The advantages and the ways of incorporating english as a lingua franca into english language teaching

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY - HO PHI YEN THE ADVANTAGES AND THE WAYS OF INCORPORATING ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA INTO ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Major: English Language Course code: 60220201 HO CHI MINH CITY, September 2019 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY - THE ADVANTAGES AND THE WAYS OF INCORPORATING ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA INTO ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Submitted to the Faculty of English Language in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in English Language Course code: 60220201 By HO PHI YEN Supervised by Dr LE VAN TUYEN HO CHI MINH CITY, September 20th STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY I certify my authorship of the Master ‘s Thesis submitted today entitled: THE ADVANTAGES AND THE WAYS OF INCORPORATING ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA INTO ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In terms of the statement of requirements for Thesis 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, September 2019 I RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Ho Phi Yen, being a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts in English Language, 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 original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of the thesis Ho Chi Minh, September 2019 II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my cordial gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Le Van Tuyen for his priceless guidance and feedback, continuous support, and patience throughout the preparation of my thesis I would also like to thank all lecturers and staffs of HUTECH Institutes of Postgraduation and International Education, English Language Faculty and Professionals Training Center for their valuable support in my thesis preparation I am also indebted to my colleagues at HUTECH Institute of International Education for their supports Without their participation and input, I would not have completed this thesis My special thank for my family - who were willing to provide assistance throughout my tough periods I want to thank my classmates for the time we have been together, and I would never forget them all III ABSTRACT English has been incorporated as the global language which is being used by a majority of global citizens Most of them are nonnative English speakers and this percentage is over 90% (Crystal, 2003) English is used as a medium instruction in the academic context in non-native English speaking countries Besides, it has also been a Lingua Franca (ELF) in those countries In response to the need of a empirical study researching on the current advantages and ways of incorporating ELF in Vietnam, especially in tertiary level, this study aimed to investigate 50 EFL teachers teaching English in Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HUTECH) about their understanding of ELF concepts, the advantages and the ways of incorporating ELF into EFL classrooms The study involved 50 EFL teachers who are nonnative English speakers teaching English at HUTECH Both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained through two instruments, namely questionnaires and semi- structured interviews Descriptive statistics and content analysis were employed to analyze the collected data The results of the study revealed that most of the surveyed EFL teachers had acknowledged on ELF at basic level such as knowing its linguistic elements, vocabulary, its varieties, and its speakers More interestingly, the findings of the study also revealed that EFL teachers thought that incorporating ELF in EFL classrooms may have a lot of advantages They also agreed that there are a variety of ways of incorporating ELF in EFL classrooms The study also made several suggestions amongst teachers, educators and students on how to have a full view of ELF and considerable, systematic ways of incorporating them in their tertiary classrooms This study is expected to shed light on the incorporation of ELF in typical tertiary level of education in Vietnam Key words: English as a lingua franca, incorporation, academic context, tertiary level IV TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY I RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS III ABSTRACT IV LIST OF ABBREVIATION V LIST OF FIGURES VI LIST OF TABLES VII CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Statement of the problem 1.3 Aims and objectives of the study 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Definition of key terms 1.8 Organization of the thesis CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Role of English in Vietnam 2.3 Position of