i VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE AN INVESTIGATION INTO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS[.]
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE AN INVESTIGATION INTO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS COMPULSORY ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN HO CHI MINH CITY A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By NGUYEN THI HUONG LAN ID: 186 014 011 117 Supervised by BUI DIEM HANH, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, AUGUST 2022 i Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY vi RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS vii ABSTRACT viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix LIST OF TABLES x LIST OF FIGURES xi CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Organization of the thesis chapters CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Compulsory English language learning 2.2 Attitudes in English language learning 2.2.1 Definitions of attitudes 2.2.2 The importance of attitudes in language learning 2.2.3 Aspect of attitudes 2.3 Previous studies on learners’ attitudes toward ELL 2.4 Conceptual framework of the study 12 CHAPTER 14 ii METHODOLOGY 14 3.1 Research site 14 3.2 Sampling and research participants 14 3.3 Research design 15 3.4 Research instruments 16 3.4.1 Students’ questionnaire 17 3.4.2 Students’ interviews 19 3.4.2 Teachers’ interviews 20 3.5 Data collection procedure and data analysis scheme 20 3.5.1 Students’ questionnaire 21 3.5.2 Students’ interviews 21 3.5.3 Teachers’ interview 22 3.6 Chapter summary 22 CHAPTER 23 RESULTS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 23 4.1 Results from the students’ questionnaire 23 4.1.1 Data analysis 23 4.1.2 Attitudes of 10th, 11th, and 12th graders 26 4.2 Findings from the students’ interview 27 4.3 Findings from the teachers’ interview 29 4.3.1 Teachers’ observations on students’ behavioral attitudes 29 4.3.2 Teachers’ discussion on students’ responses 29 4.4 Chapter summary 30 CHAPTER 32 CONCLUSIONS 32 5.1 Summary of the study 32 iii 5.2 Contributions of the study 34 5.3 Limitations of the study 35 5.4 Recommendations for further studies 36 References 38 APPENDICES 41 Appendix A: Questionnaire 41 Appendix B: Students’ interview 43 Appendix C: Teachers’ interview 44 Appendix D : Table 45 Appendix E: Table 46 Appendix F: Table 47 Appendix G: Table 47 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to show my sincere thanks and gratitude to my supervisor, Ph.D Bui Diem Hanh for her kind guidance and encouragement for this study Her enthusiasm and professional expertise have provided tremendous guidance throughout carrying out my research I am also immensely grateful to the Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature as well as all my teachers in my M.A courses at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities of Ho Chi Minh City for giving me a chance to follow this postgraduate program and thus, to open a whole new chapter in my life The contribution of the school administrators, colleagues in English group and the beloved students at Vo Van Kiet high school are essential and valuable to my achievement today Finally, to my family, I wish to send my humble words to express my gratefulness and appreciation Their endless love, their enlightening guidance and their regardless support are the sole reason for me to wake up and move on after any difficulties One more time I would like to say thanks to all the above people because without them, none of this thesis would indeed be completed v STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This is to certify that the thesis entitled AN INVESTIGATION INTO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS COMPULSORY ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN HO CHI MINH CITY is the product of my own work The thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degrees or diplomas in any other institutions The thesis's content, except where clearly acknowledged within the text, has not been published by other authors Ho Chi Minh City, August 2022 Nguyễn Thị Hương Lan vi RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Nguyễn Thị Hương Lan, being the candidate for the degree of Master in TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master's Thesis deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the originality of my thesis deposited in the library should be accessible for the purpose of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses Ho Chi Minh City, August 2022 Nguyễn Thị Hương Lan vii ABSTRACT Learners’ attitudes in English teaching and learning have become a growing of interest in both theory and practice over the last decades since their attitudes are proved as one of the key factors determining the success of language learning Having insights on students’ attitudes helps language teachers enhance their teaching and assist curriculum developers design programs that meet students’ objectives and needs In the context of Vietnam, English is a compulsory subject for students in all grades in public school In particular, high school students are required to take obligatory English exams in order to graduate and win a place in higher education institutions Nevertheless, it can be seen that English teaching and learning quality in high schools have not meet expectations as the overall score of the English test in the high school national examination has been constantly reported as the lowest subject over the last decades Therefore, this study was conducted with the participation of 630 students and three teachers of English at a high school in Ho Chi Minh to investigate students’ attitudes towards compulsory English language learning (compulsory ELL) and explore possible differences in attitudes among 10th, 11th and 12th graders The study employed the survey design and utilized three research instruments to accumulate both qualitative and quantitative data (students’ questionnaire, students’ interview and teachers’ interview) From the data collected, despite some negative students’ replies, the majority of students at Vo Van Kiet high school have positive attitudes towards compulsory English language learning It is also found that there is not any significant difference in attitudes towards compulsory ELL among 10th, 11th, and 12th graders in the selected high school In accordance with the findings of this study, a number of recommendations for further research were