Nhận thức và thái độ của giáo viên và sinh viên trường Đại học Kinh doanh và Công nghệ Hà Nội đối việc ứng dụng giáo trình điện tử New dynamic English

One of the recent educational technology for language teaching, more specifically English Language teaching, is the Computer Assisted Language Learning CALL method which is combining wit

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES viii

PARTA:INTRODUCTION……… 1

I.Rationale of the study……… 2

II Purposes of the study……… 2

III Scope of the study……… 2

IV Methodology of the study……… 2

V Significance of the study……… 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT……… 4

Chapter one : Review of Literature……… 4

1.1 Computer assisted language learning(CALL)……… 4

1.1.1 What is CALL? 4

1.1.2 Impacts of CALL on language learning and teaching……… 4

1.1.3 Lance Knowles( 2004)’ CALL……… 5

1.2 Blended Learning(BL) model……… 6

1.2.1 Definition of BL……… 6

1.2.2 Differences between blended learning and traditional classroom learning(TCL)………

6 1.3 Dyned language learning programme……… 7

1.3.1 Overview……… 7

1.3.2 The Dyned Advantages……… 8

1.4 New Dynamic English……… 9

1.5 Attitudes ………

10 1.5.1 Definition……… 10

1.5.2 Effects of attitudes in language teaching and studying……… 11

1.5.3 Learners and teachers’ attitudes toward CALL and Dyned learning………… 11

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY AND DATA ANALYSIS……… 13

2.1 Context of the study……… 13

2.2.Subjects ……… 13

2.1.1 Teachers……… 13

2.1.2 Students ……… 13

2.3 The instrument……… 14

2.3.1 Survey questionnaires……… 14

2.3.1.1 Questionnaires for students……… 14

2.3.1.2 Questionnaires for teachers……… 14

2.3.2 Interviews……… 14

2.3.2.2 Interviews for teachers……… 15

2.3.2.2 Interviews for students……… 15

2.4 Data collection and analysis……… 15

2.5 Findings from questionaires and interviews……… 16

2.5.1 Findings from questionaires and interviews for teachers……… 16

2.5.2 Findings from questionaires and interviews for students……… 25

2.6 Discussion……… 33

2.6.1 Teachers’ perception and attitudes……… 33

2.6.2 Students’ understanding and attitudes……… 33

2.6.3 Inconsistency in the responses between teachers and students……… 34

2.6.4 Benefits in the application of NDE at HUBT……… 34

2.6.5 Problems in the application of NDE at HUBT……… 35

PART C : CONCLUSIONS……… 36

I Summary of the findings……… 36

II Recommendations ……… 36

III.Limitations of the study……… 37

IVSuggestions for further research……… 38

REFERENCES……… 39

A PPENDIXES ……… … I Appendix 1 Questionnaires for teacher ……… I Appendix 2 Questionnaires for students … II Appendix 3 Interview questions for teachers and students VI Appendix 4 Interview transcripts with teachers VIII Appendix 5 Interview transcripts with students XIII

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1 Hanoi University of Business and Technology = HUBT

2 Blended Learning = BL

3 Computer assisted language learning = CALL

4 New Dynamic English = NDE

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

FIGURES

Figure 1: Improvements of learners’ pronunciation……….… 16

Figure 2: Most effective activity to practice pronunciation from teachers’ opinion 17

Figure 3: Most interesting activity to practice pronunciation from teachers’ opinion… 17

Figure 4: The workload of grammar in each module……….…….18

Figure 5: Level of grammar exercises in each module……… …18

Figure 6: Teachers’ views on tests……….…… … 19

Figure 7: Reasons for teachers’ views on tests……… …… 19

Figure 8: Working schedule in terms of content……… 20

Figure 9: Working schedule in terms of time allocation ……….… …20

Figure10: Workload of supplementary materials in each module……….….… 21

Figure 11: Linguistic level of supplementary materials……….21

Figure 12: Design of supplementary materials……….……… 21

Figure13: Problems in delivering supplementary materials……… ………… 22

Figure 14: Difficulties in delivering NDE lessons……… ………24

Figure 15: Students’ English pronunciation after studying English………….………… 26

Figure 16: Most Effective activity for students to practice pronunciation…….….… 26

Figure17: Most effective activity for students to practice pronunciation……….… …26

