VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES **************************** TRẦN THỊ THU TRANG IMPROVING STUDENTS’ INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS THROUGH GUIDED DISCUSSIONS: AN ACTION RESEARCH APPROACH WITH 11TH FORM ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT LUONG VAN TUY GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL Nâng cao nhận thức liên văn hóa của học sinh thông qua thảo luận có định hướng. Nghiên cứu hành động đối với học sinh lớp 11 chuyên Anh trường THPT chuyên Lương Văn Tụy – Ninh Bình M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hanoi, 2016 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES **************************** TRẦN THỊ THU TRANG IMPROVING STUDENTS’ INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS THROUGH GUIDED DISCUSSIONS: AN ACTION RESEARCH APPROACH WITH 11TH FORM ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT LUONG VAN TUY GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL Nâng cao nhận thức liên văn hóa của học sinh thông qua thảo luận có định hướng. Nghiên cứu hành động đối với học sinh lớp 11 chuyên Anh trường THPT chuyên Lương Văn Tụy – Ninh Bình M.
MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc. Lê Văn Canh Hanoi, 2016 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I, Trần Thị Thu Trang, hereby certify that the thesis entitled “Improving students’ intercultural awareness through guided discussion. An action research approach with 11th form English major students at Luong Van Tuy High School for Gifted students.” is submitted for the partial fulfilment of the Degree of Master of Arts at the Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies- Vietnam National University, Hanoi. I also declare that this thesis is the result of my own research and efforts and it has not been submitted for any other purposes.
Hanoi, 2016 Trần Thị Thu Trang i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my sincere and deepest gratitude to my supervisor Assoc. Le Van Canh for his unfailing support, patience and continuous help in the process of writing up this dissertation. His insightful ideas and constructive suggestions have enriched my knowledge about the research in the field of interculture and it thus broadened the scope of my project. Besides, my deep thanks and appreciation also go to all the lecturers and the staff of the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies at University of Languages and International Studies for their valuable lectures and knowledge on which my minor thesis was laid the foundation.
In addition, I am also grateful to my lovely 11th form English major students at Luong Van Tuy High School for Gifted students who were highly cooperative in my study. Last but not least, I deeply indebted to my parents, my husband and my children, my beloved brothers and sisters and many of my friends for their love and great support so that I am able to complete my study successfully. I am so convinced that without their help and spirit, I might not be able to finish this thesis and I deeply feel indebted to all of them. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT The development of intercultural understanding, awareness and practical communication skills has become the most useful in a multicultural society.
To acquire these competences, language learners need to develop intercultural awareness as a primary step. Such awareness has received less than adequate attention in Vietnam to date. In this action research, attempts are made to demonstrate how students’ intercultural awareness can be strengthened through guided discussion. The study was designed in the form of a classroom action research.
It was conducted into one cycle and the cycle consisted of six classroom sessions and involved four steps namely planning, action, observation and reflection. This study aims to improve intercultural awareness of students at Luong Van Tuy Gifted High School in Ninh Binh province, and discuss the role of intercultural awareness in the development of students’ intercultural communication and interaction skills in foreign language learning. There were four instruments used to collect the data in this study: pre-treatment and post- treatment questionnaires administered to the students, student interview and teaching diaries to measure improvement in students’ awareness towards intercultural competence. The research findings indicated that in this action research, students highly valued the role of intercultural awareness in foreign language teaching and learning in education.
A six weeks independent study action research was developed and delivered to thirty five 11th form English major students at Luong Van Tuy Gifted High School. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION………………………………………………………………………i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………….iii TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………….………………………………………iv LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………………….vii LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………viii LIST OF APPENDICES…………………………………………………………….ix PART A: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………. Aims and objectives of the study……………………………………………………2 3. Method of the study………………………………………………………………….
Scope of the study…………………………………………………. Significance of the study……………………………………. Structure of the thesis………………………………………………………….1 Definitions of intercultural awareness…………………………………………….2 The role of intercultural awareness ……………………………………………….3 Developing intercultural awareness ………………………………………………13 1.5 Previous studies……………………………………………………………………21 CHAPTER 2.1 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY………………………….1 Setting of the study……………………………………………………….2 Participants………………………………………………………………………23 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.1 Rationale for using action research method…………………….1 Conducting preliminary investigation…………………………………………30 2.2 Planning the action ……………………………………………………………30 2.3 Classroom self-observation and teaching diaries……………………………….4 TECHNIQUES OF ANALYZING DATA……………. RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION………….1 Pre-treatment questionnaire results……………………………………………….2 After action findings ……………………………………………….1 Post-treatment questionnaire results…………………………………………….2 Students’ attitudes towards effectiveness of guided discussion method….3 The interview data…………………………………………………….4 Classroom self-observation and teaching diaries…………………….
