An Investigation into the Challenges and Difficulties Encountered by EFL Master Students in Dissertation Writing The Case study of Yahia Fares University of Medea

Abstract

Master's dissertation writing is a significant academic milestone. It demands an immense amount of time, effort, and dedication from every student to achieve. As such, it is not uncommon for a student to feel overwhelmed and stressed during the dissertation writing process. As a result, the research at hand seeks to shed light on the challenges and difficulties encountered by EFL master two students towards thesis writing at the University of Yahia Fares in Medea during the academic year 2022/2023. To this end, a descriptive-analytical method with a mixed approach were adopted, with questionnaires conducted to a sample of fifty (50) master two students, and six (6) teachers. The findings revealed that a considerable number of students faced various obstacles while writing their dissertations, in areas such as methodology, academic writing, time management, supervision, and psychological factors such as anxiety and lack of self-esteem. On the other hand, the findings obtained from the teacher's questionnaire indicate that citing methodology, and the lack of research skills are the most challenging. Therefore, academic writing and methodology courses should be given more attention to improve the learner's research skills and remedy their practice. The recommendations derived from the results need to be considered by students, teachers, and curriculum designers