VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* LÊ THỊ MỸ PHONL LOW-COMPETENCE EFL LEARNERS’ EXPECTATIONS FROM THEIR ENGLISH CLASS Những mong muốn của học sinh yếu khi học tiếng Anh trên lớp M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 Hanoi, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* LÊ THỊ MỸ PHONL LOW-COMPETENCE EFL LEARNERS’ EXPECTATIONS FROM THEIR ENGLISH CLASS Những mong muốn của học sinh yếu khi học tiếng Anh trên lớp M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: NGUYỄN TRƯỜNG SA, Ph. Hanoi, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I, Lê Thị Mỹ Phonl, declare that this graduation thesis is original and has not been submitted for assessment elsewhere. I declare that this assignment is my own work and does not involve plagiarism or collusion. Signature: Date: September 5, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to all those who contribute and support to the completion of this study.
My deepest appreciation goes to my supervisor, Dr. Nguyen Truong Sa, from whom I have gained expert guidance and personal inspiration. I especially thank him for his ongoing support and constructive comments on early versions of the manuscript. His private time for me was so valuable that I do not know how to repay.
I am grateful to Ms Chi - the general director of ALIS for accepting me to investigate at ALIS and for her helps in arranging classes for me. Many thanks are sent to the teachers and learners who took much time and great care into my study. I am indebted to my two colleagues: Ms Tuyet and Mr Tin for all supports when I needed. Finally, a heartfelt gratutide I feel towardmy beloved family for their emotional and material support.
They really mean the world to me. i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT This study examined expectations of 5 low-competence learners in a private English school in Vietnam. The researcher adopted two qualitative methods of in-depth interview and observation to collect the data. The first in-depth interview data was coded to build up the subjects‟ stated expectations.
To examine their expectations related to what happened in class, the researcher analyzed the data collected from the observations and second in-depth interviews. The results showed that the low-competence learners cherished many expectations of the learning activities, the teachers and the classmates since they were not satisfied and had many challenges when learning in class. The effective collection and value to teachers of English were discussed. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .ii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
iii DEFINITIONS OF TERMS .vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .viii TRANSCRIPTION CONVENTIONS. ix LIST OF TABLES AND FIGUERS. Objectives of the study. Significance of the study.
Context of the study. Overview of chapters. 4 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW. 6 iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Definition of expectations. Categories of expectations. Approach to expectations. Expectations, experiences and challenges.
Low-competence learners. Approach to study expectations in language learning. Data collection instruments. Data collection procedures.
Data analysis procedures. Role of researcher. Trustworthiness and Credibility. The pilot study .24 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.
Pre-conceived expectations .26 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Conclusions of the study. Limitations of the study and Suggestions for further study.40 APPENDIX A: A GUIDE FOR DESIGNING AND CONDUCTING IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW. I APPENDIX B: LEARNING ACTIVITIES.
IV APPENDIX C: QUESTIONS FOR THE FIRST IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS .V APPENDIX D: QUESTIONS FOR THE SECOND IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS. VI APPENDIX E: INTERVIEW SAMPLE. VII v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DEFINITION OF TERMS Behaviors Behaviors are a collection of actions a person does that can be observed, measured, and repeated (Bicard & Bicard, 2012). In line with them, behaviors used in this study are what students do, respond and react when learning in class.
Challenges Challenges referred in this study are learners‟ difficulties when learning English in class and unsatisfied factors about their class. Competence Competence is an entity of theoretical knowledge, ability, application knowledge, behavior and motivation structured in mastering a specific situation (Gilbert, 1998). I used the term “low competence learners” throughout the study to define those individuals whose abilities, knowledge and skills of English are performed worse than others in class classified by their teachers according to their result of performance in tests and classroom. English as a foreign language (EFL) EFL described situations where students were learning English in order to use with any other English speakers in the world (Harme, 2007) and where English is taught as a subject in schools but not used for communication within the country (Richard at al.
Expectations Expectations in this study are defined as desires or wants of language vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Expectations are based on a person‟s previous language learning experience, goals, and needs, and may influence how individuals react, respond, and experience in practice (White, 1999; Barcelos, 2000). Experiences Experiences are the interaction, adaptation, and adjustment of individuals to the environment (Dewey, 1938; Barcelos, 2000). Experiences, as I used in this study, are what students interact, adapt and adjust to their class.
vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ALIS: Atlantic Languages and Informatics School EFL: English as a Foreign Language viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TRANSCRIPTION CONVENTIONS 01, 02 speaker turn S student I1 the first interview I2 the second interview ix LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure 1: Expectation disconfirmation paradigm. 10 Table 1: Data collection schedule. 22 Table 2: Data analysis strategies for the research questions. 23 Table 3: Summary of collected data.
