The influence of vietnamese learning culture on upper secondary school students’ attitudes towards communicative activities in learning english

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES BÙI VĂN HẬU THE INFLUENCE OF VIETNAMESE LEARNING CULTURE ON UPPER-SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH (Tác động văn hóa học tập Việt Nam đến thái độ học sinh trung học phổ thông hoạt động học tiếng Anh theo đường hướng giao tiếp) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.140.111 HANOI - 2014 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES BÙI VĂN HẬU THE INFLUENCE OF VIETNAMESE LEARNING CULTURE ON UPPER-SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH (Tác động văn hóa học tập Việt Nam đến thái độ học sinh trung học phổ thông hoạt động học tiếng Anh theo đường hướng giao tiếp) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.140.111 Supervisor: Dr Lê Văn Canh HANOI - 2014 DECLARATION OF AUTHENTICITY This work is submitted as partial requirements for the Master‟s Degree in English Language Teaching Methodology by the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi I declare that the work presented is to the best of my knowledge original, except as acknowledged in the script, and that the material has not been submitted, either in whole or in part, for a degree at this or other educational institutions Signed: _ Date: i May 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to people who have, in various ways, contributed to the completion of this thesis First and foremost, I would like to give my most sincere thanks to Dr Le Van Canh, my supervisor, for not only his responses to any of my questions but also for his encouragement at any time of my hardship I would like to thank Nguyen Viet Hung, my friend, a PhD student at the University, for helping me much with advice and encouragement I am grateful to the students and teachers at my researched Upper-Secondary School for their cooperation during my data collection period I owe a great debt to my wife, daughter and my families for the patience and encouragement I have had from them I believe that with all contribution of the people mentioned, I have an improved final thesis; however, there are unavoidably remaining weaknesses in this thesis, all of which belong to my responsibility, and all of which I should learn from ii ABSTRACT The present study explored the influence of Vietnamese learning culture on uppersecondary school students‟ attitudes towards communicative activities in English learning The survey study method was adopted, and the questionnaires were delivered to a systematically selected sample of 166 students from one upper-secondary school in a mountainous region in Vietnam This aimed at collecting necessary data for answering three research questions about the students‟ belief about language learning, the influence of this belief on the students‟ opinion about the role of teacher and learner and on their preferences for English learning activities both inside and outside the classroom The findings demonstrated influence of the Vietnamese culture of learning on the students‟ attitudes towards communicative English learning activities, some of which were favourable for utilisation of communicative activities These concern their openness in communication, and a greater responsibility they took for their own learning They also indicated the students‟ positive attitudes towards group work activities, which are typical of CLT techniques Besides, the study showed evidence of the students‟ negative attitudes towards communicative activities, which resulted from the incompatibleness of these activities to the Vietnamese culture of learning Basically, this incompatibility is related with the students‟ perceived drudgery nature of learning, the cultural strategies for effective learning through memorisation and error avoidance, the necessity for maintaining harmonious relationships, the students‟ passive learning, and their respect for and unequal relationship with the teacher Based on these findings, some suggestions were proposed concerning either adaptation of the CLT approach and its spawn activities to the cultural context of the study, or adjustment of the students‟ Vietnamese learning culture, or both All of this aims at successful implementation of CLT at the researched school iii TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION OF AUTHENTICITY I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II ABSTRACT III TABLE OF CONTENT IV LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES VI PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of Study Research Aims and Questions Methods of Study Scope of Study Significance of Study Organisation of the Thesis PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Communicative Language Teaching: Principles and Characteristics 1.3 Learning Activities in Light of CLT 1.4 Communicative Activities 1.5 Role of Teacher and Learner in CLT 1.6 Culture, Attitude and Behaviour 1.7 Vietnamese Learning Culture 11 1.8 Conceptions of Learning in Vietnamese Culture 12 1.9 Learning Culture and CLT 14 CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY 18 2.1 The Research Site 18 2.2 Methodology 18 2.3 Participants and the Ethical Issue 19 2.4 Instrument 19 2.4.1 Rationale for choosing the questionnaire and question type 19 2.4.2 Validity and reliability 20 2.4.3 Questionnaire items 22 2.5 Data Collection and Analysis Procedure 23 2.6 Findings and Discussion 24 iv 2.6.1 Beliefs about Language Learning 24 2.6.2 Role of Teacher and Learner 29 2.6.3 Preference for Learning Activities 32 2.6.4 Students‟ English Learning Habits 34 2.6.5 The Influence of Vietnamese Learning Culture on the Students‟ Attitudes towards Communicative Activities in Learning English 36 PART C: CONCLUSION 39 Conclusions and Implications 39 Limitations and recommendations for further research 41 REFERENCES 43 APPENDICES I APPENDIX 1: A MODEL FOR SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING (SPOLSKY, 1989, P.28) I APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE EVALUATION FORM II APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH VERSION) III APPENDIX 4: STUDENTS‟ CONCEPTIONS OF HOW LEARNING SHOULD TAKE PLACE VII APPENDIX 5: STUDENTS‟ BELIEF ABOUT THE ROLE OF TEACHER AND LEARNER VIII APPENDIX 6: STUDENTS‟ PREFERENCE FOR ENGLISH LEARNING ACTIVITIES IX v LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figures Figure Culture – Attitude – Behaviour 10 Figure Respondents’ Gender 24 Figure Respondents’ English Proficiency 24 Tables Table Questionnaires Delivered and Collected 24 Table Students’ Conceptions of Learning .25 Table Students’ Belief about the Role of Teacher and Learner 30 Table Students’ Preference for English Learning Activities 33 Table Students’ Most Favoured, Most Disfavoured and Home Activities 35 vi PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale of Study Since the time of Marcus Tullius Cicero, a Roman philosopher, and later in the Renaissance theories, until now all languages have been considered to be of equal status (Pym, 2007) This is because “there is nothing intrinsically limiting, demanding, or handicapping about any of them” (Crystal, 1987, p.6, cited by Kasaian and Subbakrishna, 2011, p.165) The English language is not an exception Although English was said to be a source of gratification to mankind because it was spoken in two of the greatest powers of the world (Jesperson, 1905), that is, America and Britain, it has no intrinsic linguistic supremacy over other languages in the world (Kasaian and Subbakrishna, 2011) Nonetheless, “for good or ill, the dominance of English as the world‟s preferred second or foreign language has been increasing in recent years” (Canh, 2004) For this reason, “those who are able to exploit it, whether to sell goods and services or to sell ideas, wield a very considerable power”; furthermore, “if you want to resist the exploitive power of English, you have to use English to it” (Halliday, 2006, p.362, cited by Van, 2010, p.17) Although the statement is ideological, it has some truth in it Since the utility of English has been perceived as a passport for many desired things in life, English teaching has consequently been regarded to be able to serve individual, national, and international needs (Canh, 2004), and “if people are deprived of the chance of learning it, they are the ones who suffer” (Halliday, 2006, p.362, cited by Van, 2010, p.17) During the course of teaching and learning English, numerous methods have come and gone because there is no one-size-fits-all method that can meet the goals and needs of all learners and programs As a matter of rule, in the 1970s Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) emerged, in the West, and started being discussed as a fashionable way of teaching languages, and by the turn of the new millennium, CLT had become a real buzzword in language teaching methodology around the world (Dornyei, 2009) In this context, education administrators, English language educators and teachers have navigated their attention toward CLT, as a response to its irresistible appeal Accordingly, CLT has widely been accepted as an effective way of teaching English as a second and foreign language (ESL/EFL) This is because there is an unspoken assumption that CLT is not only “modern”, but is in fact the only way to learn a language properly; hence, a country without CLT is somehow backward; teachers who not use CLT approach in their teaching are backward; methodologies which