Figure 18: Students’ enrichment of vocabulary……… …27

Figure19: Students’ ability to use vocabulary……… ….…… 27

Figure 20: Complexity of grammar exercises in NDE……… 28

Figure 21: Effectiveness of grammatical exercises in NDE……….…28

Figure 22: Kind of test that students like……… 29

Figure23: Reasons that students like the test……… ….….29

Figure 24: The most difficult lesson……… … ……….…32

Figure25: The most interesting lesson……… …….……32

Figure 26: Students’ recommendations……… ….…… 33

TABLES

Table 1 : Vocabulary presented in each module……….… ….17

Table 2: Teachers’ perception about skills development………… ……….… 19

Table 3: Teachers’ perception of and attitudes to the difficulties……… 23

Table 4 : Teachers’ perception of and attitudes to NDE’ benefits……… 24

Table 5: Teachers’ recommendations to improve NDE……….25

Table 6: Students’ perception of and attitudes to skills development……….…….… 28

Table 7: Students’ attitudes to supplementary materials……… … … 30

Table 8: Students’ perception of and attitudes to NDE’ benefits ……….……… …….31

Table 9: Students’ perception of and attitudes to challenges ….……… 32

PART A INTRODUCTION

These days computer use has increasingly penetrated into daily life It is not surprising to find a similar trend in the academic world Computers are becoming important components of education and the number of computers used at schools is increasing Although the notion of face-to-face classroom instruction is still prevalent in many organisational and educational settings, there seems a rush and enthusiasm for computer-based approach

Computer technology can be regarded as an educational tool supporting language teaching In fact, a wide range of electronic technologies have been developed to supplement second language teaching and learning (Bas & Kuzucu, 2009;Warschauer, 1996) These technologies include hardware delivery methods such as audiotape recorders, videotape recorders, computers and the Internet In addition, there are many innovative electronic tools oriented to language such as speech production and recognition, text analysis, text translation, and software for visualisation and animation, electronic mail, list serve discussion groups, streaming audio and video and real-time synchronous as well as asynchronous communication opportunities that bring the target language environment to the learner (LeLoup & Porterio, 1997)

One of the recent educational technology for language teaching, more specifically English Language teaching, is the Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) method which is combining with face to face classroom instruction to form a new Blended Learning(BL) model In recent years, some of the countries such as China, France, Malaysia, Korea, Miyanmar, Turkey and Vietnam are using an English Language teaching software named DynED, which stands for Dynamic English Education In these countries, this software is used in a way that it assists English language teaching process at schools

In Vietnam, Dyned was first applied in Le Van Tam primary school in 2006 and got positive attitudes from teachers and students So far, Dyned has been experimenting in about 40 schools and universities And this program has been getting different opinions from administrators, teachers and students At Ha Noi University of Business and

Technology(HUBT) after a year of experiment, the application of New Dynamic English(NDE) which is a Dyned component, has caused a controversy over its effectiveness among teachers and students Hence, this research is done to explore the perception of and attitudes of HUBT English teachers and their students toward the course with the hope to reveal the benefits and challenges in applying NDE so as to find ways to improve the course

II Purpose

The major aims of the study are as follows

 To investigate what HUBT English teachers and students perceive and think of New Dynamic English

 To discover benefits and challenges in the application of New Dynamic English

at HUBT

In light of the goals of the study, the following research questions are made:

1 What are the HUBT English teachers’ understandings of and anttitudes to New Dynamic English ?

2 What are benenits and difficulties in the application of New Dynamic English

at HUBT?

III Scope of the study

The study involves HUBT English teachers from faculty of English, who have ever taken part in teaching New Dynamic English and their second year, non English majors as the main participants of the research

Due to the limit of the study and constrain of time, my thesis would focus on investigating the teachers and students’ perception and attitudes toward NDE in terms of its content, organization, working schedule, supplementary materials and assessment

IV Methodology of the study

In order to collect reliable and valid data for the study, different methods were combined

To start with, the literature review was extensively carried out, critically examining the relevant theoretical frame concerning Dyned program, computer assisted language learning method as well as the matters relating to attitudes in language learning

Questionnaire which is time- saving and realiable means of data collection was employed primarily to obtain teachers and students’ evaluative comments on New Dynamic English programme, to reveal the difficulties they faced in the application of NDE as well as disclose their expectation for the improvement of the program at HUBT Interview, a method of collecting data to facilitate the results of the questionnaires, was conducted to get better insights about the issues from teachers The data would be coded into text for convenience

V Significance of the study

Firstly, the study serves as a reference source for HUBT administrators and English teaching staffs who are directly involved in New Dynamic English program and administrators as well as for students who are beneficiaries of the program They will be made aware of both benefits and challenges in the application of NDE and thus promote the quality & effectiveness of the program

Secondly, it would make a contribution to the research area in the field of computer

assisted learning, blended learning model as well as relating to the application of

language learning software

Finally, the thesis would also be helpful for those who share similar concern with the researcher

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I : REVIEW OF LITERATURE 1.1 Computer assisted language learning(CALL)

