The Challenges in Paraphrasing Among English Language Students

EduLine: Journal of Education and Learning Innovation Vol. 3 No. 4 (2023) https://doi.org/10.35877/454RI.eduline2052 ISSN: 2775-6173 (online) The Challenges in Paraphrasing Among English Language Students Analyn S. Clarin*, Sheen S. Serohijos, Larry L. Sumaylo, & Genelyn R. Baluyos Misamis University, Ozamiz City, 7200,Philippines Abstract Paraphrasing is the most challenging part of academic writing. This study explored the challenges encountered by English language students in one of the Higher Education Institutions in Ozamiz City during the second semester of the school year 2021-2022. This study utilized phenomenological research design. The participants were 14 third-year English major students and were chosen using purposive sampling. A semi-structured interview was used based on the interview guide to gather the needed information. Moustakas's transcendental phenomenology was used in analyzing the participants’ responses. Students faced different challenges when paraphrasing texts and results revealed four themes: 1.) lack of vocabulary skills, 2.) inaccuracy of paraphrasing tools, 3.) poor reading comprehension skills, and 4.) copying someone else's work. Researchers suggest that teachers can put much effort into helping students comprehend how to paraphrase English texts. Also, the students have to be aware of how crucial paraphrasing is in writing. Keywords: challenges, experiences, paraphrasing, comprehension, paraphrasing skills 1. Introduction* Academic writing problems start with the most challenging part: paraphrasing, which poses difficulties for many students. The students still needed to properly paraphrase the English texts, as they observed that their works nearly copied most of the sources (Sulistyaningrum, 2021). Paraphrasing is essential to teach students, especially university students who are learning about writing and must master writing skills. Unfortunately, not all students know the correct paraphrasing, so they can be labeled plagiarists (Ardelia & Tiyas, 2019). To construct high-quality paraphrases, it is essential to understand that paraphrasing is one practice that connects writers' reading and writing processes, making it difficult for many novice writers to acquire and demand plenty of exercises (Guo, 2021). Paraphrasing aims to express concepts from a text section differently without altering the original text's sense (Nguyen, 2022). Writers must pay close attention to each phase to produce a strong paraphrase. It is essential because by comprehending the concepts in the original book, students may express their ideas and write them down in their own words. The writers must use as few words as feasible and cannot replicate the entire text. Second, the writers must include the sources' bibliographical information. It is employed to cite sources in their papers. Before creating a paraphrase, writers should draft an outline as cited byHusin and Nurbayani (2017). The content of the paraphrase should be entirely in the writer's words, grammar, and style. Paraphrasing calls for underlining some words that can be replaced with synonyms. The original text should be put aside as the fourth stage. In other words, the authors forbid you from incorporating the original content into written form. Using their notes, the writers might begin to paraphrase the sentences. The point of a particular message should be rewritten by the writers while paraphrasing.However, writers should preserve the intent and gist of the quotations from the original text. Then, without altering the essence of the original text, the writers should rework the sentences in their own words and with a different sentence structure. Finally, they should check their paraphrases against the original text to ensure they convey the same concepts and feelings (Ramadhani, 2019). The capacity to write, as cited by Maiyoritsa and Wahyuni (2021) is one of the keys to success in academic writing. Writing is the hardest part for students since it demands more attention to language, grammar, syntax, and thought * Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] EduLine: Journal of Education and Learning Innovation is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) Clarin et.al | EduLine: Journal of Education and Learning Innovation, 2023, 3(4): 493–503 organization. Studies show that students' writing when learning English as a second language is significantly improved by academic writing. In academic tertiary education, paraphrasing has been highlighted as a crucial strategy for helping students incorporate different sources into their writing. As a writing technique, paraphrasing requires presenting ideas from a particular paragraph in various ways while maintaining the source's meaning. Writing is a language feature that connects to writing features in other languages. Through the dissemination of information through his works or the media, this aspect communicates the thoughts the author has prepared. A writer must understand how to employ terminology, paraphrasing, and organized language when writing. Thus, choosing the appropriate words by how the paragraphs are organized and compiling concepts that will be communicated to the reader are all skills necessary for writing. Sentences are needed in compilation paragraphs to create a cohesive whole. Then, portions must be chosen according to syntax, vocabulary, and good diction norms. It is clear from the discussion above that we can add new words and sentences to a paragraph without changing its meaning while paraphrasing. It is similar to hearing someone else tell a story and then retell it in our own words without altering the message. The process of paraphrasing preserves the original meaning of the source text while making it simpler to grasp and