Thesis Template MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BARIA VUNGTAU UNIVERSITY EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF LEARNER AUTONOMY AND THE USE OF TEACHING STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE LEARNER AUTONOMY AT SENIOR HIGH[.]
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BARIA-VUNGTAU UNIVERSITY EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF LEARNER AUTONOMY AND THE USE OF TEACHING STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE LEARNER AUTONOMY AT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN BA RIA VUNG TAU PROVINCE Nguyen Thi Huyen Trang Supervisor: Duong My Tham, Ph D Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching Ba Ria- Vung Tau University [04/2022] MASTER’S THESIS REPORT Student name: NGUYEN THI HUYEN TRANG Sex: Female Date of birth: 05/03/1988 Place of birth: Ba Ria Vung Tau Province Major: English Language Student code: 18110102 I- Thesis title: EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF LEARNER AUTONOMY AND THE USE OF TEACHING STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE LEARNER AUTONOMY AT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN BA RIA VUNG TAU PROVINCE II-Objectives and contents: This study aims at investigating perceptions of learner autonomy in language teaching and learning in the Vietnamese EFL context, particularly in senior high school levels The research objectives are as follows: - To explore perceptions of learner autonomy held by senior high school EFL teachers in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province - To examine teaching strategies the teachers have used to promote learner autonomy in an EFL classroom This study was conducted at 14 high schools (including both public and private high schools) in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province where there are more than 110 highschool teachers of English In order to gain the results, I applied the mixed method: quantitative and qualitative, two instruments were used: questionnaire and semistructured interview for the collection of the data III- Starting date: (as stated in the Decision issued by the University) IV- Completing date: V- Academic supervisor: DUONG MY THAM, Ph.D ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR ((full name, signature) FACULTY DEAN ((full name, signature) CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled: EFL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF LEARNER AUTONOMY AND THE USE OF TEACHING STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE LEARNER AUTONOMY AT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN BA RIA VUNG TAU PROVINCE In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Faculty of English Language, Ba Ria Vung Tau University Vung Tau City, April 22nd,2022 NGUYEN THI HUYEN TRANG RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, NGUYEN THI HUYEN TRANG, being a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (English Language) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis deposited in the library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan, and reproduction for theses Vung Tau City, April 22nd,2022 Signature …………………………… NGUYEN THI HUYEN TRANG ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere thanks to those who have supported, encouraged and assisted me in my thesis completion First of all, I would like to express my special appreciation and thanks to Ph.D Duong My Tham, my supervisor, for her great patience, careful guidance, insightful advice, and constant encouragement through the whole research process Without her support and guidance, this thesis would never have been completed Secondly, I would like to express my thanks to the school board staff, including the principals, the vice principals and teachers of English at high schools in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province who have given me encouragement, support of time and finance and permission to implement this thesis there Last but not least, my deepest and sincerest gratitude goes to my family, including my parents, my older sister and husband with their unconditional love, understanding and help ABSTRACT This study aimed to explore EFL teachers’ perceptions of learner autonomy and the use of teaching strategies to promote learner autonomy at high schools in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province The mixed-methods approach was employed in this study, i.e., both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews There were 106 high school teachers of English from 14 high schools in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province who participated in the survey, and 20 of them were selected purposively for the individual interviews As for data analysis, descriptive statistics (e.g., mean, standard deviation, and frequencies/ percentages) were used to analyse quantitative data, whereas qualitative data were analysed through content analysis Based on the results obtained from the data analysis, there were two findings which were explored in this study First, the collected data showed that high school teachers had good understanding of learner autonomy in four aspects, including decision-making ability, learner independence, psychology of learning and levels of learner autonomy Second, high school teachers applied some teaching strategies for the promotion of learner autonomy among their students relating to three sub variables from decision-making ability, learner independence to psychology of learning These included giving students rights to make their own decisions about learning styles, learning materials and activities under the basis of teacher-learner agreement negotiations; encouraging students to develop learning strategies, study plans to achieve their own goals, identify their own needs as well as discover the language concepts by themselves and letting students to evaluate, reflect and monitor their leaning process as well Finally, high school teachers found it challenging to create teaching strategies in relation to learner autonomy because of time limit as well as scarceness of detailed criteria based on different activities for students’ assessment Notwithstanding that, teachers still tried their best to develop students’ autonomous learning ability in language learning Keywords: learner autonomy, teaching strategies, promotion of leaner autonomy, high school teachers, Vietnamese EFL classrooms TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS APPENDICES LIST OF TABLES 10 LIST of FIGURES 11 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 12 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background of the study 1.2 Statement of the problem 1.3 Aim and objectives of the study .4 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Definitions of key terms 1.8 Organization of the thesis .7 Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 The shift from teacher-centred to learner-centred approach 2.2 Learner autonomy 12 2.3 The role of learner autonomy towards teaching and learning process 15 2.4 Teaching strategies to enhance learner autonomy 17 2.5 Previous research 20 2.6 Conceptual framework 23 2.7 Summary .24 Chapter 3: Methodology 25 3.1 Research design 25 3.2 Research site 26 3.3 Sample and sampling procedures 27 3.4 Research instruments 29 3.5 Data collection procedures 31 3.6 Data analysis procedures 32 3.7 Reliability and Validity .34 3.8 Pilot Study 35 3.9 Summary .36 Chapter 4: Results and Discussions 37 4.1 Results 37 4.2 Discussion .55 4.3 Summary .60 Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations 61 5.1 Summary of the main findings of the thesis 61 5.2 Pedagogical implications 63 5.3 Limitations 64 5.4 Recommendation for the further research 65 References 66 Appendices 75 APPENDICES Appendix A1: Questionnaire for Survey (English Version) Appendix A2: Questionnaire for Survey (Vietnamese translation) Appendix B1: Interview Protocol (English Version) Appendix B2: Interview Protocol (Vietnamese translation) Appendix B3: Sample of interview data analysis (English Version) Appendix B3: Sample of interview data analysis (Vietnamese translation) LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Demographic information of the participants Table 3.2 Cronbach’s Alpha indexes of the questionnaire items in average Table 4.1 45 EFL teachers’ perceptions of learner autonomy in term of levels of learner autonomy Table 4.6 43 EFL teachers’ perceptions of learner autonomy in term of psychology of learning Table 4.5 41 EFL teachers’ perceptions of learner autonomy in term of learner independence Table 4.4 40 EFL teachers’ perceptions of learner autonomy in term of decision-making ability Table 4.3 36 The overall results of teachers’ EFL teachers’ perceptions of learner autonomy Table 4.2 30 47 The overall results of teaching strategies to promote learner autonomy 49 Table 4.7 Teaching strategies relating to decision-making ability 50 Table 4.8 Teaching strategies relating to learner independence 52 Table 4.9 Teaching strategies relating to psychology of learning 54 ... Thesis title: EFL TEACHERS? ?? PERCEPTIONS OF LEARNER AUTONOMY AND THE USE OF TEACHING STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE LEARNER AUTONOMY AT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN BA RIA VUNG TAU PROVINCE II-Objectives and contents:... - To explore perceptions of learner autonomy held by senior high school EFL teachers in Ba Ria Vung Tau Province - To examine teaching strategies the teachers have used to promote learner autonomy. .. AUTONOMY AND THE USE OF TEACHING STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE LEARNER AUTONOMY AT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN BA RIA VUNG TAU PROVINCE In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master? ??s programs