1.1.1 What is CALL?

According to Kocak (1997) CALL is “a term used by teachers and students to describe the use of computers as part of a language course” Hardisty & Windeatt (1989) give a more detailed definition that CALL is traditionally considered as a method of 'presenting, reinforcing and testing' particular language items in which the learner is first presented with a rule and some examples, and then answers a series of questions which test her/his knowledge of the rule and the computer gives appropriate feedback and awards a mark which may be stored for later inspection for the teacher and reference for the learner

1.1.2 Impacts of CALL on language learning and teaching

In fact, CALL has a lot of effects on language learning in term of methods, context and language knowledge acquisition Higgins (1995) indicates that the value of CALL is that it allows a richer form of language exploration and the use of computers is compatible with a variety of approaches, methods and techniques This gives teachers much flexibility

in their teaching practise According to Kramsch and Andersen (1999) multimedia technology can provide authentic cultural contexts that are important for language learning

In other words it creates a supportive learning environment Kocak’s( 1997) study investigates the effectiveness of CALL on vocabulary learning and teaching and draws a conclusion that “computer instruction may offer a noteworthy experience to students with respect to vocabulary learning”

Besides, CALL considerably influences the development of language skills As some researchers who advocated CALL programs, especially voice-interactive, say that CALL can improve learners' speaking skills (Ehsani, & Knodt, 1998; James, 1996) Moreover, computer technology in combination with a conferencing system is considered an effective means of providing goal-directed writing courses tailored to different learning styles

(Cornu, Decker, Rosseel, & Vanderheiden, 1990) So, making complete use of CALL to develop integrative language skills is truly valuable in language teaching and learning

However, working with the computer, as any other teaching aid, needs to be linked with ordinary classroom work and CALL lessons, like other lessons, need to be planned carefully because Jones & Fortescue (1987) warns that the computer is a resource and not a programmed-learning machine

1.1.3 Lance Knowles( 2004)’ CALL

The diagram shows how various processors in the brain communicate with the working memory, which is instrumental in the learning process The multiple processors such as the visual, auditory, conceptual and many others are involved and can be activated

in well designed activites In addition, these processors work in parallel in the unconscious process and interact with the working memory and long term memory to interprete language In fact, when languages are repeated many times, neurons are connected, then create automaticity Making use of this working process of the brain, people create a new model of language learning naming Computer Assisted Language Learning( CALL) CALL can simultaneously activate auditory, phonological, and visual systems in the brain Lance Knowles (2004) states that CALL is an emerging force in language education and affirms that “CALL is now moving toward a blended model where the computer

Long-Term Memory

Working Memory

Visual Buffer

Auditory Buffer

Conceptual Buffer

provides the necessary optimal input and practice activities, and the classroom provides the human element accommodating and utilizing the needs and lives of the learners in a social context” Besides, he shows the different but essential roles of “both multimedia and classroom activities” Without the effective practice provided by well-designed, media-rich courseware, language learning is slow, painful and discouraging However, without social environment of classroom, learning is tedious, unmotivating, and too restrictive to meet the learners’ needs Moreover, he argues that learners’ practice should be assisted by teachers who point out practice strategies and materials so that students practice English more effectively

1.2 Blended Learning(BL) model

1.2.1 Definition of BL

The two most commonly mentioned definitions documented are from Singh & Reed(2001) and Thomson(2002) They all refer to BL as combining instructional modalities The other authors including House(2002) and Rossett(2002) focus on the field

of approaches and think that BL combines instructional methods Both of these positions suffer from the problem that they define BL so broadly that there encompass virtually all learning systems It would be very difficult to find any learning system that did not involve multiple instructional methods as well as multiple delivery media

Along with the development of technology and existing theoritical background of

BL, the researchers Ward & LaBranche(2003), Young(2002) have a different idea of BL which is a combination of online and face to face instruction This is also a foundation for the later BL system combining traditional classroom and digital learning environments in the context of a specific educational setting (Rovai and Jordan 2004)

1.2.2 Differences between blended learning and traditional classroom

learning(TCL)

There are a lot of differences between blended learning and tradional text based approach

In terms of time, BL is more flexible than TCL BL allows learners to study on their own schedule and make their own decision on how long they would like to spend on each session while learners have to work on a fixed schedule and assigned period of time

in the traditional classroom learning So, BL is very convenient for those who both work and study or learn many subjects at the same time

With regard to the assessment , BL supports teachers and administrators to manage their students more effectively than TCL Students with BL often receive personalized feedback about their progress, both language knowledge and languge skills whereas teachers in the TCL often do not have time to give personalized feedback to each student

