The effects of self esteem on teenagers efl learning

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES THE EFFECTS OF SELF-ESTEEM ON TEENAGERS’ EFL LEARNING An Action Research at VATC, HCMC A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL) Submitted by NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC QUYÊN Supervisor LÊ THỊ THANH, Ph.D Ho Chi Minh City, June 2007 STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled “The effects of Self-esteem on Teenagers’ EFL learning” is my own work In terms of the statement of Requirements for Theses in Master’s Program issued by the Higher Degree Committee This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution Ho Chi Minh City, June 15, 2007 NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC QUYÊN i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Quyen, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities relating to the retention and use of Master’s Thesis deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original version of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for care, loan, or reproduction of the thesis Ho Chi Minh City, June 15, 2007 NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC QUYÊN ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to gratefully acknowledge the invaluable and generous assistance given to me by my thesis supervisor, Dr Le Thi Thanh, over the lengthy period of the preparation and completion of this thesis Without her encouragement and constant guidance, I could not have finished this thesis She was always patient to read my manuscript with great care, gave thoughtful and insightful comments and asked me good questions to help me think through my problems I am also greatly indebted to all my teachers for their dedication and helpful instruction during the course My special thanks to all those who helped in the study, in particular, to the teachers who were willing to help me in data collection for the study; all students participating in the study for their cooperation; and all my colleagues and my friends for their unfailing support, friendship and enjoyable company Last, but not least, thanks go to my family To my parents who continue to give of themselves so that their children will prosper To my husband and son for their love, understanding and supports iii ABSTRACT Low self-esteem is relatively common and frequently experienced among teenagers The thesis was designed to explore the influence of self-esteem on teenagers’ EFL learning at VATC classroom The data were collected through teachers’ observations, questionnaire and a quasi-experiment The questionnaire was delivered to both students of teenagers program at VATC and teachers who were currently teaching this program to elicit data about (1) learners’ difficulties in English learning, (2) learners’ attitude towards learning and (3) some suggestions to facilitate the situation Beside, a quasiexperiment was conducted to answer the question “Can improving students’ selfesteem help them to achieve better scores in their English tests?” The results of the study indicate that (1) low self-esteem was the main cause of preventing students from classroom activities, (2) there were positive changes in learners’ attitudes, behaviors, and learning styles when learners received special care in relationship and care in learning from their teachers, (3) there was a positive signal of English test results when students were more self-confident, (4) getting students involve to what would be taught and how would be taught can enhance learners’ interests and motivate their learning In addition, pair-work and groupwork activities would also be suggested to enhance learners’ cooperation in classroom However, neither teachers nor students can make the whole process of teaching and learning successful; in fact they should both aware of taking responsibility to all the teaching and learning process such as lesson planning, classroom activities, discussing students’ work and marking Last but not least, they should be aware of building up a good relationship to provide a good environment where both teachers and students respect to each other in the learning process iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Statement of authority i Retention and use of the thesis ii Acknowledgements .iii Abstract iv Tables of contents v List of figures .viii List of tables ix Abbreviations x Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1.2 STATEMENT OF PURPOSE 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1.4 LIMITATION AND DELIMITATION 1.5 OVERVIEW OF THESIS CHAPTERS 1.6 SUMMARY Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 2.1.1 The concepts of Self-Esteem 2.1.2 The relationship of self-esteem and EFL learning 10 2.2 PREVIOUS STUDIES ON THE INFLUENCE OF SELF-ESTEEM ON EFL LEARNING 12 2.3 CURRENT POPULAR METHODS OF TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE VIETNAMESE CONTEXT IN GENERAL AND AT VATC IN PARTICULAR 13 2.4 SUMMARY 15 v Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 16 3.1 METHODOLOGY 16 3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 16 3.2.1 Subjects 17 3.2.1.1 Target students 17 3.2.1.2 Teachers 19 3.2.2 Instruments 19 3.2.2.1 Questionnaire for students 20 3.2.2.2 Questionnaire for teachers 21 3.2.2.3 The quasi-experiment 22 3.2.3 Data collection procedures 23 3.3 THE FLEXIBLE ADAPTATION OF SELF-ESTEEM ENHANCEMENT THEORY INTO VATC CLASSROOM 24 3.3.1 