Vietnamese teachers’ viewpoints on their use of vietnamese in english language classrooms for young learners in may school english center

iii ABSTRACT The use of the mother tongue has been argued for ages in English language teaching and the argument over whether students‟ native language should be included or excluded in

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

VŨ THỊ THU TRANG

VIETNAMESE TEACHERS’ VIEWPOINTS ON THEIR USE OF VIETNAMESE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS FOR YOUNG

LEARNERS IN MAY SCHOOL ENGLISH CENTER

Quan điểm của giáo viên Việt Nam đối với việc sử dụng

tiếng Việt của họ trong các lớp học Tiếng Anh cho trẻ em

tại Trung Tâm Ngoại Ngữ Tháng Năm

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

HANOI, 2016

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

VŨ THỊ THU TRANG

VIETNAMESE TEACHERS’ VIEWPOINTS ON THEIR USE OF VIETNAMESE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS FOR YOUNG

LEARNERS IN MAY SCHOOL ENGLISH CENTER

Quan điểm của giáo viên Việt Nam đối với việc sử dụng

tiếng Việt của họ trong các lớp học Tiếng Anh cho trẻ em

tại Trung Tâm Ngoại Ngữ Tháng Năm

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Nguyễn Xuân Thơm

HANOI, 2016

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DECLARATION

I declare that this thesis submitted for the Master of Art degree at the University of Languages and International Studies is a presentation of my own research and has not been previously submitted at any other universities for any degrees Wherever contributions of other researchers are involved, every effort is made to indicate this clearly, with due reference to the literature, and acknowledgement o collaborative research and discussion The work was done under the guidance of Associated Professor Nguyen Xuan Thom, at the University

of Languages and International Studies

Hanoi, 2016

Vũ Thị Thu Trang

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

At the completion of this thesis, I would like to express my sincere thanks to

my lecturer and my supervisor, Mr Nguyen Xuan Thom for his valuable support and instructions without which it would have been really difficult for me to handle the task

I would like to acknowledge my debt to my colleagues in May School English Center for their effective cooperation in collecting data for completing this study Their enthusiastic participation was indispensable to my research

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my family for all the support

I received to finish this thesis

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ABSTRACT

The use of the mother tongue has been argued for ages in English language teaching and the argument over whether students‟ native language should be included or excluded in English language classrooms has been a controversial issue Conducted in the context of Vietnam, the study is an attempt to address the use of Vietnamese as mother tongue in English language classrooms in a prestigious English center for young learners in Hanoi (May School) It focuses on the viewpoints of Vietnamese teachers in May School on their use of Vietnamese as mother tongue in their English language classrooms as well as the amount and situations in which it is employed The findings and discussion are based on the analysis of the data collected from group interview of five female teachers and ten one-hour classroom observations The current study supports the judicious use of Vietnamese in some situations such as giving instructions, responding to students‟ Vietnamese The results also highlight that the use of Vietnamese is significantly different in classrooms in May School but the average amount of its use is quite limited

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LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS

ALM: Audio-Lingual Method

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

ELT: English Language Teaching

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LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES

Chart 1: The amount of Vietnamese used in observed classes

Table 1: Participating teachers‟ profile

Table 2: Information of observed classes

Table 3: The occasions of teachers‟ use of Vietnamese in Starters classes Table 4: The occasions of teachers‟ use of Vietnamese in Movers classes Table 5: The occasions of teachers‟ use of Vietnamese in Flyers classes

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TABLE OF CONTENT

Declaration i

Acknowledgement ii

Abstract iii

List of abrreviations iv

List of charts and tables v

Table of content vi

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims and objectives of the study 1

2.1 Aims of the study 1

2.2 Objectives of the study 1

3 Research questions 2

4 Scope of the study 2

5 Methods of the study 2

6 Significance of the study 3

7 Design of the study 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1.1 A brief history of language teaching method focusing on mother tongue use in English classroom 5

