Teachers' and students' attitudes toward L1 using in EFL classrooms = Thái độ của giáo viên và học sinh đối với việc sử dụng ngôn ngữ đầu tiên trong các lớp học

It has raised many debates among teachers of English, such as whether they should or should not use Vietnamese in their EFL classes, and whether the use of Vietnamese has positive or neg

NGUYỄN THỊ NHƯ QUỲNH

TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD

L1 USING IN EFL CLASSROOMS

AT BAVI HIGH SCHOOL, HANOI

(THÁI ĐỘ CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀ HỌC SINH ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC SỬ DỤNG NGÔN

NGỮ ĐẦU TIÊN TRONG CÁC LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH

TẠI TRƯỜNG THPT BA VÌ, HÀ NỘI)

MINOR M.A THESIS

Field: English Methodology Code: 601410

HANOI, 2011

NGUYỄN THỊ NHƯ QUỲNH

TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD

L1 USING IN EFL CLASSROOMS

AT BAVI HIGH SCHOOL, HANOI

(THÁI ĐỘ CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀ HỌC SINH ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC SỬ DỤNG NGÔN

NGỮ ĐẦU TIÊN TRONG CÁC LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH

TẠI TRƯỜNG THPT BA VÌ, HÀ NỘI)

MINOR M.A THESIS

Field: English Methodology Code: 601410

Supervisor: MA.Lê Thế Nghiệp

HANOI, 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF TABLES v

LIST OF FINGERS vi

ABBREVIATIONS vii

PART A INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale for choosing the topic 1

2 Aims of the study 1

3 Scope of the study 2

4 Methodology of the study 2

5 Significance of the study 2

6 Design of the study 3

PART B DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW 4

1.1 History of language teaching methods focusing on L1 use in FL teaching 4 1.2 The arguments about L1 using in the FL classrooms 5

1.2.1 The arguments against L1 using in FL classrooms 5

1.2.2 The arguments in supports of using L1 in FL classrooms 7

1.2.2.1 Pedagogical values 8

1.2.2.2 Psychological values 10

1.2.2.3 Socio- cultural values 11

1.3 Studies focusing on teachers and learners’ attitudes toward L1 use in FL classrooms 12

CHAPTER 2 THE STUDY 14

2.1 Research questions 14

2.2 Methodology 14

2.2.1 Setting and participants 14

2.2.2 Data collection instruments and procedure 14

CHATER 3 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS 17

3.1 Analysis of teachers’ questionnaire results 17

3.2 Analysis of students’ questionnaire results 24

3.3 Summary of the teachers’ interview 28

3.4 Summary of the students’ interview 30

3.5 Analysis of classroom observation checklists and written notes 33

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 37

PART C CONCLUSION 40

References 41

Appendices I

LIST OF TABLES

Page Table 1: Teachers’ reasons for their use of Vietnamese in EFL classes

Table 2: Teachers’ opinions about the situations in which they should use

Vietnamese

Table 3: Teachers’ opinions on the amount of Vietnamese used in English

classes

Table 4: Teacher’s feelings about their use of Vietnamese in English classes

Table 5: The situations in which teachers allow students to use Vietnamese

Table 6: Teachers’ opinions on the skills and language areas their students can

benefit from using Vietnamese

Table 7: Students’ reasons for using Vietnamese in English classes

Table 8: The situations in which students prefer to use Vietnamese

Table 9: Students’ opinions on the situation they prefer their teacher to use

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CLT : Communicative Language Teaching

EFL : English as a foreign language

FL : Foreign language

L1 : First language

MT : Mother tongue

TL : Target language

PART A INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for choosing the topic

English language has been considered as an international language for a long time However, in the 21st century its importance has been rising significantly and English has become a compulsory school subject in many countries in the world, including Vietnam This new position of English in schools leads to an increase of interests in the English teaching methodology One of the current interests deals with the use of first language (L1) in the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language (EFL)