Giving special care in relationships 25 3.3.2 Giving special care in learning 26 3.3.3 The teacher’s role in the development of self-esteem 29 3.4 SUMMARY 29 Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 30 4.1 DATA ANALYSIS 30 4.1.1 Responses to Survey Questionnaire 31 4.1.1.1 Questionnaire for students 31 4.1.1.2 Questionnaire for teachers 41 4.1.2 The quasi-experiment 47 4.1.2.1 Initial steps 48 4.1.2.2 Action steps 51 4.2 FINDINGS 62 4.3 SUMMARY 64 vi Chapter 5: IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 65 5.1 IMPLICATIONS 65 5.1.1 Learners’ self-esteem enhancement as the priority 65 5.1.2 Care in relationships and care in learning as key elements in selfesteem enhancement 66 5.1.3 Improving learners’ self-esteem as a whole process 67 5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS 68 5.2.1 Recommendations to school administrators 68 5.2.2 Recommendations to EFL teachers 69 5.2.3 Recommendations to students 71 5.3 SUMMARY 72 CONCLUSION 73 REFERENCES 75 Appendix 82 Appendix 87 Appendix 91 Appendix 103 Appendix 105 vii LIST OF FIGURES Chapter Figure 4.1: Learners’ expectation of learning English in general and at VATC in particular 32 Figure 4.2: Students’ perception toward learning difficulties 32 Figure 4.3: The effects of pair work and group work activities on improving learners’ self-esteem/ self-confidence? 34 Figure 4.4: Students’ reaction when they not understand the lesson 36 Figure 4.5: Students’ reaction to the teacher’s questions 36 Figure 4.6: The effects of unfriendly relationship among classmates on students’ learning/ motivation 38 Figure 4.7: The importance of teacher’s involvement in the learning process 39 Figure 4.8: Effects of pair work and group work activities in building up students’ self-esteem/ self-confidence 43 Figure 4.9: The importance of teacher’s involvement in the learning process 45 viii LIST OF TABLES Chapter Table 3.1: Summary of sample characteristics 18 Chapter Table 4.1: What difficulties are you facing in learning English? 33 Table 4.2: The importance of teachers’ roles in classroom activities 35 Table 4.3: How often you spend for self-study? .37 Table 4.4: The importance of the relationship between students and their teachers 38 Table 4.5: Teachers’ perception on learners’ difficulties in learning English 42 Table 4.6: Teachers’ opinions about their roles in classroom activities .44 Table 4.7: Total results of task 1, scored by two different teachers 48 Table 4.8: Speaking results of task 1, scored by two different teachers .49 Table 4.9: Total results of task 2, scored by two different teachers 60 Table 4.10: Speaking results of task 2, scored by two different teachers .61 ix APPENDIX 3: PRE-TEST & POST TEST PART I: LISTENING SECTION (20 points) PART A: You’ll hear five short conversations You’ll hear each conversation twice There is one question for each conversation Mark A , B or C on the Answer Sheet (5 points) Example: How many people were at the meeting? 13 A † B † 30 C; Which language does the man not know? Spanish Italian French A † B † How many boxes will the man put next to the door? C † A † B † What is the woman going to first this afternoon? C† A † Where is the bookstore? A † B † What is the fastest way to go to the airport? B † 90 C† C† A † B † C† PART B: (6 points) Four people are talking about what they like to Match the people and their hobbies Listen and mark the correct letter (A – E) on the Answer Sheet Example: Lucia D People Hobbies Andy A fishing B surfing the internet Julia C painting Eric D photography E cooking Four students are talking about how they practice listening outside the classroom What they to improve their listening ability? Listen and mark the correct letter (A – E) on the Answer Sheet Example: Student Student Student D What? A go to an English Speaking Club B use English listening site on the web 10 Student C practice English songs at home D watch English movies on TV 11 Student E travel to English speaking countries 91 PART C: Listen to the three interviews Check (9) the correct answers on the Answer Sheet (5 points) Conversation 1: Where Bobby and Chuck say they like to go on vacation? A the ocean † B the beach † C Surfing camp ; 12 What they at night? A study † B hang out with friends † C practice † Conversation 2: 13 Where Jenny and Brent go every year? A to see friends B to the same country C somewhere new 14 What they like about traveling ? A hotel and museums B dancing and nightlife C food and people † † † † † † Conversation 3: 15 What Grace and Holly both do? A teach † B read a lot † C over pack † 16 What they want to buy before their next trip ? A suitcase † B a video camera † C cameras † PART D: (4 points) You will hear a man speaking on the phone Listen and write the missing words on the Answer Sheet 92 TELEPHONE MESSAGE To: Ms Graham From: Mr _ (17) The Meeting is on: _ (18) at _ (19) Telephone number: (20) 93 PART 2: GRAMMAR-VOCABULARY-READING (35 points) PART A: (10 points) Where can you see these notices? Mark A , B or C on the Answer Sheet EXAMPLE: Slow down Children crossing Return Books here Sale off PUSH ANSWER A at a theater B in a church C outside a school A in a cafeteria B at a dude ranch C along a street A in a Post office B in a magazine C in a library A on a road in a town B at a petrol station C at a hotel A outside a school B outside a clothes shop C outside a soccer club A on a tour boat B on a door C on a menu 94 C PART B: (10 points) Complete