ANALYSIS OF EFL STUDENT’S DIFFICULTIES IN DETERMINING OF THE TITLE OF ENGLISH THESIS

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the difficulties faced by EFL students in determining the title of their English undergraduate thesis. The research employed a descriptive qualitative design involving five students of the English Education Study Program at Nurul Jadid University. Data were collected through observation and semi-structured interviews to explore students’ experiences, perceptions, and challenges in the process of selecting an appropriate thesis title. The findings reveal that students encountered various difficulties, including a lack of reading scientific journals, limited understanding of research concepts and methodology, difficulty in generating ideas, low English proficiency, inadequate access to academic references, and limited familiarity with thesis writing conventions. Psychological factors such as low motivation, lack of confidence, fear of making mistakes, and an unsupportive academic environment also contributed significantly to the problem. Moreover, technical issues such as limited access to digital libraries and insufficient academic guidance further hindered students in identifying relevant and original research topics. The study concludes that determining a thesis title is a complex process influenced by both internal and external factors. Therefore, it is recommended that students enhance their academic reading habits and research literacy, while lecturers are encouraged to provide systematic guidance and training related to thesis writing, particularly in the early stages of title formulation. This study is expected to contribute to improving thesis supervision practices in EFL contexts.