Luận văn thạc sĩ ethnic minority students beliefs about english language learning a survey at sam son pre university school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES - - TRẦN THỊ PHƢƠNG HOA Ethnic minority students’ beliefs about English language learning – A survey at Sam Son pre-university school (Khảo sát niềm tin việc học Tiếng Anh học sinh dân tộc thiểu số Trƣờng Dự bị Đại học Dân tộc Sầm Sơn) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Hanoi, 2011 z iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Types of learner beliefs (based on Benson and Lor, 1999) Table 2.1: Beliefs about the difficulty of language learning Table 2.2: Beliefs on foreign language aptitude Table 2.3: Beliefs on the nature of language learning Table 2.4: Learning and communication strategies Table 2.5: Motivations and expectations for language learning z v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF TABLES iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v PART I – INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aims and objectives Scope of the study Methods of the study Research questions Overview of the study Summary PART II – DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Students’ beliefs and language learning 1.1.1 What is belief? 1.1.2 Beliefs about language learning 1.1.3 Nature and origin of beliefs 1.1.4 Types of learner beliefs 1.1.5 The sources of learners’ beliefs 1.1.6 The situated and dynamic nature of learner beliefs 1.1.7 The relationship between beliefs and learning 10 1.2 Previous studies on learner’s beliefs 12 1.3 The relationship between learner beliefs and language learning strategies 14 1.4 Summary 16 CHAPTER II: DATA COLLECTION AND DATA ANALYSIS 17 2.1 Context of the study 17 2.1.1 The school context 17 z vi 2.1.2 Participants 18 2.2 Data collection of survey questionnaire 19 2.3 Data analysis of survey questionnaire 20 2.3.1 Beliefs about the difficulty of language learning 20 2.3.2 Beliefs on foreign language aptitude 22 2.3.3 Beliefs on the nature of language learning 23 2.3.4 Learning and communication strategies 24 2.3.5 Motivations and expectations for language learning 26 2.4 Summary 27 CHAPTER III: MAJOR FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 29 3.1 Major findings 29 3.1.1 Research Question 1: What are the beliefs about language learning held by ethnic students at Sam Son pre-university school? 29 3.1.2 Research Question 2: How these beliefs affect their language learning? 31 3.2 Pedagogical implications 35 3.2.1 Implications 35 3.2.2 Limitations of the study 36 PART III CONCLUSION 37 Summary of the findings 37 Concluding remark 37 Suggestions for further study 38 REFERENCES 40 APPENDIX z PART I – INTRODUCTION This chapter introduces the rationale, aims and objectives, scope, research methods and research questions of the study Also, the structure of the thesis is outlined Rationale Vietnam is a multi-ethnic country with fifty-four distinct groups, each with its own language, lifestyle, and cultural heritage In some parts of the country where these ethnic minorities are having the standard of living is still below the wanted level Helping them to improve their living conditions, especially investments in education and economy are needed Sam Son ethnic pre-university is the place that has a duty of training the ethnic students to prepare for them to enter the university level The students come from provinces in the north of the middle area in Vietnam: Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Hue As for ethnic English learners in our school, especially in this period, English has just become the major subject in training ethnic students but the poor conditions for teaching and learning together with the extreme weakness of basic common knowledge of the learners, difficulties seem to multiply Thus, understanding the thought of ethnic students is necessary to all the teachers in these special schools We can see that there is an important change in research about language instruction The focus gradually shifted from teacher centered to student centered with special attention for the students’ perspective and individual differences among learners As a result, learners’ beliefs have attracted much attention among linguists in recent decades As indicated by Chastain (1988), students arrive at their language class bearing a number of preconceptions that affect their attitude and performance in the class These preexisting conceptions have to with the speakers’ previous experience, with the actual language classes, with the teacher, with language learning ability and also with complex set of attitudes and expectations that language learners bring to the classroom These opinions may facilitate learning or inhibit it In short, a central role is attributed to learner beliefs For example, Richards and Lockhart (1994) put forward that learners’ belief can z influence their willingness to participate, their expectations about language learning, their