The effects of learning english environment towards students learning attitudes at a primary school in phu binh district, thai nguyen province

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DUONG THI TUYEN THE EFFECTS OF LEARNING ENGLISH ENVIRONMENT TOWARDS STUDENTS' LEARNING ATTITUDES AT A PRIMARY SCHOOL IN PHU BINH DISTRICT, THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE MASTER THESIS Thai Nguyen, October 20223 TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM THÁI NGUYÊN KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ DƯƠNG THỊ TUYẾN NHỮNG ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA MÔI TRƯỜNG HỌC TIẾNG ANH ĐỐI VỚI THÁI ĐỘ HỌC TẬP CỦA HỌC SINH TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC TẠI HUYỆN PHÚ BÌNH, TỈNH THÁI NGUYÊN Ngành: Lý luận và phương pháp giảng dạy Tiếng Anh Mã số: 8 14 01 11 LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ Cán bộ hướng dẫn: TS Phùng Thị Thu Hà Thái Nguyên, tháng 10 năm 2023 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgements in the thesis This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution Thai Nguyen, October 2023 Duong Thi Tuyen i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Phùng Thị Thu Hà, from the bottom of my heart for her wise counsel She gave me a lot of valuable advice and inspiration as I was preparing my thesis I could not have finished my thesis without her helpful feedback and valuable correction I would also like to express my gratitude to all of the professors and staff at the Faculty of Foreign Languages Education at the Thai Nguyen University of Education for their insightful lectures and helpful resources I am also thankful to all the grade-4 students at Xuan Phuong Primary School for their participation in providing important data to the study through the structured interview and the questionnaire Last but not least, I want to express my sincere gratitude to my family and friends for their love and support, which have greatly motivated me to complete my thesis ii ABSTRACT Attitudes have been a crucial factor affecting learning English achievement However, it is observed that many elementary school students do not have clear thoughts about the importance of learning English, and they also have negative emotions and passive behavior during the process of learning English at school A positive attitude is one of goals of learning English and learning environment could impact learners’ attitudes This article presents the results of a mixed methods study aimed at understanding English learners' attitudes towards several activities to build and develop an English learning environment and the influence of these activities on the students' learning attitudes A group of 175 learners completed the activities responded to the questionnaire and 30 of them participated in the structured interview The data obtained were analyzed as descriptive statistics The findings show that learners have positive attitudes towards activities that build an English learning environment In terms of the three attitude components, learners are assessed to have good knowledge, positive attitudes and active behavior towards learning English after participating in the above activities Based on these findings, some suggestions are recommended to organize some other activities iii TABLE OF CONTENT STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT .iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Rationale of the study 1 1.2 Aims of the study 3 1.3 Scope of the study 3 1.4 Research questions 3 1.5 Significance of the study 3 1.6 Structure of the study 4 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 6 2.1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 6 2.1.1 Attitudes and language attitudes 6 2.1.1.1 Definitions of attitudes 6 2.1.1.2 Components of attitudes 8 2.1.1.3 Definitions of language attitudes 9 2.1.1.4 Language attitudes: construct and measurements 12 2.1.1.5 The characteristics of language attitudes 13 2.1.1.6 Factors affecting EFL students’ attitudes 16 2.1.2 Attitudes and language learning 19 2.1.4 Learning environment 20 2.1.4.1 Definitions of learning environment 20 2.1.4.2 Dimensions of learning environment 21 iv 2.1.4.3 Benefits of a conductive learning environment 23 2.1.4.4 Impact of learning environment 25 2.2 LITERATURE REVIEW 31 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 35 3.1 Research design 35 3.2 Participants 35 3.3 Data collection instrument 36 3.3.1 Questionnaire 36 3.3.2 Semi - structured interview 36 3.3.3 Students’ observation 36 3.3.4 Informal survey 36 3.4 Data collection procedure 37 3.4.1 Questionnaire 37 3.4.2 Semi - structured interview 37 3.4.3 Students’ observation 37 3.4.4 Informal survey 37 3.5 Data analysis 37 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 39 4.1 Students’ attitudes toward the activities to build-up and develop English learning environment 39 4.1.1 Students’ attitudes toward the activity “Topic-based classroom decoration” 39 4.1.2 Students’ attitudes toward the activity “English Festival” 42 4.1.3 Overall 45 4.1.4 The affects of certain activities to build-up and develop English learning environment on students' attitudes towards learning English 46 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 50 5.1 Conclusions 50 v 5.1.1 What are attitudes of grade-4 and students towards some activities to build-up and develop learning environment? 50 5.1.2 After participating these activities, would students’ attitudes towards learning English be affected? 50 5.2 Recommendation 51 5.2.1 ACTIVITY 1: ENGLISH RADIO 51 5.2.2 ACTIVITY 2: INTER-SCHOOL ENGLISH FESTIVAL 52 5.3 Implications 53 REFERENCES 55 APPENDIXES 59 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: Students’ attitude components 49 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Attitudes towards the activity “Classroom decoration” 40 Figure 2 Attitudes towards the activity “English festival” 43 vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Chapter one would explain the reasoning behind the choice of the thesis subject, the importance of the thesis, the main goals, crucial research questions, and the scope of the research 1.1 Rationale of the study In the Decision No 2080 /QD-TTg dated December 22, 2017 of the Prime Minister, English is introduced as a compulsory subject in the Vietnamese general education system from Grade 3 to Grade 12 English is considered as a tool subject to help students study well in other subjects and learn for life In addition, through English, students have the ability to communicate internationally and could also learn and absorb diverse knowledge Obviously, the importance of English in the Vietnamese education system is undeniable It is a key component of the curriculum, providing students with the necessary language skills, global perspectives, and critical thinking abilities English education in Vietnam not only prepares students for future career opportunities but also contributes to the country's development, international integration, and cultural exchange The education sector in Thai Nguyen is actively constructing an English language learning environment, gradually enhancing the English language proficiency of students, with the aim of meeting the demands for foreign language proficiency in the current context In response to the request of the Department of Education and Training of Phu Binh district, Thai Nguyen province, some activities to build an English learning environment have been carried out and the English Festival was the first one There, students can experience different activities and games, and their excitement can be easily observed It is clear that the learning environment has an impact on students’ psychology and attitudes 1