,which is applied by
students during their self-learning English process.
Zing MP3 is currently the largest digital music player in Vietnam with more
than 50 million users and 2 million hits per day.
Due to the specific characteristics mentioned above of each social network, I
surveyed and selected Facebook and YouTube,Zing.mp3 which are three

representatives of the global social network and are widely responded by young people.
About the research object is also the object to survey in Facebook, YouTube
and Zing.mp3, the thesis selects the main object: the first-year student in English
faculty are those who have just entered a different learning environment with their
subordinates, facing many difficulties and have to find out study methods for
themselves.This is also the age group that accounts for a high proportion on social
networks, and is consistent with the research direction of the thesis.
11


* Research scope:
Direct interview with 15 people who are freshmen in English Faculty at
Thuongmai university
Questionnaire method:Survey 40 students. The discussion is divided into 3
groups, each group has about 6-8 students studying at the classes of the English
department at Thuongmai University.
Group interview: a group of students including six people.There are three
students who are the first year students and three students who are the final year
students.All of them also belong to English Faculty,Thuongmai university.The
reason for choosing two different target groups is to compare the difference in the
process of using the social network for English self-study and how the impact of
social networks affect them
* Research time: From 25/02 to 19/04,2019
1.5. Research Methodology
1.5.1.Some features of the study’s place
Founded in 1960, TMU is a non-profit public higher education institution
located in the metropolis of Hanoi (population range of over 5,000,000 inhabitants),
Red River Delta. Officially accredited and/or recognized by the Ministry of
Education and Training, Vietnam, Thuongmai University is a medium-sized
(uniRank enrollment range: 8,000-8,999 students) coeducational higher education

institution. Thuongmai University offers courses and programs leading to officially
recognized higher education degrees in several areas of study.Being a multidisciplinary schools specializing in economics. This is also a good learning
environment, among the top universities in the country. In particular, the school is
also a place for training that specialized in business English, attracting a lot of
students to enroll in this department.
1.5.2.Research methods
1.5.2.1.Methods of researching documents
Serving for theoretical reasoning is mainly the method of document research,
document. This method includes stages: analysis, synthesis, and systematization
generalize the theories and methodological and related issues to the needs of
students to use social networks.
12


Purpose: to collect data, to generalize information on issues related to
previous research topics of domestic and foreign authors, to build a scientific basis
for the topic. From there, analyze and explain the science as well as the
reasonableness of the points that the topic has given.
Content: Theoretical issues about behavior of using social media, expression
of behavior of using social network.
Procedures: collect, search, filter information from documents, documents,
books and newspapers on websites or school libraries, thereby systematizing
theoretical issues related to topics.
1.5.2.2.Methods of practical research
a.Survey method by questionnaire
In scientific research, researchers often use a system of different research
methods in which the questionnaire survey method is a popular method.The method
of survey by questionnaire is a written interview method, done at the same time
with many people in a pre-printed questionnaire. The respondents answered their
opinions by checking the corresponding boxes according to a certain rule.

The survey process by questionnaire consists of 2 phases: the questionnaire
design stage and the official investigation stage.
The questionnaire design stage:
Purpose: to collect research information for the purpose of forming
preliminary content for the questionnaire
Subjects of information collection: 40 first-year students of English Faculty,
TMU
Content of collecting research information: I use two previously prepared
sources of information:First, on the basis of studying documents from the author's
studies in and outside the country on behavior of using social networks of students.
Next I conducted a survey about using the social networks of students whom are
studying at TMU, majoring in business English. Combined from the above two
sources of information, I created a questionnaire for students.
Questionnaire for students includes three parts: The opening of the
questionnaire presents the purpose of the survey, questions relate to the respondents'
13


information, creating objectivity.The content of the questionnaire is the questions
related to the influence of social networks on freshman of TMU.The last part is a
number of suggestions and personal opinions of respondents toward social
networking issues as solutions to limit the negative effects of social networks on
student use
b.Survey method by direct interview
Interview is the method that used to find out more personal information or to
assert more deeply about something.This research method is also commonly used as
a questionnaire method.
Interview purpose: Supplement and check income information through
questionnaire method in order to understand the behavior of using social networks
of the first-year students at TMU.

