VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES LÊ THỊ HƯƠNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO ATTITUDES OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS OF ENGLISH TOWARDS TEACHING AND LEARNING WORLD ENGLISHES AT HONG DUC UNIVERSITY (Điều tra về quan điểm của giáo viên và sinh viên tiếng Anh đối với việc dạy và học các loại tiếng Anh trên thế giới tại Trường Đại học Hồng Đức) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com HA NOI – 2013 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES LÊ THỊ HƯƠNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO ATTITUDES OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS OF ENGLISH TOWARDS TEACHING AND LEARNING WORLD ENGLISHES AT HONG DUC UNIVERSITY (Điều tra về quan điểm của giáo viên và sinh viên tiếng Anh đối với việc dạy và học các loại tiếng Anh trên thế giới tại Trường Đại học Hồng Đức) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Dr. Lê Văn Canh TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATION EIL: English as an international language ELT: English language teaching EFL: English as a foreign language FLF: Foreign Languages Faculty HDU: Hong Duc University IE: International English L2: second language L3: third language NS: Native speaker NNSs: Non-native speakers RP: Received Pronunciation S: Students T: Teachers WEs: World Englishes iv TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF TABLES Table 1 (first six items): Students and teachers‟ attitudes towards “Standard English” .21 Table 1 (last seven items): Students and teachers‟ attitudes towards the concept of “World Englishes” .23 Table 2: Students' attitudes towards learning native or non-native English.25 Table 3: Teachers‟ views on teaching World Englishes.28 Table 4: Reasons teachers choose to teach World Englishes.31 Table 5: Reasons teachers avoid teaching World Englishes.32 v TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP………………………………………….
iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS………………………………………………. iv LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………… v TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………. vi PART A: INTRODUCTION………………………………………………. Rationale of the study…………………………………………………….
Aims and objectives of the study…………………………………………. Scope of the study…………………………………………………………. Significance of the study…………………………………………………. Methods of the study……………………………………………………….
Design of the study………………………………………………………. 5 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………. Definitions of attitudes………………………………………………… 5 1. The role of attitudes in language learning…………………………….
Views on Standard English……………………………………………… 6 1. Standard English is not a language……………………………………. Standard English is not an accent……………………………………. Standard English is not a style………………………………………… 8 1.
So what is it then?. 9 vi TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail. What is World Englishes?. Attitudes towards teaching and learning World Englishes…………….
To teach Standard English or World Englishes……………………. Current attitudes and perspectives on teaching and learning World Englishes……………………………………………………………………. Summary………………………………………………………………… 14 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY………………………………………… 15 2. Background to the study………………………………………………… 15 2.
Introduction of the Hong Duc University……………………………. The English major students……………………………………………. The survey instrument…………………………………………………. Piloting the questionnaire…………………………………………….
Distribution of the questionnaire……………………………………. Selecting participants for the interview………………………………. Data collection and analysis…………………………………………. Summary………………………………………………………………… 19 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS….
Findings and discussions………………………………………………. Students and teacher‟s attitudes towards the so-called “Standard English”………………………………………………………………………. 20 vii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail. Students and teacher‟s attitudes towards the concept of “World Englishes”…………………………………………………………………….
Student‟s attitudes towards learning “non-standard” varieties of English………………………………………………………………………. Teachers‟ negative views on teaching “non-standard” varieties of English in the classroom……………………………………………………. Reasons teachers choose to teach World Englishes…………………… 30 3. Reasons teachers avoid teaching World Englishes…………………….
31 PART C: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS………………………. Summary of major findings………………………………………………. Suggestions of the study for World Englishes teaching…………………… 34 2. Interaction with EIL users……………………………………………….
Assessment focusing in communicative effectiveness…………………. Teaching materials representing EIL users……………………………… 36 2. Improving teachers‟ knowledge and understanding of different non- standard varieties of English…………………………………………………. Limitations of the study…………………………………………………… 39 5.
Suggestions for further research…………………………………………… 40 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………… 41 APPENDICES………………………………………………………………. I Appendix 1: Student questionnaire…………………………………………. I Appendix 2: Teacher questionnaire…………………………………………. IV Appendix 3: Interview questions…………………………………………….
VII viii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale of the study The world is presently witnessing a rapid increase in the use of English as a language of wider communication. More and more countries are making English their lingua franca to communicate with the rest of the world - not only with native English- speaking countries, but also with non-native English-speaking countries in international settings. It is high time for Vietnamese teachers of English to change their attitudes toward so-called “standard English.” In Vietnam, only English broadcast on the BBC (British Broadcasting Company), VOA (Voice of America), or ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) - in other words, only English used by speakers in Kachru‟s Inner Circle countries - is considered to be “standard English.” At Hong Duc University (HDU), English-major students are always taught English in some standard textbooks followed TOEFL or IELTS format from the first year until they graduate.
So students and teachers believe that “standard English” can become very useful to help them communicate effectively in foreign companies but most people do not conduct business in that way. I often hear my former graduate students, who are now working for Japanese, Korean or Taiwanese companies in Vietnam, complain that it is difficult for them to understand Japanese English, that is, the variety of English spoken by speakers of Japanese. Or they will say that their “standard English” has deteriorated because of Taiwanese or Korean supervisors who speak their own varieties of English. World Englishes is quite a new term for many teachers and students of English at Hong Duc University.
