Teachers’ use of the mother tongue in english language classrooms for young learners at a language center

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** PHÙNG THỊ HIỀN TEACHERS’ USE OF THE MOTHER TONGUE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS FOR YOUNG LEARNERS AT A LANGUAGE CENTER: A CASE STUDY (ĐIỂN CỨU VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TIẾNG MẸ ĐẺ CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TRONG LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH CHO TRẺ EM Ở MỘT TRUNG TÂM NGOẠI NGỮ) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Hanoi – 2012 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** PHÙNG THỊ HIỀN TEACHERS’ USE OF THE MOTHER TONGUE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS FOR YOUNG LEARNERS AT A LANGUAGE CENTER: A CASE STUDY (ĐIỂN CỨU VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TIẾNG MẸ ĐẺ CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TRONG LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH CHO TRẺ EM Ở MỘT TRUNG TÂM NGOẠI NGỮ) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Do Thi Thanh Ha, Ph D Hanoi – 2012 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES, ABBREVIATIONS vii PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Aims and Objectives of the study Scope of the study Methods of the study Layout of the thesis PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Young learners 1.2 History of the use of L1 in L2 classroom 1.3 Debating surrounding the use of L1 in the L2 classroom 1.3.1 Arguments against L1 use 1.3.2 Arguments favoring L1 use 1.4 Use of L1 in L2 classroom 12 1.5 The amount of L1 in the English classroom 13 1.6 Empirical researches 14 v CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 16 2.1 Qualitative Multi case study approach 16 2.2 Setting and Participants 17 2.2.1 Setting 17 2.2.2 Participants 18 2.3 Data collection Instruments 18 2.3.1 Classroom observation 18 2.3.2 Stimulated Recall 19 2.3.3 Semi Structured Interview 20 2.4 Data collection procedure 20 2.5 Data analysis 20 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 22 3.1 Findings 22 3.1.1 Case (teacher in class for 5-6 years old students) 22 3.1.2 Case (teacher in class for 6- years old students) 26 3.1.3 Case (teacher in class for above years old students) 29 3.2 Discussions 33 PART III: CONCLUSION 38 Summary of major findings 38 Recommendations 39 Limitations 40 vi Suggestions for further study 40 REFERENCES 42 APPENDICES vii LIST OF TABLES Table 22 Table 2: 26 Table 3: .30 LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS MT: mother tongue L1: first language TL: target language L2: second language EFL: English as a foreign language ELT: English Language teaching GTM: Grammar Translation Method SR: Stimulated Recall PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study In the process of foreign language teaching, the issue of the mother tongue (MT) itself has been debated for many years The various views are reflections on the methodological changes in English language teaching, which have in such way brought different perspectives on the role of mother tongue For a long time, many popular English language-teaching methods tend to discourage the use of the first language (L1) in the second language (L2) classroom As a result, the English only approach has become a dominant and often understood to be the hallmarks of good language teaching Despite the almost undeniable acceptance of the monolingual belief to EFL classes, recent years have witnessed a considerable shift of views among the ELT professionals concerning the utility of students‟ mother tongue (MT) in the L2 classroom What the reasons for the ignorance of MT use are, when and how the MT can be applied in the classroom and how much L1 should be used in the classroom are currently main seeking among scholars, linguists and teachers In the global scale, there have been various studies focusing on this topic such as the studies conducted by Schweers (1999) at the University of Puerto Rico, Beressa (2003) at Adama Teachers College, Tang (2002) at a university in Beijing, Duff and Polio (2009) at University of California, Al-Nofaie (2010) in Saudi public schools It is obvious that most of them have investigated this issue at high level of education In addition, these studies emphasized mainly the use of the first language from two sides: teachers and learners In Vietnamese context, however, it is rather difficult to find research in this topic Kieu Hang Kim Anh (2010) investigated the attitudes of Vietnamese University teachers toward Vietnamese use in English language teaching Some other research is carried out by graduate students as their M A thesis like the works by Tran Ngoc Thuong (2010) on teachers‟ and students‟ attitude toward the use of the MT at a high school, or Do Thi Khanh Van (2010) with her emphasis on the role and use of the L1 in learning vocabulary in English classes at a university Comes to the conclusion, there still exists huge gaps on the reality