Integrating American Cultural Studies Into Teaching English To The Grade 11 Students At Tran Phu Gifted High School: An Initial Investigation

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THỊ TUYẾT MAI INTEGRATING AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES INTO TEACHING ENGLISH TO THE GRADE 11 STUDENTS AT TRAN PHU GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL: AN INITIAL INVESTIGATION Bước đầu nghiên cứu việc tích hợp dạy kiến thức văn hoá Mỹ việc dạy tiếng Anh cho học sinh khối 11 Trường THPT chuyên Trần Phú, Hải Phòng M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 HANOI –2012 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THỊ TUYẾT MAI INTEGRATING AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES INTO TEACHING ENGLISH TO THE GRADE 11 STUDENTS AT TRAN PHU GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL: AN INITIAL INVESTIGATION Bước đầu nghiên cứu việc tích hợp dạy kiến thức văn hoá Mỹ việc dạy tiếng Anh cho học sinh khối 11 Trường THPT chuyên Trần Phú, Hải Phòng M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: VŨ THỊ THU THỦY, M.A HANOI – 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION …………………………………………………………… ……….i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………….…………….ii ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………….iii TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………………….iv LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………………… …vii LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………………… …….…viii PART I: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………….1 Rationale of the study………………………………………………………… Aims of the study…………………………………………………………….…3 Research questions…………………………………………………………… Scope of the study…………………………………………….……………… Significance of the study…………………………………………………….…4 Method of the study………………………………………………………….…4 Design of the study…………………………………………………………… PART II: DEVELOPMENT ……………………………………………………… CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ……………………………………….….6 Language and Culture 1.1 What is language …….……………………………………….… …………….6 1.2 What is Cultural studies? ………………………,,,…………………………….6 1.3 Cultural studies in language teaching ……………… ………………….…….8 What are the main goals for teaching American cultural studies? …………………9 What are the principles for teaching American culture studies? ………………… 10 What are the most common approaches to the teaching of American Cultural studies? …………………………………………………………………………… …11 iv What are some techniques and activities for teaching American Cultural studies? ……………………………………………………………………………… 12 Evaluating materials for teaching American Cultural studie…………………… 14 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY……………….……………… …16 2.1 Overview of the current situation of teaching and learning American Cultural studies at Tran Phu Gifted High School …………………………………….……….16 2.2 Methodology 2.2.1 Sample ………… ……………………………………….……………17 2.2.2 Data collection instruments ……………………………………… 19 2.2.2.1 Survey questionnaire ……………………………………………….19 2.2.2.2 Classroom observation ….……………….……………………… 21 2.2.2.3 Interview …………………………………………………………… 21 2.2.3 Data collection procedure…………………………………………….22 2.2.4 Data analysis procedure……………………………………………….22 2.3 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 23 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION …………………………24 3.1 Findings from questionnaires for the teachers ……………… … …… 24 3.1.1 The teachers‟ perceptions on the definition of American Cultural studies ……………………………… …………… …….…24 3.1.2 The teachers‟ perceptions on the importance of teaching American cultural studies in the classroom ………………………….24 3.1.3 Frequency of teaching the culture-related issues ………………… 25 v 3.1.4 The teachers‟ way of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom …………………………………………………………… 25 3.1.5 The teachers‟ choice of topics for American Cultural studies in the classroom ………………………………………………………………26 3.1.6 The teachers‟ choice of materials of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom ……………………………………………………… 27 3.1.7 The teachers‟ opinions about difficulties in teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom ……………………………………………….29 3.2 Findings from questionnaires for the students ………………………………31 3.2.1 The students‟ perception of the importance of learning American Cultural studies in the classroom ………………………………… …31 3.2.2 The students‟ opinions of the ways of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom …………………………………………… 31 3.2.3 The students‟ choice of topics for American Cultural studies in the classroom …………………………………………………………… 33 3.2.4 The students‟ ways of gaining American Cultural studies knowledge …………………………………………………………… ………….35 3.3 Findings from class observations ……………………… …………………36 3.4 Findings from the interview ……………………………………………… 37 3.5 Discussion of the findings ………………………………………………… 38 3.6 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 40 PART III: CONCLUSION ………………………………… ……………………41 Summary of the study …………… …………….…………………………….41 vi Pedagogical implications ……………………….