Integrating american cultural studies into teaching english to the grade 11 students at tran phu gifted high school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THỊ TUYẾT MAI INTEGRATING AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES INTO TEACHING ENGLISH TO THE GRADE 11 STUDENTS AT TRAN PHU GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL: AN INITIAL INVESTIGATION Bước đầu nghiên cứu việc tích hợp dạy kiến thức văn hoá Mỹ việc dạy tiếng Anh cho học sinh khối 11 Trường THPT chuyên Trần Phú, Hải Phòng M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 HANOI –2012 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES TRẦN THỊ TUYẾT MAI INTEGRATING AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES INTO TEACHING ENGLISH TO THE GRADE 11 STUDENTS AT TRAN PHU GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL: AN INITIAL INVESTIGATION Bước đầu nghiên cứu việc tích hợp dạy kiến thức văn hoá Mỹ việc dạy tiếng Anh cho học sinh khối 11 Trường THPT chuyên Trần Phú, Hải Phòng M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: VŨ THỊ THU THỦY, M.A HANOI – 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION …………………………………………………………… ……….i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS …………………………………………….…………….ii ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………….iii TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………………….iv LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………………… …vii LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………………… …….…viii PART I: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………….1 Rationale of the study………………………………………………………… Aims of the study…………………………………………………………….…3 Research questions…………………………………………………………… Scope of the study…………………………………………….……………… Significance of the study…………………………………………………….…4 Method of the study………………………………………………………….…4 Design of the study…………………………………………………………… PART II: DEVELOPMENT ……………………………………………………… CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ……………………………………….….6 Language and Culture 1.1 What is language …….……………………………………….… …………….6 1.2 What is Cultural studies? ………………………,,,…………………………….6 1.3 Cultural studies in language teaching ……………… ………………….…….8 What are the main goals for teaching American cultural studies? …………………9 What are the principles for teaching American culture studies? ………………… 10 What are the most common approaches to the teaching of American Cultural studies? …………………………………………………………………………… …11 iv What are some techniques and activities for teaching American Cultural studies? ……………………………………………………………………………… 12 Evaluating materials for teaching American Cultural studie…………………… 14 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY……………….……………… …16 2.1 Overview of the current situation of teaching and learning American Cultural studies at Tran Phu Gifted High School …………………………………….……….16 2.2 Methodology 2.2.1 Sample ………… ……………………………………….……………17 2.2.2 Data collection instruments ……………………………………… 19 2.2.2.1 Survey questionnaire ……………………………………………….19 2.2.2.2 Classroom observation ….……………….……………………… 21 2.2.2.3 Interview …………………………………………………………… 21 2.2.3 Data collection procedure…………………………………………….22 2.2.4 Data analysis procedure……………………………………………….22 2.3 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 23 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION …………………………24 3.1 Findings from questionnaires for the teachers ……………… … …… 24 3.1.1 The teachers‟ perceptions on the definition of American Cultural studies ……………………………… …………… …….…24 3.1.2 The teachers‟ perceptions on the importance of teaching American cultural studies in the classroom ………………………….24 3.1.3 Frequency of teaching the culture-related issues ………………… 25 v 3.1.4 The teachers‟ way of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom …………………………………………………………… 25 3.1.5 The teachers‟ choice of topics for American Cultural studies in the classroom ………………………………………………………………26 3.1.6 The teachers‟ choice of materials of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom ……………………………………………………… 27 3.1.7 The teachers‟ opinions about difficulties in teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom ……………………………………………….29 3.2 Findings from questionnaires for the students ………………………………31 3.2.1 The students‟ perception of the importance of learning American Cultural studies in the classroom ………………………………… …31 3.2.2 The students‟ opinions of the ways of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom …………………………………………… 31 3.2.3 The students‟ choice of topics for American Cultural studies in the classroom …………………………………………………………… 33 3.2.4 The students‟ ways of gaining American Cultural studies knowledge …………………………………………………………… ………….35 3.3 Findings from class observations ……………………… …………………36 3.4 Findings from the interview ……………………………………………… 37 3.5 Discussion of the findings ………………………………………………… 38 3.6 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………… 40 PART III: CONCLUSION ………………………………… ……………………41 Summary of the study …………… …………….…………………………….41 vi Pedagogical implications ……………………….