But there is a fact that both teachers and students wanted to know and understand more on the so-called “World Englishes” in order to help their students prepare well for future job at companies which are not managed by native English speakers. This inspires the researcher to conduct the study entitled “An 1 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com investigation into attitudes of teachers and students of English towards teaching and learning World Englishes at Hong Duc University” with hope of understanding more about not only the teachers and st udents‟ attitudes towards teaching and learning World Englishes but also the overall problems faced by them in teaching and learning the incorporating World Englishes as an international language. Aims and objectives of the study The study aims at investigating the attitudes of teachers and students at Hong Duc University towards teaching and learning World Englishes. In order to achieve this aim, the study attempts to: - Investigate teachers and students‟ attitudes towards Standard English and World Englishes.
- Find out the similarities and differences in opinions between teachers and students towards learning and teaching World Englishes. - Find out the possible problems faced by the teachers and students in incorporating World Englishes in teaching English as an international language. Scope of the study Currently, World Englishes is one of the discussing matters for scholars all over the world. Many opinions are given to present the advantages and disadvantages of introducing World Englishes to students of English.
World Englishes is a new term and can cause misunderstanding for participants to fulfill the survey questionnaire. The participants must have a minimum understanding on native and non-native English. Within the scope of a minor thesis, this study attempts to investigate the attitudes of students and teachers of English at Hong Duc University towards teaching and learning World Englishes therefore the most suitable participants should be from the 2nd year students who have just got used to with these terms and teachers of English in Foreign Languages Department at Hong Duc University. 2 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.
Significance of the study How to help students of English have enough knowledge and experience to meet the increasing requirements of today society is a big question to almost teachers. World Englishes can become an efficient instrument to solve that question. Firstly, this study will be of considerable interest to both language teachers and students who concerns on teaching and learning World Englishes. Secondly, the study provides an useful background on the theory and perspectives related to World Englishes for those who want to develop more on the topic.
Last but not least, this study hopes to provide teachers and students of English an analysis on attitudes towards teaching and learning World Englishes at Hong Duc University in order to decide whether to teach or learn World Englishes or not. Research Questions In an attempt to investigate teachers and students of English‟s perceptions of World Englishes, the present study examined three related domains including teachers‟ and students‟ understanding of World Englishes concept, their attitudes towards “Standard English”, and their attitudes to teaching and learning “non-standard” varieties of English in the classroom. In light of the goal of the study, the following research questions were posed: 1. How do teachers and students understand the concept of “World Englishes”? 2.
What are teachers and students‟ attitudes towards the so-called “Standard English”? 3. What are their attitudes to teaching and learning “non-standard” varieties of English? 6. Methods of the study In order to fulfill the task mentioned above, this study employs both qualitative and quantitative methods. The quantitative method is used to collect data through survey questionnaire; the aim is to explore students‟ understanding on Standard English and World Englishes as well as their views on learning native and non-native English.
The teachers also become the participants to be asked about their 3 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com understanding towards World Englishes and their views on teaching or avoiding teaching World Englishes. The qualitative method is used to gather information through informal interviews and discussions with teachers of English in the Foreign Languages Falcuty (FLF) of Hong Duc University. Design of the study The study consists of three main parts: Part A: Introduction presents rationale; aims and objectives; scope; significance; research questions; methods; and design of the study. Part B: Development constitutes three chapters: Chapter 1: Literature review - offers the reviews of literature related to studies on learning attitudes, Standard English and World Englishes.
Chapter 2: Methodology - deals with the actual procedures of the study: study design, subject of the study, data collection instruments as well as data collection analyzing process. Chapter 3: Data Analysis, Findings and Discussions - focuses on presenting, analyzing and discussing the results obtained from the study. Part C: Conclusion and Suggestions - summarizes some major findings, makes conclusion for the thesis, provides suggestions for a possibly applicable teaching approach to World Englishes, limitations of the study, and suggestions for further research. 4 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.
Definitions of attitudes There have been considerable researches on attitudes towards language learning and, according to Gardner (1979), there is an undeniable mutual relationship between attitudes and motivation in language learning. There are many definitions of the term. Among them, Gardner (1985:91-93) claims that attitude is an evaluative creation to some referent or attitude objects, inferred on the basic of individual‟s beliefs or opinions about the referent. In addition to that, in Gibb‟s opinion (1988), attitude is generally defined as a state of mind, which is influenced by feelings, experiences of the world and belief.
More clearly, Hallorah (1967) states that attitude represents an individual like or dislike towards an item. Attitudes are positive, negative or neutral views of an “attitude object”, i. a person, situation or event. People can also be “ambivalent”, meaning that they simultaneously possess a positive and a negative bias towards the attitudes in question The above definitions show people‟s attitudes towards certain referent object, a behavioral intentions component and a cognitive component involving belief about the object.
In language learning, we can see students‟ attitudes in their feelings and belief about the way of acting towards the lessons, learning style, teachers and the course books. The role of attitudes in language learning Attitudes and learning always go side by side. Garder and Lamper (1972) both agree that “success in mastering a foreign language would depend not only on 5 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.