English Private Tutoring Among Armenian Secondary School Children

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF ARMENIA College of Humanities and Social Sciences English Private Tutoring among Armenian Secondary School Children A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Foreign Language By Emilya Hovhannisyan Irshat Madyarov, Adviser Liliana Edilyan, Reader Yerevan, Armenia 04.20.2015 We hereby approve that this thesis By Emilya Hovhannisyan Entitled English Private Tutoring among Armenian Secondary Schoolchildren Be accepted in partial fulfillment for the requirements of the degree Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Foreign Language Committee on the MA Thesis ……… ………………………… Irshat Madyarov, Adviser ……… ………………………… Liliana Edilyan, Reader ……… ………………………… Irshat Madyarov MA TEFL Program Chair Yerevan, Armenia 04.20.2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr Irshat Madyarov, Chair of the Master’s Program in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and Advisor of my thesis for the continuous encouragement and support His patience, immense knowledge and insightful comments helped me during my research and writing this thesis I am very grateful for having the best advisor and mentor for my MA study I take this opportunity to express my thanks to my committee member and reader Miss Liliana Edilyan for motivation, enthusiasm and for supporting me in this venture My sincere thanks to Dr Rai Farrely who provided me with direction and advice I am extremely thankful for helping me to make final decision regarding my thesis topic and also for becoming more of a mentor and friend, than professor Very special thanks to all my friend and classmates, who directly or indirectly helped and supported with not only statistical advice at times of critical need also for philosophical debates, exchanges of knowledge, skills, which helped enrich the experience Last but not the least; I would like to thank my family for supporting me both financially and spiritually throughout my life iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………………… vi LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………… ……… vii Abstract…………………………………………………………………………… …… CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………… 1.1 Background of the Study……………………………………………………………… 1.2 Problem Statement……………………………… …………………………………… 1.3 The Purpose of the Study……………………………………………………………… 1.4 Research Questions…………………………………………………………………… 1.5 Significance of the Study……………………………………………………………… CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………….……………………… 2.1 Private Tutoring: Definition…………………………………………………………… 2.2 Types of Tutoring…………………………………………………………………… 2.3 Why Do Parents Employ Private Tutors? …………………………………………… 2.4 Backwash on Regular Schooling……………………………………………………… 2.5 Private Supplementary Tutoring as Means of Corruption…………………………… 2.6 Gender Inequalities of Tutees………………………………………………………… 2.7 Types, Subjects and Costs of Tutoring……………………………………………… 2.8 Private Supplementary Tutoring from International Point of View………………… 2.9 The Picture of Private Supplementary Tutoring in Armenia………………………… CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY………………………………………………… 3.1 Quantitative Part……………………………………………………………………… 3.2 Qualitative Part……………………………………………………………………… 3.1.1 Participants and Sampling Procedure of Quantitative Design……………………… 3.2.1 Participants and Sampling Procedure of Qualitative Design……………….……… 3.3 Data Collection…………………………….………………………………………… 3.4 Data Analysis………………………………………………………………………… 3.5 Ethical Considerations and the Role of the iv Researcher……………………………… CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS…………………………………………………………… 4.1Questionnaire Results………………………………………………………………… 4.2 Interview Results…………………………………………………….……………… CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION………………………………… 5.1 Discussion of Results………………………………………………………………… 5.2 Implications ………………………………………………………………………… 5.3 Limitations and Delimitations………………………………………………………… 5.4 Recommendations for Future Research…………………………….………………… References…………………………………………………………………………….