The use of L1 when teaching and learning English is one of the major issues that have dominated in the area of (FL) acquisition for the last few decades both locally in Vietnam and internationally elsewhere Since the early 1990s Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has quickly become popular in Vietnam In accordance with the popularity of CLT in the country, it seems that the only use of English in EFL classrooms

is widely supported However, the use of Vietnamese in the process of teaching and learning English is still common in Vietnam It has raised many debates among teachers of English, such as whether they should or should not use Vietnamese in their EFL classes, and whether the use of Vietnamese has positive or negative effects on teaching and learning English of teachers and students in Vietnam, it is an assistance or interference, it can be avoidable or not, and if it is unavoidable in what condition and how much of it is acceptable

Being a teacher of English at BaVi high school, which is located in the mountainous area of Hanoi city, I found that the teachers and the students at my school had many opinions of using Vietnamese in English class Therefore, I have been motivated to undertake an investigation to find out their attitudes toward using Vietnamese in EFL classrooms at BaVi high school

2 Aims of the study

This study aimed to explore the attitudes of teachers and students toward using Vietnamese in EFL classes at BaVi high school In addition to that, this study also clarified their reasons for using and avoiding Vietnamese and defined the situations in which

teachers and students prefer to use Vietnamese in their English classes More specifically, the study tried to seek answers to the following questions:

1 What are the attitudes of teachers and students toward Vietnamese use in EFL classrooms at Bavi high school?

2 What are their reasons for using and avoiding Vietnamese in EFL classroom?

3 In what situations do the teachers and students prefer to use Vietnamese in their EFL classrooms?

3 Scope of the study

The study focused on investigating the attitudes of the teachers and students toward using Vietnamese in EFL classrooms The study confined itself to the teachers and students who are teaching and learning English as a foreign language at BaVi high school

4 Methodology of the study

The study adopted a mix methodology combining both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection and data analysis To improve the validity and reliability of the findings, three data collection instruments were used in the study: questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations

5 Significance of the study

The findings of the present study are hoped to be useful to the following three groups:

1 Teachers of English can make use of the findings and become aware of the role L1 plays in teaching and learning English as well as the other foreign languages

2 Students are better aware of their FL acquisition with the use of L1 in order to adjust the frequency of L1 in their foreign language classrooms

3 Language teaching methodology researchers can conduct further research in the area which may open the way to the development of new English language teaching methods and techniques that work to incorporate L1 use in the EFL classrooms

More general, the results of this study could be important in raising our awareness of the usefulness, the situations and the frequency our L1 use in FL classrooms

and in preparing the ground for a more reasoned use of L1 in the foreign language classrooms

6 Design of the study

The study has three main parts: Introduction, Development, and Conclusion The introduction presents the rationale for choosing the topic, aims, scope, methodology, significance, and design of the study

The development consists of four chapters Chapter one provides a review of literature on the history of language teaching methods focusing on L1 use in FL teaching, the arguments about L1 using in the FL classrooms, and the studies focusing on teachers‟ and learners‟ attitudes toward L1 use in FL classrooms Chapter two includes details of the research questions, setting, participants, the data collection instruments and procedure Chapter three presents the results and analysis of the data collected from the questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations Chapter four reports and discusses the findings of the research for the answers to the research questions proposed at the beginning of the thesis

The conclusion gives the summary of what has been discussed in the study and suggests further research

PART B DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 History of language teaching methods focusing on L1 use in FL teaching

A brief history of the literature related to language teaching methods shows that

“the role of first language in foreign language teaching is one of the most long- standing controversies in the history of language pedagogy” (Stern, 1992) The following glimpse in the historical sequence of the most-recognized language teaching methods will highlight periodic changes in the role of L1 in FL teaching

In the early years of the nineteenth century in Western countries, the Grammar Translation Method dominated the FL classrooms During this period, foreign language was taught through grammar illustration, bilingual vocabulary lists and translation exercises This method emphasizes on the literary language because it fundamental goal is

to help learners be able to read literature written in the target language (TL), rather than provide them with the ability to communicate in that TL According to this method, L1 is freely used as “reference system” in the process of foreign language acquisition (Stern, 1983) In other words, L1 is used as the main means of instruction