So, students in BL know exactly what they are lacking in order to improve Besides, BL assists administrators to have a correct report on the students’ progresss but administrators

in TCL just receives a list of student attendance and must presume that the students have learnt something, which does not reflect the reality of teaching and learning

In addition, BL can make use of modern technological equipment, which is limited

in TCL Using technology will enhance the learning experience and improve retention for

learners ( TJ Taylor Language Training-

www.tjtaylor.net)

1.3 Dyned language learning programme

1.3.1 Overview

Basically, Dyned (Dynamic English) is a useful language learning computer software

Each DynED course is based on sound, time-proven approaches to language teaching, curriculum design, and human interface design DynEd's research-based courses cover all proficiency levels and include a range of age-appropriate courses, from kids in school to adults in leading corporations Moreover, DynED courses are supported by Records Management System, Mastery and Placement tests, and extensive teacher-support materials, including teacher training and mentoring (http://www.dyned.com/about/)

Dyned is well sequenced as the activities build on one another in a gradual manner, and there is an increasing vocabulary as students move through each level With the programme shuffler feature, students are gradually introduced to new language as their

level increases They are exposed to comprehensible activities that balance communicative and linguistic needs

DynED is a four-level introductory program which is presented from elementary to upper intermediate learners It focuses on building the receptive skill of listening and the productive speaking skill that are essential for basic English communication Lessons are subject based that relate to students' lives at the college level Topics vary from daily routine to social issues Grammar and vocabulary are strongly founded because learners are introduced to the language needed for effective communication (Marimuthu Soon, 2005)

However, Dyned also suffers from some limitation that it tends to be quite formulaic

in the patterning of its instructional sequences, from unit to unit Being aware of this weakness, ways of offsetting any negative side effects should be planned (Watt & Foscolos, 1998)

1.3.2 The Dyned Advantages

First and foremost, Dyned is designed to develop integrated skills, especially oral skills Through a lot of listening activities, learners can first improve their listening skills by answering listening comprehension questions Practicing speaking through voice recording and the most advanced Speech Recognition technology also helps learners gain vocal fluency Writen skills are built and developed on the framework of oral skills

DynEd has computer-adaptive and variable length skill assessment by using Dyned record manager and Inteligent Tutor Dyned record manager records students’ practise in terms of time which allows teachers to know exactly when learners study, the percentage to complete in each module, their study score which reflect learners’ quality of practice, times

of repeating, recording, comparing and quality of practising with speech recognition Intelligent Tutor supports teachers in understanding what difficulties students have so that necessary assistance can be given to promote their learning

Dyned are well designed with a wide range of tests that serve different purposes There are separate placement tests for grown-ups and kids to put learners in correct classes Besides, proprietary oral fluency tests and mastery tests for ongoing assesment are

additional strengths These tests can really reduce the workload for teachers in process of

testing and evaluating

In addition, DynEd offers free tech support and has free and automatic updating for all

courses The comprehensive teacher training software, support tools, manuals and on line

teacher guides are all free of charge And to support the process of teaching and learning ,

materials are approciately designed for non-native learners and teachers So, it is very

convenient for both teacher and learners when using Dyned

(http://www.dynedeurope.com/home )

1.4 New Dynamic English

NDE, a component of Dyned, is a comprehensive English language course that

includes 8 modules along with Placement and Mastery Tests, a sophisticated Records

Management and Assessment System, and detailed Teacher Guides

The contents of these 8 modules are arranged according to four linguistic levels Each

level has same types of lessons such as presentation, matrix vocabulary, concepts, review

exercises and video interaction lessons Students may listen to the lessons with or without

texts They can also make their own recording and replay Speech recognition functions are

well explained Students may also access video interactions that are interactive and

interesting

Schedule for each module is carefully designed to suit learners’ linguistic level

Each module of NDE provides 15-30 hours of study, and is designed for easy classroom

extension and personalization activities Especially, the program includes detailed record

keeping, testing, and a unique learning sequence, which reduces learning time at schools

and increase learners’ automomy Moreover, the content automatically adjusts based on

learner performance New Dynamic English has proven to be ideal for blended programs,

with either teacher-led classes or on-line study with tutor support

Apart from general advantages as other Dyned courses, NDE is confirmed to be the

quickest way to develop effective communication skills in English With daily practice and

classroom support, students develop their pronunciation and oral fluency, especially, their

oral presentation and summarization skills Students can also master listening skill better

when they answer the listening comprehension questions Then, learners can deal with sentence structure and effective sequencing of ideas exercises to improve their grammar knowledge so that they can effectively express abstract ideas and relationships in every day life

