Nghiên cứu hành động về việc nâng cao nhận thức của học sinh về văn hóa anh quốc trong giờ dạy nói ở một trường trung học cơ sở tại quảng bình​

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** HOÀNG THỊ THU GIANG AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT ON ENHANCING STUDENT’S AWARENESS OF BRITISH CULTURE IN SPEAKING LESSONS AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN QUANG BINH (Nghiên cứu hành động việc nâng cao nhận thức học sinh Văn hóa Anh quốc dạy nói trường trung học sở Quảng Bình) M.A THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01 Hanoi – 2020 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** HOÀNG THỊ THU GIANG AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT ON ENHANCING STUDENT’S AWARENESS OF BRITISH CULTURE IN SPEAKING LESSONS AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN QUANG BINH (Nghiên cứu hành động việc nâng cao nhận thức học sinh Văn hóa Anh quốc dạy nói trường trung học sở Quảng Bình) M.A THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01 Supervisor : Huynh Anh Tuan, Ph.D Hanoi – 2020 DECLARATION I, Hoang Thi Thu Giang, certify my authorship of the MA thesis entitled “An action research project on enhancing students’ awareness of British Culture in speaking lessons at a secondary school in Quang Binh” The substance of the MA thesis has not, wholly or in part, has been submitted for a degree in any other university or institution Hanoi, July 2020 Hoang Thi Thu Giang i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS On the completion of this MA thesis, I would like, first of all, to express my deepest gratitude and indebtedness to my supervisor- Dr Huynh Anh Tuan who has always been most willing and ready to give me valuable advice, inspiration and supervision I also wish to express my sincere thanks to the teachers of English and students in the secondary school in Quang Binh for their great assistance and support during the process of conducting this MA thesis, without which my thesis cannot have been accomplished It is a big mistake if I would not acknowledge here my special thanks to the authors of methodology and cultural works whose ideas have inspired and stimulated my thinking and my writing of this thesis Ultimately, I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to my family, my friends for their encouragement and inspiration This MA thesis has been completed to my best knowledge, however, mistake and short-comings are unavoidable Hence, I look forward to receiving comments and suggestions from teachers, students and any readers, for the perfection of the thesis Hanoi, July 2020 Hoang Thi Thu Giang ii ABSTRACT Regarding the importance of intercultural competence in second language acquisition, progressive scholars today believe that culture and language are inseparable and culture elements must be an integral part of language learning The study aims to investigate the extent to which the applied techniques of teaching culture enhance the students’ awareness about British Culture It also explores the students’ attitude towards the applied techniques The eight stated cultural elements in the intensive course, the typical technique of teaching culture, namely cultural practices together with supportive activities like presentation, group works and role play have been proved effectively after the project The most noticeable merit for students is that they could have more opportunities to enhance their awareness of British Culture in speaking lessons via many cultural experiences They showed their positive attitude towards the course The research concludes that enhancing students’ awareness of culture of the target language is new to the teaching context in Quang Binh It should be widely introduced to secondary schools there for such kind of methods directly and highly benefit the teaching and learning English iii LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS Figure 2.1 The cultural iceberg Figure 3.1: Types of action research 20 Chart 4.1: Percentage of correct answers in Pre Intervention test 28 Chart 4.2: The data of questions in the pre-intervention test 29 Chart 4.3: The data of questions in the pre- intervention test 30 Chart 4.4: The data of questions in the pre- intervention test 31 Chart 4.5: The summary of opened questions number in the pre-intervention test 33 Chart 4.6: Percentage of correct answers for three closed questions in the posttest.36 Chart 4.7: The summary data of the opened questions in the posttest 36 Chart 4.8: The data of correct answers in closed questions of the pretest and posttest 37 Chart 4.9: The percentage of correct answers to questions number & in the posttest 38 Chart 4.10: The data of opened questions number of the pretest and posttest .39 Chart 4.11: The data of the presentation part 40 Chart 4.12: The data of the practice part 41 Chart 4.13: The data of the production part 41 Chart 4.14: The summary data of the event observation 42 Chart 4.15: The summary data in the questionnaire 43 Chart 4.16: Further information from students in the questionnaire 45 LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: Methods to enhance the students’ awareness of British Culture 34 iv v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS iv LIST OF TABLES iv ABBREVIATIONS v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi CHAPTER: I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims and Objectives 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Methods of the study 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Structure of the thesis CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Culture and language teaching 2.1.1 Culture and its components 2.1.2 The relation of culture with cross-cultural, inter-cultural communication .8 2.1.3 Importance of culture in language teaching 2.2 An overview of Teaching Speaking and Teaching Culture .10 2.2.1 Goals of teaching culture in language classes 10 2.2.2 Classroom speaking activities 11 2.2.4 Applying cultural teaching techniques in speaking lessons 14 2.2.5 Some productive guidelines for teaching culture 15 2.3 Review of previous studies related to the research area of the thesis 16 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 18 3.1 Research approach: Action research 18 vi 3.1.1 Why Action research? 