…………………………….41 Limitations of the study ……………………………………………………….43 Suggestions for further study………………………………………………….44 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………… 45 REFERENCES ……………………………………………………… ………… 45 APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………… I Appendix 1: Survey questionnaire for the teachers ………………………………I Appendix 2: Survey questionnaire for the students ………………………………V Appendix 3: Interview Questions ……………………………………………… VIII Appendix 4: Suggested lesson plan …………………………………………… IX vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Characteristics of the teachers Table 2: Difference between the teachers‟ and students‟ opinions about the ways of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom Table 3: Difference between the teachers‟ and students‟ scores for topics of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The teachers‟ scores for the ways of teaching Americans studies in the classroom Figure 2: The teachers‟ scores for the topics of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom Figure 3: The teachers‟ scores for materials for teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom Figure 4: Difficulties in teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom Figure 5: The students‟ score for the ways of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom Figure 6: The students‟ score for the topics of teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom viii PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study It cannot be denied that English has nowadays become a common means of communication of human being all over the world Perceiving that trend of the global integration, Vietnam has been more and more active to train active and dynamic Vietnamese, who can use English fluently for communicative purposes That is the reason why in 2002, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has set out new aims for English language teaching for secondary education as well as introduced new series of English textbooks from grade to grade 12 The new English textbooks for high school students are divided into two sets: the advanced and the standard Each unit in the new English textbooks consists of five parts: Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing and Language Focus, among which the Language Focus sections are to consolidate students‟ pronunciation and grammar They are claimed to adopt the latest teaching and learning approaches: communicative approach and learner-centered approach and aim at developing both language skills and language knowledge for students Since their nation-wide implementation in the school year 2006-2007, a great number of researchers have been carried out to evaluate these new textbooks as well as to find out how these textbooks are actually implemented or the difficulties that teachers and students at high schools have to face when teaching and learning with the new textbooks Most of these studies have dealt with the teaching and learning of the four language skills which are believed to be new for both teachers and students However, there is still one more indispensable aspect which tends to be depreciated It is culture that turns out to be the fifth skill in language learning and tacked on to the teaching of speaking, listening, reading, and writing It always stays in the background to decide the good language learners when paid enough attention to It supports learners to achieve their communicative competence Nevertheless, the number of research on the teaching and learning of culture in general and America studies in particular in the classroom is obviously limited It is necessary to carry out more research on how teachers and students teach and learn culture in the actual classroom Besides, national examinations (national examinations for GCSE, university entrance examinations) have currently included some questions related to American cultural studies issues (for example: how to address certain situations, etc.) On the other hand, there are various cultures that English language is getting connected with Among those, the United States has a leading economic, political and cultural force in the world Moreover, the United States is also the ideal destination for overseas students, which has resulted from its top-ranking education system Thus, learning about the culture of the United States appears to be a wise choice Moreover, after two years of teaching English with the new English textbooks at Tran Phu Gifted High School, the researcher observed that the teachers and learners there faced a number of difficulties in teaching and learning American cultural studies in the classroom According to Bada (2000: 101), “the need for cultural literacy in ELT arises mainly from the fact that most language learners, not exposed to cultural elements of the society in question, seem to encounter significant hardship in communicating meaning to native speakers.” In addition, nowadays the L2 culture is presented as an interdisciplinary core in many L2 curricula designs and textbooks (Sysoyev & Donelson, 2002) Stimulated by the above reasons, the researcher has decided to conduct this study It is hoped that this study will discover the reality of teaching and learning American cultural studies at Tran Phu Gifted high school in order to contribute some immediate solutions Aims of the study The aim of this study is to examine the current teaching and learning of American cultural studies in the high school classroom at Tran Phu Gifted High School In order to achieve the aim, the study seeks to find out: (1) The teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions on the importance of American cultural studies teaching and learning (2) How the teachers and the students deal with American cultural studies in the