This research aims at investigating the perception and practice of warm-up activities by English teachers in Thai Nguyen.. Hopefully, this study will make a small contribution to clarify
THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN THI CHANG PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF WARM-UP ACTIVITIES BY ENGLISH TEACHERS IN THAI NGUYEN M.A THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201 THAI NGUYEN – 2022 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN THI CHANG PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF WARM-UP ACTIVITIES BY ENGLISH TEACHERS IN THAI NGUYEN M.A THESIS (APPLICATION ORIENTATION) Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Le Thi Thu Huong, Ph.D THAI NGUYEN – 2022 ĐẠI HỌC THÁI NGUYÊN TRƯỜNG NGOẠI NGỮ NGUYỄN THỊ CHANG SỰ NHẬN THỨC VÀ THỰC TIỄN CỦA CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG KHỞI ĐỘNG BỞI GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH Ở THÁI NGUYÊN LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ (Định hướng ứng dụng) Ngành: Ngôn ngữ Anh Mã số: 8220201 Cán bộ hướng dẫn: TS Lê Thị Thu Hương THÁI NGUYÊN – 2022 i DECLARATION The writer fully declares that the research entitled “Perceptions and practices of warm-up activities by English teachers in Thai Nguyen” is carried out by herself with the purpose of fulfilling the requirement for the Master Degree of English language at the School of Foreign Languages – Thai Nguyen University under the guidance of Dr LE THI THU HUONG The results of this research have not been submitted to any other universities for any other Degree or Diplomas before Approved by Supervisor Thai Nguyen, 2022 Student Le Thi Thu Huong, Ph.D Nguyen Thi Chang ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT During the process of doing this research, it was so lucky for me to get encouragement, support, and guidance from many people First of all, I am very grateful to my supervisor who has kindly given me invaluable instructions, critical feedback, encouragement, and suggestions Without her guidance, it is impossible for me to complete this research Additionally, I also want to express my profound gratitude to all the lecturers from Thai Nguyen University, School of Foreign Languages, and Postgraduate Department Who have brought me so many meaningful lessons and advice, to help me have a proper orientation to do this research as well as a deeper understanding of the English language Also, I want to send my thanks to the school board of Son Cam 1, Son Cam 2, Cao Ngan, Tan Long, and Hoang Van Thu secondary schools, all my colleagues, and students at these schools for their support and participation during the process of doing and collecting data for my research Besides, I also want to express my gratitude to my family and friends who always motivate, support, and love me during the time of doing this research iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF FIGURES vi Figure 2.1: Principles of warm-up activities 9 vi ABSTRACT viii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Rationale 1 1.2 Aims of the study 2 1.3 Research questions 3 1.4 The scope and limitation of the study .3 1.5 Significance of the study 3 1.6 Thesis outline 3 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 5 2.1 Some definitions .5 2.1.1 Definitions of “warm-up” 5 2.1.2 Definitions of perception 6 2.1.3 Definition of practice 6 2.2 Warm-up 7 2.2.1 The benefits of warm-up activities 7 2.2.2 Principles of a warm-up activity 8 2.2.3 Examples of warm-up activities .10 2.3 Teachers’ Perception 12 2.4 Previous studies 13 CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY 16 3.1 Research methodology 16 3.2 The study setting 16 iv 3.3 Participants 17 3.4 Data collection instrument 18 3.4.1 Questionnaires 18 3.4.2 Observation 18 3.4.3 Interviews 19 3.5 Data collection procedure .20 3.5.1 Preparation 20 3.5.2 Implementation .21 3.5.3 Planning for data analysis .21 3.6 Data analysis 21 CHAPTER IV: FINDING AND DISCUSSION 23 4.1 Findings 23 4.1.1 Result of the questionnaires .23 4.1.2 Results of observation 26 4.1.3 Result of the interviews 30 4.2 Discussions .37 4.2.1 What are English teachers’ perceptions on the use of warm-up activities in English classes? 37 4.2.2 How do the English teachers implement warm-up activities in their classes? .37 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS .39 5.1 Conclusion 39 5.2 Limitations and recommendations 40 5.2.1 Limitations 40 5.2.2 Recommendations 40 REFERENCES 42 APPENDIX I I APPENDIX II II APPENDIX III IV v LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Detailed participants 17 Table 3.2: Main information of the teacher’s questionnaires 18 Table 3.3: Details of the class observation .19 Table 3.4: Main information of the teachers’ interview 20 Table 4.1: The perceptions and practice of using warm-up activities in English classes 23 Table 4.2: The types of warm-up activities 27 Table 4.3: The average time of the warm-up part 27 Table 4.4: The participation of students in warm-up activities .28 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Principles of warm-up activities .9 Figure 4.1: Types of frequently-used warm-up activities 26 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviation Meaning EFL English as Foreign Language ESL English as a Second Language SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Q&A Questions and Answers