Teachers and inspectors perceptions of an effective english lesson

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES BY: LÊ THANH CƯỜNG TEACHERS’ AND INSPECTORS’ PERCEPTIONS OF AN EFFECTIVE ENGLISH LESSON NHẬN THỨC CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀ THANH TRA VỀ MỘT GIỜ DẠY TIẾNG ANH HIỆU QUẢ Minor Programme Thesis Field: Language Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 HA NOI – 2010 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES BY: LÊ THANH CƯỜNG TEACHERS’ AND INSPECTORS’ PERCEPTIONS OF AN EFFECTIVE ENGLISH LESSON NHẬN THỨC CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀ THANH TRA VỀ MỘT GIỜ DẠY TIẾNG ANH HIỆU QUẢ Minor Programme Thesis Field: Language Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 Supervisor: Lê Văn Canh, MA HA NOI – 2010 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Table of contents iv PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale Research questions 3 Methods of the study Scope of the study The design of the thesis PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Effective teaching 1.2 Teaching evaluation 1.3 Observation as a tool to evaluate teaching 1.4 Criteria for evaluating lesson effectiveness 10 1.5 Summary 13 CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY 2.1 The context 15 2.1.1 An overview of present curriculum and textbooks in upper-secondary school context ……………………………………………………………………………… 15 2.1.2 Observation and teaching evaluation practice in upper-secondary context 15 2.2 The participants 16 2.3 Method of data collection 17 2.4 Data analysis 17 2.4.1 Teachers’ perceptions 18 v 2.4.1.1 Teachers’ general perceptions of MOET’s evaluation criteria 18 2.4.1.2 Teachers’ interpretation of MOET’s evaluation criteria 18 2.4.1.3 Teachers’ suggestions about criteria for an effective lesson 24 2.4.2 Inspectors’ perceptions 26 2.4.2.1 Inspectors’ general perceptions of MOET’s evaluation criteria 26 2.4.2.2 Inspectors’ interpretations of MOET’s evaluation criteria 26 2.4.2.3 Inspectors’ suggestions about criteria for an effective lesson 30 2.4.3 Convergences and divergences between teachers’ and inspectors’ perceptions 2.4.3.1 Convergences 31 2.4.3.2 Divergences 33 2.5 Discussion of the findings 34 PART C: CONCLUSION Conclusions 38 Implications 39 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research 40 References……………………………………………………………………………41… Appendices……………………………………………………………………………I-V PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale We are living in a changing world in which new developments are affecting every aspect of life Now is the era of global integration with “new social movements that requires special considerations” (Canagarajah, 2006, p.24) In this context English has occupied its unrivalled position of a language used as a medium of international communication English becomes “one of the most important means for acquiring access to the world intellectual and technical resources” and it “enables learners to access more advanced and up-to-date resources than they can in their native language” (Canh, 2003, p.36) The important role of English language in the modern life highlights the need for enhancing the quality of English language learning and teaching More and more researchers, scholars, educational administrators and teachers are taking interest in the matter of effective English teaching The factors that help to promote effective teaching then have received increased attention Classroom observation is a common practice in every school It captures information about how teachers deliver their lessons and it is considered as the most commonly used tool not only for evaluating teachers but also for fostering their profession development (Minhis, as cited in Office of Institutitional Analysis & Planning [OIAP], 2007) According to O’Leary (as cited in Leshem & Bar-Hama, 2008), “classroom observation has occupied a prominent role in terms of its use as a tool by which to jugde and subsequently promote good practice” (p.261) However, it is becoming more of a challenge to teaching evaluation through classroom observation in the present picture of language learning and teaching The picture now is very complicated as contextual factors such as different objectives, resources, support for professional development, student motivation, etc …are influential in teaching process (OIAP, 2007) This should be taken into account when teaching evaluation is carried out It should be noted that a number of problems arising in the practice of evaluating teachers’ teaching have been identified by lots of researchers According to Bath (as cited in Sawa, 1995), conventional teaching evaluation often manifests itself as “a meaningless ritual, or even worse, it becomes a recurring occasion to heighten anxiety and discomfort among teachers involved” (p.2) This may emerge from the fact that observers tend to use themselves as a standard and they observe impressionistically (Sheal, 1989) This is echoed by Bailey (2002) when he states that teachers have sometimes felt like objects whose behaviour and key decisions were shaped by dominant views of observers who may not be aware of the daily practice of a particular language classroom Leshem and Bar-Hama (2008) also mention the same problem when they point out that observations tend to be subjective and are based on the observers’ own teaching