Thái độ của giáo viên và sinh viên chính quy năm nhất khoa sư phạm tiếng anh trường đại học ngoại ngữ về phương pháp học cộng tác trong dạy và học ngoại ngữ

The radical demand for foreign language competent users, specifically English has created a need for Asian countries to innovate their traditional teaching approaches and upgrade learners’ communicative competency. In Vietnam, such movement as the National Foreign Language 2020 Project has been in progress, in the hope that people can use another tongue independently as a second language. This has consequently led to the widespread adoption of several Westernbased English language teaching approaches, and cooperative learning is a case in point. Regarding the potential benefits of CL for the students’ language acquisition, this study was carried out to explore the attitudes of teachers and students of FELTE, ULIS towards this approach, hence better understand the perceived effectiveness and level of motivation gained from cooperative learning. The results of this paper were quite encouraging, and they might challenge several notions about the inappropriateness of CL in Vietnamese context, and ULIS in particular. Specifically, teachers and first year students of FELTE, ULIS generally showed favorable attitudes and agreed about the level of effectiveness and motivation derived from certain aspects of CL, yet there are several differences in the perceptions of these two groups.

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

THÁI ĐỘ CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀ SINH VIÊN

CHÍNH QUY NĂM NHẤT KHOA SƯ PHẠM

TIẾNG ANH - TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ VỀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP HỌC CỘNG TÁC TRONG DẠY

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

THÁI ĐỘ CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀ SINH VIÊN

CHÍNH QUY NĂM NHẤT KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH - TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ VỀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP HỌC CỘNG TÁC TRONG DẠY

Signature of Approval

_ Supervisor‟s Comments & Suggestions

_ _ _ _ _

I hereby state that I: Dan Thi Thuy Anh, class QH.2015.F1.E3, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in English language teacher education accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor‟s Graduation Paper deposited in the library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper

June, 2019

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am using this opportunity to express my appreciation to everyone who supported

me throughout the course of this research paper

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards my research supervisors, Ms Nguyen Thi Dieu Ha, whose assistance and dedicated involvement in every step throughout the process were of invaluable help to accomplish this paper I would like to thank you very much for your support and understanding over the past year

Also, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all the participants in the survey, who willingly shared their precious time for the questionnaires and interview

Carrying out the study required more than academic support, and I deeply appreciate the encouragement from my family and friends, who have been sympathetic and supportive during the whole process

ABSTRACT

The radical demand for foreign language competent users, specifically English has created a need for Asian countries to innovate their traditional teaching approaches and upgrade learners‟ communicative competency In Vietnam, such movement as the National Foreign Language 2020 Project has been

in progress, in the hope that people can use another tongue independently as a second language This has consequently led to the widespread adoption of several Western-based English language teaching approaches, and cooperative learning is

a case in point Regarding the potential benefits of CL for the students‟ language acquisition, this study was carried out to explore the attitudes of teachers and students of FELTE, ULIS towards this approach, hence better understand the perceived effectiveness and level of motivation gained from cooperative learning The results of this paper were quite encouraging, and they might challenge several notions about the inappropriateness of CL in Vietnamese context, and ULIS in particular Specifically, teachers and first year students of FELTE, ULIS generally showed favorable attitudes and agreed about the level of effectiveness and motivation derived from certain aspects of CL, yet there are several differences in the perceptions of these two groups Both teachers and students showed their eagerness in participating in cooperative learning environment as they could acknowledge the effectiveness brought by the support and frequent interaction amongst group members However, the level of agreement toward the beneficial effects of group interaction is not the same for the two groups, which could be partly explained by the different perceptions about the nature of cooperative learning The most problematic issue, however, is the contribution of group member to the shared work, which consequently led to certain level of dissatisfaction with the group work result Based on such findings, pedagogical implications were made The study will hopefully benefit not only students and teachers at FELTE, ULIS but also researchers interested in the same topic

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i

ABSTRACT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATION v

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study 1

1.2 Aim and objectives 3

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Communicative language teaching 5

2.2 Cooperative language learning 6

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 11

3.1 Setting of the research 11

3.2 Research participants 11

3.3 Data collection instrument & procedures 13

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 19

4.1 Overview of the attitudes of teachers from English Division 1 and first year mainstream students towards cooperative learning in language classes 19

