Novice teachers’ beliefs and practices of using L1 in EFL classrooms: A case study at English division I, FELTE, ULIS

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ******************* PHẠM THỊ ANH PHƯƠNG NOVICE TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND PRACTICES OF USING L1 IN EFL CLASSROOMS: A CASE STUDY AT ENGLISH DIVISION I, FELTE, ULIS (Quan niệm thực tiễn sử dụng ngôn ngữ thứ lớp học tiếng Anh giáo viên vào nghề: Một nghiên cứu Tổ tiếng Anh I, Khoa Sư phạm tiếng Anh, trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ, Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Major: Theory & Methodology in Teaching English Major code: 60140111 HANOI - 2014 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ******************* PHẠM THỊ ANH PHƯƠNG NOVICE TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND PRACTICES OF USING L1 IN EFL CLASSROOMS: A CASE STUDY AT ENGLISH DIVISION I, FELTE, ULIS (Quan niệm thực tiễn sử dụng ngôn ngữ thứ lớp học tiếng Anh giáo viên vào nghề: Một nghiên cứu Tổ tiếng Anh I, Khoa Sư phạm tiếng Anh, trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ, Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Major: Theory & Methodology in Teaching English Major code: 60140111 Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà (Ph.D.) HANOI - 2014 ACCEPTANCE I hereby state that I: Phạm Thị Anh Phương, 08.1.E1, being a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper Signature Phạm Thị Anh Phương September 29th, 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To complete this graduation paper, I owe profound indebtedness to a lot of people for their invaluable help during the conduct of my research First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, for her precious support and helpful instructions during all stages of the study and beyond, which have always been decisive factors in the completion of this paper Second, I would love to send my heartfelt thanks to the five novice teachers and their first-year students at English Division I, FELTE, ULIS for their enthusiastic help and participation in the conduct of my research Without their help, I would not have been able to complete this thesis Furthermore, I would like to give my sincere thanks to the lecturers of Faculty of Post-graduate Studies for the valuable lessons on all the aspects of language learning and teaching as well as the process of academic writing and research conducting, thanks to which I could overcome all the difficulties when working on the study Last but not least, I also owe a great debt of gratitude to my beloved family and friends, who have constantly encouraged me during the time I conducted this research i ABSTRACT The present study was a case study which examined novice teachers’ beliefs and practices of using L1 in EFL classrooms at English Division I, FELTE, ULIS To gain a vivid understanding of this issue, the research was conducted with five two-yearexperience novice teachers of the faculty and ten first-year mainstream classes in which these teachers were assigned to deliver English lessons For the data collection, a combination of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and audio-recordings was employed The results supported the judicious use of Vietnamese in some situations and suggested that L1 should be used flexibly according to students’ levels and lessons’ contents Besides, some teaching implications for novice teachers’ more effective use of L1 were also discussed ii TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, AND ABBREVIATIONS vi PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study Aims and objectives of the study Scope of the study Significance of the study Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Key concepts 1.1.1 Novice teachers 1.1.1.1 Definition of novice teachers 1.1.1.2 Characteristics of novice teachers 1.1.2 Teachers’ beliefs 1.1.2.1 Definition of teachers’ beliefs 1.1.2.2 Factors affecting teachers’ beliefs 1.1.2.3 Relationship between teachers’ beliefs and practices in language teaching 1.1.3 L1 use in EFL classroom 10 1.1.3.1 Arguments against L1 use in EFL classroom 10 1.1.3.2 Arguments for L1 use in EFL classroom 11 1.2 Related studies 14 1.2.1 Review of related studies worldwide 14 iii 1.2.2 Review of related studies in Vietnam 15 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 18 2.1 Selection of subjects 18 2.1.1 Participants 18 2.1.1.1 Novice teachers 18 2.1.1.2 First-year mainstream students 18 2.1.2 Sampling methods 19 2.2 Research design 20 2.2.1 Questionnaires 20 2.2.2 Observations 21 2.2.3 Interviews 22 2.3 Procedures of data collection 22 2.4 Procedures of data analysis 23 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 25 3.1 Findings 25 3.1.1 Research question 1: What are novice teachers’ beliefs of using L1 in EFL classrooms? 25 3.1.2 Research question 2: How did novice teachers employ L1 in EFL classrooms? 