Nhận thức về phát triển tri năng ngữ dụng cho người học tiếng anh của sinh viên chuyên ngành sư phạm tiếng anh tại trường đại học ngoại ngữ huế

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES TRUONG THI QUYNH TRANG AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFL TEACHER STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF DEVELOPING PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE FOR EFL LEARNERS AT HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2016 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES TRUONG THI QUYNH TRANG AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFL TEACHER STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF DEVELOPING PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE FOR EFL LEARNERS AT HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11 SUPERVISOR: ASSOC.PROF.DR PHAM THI HONG NHUNG HUE, 2016 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ TRƯƠNG THỊ QUỲNH TRANG KHẢO SÁT NHẬN THỨC VỀ PHÁT TRIỂN TRI NĂNG NGỮ DỤNG CHO NGƯỜI HỌC TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN CHUYÊN NGÀNH SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.14.01.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: PGS.TS PHẠM THỊ HỒNG NHUNG HUẾ, 2016 ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Date: / / 2016 Signature Truong Thi Quynh Trang iii ABSTRACT This study investigates EFL teacher students‘ perceptions of developing pragmatic competence for EFL learners at Hue University of Foreign Languages It was carried out in order to collect information about EFL teacher students‘ perspectives of pragmatic competence, of its significance and the importance of developing pragmatic competence for EFL learners as well as their views and understanding of methods that can be used to develop pragmatic competence development for their future EFL learners A combination of both qualitative and quantitative approaches was used in this study In order to collect the data for the research, 100 fourth year teacher students from Hue University of Foreign Languages were invited to take part inthe study Questionnaire and interview were used as data collection tools The results from the questionnaires were affirmed through interviews with open questions for 20 selected students Results from the data analysis have shown that the students were partially aware of the important role of pragmatic competence in communication However, the perception of pragmatic competence was not complete and they found that they mostly could not apply this knowledge in real life communication Besides, the study also found that students considered task-based activities and usage of authentic materials as being most essential methods to develop pragmatic competence From the findings of the study, some pedagogical implications were made to improve the quality of English language teaching and learning, especially pragmatic competence development for English language students iv Acknowledgements I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to a number of people, without whose support and involvement, this thesis would not have been completed Firstly, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Assoc.Prof.Dr, Pham Thi Hong Nhung, for her continuous support, encouragement, patience, dedication and critical comments throughout the course of writing this thesis Secondly, I would like to thank my close friends in MA course at Hue University of Foreign Languages for their enthusiasm and kindness to me The data collection for my thesis would not be possible without the willing participation of the fourth-year teacher students at Hue University of Foreign Languages I greatly appreciate their generosity with their time and efforts in filling the questionnaire and cooperating in my interviews Last but not least, my gratitude is extended to my family for their endless love and continuous encouragement v TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Pages Statement of originality iii Abstract iv Acknowledgements v Table of contents vi List of abbreviations ix List of tables .x List of figures xi CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study 1.2 Rationale of the study 1.3 Research aims 1.4 Research Questions 1.5 Research significance 1.6 Research organization CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definitions of key terms 2.1.1 Pragmatics 2.1.2 Pragmatic competence 2.1.3 Illocutionary competence and Sociolinguistic competence 10 2.2 The significance of pragmatic competence for EFL learners 11 2.3 The need for pragmatic competence instruction in EFL classrooms .12 2.4 Development of pragmatic competence for EFL learners .14 2.4.1 Development levels of pragmatic competence of L2 learners .14 2.4.2 Teacher‘s roles in EFL learner‘s pragmatic competence development 17 2.4.3 Challenges of pragmatic competence development in EFL classrooms 18 vi 2.5 Methods for enhancing EFL learners‘ pragmatic competence 19 2.5.1 Raising learners‘ pragmatic awareness 20 2.5.2 Practicing learners‘ L2 communicative abilities 22 2.6 Previous relevant studies .23 2.6.1 Overseas studies .23 2.6.2 Studies in Vietnam 24 2.7 Summary 26 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 27 3.1 Research approach 27 3.2 Data collection methods .28 3.2.1 Participants .28 3.2.2 Data collection instruments 29 3.3 Data analysis 31 3.4 Procedure .31 3.5 Summary 32 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 33 4.1 EFL teacher students‘ perceptions of pragmatic