…… Appendices………………………………………………………………………………… Appendix A……………………………………………………………………………… Appendix B……………………………………………………………………………… Appendix C……………………………………………………………………………… Appendix D……………………………………………………………………………… viii 1 2 3 4 9 11 11 11 11 12 13 13 14 16 16 27 44 44 45 46 46 47 49 49 54 60 64 Appendix E……………………………………………………………………………… 67 LIST OF TABLES v Table 4.1 Number of pupil participants taking English private tutoring…………………….16 Table 4.2 Other school subjects pupils take for private tutoring in addition to English… …18 Table 4.3 Reasons for taking English private classes…………………………………… …21 Table 4.4 The initiatives of taking English private classes……………………………… ….23 Table 4.5 English language classes (45 minutes) at schools per week …………………… 24 vi LIST OF FIGURES vi tutoring at a time…………… ………19 Figure 4.1 Number of subjects pupils take for private Figure 4.2 Types of English private tutoring pupils take…………………………………… 19 Figure 4.3 Locations for English private tutoring………………………….…………………20 Figure 4.4 Family Help………………………………………………………………….…… 24 Figure 4.5 Parents knowledge of English……………………………………………….…….25 vii ABSTRACT Recent decades have brought a systematic trend of what has been called the shadow education system of supplementary private tutoring All over the world pupils in regular public and private schools take supplementary paid classes after school or at weekends Moreover, this phenomenon becomes conspicuous during the examination period, but for some pupils it emerges regardless the exams at all levels of the educational system Although supplementary tutoring is considered to be a huge industry in many places in the world with promising perspectives in social and educational implications, educational researchers have not investigated this topic sufficiently To date, little research has been done in Armenia which investigates the overall picture of English language private tutoring in Armenian context This paper focuses on the reasons and needs for private supplementary tutoring in Yerevan, Armenia More than 411 students completed a questionnaire survey and over 30 students, parents and teachers were interviewed to discover the perspectives of each The results show that English language tutoring is in demand because students tend to prefer English over other lessons and because they have to prepare for entrance exams Keywords: English private tutoring, shadow education, supplementary classes, one-to-one and group tutoring viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION This chapter gives a brief description of the overall research study It illustrates the background of the study, its purpose, research questions and significance 1.1 Background of the Study Mainstream education in Armenia is regulated by the government of Armenia and now follows a 12-year educational system (Government of the Republic of Armenia, 2011) English is taught in regular public schools starting from the 3rd grade with books as part of the syllabus In most private schools, English is taught starting from the 1st grade Mainstream education and tutoring depend on each other and according to Bray (2009) supplementary tutoring is less distinct as compared with mainstream education Nowadays, considerable attention has been given to the issue of private tutoring because this phenomenon becomes more and more popular The reasons can be very different The present study focuses only on the academic subjects and does not include extracurricular subjects e.g soccer and ballet as Mark Bray (2003) defines it The study also takes into consideration only tutoring provided by tutors on fee bases It excludes the family help and even voluntary help given by teachers The study is mainly concentrated on English as an academic subject learned in middle and high school, however the supplementary tutoring exist at primary and post-secondary levels 1.2 Problem Statement English private tutoring exists in Armenia, however the phenomenon stays uninvestigated The present study is conducted to examine English private tutoring from different angles and tries to fulfill the lack of understanding of this phenomenon in Armenia 1.3 The Purpose of the Study The present study aims to investigate the national profile of private tutoring in Armenian secondary schools from students’, teachers’ and parents’ perspectives and analyze the factors that play an important role for taking and offering private tutoring 1.4 Research Questions To this end, the study addresses the following questions: What is the state of EFL private tutoring among Armenian secondary school children? How parents’ and students’ perspectives on taking private English classes compare? 