1.2 Arguments about the use of mother tongue in EFL classroom 6

1.2.1 Arguments against using mother tongue in EFL classroom 6

1.2.2 Arguments in favor of using mother tongue in EFL classrooms 8

1.3 Studies focusing on teachers‟ L1 use in EFL classrooms 10

1.3.1 Teachers‟ viewpoints 10

1.3.2 Amount of mother tongue use 12

1.3.3 Situations of mother tongue use 13

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 15

2.1 Setting and participants 15

2.2.1 Setting 15

2.1.1.1 General information about May School 15

2.1.1.2 Students and English classes in May School 15

2.2.2 Participants 16

2.3 Data collection instruments 17

2.3.1 Group interview 17

2.3.2 Classroom observation 18

2.4 Data collection procedure 19

2.5 Data analysis procedure 20

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 21

3.1 Data analysis 21

3.1.1 Group interview analysis 21

3.1.1.1 Teachers‟ general viewpoints 21

3.1.1.2 Amount of Vietnamese use 22

3.1.1.3 Situations of Vietnamese use 23

3.1.1.4 Summary 25

3.1.2 Classroom observation analysis 26

3.1.2.1 Amount of Vietnamese use 26

3.1.2.2 Situations of Vietnamese use 27

3.1.2.3 Summary 35

3.2 Findings and discussion 35

PART C: CONCLUSION 38

1 Summary of major findings 38

2 Concluding remarks 39

3 Recommendations 39

4 Limitations 40

5 Suggestions for further studies 41

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REFERENCES 42 APPENDIX 1 I APPENDIX 2 II

to investigate the use of mother tongue in English classrooms such as Schweers (1999) at the University of Puerto Rico, Tang (2002) at a university in Beijing, Duff and Polio (2009) at University of California, Al-Nofaie (2010) in Saudi public schools In Vietnam, a few researchers also investigated the attitude of teachers and students towards the use of Vietnamese in English classroom at universities and high schools However, it is rather difficult to find studies in which the subject of using Vietnamese in teaching English for young learners is focused There still exist huge gaps on the reality of Vietnamese use in English classroom for children

Working as a teacher of English in May School English Center (from now mentioned as May School) for young learners in Hanoi, the researcher found that Vietnamese teachers in this center have different language choices for their lessons Therefore, this study focuses on their viewpoints on as well as their practice of Vietnamese use in English classrooms

2 Aims and objectives of the study

2.1 Aims of the study

As the title suggests, the overarching aim of this thesis is to study Vietnamese teachers‟ use of their mother tongue in English classrooms in the context of an English center in Hanoi, in order to guide English teachers in their use

of L1 in L2 classrooms

2.2 Objectives of the study

To achieve the above aim, the following objectives are set for exploration:

4 Scope of the study

In fact, the first language (L1) (i.e Vietnamese) can be used by both teachers and learners in second language (L2) classrooms However, within the framework

of this minor thesis, the study only focuses on Vietnamese teachers‟ use of the mother tongue in English classes for children Specifically, the main objective of the study is investigating the perspectives of teachers toward their L1 use, the amount of L1 use as well as the situations for L1 use in English classrooms in May School

5 Methods of the study

The study adopted qualitative and quantitative method for data collection and data analysis Five teachers teaching different levels of students were investigated

so as to compare and contrast their use of mother tongue in their EFL classes Two

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collection instruments were employed including teacher group interview and classroom observation

6 Significance of the study

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

a Teachers of English in May School and other English centers for children can make use of the findings and become aware of their practice in language choice They also can adjust their use of mother tongue while teaching English for different student levels so that they can get the best results in teaching English

b Academic staff in May School and other English center can use the results

of the study as a reference to consider some changes if needed in teacher training process

c Language teaching methodology researchers can conduct further studies in the area which may form other new English teaching methods and techniques that identify the appropriate role of mother tongue in the classroom

7 Design of the study

The thesis consists of three parts, namely Introduction, Development and Conclusion

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Chapter 1: Literature Review

This chapter provides an overview of history of English Language Teaching focusing on L1 use, some arguments for and against mother tongue use as well as the review of related works in this topic

Chapter 2: Methodology

It presents the subjects of the study, research instruments, collecting data procedure and data analysis procedure from which answers for research questions could be found

Chapter 3: Data analysis and discussion

The data collected from group interview and classroom observations are analyzed in this chapter Also, some findings and discussion based on the analysis are presented

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 A brief history of language teaching method focusing on mother tongue

use in English classroom

In the history of foreign language (FL) teaching, different linguistics suggested diverse methods and approaches which were widely used for different periods According to Stern (1992), the role of mother tongue in language teaching

is “one of the most long-standing controversies in the history of language pedagogy” (as cited in Nguyen Thi Nhu Quynh, 2011) The following quick look will summarize the periodic changes in the role of mother tongue in English teaching

