Teacher’s choice of english and vietnamese as classroom language in teaching grade 10 students speaking skills a case study at a high school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER TEACHER’S CHOICE OF ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE AS CLASSROOM LANGUAGE IN TEACHING GRADE 10 STUDENTS SPEAKING SKILLS: A CASE STUDY AT A HIGH SCHOOL Supervisor: Ms Ph Student: Trần Xu n Year: QH2012 Hanoi, May - 2016 Th Thu H (M.A) nh ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP L h n ng n ngữ h n ng n i h h gi vi n tr ng d y sinh 10 Gi vi n hư ng dẫn: Th sĩ Ph Sinh vi n: Trần Xu n nh Khóa: QH2012 Hà Nội, Tháng - 2016 Th Thu H ACCEPTANCE PAGE nX n n n n for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the Coll l n o n on n of lo ’ G on P p deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper Signature Date ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to send my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Ms Pham Thi Thu Ha, M.Ed for her precious guidance, her great patience and encouragement throughout the process of this research I also would like to express my special thanks to my senior, Ms Nguyen Nhat Hanh for giving me the inspiration to conduct the research on classroom language Her work on the same topic served as useful concrete foundations for my thesis My sincere thanks go to the English teachers and all students of classes: 10 Literature, 10 Chemistry, 10 Informatics and 10 Biology at Le Hong Phong high school in Nam Dinh, for their enthusiastic participation Without their cooperation, this research could never be completed Finally, I am grateful to my friends and family for their support from the beginning to the end of the process of conducting this research i ABSTRACT Like the situation in many other high schools, English teachers at Le Hong Phong high school for the gifted in Nam Dinh are currently really concerned about non-English major students’ capability to communicate in English after graduation As a result, use of English or Vietnamese as classroom language in teaching such communicative skills as speaking and listening are attracting increasing attentions from the teachers Through observations, questionnaires and interviews with the two young English teachers and four grade 10 classes that they were in charge of, the researcher expected to explore the frequency and driving factors, as well as the students’ perceptions of the teachers’ use of English and Vietnamese as classroom language in teaching speaking skill The case study has revealed that both teachers used English most of the time during speaking lessons and the reasons for their choice were mainly related to students’ proficiency improvement, favorable learning environment creation and speaking tasks Meanwhile, Vietnamese was rarely used In general, most of the students were satisfied with their teacher’s use of classroom language Findings of this study provide a reference for teachers and authorities that are concerned about improving students’ communicative skills Suggestions for future research on similar topics are given at the end of the paper ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Content Page Acknowledgements i Abstract ii Table of contents iii List of tables and figures vii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Statement of research problem and rationale of the study 1.2 Aims and research questions 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Organization of the study CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definitions of key terms 2.1.1 Classroom language 2.1.2 EFL learners 2.2 Using target language as classroom language 2.3 Using mother tongue as classroom language 12 2.4 Use of classroom language in different language teaching methods 14 iii 2.5 Driving factors of teacher’s use of L1 and L2 in EFL classroom 15 2.6 Research gaps 16 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Sampling method 18 3.2 Participants 18 3.3 Data collection instruments 20 3.3.1 Observation 20 3.3.2 Questionnaire 21 3.3.3 Semi-structured interview 22 3.4 Procedure of data collection 22 3.4.1 Preparation 22 3.4.2 Exploratory interview with the two teachers 23 3.4.3 Observation 23 3.4.4 Questionnaire 23 3.4.5 Exploratory interview with the two teachers and students 23 3.5 Procedure of data analysis 23 3.5.1 Data from observation 23 3.5.2 Data from questionnaire 23 3.5.3 Data from exploratory interviews 24 iv CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Question 1: How often teachers use Vietnamese and English as 25 classroom language in speaking lessons? 