the conversation What does Zach say to his father? Mark the correct letter (A – H) on the Answer Sheet Example: Zach’s father: Zach: Answer How are your courses this semester? _ C Zach’s father: Really? What are you studying? Zach: Zach’s father: That’s wonderful Everyone should B study history What kind? Ancient history? Zach: A Well, I’m taking a history course It is, Dad I’m learning a lot _ Zach’s father: Film history? That doesn’t sound very C serious Zach: _ Zach’s father: Well, what about foreign languages? D People really have to speak more than one language nowadays Zach: _ Zach’s father: They don’t have to be Some language E classes can be really creative Zach: 10 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Zach’s father: What? No one speaks Ancient Greek, F you know? PART C: (5 points) 95 They’re great, Dad I’m pretty busy I know, Dad But their classes are usually really boring Well, actually, I’m taking Ancient Greek They’re free G Not exactly It’s more like film history H So, there are a lot of things to study Read this article about Lukas Vondracek Are sentences 21 – 25 “Right” (A) or “Wrong” (B) ? If there isn’t enough information to answer “Right” (A) or “Wrong” (B) , choose “doesn’t say” (C) Mark A , B or C on the Answer Sheet The New Mozart Ten-year-old, Lukas Vondracek is very shy, but every year he travels around the world and meets hundreds of people Lukas is a brilliant pianist and he gives lots of concerts Last year, he was in Washington, Chicago, and in London He is sometimes called “the new Mozart” He says, “I’m shy, but I love giving concert.” Lukas was born in Opara in the Czech Republic but now he lives with his parents in Vienna, where he practices the piano six hours a day He goes to school two days a week Lukas could play the piano when he was two and he could read music before he could read books Now he can write music, too Lukas doesn’t just play the piano, he plays football and ice hockey He says, “Mozart was poor and he couldn’t play football so I’m not like him at all.” Example: Lukas is ten years old A Right 11 C doesn’t say B Wrong C doesn’t say B Wrong C doesn’t say Lukas and Mozart are from Vienna A Right 15 B Wrong Lukas lives in London with his parents A Right 14 C doesn’t say Lukas can play piano better than guitar A Right 13 B Wrong Lukas travels a lot A Right 12 Answer B Wrong C doesn’t say Lukas could read books after music A Right B Wrong PART D: (10 points) 96 C doesn’t say A Read the e-mail Choose the correct form of the verb ( A,B or C ) for each space Mark A ,B or C on the Answer Sheet Hi Jeff, I (0) this e-mail from Sunny Rome where I (16) on a balcony in the city center and I’ve got some brilliant news! Last Saturday I (17) married ! My wife’s name is Laura and she (18) from Sicily She’s a photographer and she (19) for “Amica” , a famous Italian magazine We (20) at a party in Milan about a month ago and one week later we (21) to get married! We (22) a big wedding, only her parents and a few Italian friends We (23) .back to Rome two days ago and at the moment we (24) in Laura’s apartment Come and visit us! I’m sure you’ll like Laura and she (25) to meet ll my friends Our address is … Example A write 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 A sit A get A comes A was working A meet A decide A don’t have A come A stay A wants B am writing B B B B B B B B B B am sitting am getting is coming is working are meeting are deciding aren’t having are coming are staying is wanting 97 C wrote C sat C got C came C worked C met C decided C didn’t have C came C stayed C wanted PART 3: WRITING (20 pts) PART A: Put the words in the correct order to make complete sentences Write your answers on the Answer Sheet (5 pts/ pt each) Example: name/ your/ last/ what’s? What’s your last name? souvenirs / we / dinner / for / after / shopped / your / take / sentences / turns / reading / games / at / have / our / to / sports / we / too / wear / uniforms / is / day / school / this / today / the / year / of / first / money / 1901 / did / from / he / flight / what / with / his / the / / prize/? PART B: You have just returned from your summer vacation Write a letter / email to your English – speaking friend about it on the Answer Sheet (15 pts) Your writing should include: - Where / when you went - Who with - How you got there - How long you stayed there - What you did during the vacation 98 PART 4: SPEAKING (25 points) 10 minutes/a pair of students Two students are called in The examiner greets the students and then tells them that they will be asked some questions The students should also be told to give full answers so that they are assessed more accurately and fairly Mark the student’s score on a separate EVALUATION SHEET The Speaking Section of the test has TWO PARTS PART A: PERSONAL QUESTIONS (3 - minutes) The examiner: - Greets the students - Asks for their names (write on the evaluation sheet) - Asks the following questions Can you introduce yourself (name, age, class, likes/ dislikes…) Tell me about your after – school activities What did you last summer? / last vacation/ on the latest holidays? What did you when you felt embarrassed/ exhausted/ excited/ worried/ frustrated? PART B: INFORMATION EXCHANGE (5 - minutes) In this part the two students interact with each other This involves asking and answering questions about factual information of a personal or non-personal kind A set of prompt cards are used to stimulate