[LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ] Teachers’ and learners’ attitudes toward learning english (grade 10) with the filipino teachers at Tran Van Quan High School

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TRUONG MINH HIEU

TEACHERS’ AND LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD LEARNING ENGLISH (GRADE 10)

WITH THE FILIPINO TEACHERS AT TRAN VAN QUAN HIGH SCHOOL

MASTER’S THESIS

Ba Ria - Vung Tau March 2023

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TRUONG MINH HIEU

TEACHERS’ AND LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD LEARNING ENGLISH (GRADE 10)

WITH THE FILIPINO TEACHERS AT

TRAN VAN QUAN HIGH SCHOOL MASTER’S THESIS

Submitted to the Postgraduate Institute in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled:

TEACHERS’ AND LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD LEARNING ENGLISH (GRADE 10) WITH THE FILIPINO TEACHERS AT TRAN VAN QUAN HIGH SCHOOL

In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s programs issued by

the Higher Degree Committee of Postgraduate Institute, Ba Ria - Vung Tau

University

Ba Ria - Vung Tau, March 2023

TRUONG MINH HIEU

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Truong Minh Hieu, being a candidate for the degree of TESOL 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 origin 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 of the thesis

Ba Ria - Vung Tau, March 2023

TRUONG MINH HIEU

Secondly, I am very grateful to the school board staff including the principal and the Postgraduate Institute of Ba Ria - Vung Tau University who have given me encouragement, support of time and finance, and permission to complete the MA course and implement this thesis there

My sincere thanks also go to my friends and colleagues for all their help and motivation I would like to thank the research participants who have contributed to this study

Lastly, I sincerely thank my family for their countless support, greatest sympathy, and unconditional love who have provided me strong spiritual and material support

ABSTRACT

It is universally acknowledged that learning English with the Filipino teachers plays an integral role in language teaching and learning process In many countries all over the world, especially those with advanced education, learning English with the Filipino teachers is applied into English teaching and learning widely and effectively However, in the context of Vietnam, the high school teachers do not pay much attention to developing language skills, teachers mainly focus on how to help students to get better results in their examinations

This study will focus on learning English with the Filipino teachers as an integral approach to enhance students’ language skills in their learning Within such context, this study aimed to explore the teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward learning English (grade 10) with the Filipino teachers at Tran Van Quan high school in Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province This study involved one hundred and twenty - five grade 10 students in answering the questionnaire and seven teachers in responding the semi-structured interview questions The data gained from the questionnaire were analyzed by SPSS in terms of descriptive statistics (means, standard deviation, & frequency) The findings of the study showed that both high school English teachers and grade 10 students had positive attitudes toward learning English with the Filipino teachers relating to eight sub variables from cultural knowledge, vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar to four language skills of students and three attitude components, including cognitive, affective and behavioral attitudes The data from questionnaires and semi-structured interview were coded and analyzed to make the results of the study clearer These preliminary findings are hoped to not only contribute to a better result of grade 10 students in learning English but it also enhances the quality of the teaching in English language education at Tran Van Quan high school in specific and Ba Ria Vung Tau in general

Key words: attitudes, cognitive attitudes, affective attitudes, behavioural attitudes,

grade 10 students, new English textbooks

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ……… i

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS .ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

ABSTRACT iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii

LIST OF APPENDICES viii

LIST OF TABLES ix

LIST OF FIGURES x

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background to the study 1

1.2 Statement of the problem 4

1.3 Aim and objectives of the study 6

1.4 Research questions 7

1.5 Scope of the study 7

1.6 Significance of the study 7

1.7 Definitions of the key terms 8

1.8 Organization of the thesis 8

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 10

2.1 Attitude 10

2.1.1 Definitions of attitude 10

2.1.2 The components of attitude 12

2.1.3 Attitudes toward learning language 14

2.1.4 Attitudes and achievement 15

3.5 Data collection procedures 42

3.6 Data analysis procedures 43

3.7 Reliability and Validity 44

4.2.1 Garde 10 students’ attitudes towards LEF 62

4.2.2 Teacher’s attitudes towards learning English with the Filipino teachers 63 4.3 Summary 65

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LEF Learning English with the Filipino teacher

SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

TESOL Teaching English of Speakers of Other Languages

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix A1: Questionnaire

Appendix A2: Questionnaire for Survey (Vietnamese version) Appendix B1: Interview Protocol

Appendix B2: Interview Protocol (Vietnamese version) Appendix C: Sample of interview data analysis

Appendix D: Pictures of learning English with the Filipino teachers

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Participants’ general information 35