perceptions about what is easy or difficult about a language and finally their learning strategies Considering their influence on many aspects of learning, the beliefs of learners need to be investigated in depth before the classroom procedures, activities and tasks are chosen Inspired by Horwitz (1985, 1987, 1988), many researchers such as Brown (1994), Ellis (1994) and Hutchinson (1987) have investigated the roles of teachers and learners in language learning and stated that learners, as well as teachers, have their own attitudes and beliefs which are likely to influence the way they set their roles and within these roles, beliefs and attitudes deeply influence the whole educational process Thus, on the basis of these claims and findings, the main concern of this study hopes to expand previous understandings To be more specific, this study surveyed the beliefs about English language learning held by Vietnamese students of ethnic minority groups who were studying at Sam Son pre-university school Aims and objectives The aim of this study was to find out what beliefs about language learning ethnic students at Sam Son ethnic pre-university school have and analyze their beliefs and locate them within a taxonomy of language learning beliefs using the BALLI survey instrument This study is conducted with the hope to find out the effect of their beliefs on their potential impact on language learning and teaching in general, as well as in more specific areas such as the learners’ expectations and strategies used An additional purpose was to discover whether the students’ motivation and enthusiasm for language learning and reported expectations could be linked to their positive beliefs Scope of the study The aims of the study confine it to a small-scale questionnaire survey with a small number of 150 students in ethnic pre-university in Sam Son, Thanh Hoa The study is therefore descriptive rather than exploratory and explanatory Methods of the study The study uses a combination of various methods to achieve its objectives such as descriptive and comparative However, in this study, I mainly use survey method with the z help of an adapted version of a popular self-administered questionnaire, Horwitz’s (1987) Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) The instrument is not a test, thus it does not provide overall scores but measures participants’ opinions and attitudes towards various second language learning beliefs Research questions More specifically, this study focuses on the following research questions: What are the beliefs about language learning held by ethnic students at Sam Son preuniversity school? How these beliefs affect their language learning? Overview of the study The study consists of three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion Part 1: The Introduction provides an overview of the study including the rationale, aims and objectives of the study, scope of the study, methodology, research questions and the design of the study Part 2: The major part of the thesis is divided into chapters Chapter 1: Reviews theoretical background of students’ beliefs and language learning Chapter 2: Gives the brief description of school context and introduces the procedure of the study Chapter 3: Presents the major findings and the discussion based on the findings Part 3: The conclusion presents the brief summary of the findings and limitations and suggestions for further study Summary In this chapter I have outlined the reasons for conducting this study as well as its aims, objectives, and scope The research questions and research methods that were employed for the study are also introduced Part B, which follows, will begin with the literature review z PART II - DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, the relevant literature on language learner beliefs will be reviewed It will begin with the definition of beliefs and beliefs about language learning, the origin and types of language learning beliefs Finally, previous studies on language learners’ beliefs will be reviewed 1.1 Students’ beliefs and language learning 1.1.1 What is belief? Language learning beliefs have been defined differently by different researchers For example, beliefs are defined as: - mini theories (Hosenfeld, 1978) - insights (Omaggio, 1978) - culture of learning (Contazzi & Jin, 1996) - learner assumptions (Riley, 1980) - implicit theories (Clark, 1988) - self-constructed representational systems (Rust, 1994) - conceptions of learning (Benson & Lor, 1999) In general term beliefs has been defined as “an attitude, opinion and viewpoint which attends in every discipline of human behavior to say that something is true or right and vice versa” (Ehrlich, S 421-446, 2008) In academic definition it can be stated as “a learners’ viewpoint, judgment or opinion about the influence of their learning in their future success” (Neda Fatehi, R 16, 2009) In other words it means that what would be students’ feelings about what they learn