approach, which can create biased results In upper-secondary schools in Vietnam, the evaluation of teachers’ teaching is carried out on a regular basis The most important source of information used to the evaluation is collected by means of classroom observation which has received increased concern from educational administrators, inspectors and teachers themselves This is because criteria for evaluation are not specific, and evaluation is, therefore, more subjective and based on the evaluators’ intuition Also, teaching evaluation in upper-secondary school context is facing challenges on account of considerable changes in language teaching The new textbooks with new guidelines on teaching have been introduced into this educational environment in replacement of the old-fashioned ones The evaluation of teachers’ performance in class, however, has not yet responded well to the change What guides inspectors’ evaluation of teachers’ performance is a set of general criteria for lesson evaluation regulated by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) These criteria for teaching evaluation have been administered for all subjects, so they potentially lack subject sensitivity element It should be noted that sensible teaching evaluation with constructive comments from the observers can exert positive impact on teachers’ teaching skills The quality of teaching evaluation, to a large extent, depends on teachers’ and inspectors’ perceptions of what constitute effective teaching This matter has been researched in the field of language teaching For example, Griffits (2004) considers teacher perceptions very important as they potentially influence the effectiveness of teaching process From the reasons mentioned above, it is urgent and necessary to explore the viewpoints that teachers and inspectors hold about criteria for an effective language lesson Up to now, there has been little research into this thought process in upper-secondary school context This study is intended to move toward that goal It is hoped that the findings of the study will make a positive contribution to the improvement in teaching evaluation practice in high school context, which is of great significance to teacher professional growth Research questions The research questions which guide this study are as follows: - What are teachers’ and inspectors’ perceptions of an effective English lesson in upper-secondary school context? - What suggestions are made on the criteria for evaluating an English lesson in uppersecondary school context? - What are the implications for language teaching and teaching evaluation practice in upper-secondary school context? Method of the study The qualitative research method was adopted for this study to explore the uppersecondary school teachers’ and inspectors’ perceptions of an effective lesson Specifically, semi-structured interviews with teachers and inspectors were undertaken to collect data for analysis and discussion Scope of the study The study focuses on discovering teachers’ and inspectors’ perceptions of an effective English lesson in Hai Duong provincial upper-secondary school context Aspects explored center on the evaluation criteria for an effective lesson mandated by MOET The design of the thesis The study is divided into parts Part A is an introduction to the research, in which matters such as rationale, method of study and research questions are presented Part B is the development of the study in which there are chapters, chapter and chapter Chapter reviews the relevant literature on the matters of effective teaching, teaching evaluation, observation and criteria for lesson effectiveness Ideas from the researchers in the field have been discussed to create a theoretical framework for the study Chapter presents the context of the study, the participants and data collection method This is followed by the analysis of the data collected and discussion of the findings Part C provides conclusions of the study findings and the implications for language teaching and teaching evaluation in upper-secondary school context Also, in this part, the limitations and suggestions for further research are included PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction This chapter reviews the relevant literature on teaching evaluation It first discusses what effective teaching is, then teaching evaluation This is followed by a discussion of the limitations of evaluating teaching solely through classroom observations Finally, criteria for evaluating teaching are reviewed 1.1 Effective teaching Effective teaching is the topic that concerns lots of researchers, educational administrators and teachers What discussed below is the matter of effective teaching in terms of teaching materials, teaching methods, class management and student learning outcome Teaching materials Teaching materials are among the components that constitute effective teaching Teachers need materials to carry out their instructional practice Effective teaching needs good materials Researchers are currently putting a great emphasis on the use of meaningful materials in a language class According to Siser (2008), meaningful materials are the ones that are relevant to students, reflecting real life issues and problems The more meaningful materials are to students, the quicker and easier they will be learned In addition to this, the content