are considered to be traditional and the one based on route learning are said to be behind in comparison with communicative approaches (Bax, 2003, p.281) Vietnam is not an exception from the spread of CLT Although CLT was introduced into the country rather later than into other countries in the neighbourhood (Canh and Barnard, 2009), it has been rhetorical in the whole school system of the country, especially at the general education level However, scholars and researchers have reported the unsatisfactory implementation of this approach in Vietnam (Canh, 2004; Canh, 2011; Canh and Barnard, 2009; Barnard and Viet, 2010; Nguyen and Franken, 2010; Thinh, 2006; Phu, 2008; Van, 2010; Son, 2011; Hung, 2011; Vietnamnet, 2012; Toan, 2013; Khang, 2014) One of the reasons for the failure of CLT implementation in Vietnam is that the approach is imposed without taking into consideration the students‟ learning culture, which influences students‟ attitudes towards learning activities, learning behaviours, and learning habits However, this issue has often been ignored I believe that for the success of innovation, the first step to be taken should be the understanding of learners‟ learning culture so that teachers can decide what aspects of the intended innovation fit the students‟ learning culture, and what aspects of the students‟ learning culture should be changed to accommodate the intended pedagogical innovation This is the rationale for my study Research Aims and Questions Being inspired by all the above mentioned rationales and my preliminary interest, this survey study aims to explore the influence of Vietnamese learning culture on attitudes of the upper-secondary school students in a mountainous area toward CLT Information gained from this study is aimed to help teachers to make their teaching more learnercentred by modifying the principles of CLT to the students‟ learning culture for better educational results With this aim in mind, the study was designed to seek answers to the following research questions: What is the students‟ belief about language learning? How their beliefs about language learning affect their opinions of the teacher‟s role and student‟s role in the English language classroom? How their beliefs about language learning affect their preferences for language learning activities both inside and outside the classroom? 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II Appendix 3: Questionnaire (English version) I Part I: Each of the statements below describes one type of English teaching or learning activity The rating scales in the right-hand side of the statements indicate your attitudes toward these activities: Strongly dislike Dislike Neither Like Strongly like Please indicate your attitudes by circling the corresponding numbers Reading after the teacher loudly and correctly Memorizing grammatical rules Doing a lot of grammar exercises Discussing with classmates in English 5 Speaking English a lot in lessons Finding synonyms or antonyms for a word or sets of words Doing filling-in exercises Doing a lot of vocabulary exercises Making sentences with newly-learnt words to remember their meanings and usage 10 Listening to the teacher speaking English to the class 11 Reading a text and answering questions about it 12 Doing listening tasks with multiple-choice question answering 13 Doing exercises to prepare for exams 14 Watching movies in English at home 15 Listening to TV programs in English at home 16 Reading funny stories in English on the internet 17 Discussing a particular issue with classmates in English 18 Being error-corrected by the teacher in speaking tasks 19 Listening to the teacher’s explanation in Vietnamese about English grammar 20 Translating a text into Vietnamese 21 Writing essays in English 22 Practicing English pronunciation basing on recorded sounds III II Part II: The statements below describe the roles of the teacher and student in the classroom The rating scales in the right-hand side of the statements indicate your opinions about these roles: Strongly disagree Disagree Neither Agree Strongly agree Please indicate your opinions by circling the corresponding numbers 23 The teacher has higher status than the student, and the teacher-student relationship is the one of hierarchy 24 Students must be respectful and polite to teachers 25 One important role of the language teacher is to train students to take initiative and responsibility for their own learning 26 Teachers must set an example for students in ethics and lifestyle 27 Teachers must have good expertise in order to be able to answer all questions from students about academic issues 28 The most important role of the teacher in the classroom is to impart knowledge to students 29 Teachers are responsible for students’ learning