Table 3.2: Cronbach’s Alpha indexes of the questionnaire items in average 43

Table 4.1: Total mean scores of attitudes towards LEF 45

Table 4.2: Grade 10 students’ attitudes towards LEF 46

Table 4.3 Grade 10 students’ cognitive attitudes towards LEF 48

Table 4.4 Grade 10 students’ affective attitudes towards LEF 50

Table 4.5 Grade 10 students’ behavioural attitudes towards LEF 51

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Tripartite Model 16 Figure 2: ABC Model 17 Figure 3: CAC Model 18 Figure 4: Conceptual framework of teachers’ and grade 10 students’ attitudes toward learning English with the Filipino teachers 25

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter first presents a background of the study with a brief introduction of the English language teaching and learning at high school level in Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province The Statement of the problem is followed to raise the gap of the study context Then, purpose of the study is established and research objectives and research questions are introduced In addition, significance of the study, definitions of key terms and organizations of the study are provided at the end of this chapter

1.1 Background to the study

Nowadays, English is used as the common language all over the world It may be a foreign language, but international in its significance English language is spoken, read and understood in most parts of the world Because of this language, people on the globe communicate and belong to the whole shares of the world It is widely accepted that English language has become the language of choice for many international scholarly journals According to Crystal (1997), conversation without a common language between academicians from different nationalities, both in the virtual and real world would prove impossible English language is now the most spread of the entire world’s language since it is spoken by both natives and non-natives

According to Graddol (1997), English is used by three types of speakers: those speaking it as a first language (around 375 million speakers), those speaking it as a second or additional language (again some 375 million speakers), and those learning it as a foreign language (about 750 million learners) As to this language scholar, English language plays a very important role in different areas worldwide

For example, it serves as a working language of international organizations and conferences, scientific publications, international banking (economic affairs and trade), advertising for global brands, audio-visual cultural products such as films, TV, popular music, international tourism, tertiary (university) education, international safety (airline and maritime travels), international law, as a “relay language” in

interpretation and translation, technology transfer, and international communication (Graddol, 1997)

The growth of economy and technology make more and more chances for communication all over the world, which raised the mandatory need for a mutual language for people from different nations all over the world Tonkin (2003) introduced the term “English as a lingua franca” (ELF) under the development of a common language for different first language speakers (Seodlhofer, 2005a)

At schools, students do not possess appropriate English even to understand what they hear from their teachers or read in their textbooks, let alone to join actively the inability of students to function through English, the quality of teaching and learning in schools has been very adversely affected It means that students learn something by rote and they understand little of what they are being told And at worst it means that some possibly many students whose English is not sufficient even for rote-learning spend most of their class hours copying down notes that the teacher has written on the blackboard, and transforming them in the process into complete nonsense In such a situation it is no longer suitable to call English as a medium of instruction; rather it has become a medium of obstruction (pp 6–7)

According to some researchers, the main reason for student failure in the secondary school is the inability to study through the medium of English and determining it as a foreign language which restricts students’ opportunities to practice outside the classroom that is informal way of learning (Dendir, 1981)

Teaching is not merely an intellectual matter, it is to be considered an art or as the saying goes, “great teachers are born and not made” (Brosh, 1996) It draws on those experiences and resources that are uniquely defined and exhibited by the teacher’s personality, which cannot be easily transferred to, or learned from, others English language as a subject that has spread around the world and most of the non-English speaking countries are interested in learning it for its value Furthermore, people who are interested in learning English have different motivation and attitude

Although this is true, but to teach this language, teachers have to project some kind of an attitude and feeling toward it to the students (learners) In this sense the teachers' personality can be of the greatest importance in determining the learners' success or failure (Karavas, 1996) Consequently, in a foreign language context, the learning process is affected by various factors such as motivation, attitudes, anxiety, learning achievements, aptitudes, intelligence, age, and personalities, (Yashima & Zenuk, 2004) Among these affective factors, attitude which is a speculative idea that represents an individual’s behavior in a positive or negative way toward someone or a language, is very decisive and essential contributor Then, the instructors and educators should take this factor into account

The spread of English as a lingua franca leads to a great number of opportunities in language teaching and learning Seidlhofer (2005a) suggested incorporating ELF in language education so as to enable the globalization of English in many aspects Since then, there have been a great many studies on ELF in wide range of aspects relating to language teaching and learning at different levels In the context of international education, ELF is regarded as a tool for communication and medium instruction in multi-national contexts where lectures and students are from different countries In the context of Vietnam, where English is not an official language, ELF is still really essential for communication and interaction in EFL classrooms in particular and in daily life in general so as to help Vietnamese generations to be more fluent and confident in English communication

In the context of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province in general and in the rural area in particular, the “National Foreign Languages Project, period 2017 - 2025” inspired the variations in language teaching methodology, especially at high school levels, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Education and Training Department held training courses for all the high school teachers and appealed them to apply innovative and creative ways of teaching in order to stimulate students to communicate and interact with each other in English classrooms Therefore, the majority of high school teachers are aware of teaching English and its roles in language education