slightly altering its literary style (Fitria, 2018). According to Minshar (2020), referenced by Khasawneh (2021), there are apparent signs that students struggle with the English language, as they cannot speak English and struggle to absorb and understand written materials. Students also need help comprehending English-language discussions they hear and need better-written expression. Due to this, the number of students with learning difficulties in the English language has increased, substantially negatively influencing the learner’s future, social and professional lives, and psychological stability. Such an occurrence necessitates a thorough, attentive, and perceptive analysis of the familial, societal, and economic variables interacting with each pupil's individual preparations, proclivities, and psychological trends. According to studies, academic writing dramatically improves students' writing when learning English as a second language. Mainly, paraphrasing has been addressed as a crucial tool in academia at the tertiary level through which individual students integrate source texts into their writing. Paraphrasing is a writing strategy that entails expressing the ideas generated in a specific passage in different ways without changing the meaning of the source. Students are urged to learn how to create or reiterate the essential points from a text passage while maintaining the source's primary meanings to excel in academic writing in English (Nguyen, 2022). Other research conducted by Sarair (2019) showed that the students' ability to paraphrase English text could be higher. Because more than half of the student's paraphrasing was classified in the near-copy types, the students copied half of the original words of the source text. Meanwhile, the students use paraphrasing strategies such as direct copying and combining sources. Research on paraphrasing has been performed to some extent in the Aceh context. A study was done by Irmadamayanti (2017). However, it does not concentrate on students' challenges when paraphrasing. This study, therefore, tends to focus on students' issues with paraphrasing English texts and how they approach those issues while writing academically. Many students still use copied text when writing their thesis, journals, and other papers. Even though many studies have been conducted to find students' difficulties in paraphrasing, there needs to be more attention to the problems students’ face, especially those who have already passed the Academic Writing Course. This study intends to fill in the gap by examining the challenges students experience in paraphrasing. 1.1. Theoretical Framework of the Study This study is anchored on the theories Cognitive Process Theory of Writing by Flower and Hayes (1981) and SelfEfficacy Theory by Albert Bandura (1977). Cognitive Process Theory of Writing by Flower and Hayes (1981).Writing is best understood as a series of unique thought processes that authors choreograph or plan as they compose. In their opinion, writing is seen as a complicated system of interconnected cognitive processes, not just as a creative endeavor. Because of students' writing observations, the cognitive process theory of writing was created to introduce a cognitive processes theory involved in composition to lay the framework for a more in-depth investigation of writing-related thought processes. The theory is based on four central ideas: (1) writers go through a set of distinct thought processes when creating written work; (2) there is a higherorder system of organization among these processes; (3) goal-setting is necessary for writing; and (4) To finish the writing assignment, writers set both large and micro goals. The first model of writing demonstrated Flower and Hayes created the iterative nature of the writing process in 1981. In paraphrasing, the cognitive process is necessary because it is a fundamental human cognitive ability that a person uses to process information. Flower and Hayes emphasize that authors cycle through the significant steps of the writing 494 Clarin et.al | EduLine: Journal of Education and Learning Innovation, 2023, 3(4): 493–503 process (e.g., brainstorming, prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing) multiple times during the more extensive process. This writing process is evident in paraphrasing texts. Students must brainstorm, draft, revise, and edit texts before developing an appropriately paraphrased text. It is all about mental processes. It includes creating a plot, changing the draft, and re-working it. Cognitive process theory deals with the outcome of each of these activities. Self-efficacy Theory by Albert Bandura (1977). According to Bandura, a person's unique beliefs determine how effectively they can carry out a plan of action in hypothetical situations. It demonstrates assurance in one's capacity to control one's driving forces, activities, and social circumstances. These cognitive self-evaluations impact people's goals, their effort to achieve them, and their likelihood of achieving specific behavioural performance levels. Unlike traditional psychological ideas, self-efficacy beliefs are expected to fluctuate depending on the operating domain and the environment in which an activity occurs. Self-efficacy's domain specificity is a crucial feature. In other words, people assess their capacity based on the specific functional domain. People need more than just the necessary information and abilities to do a task; they also need to be confident that they can effectively carry out the necessary behavior(s) every day and, more significantly, demanding situations. According to Bandura, self-efficacy is an individual's perception of his competencies, which plays a significant role in his ambition and outcome expectations. Bandura's self-efficacy theory suggests that a person's confidence in his abilities can determine his drives and decisions. In paraphrasing, it involves internal motivation. Suppose a particular person has the confidence that he/she can do it and the belief that they can do a specific task such as paraphrasing texts. Someone with high self-efficacy tends to foster a more positive outlook and experience a lower incidence of stress. Conversely, someone with a weak sense of self-efficacy is less confident in potential outcomes and is more inclined to experience anxiety and challenges. 