competence and its significance 33 4.1.1 EFL teacher students‘ perceptions of pragmatic competence 33 4.1.2 EFL teacher students‘ perceptions of pragmatic competence significance .36 4.2 EFL teacher students‘ perceptions of methods to develop pragmatic competence for EFL learners 42 4.2.1 EFL teacher students‘ understanding of factors which may lead to EFL learners‘ pragmatic failure 42 4.2.2 EFL teacher students‘ understandings of methods to develop pragmatic competence for EFL learners 43 CHAPTER CONCLUSION .46 5.1 Summary of the major findings .46 vii 5.2 Implications for English language education 50 5.2.1 For EFL students 50 5.2.2 For EFL teachers 50 5.2.3 For EFL teacher trainers 51 5.2.4 For EFL methodology book writers .52 5.3 Limitations of the study 52 5.4 Recommendations for further research 52 REFERENCES 53 APPENDICES 57 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT: Communicative Language Teaching Approach EFL: English as a Foreign Language ELT: English Language Teaching L1: First Language L2: Second Language MOET: Ministry of Education and Training ix  Very important  Important  Neutral  Not very important  Unimportant What you think about the role of pragmatic competence in the overall communicative competence? Please put a tick () in the box which best represents your opinions for each statement Strongly Statements disagree a It is an important component in EFL communicative competence b It enables speakers to appropriately use language in an EFL context c It is closely connected to grammatical competence build a to successful communication d It enables comprehend, speakers construct, to and convey meanings that are both accurate and appropriate for the social and cultural circumstances in which communication occurs e It solves problems the caused miscommunication potential by the and 59 Disagree Uncertain Agree Strongly agree misunderstanding in an EFL communication Other ideas: What is the purpose of developing pragmatic competence for learners in EFL classrooms? Please put a tick () in the appropriate box Many choicesare acceptable  To emphasize the importance of language use rather than language knowledge in an EFL context  To help EFL learners become familiar with language in use and practices in the target language communication  To make EFL learners more sensitive to interpreter the intentional meanings in intercultural interaction  To make EFL learners proficient in reacting to the speakers with an effective and comprehensive way  To encourage EFL learners enjoy insights into the target culture of which the pragmatic norms only can explain  Other ideas………………………………………………………………… To what extent is it important for EFL teachers to achieve the pragmatic competence? Please put a tick () in the appropriate box  Very important  Important  Neutral  Not very important  Unimportant 60 What should be done to develop pragmatic competence for EFL learners? Please put a tick () in the appropriate box You may tick more than one option  Using authentic materials for providing pragmatic knowledge to learners  Encouraging students to think how a speech act among everyday situations functions  Helping them to realize similarities and differences between their L1 and L2 which would make students gain pragmatic understanding of the L2  Designing task-based activities such as role-play, drama, etc in which learners would broaden pragmatic input and produce appropriate output  Incorporating the socio-cultural information into EFL curriculum or textbooks to equip learners the socio-cultural knowledge of the target community  Other ideas What factors may lead to EFL learners’ pragmatic failure? Please put a tick () in the appropriate box You may tick more than one option  Concentration on teacher-centered teaching  Lack of authentic materials  Teaching English without considering the cultural differences  Evaluation system is mainly oriented to linguistic competence not communicative one  Grammatical competence is more preferential than pragmatic competence  Other ideas 61 Ranking the following methods from least important to most important that you think should be used to develop pragmatic competence for EFL learners? Methods The least Less The most Undecided Important important important important a Using authentic materials for providingpragmatical knowledgeto learners b Encouraging students to think how a speech act among everyday situations functions c Helping them to realize similarities and differences between their L1 and L2 which would make students gain pragmatic understanding of the L2 d Designing task-based activities such as role-play, drama, etc in which learners would broaden pragmatic input and appropriate output produce e Incorporating the sociocultural information into EFL curriculum or textbooks to equip learners the sociocultural knowledge of the target community Other ideas: THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION! 62 APPENDIX B INTERVIEW QUESTIONS What is pragmatic competence? Give me some examples of somebody who lacks pragmatic competence? What is the significance of developing pragmatic competence? Can a person communicate well without pragmatic competence? Will you develop pragmatic competence for your future students? Why or Why not? Do you know how to develop pragmatic competence for your future students? What methods you will use and why? CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN Tri ngữ dụng (pragmatic competence) gì? Bạn đưa số ví dụ người thiếu tri ngữ dụng? Bạn có nghĩ việc phát triển tri ngữ dụng cho người học tiếng Anh quan trọng khơng? Tại có khơng? Trong tương lai, bạn có phát triển tri ngữ dụng cho học sinh bạn khơng? Tại có khơng? Trong tương lai, bạn làm để phát triển tri ngữ dụng cho học sinh bạn? Bạn sử dụng phương pháp bạn lại sử dụng chúng? 