Nhận thức của giáo viên THPT về phương pháp dạy học tiếng anh dựa vào nhiệm vụ và niềm tin của họ về bộ sách giáo khoa tiếng anh doctor of linguistics 621401

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES NGUYỄN VIỆT HÙNG SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHER’S PERCEPTIONS OF TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING AND THEIR BEL

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

NGUYỄN VIỆT HÙNG

SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHER’S PERCEPTIONS OF TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING AND THEIR BELIEFS ABOUT THE CURRENT SERIES OF ENGLISH

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

NGUYỄN VIỆT HÙNG

SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHER’S PERCEPTIONS OF TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING AND THEIR BELIEFS ABOUT THE CURRENT SERIES OF ENGLISH

Hanoi, April 2017

DECLARATION

I certify that this dissertation does not, to the best of my knowledge and belief: (i) incorporate without acknowledgement any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any institution of higher education;

(ii) contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text; or

(iii) contain any defamatory material

DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to my parents who have brought me up and helped me

to become the person I am I offer them all my affection for their love and understanding of this important period of my life, which has taken me so far away from my family

I also dedicate this dissertation to my lifelong partner, wife, and very best friend, Thu Her life and her weekends have been put on hold for the previous years of our lives in order to help me achieve my goal of earning this doctorate degree Her undying and loving support has helped me through this research process My thesis would not have been materialized without her and her constant encouragement

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This Ph.D thesis would not have become a reality without the help of many people First and foremost, I acknowledge my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Prof Dr Hoang Van Van, for his continuing encouragement, invaluable suggestions and feedback, and patient guidance throughout my study He has showed impressive expertise in academic research and, as well, in the supervision of his postgraduate students I have benefited not only from his rich experience in academic research, but also from his personal merits: earnest, kind, sincere, and caring

Secondly, I am enormously indebted to Prof Dr Nguyen Hoa, Assoc Prof Le Hung Tien, Assoc Prof Dr Le Van Canh, Dr Do Quang Viet, and Dr Huynh Anh Tuan, who have given me encouragements, generous help and suggestions in my research project

Next, my heartfelt thanks goes to all the participants, from many provinces, who cooperated with me in this research Their views and comments gave me boundless inspiration Without their cooperation and contributions, this thesis would have never been made possible A special thanks go to the following directors of different provincial department of education and training and co-ordinators of the National Foreign Language

2020 Project (NFL 2020 Project) of these departments who helped me get into contact with participants: Mr Le Van Quy – Director and Ms Lu Thi Van – co-ordinator of NFL 2020 Project of Dien Bien Department of Education and Training, Mr Nguyen An Ninh – Director and Mr Le Thanh Hai – co-ordinator of NFL 2020 Project of Lao Cai Department

of Education and Training, Mr Nguyen Minh Thanh – Director and Ms Le Thi Hong – co-ordinator of NFL 2020 Project of Hoa Binh Department of Education and Training, Mr Hoang Tien Duc – Director and Ms Pham Thi Thuan – co-ordinator of NFL 2020 Project of Son La Department of Education and Training, Mr Do Van Han – Director and Ms Pham Thu Hang – co-ordinator of NFL 2020 Project of Lai Chau Department of Education and Training, Mr Tran Xuan Hung – Director and Mr Dang Tran Ha – co-ordinator of NFL

2020 Project of Yen Bai Department of Education and Training

In addition, I owe my debts to some of the experts in this field who gave me consultations to my questions in some stages of research, such as research design, research method, data analysis at times when I was highly confused: Assoc Prof Dr Phan Le Ha, Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Thuy Minh, Prof Dr Nathan Carr, Prof Dr Simon Borg, Dr Hoang Xuan Hoa, Dr To Thu Huong, Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Phuong Nga, Dr Duong Thi

Nu, Dr Tran Hoai Phuong, Dr Duong Thu Mai, Dr Hoang Thi Hanh, and Dr Vu Hai Ha

Moreover, I would like to extend my gratitude to my friends such as Nguyen Manh Cuong, Bui Van Hau, and Blake Nichols for their kind support and willingness to proofread

of my drafts

Also, I wish to express my profound gratitude to my family, my parents, my sister, and my brother They have been so supportive and encouraging that I can always feel their care Their love and encouragements have made my long journey to PhD thesis colorful and enjoyable

Last, but by no means least, I am thankful to my wife whose deep and warm love is the most important source of courage and motivation for me to move along this journey Being so thoughtful and being always by my side, she has helped me in the most special and tender way!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION I DEDICATION II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS III TABLE OF CONTENTS IV LIST OF TABLES VIII LIST OF FIGURES X ABBREVIATIONS XI

PART I INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aim of the Study 5

3 Objectives of the Study 5

4 Research Questions 5

5 Significance of the Study 6

6 Scope of the Study 7

7 Organization of the Study 7

PART II DEVELOPMENT 9

CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW 9

1.1 Introduction 9

1.2 The Main Concepts Related to the Research 9

1.2.1 Teacher Cognition 9

1.2.2 Teacher Perception and Teacher Belief 12

1.2.3 Task and TBLT 13

1.3 Theoretical Issues of Task-Based Language Teaching 16

1.3.1 Theoretical Foundations of TBLT 16

1.3.2 Framework of TBLT 20

1.3.2.1 Definition of TBLT Framework 20

1.3.2.2 Different TBLT Frameworks 20

1.3.2.3 TBLT Framework by Willis (1996) 23

1.3.2.4 Principles of TBLT 25

1.3.2.5 Task Features 27

1.3.2.6 Differences between TBLT and Other Teaching Models 30

1.3.3 Techniques of TBLT 31

1.4 The Current Series of English Textbooks for Upper Secondary Schools in Vietnam 33

1.4.1 Textbook Objectives 33

1.4.2 Content of the Textbooks 34

1.4.3 Target Knowledge Covered in the Textbooks 35

1.4.4 Language Skills Taught in the Textbooks Series 36

1.4.5 Tasks and Activities 38

1.5 Previous Related Research 39

1.5.1 Research into Teachers’ Perceptions and Beliefs in Task-Based Language Teaching 39

1.5.2 Research Related to Teachers’ Beliefs about the Current Series of English Textbooks 42

1.6 Summary 43

CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 45

2.1 Research Approach 45

2.2 Research Setting and Participants 47

2.2.1 Research Context 47

2.2.2 Participants 48

2.3 Research Collection Instruments 53

2.3.1 Survey Questionnaire 53

2.3.2 Interview 54

2.3.3 Classroom Observation 55

2.4 Research Procedure 55

2.4.1 Quantitative Analysis in Phase 1 56

2.4.2 Qualitative Analysis in Phase 2 57

2.5 Data Analysis Techniques 59

2.5.1 Descriptive Techniques 59

2.5.2 Comparative Techniques 61

2.6 Reliability and Validity 62

2.6.1 Reliability and Validity of the First Questionnaire (Teachers’ perceptions of TBLT) 62

2.6.2 Reliability and Validity of the Second Questionnaire (Teachers’ beliefs about Textbooks) 65

2.7 Credibility, Transferability, Dependability and Confirmability 67

2.8 Confidentiality 68

2.9 Chapter Summary 69

CHAPTER 3 THE FINDINGS 70

3.2 General Findings about Teachers’ Perceptions of TBLT 71

3.2.1 Teachers’ Perceptions of “the Philosophies of TBLT” 71

3.2.2 Teachers’ Perceptions of “the Definitions of TBLT” 74

3.2.3 Teachers’ Perceptions of “the Principles of TBLT” 77

3.2.4 Teachers’ Perceptions of “the Features of TBLT” 82

3.2.5 Teachers’ Perceptions of “the Stages of TBLT” 86

3.2.6 Teachers’ Perceptions of “the Techniques of TBLT” 89

3.3 General Findings about Teachers’ Beliefs about the Textbooks 93

3.3.1 Teachers’ Beliefs about “the Textbook Objectives” 93

3.3.2 Teachers’ Beliefs about “the Content of the Textbooks” 97

3.3.3 Teachers’ Beliefs about “the Knowledge of the Textbooks” 101

3.3.4 Teachers’ Beliefs about “the Skills taught in the Textbooks” 103

3.3.5 Teachers’ Beliefs about “the Tasks and Activities of the Textbooks” 106

3.3.6 Teachers’ Beliefs about “the Teaching Method of the Textbooks” 109

CHAPTER 4 DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION 113

4.1 Discussions of the Findings about Teachers’ Perceptions of TBLT 113

4.1.1 Teachers’ Perceptions of TBLT 113

4.1.1.1 Teachers have fair perceptions of TBLT 113

4.1.1.2 Higher Score on Teachers’ Perceptions of TBLT in the Quantitative Phase than in the Qualitative Phase 115

4.1.1.3 Differences in Perception of TBLT between Groups 118

4.1.1.4 Teachers’ Perceptions of TBLT Tends to be Task-supported Language Teaching .122

4.1.2 Factors Affecting Teachers’ Perceptions of TBLT 126

4.2 Discussions of the Findings about Teachers’ Beliefs about the Textbooks 130

4.2.1 Teachers’ Beliefs about the Textbooks 131

4.2.1.1 Teachers Have Fair Beliefs about the Textbooks 131

4.2.1.2 Higher Score on Teachers’ Beliefs about the Textbooks in Quantitative Phase 1 than in the Qualitative Phase 2 133