embedded in materials should be varied, natural and authentic, so that students feel they are working on tasks in real life (Kusuma & Powell, 2004) Rivers (2003) also voices his favour of the use of materials that focus on the use of natural language He states that it is good to provide students with practice in using the language for everyday life communication This is opposed to the unnatural types of drills and practice exercises which are still widely used in many teaching contexts Learners in different contexts vary in their learning styles, language proficiency or learning needs Rivers (2003) says that learning and teaching are shaped by student needs and objectives in particular circumstances Therefore, materials should be designed to care about learners’ particularities They should not be too challenging to students in terms of linguistic knowledge but should be interesting enough to motivate them in their learning Similarly, Martin (2005) encourages teachers to take the responsibilities of adapting materials to suite their learners According to him, teachers need to add, for example, extra necessary language knowledge or topics if their students want or need Teaching methods Effective teaching results from the way the lesson is delivered to students This requires teachers to have good instructional skills to make it easy for students to attain the target language knowledge as well as to develop their language skills Pellino (2009) identifies four loads as barriers to meaningful instructions, namely cognitive load, culture load, language load and learning load, and that it is the job of the teacher to lower these barriers, helping students to overcome them Appropriate techniques need to be devised to construct understanding, and reinforce their interest in their learning process Obviously, to teach effectively, teachers need to be flexible in their delivery of the lesson What guides their teaching practice is not only the body of theoretical knowledge in the field of language teaching but also the reality of their classroom According to Rivers (2003) teachers should develop and strengthen their own way of proceeding in relation to the needs and individual strengths of their students in their own context It is teachers who have control over their decision making process, which vary with changing circumstances In a similar vein, Martin (2005) emphasizes the need to make changes to the lesson plan because learners vary in learning backgrounds and language proficiency Teachers should modify activities and the tasks if they realize that they are far from being appropriate in the class In other words, teachers should be sensitive to their particular students This is echoed by Sizer (2009) when he states that good teaching does not mean fixed teaching and that teachers should be flexible with changing circumstances According to him, successful teaching does not mean all matters in the lesson are fully covered In some particular teaching situations, the lesson delivered is still considered effective even though the teacher cannot go through all the tasks and activities intended to be dealt with A single best method may not exist in modern language teaching environment Effective teachers know how to combine different methods in their teaching in order to yield good learning outcome According to Ganguly (2003), effective teachers use techniques that best serve the learning styles of their students Students not only learn by being exposed to learning opportunities but they also need to be explicitly taught what important for them to know What can be inferred is that direct or indirect explanation is not effective on its own In fact, the combination of the two is a fair solution Rivers (2003) is also in favour of the combination of methods in teaching According to him, no method claims to stand on its own in modern language learning and teaching environment Researchers also focus on the importance of moving from simple tasks to complex ones in class Students will feel learning more rewarding if they have the opportunity to master the simple concepts first, then complex ones However, the final goal of every language course is that students know how to use language they have learnt for different purposes in communication (Martin, 2005) The practice of grammar structures with isolated meanings does not prepare the learners for meaningful use of language Instead, language practice should be close to real communication According to Rivers (2003), teachers should provide students with opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills to new situations Similarly, Martin (2005) puts an emphasis on the need to proceed from more controlled activities to less controlled ones in the class Class management Class management is one of the important aspects that determine the success of teaching What is meant by effective classroom management is that teachers are aware of their different roles in class They should take a suitable role at each stage of the lesson and should be flexible in what they to keep class activities not only in discipline but also in relaxed atmosphere According to Yen (2006), the good language teacher should realize that the language teaching does not merely go in hand with the mastery of grammar rules and expansion of vocabulary but there are also many important tools that affect or even promote