63 APPENDIX C INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTIONS Question 1:What is pragmatic competence? Give me some examples of somebody who lacks pragmatic competence? Student 1:Pragmatic competence is a branch of linguistic concerned with the use of language in social contexts and the ways in which people comprehend meanings and produce interactions I have an example of a student who lacks pragmatic competence is that there are two friends in a conversation A asks B: “Do you like ice-cream?; B replies : “ Is the Pope Catholic?” A surprisingly asks: “Sorry?”In this situation, B mentions to a British ice-cream company of which advertisement relating to Catholics and suddenly causes a misunderstanding for A Student 2:In my opinion, Pragmatic competence is the ability of exchange the language between people Uhm….I have no idea for examples of somebody who lacks Pragmatic competence Student 3:Well…I think that Pragmatic competence is the ability of using language competence in communication I not have any examples Student 4:In my opinion, Pragmatic competence is the way that people use to communicate in oral language An example of the lack of Pragmatic competence is as follow: Hoa asked Lan: “Why didn‟t you go to school yesterday?”,Lan replied: „ I was tired” Student 5:I think that Pragmatic competence is a branch of linguistic concerned with the use of language in social contexts and the ways in which people comprehend meanings by language If a listener lacks Pragmatic competence, she/he will not interpret appropriately speaker‟s meaning in specific context, for example, a husband is watching TV in a quite high volume, his wife suddenly complains: “I really have a headache” The husband asks: “Let take a rest on the bed, I‟m going to take some pill for you now” 64 Student 6:In my opinion, Pragmatic competence means the ability to use English in different situations and contexts I have an example about the lack of Pragmatic competence is that student A asked student B for an assistance “Can you pass the box to me?” student B answered “Yes, I can” Student 7:As I mentioned in the questionnaire, Pragmatic competence may be the competence we use in the daily communication It tends to be the practicality of using communicative English I have no for examples of somebody who lacks Pragmatic competence Student 8:Sorry,I not remember what Pragmatic competence is Student 9:Pragmatic competence is the ability and knowledge to understand the situation and to deal with the situation to meet the requirement in communication I not have any examples Student 10:I think Pragmatic competence is the ability and knowledge to understand and deal with language problems in a communicative situation I have no for examples of somebody who lacks Pragmatic competence Student 11:Pragmatic competence is the ability to use language in contextually appropriate fashion It is a fundamental aspect of a more general communicative competence I have no for examples of somebody who lacks Pragmatic competence Student 12:Pragmatic competence is the ability to using language in a contextually appropriate fashion I not have any examples Student 13:Pragmatic competence is the ability to produce speech acts in communication, to understand situations in communication I not have any examples Student 14:I not have any idea of Pragmatic competence Student 15:Pragmatic competence is the way in which a speaker makes an utterance to deal with specific context and listener I have no for examples of somebody who lacks Pragmatic competence 65 Student 16:Pragmatic competence is a way in which context contributes to meaning I have no for examples of somebody who lacks Pragmatic competence Student 17:Pragmatic competence refers to the ability to use language appropriately in different social situation.An example of a speaker who lacks Pragmatic competence is that a teacher asked her student to spell the word “Mouse”, the student spelled: “M-O-U-S”; then, the teacher asked: “What‟s the end of “Mouse”?, the student replied: “It‟s a tail” Student 18:I cannot remember what Pragmatic competence is Student 19:I think Pragmatic competence is a very important component in communicative competence; it is the ability producing speech acts in communication I not have any examples Student 20:Pragmatic competence is the ability of exchanging language between speakers and listeners; it relates to aspects of culture, geography, country.An example of a speaker who lacks Pragmatic competence is that Mrs Mary asked Mrs Nancy: “How often you go to supermarket?”, Mrs Nancy replied: “I will check my calendar” Question 2: What is the significance of developing pragmatic competence? Can a person communicate well without pragmatic competence? Student 1: I think the development of Pragmatic competence is very significant for learner‟s communicative competence This gives learner good opportunities practicing communicative skills, minimizing cases of misunderstanding in communication Therefore, a person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence Student 2:In my opinion, a person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence because it helps us avoid a misunderstanding and conflict