MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN HUU THANH SON AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE INFLUENCE OF TEACHER TALK IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES AT NGUYEN TRAI HIGH SCHOOL PHU YEN PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: ASSOC. PHAN VAN HOA HUE, 2013 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO ĐẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ------------ NGUYỄN HỮU THANH SƠN KHẢO SÁT ẢNH HƯỞNG NGÔN NGỮ TRUYỀN ĐẠT CỦA GIÁO VIÊN ĐẾN CÁC LỚP HỌC NÓI TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG THPT NGUYỄN TRÃI TỈNH PHÖ YÊN LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC PGS. PHAN VĂN HÕA HUẾ, 2013 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify my authority of the study project report submitted entitled AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE INFLUENCE OF TEACHER TALK IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES AT NGUYEN TRAI HIGH SCHOOL PHU YEN PROVINCE In fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of M.A in English Except where the reference is indicated, no other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgment in the text of the thesis. Hue, 2013 Nguyen Huu Thanh Son i ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the purpose, nature and quality of teacher talk in English speaking classes.
The way of using teacher talk has a great influence on the development of students‟ English speaking skill. The study explores the habit of employing teacher talk of some of the English teachers at Nguyen Trai high school in Phu Yen province, from which we have a more general look into this reality of other high schools in Vietnam. The research contains samples of empirical data, which include their interpretations related to research literature, and a more personal overall reflection of the teaching practice in English speaking classes. This paper considers the proportion of using teacher talk in English and in Vietnamese and the recognition of high school students about it.
The present study also points how teacher talk is delivered in English speaking classes, how teacher talk motivates or dispirits language students under the forms of questions and feedback. To a large extent, both analysis and reflections derive from the classroom observations, questionnaires, and interviews. This paper contains some of the useful discussion on the findings and their effects on the process of developing students‟ language speaking skill. These results serve as practical evidence for some important pedagogical implications.
ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Phan Van Hoa, whose suggestions, comments have helped me develop and complete this paper. This paper could not have been finished without his critical comments and tireless help. My sincere thank would be sent to Assoc.
Pham Thi Hong Nhung, vice rector of College of Foreign Language, Hue University, who gave me helpful advice on choosing the topic. I would like to thank all the lecturers at the Department of English, College of Foreign Language, Hue University for providing me with useful information and knowledge to conduct the successful study. I would like to acknowledge all the teachers and students at Nguyen Trai high school, Phu Yen province, especially the students coming from three classes 10A3, 11B8, and 12C2. Their enthusiastic help is a really important factor which contributes to the completion of the study.
Finally, my deepest thank is to my family, my teachers and my friends who always motivate and assist me during the time of carrying out this project. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.vii LIST OF TABLES.
viii LIST OF CHARTS. ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. Rationale of the thesis. Structure of the thesis.
8 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND. Definitions of Teacher Talk (TT). Features of Teacher Talk. Functions of teachers‟ questions.
Types of teachers‟ questions. Theoretical background of speaking skills. General outline of a speaking lesson. In-class speaking tasks.
25 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. Data collection methods. 32 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION. Teachers‟ perceptions of teacher talk in language classrooms.
How do teachers use their talk in English speaking classes?. The frequency of using convergent questions and divergent questions in English speaking class. The distribution of teacher‟s questions. Assessment in teacher talk.
Error correction in teacher talk. To what extent teacher talk affect students‟ speaking skill. The reality of using teacher talk in English and Vietnamese in English speaking classes. The advantages and disadvantages of using teacher talk in English speaking class.
The impact of the amount of teacher talk on English speaking. The effects of teacher talk in the forms of questions on English speaking skill. The effects of teacher talk in the forms of feedback on English speaking skill .4 The effects of teacher talk in the target language in English speaking class. 60 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATION.
Answers to the research questions. Pedagogical Implications for teaching English in English speaking classes. Reinforcing teachers‟ awareness of their talk. Controlling the amount and emphasizing the quality of teacher talk.