4.2.1.3 Differences in Beliefs about the Textbooks between Teachers in Groups 136

4.2.2 Factors Affecting Teachers’ Beliefs about the Textbooks and Main Proposals 138 PART III CONCLUSIONS 145

1 Summary of the Major Points of the Study 145

1.1 Summary of the Study 145

1.2 Conclusions 145

1.3 Pedagogical Implications 147

2 Limitation of the Study 148

3 Implications for Future Research 148

RESEARCHER’S ARTICLES RELATED TO THE THESIS 151

REFERENCES 152

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1: Components of teacher cognition

Table 1.2: General objectives to achieve in Grade 10 to Grade 12 (MOET, 2006: 19-25) Table 1.3: Topics in English 10, English 11 and English 12

Table 1.4: Themes covered in the English curriculum

Table 2.1: Demographic Data of Survey Participants’ Background Information

Table 2.2: Brief profiles of 30 cases in case study phase

Table 2.3: Overview of the data analysis procedure case studies

Table 2.4: The reliability of questionnaire 1 and its domains

Table 2.5: Unreliable Items that need being left out the analysis

Table 2.6: Correlation between domains in the whole questionnaire

Table 2.7: Factor Analysis of Students’ attitudes towards TBLT

Table 2.8: The reliability of questionnaire 1 and its domains

Table 2.9: Correlation between domains in the whole questionnaire (5.2.1.4.1)

Table 2.10: Factor Analysis of Students’ attitudes towards TBLT

Table 3.1: The descriptive statistics for Domain 1

Table 3.2: The interview’s main themes for Domain 1

Table 3.3: The descriptive statistics for Domain 2

Table 3.4: The interview’s main themes for Domain 2

Table 3.5: The descriptive statistics for Domain 3

Table 3.6: Teachers’ perception of principles of TBLT

Table 3.7: The descriptive statistics for Domain 4

Table 3.8: Teachers’ perception of features of TBLT

Table 3.9: The descriptive statistics for Domain 5

Table 3.10: The descriptive statistics for Domain 6

Table 3.11: Teachers’ perception of techniques of TBLT

Table 3.12: The descriptive statistics for Domain 1

Table 3.13: Teachers’ beliefs about objectives of textbooks

Table 3.14: The descriptive statistics for Domain 2

Table 3.15: Teachers’ beliefs about content of textbooks

Table 3.16: The descriptive statistics for Domain 3

Table 3.17: Teachers’ beliefs about knowledge of textbooks

Table 3.18: The descriptive statistics for Domain 4

Table 3.19: Teachers’ beliefs about skills of textbooks

Table 3.20: The descriptive statistics for Domain 5

Table 3.21: Teachers’ beliefs about tasks and activities of textbooks

Table 3.22: The descriptive statistics for Domain 6

Table 3.23: Teachers’ beliefs about teaching method of textbooks

Table 4.1: The descriptive statistics for the whole questionnaire and domains

Table 4.2: Perception percentage of the whole questionnaire and domains

Table 4.3: Typical focused themes of teachers’ perception of TBLT

Table 4.4: Differences in teachers’ perception of TBLT according to provinces

Table 4.5: Differences in teachers’ perception of TBLT according to economic

Table 4.6: Differences in teachers’ perception of TBLT according to first degree

Table 4.7: Qualitative data of teachers’ perception of TBLT

Table 4.8: Model summary of the whole questionnaire and domains “Teachers’ perception

of TBLT”

Table 4.9: Coefficient of prediction model 3 for the main domain “Teachers’ perception of TBLT”

Table 4.10: Unfocused themes of teachers’ perception of TBLT

Table 4.11: The descriptive statistics for the whole questionnaire and domains

Table 4.12: Belief percent of the whole questionnaire and domains

Table 4.13: Typical focused themes of teachers’ beliefs about textbooks

Table 4.14: Differences in teachers’ beliefs about textbooks according to provinces Table 4.15: Model summary of the whole questionnaire and domains

Table 4.16: Coefficient of prediction model 3 for the main domain

Table 4.17: Unfocused themes of teachers’ beliefs about textbooks

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: The construct of teacher cognition (Borg, 2003) Figure 1.2: Modification construct of teacher cognition Figure 1.3: Willis’ framework of TBLT (Willis, 1996) Figure 1.4: Difference between exercise and task

Figure 1.5: Research framework

Figure 2.1: Analytical framework for the research

Figure 4.1: Mean plots according to province

Figure 4.2: Mean plots according to economic state

Figure 4.3: Mean plots according to first degree

Figure 4.4: Mean plots according to locality

Figure 4.5: Mean plots according to province

Figure 5.1: Model of task sequence

ABBREVIATIONS

MOET: Ministry of Education and Training

HNUE: Hanoi National University of Education

ULIS: University of Languages and International Studies NFL 2020: National Foreign Languages 2020

NWA: Northwest Area

TBLT: Task-Based Language Teaching

TSI: Task-Supported Instruction

TST: Task-Supported Teaching

BA: Bachelor of Arts

MA: Master of Arts

ESL: English as Second Language

ELT: English Language Teaching

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

L1: Mother Tongue/First Language/Native Language L2: Second Language

6, instead of Grade 10 The researcher’s particular attention focuses on the English curriculum for secondary schools as this level is considered to be the preparatory stage for Vietnamese students to study at higher levels In practice, universities in Vietnam require graduate students and even newly-entered students to have certain English competency A good English curriculum for secondary schools can contribute significantly to the development of the knowledge-based economy for the country It motivates the researcher to investigate secondary school teachers’ cognition of the English curriculum

This research focuses only on a specific area as contextual features are very important

in the consideration of the language policy in a country Due to the English curriculum for secondary schools, students from all areas have to get the same expected learning outcomes

no matter where they come from The matter is if it is feasible for students from difficult areas such as the Northwest of Vietnam, the Central Highlands, and the Southwest to have the same learning materials, lessons and exams as students from central urban areas like Hanoi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City to achieve one common standard of competence, knowledge and skills in English The researcher chose the Northwest Area (NWA) because it

is the area within the researcher’s reach and it is one of the three most difficult areas in the country Furthermore, the researcher has some knowledge of the geography, the culture, the customs, and the traditions of the people of this region from many visits to the area and many friends living there

The researcher intended to study teachers’ cognition of the task-based curriculum, so the idea of a research title of “Secondary school teachers’ cognition of the new curriculum”

was initiated However, in Vietnam, curricula are fixed by the MOET, and the contents of the curricula are realized in a series of textbooks Modules for units, revised units, and tests are decided in the English curriculum for Vietnamese schools Basing on the curriculum of the MOET, book designers develop learning tasks and activities for each unit Through the review

of the English curriculum by the MOET (2006) and the textbooks which have been implemented for secondary schools in Vietnam, it can be confirmed that this new curriculum

is the task-based one As the textbook series has been claimed to adopt task-based language teaching (TBLT) methodology, the investigation into teachers’ beliefs about the book series focusing on its TBLT features will help give room to implications helpful to the

implementation of TBLT relevant to the book series in practice According to Nunan (2004),

in investigation of a task-based curriculum, the three main dimensions that should be focused

on are textbook content, teaching pedagogy and learner assessment In fact, according to the

English curriculum, the series of textbooks adopt task-based syllabus design and the teaching method imbedded in the textbooks is TBLT; the student assessment is still aligned to the traditional manner when it does not focus on students’ performance, but their linguistic knowledge Hence, the current study investigates teachers’ cognitions of two dimensions, namely teachers’ cognitions of the series of English textbooks for secondary schools, and the teaching method (TBLT) Therefore, instead of investigating teachers’ cognitions of the English curriculum, the researcher decided to study teachers’ cognitions of the new series of textbooks and teaching method (TBLT) imbedded in the series of textbooks As in the literature concerning teachers’ cognitions, this concept can umbrella teachers’ beliefs and teachers’ perceptions (Borg, 2003); for that reason, the researcher changed the research title to

