4.1 The teacher’s cognition and classroom practices in terms of
4.1.2 Classroom practices in terms of accuracy and fluency
The topic of the participant’s lessons was talents; therefore, to focus on accuracy, she used one repetition activity, one sentence-completion activity, two guessing games, and one question-and-answer activity to get her students to talk about their abilities. In the repetition, she taught them how to pronounce “can” and
“can’t”, showed them a video clip of native English speakers saying “can” and
“can’t” in some sentences, and then asked them to repeat those sentences. In the sentence-completion activity, she asked them to complete the statement “I can/can’t ...” with their information. The aim of this activity was to help them practice pronouncing “can” and “can’t”. The following extract exemplified this activity:
T: OK. S.
S: I can swim. Ah…
T: OK. You can say some more, right? You put some adverbs here.
<translates to Vietnamese> Thêm một số cái trạng từ ha. I can swim very well. Or I can swim, but just a little, or something. <looks at S>
S: <silent>
T: I can swim. <raises her voice>
S: but I can’t play soccer <doesn’t stress “can’t”>
T: but I can’t play soccer <stresses “can’t”>. OK, one more time, S.
(O2)
In the two guessing games, the students made statements about their classmates’ abilities. They had to act what they claimed they “can” do:
S1: <talks to S2> You can run a kilometer without stopping.
T: <talks to S1> Uh-huh. You can say “You can run.” or “You can’t run”.
Can you say that again?
S1: can’t <doesn’t stress “can’t”>
T: OK. You say cannot, right?
S1: <silent>
T: Ý là câu phủ định đúng không? It’s a negative sentence, right?
S1: <nods his head>
T: OK, vậy nhấn mạnh vô giùm cô đi. Put more stress on it, please. You can’t run. <stresses “can’t”>
S1: You can’t run. <stresses “can’t”>
T: Uh.
S1: You can’t run without stopping.
T: <talks to S2> OK, now, can you?
S2: No, I can’t run a kilometer without stopping.
T: <talks to S1> You got it.
T: <talks to S2> Really, S2?
(O3) In the stimulated recall interview, the teacher explained that she had asked the students to guess each other’s abilities “to make the activities fun and their relationships closer” (SR). This revealed her belief in creating a relaxing and friendly atmosphere for students’ learning and two factors influencing her classroom practice including students’ feelings and students’ relationships.
In the question and answer activity, the teacher asked the students “Can you
…?”, and they also had to act what they claimed they “can” do:
T: What about number two. <The question in the textbook is “Can you draw a picture with your eyes closed?”>. Eyes closed, man! Can you do this? <asks one S> Can you?
S: Yes, but not beautiful.
T: You want to show us?
S: Vẽ gì cũng được phải không cô? I can draw anything, right?
T: Don’t be shy. Don’t be shy. Show us.
S: Vẽ gì cũng được phải không cô? I can draw anything, right?
T: Yep.
(O3) There were seven fluency-focused activities in the participant’s observed lessons. Six of them were question-and-answer activities and the other was a role play. The question-and-answer activities were regarded as fluency-focused activities because they allowed the students to express their own ideas freely. In the first question-and-answer, the students talked about their favorite performers or acts on talent shows and why they liked them:
T: So, can I start with you, S?
S: Yes. In Vietnam’s got talent.
T: Cool. You mean this year or last year?
S: No, no.
T: Some years ago?
S: Some years ago T: OK. <laughing>
S: He … He name is Dưa Leo.
T: Right. That is his nickname, huh?
S: Nickname and he … he … he has … standup comedy.
T: Oh, right, a standup comedian. <writes “standup comedian” on the board and then explains it>
S: I like because I think it’s very smart. Because only you and … khuấy động là sao cô? What is the English word for “khuấy động”?
T: huh?
S: khuấy động
T: Ah, to get the audience excited.
S: to get a lot of people, just only you and with microphone and nothing.
(O1) When asked why the first question-and-answer activity had been about the students’ favorite performers or acts on talent shows, the teacher said she had wanted to help them speak English more easily by letting them share their experiences:
I wanted to bring personal experiences into the classroom, i.e.
helping the students relate to the topic of the lesson by asking them to talk about their daily activities like watching TV shows. This would help them speak English more easily. (SR)
This explanation showed that students’ experiences were one of the factors influencing the participant’s instructional decisions.
In the second question-and-answer, the students completed the statements
“I’m really good at …” and “I’m terrible at …” with their information and then the teacher asked them follow-up questions:
S: I’m really good at eating.
T: Eating. OK. <laughing>. Wow, I think we should have an eating competition, right? <translates to Vietnamese> Sửa thành cuộc thi ăn của lớp mình quá. Come on, what is special about eating?
S: <silent>
T: Ăn giỏi là ăn sao? What do you mean by “good at eating”? You can eat 3 hamburgers in five minutes?
S: <laughing> No. <silent>
T: So, how? Đọc cái thí dụ ăn giỏi cho cô nghe coi. Can you give me an example of “good at eating”?
S: I can eat anything.
T: You can eat anything. <laughing>
S: Just food.
(O1)
In the third question-and-answer, the teacher asked the students some questions about talents (e.g. In your opinion, who is the most talented singer today?
Can you name a popular online video? How many hits did it get?):
T: So, S1.
S1: I think it’s Adele.
T: Adele. OK. Right, uh, the last GRAMMY award, right? Adele … S1: <silent>
T: Có coi giải GRAMMY vừa rồi không? Did you watch the last GRAMMY?
Cô này sao? She won, right? Nghe nói cổ thắng giải. I heard she won. S2?
S2: one prize
T: Yeah, one prize, thắng giải nhưng mà cái thể loại gì? She won, but in what category?