1.2. Conceptual Framework The concepts derived from the study were based on the different themes identified through the participants' different responses during the interview with the researchers. Four (4) emerging concepts were found in the study, such as lack of vocabulary skills, inaccuracy of paraphrasing tools, poor reading comprehension skills, and copying someone else's work. Lack of vocabulary skills. Lack of vocabulary has caused the students to struggle to acquire writing skills. Vocabulary is the fundamental element in constructing sentences, which is the core of practical writing skills. Students use spoken and written words daily to communicate their ideas, beliefs, and feelings to people around them. A good vocabulary repertoire can help students to speak or write to deliver their thoughts. Electronic dictionaries and more reading activities can help students with limited vocabulary (Misbah et al., 2017). Inaccuracy of paraphrasing tools. Poorer paraphrasing techniques frequently use a simple approach by substituting some words with synonyms discovered using word processing software's or online dictionaries' capability, as per Rogerson and McCarthy (2017). A student's attempts to paraphrase in higher education can give "insight into how well students read and write." The prominence and accessibility of digital technology and Internet-based sources have changed "how knowledge is constructed, shared, and evaluated." However, some Internet-based content's quality, effectiveness, validity, and dependability are debatable from an educational perspective (Szymmkowiak et al., 2021). Poor reading comprehension skills. Reading comprehension is a metacognitive skill studied for years and discussed by many authors. For a student to effectively comprehend a text, many elements play a role, for example, vocabulary, cognitive strategy instructions, metacognitive processes, motivation, and self-regulation. For a reader to be proficient, he/she should manage the three essential aspects of reading comprehension: literal, inferential, and critical comprehension. Literal comprehension implies understanding what is precisely read in the text: main ideas, supporting details, and lexis. Therefore, the reader can categorize, outline, and summarize (Ahmadi et al., 2013). Similarly, inferential comprehension implies an understanding of what is meant or said between lines, and again, it may be present in main ideas, supporting details, and lexis so that the reader can draw conclusions, predict, and determine the author's attitude and possible bias. It is essential to mention that paraphrasing intends to develop students' ability to process the given text and create an output that is more significant for them. In addition, Latrobe University, in the "Referencing and Paraphrasing Writing," states that "Poor paraphrasing is often the result of poor understanding of the text. Some students try to paraphrase at the sentence level rather than the ideas level" (Escudero et al., 2018). Copying someone else's work. Academic integrity and personal growth are based on the premise that students and academics should be able to paraphrase, frame, and restate the thoughts and intentions of original authors while giving 495 Clarin et.al | EduLine: Journal of Education and Learning Innovation, 2023, 3(4): 493–503 due credit to their sources. The abundance of paid and unpaid Internet-based text reengineering tools raises the concern. The bigger worry is that the same technologies used to locate sources may only sometimes be able to locate instances of text that have been reused (McCarthy, 2017). It is still true that plagiarism occurs when someone copies another author's work, processes it through an online paraphrase tool, and then submits it as "original." Plagiarism also occurs when sources are used without permission. A student who submits work produced by an internet tool without giving proper credit may be guilty of plagiarism. At the same time, academics who attempt to rewrite texts for different periodicals may be guilty of self-plagiarism (Rogerson, 2017). Inaccuracy of Paraphrasing Tools Lack of Vocabulary Skills The Challenges in Paraphrasing Among English Language Students Copying Someone Else’s Work Poor Reading Comprehension Skills Figure1. Schematic Diagram of the Study 1.3. Objective of the Study This study explored on the challenges encountered by English language students in one of the Higher Education Institutions in Ozamiz City during the second semester of the school year 2021-2022. 2. Methodology 2.1. Research Design This study utilized the qualitative approach of research, specifically the phenomenological research design. It is the process of analyzing the responses from the participants of the study to determine the appropriate themes following Moustakas' transcendental phenomenology (Moustakas, 1994). This method fits in determining the challenges in paraphrasing among English language students. 