'VIRTNAM NATIONAL, LINIVERSITY, ITANOL UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYÊN DANH HÀ A STUDY ON USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE CONTEXT OF BAC GIANG HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIFTED STUDENTS (Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng Tài liệu xác thực trong giảng dạy Tiếng Anh tại ngữ cảnh Trường THPT Chuyên Bắc Giang - Bắc Giang} MA. MINOR THESIS: Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Hanoi, 2010 'VIRTNAM NATIONAL, LINIVERSITY, ITANOL UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYÊN DANH HÀ A STUDY ON USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE CONTEXT OF BAC GIANG HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIFTED STUDENTS (Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng Tài liệu xác thực trong giảng dạy Tiếng Anh tại ngữ cảnh Trường THPT Chuyên Bắc Giang - Bắc Giang} MA. MINOR TIEESIS Field: English ‘caching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Cohort: MA 17 Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Bach ‘Thao, (M.A) Hanoi, 2010 5 LIST OF TABLES: ‘Table 1: Summary of selected students Table 2: Authcntic materials and frequency ‘Table 3: ‘Types of authentic materials used Table 4: Aulhentic materials and skills Table 5: Usefulness of authentie materials from students” perspective Table 6: Problems in using authentic materials 10 These objectives were accomplished by answering the following research questions: (2) How are authentic materials used as supplementary materials for English learning and teaching? (2) How effective are authentic materials in English learning and teaching? 3) What are problems in using authentic materials? (4) What solutions can be suggested to solve the identified problems? 3. Scope of the study The study mainly focused on exploiting authentic materials as supplementary materials for English learning and teaching in the context of Bac Giang High School for Gified Students, The subjects in the study were restricted to three English specializing classes ranging fiom grade 10 to grade 12 and five teachers who dircetly taught English to these classes.
Significance of the study It is noteworthy that the study was @ great attempt to examine an important issue in language (caching methodology. Therefore, ouec finished, it can bring a number of benefits Lo involved parties namely students, teachers, educational administrators and researchers of the related fields. Teachers and students at Bac Giang High School for Gifted Students arc those who directly benefit from the information the research provides. ‘leachers will have an overview of the situation of their own using anthentic malerials lo increase studenls’ language proficiency, identify difficulties that they themselves and their colleagues have encountered and consider solutions to adjust their teaching methods.
Students are likely to be well aware of the benefits of authentic materials, which leads to their positive attitudes and effective resulting in explailation of authentic materials. 6 TARLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Abstract List of tables Tablc of contents. Rationale for the study. Aims of the stuty.
Scope of the study. Significance of the study 5. Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT. CHAPTER t: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Authenticity and authentic materials 1.
Antienicity in CLT 1.2, types of authentic materials. Criterta for selecting authentic materials 1, 2 The use of authentic materials in the classroom. Reasons for using aulhontic materials 1. Possible problems in using authentic materials.
it CILAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 13 2. 4, Data collection procedure 18 2. Data analysis procedure. Data description and analysÌs.
2Implications PART C: CONCLUSION 1, Summary of findings 38 2, Contribution of the research. Limitation of the research. Suggestion for further research 40 REFERENCES. 41 APPENDIX 1: Student Questionnaire APPENDIX 2: Teacher Interview APPENDIX 3: Interview Transcript.
APPENDIX 4: Observation Checklist 9 based on the objectives of the lesson, as well as leamets’ ape, language leval, interests, needs, expectations and goals. Consequently, teachers will be able to make their lessons more flexible, suitable and especially, interesting enough to motivate learners to learn and practice the language. Thirdly, it is the benefits of using authentic materials in teaching and learning English. The materials obtained from various sources can attract learners’ attention and create their motivation towards learning a foreign language.
As the materials help learners bridge the gap belwcon the classroom and the oulside world and enable them to put their theoretical knowledge into practice, they open a way for positive transfer of learning. Therefore, authentic materials can increase the quality offoreign language teaching Last but nol. least, i is the students’ need of communication in English m and out of the classroom. Besides English grammar and the fixed teaching points given in textbooks, there should be other materials to develop students’ commmnicative competence, help students to express their idcas fluently and accurately.
Thus, authentic materials if used properly will encourage leamers to communicate in the target language though they are not designed to loach a forcign tanguage For the above reasons, the researcher decided to investigate the use of authentic malorials as supplementary materials in teaching English at the contoxt, of Bac Giang High School for Gifted Students. IL is hoped that this study would be of praotivat benefits to the teachers at high schools for gifted students in particular and other high schools in general in developing students’ language skills 2. Aims of the study In doing the rescarch, the author affornpted to address fonr main is: s. Firsily, the study investigated how authentic materials are used as supplementary materials for English leaming and teaching.
Secondly, it examined teachers and students” evaluation on the effectiveness of authentic materials, Thirdly, the study aimed to identify possible problems when using authentic materials, followed by suggestions to deal with these problems. 6 TARLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements Abstract List of tables Tablc of contents. Rationale for the study. Aims of the stuty.