put forward for those whose are interested in this research issue Keywords: students’ attitudes, compulsory English language learning, high school viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as a foreign language ESL: English as a second language ELL: English language learning VVK: Vo Van Kiet VVKHS: Vo Van Kiet high school MOET: Ministry of Education and Training ix LIST OF TABLES Table Description of student participants Table Research instruments used in the study Table Descriptive data from the students’ questionnaire Table Average mean scores of 10th, 11th, and 12th graders per item x Concerning the possible differences in attitudes of students in 10th, 11th, 12th graders toward compulsory English language learning among, a number of significant differences could be found The most noticeable difference is that the higher grade the students are in, the more positive attitudes they show toward compulsory English language learning Students in higher grade seem to understand the important of learning English because of the fact that they are required to take an English test in the high school national examination However, in the behavioral domain, in spite of the fact of knowing that learning English is important, students in 12th grade spend less time, and have lesser focus on studying the compulsory English subject at school 5.2 Contributions of the study This study has made certain contributions to the current literature regarding learners’ attitudes towards language learning in general, and to learners’ attitudes towards compulsory English language learning in particular First, this study highlighted the important of learners’ attitude in English language teaching and learning which is one of the major factors determining the success of language teaching and learning The current study is an urge for language educators to conduct more research on learners’ attitudes Secondly, the study provided an in-depth look into the high school students’ attitudes towards the compulsory English language learning in two different perspectives, from the students themselves and from the teachers who were teaching them From the findings of students’ attitudes in this study, teachers will have more understandings on their students Therefore, teachers can adapt their teaching methods, teaching activities as well as their assessment in order to enhance their teaching Likewise, from students’ answers in the questionnaire and interviews, especially the negative ones, teachers look for suitable ways to motivate and encourage students, so that the teaching quality can result in the best Next, this study also offers methodological contributions to the literature since the findings from this study could serve as scientific and empirical ground for further research The study also provides three valuable research instruments namely students’ questionnaire, students’ interviews and teachers’ interview, which were 34 adapted from related literature and designed by the researcher The usage of the three research instruments was also clearly presented in the third chapter of the study Last but not least, the study not only benefits English language teachers in their pedagogy but also supports curriculum developers and policy makers in developing and improving the current national teaching curriculum The findings from this study on students’ attitudes towards the compulsory ELL are also helpful for curriculum developers and policy makers as the findings may assist them in developing wellsuited national compulsory English curriculum that meets students’ objectives and needs 5.3 Limitations of the study This study has reached its modest goal to explore learners’ attitudes toward the compulsory English language teaching However, it is crucial to acknowledge the fact that this study has a number of drawbacks This part presents and discusses these limitations Firstly, this study was specifically contextualized in only one educational institution named Vo Van Kiet high school In other words, the findings did not represent all high schools in a wider context, thus, the generalization of this study could be hardly made Likewise, the numbers of participants in this study were limited, especially the participation of English teachers Secondly, the study investigated students’ attitudes towards the compulsory English language teaching in general; however, it failed to explore students’ thoughts on specific aspects of teaching, such as teachers’ teaching techniques, teaching activities, assignments, as well as on textbooks Next, because of the fact all of the three research instruments were conducted only due to the Covid-19, the collection process had a few inconveniences The researcher could not know how much time students spent on completing the questionnaire It was extremely difficult for the researcher to contact the selected students to participated in the interview Moreover, in the two latter research tools, the students’ and teachers’ interviews, as they were conducted online, interactions between the interviewee and interviewers were limited, for example, non-verbal expressions could be barely made 35 Lastly, due to the time constraints for data collection this study could only describe the attitudes of participants within a specified period and did not capture any change in attitudes though attitudes, since attitudes, in nature, are not static but change (Baker, 1992) Similar studies on students’ attitudes may yield dissimilar findings 5.4 Recommendations for further studies The study provided a number of important findings that could serve as scientific and empirical ground and directions for further research in the future As mentioned above, the study was constrained in only one specific research context, in Vo Van Kiet high school Therefore, it is recommended that further research should widen the population, selecting multiple high schools in a district or a number of high schools in different districts, for example, so that the findings can be generalized Also, studies on exploring attitudes of students in other educational stages such as in primary, secondary and higher educations are suggested Furthermore, future studies should put the focus on learners’ attitudes towards specific aspects of English language teaching namely teaching techniques, assessment and textbook The focal points could result in more concentrated and penetrated insight on students’ attitudes toward language learning Tackling English language