4.2 Teachers and students‟ attitudes towards different aspects of cooperative learning in language classes 23

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 42

5.1 Major findings of the research 42

5.2 Pedagogical suggestions for an effective and motivating cooperative learning environment 46

5.3 Limitation and suggestions for further studies 47

5.4 Contribution of the research 48

LIST OF REFERENCES 49

APPENDIX 1 52

APPENDIX 2 57

APPENDIX 3 61

APPENDIX 4 62

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CLT Communicative Language Teaching

FELTE Faculty of English Language Teacher Education ULIS University of Languages and International Studies

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Level of agreement amongst students towards the positive impacts of group work 20Table 2: Level of agreement amongst teachers towards the positive of group work 22Table 2.1: Level of agreement amongst teachers towards the positive of group work facilitation 23Table 1.2: Level of agreement amongst students towards the positive impacts of group interaction 27Table 2.2: Level of agreement amongst teachers towards the positive impacts of group interaction 28Table 1.3: Level of agreement amongst students towards the positive impacts of group support 32Table 2.3: Level of agreement amongst teachers towards the positive impacts of group support 34Table 1.4: Level of agreement of students about the positive of group contribution 35Table 2.4: Level of agreement of teachers about the positive of group contribution 36Table 1.5: Level of agreement amongst students about group work results 39Table 2.5: Level of agreement amongst teachers about group work results 39

LIST OF FIGURES

Chart 1: Level of agreement amongst teachers about students‟ willingness to participate

in group work 25Chart 2: Level of agreement amongst students about their willingness to participate in group work 26Chart 3: Level of agreement amongst teachers and students towards the positive impacts

of group interaction 28Chart 4: Level of agreement amongst students towards contributors to language improvement 33

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study

The past few decades have witnessed a pronounced shift in foreign language teaching approaches in various Asian countries from the traditional grammar-based to Western-based teaching methodology This has resulted from the growing realization of the shortcomings of traditional methods in meeting the unprecedented demand for competent English users, coupled with the profound influence of the more developed countries from the West during the globalization process In particular, grammar translation method, which once dominated the foreign teaching and learning process in Asian countries does not seek to promote the development of four language skills, whilst such Western methods as communicative approach explicitly aim at building these skills for learners The pressure to renovate the language teaching system has led several countries to change their education policy in the hope that the level of language competency can actually meet the requirements of the increasingly integrated and competitive world Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training, in particular, has carried out new policy aiming at restructuring the English teaching and learning system throughout the country Clearly stated in the National Foreign Language 2008-

2020 Project, the central goal of this move is learners whoever graduate from vocational schools, colleges and universities can use the language independently

by the year 2020 Accordingly, the language teaching curriculum from primary to tertiary level have been changed toward the communicative approach, which is adopted from Western countries with deliberate adaptations to fit in Vietnamese teaching contents Henceforth, the implementation of communicative approach as well as its relevant methodologies takes place in a large scale in Vietnamese English teaching context, turning into a rather compulsory method in formal and mainstream language classes with the use of newly designed English text books

Be that as it may, the change towards communicative approach in language

teaching and learning has been a major concern for teachers and professionals in the field Granted that the implementation of communicative language teaching (CLT) has been promoted, the traditional nature of classroom activities as well as teachers‟ role are challenged

Since student-centeredness and teachers‟ role as a facilitator are the focus, various classroom activities that are believed to facilitate students‟ autonomy in learning are employed Group work and pair work are the case in point Generally speaking, cooperative learning, with attention to student-centeredness in generating ideas, exchanging and negotiating opinions is deemed a rational approach to communicative teaching In fact, when observing various sample CLT lessons in Vietnam, from secondary and upper secondary level to tertiary education, various group work and pair work activities are adopted The question

is that whether those activities actually serve their particular purpose as ideally illustrated in the CLT theory or not, especially when it comes to Vietnam context, which is different from that of the Western origin of CLT

While CLT has been approved and promoted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training, much concern has been riveted on whether this approach suits the nature of Vietnamese students or not Many claim that CLT has put a heavy strain on teachers since they are teaching in accordance with Western teaching approach, yet the cultural differences of Western and Asian hinder the implementation of CLT (Nguyen, 2008), and cooperative learning in particular Concerning the nature of Asian students and Vietnamese students in particular, the shortcomings of CLT as well as cooperative learning application in communicative classroom have also been pointed out when it comes to application

in non-Western context (Pham, Gillies & Renshaw, 2009) Be that as it may, students are dynamic in their nature, especially at the present time when cultural boundaries between countries are blur thanks to globalization and integration of beliefs With a view to investigating the feasibility of cooperative learning in

language teaching in Vietnam context in consideration of both teachers‟ and students‟ perspectives, this paper will conduct detailed research into their attitudes toward cooperative learning at University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS) in Hanoi, Vietnam