Scope of the study. Significance of the study 5. Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT. CHAPTER t: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Authenticity and authentic materials 1.
Antienicity in CLT 1.2, types of authentic materials. Criterta for selecting authentic materials 1, 2 The use of authentic materials in the classroom. Reasons for using aulhontic materials 1. Possible problems in using authentic materials.
it CILAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 13 2. 1I Educational administrators may be provided close and comprehensive view into the current situation of using authentic materials in teaching English. ‘This urges them to implement necessary amendments in terms of emrricnlum, facilities and so on. Researchers of the related fields can also refer to the present work for literatue review.
In general, students, teachers, educational administrators and researehers are those who are likely to benafit from the study. Design of the study ‘The study consists of three parts: PART A, Introduction, provides the rationale, the aims, the scope, the significance and the design of the study. PART B, Development, discusses the following contents of the study. Chapter 1, Literature Review, discusses the Titeralure relating authenticily and authentic materials as well as the use of authentic materials in the classroom.
Chapter 2, Methoriology, defines the methodology of the research including fealures of the participants, scllings, rescarch inothods, dais collection and data analysis procedure Chapter 3, Results, presents and discusses the findings, which gives comprehensive answers lo the four tesearch qnestions. TL also offers suggestions to solve all the identified problems for a higher effectiveness of authentic materials. PART C, Conclusion, summarizes significant findings, highlights contributions of the rescatch, addresses notable limitations, and puts forward practical suggestions for future Tesearch. References Appendix 10 These objectives were accomplished by answering the following research questions: (2) How are authentic materials used as supplementary materials for English learning and teaching? (2) How effective are authentic materials in English learning and teaching? 3) What are problems in using authentic materials? (4) What solutions can be suggested to solve the identified problems? 3.
Scope of the study The study mainly focused on exploiting authentic materials as supplementary materials for English learning and teaching in the context of Bac Giang High School for Gified Students, The subjects in the study were restricted to three English specializing classes ranging fiom grade 10 to grade 12 and five teachers who dircetly taught English to these classes. Significance of the study It is noteworthy that the study was @ great attempt to examine an important issue in language (caching methodology. Therefore, ouec finished, it can bring a number of benefits Lo involved parties namely students, teachers, educational administrators and researchers of the related fields. Teachers and students at Bac Giang High School for Gifted Students arc those who directly benefit from the information the research provides.
‘leachers will have an overview of the situation of their own using anthentic malerials lo increase studenls’ language proficiency, identify difficulties that they themselves and their colleagues have encountered and consider solutions to adjust their teaching methods. Students are likely to be well aware of the benefits of authentic materials, which leads to their positive attitudes and effective resulting in explailation of authentic materials. 8 PART A: INTRODUCTION ‘This part provides the rationale for carrying out the research, the aims that need to be acquired, the scope, the significance as well as the design of the siudy 1, Rationale for the study In recent years, English has become onc of the major and compulsory subjects at schools all over Vietnam. Together with the expansion of teaching and leaming this subject, students today have heen awars of its importance.
English is believed to be the basic requirement for anyons who would like to have a good job. Thus, groat offeris have been made to halp students leam English better, among which the effort to search for new sources of materials supporting the process of Linglish teaching and leaming has always been encouraged. In my observation, using authentic materials as supplementary materials in teaching and leanine English is a good way to inorcase Ivamexs’ language proficiency. ‘There are a number of reasons supporting this idea In the first place, i iy the real situation of teaching and learning English at Bac Giang High School for Gifted Students, where the research study was carried out.
Bac Giang High School for Gifled Students is mg a few schools in Viena having the best quality of foreign language teaching, The students of the school are carefully chosen fiom all over Bac Giang province and most of them are assured to have high level of proficiency in English comparad wilh those in other schools. For this reason, the school cunieulum designed for the textbooks often finishes at the end of the first tem. In the second term, it mainly focuses on developing the students’ language skills with the help of other supplementary materials, ‘thus, the damnand for socking new sourecs of matetials has becn laken inte consideration by the teachers and authentic materials are found to be an effective solution to this task. Secondly, it is the availability of authentic materials.
Due to technological advancements and the government open-door policy, it is easy to have access to authentic materials rich in content, diverse in forms, and of different levels of lingnistic complexity. This assists (oachers and Icarners im using autha ic malerials with much convenicnee. An enormous wealth of authentic matertals enables teachers to have a wide variety of choice 9 based on the objectives of the lesson, as well as leamets’ ape, language leval, interests, needs, expectations and goals. Consequently, teachers will be able to make their lessons more flexible, suitable and especially, interesting enough to motivate learners to learn and practice the language.
Thirdly, it is the benefits of using authentic materials in teaching and learning English. The materials obtained from various sources can attract learners’ attention and create their motivation towards learning a foreign language. As the materials help learners bridge the gap belwcon the classroom and the oulside world and enable them to put their theoretical knowledge into practice, they open a way for positive transfer of learning. Therefore, authentic materials can increase the quality offoreign language teaching Last but nol.
