1 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ------ TRƢƠNG THỊ THU HIỀN M. MINOR THESIS Necessary skills of an English teacher in managing English classes at Thach Thanh 3 High school (Các kĩ năng cần thiết của giáo viên Tiếng Anh trong việc quản lí lớp học ngoại ngữ ở trường THPT Thạch Thành 3) Field: Methodology Code: 60.10 Hanoi, 2011 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 2 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ------ TRƢƠNG THỊ THU HIỀN M. MINOR THESIS Necessary skills of an English teacher in managing English classes at Thach Thanh 3 High school (Các kĩ năng cần thiết của giáo viên Tiếng Anh trong việc quản lí lớp học ngoại ngữ ở trường THPT Thạch Thành 3) Field: Methodology Code: 60.10 Supervisor: VŨ THUÝ QUỲNH, M.A Hanoi, 2011 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 6 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TT: Thach Thanh TT3: Thach Thanh 3 CLT: Communicative Language Teaching LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: The results of teachers’ attitudes Table 2: The results of the teachers’ experiences in English teaching Table 3: The results of dominant roles applied in English classes Table 4: The results of the roles which are difficult to apply in English classes at TT3 high school Table 5: Characteristics of the students participating in the English learning survey Table 6: The results of the students’ attitudes Table 7: Ranking and percentage of the importance of items contribute to an effective class manager Table 8: The results of the students’ experiences LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND TABLES PART I - INTRODUCTION 1. Aims of the study 3.
Scope of the study 4. Methods of the study 5. Significance of the study 7. Organization of the study PART II - DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.
Different views on the roles of an English language teacher 1. The importance of the language teacher in managing an English class 1. Characteristics of a good English language teacher 1. Communicative approach in English language teaching 1.
Definition of Communication 1. The nature of Communicative Language Teaching 1. Kind of activities in English language teaching 1. Whole-class teaching 1.
Pair work/Group work 1. Summary CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY 2. Background of the study 2. Description of the English syllabus in TT3 high school 2.
Description of the students at TT3 high school 2. Description of the teachers at TT3 high school LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Description of physical setting 2. Design and methodology of the study 2.
Methods of data analysis 2. Summary CHAPTER III: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA 3. Summary CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS 4. Research question 1: How did English teachers at TT3 high school manage their English language classes? 4.
Research question 2: What are the difficulties in managing their English classes? 4. Research question 3: What are some suggestions to manage English classes more effectively? 4. Pedagogical implications PART III - CONCLUSIONS 1. Summary of the study 2.
Limitations of the study 3. Suggestions for further study 4. Conclusions REFERENCES APPENDIXES LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 9 PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale English is an international language; it has become a compulsory subject for students at schools in Vietnam nowadays.
In English classes, teachers have to take different roles in managing their students. Ince (2000) emphasized that teachers should know how to manage the classes and teach students to manage themselves. There are many common important roles that English teachers act in language teaching. Moreover, they need to know more about the skills to manage English classes well.
Like many English teachers in Vietnam, teachers of English at TT3 high school faced with a common problem: lack of necessary skills in managing classes. In fact, there are many reasons for the shortage of necessary skills. Thus the present study therefore, tries to find out the solutions to change the situation. This led the author to the choice of the study: “Necessary skills of an English teacher in managing English classes at TT3 High School” 2.
Aims of the study The aims of this study is to look into the theoretical background of an English teacher and his/her roles in classroom management, investigate the use of teacher’s roles in managing English classes in TT3 high school - a school located in Thach Thanh district, Thanh Hoa province. It also helps English teachers at TT3 to aware of the difficulties they and their students have to cope with. The findings and suggestions are also suggested to overcome these constraints. Scope of the study The study is designed to explore the necessary skills of an English teacher in managing English classes at TT3 high school.
Methods of the study The study employs survey research in which two mains instruments of data collection namely informal interviews and questionnaire were used. The data collected for the study came from two sources: the students and English teachers at TT3 high school. The collected data is, then calculated, analyzed, compared and finally interpreted for the results of the study. In addition, document analysis of relevant materials was reviewed which laid the theoretical foundation for the study.
Research questions LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 10 The study searched for the answers of the 3 research questions: - How did English teachers at TT3 high school manage their English classes? - What are their difficulties in managing English classes? - What are some suggestions to manage English classes more effectively? 6. Significance of the study The significance of the study might be, first, it fills the gap of necessary skills in managing English classes. Second, it sheds the light on some pedagogical issues in managing English classes in Vietnam general and in Thanh Hoa particular. Organization of the study This study consists of three parts: Part I: Introduction presents the rationale, the aims and objectives, scope, the methods, significance and organization of the study.