1.5 Attitudes

1.5.1 Definition

An attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents an individual's degree of like

or dislike for something Attitudes are generally positive or negative views of a person, place, thing, or event which is often referred to as the attitude object People can also be conflicted or ambivalent toward an object, meaning that they simultaneously possess both positive and negative attitudes toward the item in question (Wikipedia,

has said that attitude is a "readiness of the psyche to act or react in a certain way" (Jung, 1921) In another study, Iman(2009) has the similar idea about attitudes that are usually defined as a disposition or tendency to respond positively or negatively towards a certain thing such as an idea, object, person or situation

Related to language learning, attitudes are defined in different aspects Johnson and Johnson(1998) give the definition of attitudes in the context of language, in which he said that attitudes are defined as the way learners look at the language, the people who speak that language, and the culture that nourishes the language In other words, attitudes that have been explored in relation to language learning range from anxiety about or interest in the language and the learning situation, to attitudes toward speakers of the target language

In terms of the origin of language learning attitudes, Agheyisi and Fishman (1970) state that attitudes develop through experience and can influence a person's linguistic

behavior In reality, when learners spend time on studying a new language, they can

repond positively or negatively to the language If learners have positive attitudes, they

will become motivated to study better and in contrast, learners can be demotivated Actually, discovering where a learner’s attitudes come from and how they are developed

are very important in teaching a foreign language

1.5.2 Effects of attitudes in language teaching and studying

To substantiate, extensive studies have been done to examine the effect of attitudes

on language learning and the relationship between attitudes and language success

First and formost, attitudes are very important in the academic success in general and language learning sucess in particular Some researchers such as Gardner & Lambert (1972); Raymond and Robert(1983); Titone(1990) have recognized attitude as the most important factor in academic success and have confirmed that attitudes toward an area of the study is more important than aptitude In addition, Hakutta( 1985) has commented :“ The importance of a positive attitude toward the target language has been shown in a variety of foreign language learning contexts”

Besides, attitudes motivate or demotivate learners a lot in their studying Brown(2000) thinks that second language learners benefit from positive attitudes whereas negative attitudes may lead to decreased motivation In fact, positive attitudes on the part

of language learners can develop an integrative motivation and this can consequently facilitate second language achievement So teachers need to strengthen and enhance the students ‘internal motivator” (Longman & Atkinson, 2002, p43) in order to help them develop positive attitudes towards the second language

On the other hand, negative attitudes can produce bad effects on language learning

As what Harmer (2002) has said if students feel hostile towards the language, materials and the teachers, they will hardly achieve any success Nevertheless, he believes negative attitudes can be changed, often by exposure to reality for example, by immersing in a supportive and favorable learning environment

1.5.3 Learners and teachers’ attitudes toward CALL and Dyned learning

There are studies on CALL and all these researches got optimistic results Tuzcuoglu’s study (2000) revealed that the teachers at Osmangazi University Department of Foreign Languages, Eskisehir, Turkey had positive attitudes towards using CALL and were willing

to teach in the computer lab for a few hours a week Additionally, Some researches showed that computer assisted language learning method was more encouraging to students than traditional language teaching methods For example, Onsoy (2004), Yalcinalp (1993),

Meyveci (1997), Pekel (2002) and Ayturk (1999) found that there was a significant difference in the attitude levels of the students towards the lesson between the groups in which computer assisted language learning was practiced (experimental group) and the other group in which the traditional language teaching methods was used (control group) The students who were educated by computer assisted language learning method had developed more positive attitudes towards the lesson than the students who were educated

by the traditional language teaching methods

Similarly, Dyned courses achieved optimistic results The study carried out by Bas

& Kuzucu (2009) revealed that the students who were educated by the DynED language learning software were both more successful and had a higher motivation than those who were educated by traditional language teaching methods Watt & Foscolos (1998) added that DynED courses help students develop vocabulary knowledge as well as practise and improve their listening and speaking skills

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY AND DATA ANALYSIS

2.1 Context of the study

The leaders of Ha Noi university of business and technology(HUBT) and English faculty decided to introduce New Dynamic English(NDE), a Dyned course, for K15 non English majored students The introduction of the new English software is considered as an innovation in the ways of teaching and learning English at HUBT

Actually, NDE is undertaken by making use of blended learning model and computer assisted language learning, which is different from traditional classroom model This requires teachers to adapt their teaching methods as well as improve their proficiency levels Also, students have to change their way of studying Therefore, NDE has been received differently by HUBT teachers and students In such a context, it is critical to investigate the teachers and students’ perception of and attitudes to the new English program in order to have empirical evidence for administrative decisions on how to support teachers and students in running the program

2.2.Subjects

2.1.1 Teachers

The participants in the study were 44 teachers working at the Faculty of English, who are in charge of teaching English to non English majored students and have been teaching NDE for a year Most of teachers have more than 3 year’s experience teaching English as a foreign language