1.2 Aim and objectives

The object of study is placed in Vietnamese context, specifically University

of Languages and International Studies, where CLT and CL has been adopted in language teaching and learning In this paper, the term “attitude” refers to the extent to which the participants show the propensity to accept cooperative learning

as a motivating, effective and feasible approach towards the acquisition of language

The Research Questions

This study seeks to discover more about the attitudes of students and teachers, thus establishing the key factors that possibly enhance or hinder the implementation of cooperative learning in communicative language classrooms In brief, the study purports to address the following questions:

1 To what extent do students and teachers accept CL as a motivating approach towards language learning?

2 To what extent do students and teachers accept CL as an effective approach towards language learning?

3 What are the factors that demotivate students from engaging in cooperative learning, as perceived by mainstream first-year students in FELTE, ULIS?

4 What are the factors that hinder teachers from facilitating cooperative learning, as perceived by teachers of English Division 1 in FELTE, ULIS?

Significance of the study

It is anticipated that the discoveries from this study will provide a closer look

at to what extent cooperative learning could assist language learning in the perceptions of teachers and mainstream first-year students in FELTE, ULIS; thereby proposing some suggestions for further adaptations of cooperative learning in Vietnamese university context

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Communicative language teaching

CLT has been favored in Vietnamese schools and universities in recent years, which results from the soaring demand for competent speakers of English in the context of increasing globalization and integration Since the new policy

Transformation was first implemented in Vietnam, key changes can be seen in

various aspects of life The mushrooming international companies in Vietnam have brought about the need for communicative competence (Hoang, 2010), which consequently leads to the need for a change in the language teaching and learning approach to cater for the rising demand of English The integration with Western countries also brings about a new trend in language teaching, specifically the implementation of communicative approach as an educational reform in language teaching (Hoang, 2010; Pham, 2011)

Originally developed in Western countries, communicative language teaching has recently been popular in many Asian countries, including Vietnam A considerable amount of literature has been published on the communicative approach in language teaching (e.g., Nunan, 1988; Brown, 2001; Littlewood, 2007) Although there can be different interpretations of CLT, there is a consensus amongst professors in the field that this teaching and learning approach aims at developing learners‟ communicative competence (Sullivan, 1996; Brown, 2001) Accordingly, negotiating meaning for a particular purpose is of paramount importance; hence, a number of authentic tasks are adopted in communicative classrooms, requiring students to exchange meaningful personal issues Teachers are expected to facilitate the learning of learners in order that genuine interactions happen in class In accordance with this view, group work and pair work are prevalent in communicative language classroom

2.2 Cooperative language learning

2.2.1 Nature of cooperative learning

The concept of cooperative learning (CL) has received much of public attention for many years, with a large volume of published studies describing its characteristics and potentials in enhancing the quality of teaching and learning in various fields To exemplify, Johnson & Johnson (2004) and Nguyen (2008) refers

to CL as the systematic instructional method of using small groups in which students work together to attain a shared goal Slavin (1987) does not mention the quality of group size in CL environment, yet restrict the shared work to academic tasks A more general concept put forward by Sharan (1994) draws a direct link between CL approach to student-centeredness in classroom teaching and learning Although various definitions of CL have been proposed by different researchers, there is a consensus about the nature of this learning approach To put it simple, in this paper, CL environment refers to the environment where students work in small groups to help each other in learning Students are expected to support each other through interaction and communication of ideas and constant feedback to reinforce the current knowledge and fill in the knowledge gaps of the group members

Since its emergence, cooperative learning approach has been praised for its positive effects on students‟ academic achievement (Tran, 2014; Slavin, 1989; Foley & O‟Donnel, 2002, Kagan, 1999), as well as affording students with the crucial qualities for future work (Adams & Hamm, 1990; Johnson et al 1994) In