“Secondary school teachers’ perceptions of task-based language teaching and their beliefs about the current series of English textbooks” so as to indicate more explicitly the purpose of

studying two major fields, namely teachers’ perceptions of TBLT and teachers’ beliefs about the current series of English textbooks for secondary schools; through these two fields, the researcher hope to find out teachers’ cognitions of the English curricula in Vietnam In the

two fields, the researcher used two under-umbrella terms of teacher cognition, namely teacher perception and teacher belief; however, due to the multivalances of the concepts in the literature, these two constructs can also be understood as teachers’ understandings

1.2 Theoretical Reasons

According to Louden (1991), teachers "don't merely deliver the curriculum They develop it, define it, and reinterpret it too" (p iv) Borg (2009) also states that teacher cognition relates closely with what teachers do; he lists out some sophisticated understandings

of the relationships between teachers’ cognitions and practices According to Borg (2009),

“teachers were not robots who simply implemented, in an unthinking manner, curricula designed by others; rather, teachers exerted agency in the classroom – they made decisions, both before and while teaching; these decisions thus became a new focus for educational researchers – teacher cognition” (p.3) This reality should have been a provoking mark for the research related to how teachers think, know, perceive and believe about the series of textbooks as well as the teaching method imbedded in this series of textbooks, which is like

the way that Borg (2003, 2006) did and named it teacher cognition It is widely acknowledged

that teachers have their own theoretical beliefs and perceptions about language learning and teaching, and that those tend to shape the teaching practices (Pajares, 1992; Woods, 1996)

According to Borg (2003), teacher belief and teacher perception are terms under the bigger umbrella term – teacher cognition

Regarding the current series of English textbooks for upper secondary schools (Tiếng Anh 10 (English 10), Tiếng Anh 11 (English 11), and Tiếng Anh 12 (English 12), each set is comprised of three books: the Student’s textbook, the Workbook, and the Teacher’s books

When the development of this textbook series was completed, it was piloted in some selected schools across Vietnam in 2004 After necessary revisions were made, this series of textbooks was officially approved and was put into use, nationwide, in schools by the MOET in the academic year of 2006-2007 The presence of the current series of English textbooks is an effort of the MOET to change teachers’ attitudes, and teachers’ awareness of English teaching

in Vietnam from teacher-centered orientation to learner-centered orientation The series of English textbooks are claimed to follow the “learner-centered approach and the communicative approach with task-based teaching being the central teaching method”

As far as English teaching method is concerned, the implementation of the series of textbooks approved in 2006 placed all Vietnamese teachers of English in the teaching renovation in order to raise the quality of English language teaching; teachers in the NWA are

no exceptions This series of textbooks were claimed to incorporate the latest methodology in foreign language teaching: communicative language teaching (CLT) and TBLT because the focus of this series of textbooks is more on the learner than on the teacher, as traditionally grammar-based textbooks; learning activities were designed in tasks and mainly employed task-based language teaching method as developed by the framework of Willis (Hoang Van Van, 2011, p.103) The adoption of the communicative approach and its guiding principles of English language teaching from this series of English textbooks are specified as follows:

1 Attaining communication skills is the goal of the teaching and learning process; linguistic knowledge is the means by which communication skills are formed and developed

2 Students play an active role in the teaching and learning process and teachers’ roles are as organizers and guides

3 Teaching contents are selected and organized according to themes to guarantee a high level of communicativeness while catering to the accuracy of the modern language system

4 Textbook writing, management of teaching and learning, testing, assessment and evaluation follow the curriculum guidelines (MOET 2006: 6)

In this series of English textbooks, learning tasks in TBLT are considered central to the whole instructional design process, from the identification of learner needs to the measurement of student achievement The design of the series of English textbooks from Grade 10 to Grade 12 organizes each unit in five lessons (reading, speaking, listening, writing, and language focus), and each lesson consists of three phases (pre-task, while-task and post-task); each phase has subtasks or activities This design seems to fit the framework proposed by Willis (1996a, 1998, 2001, 2007) A little deviation is that the task cycle in the current series of textbooks is not accomplished in a class teaching period but in five periods (one periods for each part: reading, speaking, listening, writing, and language focus), so a task

in these textbooks is bigger than a task of other TBLT frameworks stated in the literature Besides, in the reality of English language teaching, TBLT has gradually appeared in teaching though teachers might not have had full conscious awareness of it; therefore, TBLT might not

be fully exploited

Le Van Canh (2007) and Nguyen Thi Thuy Minh (2007) were the first researchers starting up research on these series of textbooks in Vietnam right after the new curriculum was issued Le Van Canh (2007) reported on 249 in-service secondary school English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) teachers’ beliefs about the new textbooks Nguyen Thi Thuy Minh (2007) conducted research in which she attempted to evaluate the textbooks to see if they meet the goals of the curriculum Her careful analysis of the text showed both the strengths and weaknesses of the textbooks Most recently at the University of Waikato, New Zealand, Barnard and Nguyen Gia Viet (2010) carried out research on the curriculum and textbook series entitled “Task-Based Language Teaching: A Vietnamese Case Study Using Narrative Frames to Elicit Teachers Beliefs” In this research, Barnard and Viet used narrative frames (as suggested by Barkhuizen & Wette, 2008) to explore what teachers know and believe about the reformed curriculum in their specific contexts in comparison with the former curricular in the direction of grounded analysis (Charmaz, 2006) They mainly asked teachers to write (in Vietnamese) their reflective comments about their attitudes towards TBLT, and their recent experiences of applying it in their classroom Some of the research was not conducted on a large sample size, so the overview of teachers’ cognitions of the textbooks and the teaching method were hard to capture Moreover, in spite of the importance of understanding of

teachers’ beliefs about what the textbooks really are with respect to different cultural regions (Byrd, 2001); no practical research has been done in the NWA In practice, through casual talks with secondary school teachers, and through some minor research assignments from my practicum students in secondary schools where they did their teaching practice, surprising information was verbalized, in which teacher-centeredness was admitted to be popular and learner-centeredness was by far reachable although teachers usually led their teaching according to what the textbooks instructed Moreover, some issues related to the content and knowledge from the textbooks were supposed to be inadequate to students in this area

For all the reasons mentioned above, I have decided to carry out this research to uncover two main fields: (i) teachers’ perceptions of TBLT and (ii) teachers’ beliefs about the series of textbooks For field (i), I will explore six domains: (1) the definition of task and TBLT, (2) the philosophy of TBLT, (3) the principles of TBLT, (4) the features of TBLT, (5) the stages of TBLT, and (6) the techniques of TBLT And for field (ii), I will also explore six domains: (1) the objectives of the textbooks, (2) the content of the textbooks, (3) the knowledge of the textbooks, (4) the skills taught in the textbooks, (5) the tasks and activities

of the textbooks, and (6) the teaching method imbedded in the textbooks

2 Aim of the Study

The overarching aim of this research is to investigate Vietnamese secondary school teachers’ cognitions of the task-based English curriculum As indicated in the title, the research is realized into two main aims, focusing on two dimensions, namely teachers’ perceptions of TBLT and their beliefs about the series of English textbooks which have been used throughout Vietnam since 2006

3 Objectives of the Study

Given the aim above, the research sets for itself the following objectives:

 Identifying how secondary school teachers of English in the North-Western Area (NWA) of Vietnam perceive or understand task-based language teaching (TBLT) in terms of theory

 Exploring what shapes their perceptions of TBLT

 Finding out what secondary school teachers of English in the NWA of Vietnam believe about the current series of English textbooks in their teaching context

 Discovering what shapes their beliefs about the current series of English textbooks

4 Research Questions

The above objectives are translated into the following questions and subquestions for exploration:

1 What are the NWA secondary school teachers’ perceptions of TBLT?

1.1 How do the teachers perceive TBLT in terms of theory?

1.2 What shapes their perceptions of TBLT?

2 What are the NWA secondary school teachers’ beliefs about the current series of English textbooks?

2.1 How do the teachers believe about the current series of English textbooks?

2.2 What shapes their beliefs about the current series of English textbooks?

5 Significance of the Study

As a first attempt to look at the NWA teachers’ cognition of the task-based English curriculum, specifically their perceptions of TBLT and their beliefs about the current series of English textbooks for secondary schools, this research would be beneficial not only to ELT in the NWA but also to ELT in Vietnam It may also be beneficial to some stakeholders including textbook designers, the English teachers in the NWA, and the education administrators of ELT in the study area

Through an investigation of teachers’ perceptions of TBLT, the research would be of both theoretical and practical value In the theoretical perspective, with the hope of making a small contribution to ELT in the NWA and in Vietnam, the researcher proposes a general theoretical ELT model modified from TBLT when CLT is making teachers confused and embarrassed in application as there is no specific and precise teaching model of this method officially issued The model is only the reasoning and generalization of the researcher in the theoretical field based on what previous researchers and educators mentioned about TBLT; therefore, there needs to be further research into it in the future In the practical perspective, it cannot be denied that TBLT is adhered to as the teaching instruction model of the current series of English textbooks for secondary schools in Vietnam; accordingly, investigating as well as improving teachers’ understanding of the method is an indispensable need The result

of teachers’ perceptions of TBLT can serve as sources for the solutions to improve their understandings of this teaching model