18 3.2 An action research project 21 3.3 Research context 24 3.4 Data collection instruments 24 3.4.1 Tests 24 3.4.2 Observation 25 3.4.3 Questionnaire 25 3.5 Data collection procedure 25 3.6 Data analysis procedure 26 3.6.1 Quantitative analysis 26 3.6.2 Qualitative analysis 27 CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 28 4.1 The extent to which the applied techniques of teaching culture enhance the students’ awareness of British culture 28 4.1.1 General pretest findings 28 4.1.2 Applied teaching techniques and practicing activities 33 4.1.3 Initial information of posttest 35 4.2 The students’ attitudes towards the applied techniques 39 4.2.1 Observation interpretation 40 4.2.2 Questionnaire interpretation 43 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 46 5.1 Recapitulation 46 5.2 Concluding remarks 46 5.3 Limitation 48 5.4 Suggestions for further studies 48 5.4 Reflection 49 REFERENCES 51 APPENDICES I vii CHAPTER: I INTRODUCTION Knowledge of the world’s languages and cultures is more vital than ever In order to compete in the global community, we must be able to communicate effectively and to appreciate, to understand and to work effectively in the framework of other cultures It seems obvious enough that to penetrate another language, one must understand what its people are saying and make oneself understood 1.1 Rationale One naive assumption occasionally made by teachers is that a mastery of the linguistics patterns of a foreign culture leads itself to “thinking like a native” As Lewald (1968) properly points out, this belief is unwarranted Unless the student is learning the language in the target culture, the cultural referents necessary to understanding a native speaker must be learned in addition (cited in Seelye, 1974) Learning a language in isolation of its cultural roots prevents one from becoming socialized into its contextual use Knowledge of linguistics structure alone does not carry with it any special insight into the political, social, religious, or economic system Today, for educators and teachers of English, the culture of target language has been put much consideration in second language teaching The expected outcomes, however, seem to be far from satisfactory Although aware of the role of culture as the key to a success in second language acquisition, there are times when it is difficult for a guest in a new culture to adapt the cultural norm of the host country As a result, sometimes, the terms culture shock or conflicting value systems have been much mentioned for appropriate explanation of the failure in communication and social interaction The way success works is not really easy to discover Obviously, the culture elements have not been thoroughly exploited in language lessons To be purposeful, teaching activities should integrate cultural elements in a reasonable way In other d Sword and gun What does the fighting against the injustice of Robin Hood and his band of outlaws imply? a Injustice may cause conflict b Heroic spirit is everlastingly praised c Main characters are full of heroic symbolism d All things aforementioned Would you share any information you would like to know more about the legend of Robin Hood? ….…………………………………………………………………………………… ….…………………………………………………………………………………… ….…………………………………………………………………………………… VII William Shakespeare What is the best description of the author William Shakespeare? a Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, England At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith He was famous for many works which brought him a lot of money He died in Stratford on his birthday, on 23 April 1616 at the age of 52 b Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1616 in London When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway They had three children He was famous for many works He died in Stratford at the age of 52 c Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1616 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith He was famous for many works which brought him a lot of money He died in Stratford on his birthday, on 23 April 1616 at the age of 52 d Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon of London He married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith He died in Stratford on his birthday, on 23 April 1616 at XV the age of 53 What were the folio classification of Shakespeare's works printed in the First Folio of 1623? a comedies, histories, and tragedies b comedies, histories, and sonnets c comedies, tragedies and sonnets d sonnets, histories and tragedies Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets (fourteen- line poems) in which addressed the two unidentified people Wo were they? a the two young men b the child and the mother c the “fair youth” and the “dark lady” d The child and the father Would you share any information you would like to know more about William Shakespeare? ….…………………………………………………………………………………… ….…………………………………………………………………………………… ….…………………………………………………………………………………… VIII The Beatles What is the best description of The Beatles? a The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 They have been regarded as the most influential band of all time with four members, namely John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr The official manager of the band was Brian Epstein b The Beatles have been regarded as the most influential band of all time with a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr The official manager of the band was Brian Epstein c The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 They have been regarded as the most influential band of all time with a line-up XVI comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr d The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 with four members, namely John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr The official manager of the band was George Martin A hard day’s night was one of the most famous studio album of The Beatles What does it contain? a soundtrack of the same film’s name on side one and other new recordings on side two b ringing guitars and irresistible melodies c the songs mainly composed by Lennon and McCartney d All things aforementioned Where and when did The Beatles’ final live performance take place? a It took place on the rooftop of the Apple Corps building at Savile Row, London, on 30 January 1969 b It took place on a yard at sea on 15 January 1969 c It took place at a lunatic asylum in London in 1969 d It took place at the Tunisian desert in 1969 Would you share any information you would like to know more about The Beatles? ….