2.1.2 Students

The second population participated in this study were those who all have one year experience of learning New Dynamic English, including 120 students who are at the age of around 18 The students who had their Dyned placement level from 0.0 to 0.5 accounted for 80% of the people taking part in the research 18% of the participants got the placement level from 0.7 to 1 and only 2% achieved the placement level over 1.2

2.3.1.1 Questionnaires for students

The questionnaires consisted of 11 items and were divided into 3 sections The first section contained 6 questions( from number one to number six) in order to explore students’ understanding and attitudes to New Dynamic English The second section( from item seven to ten) dealt with the benefits and difficulties in the application of NDE And the the last item was to reveal students’ suggestions to improve the course

2.3.1.2 Questionnaires for teachers

The questionnaires, consisting of 13 questions, were delivered to 44 teachers of English All the questionnaires were written in English and they were designed to focus on three main areas The first area( from question 1 to question 8) refered to teachers’ understanding and attitudes to NDE The second area coped with advantages and disadvantages in the application of NDE And the last question( number 13) exploited the recommendations to improve the course

categorized and analyzed in accordance with the data from the questionnaires to answer the research questions

2.3.2.1 Interviews for teachers

Three English teachers from the sample who were delivered the questionnaires were randomly chosen for the interview The interview included 5 questions to further discorver teachers’ opinions of NDE teaching in comparison with traditional classroom teaching, their perceptions of the program’s benefits The difficulties and their suggestions

to improve the course were also extracted Each interview was about 15 minutes long and would be recorded and transcripted for later reference

2.3.2.2 Interviews for students

Four students who had taken part in the surveyed questionnaires were chosen for the interviews The interview had 4 questions to get insightful students’ perceptions and attitudes to NDE’ benefits, their difficulties in the process of learning, activities that they liked or disliked inside and outsides the language lab, their opinion about if they would like

to continue NDE Each interview lasted about 15 minutes

2.4 Data collection and analysis

Firstly, both of teachers and students filled out the questionnaires The researcher directly explained the purpose, relevance and the importance of the study, as well as answered all the questions that the students and teachers had

Then, the researcher counted, coded the data collected from the questionnaires

Next, the results were displayed in forms of tables, figures or charts for the convenience of analysis while qualitative data from the open- ended questionnaires items

and the interviews were presented by quoting relevant responses from the respondents

After that collected data were synthesized, categorized and discussed to reveal answers

to the research questions Comparison between the data from the questionnaires and those from the interviews were also made to assist interpretation

2.5 Findings from questionaires and interviews

2.5.1 Findings from questionaires and interviews for teachers

Question 1 : How much do you think NDE can improve your students’ English

Question 2 : Which activities are most effective or interesting in improving your

Figure 3: The m ost interesting activity to practise pronunciation

sentences Repeating the model sentences Self recording

Other

In regard to the most effective or most interesting activities in improving students’ pronunciation, 80% of the respondents thought that repeating the models sentences was the most effective way However, the most interesting activity to practice English pronunciation belonged to “self recording ”(67%) In fact, frequently repeating the models and self recording may consolidate learners’ pronuciation a lot because these help students

be familiar with sounds, imitate, then swap the sounds to create automaticity Besides, a small number of teachers(15%) claimed that listening to the model sentences and recording could be used as a productive method to improve pronunciation If repeating was considered the most effective activity, it was not highly appriciated as an interesting activity with only 25% of the respondents And listening was the least interesting activity (just 8% of the population asked) 5% shared the idea that comparing with native speakers was a good way to learn pronunciation

In short, from question one and two, a high percentage of teachers understand that NDE allows learners to practise and improve their pronunciation a lot This idea is also

shared by the first interviewee that “ learning NDE helps students pronounce English better than before”

Question 3: What do you think of vocabulary presented in each module?

Table 1 : Vocabulary presented in each module

It can be clearly seen in the table that 81.5% teachers stated that vocabulary in NDE was topic based while 30% of the teachers chose “situation based” as their response There was a tiny rate saying that the program’s vocabulary was randomly done Hence, it could

be easily understood that the majority of the population cited answer vocabulary was systematically presented

Through interviews, most of the teachers shared the same idea that vocabulary was systematically presented in specific topics The second interviewee focused on the

usefulness of “the exercises following each module As for her, students could practise with words in “click and drag exercise to consolidate their vocabulary Besides, they can take part in matrix game to do vocabulary quiz so that they could better use the words learnt.”

Question 4: What do you think of grammar given in each module in NDE?