as a foreign students and how it helps them to achieve better proficiency in English For many years researchers have attempt to examine all aspects of English language learning effects Finally, they found that each individual z student has its own perception and cognition about the strategies that has been used by teachers According to Victori and Lockhart (1995), beliefs are “general assumptions that students hold about themselves as learners, about factors influencing language learning, and about the nature of language learning and teaching” (p 224) This definition is adopted to discuss the beliefs about English language learning held by the participants in the study Recently, there has been much empirical evidence that how students learn English is influenced by their beliefs about second language learning to help students learn the language better 1.1.2 Beliefs about language learning There are many interrelated factors affect the success in language acquisition Some factors are associated with the social context of the learning, cultural beliefs about language learning, the status of the target language and the process of language learning itself (Ramirez, 1995) Nunan and Lamb (1996, p 215) point out that the learners' attitudes towards the target language, the learning situation, and the roles that they are expected to play within that learning situation exert significant influences on the language learning process Learner characteristics such as personality traits, learning style, learning strategies and attitudes have also been identified as significant aspects which play a role in determining learning outcomes (Ramirez, 1995) The term “attitude”, the central focus of this study, refers to “a set of beliefs that a learner holds about the community and people who speak the target language, about the language, and the learning task itself” (Ramirez, 1995, p 165) (cited in Erlenawati, 2002) Beliefs are a central construct in every discipline that deals with human behaviour and learning (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Ajzen, 1988) In one sense, beliefs or personal “myths” about learning not differ from the majority of myths about human race, nor they differ from those of the majority of psychologist and educators Pintrich and De Groot (1990) point out, for example, that learners who perceive their studies as important or interesting show higher degrees of perseverance in their work Thus, knowledge of learners’ beliefs about language learning may provide language educators with a better understanding of their learners’ “expectations of, commitment to, z success in and satisfaction with their classes” (Horwitz, 1988, 283) Consequently teachers can make more informed choices about teaching (Bernat & Gvozdenko, 2005) and adopt “a more sensitive approach to the organization of learning opportunities” (Cotteral, 1999, 494) in their lesson Language learners possess a set of beliefs about the nature of language learning, which Hosenfeld (cited in Ellis, 1994, p 477) defines as “mini theories” of second language learning This is supported by Wenden (1986) and Horwitz (1987) who argue that language learners indeed hold some beliefs about language learning, even though they may not always be explicit or consciously thought about Here a belief is defined as a statement that is held to be true, that affects language learning practices Learners' belief systems cover a number of aspects, including beliefs about the nature of English, the speaker of English, the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), teaching activities, language learning, appropriate classroom behaviour, their own ability and about the goals for language learning (Richards & Lockhart, 1996) Although learner beliefs have been frequently studied and discussed, no consensus had yet been reached on an exact definition for the term In this study, learner beliefs are defined in the same way as Horwitz (1988) sees them: “preconceived notions (of learners) about language learning” Such a broader definition is especially useful, because it allows us to cover the affective as well as the cognitive aspects of beliefs Since both aspects are closely related and the affective factor is considered the most powerful one, it seems legitimate to incorporate affective feelings (such as attitude, motivation, anxiety) about language learning under the notion “learner beliefs” Learner behaviour or learner strategies cannot be considered as a type of “notion”, but rather as actions undertaken by the learner Learner beliefs and learner strategies will therefore be strictly separated in this study 1.1.3 Nature and origin of beliefs Terms such as knowledge and beliefs are treated differently within the research community, depending on different theoretical orientations Early psychological studies into learner perceptions and beliefs about learning “opened a whole new Aladdin’s cave of persons’ thoughts and feelings about their learning” (Thomas & Harri Augustein, 1983, z 34 learners are found to hold erroneous beliefs, these should be worked out immediately by the teacher and the learners themselves Otherwise learners may not develop oral communicative competence For example, if a learner is very much concerned with grammatical accuracy, he or she may spend most of his / her time thinking about grammatical forms before he / she can utter something Such a learner may even refuse to communicate in English at all, either in the classroom or in the actual conversation And, in this study, more than half of the respondents feel that if beginning students are permitted to make errors in English, it will be difficult for them to speak correctly later on Despite their high concern for vocabulary and grammar, the ethnic students all emphasize communicative aspects of language learning, which is beneficial in helping them become socially competent language users However, this is their weak point and he implication for English language teaching is that the teachers should pay equally attention to their four skills And with respect to pronunciation, most of the participants are concerned about accents and stress the importance of speaking with an excellent pronunciation In sum, the learners' responses on beliefs about communication strategies indicate that the learners possess a set of beliefs which conform to what are considered in the literature as the most effective strategies in communication Beliefs on motivation Participants' responses to the items about motivations show that most learners have the belief that people in their country feel that it is important to speak English and almost all of them strongly agree with statement "If I learn English very well, I will have better opportunities for a job" We may conclude that nearly all of the learners have instrumental motivation to learn English This finding may reflect the elevated status of English as a linguage france around the world With increasing globalization in commercial, science and technology, increased movement of capital, labor and tourism and its widespread use in media and entertainment, English has become the vehicle for international communication Thus, it is not surprised when not only ethnic students but also everybody can realize the importance of English in every field of our lives and the answer is understandable That is also the reason why motivation ranks the first position in the order of the beliefs that affects their language learning z 35 3.2 Pedagogical implications 3.2.1 Implications Based on the findings through the survey, with better understanding of the beliefs about language learning held by ethnic students, teachers can better understand the situation of the ethnic learners The knowledge of student beliefs can help the teachers draw out to facilitate more effective instructional planning and implementation It means the teachers can have greater consideration for choice of teaching methods and materials, lesson content and sequence Moreover, it will make it possible for teachers to create a mode of instruction in which students’ needs and goals are satisfied (Sakui & Gaies, 1999) For example, the respondents in the survey strongly endorses the teaching of vocabulary and grammar In fact, 80 – 90% had reported vocabulary and grammar to be the most important parts of learning a new language As mentioned above, the students always study for marks, so they only concentrate on what can help them to get good marks Thus in four skills, speaking and listening are not paid much attention by the students And the teachers who are always learned-centered obviously meet the demand of their students and of course the requirement of their school and they also concentrate only on vocabulary and grammar We cannot deny this fact, however, the teachers should discuss its relative importance compared with other aspects of language and guide their students how to achieve a language Because it is estimated that when language classes fail to meet student expectations, students can lose confidence in the instructional approach and their ultimate achievement can be limited (Horwitz, 1987; Kern, 1985; Mantle Bromley, 1995) Moreover, by encouraging appropriate beliefs according to students situation, the teachers can teach English more effectively Consequently, the time and effort spent investigating and fostering positive beliefs that lead to effective learning strategy use and minimizing negative beliefs that inhibit learning will be time well spent Teachers can remove students’ misconceptions by providing knowledge or illustrations concerning the nature and process of second language acquisition Persuasive communication or group discussion can be conducted to raise students’ metacognitive awareness (Wenden, 1991; Yang; 1999) Finally, it is important that teachers’ teaching methodologies are compatible with (or at least have taken into account) learner beliefs As Horwitz (1988, p 283) put it: “knowledge of the