Twelfth graders perceptions of communicative and non communicative activities in efl classroms in bac ly high school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ THU HƢƠNG TWELFTH GRADERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNICATIVE AND NON-COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES IN EFL CLASSROOMS IN BAC LY HIGH SCHOOL (Nhận thức học sinh lớp 12 hoạt động giao tiếp phi giao tiếp trường Trung học phổ thông Bắc Lý) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 HANOI – 2011 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ THU HƢƠNG TWELFTH GRADERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNICATIVE AND NON-COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES IN EFL CLASSROOMS IN BAC LY HIGH SCHOOL (Nhận thức học sinh lớp 12 hoạt động giao tiếp phi giao tiếp trường Trung học phổ thông Bắc Lý) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: Dr Tô Thị Thu Hƣơng HANOI - 2011 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS page DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS vii PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study Aims and Objectives of the study Research Questions Scope of the study Methods of the study Significance of the study Structure of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Theoretical background of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) 1.1.1 Definitions of CLT 1.1.2 Characteristics of communicative language teaching 1.2 Communicative and non-communicative activities in language teaching and learning process 1.2.1 Definition of communicative and non-communicative activities 1.2.2 Characteristics of communicative and non-communicative activities 1.2.3 Roles of communicative activities in language teaching and learning 10 1.2.4 The roles of teachers in communicative activities 11 1.2.5 Types of communicative activities 12 v 1.3 Students’ perceptions of communicative and non-communicative activities 14 1.4 Summary 15 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 Research approach 17 2.2 Research setting 17 2.3 Subjects 17 2.4 The Textbook English 12 19 2.5 Data collection instruments 20 2.6 Procedures of data collection 21 2.7 Procedures of data analysis 22 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Students’ perceptions of communicative and non-communicative activities 23 3.1.1 Students‟ preference of communicative and non-communicative activities 23 3.1.2 Students‟ opinions of the usefulness of these activities 27 3.2 Students’ perceived difficulties in practicing communicative activities 29 3.2.1 Low English proficiency 29 3.2.2 Traditional learning styles and habits 30 3.2.3 Little motivation for communicative competence 31 3.2.4 EFL settings 31 CHAPTER 4: IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1 To MOET, DOET 33 4.2 To teachers 34 4.3 To students 37 PART C: CONCLUSION 38 REFERENCES 40 APPENDICES I vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT = Communicative Language Teaching DOET = Department of Education and Training ELT = English Language Teaching L2 = Second Language MOET = Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training SLA = Second Language Acquisition vii LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS page Table 1: Students‟ enjoyment of non-communicative activities 24 Table 2: Students‟ enjoyment of communicative activities 24 Table 3: Students‟ opinions of the usefulness of non-communicative activities 28 Table 4: Students‟ opinions of the usefulness of communicative activities 28 Chart 1: Students‟ difficulties in practicing communicative activities 30 PART A- THE INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study The field of second or foreign language teaching has undergone many paradigmatic shifts and methodological trends over the last few decades We have seen the Audiolingual Method, Cognitive-based Approaches, the Total Physical Response, the Natural Approach, Communicative Language Teaching and many others Within the debate on English teaching methodology, the study of Vietnamese students‟ response to CLT, especially classroom activities deserves particular attention Do they enjoy activities involving communication and real use of language? Do they agree that real language activities emphasizing language content are more effective than non-communicative activities that stress formal correction? Do they believe that such activities are helpful to them as language learners? Do they face with any difficulties in practicing these activities? According to Kumaravadivelu (1991, p 107) "the more we know about the learner's personal approaches and personal concepts, the better and more productive our interactions will be." We as teachers should be aware of our students' perceptions and beliefs about language learning in order to facilitate desired learning outcomes in the classroom As suggested by Bada and Okan (2000), there is a need for closer cooperation between students and teachers It is important to remember that learners already critically evaluate what they (Breen, 1989) Teachers can use different strategies to build learners choices into their lessons Teachers and students can have a dialogue and negotiate alternatives, which would definitely lead to more learner involvement and could, therefore, lead to more positive attitudes towards language learning As teachers, at every single moment, we should observe our students' reactions and consider their attitudes and preferences in order to promote a more inclusive climate that will enhance learning In order to deepen our understanding of how students react to communicative and noncommunicative activities, Barkhuisen (1998:86) has called for “teachers to discover their learners‟ feelings and beliefs about their language learning experiences and consequently to review and possibly change their teaching process” Moreover, Vietnamese high school syllabi now keep promoting CLT in an attempt to enable the students to use the target language for communicative purposes instead of mastering its grammatical rules and structures Vietnamese twelfth graders in upper secondary school had five-year experience studying English “communicatively” as