during communication Development of Pragmatic competence is very important for English language learners 66 Student 3:I think the development of Pragmatic competence is very significant because it helps EFL learners become familiar with language in use and practices in the target language communication Therefore, a person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence Student 4:It is very significant to develop EFL learners‟ pragmatic competence because pragmatic competence is one of components for improving communicative competence A person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence Student 5:I am neutral about this It might be necessary or might be not as long as learner‟s language skills are good Student 6: I think the development of Pragmatic competence is very significant for learner‟s communicative competence This minimizes cases of misunderstanding in communication Therefore, a person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence Student 7: I think the development of Pragmatic competence is very significant and a person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence because it enables speakers to comprehend meanings, solve the problems caused by the misunderstanding in an EFL communication Student 8:It is very significant to develop EFL learners‟ pragmatic competence because pragmatic competence is one of components for improving communicative competence A person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence Student 9:In my opinion, a person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence because it helps us avoid a misunderstanding and conflict during communication Development of Pragmatic competence is very important for English language learners Student 10:I believe that the development of Pragmatic competence is very significant for learner‟s communicative competence This minimizes cases of misunderstanding in communication Therefore, a person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence 67 Student 11:It is very significant to develop EFL learners‟ pragmatic competence because pragmatic competence helps us avoid the misunderstanding during the communication as well as makes us sensitive to use language appropriately with certain context” and so improve communicative competence Student 12:I am neutral about this Student 13:It is very significant to develop EFL learners‟ pragmatic competence because pragmatic competencehelps EFL learners become familiar with language in use and practices in the target language communication A person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence Student 14:In my opinion, a person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence because it helps us avoid a misunderstanding and miscommunication Development of Pragmatic competence is very important for English language learners Student 15:I am neutral about this Student 16:It is very significant to develop EFL learners‟ pragmatic competence because pragmatic competence is one of components for improving communicative competence A person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence Student 17:I think the development of Pragmatic competence is very significant for learner‟s communicative competence This enables speakers to use English appropriately in an EFL context Therefore, a person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence Student 18:I think the development of Pragmatic competence is very significant because it helps EFL learners become familiar with language in use and practices in the target language communication Therefore, a person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence Student 19:It is very significant to develop EFL learners‟ pragmatic competence because pragmatic competencehelps EFL learners become familiar with language in use A person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence 68 Student 20:I think the development of Pragmatic competence is very significant and a person cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence because it enables speakers to comprehend meanings and avoid the misunderstanding in an EFL communication Question 3: Will you develop pragmatic competence for your future students? Why or Why not? Student 1:Yes, I will because Pragmatic competence is very significant for learner‟s communicative competence This gives learner good opportunities practicing communicative skills, minimizing cases of misunderstanding in communication Student 2:Yes, I will because it helps learner avoid a misunderstanding and conflict during communication Student 3: Yes, I will because Pragmatic competence helps EFL learners become familiar with language in use and practices in the target language communication Student 4:Yes, I will because Pragmatic competence is one of components for improving communicative competence A learner cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence Student 5: Yes, I will because it helps learner avoid a misunderstanding and conflict during communication Student 6: Yes, I will because it helps learner minimize the misunderstanding in communication Student 7: Yes, I will because Pragmatic competence enables learners to comprehend meanings, solve the problems caused by the misunderstanding in an EFL communication Student 8:Yes, I will because Pragmatic competence is one of components for improving communicative competence A learner cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence 69 Student 9:Yes, I will because development of