A study on beliefs of teachers of english at duong xa high school, gia lam, hanoi about leaner autonomy

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ************* NGUYỄN THỊ TOÀN A STUDY ON BELIEFS OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH AT DUONG XA HIGH SCHOOL, GIA LAM, HA NOI ABOUT LEANER AUTONOMY (Nghiên cứu niềm tin giáo viên tiếng anh trường THPT Dương Xá, Gia Lâm, Hà Nội tính tự chủ người học) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hanoi, 2015 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ************* NGUYỄN THỊ TOÀN A STUDY ON BELIEFS OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH AT DUONG XA HIGH SCHOOL, GIA LAM, HA NOI ABOUT LEANER AUTONOMY (Nghiên cứu niềm tin giáo viên tiếng anh trường THPT Dương Xá, Gia Lâm, Hà Nội tính tự chủ người học) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Mai Thi Loan, Ph.D Hanoi, 2015 DECLARATION The material contained in this dissertation is all my own work When the work of others has been adopted/paraphrased (e.g books, articles, handouts, conference reports, questionnaires, interview questions, etc), it has been acknowledged according to appropriate academic convention Sources of direct quotations are clearly identified I have read and understood the University‟s statement concerning plagiarism and collusion Hanoi 2015 Nguyễn Thị Toàn i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor, Mrs Mai Thi Loan, for her generous assistance and guidance while I was doing this project I am really grateful for her precious advice and constant support I would also like to send my sincere thanks to the teachers of English in Duong Xa High School for their participation I am also in debt to my lecturers, my friends, my classmates as well as my colleagues for their invaluable comments and criticism Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my beloved people, my parents, my sister, my brother who have always encouraged me to complete this study ii ABSTRACT This research investigated the extent to which high school teachers of English in Vietnam understood the concept of learner autonomy and their beliefs about this concept Despite the fact that learner autonomy is gaining momentum as an educational phenomenon and various research has sought to create solutions for fostering learner autonomy in Asian countries, there is very little research on how high school teachers‟ beliefs have been conducted, especially in Vietnamese context Data were collected through two phases of the study, utilizing both quantitative methods (questionnaire) and qualitative methods (interviews) study found that, due to many obstacles, teachers This generally not fully understand about learner autonomy The findings of this study will provide teachers and policy-makers new insights into learner autonomy against the backdrop of educational reforms in Vietnam iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i DECLARATION ii ABSTRACT iii TABLES OF CONTENT iv LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES viii PART A INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aims and objectives of the study Research questions Scope of the study Significance of the study Method of the study Design of the study PART B DEVELOPMENT Chapter I LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Leaner autonomy 1.1.1 Definitions of learner autonomy 1.1.2 Principle of learner autonomy 1.1.3 Characteristic of autonomous leaners 10 1.1.4 Characteristic of autonomous classroom 11 1.1.5 Approaches to fostering learner autonomy 13 1.1.5.1 Resource-based approaches 13 1.1.5.2 Technology-based approaches 14 1.1.5.3 Curriculum-based approaches 14 1.1.5.4 Teacher-based approaches 15 1.1.5.5 Classroom-based approaches 15 1.1.5.6 Learner-based approaches 16 1.2 The learners‟ roles / teachers‟ roles in developing learner autonomy 17 1.2.1 The learner‟s roles 17 1.2.2 The teachers‟ roles 18 1.3 Teachers‟ beliefs 20 1.3.1 Definition of teachers‟ beliefs 20 1.3.2 Teachers‟ beliefs about learner autonomy 20 1.3.3 Factors affecting teachers‟ beliefs about learner autonomy 22 1.4 Review of related studies 23 1.5 Summary 28 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 29 2.1 Setting of the study 29 iv 2.1.1 The school 29 2.1.2 Teachers background information 29 2.2 Instruments 32 2.2.1 Interviews 32 2.2.2 Class observations 33 2.3 Data collection procedure 34 2.3.1 Interviews 34 2.3.2 Class observation 35 2.4 Data analysis procedure 35 2.5 Summary 36 CHAPTER III DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 37 3.1 Restatement of the question 37 3.2 Data analysis of interviews for teachers 37 3.2.1 High school teachers‟ beliefs about learner autonomy 37 3.2.1.1 High school teachers‟ understandings of learner autonomy 37 3.2.1.2 Teachers beliefs about teachers‟ responsibilities in autonomous classroom 42 3.2.1.3 Teachers‟ beliefs about students‟ ability to become autonomous 45 3.2.1.4 Teachers‟ attitude to practicality of learner autonomy 47 3.2.2 Suggestions to improve leaner autonomy at high school 48 3.2.2.1 Factors affecting the implementation of learner autonomy in high school context 48 3.2.2.2 Solution to foster learner autonomy at DXHS 51 3.3 Data analysis from Class observation - Teachers‟ actual teaching practice 52 3.4 Discussion of the findings 58 3.4.1 Teachers‟ understanding of learner autonomy 58 3.4.2 Teachers‟ roles in fostering learner autonomy 58 3.4.3 Ability student become autonomous 59 3.4.4 The degree of alignment between teachers‟ beliefs and practices 60 3.4.5 Suggestion to developing learner autonomy at high school context 61 3.5 Summary 62 PART C: CONCLUSION 63 4.1 Recapitulation 63 4.2 Pedagogical contributions 63 4.3 Limitations 65 4.4 Suggestions for further study 66 4.5 Conclusion 66 LIST OF REFERENCES 68 APPENDIX I APPENDIX A1 I APPENDIX A2 II APPENDIX A3 III v APPENDIX B XIX APPENDIX C XXI vi LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS DXHS: Duong Xa High School LA: Learner autonomy AL: Autonomous learner ELT: English Language Teaching ESL: English as Second Language IQ: Interview question vii LIST OF TABLE Table 1: Participants‟ profile 30 Table 2: Participants‟ understanding of leaner autonomy 38 Table 2.1: Grouping participants‟ understanding of leaner autonomy 40 Table 2.2: Teacher beliefs about autonomous learner 41 Table 3.1: Teachers‟ beliefs about person in charge of fostering learner autonomy 43 Table 3.2: Participants‟ beliefs towards teachers‟ responsibilities in autonomous classroom 44 Table 4: Participants‟ belief towards students‟ ability to become autonomous45 Table 5: Participants‟ beliefs towards developing learner autonomy 47 Table 6: Factors impacting the extent of learner autonomy implementation 48 Table 7: Solution to fostering learner autonomy at DXHS 51 Table 8: Teachers – students exchanging learning procedure and objectives 53 Table 9: Teachers‟ instructional behaviors 53 Table 10: Teachers‟ monitoring strategies 55 Table 11: Teachers‟ instructional tools 56 Table 12: Teachers‟ assessment 57 viii ... learner autonomy in their actual teaching practice regarding their beliefs about learner autonomy? 3- What are teachers? ?? beliefs about constraints to promote leaner autonomy at high school context...VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ************* NGUYỄN THỊ TOÀN A STUDY ON BELIEFS OF TEACHERS OF ENGLISH AT DUONG. .. review of the research and literature about learner autonomy, the role of teacher and learner in developing learner autonomy as well as teachers? ?? beliefs and practices in relation to learner autonomy