2.2. Research Setting The study was conducted in one of the Higher Education Institutions in Ozamiz City. The Institution has 12 colleges offering 29 programs, including graduate programs, and has complete Basic Education programs. The University has undergone the most extensive academic transformation in its academic pursuit of excellence and a rigid Institutional Sustainability Assessment or ISA by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), awarded as Centers of Development for Teacher Education, Criminology, and Information Technology programs. The University also received awards from the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities [PACUCOA] with the most substantial part of accredited programs for two years, recertified by DNV as having conformed to ISO 9001:2008 with a rating of excellent. Also, Misamis University is using an online learning modality with Microsoft Teams as the Learning Management System (LMS) to cater to the needs of the students in virtual learning. The Microsoft 365 familyproducts 496 Clarin et.al | EduLine: Journal of Education and Learning Innovation, 2023, 3(4): 493–503 includes Microsoft Teams, a proprietary business collaboration platform built by Microsoft. This is where teachers and students conduct their classes in an asynchronous or synchronous schedule. The University requested voluntary accreditation from the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities Commission on Accreditation (PACUCOA) for the Education, Liberal Arts, and Commerce programs 1987 to provide top-notch academic programs. The Education program achieved accreditation status at Levels I and II in 1988 and 1990, respectively. In 2011, the PACUCOA granted the Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd) and Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) programs Level III Reaccreditation Status, valid until November 2014. 2.3. Participants of the Study The participants of this study were fourteen (14) third-year students majoring in English. The subjects were chosen through the use of purposeful sampling. The following criteria were used to choose the participants: 1.) third-year students who are enrolled in one of the Higher Education Institutions in Ozamiz City for the academic year 2021-2022; 2.) students who are English major students; and 3.) willing to participate in the study. 2.4. Research Instrument Researchers used the researcher-made interview guide (Appendix A) to gather participant data using the structured interview guide, which the thesis committee approved. The interview guide includes opening, core, and exit questions that focus on students’ experiences and challenges in paraphrasing. 2.5. Data Collection The researchers obtained authorization to perform the study from the research instructor, Misamis University's College of Education. The researchers drafted a consent letter for the subjects after obtaining the permit. Because face-to-face interviews were not permitted owing to pandemic limitations, participants were aware of the study's importance and were interviewed through Microsoft Teams and Messenger. The researcher anticipated that the interview sessions were beneficial because they provided information concerning the challenges in paraphrasing among English language students. The interview lasted 10 to 20 minutes. The interview transcripts shall be transcribed by the researchers and sent back to the respondents to verify their responses. The verified response was organized into themes using HyperRESEARCH software. The researchers analyzed the themes. 2.6. Ethical Considerations Creswell (2005) underlined the significance of acting ethically when conducting research, whether by respecting participants, wholly and accurately disclosing data, or addressing alternative issues. Adequate, relevant research must start with ethical researchers. As a result, for research projects to be successful, the researcher must be aware of ethical issues. Before the conduct of the research, approval from Misamis University - College of Education was sought. The participants received letters requesting their permission to take part in the study. The participants were assured that confidentiality in data collection, use, and presentation is strictly observed. For example, all names were altered to preserve people's identities in the case of confidentiality. This procedure ensured that research involving human subjects was morally and safely conducted. 2.7. Data Analysis The study used a statistical software method for qualitative analysis called HyperRESEARCH to help interpret the data. A horizontal method was used to organize vast volumes of text into coherent statements and contexts for each participant individually. The codes were grouped to form themes that all participants will share. Moustaka’s transcendental phenomenology of data analysis was used to explain the themes in relation to the study. These themes served as the foundation for creating specific and comprehensive textural, structural, and texturalstructural descriptions that ultimately captured the core of the difficulties experienced. The interpretation will consider the conclusions and ideas from the literature review. 497 Clarin et.al | EduLine: Journal of Education and Learning Innovation, 2023, 3(4): 493–503 Bracketing is a method of mitigating the effects of preconceived notions and perceptions held prior to the start of the study. It is a process of suspending judgments and biases, or 'epoche.' As a result, it covers a wide range of research activities, including choosing a topic and population, designing interviews, gathering and analyzing data, and disseminating research findings. Horizontalization technically refers to listing all verbatim expressions relevant to the study. Initially, each statement was given equal weight. Statements found to be irrelevant, repetitive, overlapping, or outside the scope of the study were then ignored. Horizons are considered the constituent and meaningful parts of the phenomenon because they are the remaining sections after the data has been polished. Clustering is the third step in obtaining study inferences. It entails