relationship z 36 of learners’ beliefs about language learning and strategy use should provide teachers with better understanding of the students’ expectation of, commitment to, success in, and satisfaction with their language classes” 3.2.2 Limitations of the study The study is just a survey which investigates the students’ beliefs about English language learning The number of respondents is not big enough (N= 150) to represent the whole student population at Sam Son pre-university school Neither were the respondents randomized Rather they were chosen purposefully to respond to the questionnaire Therefore, generalization should be made with caution Regarding the research method, the study used only the questionnaire which can at best capture the surface of the phenomenon Respondents may not have answered the questionnaire exactly the way they thought, and data were not triangulated However, the information from this survey is useful in the sense that the students’ beliefs were investigated for the first time at the school and the findings will inform teachers what they need to to adjust the students’ beliefs about language learning so that their learning can be improved z 37 PART III CONCLUSION Summary of the findings The study has described what the ethnic students at Sam Son ethnic pre-university think about English language learning Analysis of the five established principal components (Language difficulty, language aptitude, nature of language, language learning and communication strategies and motivation) shows that there are significant differences that can be linked to the language studied by participants Most of the learners' beliefs were found to be realistic, but some were unrealistic These unrealistic beliefs may stem from an array of causes Some are from learners' previous language learning experience as the present study indicates Further studies may examine the extent to which learners' cultural background shapes their beliefs about language learning and whether learners' beliefs are manifested in their language learning and communication practices Concluding remark On account of these findings it is possible to come to the following conclusion: * believe that the difficulty of language learning depends on the learned target language, * believe that it is easier to read and write in English than to speak and understand, * believe that everyone can learn to speak a foreign language, * share the common belief that it is easier for children than adults to learn a foreign language, * believe that foreign language learning is not merely learning target language vocabulary, * however, not believe that the females are better language learners than the males, This study aims to find out the types of beliefs a learner may hold Some learners' beliefs were unrealistic and these should be eliminated It is the task of language teachers to deal with these misconceptions to enhance effective use of learning and communication strategies, thus helping them with their conversational skills Such skills will contribute to students' continuing motivation to learn a second language In addition, by reflecting on learners' beliefs, language teachers will be able to foster change in each individual and prepare the learners to become better language users z 38 Identifying learners' beliefs is of particular importance, for example, in those language classrooms where the native teachers have students from different cultural backgrounds Individual as well as culturally based differences in the belies about language learning may emerge Therefore, to improve the effectiveness of English language teaching and to help students become better learners, it is important to understand students' belief systems All in all, although investigating learners' about foreign language learning is context specific, there are important outcomes which needed to be shared with the rest of the field members First of all, in our context, participants have facilitative and motivating beliefs considering the language they are learning, here, the English language Secondly, they are aware of the integration of the main four skills since they can not be separated and need to be handled equally in language courses Furthermore, participants distinguish the difference between language subjects and other subjects However, both learners and teachers not have concrete ideas about what culture is, or better stated, what foreign language culture is Regardless of the plans and efforts by teachers, syllabus designers, textbook writers and other parties related to education of English language, learners are most likely to bring with themselves certain beliefs, preconceived ideas that could be facilitating and debilitating This fact should never be lost sight of for any specific group of learners in an effort to see learners as full-fledged individuals Necessary intervention by teachers, in particular, should be taken to alleviate debilitating beliefs of learners In the