English is among the compulsory subjects at secondary schools However, the fact is that after those years of learning English, not many pupils have a clear cut purpose of learning English in their mind and they are likely passively motivated to learn English basing on the textbooks and teachers‟ method of delivery Consequently, most of pupils find themselves unable to use English for day-to-day communication after having passed the English national examination as a requirement for the General Education Diploma In brief, all of the reasons mentioned above have inspired the present study on: “Twelfth graders’ perceptions of communicative and non-communicative activities in EFL classrooms in Bac Ly high school” as the title for the thesis in the hope that I can contribute a small part in helping my students and my colleagues to improve their learning and teaching English Aims and objectives of the study With the above-presented rationales, the specific aims and objectives of the study are the followings Firstly, the study carries out an investigation into twelfth grade students‟ perceptions of communicative and non-communicative activities in terms of preference and usefulness Secondly, through the investigation the research will find out the difficulties the students encounter in practicing communicative activities Thirdly, the study will provide possible solutions to these difficulties, thereby improving the quality of English language education in the context of an urban high school Research Questions What are twelfth graders’ perceptions of communicative and non-communicative activities in the EFL classrooms? What are students’ perceived difficulties in practicing communicative activities? What are the possible solutions to these difficulties? Scope of the study Due to time constraint, the study limits itself to the investigation on twelfth graders‟ perceptions of non-communicative and communicative activities in EFL classroom in the context of an urban high school, Bac Ly high school Therefore, subjects of the study were teachers of English and students in the twelfth form at Bac Ly high school in Ha Nam province Within the scope of the study, the following issues were addressed: - Students‟ preference of communicative and non-communicative activities (Research question 1) - Students‟ opinions of the usefulness of communicative and non-communicative activities (Research question 1) - Students‟ difficulties in participating in communicative activities (Research question 2) - Implications and recommendations for overcoming these difficulties (Research question 3) Methods of study In this study, a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods were utilized A questionnaire survey was conducted on a sample of students to find answers to research questions and Furthermore, in order to address the limitations of the questionnaire in exploring students‟ perceptions, and to find out their constraints and possible solutions (research questions 3), student semi-structured interviews and teacher group discussions were conducted following the analysis of the questionnaire data Questionnaire data were analyzed quantitatively for descriptive statistics while the interview and discussion data were processed qualitatively following an “interpretive model” (Hatch 2002) for recommended solutions The answers to three research questions provided a picture of students‟ perceptions of communicative and non-communicative activities as well as their difficulties in doing communicative activities in EFL classrooms and possible solutions Significance of the study English is used more and more to communicative throughout the world MOET have provided a series of new textbooks in order to develop students‟ communicative competence It is said that the textbooks are more useful than the older version, but most of students hardly communicate in English after graduating from high schools and that teachers and authors should adapt and revise these books In such a circumstance, the findings will hopefully aid teachers in their choice of classroom activities and in deciding how learning activities should be arranged and implemented in the classroom while waiting for MOET to make some changes in these books Although the study is intended to investigate students‟ perceptions of noncommunicative and communicative activities in EFL classrooms in an urban high school, which is not researched adequately in the context of Ha Nam-based high schools, the outcome of the study can contribute significantly to our understanding of the issue in high schools with a similar context As such, this study will serve as a reference material not only for teachers of English in Bac Ly high school but also for teachers elsewhere who wish to continually improve the quality of teaching and learning English Structure of the Thesis This paper is divided into three main parts: Part A is the INTRODUCTION In this part, the rationales of the study, the aims, research questions, the scope of the study, methods of the study and also its design are presented Part B is the DEVELOPMENT which includes chapters Chapter I, Literature Review, deals with a theoretical background about the definitions of CLT and its characteristics; definitions, characteristics, roles, types of communicative and non-communicative activities in the process of learning and teaching; the roles of the teacher in communicative and non-communicative types of communicative activities, and previous studies on students‟ perceptions about classroom activities Chapter II, Research Methodology, describes the situation where the study was conducted and the informants involved in the study It includes the teachers of English, the students, and the textbook The data collection instruments, procedures of data collection and data analysis were also presented in this chapter Chapter III, Results and Discussion, presents and discusses the results finding out the students‟ perceptions of communicative and non-communicative activities and their difficulties in participating in communicative activities Chapter IV, Implications and Recommendations, presents some pedagogical implications of the study and suggestions