In the late nineteenth century, the Western world experienced a big change in the need of learning foreign languages with the aim of communicating This led to the emergence of the Direct Method, which pays its whole attention to the spoken language The Direct Method is based on the belief that FL learning should be an imitation of L1 learning In this light, learners should be immersed in the target language through the use

of that TL “as a mean of instruction and communication in the language classroom”, and through “the avoidance of the use of L1 and translation as a technique” (Stern, 1983) After its highest popularity during the period from the late nineteenth century to the first quarter

of the twentieth century, the Direct Method began to decline However, the method has laid foundation upon which many of the later methods and approaches expanded and developed Among them are the Audio-lingual Method and Communicative Approach The Audio- lingual Method, the origin of which is found in the Army Method developed in response to the need for Americans to learn the languages of their allies and enemies alike during World War II, aims at helping learners “to be able to use

the target language communicatively” ( Larsen- Freeman, 1986) Like the Direct Method, the Audio- lingual Method focuses on the spoken language and forbids translation and the students‟ mother tongue (MT) in the classroom (Ellis, 2003) Meanwhile, in the Communicative Approach, which has attracted most attention from the language teaching profession during the past five decades, the restricted use of learners‟ mother tongue is allowed where feasible and translation may be used when learners find it essential and helpful (Ellis, 2003)

Recently, there has been an increasing attention to the merits of L1 use in the FL classrooms among the language teaching profession Several studies related to the roles of L1 in the teaching and learning of a foreign language have been carried out around the world in order to develop communicative language teaching which considers L1 as a classroom resource The Functional- Translation Method by Robert Weschler (2003) can

be taken as an example

1.2 Arguments about L1 using in FL classrooms

1.2.1 Arguments against L1 using in FL classrooms

There are some strong supports for the monolingual approach to teaching a foreign language as well as varied arguments against using the students‟ mother tongue in the FL classrooms Cook (2001) summarized these arguments in the three following fundamental principles:

1 The learning of a foreign language should follow the model of the learning of

an L1 (through maximum exposure to the FL)

2 Successful learning involves the separation and distinction of L1 and the foreign language

3 Students should be shown the importance of the FL through its continual use

The first principle is based on the rationale that from childhood, human beings are exposed to the surrounding sound environment We listen, imitate and respond to what

we hear around us and then we succeed in mastering our mother tongue As a result, the proponents of the monolingual approach, who believe that FL learning follows a process similar to L1 learning, claim that exposure is vital in the learning another language (Cook, 2001) In other words, learners of a foreign language should be exposed to that FL environment as much as possible

Krashen (1985), a pivotal advocate of the only-English use in the classroom and also an expert in the field of linguistics, has argued that people learning foreign languages following basically the same route as they acquire their MT; hence the use of the

MT in the learning process should be minimized Furthermore, she also stated that the EFL classroom medium should be in English because of the significant relationship between comprehensible input in FL and proficiency and the availability of the target language environment is of “paramount importance to success in a new language”

Her other suggestion is that learners‟ use of L1 in class could contribute to impeding the success of exposure in facilitating proficiency

Cook (1991) further elaborates on the importance of exposure She points out that the role of English in a language class is twofold It is not just the medium of instruction but the teaching content The language interaction between teachers and students is just the objective of the teaching Therefore, everything the teacher does or says provides students with opportunities to encounter the TL Cook also warned that “using L1 for classroom management and instructions deprives the students of genuine examples of language use”

Regarding the second principle, the supporters of the monolingual approach indicate that the main impediment to target language learning is the interference from L1 knowledge (Cook, 2001) This is the view that successful FL acquisition depends on keeping that FL separate from L1 and seeing L1 and the FL as separate entities One main reason for thinking this way is the fear of L1 interference (Cook, 2001) Karshen (1981) in his influential “Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning” also suggests that L1 is a source of errors in learners‟ foreign language performance

