A SURVEY INTO IN SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS IN HANOIS OPINIONS OF TEACHING ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE THE COMPARISON AND CONTRAST OF NESTS AND NNESTS

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER A SURVEY INTO IN-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS IN HANOI'S OPINIONS OF TEACHING ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE: THE COMPARISON AND CONTRAST OF NESTS AND NNESTS Supervisor: Dương Thu Mai (PhD.) Student: Trịnh Mai Anh Course: QH2017.F1 HÀ NỘI – 2021 ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP KHẢO SÁT VỀ Ý KIẾN CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH TẠI HÀ NỘI VỀ VIỆC GIẢNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH NHƯ MỘT NGÔN NGỮ QUỐC TẾ: SO SÁNH GIỮA GIÁO VIÊN BẢN XỨ VÀ GIÁO VIÊN VIỆT NAM Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Dương Thu Mai (ThS.) Sinh viên: Trịnh Mai Anh Khóa: QH2017.F1 HÀ NỘI – 2021 I hereby state that I: Trinh Mai Anh, class QH2017.F1.E1.SPCLC, being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (programme) accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper 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 Hanoi, May 4th 2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I could not finish this study without the kind support and help of many individuals and I would like to express my appreciation to all of them First and foremost, I wish to extend my sincere gratitude towards my supervisor, Mrs Duong Thu Mai (PhD.) for her valuable sharing, feedback as well as relentless support for me while I carry out this study Without her assistance, I could not have this research accomplished Moreover, I want to express my thanks to 150 in-service teachers who partake in my study They are immensely supportive, which is of great help for me during the data collection process Their participation in the questionnaire and interview has played an important part in my study Last but not least, I feel thankful to my family members and all of my friends for their precious advice as well as mental support, which helps forge me ahead with my study regardless of setbacks i ABSTRACT English has reached an international status since there has been a significant increase in the demographics of English-speaking communities and individuals around the world (Sharifian, 2009) This trend has led to a paradigm shift in teaching practices, shifting the attention to the concept of English as an International Language (EIL) in ELT courses and materials as a way for adaptation To successfully implement EIL into English classrooms, it is of importance to investigate the opinions of both NESTs and NNESTs on teaching EIL given their differences in characteristics and strengths Hence, this study is carried out to compare the opinions of in-service native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) in Hanoi on teaching EIL The paper employed survey research design with the use of both questionnaire and interview to shed light on the research problem The study has revealed the similarities in the opinions of both NESTs and NNESTs on different EIL-related teaching contents and methodological considerations, particularly students’ exposure to different sources of culture, the teaching of pragmatic competence and vocabulary with high utility, the choice of materials and the method of teaching grammar in contexts Some significant differences in opinions of the two groups were also identified concerning the teaching of varieties and accents, acceptance of intelligible pronunciation, promotion of critical reading and the allowance for students to vary in their fluency Keywords: English as an International Language, EIL, TEIL, NEST, NNEST ii TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENT iii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1 Background information Statement of the problem and rationale of the study Aims and objectives Scope of the study Significance of the study Outline of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Teaching English and Teaching English as an International Language The conceptualization of English as an International Language (EIL) 2.1 Definition of an international language 2.2 Definitions of EIL What to teach in EIL 10 3.1 Standard English 11 3.2 Intelligibility and Fluency 12 3.3 English varieties 13 3.4 Interculturality 14 3.5 Teaching vocabulary 15 3.6 Teaching pronunciation 16 3.7 Teaching grammar 17 3.8 Pragmatic Competence 18 3.9 Teaching four major skills of EIL 18 EIL Teaching Approaches 20 4.1 General discussion 20 4.2 Lingua Franca Approach 22 4.3 Communicative Language Teaching Approach 23 4.4 Genre-based Approach 24 4.5 An appropriate methodology for EIL 25 4.6 Materials for teaching EIL 25 iii NEST and NNEST dichotomy in teaching EIL 27 5.1 NES and NNES 27 5.2 NEST and NNEST 28 5.3 The importance of distinguishing between NEST and NNEST 29 5.4 NESTs and NNESTs’ opinions of EIL 29 Research gaps 31 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 32 Setting 32 Participants 32 Research Design 33 Research instrument 34 4.1 Questionnaire 34 4.2 Semi-structured Interview 38 Data collection 39 Data analysis 39 6.1 Quantitative data 39 6.2 Qualitative Data 40 Ethical issues 42 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 43 Findings of the study 43 1.1 Responses to research question 1: What are NESTs and NNESTs’ opinions on the contents of teaching English as an international language? 