teaching as a whole can be difficult, thus, engaging it partially is not only more feasible but also promising to remarkable findings It is as well noticeable that even though a number of studies on high students’ attitudes towards each facet English teaching have been carried out, the studies that were conducted in Asian context in general, and in Vietnamese mandatory educational system in particular, are limited Ultimately, the researcher appeals English language teachers, especially those who are teaching in public schools, for more studies on their students’ attitudes towards English language learning As stated above, public English teaching and learning still has not yet met the given expectation despite students’ positive attitudes towards it, this is a circumstance for all teachers and researchers to resolve the questions “Why?” and “How?” Teachers, in particular, have a privilege to made direct influence onto a large number of students through teaching process, thus teachers’ effort are recommended to be spent on exploring innovative and effective teaching methods Specifically, adapting materials, varying activities and balancing 36 work-rest hours with the given homework could be some suggestion to improve students’ attitudes towards English learning at school Alongside, classroom management and assessment tools are most likely to be underestimated components during teaching and learning In Vietnam context, big-sized classroom is an inevitable norm and the assessment mechanism has not made any significant advance over decades It is urgent for teachers to make a move now and here to recreate English teaching in a public school in a newer and fitter manner, making English no longer a compulsory but a preference By doing this, language teachers can adapt and improve their teaching practice, so they can effectively impart knowledge to their students 37 References Abidin, M J., 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Remember there is no right or wrong answers; just answer as honest as possible Please read the statements below carefully and tick the appropriate choices that reflect your attitudes towards compulsory English language learning Use the scale below to answer the questionnaire items 1= Strongly Disagree 2= Disagree 3= Neutral 4= Agree 5= Strongly Agree Note: Tick () only one option for each item in the questionnaire; Question I like studying English because it is an international language I have more knowledge when studying English at school Studying English at school helps me communicate in English If English was not taught in Vietnam, it would be a great loss I like studying English because it will be useful for my future career Knowing English is not really an important goal in my life 41 Question 5 I feel proud when studying English language I feel excited when I communicate in English with others I get anxious when I have to answer a question in my English class 10 I wish I could speak English fluently 11 Frankly, I study English just to pass the exams Question 12 I spend my free time studying English at home 13 I hate to give opinions during English classes 14 I am able to make myself pay attention while studying English 15 I cannot apply the knowledge from English subject in my real life 16 I put off my English homework as much as possible 17 I look forward to going to English classes 18 I like listening to music and watching movies in English Thank you! 42 Appendix B: Students’ interview STUDENTS’ INTERVIEW Question : Do you think that learning English is important to you, and why or why not ? Follow-up questions for Question 1: Example : In your replies in the questionnaire, you said English was not useful for your future career, could you please explain this? Question 2: How you feel in English classes at VVK high school ? Follow-up questions for Question Example : In your replies in the questionnaire, you did not like giving opinion in English classes, why is that ? Question 3: In what ways can you apply what you study in English classes at school to your real life ? Follow-up questions for Question 3: Example : Do you often listen to music, read books, or watch movies in English ? Additional questions if needed 43 Appendix C: Teachers’ interview TEACHERS’ INTERVIEW Question 1: Could you please describe students’ attitudes while learning in your English classes at VVK high school? Follow-up questions: 1.1 Do your students like giving opinions in English classes? 1.2 Are your students confident when speaking in English in class? 1.3 Do your students pay attention in English classes? 1.4 How you encourage your students to actively involved in classroom activities in English classes? Question 2: In a questionnaire I have conducted recently, some students said they studied English just to pass exams, what you think are the causes of this problem? Question 3: Many students reported that they could not apply what they study in English classes into real life, why is that? Follow-up question: In what ways, can you help students apply the knowledge they acquire in English classes into real life? 44 Appendix D : Table Table Description of student participants Grade Students 10 197 11 189 12 185 Total 571 45 Appendix E: Table Table Research instruments used in the study Instruments Brief description Aims 1.Students’ Sent online questionnaire to Explore students’ attitudes questionnaire high school students of all toward compulsory English grades, received 571 language teaching responses 2.Students’ Five random students from Have a closer look into the interviews each grade were invited to matter, and seek explanation individual online interview and clarification of students’ answers in the questionnaire 3.Teachers’ The researcher had a focus- interview group interview with high matter by looking at it from school teachers of English Further investigate the a different perspective 46 Appendix F: Table Table Descriptive data from the students’ questionnaire Appendix G: Table 47 Table Average mean scores of 10th, 11th, and 12th graders per item Grade Item 10 11 12 All grades Grade Item 10 11 12 All grades 4.04 4.05 4.07 4.05 10 4.35 4.39 4.4 4.38 3.51 3.44 3.32 3.43 11 3.66 3.73 3.79 3.71 3.79 3.72 3.71 3.75 12 3.34 3.26 3.09 3.25 3.91 3.89 3.82 3.88 13 2.84 2.87 2.89 2.86 4.26 4.25 4.29 4.27 14 3.41 3.27 3.21 3.29 3.02 3.05 2.86 2.99 15 3.04 3.06 3.06 3.05 3.34 3.32 3.19 3.28 16 2.18 2.4 2.52 2.37 3.64 3.61 3.58 3.6 17 3.6 3.57 3.53 3.58 3.31 3.25 3.26 3.27 18 3.56 3.54 3.52 3.54 48