A study on the effectiveness of teachers code switching in teaching reading comprehension to ton duc thang university students

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE -««« - A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHERS’ CODE-SWITCHING IN TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION TO TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature In partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By NGUYEN THANH BINH Supervised by PHO PHUONG DUNG, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, OCTOBER 2017 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis, entitled “A study on the effectiveness of teachers’ codeswitching in teaching reading comprehension to Ton Duc Thang University students” is my own work This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution Ho Chi Minh City, October 2017 Nguyen Thanh Binh i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Nguyen Thanh Binh, being the candidate for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan and reproduction of theses Ho Chi Minh City, October 2017 Nguyen Thanh Binh ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr Pho Phuong Dung, for her wholehearted support to my thesis I deeply appreciate the way she read and commented on my thesis in detail Her gentle guidance and patience have always impressed me since I was in her Second Language Acquisition class Without her tremendous enthusiasm and professional expertise, I would not have completed the thesis Finally, thanks to her encouragement and companion, part of the study was successfully presented at The First International Conference on Language Development (ICLD) at Ton Duc Thang University in the summer of 2016 I could not wish for a better support from her I would also like to extend my grateful thanks to Dr Ngô Thị Thanh Vân, Director of TOEIC Center - Ton Duc Thang University, for authorizing me to conduct my experiment at the center She was also of help in giving me advice when doing the research at the university I would like to thank my colleagues for their support during the time I conducted the study and completed the thesis Last but not least, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my parents and my husband for their understanding, encouragement and continuous support during my thesis writing Without them, the thesis would not have been completed iii ABSTRACT English has become one of the most popular languages used for international communication these days In Vietnam, the demand for English language learning is growing more than ever Unlike students in an ESL (English as a Second Language) setting in which they should be able to communicate and understand a certain amount of English, students living in such an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) setting as Vietnam not have many chances experiencing the target language (TL) Should teachers speak English entirely as a medium of instruction and communication to maximize their students’ exposure to English? If there is a need to switch to the mother tongue, how and when should it be used? This thesis aims at investigating the effectiveness of teachers’ use of code-switching when teaching reading comprehension to nonEnglish major students at Ton Duc Thang University To this aim, the study employed an experimental approach in which one class was taught entirely in English while the other received both English and Vietnamese instructions The instruments utilized in the study included reading tests, questionnaire and interview The students’ test scores and attitudes towards their teacher’s codeswitching during class time were then compared between the two classes Based on the findings, the thesis will provide some suggestions on how to balance the use of English and Vietnamese and on which situations teachers should codeswitch to benefit the students’ learning process the most Keywords: code-switching, reading comprehension, EFL, non-English major students iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii ABSTRACT iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES x Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Hypothesis 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Scope of the study 1.7 Organization of the study Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definition of code-switching 2.1.1 Code switching 2.1.2 Code switching and borrowing 2.1.3 Code switching and code mixing 2.2 Types of code-switching 2.2.1 Inter-sentential code-switching 2.2.2 Intra-sentential code-switching 2.2.3 Tag switching v 2.3 Functions of code-switching in classrooms 2.3.1 Functions of teachers’ code-switching 10 2.3.2 Functions of students’ code-switching 11 2.4 Attitudes towards the use of code-switching in L2 classrooms 12 2.4.1 Arguments against code-switching 12 2.4.2 Arguments supporting code-switching 14 2.5 Previous studies on the use code-switching in English classrooms 15 2.6 Readability formula 22 2.7 Conceptual framework of the study 23 Chapter METHODOLOGY 26 3.1 Research design 26 3.2 Research site 27 3.3 Participants 27 3.4 Research instruments 29 3.4.1 Tests 30 3.4.2 Questionnaire 32 3.4.3 Interview 33 3.5 Data collection procedure 34 3.5.1 Conducting the experiment 34 3.5.2 Distributing the questionnaires 36 3.5.3 Conducting the interviews 36 3.6 Data analysis procedure 38 3.6.1 Analyzing the pre-test and post-tests 