Investigating teachers’ perceptions and practices of collaborative learning in teaching english speaking skills to high school students a case study in vo nguyen giap gifted high school in quang binh province

HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES - NGUYEN THI ANH DAO INVESTIGATING TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE PRACTICES OF USING COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN TEACHING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY IN VO NGUYEN GIAP GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG BINH PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University THUA THIEN HUE, 2023 HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES - NGUYEN THI ANH DAO INVESTIGATING TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE PRACTICES OF USING COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IN TEACHING ENGLISH-SPEAKING SKILLS TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY IN VO NGUYEN GIAP GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG BINH PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 8140111 SUPERVISOR: Dr TRAN THI THAO PHUONG THUA THIEN HUE, 2023 ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ - NGUYỄN THỊ ANH ĐÀO ĐIỀU TRA NHẬN THỨC CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VỀ THỰC HÀNH SỬ DỤNG HỌC TẬP HỢP TÁC TRONG VIỆC DẠY KỸ NĂNG NÓI TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH TRUNG HỌC MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU TRƯỜNG HỢP TẠI TRƯỜNG PHỔ THƠNG CHUN VÕ NGUN GIÁP, TỈNH QUẢNG BÌNH LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 8140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS TRẦN THỊ THẢO PHƯƠNG THUA THIEN HUE, 2023 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS .i LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .v LIST OF TABLES .vi LIST OF CHARTS & FIGURES .vi ABSTRACT viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .1 1.1 Introduction .1 1.2 Background and Rationale 1.3 Problem statements 1.4 Research aims and research questions 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Research significance 1.7 Structure of the thesis 1.8 Chapter conclusion CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction .9 2.2 Definitions of key terms 2.2.1 Speaking skills .9 2.2.2 Collaborative learning 11 2.3 Benefits of Collaborative learning in English Speaking Skills .15 2.3.1 Social Benefits 15 2.3.2 Psychological Benefits 16 2.3.3 Academic Benefits 17 2.4 Possible challenges of collaborative learning in foreign language learning 17 2.4.1 Social challenges 17 2.4.2 Psychological challenges 18 2.4.3 Academic challenges 18 i 2.5 Collaborative learning activities 19 2.6 Gaps from previous studies 21 2.7 Chapter Conclusion .22 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 22 3.1 Chapter introduction 22 3.2 Research design .22 3.3 Research participants 23 3.4 Data collection 25 3.4.1 Questionnaire .25 3.4.2 Semi-structured interview 27 3.5 Data Analysis 29 3.6 Data Interpretation 30 3.7 Reliability and validility 30 3.8 Ethical Considerations 31 3.9 Chapter conclusion 31 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 32 4.1 Introduction 32 4.2 Teachers’ perceptions of implementing collaborative learning in Englishspeaking classes 32 4.2.1 Teachers’ perceptions of collaborative learning 32 4.2.2 Teachers’ perception about the benefits of implementing CL in teaching English speaking skills 35 4.3 Teachers’ perceptions about the challenges of implementing CL in teaching English speaking skills 43 4.3.1 Key findings on teachers’ perception about the challenges of implementing CL in teaching English speaking skills 43 4.3.2 Discussions on teachers’ perception about the challenges of implementing CL in teaching English speaking skills 46 4.4 Teachers’ strategies to address challenges encountered when applying (CL) 47 ii 4.4.1 Key findings on the teachers’ common techniques to overcome challenges when applying CL 47 4.4.2 Discussions on the teachers’ common techniques to overcome challenges when applying CL 49 4.5 The CL techniques in improving students’ English-speaking skills .50 4.5.1 Key finding on teachers’ CL technique .50 4.5.2 Discussions on teachers’ CL techniques 52 4.6 Teachers’ strategies to customize Collaborative learning technique to meet the unique needs and abilities of the students 53 4.6.1 Key findings on teachers’ strategies 53 4.6.2 Discussions on the teachers’ strategies to customize collaborative learning techniques to meet students’ unique needs and abilities 56 4.7 Factors affecting teachers’ decisions on choosing specific CL strategies 58 4.7.1 Key findings .58 4.7.2 Discussions on factors affecting teachers’ decisions on choosing specific CL strategies .61 4.8 Teachers’ suggestions on how to implement CL in English speaking classrooms .63 4.8.1 Key findings on the teachers’ suggestions on how to implement CL in English speaking classrooms .63 4.9 Chapter conclusion 71 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS .72 5.1 Chapter introduction 72 5.2 Summary of Key Findings 72 5.3 Limitations 73 5.4 Implications 73 5.4.1 Pedagogical implications: .76 5.4.2 Implications for further research 74 REFERENCES 76 iii APPENDICES 89 APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE 89 APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL .96 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CL Collaborative learning EFL English as foreign language ESL English as Second language ICT Information Communication Technology v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Background information of research participants 24 Table 2: Description of the questionaire .27 LIST OF CHARTS & FIGURES Figure 1: Teachers’ familiarity with the concept of Collaborative learning 36 Figure 2: The frequency of using collaborative learning techniques in Englishspeaking classes 36 Figure 3: Teachers’ opinions of benefits of implementing CL 37 Figure 4: Methods to measure the effectiveness of collaborative learning 37 Figure 5: Teachers' challenges in implementing collaborative learning 43 Figure 6: Teachers' strategies to overcome challenges 47 Figure : The most effective techniques to improve students’ English speaking skills 50 Figure 8: Teachers' strategies to customize collaborative learning techniques to meet students’ unique needs and abilities .53 Figure 9: Factors influencing teachers’ decisions on choosing specific CL strategies 58 Figure 10: Teachers’ reasons for selecting certain CL techniques in English-speaking classes 60 Figure 11: Factors contributing to the success of collaborative learning 63 Figure 12: Teachers’ recommendations to implement collaborative learning 67 vi Statement of Original Authorship The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Signed: ……………………… ……………………………… Date: ……/…… /…………… vii