However, most of the students and their parents, even teachers preferred native language to this kind of non-native language because native language is always a difficult language in their thought In the last few years some high schools have the foreign teachers especially the Filipino teachers teach English for high school students “Teachers and Learners’ attitudes toward learning English (grade 10) with the Filipino teachers at Tran Van Quan high school” is the issue needing researching

1.2 Statement of the problem

That English is used as a lingua franca leads to a great number of opportunities in language teaching and learning There are many research findings available in the developed world, so we need a link with them to widen the horizon of our generation Specially, the young generation needs to acquaint the available knowledge through English (Mohamed, 2004) There are some research findings conducted locally regarding the attitude of teacher and students towards learning English with the foreigners

In recent years, at some high schools, students have experienced with the new English text book But from the school year 2022 – 2023, grade 10 students at Tran Van Quan High School have studied the new English textbooks – Global Success designed by the Ministry of Education and Training since 2021 Each of the English new textbook includes 10 units and each unit is divided into 9 lessons: getting started; language; reading; speaking; writing; communication and culture; looking back and project

There are three lessons per week and there are four 15 - minute tests, one midterm test and one final test Students have many chances to practice the four skills of learning English via doing tasks and activities in each lesson Nevertheless, it is obvious that both teachers and students are under teaching and study pressure The requirement they have to meet is that when completing high school, students can achieve level 3 of the 6-level foreign language competency framework for Vietnam in particular being able to understand the main ideas of a clear, standard passage or speech

Most students study English with the view to having good results in their examinations They just love to focus on the grammar features and exercises that appear in the tests without paying much attention to using authentic language in everyday conversation Moreover, although they have been taught a number of new words and structures involved in the topic given, they hardly can complete the tasks related to daily context

Another hindering factor to the learning progress with the new textbook in Tran Van Quan high school is that students are familiar with the traditional learning methods In fact, students have been accustomed to lecture-style and rote learning which remains the dominant practice Teacher-centered approaches are the norm, and students seemed conditioned to receive knowledge passively As a result, students lack confidence in applying learning to practice When it comes to English, students keep following the same way, making it hard for them to apply the language they have learnt effectively in real situations Moreover, it is also a big challenge for students to shift from the traditional methods to the new ones such as communicative approach, which forces students to make more attempts and efforts in learning

The truth is that after a long period of learning English, most Vietnamese learners still cannot use it effectively as a means of communication It is estimated that in a class of fifty English major learners, fewer than ten graduates have the English skills needed for jobs as interpreters, translators, tour guides or teachers of English (Pham, 2004)

That teachers lack experience in teaching language also contributes to students’ English study quality Apparently, when applying the new teaching methods, teachers need to be well-prepared for the changes in teaching methodology It would be a big challenge for teachers to give students good instructions, provide them with good right answers or direct them towards the next step they could take because English is not the native language of the Vietnamese teachers However, as Hoang (2016) finds out that due to the Vietnamese tradition of hierarchical order and respect which most

Vietnamese learners are expected to live by seems to have a strong impact on students to such a degree that many of them are actually unable to take any initiative at all

In short, there has been a lot of research across many contexts, especially the research on the teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward foreign teachers However, little research has been undertaken to investigate teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward learning English with the Filipino teachers, which is a gap that this study seeks to fill

1.3 Aim and objectives of the study

Ba Ria - Vung Tau province has carried out the cooperation with the foreign teachers in the last few years, but this is the new issue in most local schools

In order to enhance the quality of teaching and learning English at local schools, the Principals of high schools have cooperated with foreign teachers especially the Filipino teachers in most local schools with the view to meeting the requirements of the overall general education program promulgated with the circular No 32/2018/Deputy Minister of Education and Training by the MOET since December 26th, 2018 is to improve students’ language proficiency

Therefore, this study aims at investigating the teachers’ and grade 10 students’ attitudes toward learning English with the Filipino teachers and the solution to learning English at Tran Van Quan high school, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province The specific objectives of the research are as follows:

• To investigate the teachers’ and grade 10 students’ attitudes toward learning English with the Filipino teachers

• To examine if there is any significant relationship in the attitudes toward learning English with the Filipino teachers for the teachers and grade 10 students and the solution to learning English at Tran Van Quan high school, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province

1.5 Scope of the study

In order to meet the aim of this thesis about teachers’ and grade 10 students’ attitudes about learning English with the Filipino teachers This study was conducted at Tran Van Quan high school in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province There are about 366 grade 10 students with different abilities and 08 teachers teaching English in grade 10

Therefore, the participants of this study are 125 students who are studying with the Filipino teachers and 07 Vietnamese teachers who are the Filipino teachers’ assistants in the classrooms In order to achieve the desired results, the researcher conducted a semi-structured interview and delivered questionnaires to the participants to collect data Besides, the mixed methods design was employed, and two analytical methods utilized were SPSS and content analysis