CONCLUSION AND PLAN FOR THE NEXT CYCLE………………50 4.1 Summary of main findings……………………………………….2 Limitations of the study………………………………………………….3 Plan for the next cycle……………………………………….I v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES Table 2: The timetable of the action implementation…………………………………28 Table 3.1: Students’ levels of interest in guided discussion about interculture……….2: Students’ comments on guided discussion activities………………………39 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2: The model of action research ………………………………………………. Students’ attitude towards intercultural awareness………………………. Students’ level of knowledge about intercultural communication………. Students’ levels of knowledge about interculture after action…………….38 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A.
Pre-treatment questionnaire………………………………………………I Appendix B. Post-treatment questionnaire…………………………………………. Lesson plan……………………………………………………………XIV viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Rationale Globalization and technological advancements are breaking down barriers and borders with vast implications for education in general and foreign language teaching in particular.
More than ever, our programs need to address internationalization and cross-cultural understanding. Contemporary language classes must account for features far beyond just the linguistic. They must incorporate the larger cultural fabric of which language is only a part. There is a developing consensus that it is important to include culture learning as part of language learning with a primary goal of making students aware of alternative ways of interpreting personal and social experiences (Sellami, 2000).
Furthermore, globalization has changed the goal of English language teaching from communicative competence based on the native-speakers’ norms to intercultural communicative competence. So, English language teaching now is targeted at enabling learners to become intercultural speakers or mediators who are able to engage with complexity and multiple identities and to avoid the stereotyping which accompanies perceiving someone through a single identity” (Byram et al. This implies that the aims of language teaching should include both intercultural and linguistic competences; prepare students for interaction with people of other culture(s); enable them to understand and accept people from other culture(s) who have their own perspectives, values and behaviors; and help them to see that such interaction is an inspiring, enriching, educational and new experience (Byram et al. As Stern (1983) proposes, the language learner should not only study the cultural context (language and culture) but should be made aware of the interaction between language and culture.
Therefore, intercultural awareness is required if a foreign language learner is to achieve intercultural communication competence, which is now considered the major goal of foreign language learning (Han, 2013). According to Kramsch (1998), intercultural awareness, or the “fifth skill”, is the 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ability to be aware of cultural relativity – following reading, writing, listening and speaking. In response to the demands of a globalizing world and in order to prepare future global language learners, intercultural awareness, as an indispensable element in language learning, becomes critical for a productive and successful life in the ever shifting social, cultural, economic and technological reality that defines the shrinking world of the twenty-first century. The use of the term “intercultural” reflects the view that foreign language learners have to gain insight into both their own and the foreign culture (Kramsch, 1993).
While intercultural communicative competence has become the goal of foreign language teaching and learning, the question of how teachers can develop competence for their students remains unanswered at least in the context of Vietnamese high schools. This action research entitled “Improving students’ intercultural awareness through guided discussion. An action research approach with 11th form English major students at Luong Van Tuy High School for Gifted students.” is an attempt to try out a classroom technique: guided discussion to raise students’ intercultural awareness. Aims and Objectives of the Study This action research is aimed at exploring how students’ intercultural awareness was changed as a result of guided classroom discussions.
Research questions To fulfill this aim, the following research questions were raised: To what extent do guided discussion activities change the students’ intercultural awareness? 4. Method of the Study Since the purpose of this study is to gain understanding of a new teaching strategy in developing my own students’ intercultural awareness, an action research approach is employed. The data were collected by means of: - Pre-treatment and post-treatment questionnaires administered to the students - Student interviews 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com - Teaching diaries These three research instruments are used in cycle of the action research to for pre-research, the process and the effects that the action created, and reflection on the action cycle. Scope of the Study To improve student’s intercultural awareness, EFL teachers can use varieties of techniques.
However, this study merely focused on finding out whether and to what extent guided discussion helped to raise students’ intercultural consciousness., guided discussion, was used in six classroom sessions. The action was carried out with 35 English major students of Grade 11 at Luong Van Tuy High School for Gifted students. The collected data were analyzed and discussed to figure out how to help improve 11th form students’ intercultural awareness through guided discussion. Then some solutions were proposed to improve the quality of teaching and learning culture in high school.
Significance of the Study For the teachers of English division, this study is hoped to bring them the detailed and full view on the improvement of intercultural awareness at 11th form English major students of Luong Van Tuy High School for Gifted students. As a result, through guided discussion, they can raise their intercultural competence. In addition, they are also given chance to know about interesting differences between different countries in the world which helps them improve the ability of communication and gain effective conversation. Structure of the thesis The study consists of three major parts: Part A, Introduction, presents the rationale of the study, the aims and objectives, the research questions, the method, the scope, the significance and the design of the study, and review of previous studies.
Part B, Development, includes three chapters: 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Chapter 1, Literature Review, reviews the theories on intercultural awareness; definitions of intercultural awareness; the role of intercultural awareness; developing intercultural awareness. Chapter 2, Methodology, describes the setting of the study, the participants and materials used during six sessions of the research. Moreover, this chapter shows how the researcher applied the data collection instruments and her procedure of conducting the study. Chapter 3, Data analysis and findings, the researcher used quantitative and qualitative method to study and analyze the figure and information collected.