An investigation into teachers use of vietnamese in teaching english reading comprehension classes at some high schools in dong thap province

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true and have not been published elsewhere Author Vo Thi Tuyet Nga iv ABSTRACT This thesis aims to investigate teacher‟s use of Vietnamese in teaching English reading comprehension classes at five high schools in Dong Thap province The data were collected by means of questionnaires and classroom observations Eighty questionnaires for students of grade ten and forty copies for teachers of English were delivered and returned At the same time, three classroom observations were carried out so that the researcher could get more reliable information for her research The findings showed that all teachers were well aware of the role of Communicative Approach in teaching English However, they could not perform the method successfully because of many challenges such as large classes, multi-leveled knowledge background of students, the design of the reading texts in textbooks, ways of testing and evaluating, lack of teaching facilities and teacher‟s development Based on the findings, it could be seen that participating teachers and students were still in favor of using Vietnamese in teaching English generally and in reading classes particularly v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I am greatly grateful to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Tran Van Phuoc for his professional guidance and material supplies Without his support, this thesis would not be completed Second, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr.Truong Vien for his invaluable suggestion in choosing the topic Third, I wish to express my deep thanks to all the participating teachers and students at five high schools including Thap Muoi, Doc Binh Kieu, Cao Lanh 2, Truong Xuan and Phu Dien for their help during the time I carried out this investigation Lastly, I would like to send my heartfelt thanks to all of my relatives, my parents, my husband, my daughter, and my siblings for their encouragement which helped me overcome obstacles during the time I was working on this thesis vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Page SUB COVER PAGE ivii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP iv ABSTRACT v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi TABLE OF CONTENTS vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xi LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………… xi CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION .1 1.1 Background of the research .1 1.2 Rationale of the study 1.3 Research aims 1.4 Research scope 1.5 Research significance 1.6 Structure of the thesis CHAPTER 2- LITERATURE REVIEW ……………5 2.1 Literature review 2.1.1 Definition of the first language (L1) or mother tongue (MT) 2.1.2 Historical background of L1 in foreign language teaching methodologies .5 2.1.3 The Role of L1 in EFL context 2.1.4 Reading Comprehension and The Importance of Reading Comprehension .7 vii 2.1.5 The use of L1 in teaching a receptive skill - reading comprehension .9 2.2 Previous studies .10 2.2.1 In foreign countries 10 2.2.2 In Vietnam 12 2.3 Chapter Summary 13 CHAPTER 3- METHODOLOGY 14 3.1 Research Methodology 14 3.2 Research Instruments 14 3.2.1 The Questionnaire 14 3.2.2 Class Observations 15 3.3 Participants and Research Site 15 3.4 Data Analysis 16 3.5 Chapter Summary 16 CHAPTER 4- FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 17 4.1.Findings and Discussion 17 4.1.1 Results from questionnaires .17 4.1.2 Discussion of questionnaires 32 4.1.3 Results from class observations .34 4.1.4 Discussion of class observations 38 4.2 Chapter Summary Error! Bookmark not defined CHAPTER 5- CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 39 5.1 Summary of the key findings 39 5.1.1 What are teachers and students‟ perceptions of Vietnamese in teaching and learning English? 39 5.1.2 How has Vietnamese been used in English Reading Classes in five high viii schools in Thap Muoi and Cao Lanh District, Dong Thap province? 40 5.1.3 What are suggestions for using Vietnamese to teach English reading comprehension more effectively and communicatively? 