Students’ and lecturers’ perceptions of idioms teaching and learning in speaking skill for freshmen at FOE, HNUE

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -*** - TRAN THI MY LINH STUDENTS’ AND LECTURERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF IDIOMS TEACHING AND LEARNING IN SPEAKING SKILL FOR FRESHMEN AT FOE, HNUE Nhận thức sinh viên giảng viên việc giảng dạy thành ngữ kĩ nói cho sinh viên năm khoa Tiếng Anh, trường Đại học Sư phạm Hà Nội M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Hanoi, April 2018 TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS… ii ABSTRACT…… iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES… v PART I: INTRODUCTION… 1.1 Rationale… 1.2 Aims of the study… 1.3 Methods of the study… 1.4 Scope of the study… 1.5 Organization…… PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW… 1.1 Idioms: Definitions and Types……… 1.2 The Roles of Idiomatic Competence in Language Acquisition… 1.3 The Relationship between Idioms and Speaking Skill… 10 1.4 Issues in Teaching Idioms 11 1.5 Idiom-Related Research in Language Teaching and Learning 13 1.6 Summary… …… 22 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY… 24 2.1 Research design… 24 2.2 Participants…… 25 2.2.1 The students 25 2.2.2 The lecturers 25 2.3 Data collection instruments 26 2.3.1 Survey Questionnaire… 26 2.3.1.1 Reasons for choosing survey questionnaires… 26 2.3.1.2 Description of survey questionnaires…… 27 2.3.2 Interview…… 28 2.3.2.1 Reasons for choosing interview…… 28 2.3.2.2 Description of interview………… 29 2.4 Data collection procedure 30 2.5 Summary……………… 31 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 33 3.1 Data analysis……………… 33 3.1.1 Data collected from survey questionnaire……… 33 3.1.1.1 The situation of teaching and learning idioms…… 33 3.1.1.2 Lecturers’ and student’s self-evaluations on the effectiveness of their idioms teaching and learning…………… 45 3.1.2 Data collected from interview……… 49 3.1.2.1 The teaching and learning of idioms……… 49 3.1.2.2 The importance of idioms learning and teaching……… 50 3.1.2.3 Ways of learning and teaching idioms 51 3.1.2.4 Challenges in teaching and learning idioms … 53 3.1.2.5 Evaluations on the effectiveness of idioms teaching and learning 55 3.1.2.6 Shortage in teaching and learning idioms… 55 3.2 Summary of the findings…… 57 PART III: CONCLUSION 59 1.1 Recapitulation…… 59 1.2 Recommendations……… 60 1.2.1 Recommendations for lecturers and students 60 1.2.2 Some suggested activities for idioms teaching to promote speaking Skill 61 1.3 Limitations of the study…… 63 1.4 Recommendation for further study……… 64 REFERENCES……………… 65 APPENDIXES………………… I APPENDIX 1: Survey questionnaire (for students)… I APPENDIX 1A: English version………… I APPENDIX 1B: Vietnamese version… VI APPENDIX 2: Survey questionnaire (for lecturers)… XI APPENDIX 3: Interview questions… XVI DECLARATION I certify that the minor thesis entitled “Students’ and Lecturers’ Perceptions of Idioms Teaching and Learning Skill for Freshmen at FOE, HNUE” is the result of my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another degree or diploma at any universities or other institutions Tran Thi My Linh Hanoi, 2018 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I am indebted to my supervisor Prof Dr Hoang Van Van, for his wholehearted assistance Without his guidance, invaluable suggestions, comments, advice, and corrections, this thesis would have been possible My special thanks also go to many lecturers and students at Faculty of English, Hanoi University of Education for their enthusiastic cooperation during the collection of data for this thesis I am grateful to all authors of books listed in the biography, whose ideas are good references for me to conduct and develop this research Last but not least, I owe my deepest gratitude to my colleagues in Faculty of English, and my family for encouragement, and support during the process of completing this graduation paper ii ABSTRACT This study investigated the situation of teaching and learning idioms in developing speaking skill for freshmen and explored the difficulties encountered by the lecturers and students while teaching and learning idioms, and the strategies employed while processing the idioms at Faculty of English, Hanoi National University of Education in Vietnam – a foreign language context It also examined the evaluation of the idiom teaching process in two language classes for freshmen and provided some suggested solutions to the teaching of idioms to increase students’ motivation and involvement in learning English idioms particularly in developing their speaking skill The data were collected though survey questionnaires and in-depth interviews The analysis revealed that lecturers and students at the university achieved