and academic performance 30 Teachers have the right to decide what students learn and how they learn in the classroom 31 In the classroom, teachers are organisers and controllers of all learning activities 32 In the classroom, teachers are evaluators of students’ all activities and their performance 33 If students make mistakes, it is the teacher, not other students, who corrects these mistakes 34 The most important task of students in lessons is listening to teachers’ lecture 35 In the classroom, students are the ones who decide their academic program and are responsible for their activities 36 Students must self-monitor and self-assess their progress in learning 37 Students are members of groups, and learning takes place in interactive activities between students 38 It is important for students to help each other to learn in the classroom 39 Teachers and textbooks are not the unique source of knowledge; students can learn from their classmates and from other available sources IV III Part III: The statements below describe conceptions of teaching and learning The rating scales in the right-hand side of the statements indicate your opinions about these issues: Strongly disagree Disagree Neither Agree Strongly agree Please indicate your opinions by circling the corresponding numbers 40 The purpose of learning is to get good marks in exams 41 Learning is a hard and serious undertaking; it requires students’ effort and patience; it is not an entertainment activity 42 Learning is concerned with effort of individual students, not involved with collaboration and cooperation between students 43 Students should always avoid making mistakes in learning 44 Teachers’ lectures are very important in students’ learning 45 In order for students to learn well, teachers have to give clear explanation about grammar 46 In order to learn well, students need to spend a lot of time memorising what they have learnt in lessons 47 Students learn better when learning takes place in the class as a whole, not in groups 48 Students should maintain harmony with all of their classmates 49 In the classroom, a student should not express his/her opinions because in case of incorrectness he/she will be laughed at by classmates 50 In the classroom, a student should not express his/her opinions because their classmates may think that he/she is boasting and not modest 51 In the classroom, a student should not debate with their classmates; otherwise, they may be made ashamed 52 Students should not interrupt the teacher’s lecture 53 In the classroom, students should not debate with the teacher on the lecture 54 Students should only express their opinions when allowed by the teacher 55 In class, students should not express their personal opinions IV Part IV: Please write your answers to the following questions: 56 Three (3) English learning activities in the classroom that I like most are: _ _ _ V 57 Three (3) English learning activities in the classroom that I dislike most are: _ _ _ 58 Three (3) English learning activities that I usually at home are: _ _ _ V Part V: Please answer the following questions: 59 Gender (tick  the corresponding box)? 60 Your English score of semester I, academic year 2013 – 2014: Male Would you please look through the questionnaire again to make sure that all the questions have been answered? Thank you very much! VI Female Appendix 4: Students’ Belief of How Learning Should Take Place Percentage Beliefs SDA A SA 17.5 29.5 10.2 22.3 16.3 41.0 16.3 21.1 58.4 11.4 6.6 2.4 Students should always avoid making mistakes in learning 1.2 15.1 18.7 56.0 9.0 Teachers’ lectures are very important in students’ learning 0.0 1.2 6.6 69.3 22.9 0.0 1.8 5.4 50.0 42.8 0.6 7.2 12.0 61.4 18.7 8.4 37.3 36.1 12.0 6.0 0.0 1.8 4.2 48.8 45.2 48.8 38.6 4.2 6.0 2.4 50.0 36.1 10.8 0.6 2.4 34.9 50.0 10.8 3.6 0.6 6.6 21.1 20.5 36.7 15.1 17.5 51.2 19.3 8.4 3.6 10.8 24.1 16.9 38.0 10.2 28.9 50.6 10.8 4.2 5.4 The purpose of learning is to get good marks in exams Learning is a hard and serious undertaking; it requires students’ effort and patience; it is not an entertainment activity Learning is concerned with effort of individual students, not involved with collaboration and cooperation between students In order for students to learn well, teachers have to give clear explanation about grammar In order to learn well, students need to spend a lot of time memorising what they have learnt in lessons Students learn better when learning takes place in the class as a whole, not in groups Students should maintain harmony with all of their classmates In the classroom, a student should not express his/her opinions because in case of incorrectness he/she will be laughed at by classmates In the classroom, a student should not express his/her opinions because their classmates