27 3.1.3 Research question 3: To what extent was this practice effective in facilitating first-year students’ English learning at FELTE, ULIS as perceived by the students? 30 3.2 Pedagogical implications and recommendations 32 PART C: CONCLUSION 34 Summary of findings 34 Limitations of the study 35 Suggestions for further studies 35 REFERENCES 36 iv APPENDICES I APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRES FOR STUDENTS I APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW SCHEDULES FOR TEACHERS IV APPENDIX 3: TRANSCRIPTIONS OF THE RECORDINGS V APPENDIX 4: TRANSCRIPTIONS OF THE INTERVIEWS XLIII v LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, AND ABBREVIATIONS List of tables Table Mean score for the effectiveness of the teachers’ L1 use in their EFL classrooms as perceived by the students List of figures Figure The actual amount of L1 employment of Novice teachers List of abbreviations CLT Communicative Language Teaching EFL English as Foreign Language FELTE Faculty of English Language Teacher Education L1 The first language L2 The second language ULIS University of Languages and International Studies VNU Vietnam National University, Hanoi vi PART A: INTRODUCTION Statement of the problem and rationale for the study Since the rise of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in 1970s, the use of students’ mother tongue in EFL classrooms has become a controversial issue through a large body of research worldwide It is noted that the idea of whether L1 should be included or excluded in English language learning and teaching has divided opinions On the one hand, it is believed that teaching English monolingually will help learners develop their language learning and truly appreciate the target language exchanges without relying on their L1 (Weschler, 1997; Cook, 2001; Bouangeune, 2009) According to Ellis (1984), several authors even assert that L1 has no essential role to play in EFL teaching and that too much L1 use might deprive learners of valuable input in L2 On the other hand, advocates of L1 use in EFL classrooms dispute that students’ native language has a positive contribution to English learning and teaching if it is used at appropriate times and for appropriate reasons (Cameron, 2001; Tang, 2002; Nation, 2003; Sharma, 2006) However, the question of how many times and in which situations are considered appropriate for using L1 in EFL classrooms still needs researching Recently, several teaching methods and trends supporting the use of L1 as a helpful teaching and learning tool have widely emerged (Al-Nofaie, 2010) Numerous researchers and teachers have started to re-evaluate the role of L1 in EFL classrooms and think of ways to find the answer to this question Among them, teachers’ beliefs and practices of using L1 in EFL classrooms seems to be a focal concern In Vietnam, although CLT has been adopted for a long time, it has gained limited outcomes owing to the dominance of the Grammar Translation Method (GTM), especially in high schools where teachers often make use of L1 to transfer their knowledge to students This matter leads to the fact that the majority of Vietnamese 85 Number 3? [ ] 86 Next one? [ ] 87 Number 5? [ ] 88 And the last one? [ ] 89 Ok, now we move to the reading part […] 90 Finished? 91 Ok, thank you Can anyone tell me about the first one? [ ] 92 I would like to hear from Linh, can you? 93 Yeah, so why was eating meat important to human life? 94 So the first reading text is about […] 95 Thank you The second one I would like to hear from Ngan 96 Yeah Thank you Ngan So what is it about? 97 And where? 98 And when? 99 And it was important because? 100 Thank you The third one? Khanh Linh please 101 Yeah, thank you So what is it about? 102 And where? 103 And when? 104 And why was it important? 105 So at first, we think that […] 106 Thank you The last one, the steam engine I would like to hear from another Linh 107 Yeah, and why was it important? 108 Yeah, ok So for the last reading passage […] 109 So that’s all for four reading texts […] 4.2 Lesson Now, task number 2 Number 1, get your ideas across, so? Communicate Yeah Number 2, if you can’t speak, so? Are not able to Yes Number 3, take ages? It would be very time consuming, yes Everything you need to say can be replaced by? To express Yes 10 Number 5, put it another way What is it? 11 That is to say, yeah 12 Number 6, stand for? 13 Represent, yeah 14 And number 7? Just like, so? 15 Yeah, in the same way as XXXIII 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 And number 8, so? Yes, as a result Now exercise number Sentence number What are the informal words or phrases? Get in touch with Ok So what should we replace here? Contact, yeah And number 2? Very big, so we can replace with the word? Enormous, yes Number 3? Let the director know, so what should we replace? Inform Ok? Number Students who miss classes, so we can