age we live in, learners cannot be regarded as mere consumers of language knowledge presented by the language teacher Instead, their needs and beliefs need to be taken into consideration in devising what to learn, how to learn and for what to learn Suggestions for further study For learners, the process of exploring own beliefs can lead to more effective language learning behaviors, as well as greater self-knowledge and autonomy (Horwitz, 1987, 1988; Victori and Lockhart, 1995; Wenden, 1991) In this thesis, the beliefs in language learning to ethnic minority students at Sam Son pre-university school have been found, but for the scope of the study, there are still some other factors have not been discussed such as: gender, background knowledge, religion and learner’s culture and so on Chastain (1988) asserts that teachers’ beliefs need also be investigated since their ideas z 39 might not match with those of students’ For instance, if students conceive of a language class as consisting primarily of studying grammar and memorizing vocabulary, the teacher might be more likely to accomplish the course goals if objectives and classroom procedures are clearly explained and justified at the beginning of the course as done in many parts of the world even today Additionally, Horwitz (1987) correctly points out that it is always possible to find instances of student dissatisfaction whenever instructional activities are inconsistent with students' preconceived ideas about language learning In such a situation, learners will lose confidence in the instructional approach and their ultimate achievement will be limited Thus, it is also needed to study more to teach English effectively for particular ethnic minority students to make their English learning successful z 40 REFERENCES Abraham, R & Vann, R (1987) Strategies of two language learners: A case study In A Wenden & J Rubin (Eds.), Learner strategies in language learning, (pp 85102) UK: Prentice Hall International Ltd Ajzen, I (1988) Attitudes, personality, and behaviour Chicago: Dorsey Press Benson, P & Lor, W (1999) Conceptions of Language and Language Learning System, 27(4), Special Issue, 459-472 Bernat, E., and Gvozdenko, I (2005, June) Beliefs about language learning: Current knowledge, pedagogical implications and new research directions, TESL-EJ, 9(1), A1 Retrieved 29th September, 2005 http://tesl-ej.org/ej33/a1.html Chastain, K (1988) Developing Second language Skills: Theory and Practice New York: Harcourt Brace Janovich Publishers Clark, C (1988) Asking the right questions about teacher preparation: Contributions of research on teaching thinking Educational Researcher, 17(2), 5-12 Cortazzi, M., & Jin, L (1996) Cultures of learning: Language classrooms in China In H Coleman (Ed) Society and the language classroom (pp 169-203) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Cotterall, S (1995) Readiness for autonomy: Investigating learner beliefs System, 23 (2), 195-205 Cotterall, L.S (1999) Key variables in language learning: what learners believe about them? System, 27, 493-513 10 Ehrlich, S (2008) Gender as social practice Implications for second language acquisition Studies in second language acquisition, 19, 421-446 11 Ellis, R (1994) The study of second language acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press 12 Erlenawati (2002) Beliefs about language learning: Indonesian learners' perspectives, and some implications for classroom practices Australian Journal of Education, 46, 323-337 z 41 13 Fishbein, M & Ajzen, I (1975) Belief, attitude, intention, and behaviour: An introduction to theory and research Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley 14 Flavell, J.H (1979) Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: a new area of cognitive development inquiry [Special Issue] American Psychologist, 34(10), 906-911 15 Flavell, J.H (1981) Monitoring social cognitive enterprises: Something else that may develop in the area of social cognition In J.H Flavell, & L Ross, (Eds.), Social cognitive development: Frontiers and possible futures (pp 272-287) New York: Cambridge University Press 16 Flavell, J H (1987) Speculations about the nature and development of metacognition In F E Weinert & R H Kluwe (Eds.), Metacognition, Motivation and Understanding (pp 21-29) Hillside, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 17 Horwitz, E.K (1988) The beliefs about language learning of beginning university foreign language students Modern Language Journal, 72 (3), 283-294 18 Horwitz, E K (1985) Surveying student beliefs about language learning and teaching in the foreign language methods course Foreign Language Annals, 18(4), 333 340 19 Horwitz, E.K (1987) Surveying student beliefs about language teaming In A.L Wenden & J Robin (Eds.), Learner Strategies in Language Learning (pp.119-132) London: Prentice Hall 20 Horwitz, E.K (1999) Cultural and situational influences on foreign language learners' beliefs about language learning: A Review