1.6 Significance of the study

This study aims at investigating the teachers’ and grade 10 students’ attitudes toward learning English with the Filipino teachers and the solution to learning English at Tran Van Quan high school, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province Thus, the study expected to provide both theoretical and practical significance to language teaching and learning in Ba Ria - Vung Tau in particular and Vietnam in general

On a theoretical basis, this study is hoped to make a big contribution to the quality of learning and teaching English at Tran Van Quan high school Besides, it will cast light on the application of teaching methods from the Filipino teachers

On a practical basis, the results of the study may be beneficial to not only educators regarding to teaching methods but also teachers who are trying to implement the Filipino teachers’ methods in their classrooms

1.7 Definitions of key terms

In order to help elucidate a specific perspective on the discussed issues for the purpose of the research, some key terms are defined as follows

Attitude is considered as a crucial factor which have a great effect on teachers

who play different roles in language teaching such as an instructor, a facilitator, a supervisor and a monitor in the language classroom

Classroom teaching practices refer to a set of actions a teacher can carry out in

order to engage the students in the lessons relating to a certain topic in the classrooms

The Filipino teachers are those who are working as English teachers at Tran

Van Quan high school

Vietnamese teachers are those who work as the Filipino teachers’ assistants

1.8 Organization of the thesis

This study report consists of five separate chapters as follows:

Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the study with the background information related to the study, the rationale of the study, the aims and objectives, the research questions, the scope of the study, the significance of the study, the definitions of the key terms as well as the organization of the thesis

Chapter 2 is the literature review, presenting the information related to attitude In terms of attitude, definitions, the three components of attitude, attitudes towards learning language, attitudes and achievement, and attitude models are recommended With reference to the culture of the Philippines, the importance of learning with the Filipino teachers is analyzed in details In previous studies, many studies by foreign as well as Vietnamese researchers are summarized and discussed in brief Finally, the conceptual framework is also introduced in the literature review

Chapter 3 describes the methodology of the study including the research design, the research site, the sample and sample procedures, the research instruments, the data collection procedures as well as the data analysis procedures

Chapter 4 supplies the presentation of results of the study by analyzing the data collected from questionnaire and semi-structured interview The discussion of the data is also compared and contrasted with the data in previous studies

Chapter 5 presents the summary of the main findings of the thesis, implications of the research, limitation of the research and recommendations for further research

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter establishes the theoretical background of the study Firstly, it presents the introduction of attitude, the definitions of attitude from various perspectives, the components, its components as well as models are included in the next section Besides, attitudes towards learning language, attitudes and achievement, the importance of learning with the Filipino teachers are summarized in details The last section highlights the framework of the study which depicts the issues discussed in this chapter

2.1Attitude

2.1.1 Definitions of attitudes

Attitude is thought to be opinions and feelings that everyone has about something Learning a foreign language is no exception So, attitude to language is a theory that describes linguistic behavior in particular

It is very difficult to value the teachers and learners’ attitudes, some definitions of the term ‘attitude’ are offered Al-Mamun, Rahman, Rahman, and Hossaim (2012) defined the term as a psychological theory which defines a particular behavior To Bassili, J N., & Brown, R D (2005), the attitudinal constructs posited by a representational system of attitudes have to be able to account for attitudinal malleability The challenges created by the apparent duality of attitude expression and experience and by context effects Attitude is characterized by a large proportion of emotional involvement such as feelings, self, relationships in the community It is not easy for students to learn if they have not positive attitudes toward it on one hand, and attitudes might initiate from life experiences, on the other hand Attitude can not only influence success or failure in learning but it also plays an important role as well Ajzen (2005) believes like any personality characteristic, attitude doesn’t observe hypothetical theory directly and must be inferred from measurable responses that

In this study, attitude is considered as a vital aspect influencing language performance and received significant consideration from both first and second language researchers There are many reasons why teachers’ and learners’ attitude toward language learning is important For example, Craker, D E (2006) believe that attitudes toward learning influence behaviors such as selecting and reading books, speaking in a foreign language Generally, teachers’ and learners’ attitudes are believed to command whether or not they will be able to engage the details of language On the other hand, achievement in a goal language relies both on intellectual ability and on the teachers’ and learner’s attitudes toward language learning This means it is essential to approach learning language mainly as a social and psychological phenomenon rather than as a morally academic one As Kang’ahi, M., Indoshi, F C., Okwach, T O., & Osodo, J (2012) investigated, negative attitude toward English is the most affective and psychological aspect that results in the students’ poor performance in English

Besides the intellectual viewpoint, the nature of language learning has psychological and social aspects and depends mainly on the learners’ motivation and attitude to learning the goal language (Padwick, 2010) The capacity of students to master a second language is influenced by both the mental competence or language skills and on the students’ attitudes and perceptions toward the goal language (Abidin et al., 2012) They also supported that attitude concept could improve the process of language learning, influencing the nature of student’s behaviors and beliefs toward the other language, its culture, and community, and this will classify their trend to gain that language