say? Who are absent from, yeah And number Get here, so? Arrive Number must be? Yeah, return Ok Now, review Read the text about wifi technology So what does wifi stand for? Wireless fidelity Ok, so we have a short note below Question number […] 1.2 What radio signals? [ ] And number 1.3? [ ] Sends and receives data over short distances […] Question number […] Radio signals And radio signals are transmitted through […] And 2.4 […] Now, advantages 3.2 […] Multiple devices, yeah Number 4.1 […] 4.2 City can provide […] Ok, now, task […] Personal computer And MB stands for? Megabits Ok, PDA? Personal digital assistant SMS? Short message service OS? Operation system WAP? Wireless application protocol GPS? XXXIV 57 Global positioning system, hệ thống định vị toàn cầu, right? 58 Ok, now back to task 59 Sentence number What is the informal phrase? 60 Live in What should we replace? 61 Accommodate Do you remember […] 62 Sentence number Pick up So what should we use? 63 Yeah collect 64 Number Put off, so? 65 Postpone 66 Number 4? Got over, so? 67 Recover from, yeah 68 Number 5? Ok 69 Now, everyone, open your book page 74-75 […] 70 Can we check it now? 71 Task Fill in the table […] 72 Mono means? 73 And then we have? 74 And “bi” means? 75 And what about “poly”? 76 Can anyone check the word “poly” in the dictionary again? Does it have the same meaning as multi? 77 It just means many, right? 78 Ok, what about size? What is nano? 79 And micro? 80 Ok, what about time? 81 Pre, yeah, pre means? 82 Before Yeah And we have post means after, right? What else? 83 Re Ok Re means? 84 Again Ok 85 Intro What does intro mean? 86 Internal, right Bên Inside 87 And what else we have? 88 Inter means? 89 Among different things Yeah 90 Substance […] 91 Photosynthesis […] 92 What else we have? 93 Bio Ok, living things, right? 94 Now, task Number […] 95 Yeah, it should refer to time 96 And number […] XXXV 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 Number […] Number […] Number […] And number […] Task Sentence number […] So we have the noun “second” and we have to add a prefix before it, what should it be? We have another prefix that means very small Yeah, nano Number […] Number […] So we have the word hydro It often refers to water Number […] Number […] And number […] Yeah, bilingual And what about one language? We call monolingual […] Now, review session Have you finished? Ok, I’ll check this session in more minutes Novice teacher 5.1 Lesson 1 So have you finished? Ok, can anyone of you go to the board and finish this mind map for me? Can anyone? No one? Yep, Quynh Phuong, go to the board and finish this mind map for me Now, ok, base on this mind map, I want one of you to come here to present […] Now, I would like to invite Tran Thi Thu Trang Ok, come here Now listen to her very carefully […] No no, before you make a presentation, just introduce yourself and the topic you will discuss today first 10 Ok, so I see that mostly you tend to read the mind map here rather than presenting, right? [ ] 11 And one more, you tend to use the word “due to” When we use this? Khi dùng cụm từ ạ? 12 To indicate what? Để ạ?Ngun nhân kết khơng ạ? Tuy nhiên dùng cho ạ? Positive or negative? 13 Ok, remember that this is used for negative only, so when you use it […] 14 Đấy điều thứ Vậy nhìn thấy có tác động lửa khơng ạ?So just imagine the life without fire, what would it look like? Nó ạ? Một sống mà lửa ạ? 15 So, with this kind of question, I want you to work in groups of four and discuss […] XXXVI 16 Ok, so can you talk about your picture with the rest of our class? 17 Ok, thank you 18 Ok, with other groups, I want you to stand up and share with the class your picture […] 19 So, the first group, I want you to list out all the similarities and the second group list out the differences between […] 20 So, the first group, how many similarities can you find out? 21 How many? Five? 22 And the other group, how many differences? 23 Ok, now, I want you to find one member of the other group to form a pair to share the similarities and differences between the two ways Nào tìm cặp 24 Now open your book page 108 25 Here we have some vocabulary to indicate the time […] 26 Now, first, what is a decade? 27 Ok, a decade means 10 years 28 Now, the second one, a millennium, you please The second word, what is it? 29 Ok, so millennium means 1000 years And this is a singular form What about plural form? Đây dạng số khơng ạ? Thế cịn dạng số nhiều ạ? Mình thay ạ? Mình thay “um” “a” không ạ? Giống “datum” “data” ý 30 Ok, the next one, an era, you please 31 Ok, so in Vietnamese, it is thời đại kỉ nguyên So it indicates some kind of, for example, the ice age […] 32 Now, next, a century, you please 33 A century means one hundred years, ok thank you 34 A quarter century, what is it? Do we have any Vietnamese word to describe this? Có bạn giỏi tiếng Việt khơng tìm từ miêu tả “a quarter century” không? Đấy gọi 25 năm à? Một phần tư kỉ? 35 Ok, now a fortnight? Ngoc Anh nào, a fortnight nghĩa ạ? What is it? Là ạ? Cơ hỏi từ fortnight nghĩa ạ? 36 In English, just explain this word for me Ok, it’s just weeks or half a month Mình hiểu tuần 15 ngày 37 Next, an age, it’s quite similar to the era Mình dùng từ “an age” từ “era” tương đương với 38 Now, the 1970s and 80s, what does it mean? What does it indicate? Huong? 