language teaching For example, some knowledge of psychology brings about not only behaviour success at mastering language, but also cognitive success and increased confidence Kusuma & Powell (2004) make the same point when stating that what teachers are encouraged to is to set up a positive classroom environment that will support future interaction and collaboration between teacher and students and between students themselves It is for sure that the positive classroom environment is one of the decisive factors that contribute to satisfactory learning outcome Martin (2005) postulates that students will learn more easily in the environments in which anxiety is lessened and selfconfidence and self-esteem can be developed Similarly, Kusuma & Powell (2004) state that students learn best if they are in a classroom where they feel safe and confident to attempt new tasks 35 inspectors’ perceptions intersect with ideas in the literature on language teaching Other researchers have also taken these as important attributes when judging effective teaching As for methods of instructions, the teachers and the inspectors interviewed insisted that what teachers in class did should be appropriate to students’ strengths Put it another way, teachers should be flexible in handling teaching and learning activities Researchers in the field agreed that the use of method should be context-sensitive Sizer (2009) stated that teachers should be flexible and have confidence to react and adjust to changing circumstances In the same vein, Rivers (2003) postulated that teachers’ own way of teaching should be developed and strengthened in response to the needs and individual strengths of their students in their own context In terms of the use of teaching aids, the teachers and the inspectors were aware of the need to the use teaching aids in class, especially teacher-made teaching aids Other researchers also regarded the effective use of visual aids as one of the criteria for a successful lesson (e.g Kerby et al 2002) The teachers and the inspectors expressed their views on the need to care for students, making them all involved in teaching and learning activities Other views on teaching also urged teachers to pay more attention to student learning For example, SCOLT (2002) emphasized the importance of student learning in evaluating teachers’ quality of teaching According to them, teachers should provide beneficial learning experience for students so that their learning outcome would be enhanced One more factor that contributes to the success of a lesson is teaching manner which was highly appreciated by the teachers and the inspectors In their opinions, friendly teachers were more likely to motivate students to learn in a safe learning environment This point was shared by Kusuma and Powell (2004) when they stated that what teachers were encouraged to was to establish a positive classroom environment that would support future interaction and collaboration between teacher and students and between students themselves Apart from the commonly-shared points as to what constitute an effective lesson, there are a number of divergent points between teachers’ and inspectors’ perceptions and researchers’ views Most of the teachers and inspectors emphasized the importance of the delivery of systematic knowledge in a lesson Adequate knowledge content of the lesson was taken as a sign of systematic knowledge The connection between new knowledge and previous knowledge was not mentioned In fact, knowledge retention was enhanced once teachers knew how to relate it to previously presented language items (Davies & Pearse, 36 2000) As regards the methods adopted by teachers in class, the teachers’ and inspectors’ perceptions coincided with other studies when it was stated that appropriate methods were those that were appropriate to different kinds of learners However, further insights into their perceptions revealed great divergences from what prevailing in the field of research The teachers as well as the inspectors seemed to emphasize the reproduction of language forms instead of creating opportunities for pupils to use the target language for real life communication This can be seen in the way Teacher said how he dealt with students’ difficulties in doing speaking tasks He said that when many of his students failed to the speaking task, he helped them to write down the questions and answers so that they could look at them and repeat easily Inspector also highlighted the linguistically accurate answers in a reading comprehension task He stated that one of the features of an effective lesson was that all answers were given out grammatically correct Other researchers tended to emphasize a balance between focus on form and focus on meaning in language practice activities (e.g Skehan cited in Kumaravadilevu, 2006) This is because focus on form makes a lesson language-laden, which makes it hard for students to absorb What students are expected to gain after a lesson is not the sole linguistic knowledge but the development of learning strategies or the ability to communicate a message effectively (Hedge, 2000) Such differences between teachers’ and inspectors’ perceptions and ideas in the literature represent a fact that teachers and inspectors may have limited access to different views on language teaching This reality indicates a need for teachers and inspectors