Perceptions of tefl internship among elf trainee teachers at hcm city university of foreign languages and information technology

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY - HO TRONG NGHIA NHAN PERCEPTIONS OF TEFL INTERNSHIP AMONG EFL TRAINEE TEACHERS AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Major: English Language Course code: 8220201 HO CHI MINH CITY, SEPTEMBER 2020 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY - PERCEPTIONS OF TEFL INTERNSHIP AMONG EFL TRAINEE TEACHERS AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Submitted to the Faculty of English Language in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in English Language Course code: 8220201 By HO TRONG NGHIA NHAN Supervised by NGUYEN DANG NGUYEN, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, SEPTEMBER 2020 The thesis entitled: PERCEPTIONS OF TEFL INTERNSHIP AMONG EFL TRAINEE TEACHERS AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY was successfully defended and approved on ……………… at Hochiminh City University of Technology (HUTECH) Academic supervisor: NGUYEN DANG NGUYEN, Ph.D Examination Committee ……………………………………………………… Chair …………………………………………… ………… Reader ……………………………………………………… Reader ……………………………………………………… Member ……………………………………………………… Secretary Member On behalf of the Examination Committee Chair i HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE HCMC, SEPTEMBER 2020 MASTER’S THESIS REPORT Student name: HO TRONG NGHIA NHAN Sex: Male Date of birth: 04/01/1992 Place of birth: Ho Chi Minh City Major: English Language Student code: 1841900045 I- Thesis title: PERCEPTIONS OF TEFL INTERNSHIP AMONG EFL TRAINEE TEACHERS AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY II- Objectives and contents: This study aims to investigate the perceptions of TEFL internship among trainee teachers at HUFLIT The objectives of this research work is to understand the trainee teachers’ perceptions of the internship programs at HUFLIT The research was conducted at HUFLIT In this study, the participants were fifty senior students from HUFLIT, who were trained in the internship program of the academic year 2019-2020 The results are presented in tables, and the data collected from the survey are shown in percentages This study also informs the discussions of the results and some valuable implications for trainee teachers, trainer teachers, teachers in charge of teaching “ Teaching Methodology”, “Teaching Practice”, and English Language Faculty III- Starting date: 30/03/2020 IV- Completing date: 20/09/2020 ii V- Academic supervisor: NGUYEN DANG NGUYEN, Ph.D ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR FACULTY DEAN (full name, signature) (full name, signature) Nguyễn Đăng Nguyên Nguyễn Thị Kiều Thu iii CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled: PERCEPTIONS OF TEFL INTERNSHIP AMONG EFL TRAINEE TEACHERS AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Faculty of English Language, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology Ho Chi Minh City, September 2020 HO TRONG NGHIA NHAN iv RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, HO TRONG NGHIA NHAN, being a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (English Language) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan, and reproduction for theses Ho Chi Minh City, September 2020 Signature…………………………… HO TRONG NGHIA NHAN v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First, my special thanks are given to my supervisor, Dr Nguyen Dang Nguyen, for his suggestions, guidance, and correction of the thesis paper, all of which has helped me accomplish my research work The time of working with him on the paper has been a good opportunity for me to broaden my knowledge of the English language and my writing skill Second, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu – Dean of the Faculty of English Language of Ho Chi Minh University of Technology (HUTECH) – and all the staff members at the Faculty, for having given me invaluable instructions, assistance, and provided me with all the necessary facilities for me to complete my studies and my graduation paper Third, I would like to extend my warmest thanks to all the lecturers of the Institute for Postgraduate and the Faculty of English Language at HUTECH Finally, I would like to send my gratefulness to Mrs Bui Thi Thanh Truc – Dean of the Foreign Languages Faculty of Ho Chi Minh University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology (HUFLIT) who allowed me to conduct the survey vi ABSTRACT At present, English is used as an international language in most countries all over the world In Vietnam, the English language is taught as the first foreign language in almost all the secondary and high schools The study aims to investigate the perceptions of TEFL internship among EFL trainee teachers at Ho Chi Minh University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology More specifically, this study investigates the perceptions of 50 TEFL trainee teachers from the Department of Foreign Languages at Ho Chi Minh University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology involved in the TEFL internship program Quantitative data was gathered from the questionnaire and analyzed to evaluate trainee teachers’ opinions to find out their perceptions on TEFL internship The findings expressed that most of EFL trainee teachers perceive the TEFL internship as beneficial and important in terms of improvement of language skills, teaching methods, inclass management skills, and contribution to the love for the teaching career Depending on the findings of the study, recommendations for the trainee teachers are also suggested that full understanding of the importance of all the tasks during the internship should be required It is highly expected that this study will play part in developing the field of TEFL internship study and preparing EFL trainee teachers for the psychological and professional obstacles that may be encountered in the practice Moreover, the university can adjust the outline of auxiliary subjects for better internship, or have more practical support policies for students in the future that would help students apply theories into practice Keywords: TEFL internship, EFL trainee teachers, important, beneficial, tasks, perceptions vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Master’s thesis report ii Certificate of originality iv Retention and use of the thesis v Acknowledgements vi Abstract vii Table of contents viii List of tables xii List of figures xiii List of abbreviations xiv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to The Study 1.2 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A Listening to reports about the school B Demonstrating microteaching 79 C Teachers class observation D Peers observation E Participating in other internship activities F Correcting students’ tests 4 G Attending students’ class meetings (1: very important; 2: important; 3: fairly important; 4: not important) How you rate the benefits of internship tasks? (Circle the number you choose.) A Improvement of your teaching method B Improvement of your language skills C Improvement of your skills in class management D Contribution to the love for the teaching career (1: very beneficial; 2: beneficial; 3: fairly beneficial; 4: not beneficial) What tasks you like the most? A Listening to reports about the school 80 B Demonstrating microteaching C Teachers class observation D Peers observation E Participating in other internship activities F Correcting students’ tests 4 G Attending students’ class meetings (1: like the most; 2: like; 3: not like very much; 4: not like at all) THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP! 81 APPENDIX B QUESTIONNAIRE (VIETNAMESE VERSION) NHẬN THỨC VỀ THỰC TẬP GIẢNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH CỦA CÁC GIÁO SINH NGÀNH SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH CỦA TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ-TIN HỌC THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH Kính gửi giáo sinh, Bạn trân trọng điền vào bảng câu hỏi thiết kế để thu thập thái độ nhận thức bạn thực tập giảng dạy tiếng Anh giáo viên thực tập HUFLIT Do đó, câu trả lời bạn vơ hữu ích có giá trị nghiên cứu Tơi biết ơn bạn thời gian nỗ lực bạn dành để trả lời câu hỏi khảo sát Nếu bạn cần thêm thông tin liên quan đến mục bảng câu hỏi, vui lịng cho tơi biết Ho Trong Nghia Nhan Email: nghianhan233@gmail.com Telephone No.: 0336 501 250 Vui lịng cho tơi ý kiến bạn để làm cho công việc nghiên cứu tơi trở thành cơng trình đáng tin cậy Việc bạn quan trọng nhất? A Nghe báo cáo trường bạn thực tập B Giảng dạy tiếng Anh C Quan sát giáo viên giảng dạy 82 D Quan sát bạn giáo sinh khác giảng dạy E Tham gia vào hoạt động khác tập F Sửa kiểm tra học sinh 3 G Tham dự buổi họp lớp 1 4 (1: quan trọng; 2: quan trọng; 3: quan trọng; 4: không quan trọng) Bạn đánh giá có ích việc giai đoạn thực tập? (Khoanh tròn số mà bạn chọn.) A Cải thiện phương pháp dạy học B Cải thiện kỹ ngôn ngữ C Cải thiện kỹ quản lý lớp học D Góp phần yêu nghề giảng dạy (1: có ích; 2: có ích; 3: có ích; 4: vơ ích) Việc mà bạn thích gì? A Nghe báo cáo trường bạn thực tập B Giảng dạy tiếng Anh 83 C Quan sát giáo viên giảng dạy D Quan sát bạn giáo sinh khác giảng dạy E Tham gia vào hoạt động khác tập F Sửa kiểm tra học sinh G Tham dự buổi họp lớp 2 3 (1: thích nhất; 2: thích; 3: thích; 4: hồn tồn khơng thích) CẢM ƠN SỰ GIÚP ĐỠ CỦA BẠN! 84 4 APPENDIX C TRAINEE TEACHER’S REFLECTION PAPER This reflection paper is to give you the opportunity, as a trainee teacher, to make recommendations that would help in the development of the TEFL internship as well as give the Foreign Languages Faculty some insight into the areas that may need more attention This reflection paper is also a factor to give your final score on the internship Answer the following questions: What you consider the important tasks of this TEFL internship? State your reasons for your choices (250-300 words) Tasks of this TEFL internship includes: Listening to reports about the school, Demonstrating microteaching, Teachers class observation, Peers observation, Participating in other internship activities, Administering and correcting students’ tests, Attending class meetings Among language skills, teaching methods, in-class management skills, and the love for the teaching career, what can you improve at the end of the internship? (250-300 words) 85 What TEFL internship tasks you like? State the reasons (250-300 words) Tasks of this TEFL internship includes: Listening to reports about the school, Demonstrating microteaching, Teachers class observation, Peers observation, Participating in other internship activities, Administering and correcting students’ tests, Attending class meetings Other comments or recommendations: (200-250 words) 86 APPENDIX D TRAINEE TEACHER ASSESSMENT FORM Trainee Teacher: Supervisor: Class: School: Date: Please complete this evaluation at the end of the internship period You are encouraged to discuss the completed form with the trainee teacher to aid in their professional development The evaluation is a mechanism that the Foreign Languages Faculty has employed to inform its continuous improvement program, therefore it is not confidential Please use the scale below to evaluate your trainee teacher’s performance in the following areas: Needs Performing Acceptable Above Superior more below performance average performance training or expectations performance education General Performance Attendance Punctuality Appropriate dress Attitude Acceptance of criticism 87 Asks appropriate questions Self-motivated Listening to reports about the school Demonstrating microteaching Teachers class observation Peers observation Participating in other internship activities Administering and correcting students’ tests Attending class meetings Language skills Teaching methods In-class management skills Love for the teaching career Specific Internship Assignment Performance Trainee Teacher’s Improvement How would you assess the trainee teacher’s overall performance? □ outstanding □ above average □ satisfactory □ below average □ unsatisfactory Supervisor’s Signature 88 APPENDIX E ENDORSEMENT FORM 89 APPENDIX F VIPER PLAGIARISM REPORT 90