With the investigation of the current series of English textbooks for Vietnamese secondary schools, the research would be of practical value in teaching practice In an EFL context like Vietnam, textbooks are regarded as the main source of learner’s language input and language practice For many Vietnamese teachers, textbooks may even help them construct their class instruction The research is a chance for secondary school teachers to raise their voices about what they are facing everyday As a result, the understanding of teachers’ beliefs about the current series of English textbooks is source of reference for the curriculum designers, textbook writers, teacher trainers and education officials; and it can

help them evaluate the effectiveness of the series of English textbooks after having been put into use on a large scale for nearly ten years For that further adjustments and even revisions need to be made to perfect the materials so that the textbooks can meet the increasing needs of modern Vietnamese education Hopefully, some of the results of this primary research can be considered in the design of the forthcoming series of textbooks when the MOET exercises the policy of “one curriculum, many sets of textbooks” to fit different contexts and areas in Vietnam in the coming years

6 Scope of the Study

Given the title of the thesis, it is necessary to narrow the research down to a scope

which can be manageable The title of the thesis is “Secondary School Teachers’ Perceptions

of Task-Based Language Teaching and Their Beliefs about the Current Series of English Textbooks”, the research confines itself to investigating the perceptions of task-based

language teaching of secondary school teachers of English and their beliefs about the current series of secondary English textbooks in six provinces, including Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Yen Bai With regard to the title of this research project, I would like to investigate the whole current series of English textbooks, being implemented in nationwide secondary schools, from Grade 10 to Grade 12

7 Organization of the Study

The study is organized around three parts: Part I, Part II, and Part III

Part I – Introduction – presents rationale for the study, aim of the study, objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, scope of the study, and organization

of the study

Part II – Development – comprises four chapters Chapter 1 – Literature Review – reviews theoretical issues related to TBLT, textbook design and evaluation, teachers’ perceptions of the teaching method and teachers’ beliefs about the textbooks

Chapter 2 – Methodology – describes research context, explains the reasons for research method choice and how the two phases of data collection and analysis were set up, clarifies the reasoning behind the various decisions which were made along the way, outlines the context within which the data were gathered and presents a composite picture of the teachers who participated in the study, and describes the teachers' values and shows how the teachers from both phases of the study held similar sets of perceptions of the nature of TBLT and sets of beliefs about textbooks

Chapter 3 – Findings – presents main findings of the teachers' understandings of TBLT and teacher beliefs about textbooks according to themes

Chapter 4 – Interpretations and Discussions – interprets and discusses data according

to research questions stated at the beginning of the study

Part III – Conclusion – recapitulates what has been investigated, draws conclusions from major findings, points out limitations of the study, and makes some suggestions for further research Special recommendations are made on what should be done to increase the perception secondary school teachers of English in the NWA about TBLT as well as increase the ability to implement the English textbooks, including the textbook modifications, and teachers’ self-study in a more effective way to fit the context of the NWA

PART II DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Introduction

The aim of this chapter is to set up a framework for the study To do this, the chapter will (1) re-examine some of the main concepts relevant to the dissertation, (2) discuss TBLT framework, (3) present main features of the current series of English textbooks for Vietnamese upper secondary schools, and (4) look at previous research related to the dissertation

Towards the overview of TBLT and features of the current series of English textbooks, issues related to domains are deeply discussed so as to lay the theoretical base for the design

of items in each domain With TBLT, the following theoretical issues accordant with six investigated domains of TBLT are considered: (1) the definition of task and TBLT, (2) the philosophy of TBLT, (3) the principles of TBLT, (4) the features of TBLT, (5) the stages of TBLT, and (6) the techniques of TBLT With the current series of English textbooks, the following theoretical issues in harmony with six investigated domains of the textbooks are considered: (1) the objectives of the textbooks, (2) the content of the textbooks, (3) the knowledge of the textbooks, (4) the skills taught in the textbooks, (5) the tasks and activities

of the textbooks, and (6) the teaching method imbedded to the textbooks

1.2 The Main Concepts Related to the Research

1.2.1 Teacher Cognition

Though this research only investigates two concepts, namely teacher perception and teacher belief, it is necessary to preliminarily mention the concept the concept teacher cognition because teacher cognition has been considered to be the umbrella term of teacher perception and teacher belief (Borg, 2003)

In the mainstream educational literature, the concept of teacher cognition was first proposed by Borg (2003) Before that it was labeled under a number of terms: teacher judgment (Clark & Yinger, 1977; Peterson & Clark, 1978), theoretical beliefs (Johnson, 1992), belief (Pajares, 1992), specific pedagogical knowledge (Shulman, 1987; Spada & Massey, 1992), conceptions of practice (Freeman, 1993), theories for practice consisting of thinking and beliefs (Burns, 1996), personal pedagogical systems consisting of beliefs, knowledge, theories, assumptions and attitudes (Calderhead, 1996; Borg, 1998), pedagogical knowledge (Shulman, 1987; Gatbonton, 1999), practical knowledge (Meijer, Verloop, &

Beijaard, 1999), pedagogic principles (Breen et al., 2001), teacher cognition including belief, perception, and knowledge (Calderhead, 1996; Borg, 2003, 2006, 2009; Woolfolk, Davis &

Pape, 2006) in which most dominant and notable notions are belief and knowledge The most common referenced perspective of teacher cognition in the recent studies in this decade has been contributed by Borg (2006) The reason is that Borg can summarize and analyse the complete picture of the mainstream literature of teacher cognition from those overlapping and divergent constructs to add up a new construct with proper components and clear categorization of related terms

Figure 1.1: The construct of teacher cognition (Borg, 2003, p.82) Borg (2003, 2006) made his own model of teacher cognition based on most of the scholars’ viewpoints mentioned above in this field According to Borg (2009), research on teachers’ cognitive dimensions had primitively emerged in the late 1970s; however, it was only until late in the 1990s that the study of L2 teacher cognition bloomed, and from the mid-1990s onwards, there was a rapid increase in the research examining various aspects of what L2 teachers know, believe and think, and the research of the relationships to what teachers do Borg (2003) revised hundreds of works about terminologies and constructs of teacher cognition from 1970s to his present time Actually, he made a remarkable contribution to the literature by graphing previous research of terminologies into categories for ease of understanding into a new construct; “teacher cognition” has appeared to be the most cited viewpoint from its first appearance up to now

As seen in Figure 1.1, the construct of teacher cognition by Borg has four components coming from four main sources or sectors, and incorporates many other related under-

umbrella notions, such as attitudes, beliefs, conceptions, perceptions, images, theories, perspectives, etc Inheriting a view from Borg’s previous works and acknowledging research

by Phipps and Borg (2007), Borg (2009, pp.2-3) summarized the nature of teacher cognition and its relationship to what teachers do as follows:

 Teachers’ cognitions can be powerfully influenced by their own experiences as learners These cognitions influence what and how teachers learn during teacher education

 Teachers act as a filter through which teachers interpret new information and experience

 Teachers may outweigh the effects of teacher education in influencing what teachers do in the classroom

 Teachers can be deep-rooted and resistant to change

 Teachers can exert a persistent long-term influence on teachers’ instructional practices

 Teachers are, at the same time, not always reflected in what teachers do in the classroom

 Teachers interact bi-directionally with experience (i.e beliefs influence practices but practices can also lead to changes in beliefs)

With regard to teacher cognition research, Borg (2006) claims that: “Teacher cognition research is concerned with understanding what teachers think, know and believe Its primary concern, therefore, lies with the unobservable dimensions of teaching - teachers’ mental lives” (p.1) He explained the definition by further stressing that the questions being addressed now were not simply “what do teachers do?” but also “what do they think?”, “what decisions do they make?”, and “why?”… (2009, p.3)