for overcoming difficulties in practicing communicative activities in the way, which helps students develop their communicative competence in Bac Ly high school 34 amended to include communicative language testing in the national exams In case, it is impossible to conduct a speaking test due to the contextual constraints, at least the instruction by MOET should require teachers to ensure that each student has at least one mark for speaking assessment Another thing might be taken into consideration is that more funding like facilities, materials should be given to school It is also necessary for MOET to provide in-service training on teaching methodology for teachers In the course, the teachers can be retrained about the communicative language teaching approach and learning assessment 4.2 To teachers 4.2.1 Balancing the relationship between linguistic competence and communicative competence In reconciling the communicative activities with the non-communicative activities, it is very important that we are not biased towards either of them, but rather towards integrating the two into one At the foundation stage, linguistic competence means the spontaneous and flexible as well as the correct manipulation of the language system, and communicative competence involves principles of appropriateness and a readiness on the part of the learners to use relevant strategies to cope with certain language situations Linguistic competence is the basis of communicative competence Without linguistic competence, there is no communicative competence to speak of Nevertheless, students should also be made aware that linguistic competence is one step for helping students to improve their communicative competence, and it does not automatically result in communicative competence Students have to take part in communicative practice actively in order to achieve the latter, e.g role-play, pair work, group discussion and then they would be able to build up both linguistic and communicative competence It is important to integrate them both, not to neglect either 4.2.2 Educating students about classroom activities Refocusing on the suggestion that students may perceive their failure to learn, and hence their low expectancy of success on perceptions of problems within their educational 35 system, a way to overcome this issue would be to educate the students about the process of learning, and in particular the purposes and benefits of specific classroom activities Teachers may help their students understand the nature of language, the function of the class, the role of students and of the teacher Although students worry about grammar based examinations, they need to know that grammar is only tool not the end while learning English Yang (1998) suggests that teachers should try to reduce student misconceptions by providing knowledge about the process of SLA, while Yang and Lau (2003) note many researchers suggest that teachers should outline correct learner expectations and explain the purpose behind classroom methods to reduce the gap between teachers' and learners' expectations The need to educate learners about the learning process is also suggested by Swan's comment that "beginners may have little idea of how languages and language learning work In the first lesson, talk these things through with them" (Swan 2001) Cheng(2000) further suggests that any teacher using new methods must ensure that students are familiar with and accept such methods 4.2.3 Making full use of the textbook and any materials available The study shows that lack of materials prevents students in EFL situations from getting exposed to the authentic English language However, this does not mean that there is nothing we can about it The textbook TIENG ANH 12 in general is a good one In order to encourage students to speak, the topics firstly should be familiar to students‟ interests Students can talk a lot about Music or Films as these are their favorite topics Secondly, the topics should be of students “level” in terms of language and specific knowledge If they are too difficult, students will feel demotivated To sum up, teachers can adapt the topics to be more suitable, interesting and familiar to the students In order to provide students with authentic reading materials and to make students enrich their vocabulary, teachers should combine the textbook with other materials such as from the internet, magazines, newspapers or other reference books Moreover, teachers can encourage students to oral presentation on prepared topics, which can help students explore information from different sources, widen their knowledge and increase confidence In our technological age, it is advisable for both teachers and students to make use of using the internet, where students can chat and email with foreigners, which creates environment for students to practice the language and give them some insights into real life 36 situations Students and teachers, therefore, can improve both their English knowledge and speaking skill For example, teachers and students can cut out and circulate individual articles They can also clip articles from local English language periodicals (e.g Dantri Daily, Thanhnienonline, Saigontimes…) and international newspapers and magazines (e.g The International Herald Tribune, Newsweek International) The latter offer students more insight into other countries, people and cultures (Kitao, 1995) as well as more international news than their local or national periodicals provide What is more, the Internet also offers a rich source of authentic reading materials 4.2.4 Managing speaking turns In a large class, students are at different levels, some are over – active and always willing to speak while the others are often hesitant or anxious about speaking the target language Teachers, therefore, should balance the students‟ speaking turns - Firstly, teachers should lengthen the wait – time for students‟ answers Thus, the anxious students have more time to think carefully and be confident about their responses In addition to this, teachers need to be more tolerant towards students‟ responses - Secondly, it is necessary for teachers to improve questioning technique