classroom (3) The teachers‟ perceived difficulties in teaching and learning American cultural studies in the classroom Research questions: To achieve the aim and objectives of the study, the following research questions were proposed: How the teachers and the students at Tran Phu Gifted High School perceive the importance of American cultural studies teaching and learning? How the teachers teach and the students learn / expect to learn American cultural studies in high school classroom? What method and techniques the teachers and the students use / expect to use? Do you think the students are more interested and motivated in learning the English language with some background knowledge in American culture? Yes, with significant difference No difference Yes, but not much difference Don‟t know Which of the following you consider most useful for teaching American Cultural studies? Please rate from to for each selection 1-least useful, 5- most useful Please tick the appropriate box Lectures Discussions on cultural differences and similarities Watching videos Listening to songs and discussing the lyrics Reading and discussing newspaper / magazines articles Talking about current events Reading authentic texts (short stories, poems) Role plays Drama II Doing projects Culture capsule * Other (please specify) ………………………………………… *culture capsule is a brief description of an aspect of culture followed by a discussion of the contrasts between culture in the first and second language What aspects of culture would you consider the most important to teach? Please rate from to for each selections 1-least important, 5-most important Please tick the appropriate box Geography History Customs and festivals Literature and art Music Government and political institutions Law and order Education and schools Family life III Food Youth life National symbols and stereotypes Rules of behavior Patterns of politeness Non-verbal communication ………………………………………… Other (please specify) What sources you use for teaching culture Please tick the ones you use school textbooks newspapers cultural studies (e.g British studies) textbooks literature folklore videotapes recordings the Internet IV realia (maps, brochures, tickets etc.) other: please specify ……………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………… In your opinion the textbooks you use offer enough material for discussing culture-related issues? Yes, quite a lot Enough To some extent No 10 Which are the anticipated difficulties in teaching American Cultural studies in the classroom? lack of time large class students‟ low level of English proficiency lack of students‟ interest in learning American Cultural studies lack of teaching materials American Cultural studies issues not included in the exam content other: ……………………………………………………………………… V Appendix 2: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTS Dear Student, My name is Mai and I am doing research in cultural studies in English language teaching for my master thesis Part of the research also includes finding out how high school students think about integrating American Cultural studies into teaching English in the classroom I would appreciate if you found time to give your opinion of the teaching of culture Thank you for your cooperation Please answer the following question about learning culture Do you think learning culture is important while learning English? Yes, very important Yes, important Not important Don‟t know Should culture be taught in English classes or on a separate course? In English classes On a separate course Both Which of the following would be most useful for understanding and learning about the other culture? Please rate from to for each selection 1-least useful, 5- most useful  lectures on certain topics  discussions on cultural differences and similarities  watching videos VI  listening to songs  listening to radio programmes  reading and discussing newspaper articles  talking about current events  reading authentic texts (short stories, poems)  role plays  drama  doing projects  other: please specify ………………………………………………………… What aspects of culture would you be more interested to learn about? Please rate from to for each selection 1-least interesting, 5- most interesting  geography  history  customs and festivals  literature and art  music  government and political institutions  law and order  education  family life  food  youth life  national symbols and stereotypes  rules of behaviour  patterns of politeness VII  non-verbal communication  other: please specify ………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… I have acquired most knowledge about the United States: from my English classes from American Cultural studies classes from the media from elsewhere Please specify …………………………….