40 5.2 Limitation and suggestion for further research .41 5.3 Chapter Summary 42 REFERENCES 43 APPENDIX CLASSROOM OBSERVATION SHEET 47 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRES 48 APPENDIX RESULTS FROM RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS 66 ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CA: Communicative Approach EFL: English as a foreign language ELT: English language teaching ESL: English as a second language L1: first language, mother tongue L2: second language GTM Grammar Translation Method x LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 Responses to question of the questionnaire 18 Figure 4.2 Responses to question of the questionnaire 18 Figure 4.3 Responses to question of the questionnaire 19 Figure 4.4 Responses to question of the questionnaire 20 Figure 4.5 Responses to question of the questionnaire 20 Figure 4.6 Responses to question of the questionnaireError! Bookmark not Bookmark not defined Figure 4.7 Responses to question of the questionnaireError! defined Figure 4.8 Responses to question of the questionnaire 23 Figure 4.9 Responses to question of the questionnaire 24 Figure 4.10 Responses to question 10 of the questionnaire 25 Figure 4.11 Responses to question 11 of the questionnaire 26 Figure 4.12 Responses to question 12 of the questionnaire 26 Figure 4.13 Responses to question 13 of the questionnaire 27 Figure 4.14 Responses to question 14 of the questionnaire 28 Figure 4.15 Responses to question 15 of the questionnaire 28 Figure 4.16 Responses to question 16 of the questionnaire 29 Figure 4.17 Responses to question 17 of the questionnaire 30 Figure 4.18 Responses to question 18 of the questionnaireError! Bookmark not defined Figure 4.19 Results from classroom observations 35 xi xii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the research There have always been contradicting views about whether to use the mother tongue of the students in the foreign language classroom The monolingual approach suggests that the target language ought to be the sole medium of communication, implying the prohibition of the native language would maximize the effectiveness of learning the target language Krashen (1981), a proponent of the monolingual approach argued that people learning foreign languages follow basically the same route as they acquire their mother tongue, therefore, the use of the mother tongue in the learning process should be minimized However, this degradation of mother tongue has harmful psychological effects on learners (Nation 1990) Auerbach (1993) not only acknowledged the positive role of the mother tongue in the classroom but also identified the following uses for it: classroom management, language analysis, presenting grammatical rules, discussing cultural diversities, giving instructions or prompts, explaining errors, and checking for comprehension Similarly, Le (2004) said that there are some misconceptions about foreign language teaching methodology One of these misconceptions is “good communicative teaching avoids using mother tongue in the classroom” According to Le (2004), general recommendations for not using the mother tongue in the classroom were originated in the world of multilingual classes in the target language environment In such a situation, it is not only desirable to use the target language at all time, it is, for most part, essential, given the mixed linguistic background of the learners This situation does not apply; however, to the vast majority of foreign language classes around the world where both the teacher and the learners share a common linguistic background The use of the mother tongue in a monolingual class has some obvious advantages First, there are occasions where short cuts can be used to provide a quick and accurate translation of a word that might take several Question 11 How much percentage of time have you used Vietnamese to teach an English reading class? „ 0-25% „25-50% „50-75% „75-100% Question 12 In Pre-reading stage, what have you used Vietnamese for? You can choose more than one answer „ Controlling class „ Checking old lesson „ Leading to new lesson „ Other ideas( please specify)……………………………… Question 13 In While-reading stage, what have you used Vietnamese for? You can choose more than one answer „ Controlling class „ Explaining task‟s instruction „ Chatting to draw students‟ attention to prevent their mind-wandering „ Supplying more vocabulary for students in need of new words „ Explaining cultural differences „ Check students‟ understanding while they are reading „ Other ideas( please specify)……………………………………… Question 14 In Post-reading stage, what have you used English for? You can choose more than one answer „ Summarizing the main content „ Helping students