Novice EFL teachers professional challenges and responses in teaching english at high schools in binh dinh province

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY TRAN THI TRUC NOVICE EFL TEACHERS‟ PROFESSIONAL CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES IN TEACHING ENGLISH AT HIGH SCHOOLS IN BINH DINH PROVINCE MASTER THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION Binh Dinh, 2022 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY TRAN THI TRUC NOVICE EFL TEACHERS‟ PROFESSIONAL CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES IN TEACHING ENGLISH AT HIGH SCHOOLS IN BINH DINH PROVINCE Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching Code : 8140111 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr NGUYEN QUANG NGOAN BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN TRẦN THỊ TRÚC NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ NHỮNG THÁCH THỨC CHUYÊN MÔN VÀ PHẢN HỒI CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH MỚI TẠI CÁC TRƢỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THƠNG TRÊN ĐỊA BÀN TỈNH BÌNH ĐỊNH Chun ngành: Lý luận phƣơng pháp giảng dạy Tiếng Anh Mã số : 8140111 Ngƣời hƣớng dẫn: PGS TS NGUYỄN QUANG NGOẠN i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hearby declare that I am the sole author of this matter thesis entiled ―Novice EFL teachers‘ professional challenges and responses in teaching English at high schools in Binh Dinh Province‖ and that I have not used any sources other than those listed in the references I further declare that I have not submitted this thesis to any other institution in order to obtain a degree Binh Dinh, May, 2022 TRAN THI TRUC ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This graduation thesis would not have been accomplished without the great assistance of all individuals around me First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my research supervisor, Prof Dr Nguyen Quang Ngoan, who has dedicated his time and effort to correct and instruct me to complete my thesis despite his huge workload Without his enthusiasm, empathy and encouragement, this paper woud have never been accomplised I had no idea how fortunate I was to have such a wonderful mentor for my M.A thesis I'd like to express my gratitude to him for his patience and understanding during my difficult moments Next, I am grateful to show gratitude to all lecters in my M.A course for their committed and enthusiastic teaching over the past two years I must also thank to all my M.A classmates and colleagues for giving me useful advice during the course of study and research Besides, I am also indebted to the cooperation and support of 50 novice EFL teachers in Binh Dinh Province who spent their valuable time participating in the survey for my data collection Last but not least, I particularly thank to my family, friends and all of my beloved ones who have always supported and motivated me to finish this thesis This study is totally created by their love and encouragement Quy Nhon, May 2022 iii ABSTRACT It is undoubtedly acknowledged that teachers play such an integral part in teaching Admittedly, every year, a large number of new teachers graduate from colleges and universities and begin their teaching career During their initial years of teaching, they encounter a lot of challenges Based on the theoretical background of novice EFL teachers‘challenges, the study aims to deliver the professional challenges faced by them The data of the study are selected from the survey conducted with 50 novice EFL teachers who are teaching English at high schools in Binh Dinh Province through survey questionnaires and interviews which are two of the principle tools adopted in the research Specially, the purpose of the study is to focus on exploring the professional challenges in terms of knowledge, skills and attitude and then find out the responses or solutions to help novice teachers overcome their challenges The findings indicated they experienced skills challenges and attitude challenges a little more often than the knowledge challenges After carrying out this thesis, the researcher hopes to find out the best ways to help novice teachers overcome their difficulties during their teaching There are three effective approaches for novice EFL teachers to overcome their professional obstacles These responses are giving mentoring programs to newbie teachers; more pragmatic aspects of courses should focus on the contents in order to effectively apply theories to practice and providing more professional training on the use of innovative student-centered teaching methods, techniques and approaches in EFL classrooms iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv ABBREVIATION vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1 RESEARCH RATIONALE 1.2 RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 1.6 ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 