38 3.6.2 Analyzing data from the questionnaire 38 3.6.3 Analyzing data from the interview 40 vi 3.6.4 Summary of the chapter 40 Chapter DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 41 4.1 Descriptive analysis of the tests 41 4.1.1 Descriptive analysis of the pre-test results 41 4.1.2 Descriptive analysis of the post-test results 42 4.2 Participants’ opinions on teacher’s use of code-switching in the classroom 48 4.3 Participants’ opinions in the interview 68 4.4 Summary of the chapter 73 Chapter CONCLUSION 74 5.1 Main findings 74 5.2 Pedagogical implications 76 5.3 Limitations of the study 78 5.4 Recommendations for further research 79 REFERENCES 81 APPENDICES 87 APPENDIX A - PRE-TEST 88 APPENDIX B - POST-TEST 91 APPENDIX C - POST-TEST 94 APPENDIX D - POST-TEST 97 APPENDIX E - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE CONTROL GROUP 100 APPENDIX F - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP 102 APPENDIX G - INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE CONTROL GROUP 104 APPENDIX H - INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP 105 APPENDIX I – PUBLISHED PAPER 106 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Description and estimated reading grade for Flesch Reading Ease Score (Flesch, 1949, p 149) 23 Table 2.2: Functions of teachers’ code-switching in the classroom 24 Table 3.1: Levels of English classes based on students’ placement test scores 27 Table 3.2: Gender of the participants 29 Table 3.3: Readability level and length of reading passages in the coursebook ‘International Express – Intermediate Pack A’ 31 Table 3.4: Readability level and length of reading passages in the book ‘New English File’ 31 Table 3.5: Specific time of collecting data 37 Table 3.6: Coding scheme for the two Likert scales 39 Table 3.7: Recoding scheme for Section B 39 Table 3.8: Recoding scheme for Section C 40 Table 4.1: Descriptive statistics of the participants’ scores in the pre-test 41 Table 4.2: The participants’ homogeneity in reading comprehension competence 42 Table 4.3: Results of post-test of the experimental and control groups 43 Table 4.4: Independent samples t-test for post-test of the experimental and control groups 43 Table 4.5: Results of post-test of the experimental and control groups 44 Table 4.6: Independent samples t-test for post-test of the experimental and control groups 45 Table 4.7: Results of post-test of the experimental and control groups 46 Table 4.8: Independent samples t-test for post-test of the experimental and control groups 46 Table 4.9: Summary of the results of the three post-tests 47 Table 4.10: Students’ language preference 49 Table 4.11: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in explaining English grammar 50 viii Table 4.12: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in explaining difficult or abstract vocabulary 51 Table 4.13: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in explaining difficult concepts 52 Table 4.14: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in emphasizing or clarifying important points 53 Table 4.15: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in explaining differences and similarities between English and Vietnamese 53 Table 4.16: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in checking comprehension 54 Table 4.17: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in translating difficult texts or sentences 55 Table 4.18: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in maintaining classroom discipline 56 Table 4.19: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in organizing classroom activities 56 Table 4.20: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in correcting their mistakes when studying 57 Table 4.21: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in making small talk with students 58 Table 4.22: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in giving feedback or praise to students 59 Table 4.23: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in sharing learning tips 59 Table 4.24: Summary of students’ expectations about the situations in which the teacher should code-switch 60 Table 4.25 Teacher’s code-switching and students’ learning satisfaction in the experimental group 61 Table 4.26: Teacher’s use of English only and students’ learning satisfaction in the control group 63 ix Answer the following questions by ticking (P) A, B, or C _ hold the belief that the Japanese are shy and hardworking (A) People in Asian countries (B) People who business with the Japanese (C) People in other countries and the Japanese themselves The results of the survey done by Robert McCrae and Antonio Terracciano show that _ (A) people in different countries all share the same characteristics (B) what people think about themselves are not the same as what they are like (C) most people have different stereotypes about a particular country The process of the survey is as follows: (A) Giving personality tests – Interviewing – Comparing the two pieces of research (B) Giving personality tests – Interviewing (C) Giving personality tests – Interviewing – Describing _ were less extrovert than they thought (A) The Czechs and the Argentinians (B) The Italians, the Spanish, and the Russians (C) The Italians and the Russians _ knew themselves the best (A) The Poles (B) The Japanese (C) The Brazilians _ knew themselves the least (A) The Brazilians (B) The English (C) The Italians and the Russians 92 _ thought they were calm and reasonable, but they weren’t (A) The English (B) The Brazilians (C) The Czechs and the Argentinians _ were more extrovert than they thought (A) The English (B) The Brazilians (C) The Spanish The result that _ were not very much extrovert was the same as they thought about themselves (A) the Italians and the Russians (B) the English (C) the Poles 10 From the results of the survey, the two psychologists hope to help _ (A) people in the same country understand each other (B) people worldwide understand each other (C) people know what other countries think about them THIS IS THE END OF THE TEST JJJ THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION! JJJ 93 APPENDIX C - POST-TEST READING - Become a flight attendant – the easy way! Application for a job as a flight attendant with easyJet is via our website Applicants apply for the base of their choice, and staff are recruited as vacancies occur Applications are held for a maximum of six months on the database; after this time the information is deleted and applicants need to reapply Successful applicants are invited to an assessment day, where they complete ability tests in maths and English and take part in group exercises to test how they interact in a team Those who perform well in the ability tests and the group exercises are asked to return for a personal interview the next day, where they are required to give examples of the skills easyJet is looking for from their previous work history Applicants who pass the interview stage are then offered a contract dependent on receipt of satisfactory references for their whereabouts during the previous five years, completion of a medical exam, and a criminal record check The first four weeks of the contract are spent training at easyJet’s training center at London Luton Airport Training starts in a Tuesday and days off are given during the week All trainees without residence in Luton are given shared hotel accommodation for each week of the training course The subjects studied during the training course are Safety Procedures, First Aid, Aviation Security, Customer Service, and Cabin Service To graduate from the course, cabin crew have to sit exams and achieve at least 90% in all subjects easyJet places great importance on the high standards of its cabin staff and so it rewards its crew with permanent contracts and a competitive salary to ensure job satisfaction Employees also receive excellent travel packages and are encouraged to give feedback to the company whenever necessary There is a definite team spirit and employees feel part of the family from day one Minimum requirements for easyJet cabin crew are: + Age: 18+ + Height: 1.58m to 1.90m + Fluent in English, both spoken and written 94 + Able to swim 25m + A minimum of six months’ face-to-face customer service experience + No visible tattoos or body piercing which cannot be covered discreetly + Able to arrive at your chosen base within 90 minutes + A verifiable five-year history Answer the following questions by ticking (P) A, B, or C easyJet recruit new flight attendant _ (A) every six months (B) whenever there is a vacant position (C) whenever applicants apply for their chosen base Applicants have a personal interview if _ (A) they pass the maths test (B) their abilities are suitable for the job (C) they well in all the activities on the first day In the interview stage, candidates should _ (A) answer correctly all of the questions (B) show how well they can work as a flight attendant (C) give examples of what easyJet should to improve the service After passing the interview stage, applicants should _ in order to be employed (A) check the company for any criminal situations (B) send a letter of reference written by their old employer to easyJet (C) work for easyJet for five years Before the four-week training course, applicants have to _ (A) pass all of the exams (B) study safety procedures (C) prove they are healthy 95 During the training course, trainees can stay at a hotel if they _ (A) ask the company to pay for the price (B) are among the first people who register for free hotel accommodation (C) not live in the area of the training center After finishing the training course, trainees _ (A) will receive a certificate (B) must be able to give basic medical treatment to people in need (C) will achieve 90% of the recruitment procedure When working for easyJet, all flight attendants are offered _ (A) good pay (B) accommodation of high standard (C) year-end rewards easyJet staff can give an opinion about something _ (A) if they have a permanent contract (B) if they are part of a team (C) at any time 10 Applicants for the post of flight attendant must _ (A) be over 21 (B) live reasonably near their chosen airport (C) have one year’s work experience THIS IS THE END OF THE TEST JJJ THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION! JJJ 96 APPENDIX D - POST-TEST READING - India – the dream destination for astrology addicts While in Britain the general belief in astrology is limited to glancing at horoscopes in newspapers and magazines, in India people take their star signs very seriously indeed Astrology programs are shown on many of India’s 320 television channels, and at least a dozen stations are devoted entirely to astrology 24 hours a day Calcutta housewife Lata Banerji