distilling experiences into invariant horizons, developing core themes, and validating the invariant horizons with multiple data sources. To validate the invariant horizons obtained from the study, the findings of research studies were reviewed using methods other than the datagathering methods, such as observation, field note-taking, and related literature. This validation process is critical to the accuracy and clarity of the representations. Textural description, also known as 'what occurred,' refers to an account that describes how the phenomenon was perceived. Verbatim bits from the interviews were used alongside a narration of the meaning units produced from the themes to obtain a textural depiction of the participants' experiences. Structural description, or 'how it occurred,' is the incorporation of imaginative variation, which is a clever outlook and insights, into the textual description. An imaginative variation is a mental experiment in which the details and structures of the participants' experiences are analyzed while detached from natural inclination via epoche. It is appended to each paragraph of textual descriptions to generate a structural description. 3. Results and Discussion The analysis of the written transcripts from the participants’ in-depth interviews revealed four (4) common experiences encountered by third-year English major students in the challenges in paraphrasing among English language students. With the prevalence of these experiences, the following themes were formulated: lack of vocabulary skills, inaccuracy of paraphrasing tools, poor reading comprehension skills, and copying someone else’s work. 3.1. Lack of Vocabulary Skills Students have struggled to develop writing skills due to a lack of vocabulary. Vocabulary is the primary factor in sentence construction, the foundation of successful writing skills. The study shows that participants 1 and 4 need more vocabulary. However, Participant 1 needs help supplying the correct terms to fit into the paragraph or sentence, while Participant 4 said she has difficulty changing words. Moreover, Participant 6 said that she has problems changing structured ideas, and Participant 10 needs help finding synonyms that fit the idea of a particular sentence or paragraph. The paraphrased output has a different meaning than the original text or contains an excessive amount of the original text. The answers of the participants support this: “The limitation of my vocabulary skills is one of the challenges I encountered because I am having difficulty supplying the right terms that will fit into the paragraph or sentence without sacrificing the content." (P1) "Based on my experience, the struggle that I encountered in paraphrasing a text is a difficulty in changing words, especially since I am quite short on vocabulary." (P4) "Some problems that I encountered in paraphrasing texts are the difficulty of changing structured ideas. That is why I used tools that can help me paraphrase the texts." (P6) “Finding synonyms that fit the idea of a particular sentence or paragraph and how to use them was one of the difficulties I encountered when paraphrasing texts. However, sometimes it is hard to select or change the words because it would make the idea lacking or wrong.”(P10) According to the pertinent literature, vocabulary knowledge is necessary for text comprehension and reading fluency. It is essential because "students with poor vocabulary do not learn new words' meanings as rapidly as students with 498 Clarin et.al | EduLine: Journal of Education and Learning Innovation, 2023, 3(4): 493–503 larger vocabulary" (Bryant et al., 2018). According to Laflamme (2020), "Studies on vocabulary training clearly show that vocabulary knowledge is a crucial element determining reading ability and that pre-teaching the vocabulary increased comprehension. Understanding a piece of writing requires a solid foundation of vocabulary and subject matter knowledge. Increasing awareness through vocabulary instruction points to the crucial role of vocabulary instruction in understanding written texts and, in turn, its role in paraphrasing texts. As Jensen and Duffelmeyer (2019) state, "Vocabulary education before reading improves students' capacity to deduce meaning from the text." Developing a reading habit is one solution to this problem. When learners encounter terms in context, it is easier to increase their vocabulary. Reading about terms in a book or a news article can be much more helpful than reading about them on vocabulary lists. They are not only exposed to new vocabulary but also to its application. Also, when used correctly, online dictionaries and thesauruses are valuable resources. They can help learners recall synonyms that would be better terms in their writing context. A complete dictionary definition can also teach learners about antonyms, root words, and related words, another approach to expanding their vocabulary. 3.2. Inaccuracy of paraphrasing tools Poorer paraphrasing uses a simplistic approach, copying and pasting some words or phrases through various available apps and websites. It shows that the participants use paraphrasing tools to help them with paraphrasing. Participant 5 mentioned that he paraphrased using the Quillbot App to make it easier to categorize words and paraphrase information or ideas. However, he revealed that these tools also have inaccuracy. This often leads to needing help understanding the paraphrased texts from the tools used. This was also stressed out by participants 8 and 9. In addition, Participant 13 said that the tools she used needed to be more accurate, the texts were grammatically incorrect, did not follow the subject-verb agreement, and some features of the apps were limited. Here are the statements of the participants being interviewed: “To be honest, I addressed