to translate the text into L1 „ Getting and respond to students‟ instant feedback „ Other ideas( please specify)……………………………… Question 15 In your opinion, for what intention have you taken advantage of using Vietnamese in teaching English reading? You can choose more than one answer „ Explain new words or phrases „ Help students to understand the main content „ Fulfill the need of the learners 51 „ Encourage students with learning difficulties „ Other ideas( please specify)………………………………… Question 16 In your opinion, what benefits have students had in learning English reading comprehension with teacher’s use of Vietnamese? You can choose more than one answer „ Help students understand the reading lessons better „ Help students reduce stress „ Help students overcome personal problems „ Respond to teacher‟s requests faster „ Other ideas( please specify)…………………………… Question 17 In your opinion, what are the disadvantages of teacher’s use of Vietnamese in teaching English reading? You can choose more than one answer „ Students cannot develop their reading skills „ Students depend on translation „ Students not fully understand the author‟s ideas „ Students not have opportunities to improve other learning skills „ Other ideas( please specify)…………………………… Question 18 In your opinion, how much percentage of the reading lesson’s content can students understand with teacher’s use of Vietnamese? „ 0-25% „ 25-50% „ 50-75% „ 75-100% C.SOLUTIONS 19 In your opinion, what should teachers to help teaching English reading comprehension with the use of Vietnamese more communicatively and effectively? (From your personal teaching experience, please specify) ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 52 20 In your opinion, what should students to help learning English reading comprehension with the use of Vietnamese more communicatively and effectively? (From your personal teaching experience, please specify) ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION! THE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (English Version) This questionnaire aims at finding the reality of teacher‟s use of Vietnamese in teaching English reading comprehension classes at some high schools in Dong Thap province Your answers play a very important part in the success of my thesis The results are only used for the research not for any other purposes Please put a ð in the box you choose and supply the answer to the open- ended questions In some questions, you can choose more than one answer You can choose more than one answer for the questions numbers 9,10,12,13,14,15,16,17 A.STUDENT’S INFORMATION (optional) 1.Student‟s full name: 2.Class: .School 3.Gender : Male „ Female„ 4.How long have you learnt English? years„ years„ years„ years„ years„ Your present class size: students RESEARCH QUESTIONS A.STUDENT’S PERCEPTION OF THE ROLE OF VIETNAMESE IN TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH Question 1: The use of Vietnamese is necessary in EFL in Vietnamese context „ I strongly disagree „ I disagree „ I have no idea 53 „ I agree „ I strongly agree Question Teacher’s use of Vietnamese facilitates both teaching and learning English „ I strongly disagree „ I disagree „ I have no ideas „ I agree „ I strongly agree Question The role of Vietnamese in teaching English reading comprehension is important „ I strongly disagree „ I disagree „ I have no ideas „ I agree „ I strongly agree Question Teacher’s use of Vietnamese reduces time consumed „ I strongly disagree „ I disagree „ I have no ideas „ I agree „ I strongly agree Question Vietnamese does not help students learn and improve different skills and strategies to comprehend English „ I strongly disagree „ I disagree „ I have no ideas „ I agree „ I strongly agree 54 Question Teacher’s use of Vietnamese in English reading classes reduces students’ opportunities of using English „ I strongly disagree „ I disagree „ I have no ideas „ I agree „ I strongly agree Question Teacher’s use of Vietnamese makes students depend on translation all the time „ I strongly disagree „ I disagree „ I have no ideas „ I agree „ I strongly agree Question Vietnamese should be used in English reading classes „ I strongly disagree „ I disagree „ I have no ideas „ I agree „ I strongly agree Question What are general reasons for teacher’s use of Vietnamese in teaching English reading comprehension classes? You can choose more than one answer „ Motivate students‟ efforts in understanding the reading texts „ Monitor class‟s