Exploring EFL undergraduate students’ academic procrastination in thesis writing: A narrative study in Indonesia

Authors

  • Baihaqi Zakaria Muslim Sanggar Menulis Manuskrip
  • Emy Rosida Universitas Negeri Surabaya
  • Hamidah Salam STAI Nurul Islam Mojokerto
  • Anfi Wardani Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Ampel Surabaya

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33474/j-reall.v6i2.23757

Keywords:

academic procrastination, English as a foreign language, Indonesia university student, self-regulated learning, thesis writing

Abstract

While a substantial body of literature has investigated the phenomenon of academic procrastination among undergraduate students, research specifically exploring academic procrastination among English as a foreign language (EFL) undergraduate students during thesis writing remains limited. To address this glaring gap, this narrative study aims to gain an in-depth understanding of the interplays of factors contributing to EFL undergraduate students' academic procrastination during their thesis writing process. By employing a purposive sampling technique, this study identified three EFL undergraduate students who volunteered to be involved as research participants. Semi-structured interviews were employed as the primary data collection method to collect the data from participants' live experiences. Through thematic analysis, this study found various factors contributing to EFL students’ thesis writing procrastination, such as learners' inadequate self-regulated capability, language mastery, writing ability, supervisor guidance, and emotional regulation. Additionally, this study also found detrimental effects of thesis writing procrastination on EFL undergraduate students’ wellbeing. By understanding contributing factors and hazardous effects of thesis writing procrastination, this study discussed possible interventions in order to mitigate and overcome thesis writing procrastination among EFL undergraduate students, which ultimately offers implications for future pedagogical practice and research. However, as this study relied solely on interviews for data collection, the findings may not fully reflect the complexity of the issue. Finally, the suggestions and recommendations of this research were also discussed.

Author Biographies

Baihaqi Zakaria Muslim, Sanggar Menulis Manuskrip

Baihaqi Zakaria Muslim is an active member of Sanggar Menulis Manuskrip, Indonesia. Aspire to be a good English Language educator and interest on researching several areas such as English Language Teaching (ELT), Second Language Acquisition (SLA), Self-regulated Learning (SRL), and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). 

Emy Rosida, Universitas Negeri Surabaya

Emy Rosida has graduated with a bachelor's degree from the English Department at Universitas Negeri Surabaya. Her current research interests are in the fields of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), English Language Teaching (ELT), Second Language Acquisition (SLA), and Teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL).

Hamidah Salam, STAI Nurul Islam Mojokerto

Hamidah Salam is currently active as a lecturer in the English Education Department at STAI Nurul Islam Mojokerto. She is passionate about developing her professional skills by participating in teacher development training and workshops. Her current research interests include assessment, higher-order thinking skills (HOTS), demotivation, and self-regulated learning (SRL). In the future, she aspires to expand her research areas to include pre-service teacher education and professional development.

Anfi Wardani, Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Ampel Surabaya

Anfi Wardani is an English and Indonesian language instructor in the language center department of UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya, Indonesia. As a teacher and educator, she is interested in things related to language, culture, and history. She also has an interest in implementing appropriate methods in the classroom in language teaching. Either a foreign language as a second language or Indonesian for foreign speakers.

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Academic procrastinator

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Published

2025-08-16

How to Cite

Muslim, B. Z., Rosida, E., Salam, H., & Wardani, A. (2025). Exploring EFL undergraduate students’ academic procrastination in thesis writing: A narrative study in Indonesia. Journal of Research on English and Language Learning (J-REaLL), 6(2), 202–216. https://doi.org/10.33474/j-reall.v6i2.23757

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 2 (2025): Journal of Research on English and Language Learning (J-REaLL)

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Copyright (c) 2025 Baihaqi Zakaria Muslim, Emy Rosida, Hamidah Salam, Anfi Wardani

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