1.5 Significance of the Study The significance of the study is that no such in-depth research has been done in Armenia so far, and filling the gap would be a valuable contribution to the literature and stakeholders in the educational system in Armenia CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter highlights the role and function of private supplementary tutoring looking at the literature It discusses reason of taking private classes from different angles and within various cultures 2.1 Private Tutoring: Definition The definition of tutoring is broad According to Dang, Rogers and Hartmann (2008) private supplementary tutoring refers to classes that are fee based and are taken in addition to mainstream education The goal is to improve students School performance and the outcome of the exams (Hartmann 2008) Russell, 1997 (cited by Dang & Rogers, 2008) states that private tutoring differs from private schooling, it is more flexible In addition to full time tutors and teachers university students, retired teachers and community members can also provide private tutoring In some countries for primary and lower-secondary level students private tutoring is as important as for upper-secondary graduates preparing for university exams (Dang & Rogers, 2008) In the literature we come across the term “Shadow” which refers to private supplementary tutoring One of the significant researchers Mark Bray (2009) defines the metaphor of the “Shadow” in different ways: as long as mainstream education exists private supplementary tutoring will also exist Secondly, supplementary tutoring depends on the mainstream system and any change including the size and shape will affect both Moreover, mainstream education stands in the first place as compared with its shadow Finally, the features of mainstream education are more distinct than shadow system Եթե դու հաճախել ես անգլերեն լեզվի մասնավոր պարապմունքների վերջին տարվա ընթացքում կամ հաճախում ես հիմա, խնդրում եմ շարունակիր լրացնել հարցաշարը, եթե ոչ, ապա կարող ես այն հանձնել: Վերջին տարվա ընթացքում ո՞ր առարկաներից ես հաճախել մասնավոր դասընթացների (կարող ես նշել մեկից ավելի) : անգլերեն ռուսերեն հայերեն մաթեմատիկա քիմիա ֆիզիկա այլ Ամենաշատը քանի՞ առարկա ես մասնավոր պարապել միևնույն ժամանակ: Այո Ոչ Ունեցել ես արդյոք անգլերենի մասնավոր պարապմունքներ դպրոցի ուսուցչի հետ վերջին տարվա ընթացքում: 55 10 Ու՞մ նախաձեռնությունն էր հաճախել անգլերենի մասնավոր պարապմունքների: (Կարող ես նշել 1-ից ավելի պատասխան) իմ սեփական իմ ծնողների այլ _ 11 Ո՞րտեղ է անցնում անգլերենի մասնավոր դասընթացները: ուսուցչի տանը այլ _ իմ տանը դպրոցում Գրի՛ր թիվը 12 Քո անգլերենի մասնավոր պարապմունքները ո՞ր տեսակին են պատկանում անհատական խմբակային (2 և ավելի ) Եթե խմբակային են, ապա նշի՛ր մասնակիցների թիվը ներառելով քեզ _ 13 Դպրոցում քանի՞ աշակերտ կա դասարանում անգլերենի դասերի ժամանակ ներառելով քեզ 14 Ո՞րքան ժամանակ ես մասնավոր դասընթացների: հաճախում Ամիս Ամիս Ամիս 1-3 3-6 6-12 56 անգլերենի անգամ 15 Սովորաբար շաբաթական քանի՞ անգամ ես ունենում անգլերենի մասնավոր պարապմունքներ: անգամ անգամ _ Տար ի 1-2 անգամ այլ _ այլ _ 16 Ու՞մ հետ ես դու ավելի լավ սովորում անգլերեն: իմ դպրոցի ուսուցչի հետ և՛ դպրոցի ուսուցչի և՛ մասնավոր ուսուցչի հետ իմ մասնավոր պարապմունքի ուսուցչի հետ ինքնուրույն 17 Ի՞նչու ես հաճախում անգլերենի մասնավոր դասընթացների …(կարող ես ընտրել մեկից ավելի պատասխան) Ես չեմ հասկանում իմ դպրոցի անգլերենի ուսուցչուհուն: Ես ունեմ ցածր գնահատականներ անգլերենից: Ես չեմ կարողանում անել անգլերենի տնային առաջադրանքները առանց օգնության: Ես պետք է պատրաստվեմ անգլերենի քննության: Ես շատ-շատ եմ սիրում անգլերեն: Ես տեղափոխվել եմ մի դպրոցից մյուսը և պետք է հասնեմ մյուսներին: Որովհետև իմ ծնողներն են այդպես ուզում: 57 Իմ անգլերենի ուսուցչուհին ասաց, որ ես հավելյալ դասերի կարիք ունեմ, որպեսզի հասնեմ մյուսներին: Այլ շատ մի քիչ քիչ ոչ մի 18 Ո՞րքան առաջընթաց ես տեսնում անգլերենի մասնավոր դասերից հետո: 19 Անգլերենի ո՞ր դասերն են քեզ համար ամենա հաճելին: իմ դպրոցի անգլերենի ուսուցչի երկուսինն Էլ 20 իմ մասնավոր պարապմունքի ուսուցչի ոչ մեկինը Ի՞նչ դասագիրք (դասագրքեր) ես օգտագործում դպրոցում անգլերենի դասերի ժամանակ…(գրի՛ր գրքի/հեղինակի անունը) _ 21 Ի՞նչ գիրք (գրքեր) կամ հավելյալ նյութեր58ես օգտագործում անգլերենի մասնավոր դասերի ժամանակ… 59 Appendix C Interview questions for teachers ID: Dear teacher: I am a student-teacher from the American University of Armenia and I am doing a study to find out why children take English Language private classes The purpose of this interview is to look at the issue from the teachers’ point of view Your answers will not be shared with anyone including the principle of your school Please answer to the questions honestly and thank you for your time What’s your gender:  Male  Female How long have you been working as an English language teacher at the school? _ How long have you been offering English language private tutoring? Did you start working as an English language tutor………  simultaneously with teaching at the school?  