It is said that high motivation and positive attitude of students facilitate second language learning should be acknowledged by language teachers, researchers, and students Thus, unless a learner has the interest and trend in gaining the goal language to communicate with others, this learner will own a negative attitude and will not be motivated and enthusiastic in language learning Therefore, teachers’ and learners’ attitudes could not company in language learning because it may influence their performance in gaining the goal language

Teachers’ and learners’ attitudes, feelings, beliefs, likes, dislikes, needs, and so on should be considered because their attitudes influence language learning The concept of attitude in this study is looked into as one of the main affective aspects for success in learning a foreign language More specifically, it explores freshmen EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners’ attitudes of Kashan University toward learning English language, taking the three aspects of attitude i.e emotional, cognitive, and behavioral into consideration

In his great work “Principles of Language Learning and Teaching”, Brown (2000) added attitudes, like all aspects of the progress of cognition and affect in human beings, develop early in childhood and result from parents’ and peers’ attitudes, interact with people who are different in numerous of ways, and interacting affective aspects in the human experience (p 168) It seems noticeable that there are a lot of stimulants that lead to a positive or negative attitude Attitude concept can be observed from three measurements regarding aspects of it Each one of these measurements has different features to bring out language attitude results, i.e behavioral, cognitive, and affective These three attitudinal aspects are based on the three theoretical approaches of behaviorism, cognitivism, and humanism, respectively

2.1.2 The components of attitude

The behavioral aspect of attitude (BAA) deals with the way one behaves and reacts in particular situations Kara (2009) stated that positive attitude leads to the exhibition of positive behavior toward studying, engaging themselves in it, and attempting to learn more Such learners are also observed to show more enthusiasm to solve problems, to gain what is useful for daily life, and to engage themselves emotionally

In theory, attitudes are psychological phenomena which may be indirectly observed or gradually acquired over a period of time and attitude is classified into three interrelated components; namely, affective, behavioral or cognitive components (Rosenberg & Hovland, 1960)

Cognitive component

Cognitive aspect of attitude (CAA) involves the beliefs of the language learners about the knowledge that they receive and their understanding of the process of language learning The cognitive attitude could be categorized into four steps of connecting the previous knowledge and the new one, creating new knowledge, checking new knowledge, and applying the new knowledge in many situations

Affective component

The definition of affective component presented by Eagly and Chaiken (1998) that “feelings, moods, emotions, and sympathetic nervous system activity which people have experienced in relation to an attitude object and subsequently associate with it” (p 272) are affective factors In other words, affective component is related to the emotional experiences and preferences such as the likes or dislikes toward an object As the operational mechanism of emotion is simultaneous with cognitive factor, the evaluation of affective factor is a combination of feelings, emotions and evaluative judgement on beliefs which are called an integrated model of attitude and choice (Agarwal & Malhotra, 2005) Regarding to language learning, Feng and Chen (2009) presented that learning process is an emotional process influenced by different emotional factors It means that the inner feelings and emotions of learners should be taken into consideration (Choy & Troudi, 2006) for the purpose of bettering their learning process

Behavioral component

Behavioral component defined by Defleur and Westie (1963) is associated with individual response or reaction toward attitude object To put it differently, the way a person behaves or reacts in particular situations are behavioral aspects of attitude Therefore, the student’s participation in the tasks and their actions during tasks are concerned to attitude object It means that the behavioral component helps enhance students to be exposed to the target language and the English environment in the classroom

According to Kara (2009), positive attitudes lead to positive behaviors toward language learning, which can encourage the eagerness as well as enthusiasm of students And students engage themselves emotionally and feel strived to learn more and acquire more information and skills for daily life

On the whole, the affective component refers to the emotions and feelings, cognitive component is based on perceptions and beliefs whereas the behavioral component is related to the expression of behavioral intentions Therefore, attitude concept should be viewed from the three above dimensions because each of those dimensions consists different features which are absolutely necessary for students‟ language learning

With respect to the emotional attitude, Feng and Chen (2009) stated that “Learning process is an emotional process It is affected by different emotional factors The teacher and his students engage in various emotional activities in it and varied results of emotions are yield.” Since attitude is one of the key factors for success in language learning, numerous studies have already been conducted in the field of language attitude In addition, language attitude research has been considered in the previous 50 years because of the growing relation between the importance of the language use and the nature of individuals (Saidat, 2010)

2.1.3 Attitudes towards learning language

Attitudes towards English in general refer to the state of emotion and thought relating to the learning language Fazio & Williams (1986) indicates that individual attitudes are short-term decisions that help each learner to organize their self-motivated social environments Walley et al (2009) states that actions can be positive, negative, or neutral Attitude is a psychological phenomenon which is expressed invisibly by estimating a certain person with a certain degree of advantages or disadvantages (Eagly & Chaiken 1993) According to Ellis (1994), the learner’s attitude towards the target language informs the determination with which the learner can tackle challenges in the target language

