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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES VŨ THỊ THU TRANG VIETNAMESE TEACHERS’ VIEWPOINTS ON THEIR USE OF VIETNAMESE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS FOR YOUNG LEARNERS IN MAY SCHOOL ENGLISH CENTER Quan điểm giáo viên Việt Nam việc sử dụng tiếng Việt họ lớp học Tiếng Anh cho trẻ em Trung Tâm Ngoại Ngữ Tháng Năm MA MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI, 2015 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES VŨ THỊ THU TRANG VIETNAMESE TEACHERS’ VIEWPOINTS ON THEIR USE OF VIETNAMESE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS FOR YOUNG LEARNERS IN MAY SCHOOL ENGLISH CENTER Quan điểm giáo viên Việt Nam việc sử dụng tiếng Việt họ lớp học Tiếng Anh cho trẻ em Trung Tâm Ngoại Ngữ Tháng Năm MA MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Nguyen Xuan Thom HANOI, 2015 DECLARATION I declare that this thesis submitted for the Master of Art degree at the University of Languages and International Studies is a presentation of my own research and has not been previously submitted at any other universities for any degrees Wherever contributions of other researchers are involved, every effort is made to indicate this clearly, with due reference to the literature, and acknowledgement o collaborative research and discussion The work was done under the guidance of Associated Professor Nguyen Xuan Thom, at the University of Languages and International Studies Hanoi, November 2015 Vu Thi Thu Trang i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT At the completion of this thesis, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my lecturer and my supervisor, Mr Nguyen Xuan Thom for his valuable support and instructions without which it would have been really difficult for me to handle the task I would like to acknowledge my debt to my colleagues in May School English Center for their effective cooperation in collecting data for completing this study Their enthusiastic participation was indispensable to my research Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my family for all the support I received to finish this thesis ii ABSTRACT The use of the mother tongue has been argued for ages in English language teaching and the argument over whether students’ native language should be included or excluded in English language classrooms has been a controversial issue Conducted in the context of Vietnam, the study is an attempt to address the use of Vietnamese as mother tongue in English language classrooms in a prestigious English center for young learners in Hanoi (May School) It focuses on the viewpoints of Vietnamese teachers in May School on their use of Vietnamese as mother tongue in their English language classrooms as well as the amount and situations in which it is employed The findings and discussion are based on the analysis of the data collected from group interview of five female teachers and ten one-hour classroom observations The current study supports the judicious use of Vietnamese in some situations such as giving instructions, responding to students’ Vietnamese The results also highlight that the use of Vietnamese is significantly different in classrooms in May School but the average amount of its use is quite limited iii LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS ALM: Audio-Lingual Method CLT: Communicative Language Teaching EFL: English as a Foreign Language ELT: English Language Teaching FL: Foreign language GMT: Grammar Translation Method L1: First Language L2: Second Language TL: Target Language iv LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES Chart 1: The amount of Vietnamese used in observed classes Table 1: Participating teachers’ profile Table 2: Information of observed classes Table 3: The occasions of teachers’ use of Vietnamese in Starters classes Table 4: The occasions of teachers’ use of Vietnamese in Movers classes Table 5: The occasions of teachers’ use of Vietnamese in Flyers classes v TABLE OF CONTENT Declaration i Acknowledgement ii Abstract iii List of abrreviations iv List of charts and tables v Table of content vi PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aims and objectives of the study 2.1 Aims of the study 2.2 Objectives of the study Research questions Scope of the study Methods of the study Significance of the study Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 A brief history of language teaching method focusing on mother tongue use in English classroom 1.2 Arguments about the use of mother tongue in EFL classroom 1.2.1 Arguments against using mother tongue in EFL classroom 1.2.2 Arguments in favor of using mother tongue in EFL classrooms .9 1.3 Studies focusing on teachers’ L1 use in EFL classrooms 11 1.3.1 Teachers’ viewpoints .11 vi 1.3.2 Amount of mother tongue use 13 1.3.3 Situations of mother tongue use .14 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY .16 2.1 Setting and participants .16 2.2.1 Setting 16 2.1.1.1 General information about May School 16 2.1.1.2 Students and English classes in May School 16 2.2.2 Participants .17 2.3 Data collection instruments .18 2.3.1 Group interview 18 2.3.2 Classroom observation 19 2.4 Data collection procedure 20 2.5 Data analysis procedure 21 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 22 3.1 Data analysis 22 3.1.1 Group interview analysis .22 3.1.1.1 Teachers’ general viewpoints 22 3.1.1.2 Amount of Vietnamese use .23 3.1.1.3 Situations of Vietnamese use 24 3.1.1.4 Summary 26 3.1.2 Classroom observation analysis .27 3.1.2.1 Amount of Vietnamese use .27 3.1.2.2 Situations of Vietnamese use 28 3.1.2.3 Summary 36 3.2 Findings and discussion 36 PART C: CONCLUSION .39 Summary of major findings 39 Concluding remarks 40 vii Recommendations 40 Limitations 41 Suggestions for further studies 42 REFERENCES 43 APPENDIX I APPENDIX II viii ... submitted at any other universities for any degrees Wherever contributions of other researchers are involved, every effort is made to indicate this clearly, with due reference to the literature, and acknowledgement... should model the learning of an L1 (through maximum exposure to the L2) 2) Successful learning involves the separation and distinction of L1 and L2 3) Students should be shown the importance of the