………………………………………………………………………… ….………………………………………………………………………… ….………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your co-operation! ANSWER KEY I b a b Appendix THE SYLLASBUS OF THE INTENSIVE SPEAKING COURSE Item Week XVIII XIX Appendix OBSERVATION CHECKLIST (In- Class lesson) Class: 7A1 – 7A2 No of students: 38 Lesson: ………… I Presentation part Were the slides/ video vividly and informative to students? - Number of students raising hands to answer the teachers’ question relating to the cultural content of the slide/ video? - Number of students paying attention to the video/ slides Assessment criteria Raising hand Being attentive II Practice part Was the cultural content in the text book understandable to students? - Number of students finishing the task in time - Number of students with correct answers Assessment criteria Finishing the task in time Having answers III Production part Did students be ready to take part into the presentation part? - Number of students participating in the group activities - Number of students volunteering to make the presentation - Number of students paying attention to their friends’ presentation Assessment criteria Participating in the group activities volunteering to make the presentation Being attentive corre Appendix OBSERVATION CHECKLIST (Event of month) Class: 7A1 – 7A2 No of students: 38 Lesson: ………… Were student interested in the event? - Number of students wearing costumes, joining the games… - Number of students being attracted to the video Assessment criteria Wearing disguising Joining dance Being attentive to the video The end! XXI Appendix QUESTIONNAIRE In answering the following questions, please tick (V) where appropriate You rate each statement on a scale of a (very useful) to e (unuseful) a very useful b useful c moderately useful d slightly useful e unuseful How you feel about the content of cultural elements in the textbook? a □ b □ c □ d □ e □ What is your opinion about the slide/ video in the e □ lessons? a □ b □ c □ d □ Please share your points of the presentation in the lessons? e □ a □ b □ c □ d □ How you feel about your experience in three festivals, namely Halloween, Noel, and The Beatles? a □ b □ c □ d □ e □ What’s your opinion about the homework at the end of each lesson? a □ b □ c □ d □ e □ How does understandings from the course help you in studying English? a □ b □ c □ d □ XXII e □ What’s your opinion about the moral lessons hidden in the cultural elements? a □ b □ c □ d □ e □ Please write anything you concern relating to the intensive speaking course? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your cooperation! XXIII Appendix SAMPLE LESON PLAN WEEK Date of teaching: …… Period 1: THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD A Aims: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to: Knowledge - enrich knowledge of British culture such as sports, social skills, arts, architect… Skills - improve speaking skills through learning activities such as group work, presentation - critical thinking Attitude - have positive attitude toward the cultural elements in the lesson B Teaching aids: Video/ slides, textbooks, black board C Teaching method: Communicative approach D Anticipated problems: - Ss may find the cultural category quite challenging - Some students may get difficulty when making presentation E Procedures: Time Teache I Class stabilization: Greeting Check attenda II New lesson: Presentation: - Briefly introduce about the DoE 1’ XXIV - Present the video to introduce the DoE 9’ - Ask Ss some questions relating to the content of the video - Present the video to introduce the DoE - Ask Ss some questions relating to the cultural space and agents of the video - Check the answers and write the correct answers on the board 13’ Practice - Ss to open the text book page and read the text “The Duke of Edinburgh award” - Ss to work in pairs to ask and answer the questions in part Then categorize the cultural element into cultural space - Answer (where and when), cultural agents (who) and cultural activities (what and how) - Listen & correct their work - Call representative from two pairs to write down the outcome on the board - Work in groups - Practice present - Teacher comments Production - Ss work in group of or students, 18’talk to each other the DoE basing on categories: cultural space, cultural agents and cultural activities - Ss volunteer to make presentation on the DoE XXV - Make presentation 4’ IV Wrap-up: - Talk about the lessons of consistenc patience and determination of British youth “not all learning happens in classroom * Homework: + Think about the similar award in Vietnam, find the similarities and differences relating to the award (cultural space, agent, activities) in tw cultures If not, created a Vietnamese version (writing or speaking) + Searching information relating to T Bog Snorkelling Championship and t to categorize the supportive informat in to cultural space, cultural agents an cultural activities F EVALUATION: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… …… ………………………………………………………………………………… XXVI Appendix SAMPLE LESON PLAN WEEK … Date of teaching: …… Period 4: HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL A Aims: By the end of the event, students will be able to: Knowledge - enrich their knowledge of British culture through Halloween festival Skills - improve skills through cultural practices such as creative competition, party decoration, fashion show, dance - critical thinking Attitude - have positive attitude toward the cultural elements in the outside-class lesson B Procedures: No A I Time st th From October to 28 2019 Oct.21- Oct.28 II B I II III IV Oct 28 – Oct 29 st October 31 2019 7.20 a.m - a.m a.m - 8.30 a.m 8.30 a.m -9.20 a.m 9.20 a.m-11.30 a.m ... SPEAKING LESSONS AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN QUANG BINH (Nghiên cứu hành động việc nâng cao nhận thức học sinh Văn hóa Anh quốc dạy nói trường trung học sở Quảng Bình) M.A THESIS Field : English Teaching... Quảng Bình) M.A THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01 Supervisor : Huynh Anh Tuan, Ph.D Hanoi – 2020 DECLARATION I, Hoang Thi Thu Giang, certify my authorship of the MA... like, first of all, to express my deepest gratitude and indebtedness to my supervisor- Dr Huynh Anh Tuan who has always been most willing and ready to give me valuable advice, inspiration and