4.2 Question 2: What factors drive teachers to use Vietnamese or 28 English as classroom language in speaking lessons? 4.2.1 Teachers’ reasons for using classroom English in speaking 29 lessons 4.2.2 Teachers’ reasons for using classroom Vietnamese in 36 speaking lessons 4.3 Question 3: What are students’ levels of satisfaction towards their 40 teachers’ use of Vietnamese and English as classroom language in speaking lessons? CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary of answers to research questions 5.1.1 Research question 1: How often teachers use 44 44 Vietnamese and English as classroom language in speaking lessons? 5.1.2 Research question 2: What factors drive teachers to use 44 Vietnamese or English as classroom language in speaking lessons? 5.1.3 Research question 3: What are students’ levels of satisfaction towards their teachers’ use of Vietnamese and English as classroom language in speaking lessons? v 45 5.2 Implications 45 5.3 Limitations of the research and suggestions for further studies 47 REFERENCES 49 APPENDICES 53 vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Page Table 2.1: Functions of classroom English in teaching English Table 2.2: Suggested uses for L1 in the EFL classroom 13 Table 3.1: Information about four chosen classes 20 Table 4.1: Teachers’ frequencies of using classroom language 26 Table 4.2: Teachers’ reasons for using classroom English 31 Table 4.3: Teachers’ reasons for using classroom Vietnamese 37 Figure 4.1: Teachers’ frequencies of classroom language in each class 27 Figure 4.2: Students’ perception of their teacher’s classroom language 40 frequency Figure 4.3: Students’ satisfaction toward teachers’ classroom language 42 frequency vii APPENDIX – QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS Te hers’ h i e f Eng ish nd Vietn ese s ssr ngu ge in teaching grade 10 students speaking: a case study at a high school I am Tran Xuan Binh from class QH2012.F1 E1, ULIS, VNU I would like to ask for your help by answering the following questions for my research entitled “Te hers’ choice of English and Vietnamese as classroom language in teaching grade 10 students speaking: se study t high s h ” Please give your answers sincerely as only this will guarantee the success of my study If you have any questions regarding the study, please contact me at binhtranxuan0107@gmail.com or reach me at 01277445226 Thank you very much for your help _ *Before answering the questions below, please notice that Te her’s ssr ngu ge refers to the language used for communication between the teacher and students All of your personal information and answers will be kept confidential P rti i nt’s inf r ti n: Teacher: _ Classes you are teaching: * * * 61 Question 1: Please answer the following question by putting a tick ( √ )into the appropriate box In your perception: How often you use Vietnamese in a speaking lesson? □ Never □ Rarely □ Sometimes □Often □ Usually □ Always How often you use English in a speaking lesson? □ Never □ Rarely □ Sometimes □Often □ Usually □ Always In the questions below, you are provided with an inventory of some of the possible reasons or purposes for your choice of language in your EFL classrooms In each case, indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree with the statement by circling one of the seven digits against each item KEY Completely Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Completely Disagree Disagree Agree Agree 62 Question 2: Why you use English to communicate with students in teaching speaking? … because it provides students with a “role 7 7 7 7 native-like …because I use English as a habit, I don’t model” …because my students are good enough to