…………………………….41 Limitations of the study ……………………………………………………….43 Suggestions for further study………………………………………………….44 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………… 45 REFERENCES ……………………………………………………… ………… 45 APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………… I Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire for the teachers ………………………………I Appendix 2: Survey questionnaire for the students ………………………………V Appendix 3: Interview Questions ……………………………………………… VIII Appendix 4: Suggested lesson plan …………………………………………… IX vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Characteristics of the teachers Table 2: Difference between the teachers‟ and students‟ opinions about the ways of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom Table 3: Difference between the teachers‟ and students‟ scores for topics of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The teachers‟ scores for the ways of teaching Americans studies in the classroom Figure 2: The teachers‟ scores for the topics of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom Figure 3: The teachers‟ scores for materials for teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom Figure 4: Difficulties in teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom Figure 5: The students‟ score for the ways of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom Figure 6: The students‟ score for the topics of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom viii PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study It cannot be denied that English has nowadays become a common means of communication of human being all over the world Perceiving that trend of the global integration, Vietnam has been more and more active to train active and dynamic Vietnamese, who can use English fluently for communicative purposes That is the reason why in 2002, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has set out new aims for English language teaching for secondary education as well as introduced new series of English textbooks from grade to grade 12 The new English textbooks for high school students are divided into two sets: the advanced and the standard Each unit in the new English textbooks consists of five parts: Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing and Language Focus, among which the Language Focus sections are to consolidate students‟ pronunciation and grammar They are claimed to adopt the latest teaching and learning approaches: communicative approach and learner-centered approach and aim at developing both language skills and language knowledge for students Since their nation-wide implementation in the school year 2006-2007, a great number of researchers have been carried out to evaluate these new textbooks as well as to find out how these textbooks are actually implemented or the difficulties that teachers and students at high schools have to face when teaching and learning with the new textbooks Most of these studies have dealt with the teaching and learning of the four language skills which are believed to be new for both teachers and students However, there is still one more indispensable aspect which tends to be depreciated It is culture that turns out to be the fifth skill in language learning and tacked on to the teaching of speaking, listening, reading, and writing It always stays in the background to decide the good language learners when paid enough attention to It supports learners to achieve their communicative competence Nevertheless, the number of research on the teaching and learning of culture in general and America studies in particular in the classroom is obviously limited It is necessary to carry out more research on how teachers and students teach and learn culture in the actual classroom Besides, national examinations (national examinations for GCSE, university entrance examinations) have currently included some questions related to American cultural studies issues (for example: how to address certain situations, etc.) On the other hand, there are various cultures that English language is getting connected with Among those, the United States has a leading economic, political and cultural force in the world Moreover, the United States is also the ideal destination for overseas students, which has resulted from its top-ranking education system Thus, learning about the culture of the United States appears to be a wise choice Moreover, after two years of teaching English with the new English textbooks at Tran Phu Gifted High School, the researcher observed that the teachers and learners there faced a number of difficulties in teaching and learning American cultural studies in the classroom According to Bada (2000: 101), “the need for cultural literacy in ELT arises mainly from the fact that most language learners, not exposed to cultural elements of the society in question, seem to encounter significant hardship in communicating meaning to native speakers.” In addition, nowadays the L2 culture is presented as an interdisciplinary core in many L2 curricula designs and textbooks (Sysoyev & Donelson, 2002) Stimulated by the above reasons, the researcher has decided to conduct this study It is hoped that this study will discover the reality of teaching and learning American cultural studies at Tran Phu Gifted high school in order to contribute some immediate solutions Aims of the study The aim of this study is to examine the current teaching and learning of American cultural studies in the high school classroom at Tran Phu Gifted High School In order to achieve the aim, the study seeks to find out: (1) The teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions on the importance of American cultural studies teaching and learning (2) How the teachers and the students deal with American cultural studies in the classroom (3) The teachers‟ perceived difficulties in teaching and learning American cultural studies in the classroom Research questions: To achieve the aim and objectives of the study, the following research questions were proposed: How the teachers and the students at Tran Phu Gifted High School perceive the importance of American cultural studies teaching and learning? How the teachers teach and the students learn / expect to learn American cultural studies in high school classroom? What method and techniques the teachers and the students use / expect to use?