As for the third principle, it is believed that the use of only foreign language for all interactions in the FL classroom can proclaim the significance of that foreign language

in satisfying learners‟ communicative needs (Cook, 2001) Many linguists object to using L1 in EFL teaching on the ground that it hinders learning In other words, the monolingual approach suggests that the target language should be the only medium of communication

in the classroom In addition, according to Sharma (2006), the rationale for using only English in EFL classroom is that the more students are exposed to English, the faster they learn And as they hear and use English, they will internalize it to begin to think in English The only way they will learn it is if they are forced to use it

In addition to the above fundamental principles, all the unchallenged implication for the teaching practice behind the L1 avoidance movement can be seen through the tenets emerging from a conference at Makere University in Uganda in 1961, which according to Phillipson (1992), have come to be seen as natural and common sense The tenets are:

 English is best taught mono- lingually

 The ideal teacher of English is a native speaker

 The more English is taught, the better the result

 If other languages are used too much, standards of English will drop

The implications of these above tenets are far-reaching and their influence can be found almost everywhere English is taught, even today According to these tenets, there is

no place for L1 in teaching English Phillipson claimed in tenet 4 that using L1 too much will hurt the teaching and learning English In addition, in tenet 3 he claimed that the more English used the better and also directly implied that the less L1 use the better For the purpose of this paper, the first tenet is obviously the most important one Phillipson highlighted the importance of English-only policy in teaching English Besides, tenet 2 also implies that native English speakers are more valued than non native English teachers

In general, these tenets emphasize the superiority of English and conversely, the inferiority

of L1 in teaching and learning English By the 1970s these five tenets would be incorporated into the Communicative Approach, which quickly came to dominate language teaching Native English teachers teaching only in English and excluding the students L1

would become the goal for many Communicative supporters

1.2.2 The arguments in supports of using L1 in FL classrooms

The arguments in supports of using the learners' mother tongue in FL instruction clearly reveal that the use of first language does not have a negative impact on

FL learning, and it can be factor to help students improve the way they learn a foreign language Although the 'English Only' paradigm continues to be dominant in communicative language teaching, research into teacher practice reveals that the L1 is used

as a learning resource in many EEL classes (Auerbach, 1993) This author also adds that when the first language is used in EFL classes, practitioners, researchers, and learners consistently report positive results The arguments in supports of using L1 in FL

classrooms can be developed based on three main values: pedagogical values,

psychological values, and socio- cultural values

1.2.2.1.Pedagogical values

Contrary to the claim that the use of L1 will harm or affect the progress or

effectiveness of FL teaching and learning, many scholars argue that L1 has a place in FL

teaching and learning One basic argument is for its pedagogical value in FL classrooms

Professionals in foreign language acquisition have become increasingly aware of

the role MT plays in the EFL classroom Nunan and Lamb (1996), for example, contend

that EFL teachers working with monolingual students at lower levels of English

proficiency find prohibition of the mother tongue to be practically impossible Cook (2001:

198) in support of the role of L1 states that “bringing L1 back from exile may lead not only

to the improvement of existing teaching methods but also to innovations in methodology” AuerBach (1993) does not only acknowledges the positive role of the mother

tongue in the classroom, but also identifies the following uses of mother tongue in the

classroom: classroom management, language analysis and presenting rules that govern

grammar, discussing cross-cultural issues, giving instructions or prompts, explaining

errors, and checking comprehension

Prodromou (2001) in an online article draws an analogy between the mother

tongue in EFL classroom and a skeleton in the cupboard “something most people have, in

one form or another” This metaphor makes sense since “we have for a long time treated

the mother tongue as a „taboo‟ subject, a source of embarrassment and on the part of

teachers, a recognition of their failure to teach properly, i.e using “only English” In spite

of this negative view toward using the first language of learners in the classroom, most

non-native speaker teachers of English have quietly been using the L1, to a lesser or

greater extent; “the skeleton has been there all the time, we just haven't wanted to talk

about it” He believes that the reason for such treatment of the first language lies in the fact

that the psycholinguistic or pedagogic framework which justifies the place of mother

tongue in foreign language instruction does not exist yet

Smith (1994: 45) in support of bilingual education states that providing children

quality education in their first language gives them two things: knowledge and literacy

The knowledge that children get through their first language helps make the English they

hear and read more comprehensible He concludes:

“Literacy developed in the primary language transfers to the foreign language The

reason is simple: Because we learn to read by reading that is, by making sense of what is

on the page”

L1 can have various uses in foreign language classroom Cook (1999:185)

asserts that treating the L1 as a classroom resource opens up a number of ways to use it,

such as for teachers to convey meaning, explain grammar, and organize the class, and for

students to use as part of their collaborative learning and individual strategy use This

author concludes that “The first language can be a useful element in creating authentic

foreign language uses rather than something to be shunned at all costs”

Deller (2003) believes that L1 is an excellent resource for FL learning

especially, for students at lower level of FL proficiency if used effectively She

demonstrates seven possible uses of L1:

1 It is useful to notice differences and similarities between the two languages

2 Learners can enjoy materials that might otherwise be too difficult for them

3 Learners can develop and produce their own materials including their own tests

4 Allowing the use of mother tongue can encourage spontaneity and fluency

5 Using mother tongue can equip learners with the words and expressions they

really want and need in English

6 Using mother tongue can have beneficial effect on group dynamics

7 Using mother tongue ensures that learners are able to give on going feed back Although the provision of maximum FL exposure to the learners seems

essential, L1 can be used alongside FL as a complement In this regard, Turnbull (2001:

153) states that maximizing the target language use does not and should not mean that it is

harmful for the teacher to use the L1 “A principle that promotes maximal teacher use of the

target language acknowledges that the L1 and target language can exist simultaneously”

Similarly, Stern (1992) remarks that “the use of L1 and target language

should be seen as complementary, depending on the characteristics and stages of the

language learning process” On the other hand, overuse of L1 will naturally reduce the

amount of exposure to FL Therefore, attempt should be made to keep a balance between

L1 and FL use In this regard, Turnbull (2001) acknowledges that although it is efficient to

make a quick switch to the L1 to ensure, for instance, whether students understand a difficult grammar concept or an unknown word, it is crucial for teachers to use the target language as much as possible in contexts in which students spend only short periods of time in class, and when they have little contact with the target language outside the classroom

others and some have better comprehension of syntax or lexical items

Lucas and Katz (1994: 539) put more emphasis on the psychological value of using the mother tongue by asserting:

“Using native language in EFL classroom has psychological benefits in addition

to serving as a practical pedagogical tool for providing access to academic content, allowing more effective interaction, and providing greater access to prior knowledge”

They concluded that if the native language of learners is used and valued in schools and classrooms, it will support and enhance the students' learning because they themselves are indirectly valued

Sharmash (1990) believes that using the mother tongue allows the learners to experiment and take risks in English Building on Sharmash‟s (1990) belief, Auerbach (1993) herself concludes that starting with L1 provides a sense of security and validates the learners‟ lived experiences, allowing them to express themselves This author also defined that the use of L1 reduces the psychological barriers to English learning and allows for a more rapid progression

To Atkinson (1993), the occasional use of L1 allows particularly, adults and teenagers to show that they are intelligent and sophisticated people

In sum, the arguments for the psychological values of L1 tell us that by

empowering the learners to feel more comfortable learning environment, which will in

turn, enhance the FL acquisition process

I.2.2.3 Socio- cultural values

The use of students‟ native language can also increase their openness to learning

by reducing the degree of language and culture shock they are encountering (Auerbach,

1993) Auerbach also adds that the relations of power and their affective consequences are

integral to language acquisition Students‟ learning can also be enhanced by integrating

students‟ native language into their educational experiences, thus giving their language a

status more comparable to that of English

Finally, Harbord (1992), in support of using L1 in the classroom as a humanistic

treatment of learners, affirms that eliminating or limiting the use of mother language does

not guarantee better acquisition, “nor does it foster the humanistic approach that recognizes

learners' identities as native speakers of a valuable language that is as much a part of them

as their names”

In general, considering the following lists of Prodromos‟ (2001:2) metaphoric

expressions might briefly summarize for the merits of using L1 and the problems that may

ensue as a result of its imprudent L1 use is:

1 a drug (though with therapeutic potential, it can damage your health and may become additive)