By the early nineteenth century, Grammar-Translation Method (GTM) was the standard way of FL teaching in Western countries At that time, it was believed that to learn a language was to read its literature In GTM classrooms, the students‟ native language is the “medium of instruction”, which is used to explain new item and to make comparisons between L1 and L2 (Richards & Rodgers, 2001) In other words, teachers of GTM mostly use L1 in their classrooms

However, some other linguistics strongly criticized the inadequacies of GTM

In the late nineteenth century, scholars tried to apply natural principles to language classes with the aim of communicating This foundation is lately known as the Direct Method According to Richards & Rodgers (2001), in this light, classroom instruction is conducted exclusively in L2 and teachers should “never translate but demonstrate” because it focuses mainly on the exclusive use of the target language

in the classroom Though this method overemphasized the similarities between naturalistic L1 learning and FL learning, it has laid the foundation on which many

of the later methods developed Among them are Audio-Lingual Method (ALM) and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

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ALM, which was suggested by American linguists in 1950s, aims to develop communicative competence of students by the repetition of dialogues and drills Supporting this method, Larsen-Freeman (2000) says the more often something is repeated, the stronger the habit and the greater the learning Because of this view, the use of mother tongue is forbidden and translation as well as grammatical explanation in students‟ native language is avoided in the classroom

Be similar with ALM in terms of communicating purpose, the CLT has served as a major source of influence on language teaching practice around the world since its inception in the 1970s (Richards, 2006) The author also regards pair work activities, role plays, group work activities and project work in CLT as kinds

of classroom activities that best facilitate learning He and Rodgers (2001) also claim that “judicious use of native language is accepted where feasible” and teachers can translate when students “need or benefit from it”

Though the teaching methods popular in the twentieth century differed in many ways, they nearly all tried to avoid using the students‟ mother tongue in the classroom, except GTM However, the use of mother tongue in EFL classroom is still an issue which raises many debates among linguistics and teachers of English all over the world

1.2 Arguments about the use of mother tongue in EFL classroom

1.2.1 Arguments against using mother tongue in EFL classroom

Many linguists who support the Monolingual approach object to using L1 in ELT (English Language Teaching) because it obstructs learning In other words, the Monolingual approach suggests that the FL should be the only tool of communication in the classroom According to Cook 2001, arguments against teachers using students‟ mother tongue in the literature are generally organized into three following reasons:

FL In agreement with the previous view, Phillipson (1992, as cited in Salah & Farrah, 2012) argues that the more the learners expose to the target language, the more quickly will they learn Turnbull (2001) also mentions that students do not benefit if teachers rely too much on using their students‟ mother tongue

In regards to Cook‟s second point, supporters of the Monolingual Approach have stated that translating between L1 and L2 can be dangerous as it encourages the belief that there are equivalents between the languages, which is not always the case (Pracek, 2003) They believe the two languages should be distinct and separate Supporters of the Bilingual Approach might argue that to make the separation or distinction between L1 and L2, explanations in L1 are necessary, because the teaching of grammar is so complex, that without the use of L1, there would be little

or no comprehension on the students‟ part, especially at lower levels This is not true according to others, who state that actually quite a number of grammar points can be taught in the target language, especially through the use of physical or visual displays (Pachler & Field, 2001, p92) Moreover, monolingual approach advocators

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believe that the use of the mother tongue in class has bad influences on students‟ achievements and proficiency in FL Krashen (1981, as cited in Kieu Hang Kim Anh, 2010) reveals in her study that L1 is a source of errors in learners‟ L2 performance Sharing the same idea, Howatt (1983, as cited in Timor, 2012) suggests that (a) L2 teaching should be done exclusively in L2; (b) the translation between L1 and L2 should be avoided

Regarding Cook‟s third point, it is considered likely that the use of L2 only

in the classroom does help demonstrate the L2‟s importance and can portray the usage of the language being studied (Pachler & Field, 2001, p86)

Proponents of English-only also claim that using L1 in the classroom is not

in accordance with second language acquisition theories, which advocate modified input and negotiation in L2 as a means of learning (Polio, 1994, p156) Ironically though, negotiations of meaning and trial and error often lead to what has been dubbed an „interlanguage‟, where a mix of L1 and L2 is used to communicate and establish the correct way of communicating in the L2 (Weschler, 1997, p2)

