MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ TRUONG THI NGOC LUU THE PEDAGOGIC FUNCTIONS OF VIETNAMESE USED BY TEACHERS IN EFL CLASSES AT NINH CHAU HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG BINH MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING HUE, 2014 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ TRUONG THI NGOC LUU THE PEDAGOGIC FUNCTIONS OF VIETNAMESE USED BY TEACHERS IN EFL CLASSES AT NINH CHAU HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG BINH MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.11 SUPERVISOR: PHAM THI HONG NHUNG, Dr. HUE, 2014 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ -------- TRƢƠNG THỊ NGỌC LƢU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG NHỮNG CHỨC NĂNG GIÁO DỤC CỦA TIẾNG VIỆT TRONG CÁC LỚP HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ CỦA CÁC GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH Ở TRƢỜNG THPT NINH CHÂU TỈNH QUẢNG BÌNH LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƢƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.11 NGƢỜI HƢỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TIẾN SỸ PHẠM THỊ HỒNG NHUNG HUẾ, 2014 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine. The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, and have not been published elsewhere. Hue, June 2014 Author Truong Thi Ngoc Luu i ABSTRACT This research studies the six pedagogic functions of Vietnamese which are used to teach in EFL classes, the use of these functions plays an important role in EFL classes where exposure to English is often confined to the language classroom, and where local teachers generally share Vietnamese with their students.
On using these functions of Vietnamese, teachers help students facilitate learning, ensure the accuracy in understanding the lessons, as well as enhance students' confidence. However, this study also mentions that when using these pedagogic functions of Vietnamese in EFL classes, teachers have to become aware of the limited frequency and the amount of time of using them so that they avoid overusing these functions. In this research, the teachers' perceptions on the pedagogic functions of Vietnamese in EFL classes have firstly been discovered; Then the reality of using these functions to teach English at Ninh Chau high school in Quang Binh has been analyzed and discussed based on some approaches. Finally some suggestions for better use of the functions have been made.
The study employs both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The data used in this research are collected from 8 teachers at Ninh Chau high school in Quang Binh via the research instruments: questionnaire and class observations. ii Acknowledgements iii iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS - TESOL : Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages - L1 : Mother tongue - L2 : Foreign language - TEFL : Teaching English as a foreign language - EFL : English as a foreign language - TL : Target language - SVO : Subject-Verb-Object - ESL : English as a second language TABLE OF CONTENTS iv STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LIST OF TABLES. viii LIST OF CHARTS. ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .1 Background of the study.
The purpose of the study. Reasons for choosing the study. Scope of the study. Structure of the study .4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Defining key terms. The controversy of L1/L2 use in foreign language classrooms. The English only approach. Why using L2 in L2 classroom.
Why using L1 in L2 classroom. Criteria for instruction language. Criteria for instruction language. The significance of instruction language in L2 classroom.
Function of classroom language. Classroom management functions. The pedagogic functions of L1 in the L2 class. Good use of L1.
Review of relevant studies on the functions of L1 in L2 classes. Studies in Vietnamese context. Data collection procedure. Data analysis methods .31 CHAPTER 4 - FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.
Teachers' perceptions of using Vietnamese in EFL classes .1 Teachers' attitudes towards using Vietnamese in EFL classes. Factors influential to EFL teachers‟ use of Vietnamese. Teachers‟ perceptions of benefits and disadvantages of the use of Vietnamese .35 vi Teachers‟ perceptions of the disadvantages of using of Vietnamese. Teachers' perceptions of pedagogic functions and frequency of using Vietnamese in EFL classes.
Teachers‟ perceptions of the reasonable time budget for Vietnamese in EFL class. Teachers‟ perceptions of the frequency of using Vietnamese in English classroom of teachers. Teachers‟ practice of using Vietnamese in EFL classes through classroom recorded observations. Functions of Vietnamese in EFL classes.
Frequency of using Vietnamese by teachers in English classroom .The functions that the teachers often use most in English classroom .47 CHAPTER 5 - CONLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS .1 Summary of the findings.3 Implications and recommendations .2 For future researches .53 APPENDICES vii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: the example for some functions .2: Factors influential to teachers‟ use of English .3: The benefits of using Vietnamese in English classroom .4: The disadvantages of using Vietnamese in English classroom .5: Teachers' perceptions about the frequency of using Vietnamese in EFL classes .6 : Frequency of using Vietnamese in English classroom .7 : Frequency of using Vietnamese in English classroom .43 viii LIST OF CHARTS Chart 4.: Teachers' perceptions of the pedagogic functions of Vietnamese in EFL classes .2: Pedagogic functions of Vietnamese were used by teachers in EFL .45 ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study It is undeniable that English is a dominant language which has been learnt and taught in most countries in the world. English is the Lingua Franca of the world. Nowadays, English is the common means of communication among the people of different nations. As a global language, its various area have been largely investigated, especially that of English as Foreign Language (EFL) teaching and learning.