English in the World 2.4 English as a Lingua Franca 10 2.4.1 Defining English as a Lingua Franca 10 2.4.2 English as a Lingua Franca versus English as a EFL/ESL 12 2.4.3 English as a Lingua Franca versus English as a Native Language 12 2.5 Description of ELF 13 2.5.1 General Description 13 2.5.2 ELF in teaching four- skills English 14 2.5.3 Linguistic Description 15 2.5.3.1 Phonology 15 2.5.3.2 Lexical grammar 15 2.5.3.3 Pragmatics 16 2.5.3.4 Written and spoken Language 16 2.6 Reasons for English as a Lingua Franca 17 2.7 The embodiment of ELF in Vietnamese higher education 20 2.8 Teaching and Learning English as Lingua Franca 21 2.8.1 Advantages of Incorporating ELF into the teaching and learning of English 21 2.8.2 Ways of Incorporating ELF into the teaching and learning of English 22 2.9 Summary 25 2.10 Previous Studies 26 2.11 Conceptual Framework of the study 31 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research design 33 3.2 Research site 33 3.3 Sample and sampling procedures 34 3.4 Research Instruments 37 3.4.1 Closed-ended Questionnaire 37 3.4.2 Structured interviews 39 3.5 Data collection procedures 40 3.6 Data Analysis procedures 41 3.6.1 Quantitative data analysis 41 3.6.2 Qualitative data analysis 42 3.7 Validity and Reliability 43 CHAPTER RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Introduction 45 4.2 Results of the Study 45 4.2.1 EFL teachers’ overall understanding of ELF 45 4.2.2 Advantages of incorporating ELF into English language teaching 49 4.2.3 Ways of incorporating ELF into English language teaching 53 4.3 Discussion 57 4.3.1 EFL teachers’ understanding of ELF 57 4.3.2 EFL teachers’ perceptions on advantages of incorporating ELF into English language teaching 59 4.3.3 EFL teachers’ perceptions on proposed ways of incorporating ELF into English language teaching 60 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 5.1 Introduction 62 5.2 Summary of the results 62 5.3 Implications and recommendations 63 5.4 Limitations of the Study 66 5.5 Recommendation for further research 65 LIST OF REFERENCES 65 APPENDICES Appendix A: TEACHER QUESTIONNAIRE 71 Appendix B: SAMPLE INTERVIEW SHEET 75 Appendix C: TEACHERS’ INTERVIEW RESPONSES 76 Appendix D: INTERVIEW RESULTS 77 Appendix E: CRONBACH’S ALPHA 85 Appendix F: MEAN & ST.D 88 Appendix G: PLAGIARISM CHECK 90 - ELF is considered as an effective medium of instruction in a multilingual classroom context - It helps enrich students’ vocabulary - It helps teachers updating their language knowledge - It helps students understand the importance of intercultural communicative competence - Incorporating ELF into English language teaching helps students enrich their cultural knowledge - ELF is considered as an effective medium of instruction in a multilingual classroom context - It helps facilitate students in their future work in a multilingual environment - It helps students approach more updated sources of materials - Incorporating ELF into English language teaching helps students enrich their cultural knowledge - It helps student to understand each other in a multilingual classroom context - ELF is considered as an effective communication tool in a multilingual classroom context - It helps student to understand each other in a multilingual classroom context - ELF is considered as an effective medium of instruction in a multilingual classroom context - ELF is considered as an effective communication tool in a multilingual classroom context - It helps facilitate students in their future work in a multilingual environment 10 - No 11 - ELF is considered as an effective medium of instruction in a multilingual classroom context - It helps facilitate students in their future work in a multilingual environment 12 - It helps enrich students’ vocabulary 13 - ELF is considered as an effective medium of instruction in a multilingual classroom context - It helps enrich students’ vocabulary 70 14 - It helps teachers updating their language knowledge - It helps student to understand each other in a multilingual classroom context - ELF is considered as an effective communication tool in a multilingual classroom context 15 - Incorporating ELF into English language teaching helps students enrich their cultural knowledge - ELF is considered as an effective medium of instruction in a multilingual classroom context - No It helps enrich students’ vocabulary Answers - They can tell the students what they have known about ELF - They can ask the students to participate in learning activities which contain aspects relating to ELF - They can ask the students describe phenomena of ELF - They can show films or videos containing ELF in spoken form - They can ask the students compare ENL and ELF - They can ask the students to make dialogues and play roles using ELF - They can tell the students what they have known about ELF - They can ask the students