effectiveness in idioms teaching and learning in some ways Both of them believed that students are motivated, felt relaxed, confident, and actively participated in idioms learning activities in this foreign language context The findings also revealed that students demonstrated the process in idiom comprehension as well as in idiom production through the evidences in the comprehension of idiomatic phrases The results indicated significant effects of the context in idiom learning and implied that idiom learning should be received more attention in EFL learning contexts iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS FOE : Faculty of English HNUE : Hanoi National University of Education C1 : Advanced level (proficient user) CEFR : Common European Framework of Reference SA : Strongly agree A : Agree N : Neutral D : Disagree SD : Strongly disagree iv LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1: The Importance of Idioms in Speaking Skill (Students' opinions) 33 Figure 2: The Importance of Idioms in Speaking Skill (Lecturers' opinions) 34 Figure 3: Teaching Idioms at University for Freshmen (Students' opinions) 34 Figure 4: Teaching Idioms at University for Freshmen (Lecturers' opinions) 35 Figure 5: Time Using for Teaching Idioms (Students' opinions) 35 Figure 6: Sources and teaching/learning material for idioms 44 Figure 7: Lecturers’ and students’ general evaluation of idiom teaching and learning 45 Table 1: Criteria for Selecting Idioms for Teaching 36 Table 2: Teaching approaches…… 37 Table 3: Lecturers’ opinion on teaching methods 40 Table 4: Students’ opinion on teaching methods 41 Table Idiom- related activities…… 43 Table Lecturers’ and students’ evaluation of idioms teaching and learning in detail……… 46 v PART I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Wishing that the apprehension of a nation’s language thoroughly and master English well when studying it is the desire of many people To reach these aims, they are not allowed to ignore their learning language’s idioms that are defined by Palmer as expressions whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meaning of its parts In terms of language, an idiom is a combination of words that are taken from the general vocabulary of each language Idioms are considered an interesting and popular phenomenon of every language According to D’Angelo Bromley (1984), idioms exist in all languages and “enjoy widespread use among speakers of every language the world over” (p 272) English is one of the most idiomatic languages in the world, containing thousands of idiomatic expressions that are rife in everyday speech While it is like the grease that makes language flow, it also presents an extra obstacle to both students and English teachers Nowadays, English has been widely used in Vietnam and it is also a compulsory subject in all schools, colleges and universities Teaching and learning English in Vietnam as a foreign language has encountered controversial social reactions when students are said to be unable to competently communicate in English after their six or seven years of studying it (Tran, 2012) Some of them are good at grammar and vocabulary, yet they are still unable to communicate in English They still fail to communicate when they discover that what English language speakers actually talk to them is different from what they have been taught On the one hand, English idiomatic expressions are of great popularity in English in use Copper (1998) indicates that an English native speaker uses about 20 million idioms in his or her lifetime of 60 years These impressive statistics illustrate the undeniable significant role of idiomatic phrases in daily language use Cornell (1999), in effect, postulated that whether in linguistics or language acquisition, idioms have always been a necessary part of the study of language Bromley (1984) stated that idioms enjoy widespread utilization among speakers of every language all over the world Familiarity with the idioms commonly used in everyday language can be a great asset to learners in acquiring a new language (Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman, 1999) Yorio (1989) noted that it appears that whereas fluency is possible without grammatical accuracy, idiomaticity is not Fernando (1996) indicated that the sheer number of idioms and their high frequency in discourse make them an important aspect of vocabulary acquisition and language learning in general These impressive statistics illustrate the undeniable significant role of idiomatic phrases in daily language use Idioms, either in oral or written discourse, are often inevitable, which makes it a must in language programs to help students develop their communicative skills (http://www.nadasisland.com) When a person learns idioms in