39 Ok, thank you 5.2 Lesson Good afternoon Ok, sit down please Now, ok, we will work with the first recording about building for the future […] Now, so firstly, I want you to work individually […] Now, you have more minutes Now, ok, time’s up, so stop […] XXXVII Try to explain the mind map in maximum minutes Time’s up, so back to your seat Hôm Ánh có học khơng ạ? 10 Ok, so Phương C 11 Now show your mind map to your friends and explain it […] 12 Ok, so for example, if you were an architect, what would you to make your building more environment-friendly? 13 Bamboo will make your building much weaker, so how can you deal with the problem? 14 Ok, thank you That’s good 15 Ok, so in the recording here, they refer to […] 16 Now, read the statement to discuss […] 17 All the people can live in a same area So it will be very convenient but it also has some kind of disadvantages […] 18 Now, ok, so time’s up So what are the pros when people live and work in a same area? 19 How about the cons? 20 No, they mean that all people can live and work in a same place […] 21 Yep If you live in the same area? [ ] 22 Yeah 23 And when there are a lot of people […] 24 Yeah, maybe But when there is a burglar break into the house, the house keeper can scream […] 25 So when there is little land but there are a lot of people, then […] 26 How about other groups? 27 This group please 28 Why? 29 Ok, so the situation is like this For example […] 30 Ok, when people live and work in the same place, there will be all necessary things available, for example, movie theaters, museum […] 31 So you mean desert road? Desert, sa mạc ý Desert roads, đường mà vắng vẻ, khơng có người Desert island, hoang đảo 32 What are some other cons? 33 Yep 34 For example, I have a hospital here in this building […] 35 Ok, are there any other problems? 36 Ok, other groups, any pros and cons? 37 No? Ok, so we have discussed some pros and cons of living and working in the same place […] 38 Let’s talk about the pros The first one is much more convenient 39 The second idea is? 40 Save land for other people 41 Yep So we can build up a community in that area XXXVIII 42 Now, how about the cons? 43 What you mean? 44 Now, the situation here is that […] 45 Ok, the lesson is that […] 46 Ok, thank you 47 So that’s for the first recording Now we move to the second recording 48 Now, can anyone of you tell me about the content of this recording? Ok, I would like to hear from Phuong A 49 Nào, Phuong A đâu ạ? What is the main idea of recording two? 50 Ok, so according to this scientist, what can we do? 51 Ok, reduce greenhouse gases […] 52 And after how many years can we move to Mars to live? 53 Hundreds or even thousands of years, yep 54 Ok, so how much many people have to spend on that? 55 Yeah, too high to estimate 56 Ok, the question is that […] 57 Which one would you agree with? The first one or the second one? 58 Why? 59 So there can be some dangers in the universe […] 60 Yep, are there any other ideas? 61 So would you like to move to another planet? 62 Yes? For what? Để làm ạ? 63 Yep, to get experience 64 But you can die in the months while moving to Mars […] 65 Or when you come back to the earth […] 5.3 Lesson I want you to open your book Speak out page 119, trang số 119 Here we have three pictures […] What’s there in the first picture? Picture A Ở tranh A có ạ? Any other ideas? This is Pho cuon? Ok, that’s the first picture How about the second one? This might come from China or South East Asia How about picture C? Korea? Why you think that? 10 What about this one? 11 Sticky rice 12 And how about this? 13 This is “chè” in Vietnam So maybe we call it sweet soup 14 So you know the hometown of sticky rice and “chè” 15 No, not China XXXIX 16 Japan is very famous for fish, not these kinds of stuffs 17 This must be the hometown of rice 18 Yes, this is Thailand Có chè thái mà, khơng ạ? 19 Thailand Or another country which is famous for exporting rice? 20 Not Vietnam 21 India Yep So this may come from India 22 So among these dishes, which one you like most? Thích ạ? 23 A? C? 24 Ok, some of you may like A because you don’t know what it is 25 Now, we will read the text and answer the questions […] 26 Ok, that is one of the most famous cities about food […] 27 Now, are you ready to listen now? [ ] 28 Nào, nghe chưa? 29 Ok, number 1? [ ] 30 Number 2? [ ] 31 Number 3? [ ] 32 Ok, what is pancake? 