43 1.1.1 Exposing students to Standard English and other English varieties 43 1.1.2 Teaching students about cultures 45 1.1.3 Teaching EIL pronunciation 46 1.1.4 Teaching EIL vocabulary 47 1.1.5 Teaching EIL grammar 48 1.1.6 Teaching pragmatic competence 49 1.1.7 Teaching the content knowledge in four major English skills according to EIL 50 1.1.8 Conclusion 51 1.2 Response to research question 2: What are NESTs and NNESTs’ opinions on the methodological considerations in teaching English as an international language? 53 1.2.1 Selecting suitable methods for teaching EIL 53 1.2.3 Teaching grammar 56 iv 1.2.4 Teaching four major skills according to EIL 56 1.2.5 Conclusion 58 1.3 Response to research question 3: What are the reasons for the teachers' opinions of EIL teaching? 60 1.3.1 Reasons for the opinions on EIL teaching contents 60 1.3.1.1 Interview question 1: Reasons for the agreement and disagreement with teaching English Varieties to students 60 1.3.1.2 Reasons for the agreement with teaching students about interculturality 62 1.3.1.3 Reasons for the agreement with teaching EIL vocabulary 63 1.3.1.4 Reasons for agreement and disagreement with teaching EIL pronunciation 63 1.3.1.5 Reasons for agreement with teaching EIL grammar 66 1.3.1.6 Reasons for agreement with teaching EIL pragmatic competence 66 1.3.1.7 Reasons for agreement with teaching four major skills with EIL perspectives 67 1.3.2 Methodological considerations 68 1.3.2.1 Reasons for agreement and disagreement with selecting suitable methods for teaching EIL 68 1.3.2.2 Reasons for agreement with EIL teaching materials 69 1.3.2.3 Reasons for agreement with EIL methods of teaching grammar 70 1.3.2.4 Reasons for agreement and disagreement with the methods of teaching four major skills with EIL perspectives 71 1.3.3 Recurring themes 72 1.3.3.1 Theme 1: Global status of English 72 1.3.3.2 Theme 2: Ownership of English 73 1.3.3.3 Theme 3: Communication effectiveness 75 1.3.3.4 Theme 4: Learning effectiveness 76 1.3.3.5 Theme 5: Doubt on the teaching of EIL 77 Discussion of the findings 78 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 81 Findings of the study 81 Implications 83 Limitations and suggestions for future research 85 APPENDICES 99 APPENDIX A 100 v APPENDIX B 102 APPENDIX C 106 APPENDIX D 107 APPENDIX E 108 APPENDIX F 110 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1: List of questionnaire items Table 2: Teachers' opinions on the teaching of Standard English and English varieties Table 3: Teachers' opinions on the teaching of cultures Table 4: Teachers' opinions on the teaching of pronunciation Table 5: Teachers' opinions on the teaching of vocabulary Table 6: Teachers' opinions on the teaching of grammar Table 7: Teachers' opinions on the teaching of pragmatic competence Table 8: Teachers' opinions on the teaching of four major English skills Table 9: Teachers' opinions on selecting suitable methods for teaching EIL Table 10: Teachers' opinions on teaching materials Table 11: Teachers' opinions on the teaching methods of grammar Table 12: Teachers' opinions on the teaching methods of four major English skills Table 13: Frequency of codes related to Theme 1: The global status of English Table 14: Frequency of codes related to Theme 2: Ownership of English Table 15: Frequency of codes related to Theme 3: Communication effectiveness Table 16: Frequency of codes related to Theme 4: Learning effectiveness Table 17: Frequency of codes related to Theme 5: Doubt on the teaching of EIL vii Reda, G (2003) English coursebooks: prototype texts and basic vocabulary norms ELT journal, 57(3), 260-268 Renandya, W A., & Farrell, T S (2011) ‘Teacher, the tape is too fast!’Extensive listening in ELT ELT journal, 65(1), 52-59 Richards, J C., Platt, J., & Weber, H (1985) Longman dictionary of applied linguistics London: Longman Richards, J C & Schmidt, R (2002) Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics 3rd edition Harlow: Pearson Education Richards, J C (2005) Communicative language teaching today Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre Sah, P K (2017) Using the first language (L1) as a resource in EFL classrooms: Nepalese university teachers’ and students’ perspectives NELTA Journal, 21(1-2), 26-38 Salkind, N J (2015) Excel statistics: A quick guide SagePublications Seidlhofer, B (2005) English as a lingua franca ELT journal, 59(4), 339341 Sharifian, F (Ed.) 