always starts her day by turning on the astrology channel, Shristi, to find out what the day holds for her and whether she will have to face any kind of domestic crisis She also receives information on what food she should eat to avoid illness “It gives me the confidence I need to face the day,” she says “Americans go to a therapist every week to cope with life I get my sense of wellbeing from the advice I get from astrologers.” One of the most famous displays of deep belief in astrology came when the Bollywood actress and former Miss World, Aishwarya Rai, 33, announced her engagement to 31-year-old actor Abhishek Bachchan Unfortunately, astrologists predicted ill health or an early death for her husband, so Aishwarya attempted to avert disaster by marrying a banana tree first in the hope that the bad luck will affect the tree instead of her new husband Although this may sound bizarre to us, only a few people in India have been shocked by this behavior Indians seek astrological advice on everything from marriage and having children to when to buy a new car and whether to accept a job offer Some programs specialize in medical astrology, with callers asking about health issues, while others provide investment and business advice Astrology is even important in politics with prime ministers asking their astrologers for a “promising” date before announcing a general election Nowadays it is almost obligatory for Indian parents to have a horoscope drawn up when a baby is born Two people taking advantage of the boom in business are Kalidas Sriram and Vishi Babu, who have put up their tents complete with laptop computer and printer right outside the city’s hospital They either visit the maternity wards or wait outside until new parents leave to offer their services For the equivalent of €3 they use the baby’s time and date of birth to print out a horoscope for the delighted parents Many Indians have no doubt that astrology can change people’s lives for the better The glamorous Sunita Menon, India’s most famous fortune-teller, was an air hostess until a tarot reader predicted that she would change jobs Now she is the presenter of a hugely popular television program and was recently hired by India’s most famous music company to advise on investment and business decisions 97 Answer the following questions by ticking (P) A, B, or C _ radio stations are all about astrology (A) 320 (B) 12 (C) 24 The Indians can consult their horoscope on TV _ (A) whenever they want (B) only in the morning (C) after they ask for it What Lata Banerji always does first every morning is _ (A) thinking about what food to buy for the day (B) watching the astrology program (C) preparing breakfast for her family Lata Banerji watches an astrology channel _ (A) to help her in daily life (B) because she is worried about getting ill (C) because she can’t afford a therapist Aishwarya Rai used to be _ (A) an actress (B) a Miss World The actress Aishwarya Rai married a tree _ (A) because she’s very eccentric (B) because she wanted to protect her husband (C) because her husband has a serious illness According to the text, Indians ask astrologers _ (A) how they should vote in the election (B) where they can get a good job (C) for advice about many things 98 (C) an astrologer According to the text, a fortune-teller does not give advice on _ (A) eating healthily (B) choosing lucky date (C) giving a name to a newborn child In the hospital, Sriram and Babu usually show up in the department where _ (A) children visit to check their health (B) children are born (C) children are taken care of after facing domestic crisis 10 Sunita Menon works as _ (A) an adviser for a well-known company (B) a tarot card reader (C) the presenter of a music program THIS IS THE END OF THE TEST JJJ THANKS VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION! JJJ 99 APPENDIX E - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE CONTROL GROUP I Personal information: Please tick (P) the most appropriate box Gender: c Male c Female Education level: c 1st year c 2nd year c 3rd year c 4th year II Questions: Section A: Students’ language preference Please tick (P) the most appropriate box that shows the language you prefer your teacher to use in the classroom I prefer my teacher to use in the classroom c English only c Vietnamese only c both English and Vietnamese Section B: Situations in which students expect the teacher to use both English and Vietnamese Please rank the following statements to show the situations in which you expect your teacher to use both English and Vietnamese in the classroom Please tick (P)the most appropriate box in which (1) = strongly disagree, (2) = disagree, (3) = neither disagree nor agree, (4) = agree, (5) = strongly agree 100 Questions I expect my teacher to use both English and Vietnamese in… explaining English grammar explaining difficult or abstract vocabulary explaining difficult concepts emphasizing or clarifying important points explaining the differences and similarities between English and Vietnamese checking students’ comprehension 10 translating difficult texts/sentences 11 maintaining classroom discipline 12 organizing classroom activities 13 correcting students’ mistakes when studying 14 making small talk with students 15 giving feedback or praise to students 16 sharing learning tips with students Section C: Teacher’s use of English only and students’ learning satisfaction Please rank the following statements to show how often you are satisfied with your learning when the teacher uses English only in the classroom Please tick (P)the most appropriate box in which (1) = never, (2) = rarely, (3) = sometimes, (4) = often, (5) = always Questions When my teacher uses English only, … 17 I can understand new vocabulary 18 I can understand grammar 19 I can understand difficult concepts 20 I can understand the lessons 21 I can concentrate when studying 22 I feel interested in the lessons 23 I feel engaged in classroom activities 24 I feel comfortable when studying THIS IS THE END OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE JJJ THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION! JJJ 101 APPENDIX F - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP I Personal information: Please tick (P) the most appropriate box Gender: c Male c Female Education level: c 1st year c 2nd year c 3rd year c 4th year II Questions: Section A: Students’ language preference Please tick (P) the most appropriate box that shows the language you prefer your teacher to use in the classroom I prefer my teacher to use in the classroom c English only c Vietnamese only c both English and Vietnamese Section B: Situations in which students expect the teacher to use both English and Vietnamese Please rank the following statements to show the situations in which you expect your teacher to use both English and Vietnamese in the classroom Please tick (P)the most appropriate box in which (1) = strongly disagree, (2) = disagree, (3) = neither disagree nor agree, (4) = agree, (5) = strongly agree 102 Questions I expect my teacher to use both English and Vietnamese in… explaining English grammar explaining difficult or abstract vocabulary explaining difficult concepts emphasizing or clarifying important points explaining the differences and similarities between English and Vietnamese checking students’ comprehension 10 translating difficult texts/sentences 11 maintaining classroom discipline 12 organizing classroom activities 13 correcting students’ mistakes when studying 14 making small talk with students 15 giving feedback or praise to students 16 sharing learning tips with students Section C: Teacher’s code-switching and students’ learning satisfaction Please rank the following statements to show how often you are satisfied with your learning when the teacher uses both English and Vietnamese in the classroom Please tick (P)the most appropriate box in which (1) = never, (2) = rarely, (3) = sometimes, (4) = often, (5) = always Questions When my teacher uses both English and Vietnamese, … 17 I can understand new vocabulary 18 I can understand grammar 19 I can understand difficult concepts 20 I can understand the lessons 21 I can concentrate when studying 22 I feel interested in the lessons 23 I feel engaged in classroom activities 24 I feel comfortable when studying THIS IS THE END OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE JJJ THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION! JJJ 103 APPENDIX G - INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE CONTROL GROUP Which language(s) does your teacher use when teaching reading comprehension: English, Vietnamese, or both? Are you in favor of your teacher’s use of English only in the classroom? Why you think so? How could you manage to understand new vocabulary/grammar/difficult concepts explained in English entirely? Do you prefer it if your teacher uses English and Vietnamese alternately during her instruction? Why you think so? How much Vietnamese should be used in your English classroom? Do you think your teacher’s use of English and Vietnamese is good for your language learning, in the long-term and in the short-term? Why? At which level should English be used entirely? 104 APPENDIX H - INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP Which language(s) does your teacher use when teaching reading comprehension: English, Vietnamese, or both? Are you in favor of your teacher’s use of both English and Vietnamese in the classroom? Why you think so? Do you prefer it if your teacher uses English only in classroom? Why you think so? If not, how much Vietnamese should be used in your English classroom? Do you think your teacher’s use of English and Vietnamese is good for your language learning, in the long-term and in the short-term? Why? At which level should English be used entirely? 105 APPENDIX I – PUBLISHED PAPER The paper entitled “Code-switching in teaching reading comprehension to university students” was published in the proceedings of the First International Conference on Language Development (ICLD 2016) (ISBN: 978-0-9945391-1-3) held at Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 106 ... This thesis aims at investigating the effectiveness of teachers? ?? use of code- switching when teaching reading comprehension to nonEnglish major students at Ton Duc Thang University To this aim, the. .. present study aimed at examining the effectiveness of teachers? ?? code- switching in teaching reading comprehension In addition, students? ?? attitudes towards their teacher’s code- switching in the classroom... taking into consideration of teaching reading and writing skills and other language aspects such as grammar and vocabulary In the ESL context, Seng and Hashim (2006) investigated the extent and reasons