2010, Yan Zhang published an article aimed specifically at the implementation of

CL in foreign language teaching and learning, in which he points out several benefits of this learning approach over the so-called traditional lecture-based teaching, which are also supported by various studies of CL According to the

article, cooperation will provide students with, first, chances of input and output,

in the sense that students are able to listen and respond to their peers The variety

of group members also denotes intense negotiation of meaningful input and adjusting the output so that members can adequately understand each other (Crandall, 1999) As a result, students will be able to produce appropriate

language in specific situations with a certain level of accuracy Secondly, CL

environment is an effective climate for the acquisition of language, granted that students feel more relaxed when working with peers than performing the task in front of the teacher and the whole class (Brown, 1994) Students can grasp the chance to practice several times before being asked by the teacher, hence

decreasing the anxiety level Thirdly, since cooperative learning involves students

in groups, real-life social settings can be used as the authentic situations in which students have the chance to practice the specific language for a particular social circumstance Such language functions as making suggestions, asking for confirmation, agreeing and disagreeing, etc will be employed; thereby enhancing

the opportunities for language practicing The last merit to be mentioned is that

CL will build learner responsibility and independence Johnson and Johnson (1991) advocates the view that students will be more and more autonomous and less dependent if they actively cooperate with their peers

As mentioned above, cooperative learning approach does exert salutary effects on the process of acquiring knowledge as well as developing interpersonal skills Thus, this seems to be a promising approach towards foreign language teaching and learning Considering that there are some similar characteristics between cooperative learning and communicative language learning (Yan, 2010),

it is comprehensible that these two learning approaches are concurrently employed

in language classrooms However, simply grouping students into small teams and

as them do the task does not necessarily mean learning by cooperating Indeed, it

is paramount to employ CL appropriately to be able to enjoy its benefits

According to Johnson and Johnson (1975), there are five basic elements of cooperative learning:

(1) In CL environment, there exists positive interdependence, which means

that students are aware of the compelling need to work with their group mates to accomplish a shared goal

(2) Promotive interaction should be encouraged through which students

provide support and encouragement for members of their group

(3) Individual accountability is paramount in attaining a shared goal

Students are expected to fulfil their individual responsibility for learning and contribute equally to the success of the task

(4) Social skills are promoted while doing the task in CL environment A

number of interpersonal skills should be developed and fostered during the learning process in small group Specifically, it is not probable for a task to

be successfully completed if students do not possess such skills as leadership, decision-making, conflict-management, etc

(5) The last element of CL is group processing During and at very end of the

task, members of a groups should reflect back to the level of effectiveness of how the task have been carried out Members‟ contribution to the task should also be taken into consideration, with the view to improving the quality of the group work

2.2.2 Cooperative learning in the context of Vietnam

The unprecedented rapid globalization and cooperation amongst countries amongst various aspects of life has undoubtedly resulted in the pressure to modernize the education system that can meet the demand and requirement of the increasingly competitive world To succeed in the nowadays working environment, individuals have to not only acquire profound knowledge of a specific field, but also possess such skills as problem-solving skills, creative and

critical thinking, as well as team work The pressure to reform education in developing countries has led to the adaptation of Western educational approaches and practices (Thomas 1997; Woodrow 2007), in the hope that those methodologies of the so-called developed countries will also facilitate the learning and teaching in non-Western countries such as Vietnam, and the act of borrowing will save much effort and time for seeking and experimenting new methods (Walker & Dimmock, 2002)

One question that needs to be asked, however, is that whether such Western learning approaches as CL will actually assist students of non-Western countries

or not The concern about appropriateness of CL, the nature of students and institutional conditions of the host country where CL is adopted has been brought into focus in numerous research papers Ellis (1995) points out that the teaching and learning styles are radically affected by cultural and social belief of a specific society Therefore, he believe that the Western communicative learning activities which are foreign to Vietnamese students will not be favored Nguyen et al (2009:15) expresses the concern about “the potential for mismatch when educational approaches are transferred across cultures without sufficient consideration of the norms and value of the host society” In their major study which reviews a number of related studies on CL in non-western countries, Thanh Pham, Gillies and Renshaw (2009) show that CL may not exceed traditional lecture-based teaching method when it comes to students‟ academic achievement

In other study, the same problem has been pointed out as CL carries various principles and underlying beliefs which conflict with those in Vietnam such as infrastructure conditions, teaching resources, and culture values, specifically under the influence of Asian Confucian heritage (Pham, 2008; Nguyen et al., 2008)

The aforementioned studies on the adoption of CL into the context of Asia, specifically Vietnam have posed a vexed question about the effectiveness of this Western learning approach in the host country where it is borrowed Considering

the fact that CL does bring certain benefits to language learners, successful application of it will greatly enhance students‟ performance not only in language learning but also in future work While doubts have been raised, there exist recent studies which show some positive signs of the adoption of CL in Vietnamese context In particular, Pham (2011) concludes that Vietnamese teachers and students show a will to implement cooperative learning activities This finding is encouraging since a change in attitude can gradually develop into a change in actions However, only few studies have drawn the focus on the attitudes of teachers and students on the application of CL, especially in Vietnam university context In accordance with the view that the attitudes of students and teachers have considerable influence on the level of success in applying CL, this paper will contribute to the investigation of attitudes towards CL of teachers and mainstream

program‟s first year students of FELTE, ULIS

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter is written with a view to illustrating the methodologies that are adopted in this research paper Besides, there will be a critical analysis and discussion on the choice research participants as well as data collection method