it using QuillBot since it is easier for me to categorize words and to paraphrase the information or ideas, but the app has inaccuracy, which means the idea is not helpful sometimes.” (P5) “If I am using a paraphrasing tool, the results are sometimes not as perfect as we expect and still need to be properly checked and verified by a human.” (P8) “I have had a great deal of trouble with paraphrasing, especially when the application I am using is not working, and the phrases are difficult to understand. Doing your paraphrasing takes much time since you have to go further into the synonyms of the word given and consider whether it is suitable for word changes.” (P9) “When I am paraphrasing, I sometimes use tools that will help me, but unfortunately, the results of the texts are not accurate. The texts are grammatically incorrect and do not follow the subject-verb agreement. Some features are also limited since you have to go premium and pay for access to everything.” (P13) Prentice Kinden (2018) defines that paraphrasing tools were designed to be deceived by word-matching software but never intended to duplicate human-generated language. Students use this tool to manipulate text from various sources to trick word-matching technologies. According to Rogerson and McCarthy (2017), students who rely on online paraphrasing tools to meet the requirement for originality in submissions risk producing work of low quality and possibly failing to meet the learning objectives because they may need to fully comprehend the material they have gathered. There are additional dangers related to the veracity of the products in terms of academic honesty and plagiarism. Students who use an online paraphrasing tool need to exhibit mastery in writing and so would not demonstrate attainment of learning outcomes. One approach to addressing this issue is openly showing learners the problems and inaccuracies that may arise while utilizing internet technologies. Proactively communicating about the issue raises students' knowledge of the problems that can arise from using online paraphrasing tools while also ensuring that students understand, just like educating them about paraphrasing strategies so they can be aware of the do's and don'ts. Giving students advice and solutions for improving their writing skills is integral to individual skill development and avoiding undesirable behaviors. This teaches students how to use online paraphrasing tools in different ways. 499 Clarin et.al | EduLine: Journal of Education and Learning Innovation, 2023, 3(4): 493–503 3.3. Poor reading comprehension skills Poor paraphrasing results from a lack of comprehension of the material. Some students attempt to paraphrase the sentence rather than at the idea level. One of the students' struggles is the need for help in understanding ideas. Participant 3 said that he could not understand the sentences that he had to paraphrase, same with participants 5 and 14; that is why they had to search on Google for translation. Furthermore, Participant 7 asked his classmates for help with the sentences' main idea, and Participant 10 ensured that the texts she used were understandable since unfamiliar words were encountered. "Sometimes, I cannot understand the sentences or paragraphs that I have to paraphrase." (P3) "I have to search on Google to translate the words or phrases because I have poor reading comprehension skills." (P5) "I sometimes ask my classmates for help on what the sentence is all about." (P7) "The problems that I encountered in paraphrasing texts are the following: first, I need to understand the given information, and I shall make sure that the texts I used are understandable because there are times when the terms used are unfamiliar. Second, I must ensure that the information I will gather is closely related to the texts. Third, if I attempt to paraphrase a text, I need to have a good conclusion so that it can be my basis for paraphrasing instead of copying someone else's work. I must also need to check errors and grammar so that I can make revisions to the text that I paraphrase." (P10) "One of the problems that I encountered in paraphrasing is truly understanding the idea. I honestly have difficulty with comprehension. That is my weakness. That is why I used Google translate to understand the paragraph or texts and start paraphrasing fully." (P14) According to Kasim and Raisha (2017), unconscious knowledge of the linguistic system—which consists of sounds, structures, meanings, words, and rules for putting them all together—is referred to as linguistic knowledge. While poor readers typically experience linguistic reading issues, it was noted that "good readers can recognize and decode words, grammatical structures, and other linguistic elements rapidly and precisely, all while being completely unaware of their actions." Semantic, lexical, and syntactical reading issues are all part of linguistic reading issues. In addition, as cited by Rodman and Hyams (2003), a lack of vocabulary knowledge, especially about appropriate collocations, is one kind of semantic complexity. In addition, linguistic complexity involves a lack of understanding of word classes and derivations. The absence of correct sentence construction and grammar understanding is another example of syntactical complexity. Reciprocal teaching is a widely used method for coaching and assisting students in reading comprehension (Palincsar & Brown, 1984). It is made up of three interconnected educational tenets: (a) teaching comprehension-improving reading techniques such as anticipating, generating questions, summarizing, and clarifying; (b) expert modeling, scaffolding, and fading; and (c) having students practice and discuss reading techniques with one another while being guided and coached by the teacher. Reciprocal teaching assumes a progressive shift of responsibility for the learning process from teacher to student, which includes the teacher explicitly modeling the use of reading strategies (Rosenhine & Meister, 1994) and scaffolding the application of reading strategies within the groups of students working together. It is assumed that by gradually fading teacher’s support, students become increasingly more capable of regulating their reading process. 