of BALLI Studies [Special Issue] System, 27, 557- 576 21 Horwitz, E K., Horwitz, M B., & Cope, J (1986) Foreign language classroom anxiety, Modern Language Journal, 70, 125-132 22 Hosenfeld, C (1978) Learning about learning: Discovering our students' strategies Foreign Language Annals 9, 117-129 23 Hutchinson, T & Waters, A (1987) ESP - A Learning-centered Approach Cambridge: Cambridge University Pres z 42 24 Kern, R G (1995) Students' and teachers' beliefs about language learning, Foreign Language Annals, 28, 71-92 25 Kormos, J et al (2002) Language Wants of English Majors in a Non-Native Context System, 30, 517-542 26 Little, D and Singleton, D (1990) Cognitive style and learning approach In R Duda and P Riley (Eds.), Learning styles (pp 11-19) Nancy, France: University of Nancy 27 Mantle-Bromley, C (1995) Positive attitudes and realistic beliefs: Links to proficienc Modern Language Journal, 79, 372-386 28 Mori, Y (1999) Epistemological beliefs and language learning beliefs: What language learners believe about their learning Language Learning, 49, 377–415 29 Neda Fatehi, R (2009) Evaluation of English students’ beliefs about learning English as foreign language: A case of Kerman Azad university ICT for language learning, 16, from http://www.pixel-online.net/ICT4LL2010/common/download/ Proceedings_pdf/SLA25-Fatehi_Rad.pdf 30 Omaggio, A.C (1978) Successful language learners: What we know about them? ERIC/CLL News Bulletin, May, 2-3 31 Park, G P (1995), Language learning strategies and beliefs about language learning of university students learning English in Korea Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation The University of Texas at Austin, TX 32 Pintrich, R.P., & DeGroot, E.V (1990) Motivational and self-regulated learning components of classroom academic performance Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 33-40 33 Richards, C.J & Lockhart, C (1994) Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classroom Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 34 Riley, P (1980) Mud and stars: Personal constructs sensitization and learning (ERIC Document Reproduction Service, No ED20198) z 43 35 Rust, F (1994) The first year of teaching It's not what they expected Teaching and Teacher Education, 10, 205-217 36 Schulz, R (2001) Cultural differences in student and teacher perceptions concerning the role of grammar instruction The Modern Language Journal, 85, 244–58 37 Tanaka, K (2004) Changes in Japanese students’ beliefs about language learning and English language proficiency in a study-abroad context Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Auckland 38 Tanaka, K and Ellis, R (2003) Study abroad, language proficiency, and learner beliefs about language learning JALT Journal, 25, 63–85 39 Wenden, A (1986) Helping language learners think about learning English Language Teaching Journal, 40, 3-12 40 Wenden, A (1987) How to be a successful language learner: Insights and prescriptions from L2 learners In A Wenden& J Rubin (Eds.), Learner strategies in language learning (pp 103-117) London: Prentice Hall 41 Yang, D (1999) The relationship between EFL learners' beliefs and learning strategy System, 27(4), 515-535 z I APPENDIX The questions of the questionnaires translated into English and collated into one single list Part 1: Statements to be judged along a four-point scale: The possible answers for questions 1-3, 5-14, 16-35 are: completely agree / agree / disagree / completely disagree The possible answers for questions are: very difficult / difficult / easy / very easy The possible answers for questions 15 are: less than a year / 1-2 years / 3-5 years / you cannot learn a language hr/day It is easier for children than adults to learn a foreign language Some people have a special ability for learning foreign languages Some languages are easier than others The English language is: I believe I will learn English very well People from my country are good at learning foreign languages It is important to speak English with an excellent pronunciation It is necessary to learn about English speaking cultures to speak English You shouldn’t say anything in English until you can say it correctly 10 It is easier for someone who already speaks a foreign language to learn another one 11 People who are good at Maths or science are not good at learning foreign languages 12 It is best to learn English in an English speaking country 13 I enjoy practicing English with the native English speakers I meet 14 It’s OK to guess if you don’t know a word in English 15 If someone spent hr/day learning a language, how long would it take them to speak the language very well? 16 I have a special ability for learning foreign languages 17 The most important part of learning a foreign language is learning new words 18 It is important to repeat and practice a lot 19 Women are better than men at learning languages 20 People in my country feel that it is important to learn English z II 21 I feel shy speaking English