Figure 4: The w orkload of gram m ar in

Figure 5: Level of gram m ar

a contrasting idea that grammar exercises in NDE were very simple(16%), thus, could not help students consolidate and improve their knowledge of grammar.In the explanation for

the choices, an interviewee stated that “ due to students’ bad grammar foundation, they need to practise more grammar tructure exercises to be able to improve productive skills like speaking and writing”

Question 5 : In your opinion, how do your students develop English skills when they

learn New Dynamic English?

Table 2: Teachers’ perception about skill development

Acquiring language skills is very important in the process of learning a foreign language The table showed how language skills are developed Most of the teachers asked responded that NDE developed listening skill “much”, which accounts for 72.5% The rest

of the participants said that NDE developed listening a little

More than half of the teachers stated that speaking skill was also much developed(55%) but ranked the second after listening This reflects exactly the theoritical background on which this program was built that listening is the first skill to be focused

As shown in the table, all of the sample put their answers to “a little”, or “not at all”

to show that written skills were not paid much attention to Especially, 45% reflected that students’ writing skill was not developed at all and this is the highest percentage choosing

“not at all”

Question 6: What do you think of the final achivement tests for first year students?

Figure 6: Teachers' view s on

From the teachers’ point of view, it can be easy to recognize that more than a half said that final achievement tests for first years students were suitable(52%) The second most selected belonged to the option “very suitable”(39%) and only 9% of the subjects claimed that final achievement tests were not suitable at all

Figure 7 showed the reasons for teachers’ views on tests Most visibly, 91% of the surveyed teachers explained that tests were compatible with the content of NDE, which was the highest percentage among the options The second and third highest

percentage were : they test what needs testing and they are well designed, with 50% and 54.5% respectively These results indicated that the final achievement tests for first year students were completely suitable However, we ought to notice 9% of the repondents who disaproved of the tests because the tests were difficult or as some teachers complained that there were many test questions repeated or quoted exactly what was presented in NDE The judgements implied that kind of tests did not measure students’ ability but only

checked learners’ memorization One of the interviewee disclosed that the designed tests in

NDE which had already been done during their lessons would not be used as final tests because some students could learn by heart the answers

Question 7: What do you think of the working schedule for each lesson and each

To o slo w

Figure 8 and figure 9 showed an argumentative results The workload for each lesson was too heavy for 68% of the participants while time allocation for each lesson was limited, which was agreed by 81% Nobody said the working schedule was “light” or “too slow” in terms of content and time And only 18% and 19% supposed the schedule was sufficient in content and reasonable in time allocation

The above data linked closely with the interview’s results Many of those

questioned complained about the presure on each lesson One interviewee said “ I tried my best to complete such a long lesson and heavy workload in a limited time” The other added “ everything became teacher-centered, students sat, listened and copied down and seemed to do nothing to practise”

In a word, the findings showed that there was an unreasonable allocation of time and workload in each lesson and each module This might lead to the bad quality of teaching and learning Hence, students had negative attitudes to the program As a result, NDE program could not be productive as expected

Question 8: What do you think of supplimentary materials for classroom activities

which are used to extend and personalize the content of each module?

75%

Well designed

Badly designed

By looking at figures 10, 11 and 12, we can see the highest percentages of teachers’ comments on supplimentary materials which were used to extend and personalize the contents of NDE 82% of the participants affirmed that the workload of supplimentary activities were heavy In contrast, there was no answer for the option “ light” and only 18% thought that it was sufficient However, it seemed that these activities were believed to be suitable with leaners’ ability as 75% of the population made a choice for this Very few teachers supposed supplimentary materials were easy(2%) and less than a quarter judged the materials were diffificult Also, it could be easily recognizable that three fouths of the sample chose “badly designed” as the most selected answer when evaluating the supplimentary materials

Noticeably, in the interview with some teachers, they disapproved of a lot of the

supplimentary material An interviewee said “ it is very difficult to cover a wide range of activities in a lesson We often have to work very hard to transfer all these things to students Sometimes we feel exhausted Another teacher stated “ with poor background, our students are not able to deal with such a difficult and huge workload” and “ it seems that the supplimentary materials are not compatible with the content of NDE” Therefore,

discussing this issue to find solutions was necessary and urgent

Question 9: What problems do you have when conducting supplimentary activities to extend contennt of NDE in classrooms?

Sharing the idea with the majority, an interview subject responded “ I often fetl stressed when delivering lessons in multilevel classes When I explained something in English, just one or two students understood what I meant and the rest just sat and appeared to understand nothing.”Another interviewee said that “ I feel worried when thinking of too many activities in a short time

Question 10 : What problems do you have when delivering NDE lessons?