S2: <can’t answer>
T: Best album of the year. <translates to Vietnamese> Thắng giải album của năm này.
S1: Best song, cô.
T: Best song of the year.
S1: Hello.
(O1) In the next question-and-answer, the teacher asked each student to answer follow-up questions of a listening activity (Imagine you are auditioning for the Idol Singer show. What song would you sing? Do you watch any talent shows on TV?
Why or why not?):
T: <talks to S> So, what song, yeah?
S: Closer.
T: Closer. <asks other students> Do you know that song, guys? Do you know that song? Closer? Yeah? OK?
Other students: <silent>
T: <asks S> What’s good about the song? Why do you choose it?
<translates to Vietnamese> Thích gì bài hát này mà lựa đây?
S: <silent>
T: OK. Is it easy to sing?
S: <silent>
T: OK. Dễ ca hả? Easy to sing?
S: No.
T: Yah, difficult to sing.
S: Em thích cái giai điệu. I like the melody.
T: the melody.
(O2) In another question-and-answer, the teacher asked for the students’ opinions about a painting in the textbook:
T: So, if you look at her painting, right, do you like it? Do you enjoy it?
S: No.
T: Can you say “I like it a lot.”?
S: No.
T: No, what’s wrong? Isn’t it beautiful?
S: No.
T: Why?
S: I think it’s very simple.
T: Very simple. <laughing>
S: and don’t have too much … to take two months for this.
T: All right, so you can do it, too?
S: Five minutes.
T: Five minutes. Oh my God! You’re going to make a lot of money, S.
(O3) The teacher asked the students to comment on the painting because she wanted to “help them relate to their experiences by letting them share their evaluations” (SR). This also indicated that students’ experiences influenced her instructional decisions.
In the last question-and-answer, the students practiced complimenting each other and asking follow-up questions:
S1: S2, I think you had a long eyelash. It’s very cold.
T: OK. Huh? Your eyelashes. Yah. They look so cool. <talks to S1> Thank you. <laughing> <looks at S1>
S1: Hết rồi cô. Hết biết hỏi gì. That’s it. I don’t know what else to ask.
T: <laughing>. You want to get some? <laughing>. Joking. Come on, you got something else, right?
S1: I want to had … I want to T: <laughing>
S1: Con cũng muốn lông mi con dài giống vậy. I want to have long eyelashes like hers.
T: <laughing>. Yeah, right. <laughing>. Yeah. How can I get long eyelashes like that?
S1: How I can T: How can I. Yeah.
S1: long eyelashes like that T: Yeah. <looks at S2> <laughing>
S2: Ah…
T: <talks to S1> It’s a secret. <laughing>.
S2: You can bought in a salon … salon T: In a beauty salon. Yeah. OK.
S1: <talks to S2> là gắn lông mi giả? Fake eyelashes?
T: and get some fake eyelashes. Yeah. OK. All right, but you’re wearing glasses, S1. So, <laughing>, it’s hard to see your beautiful eyelashes, right? <laughing>.
S1: <laughing>
T: But it’s very nice. OK.
(O3)
In question-and-answer activities, the teacher usually asked each student to answer her questions. In the stimulated recall interview, she explained:
I wanted to make sure that each student could use language correctly. If I listened to the whole class, I could not know each student clearly. Therefore, I asked each student to be specific and to make sure that they could speak English correctly. (SR)
This explanation revealed her belief in the importance of oral accuracy.
In the role play (see appendix 5), the students acted out two situations in the textbook to practice giving and responding to compliments.
In most of these fluency-focused activities, the students were not given time to prepare. In the stimulated recall interview, the teacher explained:
I rarely gave them time to prepare. […] I wanted to help them speed up their reaction. In real-life communication, they do not have time to prepare or think. At first, it was difficult, but after they practiced for a while, they would be able to speed up their reaction. (SR)
This explanation showed her belief in the spontaneity of real-life communication. However, when one student could not answer her questions right away, she gave him some time to think by asking another student. In the stimulated recall interview, she explained:
He could not prepare what to say in a short time, so I gave him some time to think. To save time and avoid silence while waiting for him, I moved on to ask other students and would get back to him. This would make him more confident because he had some time to prepare. (SR)
This indicated two factors influencing her practice including saving time and making her student confident.
In pair-work activities, the teacher usually asked one student in the left row of seats to talk to another student in the right row. She explained:
I let one student in this row talk to another student in the other row to have some surprise. They were far away, so they had to talk loudly;
therefore, it was easy for other students to follow them. (SR)
This revealed her belief in the importance of making learning easier for students (facilitating learning).
A noteworthy point was that the teacher usually asked the student called J to start first in most of the speaking activities. In the stimulated recall interview, she explained:
He was the best student, so I asked him to be the model for the others. If I asked a lower-level student, the activities would not be smooth and it would be a waste of time. (SR)
This explanation showed two factors influencing her practice including the smoothness of speaking activities and time management.
In summary, the teacher focused on both accuracy and fluency in her classroom practices. To help students develop their oral accuracy, she used one repetition activity, one sentence-completion activity, two guessing games, and one question-and-answer activity. The fluency-focused activities she used included six question-and-answer activities and one role-play. It could be seen that there were more fluency-focused activities than accuracy-focused ones. The rationale behind some of her classroom practices revealed one reality-oriented cognition, i.e.
facilitating learning (including creating a relaxing and friendly atmosphere for students’ learning, making students speak English more easily, making them feel more confident, and helping them follow each other more easily), and two factors influencing her instructional decisions including students (their experiences, feelings, and relationships) and classroom management (saving time and ensuring the smoothness of speaking activities). The following section will present the relationship between the participant’s cognition and classroom practices related to accuracy and fluency.