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TESOL Quarterly, 33, 701–728 Smith, L E (1976) English as an international auxiliary language RELC journal, 7(2), 38-42 Smith, C S (1983) A theory of aspectual choice Language, 479-501 Smith, L E., & Nelson, C L (1985) International intelligibility of English: Directions and resources World Englishes, 4(3), 333-342 Smith, L E (Ed.) (1987) Discourse across cultures: Strategies in world Englishes (Vol 3) New York: Prentice Hall Suzuki, A (2007) English as an international language: A case study of student teachers' perceptions of English in Japan (Doctoral dissertation, King's College London (University of London)) Tajeddin, Z., Atai, M R., & Pashmforoosh, R (2019) Beliefs about English as an International Language (EIL): voices from Persian-speaking English teachers Pedagogies: An International Journal, 15(2), 127-145 Tanghe, S (2014) Integrating World Englishes into a university conversation class in South Korea English Today, 30(2), 18-23 Tien, N (2008) Awareness of world Englishes of Vietnamese users of English In International Conference and Workshop on TEFL & Applied Linguistics, Taiwan Tomlinson, B (2003) Humanizing the coursebook Developing materials for language teaching, 162-173 97 Ubaidillah, M (2019) Uncovering EFL Teachers’ Beliefs of English as an International Language Korea journal 14 139-152 Vu, P T (2012) English in Southeast Asian countries Wagenaar, M (2005) Student teachers' experiences of practice teaching Widdowson, H G (1994) The ownership of English TESOL quarterly, 28(2), 377-389 Widdowson, H G (1997) EIL, ESL, EFL: Global issues and local interests World englishes, 16(1), 135-146 Widdowson, H G (1998) Communication and Community: The Pragmatics of ESP English for specific purposes, 17(1), 3-14 Yano, Y (2009) English as an international lingua franca: from societal to individual World Englishes, 28(2), 246-255 98 APPENDICES 99 APPENDIX A CONSENT FORM Introduction Dear teachers, I am Trịnh Mai Anh, a student from class 17E1, Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University I am conducting a study in order to find out teachers' opinions of teaching English as an International Language (EIL) for my thesis paper You are being invited to participate in the interview for this study This form explains the reasons for the study and what you can gain from the interview This information will help you decide whether to be a part of the study or not Purpose of the study This study aims at finding out native English speaking teachers and non-native English speaking teachers' opinions of teaching English as an International Language and the reasons behind these opinions This study is for my thesis paper, which will be assessed by the Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Languages and International Studies Procedure The data collection of this study consists of two main stages as below: ● Questionnaire ● Interview (The interview is taped under the consent of teachers The transcripts of the interview will be sent to teachers to validate before being analysed.) Benefits of participating in the study When participating in this study, teachers will have the chance to reflect on their teaching of English as an International Language As a result, many implications may be yielded 100 for the teaching and learning of English Besides, each teacher partaking in the study will be presented a small gift for their contribution to the study Participation & Confidentiality The participation in this project is voluntary Participants’ identities are guaranteed to be kept anonymous All the data collected is highly confidential The interview will last approximately 30-45 minutes If the participants feel uncomfortable in any way during the interview session, they have the right to decline to answer any question or to end the interview Notes will be taken during the interview An audio tape of the interview and subsequent dialogue will be made If participants don't want to be taped, they will not be able to participate in the interview Please tick Yes/No if you agree/disagree to participate in: ● Questionnaire Yes/No ● Interview Yes/No I have read and understand the explanation provided to me I have had all my questions answered to my satisfaction, and I voluntarily agree to participate in this study Participant's Signature Date Person taking the consent Date For further information, please contact: ● Telephone number: +84 333 347 808 ● Email: trinhmaianh.stp@gmail.com 101 APPENDIX B A SURVEY INTO IN-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS IN HANOI'S OPINIONS OF TEACHING ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE Dear teachers, I am Trinh Mai Anh, a student from class 17E1, Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University I am conducting a study for my graduation thesis in order to find out the teachers’ opinions of English as an International Language I hope you can spare some time to fill in this survey to help me find the answer to this question This is not a test and there will not be a right or a wrong answer Instead, I am more interested in your personal opinions and expect you to answer the questionnaire in the most objective and truthful way All information provided by you will be kept confidential and will only be used for studying purposes Thank you for your participation! *** PART A: GENERAL INFORMATION Name: _ Nationality: _ Current (main) teaching situation ◻ Primary level ◻ High school ◻ Secondary level ◻ Other _ School: Phone number: _ *** SD = Strongly Disagree D = Disagree A = Agree SA = Strongly Disagree 102 Please circle the number to indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree: PART B: OPINIONS OF THE CONTENTS IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE Statement SD D A SA Students should be taught Standard English in their English lesson *Standard English: a variety of English based on the formal and informal speech and writing of educated speakers of the English language and used in the news media, literature, dictionaries, grammars as well as education * In Vietnam, British English and American English are considered Standard English Students should be mostly taught native varieties of English (e.g British English) in their English lesson *Variety: a distinctive form of a language Students should be exposed to other varieties of English (e.g Hong Kong English, Indian English, Singaporean English, etc.) in their English lesson 4 Information about the cultures of English-speaking countries should be integrated in English lesson Information about the cultures of various countries around the world should be integrated in English lesson Information about Vietnamese culture and customs should be integrated in English lesson Students should be taught common vocabulary with high utility in their English lesson Students should be taught to produce the native accents in English-speaking countries (e.g British-English accent) Students should be exposed to different English accents in their pronunciation class 10 The lesson should develop intelligibility 11 As long as students’ pronunciation is intelligible, they not need to be corrected *Intelligibility: the urgent need to establish communication that can be mutually understood in a specific context 12 Students should be exposed to differences in standards of grammar forms they will encounter in other contexts 13 Students should be exposed to grammatical innovations in grammar class (e.g while upkeep can only be used as a noun in Standard English, it can also be used as a verb in Singapore Standard English.) 103 *Innovation: An acceptable variant of a feature of English 14 Students should be taught how to apologize, request, compliment, or refuse, and other speech acts 15 Students should be taught conversational routines like expressing agreement and disagreement, managing turn-taking, and taking leave 16 Students should be taught how pragmatic norms can differ cross-culturally *Pragmatic norm: widely accepted standard of language used in particular contexts 17 Students may express their own pragmatic norms 18 Students should be taught to be aware of the different communicative situations in speaking class 19 Students should be taught to choose the way of organizing information that best serves their purposes in writing class (E.g A topic sentence can be placed at the bottom of a paragraph instead of at the top.) 20 Students should be familiarized with the background knowledge of a text in their reading class 21 Students should be taught to pay attention to the gist, content and specific information while listening to notice what they and not understand and learn from them PART C: OPINIONS OF THE METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE Statement SD D A SA 22 There is no one best method to teach English as an international language 23 Teachers should use methods that are aware of the cultural differences and similarities of the students to teach English 24 Teachers may teach English based on genres that are locally selected *Genre: different types of text such as narratives, description, persuasion, or argumentation * Steps of genre-based approach: - Students study the model text - Teachers work with students to construct a similar text - Students construct their own text 25 Teachers should use materials that reflect the diversity of English varieties 26 Teachers should use materials that reflect different cultures around the world 104 27 Teachers should use materials that reflect the culture of the learners 28 Teachers should use materials that represent a variety of English speakers 29 Teachers should use teaching materials that are relatable and meaningful to students 30 Teachers should introduce grammatical forms in context 31 Teachers should be aware of the grammatical innovations when teaching and correcting grammar of EIL (Eg: ‘I’m liking the party’ is a grammatical innovation of ‘I like the party'.) 