1.2.2 Arguments in favor of using mother tongue in EFL classrooms

Researchers who advocate Monolingual approach argue that L1 represents a powerful source that can be used to enhance FL learning; however, it should be used in a principled way Atkinson (1987), who sees mother tongue as a “resource”

in class, in his discussion about general advantages of L1 use, claims that to let learners use their L1 is “a humanistic approach” which allows them to “say what they really want to say sometimes”

The biggest problem with the Monolingual Approach to teaching is that it is very impractical (Phillipson, 1992, as cited in Kieu Hang Kim Anh, 2010) One reason the exclusion of L1 is impractical is that the majority of English teachers are not native speakers (Hawks, 2001, p50) Sometimes these teachers‟ own English is

an important role as a useful tool in language analysis, class management, presenting grammar rules, giving instructions or prompts, explaining errors as well

as checking for comprehension In this light, Macaro (2001) argues that it is not only impractical to reject to use L1 in the classroom but also likely to deprive learners of an essential tool for language learning

Additionally, motivating students by using L1 has received much interest in literature Monolingual teaching can create tension and a barrier between students and teachers, and there are many occasions when it is inappropriate or impossible (Pachler & Field, 2001, p86) When something in a lesson is not being understood, and is then clarified through the use of L1, that barrier and tension can be reduced or removed The use of the L1 saves learners from a feeling of frustration they might have within their L2 learning L1 use improves the students‟ affective filters and the EFL learning environment; its use facilitates an affective environment for learning and reduces students‟ anxiety levels and other affective barriers (Auerbach, 1993) This is also one of the reasons for teachers to use mother tongue in the study by Rabbidge and Chappell (2014) Students who are unmotivated, without self-confidence, or anxious are less likely to utilize L2 in the classroom By using L1, they could reduce their inhibitions or affective blocks, which would encourage them to use English in class in more confident ways than would otherwise be possible in a solely EFL environment

Another problem with the Monolingual Approach is its belief that exposure

to language leads to learning Excluding the students‟ L1 for the sake of

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maximizing students‟ exposure to the L2 is not necessarily productive In fact there

is no evidence that teaching in the TL directly leads to better learning of the TL (Pachler & Field, 2001, p85) Obviously the quantity of exposure is important, but other factors such as the quality of the text material, trained teachers, and sound methods of teaching are more important than the amount of exposure to English (Phillipson, 1992, p210) This is particularly obvious with struggling lower-level students Increasing the amount of L2 instead of perhaps a simple explanation in L1 is likely to have a negative effect and simply add to the frustration on the student‟s part (Burden, 2000, p6) Teaching in the TL does have benefits but teaching in the TL alone, will not guarantee learning among the students (Pachler & Field, 2001, p101), but excluding it, may “impede learning” (Auerbach, 1993, p16)

1.3 Studies focusing on teachers’ L1 use in EFL classrooms

1.3.1 Teachers’ viewpoints

To investigate areas in which L1 is used for teaching EFL and find out how teachers think about the L1 use in FL classroom, the writer has reviewed a number

of relevant studies conducted in different parts of the world and at different times

Surveying students and teachers at his Puerto Rican university with regard to using their mother tongue (i.e Spanish) within their English classes, Schweers (1999) finds that 100 percent of the teachers feel that Spanish should be used in their English classes He concludes by encouraging teachers to employ L1 so as to promote dynamicity in the classroom, provide a sense of security and activate learners‟ experiences Sharing the similar findings, Tang (2002) in his study conducted in China adds two more reasons for using L1 in L2 classrooms including effectiveness and being less time consuming The study reveals that the use of L1 in L2 classes doesn‟t hinder L2 learning but helps teaching and learning

In his paper on using L1 in EFL classrooms, Aqel (2006) investigates the instructors‟ and students‟ reactions to using Arabic language in teaching EFL in the

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Department of English and Modern European languages at Qatar University It was found that all of native English teachers and 62.5% of teachers of English believed that Arabic was accepted in EFL teaching The researcher then recommended the judicious use of L1 in EFL classroom when it is “the shortest possible way” for students to understand the requirements

Conducted in the same context of Arab, the study by Salah & Farrah (2012) shows that the attitude of the teachers toward Arabic use in the EFL classroom is moderate by a mean of 3.51 It also shows that teachers were aware that the excessive use of Arabic may hinder learning; therefore, their use of Arabic appeared

to be limited

Cianflone (2009) conducted a research on L1 use in English courses at the University of Messina in Italy The results reveal that the interviewed teachers seem favorable to L1 use in terms of explaining grammar, vocabulary items, and difficult concepts as well as getting general comprehension He concludes that in university level, such use may save time and increase students‟ motivation

Investigating the mother tongue use at elementary and secondary schools in the context of Israel, Timor (2012) shows a positive viewpoint of teachers regarding the use of Hebrew as L1 in EFL classroom It is indicated that most of elementary and secondary teachers see the benefits of using mother tongue as a useful tool to teach grammar, vocabulary, to give instructions, handle discipline problems It is also concluded that Hebrew is used more frequently by elementary teachers rather than by secondary ones

Studying the issue at the same similar level of students in English classroom

in Korea, Rabbidge and Chappell (2014) indicates that despite the need of target language exposure, all participating teachers acknowledge the importance of English and Korean in the classroom These researchers conclude that teachers‟

1.3.2 Amount of mother tongue use

Evidence from a variety of contexts shows that there is a wide discrepancy between official recommendations and the practice actually observed or reported in classrooms For example, Turnbull (reported in Turnbull 2001; Turnbull & Arnett 2002) analyzed the L1 and TL „functional units‟ in the discourse of four teachers of French in Canadian secondary schools He found that the use of L1 (English) ranged from 28% to 76% Kim & Elder (2005) examined the discourse of seven native-speaker secondary-school teachers of Japanese, Korean, German and French

in New Zealand and found a range from 12% to 77% use of the students‟ L1 (English) In South Korea, Liu et al (2004) calculated the percentage of L1 (Korean) and TL words in the lessons of thirteen high-school teachers of English and found that their use of L1 ranged from only 10% (in a „model lesson‟ intended to demonstrate Teaching English Through English policy) to 90% The overall average

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was 40% use of L1, but in view of the special nature of the data (the teachers supplied their own audio recordings), the researchers suggest that the teachers‟ own estimate of 68% use of L1 may give a more reliable picture of their day-to-day practice These and other studies support the conclusion reached by Macaro (1997) (as cited in Littlewood & Yu, 2009) in summing up the results of several studies, including his own detailed investigations of TL and L1 use by secondary-school teachers in the United Kingdom, that exclusive or near-exclusive use of the TL „is rarely encountered in any learning context apart from [classrooms with mixed L1 learners]‟

1.3.3 Situations of mother tongue use

In contrast to the ideas on “English only classrooms”, the researchers have investigated the advantages of mother tongue use and they look over in what situations the teachers and students use the mother tongue Atkinson (1987: 243,244) provided extensive knowledge on where to use mother tongue in language classrooms:

1) Eliciting language (all levels)

2) Checking comprehension (all levels)

3) Giving instructions (early levels)

4) Co-operation among learners

5) Discussions of classroom methodology (early levels)

6) Presentations and reinforcement of language (mainly early levels)

7) Checking for sense

8) Testing

In her article, Auerbach (1993, p9) listed the reasons of using mother tongue as: a) Negotiation of the syllabus and the lesson; b) Record keeping; c) Classroom management; d) Scene setting; e) Language analysis; f) Presentation of rules governing grammar g) Phonology, morphology and spelling; h) Discussion

of cross-cultural issues; instructions of prompts; i) Explanation of errors; j) Assessment of comprehension

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In the context of Vietnam, the findings in the study by Kieu Hang Kim Anh (2012) indicate that the three reasons which the teacher participants chose with the highest frequency were „helping students understand complex grammatical points better‟ (75%), „helping students understand difficult new words more clearly‟ (67%) and „making sure that students understand the lessons‟ (50%) The findings of the study by Nguyen Thi Nhu Quynh (2011) also highlighted some situations in which Vietnamese appeared to be a helpful option Data from her research instruments revealed that the most common uses among the teachers were using Vietnamese for explaining complex grammar structures, giving the meanings of new words, and clarifying the difficult abstract ideas She indicates that the use of Vietnamese in these situations not only made the teachers feel more confident but also help students understand the lesson better

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 Setting and participants

2.2.1 Setting

2.1.1.1 General information about May School

The study is conducted in one of three locations of an English center in Hanoi (i.e May School) It was established in 1996 as the first center in Hanoi specializing in teaching English to children Ever since, it has upheld its reputation

as the leading school for children in Hanoi

May School‟s prestige was made not only by its effective teaching methodology but by a thorough understanding of the development needs of children

as well From the beginning, the school‟s main aims have been to identify these needs and to carefully address them by providing the students with a safe, productive and rich learning environment in which to learn English as well as essential life skills