Inevitably, a further critical discussion of Borg’s model of teacher cognition can be made contribution to the literature in this field For there are four sections determining teacher cognition as indicated in the figure, it may be inferred that if we want to change teachers’ teaching practice according to a new theory (for example from learner-centredness to learning-centredness or the imbed of the two), we can act on one in three, or all of three sections (i.e., professional courseworks, contextual factors, classroom practice) except for schooling as we cannot turn teachers’ time back to their university moment In this sense, it seems that Borg mentioned sources for the activeness of changes in teacher cognition For example, if teachers are forced to change their theory or method of teaching by a policy from the MOET that requires changes to all subject teaching pedagogies aligned with modern education systems without the need of careful social surveys for the context adaption because politicians believe what come from modern society is superior; while to some extent, teachers are passive recipients of the compulsory change It is, equally, clear that Borg’s category cannot incorporate the situation in this case; the reason may be assumingly possible that Borg might get used to modern system of education like the USA, Hong Kong, the UK, Canada, and Australia, where teachers persist the right to act according to their thoughts; and educational policies are inquiry-based, and due to social investigations Borg might not have

sufficient information about the top-down educational policies in other parts of the world; hence, for second language pedagogy in the context of some developing countries, a reference

to the active role of teacher cognition alone according to Borg’s theory proves to be insufficient The question one may raise to Borg’s model is “Why aren’t there more than four components for teacher cognition, such as political factors, religious factors?” In other words,

in order to develop the Borg’s category model, it is highly likely, if not inevitable, that the consideration of an alternative one may be put in this way:

Figure 1.2: Modification construct of teacher cognition (adapted from Borg, 2003, p.82)

1.2.2 Teacher Perception and Teacher Belief

The differentiation between the under-umbrella terms of teacher cognition is not easy;

the following component terms, belief and perception, attitude, conception, images, theories, perspectives, knowledge, awareness, and so on, are usually overlapping in meaning (Woolfolk

et al., 2006) Verloop et al (2001) explains that “… in the mind of the teacher, components of knowledge, beliefs, conceptions, perception and intuitions are inextricably intertwined” (p.446) The proliferation of terms has led to “definitional confusion” (Eisenhart, Shrum, Harding & Cuthbert, 1988; Woolfolk et al., 2006) Clandinin and Connelly (1987) point out those identical terms have been defined in different ways and different terms have been used

to describe similar concepts, which can cause conceptual ambiguity

For ease of understanding and distinguishing the two terms, teacher perception and teacher belief, and for avoiding the ambiguity of these notions, in this study I categorize the term teacher cognition into under-umbrella terms as in Table 1.1 below:

Table 1.1: Components of teacher cognition about their teaching (Nguyen Viet Hung, 2012c, p.100)

Construct Components Characteristics

perception, conception, knowledge, strategy, pedagogical

being logic, objective, reasonably-set, dynamic,

principle, awareness, understanding, etc

changeable

According to Table 1.1, belief is interchangeable with attitude, judgment, value,

opinion, and ideology (Shepard & Smith, 1989; Tomchin & Impara, 1992; Eisenhart et al.,

1988; Pajares, 1992); perception is interchangeable with knowledge, awareness and

understanding Belief is different from perception as belief relates to internal mental processes that are more static; whereas perception is more dynamic like knowledge, and it changes or reconstructs when more or different knowledge is acquired (Nespor, 1987; Woolfolk et al., 2006) The category above serves best for the purpose of this study because under the

umbrella term - teacher cognition, beliefs and perceptions are a little distinctive from each other (Borg, 2006) In other words, the terms teacher perception and teacher belief in this

research can be understood as follows:

Teacher perception is mainly concerned with teachers’ thinking is interpretations or

understanding of the teaching and learning issues based on teachers’ knowledge, the past experience, the current context, the needs, the goals, and the expectations (Borg, 2009) This

viewpoint should indicate that I could intertwine use of the term understanding and conception as synonym of the term perception elsewhere in this thesis

Teacher belief includes the information, attitudes, viewpoints, values, expectations,

theories and assumptions about teaching and learning that teachers build up over time and bring with them to the classroom (Borg, 2009)

1.2.3 Task and TBLT

Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) can be regarded as one particular approach to implementing the broader “communicative approach” in general (Littlewood, 2004, p.1) In other words, communicative language teaching is the origin of task-based language teaching (Skehan, 2003)

The definition of ‘task’ and ‘TBLT’ has been so numerous and various in the literature (e.g Prabhu, 1987; Bygate et al., 2001; Ellis, 2000, 2003; Lee, 2000; Long, 1985, 1997, 2005; Nunan, 2004; Richards and Rodgers, 2001; Salaberry, 2001; Skehan, 1998a, 1998b, 2003; Willis, 1996a, 1996b, 1998) that it is not an easy matter to offer a unique and unanimous definition In what follows, I shall present some of the most cited and acknowledged conceptualizations of ‘task’ and ‘TBLT’ in the literature

Prabhu (1987, p.12), being considered to be the first methodologist in TBLT research when he carried out the Bangalore Project, regards a task as “an activity which required learners to arrive at an outcome from given information through some process of thought, and

which allowed teachers to control and regulate that process” He additionally discussed that the TBLT is a fruitful way of language practice as effective learning is urged when students are fully engaged and attached to a language task, rather than just learning linguistic forms (p.17)

Another definition of ‘pedagogical task’ comes from Richards and Rodgers (2001, p.224) which regards task as: “… an activity or action which is carried out as the result of processing or understanding language (i.e as a response)” The examples of task from Richards and Rodgers (ibid.) are drawing a map while listening to a tape, listening to an instruction and performing a command may be referred to as tasks Notably, in Richards and Rodgers’ conception, involving the production of language may not be a prerequisite of a task, but it is usually required as for full completion They believe that “the use of a variety of different kinds of tasks in language teaching is said to make language teaching more communicative… since it provides a purpose for a classroom activity which goes beyond the practice of language for its own sake” (p.228)

Breen (1987, p.23) offers another definition of a ‘pedagogical task’:

any structured language learning endeavour which has a particular objective, appropriate content, a specified working procedure, and a range of outcomes for those who undertake the task ‘Task’ is therefore assumed to refer to a range of work plans which have the overall purposes of facilitating language learning – from the simple and brief exercise type, to more complex and lengthy activities such as group problem-solving or simulations and decision-making

This definition is very broad, and implies that nearly anything the learner does in the classroom qualifies as a task It could, in fact, be used to justify any procedure at all as “task-based” and, as such, is not particularly helpful

With Swales (1990), tasks are “…sequenceable goal-directed activities…relatable to the acquisition of pre-genre and genre skills appropriate to a foreseen or emerging… situation" (p 76), while Bygate, Skehan, and Swain (2001, p.11) view a task as “an activity which requires learners to use language, with emphasis on meaning, to attain an objective” Lee (2000) defines a task is “(1) a classroom activity or exercise that has: (a) an objective obtainable only by interaction among participants, (b) a mechanism for structuring and sequencing interaction, and (c) a focus on meaning exchange; (2) a language learning endeavor that requires learners to comprehend, manipulate, and/or produce the target language as they perform some sets of work plans”

Long (1985) described a ‘task’ as "… a piece of work undertaken for oneself or for others, freely or for some reward By “task” is meant the hundred and one things people do

in everyday life, at work, at play, and in between" (p 89) As for Willis (1996a), and then in Willis and Willis (2001): “a classroom undertaking where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome” (p 173) The very concise notion does not mention the meaning of a communicative task as it is incorporated in “outcome” through the exchange of meanings As stated in Willis and Willis (2009), “a task has a number of defining characteristics, among them: does it engage the learners’ interest; is there a primary focus on meaning; is success measured in terms of non-linguistic outcome rather than accurate use of language forms; and does it relate to real world activities? The more confidently we can answer “yes” to each of these questions the more task-like the activity is” (p.4) Basing on various different authors, Skehan (1996) advances four key features of a task in a pedagogical perspective: (1) meaning is primary, (2) there is some sort of relationship to comparable real-world activities, (3) task completion has some priority, and (4) the assessment of the task is in terms of outcome Ellis (2003, p 16) provides

a composite definition:

A task is a workplan that requires learners to process language pragmatically in order to achieve

an outcome that can be evaluated in terms of whether the correct or appropriate propositional content has been conveyed To this end, it requires them to give primary attention to meaning and to make use of their own linguistic resources, although the design of the task may predispose them to choose particular forms A task is intended to result in language use that bears a resemblance, direct or indirect, to the way language is used in the real world Like other language activities, a task can engage productive or receptive, and oral or written skills, and also various cognitive processes

Another useful definition of TBLT is provided by Samuda and Bygate, who put that

‘TBLT’ refers to “contexts where tasks are the central unit of instruction: they “drive” classroom activities, they define curriculum and syllabuses and they determine modes of assessment” (2008, p.58) This conceptualisation of TBLT takes the agreement of writers as

Le Van Canh (2004a, p.102), Long and Crookes (1992), Skehan (1998) and Willis (1996a) Typically, Le Van Canh (2004a) states:

Tasks provide a purpose for the use and learning of language other than simply learning language items for their own sake Viewed from a broader perspective, tasks are simply a context for learners to experience language in a range of ways, for teachers and learners to evaluate process and product, and for teachers to select from, exploit and develop