According to Nolasco and Athur (1988), it is vital to “keep everyone awake” and students should be highly motivated by rapid questioning It means that teachers give questions and randomly ask any student in the class By doing this, all students are required to prepare for the answers - Thirdly, teachers should assign appropriate tasks for students For example, for lower students they can take the responsibility of note – takers, secretaries when doing group works or give their comments on other students‟ answers By this way, we can reduce students‟ inhibition and create chances for them to participate in In conclusion, the suggestions above may make the teachers‟ life harder but the students would benefit Students will not view English as a burden, hard now and useless in the future They also feel much more confident with their ability to communicate in English Therefore, English would, at least, not be a barrier to scholarship winning Besides, better English will help to increase their opportunities for both higher education and better employment in the future 37 4.2.5 Building cooperative atmosphere A cooperative classroom atmosphere in which students are encouraged to take part in oral activities can facilitate students to express their opinions without being afraid of making mistakes or negative evaluations Teachers, therefore, should be tactful in correcting students‟ mistakes; otherwise, we will demotivate students to speak English Moreover, techniques to encourage students such as giving feedback, comments or praise should be enhanced Teachers also avoid tension – causing tasks such as surprise and difficult quizzes, overly competitive activities or putting students in from of their peers with warning or no chance for preparation Instead of that, students are encouraged to work cooperatively with the partners in their groups 4.3 To students 4.3.1 Cooperating with peers In order to work in groups successfully, students should cooperate and have good relationship with each other They can work together to prepare for the topics, exchange the ideas, peer correction and give comments on others‟ performance during the presentation 4.3.2 Cooperating with teachers In addition to cooperation with friends, students should work well with the teacher in joining discussion, answering questions or giving comments More importantly, students can take advantage of the teacher‟s help in case of meeting new words, pronunciation problems in order to carry out the tasks effectively 4.3.3 Taking risks As we know that some passive students are often reluctant to speak in the class for fear of making mistakes or being laughed at by others However, according to Brown (2001), risk – taking is one of the essential characteristics of a successful second language learner Students, therefore, should make use of opportunities to practice speaking English and make sure that making mistakes is inevitable in language learning process 38 PART C CONCLUSION Conclusion on the major findings and discussion Knowledge of what students think about activities in their language class is very valuable It helps teachers and course administrators decide whether and in what directions the teaching methodologies and/or content need to be improved Teachers, curriculum planners, and others who want to be sensitive to the needs of the students they serve cannot always rely on their unaided intuitions (Rudduck, 1991) By using the present instrument, in which the students expressed their personal opinions about communicative and noncommunicative activities, the researcher has discovered whether the subjects see certain kinds of activities as more effective and useful than others Giving this type of survey to the students has also helped the researcher identify their difficulties in doing communicative activities in classroom The findings of the study will be summarized as follows Firstly, the students favored a variety of classroom activities, but that they liked non-communicative activities more than communicative ones in term of their preference of those activities The result also indicates that in non-communicative activities, there is a significant different between students‟ preference and teachers‟ perceptions of students‟ preference; nevertheless, the teachers were more aware of their students in communicative activities Students‟ preference for non-communicative activities were significantly marked higher than their teachers, especially pronunciation practice and error correction Investigating the students‟ perception of teachers‟ activities in term of their usefulness, the data from the research reveal that the majority of the students found it useful to noncommunicative activities rather than communicative activities In correspondence with students‟ opinions, all teachers agreed that their students would find non-communicative activities more useful than the other Secondly, in the process of taking part in communicative activities, most students reported facing with difficulties like low English proficiency, traditional learning styles and habits, low motivation for communicative competence and EFL setting The principal constraint was their low English proficiency and the last one was the mix of factors in EFL setting including learning environments, large classes, grammar based examinations, and sufficient funding 39 Last but not least, some implications and recommendations are made for overcoming these difficulties and to the teaching and learning English in Bac Ly high school MOET should fund more and revise tests, exams and assessment Teachers should combine communicative and non-communicative activities, not bias either of them Besides, teachers had better educate their students about classroom activities by reducing students‟ misconceptions of these activities; as a result, the gap between students‟ needs and teachers‟ expectations will be reduced Creating authentic communicative scenarios for the real use of the language and making full use of any materials available are also mentioned to help overcome students‟ difficulties in doing their communicative activities in EFL classroom Students are advised to cooperate not only with peers but also