To obtain valid data, a number of data collection methods and data analysis methods would also be mentioned and justified

3.1 Setting of the research

The research is conducted at University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS), specifically Faculty of English Language Teaching Education (FELTE) ULIS is acknowledged as a dynamic university which shows the propensity to improve and innovate the quality of language teaching frequently Modern teaching methodology is updated on a regular basis, along with the highly-qualified teachers who have been exposed to various modern teaching practices Hence, students at ULIS are always exposed to the modern ways of learning English, with clear goals for each stage of learning

3.2 Research participants

The research is conducted on approximately 150 students from 7 classes (from 18E3 to 18E9) in academic year 2018-2019 in FELTE, ULIS and 10 teachers for English Division 1 The participations are all first-year students of mainstream program of English Language Teacher Education Faculty This research aims exclusively at these target participants because they have finished the first semester of intensive language training in ULIS Previously, with 7 years

of learning English at secondary and high school level, most of the students may

be accustomed to the traditional lecture-based and grammatical translation method

of teaching English It is comprehensible as they had to sit the pen and paper National exams to secure a place at university However, when being trained in

ULIS, freshmen are exposed to new teaching methodologies of communicative language teaching and cooperative learning The second group of participants are teachers in charge of teaching the student group of participants in the first semester of the academic year 2018-2019 Those teachers possess thorough understanding of communicative language teaching as well as cooperative learning, and also apply such approaches to their language classes

This approach of teaching language is reflected in the two language courses

in the first semester of the first year 1A (English for Social Purposes) and 1B (English for Academic Purposes) These courses cover two different purposes of learning English at tertiary level, with 1A specifically catering for the need to use English for daily communication in social settings, while 1B affords students opportunity to expose to various academic genres and text types, which is paramount for students in future academic work Despite such differences, both of the courses aim at developing students‟ English proficiency from level A2 toward B1 Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) by employing pair work and group work as central to improve students‟ language skills and content learning

In particular, pair work and group work account for 40% weight of assignment and assessment in course 1A Specifically, in the course, students are paired together to practice their pronunciation and perform in three Pronunciation Showcases during the course A more demanding task is Bookworm Presentation, which requires students to cooperate with other group members to generate ideas and decide on the final product Regarding other learning activities, grouping is prioritized in the language classroom For example, students are expected to join group discussion in some brainstorming activities before writing and speaking; or, students have chances to practicing speaking in pair in class Course 1B shares the same approach to teaching language by using group work and pair work, though the tasks are made different to suit the purpose of the course The core books of

English 1B are Q: Skills for Success, which are developed in Western countries

with preference for communicative learning approach Similar to course 1A, in class, students are frequently grouped together for small discussion and tasks Such learning activity as Speaking Function requires students to work in pair to perform the task Likewise, in the end-of-term speaking test, two students will be tested on their ability to use functional language in a conversation in part 2 As mentioned above, first year students of FELTE have been exposed to various cooperative learning activities during their process of training in ULIS

3.3 Data collection instrument & procedures

3.3.1 Instruments

a Structured questionnaires

In search of a data collection instrument for this particular study, structured questionnaire is deemed one of the optimum choices Initially, there are not many challenges for researchers to conduct this instrument In fact, with the computer assistance and the convenience of online survey, there can be less difficulty when

it comes to delivering and collecting the questionnaire to a large number of research participants Another merit of questionnaire is that the results can be easily analyzed with the help of computer software According to Dumas (1999), the use of Likert scale very popular when it comes to collecting data about respondent‟s attitude towards a particular topic Two distinct advantages of this scale are the interesting appearance and simplicity to answer, which will better motivate the participants to do the survey; hence more reliable results can be obtained

Regarding all the aforementioned factors, there can be of little doubt that structured questionnaire will benefit this paper in several ways Since this paper aims at a large number of participants, an efficient, easy-to-conduct and cost-saving instrument will be beneficial Additionally, this way of collecting data is

not time-consuming; therefore, it is suitable for the tight and conflicting schedules

of the participants and the researcher

b Semi-structured interview

After the results from questionnaire are collected and analyzed, there will be certain points that need clarifying for further understanding of CL implementation Therefore, other data collection method should also be employed Amongst various choices, semi-structured interview stands as a great potential This instrument guarantees a well-organized interview thanks to well-prepared questions However, there are rooms for flexible questions and interesting answers The researcher, hence, can gain an insight into interviewees‟ attitudes and obtain reliable, comparable qualitative data