English, she/he takes English out of its superficial printed form into the natural form, which helps the speaker use culture-oriented expressions more appropriately Hence, both teaching and learning English as a second/foreign language should lend itself to such kind of colorful instructions (De Caro, 2009) Additionally, teaching methodology, especially in teaching English in Vietnam is still restrictive In the past, English teachers just focused on grammar, vocabulary, reading, and writing while speaking and listening received inadequate attention; therefore, students did not have opportunity to speak and to express their ideas in English Later, in the 2000s English started to be taught in light of the skill-based teaching approach Consequently, students have to learn four skills separately, that is, speaking, listening, reading and writing In spite of the advantages of this approach, the biggest drawback is the undervaluation of word power such as fixed phrases, formulaic expressions because of the heavy emphasis on skills (Tran, 2012) On the other hand, Fernando (1996), Wray (2000), Schmitt (2000), and Simpson and Mendis (2003) maintained that a mastery of idioms is usually equated with native speaker fluency In fact, idiomatic competence is one of the criteria for IELTS speaking assessment In the IELTS speaking band descriptors, uses of idiomatic vocabulary and collocation are mentioned as indicators for the use of lexical resource in bands 7, and All of the students including the first year 2 Have you been taught idioms in the first semester at FOE, HNUE? A Yes B No If yes, how much time in a lesson does your lecturer spend on teaching idioms? A About 10 minutes B About 15 minutes C About 20 minutes D Over 20 minutes What are your lecturer s’ criteria for selecting idioms for teaching? A Relevance to the contents of the lessons B Frequency in use C Cultural suitability D Being up to date E Fitting students’ language level Others …………………………………………………………………………… How did your lecturers teach idioms? A Idioms were taught separately in idiom-focus activities B Idioms were taught integrated with listening activities C Idioms were taught integrated with reading activities D Idioms were taught integrated with speaking activities E Idioms were taught in integrated -skill activities What are your lecturers teaching methods on teaching idioms? Statements Strongly Agree agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree Idioms were presented in a variety of ways Idioms activities were almost determined by the II textbook Different teaching aids were used to help ease the idioms learning process Which of the following activities have your lecturers used to teach idioms and how often? Please choose as many answers as appropriate to you Activities >10 times 7-9 4- times 6times 1-3times 16 Story telling 17 Quizzes 18 Board games 19 Matching (idioms and meaning) 20 Word clouds 21 Dominos 22 Idiom sharing 23 Role play 24 Video watching 25 Flash card activities 26 Theatre playing with idioms 27 Dialogue writing 28 Discussion 29 Idiom glossary 30 Other What are your sources and learning material for idioms? A In the textbook III Not used B On the Internet C Newspapers, magazines D Books on idioms E Others: ………………………………………………………………………… What you think are the main difficulties of learning idioms? A Time- consuming to prepare lesson B Difficulties in choosing suitable idioms C Idioms in the textbook are limited D Lack of time to teach idioms E Class-management (noisy…) F Large-size class G Poor-facilitated classes (lack of computer, projector, etc.) H Others (please specify……………………………………………….) 10 How you evaluate your teachers teaching and your learning idioms in the semester? A Very effective B Effective C Moderate effective D Somewhat effective E Ineffective 11 What is your evaluation of idioms teaching of your lecturers? Number Statements SA The idiom- related activities matched your students’level The idiom-related activities were successful You felt confident and relaxed when teaching/learning idioms Your students/You have demonstrated the progress in IV A N D SD idiom comprehension Your students/You have demonstrated the progress in using idiomatic expressions Your students/You enjoyed the idioms learning activities Your students /You were motivated to learn idioms Your students/You actively participated in the learning process 12 Would you like your teacher to start or continue teaching idioms to improve your speaking skill in the next semesters? A Yes B No 13 If yes, can you give some suggestions to minimize the difficulties and make teaching and learning idioms in speaking skill more effective? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… V APPENDIX 1B : Vietnamese version PHIẾU TRẢ LỜI CÂU HỎI SỐ (CHO SINH VIÊN) Tôi Trần Thị Mỹ Linh – Giảng viên khoa Tiếng Anh, trường Đại học Sư phạm Hà Nội Tôi tiến hành nghiên cứu “Nhận thức sinh viên giảng viên việc dạy học thành ngữ kĩ nói cho sinh viên năm khoa Tiếng Anh, trường Đại học Sư phạm Hà Nội” Bảng câu hỏi thiết kế nhằm phục vụ nghiên cứu Các em n tâm việc tồn thông tin thu thập phục vụ mục đích nghiên cứu ý kiến cá nhân giữ bí mật thảo luận liệu Cảm ơn hợp tác em! Họ tên: Lớp: Địa email: Số điện thoại: VI Hãy chọn câu trả lời cách khoanh tròn vào chữ A, B, C, D Tích (√) vào hộp điền thêm ý kiến cá nhân vào chỗ trống (Trong vài câu hỏi, em chọn nhiều đáp án) Em học tiếng anh rồi? …………………………………………………………………………………… Em nghĩ việc dạy học thành ngữ tiếng Anh, đặc biệt kĩ nói? B Rất quan trọng B Quan trọng C Khá quan trọng D Không quan trọng Em có dạy thành ngữ năm học khoa tiếng Anh, trường Đại học Sư phạm Hà Nội khơng? B Có B Khơng Nếu có, giảng viên dành thời gian tiết học nói để dạy thành ngữ? E Khoảng 10 phút F Khoảng 15 phút G Khoảng 20 phút H Hơn 20 phút Theo em, tiêu chí tiêu chí để giảng viên chọn thành ngữ để dạy? F Liên quan đến nội dung học G Thường sử dụng H Phù hợp văn hóa I Có cập nhật đổi J Phù hợp với trình độ sinh viên Tiêu chí khác: ……………………………………………………………… Giảng viên dạy thành ngữ lớp cho em nào? F Thành ngữ dạy thành phần riêng biệt, tập chung với hoạt động riêng G Thành ngữ dạy tích hợp với hoạt động nghe H Thành ngữ dạy tích hợp với hoạt động đọc VII I Thành ngữ dạy tích hợp với hoạt động nói J Thành ngữ dạy tích hợp với hoạt động toàn kĩ Giảng viên em sử dụng phương pháp giảng dạy thành ngữ? Nhận định Rất Đồng ý Bình đồng ý thường Không đồng ý Rất không đồng ý Thành ngữ dạy nhiều cách đa dạng Các hoạt động dạy thành ngữ phần lớn dựa theo sách giáo trình Các hoạt động hỗ trợ giảng dạy khác sử dụng để trình học thành ngữ dễ dàng Hoạt động giảng viên em sử dụng việc giảng dạy thành ngữ mức độ thường xuyên chúng? Chọn đáp án phù hợp với em Hoạt động >10 lần 7-9 lần 4-6 lần 1-3 lần Không sử dụng 31 Kể chuyện 32 Bài kiểm tra ngắn 33 Trò chơi bàn cờ 34 Nối (thành ngữ với nghĩa) 35 Từ theo cụm 36 Trò chơi domino 37 Chia sẻ thành ngữ 38 Đóng vai 39 Xem video VIII 40 Phiếu tập thành ngữ 41 Diễn kịch 42 Viết hội thoại ngắn 43 Thảo luận 44 Vở giải thành ngữ 45 Hoạt động khác Em học thành ngữ từ nguồn tài liệu nào? F Trong sách giáo trình G Trên mạng H Báo, tạp chí I Sách thành ngữ J Khác: ………………………………………………………………… Theo em, khó khăn việc học thành ngữ gì? I Mất thời gian để chuẩn bị học J Khó chọn thành ngữ phù hợp với khả K Số lượng thành ngữ sách giáo trình hạn chế L Thiếu thời gian dạy thành ngữ lớp M Vấn đề quản lý lớp học (ồn ào…) N Lớp đông O Không trang bị đầy đủ trang thiết bị ( thiếu máy tính, máy chiếu, vv…) P Khác (Cụ thể là……………………………………………….) 10 Em đánh việc dạy học thành ngữ học kì này? F Rất hiệu G Hiệu H Tương đối hiệu I Có phần hiệu J Không hiệu IX Em đánh việc giảng dạy thành ngữ giảng viên? 11 Nhận định STT Rất đồng ý Đồng ý Bình thường Không đồng ý Rất không đồng ý Các hoạt động liên quan đến giảng dạy thành ngữ phù hợp với trình độ em Các hoạt động giảng dạy thành ngữ có hiệu Em thấy tự tin thoải mái học thành ngữ Em có tiến việc hiểu thành ngữ Em có tiến việc sử dụng thành ngữ Em thấy hứng thú với hoạt động học thành ngữ Em có động lực để học thành ngữ Em tham gia vào việc học thành ngữ tích cực 12 Em có muốn giảng viên tiếp tục dạy thành ngữ nhằm phát triển kĩ nói cho em học kì khơng? B Có 13 B Khơng Nếu có, em có gợi ý để làm giảm khó khăn việc học làm cho việc dạy học thành ngữ kĩ nói hiệu hơn? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… X APPENDIX 2: Survey questionnaire (for lecturers) SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (For lecturers) I am Tran Thi My Linh – a lecturer at Faculty of English, Hanoi National University of Education I am conducting a research on “Students’ and Lecturers’ Perceptions of Idioms teaching and learning in Speaking skill for Freshmen at FOE, HNUE” This questionnaire was designed as a part of my research You can be sure that the information collected will be used for the research purposes only and your personal opinions will be kept strictly confidential in any discussion of the data Thank you very much for your cooperation! Please choose the answer by circling the letter next to your choice, putting a (√) in the right box or expressing your idea in the blanks (In some cases you can choose more than one answer)  General information: i Your full name: ii Your age: iii How long have you taught English? ………………………………… What you think of idioms in English teaching and learning, especially in speaking skill? C Very important B Important C Quite important D Unimportant Have you taught idioms at FOE, HNUE? C Yes B No If yes, how much time in a lesson you spend on teaching idioms? I About 10 minutes J About 15 