of using the mother tongue in classroom at every level, in every aspect in Vietnam Therefore, there is a need to investigate the issue of the MT use in second language classroom from different perspectives and in different fields such as from teachers‟ and students‟ views, in learning of grammar, vocabulary, skills, etc This study focused on only one of those factors that are teacher‟s use of MT in classes for young learners The reason the researcher focused on teachers‟ use of the MT is that teachers‟ talk or language choice in the L2 classroom has a central role and is of great significance to language learners One of the main reasons for the interest is that EFL classroom and teachers are the only and the primary resources of the L2 for EFL students (Polio & Duff, 1994) Schweers (1999) also pointed out that if the teacher used L2, the learners would use it also, and this created the opportunity for them to interact with their teachers and peers However, Song (2009) asserted that if teachers shared the same MT with their students, they might hardly avoid the use of L1 Hopefully, the findings of this study will contribute to the pedagogic methodology, especially in teaching English to young children Aims and objectives of the study The aim of this study is to examine teacher‟s use of the MT- Vietnamese in English language classroom for young learners at an English centre The objectives of the study are investigating the amount of L1 use by teachers of different levels and the reasons underlying their L1 using In addition, teachers‟ belief about L1 use is also addressed in order to find out the concordance to their practices In order to achieve the aim, the study addresses these following main questions: How much L1 is used and in which sections teachers use L1 in the classroom? Why teachers use the mother tongue? What are teachers‟ beliefs about MT use? Do teacher‟s beliefs correlate to their practices? Scope of the study In practice, L1 can be used by both students and teachers in L2 classroom However, within the framework of this minor thesis, the study only focuses on teachers‟ use of the MT in English classes for young learners Specifically, the study aims at investigating the amount of L1 use by teachers of different levels and the reasons underlying their L1 using In addition, teachers‟ belief about L1 use is also addressed in order to find out the concordance to their practices Methods of the study The study is carried out in form of a qualitative multi case study approach in which three teachers teaching three different levels for young learners will be investigated in order to compare and contrast their MT use in L2 classroom Three research methods, including classroom observation, stimulated recall interview, and semi- structured interview are used to reach the aim of the study The researcher believes that the combination of different methods to collect data could provide more reliable and valid information for analysis Classroom observations are used to discover the amount and in which sections Vietnamese was used Stimulated recall interview was applied to gain insights into teachers‟ rationale of using the MT in the classroom The recall interviews were fully transcribed and analyzed qualitatively according to emerging themes The semi-structured interviews are to explore teachers‟ opinions of the use of the first language in the classroom, and then compared with teacher‟s practices Semi structured interviews were conducted after finishing all observations and stimulated interviews As in the case of stimulated recall, semi structured interviews were transcribed fully Layout of the thesis This thesis consists of three parts, namely Introduction, Development and Conclusion Part I, the Introduction, presents the rationale, the aims, the scope, the method and the design of the study Part II, the development, consists of three chapters Chapter 1, the Literature review, presents background of the study This includes major arguments against and for the use of L1, the use and amount of L1 in L2 classroom In addition, it reviews some previous studies related to the topic Chapter 2, the Methodology, introduces the participants, the data collection instruments and data analysis procedure Chapter (Results and Discussions) mainly deals with the results and the discussion of the findings Part III is the Conclusion of the study In this part, the major findings, some recommendations, limitations of the research as well as suggestions for further study are presented The appendixes are the last part of the study following the reference 39 (teachers for 5-6 years old) cited three more reasons for her applying L1 Unlike teacher1‟s reasons, teacher proposed that using Vietnamese in the class facilitated the learning process The notion of L1 serving as "a time–saving device" is one justification for L1 use given by teacher Next, teachers have positive attitudes towards to the use of Vietnamese in English language classroom They shared the view that teachers‟ occasional use of