Object of interview: 15 students of the Faculty of Business English of the
university in the research area
Principles of interview: The interview was conducted in a friendly, open
atmosphere in order to give students a comfortable mood, avoid confronting the
interviewed audience to make them feel confident and closer.
Contents of interview: Interview about the status of using students' social
networks as well as the factors that affecting the use of social networks of students.
Thereby drawing conclusions about the impact and influence of social networks on
the process of self-learning English.
Steps in the interview process: For the most convenient for the interviewer, the
researcher must arrange a flexible and appropriate time. When interviewing,
consider the following points:
+ The time when students often use social networks
+ Awareness of student about using social networks
+ Student's assessment about the influence of social networks in the process of
learning English
In these steps, students are presented in a comfortable, free way about the
questions that the interviewer poses. Besides, in the interview, the interviewer must
ask the most appropriate questions and at the right time.
14


c.Survey method by group interview
This method aims to better analyze the results from the above interview
method through interviewing two different subjects. One object is the first year
student group and the other is the last year student group. These two groups belong
to the English Faculty at TMU.The reason for the selection of two different target
groups is to compare the use of social networks between the two groups and thereby
see how different and similar in the impact of social networks toward their selfstudy English.
1.6.Theoretical and Practical Significance

The first is the scientific aspect, the thesis contributes to another perspective
on the impact of social networks on young people after the explosion of social
networks. The work also contributes somewhat to the theoretical system of mass
media in Vietnam. This is a very important research area, so far has not been
research deeply at the university.
In practical value:On the basis of practical surveys,with comparative
comparison, the topic shows the realty of the use and reception of social networks
among young people. The topic also offers the positive as well as the limitations,
the multi-dimensional effects of social networks for users, especially the first year
students who are finding effective English self-study methods for themselves. This
shows the changes in collecting, receiving, connecting, sharing, and transmitting
their information after using social networks.
The thesis also contributes to providing the right orientations for students to
use the social network for self-study English. It helps students have an effective
learning method as well as exploit all the advantages that social networks bring.
1.7.Organization of The Study
In addition to the introduction, conclusions, references and appendices, the
thesis is divided into three main chapters as follows:
Chapter 1: The theoretical basis of social networks and behavior of using
social network of students at Thuongmai University
Chapter 2: Organize research methods and analyze research results
Chapter 3: Summarize the problems of the topic and propose solutions.
15


CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1.Term Definition
2.1.1. Social network
If using “social network” keyword and searching for it in Google, will get
about 253 results. That confirms social networking phrase is a familiar phrase in the

world of internet users.Cambridge dictionary has defined social networking as
follows: “A website or computer program that allows people to communicate and
share information on the internet using a computer or mobile phone”.
According to Laura Garton sociologist, a strategic researcher at Toronto
University: “when the computer network connects people or people to organization
together, it is a social network”.
From the above concepts we can define that social networking is the use of
internet-based social media programs to make connections with friends, family,
classmates, customers and clients. Social networking is a phrase that is no stranger
to people. Nowadays almost no one does not use themselves as a social network, it
has become popular.Social networking can occur for social purposes, business
purposes

or

both through

sites

such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,

Classmates.com,etc
Social networking is also a significant target area for marketers seeking to
engage users.
Social networking is a service that connects the same hobby members on the
Internet together for different purposes regardless of space and time. People are also
called netizens.
Social networks, also known under other names such as "virtual community"
or "profile page", are websites that bring people together to talk, share ideas and
interests, or get acquainted with new friends.