From the aforementioned viewpoints of ‘task’ and ‘TBLT’, it is evident that the conceptualisations of task and TBLT between researchers are not unanimous They are variously defined For this reason it is necessary to clarify the common features of task and TBLT into following groups: (1) task and TBLT are meaning-focused (Prabhu, 1987; Willis, 1996a, 1998, 2007; Ellis, 2003, 2006, 2009; Lee, 2000; Robinson, 2005), which bear some characteristics including (a) basing on the synthetic approach to language teaching, (b) not

being based on grammar, (c) being based on involvement in the completion of a task, (d) using authentic or real-life tasks, (e) making the learner central to the learning and teaching process, and so on; (2) task and TBLT are form-focused (Long, 1997; Nunan, 1989) which bear some characteristics as (a) basing on the analytic approaches to language, (b) being focused on grammar, (c) there being room for explicit learning of forms, (d) building grammatical scaffoldings before doing task, (e) selecting tasks according to learners’ needs, and so on; and (3) task and TBLT are balance-focused (i.e., they are focused on both form and meaning) (Skehan, 1998, p.121)

Despite the fact that different task-based approaches exist today (Johnson, 2008, p 184), TBLT, in its broadest sense, is based on “the use of tasks as the core unit of planning and instruction in language teaching” (Richards & Rodgers, 2001, p.223) My own view of a task and TBLT is strongly influenced by Willis (1996) and Skehan (1996), and Lee (2000), in which pedagogical tasks involve communicative language use in which the user’s attention is focused on meaning rather than grammatical form However, this does not mean that form is not important My proposed working definition on TBLT can be expressed as:

‘Task-Based Language Teaching’ (TBLT) is the implementation of pedagogical tasks, which are inspired from real world tasks, fitted well to students’ needs and interests, and socially contextualized A ‘task’ is goal-oriented, meaning-focused first and form-focused then, contextualized, and implemented as the basis for teaching and learning It can enable teacher’s teaching in the direction of strong form realization of CLT, and help students achieve reachable and communicative outcomes when they are exposed to authentic and comprehensible input, then do the task through interactions (in pairs or in small groups) in which their own experiences of target language are exploited, and lastly access the completeness through the outcome (Nguyen Viet Hung, 2014, pp.39-

48)

My definition refers to the deployment of learners’ knowledge, experience and skills

to express meaning, highlighting the fact that meaning and form are highly interrelated, and that grammar exists to enable the language user to express different communicative meanings Supports for this choice of notion of tasks come from other reasons According to Hoang Van Van (2011), the series of the textbooks of English subject is based on the TBLT framework proposed by Willis (1996a) Thus, a unanimous choice of a task notion and TBLT framework corresponding to Willis’ theory is a suitable act

1.3 Theoretical Issues of Task-Based Language Teaching

1.3.1 Theoretical Foundations of TBLT

As TBLT grows out of the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), it certainly remains present with those theoretical philosophies as a base (Ellis, 2003; Richards & Rodgers, 2001; Swan, 2005) Nunan (2003, p.10) pointed out that TBLT can be seen as the

realisation of the CLT philosophy at syllabus design and methodology levels He went further

to mention theories of narrow research branches laying the theoretical basis for CLT: namely, discourse/interaction basis for learner-learner relation or teacher-learner relation, linguistic basis (linguistic functional view of constructivism theory and linguistic interactional view of social constructivist theory), cognitive basis as in cognitive perspective of language processing (see Ellis, 2003; Skehan, 1998), socio-cultural basis, pedagogical basis, and psychological cognitive theory The prominent theoretical educational linguistic approach that should be acknowledged when most researchers admitted that they underpin theories for CLT and TBLT is learner-centredness

With respect to learner-centredness, learners are regarded at all stages of the curriculum and teaching process, from initial planning, through implementation, to assessment and evaluation (Nunan, 1989) The philosophical reasons for the selection of a learner-centred approach to teaching and learning has been mentioned in research into learning styles and strategies (Willing, 1988; Oxford, 1990), and conceptual and empirical research on learner autonomy (Benson 2002) Historically, the conceptual underpinnings of learner-centered pedagogy are truly numerous in the sense that its theory of language, language learning, and language teaching came not only from linguistics and psychology, but also from anthropology and sociology as well as from ethnography, ethnomethodology, pragmatics, and discourse analysis The influence of all these areas of inquiry is very much reflected in the theory of language communication adopted by learner-centered pedagogists More deeply, a brief review of theoretical perspectives constituting learner-centredness and TBLT is worth regarding

With linguistic perspectives, learner-centered approach is supposed to be a

combination of linguistic theories, such as functionalism, structuralism, and sociolinguistic theory Learner-centered approach regards language communication as a synthesis of textual, interpersonal, and ideational functions according to the Hallidayian viewpoint which was much different from Chomsky’s perspective in language nature when he demonstrated the generative nature of the language system and hypothesized about the innate ability of the human mind to acquire it These functions, according to Breen and Candlin (1980), refer to the abilities of interpretation, expression, and negotiation, all of which are mutually interconnected with one another during communicative performances They suggest that: Language learning is most appropriately seen as communicative interaction involving all the participants in the learning and including the various material resources on which the learning

is exercised Therefore, language learning may be seen as a process which grows out of the interaction between learners, teachers, texts and activities (p 95)

Learner-centered pedagogy also needs to acknowledge Hymes’ Sociolinguistic Theory

in which communicative competence is supposed to incorporate sociocultural norms that control language communication In addition, this educational linguistic co-accidentally

relates to Austin’s Speech Act Theory in that communicative performances need the

elaborations of how language users perform speech acts such as requesting, informing, apologizing, and so forth As illustrated, with those underpinned linguistic theories, learner-centered approach allowed TBLT to balance the development of both accuracy and fluency in language performances, where accuracy activities involve conscious learning of grammar and fluency activities focus on communicative potential (Brumfit, 1984)

With regard to theories of language learning, learner-centered approach is supposed to

be the combination of psychological theories, such as Cognitive perspectives, Heuristic Perspectives, Constructivism, Input hypothesis, Socio-cultural perspectives Heuristic Perspectives or Experiential Learning Theory is the “learning by doing” viewpoint mentioned

by some famous writers (Littlewood, 1981; Prabhu, 1987; Savignon, 1997, Nunan, 2004), where the learner-centered approach takes the learner’s immediate personal experiences and intellectual as a point of departure for the learning experience The most articulate application

of experiential learning to language teaching is provided by Kohonen (1992) cited in Nunan (2004) In numerous respects, the model can be regarded as the theoretical initiation for TBLT, as the following list of maxims for action is mostly originated from his work

 Encourage the transformation of knowledge within the learner rather than the transmission of knowledge from the teacher to the learner

 Encourage learners to participate actively in small, collaborative groups (I see group and pair work as important, although I recognize that there are many contexts where class size makes pair and group work difficult)

 Embrace a holistic attitude towards subject matter rather than a static, atomistic and hierarchical attitude

 Emphasize process rather than product, learning how to learn, self-inquiry, social and communication skills

 Encourage self-directed rather than teacher-directed learning

 Promote intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivation

 Learner centeredness and autonomy

(Nunan, 2004, p.14)

Jeon and Hahn (2006) believed that the TBLT is based on the Constructivist Theory of

learning and CLT methodology Nunan (2004) agreed with Kohonen (1992, p.37) when he emphasized that “experiential learning theory” gives the fundamental philosophical base of learning as a feature of self-improvement when it considers learners' setting or full of affective variables, for example, individual commitments and experiences In this way, the

learners are accountable for their own particular learning with the tasks set up for them

According to Ellis (2003), the learner-centered educational linguistics approach is

premised on a theoretical view compatible with the Cognitive Theory This perspective

originated from the classical works of Chomsky and Piaget Inevitably, this approach derives their language learning theories mainly from cognitive psychology, which unlike behaviorism with its habit formation being according to which learners’ competence is mediated by teacher input (stimulus) and learner output (response), highlights mental processes and active involvement of learners in the learning process; it is due to the meaningful, not rote learning, learners can get the language internalization According to Skehan, cognitive perspectives on language learning highlight the development of learners’ interlanguage that can influence three different aspects of learners’ performance, namely accuracy, and fluency Here, accuracy refers to a learner's ability to use the target language efficiently according to its structures; while fluency is associated with the learner's ability to communicate in real-time situations, and complexity relates to the learner's ability to use more detailed and complex language structures when performing a task (Robinson, 2001a, 2001b)

According to Nunan (2003, p.76), the learner-centered educational linguistics

approach is also laid on the foundation of Input hypothesis by Krashen which characterizes

the ability of learners to acquire a language under a condition of understanding the messages (input) that is just beyond their current level Nunan (2003, p.79) points out that Krashen further suggested that reception should precede production, especially in the early stages of acquisition process According to Ellis (2003, p.23), focus on the input like this could create a condition where language learning can occur incidentally and subconsciously As cited in