activities easily „ Help difficult students in learning reading „ Shorten the time of explaining difficult and abstract words or ideas „ Translate idioms into Vietnamese B.REALITY OF YOUR TEACHER’S USE 55 OF VIETNAMESE IN TEACHING ENGLISH READING CLASSES Question 10 In which stages of teaching reading has your teacher used Vietnamese? You can choose more than one answer „ Pre-reading „ While-reading „ Post-reading „ All of them Question 11 How much percentage of time has your teacher used Vietnamese to teach an English reading class? „ 0-25% „25-50% „50-75% „75-100% Question 12 In Pre-reading stage, what has the teacher used Vietnamese for? You can choose more than one answer „ Controlling class „ Checking old lesson „ Leading to new lesson „ Other ideas( please specify)………………………………… Question 13 In While-reading stage, what has your teacher used Vietnamese for? You can choose more than one answer „ Controlling class „ Explaining task‟s instruction „ Chatting to draw students‟ attention to prevent their mind-wandering „ Supplying more vocabulary for students in need of new words „ Explaining cultural differences „ Check students‟ understanding while they are reading „ Other ideas( please specify)…………………………………… Question 14 In Post-reading stage, what has your teacher used English for? You can choose more than one answer „ Summarizing the main content „ Helping students to translate the text into L1 „ Getting and respond to students‟ instant feedback „ Other ideas( please specify)………………………… 56 Question 15 In your opinion, what intention has your teacher taken advantage of using Vietnamese in teaching English reading? You can choose more than one answer „ Explain new words or phrases „ Help students to understand the main content „ Fulfill the need of the learners „ Encourage students with learning difficulties „ Other ideas( please specify)……………………………… Question 16 In your opinion, what benefits have students had in learning English reading comprehension with teacher’s use of Vietnamese? „ Help students understand the reading lessons „ Help students reduce stress „ Help students overcome personal problems „ Respond to teacher‟s requests faster „ Other ideas( please specify)………………………………… Question 17 In your opinion, what are the disadvantages of teacher’s use of Vietnamese in teaching English reading? „ Students cannot develop their reading skills „ Students depend on translation „ Students not fully understand the author‟s ideas „ Students not have opportunities to improve other learning skills „ Other ideas( please specify)…………………………………………… Question 18 In your opinion, how much percentage of the English reading lesson’s content can students understand with teacher’ use of Vietnamese? „ 0-25% „ 25-50% „ 50-75% „ 75-100% C.SOLUTIONS 19 In your opinion, what should teachers to help teaching English reading comprehension with the use of Vietnamese more communicatively and effectively? 57 (From your personal learning experience, please specify) ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 20 In your opinion, what students to help learning English reading comprehension with the use of Vietnamese more communicatively and effectively? (From your personal learning experience, please specify) ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION! B NG C U H I D NH CHO HOC SINH (Vietnamese version) ng c u h i n y nh m t m hi u th c t vi c gi o vi n s dung ti ng Vi t gi ng d y c hi u ti ng Anh m t s tr tr l i c a c c em s ch d ng cho m c cn okh c H y ng THPT t nh ng Th p C u ch nghi n c u, kh ng v b t k m t m c nh d u ð v o c u tr l i em cho l ng v tr l i c c c u h i m Trong c c c u h i s 9,10,12,13,14,15,16,17, c c em c th ch n nhi u h n m t c u tr l i A TH NG TIN V H C SINH (kh ng b t bu c) 1.H t n h c sinh 2.L p: .Tr 3.Gi i t nh : Em năm„ ng Nam „ h c ti ng Anh năm„ N „ c bao l u năm„ năm „ S h c sinh l p em : h c sinh C U H I NGHI N C U 58 năm„ A QUAN NI M C A EM V VAI TR C A TI NG VI T TRONG D Y V H C TI NG ANH C u h i : Vi c s d ng ti ng Vi t th c n thi t cho vi c d ti ng Anh Vi t Nam „ T i ho n to n kh ng „ T i kh ng ng „ T i kh ng c „T i ng ki n ng „ T i ho n to n ng C u h i 2: Vi c gi o vi n s d ng ti ng Vi t gi p d v h c ti ng Anh d d ng „ T i ho n to n kh ng „ T i kh ng ng „ T i kh ng c „T i ng ki n ng „ T i ho n to n ng C u h i : Vai tr c a ti ng Anh d „ T i ho n to n kh ng „ T i kh ng ng ng „ T i kh ng c „T i c hi u ti ng Anh th quan tr ng ki n ng „ T i ho n to n ng C u h i 4: Vi c s d ng ti ng Anh c a gi o vi n gi p ti t