with English native speakers 22 If beginning students are allowed to make mistakes in English, it will be difficult for them to speak correctly later on 23 The most important part of learning a foreign language is learning grammar 24 I would like to learn English, so that I can get to know native English speakers better 25 It is easier to speak than understand a foreign language 26 It’s impotant to practice with cassettes / tapes 27 Learning a foreign language is different than learning other academic subjects 28 The most important part of learning English is learning how to translate from my own language 29 If I learn to speak English very well, I will have better job opportunities 30 People who speak more than one language are very intelligent 31 I want to learn to speak English very well 32 Everyone can learn to speak a foreign language 33 It is easier to read and write English than to speak and understand it 34 It is important for language learning to read newspapers and magazines in English 35 I want to make friends with English people Part 2: Personal questions Circle your answer: Your gender? Male / Female How old are you? ……………… Ethnic composition: ………………… How long have you been learning English? ……………………… What other languages have you studied? Circle your answer: Did you participate in extracurricular English lesson? Yes / No z III PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA Ý KIẾN NGƯỜI HỌC Phiếu điều tra nhằm mục đích thu thập thơng tin cần thiết cho đề tài: “Khảo sát đức tin việc học tiếng Anh học sinh dân tộc thiểu số trường Dự bị Đại học Dân tộc Sầm Sơn” Rất mong bạn trả lời phiếu câu hỏi cách đánh dấu (x) vào đáp án mà bạn cho Phần 1: Các phần đánh giá theo mức: Đáp án lựa chọn cho câu hỏi: 1-3, 5-14, 16-35 là: hoàn toàn đồng ý / đồng ý / khơng đồng ý / hồn tồn khơng đồng ý Đáp án lựa chọn cho câu hỏi số là: khó / khó / dễ / dễ Đáp án lựa chọn cho câu hỏi số 15 là: năm / 1-2 năm / 3-5 năm / bạn học ngoại ngữ tiếng / ngày Câu trả lời Stt Câu hỏi 10 Rất khó Khó Dễ Rất dễ Một số thứ tiếng dễ học so với thứ tiếng khác Tơi tin tơi học tiếng Anh tốt Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý Một số người có khiếu học Ngoại ngữ Không đồng ý người lớn Với tiếng Anh thì: Đồng ý Trẻ học ngoại ngữ (tiếp thu) dễ Hồn tồn đồng ý Nhìn chung, người Việt Nam học giỏi tiếng Anh Việc phát âm tiếng Anh xác quan trọng Muốn sử dụng tiếng Anh có hiệu cần phải có vốn hiểu biết văn hố nước nói tiếng Anh Bạn không nên sử dụng tiếng Anh bạn khơng thể nói thứ tiếng ngữ pháp phát âm Những người biết sử dụng Ngoại ngữ z IV 11 12 13 14 dễ học Ngoại ngữ khác người chưa biết Ngoại ngữ Những người giỏi mơn Tốn học Khoa học học Ngoại ngữ khơng giỏi Cách học tiếng Anh tốt học nước nói tiếng Anh Tơi thích thực hành tiếng Anh với người ngữ / người Anh mà gặp Việc đốn nghĩa từ tiếng Anh khơng khó khăn tơi Ít năm 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Nếu dành ngày tiếng để học Ngoại ngữ khơng biết phải người sử dụng Ngoại ngữ tốt? Tơi có khả đặc biệt việc học Ngoại ngữ Điều quan trọng việc học Ngoại ngữ học từ Khi học Ngoại ngữ, quan trọng phải nhắc nhắc lại từ thực hành nhiều Nữ giới học Ngoại ngữ tốt nam giới Ở Việt Nam, người thấy việc học tiếng Anh quan trọng Tôi cảm thấy ngại phải nói tiếng Anh với người ngữ Nếu người bắt đấu học tiếng Anh phép mắc lỗi sử dụng tiếng Anh sau khó sửa lại Điều quan trọng việc học Ngoại ngữ học ngữ pháp Tơi thích học tiếng Anh để tơi hiểu z 1-2 năm 3-5 năm Bạn học ngoại ngữ tiếng / ngày V người ngữ nói tiếng Anh tốt 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Sử dụng Ngoại ngữ dễ hiểu Học Ngoại ngữ, cần phải thực hành nghe băng / đĩa Học Ngoại ngữ khó mơn học khác Điều quan trọng việc học Ngoại ngữ học cách dịch sang tiếng mẹ đẻ Nếu sử dụng tiếng Anh tốt tơi có hội nghề nghiệp tốt Những người biết sử dụng nhiều thứ tiếng thơng minh Tơi muốn học sử dụng tiếng Anh tốt Mọi người học sử dụng Ngoại ngữ Học đọc học viết tiếng Anh dễ học nói hiểu Khi học Ngoại ngữ việc đọc báo tạp chí tiếng Anh quan trọng Tơi muốn làm bạn với người Anh Phần 2: Câu hỏi thơng tin cá nhân Hãy khoanh trịn câu trả lời bạn: Giới tính: Nam / Nữ Tuổi: ……………… Thành phần dân tộc: …………………… Bạn học tiếng Anh bao lâu? ……………………… Những Ngoại ngữ khác mà bạn học? ……………………………………… Hãy khoanh trịn câu trả lời bạn: Bạn có tham gia vào hoạt động thêm học tiếng Anh khơng? Có / Khơng Cảm ơn hợp tác bạn! z ... of learning a foreign language, Aptitude for language learning, The nature of language learning process, Learning and communication strategies, and Motivations and expectations for language learning. .. Epistemological beliefs and language learning beliefs: What language learners believe about their learning Language Learning, 49, 377–415 29 Neda Fatehi, R (2009) Evaluation of English students? ?? beliefs about. .. foreign language aptitude, on the nature of language learning, on learning and communication strategies and on motivation 3.1.1 Research Question 1: What are the beliefs about language learning