The research questions are also mentioned in this part. Part II: Development includes four chapters: Chapter I: Literature review reviews the theory related about roles of an English teacher. Chapter II: Methodology of the study discusses the methods of the study, i. Describes background of the study, participants, design and methods of the study.
Chapter III: Presentation and analysis of data discusses the presentation of statistical results and analysis of data. Chapter IV: Findings and suggestions focuses on the answers of three research questions, and presents pedagogical implications Part III: Conclusions summarize the study with limitations of the study, presents some suggestions for further studies. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 11 PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1. Different views on the roles of an English language teacher Based on the results in the study of Arafat S (683-685), (Vol.
19 (2), 2005) (research on the roles of English Language Teachers as Perceived by Learners of English) showed that: Regardless of the amount of time the teachers spend with their students in managing English classes. They have different roles that affect their student’s learning. Some of these functions display through daily contact with students in the classrooms and concern relate instructions, others results from students affect to teachers in the large school settings and may affect students’ general linguistics, social and cultural development. Language teachers must make decisions all the time.
Some of the decisions are relatively minor ones, but other decisions that the teacher should consider might be the major roles of the teacher in managing English classes and what are the potential roles that the teacher can play and lead to best results in proving students with chances to participate and to be responsible for their learning. These roles have been dealt with differently in different teaching methods. Suggestoptia Lazanov (1982), O’Connell (1982) and Racle (1979) viewed the role is the authority in the classroom, students must trust their teacher and respect him/her. Lazanov also showed that students will retain information better if they get it from someone whom they can trust and who has authority on them.
The role of the teacher as suggested by Gattegno (1972), Madesen (1979) is the role of an engineer or a technician. The learners are helped by the teacher in their learning. The teacher will help their students if they need. Blair (1982) and Curran (1976) indicated that counselor role is the major role of the teacher.
To learn the foreign language, students can be threatened. Thus, the teacher helps them overcome the difficulties dealt with learning it. The roles of the teacher according to the communicative approach as suggested by, Celce-Murcia (1983), Brumfit (1979) and Madsen (1983) that the teacher is seen as facilitor of the learners’ learning. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 12 Harmer (1991) showed that the roles of the teacher is to provide students with different situations related to the real life.
Students will have many choice to practice authentic situations which make them understand more easily. Students are shown how to perform language functions are decided which functions are more important for which level. According to Diller (1978) and Paulston (1971) suggested that in the classroom the teacher directs the activities and the students’ role is less passive than the others. They are more like partners in two process: teaching and learning.
In this role, the teacher participates and works with students in activities. The roles of teachers are different so teachers should base on students’ need in their learning process to act these roles to get high effectiveness. Prodromou (1991) also suggested several roles for the teacher, for example, a manager, a monitor, a counselor, an informant, facilitator, a social and a friend. Stevick (1996) suggested that teachers and students have many expectations in order to have effective language classrooms.
This state means that both teacher and students should be involved in the activity. They may get interactions during the teaching and learning process. Underhill (1989) also believed that the teachers can play difference roles. They can be lecturers, teachers and facilitators.
Larsen-Freeman (1986) believed that the teacher can be a supporter. Teacher should encourage students to work individual to promote their self reliance. The teacher is also seen as a motivator and stimulator, a prompter. These point of views show that when teachers act any roles, they have to consider what their students need and expect from them.
Teachers know what and how to do with their students in using these roles to work in learning activities. Harmer J (1994) mentions list of roles of a language teacher as a prompter, a participant, a resource, an assessor, a controller, a tutor, an observer and an organizer. In the role of a prompter teacher helps students with vocabularies, gives a group / a pair suggestions on how to continue. Teachers also prompt students to use English, asks questions to check understandings so that students can work on their own.
Nevertheless teacher need to do it sensitively and encouragingly with description. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 13 Teacher joins in activities to encourage students to participate and help them with the answers when the teacher acts as a participant. Teacher can be dominant because when he/she participate in activities if he/she isn’t careful, students will become passive. Teacher acts as a resource is a person for students to ask information they need and where to find further information.
Encouraging and directly making students more independent with their learning. In the role of an assessor, teacher provides students feedback, corrects, grades and provides criteria for them. In this role, teacher should make it clear for students to get their clear ideas, should be fair and be sensitive support.