NOVICE TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 2.1.1 Definition of Novice Teachers 2.1.2 Definition of Teacher Professional Development 2.1.3 The Importance of Professional Development for EFL novice teachers 10 2.2 NOVICE EFL TEACHERS‘PROFESSIONAL CHALLENGES IN PREPARATION STAGE 11 2.2.1 Challenges in relation to foreign language teaching and learning for high school teachers 11 2.2.2 Challenges in relation to forms of professional support 14 THE TYPES OF SUPPORT FOR EFL NOVICE TEACHERS 17 2.3.1 Physical Support 17 2.3.2 Emotional Support 18 2.3.3 Instructional Support 19 v 2.3.4 Institutional Support 20 2.4 RELATED STUDIES 21 2.5 SUMMARY 27 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 28 3.1 METHODS/DESIGN OF THE STUDY 28 3.1.1 Research Design 28 3.1.2 Participants 30 3.2 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENT 31 3.2.1 The survey questionnaire 31 3.2.2 Interview 31 3.3 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE 32 3.4 DATA ANALYSIS 33 3.5 RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY 35 3.5.1 Reliability 35 3.5.2 Validity 35 3.6 SUMMARY 35 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 36 4.1 TEACHERS‘BACKGROUND INFORMATION 36 4.1.1 Novice teachers‗ perceptions about teaching 36 4.1.2 Novice EFL Teachers‘ Training and Professional Development 40 4.2 PROFESSIONAL CHALLENGES FACED BY BINH DINH EFL NOVICE TEACHERS DURING THEIR INITIAL YEARS OF TEACHING 44 4.2.1 Items of Knowledge Challenges 44 4.2.2 Items of Skills challenges 45 4.2.3 Items of Attitude Challenges 47 4.2.4 Concluding remarks 48 4.3 RESPONSES OF NOVICE EFL TEACHERS 48 4.3.1.The responses of novice EFL teachers 48 4.3.2 Concluding remarks 50 CHAPTER CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 54 vi 5.1 CONCLUSION ON NOVICE TEACHERS‘PERCEPTIONS ABOUT TEACHING 55 5.2 CONCLUSION ON NOVICE EFL TEACHERS‘ TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 55 5.3 CONCLUSION ON PROFESSIONAL CHALLENGES IN TERMS OF KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ATTITUDE 56 5.4 CONCLUSION ON THEIR RESPONSES TO THEIR CHALLENGES 57 5.5 PEDOGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS 57 5.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 58 5.7 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES 58 REFERENCES APPENDIX vii ABBREVIATION EFL English as a Foreign Language SLA Second language acquisition 58 multiplied through a deeper research carried out with multiple participants and multiple instruments Besides, the current study was conducted on novice EFL teachers in Binh Dinh Province; 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Section 1: Personal information What‘s your full name? Which school are you teaching? ……………………………………… Choose one appropriate answer What is your gender? A Female B Male How long have you been teaching English there? A One year B Two years C Three years D Four years Section 1.1: Novice teachers ‗perceptions about teaching How much you like teaching? A Very much B Much C Neither like nor dislike D A little bit E Not at all How you perceive teaching as a novice teacher? A Very enjoyable B Enjoyable C Normal D Not really enjoyable E Not enjoyable at all How did you percieve teaching as a former EFL student? A Very interesting B Interesting C Normal D Not really interesting E Not interesting at all To which extent you feel that the real atmosphere of teaching, as a novice teacher, corresponds with your previous expectations (as a former EFL student)? A Very corresponding B Corresponding C Normal D Not really corresponding E Not corresponding at all B To which extend you think that your motivation is increasing? A A lot B To some extent C A little D Little E Not at all Section 1.2: Novice EFL Teachers‘ Training and Professional Development Circle the best answer Do you think that your specialty fits your occupation? A Yes B No Do you reckon that your university provided you with necessary teaching skills? A Yes B No Have you receive any sort of training as a beginning teachers? A Yes B No Was in-service training beneficial? A Yes B No Section 2: Professional Challenges faced by Binh Dinh EFL Novice Teachers During Their Initial Years of Teaching To what extend have you found the following to be challenging as an EFL novice teacher teaching at high school? Indicate the extent of your agreement by selecting and putting a tick (√) in the table below Note: 1=Not challenging at all, Not really challenging, Normal, Challenging, Very challenging in this table Challenges in relation to foreign language teaching and learning Knowledge I find difficulty in preparing the lesson plan Challenges in relation to foreign language teaching and learning I have troubles in choosing appropriate teaching methods of each lesson I feel insufficient in testing and evaluation I have challenges in using communicative approaches in English class I have