The current situation of English language teaching in the light of CLT to the second-year students at Thai Nguyen College of Economics and Finance: a case study

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY , HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES - - HA LE MAI THE CURRENT SITUATION OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING IN THE LIGHT OF CLT TO THE SECOND YEAR STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN COLLEGE OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCE: A CASE STUDY NGHIÊN CỨU THỰC TRẠNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH THEO ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG GIAO TIẾP CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG KINH TẾ TÀI CHÍNH THÁI NGUYÊN: NGHIÊN CỨU TRƯỜNG HỢP ĐIỂN HÌNH M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60 14 10 HA NOI - 2012 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES - - HÀ LÊ MAI THE CURRENT SITUATION OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING IN THE LIGHT OF CLT TO THE SECOND YEAR STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN COLLEGE OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCE: A CASE STUDY NGHIÊN CỨU THỰC TRẠNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH THEO ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG GIAO TIẾP CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG KINH TẾ TÀI CHÍNH THÁI NGUYÊN: NGHIÊN CỨU TRƯỜNG HỢP ĐIỂN HÌNH M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60 14 10 SUPERVISER: VŨ THỊ THU THUỶ,MA HA NOI – NĂM 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS PRELIMINARIES Page TITLE i APPROVAL SHEET ii DEDICATION iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv ABSTRACT v TABLE OF CONTENTS xi PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Objectives of the study 3 Research questions Scope of the study Methodology 5.1 The objects 5.2 Instruments 5.3 The procedures 5 Significance of the Study Organization of the study PART B : DEVELOPMENT 1.1 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.2 1.2.1 1.2.2 1.2.3 1.2.3.1 1.2.3.2 CHAPTER : LITERATURE REVIEW Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) Communicative Language Teaching Theories Communicative Language Teaching Theories Characteristics of CLT Conclusion Communicative language teaching and learning Conditions related to CLT application Roles of teachers and students in CLT Classroom Issues in using CLT approach in the foreign language classroom Benefits of using CLT approach in the foreign language classroom Problems of applying CLT in the foreign language iv 7 8 9 11 12 12 13 1.2.3.3 1.2.4 2.1 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.1.3 2.2 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.2.1 2.2.2.2 2.2.2.3 2.3 2.3.1 2.3.1.1 2.3.1.2 2.3.1.3 2.3.1.4 2.3.1.5 2.3.1.6 2.3.1.7 2.3.1.8 2.3.1.9 2.3.2 2.3.3 3.1 3.1.1 classrooms and in second language classroom Previous studies related to CLT application in Viet Nam Previous studies related to CLT application in Viet Nam 13 13 CHAPTER : THE STUDY 15 Background of the study Description of the students at TCEF Description of the teachers at TCEF Settings of the study Research methodology Subjects Survey instruments Questionnaires for teachers The classroom observation The interview Presentation of statistical results Questionnaire for teachers Teachers‟ teaching experience Teachers‟ CLT training background Teachers‟ opinions about the suitable method for their teaching English at present Teachers‟ background on CLT Teachers‟ understanding of subjects about CLT CLT ‟s application in the actual classroom practice Evaluation of English textbook regarding in CLT application Teachers‟ opinions about the difficulties in the implementation of CLT in their context of language teaching The degree of success in applying CLT at TCEF Results of the class observation Interview CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Findings Difficulties from students 15 v 15 15 15 16 16 17 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 18 19 21 24 27 28 29 30 34 36 36 36 3.1.2 3.1.3 3.1.4 3.2 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 3.2.4 Difficulties from teachers Difficulties arising from the testing system Difficulties from the teaching and learning environment Recommendations For the students For the teachers Reform of the current English testing system Improving the teaching / learning environment 36 PART C: CONCLUSION 42 Conclusions Limitations Suggestions for further study REFERENCES 43 APPENDIXES I Appendix Questionnaire for the teachers Appendix Lesson observation sheet Appendix Interview questions I 38 38 38 38 40 41 41 44 44 VII VIII LIST OF TABLES TABLES Page 1 Teachers‟ teaching experience 17 2 The teachers‟ experience of teaching 17 3 Teachers‟ CLT training background 18 4 Teachers‟ opinions about the most suitable method for teaching speaking 18 5 Teachers‟ information about the enrichment of knowledge on CLT 19 6 Teachers‟ confidence about perception on CLT 19 7 Teachers‟ point of view about CLT 20 8 Teachers‟ understanding about CLT 22 vi 9 The frequency of activities used in the classrooms 22 10 10 Teachers‟ error correction 24 11 11 The frequency of changing the position of students‟ seat, tables and benches for the lesson situations 25 12 Teachers‟ opinions about the currently-used textbook 25 11 13 Teachers‟ difficulties in their teaching 26 14 Teachers‟ self-assessment of their application of CLT 28 15 Classroom observation (teacher 1) 29 16.Classroom observation (teacher 2) 30 17 17 Classroom observation (teacher 3) 31 vii PART A : INTRODUCTION Rationale for the study It cannot be denied that foreign language teaching from schools to colleges and universities in Vietnam has been granted increasing supports from educational authorities, regarding the demand of Vietnamese young population for a better means of communication with the world English is one of the foreign languages that are compulsory and widely taught in our colleges and universities The most important issue in this field, which has presented various complicated problems for generations of foreign language teachers in Viet Nam as well as anywhere in the world, is the adoption of an appropriate language teaching method However, there are differences in situations of English language teaching among teachers from different schools or colleges as well as different areas In the context of Thai Nguyen College of Economics and Finance (TCEF), English has been taught as Business English and a compulsory subject for non-major students The teaching methodology, especially in communicative situations therefore is obviously a very significant aspect in foreign language methodology and needs to be taken into much consideration The textbook “Business Basics” has just been applied widely in a lot of universities and colleges It has 12 units with interesting topics Every unit consists of lessons and each lesson includes all four skills (Reading, Speaking, Listening and Writing) and a Language focus one This book was designed with various learning tasks, the purpose of which is to set up communicative situations for students to practise English language Furthermore, the book focuses on learners‟ communicative competence without ignoring learners‟ linguistic competence It is also accompanied with a great number of team work and group work activities to develop students‟ communicative competence And students have chances to listen to both native and non-native English speakers from the tapes/ CDs accompanied with the books Having worked with the book “ Business Basics” for several years, I have noticed that a number of problems faced by the 2nd year students at TCEF still exist in the process of English communicative learning I have realized from my observation and experience for years that many of the 2nd year students produced various kinds of speaking errors in their English learning A lot of my colleagues complained that a considerable number of their students could not even give a simple answer or speak a simple sentence One of the main reasons, found from a quick interview on these students, is that they not know how to use words and pronounce them correctly and communication seems to be hard for them As a result, the students cannot avoid the feeling of much anxiety in their speaking activities and consequently English turns to become a very challenging subject for them to accomplish at college despite the fact that there are listening parts for students to practice in the text book Business Basics However, students there seem to get nothing after listening There are some reasons for me to take the application of CLT to speaking teaching into consideration, rather than others First of all, for some time, English teaching in Vietnam has been strongly influenced by the traditional methods Emphasis has been placed on the mastery of language structures rather than on how language is used That‟s the reason why teachers as well as students are used to concentrating on grammatical items Students are asked to translate or analyze the text grammatically Teachers usually spend most of the time in class explaining the form of the language to students who were passive listeners The result of this kind of teaching and learning, of course, has been far from satisfactory That means that students might be structurally competent but communicatively incompetent They have encountered a lot of problems when dealing with English in real life given in the context of TCEF whose students are trained to be accountants, businessmen The recent political and economic developments in Viet Nam have stimulated the learners‟ interest in learning English for communication So the need for communication in English has changed from an emphasis on teaching grammar to an emphasis on teaching communication Speaking skill nowadays plays a much more important role in modem English than ever before In order to have a look at situation realistically about the usefulness and application of the new method - Communicative language teaching (CLT) in English language teaching at my college for the second year students, I would like to devote my time and effort to investigating the current speaking teaching situation at TCEF including teaching methods, difficulties faced by the teachers and students, facility… then finding out how CLT is applied to teaching speaking there Especially, the study will recommend suitable and specific communication activities for the second year students at TCEF Objectives of the study The main objectives of this study are as follows: To identify and investigate the current situation of English language teaching at Thai Nguyen College of Economics and Finance by focusing on studying the following conditions: The teachers with their perceptions of CLT and their CLT practical application, the students and the teaching and learning environment To find out difficulties that the teachers of English at Thai Nguyen College of Economics and Finance experience when applying CLT To give some suggested solutions on how to improve the quality of teaching English when using CLT Research questions The basic research questions for the study are :  How is English being taught to the second year students at Thai Nguyen College of Economics and Finance in the light of CLT?  What are the dificulties that the teachers of English at TCEF experience when applying CLT ?  What are the solutions to improve the quality of teaching English when using CLT? Scope of the study For the limitation of time, conditions, and materials, this study only focuses on some major factors affecting English teaching at TCEF when working with the book “Business Basics” by David Grant (2001) and the second year students in the light of CLT In addition, this thesis only focuses on studying the following contents: the teachers with their perceptions of CLT and their CLT practical application, the examination, the new English textbook, the students and the teaching and learning environment Methodology The study is designed using the quantitative method to obtain its aims and objectives Below is a description of the subjects, the instruments, and procedures employed for the study 5.1 The subjects There are two types of subjects participating in the study The first type is the teachers who have been working at TCEF.They are both male and female, aging from 25 to 45 and have worked with the book “Business Basics” for at least years The other is the s e c o n d year students at TCEF First, s i x teachers who are working with students were invited to participate in a questionnaire survey held by the researcher Before participating in the questionnaire of this survey, the names, age and personal information of these teachers will be kept secret Second, three teachers and two classes K763A1 & K763A2 including 120 students were chosen at random for class observation (with no attempt to select the most or the least experienced teachers as well as the best or the worst students) Finally, four teachers (two are the most and two are the least experienced teachers) were chosen to take part in a n i n t e r v i e w 5.2 Instruments 5.2.1 Questionnaires The information is collected from six teachers of English who teach at Thai Nguyen College of Economics and Finance Fourteen questionnaires for teachers aimed at collecting information about their age, their experience of teaching English, and their awareness of CLT Besides, the questionnaire is also aimed at investigating the teachers‟ techniques of teaching speaking, their difficulties in teaching English ... motivation, proficiency and learning style, authentic materials, teaching and learning materials, the support of the administration, teaching and learning environment, time, examination, and cultural... CLT application, roles of teachers and students in CLT The next section examines these features in detail 1.1.1 Communicative Language Teaching Communicative language teaching (CLT) is a teaching. .. Communicative language teaching (CLT) in English language teaching at my college for the second year students, I would like to devote my time and effort to investigating the current speaking teaching