32 Teachers should use listening input that reflects suitable communicative situations for students 33 Students should be encouraged to speak as slowly as they wish to give themselves the time to think 34 Teachers need to help students read critically (consider why a text is written, how else it may have been written, and what students' attitudes are toward the text) in reading class 35 Free writing, students’ writing portfolios and project work are suitable activities for teaching writing of EIL Dear teachers, I will be conducting follow-up interviews relating to the questionnaires If you are willing to take part in them, please enter below your name and contact information: Name: -E-mail address: -Telephone number: -Thank you in advance Should you have any question or concern, please contact Ms Trinh Mai Anh Phone number: +84333347808 Email: trinhmaianh.stp@gmail.com *** 105 APPENDIX C DISTRIBUTION OF THE PARTICIPANTS BY NEST/NNEST GROUP NEST/NNEST Number of participants Country Number of participants NNEST 100 Vietnam 100 USA 26 UK 15 Ireland Scotland Australia Canada NNEST 50 106 APPENDIX D DISTRIBUTION OF THE PARTICIPANTS BY TEACHING CONTEXTS NEST/NNEST NNEST NNEST Number of participants 100 50 Teaching contexts Number of participants Primary school 26 Secondary school 45 High school 29 Primary school 12 Secondary school 36 High school 107 APPENDIX E INTERVIEW GUIDELINE Name of the participant: Date & Time: I INTRODUCTION Dear teachers, I am Trinh Mai Anh, a student from class 17E1, Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University I am conducting a study in order to find out teachers' opinions of teaching English as an International Language (EIL) for my thesis paper The interview will last approximately 30-45 minutes It is noted that your identity is kept anonymous and all the data collected is confidential An audio tape of the interview and subsequent dialogue will be made If you feel uncomfortable in any way during the interview session, you can decline to answer any question or to end the interview II MAIN INTERVIEW What are the reasons for your opinions on teaching Standard English? What are the reasons for your opinions on teaching English varieties? What are the reasons for your opinions on the integration of cultures in English classrooms? What are the reasons for your opinions on teaching vocabulary with high utility? What are the reasons for your opinions on exposing students to English accents? What are the reasons for your opinions on the development of intelligibility in English classrooms? What are the reasons for your opinions on the teaching of EIL-related grammar? What are the reasons for your opinions on the teaching contents of four major skills? What are the reasons for your opinions on the teaching of pragmatic competence? 108 10 What are the reasons for your opinions on choosing suitable methods to teach EIL? 11 What are the reasons for your opinions on EIL teaching materials? 12 What are the reasons for your opinions on the EIL-related methods to teach grammar? 13 What are the reasons for your opinions on choosing suitable methods to four major English skills? III CONCLUSION & FINAL THANK-YOU Thank you very much for your participation! 109 APPENDIX F PROFILE OF THE INTERVIEWEES Pseudonym Country Native/ Non-native Teaching experience Teaching context Hai Vietnam Non-native years Secondary school Ngoc Vietnam Non-native years Primary school Que Vietnam Non-native 16 years Secondary school Quynh Vietnam Non-native years High school Alex USA Native 12 years Secondary school Harry USA Native years Secondary school Marry UK Native years Primary school Max Canada Native years Secondary school *All names are pseudonyms 110 ... Communicative Language Teaching EFL English as a Foreign Language EIL English as an International Language ELF English as a Lingua Franca ELT English Language Teaching L1 First language L2 Second language. .. NNESTs? ?? opinions on the contents of teaching English as an international language? What are NESTs and NNESTs? ?? opinions on the methodological considerations in teaching English as an international language? ... English- speaking teachers and non-native English- speaking teachers Teaching English and Teaching English as an International Language It has long been considered that the English language has gradually