difficulties in teaching at mixed–level classes I am not able to teach listening skills effectively Teaching speaking skills is difficult for me I not know how to develop reading skills of learners with low English proficiency I not know how to make writing lesson more appealing 10 I could not achieve to match my knowledge with classroom practice 11 I feel insufficient in the issue of effective teaching strategies Skills I am not able to draw on a variety of language teaching techniques and materials I don‘t have enough time to adapt a new teaching methodology to be appropriate to my student‘s level I may lack of skills necessary for adapting teaching techniques to cope with the challenges resulting from context-specific factors Dealing with low English proficiency students is hard for me I have challenges in dealing with unmotivated students in learning English I have difficulties in deadling with individual learners differences Establishment of student-centered approach is the biggest challenge for me I not know how to give feedback to make my students not lose their motivation in learning English I feel hardship in using ICT tools to teach English Challenges in relation to forms of professional support Challenges in relation to foreign language teaching and learning I not have any mentor who was offically assigned by the school to assist me during my initial years of teaching I am not being encouraged for professional development in teaching English from school administration I am suffering from lack of collegical supports and cooperations I not know the way to solve with some of the learners and their parents who have negative attitudes towards English as a subject matter Any other comments you would like to share regarding the problems you faced in their initial years of your teaching: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… Section 3: Responses of novice EFL teachers What are the solutions that would help mitigate the challenges novice EFL teachers face, as perceived by novice teacher? Indicate the extent of your agreement by selecting and putting a tick (√) in the table below Note: 1= Total disagree, Disagree, Normal, Agree, Total agree in this table Items Conducting mentoring programs which mentees are matched with experience teachers should be provided to novice teachers to help them overcome their challenges Novice EFL teachers should be provided more specific professional training on the use of innovative studentcentred teaching methods, techniques and approaches in EFL classrooms More practical facets of courses such as linguistic and SLA in pre-service teacher education need to focus more on the content to effectively apply theories into practice Pre-service teacher education should incorporate skills and strategies to teach in multi-cultural and multi-level classrooms Online support groups should increase network opportunites to promote communication with other teachers experiencing similar concerns and to facilate collaboration in reflective process An ongoing connection with peers and university supervisors after graduation should be available for helping novice EFL teacher overcome their challenges Organizing some academic activites like workshops, conferences or seminars which allow novice EFL teachers interact with other teachers in different contexts to discuss their challenges, the possible solutions to their problems and promote continuous PD of novice EFL teachers Further supports and assistance from administrators and more experienced colleagues should be provided Team teaching is useful for novice EFL in their teaching practice Any other comments you would like to share regarding the responses to deal with their challenges in their initial years of your teaching: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… Date: Your signature: Thank you again for your participation! Appendix B: Interview questions What professional challenges in terms of knowledge you think novice EFL teachers often face in teaching English at high schools? Why is that so? What professional challenges in terms of skills you think novice EFL teachers often face in teaching English at high schools? Why is that so? Do you have any challenges related to social – professional relationships? How you respond to your challenges? ...MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY TRAN THI TRUC NOVICE EFL TEACHERS? ?? PROFESSIONAL CHALLENGES AND RESPONSES IN TEACHING ENGLISH AT HIGH SCHOOLS IN BINH DINH PROVINCE Field:... English at High Schools in Binh Dinh Province? ?? is aim to thoroughly examine professional challenges that novice teachers in our province face in their early experience of teaching at high schools. .. adopted, in which quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to obtain the individualized perspectives of novice EFL teachers who are teaching English at high schools in Binh Dinh Province regarding