to discover any aspects relating to ELF in the content of the textbook - They can ask the students describe phenomena of ELF - They can ask the students discuss components of ELF - They can organize seminars for the students to compare English varieties - They can create their own teaching materials that promote international English - English teachers can discover any aspects relating to ELF in the textbook - They can tell the students what they have known about ELF - They can ask the students to discover any aspects relating to ELF in the content of the textbook - They can show films or videos containing ELF in spoken form 71 - They can ask the students compare ENL and ELF - They can organize seminars for the students to compare English varieties - They can reflect on their practices and seek to adapt themselves to the dynamic ELF situations - They can tell the students what they have known about ELF - They can teach songs / poems composed by Non-native English speakers - They can ask the students describe phenomena of ELF - They can show films or videos containing ELF in spoken form - They can introduce pictures or posters used ELF - They can ask the students compare ENL and ELF - They can tell the students what they have known about ELF - They can ask the students to participate in learning activities which contain aspects relating to ELF - They can ask the students discuss components of ELF - They can provide materials written in ELF for students to read - They can invite non-native English speakers from other countries to talk to students about ELF - They can ask the students to discover any aspects relating to ELF in the content of the textbook - They can teach songs / poems composed by Non-native English speakers - They can ask the students discuss components of ELF - They can invite non-native English speakers from other countries to talk to students about ELF - They can reflect on their practices and seek to adapt themselves to the dynamic ELF situations - They can suggest designing EFL curricula which involve international cultural components of ELF - English teachers can discover any aspects relating to ELF in the textbook - They can ask the students to participate in learning activities which contain aspects relating to ELF - They can show films or videos containing ELF in spoken form 72 - They can provide materials written in ELF for students to read - Teachers provide exercises used ELF for the students to - They can ask the students to discover any aspects relating to ELF in the content of the textbook - They can ask the students describe phenomena of ELF - They can show films or videos containing ELF in spoken form - They can provide materials written in ELF for students to read - They can ask the students to make dialogues and play roles using ELF - They can create their own teaching materials that promote international English - English teachers can discover any aspects relating to ELF in the textbook - They can tell the students what they have known about ELF - They can ask the students to participate in learning activities which contain aspects relating to ELF - They can show films or videos containing ELF in spoken form - They can create their own teaching materials that promote international English - They can reflect on their practices and seek to adapt themselves to the dynamic ELF situations - They can suggest designing EFL curricula which involve international cultural components of ELF 10 - English teachers can discover any aspects relating to ELF in the textbook - They can teach songs / poems composed by Non-native English speakers - They can ask the students describe phenomena of ELF - They can ask the students discuss components of ELF - They can invite non-native English speakers from other countries to talk to students about ELF - They can organize seminars for the students to compare English varieties - They can create their own teaching materials that promote international English - They can reflect on their practices and seek to adapt themselves to the dynamic ELF situations - They can suggest designing EFL curricula which involve international cultural components of ELF 73 11 - They can ask the students to discover any aspects relating to ELF in the content of the textbook - They can teach songs / poems composed by Non-native English speakers - They can show films or videos containing ELF in spoken form - They can introduce pictures or posters used ELF - They can ask the students compare ENL and ELF - They can provide materials written in ELF for students to read - They can invite non-native English speakers from other countries to talk to students about ELF 12 - English teachers can discover any aspects relating to ELF in the textbook - They can tell the students what they have known about ELF - hey can ask the students to participate in learning activities