Pragmatic competence is very important for English language learners Student 10:Yes, I will because it helps learner avoid a misunderstanding and conflict during communication Development of Pragmatic competence not only improves learners‟ grammatical language but also their language in use Student 11:Yes, I will because Pragmatic competence helps learners avoid the misunderstanding during the communication as well as makes us sensitive to use language appropriately with certain context Student 12:Yes, I will because it helps learner avoid a misunderstanding and conflict during communication Student 13: Yes, I will because Pragmatic competencehelps EFL learners become familiar with language in use and practices in the target language communication Student 14:Yes, I will because Pragmatic competence because developing Pragmatic competence is very important for English language learners Student 15:Yes, I will because Pragmatic competence enables learners to comprehend meanings, solve the problems caused by the misunderstanding in an EFL communication Student 16:Yes, I will because a learner cannot communicate well without pragmatic competence Student 17:Yes, I will because Pragmatic competence enables speakers to use English appropriately in an EFL context Student 18:I will try to develop pragmatic competence for my students and so I will create anEnglish-speaking context, even in the classroom where they can practice language skills, be familiar with pragmatic failures and how to solve them Then, my students will be more confident in English communication, especially in intercultural contexts 70 Student 19:Yes, I will because development of Pragmatic competencemakes EFL learners more sensitive to interpret the intentional meanings in intercultural interaction Student 20:Yes, I will because development of Pragmatic competenceenables learners to comprehend meanings and avoid the misunderstanding in an EFL communication Question 4: Do you know how to develop pragmatic competence for your future students? What methods you will use and why? Student 1:I will offer my future students as much as English listening and speaking practices in order to help them be aware of language in use as real contexts and improve their Pragmatic competence Student 2:I‟m not sure but I will try to find the best way for that Student 3:I will try to show communicative situations, ask my students to find problems caused by misunderstanding and ways to solve them Student 4:I will carry out many activities such as role- play, sitcom to teachcombination of language and culture in order to enhance learners‟ Pragmatic competence in intercultural communication Student 5: I will design task-based activities such as role-play, drama, and so on in which learners would broaden pragmatic input and produce appropriate output Student 6: I will apply authentic materials for providing pragmatic knowledge to learners Student 7: I will let my students practice English communicative skills as much as possible Student 8:I think it would be great if teachers hold seminars or clubs guiding Pragmatic competence for students Student 9:I will suggest for designing English assessments that will be concentratedon examiningboth learners‟ grammatical competence and language in use 71 Student 10:I will carry out many activities such as role- play, sitcom to teach combination of language and culture in order to enhance learners‟ Pragmatic competence in intercultural communication Student 11:I will apply authentic materials for providing pragmatic knowledge to learners Student 12:I will provide my future students as much as English listening and speaking practices in order to help them be aware of language in use as real contexts and improve their Pragmatic competence Student 13:I will offer my future students as much as English listening and speaking practices in order to help them be aware of language in use as real contexts and improve their Pragmatic competence Student 14:I will create as much as opportunities practicing pragmatic competence for my students They will have chances to participate in activities such as role-play, drama, cross-cultural knowledge contest and so on Student 15:I will design task-based activities such as role-play, drama, and so on in which learners would broaden pragmatic input and produce appropriate output Student 16:I will find many authentic materials for providing pragmatic knowledge to learners Student 17:I will apply many activities such as role- play, sitcom, and films to teach combination of language and culture in order to enhance learners‟ Pragmatic competence in intercultural communication Student 18:I will try to develop pragmatic competence for my students and so I will create a English speaking context, even in the classroom where they can practice language skills, be familiar with pragmatic failures and how to solve them Then, my students will be more confident in English communication, especially in intercultural contexts Student 19:I will let my students practice English communicative skills as much as possible 72 Student 20: For my future teaching process, I will create as much as opportunities practicing pragmatic competence for my students They will have chances to participate in activities such as role-play, drama, cross-cultural knowledge contest and so on In order to apply linguistic knowledge, practice daily speech acts in hypothesis contexts Then, they will be able to avoid misunderstandings and gain successful communicative result 73