3.4. Copying someone else's work A student submitting work generated by an internet tool without proper citation could be considered plagiarism. One of the challenges of paraphrasing is copying someone else's work. Participants 2, 6, and 9 mentioned copying and pasting from other credible sources. However, participant 2 did it because of the limited time. Participant 6 said she was uncomfortable using her own words and not confident in expressing her ideas, and Participant 9 used to do it since she did not put hard work into her output. They cannot develop appropriate ideas because they depend on others' work. “Whenever we have an assignment and my time is limited, I usually copy and paste ideas from credible sources and pass them on, so I will have at least a point and not zero. “(P2) 500 Clarin et.al | EduLine: Journal of Education and Learning Innovation, 2023, 3(4): 493–503 “The problem I encountered in paraphrasing text is that sometimes I tend to copy some text from other sources because I feel uncomfortable using my own words. That is why I cannot perform an appropriate paraphrase since I simply copy them. It is not that I did not understand the text being uttered by the author, but I am not good or confident enough to express my understanding of the content.” (P6) “Paraphrasing is sometimes good, sometimes bad. It is because, in my experience, I never put hard work into my output; I copy someone else’s work and paraphrase it to make it my own. It is not an ideal one, especially for the students. However, somehow, it is helpful regarding research papers and others.”(P9) Plagiarism is a massive global problem for 21st-century higher education insitutions (Torres-Diaz et al., 2018). The use of technology to fight plagiarism is more focused on lecturers using the platform to detect whether students have copied from existing sources. Peytcheva-Forsyth et al. (2018) believed that through the power of Web 2.0, social media is making educational and non-educational content available to students. Increasing academic dishonesty can be attributed to the current increase in smartphones because many students now use their smartphones to source information for various purposes. These can enable and provide students with opportunities to copy and paste content for educational purposes. However, it cannot be proven that emerging technologies such as smartphones, social media, and others are causing increases in the rampant rise in academic dishonesty; however, these technologies have defined new ways the practice occurs. According to the study of Šprajc (2017), among the reasons that were detected in low-motivated students the lack of time, inability to cope with the workload, lack of knowledge to cite, how to find material and how to research, and ability to express their ideas. He claims that self-regulated individuals are more aware of the importance of their learning, their determination of personal goals, determination of strategies to achieve the objectives, projections of their behavior, and increasing their motivation. Particularly among low-motivated students, we find that the reasons they give are poor explanations by their teachers and too many assignments in too little time for them. A student may commit plagiarism if he/or she utilizes someone else's words or ideas without crediting them properly. It is crucial to appropriately cite the sources in every work that is turned in to avoid plagiarism and other types of academic dishonesty. The teachers can also provide tutorials to students with concrete examples of plagiarism so that they understand the idea better. Students can also start practicing using instructor feedback to cite, quote, or paraphrase. Even if students are unsure if they have plagiarized, an online plagiarism checker might detect errors such as missing citations and paraphrased parts that are too similar to the original text. It is essential to conduct extensive research on a selected topic and grasp it well so students are less prone to use other people's words and ideas. They can learn as much as possible from books, journals, films, articles, and other sources. 4. Summary, Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations 4.1. Summary This study explored the challenges encountered by English language students in one of the Higher Education Institutions in Ozamiz City during the second semester of the school year 2021–202. The researchers interviewed 14 third-year students majoring in English. From the fourteen (14) students, four (4) themes have emerged from the analysis of their in-depth interviews. The study utilized the researcher-made interview guide to elicit the needed data from the participants of the study. Moustaka's transcendental phenomenological was used. This study used a qualitative statistical software called HyperRESEARCH to support data analysis. 