questions and answers of personal kind The examiner reads out these instructions and gives a question card to student A and an answer card to student B Student A is expected to give short appropriate answers, with reference to his/ her prompt card The examiner introduces the activity as follows: The examiner: I’m going to show (student A) a card (The examiner shows question card to student A) Ỵ To student A: Ask (student B) some questions about Club Use the words on the card to help you Ỵ To student B: Answer (student A’s) questions Ỵ To both students: Do you understand? The examiner: I’m going to show (student B) a card (The examiner shows question card to student B) Ỵ To student B: Ask (student A) some questions about The first woman to fly across Atlantic Ocean (Use the words on the card to help you) Ỵ To student A: Answer (student B’s) questions Ỵ To both students: Do you understand? 99 SET 1: (3 CARDS: 1-QUESTION CARDS AND 2- INFORMATION CARD) Student A CLUB FOR Student B YOUNG PEOPLE ¾ name ? ¾ when ? HAPPY DAYS CLUB For young people from 12 – 18 years Every Friday 7.30 – 10.30 p.m ¾ what/ do? ¾ where? ¾ cost? £? 29 Milton Street Just £ per week Games – music – dancing and lots more 100 SET 2: (3 CARDS: 2-QUESTION CARDS AND 1- INFORMATION CARD) The first woman to Student B fly across Atlantic Student A AMELIA EARHEART Ocean ¾ name ? - born: Kansas, 1897 ¾ when / born? - learn to fly when she was 23 ¾ why / famous ? - 1922: bought her first plane ¾ what / / 1928 ? - 1928: flew across the Atlantic Ocean ¾ when / fly / around the - May 21, 1937: left California to fly around the world world ? - At 8.45 a.m/ July 3: sent her last message No one ever seen her again The first woman to - Died: 1937 Student C fly across Atlantic Ocean ¾ spell / 1st name? ¾ where / born? ¾ what / / 1922 ? ¾ what / / 8.45 a.m ? ¾ die ? 101 APPENDIX 4: VERBAL EVALUAITON SHEET Examiner: _ Class: _ Date of testing: _ PART A: EXAMNIER - CANDIDATE No Student’s Name Awaded Total mark (10 marks) Reception Language Pronunciation 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 10 0123 0123 0123 11 0123 0123 0123 12 0123 0123 0123 13 0123 0123 0123 14 0123 0123 0123 15 0123 0123 0123 16 0123 0123 0123 17 0123 0123 0123 18 0123 0123 0123 19 0123 0123 0123 20 0123 0123 0123 102 PART B: CANDIDATE - CANDIDATE No Student’s Name Appropriateness of interaction Language Pro- use nunciation Total Fluency Independence 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 10 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 11 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 12 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 13 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 14 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 15 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 16 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 17 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 18 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 19 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 20 0123 0123 0123 0123 0123 103 (15marks) APPENDIX 5: WRITING SCORE GUIDELINE 13 – 15 10 – 12 7–9 4–6 1-3 Full realization of task set shown by: • All content points included • Wide range of structure and vocabulary within the task set • Minimal errors, perhaps due to ambition; well-developed control of language • Ideas effectively organized and paragraphed, with a variety of linking devices • Register and format consistently appropriate to purpose and audience Fully achieves the desired effect on the target reader Good realization of the task set • All major content points included: possibly one or two omissions • Good range of structure and vocabulary within the task • Generally accurate, errors occur mainly when attempting more complex language • Ideas clearly organized and paragraphed, with suitable linking devices • Register and format on the whole appropriate to purpose and audience Achieves the desired effect on the target reader Reasonable achievement of the task set • All major content points included: some minor omissions • Adequate range of structure and vocabulary, which fulfils the requirements of the task • A number of errors may be present, but they not impede communication • Ideas adequately organized and paragraphed, with simple linking devices • Reasonable, if not always successful attempt at register and format appropriate to purpose and audience Achieves, on the whole, the desired effect on the target reader Task set attempt but not adequately achieved • Some major content points inadequately covered or omitted, and/or some irrelevant material • Limited range of structure and vocabulary • A number of errors, which distract the reader and may obscure communication at times • Ideas inadequately organized and paragraphed; linking devices rarely used • Unsuccessful/inconsistent attempts at appropriate register and format Message not clearly communicated to target reader Poor attempt task set • Notable content omissions and/or considerable irrelevance, possibly due to misinterpretation of task set • Narrow range of vocabulary and structure • Frequent errors which obscure communication; little evidence of language control • Lack of organization; paragraph or linking devices • Little or no awareness of appropriate register and format Very negative effect on the target reader Achieves nothing: too little language for assessment (fewer than 10 words) or totally illegible 104