…………………………………… I would like to know more about the USA and other English speaking countries Yes No If the answer was Yes would you like to learn more about American Cultural studies in your English classes Yes No Appendix 3: Interview Questions  Interview questions for the teachers What you think about integrating American Cultural studies into teaching English in the classroom? In the classroom, you often discuss American Cultural studies issues? What you suggest to improve the teaching and learning of American Cultural studies in the classroom? VIII ppendix 4: SAMPLE OF EXTRA TASK TO INTEGRATING AMERICAN CULTURAL STUDIES INTO TEACHING ENGLISH TO THE GRADE 11 STUDENTS A LESSON PLAN UNIT 8: CELEBRATIONS A Reading I Objectives: By the end of the lesson Ss will be able to:   Develop such reading micro-skills as scanning for specific ideas and guessing meaning in context Use the information they have read to discuss the topic II Matereals: Textbook, handouts III Anticipated problems: Ss may need help with the discussion task, so T should be ready to help them IV Procedure: Stage/Time Before you read (10’) Procedure Interaction Pair work & whole  T asks the whole class to look at the picture on page 90 class Discussing Tet holiday and discuss questions in pairs  T goes around to offer help  T calls on some Ss to present their answers  T gives feedback if necessary Pre-teaching Vocabulary  T should only teach the words which not appear in Task Lunar New Year: Tết Âm lịch To fall between … and …: rơi vào khoảng thời gian IX từ … đến … To spread: kéo dài To be full of: having or containing a large number or amount of sth (đầy, nhiều) Candied fruit: mứt Positive comments: lời nói tốt đẹp While you read (7’) Whole class, Task individual Instruction: Find the meaning of the words You can also use work & pair work the dictionary  T writes these words on the board Grand, banner, sugared apples, agrarian, excitement pray,  Then T instructs Ss to read the passage quickly and stop at the lines that contain these words to guess their meanings  Ss guess the meaning of the words based on the contexts in the sentences  T checks that Ss understand the words correctly by asking them to provide the Vietnamese equivalents to the words  T feedbacks and gives the correct answers Suggested answers: Grand: impressive and large (trọng đại, hoành tráng) Banner: a long piece of cloth with a message on it that is carried between two poles or in a public place to show support for sth (biểu ngữ, băng rôn) X Sugared apples: táo dầm đường Agrarian: connected with farming and the use of land for farming (thuộc nông nghiệp) Pray: to speak to God, especially to give thanks or ask for help (cầu nguyện) Excitement: the state of feeling excited (niềm vui thích, nơ nức, nhộn nhịp) Task Whole class, Instruction: You are to read the passage and decide whether individual the statements are true (T) or false (F) work & T asks Ss to work individually to the task and discuss their pair work answers with their pairs  T calls some Ss to give their answers and ask them to explain their choices  T gives the correct answers F (It falls between 19th January and 20th February) F(It’s just for agrarian people) T F(according to the passage, lucky money tends to be given to children) (7’) T T Task Whole class, Instruction: You are required to answer the seven questions in individual the book work &  T asks Ss to work individually to this task, then pair work discuss the answer with their friends XI  T calls on some Ss to write down their answers on the board and ask them to explain their choices  T gives the correct answers: It sometimes between 19th January and 20th February Tet’s preparations and celebrations used to be spread over months (8’) They are decorated with coloured lights and red banners They buy gifts, clean and decorate their houses and cool traditional foods It is made from sticky rice, green beans and fatty pork Mut is candied fruit Visiting friends and other family members, exchanging wishes, going to the pagoda, playing games, etc Extra exercise (13’)  T gives Ss the handouts  T asks Ss to work individually to the task in the handout, and then discuss the answer with their friends  T checks the answers  T asked Ss some other questions: Which holiday the USA share the title with Vietnam? Do they occur on the same date? How different? Which holiday used not to be celebrated in Vietnam? Do you know what the most important holiday is in the USA? How about in Vietnam? ADAPTATION: To save some time for the extra task, T: XII Individual work & whole class  skips the warm-up part  lets After-you-read part be done by the students at home This part is treated as the homework and also the content of oral test of the next lesson B HANDOUT XIII Holidays and Special dates in the U.S.A Fill in the blank with the missing date / title of the holidays in the USA New Year’s Easter Jan Mar./Apr Valentine’s Day Feb 14 Mother’s Day Labor Day Memorial Day 2nd Sun in May Mon Sep Last Mon in May Halloween Veteran’s Day President’s Day 3rd Mon in Feb Father’s Day 3rd Sun in Jun Thanksgiving Day XIV April Fool’s Day Apr Independence Day Jul Christmas 1st Oct 31 Nov 11 4th Thu in Nov Dec 25 Holidays and Special dates in the U.S.A Fill in the blank with the missing date / title of the holidays in the USA New Year’s April Fool’s Day Feb 14 3rd Mon in Feb Mar./Apr Memorial Day Father’s Day Labor Day 2nd Sun in May Last Mon in May 3rd Sun in Jun XV Jul Halloween Christmas Veteran’s Day 4th Thu in Nov Nov 11 XVI ... study is to examine the current teaching and learning of American cultural studies in the high school classroom at Tran Phu Gifted High School In order to achieve the aim, the study seeks to find... how the teachers and the students at Tran Phu Gifted high school actually teach and learn American cultural studies in the classroom Regarding the teaching of American cultural studies, there... the integrating American cultural studies into teaching English in the classroom Moreover, most of the students seemed to be fairly excited about being taught the things related to American cultural