Ellis (2003), Long based on Krashen's Input Hypothesis to give out the Interaction Hypothesis

that emphasizes that the best input for language acquisition is only acquired when learners interact and negotiate in meaning Long argues that an exchange of information gives learners

an opportunity to receive feedback in their target languages

As mentioned in Ellis (2003, p.24), the learner-centered educational linguistics

approach is based on Socio-cultural Perspectives on language learning, which originated from

the works of Vygotsky This theory suggests that a learner's interlanguage capacity can take place when learners have a chance to interact with other users of the language Specifically, Edwards and Willis (2005, p.24) help to explain this point that learners may succeed in performing a new function with help from others It is theorised that with time and practice this function will become internalised and the learner will be able to use it unassisted According to Edwards and Willis (2005, p.25), this proposed process is often called

“scaffolding”

1.3.2 Framework of TBLT

1.3.2.1 Definition of TBLT Framework

The acronym TBLT stands for Task-Based Language Teaching It was initially applauded by Prabhu (1987) In the born time, it only existed within the Bangalore Project, and it was not considered an English teaching method until other later methodologists sequenced stages of teaching to shape them into different frameworks This section will explore the model by Willis (1996a) that was regarded as one of the most common frameworks according to the strong version of CLT In mainstream social academics, the term

framework is normally attributed to a working theory for the benefit of directing research activities Notwithstanding, the term TBLT framework assigns to the favourable way to

sequence tasks or to arrange elements within tasks According to Richards and Rodgers (2001), sequencing is a noteworthy issue in TBLT As indicated by Salaberry (2001), a successful task sequence may lead learners to: (a) communicate with limited resources, (b) become aware of apparent limitations in their knowledge about linguistic structures that are necessary to convey a message appropriately and accurately, and finally, (c) look for alternatives to overcome such limitations In this section, framework of TBLT is in turn presented Johnson (1996), Skehan (1998b), and Willis (1996b) discussed sequencing of tasks according to methodological task features, such as the extent of communication (negotiation

of meaning), task difficulty, and amount of planning allowed Others have discussed how to sequence tasks in or to reflect the developmental sequence of language acquisition Foster and Skehan (1999) suggested targeting a range of structures rather than a single one, and using criterion of usefulness rather than necessity as a sequencing criterion The review in following section intends to categorize the way of task sequence in steps or stages

1.3.2.2 Different TBLT Frameworks

As mentioned above, the sequence of subtasks or elements within tasks to form stages

is the essence of TBLT framework The sequence of stages in TBLT framework is perceived

differently by different researchers: some experts approve a three-stage sequence while some others approve a four-stage sequence, and so on Actually, in the literature, the number of stages in TBLT framework ranges from three to seven This section intends to review those different viewpoints of the stages of TBLT

Firstly, the three-stage sequence has been extensively approved in the literature (e.g Prabhu, 1987; Estaire and Zanon, 1994; Skehan, 1996; Willis, 1996a; Lee 2000; Norris, 2009, etc.) Prabhu who is considered the first language educator to launch task-based approach, proposed a model of three stages in his work published in 1987 Those three stages include:

(a) pre-task (preparatory), (b) task (meaning-focused, interactive process), and (c) post-task (discussion - attending to form) This original proposal was then inherited by Willis (1996a) Willis (1996a, 1996b, 1998, 2001, 2007, 2009) designed precisely and approved the framework for TBLT, which was then advocated by many other writers (Frost, 2006; Norris, 2009) Drawing on Prabhu (Ibid.), Willis also saw TBLT as having three stages: (1) preparation for the task (pre-task), (2) the task itself (task-cycle), and (3) follow-up or language focus (post-task) Skehan (1996) also sequenced tasks in three steps known as

“weak” forms of task-based teaching (p.39) In this approach, tasks are roughly comparable to the production stage of a presentation-practice-production instruction model (PPP)

Regarding the four-stage model, Salaberry (2001), building on the work of McCarthy (1998), offered a pedagogical sequence of four stages for students and teachers Stages for students include involvement, inquiry, induction, and incorporation; and stages for teachers consists of a four-step sequence which includes the introduction of the topic, illustration, implementation, and integration

As the proponent of the five-stage framework, Ellis (2003) organized task sequence into five stages, including: (1) listening tasks, in which listening of a text is for meaning, (2) noticing tasks, in which the listening of a same text is for gap-filling with missing words, (3) consciousness-raising tasks, in which the listening text is exploited to find out the target grammar structure by analyzing authentic materials, (4) checking tasks, in which a complete activity is required to be carried out despite whether students know the target form or not, and (5) production tasks, in which students are asked to reproduce their own sentences using the target form Ellis (2003) also discriminates between (a) unfocused tasks (e.g., ordinary listening tasks or interactions) and (b) focused tasks, which are utilise to either elicit a specific linguistic feature or to focus on language as task content He additionally proposes three principal designs for focused tasks: comprehension tasks, consciousness-raising tasks, and structure-based production tasks

From another perspective, Nunan (2004) introduced a framework of a six-stage sequence Nunan contended for Halliday's (1985)’s topic-based units in which three macrofunctions were subdivided into microfunctions, each of which was linked with a specific grammatical form The six-stage sequence of Nunan's task-based syllabus is: (1) schema building, (2) controlled practice embedded in a context (unlike traditional controlled practice), (3) authentic receptive skills work, (4) a focus on form (lexical and/or grammatical), (5) freer practice (communicative activities), and (6) the (communicative) task itself In Nunan's model, the task is the consequence of all other work In this sense, as noted by

Feeney (2006), this shares many similarities with the PPP format, except that Nunan's controlled practice occurs within a communicative context that is mostly absent from the PPP arrangement Nunan's focus on form occurs before both freer practice and the task, whereas Willis' model employs a focus on form after the task (Norris, 2009)

Finally, a seven-stage sequence is acknowledged by Long (1985, 1997, 2005) who refers to a focus on form having main involvement in meaning, structure, and the context of communication The instruction model organizes the seven stages sequence from task development to task implementation, and then to assessment/evaluation including: (1) performance of a need analysis to identify target tasks, (2) classification of target task types, (3) derivation of pedagogic tasks, (4) sequencing to form a task-based syllabus, (5) implementation of the appropriate methodology and pedagogy, (6) assessment of task-based, criterion-referenced, performance tests, and (7) evaluation of the program In Long's model, the selection of tasks is based on the analysis of real-world communication needs Those tasks are particularly crucial to language learning since they can generate useful communication without the fear of breakdown (Long, 1985) The teacher offers the learner some kind of assistance to help them focus on form if it is needed for communication; this is the moment when meaning meets form While not clarifying the learner's error, the teacher signals indirect assistance for their own solutions to the communication problem without interrupting the negotiation of meaning Besides this, Long (1991; 2005) and Long and Robinson (1998) have consistently argued for a particular type of focus on form in which learners’ attention is drawn

to linguistic features if and when demanded by the communicative activities and the negotiation of meaning learners are engaged in

After examining all the models above, it is found that the current textbook series for Vietnamese schools has employed the three-stage mode developed by Willis (1996a) as it is easier to sequence tasks (Hoang Van Van, 2011) This framework is beneficial for the following reasons:

 It most enables learners to engage in communicative activities as it develops the strong form

of CLT which follows the meaning-focused orientation;

 it eases teachers’ implementation when attaching instruction to demonstrated figure;

 and it has clear stages with specific activities and suggestions for implementation

To clarify those points, a more extensive analysis of this model is provided in the section that follows

1.3.2.3 TBLT Framework by Willis (1996)

This section aims to revise the TBLT framework of Willis (1996a, 1996b, 1998) Though this model has three stages, it is quite distinctive from other three stage models in that Willis divides each stage into small steps with precise, manageable activities A thorough discussion of Willis’ model is indispensable as it lays the base for the design of research instruments, including domains, questionnaire items, and interview questions

Figure 1.3: Willis’ framework of TBLT (Willis, 1996a, p.38)

According to the Figure 1.3, the three main stages of TBLT are: (1) pre-task stage, (2) task cycle stage, and (3) language focus stage; and each stage has its own purpose To form

this model, Willis (1996a) criticised and changed the previous model from Prabhu (1987)

Willis (1996b) stated that the teaching framework by Prabhu (1987) appeared to be more teacher-centred, as class performances were decided by teachers’ experiences, without concerning students’ needs analysis suggested by Long and Crooks (1992) Prabhu’s framework seems to make learners acquire language only through using it as it keeps students from paying sufficient attention to forms of language (Imura, Kimura, & Kiduka, 2001; Norris, 2009) Willis (1996b) claims that stages such as the ‘language-focus’ in TBLT offer learners more time to reflect on their communication in the 'task cycle' stage