2 a reservoir (a resource from which we draw)

3 a wall (an obstacle to teaching)

4 a window (which opens out into the world outside the classroom; if we look through it we see the students‟ previous experience, their interest, their knowledge of the world, their culture

5 a crutch (it can help us get by in a lesson, but it is a recognition of weakness)

6 a lubricant (it helps the wheels of a lesson moving smoothly; it thus saves time)

I.3 Studies focusing on teachers and learners’ attitudes toward L1 use in FL

classrooms

A number of studies have considered the attitudes and perceptions toward the L1 use in the FL classrooms They can be classified into two categories: Those which only investigate the attitudes of language learners, and those which explore the attitudes of both language learners and teachers

In the first study, Prodromou (2002) divided the number of his 300 Greek participants into three groups: elementary, intermediate, and finally advanced level students He tried to investigate the reaction and attitude of students with different levels of proficiency The findings showed that students at higher levels of study have a negative attitude toward the use of L1 in their classroom, but lower students showed more tendencies to accept the use of their mother tongue

Schweers (1999) conducted a study with EFL students and their teachers at his Puerto Rican university and found that 88.7 percent of the students and 100 percent of the teachers felt that Spanish should be used in their English classes Eighty- six percent of the students felt that their L1 should be used to explain difficult concepts and 67 percent said that their L1 helps them to feel „less lost‟ Schweers concluded that the “pedagogical and affective benefits of L1 use justify its limited and judicious use”

Tang (2002) conducted a similar study in China with Chinese speakers In comparing the results of her study to those of Schweers, she says, “both studies indicate that the mother tongue was used by the majority of teachers investigated and both students and teachers responded positively toward its use” (2002) The research shows that limited and judicious use of the mother tongue in English classroom does not reduce students‟ exposure to English but rather can assist in the teaching and learning process

To sum up, the use of L1 in a foreign language classroom has been the subject of much debate and controversy Some see its use as a negative and harmful to FL learning and teaching process while others view it as a valuable tool or resource Opponents of L1 use argue that adults can learn a foreign language in the same way as children pick up their mother tongue, and so there is no need of L1 use in FL classrooms The fear that using L1 will interfere with FL and its use also reduces students‟ exposure to the target language are also further arguments put forward against the use of L1 in FL classroom Proponents of

L1 use, on the other hand, argue that the occasional use of L1 has a supportive and facilitating role in learning and teaching of a foreign language These supporters believe that L1 have three main values: the pedagogical, the psychological, and the socio- cultural values Recent empirical studies (Prodromou 2002, Schweers 1999, and Tang 2002) also tend to reinforce what has been argued by the supporters of L1 Their finding shows that L1 has a place in FL learning and teaching

CHAPTER 2 THE STUDY

2.1 Research questions

The study tried to seek answers to the following basic questions:

1 What are the attitudes of teachers and students toward Vietnamese use in EFL classrooms at BaVi high school?

2 What are their reasons for using and avoiding Vietnamese in EFL classroom?

3 In what situations do teachers and students prefer to use Vietnamese in EFL classrooms?

2.2 Methodology

2.2.1 Setting and participants

The following study was carried out at BaVi high school, which is located in the mountainous area of Hanoi city The school had a total of 1200 students and 13 teachers of English Most of the students were at low and medium English proficiency levels They were not highly motivated to learn English because living in the mountainous area, they did not have any opportunities to communicate with native speakers of English and practice their English skills Their main reason for learning English is that it is a compulsory subject at school

The participants of the study included 13 teachers of English (2 males, 11 females), who have been teaching English at BaVi high school for 3-15 years, and 100 students who have been learning English as a foreign language for 8-10 years All the participants are the Vietnamese, so their first language is Vietnamese

2.2.2 Data collection instruments and procedure

The research adopted a mixed methodology- combining both qualitative and quantitative approaches in data collection and data analysis, depending on which inquiry strategy and approach can yield relevant and useful results In this research, data were collected from three instruments: questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations

 Instrument 1: Questionnaires

The study used two types of questionnaire to collect data: the first one was designed

for teachers and the other was for students

The questionnaire for teachers was set in English It included 8 questions, which were a mixture of open-ended, yes/ no and multiple choice questions The questionnaire was distributed to 13 teachers with the aim to investigate their attitudes toward using Vietnamese in their EFL classrooms It also clarified the teachers‟ reasons for using and avoiding Vietnamese, and defined the situations in which they prefer to use Vietnamese The students‟ questionnaire included 7 questions These questions were set in Vietnamese so that students can understand and answer them more easily There were three kinds of questions in the questionnaire: open-ended, yes/ no and multiple choice questions The questionnaire was distributed to 100 students with the aims to elicit pertinent data on their attitudes toward L1 use in their English class

Both types of questionnaire comprised of 2 parts: the first part collected some basic background information of participants (e.g name, age, sex, educational background ) the second part elicited attitudinal information regarding teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes toward using Vietnamese in EFL classrooms

All the questionnaires administered to the teacher and student participants were filled out and returned to the researcher

 Instrument 2: Interviews

After having a look at the completed questionnaires, some responses needed to be clarified The next step of data collection was conducting semi-structured interviews with the teachers and students 3 teachers and 5 students were randomly selected for the interviews, which lasted for about 5-10 minutes each

Both teachers and students‟ interviews consisted of two open questions which were conducted in Vietnamese so that they can express themselves more comfortably The aim of the interviews was to generate in depth information from the teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes toward using Vietnamese In addition, teachers and students also explained their reasons for accepting and avoiding using of Vietnamese in English classes, and gave their opinions of frequency and the situations in which they prefer to use Vietnamese Within

their consent, all the interviews were audio- recorded The significant portions were translated and summarized into English

 Instrument 3: Classroom observations

This study employed semi-structured observations which combine both predetermined checklists and written notes The advantage of this combination is that the checklists may facilitate organizing observations, while written notes may lead to salient themes The observations were conducted in 5 English lesson periods (45 minutes each): reading, speaking, listening, writing, and language focus The classroom observations had

2 basic aims: the first was to examine the situations and the extent to which teachers and students actually used Vietnamese in their English classes to validate their responses in the questionnaires and interviews The second was an attempt to find out whether the use of Vietnamese in English classes had positive or negative effect on the English classroom interaction and on students‟ English comprehension

CHAPTER 3 RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

3.1 Analysis of teachers’ questionnaire results

Question 1: In your opinion, should Vietnamese be used in EFL classrooms?

83.3%

16.7%

Yes No

Figure 1: Teachers’ attitudes toward using Vietnamese in EFL classrooms

According to the responses to question 1, most of the teachers (83.3 %) supported using Vietnamese in English classes Only 2 teachers (16.7 %) supposed that Vietnamese should not be used in EFL classrooms It can be seen that the number of teachers who support using Vietnamese is much greater than that of those reject using Vietnamese in English classes

Question 3 required the teachers who do not support using Vietnamese in English classes to explain their reasons

These teachers argued that it is not advisable to use Vietnamese during English classes because it prevented their students from communication skills and language development Besides, using Vietnamese so frequently also makes their students become lazy and depend on Vietnamese Students may not even try to understand meanings from context and from the teachers‟ English explanation, and they can not express what they

want to say within their limited command of English It can be seen that these teachers tend to prefer to exclusively use English in the English classes

Question 2: If “Yes”, what are the reasons?

Reasons

Number of teachers

Percentage (%)

a It is less time- consuming

b It helps students feel more comfortable and confident

c It increases students‟ comprehension

d Others (please specify)

Table 1: Teachers’ reasons for their use of Vietnamese in EFL classes

in English classes because it helps their students feel more comfortable and confident than only using English Some teachers (27.3%) explained that they use Vietnamese because

they want to save the class time

According to 18.2 % of teachers who chose the “Others” option of the question, using Vietnamese in English classes helps them not only to clarify their instructions but also to strengthen their relations with their students

In short, it is possible to understand that the teachers support using Vietnamese in their English classes for many different reasons Facilitating students‟ comprehension and creating a comfortable and motivating environment are the main reasons