may think that he/she is boasting and not modest In the classroom, a student should not debate with their classmates; otherwise, they may be made ashamed Students should not interrupt teacher’s lecture In the classroom, students should not debate with the teacher on the lecture Students should only express their opinions when allowed by the teacher In class, students should not express their personal opinions VII DA N 7.2 35.5 4.2 Appendix 5: Students’ Belief about the Role of Teacher and Learner Percentage Roles SDA The teacher has higher status than the student, and the teacherstudent relationship is the one of hierarchy Students must be respectful and polite to teachers One important role of the language teacher is to train students to take initiative and responsibility for their own learning Teachers must set an example for students in ethics and lifestyle Teachers must have good expertise in order to be able to answer all questions from students about academic issues The most important role of the teacher in the classroom is to impart knowledge to students Teachers are responsible for students’ learning and academic performance Teachers have the right to decide what students learn and how they learn in the classroom In the classroom, teachers are organisers and controllers of all learning activities In the classroom, teachers are evaluators of students’ all activities and their performance If students make mistakes, it is the teacher, not other students, who corrects these mistakes The most important task of students in lessons is listening to teachers’ lecture In the classroom, students are the ones who decide their academic program and are responsible for their activities Students must self-monitor and self-assess their progress in learning Students are members of groups, and learning takes place in interactive activities between students It is important for students to help each other to learn in the classroom Teachers and textbooks are not the unique source of knowledge; students can learn from their classmates and from other available sources VIII DA N A SA 6.0 14.5 16.3 50.0 13.3 1.8 0.0 1.2 47.0 50.0 0.6 1.8 6.6 54.8 36.1 0.6 0.6 6.0 44.0 48.8 0.0 1.2 10.8 47.6 40.4 1.2 19.3 18.1 47.0 14.5 11.4 42.8 24.7 15.7 5.4 9.6 40.4 23.5 21.7 4.8 4.2 27.7 22.3 42.2 3.6 0.0 10.8 18.7 63.3 7.2 14.5 42.2 24.1 16.3 3.0 1.2 11.4 16.9 50.0 20.5 7.2 16.9 30.1 34.9 10.8 1.2 8.4 11.4 57.8 21.1 1.8 4.8 24.7 55.4 13.3 0.6 2.4 7.2 47.0 42.8 0.6 2.4 4.2 41.0 51.8 Appendix 6: Students’ Preference for English Learning Activities Percentage Activities SDA DA N A SA Reading after the teacher loudly and correctly 1.2 8.4 11.4 69.9 9.0 Memorizing grammatical rules 1.2 28.3 18.1 44.6 7.8 Doing a lot of grammar exercises 4.2 16.3 22.9 45.2 11.4 Discussing with classmates in English 6.0 20.5 32.5 30.1 10.8 Speaking English a lot in lessons 7.2 30.1 17.5 36.7 8.4 Finding synonyms or antonyms for a word or sets of words 3.6 29.5 36.7 25.9 4.2 Doing filling-in exercises 3.6 10.8 13.9 59.0 12.7 Doing a lot of vocabulary exercises 5.4 23.5 25.3 36.1 9.6 Making sentences with newly-learnt words to remember their meanings and usage 4.8 15.1 21.1 47.6 11.4 Listening to the teacher speaking English to the class 0.6 19.3 15.7 47.0 17.5 Role-playing a dialogue in the textbook 2.4 10.8 15.7 50.0 21.1 Reading a text and answering questions about it 2.4 15.1 25.3 46.4 10.8 Doing listening tasks with multiple-choice question answering 3.0 21.1 18.1 44.0 13.9 Doing exercises to prepare for exams 3.6 12.0 22.3 46.4 15.7 Watching movies in English at home 10.2 19.9 19.3 31.9 18.7 Listening to TV programs in English at home 9.6 28.3 22.3 30.7 9.0 Reading funny stories in English on the internet 11.4 33.7 28.3 16.9 9.6 Discussing a particular issue with classmates in English 8.4 32.5 27.1 26.5 5.4 Being error-corrected by the teacher in speaking tasks Listening to the teacher’s explanation in Vietnamese about English grammar Translating a text into Vietnamese 1.2 3.6 12.7 62.0 20.5 1.2 4.2 10.2 45.8 38.6 4.2 2.4 12.7 45.2 35.5 Writing essays in English 12.0 35.5 31.3 18.1 3.0 Practicing English pronunciation basing on recorded sounds 6.0 16.9 21.7 42.2 13.3 IX ... Implications The findings of this study provide insights into the influence of Vietnamese learning culture on the attitudes of the students towards communicative activities in learning English To put... how the students‟ learning culture influences their learning of English within the context of an upper- secondary school in one northern mountainous province Significance of Study This study hopes... group of upper- secondary school students who were chosen purposefully in one school in a mountainous region of Vietnam Therefore, no generalization of the findings was intended Rather, the findings