the MT played a supportive and facilitating role in L2 learning environment Teachers in the study believed in the various pedagogic uses of the MT, the major ones being explaining grammar and vocabulary, giving instructions, disciplining classroom However, two out of three teachers not plan when they are going to use English or Vietnamese in the lesson By drawing a connection between teachers‟ beliefs and their actions, it is observed that there is a general match between teachers‟ thought and their performance Researcher‟s position as a result of this study is that „the MT taboo has been with us for a long time, but fortunately now things seem to be changing I believe that many teachers have continued to use the MT because it is both necessary and effective‟ (Deller and Rincoluci, 2002:3) Teachers, then, can benefit from exploring their own views on this issue and becoming aware of their reasons for using (or avoiding) the L1 in their English lessons Recommendations Based on the findings of the present study, the following recommendations are offered The amount of L1 use and how it is employed should vary with classroom environment For young learners who are not proficient enough in English, Vietnamese can be sometimes used as a facilitating tool It is advised that L1 be used in a limited manner, at appropriate times and in appropriate places Following Atkinson (1987), the researchers think that teachers should use English where possible and the L1 where 40 necessary, which means that the L1 is a consciously chosen option with an auxiliary role Maximizing L2 use should be the goal in every classroom (Meyer, 2008) However, teachers also have to find ways to modify their English input For example, they can use visual aids such as pictures, flash cards and gestures to make their input understandable (Polio & Duff, 1994) The L2 should be used as much as possible It also is recommendable that maximum L2 can be achieved through habit formation and training Planning the language is going to be used in particular lesson sections could help teachers be more consistent with the use of each language Furthermore, by knowing which language type facilitating the learning process in each lesson section could help them achieve better results in teaching It is also recommended that the Ministry of Education should hold workshops, programs and seminars on the role of the native languages in the EFL classroom Limitations Although the study went smoothly, there is always room for improvement The study was conducted in one small language center with restricted sample size Therefore, generalization of the findings should be cautioned Another limitation is that although the teachers in this study were observed and interviewed, the number of observations was still limited and the interviews did not yield sufficient in-depth information because the researcher was lack of interview skill and experience Suggestions for further research It is firstly suggested that in order to attain more convincing findings than the ones collected in this paper, there are several areas which need improving Most obviously, the limitations of this research will be overcome with the increased number of participants, which will make it more possible to generalize findings Furthermore, this research only attempted to investigate the amount of Vietnamese, the reasons that 41 force teachers using L1 together with the correlation between teachers‟ belief and their practices Further studies should be carried out to focus on the relation between teachers‟ proficiency, teaching experience, teachers‟ gender with their L1 use In addition, other studies could also look at the relationship between teachers‟ practices in using the L1 and learners‟ proficiency or an analysis of learners‟ perspectives on teachers‟ L1 use would also further develop the understandings of the issues Another way to reach this issue is conducting researches of the student‟s use of L1 in the classroom Overall, there are many ways in which this research could be expanded in order to attain deep information of the issue 42 REFERENCES Al-Alawi, T M (2008) Teachers’ beliefs and practices about the use of L1 In S Borg (Ed.) 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What‟ his name? Rồi em học sinh khơng trả lời Em lại chuyển sang tiếng Việt cậu tên nhỉ? Vậy em lại chuyển sang tiếng Việt thế? II T- đơi học sinh khơng nghe rõ câu hỏi khơng tập trung Vì em phải chuyển sang tiếng Việt R - Rồi đoạn giới thiệu game thứ ý Em nói nhiều tiếng Việt, cô chia đội, đội có bạn lên chơi, nghe đọc từ bạn chạy nhanh lấy bóng có màu Ví dụ red, chạy lên lấy red Nhớ phải lấy hết nghe chưa….rất nhiều câu tiếng Việt đoạn Vậy lí em dung T - Nếu như, trị chơi mà diễn giải ngắn gọn súc tích ví dụ là, cần làm ví dụ run sau hammer on the board câu em dung tiếng Anh câu đơn giản, dễ hiểu kết hợp hành động minh họa cho hiểu Cịn câu khác em nói tiếng Việt, có nói tiếng Anh chúng khơng nghe R - Cái đoạn nhé, lúc em có gọi Kevin stand up em học sinh khơng chịu đứng lên, em