with teacher and take risks by making use of opportunities to practice English in order that they will improve their learning results Limitations of the study Although the researcher while conducting the research has made great effort, the shortcomings and mistakes are inevitable Due to the limitation of time, in as sense, anecdotal reflected the perceptions of students of classroom activities in terms of their preference and usefulness of those activities as well as constraints in participating in communicative activities The study did not touch upon the teachers‟ perceptions in using these activities and evaluation of the effectiveness of those activities thoroughly Despite all the mentioned limitations, the researcher hopes that this exploratory research will contribute to the better situation of teaching and learning English at Bac Ly high school Suggestions for further study 1) This research focused on the students‟ perception of communicative and noncommunicative activities in terms of their preference and usefulness as well as difficulties in doing communicative activities, further studies can focus on writing, reading, listening or speaking class exclusively 2) Teachers‟ perceptions of communicative and non-communicative activities in EFL classroom is also considered for further studies 3) Bridging the gap between learners‟ learning needs and expectations and teacher‟s expectation is worth taking into account 40 REFERENCES Allwright, R L., & Bailey, K M (1991) Focus on the language classroom Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Babbie, E (1983) The practice of social research (3rd ed.) 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How you rate your English proficiency as compared with the proficiency of other students in your class? Good Fair Bad Are you concerned about the teaching methods used in EFL classroom? Yes No II Part B: The following are 19 descriptions of things that might happen in an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) class Please give your personal opinions about your enjoyment and usefulness of these activities by putting a tick in the column No of Usefulness items ACTIVITIES Enjoyment (Do you find (Do you like this activity this activity?) useful to learn English?) YES Learn how to pronounce a word/phrase/sentence Replying on the teacher to explain everything that you should know Listening to and learning songs in English Do an exercise in which you should find mistakes in grammar and correct the mistakes Interview English speakers and report on the interviews in English Making dialogs and discussions on different topics Teacher calls on all students in turn to change a positive sentence in negative one Teacher speaks a series of sentences and ask the entire class to respond orally to each sentence by changing its tenses Receive a sheet of paper with a number of sentences like: ………………… is a fantastic dancer.………….has visited Hanoi And then move around the classroom, ask your classmates questions in English, and try to fill the blanks with as many different NO YES NO III names as possible 10 Stand in front of the class and answer all questions from other classmates 11 Teacher correct all mistakes in your exercises 12 Teacher divide you into pairs, in which you have to ask your partner questions, and answer the questions your partner asks you 13 Find and report on an interesting newspaper or magazine article in English 14 the teacher explain a grammatical rule in Vietnamese that is printed in the textbook, and then give examples in English 15 the teacher explain a grammatical rule in English that is printed in the textbook, and then give examples in English as well 16 Teacher divide you into small groups in which you and your classmates talk about things you like and things you dislike 17 Teacher give you a list of words that occur in a story or article, and then ask you to look up the words in an English-English dictionary for the purpose of copying the definitions 18 Be given the words to a current hit song in English, and then listen to the recording, or watch the video 19 Do a written exercise in which you are asked to fill in the correct forms of verbs in sentences 20 Listening to a tape or watching TV and then discussing the contents IV Part C: The following are some difficulties that other students in EFL situations had in adopting communicative activities Did you come across these difficulties or you think they might be difficulties for you in practicing communicative activities in your class? Lack of motivation? Passive style of learning? Afraid of mistakes? Low English proficiency? Fear for being criticized or losing face Lack of vocabulary Feeling shy while speaking in front of the class EFL settings (Lack of authentic English reading materials, lack of facilities, grammarbased examination, large class) THANK YOU VERY MUCH! V APPENDIX B: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS What you think about the activities in the textbook English 12? What activities does your teacher often use in your lessons? (Interview, role – play, pair work, group work, discussion, report, story – telling, dialogue completion, dictionary work, correction of errors, grammar instruction …) Which activities you prefer? Why? Which activities you think are useful to learn English? Are you afraid of making mistakes when speaking in the class? Why? Can you name some of your difficulties in doing communicative activities? Which is the decisive difficulty? What should your teacher to increase your participation in class? ... communicative and non -communicative activities in the process of learning and teaching; the roles of the teacher in communicative and non -communicative types of communicative activities, and previous... characteristics and roles of these activities can make the best use of communicative and non -communicative activities in the process of learning and teaching The role of the teacher in communicative and non -communicative. .. language teaching and learning process 1.2.1 Definition of communicative and non -communicative activities 1.2.2 Characteristics of communicative and non -communicative activities 1.2.3 Roles of communicative