which contain aspects relating to ELF - They can show films or videos containing ELF in spoken form - Teachers provide exercises used ELF for the students to - They can organize seminars for the students to compare English varieties - They can create their own teaching materials that promote international English - They can suggest designing EFL curricula which involve international cultural components of ELF 13 14 - English teachers can discover any aspects relating to ELF in the textbook - They can teach songs / poems composed by Non-native English speakers - They can ask the students describe phenomena of ELF - They can ask the students discuss components of ELF - They can show films or videos containing ELF in spoken form - They can introduce pictures or posters used ELF - They can ask the students compare ENL and ELF - They can ask the students to make dialogues and play roles using ELF - Teachers provide exercises used ELF for the students to - They can organize seminars for the students to compare English varieties - They can create their own teaching materials that promote international English - They can ask the students to discover any aspects relating to ELF in the content of 74 the textbook - They can ask the students to participate in learning activities which contain aspects relating to ELF 15 - They can teach songs / poems composed by Non-native English speakers - They can show films or videos containing ELF in spoken form - They can introduce pictures or posters used ELF - They can ask the students to make dialogues and play roles using ELF - Teachers provide exercises used ELF for the students to - They can organize seminars for the students to compare English varieties - They can tell the students what they have known about ELF - They can ask the students to participate in learning activities which contain aspects relating to ELF - They can ask the students describe phenomena of ELF - They can show films or videos containing ELF in spoken form - They can provide materials written in ELF for students to read - They can organize seminars for the students to compare English varieties - They can create their own teaching materials that promote international English 75 APPENDIX E CRONBACH’S ALPHA No Items N items alpha 694 English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is a variety of English 50 The variety of English which is used by American, British or 50 Australian people is called ELF ELF is the use of the English language as a common means of 50 communication for speakers of different first languages ELF is not different from English as a second language or 50 English as a foreign language Some vocabulary items of ELF may sometimes be created by 50 English learners ELF pronunciation is somewhat different from native English of Cronbach 50 standard .543 685 568 526 517 Non- standard lexical grammar exists in ELF communication 50 565 ELF pragmatic use is not different from native-standard English 50 526 English has served as lingua franca in different countries in the 50 Outer Circle such as India, Malaysia and so on 10 Spoken ELF contains a huge amount of linguistic variation 50 and non-standard forms 11 Formal written ELF tends to resemble English as a native 50 language to a much greater extent 12 ELF is also prominently used in international politics and 681 679 560 50 512 diplomacy, international law, business, the media, and in tertiary education and scientific research Total 76 661 No Items N of Cronbach items Incorporating ELF into English language teaching helps 50 626 students enrich their cultural knowledge It helps student to understand each other in a multilingual 50 653 classroom context ELF is considered as an effective medium of instruction in a 50 611 multilingual classroom context ELF is considered as an effective communication tool in a 50 631 multilingual classroom context It helps enrich students’ vocabulary It helps facilitate students in their future work in a multilingual 50 alpha 50 653 633 environment It helps teachers updating their language knowledge 50 649 It helps students approach more updated sources of materials 50 640 Students may become highly proficient multilingual users of 50 746 English without worrying about not speaking like a native speaker 10 It would be to better prepare students to be successful users of 50 654 the language in international, lingua franca contexts 11 It helps students understand the importance of intercultural 50 626 communicative competence 12 It helps students cope with the growing needs of both accuracy 50 761 and fluency in learning English Total No 678 Items N of Cronbach items English teachers can discover any aspects relating to ELF in the textbook 77 50 alpha 946 They can tell the students what they have known about ELF 50 They can ask the students to discover any aspects relating to 50 ELF in