Social networking services have general features such as e-mail,chat, voice
chat,movies, file sharing, blog and editorial. The innovation network is completely
changing how netizens link together and become an essential part of every day for
hundreds of millions of members around the world. These services have many ways
16


for members to search for friends and partners: based on group (e.g: school name or
city name), based on personal information (such as e-mail address or screen name),
or based on personal interests (such as music,sports, movies or books,), areas of
interest: making friend,business, purchase,etc.
Social networking is a type of business service.Because it will be the tool to
connect people all over the country together via the internet on hobby issues, or
important information. It does not distinguish between users and can connect at any
time space. When we use it, we have to spend money, so that we can connect with
people, so this is the type of service that collects money indirectly from users.
2.1.1.1.Social network history
Social networking services first appeared in 1995 with the introduction of
Classmate for the purpose of connecting learners, followed by the appearance of Six
Degrees in 1997 for the purpose of making friends based on interests.
In 2002, Friendster became a new trend in the United States with millions of
registered members. However, this rapid development is also a double-edged sword:
Friendster's server is often overloaded every day, causing grievances for many
members.
In 2004, MySpace was born with features like movies (embedded video) and
quickly attracted tens of thousands of new members every day, former members of
Friendster also flocked to MySpace and within a year, MySpace became the first
social network to have more views than Google and was bought by News
Corporation for 580 million USD.
In 2006, the birth of Facebook marked a new turning point for the online

social network with the "Facebook Platform" programming platform that allows
members to create new tools (apps) for themselves as well as others members use.
Facebook Platform quickly achieved great success, bringing hundreds of new
features for Facebook and contributing significantly to the average 19 minutes that
members spend on this page every day.
2.1.1.2.Structure of social network
Node: An entity in the network. This entity can be an individual, a business or
any organization
17


Link: is the relationship between those entities. There may be many types of
links in the network. In its simplest form, social networking is a single scalar graph
of appropriate links between nodes. We can represent this interconnection network
with a diagram where nodes are represented by points and links are represented by
straight lines.
2.1.1.3.Social network goals
Creating an Internet-based system allows users to communicate and share
information effectively, beyond geographical and time limits.
Build up an online identity form to serve common public requirements and
community values.
Enhance the role of each citizen in creating relationships and self-organizing
around common interests in communities that promote social organization
connections.
Today social networks are used by many people because it helps them update
information about friends and relatives as well as find new friends. This is also a
place where you can find interesting information, images ... from people with
similar interests.
2.1.1.4.Some typical social networks
Nowadays, there are many social networks in the world.Five social networks

with the largest number of monthly access users (as of March 1,2015), are shown in
table:

18


Figure 1: The world's largest social networks
Ordinal

Social
networks

Social
1

Facebook

2

Twitter

3

LinkedIn

4

Pinterest

5

Number

Description

of

monthly users
networks

help

people

communicate,share what you want for 900,000,000
your friends
Quick messaging network, small blog
310,000,000
Social network oriented business and
255,000,000
network system
Social network oriented photo sharing
250,000,000
Social
networks
help
people

Google

communicate,share, integrate with other

Plus+

Google

services

such

as:

Gmail,

120,000,000

Hangouts, YouTube,.etc
(Source: Summary of eBizMBA, as of March 1, 2015)
2.1.2. Self-study process
According to Cambridge dictionary: “A way of learning about a subject that
involves studying alone at home,rather than in a classroom with a teacher”.
The study of something by oneself, as through books, records, etc., without
direct supervision or attendance in a class
Example: She learned to read German by self-study.
Discussing the concept of self-study: "Self-study is a proactive learner, finding
out his own knowledge by his actions, himself apprear. Self-study is to put yourself
in the situation of learning, study position, handle situations, solve problems, test
solutions,etc. Self-learning process of personalization ” (Nguyen,1998)
In the speech at the workshop “ Improving The Quality of Teaching” held in
November 2005 at Hue University, Professor Tran Phuong said: “Learning is

always and always is self-study, meaning that knowledge science accumulated from
many generations of humanity into its knowledge, self-improvement of its thinking
and training itself to practice those knowledge ”
From the above concepts, it can be seen that the concept of self-study is
always accompanied, closely associated with the concept of self-awareness. Each
individual's knowledge, experience and skills can only be formed sustainably and
19


promoted effectively through those activities. To achieve perfection, each student
must receive knowledge from many sources on his own, practicing skills
themselves, self-sustaining their soul everywhere anytime.
2.1.2.1.Self-learning method
Learning is not simply sitting at a writing desk, writing or holding a book to
read. In order to have good and useful knowledge,student must have a method of
studying science, but each person's method of learning is different.
Search for documents