Brown (1980), as cited in Kanjira (2008) also says: “The process of learning a second language is one that involves a total commitment from the learner” A total physical, intellectual, and emotional response is necessary to successfully send and receive linguistic messages

Without this the willingness or interest or what is ‘commonly thought of as an inner drive, impulse, emotion or desire that moves one to a particular action,’ in Brown’s words (as cited in Kanjira, 2008) on the part of a learner learning a second language, it will be a futile exercise to teach a second language In many ways, attitudes have great influence on learning, and quite often decide their learning progress For example, a learner with poor pronunciation can have negative attitudes towards speaking classes Therefore, attitudes affect the amount and level of stimulation of a learner Gardner (1980) stated that “individual motivation to learn a second language is controlled by his attitudes towards the other group in particular or by his orientation to learning itself”

The researcher sees that there is a connection between attitude and learning a language, so teachers should help students to develop and build positive attitudes towards English language

2.1.4 Attitudes and achievement

It is very apparent that positive attitudes and success are correlated The importance of attitude is due to the effect it may have on the student's achievement, as the results of many studies have shown Echavez-Solano (2003) emphasizes this by stating that a positive attitude leads to an enthusiasm to study and learn English Attitudes can possibly affect learners’ achievement and the desire to continue studying in the target language

Oraif (2007) assures that high self-esteem students (those with more positive attitudes towards themselves) are able to limit the effect of any failure because they do not generalize the negative evaluation to all their abilities and life situations

Kara (2009) states that attitudes towards learning, besides opinions and beliefs, have an obvious influence on students’ behaviors and consequently on their performance

In the light of the previous mentioned results, the researcher agrees that there is a strong correlation between the psychological factor "attitude" and academic achievement as the higher positive attitude students have, the higher academic achievement they will achieve

Figure 1: Tripartite Model

ABC Model

Vainikka, B (2015) mentioned about ABC Model, one of the most common attitudinal modeling as in Figure 2, includes affect, behaviour and cognition These authors give short explanations to each components as follows:

• Affect refers to the way a customer feels an attitude object This component is otherwise directly concerned with the feelings, sentiments, moods or emotions about an object (Fill 2009, p 148)

• Behaviour involves the person’s intentions to do something with regards an attitude object

• Cognition refers to the beliefs a consumer has about an attitude object (p.277)

Figure 2: ABC Model

CAC Model

According to Feroudj, A., & Aissa, M A, the Cognitive Affective and Conative (CAC) model of attitudes by Schiffman & Kanuk (2004) as can be seen in Figure 3, indicate that attitudes are made up of three main factors: Cognitive component, Afffective component and Conative component In some ways, the components of CAC Model is relevant with those of ABC Model as Cognitive refers to beliefs, Affective refers to feelings and conative refers to behaviours

Figure 3: CAC Model

All in all, the three models focus on supply the close relationship of the three components, which are composed of cognitive, affective and behavioural attitudes

2.2 Filipino’s cultures

The seven Filipino teachers working at Tran Van Quan high school are all males Most of them are over 30 years old One of them is married with Vietnamese woman and the others are living alone in Ba Ria Vung Tau province while their wives and children are living in the Philippines They are all teaching English for grade 10 students as the schedule of Tran Van Quan high school

Mr Swaggert, teaching English in class 10A1 from 1:30 p.m to 3:00 p.m and class 10a2 from 3:15 p.m to 4:45 p.m on Monday, was assisted by Ms Thuy and Mr Bao Mr Edward, teaching English in class 10A3 from 1:30 p.m to 3:00 p.m on Tuesday, was assisted by Mr Bao Mr Jose, teaching English in class 10A4 from 3:15 p.m to 4:45 p.m and class 10A5 from 1:30 to 3:00 on Monday, was assisted by Ms Hieu and Ms Thuy Mr Jose and Mr Hien teach English in class 10A6 from 1:30 p.m to 3:00 p.m on Wednesday Mr Sam, teaching English in class 10A7 from 1:30 p.m to 3:00 p.m on Monday, was assisted by Ms Minh Mr Thomas, teaching English in class 10A8 from 1:30 p.m to 3:00 p.m on Wednesday, was assisted by Ms Loi Mr Arif, teaching English in class 10A9 from 1:30 p.m to 3:00 p.m on Friday, was assisted by Ms Hanh

According to Elyildirim, S., & Ashton-Hay, S (2006), students’ ability to learn a second language can be influenced by their attitudes towards the target language, the target language speakers and their culture, the social value of learning the second language, and also the students’ attitudes towards themselves as members of their own culture (Ellis 1994) In addition, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers should recognize that all students possess positive and negative attitudes in varying degrees, and that the negative ones can be changed by thoughtful instructional methods, such as using materials and activities that help students achieve an “understanding and appreciation of the foreign culture” (Brown 2000, 181)