33 It’s flat, right? Nó mỏng khơng? Nó dẹt khơng? Giống bánh Đơ rê mon ý, có phải khơng ạ? Đấy gọi pancake Bánh pancake bánh mà mỏng khơng ạ? Sau người ta nướng mặt Đấy người ta gọi bánh kếp 34 So what does he mean? […] 35 So for number 3, it is […] 36 Number 4? [ ] 37 Number 5? [ ] 38 That’s correct 39 Now, I want you to listen again and complete the next exercise 40 Nào nghe chưa ạ? Câu số điền ạ? 41 Offer không ạ? Cái dễ 42 Số ạ? 43 Số famous 44 Số 3? 45 Vegetables 46 Number 4? 47 Around 10 years 48 Number 5? 49 Wonderful and sensational What does it mean? [ ] 50 For number 6? 51 It is dessert Yeah, tráng miệng khơng ạ? 52 Number 7? 53 Worse 54 Ok, ăn ạ? XL 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 hơn? 65 66 67 Tai lợn không? Ngon người ta lại bảo kinh khủng không ạ? Ok, so now we will the same thing, let’s talk about your favorite food in the city […] Now, ok so we talk about food and different dishes […] So all of you like eating? So can you cook for yourself or you ask your mother to it? So between fast food and traditional food you eat at home, which one you prefer? Why? Ok, so you can eat it every day […] Are there any other reasons? Cịn lý khác khơng ạ? Tại lại thích ăn đồ nhà Save money, yep And? Ok, when you eat at home […] Now you can have a short break XLI XLII APPENDIX 4: TRANSCRIPTIONS OF THE INTERVIEWS Following are extracts from the original There were five interviews with the five novice teachers at English Division I, FELTE, ULIS It is notable that all the transcriptions were originally in English What is more, I is abbreviated for Interviewer whereas T is abbreviated for Novice teachers 10 15 20 25 30 35 INTERVIEW 1: With novice teacher Introduction about the researcher and the research topic […] I: Now, I would like to ask you about your beliefs first In your opinion, should Vietnamese be used in EFL classroom? T1: I think we shouldn’t because in Vietnam, students don’t have an English-speaking environment, so they should be exposed to English in class to the fullest I: Yeah, but many teachers still employ Vietnamese in their EFL classrooms, so what you think are the factors affecting teachers’ use of L1 in EFL classroom? T1: I think the most important factor is the students’ level If the students cannot understand what the teacher is talking about, then teachers have to use their mother tongue to explain I: So you think it’s necessary? I mean in what situations you think is necessary to use L1? T1: Explain abstract terms I: What about the amount of L1 use? In your opinion, how much is appropriate? T1: Not at all That’s ideal, of course I: So which skills you think students can benefit a lot from teachers’ use of L1? For example, reading, speaking, listening, writing or other language areas such as: pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary? T1: I think none of them Teachers’ L2 use would be better in all cases I: Ok, thank you And now, we will move to the questions about your real practices of using L1 in EFL classrooms The first question is you use Vietnamese in your EFL classroom? T1: Yes I: How often? T1: Not very often, only when I find my students have difficulty understanding difficult terms I: How you feel about your use of L1 then? T1: Sometimes, I think I use too much, especially when my students and I share some personal stories but most of the time I think it’s appropriate I: So in which skill you use L1 the most? T1: It’s writing I: Do you think it is beneficial for your students? T1: I don’t think it’s beneficial for my students but I still have to use L1 because when they have trouble with their expressions I have to explain; and of course, they will understand better if I use L1 However, it is not an advantageous strategy because my students will never learn how to think in English but translating from their L1 or learning by heart the English expressions I teach them I: That’s the end of the interview Thank you very much for your time XLIII 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 INTERVIEW 2: With novice teacher Introduction about the researcher and the research topic […] I: Now, I would like to ask you about your beliefs first In your opinion, should Vietnamese be used in EFL classroom? T2: Yes I: Why? T2: Because it helps facilitate both teaching and learning English I: What you think are the factors affecting teachers’ use of L1 in EFL classroom? T2: Students’ levels, the content of the lesson and teachers’ L2 proficiency as well I: So in what situations you think is necessary to use L1? T2: The first one is to give explanations on unfamiliar or difficult knowledge or contents The second is to convey meanings of unfamiliar or difficult terms or concepts And one more thing is to deliver instructions I: In your opinion, how much L1 used is appropriate? T2: I would say it depends on different classes or situations For example, with lower level classes, teacher could use more L1 than with higher level classes However, in general, it might be a good idea for teachers to try to minimize the use of L1 