PHONL LOW-COMPETENCE EFL LEARNERS’ EXPECTATIONS FROM THEIR ENGLISH CLASS Những mong muốn của học sinh yếu khi học tiếng Anh trên lớp

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* LÊ THỊ MỸ PHONL LOW-COMPETENCE EFL LEARNERS’ EXPECTATIONS FROM THEIR ENGLISH CLASS Những mong muốn của học sinh yếu khi học tiếng Anh trên lớp M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 Hanoi, 2014 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* LÊ THỊ MỸ PHONL LOW-COMPETENCE EFL LEARNERS’ EXPECTATIONS FROM THEIR ENGLISH CLASS Những mong muốn của học sinh yếu khi học tiếng Anh trên lớp M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: NGUYỄN TRƯỜNG SA, Ph.D. Hanoi, 2014 DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I, Lê Thị Mỹ Phonl, declare that this graduation thesis is original and has not been submitted for assessment elsewhere. I declare that this assignment is my own work and does not involve plagiarism or collusion. Signature: Date: September 5, 2014 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to all those who contribute and support to the completion of this study. My deepest appreciation goes to my supervisor, Dr. Nguyen Truong Sa, from whom I have gained expert guidance and personal inspiration. I especially thank him for his ongoing support and constructive comments on early versions of the manuscript. His private time for me was so valuable that I do not know how to repay. I am grateful to Ms Chi - the general director of ALIS for accepting me to investigate at ALIS and for her helps in arranging classes for me. Many thanks are sent to the teachers and learners who took much time and great care into my study. I am indebted to my two colleagues: Ms Tuyet and Mr Tin for all supports when I needed. Finally, a heartfelt gratutide I feel towardmy beloved family for their emotional and material support. They really mean the world to me. ii ABSTRACT This study examined expectations of 5 low-competence learners in a private English school in Vietnam. The researcher adopted two qualitative methods of in-depth interview and observation to collect the data. The first in-depth interview data was coded to build up the subjects‟ stated expectations. To examine their expectations related to what happened in class, the researcher analyzed the data collected from the observations and second in-depth interviews. The results showed that the low-competence learners cherished many expectations of the learning activities, the teachers and the classmates since they were not satisfied and had many challenges when learning in class. The effective collection and value to teachers of English were discussed. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP ACKNOWLEDGMENTS i ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii DEFINITIONS OF TERMS vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii TRANSCRIPTION CONVENTIONS ix LIST OF TABLES AND FIGUERS x PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale 1 2. Objectives of the study 2 3. Research questions 2 4. Significance of the study 3 5. Context of the study 3 6. Overview of chapters 4 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 6 1.1. Expectations 6 iv 1.1.1. Definition of expectations 6 1.1.2. Categories of expectations 7 1.1.3. Approach to expectations 8 1.1.3.1. Expectations, experiences and challenges 8 1.1.3.2. Expectations andbehaviors 11 1.2. Low-competence learners 11 1.3. Approach to study expectations in language learning 12 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 16 2.1. Participants 16 2.2. Data collection 18 2.2.1. Data collection instruments 18 2.2.2. Data collection procedures 19 2.2.3. Data analysis procedures 22 2.3. Role of researcher 23 2.4. Trustworthiness and Credibility 24 2.5. Ethical considerations 24 2.6. The pilot study 24 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 26 3.1. Pre-conceived expectations 26 v 3.2. Learning behaviors 31 3.3. Learning challenges 34 PART C: CONCLUSION 1. Conclusions of the study 36 2. Pedagogical implications 37 3. Limitations of the study and Suggestions for further study 38 REFERENCES 40 APPENDIX A: A GUIDE FOR DESIGNING AND CONDUCTING IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW I APPENDIX B: LEARNING ACTIVITIES IV APPENDIX C: QUESTIONS FOR THE FIRST IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS V APPENDIX D: QUESTIONS FOR THE SECOND IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS VI APPENDIX E: INTERVIEW SAMPLE VII vi DEFINITION OF TERMS Behaviors Behaviors are a collection of actions a person does that can be observed, measured, and repeated (Bicard & Bicard, 2012). In line with them, behaviors used in this study are what students do, respond and react when learning in class. Challenges Challenges referred in this study are learners‟ difficulties when learning English in class and unsatisfied factors about their class. Competence Competence is an entity of theoretical knowledge, ability, application knowledge, behavior and motivation structured in mastering a specific situation (Gilbert, 1998). I used the term “low competence learners” throughout the study to define those individuals whose abilities, knowledge and skills of English are performed worse than others in class classified by their teachers according to their result of performance in tests and classroom. English as a foreign language (EFL) EFL described situations where students were learning English in order to use with any other English speakers in the world (Harme, 2007) and where English is taught as a subject in schools but not used for communication within the country (Richard at al., 1992). Expectations Expectations in this study are defined as desires or wants of language [...]