understand my instruction in English …because it encourages the students to speak English …because it helps improve students’ listening and speaking skill …because it makes the students think in English …because I feel more confident when using English …because my English is good, I want to show it to my students …because I will receive more respect from the students …because it creates a environment for students 10 even notice 63 11 …because I think it is default and other 7 7 7 teachers also it 12 …because it creates a more professional learning environment 13 …because it is the input for students’ grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation 14 … because it helps improve my English proficiency 15 …because it is easy for me to convey the knowledge in English 16 … because tasks in speaking lessons allows me to use English 17 … because it is the policy of the school Others (Please indicate any other reasons not cited above which explain your choice of English) 18 19 Question 3: Why you use Vietnamese to communicate with students in speaking classes? (You can skip the question if you not use Vietnamese at all) …because I feel more confident when 7 using Vietnamese …because it provokes students’ 64 interaction …because it saves time …because I simply feel tired …because I can’t find the way to express 7 7 7 7 in English …because it creates a friendly learning environment …because I want to draw students’ attention to important points …because my students are not good enough to understand my instruction in English …because the students can understand clearly 10 …because I automatically use it, I don’t even notice 11 …because other teachers use Vietnamese, I should too 12 …because I think my English is not very good Others (Please indicate any other reasons not cited above which explain your choice of Vietnamese) 65 13 14 Thank you for participating in this study! Note: Adapted from ’ o of n l n V n m l n of instruction in the EFL classroom: A case study at FELTE – ULIS, by Nguyen (2015) 66 PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA D NH CHO GI O VI N S L Ch n Tiếng Anh V Tiếng Việt C Gi Vi n L Tr ng Giảng D y K N ng N i Ch H Ng n Ngữ L Sinh L H 10 Thưa thày/cô, Em tên Trần Xu n Bình, sinh viên lớp QH2012.F1.E1, ULIS, VNU Hiện t i, em ti n hành đề tài nghiên cứu: “S vi n ng n ngữ h h n tiếng Anh v tiếng Việt tr ng giảng d y n ng n i h h sinh gi 10” Em mong thày/cô hợp tác giúp đỡ em trình thu thập liệu cách trả lời c u hỏi đ y Tất thông tin cá nh n c u trả lời thày/cơ giữ bí mật Tính ch n thực c u trả lời thầy/cô mang l i xác ý nghĩa cho nghiên cứu em N u thày/cô c th c m c liên quan đ n nghiên cứu thày/cô c th liên hệ với em qua địa email: binhtranxuan0107@gmail.com số điện tho i 01277445226 Em xin cảm ơn cô nhiều! _ *Ghi GV: Giáo viên HS: Học sinh 67 Trong ph m vi nghiên cứu này, ngôn ngữ lớp học đề cập tới ng n ngữ đượ gi vi n sử dụng để gi tiế v i h sinh q trình d y học, khơng phải ngơn ngữ sử dụng học sinh với * * * C u 1: Khi d y n ng n i h b n tần su t th y/ sử dụng ỗi thứ tiếng bao nhiêu? Hãy ti (√)v trống h u trả ời th y/cô Tiếng Anh: □ Không □ Hi m □ Thường xuyên □Luôn □ Thỉnh thoảng □ Thường Tiếng Việt: □ Không □ Hi m □ Thường xuyên □ Luôn □ Thỉnh thoảng □ Thường Hai c u hỏi bên dự ki n lý cho lựa chọn ti ng Anh hay ti ng Việt làm ngôn ngữ lớp học Với lý do, tùy thuộc vào mức độ đồng tình, thày /cơ khoanh tròn vào thang m từ đ n với “1” “hồn tồn khơng đồng ý” “7” “hoàn toàn đồng ý” Th ng điể 68 Hoàn toàn R t h ng đồng không Trung đồng ý ậ Đồng ý R t đồng Hoàn toàn đồng ý ý đồng ý ý C u 2: Nếu h h Không ú sử dụng tiếng Anh sinh 10 th ý d h s ng n ngữ h n h để d y n ng n i th y/cơ là: tơi muốn t o cho HS hình mẫu 7 7 7 7 …vì điều đ giúp t o môi trường việc sử dụng ti ng Anh (“role model”) …vì HS tơi đủ giỏi đ hi u giảng ti ng Anh … điều đ giúp khuy n khích HS nói ti ng Anh …vì điều đ giúp cố kỹ ti ng HS (nghe, nói) …vì điều đ giúp rèn luyện khả tư ti ng Anh cho HS …vì tơi thấy thoải mái tự tin dùng ti ng Anh …vì tơi nghĩ ti ng Anh tốt, tơi nên cho HS thấy … th tơi nhận nhiều n trọng từ HS 69 ti ng học tập 10 …vì tơi dùng ti ng Anh th i quen 11 …vì tơi nghĩ đ y luật bất thành văn 7 7 7 GV 12 … điều đ t o chuyên nghiệp giảng d y 13 … điều đ input cho ngữ pháp, từ vựng, phát m HS 14 …vì điều đ giúp cải thiện kỹ thực hành ti ng 15 …vì tơi thấy ti ng Anh dễ diễn đ t, truyền tải ý 16 … ho t động d y n i cho giáo viên nhiều hội sử dụng ti ng Anh 17 … nhà trường yêu cầu giáo viên sử dụng ti ng Anh d y kỹ n i Xin thày/cô nêu lý khác (n u c ) khoanh tròn vào thang m bi u thị mức độ đồng ý 18 19 70 C u 3: Nếu h h sinh ú sử dụng tiếng Việt 10 th ý d h s ng n ngữ h n h hi d y n ng n i th y/cô là: (N u không giảng ti ng Việt bao giờ, thầy/cô c th bỏ qua c u này.) …vì tơi thấy tự tin thoải mái dùng 7 ti ng Việt …vì điều đ giúp khơi gợi tương tác giao ti p lớp học …vì điều đ ti t kiệm thời gian …vì tơi thấy mệt …vì tơi khơng th tìm cách diễn đ t ý 7 7 ti ng Anh … điều đ giúp tao môi trường học tập th n thiện …vì tơi muốn hướng ý HS vào m quan trọng …vì HS tơi chưa đủ giỏi đ hi u giảng ti ng Anh …vì tơi muốn đảm bảo tất HS hi u ý 10 …tôi dùng theo th i quen, khơng chủ đích 11 …vì tơi thấy GV khác dùng ti ng Việt 71 12 …vì tơi thấy ti ng Anh chưa tốt Xin thầy/ n u ýd độ đồng ý h (nếu )v h nh tròn v th ng điể biểu th ứ nh ) 13 14 Cảm ơn thầy/cô tham gia nghiên cứu này! Dựa theo nghiên cứu “Sự lự n ôn n ữ ản ọn ủ áo v ên ữ ến An ến V ệ làm on lớp ọ n oạ n ữ” Nguyễn Nhật H nh, Đ i học Ngo i Ngữ, Đ i học Quốc gia Hà Nội, năm 2015 72 APPENDIX – EXPLORATORY INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (1) Could you share some information about your educational background? (University, major, degree, future plan, …) How long have you been teaching English? and at LHP high school? What language of instruction you often use in English classes? English or Vietnamese? Or both? What factors you often consider to decide upon the use of Vietnamese in your lesson? Could you exemplify them in two grade 10 classes that you’re teaching? 73 APPENDIX – SAMPLE OF EXPLORATORY INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (2) Questions in each interview varied in accordance to the information each participant provided in the questionnaires Questions for teachers  You completely agree that using English as a classroom language encourages students to speak English and improves their listening and speaking skills How classroom English can that?  Have you seen any progress in students’ communicative skills since they entered grade 10?  You also completely agree that classroom English provides students with a “role model” Why you want students to follow you as a model English speaker?  In your opinions, how important is a professional learning environment in English classes to students, especially those who not major in English? Does professional environment mean a native-like environment?  You strongly agree that classroom English improves your English proficiency How is that possible?  Do you think that students will respect you more if you show off your English profiency in class?  How can tasks in speaking lessons give you more chances to speak English?  How does Vietnamese help you in giving instructions when you’re tired or unable to explain in English? 74  Why you disagree that Vietnamese can create a friendly learning environment?  I observed that you often used Vietnamese when technical problems in class happened Is it your habit? Or you think it saves you time? Or any other reason? Questions for students  Why you find your teacher’s frequency of using classroom language inappropriate? What is the appropriate frequency for each language in your opinion? 75 ... graduation As a result, use of English or Vietnamese as classroom language in teaching such communicative skills as speaking and listening are attracting increasing attentions from the teachers Through... driving factors, as well as the students? ?? perceptions of the teachers’ use of English and Vietnamese as classroom language in teaching speaking skill The case study has revealed that both teachers... careful about my speaking English in class, regarding intonations, grammar, pronunciation, so I am rather confident that what I am saying students can take as a model” Ms Minaj’s explanation could account