There are two main parts of the interview: one is to acquire general knowledge about the interviewees and the other is to better understand the underlying reasons for their attitudes toward CL, which have not been clarified in the questionnaires With prepared questions that can afford both structure and flexibility during the interview, it is believed that helpful date can be achieved The interview can be either in Vietnamese or in English, which depends on the choice of the participants so that the interviewees could feel more comfortable in giving their answers in details This contributes greatly to the reliability of the data collecting process

Taking into considerations these aforementioned merits of semi-structured interview, the researcher decides to opt for this instrument as a means of collecting proper understanding of the matter For the targeted participants, the majority of interview sessions are anticipated to be face-to-face However, if there are any conflicts in the schedule of the researchers and the interviewees, interviews might

be carried out by phone or online via social network sites

3.3.2 Procedure

The process of data collection has three phases

Figure 1: Data collection procedure

 Phase 1: Designing the questionnaires

Concerning the fact that there is little or no available and suitable questionnaire regarding the attitudes of students and teachers towards cooperative learning in language classroom, two questionnaires are designed to aim specifically to answer the stated research questions There are two separate questionnaires for students and teachers, of which designs are based on five basic elements of effective cooperative learning (Johnson, 1975) and the benefits of CL

in language classroom, as listed by Yan Zhang (2010) Both questionnaires contained two parts with section 1 seeking to obtain initial knowledge about the participants as well as confirming some of the assumed knowledge about experiences in CL environment Section 2 was designed according to Likert scale, and participants were expected to tick the answer which best describes their level

of agreement Therefore, it was anticipated that the questionnaires would better motivate the participants to do the survey; hence, more reliable results can be

obtained Besides, there was one open-ended question at the end of the survey with a view to obtaining data about specific group work experiences which might not have been specified in the previous close-ended questions It was expected that the questionnaire would not take participants much time to complete Personal information of all participants would be kept confidential and anonymous for research purpose only, regardless of whatever forms the data collection instruments adapted Next, the questionnaires were reviewed by an experienced teacher By this way, the questionnaires were much improved in both the content and format The researcher then finalized the questionnaires and prepared to give them to the participants

 Phase 2: Surveying

The second phase was conducted with teachers and first-year students of FELTE, ULIS Questionnaires were delivered to each class at the beginning of the lesson and collected after the 15-minute break in order not to interrupt the lesson

as well as ensuring the number of participants First of all, the researcher made a brief introduction of the survey, as well as explaining the aim, the nature of the research topic and asked the students for their participation Then, the researcher observed participants to find out whether they had any difficulties understanding the questionnaire Finally, when collecting the questionnaires from the participants, the researchers carefully checked the survey forms to guarantee that all parts had been completed 127 questionnaires were collected from student participants in total, 109 of which were valid For the teacher participants, besides the hard copy questionnaires conducted in class, there were also online questionnaires sent to teachers via emails so as to meet the expected number of teacher participants In sum, 10 questionnaires were collected from the teachers, all of which were valid

 Phase 3: Interviewing

After questionnaires have been collected and synthesized, 10 students who responded with remarkable answers were chosen for the interview Due to the tight and conflicting schedules, there were only 3 teachers who could afford time

to take part in the interview The potential interviewees are contacted via phone or email, which were provided by these participants in the previous questionnaires The name of the research as well as the purpose of the interview were clearly restated in the message/ email of asking for participation in the hope that students would be keenly aware of the interview they could involve in Due to the conflict between the schedule of the researchers and the participants, online interview was adopted through email and social networking sites such as Facebook and Zalo

3.3.3 Data analysis methods and procedure

Regarding the questionnaires, the responses of the participants were scored

on a six-point scale ranging from “fully disagree” (1 point) to “fully agree” (6 points) Descriptive statistical analyses including mean, mode and standard deviation were utilized to evaluate the points gained for each statement The final result would help to gain insight in the overall attitudes of students and teachers towards different aspects of group work, hence evaluation of the participants‟ opinions about the effectiveness as well as motivation brought about by such cooperative activity in language class Accordingly, data about the obstacles in implementing CL can be derived from investigating the statements with „disagree‟ scales Additionally, interviews were conducted with a set of key questions targeting at different aspects of cooperative learning; therefore, they could be analyzed in thematic units In the end, most remarkable quotations from the interviews were cited to exemplify the analysis of the data In order to ensure the confidential of the study along with descriptive convenience, pseudo – initials were used for each participant (S1, S2, S3, etc for students and T1, T2, T3 for teachers)