Their modern teaching methods are the result of a 20-year continuous development and research into the ELT field With a communicative approach to learning, four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing are focused so that students can communicate in English in real life Also, by acknowledging the different learning styles of students, they have made sure that the English learning experience at May School stimulates as many senses as possible through the use of visual aids, songs, realia and fun activities

2.1.1.2 Students and English classes in May School

The children age in May School ranges from five to thirteen years old There are from ten to eighteen students in each class and most of them are at the same age

In every class, students sit on chairs in U shape and use flexible tables when needed Each class also benefits from a weekly session with a native English speaker in order to put into meaningful practice the language learned with the class teacher,

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which allows the students to develop a natural fluency, pronunciation and speaking skills as well as benefit from this inter-cultural exposure Because students from five to six have two thirds of their learning time with their foreigner teachers, this study focuses on researching the students at the age from seven and up

The class division is mostly based on students‟ age In the third location of May School where the study was conducted, there are three main levels based on the Cambridge Framework which are Starters, Movers and Flyers Students in all researched levels have one hour with foreign teachers out of four learning hours per week With particular age of students, Vietnamese teachers are asked to co-teach with foreign teachers or to be out of the classroom This research studies only the perspective of Vietnamese teachers toward using mother tongue when there is no foreign teacher in their classroom

The teaching curriculum in May School is quite complicated, depending on the students‟ age when they come to class May School is gradually changing it by replacing some course books Therefore, two classes of a sub level are using the same course book but the time they are in May School may be different; and two classes may be in different age while they are learning in the same level At the time

of this study conducted, MS were using Oxford Phonics World 1 for students at five and six, Our World 1 for students at seven and eight, Family and friends series for students from nine to twelve and Kid‟s Box 5 and Kid‟s Box 6 for 13-year old students and up

2.2.2 Participants

Five Vietnamese teachers who are teaching different level classes in the third location of May School volunteered to take part in the study They are within the 24-33 year age bracket and all of them are female because there is no male teacher

of English in this location of May School The interviewed teachers were given pseudonyms – Nguyen Nhien, Nguyen Thuy, Do Hong, Thanh Hoa and Quynh

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Trang Although they come from various educational backgrounds, all these five teachers graduated from universities and colleges, majoring in English teacher training; and they already passed the intensive training course in teaching English for kids which is the compulsory condition to work in May School Each of them is teaching about three classes including low level and high level ones Like students, all of these teachers are native speakers of Vietnamese Their detailed information is shown in the table below

Name

(Pseudonyms) Age

Experience of teaching English University graduated

International Studies

International Studies

Table 1: Participating teachers’ profile

2.3 Data collection instruments

2.3.1 Group interview

After a group interview with five female teachers, ten observations were conducted to gain more insight into the teachers‟ current classroom practices Watts and Ebbutt (1987), as cited in Cohen, Manion & Morrison (2007, p373), claimed that group interviewing as a means of collecting data in educational research was the potential for discussions to develop, giving a wider range of responses than individual interview In addition, all the interviewed teachers have been working in the same English center (i.e May School) for at least two years, and they were aware of the topic discussing, which was why group interviewing was useful in this

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case, as Watts and Ebbutt (1987) explained To avoid off-topic responses, a list of questions was prepared as a guide Also, researcher could have some adjustments due to the interviewees‟ answers The interview was recorded to transcribe later

2.3.2 Classroom observation

In the study, to get information about the practice of teachers‟ L1 use in EFL classes in May School, the researcher observed ten different level classes during one hour without any foreign teachers In all observed lessons, the researcher played the role of non-participant observer, sitting in the corner of the class and taking notes All observed lessons were audio-taped and then transcribed later

In May School, each level has two sub-levels A and B Two classes from each sub level were chosen to be observed based on the convenience of the teachers and the researcher It means the researcher observed two classes of Starters A, two

of Starters B, two of Movers A, two of Movers B and two of Flyers B because there were no classes in the level of Flyers A in May School at the moment of researching Classes are named after short letters of the level followed by a number For example, classes in level of Starters A are named SA with a number followed Teachers normally just need to look at name of the class to know which level it is in Due to the difference in class management system, two classes in the same level may be at different age and vice versa Information of observed classes is shown in the following table