26 Table 4: Summary of pre-conceived expectations. 28 x LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Since Vietnam open-door policy came into existence in 1986 through the economic renovation known as Doi moi, English has emerged as the most important language. An increasing influx of foreign investment has brought Vietnamese people about the need to learn English.
English has gained its role as the main foreign language taught and used in the country (Wilson, 1993a). Thus, most Vietnamese learners have had at least seven years studying English as a compulsory subject in secondary and tertiary levels. However, they are often not able to use English for communication outside the classroom. As a result, the increasing number of them is likely to go to private English schools for extra English classes with expectations to be taught in magical ways to improve their English (Nguyen, 2012) although tuition fees paid for such classes are very high.
Accordingly, hundreds of language centers have been mushrooming all over the country, and thus, the market in English education has become more competitive than ever.The current climate suggests that learners spending a substantial sum of money on learning English are now seen as primary customers (Hill, 1995). Such situations are likely to give a rise to specific expectations in learners regarding the process and outcome of English learning and the fulfillment of these expectations becomes the goal of any English teaching and learning programs. In other words, if teachers are framed as service providers, then one way to ensure the provision of a quality service is to know the expectations of customers as they enter into the service transaction (Zeithaml et al. Nguyen (2012) also notes that when students are treated as customers, and the market in English education becomes more competitive, then serving 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Vietnamese learner‟s beliefs and expectations becomes the goal of teaching and the primary requirement for the teachers is satisfying their learner‟s expectations.
Besides, as suggested by Trejo (2007) understanding learners‟ expectations is essential for effective teaching and learning because those expectations are likely to have a strong influence on their learning process. Yet within the field of applied linguistics we know relatively little about the expectations of learners (Trejo, 2007; Bordia et al. In public schools in Vietnam, as students are taught English to achieve high grades in paper exams, many teachers are normally worried about the present of lower proficiency learners in their classes. However, as the number of such lower learners is usually much fewer than the average and higher ones in each class, it seems that attention from teachers on them is thus much cursory.
Unfortunately, in real sense such problem is inevitable as even if we are able to assemble a class of complete beginners, it will soon be clear that some are learning slower than others (Harme, 2007). Noticeably, although there have increasingly been researches on students‟ expectations, very few of them have focused on low-competence ones. Therefore, it is both practical and significant to the literature in the field to investigate expectation of low- competence English learners in their classes. Objectives of the study The primary purpose of this study is to investigate low-competence students‟ expectations from their English class.
I will explore learning activities that these learners expect to do in class; exam what happen in class and if the students have any learning challenges; discover factors that make them unsatisfied when learning in class. 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Research Questions The general question of this study is: What are low-competence EFL learners‟ expectations from their English class? This question can be clarified by addressing these specific questions. (1) What expectations do these learners hold about their class? (2) What are their learning behaviors? (3) What are challenges of these learners when learning in class? 4.
Significance of the study Practically, my study‟s outcome can help teachers with some new experience on low-competence students as well as bring a careful consideration into their teaching methods. In addition, it also draws teacher to look back their teaching process in class, recognize their shortages and provides them with some ways to improve the quality of their teaching and their students‟ learning as well. My study aims to facilitate teachers who are worried about their low-competence students, want to give their students the hands full of care and opportunities for their improvement and development, and are seeking for documents and information of low-competence students‟ expectations. Theoretically, this study will contribute to the current literature by relating low competence students‟ expectations concerned by many teachers and researchers, but in the lack of experience and database.
Context of the study The site of this study is ALIS (Atlantic Languages and Informatics School), one of the most prestigious private English schools in Bình Tân district, Hồ Chí Minh city. Reasons for choosing this school related to 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com practical issues, the purposes of my study, and the research questions. First of all, despite having to pay much higher fee, EFL learners are likely to go to private schools for extra English classes where their expectation is a major factor in decisions about how and what to teach. When students are treated as customers, their expectations become the goal of the schools and the primary requirement for the teachers is satisfying their learner‟s expectations.
It was hoped that in a private school where the focus was on teaching for business rather than teaching and learning for tests, I would be able to gain more reliable and significant data. The research was carried out at ALIS.