before teaching at the school  after teaching at the school _ How satisfied are you with the school salary? 1 (very unsatisfied)  (unsatisfied)  (neutral)  4(satisfied)  (very satisfied) How satisfied are you with your tutoring salary?  (very unsatisfied)  (unsatisfied)  (neutral)  4(satisfied)  (very satisfied) Do you have any principals/rules regarding the students that you tutor? For example “I will not tutor my school students, or the tutoring will not take place at the school I am teaching” _ 60 Is English language tutoring classes forbidden in the school you are teaching by the school principal?  Yes  No  I don’t know _ What type of tutoring you offer?  one-to-one  small groups (How many students in one group?)  both  other 10 Where does English language tutoring take place?  in the school  at your house  at student’s house  at a language center 11 Why have you decided to offer English language tutoring?  It is more profitable  It is part of my profession  Because of such a big demand in the field Other _ 12 What textbook you use for ……  School classes’  Private tutoring _ 13 How satisfied are you with the school books?  (very unsatisfied)  (unsatisfied)  (neutral)  4(satisfied)  (very satisfied) 14 How satisfied are you with the tutoring books?  (very unsatisfied)  (unsatisfied)  (neutral) 15 What you like most? Why?  teaching at school  4(satisfied)  (very satisfied) 61  tutoring  both  none _ 16 Based on your experience what you think, which graders are more tend to take English language tutoring? 17 Based on your experience what you think are top reasons for students to take English language tutoring? a  Middle school _ _ _ b  High school _ 18 How satisfied are you with teaching at school? 1 (very unsatisfied) 2 (unsatisfied) 3 (neutral)  4(satisfied) 62  (very satisfied) 19 Based on your experience, what you think whose initiative it is to take private classes? Parent’s  student’s  both of them  other 20 Do the parents’ and their children’s perspectives the same? _ 21 Based on your experience what is the most struggling part of English language/class for a student that raises need of tutoring? 22 Based on your experience what you think why is tutoring highly demanded? Appendix D Interview questions for Parents ID: 63 Dear parent: I am a student-teacher from the American University of Armenia and I am doing a study to find out why children take English Language private classes The purpose of this interview is to look at the issue from the parent’s point of view Your answers will not be shared with anyone Please answer to the questions honestly and thank you for your time Your relationship:  Mother  Father How often you (other family member) help your child to English homework from school?  never  rarely  often  always How much English you (other family member who helps with homework) know?  very much  sometimes  a little  very little  no English What educational background you have?  Secondary school  PHD  Bachelor’s degree  Master’s degree  Other _ How satisfied are you with the school teacher of your child?  (very unsatisfied)  (unsatisfied)  (neutral)  4(satisfied) 5 (very satisfied) How satisfied are you with the tutor of your child?  (very unsatisfied)  (unsatisfied)  (neutral)  4(satisfied)  (very satisfied) Did you have any priority in mind when you were choosing the school for your child? What type of tutoring does your child take? (Does it matter whether the tutor is a professor or a student?)  one-to-one  small groups (How many students in one group?) _  other 64 (Was that your decision?) Where does English language tutoring take place?  in the school  at your house  at teacher’s house  at a language center 10 How satisfied are you with the school books?  (very unsatisfied)  (unsatisfied)  (neutral)  4(satisfied)  (very satisfied) 11 How satisfied are you with the tutoring books?  (very unsatisfied)  (unsatisfied)  (neutral)  4(satisfied)  (very satisfied) 12 Which classes does your child enjoy the most? Why?  Learning with school teacher  learning with tutor  equally well with school teacher and private tutor  on his/her own _ 13 Does the school teacher and the tutor of your child the same person? _ 14 Whose idea was it to take English private tutoring classes?  my own  my child’s  our mutual  other specify 15 What is the reason that you have decided to hire private English tutor? (You can choose more than one answer)  My child doesn’t understand school teacher  My child has low marks  My child can’t English homework without help  My child has to prepare for an English language exam 65  My child likes English very much  My child transferred from one school to another and needs to catch up with the rest of the class  Because I want  The teacher said that my child needed supplementary classes to catch up with the rest of the class  Other specify 16 What is the most struggling part of English language/class for your child that arouse the need of tutoring? _ 17 Do you see any progress in your child’s achievement so long? If YES, how much? 18 What grades did your child get before taking private supplementary English classes and what grades does he/she have now? 19 Are the supplementary classes expansive for you? Do you feel financially restricted because of tutoring? How much does it cost? _ 20 School teachers often say it is parents’ fault that students take private tutoring? What you think? Appendix E Interview questions for Students 66 ID: Dear student: I am a student researcher from the American University of Armenia The purpose of this study is to find out students’ perspectives towards English language private tutoring classes Your answers will not be shared with anyone including your teachers and parents Thank you for your time How old are you? _ What is your gender?  male  female What is your grade level at school? _ Is the school you are studying at public or private, with or without English concentration? _ How many times per week you have English classes at your school? What subjects have you taken for private tutoring for the past years? _ What is the most number of subjects for private tutoring you have taken at a time? _ What type of tutoring you take?  one-to-one  group On average how many students are in your English language tutoring group including you? How many classmates you have in your school English language classes including you? _ 10 How long have you been taking English language private class? _ 11 How many times per week you usually meet for English tutoring? _ 12 What textbook you use for …… (Which one you like the most?) school classes 67  private tutoring _ 13 Which classes you enjoy the most? Why?  learning with school teacher  learning with tutor  equally well with school teacher and private tutor  on my own 14 Whose idea was it to take English private tutoring classes?  my own  my parents’  our mutual  other specify 15 What is the reason that you have decided to take private English classes? (You can choose more than one answer)  I don’t understand my school teacher  I have low marks  I can’t my English homework without help  I have to prepare for an English language exam  I like English very much  I transferred from one school to another and need to catch up with the rest of the class  Because my parents want it  My English teacher said I needed supplementary classes to catch up with the rest of the class  Other specify 68 16 What is the most struggling part of English language/class for you that arouse the need of tutoring? _ 17 Which of the teachers gave better explanation during the class, school teacher or tutor? 18 What you enjoy doing at your private tutoring classes? 69 ... the private school students have minimum school hours English lessons and stay for afterschool preparatory classes Secondary school graduates take English, Mathematics and Armenian for private tutoring. .. participants taking English private tutoring? ??………………….16 Table 4.2 Other school subjects pupils take for private tutoring in addition to English? ?? …18 Table 4.3 Reasons for taking English private classes……………………………………... following questions: What is the state of EFL private tutoring among Armenian secondary school children? How parents’ and students’ perspectives on taking private English classes compare? 1.5 Significance