to enrich their knowledge of teaching methodology by avail themselves of every opportunity to get access to various sources of materials related to language teaching, and more importantly, sharpen their skills of adapting them to their own context Further insights into teachers’ and inspectors’ thought process also uncovered divergences in their understanding of what constitute an effective lesson The divergences are related to their explanations for what are appropriate teaching methods, their perceptions of accurate subject matter knowledge in terms of pronunciation, and the matter of lesson completeness From the inspectors’ requirements for an effective lesson, it seems that inspectors fail to refer to the constraints teachers have to face in their own teaching context They probably hold dominant views on what constitutes an effective lesson and apply the prescribed standard for every lesson observed In that situation it is difficult for teachers to voice their own views What may emerge is dissatisfaction from teachers 37 When inspectors take the position of someone who gives top-down judgements of what is supposed to be done in a lesson, their comments are of little use to boosting teachers’ professional growth Teacher needs more than judgemental comments from inspectors Researchers’ views on observations are increasingly in favour of the use of observation to promote teacher development For example, Minhis (as cited in OIAP, 2007) states that observation is not simply the tool to evaluate teachers but it is the tool that should be used to foster teacher professional growth For this to be done, according to Williams (1989), the observer should be supportive during the after-lesson feedback, appreciating the teacher for the positive aspects of the lesson The observer and the teacher then make joint decision as to which aspects need to be focused on next time One more remarkable finding was drawn from the study when teachers and inspectors were asked for their own opinions about the criteria for an effective lesson apart from what mentioned in MOET’s evaluation criteria What mostly focused on were the flexibility of teachers in teaching activities, the use of teaching aids, the organization of student learning activities and teaching manner What is worth attention is that most of the inspectors’ and teachers’ ideas can be treated as possible indicators of MOET’s criteria for an effective lesson This indicates that it is necessary to make all MOET’s criteria explicit with corresponding indicators sensitive to subject particularities so that teachers and inspectors are sure of the requirements for lesson effectiveness, which is of great use to teachers’ teaching and inspectors’ teaching evaluation 38 PART C: CONCLUSION Conclusions The study aimed at exploring upper-secondary school teachers’ and inspectors’ perceptions of an effective English lesson based on MOET’s evaluation criteria The interview data from the study indicated the complexity of teacher’s and inspectors’ perceptual process This can be seen in the findings from the study as follows: - Although teachers and inspectors have shared a number of common points on general criteria for lesson effectiveness, divergences still exist in their understanding of what constitute an effective lesson - There are both convergences and divergences between teachers’ and inspectors’ perceptions and ideas in the literature on language teaching - Teachers’ and inspectors’ suggestions for criteria for an effective lesson indicate that MOET’s evaluation criteria should be explicit with corresponding indicators sensitive to the subject particularities In general, teachers’ and inspectors’ opinions converged on the main aspects of a lesson that need attending to when a lesson is evaluated for its effectiveness The aspects include Teaching content, Teaching methods, Teaching aids, Class management and Learning outcome, which are prescribed in MOET’s evaluation criteria However, deeper insights into their thought process have revealed significant divergences in their perceptions of effective teaching The findings also indicate that both convergences and divergences exist between teachers’ and inspectors’ views and ideas in the research field It may be natural to find both the convergences and divergences (Canh & Barnard, 2009) The important thing is why any divergences should exist, and to which extent these might affect language teaching and teaching evaluation What obvious is that teachers’ teaching is affected by contextual factors such as students’ language proficiency level, their learning styles, teachers’ limited professional development opportunities or lack of teaching facilities Contextual factors are influential in teachers’ perceptions of effective teaching Thus, their perceptions of effective teaching may differ from theoretical knowledge in the literature on language teaching in a number of points This suggests that there need to be a negotiation between the body of knowledge in research and teaching reality in particular teaching context so that the quality of language teaching can be 39 enhanced As for the inspectors, since the evaluation criteria are not explicit enough, subjective interpretation is inevitable The subjective viewpoints still prevail in the way inspectors evaluate teachers’ teaching if they fail to refer to the current knowledge in the