The use of the first language (L1) when teaching EFL is one of the major issues that have dominated the area of EFL acquisition for the last few decades. Although a number of studies which either support or oppose the use of L1 in EFL classroom have been conducted, a large quantity of research as well as the flourishing forms of bilingual education programs has paved the way to the development of a new area of language teaching methodology. In fact, the general assumption that has dominated for some time is that English ought to be learnt through English, and not by the use of L1, which has to be prohibited in the classroom. Many ELT professionals even wonder how students can truly appreciate target language exchanges if they are continually relying on their L1 (Bouangeune, 2009:186).
According to Ellis (1984) and several authors maintain that L1 has no essential role to play in EFL teaching and that too much L1 use might deprive learners of valuable input in L2. However, the arguments against using L1 in EFL classroom have not provided sufficient evidence for avoiding L1, nor have they given clear reasons for banning L1. Consequently, several teaching methods and trends supporting the use of L1 as a helpful teaching and learning tool have emerged (Al- Nofaie, 2001); and many researchers and authors stress the benefits of using L1 and the positive role this plays in EFL teaching (Aurbach 1993; Mukattash 2003; Schweers 1999; Tang 2002) Thus, many researchers and teachers 1 have started to re-evaluate the role of L1 in the EFL classroom and think of ways to best incorporate it into EFL teaching. These days, many EFL teachers also often use the first language in class especially with low-level students (Dajani, 2002).
According to Harmer (2007b), there is a strong body of opinion which says that the classroom should be an English-only environment. Nevertheless, this opinion has been seriously questioned by a great number of methodologists and educators (Dajani, 2002; Deller, 2003; Naimushin, 2002; Nation, 1997; Ton, 2006). Unquestionably, a view on Frequency and functions when using the L1 in the ESL/EFL classroom has became the major issue for consideration. In my school, the foreign language teachers are also familiar with using Vietnamese in English classes.
In their lessons, however, the teachers have limited experience in using of this teaching method. They only teach with being in the habit of a non-native teacher and there are many teachers asking this question: “Whether it acceptable or helpful to use the L1 in our English classes or not?” To provide an answer to this question, it is necessary to seek clarifications from literature. For instance, various factors have to be taken into consideration and the pedagogic functions of Vietnamese used in the EFL classes are the main factors in this research. As an English teacher at a high school in Quang Binh, I have chosen this topic for my research in the hope to investigate the perceptions of high school teachers toward using the pedagogic functions of Vietnamese in the EFL classes.
I do expect to explore the benefits of using L1 in EFL classes. The purpose of the study This research aims to consider and analyze the pedagogic functions of Vietnamese by the teachers at Ninh Chau high school in Quang Binh. It examines, discusses and clarifies if which functions are used the most in the lesson as well as if how often to use usefully those in the English classes. To achieve the main purpose, the following specific objectives have been set.
2 - To assess the perceptions of the teachers toward using the pedagogic functions of Vietnamese in EFL classes. - To examine the benefits and disadvantages of using these functions of Vietnamese in English classrooms. - To explore the time budget of these functions used in EFL classes. - To consider the factors influencing the practices of using these functions of Vietnamese in English classrooms.
Reasons for choosing the study Although The study about using L1 in L2 class is quite popular in the world, few Vietnamese researches, teachers and learners pay attention to using of the pedagogic functions of Vietnamese in English classrooms. Therefore, this study aims at investigating EFL teachers' perceptions of using the pedagogic functions of Vietnamese in English classrooms as well as examining the time budget of using Vietnamese in classrooms. It is hoped that the findings of this study may have many significances. It provides important information for Vietnamese teachers on teaching English in EFL classes.
It may raise teachers' awareness on how to use these functions of Vietnamese in English classes appropriately. Moreover, it investigates using the functions of Vietnamese in English class at Ninh Chau high school where until recently, improving in teaching and learning English is extremely problematic. It is hoped that, if this issue is examined deeplier, it will help teaching and learning English in Viet nam more effectively. Research questions To achieve the aims of the study, the research is going to find out the answers of the following questions: 1.
What are the teachers’ perceptions about the pedagogic functions of Vietnamese used by teachers in EFL classes? 2. What are frequency of using Vietnamese and pedagogic functions of Vietnamese used by teachers in EFL classes at Ninh Chau high school? 3 1. Scope of the study The study focuses on teachers at Ninh Chau high school in Quang Binh to find out their perception about the functions of L1 in EFL classes and frequency of then using the first language in the foreign language classrooms where the majority of the world‟s formal L2 learning takes place. The collected information from these teachers will describe the teachers' perceptions of using the pedagogic functions of Vietnamese in English classes.
In addition, it may reflect the reality of using these functions in a period by observation (recording). Besides, the factors causing the obstacles for using L2 in EFL classes will be analyzed in this study.