4.2. Findings Based on the responses of the participants during the conduct of the interview, and after analyzing the responses through Moustaka’s data analysis techniques, the study identified four (4) themes: Lack of vocabulary skills, Paraphrasing Tools' Inaccuracy, Poor Reading Comprehension Skills and Copying Someone Else’s Work. 4.3. Conclusion Based on the findings, the following conclusions are drawn: 501 Clarin et.al | EduLine: Journal of Education and Learning Innovation, 2023, 3(4): 493–503 a) Lack of vocabulary skills- Due to limited vocabulary skills, the students need help modifying organized concepts while paraphrasing. Replacing a word with its counterpart may require adjustments to the phrase's overall structure and not all synonyms can be employed interchangeably due to different registers. b) Paraphrasing Tools' Inaccuracy- It demonstrates that the students are using paraphrasing tools to assist them with paraphrasing. However, the tools are not as precise as they wanted and need to have the accuracy they expected, which frequently leads to problems understanding the paraphrased texts produced by the tools. c) Poor Reading Comprehension Skills- One of the students' difficulties is understanding sentences and information. Because students encounter unfamiliar words, according to them, one effective technique to address the issue is to search on Google for translating texts. d) Copying Someone Else's Work- They tend to copy and paste texts from other credible resources because they need more time to help articulate their views and are uncomfortable utilizing their own words. Since they rely on the efforts of others, they are unable to generate acceptable ideas. 4.4. Recommendations Based on the findings and conclusion of the study, the following are the recommendations. a) The students can do reading as a habit and use vocabulary dictionaries to assist them in acquiring new content vocabulary items. b) As a crucial component of developing students' skills, teachers may instruct students on appropriate paraphrasing techniques and encourage them to become more proficient in this area. c) The students may engage in reciprocal teaching, motivating them to take charge of their education and start reflecting on their cognitive processes while reading or listening. d) The teachers may provide tutorials to students with concrete examples of plagiarism so they better understand the concept. They may also allow students to practice citing, quoting, or paraphrasing with feedback before they submit a final paper. References Alian, M., & Awajan, A. (2020, April). Paraphrasing identification techniques in English and Arabic texts. In 2020 11th International Conference on Information and Communication Systems (ICICS) (pp. 155-160). IEEE. Retrieved on March 5, 2022 from https://bit.ly/3KnMh0u Ardelia, I., & Tiyas, Y. R. I. (2019). THE ACQUISITION OF PARAPHRASING AND ITS IMPACT ON TEACHING AND LEARNING QUOTATIONS TO AVOID PLAGIARISM. Getsempena English Education Journal, 6(1), 159-171. Retrieved on March 5, 2022 from https://bit.ly/3CsxP4P Escudero, I., Fuertes, N., & López, L. (2019). Paraphrasing Strategy in EFL Ecuadorian B1 Students and Implications on Reading Comprehension. English Language Teaching, 12(1), 56-66. . Retrieved on June 22, 2022 from https://bit.ly/3AiyMh3 Fitria, T. N. (2021). QuillBot as an online tool: Students’ alternative in paraphrasing and rewriting of English writing. Englisia: Journal of Language, Education, and Humanities, 9(1), 183-196. Retrieved on March 5, 2022 from https://bit.ly/362WpNb Guo, M. (2021). Entering a discourse community: Reading-to-write strategy instruction for effective paraphrasing among multilingual students (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved on March 5, 2022 from https://bit.ly/3icl2u1 Kasim, U., & Raisha, S. (2017). EFL students’ reading comprehension problems: Linguistic and non-linguistic complexities. English Education Journal, 8(3), 308-321. Retrieved on June 22, 2022 from https://bit.ly/3I0u2hD Khasawneh, M. A. S. (2021). Language skills and their relationship to learning difficulties in English language from the students’ point of view. Science and Education, 2(9), 261-272. Retrieved on March 5, 2022 from https://bit.ly/378Futb 502 Clarin et.al | EduLine: Journal of Education and Learning Innovation, 2023, 3(4): 493–503 Maiyoritsa, L., & Wahyuni, D. (2021). An analysis of students' techniques in paraphrasing at English department Universitas Negeri Padang. Journal of English Language Teaching, 10(2), 264-271. Retrieved on March 5, 2022 from https://bit.ly/3vT09fe Moses, R. N., & Mohamad, M. (2019). Challenges faced by students and teachers on writing skills in ESL Contexts: A literature review. Creative Education, 10(13),3385-3391.Retrieved on June 22, 2022 from https://bit.ly/3OtYGCL NGUYEN, H. B. (2022). The effects of paraphrasing on EFL students' academic writing. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 18(1). Retrieved on March 5, 2022 from https://bit.ly/365awBX Nwosu, L. I., & Chukwuere, J. E. (2020). The attitude of students towards plagiarism in online learning: a narrative literature review. Gender & Behaviour, 18(1), 14675-14688. Retrieved on June 22, 2022 from https://bit.ly/3y2fMR8 Ramadhani, P. (2019). The role of paraphrasing in writing research papers. Alsuna: Journal of Arabic and English Language, 2(2), 117-128. Retrieved on March 5, 2022 from https://bit.ly/3I05Ome Rogerson, A. M., & McCarthy, G. (2017). Using Internet based paraphrasing tools: Original work, patchwriting or facilitated plagiarism?. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 13(1), 1-15. Retrieved on June 22, 2022 from https://bit.ly/3uad8HY Šprajc, P., Urh, M., Jerebic, J., Trivan, D., & Jereb, E. (2017). Reasons for plagiarism in higher education. Organizacija, 50(1), 33-45. Retrieved on June 22, 2022 from https://bit.ly/3nqioTV Sulistyaningrum, S. D. (2021). Employing Online Paraphrasing Tools to Overcome Students’ Difficulties in Paraphrasing. Stairs: English Language Education Journal, 2(1), 52-59. Retrieved on March 5, 2022 from https://bit.ly/3CuYHkw Sulistyaningrum, S. D. (2021). Utilizing Online Paraphrasing Tools to Overcome Students’ Paraphrasing Difficulties in Literature Reviews. Journal of English Language Studies, 6(2), 229-243. Retrieved on June 22, 2022 from https://bit.ly/3OSCS3t 503