field of language teaching as well as teaching evaluation, especially the context in which teaching takes place The problem is that the mismatch between the teachers’ and inspectors’ perceptions may lead to the situations in which inspectors’ judgements of teacher’s instructional practice cause dissatisfaction from teachers, which discourages them to thrive in their teaching Thus, for the sake of fair and developmental teaching evaluation, it is necessary and urgent that the gap between teachers’ and inspectors’ perceptions should be narrowed Implications For language teaching in upper-secondary school context Teachers’ understanding about what should be done in a language class, to some extent, goes against current views on language teaching This is not surprising as interference of contextual factors into teaching process has been acknowledged However, this may also emerge from the reality that the teachers are still unwilling to get access to the body of knowledge in the field of language teaching It is for sure that in order to prosper in their teaching, teachers should get hold of the principles of language teaching and try to select some theoretical knowledge to apply to their own teaching Through this process, they can find out what is appropriate and what needs to be adapted for their classrooms to generate desired learning outcome For teaching evaluation practice Changes in the field of language teaching with widespread acceptance of various teaching methods call for the adoption of new viewpoints on teaching evaluation Perhaps, it is not fair to evaluate teachers’ teaching solely through evaluators’ subjective viewpoints without referring to wide source of knowledge in the field of research or without attending to challenges teachers have to face within their own teaching context Research into the matter of teaching evaluation has emphasized the need for evaluation to respond to teaching context (e.g Gowan, 1975; Murdoch, 1998) Inspectors should not adopt a fixed way of evaluation for every teaching context They need to refer to contextual factors before making their final decision Above all, the focus of inspectors’ job should be on fostering teacher development rather than on grading teacher’s work (Seal, 1989) 40 For the educational administrators To enhance the quality of teaching evaluation towards boosting teacher professional growth, educational administrators should be aware of the differences in perceptions of effective teaching between teachers and inspectors as well as their expectation for the evaluation criteria It is important that opportunities for professional development should be provided for teachers so that they can enhance their teaching skills Also, inspectors should be provided with proper training in the matter of evaluation (Sheal, 1989) As regards the evaluation criteria, it is imperative that not only inspectors’ voice but also teachers’ voice be heard (Wajnryb, 2001) This suggests that local teachers and inspectors should be granted with opportunities to express their views about the criteria and corresponding indicators for an effective lesson Their negotiated opinions will be good reference for local educational administrators to introduce concrete guidelines on lesson evaluation with subject-sensitive criteria fit into local context This being done, the evaluation criteria can act as an effective tool that helps teachers and inspectors to fulfill their responsibilities Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research Some limitations are evident in this study First, the number of participants is small The findings of the study, therefore, may not be generalized effectively for larger contexts Moreover, what teachers think may not correlate with their true lesson delivery practice as there is “empirical evidence of the frequent incongruence between beliefs and their actual practices” (Borg cited in Canh 2009, p.21) This may lighten the significance of the study findings On account of the limitations of the single-method study, what is needed is further research with mixed methods to get more comprehensive and more in-depth information which can be generalized for wider contexts Also, the area that is worth further research is the extent to which teachers’ perceptions are translated into their classroom teaching activities 41 REFERENCES Baker, J & Westrup, H (2002) The English language Teacher's Handbook London: Continuum Bailey, K.M (2002) Observation In Carter, R &Nunan, D (Eds.), The Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (pp 114-119) Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press Berman, E (2003) A Short Guide to Evaluating Teaching Retrieved 23 January, 2010 from http://www.aer.arizona.edu/Teaching/docs/ShortGuide.pdf Canh, L.V (2009) Curricular innovation behind closed classroom doors: A Vietnamese case study AMEP Research Centre 24 (2), 20-33 Retrieved from http://www.ameprc.mq.edu.au/resources/prospect/volume_24_number_2,_2009 Canh, L.V & Barnard, R (2009) Teaching Grammar: A survey of Teachers’ Attitudes in Vietnam The Journal of Asia TEFL, 6(3), 245-273 Canh, L.V (2003) Local minds - Global Practice: ELT in the Context of Globalization Teacher's Edition, 12, 36-42 Canagajara, A S (2006) Teacher at 40: What are the issues? TESOL Quarterly, 40 (1), 9-32 Chickering, A.W & Gamson, Z.F (1987) Seven principles for good practice in