In conclusion, the setting of the study along with targeted participants was presented In addition, the research method including three-phased data collection method and data analysis method were also justified, helping to shed the light on

the analysis of the data in the following chapter

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In the preceding chapter, critical analysis and discussion on the choice of research participants as well as justifications of the instruments and the process of data collection and analysis were made Above all, it is in this chapter that all collected data will be examined and interpreted to answer each research question sequentially On top of that, the similarities between these findings and other related studies along with new discoveries will also be presented

4.1 Overview of the attitudes of teachers from English Division 1 and year mainstream students towards cooperative learning in language classes

first-In an attempt to address the research questions, data collected from both questionnaire (quantitative) and interview (qualitative) was analyzed Two questionnaires were employed in order to understand the extent to which students and teachers perceived cooperative learning as an effective and motivating approach to language learning Approximately 150 student and 10 teacher participants were asked to choose a number from 1 (fully disagree) to 6 (fully agree) on a Likert scale On top of that, follow-up interview was adopted to confirm and specify the participants‟ answers as well as consulting them for constructive suggestions Of the study population, 127 students completed and returned the questionnaire, 109 of which were valid Meanwhile, the number of collected teacher questionnaires was 10, all of which were valid

4.4.1 Students’ attitudes

The quantitative analysis of the responses from the students is summarized in Table 1 From the table below, it is apparent that the Mean scores are quite high with no statement receives the score at and under 3 (partly disagree to fully disagree), implying an overall favorable viewpoint towards this learning approach

It is also important to realize that the Mean scores range from 3.79 to 5.08, which denotes that students show various degree of positive attitudes towards different aspects of cooperative learning in language class Amongst the listed benefits of

group work for students‟ improvement, some merits were acknowledged by more students than others

As clearly seen from the data, Group Interaction and Group Support stands

as the most agreed benefits of working in group with the scores of Q2 to Q12 above the mean of 4.45, except for Q7 (m=4.35) and Q12 (m=4.32) Meanwhile,

students have diverse ideas with Group Contribution and Group Result, which is

illustrated by the mean scores of Q13 to Q24 ranging from 3.79 to 5.08 Another

key point is that some statements in both of the main aspects (Group Work

Process and Result) receive rather high standard deviation (Q5, m=1.30; Q8,

m=1.24; Q13, m=1.42; Q19, m=1.31; Q19, m=1.21; Q23, m=1.21), which requires careful analysis to be carried out so as to adequately understand the attitudes of students

4.1.2 Teachers’ attitudes

The results obtained from the preliminary analysis of teachers‟ responses, which are presented in Table 2, indicate a general similarity between the overall attitudes of teachers and students towards the implementation of cooperative

learning in their language classrooms Besides Group Work Facilitation, which exclusively belongs to the teachers‟ group, other aspects such as Group Work

Process and Group Work Results are responded by both teachers and students with

high level of agreement about the positive impacts of CL on students‟ language learning In particular, it can be obtained from Table 2 that the Mean scores are rather high, ranging from 3.4 to 5.0 Similar to students‟ responses, the teachers‟ show an overall favorable attitudes towards CL, yet different aspects of this would receive various degree of acceptance as effective and motivating for students to acquire language

According to the data from Table 1 and 2, there is a consensus between

teachers and students about the effectiveness of CL in terms of Group Interaction and Group Support in language learning environment The Mean scores for I.3 to I.14 are above 4.5, except for I.4 (m=4.2) and I.5 (m=4.3) Regarding the Group

Contribution and Group Results, similar pattern of attitudes can be detected

amongst two groups of participants They both show lower level of agreement about the positive of CL when it comes to contribution and results Specifically, the Mean of these two aspects ranges from 3.4 to 4.8, which is relatively low compared to that of other aspects It is equally important to take into consideration

the high deviation standard scores of some specific items in the questionnaires (I.1, SD=1.29; I.5, SD=1.25, I.15, SD=1.23; I.20, SD=1.16), which indicate a variety of responses amongst teacher participants