To Brown, S.T (2001, p 61), attitude is characterized by a large proportion of emotional involvement such as feelings, self, relationships in community It

emphasizes “the power of culture thereby shaping our life and feeling” and therefore our attitudes towards external world

It can be said that culture in general is said to be an important and vital part of human society which deals with the communication of language by the individuals in many situations and circumstances It also boosts cultural behaviors and attitudes of learners as well as the demands of communicating English as a foreign language Additionally, culture plays an important role in language education because it motives students and facilitates communication If language education successfully incorporates the presentation of cultural information in language classroom, it will greatly increase the advantages of language study

The Filipino’s culture in particular was first introduced to English when the British invaded Manila and Cavite in 1762, but this occupation had no lasting effect on English in the country A national variety called Philippine English evolved eventually, as a result of the American colonization, and was arguably one of the fastest to develop in the postcolonial world Its origins as an English language spoken by a large segment of the Philippine population can be traced to the American introduction of public education, taught in the English medium of instruction

Unlike other countries, Filipinos have a clear American accent which makes them understood easily As mentioned, the Americans and the Philippines had a long history in the past The Philippines has the American culture deeply implanted in media and society That’s one reason Filipino English teachers have clear American pronunciation

Along with the strong influence of the Americans on Filipinos, they have quickly learned the accent that’s almost like native speakers Furthermore, The Filipinos are great English students and they learn English very well, so they can surely teach it well too

The Filipino teachers are said to be passionate, creative and dedicated They are always not only funny but also full of energy in the class They are not boring teachers as they themselves are happy and very positive people

There is no gloomy moment for most Filipino teachers Most Filipino teachers have this natural ability to relate to any conversation and it is maybe the strong point that helps them create an active atmosphere in English lessons

2.3 The importance of learning with the Filipino teachers

There are seven Filipino teachers working at Tran Van Quan high school in the school year 2022 - 2023 The Philippines hails itself as the fifth largest English spoken nations Apart from the fact that the Philippines was a former colony of the US, Filipinos also watch plenty of films and TV shows in English, which are not dubbed in Filipino Even the medium of instruction at school is mostly in English making the Filipinos really well-versed in English And there are some advantages of learning English with the Filipino teachers

• High English Proficiency

Filipinos are known to be great English speakers And it’s not just subjective self-praise Renowned organizations acknowledge it According to the EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI), the Philippines is ranked second in English Proficiency in Asia last 2018

Also, the literacy rate in the Philippines is the highest in Southeast Asia at 97.95% Most Filipino teachers graduated with a teaching degree They even have professional licenses and TESOL/TEFL certifications

• English is the Second Language for Most Filipinos

There’s a good reason for the high English Proficiency rating The Filipinos have English as their second language Historically, the Philippines was colonized by the USA for 33 years So English was used as the medium of instruction for government offices, formal dealings, educational institutions, and the list go on And this is still the case today

Most Filipino teachers are living in this environment, you can learn English from an English speaker close to a native speaker’s level

• Clear American Accent

Unlike other nationalities, Filipinos learned English directly from America’s influence The Philippines has the American culture deeply embedded in media and society That’s one of the reasons why Filipino teachers have clear American pronunciation

That is also why many international companies set their call centers in the Philippines to serve American clients well Because of this history, most Filipinos can quickly learn the American accent that’s almost indistinguishable from a native speaker

If they can learn it, they have a higher chance of teaching it well when you get classes from them You can now speak English as Americans do

• Filipinos are Fun-loving, Creative, and Friendly People

Aside from the technical skills, you want an English teacher you can have fun learning with You don’t want a scary teacher on your side schooling Luckily, the Filipinos are known to be fun-loving, creative, and friendly people There is no dull moment for most Filipino teachers Expect your hours to be filled with English lessons delivered playfully

Suppose you also need to practice conversing in English In that case, most Filipino teachers have the innate ability to relate to any conversation You can talk to them about any topic under the sun

From the above benefits, studying with Filipinos teachers helps students broaden their world understanding and perspective on just about anything Students gain a different view of political, moral and social issues As they get to know their classmates, they gain new perspectives and have a more nuanced understanding of the world They get better and deeper understanding and respect for other nations, knowing how another culture verge upon daily life and unfamiliar challenges

The most important thing is that after learning English with the Filipino teachers, students can meet the need of basic and practical communication about the familiar topics such as: schools, careers, entertainment, etc

Continuing to develop the English knowledge about pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, students will be widened their knowledge about country, people and culture of the country using English as their second language as well as the other countries all over the world

Understanding and respecting the cultural diversity all over the world, students can start to reflect the Vietnamese cultural value in English That is also the aim of the overall general education program promulgated with the circular No 32/2018/Deputy Minister of Education and Training by the MOET since December 26th, 2018 And it is in used in grade 10 at Tran Van Quan high school from this school year (2022-2023)