minutes K About 20 minutes L Over 20 minutes XI What are your criteria for selecting idioms for teaching? K Relevance to the contents of the lessons L Frequency in use M Cultural suitability N Being up to date O Fitting students’ language level Others …………………………………………………………………………… How did you teach idioms? K Idioms were taught separately in idiom-focus activities L Idioms were taught integrated with listening activities M Idioms were taught integrated with reading activities N Idioms were taught integrated with speaking activities O Idioms were taught in integrated -skill activities What are your teaching methods on teaching idioms? Statements Strongly Agree agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree Idioms were presented in a variety of ways Idioms activities were almost determined by the textbook Different teaching aids were used to help ease the idioms learning process XII What are idiom- related activities that you use to teach idioms? Activities >10 7-9 times 4-6times 1-3times Not used times 46 Story telling 47 Quizzes 48 Board games 49 Matching (idioms and meaning) 50 Word clouds 51 Dominos 52 Idiom sharing 53 Role play 54 Video watching 55 Flash card activities 56 Theatre playing with idioms 57 Dialogue writing 58 Discussion 59 Idiom glossary 60 Other What are your sources and teaching material for idioms? K In the textbook L On the Internet M Newspapers, magazines N Books on idioms O Others: ………………………………………………………………………… XIII 10 What you think are the main difficulties of teaching idioms? Q Time- consuming to prepare lesson R Difficulties in choosing suitable idioms S Idioms in the textbook are limited T Lack of time to teach idioms U Class-management (noisy…) V Large-size class W Poor-facilitated classes (lack of computer, projector, etc.) X Others (please specify……………………………………………….) 11 How you evaluate your teaching and learning idioms in the semester? K Very effective L Effective M Moderate effective N Somewhat effective O Ineffective 12 What is your evaluation of idioms teaching and learning? Number Statements SA The idiom- related activities matched your students’level The idiom-related activities were successful You felt confident and relaxed when teaching/learning idioms Your students/You have demonstrated the progress in idiom comprehension Your students/You have demonstrated the progress in using idiomatic expressions Your students/You enjoyed the XIV A N D SD idioms learning activities Your students /You were motivated to learn idioms Your students/You actively participated in the learning process 13 Would you like to start or continue teaching idioms to improve your students speaking skill in the next semesters? C Yes B No 14 If yes, can you give some suggestions to minimize the difficulties and make teaching and learning idioms in speaking skill more effective? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………… XV APPENDIX 3: Interview questions *For students: Have you been taught or self-studied idioms? In your opinion, idioms in English teaching and learning especially in speaking skill are very important/important/quite important/ unimportant Why you think so? What are the strategies that you used to learn idioms? What are the methods that you desire to be taught idioms? Which ones you feel most effective? According to you, what are the difficulties in teaching and learning idioms? Can you propose some suggestions to make teaching and learning idioms more effective? * Câu hỏi vấn cho sinh viên: Em dạy hay tự học thành ngữ chưa? Theo em, dạy học thành ngữ kĩ nói có quan trọng khơng? Tại sao? Em sử dụng chiến lược việc học thành ngữ? Em mong muốn dạy thành ngữ phương pháp nào? Theo em, phương pháp hiệu nhất? Theo em, khó khăn việc dạy học thành ngữ gì? Em đề xuất vài gợi ý cho việc dạy học thành ngữ hiệu không? *For lecturers: In your opinion, idioms in English teaching and learning especially in speaking skill are very important / important Why you think so? What are the methods you used to teach idioms? Which ones you feel most effective? In your opinion, what are the difficulties in teaching and learning idioms? Can you propose some suggestions to make teaching and learning idioms more effective? XVI ... following research questions What is the current situation of idioms teaching and learning at FOE, HNUE? What are the lecturers’ and students’ perceptions of their teaching and learning of idioms? ... questions: What is the current situation of idioms teaching and learning at FOE, HNUE? What are the lecturers’ and students’ perceptions on their teaching and learning of idioms? The answer for the... and learning of idioms? ??…… 49 3.1.2.2 The importance of idioms learning and teaching? ??…… 50 3.1.2.3 Ways of learning and teaching idioms 51 3.1.2.4 Challenges in teaching and learning