... investigate low-competence students‟ expectations from their English class I will explore learning activities that these learners expect to do in class; exam what happen in class and if the students have any learning challenges; discover factors that make them unsatisfied when learning in class 2 3 Research Questions The general question of this study is: What are low-competence EFL learners‟ expectations from. .. students are not without facing significant challenges from both outside and inside As mentioned above, dissatisfaction, for instance, happened when their class is less than expected From another aspect, these challenges reflected clearly what students are expecting from their class 1.1.3.2 Expectations and behaviors In fact, a person‟s expectations are reflected by behaviors; White (1999) and Barcelos (2000)... studying English as a compulsory subject in secondary and tertiary levels However, they are often not able to use English for communication outside the classroom As a result, the increasing number of them is likely to go to private English schools for extra English classes with expectations to be taught in magical ways to improve their English (Nguyen, 2012) although tuition fees paid for such classes... a careful consideration into their teaching methods In addition, it also draws teacher to look back their teaching process in class, recognize their shortages and provides them with some ways to improve the quality of their teaching and their students‟ learning as well My study aims to facilitate teachers who are worried about their low-competence students, want to give their students the hands full... readers up from the general to specific comprehension of review of literature of expectations 1.1 Expectations 1.1.1 Definition of expectations Defining expectation is not a simple task From a small-scale view, expecting something means to look forward to its probable occurrence or appearance, as adapted from the American Heritage Dictionary of the English language From a view of social sciences, expectations. .. expectations from their English class? This question can be clarified by addressing these specific questions (1) What expectations do these learners hold about their class? (2) What are their learning behaviors? (3) What are challenges of these learners when learning in class? 4 Significance of the study Practically, my study‟s outcome can help teachers with some new experience on low-competence students... students‟ expectations from their English class at a private English language center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam The literature shows that expectations are individual and self-experience based and interrelate with behaviors Thus, in order to understand them, it is essential to look at the context of the classroom where the process of teaching and learning is happening 2.1 Participants Three classes... expectations are what they believe will happen  “Counter-ideal expectations are what they definitely did not want to happen “Ideal expectations and “predictive expectations are also referred to as “will” expectations, i.e whether something will happen and “should” expectations, i.e whether something should happen, respectively (Boulding et al 1993) 1.1.3 Approach to expectations After giving expectations. .. to make explicit and articulate the expectations from teaching and learning in real contexts Hence, in-depth interviewing is a valuable source of gaining insight into learners‟ expectations I adopted it in my study where the subjects were helped to build, evaluate, compare, and explain their opinions and reasons, and the data represent their expectations about their class 2.2.2 Data collection procedures... She has studied English in her public school since 2011 and has gone to ALIS since late 2011 Student E: He is 15 years old He has studied English in his public school since 2011 and has gone to ALIS since late 2011 They all study English because it is a compulsory subject at their public schools One more common thing among them is that after spending a period of time studying English in their public schools, . LOW-COMPETENCE EFL LEARNERS’ EXPECTATIONS FROM THEIR ENGLISH CLASS Những mong muốn của học sinh yếu khi học tiếng Anh trên lớp M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE:. LOW-COMPETENCE EFL LEARNERS’ EXPECTATIONS FROM THEIR ENGLISH CLASS Những mong muốn của học sinh yếu khi học tiếng Anh trên lớp M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: