Intercultural interaction between vietnamese military students and foreign teachers in english classroom context a case study of a military school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ************************* NGÔ THỊ CHÚC INTERCULTURAL INTERACTION BE

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

*************************

NGÔ THỊ CHÚC

INTERCULTURAL INTERACTION BETWEEN VIETNAMESE MILITARY STUDENTS AND FOREIGN TEACHERS IN ENGLISH CLASSROOM CONTEXT:

A CASE STUDY OF A MILITARY SCHOOL

(SỰ TƯƠNG TÁC LIÊN VĂN HÓA GIỮA SINH VIÊN QUÂN SỰ VIỆT NAM VỚI GIÁO VIÊN NGƯỜI NƯỚC NGOÀI TRONG LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH:

NGHIÊN CỨU TRƯỜNG HỢP Ở MỘT TRƯỜNG QUÂN SỰ)

M.A MAJOR PROGRAMMME THESIS

Field: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS Code: 60220201

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

*************************

NGÔ THỊ CHÚC

INTERCULTURAL INTERACTION BETWEEN VIETNAMESE MILITARY STUDENTS AND FOREIGN TEACHERS IN ENGLISH CLASSROOM CONTEXT:

A CASE STUDY OF A MILITARY SCHOOL

(SỰ TƯƠNG TÁC LIÊN VĂN HÓA GIỮA SINH VIÊN QUÂN SỰ VIỆT NAM VỚI GIÁO VIÊN NGƯỜI NƯỚC NGOÀI TRONG LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH:

NGHIÊN CỨU TRƯỜNG HỢP Ở MỘT TRƯỜNG QUÂN SỰ)

M.A MAJOR PROGRAMMME THESIS

Field: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

Code: 60220201

Supervisor: DR HOÀNG THỊ HẠNH

DECLARATION BY AUTHOR

I, NGÔ THỊ CHÚC, hereby certify that this thesis, which is entitled “Intercultural

Interaction between Vietnamese Military Students and Foreign Teachers in English Classroom Context: A Case Study of a Military School”, is created from my

original work I have firmly declared the contribution of others to my thesis such as

data analysis, practical strategies, and all other research that was employed or reviewed in my thesis

This thesis is the result of my own study in the fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts at Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, University of

Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

Hanoi, 2014

Ngô Thị Chúc

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This thesis would not have been finished without the assistance I received from many people and organisations I would like to express my thankfulness to:

 my supervisor, Dr Hoànng Thị Hạnh for being immeasureably helpful for

my work and for her detailed advice, invaluable comments and suggestions Without her endless support this thesis would have been impossible

 the students and teachers who have participated in the study with their priceless time, attempt and keenness

 the staff at the studied military school for their valuable support during my data collection process

 Ms Lê Minh Thu for her precious help in inviting the foreign teachers to participate in this research

 my sister, Ngô Thị Nhâm, for her endless support and encouragement

 the Post-Graduate staff and my classmates at the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for providing

me with basic knowledge about how to structure a research project and the opportunity to improve my research knowledge and skills

 my colleagues at Military Academy of Logistics for their support,

encouragement and constructive comments on my work

 my parents and parents-in-law for their wholehearted support and

motivation

 my small family including my husband, Phạm Ngọc Hiệp, and my daughter Phạm Trúc Linh for their love and support

ABSTRACT

This study explores the intercultural interaction between Vietnamese military students and foreign teachers in English classroom context as well as the participants’ perceptions of those interactions using qualitative case study methodology The participants are a class of 18 Vietnamese military students and two foreign teachers in a military school in Hanoi Four data collection instruments were employed: classroom observation, retrospective interviews, focus group interviews and individual open-ended interviews The interaction were analyzed using Chaudron’s (1988) interactive features of classroom behaviours and Hofstede’s (1986) nature of teacher-student interaction related to individualism versus collectivism and power distance dimensions of culture The findings show that the teacher-student intercultural interaction had the characteristics of both individualism and collectivism, and both large power distance and small power distance The students participated quite actively in the lessons The foreign teachers align themselves with their own teaching styles with lots of communicative activities during the lessons and independence of students was encouraged However, there was a mismatch between the students’ and teachers’ expectations The perceptions of both students and teachers about their classroom interaction were positive Both student and teacher participants in this study perceive that differences between two cultures do not hinder their intercultural interaction in the classroom Nevertheless, misunderstanding was hidden during the interaction without being conscious of by both students and teachers The findings raise awareness of cultural differences for both students and teachers involved in intercultural interaction in the classroom The study proposes practical suggestions for international teachers of English in Vietnam and Vietnamese students who study English with foreign teachers in their home country or go overseas to study, especially in Australia

NOTES ON QUOTATIONS FROM THE DATA Excerpt 3.1 – JANE – 20.03:

Excerpt 3.1: Excerpt number 1 in chapter 3

JANE: Pseudonym of the teacher

20.03: The observed lesson was on March, 20

S1: Student number 1

SS: Students

T: Teacher

RI: Quotes taken from retrospective interview

IO: Quotes taken from individual open-ended interview

FG: Quotes taken from focus group interview

Jane-RI21.03:

Jane: Pseudonym of the teacher who produced the quoted utterance

RI21.03: Quote taken from Retrospective Interview taking place on March, 21 Lyn-IO:

Lyn: Pseudonym of the teacher who produced the quoted utterance

IO: Quotes taken from individual open-ended interview

Manh-FG1:

Manh: Pseudonym of the student who produced the quoted utterance

FG1: Quote taken from Focus Group Interview number 1

[…]: quotations are partly omitted

LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Vietnamese Teacher-Student Interaction versus Australian

Teacher-Student Interaction Related to the Individualism versus

Collectivism and the Power Distance Dimensions of Culture……… Table 2: List of Teacher Participants ……… ……… Table 3: List of Student Participants ……… ………

14

21

22

LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Comparison of value orientations: Vietnam versus Australia Figure 2: Stages of Data Analysis ……… ………

12

30

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION BY AUTHOR i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

NOTES ON QUOTATIONS FROM THE DATA iv

LIST OF TABLES v

LIST OF FIGURES vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Contextual motivation 1

2 Significance of the study 3

3 Aims and scope of the study 3

3.1 Aims of the study and research questions 3

3.2 Scope of the Study 4

4 Organization of the study 4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEWS 5

1 1 Review of theoretical background for the study 5

1.1.1 Culture 5

1.1.2 Culture and communication 6

1.1.3 Intercultural communication 7

1.1.4 Intercultural communication versus Cross-cultural communication 7

1.1.5 Intercultural communicative competence (ICC) 8

1.1.6 Classroom interaction 9

1.1.6.1 Definitions of interaction in the classroom 9

1.1.6.2 Features of classroom interaction 9

1.1.6.3 Classroom interaction and foreign/second language acquisition 10

1.1.7 Cultural dimensions and teacher-student interaction in the classroom 11

1.1.8 Individualism versus Collectivism and teacher-student interaction 12

1.1.9 Power distance and teacher-student interaction 13

1.1.10 Vietnamese and Australian teacher-student interaction influenced by cultural factors 14

1.2 Reviews of relevant studies 15

1.3 Summary 17

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 19

2.1 General Method 19

2.1.1 Qualitative Research 19

2.1.2 Case Study 19

2.2 Participants and Site 20

2.2.1 The School 20

2.2.2 Participants 21

2.2.2.1 Teacher Participants 21

2.2.2.2 Student Participants 21

2.3 Data Collection Instruments 23

2.3.1 Classroom Observation 23

2.3.2 The retrospective interview 25

2.3.2.1 Retrospective interview with students 26

2.3.2.2 Retrospective interview with teachers 26

2.3.3 Individual open-ended interview 27

2.3.4 The focus-group interview 27

2.4 Transcription and analysis of data 28

2.4.1 Transcription 28

2.4.2 Analysis 29

2.5 Validity of the study 31

2.6 Summary 31

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 33

3.1 The intercultural interaction between Vietnamese military students and

foreign teachers in English classroom 33

3.1.1 Physical Environment 33

3.1.2 Social environment 33

3.1.2.1 Starting the lessons 33

3.1.2.2 During the lessons 35

3.1.2.3 Ending the lessons 36

3.1.3 The features of interaction between teachers and students in the classroom 37

3.1.3.1 Turn taking 37

3.1.3.2 Questioning and answering 39

3.1.3.3 Negotiation of meaning 41

3.1.3.4 Feedback 44

3.2 Teachers’ and students’ perceptions of their intercultural interactions 49

3.2.1 Teachers’ perceptions 49

3.2.2 Students’ perceptions 53

3.3 Cultural factors underlie the teacher-student interaction and their impact on the teacher-student intercultural interaction in the classroom 59

3.3.1 Attitudes to topics for public discussions 60

3.3.2 Conceptions of beauty 61

3.3.3 Love for romance 61

3.3.4 Respect for teachers 62

3.3.5 Typical personality 62

3.4 To some extent, do cultural differences hinder or facilitate the teacher-student intercultural interaction in the classroom? 64

3.4.1 Teachers’ attitudes 64

3.4.2 Students’ attitudes 64

3.5 Summary 69

PART C: CONCLUSION 70

1 Research findings 70

1.1 How do the Vietnamese military students and their foreign teachers

interact in English classroom? 70

1.2 How do the Vietnamese students and their foreign teachers perceive their inter-cultural interaction in the classroom? 71

1.3 What cultural factors underlie their classroom interaction? 72

1.4 To some extent, do those cultural factors facilitate or hinder the classroom interaction? 73

2 Implications 73

3 Limitations 75

4 Recommendations for further study 76

REFERENCES 78 Appendixes I

PART A: INTRODUCTION This part presents two main motivations for conducting the study It begins with the status of English language education in Vietnam, focusing on Vietnamese students’ learning English as a foreign language The status initiated a need for researching

on intercultural interaction between Vietnamese students and foreign teachers Then, it presents the significance, aims, research questions, scope and methodology

of the study This part ends with a brief description of the study’s organization

1 Contextual motivation

With the fast process of integration and the growth of international businesses and trades in Vietnam, the ability to communicate in English has become a passport to a better job and a turnkey to opportunity The need for highly skilled and competent English speakers makes English language learning and teaching a major issue in Vietnamese education today In 2008, the project to improve the teaching and learning of foreign languages in Vietnam through 2020 was approved by the Prime Minister, and attracting overseas foreigners to teach in Vietnam is included in the project As a result, there have been an increasing number of foreign teachers teaching English in Vietnam in recent years (Binh, 2012; Vietnam to bring in more native speakers to teach English, 2013) This situation happens not only in schools and universities but also in various kindergartens, international schools, and English language centers such as the British Council, the American Apollo, and the Cambridge International Examinations Consequently, the access to a multicultural classroom in Vietnam has become increasingly easy In addition, a significantly rising number of Vietnamese are choosing to study abroad (Hang, 2009) to gain globally-recognised degrees, which increases job prospects and boosts their language skills Australia and America are the leading study destinations for Vietnamese students (Vietnamese students on the move, 2014) In English classroom at military schools, the presence of foreign teachers may be less common However, Vietnam’s development cooperation with English speaking

countries has gradually been stronger Hence, there are more and more native English teachers teaching Vietnamese military students in Vietnam, and it is also true for the number of scholarships for military students to study in English speaking countries such as America, Australia and New Zealand In the current context, the need for understanding of intercultural interaction between Vietnamese students and foreign teachers in English classroom and the role of culture in intercultural communication has been rising There have been many international studies of intercultural communication (Hall, 1966; Hofstede, 1986; Bennett, 1998; Corbett, 2003; Dogancay-Aktuna, 2005; Crose, 2011; Nataša Bakić-Mirić, 2012) In Vietnam, intercultural communication has not been paid due attention to in English language teaching and learning, but there is a growing interest (Nguyen, 2010; Kiet, 2011; Bright, 2012; Canh, 2013) However, the focus is more on the side of teachers

or overseas Vietnamese students There has not been much research on how intercultural interaction between Vietnamese students and foreign teachers takes place in English classroom, let alone the interaction between military students and foreign teachers

Having taught English at a military school for several years, I can see that military students, like Vietnamese students in general, are eager to have English lessons taught by foreign teachers However, the cultural differences between Vietnamese students and foreign teachers are considered to cause conflicts and misunderstanding when they encounter intercultural interaction (Ellis, 1995) Because intercultural communication in English language learning and teaching in Vietnam has not been paid due attention to, Vietnamese students in general and Vietnamese military students in particular are not well prepared for intercultural communication For the given situation, and my concern about the way to help my students be confident when interacting with foreign teachers and make their experience of learning English with foreign teachers a positive one, I take this

military students and foreign teachers in English classroom This is a case study of a single English class in a military school in Hanoi, Vietnam

2 Significance of the study

In terms of theory, this study is hoped to provide some useful contribution to knowledge of authentic intercultural interaction in an educational context This research is expected to help Vietnamese military learners of English better understand cultural factors involved in their interaction with foreign teachers, and the impacts of these cultural factors on the interaction Also, the study is hoped to help with a better understanding between Vietnamese military students and foreign teachers to motivate their learning and teaching process In terms of practice, this study raises teacher’s and student’s awareness of intercultural communication and can contribute to the teaching of English and of intercultural communication in Vietnamese military schools

3 Aims and scope of the study

3.1 Aims of the study and research questions

The researcher views interaction between Vietnamese military students and foreign teachers in English classroom as a truly intercultural setting that need a close inspection The aims of this study are:

 to describe and interpret inter-cultural interaction between Vietnamese military students and foreign teachers in English classroom

 to describe and interpret how Vietnamese military students and foreign teachers think of that interaction

 to find out what cultural factors involve in the interaction and whether they facilitate or hinder the process of that interaction

These objectives are parallel with four following questions:

1 How do the Vietnamese military students and their foreign teachers interact

in English classroom?

2 How do they perceive that inter-cultural interaction?

3 What cultural factors underlie their classroom interaction?

4 To some extent, do those cultural factors facilitate or hinder the classroom interaction?

3.2 Scope of the Study

To limit the scope of the study, this research examines intercultural interactions in English classroom by focusing on teacher-student interactions The study considers all forms of interaction: verbal and non-verbal, positive and negative This is the case of military school in Hanoi with the participation of 18 Vietnamese military students and two foreign teachers, and it has no intention of generalisation

4 Organization of the study

This thesis is organised into three main parts: Part A- Introduction, Part B - Development and Part C - Conclusion This introductory part presents the research aims, scope, significance, and organisation of the study Next, part B - Development

is divided into three chapters Chapter 1 discusses the theoretical matters of intercultural interactions in English classroom such as definitions of culture, intercultural communication, and classroom interaction It also reviews related past research Chapter 2 explains the methodological approach and procedures of the study It deals with the description of the case, data collection instruments, data collection procedure and data analysis process Chapter 3 reports the results for each research question The thesis ends with part C - Conclusion, which discusses findings and suggests implications for EFL education, especially in military

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEWS This chapter consists of two main parts Firstly, it will start with critically reviewing the concepts of culture, intercultural communication and intercultural communicative competence Secondly, it will critically review and discuss studies

on classroom interaction, the relationship between classroom interaction and second language acquisition, Vietnamese and Australian cultures and the influence of cultural dimensions on teacher –student interaction in classroom, and some relevant studies in order to identify the gap in the literature

1 1 Review of theoretical background for the study

1.1.1 Culture

Culture is often considered the core concept of intercultural communication (Martin

& Nakayama, 2010); therefore, discussion of definitions of culture and the relationship between culture and communication is essential in this study

Singer (1998) defines culture as “a pattern of learned, group-related perceptions – including both verbal and nonverbal language, attitudes, values, belief systems, disbelief systems and behaviours that is accepted and expected by an identity group” (p 5, as cited in Jones & Quach, 2007, p 5) Thus, culture is something that

is learned from parents, schools, the media and the broader community Gudykunst (1983) states that, cultures are dynamic because they are created and recreated through shared interactions (cited in Jones & Quach, 2007) This means cultures are not fixed and people could learn and relearn different cultures during their lifetime Jones and Quach (2007) believe that culture is made up of a particular group of people’s shared values and assumptions These key features of culture are shared by many authors (for example: Spencer-Otatey, 2000; Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013):

Culture is a fuzzy set of attitudes, beliefs, behavioural conventions and basic assumptions and values that are shared by a group of people, and that influence each member’s behaviour and each member’s interpretations of the

“meaning” of other people’s behaviour (Spencer-Otatey, 2000, p 4)

Culture is not simply a body of knowledge but a framework in which people live their lives, communicate and interpret shared meanings, and select possible actions to achieve goals (Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013, p 22)

Because culture is made up of shared values and assumptions, people tend to believe that the ways they behave and the things they value are right and true for everyone However, different groups may have different values, ways of communicating, customs, conventions, and assumptions; and thus when people from different cultural groups communicate with each other, conflicts may appear (Jones and Quach, 2007)

1.1.2 Culture and communication

The relationship between culture and communication is complex (Martin & Nakayama, 2010) As Samovar and Porter (2004) state, communication and perception are affected by culture (cited in Patel, Li & Sooknanan, 2011) Culture, therefore, is a significant factor in how people communicate and how they perceive any form of communication Barro et al (1998) view culture as “an active meaning-making system of experiences which enters into and is constructed within every act

of communication” (p 83) Thus, culture not only influences communication but also is influenced by communication (Barro et al., 1998; Martin & Nakayama, 2010; Patel, Li & Sooknanan, 2011) In sum, culture and communication are inclusive and interrelated

1.1.3 Intercultural communication

In the era of globalization and technology, Vietnamese people are more likely to encounter international interactions which need English as a common language for communication However, such intercultural interactions can be difficult if we do not know how to deal with people who are culturally different from us Increasing our knowledge and understanding of other people and their cultures is more important today than ever before Therefore, it is necessary to prepare Vietnamese language students for intercultural communication in an increasingly multicultural world

Barnett and Lee (2003) define intercultural communication as the cultural information exchange between two groups of people who are culturally different Intercultural communication, therefore, concerns communication between people who come from different cultures (Ting-Toomey, 1999) Basically, we can understand that intercultural communication embodies the interaction between people from different cultural backgrounds, and it implies a procedure that people

of one specific culture observe the target culture and reflect on their own and the target culture (Byram, 1989) In short, intercultural communication is recognised in this study as an interaction between people from distinctive cultural backgrounds which might influence or be influenced by their own cultural characteristics

1.1.4 Intercultural communication versus Cross-cultural communication

The theoretical study of intercultural and cross-cultural communication cannot be entirely isolated (Prosser, 2009) However, it is necessary to distinguish these two terms in this study

Intercultural communication, as discussed above, is defined as the study of communication between people whose cultural backgrounds are significantly different Whereas, a cross-cultural communication study compares and contrasts the communication of people from different cultures and explain how

communication varies from one culture to another (Prosser, 2009) Simply put, cross-cultural approach means a comparison and contrast between two or more cultural groups; therefore, the main goal of cross-cultural approach is the study of a specific concept within one culture and compare to other culture (Prosser, 2009) Intercultural approach, on the other hand, mainly aims at the development of intercultural competence which is viewed as the ability to behave and respond properly and successfully in various cultural contexts (Messner & Schafer, 2012; Spitzberg, 2000) The concept of intercultural communicative competence, thus, will be discussed in the following section

1.1.5 Intercultural communicative competence (ICC)

The term intercultural communicative competence has been defined in various ways ICC is regularly viewed as united mix of “knowledge, motivation and skills

to interact effectively and appropriately with members of different cultures” (Wiseman, 2003, p 192) Byram (1997) defines ICC as “the ability to communicate and interact across cultural boundaries” (p 7, as cited in Hien, 2014, p 117) The differences in cultural backgrounds of people are considered the challenging features for intercultural interaction Thus, the process of obtaining intercultural and communicative competence is complicated ICC, as proposed by Byram (1997), requires five significant factors: attitude, knowledge of oneself and others, skills of interpreting and relating, skills of discovery and interaction, critical cultural

awareness (p 91, cited in Hien, 2014)

In the era of globalisation, the ICC approach is getting an influential position in foreign language teaching and learning practice (Houghton, 2009, cited in Hien, 2014) Considering the importance of ICC in foreign language education and the trend of globalisation, Vietnamese language students should be taught to interact appropriately and effectively in intercultural communication encounters

1.1.6 Classroom interaction

1.1.6.1 Definitions of interaction in the classroom

In order to enhance understanding of the relationship between classroom interaction and foreign language acquisition, it is relevant to firstly deal with the various definitions of interaction in the classroom Brown (1994) views interaction as “the collaborative exchange of the thoughts, feelings, or ideas between two or more people resulting in a reciprocal effect on each other” (p.159) Classroom interaction, according to Dagarin (2004), is a two-way process between the participants in the learning process in which the teacher and students mutually influence There are two means of resources that enable interaction to be achieved: language and non-verbal means of expression Both resources (verbal and non-verbal) are of the same importance (Dagarin, 2004) In short, classroom interaction consists of all types of interaction that goes on in a classroom It refers to the conversation between teachers and students and as well as among the students, in which the students’ active participation and learning becomes important

In deed, all of the types of classroom interaction are important to engage learning and teaching Nevertheless, only the student-teacher interaction will be explored in the study Verbal interaction is of focus in this study However, in certain acts, the complementary meaning of other paralinguistic features and non-verbal interactions add to or even change the meaning and intentions of verbal acts Thus, in certain moments of the interaction analysis, both verbal and non-verbal interactions of students and teachers in the video – recordings will be studied

1.1.6.2 Features of classroom interaction

As Chaudron (1988) asserts, the interactive features of classroom behaviours has been recently regarded with a more significant role like the following:

a Turn taking During the interaction, both the teacher and students take turns to

speak The number of turns taken by an individual in an interaction displays how effectively he/she is involved in the interaction

b Questioning and answering It is possible that the teacher’s questioning

promotes students’ production of their target language, and the students’

answering may be considered a positive effort to foster their learning process

c Negotiation of meaning When the students do not understand what the teacher

attempts to convey or vice versa, requests for clarification, and comprehension and confirmation checks may be used by both the teacher and students to ask

for clarification from the other

d Feedback The feedback which typically involves error correction from the

teacher is essential to boost the students’ learning Furthermore, students can also give feedback such as to ask for explanation from the teacher (pp 131-

1.1.6.3 Classroom interaction and foreign/second language acquisition

In second and foreign language learning, interaction has long been considered to play an important role (Seliger, 1977; Lier, 1996; Hall & Walsh, 2002; Luk & Lin, 2007; Zhao, 2013) Lier (1996) considers interaction the most important thing in the curriculum (cited in Walsh, 2011) Seliger (1977) views interaction in the classroom

as the practice of new linguistic concepts acquired or learned in the classroom By participating in classroom interactions, students can enrich their linguistic resources

important ways of achieving learning in classrooms Teachers and students build a common body of knowledge through interacting with each other In addition, teachers and students can create mutual understandings of their roles and relationships, and the accepted behaviours and expectations of their involvement as members in their classroom

In sum, interaction in English classroom is beneficial for students’ learning In order

to improve students’ learning outcomes, it is necessary to engage students in meaningful interactions with teachers and other students in classroom context The quality of interaction, according to Walsh (2006), is largely determined by teachers

in their face to face communication with learners

1.1.7 Cultural dimensions and teacher-student interaction in the classroom

When teachers and students from different cultures interact, there may appear conflicts because their teaching and learning styles are dissimilar (Hofstede, 1986) Therefore, it is worth considering Vietnamese and Australian cultures and their impacts on the nature of Vietnamese student- Australian teacher interaction in classroom

Cultural dimensions are various and have been investigated by many researchers (Hofstede & Bond, 1984; Hall, 1966, 1983; Triandis, 1990, 1995) Hofstede (1986),

in a comparative study of culture within a large multinational organisation, proposes a cultural analysis in terms of the four dimensions of power distance, individualism, masculinity, and uncertainty avoidance and relates the factors to classroom interaction, which helps us to regard expectations of how teacher/student patterns of interaction are shaped by culture These dimensions formulate the behavior of individuals of a certain culture but have been criticized as demonstrating the eccentricity of one particular organization (Gallivan & Srite, 2005) and lessening and simplifying the concept of culture (McSweeney 2002) However, it is the research methodology that is mostly criticized, not the theory

(Ford et al 2003) Therefore, these dimensions are reliable in theory (Straub et al 1997) and have been separately verified and replicated by other researchers (Smith

et al 1996)

When comparing Vietnam with Australia, the two dimensions of power distance and individualism differ most significantly (see Figure 1) Thus, this study will discuss differences between teacher-student interaction in Vietnamese culture and Australian culture in the light of these two culture dimensions

Figure 1 Comparison of value orientations: Vietnam versus Australia (Vietnam in

comparison with Australia, 2014)

1.1.8 Individualism versus Collectivism and teacher-student interaction

Hofstede (1986) defines individualism as a culture assuming that everyone grows

up to look after his/her own interest and the interest of his/her immediate family only (p 307) Whereas, collectivism is defined as a culture assuming that people are born into one or more tight ‘in- groups’ from which he/she cannot separate

highly value what is best for the social institutions that he or she belongs to over personal ambitions and goals The difference on this point might determine the way

of teaching and learning during classroom activities in the intercultural classrooms (Hofstede, 1986)

In collectivism societies, students want to learn how to do, expect teacher to initiate communication, and only speak up in class when asked personally by teachers Face-saving is highly valued for both teachers and students (Hofstede, 1986) In contrast, students from individualism societies want to learn how to learn and speak

up in class in response to a general invitation by the teacher Consciousness of saving is weak (Hofstede, 1986)

face-1.1.9 Power distance and teacher-student interaction

Power distance is defined as “a characteristic of a culture defines the extent to which the less powerful persons in a society accept inequality in power and consider

it as normal” (Hofstede, 1986, p 307) Cultures with larger power distance prefer that authorities should remain powerful and hierarchy is appropriate for the society

On the other hand, in societies with low power distance people seek to equalise the distribution of power Power distance has been believed to be dominantly influential

in learning outcomes (Paulus et al 2005)

In large power distance societies, the classrooms tend to be teacher-centred The teacher is considered the expert He/she is highly respected, and never contradicted

or criticised Students in large power-distance societies focus more on absorbing knowledge from the teacher and only speak up when personally invited Students expect teachers to provide paths to learn and effective learning dependents on the competence of teachers (Hofstede, 1986, p 313) Conversely, in small power distance societies, the classrooms tend to be student-centered Teachers expect students to look for their own ways to learn and effective learning relates to efforts from both students and teachers Students’ independence is highly respected by

teachers Students can speak up freely in class and have opportunities to criticize teachers (Hofstede, 1986)

1.1.10 Vietnamese and Australian teacher-student interaction influenced by cultural factors

As asserted by Canh (1999), traditional view of the teacher-student relationship in Vietnam is that the teacher is expected to be “the sole provider of experience in the target language” (p 74) who is “highly respected by the students” (p 75) and what the teacher says is “unquestionably standard norms” (p 75) As a result, Vietnamese learners “feel rude if they interrupt, question, or argue with their teachers” (p 76); and if they do not understand something, they “are not daring enough to ask for clarification in public for fear of losing face” (p 76) These findings are similar to Hofstede’s (1986) concepts of collectivism and large power distance In contrast, Australian culture is attributed to individualism and small power distance societies (Hofstede, 1986, p 309) As Ellis (1995) states, teaching and learning styles are mainly decided by the value orientations of a particular society Therefore, in this study which explores the interaction between Vietnamese students and Australian teachers, it is relevant to examine the difference between traditional Vietnamese teacher-student interaction and Australian teacher-student interaction in the classroom (See Table 3)

Table 1 Vietnamese Student Interaction versus Australian

Teacher-Student Interaction Related to the Individualism versus Collectivism and the Power Distance Dimensions of Culture (adapted from Hofstede, 1986, pp 312-313)

9 students speak up in class only when

invited by the teacher

11 students expect to learn how to do

13 teacher is never contradicted nor

publicly criticized

15 effectiveness of learning related to

excellence of the teacher

17 neither the teacher nor the student

should have to lose face

19 teachers are expected to give

preferential treatment to some

12 students expect to learn how to learn

14 students are allowed to contradict or criticize teacher

16 effectiveness of learning related to amount of two-way communication

in class

18 Consciousness of face-saving is weak

20 teachers are expected to be strictly impartial

Indeed, the cultural differences between a large power distance culture embedded in collectivism (Vietnam) and a small power distance culture covered by individualism (Australia) are considered to cause conflicts and misunderstanding when people encounter intercultural interaction

1.2 Reviews of relevant studies

An (2002), to provide additional details to the current situation of learning and teaching English in Vietnam, addresses two issues concerning the effects of

Confucianism: the traditional method of teaching and the implementation of communicative language teaching (CLT) Questionnaires were delivered to 230 learners at different levels in Ho Chi Minh City to test the hypothesis that because

of the effects of Confucianism, Vietnamese learners are passive and dependent on their teachers and their attitudes towards CLT are negative She simultaneously conducted a similar study on a smaller scale with 128 teachers in the city to discover cultural effects on their teaching The results of this survey suggest that Vietnamese learners are no longer completely passive In fact, they enjoy participating in activities that help them to use the language, and thus there is hope for more efficient and effective language learners

Tuan (2011) conducted a questionnaire survey to examine EFL students’ preferred learning styles and linkages between learning style preferences and individual attributes The participants were 172 students from ten intermediate EFL classes at the Center for Foreign Languages of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City His study suggests that EFL students showed a strong preference for more communicative activities enabling them to be involved

in physical movement He finds out that Vietnamese students are more and more adapting themselves to active learning This finding is similar to what An (2002) reported, and thus, has shown a continuation of Vietnamese students’ adaptation to

be more active in language learning

In terms of foreign teachers teaching English in Vietnam, Canh (2013) employed a qualitative study exploring the discursive construction of the professional identity of

a small group of native-English-speaking teachers (NESTs) working in an English department of a Vietnamese university (n=5) He implemented semi-structured face-to-face interviews to gain insights into NESTs’ construction of their professional identities in a particular EFL context His findings revealed that NESTs identify themselves as students’ partners in the construction of knowledge rather

students to use English for authentic communication and to improve their English pronunciation They tried to familiarize the students with their own practices, rather than adapted their teaching styles to the students’ needs and learning styles

It can be inferred from the three above-discussed studies that Vietnamese students

in general, and Vietnamese military students in particular, are becoming more active

in English classroom and interested in taking part in activities enabling them to practice the language Foreign teachers, in contrast, determine to familiarize the students with their own teaching styles, rather than adapt the way they teach to the needs and learning styles of Vietnamese students

1.3 Summary

So far the literature review has shown that, because of cultural differences between

a collectivism and large power distance society and an individualism and small power distance society, conflicts and misunderstanding between Vietnamese students and foreign teachers are likely to appear when they interact in the classroom; and in order to have successful interactions, they have to obtain culture understandings Recent studies has points out that Vietnamese students are slightly adapting themselves to be more active learners; whereas, foreign teachers are likely

to insist on their own teaching styles in Vietnamese classroom context without adjusting to Vietnamese students’ learning styles However, no studies were found that examine the intercultural communication experiences of Vietnamese military students with foreign teachers and their perceptions of those interactions As explained previously, due to the globalization of English language and the increase

in intercultural interactions between Vietnamese students and foreign teachers, the understanding of other cultures is of crucial importance for successful communication Therefore, this study addresses those gaps and extends previous studies by examining the interactions of Vietnamese military students when in contact with foreign teachers at a Vietnamese military school It specifically

analyzes the cultural factors underlie teacher-student interactions in classroom and their impacts on those interactions, the participants’ perceptions of their intercultural interactions, thus shedding light on the relationship between culture and communication The outcomes of this research will help EFL teachers and students in Vietnam to better understand the current intercultural communication status of Vietnamese military students This research will also be helpful to researchers who want to further study the field of intercultural communication and how Vietnamese military students communicate with people from different cultures The next chapter presents the methodology for this study and explains why such methodology is used to examine teacher-student intercultural interaction in English classroom

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methodology for this research Reasons for employing

qualitative case study, how data were collected and analysed, and the validity of the present study are explained

2.1 General Method

2.1.1 Qualitative Research

This research employed a qualitative case study to investigate student-teacher interaction in the classroom A qualitative approach is suitable to address the investigated issue for two reasons First, this study attempted to provide an in-depth understanding of teacher-student intercultural interactions in English classroom context which is a naturally occurring one (Patton, 2002) Second, this study not only examined how the teachers and students interacted physically but also sought

to understand how their interactions were influenced by their cultural perspectives

The use of qualitative approach helped the researcher obtain a holistic picture of not only what was happening in English classroom, but also why things were taking place as they were I started with precise observations and interviews, and let the categories of analysis to emerge from the collected data as the study was taking place (Kasinath, 2013) Thus, I could strive to understand the intercultural teacher-student interaction in a “genuine” English classroom without assuming answers to research questions, but makes ready to discover new and original situations in its natural settings

2.1.2 Case Study

I was determined to conduct a case study research because this approach allows me

to deeply understand the current student-teacher intercultural interaction in its life context from the perspective of the teachers and students being studied (Gall et al., 2003), and provide a rich description (Creswell, 1998) of the many contextual

real-factors surrounding the investigated case (Mckay, 2006) In this study, the case is a group of 18 students and two foreign teachers, and the boundaries of the case are their intercultural interaction (verbal and non-verbal) in English classroom during eight lessons This research is an intrinsic case study, which is undertaken because

of the researcher’s desire to have better understanding of a particular case (Stake, 2005)

2.2 Participants and Site

2.2.1 The School

A military language center in Hanoi, belonging to the Vietnamese ministry of Defence, provided the context for this study This unit offers various foreign language courses of different levels for Vietnamese military personnel There are about three to five English classes taught by Vietnamese teachers, and a certain number of students are chosen to study in some classes with native English teachers based on their entrance exam scores The English classes taught by Australian teachers are funded by the Australian government in a defence cooperation program between Vietnam and Australia

The researcher has had a close connection with the school for five years, having been a part-time English teacher here from 2009-2013 This relationship provided the researcher with an ease of access to the students and native teachers and meant that the participants were less likely to feel uncomfortable when participating in the study Nevertheless, knowing the participants was not an adequate basis for obtaining access Therefore, informal conversations through e-mail with the potential teacher participants and a face-to-face informal conversation with the intended student participants about the research’s purposes, the benefits involved, the participants’ privacy and the possibility of being involved took place prior to the beginning of the project (See appendixes A and B) Both teachers and students had

shown an interest in and a willingness to be involved in the project as they could see the potential for the work to improve understanding

Table 2 List of Teacher Participants

Pseudonyms Male/

Female

Area Taught

Number of Observed Lessons

Number of Retrospective Interviews

Individual Open-Ended Interview

newspapers, and technical factories The students’ English level is Intermediate However, some students may be better at English than others Table 5 shows the student participants, and pseudonyms are used to respect the students’ confidentiality and anonymity

Table 3 List of Student Participants

2.3 Data Collection Instruments

There are many ways to collect data and case study is not likely to use only one of these methods (Gerring, 2007) With the aim of achieving an in-depth understanding of the case, it was necessary for several methods of data collection analysis to arise Consequently, four data collection instruments were used in this study To obtain data on how students and teacher interact, classroom observations were conducted To understand the students’ and teacher’s thoughts and feelings of their interaction process and to confirm the analysis of their interaction pattern, stimulated retrospective interviews with teachers and selected students were implemented after each observed lesson In order to obtain deeper insights into students’ and teacher’s belief, attitudes, and experiences; focus-group interviews with students, and individual open-ended interviews with teachers were carried out after the observation and retrospective interview had been completed The data of this case study consists of:

a) The researcher’s observation of interaction between student-teacher and teacher-student within classroom settings

b) Interviews with students and teacher individually to elicit perceptions of observed interactions

c) Interviews with teachers individually and with focus group of students to elicit their attitudes and beliefs of intercultural interactions in general

2.3.1 Classroom Observation

The researcher observed four lessons taught by each teacher to study the participants’ behaviours: the students’ verbal and non-verbal interactions with their foreign teacher and the foreign teacher’s interactions with the students and her response to various aspects of students’ intercultural communication The observation took place for six days over six weeks depending on the class and teachers’ schedule The total time of class observation was eight hours During the

observed lessons, I was not involved in the class’ activities, but sitting in a fixed position at the corner of the classroom In this way, I could interpret the interactions

as an outsider Because I attempted not to miss any significant intercultural interactions in the lessons, field notes were taken simultaneously as interactions occurred The field notes were taken cautiously with the aim of preventing participants from feeling strained by virtue of being observed I tried to be as descriptive as possible to capture the nature and concurrence of the lessons In the field notes, I noted the date and time of observations; the teacher’s name and number of students involved in the lesson; the classroom’s atmosphere, the actions, behaviors and words of the participants when they interacted and how I was feeling

at that moment Handwritten notes were typed up immediately after each observed lesson so that I could “fill in the blanks” in my brief notes taken while observing the classroom and diminish the time demand for data analysis

However, the lessons were moving quickly and it was impossible for me to capture everything In order to catch the nature of the classroom, the participants’ identity

in interactions, and many aspects of nonverbal communication such as gestures, bows, and eye contact (Johnson, 1992), I wished to set up video and audio recordings during the observed lessons Though, only one of the two foreign teachers agreed to have a camera in the classroom during her lessons Therefore, audio recording was set up during the lessons taught by Ms Jane and video recording was conducted during Ms Lyn’s lessons with the participants’ consent Still, video and audio recordings both retain some problems such as the presence of the tape recorder can affect students’ and teacher’s behaviours; or students may move out of range (Johnson, 1992) In order to minimize the impact of video and audio recordings on the participants’ behaviours, I kept the camera on a tripod in a fixed position that attracts little notice of the students and teacher Also, a small portable voice recorder was placed on a table at the corner of the classroom where I

carefully to avoid any machine failures and dead battery before recording, and a backup was done after every recorded lesson or interview to avoid data loss