ki m th i gian gi i th ch b ng ti ng Anh „ T i ho n to n kh ng „ T i kh ng ng „ T i kh ng c „T i ng ki n ng „ T i ho n to n ng 59 C u h i : Vi c s d ng ti ng Vi t b i d ph t tri n c c k n ng kh c v chi n l „ T i ho n to n kh ng „ T i kh ng c h c Anh v n ng ng „ T i kh ng c „T i c hi u kh ng gi p h c sinh ki n ng „ T i ho n to n ng C u h i 6: Vi c s d ng ti ng Vi t c a gi o vi n l p l m gi m i h i s d ng ti ng Anh c a hoc sinh „ T i ho n to n kh ng „ T i kh ng ng „ T i kh ng c „T i ng ki n ng „ T i ho n to n ng C u h i 7:Vi c s d ng ti ng Vi t c a gi o vi n l m cho h c sinh ph thu c v o vi c d ch sang ti ng Vi t c a gi o vi n „ T i ho n to n kh ng „ T i kh ng ng „ T i kh ng c „T i ng ki n ng „ T i ho n to n ng C u h i 8: Ti ng Vi t n n „ T i ho n to n kh ng „ T i kh ng c hi u ng ng „ T i kh ng c „T i c s d ng d ki n ng „ T i ho n to n ng C u h i 9: Nh ng l t ng qu t hi u ti ng Anh l g gi o vi n s d ng ti ng Vi t d Em c th ch n nhi u m t c u tr l i „ Gi p h c sinh n l c h n t m hi u b i 60 c c „ Qu n l c c ho t ng l p d d ng h n „ Gi p c c em h c y u h c c „ Gi p ti t ki m th i gian gi i th ch c c t , c m t kh ho c c t ngh tr u ng „ Gi p h c sinh d ch sang ti ng Vi t c c c m t ho c B TH C T C A VI C S c ngh a th nh ng D NG TI NG VI T TRONG D Y CÁC LỚP C HI U TI NG ANH C A GIÁO VI N TRONG CÁC TRƯỜNG PHỔ TH NG C uh i : giai o n n o c a b i h c gi o vi n s d ng ti ng Vi t d c hi u Anh V n Em c th ch n nhi u m t c u tr l i „ Tr c c „ Trong c „ Sau c „ T t c c c giai o n tr n C uh i : Bao nhi u ph n tr m th i gian m t ti t d c hi u Anh v n gi o vi n c a em d ng ti ng Vi t „ 0-25% „25-50% C u h i 2: Trong giai o n Tr Vi t l mg „50-75% c „75-100% c gi o vi n c a em s d ng ti ng Em c th ch n nhi u m t c u tr l i „ Qu n l l p „ Ki m tra b i c „ Gi i thi u b i m i „ ki n kh c C uh i Vi t : Trong giai o n Trong l mg c gi o vi n c a em s d ng ti ng Em c th ch n nhi u m t c u tr l i „ Qu n l l p „ Gi i th ch y u c u c a c c b i t p theo sau b i 61 c „ N i chuy n v i h c sinh trung thu h t c c em v i b i c, ngăn ch n vi c m t t p c „ Cung c p th m t v ng cho h c sinh y u „ Gi i th ch s kh c v văn h a gi a ti ng Anh v ti ng Vi t „ Ki m tra m c „ hi u bi t c a h c sinh ang ki n kh c C u h i 4: Trong giai o n sau l mg c gi o vi n c a em s d ng ti ng Vi t Em c th ch n nhi u m t c u tr l i „T mt tl i ch nh b i c „ Gi p h c sinh d ch b i „ Nh n ph n h i v ph n h i l i „ c c sang ti ng Vi t ki n c a h c sinh sau c ki n kh c C uh i :Theo em v gi o vi n s d ng ti ng Vi t d c hi u ti ng Anh Em c th ch n nhi u m t c u tr l i „ Gi i th ch t , c m t m i „ Gi p h c sinh hi u „ c ch nh c a b i c p l i nhu c u c a h c sinh „ Khuy n kh ch h c sinh y u „ ki n kh c C u h i 6: Theo em h c sinh c Vi t h c c l i ch g gi o vi n s d ng ti ng c hi u ti ng Anh Em c th ch n nhi u m t c u tr l i „ H c sinh hi u b i c d d ng h n „ Gi p h c sinh gi m p l c h c c „ Gi p c c em h c y u theo k p c c b n kh c „ Ph n h i l i y u c u c a gi o vi n nhanh h n „ ki n kh c C u h i 7: Theo em vi c gi o vi n s d ng ti ng Vi t d Anh v n c nh ng b t l i g Em c th ch n nhi u m t c u tr l i „ H c sinh kh ng th ph t tri n c c k 62 c c hi u „ H c sinh l thu c v o vi c d ch sang ti ng Vi t „ H c sinh kh ng th hi u c nguy n t c gi qua l i d ch c a gi o vi n „ H c sinh kh ng c c h i ph t tri n c c k kh c „ ki n kh c C u 8: Theo em bao nhi u ph n tr m n i dung b i sinh c th hi u c gi o vi n s d ng ti ng Vi t „ 0-25% C NH NG D Y c hi u ti ng Anh h c „ 25-50% „ 50-75% NGH C A EM V VI C S „ 75-100% D NG TI NG VI C TRONG C HI U TI NG ANH C A GIÁO VI N C u 9: Theo em gi o vi n n n l m g d ng ti ng Vi t d c hi u ti ng Anh m t c ch c hi u qu v c t nh giao ti p ( T kinh nghi m b n th n em h c nh v n, xin h y vui l ng ghi r ) ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Theo em h c sinh n n l m g gi p gi p vi c h c c hi u ti ng Anh v i s c a ti ng Vi t m t c ch c hi u qu v c t nh giao ti p ( T kinh nghi m b n th n em h c nh v n, xin h y vui l ng ghi r ) ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… C M NS H P T C C A C C EM APPENDIX RESULTS FROM CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS 4.1 Results from class observations Purpose of using Vietnamese Controlling class Teacher Teacher 63 Teacher Tota l Explaining instructions Explaining meanings of words Explaining complex ideas 20 Explaining complex grammar rules 3 Explaining pronunciation mistakes/errors 1 Explaining cultural differences 2 Giving instant feedback 1 Checking comprehension after reading 32 20 12 64 Total 64 65