in EFL classrooms I: Which skills you think students can benefit a lot from teachers’ use of L1? Reading, speaking, listening, writing or other language areas such as: pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary? T2: Again, it depends on different classes and situations but generally, I would say grammar and vocabulary I: Ok, thank you And now, we will move to the questions about your real practices of using L1 in EFL classrooms The first question is you use Vietnamese in your EFL classroom? T2: Yes I: How often? T2: Well, it depends on each class For example, the students in double degree class are not as good as the mainstream students, so I use L1 more than other mainstream classes so that students can understand the lesson more easily I: So when you use L1 in your English class, how you feel? T2: Sorry, I don’t really understand your question I: I mean, you feel contented for helping students learn English better by using Vietnamese rather than purely using English? T2: Yeah, I think it’s appropriate I: The last question, in which skill you use L1 the most and you think it is beneficial for your students? T2: Maybe reading or writing when I need to clarify abstract concepts or explain writing styles for the students I think it helps students know how to read and write better, so it’s beneficial I: Ok, that’s the end of the interview Thank you very much for your time INTERVIEW 3: With novice teacher Introduction about the researcher and the research topic […] XLIV I: T3: 85 I: T3: I: T3: 90 I: T3: I: 95 T3: 100 I: T3: 105 I: T3: 110 I: T3: I: 115 120 Now, I would like to ask you about your beliefs first In your opinion, should Vietnamese be used in EFL classroom? Yes because sometimes students cannot understand a difficult concept in English Of course, the more English is used, the better However, when the topic is complex or the level of students is not good, I think L1 is still needed to help students understand the lesson clearly So what you think are the factors affecting teachers’ use of L1 in EFL classroom? As I have mentioned, there are main factors: students’ level and the content of the lesson So in what situations you think it is necessary to use L1 in EFL classroom? I think whenever English is used but the students cannot understand, then L1 should be employed And how much L1 used is appropriate? It depends on the content of the lesson and the students’ level But I guess it shouldn’t be more than 50% So which skills you think students can benefit a lot from teachers’ use of L1? Reading, speaking, listening, writing or other language areas like pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary? Normally, L1 is mostly used in writing because there are some writing mistakes and errors that are hard to be explained in L2 Besides, L1 is also necessary for reading because sometimes students cannot understand the meaning of some vocabulary or ideas of the text, so translation is needed Ok, thank you And now, we will move to the questions about your real practices of using L1 in EFL classrooms The first question is you use Vietnamese in your EFL classroom? Yes I use L1 in almost all lessons but the amount of L1 use depends on the content of the lesson and the students’ level in each class Like I have mentioned before, whenever students cannot understand my L2 use, then I use L1 to help them understand what I am talking about How you feel about your use of L1 then? I think it’s reasonable, not too much and quite effective because I can see my students improve a lot So in which skill you use L1 the most and how you think it is beneficial for your students? Writing and Reading I feel that my students are all happy with my L1 use and they can improve their reading and writing skills as well, so maybe it is beneficial Ok, that’s the end of the interview Thank you very much for your time INTERVIEW 4: With novice teacher Introduction about the researcher and the research topic […] I: Now, I would like to ask you about your beliefs first In your opinion, should Vietnamese be used in EFL classroom? T4: I think L1 should be used in some particular cases in EFL classroom, especially in class with low-level students, because L1 may help them understand correctly what the teacher wants to deliver I: So what you think are the factors affecting teachers’ use of L1 in EFL classroom? XLV T4: 125 I: T4: 130 I: T4: 135 I: T4: 140 I: T4: 145 I: T4: 150 I: T4: I: 155 160 The level of students or level of familiarity with the topics and vocabulary For example, with lower level, the teacher may consider using L1 to make sure students can understand the lessons, instructions and so on Moreover, the time limit is also one factor because L1 may help the teacher save time to deliver the lessons as it is easy for students to understand, especially when there is a shortage of time and there are a lot of things related to the lessons needed to