Indeed, observation plays a crucial role in classroom research (Hopkins, 2008) The transcripts of teacher-student intercultural interactions during eight English lessons including general and military English were the major source of data for this study These data, which were collected unobtrusively in natural settings, are valid for learning how humans think and act in real life (Woodside, 2010)

2.3.2 The retrospective interview

Interviewing is viewed as a “basic mode of inquiry” (Seidman, 2006, p 8), which is widely used to access people’s experiences and their inner perceptions, attitudes, and feelings Stimulated recall which is properly implemented can help the researcher discover the participants’ thoughts that are not obvious through observation only (Gass and Mackey, 2000) In the observed lessons, the participants’ thoughts and hidden reactions which were not expressed during the interaction can not be simply obtained by observation Therefore, I employed retrospective interviews to uncover the participants’ thoughts on their intercultural interactions during the observed lessons

Retrospective interview was individually carried out with teachers and selected students after each observed lesson The aims of these interviews were to explore the implications and motivations of the participations’ actions when they were interacting with each other in the observed lessons and to elicit their thoughts and feelings that were not expressed at the time when the interactions were taking place

I recalled the students’ and teachers’ actions and speech when they were interacting with the teacher and student(s) in the lessons, and elicited their reflection on their thoughts and feeling at that moment The retrospective interview was semi-structured interview which is a combination of partly control and partly freedom to develop the interview (Wallace, 1998, p 147) In this way, I had a list of questions

beforehand to ask, but I could add or modify probes according to the participants’ responses The questions were open-ended so as to encourage a full and meaningful answer from the participants (See Appendix C and D) The individual retrospective interviews lasted from 10 to 20 minutes During the interview, I listened attentively

to the participants and avoided giving concrete reactions to participants' responses, only “informal prompts” (Leech, 2002, p 668) like “uhm, I see, uh-huh, ok” were used to show that I was listening and interested However, at the start of each interview and sometimes during the interview, I gave careful instructions so that the participants could understand that they were required to talk about their thoughts, feeling and hidden reactions at the time of the interaction, not about what they think

at the moment of the interview

2.3.2.1 Retrospective interview with students

After each observed lesson, some students interacting significantly with the teacher would be invited to take part in a retrospective interview The retrospective interviews with individual students were arranged soon after their class time to limit the effect of memory decay There were 15 retrospective interviews with students in total Of the15 retrospective interviews, 14 interviews were conducted on the same day of the observed lessons, 01 interview was carried out one day after the observed lesson in the classroom

The retrospective interviews with students were conducted in Vietnamese so as not

to create difficulty for students in expressing their thoughts Though, they were encouraged to shift codes at any time they liked between Vietnamese and English 2.3.2.2 Retrospective interview with teachers

After each observed lessons in the morning, the teachers were invited to a retrospective interviews at lunch time I observed eight lessons on six days, so there

interactions and noticeable students with the verbal records of both teacher and students (See Appendixes E and F)

2.3.3 Individual open-ended interview

Two individual open-ended interviews were carried out with two native teachers after the observations and retrospective interviews had finished These interviews aimed to explore the teachers’ attitudes, beliefs and experience of intercultural interaction with Vietnamese military students in English classroom in general, not about the interaction in the observed lessons The interviews took place in the teacher’s room and were audio-recorded with the participants’ consent The interviews lasted about half an hour in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere The interview questions were open-ended allowing for a variety of answers from the participants (See Appendix G)

2.3.4 The focus-group interview

After the observations, retrospective and open-ended interviews were completed; two focus-group interviews were implemented with two groups of students: eight students who interact frequently with their foreign teachers and nine students who

do not interact much with their foreign teachers in the observed lessons

The focus group interview is defined as a structured and focused discussion with a small group of individuals (Barrows, 2000), run by moderator (Marczak & Sewell)

to obtain perceptions on a specified area of interest in an open-minded, threatening environment (Krueger & Casey, 2000) In this study, focus group interview was used since it enabled the researcher to explore deeply to attain in-depth insights into the researched topic (Barrows, 2000) and to get the data in a short time because they can cover a large number of people in the same group (Wall, 2001, cited in Masadeh, 2012) The two focus-groups in this study had the ideal size of about eight people (Krueger & Casey, 2000) and took place in the classroom, which was convenient and relaxed Both focus groups lasted about 30

non-minutes before their class time In order that I could identify the participants during data analysis, video and audio recordings were used with the students’ consent As

in the observed lessons, the camera was fixed on the tripod without disturbing the students The small-sized voice recorder was placed on the table which is close to the speakers facing away from sources of noise The aim of focus groups was to explore the students’ attitudes and experience of intercultural interaction with foreign teachers in English classroom in general The interviews were conducted in Vietnamese; however, code switching was encouraged (See Appendix H)

During the focus groups interviews, I acted as the moderator who listened attentively and greatly encouraged all the students to give their ideas without expressing judgments The students were told that there would be no right or wrong answers to any of the questions but that all different opinions would contribute to this study

2.4 Transcription and analysis of data

2.4.1 Transcription

The interviews were transcribed verbatim one by one Nonverbal signals such as laughs, sighs, and pauses were also made note of A detailed and careful transcript consisting of the interview’s verbal and nonverbal material can be extremely useful

to a researcher studying the transcript months after the interview took place (Seidman, 2006)

The transcription symbols used in this study were adapted from Atkinson & Heritage, (1984) and Have (1999) (See Appendix I) The classroom interactions and focus group interviews were transcribed using audio recording and then video recording to assign the right speakers The teacher-student interactions in the observed lessons were transcribed selectively and purposively according to