Search for material from books, newspapers, websites, and friends to get a
better understanding of something after hearing teacher talk about it. Although not
everyone has the ability to search for documents quickly and accurately, but when
you train gradually,this skill will also go up. This is only difficult when you are just
starting out, when you are familiar you will easily find the information you need to
add to your knowledge base.
Test yourself knowledge



In order for your studies to be highly effective, you must know how to test
your knowledge by doing it yourself: short-listed main content, charting, thinking
maps ... Testing your knowledge is also the way you once again try to refine what
you have learned, what is ambiguous needs to be learned.
Learn to remember



Each person will have a different way of remembering, some will rewrite
many times, list the main contents, some will read aloud, someone just reads
silently as long as they can remember that knowledge. Try all the ways above to
see how will help you remember the fastest and most effective.
Selecting information and knowledge



Every day people will receive a lot of different information, knowledge from
teachers, books, types of references,etc. If they do not have the skills to select
information, knowledge will make them drown in one bubbles of too many different
knowledge.

20


Know how to select important information, important knowledge, and
remember them. Do not try to remember too much messy things in your head, it
will make you feel that learning is really scary and bad.
Understand and regularly review



Understanding the knowledge will help you remember and know how to apply
them to each situation accordingly. In addition, learner should regularly review what
they have learned, otherwise what they have learned will gradually be forgotten
over time.
2.1.2.2.The role of self-study process:
Self-learning capacity is the best way to create strong motivation for the
learning process.One of the important qualities of each individual is the positive,
creative initiative in all circumstances.One of the important tasks of education is to
form that quality for learners. Because of that new education hopes to create
dynamic, creative, adaptive classes for all labor markets, contributing to community
development. It can be seen as positive (formed from self-learning ability) as a
condition, the result of the development of the younger generation personality in
modern society. In which self-study activities are the high exertion of many aspects
of each individual learner in the cognitive process. Human activeness is only
formed on the basis of random coordination between excitement and selfawareness. It guarantees the shaping of independence in learning.
Regular self-study, positive, self-discipline not only help students expand their
knowledge but also help students to form intellectual qualities and train their
personality, giving them a scientific lifestyle, virtue of perseverance, interest in
learning, passionate about scientific research.
At any level, self-study has a very important role to learning outcomes,
especially for college students. It demonstrates students' cognitive activities at a
higher level, independent, self-aware, creative in acquiring knowledge as well as
applying knowledge into practice.Learning methods of student at university are
also different but do not mean that lack of teachers' roles.
2.2.Previous Studies

21

After the process of research, I have found quite a few previous studies of
researchers on topics related to social networks and young people. These are all
very successful, useful and highly productive topics.
2.2.1.Thesis: “ The Influence of Social Networking Sites on Political Attitudes
and Behavior” (Weiwu Zhang ,2010)
This research based on a telephone survey of Southwest residents to examine
the extent to which reliance on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace
and YouTube has engaged citizens in civic and political activities. More specifically,
this study looks at the extent to which social networking sites influence political
attitudes and democratic participation after controlling for demographic variables
and the role of interpersonal political discussion in stimulating citizen participation.
The findings indicate that reliance on social networking sites is significantly related
to increased civic participation, but not political participation. Interpersonal
discussion fosters both civic participation and political activity.
A survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project discovered that of
those who connect to social network sites, 40 had used them to engage in some
political activity,from getting information or signing up as a friend of the candidate
to discovering a friend’spolitical interests or affiliations during the 2008 primary
season (Smith & Rainie, 2008).Although political web sites and blogs attract those
who are already politically active, social network sites may be bringing in new
voters, particularly the young, to get involved in the political process (Toronto Star,
2008).
Little attention has been paid as to how social network sites affect social
capital measures such as political participation, civic participation and confidence in
government, even though it seems clear that social networks are engaging people in
the democratic process. More specifically, this study examines the extent to which
social networking sites influences political confidence, political participation, and
civic participation after controlling for demographic variable.
According to this research, social networking sites may increase both bonding
and bridging social capital.Study find that social network users are significantly

more likely to use the sites to connect with someone they know off-line than
22


meeting new people.Nearly 80% of Facebook and MySpace users in one survey had
joined a group.Social network make some relationships become stronger for
bridging social capital, probably because it easily allow individuals to join groups
that have same interests or goals.
This research has also suggested that the link between media use and political
attitudes and behaviors that is influenced by what motivates people to search out
information. Specifically, studies have discovered a stronger link between
information-oriented use and political attitudes and behaviors than entertainmentoriented use.
Results through this thesis demonstrated that dependence on social networking sites such as YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace was positively related to
civic participation but not to political participation or confident in government.The
reason for that is these social network are geared toward maintaining relationships
with everyone and can have the potential for stimulating community involvement.
2.2.2.Thesis: “Impact of Social Networks on Young People” ( Bui,2014)
Still a familiar topic: social networks and young people, research of Ms.Huong
has brought a multidimensional perspective on social networks for young people in
Vietnam through 2 major social networks: Facebook and YouTube.
Research shows that social networking which is most used by Vietnamese
people is Facebook with about 13 million people and Zing Me, social network for
young people standing at the 2nd place.The object of the thesis research is the
impact (positive and negative) of social networks to young people about needs,
habits of collecting, receiving, connecting, exchanging, sharing and transmitting
information as well as their views about traditional social networks and newspapers.
The thesis contributes an additional perspective the impact of social networks
on young people following the explosive development of the network
society in our country, the reasoning issues compare between traditional
communication and modern communication as well as the mechanism of social

media impact on young people in both cognitive and research aspects. This study
also contributes to the mass media's theoretical reasoning system at
Vietnam, especially the research on the impact of modern communication.
23


Moreover, the thesis addresses the challenges that traditional press must have
face and propose orientations for the development of traditional newspapers
in the context of social media is strongly affecting the public group.
2.2.3.Thesis: “Behavior of Using Social Network of Student at Hai Duong
University” ( Nguyen,2018)
On the basis of theoretical and practical research on the use of social networks
by students of Hai Duong University, the dissertation proposes some
recommendations to help students use social networks more reasonably.Especially:
Chapter 1 has studied the rationale for research. Through the process of
researching documents, the author has presented some basic concepts of the topic
such as the concept of behavior, characteristics, expression level, types of behavior.
At the same time, the topic also pointed out the subjective and objective factors
affecting the behavior of using students' social media.The final content the author
present in this chapter is the concept and expressions of behavior of using the social
media of students as shown by specific external actions such as time, frequency as
well as sharing content of student.During the study, the author has collected
information and distributed the questionnaires through practice as an important
basis for building the theoretical basis, the research tool set of the topic.The results
of practical research show that most students of Hai Duong University have highuse behavior of social media, expressed through different levels of time in the
frequency of using a lot of social networks in a day has occupied most of the time
of the day for students, there is no time for other things, there are many content
posted as well as the content of students sharing on the social network sites with the
purpose of expressing themselves.
There are many factors that affect the behavior of using social media of

students at Hai Duong University, in which the subjective factor that have most
clearly affects is the "awareness, attitude and psychological characteristics of
students' ages" The most obvious objective factor is “living environment, material
conditions. Contrast, factor selected by students at least that is "motive for using
social media" and "living conditions of students". In which, subjective factors
greatly affect the behavior of using social media of students more.
24


The research results also showed that Hai Duong University students were
also aware of the concept of social networks, the role of social media reflected in
sharing good content, highly appreciated by the community. However, in the
investigation process, there are still some students who are not aware of the social
network, which leads to misleading and inappropriate behaviors.

25