For all of the renovated ideas, Willis (1996a) set up a TBLT framework with three stages but using different subtasks and their functions According to that, the pre-task stage introduces the topic, along with related vocabulary items or expressions, which enables students to understand the task instruction and prepare for the next stage In the task cycle stage, students firstly conduct the task in pairs or groups by communicating with each other, using the language they have acquired This is followed by the students discussing with their partners to prepare to report orally to the rest of the class At this stage students experience

Task Cycle

Task Planning Report Language focus Analysis Practice

Pre-task Introduction to topic andtask

using the language, which will help them develop fluency Finally, in the language focus stage, students focus on certain language items to analyse and practice them These activities aim to improve students' accuracy The following is the thorough discussion of them

Regarding the first phase – the pre-task phase, it is usually the shortest stage in the framework It could last between two or twenty minutes, depending on the learners’ degree

of familiarity with the topic and the type of task If there is a pre-task recording to set the scene, it could take slightly longer In this phase, the teacher has to do some of the following jobs: 1) the teacher does some advance preparations, in which the teacher has to bear in mind the students’ needs and interests to decide which materials to use and what kind of tasks to introduce (activities in course book or designed by the teacher), how to introduce it clearly, what supporting visual aids should be brought to the class, and what supporting linguistic input should be put in the teacher’s talk for students’ exposure; 2) the teacher introduces the topic of lesson and task instruction in a brief and precise way so that students can know what they will have to do to get the goal The teacher should be sure that their students understand the requirements of the task before they engage in the task stage; 3) the teacher uses activities to help students to learn useful words or phrases The teacher can elicit students to brainstorm related words and phrases that they may know in activities As students think of words or phrases, the teacher writes them on one side of the board and talks something about them If the task involves reading or talking about a text or listening piece, the teacher could pick out some words or phrases that are vital for general understandings of the main theme Lots of things should be taken into consideration in this phase, but the teacher has to bear in mind that this is not the best time to teach large amounts of new language, and certainly not to teach a specific grammatical structure It is to boost students’ confidence in handling the task, and give them something to call back on if necessary (pp.41-43)

The second phase – the task cycle phase is to offer students a chance to use whatever language they already know to carry out the task; and then students can improve that language under the teacher’s guidance, while planning a report of that task Feedback from the teacher can come when students want it most, at the planning stage, and after the report Exposure to language in use can be provided at different points depending

on the type of task Either during or before the task cycle, students might listen to recordings

of other people doing the task or read a text connected to the task topic, and relate this to their own experience with the task In the task stage, students are usually asked to do the task in pairs or in small groups, while the teacher works as a monitor and a facilitator who can provide helps whenever students need In the planning stage of the task cycle, students

are usually asked to prepare to report to the whole class orally or in writing how they did the task, and what they decided or what they discovered This stage, in Willis’ view, regards a teacher as being a linguistic adviser, who is in charge of giving feedback, and helping students to correct, rephrase, and rehearse so as for them to draft a written report The third stage of the task cycle is the report stage that is the chance for students to present their reports of the task to the class orally or in writing The teacher can ask groups to choose their representatives to report about the task, and the teacher works as a chairperson to judge their performance with comments and feedback on the content and form if needed

The last phase in the framework is the language focus, which allows students to further study specific features emerging in the language used in the task cycle stage At this point, the students will have already had contact with the target language and acquired its meaning Hence, it is the right time to focus on the specific language forms that carry meaning Obviously, it is crucial to set pedagogical contextualization for the task in order to study these language forms The final phase including analysis and practice, which sets a supporting condition for t h e explicit learning of language forms

The reason for this choice is not only due to the model being of precise design, which enhances teachers’ approach and understanding to it; but also no other way of task sequencing

is more comprehensive than this model Fundamentally, the choice depends very much on the setting of both the research goals and the textbook design model Many second language learner textbooks now follow this practice

In another regard, the common principles for TBLT proposed by recent renowned scholars (Willis, 1996a; Skehan, 1998; Ellis 2003; Swan, 2005) can be represented as follows:

 Instructed language learning should primarily involve ‘natural’ or ‘naturalistic’ language use, based on activities concerned with meaning rather than language structure

 Instruction should motivate learners to engage in language use rather than teacher control

 Students should be primarily focused on meaning when they carry out a task

 There should be opportunities for focusing on form

 Formal pre- or post-task language study will be useful

Besides, there exist a number of other principles known in the literature Learners’ need respect is a prominent principle (Skehan, 1996; Long, 1998; Willis & Willis, 2007) because TBLT is very adaptable to learners’ needs: “ the most effective way to teach a language is by engaging learners in real language use in the classroom This is done by designing tasks – discussions, problems, games, and so on – which require learners to use the language for themselves” (Willis & Willis, 2007, p.1) Authenticity (as mentioned earlier) and contextualization are crucial principles mentioned in various works According

to Jeon and Hahn (2006), task-based language teaching provides learners with natural sources

of meaningful material, and ideal situations (context) for communicative activity which allows for much greater opportunities for language use Rahimpour (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) claims that task-based language teaching creates a favorable condition for language development, and consequently facilitates language acquisition Feedback is highlighted as one of the key principles of the teaching method (Jeon & Hahn, 2006; Nunan, 2006, Ellis, 2006; Rahimpour, 2007) A next principle is “learning-centered” (as opposed to “learner-centered”, and is based on the principle that learning of form is best carried out when attention

is given to meaning (Prabhu, 1987) In Prabhu’s own words: “Grammar-construction by the learner is an unconscious process which is best facilitated by bringing about in learner preoccupation with meaning, saying and doing” (Prabhu, 1982, p.2) The philosophical basis for the choice of a learner-centred approach to TBLT has been reported in some previous research: research on learning styles and strategies (Fotos, 1994; Willing, 1988; Nunan, 2004), and conceptual and empirical research on learner autonomy (Benson, 2002)

With the second extent, some noticeable principles should not be ignored With the six stage framework that favors much form-focused in the direction of a weak version of CLT realization, Nunan (2004) suggested seven principles for TBLT; i.e., scaffolding (something similar to “input” provide in Willis’ framework), task dependency (one task should be grown out of or built upon the previous task), recycling (the reintroduction of language items over a period of time in different environments), active learning (learners actively work and use language in most class time), integration (between linguistic forms, communicative functions and semantic meaning), reproduction to creation (learners reproduce language models provide

by the teacher and adapt them to another situational communication use), and reflection (learners readjust continuously their strategies of how to learn)

1.3.2.5 Task Features

As being an investigated domain for teachers’ perceptions of tasks, features of TBLT should be considered Since being the realization of communicative language teaching, TBLT bears numbers of prominent features confirmed in the literature, such as, attention of the four language skills, communicative process focus, purposefulness (meaning focus), language authenticity, contextualization, cognitive processes engagement, etc These features are mentioned and illustrated by other writers Therefore, this section is intended to mention features emerged in the literature as well as to distinguish between tasks and non-tasks (exercises and activities)

1) Typical acknowledged features of tasks

To a first extent, the notion of task features, though being narrated in different wording, holds quite a convergent opinions based on task principles Ellis (2005a, pp.16-17) points out, tasks are activities that “call for primarily meaning-focused language use” With Samuda and Bygate (2008, p.58), TBLT refers to the contexts for the applicability of tasks as

a focal unit of the learning and teaching They explain that tasks “drive classroom activity, they define curriculum and syllabuses and they determine modes of assessment” (2008, p.58) Nunan (2004) suggests that TBLT helps learners develop individual differences and supports learning autonomy This approach provides opportunities for learners to plan tasks with an emphasis on the learning communication process through authentic experience while engaging the target language, clearly determines the purpose of each task and employs evaluation throughout the task According to Skehan (1998), the three aspects of a learner's performance (accuracy, fluency, and complexity) can be influenced by different types of communication tasks in which learners engage They suggest that meaning-oriented tasks would likely influence the learner's fluency to learner's accuracy and complexity, while form-focused tasks would likely affect the learner's accuracy to learner's fluency and complexity (Robinson, 2001a, 2001b) It may lead to that whether the chosen task type could be decided

as a focused task or not, and it is necessary to look at the place of focus on form in TBLT

Of all viewpoints of task features, those from Willis (1996a, 2007, 2009) should be the focus of our discussion as it servers the later data interpretation phase Some of the main defining characteristics of a task are mentioned and illustrated under the interrogative forms

as follows:

 it engages the learners’ interest;

 there is a primary focus on meaning;

 it is successfully measured in terms of non-linguistic outcome rather than accurate use

of language forms; it relates to real world activities