cover in that period Yeah, so in what situations you think is necessary to use L1 in EFL classroom? It’s necessary to use L1 in EFL classroom when students have troubles to understand pieces of information in L2, which may lead to serious misunderstandings In other words, L1 helps students receive correct information without any doubt and with less confusion In your opinion, how much L1 used is appropriate? It depends on the particular situations but in my opinion, the teacher should limit the time of using L1 as much as possible apart from some cases mentioned above to encourage students to try their best to understand lessons in L2 first Yeah, and which skills you think students can benefit a lot from teachers’ use of L1? Reading, speaking, listening, writing or other language areas like pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary? I think students can benefit a lot from teachers’ use of L1 for language areas such as: pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary which require lots of explanations and include many terminologies Ok, thank you And now, we will move to the questions about your real practices of using L1 in EFL classrooms The first question is you use Vietnamese in your EFL classroom? Well, yes When I have little time left, I often use L1 to help me deliver the lessons more quickly And when I want to make sure my students completely undertand what they are supposed to undertand as well So how you feel about your use of L1? I’m comfortable with it because I think it is convenient for both my students and I to use L1 in such situations In which skill you use L1 the most and you think it is beneficial for your students? I always try my best to deliver the lessons in L2 If my students feel hard to undertand them, I will express in other ways or give examples to illustrate the information I want to deliver The use of L1 in class is always the last choice of mine for all the skills in some cases mentioned above Ok, that’s the end of the interview Thank you very much for your time INTERVIEW 5: With novice teacher Introduction about the researcher and the research topic […] I: Now, I would like to ask you about your beliefs first In your opinion, should Vietnamese be used in EFL classroom? T5: I won’t use the word “should” but L1 can be used in EFL classroom Ideally, we should use English in such a classroom because this will create a language environment for students and motivate them to learn and to express themselves in English However, it is not always the XLVI 165 I: T5: I: T5: 170 I: T5: I: 175 T5: 180 I: 185 T5: I: T5: I: T5: 190 I: T5: 195 I: situation when we can use English For example, when the issues discussed are too difficult or abstract to be learnt in English, or when students don’t fully understand what I say in English, I have to use Vietnamese So what you think are the factors affecting teachers’ use of L1 in EFL classroom? I would say learners’ language competence, the issues discussed and sometimes teacher’s language competence as well And in what situations you think is necessary to use L1? As I said earlier, when the issues discussed are too difficult or abstract to be learnt and understood in English or when students don’t fully understand what their teachers say in English So how much L1 used is appropriate? It’s difficult to quantify but teachers should try to limit their L1 use in EFL classroom, just when necessary, as in some situations above, for example Which skills you think students can benefit a lot from teachers’ use of L1? Reading, speaking, listening, writing or other language areas like pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary? I think in reading and writing because it’s really hard sometimes for teachers to use English if they want their students fully understand the issues But for speaking and listening, teachers should act as a model for speaking and also a resource for listening with their use of English, not Vietnamese Ok, thank you And now, we will move to the questions about your real practices of using L1 in EFL classrooms The first question is you use Vietnamese in your EFL classroom? Yes How often? In what situations and for what purposes? I don’t know whether it’s often or not but I try not to use it when it’s not necessary About the situations, it’s the same as I mentioned above And the purposes, to make my students fully understand the issues So how you feel about your use of L1 in your EFL classroom? I don’t like it, sometimes I don’t want to use L1 but in fact, I So I hope that I won’t use it too much in the future, of course except for when it’s necessary Yeah, and the last question, in which skill you use L1 the most and you think it is beneficial for your students? Reading and writing Yes, I think my students can take in the most and that’s the most important thing Ok, that’s the end of the interview Thank you very much for your time XLVII