First and foremost, I especially would like to express my endless gratitude to my supervisor, Mrs Nguyen Hien Lan, for her helpful encouragement, constructive comments and precious advice at all stages of the development of this graduation paper. There is no doubt that the study would be impossible to be accomplished without her constant assistance.

My sincere thanks also go to the teachers and the first year students at English Department, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University for their valuable suggestions and cooperation in discussing and completing the survey questionnaires for the research.

Finally, I owe a great debt to my family as well as my roommates whose support and inspiration have greatly contributed to the fulfillment of the thesis.