chuyển sang dung tiếng Việt, em khơng nói tiếp tiếng Anh Câu tương đối đơn giản chị nghĩ chắn học sinh hiểu T - Tại vì bạn khơng chịu đứng lên, nên em phải bắt buộc dung tiếng Việt cho học sinh nghe lệnh Nhiều nghe tiếng Anh em không làm nói tiếng Việt em làm Có vẻ dung tiếng Việt lệnh/ u cầu có trọng lượng định chị Nói tiếng Việt để tập trung làm theo hiệu lệnh R - Thế cịn lúc gần chơi xong em có hỏi học sinh cịn màu hồng khơng Cịn màu pink khơng, có phải màu pink khơng? T - Tại em dạy màu, số chỗ kiểu phải nói tiếng Việt R - Sang phần này, em xem đoạn đoạn đếm bong cơng bố kết trị chơi, em có nói Chúng ta đếm one, two… Đội thắng trò chơi hôm đội Popodoo Tại em không dung Tiếng Anh let‟s count, the winner team is… T - Vì tiết học trước em dung tiếng Việt, đâm em chưa rèn cho kĩ nghe câu tiếng Anh Để học sinh nghe phần trao III giải học sinh phải rèn vài lần nghe hiểu Thế nên em dung tiếng Việt R - Những câu Em xem có nhiều lúc em nói lớp nhìn lên bảng, nghe nào…Tại em lại nói tiếng Việt Sao em khơng nói Look at here, look at the board, listen? T - Cái tự dưng nói thơi ah Mình khơng thể kiểm sốt nói giây phút Nhiều thói quen ý, kiểu bảo em ý chị Tự nói tiếng Việt thơi Nhiều quen miệng dùng ý Mình người Việt mà trao đổi hang ngày tiếng Việt mà R - Còn đoạn nữa, cô kiểm tra xem T - uhh, lẽ dùng let‟s see/ check chị nhỉ? R - Uh Đây đoạn học từ monkey, em nói bạn làm hành động monkey cho cô xem nào? Monkey bắt đầu letter nhỉ? T - yes R - Sao em không hỏi tiếng Anh? T - Sometimes, em dùng tiếng Anh, em dùng tiếng Việt Với lại câu vài học sinh khá hiểu được, cịn số khơng Chị thấy em nói tiếng Anh lần đầu có số làm hành động monkey, cịn lại khơng, nên việc dùng tiếng Việt cho lớp hiểu làm theo hành động cần thiết Với lại thói quen chị ah Tự dưng nói thơi R - Chứ khơng phải câu qáu khó cho học sinh? T - Không phải, thực câu khơng q khó Học sinh hiểu mà chị R - Tiếp theo em nói Nói cho tiếng Việt T - À, phần new lesson, em muốn học sinh nói trước từ tiếng Việt, sau dạy từ tương ứng tiếng Anh IV R - Nhưng mà chị thấy nhiều đoạn em nói what does this mean in Vietnamese học sinh hiểu mà, trả lời đoạn trên, what does this mean in Vietnamese học sinh nói ln khỉ? Tại em không dùng câu hỏi từ moon T - Chị biết đấy, lần đầu đưa từ mà, phải biết tiếng Việt trước sau chuyển sang tiếng Anh Như em biết học sinh biết nghĩa tiếng Việt xác từ biết Em thong thường dạy từ em thường hỏi nghĩa tiếng Việt trước R - Cịn phần game này, em nói tiếng Việt T - Cái giống phần game mà chị R - Còn phần này, chia đội đặt tên cho đội Đội tên Vividoo, đội Popodoo Sao lại dùng tiếng Việt trường hợp này? Sao không dùng tiếng anh You are vividoo you are popodoo - … R - Rồi phần dẫn vào em ý Dẫn vào trị chơi ý Nào đếm kết với bạn Đội đội Popodoo này: one ….next one đến đội Vividoo T - yes, đơi thói quen R - Đoạn cuối, công bố kết thưởng stickers Cũng dùng tiếng Việt T- Thì em nói mà Em chưa luyện cho phần nói tiếng Anh Nên em nói tiếng Việt Thế nên nói tiếng Việt hiểu em cố tình nói tiếng Anh khơng hiểu khơng biết đội đội chiến thắng - Chị cảm ơn em dành thời gian trả lời vấn Lần sau chị lại nhờ em nữa, em cố gắng giúp - Vâng Khơng có mà chị Appendix 3: Semi- structure interview question (English version) V Teacher: …………………… Date: ………………………… Should teachers use Vietnamese in ELT in Vietnam? Yes- No If yes, in what situations teachers should use Vietnamese in ELT? Prompt: a to explain new vocabulary items/ difficult concepts/ the aim of the lesson d to compare and/or contrast English and Vietnamese languages (e.g., phonology, morphology, grammar) e to check comprehension f to maintain classroom discipline g to joke around with students h to give complex instructions i to elicit language (e.g., how we say X in English?) j to test (e.g vocabulary) k to give suggestions on how to learn English effectively (students‟ learning strategy awareness) m other reasons (please specify) If not, why should not teachers use Vietnamese in ELT? Do you plan in which sections you will use MT? Sample semi structure interview (English interpretation) Case R- First, thank you for your attending the interview today I want to ask you some questions about the use of MT in the classroom Are you ready? T- Yes R - Ok Let‟s start The first question „Should teachers use Vietnamese in English language classroom?