2.4 Previous research

A large number of studies on language attitudes with numerous scopes have been conducted over the years all over the world such as Persian EFL teachers’ and learners’ attitudes toward humor in class (Ketabi & Simm, 2009), relationship between attitudes and motivation (Al-Mamun et al., 2012; Bernaus, Masgoret, Gardner, & Reyes, 2004), attitudes toward English (Jahin & Idrees, 2012; Yang, 2010), teachers’ attitudes toward students’ beliefs and motivation (Salehi, Taghavi, & Yunus, 2015), and the effect of teachers’ attitudes on communication (Al-Magid & Al-Mamun, 2009), EFL students’ attitudes toward learning English language: The case study of Kashan University students (Shahrzad Eshghinejad, 2016) As learning a language is closely related to the attitudes toward the languages and attitudes are regarded as elements of motivation in language learning, some of these studies gained information on what the attitudes of the people toward languages are while others discovered the elements of attitudes, i.e what constructs and changes attitudes of the people

There are few studies about the attitudes of teachers and grade 10 students toward learning English with the Filipino teachers so I choose this thesis as my research study with the hope that it may contribute to improving the educational standard in my school

2.5 Conceptual Framework

According to Lubis, T (2015), Wenden (1991) proposed a broad definition of the concept of attitudes He states that the term attitudes include three components, namely cognitive, affective and behavioural A cognitive component is made up of the beliefs and ideas or opinions about the object of the attitude The affective component refers to the feeling and emotions that one has towards an object, “likes” or “dislikes”, “with” or “against” And the last component is the behavioural one which refers to one’s consisting actions or behavioural intentions towards the object (Wenden, 1991)

Three of relevant and well-organized attitude models are chosen and

demonstrated such as: Tripartite model which introduced by Spooncer (1992) is

composed of three major components of attitudes, including feelings, beliefs and behavior The first component “feelings” represents emotion in terms of verbal statements of feeling The second element “beliefs” represents cognitive response with regard to verbal statements of belief while the last element “behavior” introduces overt actions with verbal statements about intended behavior “Feelings” and “belief”

components affected by stimuli lead to “behavior” of individuals; ABC Model which includes affect, behaviour and cognition and CAC Model which are made up of three

main factors: Cognitive component, Afffective component and Conative component In some ways, the components of CAC Model is relevant with those of ABC Model as Cognitive refers to beliefs, Affective refers to feelings and conative refers to behaviours

All in all, the three models focus on supply the close relationship of the three components, which are composed of cognitive, affective and behavioural attitudes, so the theoretical framework was relied on the theoretical framework of the three models and previous studies and it was suggested as following: Attitudes are composed of three elements: cognitive, affective and behavioural ones Cultural knowledge and Langue consist of four sections: culture, vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation Language skills also consists of four sections: listening, speaking, reading and writing (see Figure 4)

Figure 4: Conceptual framework of the thesis

It should be noticed that the aims in this research are to investigate the teachers’ and grade 10 students’ attitudes toward learning English with the Filipino teachers and then to determine the solution to learning English at Tran Van Quan high school, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province

Teachers’ and Learners’ attitudes

Learning English with the Filipino teachers

Cognitive attitude

Affective attitude

Behavioural attitude

Cultural knowledge and Language

Language skills

Culture VocabularyGrammarPronunciation

2.6 Summary

This chapter provided an overview of the status of the attitudes toward learning English with the Filipino teachers Moreover, the exploration of the important role in learning English with the Filipino teachers in English classrooms Additionally, previous studies on teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward learning English in the world and in Vietnam was presented Next was the conceptual study that was used in this research The research methodology used in this study is discussed in chapter three

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

This chapter provides an outline of the research methods with 6 major items in order to achieve the objectives proposed in Chapter One and addresses the following research questions of the study:

1 What are the attitudes of the teachers toward learning English with the Filipino teachers?

2 What are the attitudes of grade 10 students toward learning English with the Filipino teachers?

3 Are there any significant differences between teachers and learners’ attitudes toward learning English with the Filipino teachers? If yes, What are they?

This chapter first presents the research design with general information of the methods and participants It then provides more detailed information of research site, sample and sample procedures, research instruments, data collection procedures This chapter ends with how the data analysis procedures are conducted

3.1 Research site

In Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province, the use of English as a tool for communication received a great support from the government of this province who hope to increase the language teaching and learning in English as well as develop Ba Ria - Vung Tau students’ communicative competence The quality of English teaching and learning in Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province has been considerably upgraded in recent years Each school has some well-equipped lab rooms for the purpose of supporting the language teaching and learning The materials such as cassette players, pictures and books are always available in the library The teachers are active and willing to change themselves to be more suitable for the language teaching and learning nowadays