undergraduation The American Association for Higher Education Bulletin Retrieved on November 6,2009 from http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/7princip htm Davies, P & Pearse, E (2000) Success in Language Teaching Oxford: Oxford University Press 10 Doff, A (1988) Teach English A training course for teachers Trainer's Handbook Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 11 British Council (1998) English Language Teacher Training Project 42 12 Gower, R, Phillips, D & Waters, S (1995) Teaching practice Handbook Oxford: Macmillan Education 13 Gowan, F.A.M (1975) Teacher observation and evaluation: A working paper Retrieved 12 December, 2009 from http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExt Search_SearchValue_0=EDU3309&ERlCExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED 113309 14 Griffiths, C (2004) Language Learning Strategies: Theory and Research Occasional Paper No J Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://www.crie.org, nz/research_paper/c_griffiths_op pdf 15.Ganguly, P (2003) Effective Teching Mediods Retrieved November 6, 2009 from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/effecttve-teaching-methods.html 16 Hedge, T (2000) Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press 17 lngvarson, L & Rowe, K (2007) Conceptualising and Evaluating Teacher Quality: Substantive and methodological issues Retrieved on 12 December, 2009 http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-lGl-181463888/conceptualising-andevaluating-teacher.html 18 Jahangiri, L & Mucciolo, T.W (2008) Characteristics of Effective Classroom Teachers as Identified by Students and Professionals: A Qualitative Study Journal of Education 72(4) Retrieved 12 December, 2009 from http:www.cshe.unimelb.edu.au/pdfs/teaching_innovation.pdf 19 James, R (2009) Evaluating Teaching Innovation, Retrieved on 12 December, 2009 from: http://www.csh.unimelb.edu.au/pdfs/teaching_innovation.pdf 20 Kusuma, O & Powell, W.(2004) An Educational Approach for Teaching ESL Students Count me in - Developing inclusive international schools Retrieved November 6, 2009 from http://www.state.gov/m/a/os/45025.html 21 Kumaravadilevu, B (2006) TESOL Methods: Changing Tracks, Challenging Trends 43 TESOL Quarterly, 40(1), 59-77 22 Leshem, S & Bar-Hama, R, (2008) Evaluating teaching practice ELT Journal, 62(3), 257-265 23 Martin, D (2005) How to be an Effective EFL Teacher Retrieved-November 6, 2009 from http ://www.eflpress.com/how_to_be_an effective efl htm 24 Malderez, A (2003) Key concept in ELT ELT Journal, 57(2), 179-181 25 Murdoch, G (1998) A Progressive Teacher Evaluation System Retrieved 12 December, 2009 from http://eca.state.gov/forum/vols/vol36/no3/p2.htm 26 Nunan, D (1991) Language Teaching Methodology A textbook for teachers London: Prentice Hall 27 Office of Institutional Analysis & Planning (2007) Establishing a Framework for Evaluating Teaching Excellence: An Overview of the Literature Retrieved 12 December, 2009 from http://www.kwantlen.bc.ca/_shared/assets/lit7123.pdf 28 0'Neil, S (2009) Effective teaching Retrieved on November 6, 2009 from http://www.det wa edu au/redirect/?oid=com arsdigita cms id 29 Pellino, K (2009) Effective Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners Retrieved 12 December, 2009 from http://www.teachnology.com/tutorials/teaching/esl/ 30 Richards, J.C (2004) The Art, Craft and Science of Language Teaching Retrieved 23 January, 2010 from http://www toodoc.com/Languape-Leader-Intermediate-TeachersBook-pdf-ebook.html 31 Rivers, W.M, (1997) Principle of interactive language teaching Retrieved 12 December, 2009 from http://www.language.tut.ac.za/calt/docs/10Priciples_0.html 32 Sawa, R (1995), Teacher Evaluation Policies and Practice Retrieved November 6, 2009 from http://www.saskschoolboards.ca/old/ResearchAndDevelopment/ResearchReports/Instr uction/95-04.htm 33 Sheal, P (1989) Classroom observation: training the observers (Peter) ELT Journal, 43(2), 92-103 44 34 Sizer, T.R (2009), Good teaching Retrieved November 6, 2009 from http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidbk/teachtip/enhance.h tml 35 The Senate Committee on Teaching and Learning [SCOTL] (2002) Teaching Assessment and Evaluation Guide Retrieved 23 January, 2010 from http://www aer.arizona.edu/Teaching/docs/ShortGuide.pdf 36 Tsai, H.M (2008) Improving an EFL class; Starting from Classroom Observations, The Asian EFL Journal, 10(2), 84-101 37 Ur, P (1996) A course in Language Teaching Practice and Theory Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 38 Van, H.V., Hoa, H.T.X., Loc, D.N., Loi, V.T., Minh, D.T, & Tuan, N.Q (2006), Tieng Anh 10, Teacher's book Hanoi, Vietnam: Education Publishing House 39 Wajnryb, R (2001) Classroom observation tasks Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 40 William, M (1989) A developmental view of classroom and observations ELT Journal, 43 (2), 85-91 41 Yen, A.L.S (2006) Different Strategies for Effective Language Teaching Retrieved November 6, 2009 from htttp://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/link/Mar2002/tm6.htm I Appendix Teachers’ interview Protocols I Questions about teachers’ general perceptions of the MOET’s evaluation criteria - Do you think the criteria have covered all necessary aspects of an English lesson? - Are the criteria explicit enough? - To what extent you think they are appropriate