‟ VI T - In my opinion, Vietnamese should be used in English classroom About the quantity of L1, I think it is difficult to find out an exact number, but we can define how much L1 use depending on student‟s age and level Classes of older students are different in English and Vietnamese from classes for younger ones I think there should have a reasonable combination between English use and Vietnamese use in the classroom R - In your idea, L1 should be used in L2 classroom, so in what sections, or when you use L1? T -I think I will use Vietnamese when my students couldn‟t understand what I say or they intended not to focus on or paid no attention to the lesson For example, in case of presenting long and complex sentences, it is obviously that it is difficult to make students understand in English Or when students didn‟t follow my saying, I have to say in Vietnamese It is more effective Second I will use Vietnamese in difficult knowledge like in difficult pronunciation, vocabulary, or grammar part I think in this situation, Vietnamese is necessary Thirdly, Vietnamese should be used when the teachers don‟t know the equivalent in English, or don‟t know how to express something in English R - Can you make it clearer? In which sections you use Vietnamese? T - As I stated above, different knowledge like vocabulary or grammar Beside that, when guide students in some activities also need the aid of Vietnamese, like in new game or teacher students how to dance Or when student chat or something else in the classroom, or asking students something about their family or health… R -Ok So you plan the language choice before going to the class? T - No I just plan the activities, game, song About the language use, no planning It depends on the reality of the class Sometime I say Vietnamese by habit, sometime I see students‟ face to decide English or Vietnamese R - Can you say something about using Vietnamese in the classroom, in general? VII T - Using Vietnamese is to help students understand the lesson, so it is more effective The effectiveness of a lesson does not rely on the majority time of using English in the classroom; it lies on student‟s behavior and performance- students understand and remember the knowledge, and also attend activities R- Yes Thank you very much for your attention to my research T- it‟s my pleasure Case - First, thank you very much for your facilitating to help me finish the research - Not at all - Now I want take you sometime to seek your opinion about the use of the MT in the classroom, I mean Vietnamese - OK - First, in your opinion, should teachers use Vietnamese in the English classroom? - I think it should Vietnamese I think in fact it does not affect the teaching process if we use it considerably and reasonably Many people, even some scholars often said that teachers should use English only in the classroom, to help students expose more English, access more English input, but I think it is useless if use English but students can not understand I approve the trend that the mother tongue should be used in the classroom because it can propose some benefits However, I think the use of the L1 should be suitable to specific situations, and teachers should avoid overuse of the mother tongue If teachers say English all the time but students understand nothing, students can not apply new knowledge To apply knowledge, first students need to understand the way to use it first - Yeah It means that using Vietnamese in the classroom have some benefits? VIII - Of course The obvious benefit is that students can understand the lesson You know, Students speak Vietnamese; teachers speak Vietnamese, so students will understand if teachers explain in Vietnamese - So what is your opinion about how and when teachers use Vietnamese? - This is difficult to say Depending on each lesson, if the lesson is difficult, complicated, it needs Vietnamese But I think we need to control Vietnamese, for example, the more difficult part, the more English apply But with the easier parts that students have ability to understand, we should use English I mean that we should use totally Vietnamese; we should train students to form English using habit Listening and using more, know more - Ok So, Do you plan in advance about the use of the MT? - I, no but I think we should Good preparation results good teaching Ok - Come to third issue, in which section you think we should use Vietnamese? - In my opinion, Grammar is the first section that needs Vietnamese Because grammar is rather complex, difficult to understand with many rules If we say in English, students might not understand any thing - Yeah What about other sections need Vietnamese? - Ah The students intrucstion, especially in instructing a game, new activity If it is a familiar activities or game, there is no ground for the MT, but if is a new game, it is a little difficult So, in the first time we can use both English and Vietnamese, and gradually use English only - Yes Any idea? - Um I think two above situations need more Vietnamese, others are easier to apply other means like actions, gesture… to teach students - Yeas Thank you again about the interview - Hi Not at all Hi s ... read and understand foreign language literature, and translate each language into the other It is believed that everything in English should be taught by translating from the target language into... into the MT and vice versa (Larsen- Freeman, 2000:74) Therefore, the language most used in the class is the students‟ native language Patel and Jain (2008) also state that, in GTM, because of the. .. that non- native teachers could achieve all of the characteristics such as 11 fluency and appropriate use of language in the process of training He went further in arguing that non-native teachers