HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES --------------- TRAN THI THANH THANH LANGUAGE TRANSFER IN NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ SPEAKING PERFORMANCE AT HUE UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University THUA THIEN HUE, 2021 HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES --------------- TRAN THI THANH THANH LANGUAGE TRANSFER IN NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ SPEAKING PERFORMANCE AT HUE UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 8140111 SUPERVISOR: PHAN THI THANH THAO, PhD. THUA THIEN HUE, 2021 ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ --------------- TRẦN THỊ THANH THANH CHUYỂN NGÔN NGỮ TRONG PHẦN TRÌNH BÀY NÓI CỦA SINH VIÊN NGOẠI NGỮ KHÔNG CHUYÊN TẠI ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 8140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. PHAN THỊ THANH THẢO THỪA THIÊN HUẾ, 2021 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree in any university. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Signed: Date:.
i ABSTRACT Based on the common reality of transferring word by word from Vietnamese to English of many B1 students in speaking skills, this research was carried out to analyze the cases of language transfer in speaking performance of B1 students in more details and grouped them into different categories. This research also aimed to explore their perceptions of language transfer. The participants of this research were 83 non-English major students of B1 level at Hue University. Both the qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed in this investigation and two main instruments were language transfer cases analysis and interview.
The language transfer cases were taken from the recordings of 83 students. Besides, 6 students also participated into some interviews. The findings showed that 65% of the students transferred negatively from L1 to L2 in their speaking performance, which proved that this is a common phenomenon among B1 students. In addition, there were 158 cases of language transfer detected in students’ speaking performances and they were categorized into 3 main linguistic aspects namely Syntax, Lexis and Discourse.
Among them, students found Syntax the most problematic. Preposition and to be were the two subcategories that witnessed the highest frequency of language transfer cases. The analysis of the detected language transfer cases demonstrated the contrasts and differences in many aspects between English and Vietnamese. Through the interview, it could be found that students were unaware of their negative transfer, there are 5 reasons why they transferred and they acknowledged both the benefits and drawbacks of language transfer.
Lastly, there were some pedagogical implications to enhance the quality of speaking performance such as focusing more on English syntax, especially preposition and to be; involving in more class activities related to language transfer; following the contrastive tables with negative language transfer cases established by the teachers. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my instructor, Ph.D Phan Thi Thanh Thao for all of her sincere comments as well as her significant suggestions and her constant encouragement during my process of conducting this research I am also indebted to all teachers who have devotedly taught me during my Master courses at University of Foreign Language, Hue University. I would also like to say thank you to all of the students of two B1 classes at Hue University, who contribute greatly to the accomplishment of this dissertation. I also take this opportunity to thank all of my friends for their valuable sources of information through discussions, which helped me overcome the obstacles throughout the learning process.
Finally, my warmest and special thanks go to my parents and all other members of my dear family, who have always given encouraging words as spiritual supports. iii LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1 Language transfer in linguistic category classification .1 To be with adjectives or adjective phrases .2 To be with prepositional phrases .1 Indefinite article “a/an” .2 Definite article “the” .1 Use present tense for simple past tense .2 Use present tense for present perfect tense .1 The order of adjective and noun .2 The order of noun and noun .7 Subject-Verb agreement .9 Declarative clause formation .2 Plural form of noun .7 Language transfer cases related to discourse. 103 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 The percentage of students with and without transfer .2 The frequency of transfer cases in 3 linguistic aspects. 37 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CEFR : Common European Framework of Reference L1 : First Language L2 : Second Language SLA : Second Language Acquisition ESL : English as a Second Language EFL : English as a Foreign Language CLT : Communicative Language Teaching vi TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP.
iii LIST OF TABLES. iv LIST OF FIGURES. v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS.
vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .1 Background of the study .2 Rationale of the study .5 Organization of the study .6 Scope of the study. 6 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .1 Definition of language transfer and its development in history .2 Types of language transfer .3 Linguistic aspects related to language transfer .4 Factors influencing language transfer .3 English speaking skills .1 Definition and importance of English speaking skills .2 Language teaching theories related to CLT .3 The role of speaking performance assessment .4 English speaking skills for non-English major students .4 Definition of perception .5 Previous studies on language transfer in English speaking skills .1 Language transfer cases analysis. 34 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .2 The percentage of students with and without transfer .3 The frequency of transfer cases in 3 linguistic aspects .4 Language transfer in linguistic category classification .5 Language transfer cases related to syntax .1 To be with adjectives or adjective phrases .2 To be with prepositional phrases .1 Indefinite article “a/an” .2 Definite article “The” .1 Using present tense for simple past tense .2 Using present tense for present perfect tense .1 The order of adjective and noun .2 The order of noun and noun.7 Subject-Verb agreement .9 Declarative clause formation .6 Language transfer cases related to lexis .2 Plural form of noun .7 Language transfer cases related to discourse .8 Students’ perceptions about language transfer .1 Self-awareness of language transfer .2 Reasons for language transfer .3 Benefits and drawbacks of language transfer. 62 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION.2 Summary of key findings .3 Implications of the research .4 Limitations of the studies .5 Suggestions for further studies.
77 ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study In the study of Ngo (2001), he pointed out the differences and contrasts between Vietnamese and English languages in many linguistic aspects, which led to difficulties that Vietnamese students have to encounter while learning English. It is the dissimilarities in the use of grammar and vocabulary between the two languages that have triggered the phenomenon of language transfer among Vietnamese students in two productive skills namely writing skills and speaking skills. For example, Ngo (2001) indicated that Vietnamese has a number of tense markers (đã, đang, sẽ) unlike English in which each verb in a sentence must have a tense form (past, present or future). In Vietnamese, a tense marker is usually left out if there is a time expression in a sentence or if the tense is clear in the context.
In those cases, a sentence with a tense marker may sound unnatural and should be omitted. This difference in verb tense can make a Vietnamese student convey the meaning of the sentence: “Hôm qua, tôi đi đến trường bằng xe đạp” by saying “Yesterday, I go to school by bicycle” instead of “Yesterday, I went to school by bicycle”. Whereas this grammatically incorrect English sentence is still understandable by the native speakers, there are other forms of transferring from Vietnamese that the hearers can find it impossible to interpret. For instance, to convey the meaning of the sentence: “Tôi thích chụp ảnh bởi vì tôi ăn ảnh”, a student might say: “I like taking photos because I eat photos” instead of “I like taking photos because I’m photogenic”.
If the foreigners listen to that utterance, they truly cannot figure out what that student says. They might find this saying ridiculous and bizarre, which causes hindrance or interruption in the communicating process. The examples mentioned above are only several typical ones among thousands of cases of transferring from Vietnamese into English among 1 students. As a result, we have an aspiration to find out more about other forms of language transfer from students’ English speaking performances in order to help students be more aware of their acts of transferring and reduce them to the minimum.
We also would like to group those forms into different categories and have appropriate recommendations.2 Rationale of the study To further the acquisition of the English language from high schools, many tertiary institutions in Vietnam continue to bring English into the curriculum as a core subject over the last decades. There are a number of changes in the way of teaching and assessing the English competence of students over the time but in recent years, CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages established by the Council of Europe, has been chosen to apply for the educational system in Vietnam. According to Ngo (2017), “the CEFR was first brought to public attention by Vietnamese Prime Minister’s Decree 1400 which outlines the major strategies and goals of the foreign language sector in the national education system from 2008 to 2020. Pursuant with this document, the European framework is designated as the basis for developing foreign language curricula, textbooks, teaching plans and assessment criteria at all levels of education to ensure their continuity (Vietnamese Government, 2008, p.
There are six levels within the CEFR (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2) and Department of English for Specific Purposes at Hue University of Foreign Languages is responsible for teaching three levels (A1, A2 and B1) for students from different member universities of Hue University. In each level, students have to attend 10 sessions and take the end-of-course examination. The format of the end-of-term test is not completely similar to the tests of CEFR but it is adjusted to be suitable for students at Hue University. As a requirement to get the Bachelor’s 2 degree, non-English major students at Hue University have to pass B1 test.
This proves the importance of getting English competence when studying at Hue University. However, a reality related to language transfer in speaking performance of non-English major students has urged us to implement this study. Currently, teaching English is undergoing a profound reform and English teachers and learners are paying much attention to different aspects of speaking skill. It is one of the four crucial skills in English language acquisition and in the assessment of English language competence.
It is called a productive skill and it requires a lot of comprehensive knowledge of English to produce an appropriate oral performance. It also takes a substantial amount of time to become a competent speaker. In fact, when speaking, a lot of university students find it hard to control their speech, especially forming the sentences with correct English grammar. Therefore, they tend to combine word by word based on their habits of using structures and words in their mother tongue.