Table 2: Level of agreement amongst teachers towards the positive of group work

Hopefully, those statistics have provided the overall picture Nonetheless, it should be noted that besides the resemblance in the general attitudes, certain aspects of CL are perceived differently by the two groups The quantitative data summarized above is only referential and needs to be clarified and justified based

on the qualitative analysis that follows

4.2 Teachers and students’ attitudes towards different aspects of cooperative learning in language classes

4.2.1 Teachers’ attitudes towards the facilitation of cooperative learning

“It often takes time to put my students into different groups during the whole lesson, which will allow them to work with different partners I think this will benefit the students, yet it is sometimes quite time-consuming when the students have to move, seek for their peers and then settle down to new group

…I think I have no real difficulties in managing the class, including structuring groups, delivering the tasks or observing their working process thanks to the small class size and thereby reasonable number of students in a group.” (T1)

In contrast to earlier findings of Pham (2011), which listed the local infrastructure as a barrier of CL, the classroom setting was pointed out by T1 as a contributing factor to the successful management of cooperative learning In fact,

it is obtained from the questionnaire that first year students of FELTE, ULIS usually work in small group of 2-4 members, which is believed by Johnson & Johnson (2004) to facilitate effective group work Likewise, the class size of

language classes in ULIS is rather small, which is a friendly learning environment for the implementation of cooperative approach The responses to I.2 (m=4.7, SD=0.82) indicate that most teachers agree with T1 that classroom management does not pose insurmountable difficulties for them to facilitate CL In other words, this should not be considered a factor that may demotivate the teachers from applying CL in their classrooms

Listed as one of the challenges in the application of CL in Asian context, teacher‟s quality has attracted great concern in previous studies about the appropriateness of this approach to studying foreign language (Nguyen et al, 2005) Accordingly, Asian teachers are believed to be more familiar with traditional grammar-based teaching methods, yet they are demanded to apply CL

in their language classes as a requirement of educational reformation This change

in teaching methodology, coupled with the lack of proper training consequently leads to the vague understanding of CL procedures, hence lower level of effectiveness (Pham, 2011) However, the data obtained from interviewing teacher participants in this study does not support that assumption Particularly, the will implementation of CL in ULIS language classrooms was not hindered the facilitation of teachers, who have been qualified to apply such innovative learning approaches, in addition to years of teaching experience in CL environment Besides, the teachers‟ effective control in CL environment can also be attributed to the willingness of students to participate in group activities, which will be scrutinized in the following part

4.2.2 Teachers and students’ attitudes towards the process of cooperative learning

Students‟ willingness to participate in group work should be deemed one of the key factors contributing to the level of effectiveness of CL in the learning process Various researchers in the field have expressed their concern about the mismatch between the underlying principles of Western-based learning approach

and the learners‟ beliefs and values in such Confucian-influenced Asian countries

as Vietnam (Nguyen et al., 2005) According to their findings, Asian language learners show a certain degree of resistance to cooperative learning approach due

to the previous individual learning experiences In other words, it can be productive to ask students who have been accustomed to work individually with

counter-no shared goal to cooperate with other peers

In this study, students‟ eagerness to join in cooperative activities is pointed out in the reflection of both teachers and students Responses to question I.3 in the survey indicate a high degree of students‟ willingness, with most of the teachers agreed that their students were willing to join in group work There was only one out of ten teacher participants did experience students‟ initial reluctance towards grouping with other peers to complete academic tasks, as shown in the pie chart below

Chart 1: Level of agreement amongst teachers about students‟ willingness to

participate in group work

Chart 2: Level of agreement amongst students about their willingness to

participate in group work

Regarding the students‟ responses to the similar questions, this group show the similar results to the teacher group To be more specific, the mean score of 4.65 for Q1, coupled with the small standard deviation of only 0.96 indicates a general favorable attitude towards cooperative activities in language classes This particular outcome of Question 1 is consistent with that of Pham (2011), in which she concluded that Vietnamese students showed a will to accept the implementation of CL in class However, this finding is rather contradict with that

of Ellis (1995), who expressed the concern that the foreign cooperative approach would not be favored by Asian, specifically Vietnamese students More recently, Pham (2008) and Nguyen et al (2008) also found that the underlying principles of such Western-based learning approach would not support the learning process of Asian students due to the inappropriateness of infrastructure conditions, teaching resources and culture values Be that as it may, most of the student participants pointed out that they did experience group work prior to university It should be noticed that the implementation of CL has taken place in a large scale in lower education levels in Vietnam and the nature of Vietnamese students have changed over time, despite the fact that such perceived difficulties as class size did exist Students who answered yes for the question about previous experiences in group