to an English lesson? - How useful you think the criteria are to teachers’ teaching? Do they orientate teachers towards better teaching? II Questions about teachers’ interpretation of the criteria Subject matter knowledge + Criterion 1: - What is meant by accuracy of subject matter knowledge? + Criterion 2: - What does the teacher have to to ensure that teaching content is systematically delivered? - What is meant by the full coverage of teaching content of the lesson? - What are the indications of teaching points being made clear? + Criterion 3: - What should the teacher to relate teaching content to real life situations? Teaching methods + Criterion 4: - What is meant by appropriate teaching methods for the English subject? - What is meant by the methods that are appropriate for lesson types? + Criterion 5: - What are the indications of good combination of methods in teaching and learning activities? Teaching aids + Criterion 6: - How should teaching aids be used in the lesson so that they can enhance its effectiveness? + Criterion 7: - What’s meant by appropriate use of the board? - What does an appropriate lesson plan include? II Class management + Criterion 8: - How flexible should the teacher be in carrying out the teaching procedures? - How should the teacher allocate time for teaching and learning activities in the lesson? + Criterion 9: - What should teachers to organize active learning in class? - What should be done to motivate students? Learning outcome + Criterion 10: - What are the indications of students understanding the lesson, mastering the teaching points and being able to apply what has been learnt to new situations? III Teachers’ suggestions for the criteria for an effective lesson - What are your suggestions about criteria for an effective lesson? III Appendix Inspectors’ interview Protocols I Questions about inspectors’ general perceptions of the MOET’s evaluation criteria - Do you think the criteria have covered all necessary aspects that are needed for the evaluation of an English lesson? - Are the criteria explicit enough? - To what extent you think the criteria are appropriate to an English lesson? - How useful you think the criteria are to inspectors’ teaching evaluation? Do you think they are a reliable tool for evaluating teachers’ lessons? II Questions about inspectors’ interpretation of the criteria Teaching content + Criterion - What is meant by teacher’s of presentation of accurate subject matter knowledge? + Criterion - What does the teacher have to to ensure that teaching content is systematically delivered? - What is meant by the full coverage of teaching content of the lesson? - In what way you think the teacher has made teaching points clear? + Criterion - What are the indications of teaching content being related to real life situations? Teaching methods + Criterion - In what way you think that teacher’s methods are appropriate to the English subject? - How you know that teacher’s methods are appropriate to lesson types? + Criterion - What are the indications of good combination of methods in teaching and learning activities? Teaching aids + Criterion - In what way you think the teacher has used teaching aids effectively? + Criterion - What’s meant by appropriate use of the board? - What does an appropriate lesson plan include? IV Class management + Criterion - What are the indications of flexible teaching procedures carried out by the teachers? - How you know that the teacher has allocated time for the activities appropriately? + Criterion - What should teachers to organize active learning in class? - What should be done to motivate students? Learning outcome + Criterion 10 - What are the indications of students understanding and mastering the language points and having the ability to apply what has been learnt to new situations? III Inspectors’ suggestions for the criteria for an effective lesson - What are your suggestions about criteria for an effective lesson? V Appendix TIÊU CHÍ ĐÁNH GIÁ, XẾP LOẠI GIỜ DẠY (Do Bộ GD&ĐT ban hành) I Nội dung Chính xác, khoa học (khoa học môn) quan điểm tư tưởng, lập trường trị Bảo đảm tính hệ thống, đủ nội dung, làm rõ trọng tâm Liên hệ thực tế (nếu có); có tính giáo dục II Phương pháp Sử dụng phương pháp phù hợp với đặc trưng môn, với nội dung kiểu lên lớp Kết hợp tốt phương pháp hoạt động dạy học III Phương tiện Sử dụng kết hợp tốt phương tiện, thiết bị dạy học phù hợp với nội dung kiểu lên lớp Trình bày bảng hợp lý, chữ viết, hình vẽ, lời nói rõ rang, chuẩn mực, giáo án hợp lý IV Tổ chức Thưc linh hoạt khâu lên lớp, phân phối thời gian hợp lý phần, khâu Tổ chức điều khiển học sinh học tập tích cực, chủ động, phù hợp với nội dung kiểu bài, với đối tượng; học sinh hứng thú học V Kết 10 Đa số học sinh hiểu bài, nắm vững trọng tâm, biết vận dụng kiến thức ... UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES BY: LÊ THANH CƯỜNG TEACHERS? ?? AND INSPECTORS? ?? PERCEPTIONS OF AN EFFECTIVE ENGLISH LESSON NHẬN... understanding of what constitute an effective lesson - There are both convergences and divergences between teachers? ?? and inspectors? ?? perceptions and ideas in the literature on language teaching - Teachers? ??... school teachers? ?? and inspectors? ?? perceptions of an effective lesson Specifically, semi-structured interviews with teachers and inspectors were undertaken to collect data for analysis and discussion