the content of the textbook They can ask the students to participate in learning activities 50 949 947 947 which contain aspects relating to ELF They can teach songs / poems composed by Non-native 50 English speakers .943 They can ask the students describe phenomena of ELF 50 943 They can ask the students discuss components of ELF 50 944 They can show films or videos containing ELF in spoken 50 form .947 They can introduce pictures or posters used ELF 50 944 10 They can ask the students compare ENL and ELF 50 943 11 They can provide materials written in ELF for students to read 50 946 12 They can invite non-native English speakers from other 50 countries to talk to students about ELF 13 They can ask the students to make dialogues and play roles 50 using ELF 14 Teachers provide exercises used ELF for the students to 50 15 They can organize seminars for the students to compare 50 English varieties 16 They can create their own teaching materials that promote 50 international English 17 They can reflect on their practices and seek to adapt 50 themselves to the dynamic ELF situations 18 They can suggest designing EFL curricula which involve international cultural components of ELF Total 50 945 944 942 948 947 946 947 948 78 APPENDIX F MEAN & ST D Descriptive Statistics Std N Minimum Maximum Mean Deviation DEFINITION1 50 2.0 5.0 4.540 6455 DEFINITION2 50 1.0 5.0 2.100 1.2330 DEFINITION3 50 2.0 5.0 4.340 7722 DEFINITION4 50 1.0 5.0 2.100 1.1995 DEFINITION5 50 2.0 5.0 4.200 6389 DEFINITION6 50 3.0 5.0 4.360 5628 DEFINITION7 50 1.0 5.0 4.340 7982 DEFINITION8 50 1.0 4.0 2.060 1.0577 DEFINITION9 50 2.0 5.0 4.380 6966 DEFINITION10 50 2.0 5.0 4.160 6503 DEFINITION11 50 1.0 5.0 2.600 1.2289 DEFINITION12 50 2.0 5.0 4.260 5997 Valid N (list wise40) 50 Descriptive Statistics Std N Minimum Maximum Mean Deviation ADVANTAGE1 50 2.0 5.0 4.420 7025 ADVANTAGE2 50 4.0 5.0 4.520 5047 ADVANTAGE3 50 2.0 5.0 4.280 7835 ADVANTAGE4 50 2.0 5.0 4.240 6869 ADVANTAGE5 50 2.0 5.0 4.380 7253 ADVANTAGE6 50 3.0 5.0 4.460 6455 ADVANTAGE7 50 2.0 5.0 4.240 6869 79 ADVANTAGE8 50 2.0 5.0 4.280 8091 ADVANTAGE9 50 1.0 5.0 2.560 1.2149 ADVANTAGE10 50 4.0 5.0 4.380 4903 ADVANTAGE11 50 3.0 5.0 4.200 6389 ADVANTAGE12 50 1.0 5.0 2.620 1.3981 Valid N (listwise) 50 Descriptive Statistics Std N Minimum Maximum Mean Deviation INCORPORATING1 50 2.0 5.0 4.120 9398 INCORPORATING2 50 3.0 5.0 4.240 5911 INCORPORATING3 50 2.0 5.0 4.140 6064 INCORPORATING4 50 3.0 5.0 4.440 6440 INCORPORATING5 50 2.0 5.0 4.400 7284 INCORPORATING6 50 2.0 5.0 4.220 7365 INCORPORATING7 50 2.0 5.0 4.260 7508 INCORPORATING8 50 2.0 5.0 4.440 6115 INCORPORATING9 50 2.0 5.0 4.280 7570 INCORPORATING10 50 2.0 5.0 4.240 7709 INCORPORATING11 50 2.0 5.0 4.320 7126 INCORPORATING12 50 2.0 5.0 4.340 6581 INCORPORATING13 50 2.0 5.0 4.220 7637 INCORPORATING14 50 2.0 5.0 4.300 7890 INCORPORATING15 50 3.0 5.0 4.400 6061 INCORPORATING16 50 2.0 5.0 4.180 7475 INCORPORATING17 50 2.0 5.0 4.280 7296 INCORPORATING18 50 2.0 5.0 4.140 7562 Valid N (listwise) 50 80 APPENDIX G PLAGIARISM CHECK 81 Viper Plagiarism Report HO_PHI_YEN_17SNA21_PLAGARISM_CHECKING scanned Sep 22, 2019 Overall Score 1% 0.5% State-of-the-Art Article - Semantic Scholar - M… https://mafiadoc.com/state-of-the-art-article-semanti 0.1% JoPfinal_pre-publication (2010) - Semantic Sc… https://mafiadoc.com/jopfinalpre-publication-2010-se 0.1% Current Perspectives on Teaching World Engl… https://mafiadoc.com/current-perspectives-on-teachi 0.1% TEACHER TRAINING FOR ENGLISH AS A L… https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/annual-revi 0.1% English as a lingua franca in Europe - MAFIA… https://mafiadoc.com/english-as-a-lingua-franca-in-e 0.1% English as a lingua franca - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_as_a_lingua_fr 0.1% Definitions of English as a Lingua Franca (EL… https://www.thoughtco.com/english-as-a-lingua-fran 0.1% EXPLORING ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION T… https://manualzz.com/doc/39659961/exploring-engli CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study In the worldwide picture, it was claimed that meanwhile the world is getting narrower thanks to technology, people somehow have to admit an indispensable need for a mutual language called a lingua franca, and English is a potential option (Tonkin, 2003) Shortly after that, a prediction was made on Tonkin’s claim by mentioning emergence of the term “English as a lingua franca” (ELF) as a common language among different first languages speakers (Seidlhofer, 2005a) Since then, there have been many studies on ELF in many linguistic aspects, especially for topics involving in education In the field of education, particularly in higher education, ELF functions as a medium instruction (EMI) between multinational lecturers and students What is more, it is estimated that nearly 80% of the contexts of English THE END 82