Difficulty in interaction between teachers and students 75%

Table 3: Teachers’ perception of and attitudes to the difficulties

A lot of obstacles came up when teachers delivered NDE lessons One of the problems was the shortage of time which made up the highest percentage(87.5%) It could

be a reason to explain why a number of learners had negative attitudes to English lessons The second highest percentage(75%) was difficulty in interaction between teachers and

students An interviewee confirmed this problem by saying that “my students refuse to interact as instructed because they are used to tradional approach” 36% of the

respondents said that lack of computer skills was a problem When there were technical problems relating computers or projectors, teachers often did not know how to fix the problem In addition, some teachers reflected that students’ poor background knowledge also formed an obstacle Another problem was revealed by an interviewee saying that

“students have difficulty in comprehending the content without teachers’ explanation of words and grammar”

Question 11: In the process of teaching New Dynamic English, which type of lessons

or activities appear to be the most difficult to conduct?

matrix games

o thers

As shown from the chart, speech practice lessons were ranked the most difficult

(48%) The reason for this was exposed in the interview that “ speech recognition suffers from some limitation that it is very difficult to record voices in a noisy environment”

Actually, some teachers said in the process of teaching they were not confident in the lessons because they sometimes recorded without recognition in front of the class Video interaction and presentation lessons were the second and third most difficult as seen from the data with 27% and 20% respectively It was partly due to some technical problems in the lab an partly due to students’ English proficiency

Question 12: How does NDE benefit English teaching and learning at HUBT?

a Creates a relaxing atmosphere to motivate target language use 50%

c Develops integrated English language skills, especially oral

Table 4: Teachers’ perception and attitudes to NDE’ benefits

Concerning benefits from teaching and learning NDE, most of the participants ticked more than one answer, inducing that there are a lot of strengths from this program

As clearly seen in table 3, 82% of the teachers thought NDE could develop integrated English language skills Another high percentage(75%) of them admitted NDE could promote students’ needs and autonomy In fact, the presure from the program forced students to study everyday and practise more so that leaners could get a better result Besides, a half of the subjects shared the same idea that NDE created a relaxing atmosphere to motivate target language use Especially, a lot of the teachers(90%) showed that NDE made use of the advances of techology to support learning Also, taking the advantage of high tech equipment met learners’ needs and interests

Question 13: What do you recommend to improve the NDE program at HUBT?

Design a separate test software based on the contents of

The table showed that 3 favored choices made were reducing the workload for each

lesson(87.5%), increasing time for each module(85%) and setting up a task force to

evaluate the supplimentary materials and tests(75.5%) It seemed that these

recommendations needed adopting because most clearly seen was the difficulty of the

teachers caused by time limitation and heavy workload The proposal of 75.5% of the

participant should be taken into consideration because good supplimentary materials could

extend and personalize the content of NDE and make this program more effectively

Some other solutions were put forward by the interviewed teachers One of them

said “the requirement of completing 80% of the lesson is not valid in some classes Many

students, despite reaching the completion value, even can not thoroughly understand the

content, so they can not speak or summarize the content without text support.” Another

suggested “we should require students to record and compare and strictly check their

performance”

2.5.2 Findings from questionaires and interviews for students

Question one : How does your English pronunciaton progress when taking NDE?

In response to how students progress studying NDE, there was a contrasting number

of answers between teachers and students 66% of the students affirmed their

pronunciation only progresses a little after learning NDE The number of students sharing

the idea that their pronunciation just developed a lot or did not develop at all were equal

Explaining this problem, some students in the interviews said “ we are pressed to

complete a great deal of workload, percentage and study scores so that we seem not to pay

much attention to the quality of practise”

Question two: What is the most effective activity to practise your pronunciation? And which one is the most interesting to practise ?

Figure 16: Most effective activity for

students to practice pronunciation

mo del sentences Reco rding and

co mparing with

mo del sentences

It was very interesting to compare the results from teachers and students While a great number of teachers supposed that the most interesting activity was recording the model sentences, students thought that repeating was the most interesting( 67%) and the most effective activity(59%) Hence, teachers could take advange of this activity to encourage learners to improve their pronunciation In addition, more than a quarter of those asked admitted listening to models was an effective way because listening exactly what speakers said supported learners to pronounce better

In order to make it clear, interviews with some students disclosed that repeating models many times helped them speak English fluently and smoothly

Question three: How does NDE help you to increase your vocabulary and your ability

Not increase at all

Figure 19: Ability to use vocabulary

It was obvious to see from figure 18 that 58% of the students believed that their vocabulary just increased a little and the majority(73%) evaluated they couldonly use some

of the vocabulary provided Noticeably, though the number of students who said that their vocabulary did not increase was not high(13%), this could reduce learners’ motivation and