MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGO THI DIEU TRANG AN INVESTIGATION INTO ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE EFL LEARNER AUTONOMY AT QUOC HOC HIGH SCHOOL, HUE CITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.11 SUPERVISOR: TRAN QUANG NGOC THUY, Ph. HUE, 2015 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ------------ NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG GIÚP NÂNG CAO KHẢ NĂNG TỰ HỌC CỦA HỌC SINH TRONG VIỆC HỌC TIẾNG ANH Ở TRƯỜNG PTTH QUỐC HỌC HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. TRẦN QUANG NGỌC THÚY , 2015 ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself.
November 10th, 2015 Ngo Thi Dieu Trang iii ABSTRACT Learner autonomy (LA) is widely recognised as a desirable goal in education as it is found to enable students to take charge of one's learning. Over the last twenty years, researchers have developed various approaches to fostering LA as a means to language learning. The learning activities which help learners foster their authentic language use and autonomy are mainly autonomous language learning activities outside the classroom. This research aimed to gain more understanding of the activities to promote EFL LA at a high school in Hue City.
In this study, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to have more reliable results and give depth to the findings. A total of 240 students, chosen randomly from grades 10, 11, 12 at Quoc Hoc High School participated in the research. The results from the analyses indicated that the students have overall high levels of autonomy perception. The participants reported they made use of a variety of activities and resources beyond the class to improve their English.
In addition, EFL LA seemed to be affected by motivational factors in which it was exercised. The findings clearly specified that “job prospects”, “enjoyment in learning English” and “passing compulsory exams” were the foremost factors influencing the students‟ LA. The study also identified obstacles to promoting autonomous English learning. In particular, heavy workload from other subjects and the inadequacy of opportunities for using English outside the classroom pose significant challenges to students.
The paper finished with a discussion on the implications for learners‟ success of autonomous language learning and puts forward some directions for further research. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Tran Quang Ngoc Thuy, Ph. for all her enthusiastic and professional support. Her excellent insights and wholehearted direction play an important role in the fulfillment of my study.
I am also grateful to my students at Quoc Hoc High School who enthusiastically participated in my interview. I would like to express my deep gratitude to all students who wrote learning diaries within eight weeks and who properly completed the questionnaires. Finally, my warmest thanks go to my family members for their love and support during the time I did the research. Hue, November 2015 Ngo Thi Dieu Trang v TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Pages SUB COVER PAGE.
i-ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY. v TABLE OF CONTENTS. vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. ix LIST OF TABLES.
x LIST OF FIGURES. xi CONTENTS OF THESIS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION. Reasons of the study. Purpose of the study.
Scope of the study. Organization of the study.2 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW. Definitions of LA. LA in language learning.
Practices of EFL LA. Self-access centers. Computer-assisted language learning (CALL). Out-of-class learning.
Factors influencing EFL LA. Learner‟s perceptions and attitudes. Vietnamese cultural context. Previous studies on EFL LA.
Data collection instruments. Data collection procedures and analysis .20 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Findings and discussion of the questionnaire. Awareness of LA.
Activities to promote EFL LA. Motivational factors influencing EFL LA. Obstacles to promoting EFL LA. Findings and discussion of the interviews.
The most popular activities to promote EFL LA. Major motivational factors influencing EFL LA. Major obstacles to promoting EFL LA. Findings and discussion of the diary entries.
Activities to promote EFL LA. Motivational factors influencing EFL LA. Obstacles to promoting EFL LA. Summary of the findings and discussion.
EFL LA activities carried out by Quoc Hoc High School students. Motivational factors influencing Quoc Hoc High School students‟ EFL LA. Major obstacles to promoting Quoc Hoc High School students‟ EFL LA. 53 vii CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS.
Limitations of the study. Suggestions for future research. 73 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CALL : Computer-assisted language learning EFL : English as a foreign language LA : Learner autonomy ix LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 Awareness of LA .2 Activities to promote EFL LA .3 Motivational factors influencing EFL LA .4 Obstacles to promoting EFL LA .5 Activities to promote EFL LA .6 Motivational factors influencing EFL LA .7 Obstacles to promoting EFL LA .8 Activities to promote EFL LA .9 Motivational factors influencing EFL LA. Obstacles to promoting EFL LA.
49 x LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 Mean scores of awareness of LA .2 Mean scores of activities to promote EFL LA .3 Mean scores of motivational factors influencing EFL LA .4 Mean scores of obstacles to promoting EFL LA. 31 xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. Reasons of the study Nowadays, learner autonomy (LA) is widely accepted as a desirable goal in education. A common theme for LA, especially in language learning, is that autonomous learners become more highly motivated and that LA leads to better acquisition.
The importance of helping students become more autonomous in their language learning has become one of the prominent themes. The learning activities which help learners foster their authentic language use and LA are mainly autonomous language learning activities outside the classroom. Out-of-class activities can improve EFL learners‟ language acquisition (Guo, 2011) and get learners involved in self-directed, active and purposeful language use beyond a formal learning context (Benson, 2001). The more autonomous learners become in language learning, the more their language use will develop (Little, 2009).
The fact is, however, that few students make every effort to improve their English beyond the classroom. The reasons are supposed to be lack of motivation, appropriate materials and a favorable learning environment. Furthermore, the Vietnamese learning environment where English is learnt as a foreign language offers learners little exposure to English and few opportunities to use English in real contexts. Out-of-class activities can be devised to show students that they are surrounded by English if they make an effort to pay attention to the target language as it is used in their daily lives.
The context in which learning takes place makes a great contribution to the success of learning. Thus, the investigation into autonomous English learning activities and factors affecting the enhancement of EFL LA in this study may provide an overall picture of Vietnamese high school students' autonomous language learning practices outside the classroom. Purpose of the study The aim of this study is threefold. The first aim is to examine the students‟ learning activities to promote EFL LA.
The second aim is to explore motivational 1 factors influencing autonomous English learning. The third aim is to find out obstacles to promoting EFL LA. By conducting a quantitative and qualitative study of high school students, autonomous English learning activities performed by most students and motivational as well as unfavorable factors are examined in depth. It is expected that high school students will be aware of the importance of EFL LA, take full advantage of available learning resources and overcome obstacles in order to accomplish learning goals.
Research questions The research questions for this study are: 1. What EFL LA activities have Quoc Hoc High School students carried out? 2. What motivational factors influence the students‟ EFL LA? 3. What are the obstacles to promoting the students‟ EFL LA? 1.
Scope of the study This study tries to draw out how LA is perceived and practised in language learning at high school level in Hue City, Vietnam. The study looks in depth at the students‟ activities to promote their EFL LA and affecting factors. The participants of the study were limited to tenth, eleventh and twelfth graders in the context of a public high school. Organization of the study The thesis consists of five chapters.
Chapter 1 presents the rationale and purpose of the study. Research questions and scope of the study are also introduced in the first chapter. Chapter 2 reviews fundamental ideas and theories related to LA in both general education and language education. Specifically, the chapter deals with activities to promote EFL LA including self-access, computer-assisted language learning (CALL), and out-of-class learning.
The chapter then examines factors influencing EFL LA concerning learner‟s perceptions and beliefs, learner motivation and Vietnamese cultural context. A few previous related studies are also selected to be reviewed in this chapter. 2 Chapter 3 discusses the research design of the study. It starts with methodology orientation, followed by a description of participants and instruments.
It then presents the procedure for data collection and analysis. Chapter 4 provides comprehensive information collected from the three phases of the study. Data analyses and detailed discussions on the findings are presented in this chapter. Chapter 5 summarises the contributions this study has made to the field of EFL LA.
Finally, it lists the limitations of the study and gives directions for future research. 3 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter deals with the background to the current study, including definitions of LA in general and LA in language learning in particular. A review of practices of EFL LA and factors influencing autonomous English learning is also presented. The chapter ends with a discussion on relevant previous studies.
Definitions of LA LA has been defined and described in a variety of ways with different terms in literature. LA can be broadly defined as the capacity to take control over one's own learning (Benson 2005, p. Likewise, LA is the learner‟s psychological capability to take control of their own learning by making their own decisions and initiating behaviours that lead to the optimal outcomes of their learning. The notion of control over learning is the seed of autonomy (Benson, 2001, p.
LA becomes one of the key goals of a number of projects, courses, and many modes of learning. This means an autonomous learner is assumed that s/he can take control over their learning management, cognitive process, and learning content (Scharle & Szabó, 2000, p. 4) defined LA as a capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision making, and independent action. Wenden (1999) claimed that true LA refers to how students reflect on their learning and how they are able to realize when they have effective learning opportunities.
Frieire (1996) took LA as the learners‟ capacity and freedom to construct and reconstruct the taught knowledge. That is, it is the ability to create the learning situations and recreate what they have already got of the situations and the knowledge.19) regarded LA as one of the three stages of the process of learning a skill. She defines the process of learning a skill by means of a three-stage course of instruction: verbalization, automation and autonomy, and explains briefly that at the last stage, learners continue to use the skill on their own, becoming proficient and creative. 189) stated, many advocates for LA are concerned primarily with the ability to learn effectively in terms of personal goals.