Applying suitable questioning techniques. Applying suitable feedback techniques. Strengths, limitations and further study. 72 APPENDIX I APPENDIX II vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TT : Teacher Talk Ss : Students S : Student T : Teacher vii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Background Information of the Three Participating Teachers .2: Description of the students participating in questionnaires .3: Description of the students participating in interviews .1: The amount of teacher talk .2: Frequency of using teacher talk in the target language .3: The importance of teacher talk in English speaking class .4: The frequency and the percentage in the total sum of using convergent and divergent questions .5: The result of question patterns delivered by teachers and the percentage in the total sum .6: Types of assessments in teacher talk and the percentage in the total sum .7: Types of error correction in teacher talk and the percentage in the total sum .8: The results of the questionnaire about teacher talking time (question 3) .9: The results of the questionnaire about the development of language skills thanks to teacher talk (question 4) .10: The Advantages of Using Teacher Talk in English Speaking Class.11: The Disadvantages of Using Teacher Talk in English Speaking Class .52 viii LIST OF CHARTS Chart 4.1: Reality of using teacher talk in English and Vietnamese in English speaking classes .2: Students‟ suggestion for using teacher talk in English speaking class.
47 ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. Research background For over nine years I have worked as a teacher of English at a High School and at Phu Yen Continuing Education Center. I have had opportunities to observe many of the teachers of English in a variety of teaching environments. From that, I have learned a great deal from teachers about their instructions when they teach English and I am grateful for their dedicated commitment to language teaching.
In all of the observations, I have listened to, watched for and paid my attention to students‟ reaction to activities, exercises, and presentations of teachers. The primary focus of observations is the learners not the teachers. I have observed learners‟ language involvement, comfort, and understanding. I have also watched for language teaching.
And it is not denied that teacher talk has a great impact on foreign language acqusition of learners. For foreign language learners, classroom is the main environment where they can use the target language frequently. The kind of language used by the teachers for instruction in the class room is known as teacher talk (TT). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics defines teacher talk as “that variety of language sometimes used by teachers when they are in the process of teaching.
In trying to communicate with learners, teachers often simplify their speech, giving it many of the characteristics of foreigner talk and other simplified styles of speech addressed to language learners” (Richards, 1992, p. In this research, the oral form of teacher talk instead of written form will be under investigation. It mentions the language that teachers use in language classrooms rather than in other contexts. Firstly, from this definition, it is clear that teacher talk in English classrooms is considered as a kind of the English language.
Therefore, it has its own specific characters and features. Because if there are the limitations of physical teachers and 1 learners, as well as the purposes of teaching and learning, teacher talk has its own characteristics to help teachers and language students gain the aims of teaching and learning respectively. Secondly, we can see that teacher talk is a special communicative activity. Its goal is to communicate with students and develop students' foreign language proficiency.
We can see clearly that teacher instruction or teacher talk is used in language classrooms when teachers are conducting instructions, cultivating students‟ language competence and managing classroom activities. Teachers make use of the target language to encourage the ability of communication of students. In this way students have opportunities to practice the target language by responding to what their teachers require. Furthermore, teachers use the target language to promote communication between learners and themselves.
Rationale of the thesis Learning English, or any other languages, is a process in which learners concentrate on developing the four primary skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Of the four skills which all learners of any foreign language need to develop, speaking may be the most challenging skill for teaching and learning. It has always been reported that teaching speaking skill is a very challenging job when teachers and learners share the same mother tongue and have little or no exposure to English outside the classroom (Bresnihan &Stoops, 1996; Chelle de porto, 1997; Nguyen, 2004). To most of the language learners, “Mastering the art of speaking is the single most important aspect of learning a second or foreign language.
The speaking skill has become a practical aim for any Vietnamese learners of English, who want to “to communicate with people in other countries and to get a job” (Kramasch & Sullivan, 1996, p. Moreover, since Vietnam has opened its doors and integrated the economy with other countries all over the world, the demand for speaking English to be competent enough to communicate verbally with the outside world and to access technology has rapidly increased (Le, 2005). 2 However, the quality of English teaching and learning has not matched the growing demand of the society. Do (2000) has found that less than 33% of the Vietnamese learners at tertiary level are fluent in spoken English.
This evidence shows a disappointing reality dominant in Vietnam at present time. When learning a foreign language, the speaking skill is really important, especially in the age of information and modern technology. Thus, when generalizing about the nature of communication, Harmer (1997) notes: Speakers say things because then want something to happen as a result of what they say. They may want to charm their listeners; they may want to give some information or express pleasure.
They may decide to be rude or flatter, to agree or complain. In each of these cases they are interested in achieving a communicative purpose (p.46) According to Brown (1994), in methods of language teaching, textbooks were considered primary factors in successful learning a few decades ago, the “methods” that learners employ to internalize and to perform in the language are as important as the teachers‟ methods in recent years. He proposes the principle of strategic investment: Successful mastery of second language will be due to a large extent of a learner‟s own personal “investment” of time, effort and attention to the second / foreign language in the form of an individualized battery of strategies for comprehending and producing the language (p.