MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES LE THANH LOAN ------------ LE THANH LOAN * LE THAN MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE USE OF VIETNAMESE TO GIVE INSTRUCTIONS IN ENGLISH CLASSES AT COLLEGE OF URBAN WORKS CONSTRUCTION MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING * HUE – 2014 HUE, 2014 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ LE THANH LOAN LE THANH LOAN AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE USE OF VIETNAMESE TO GIVE INSTRUCTIONS IN ENGLISH CLASSES AT COLLEGE OF URBAN WORKS CONSTRUCTION MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.11 SUPERVISOR: LE PHAM HOAI HUONG (ASSOC.DR) M HOAI HUONG (ASSOC.DR) HUE, 2014 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ -------- LÊ THANH LOAN LÊ THANH LOAN ĐIỀU TRA VỀ NHẬN THỨC CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀ SINH VIÊN ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TIẾNG VIỆT CHO CHỈ DẪN TRONG CÁC LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH Ở TRƢỜNG CAO ĐẲNG XÂY DỰNG CÔNG TRÌNH ĐÔ THỊ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƢƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.11 NGƢỜI HƢỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: PGS.TS LÊ PHẠM HOÀI HƢƠNG PGS.TS LÊ PHẠM HOÀI HƢƠNG HUẾ, 2014 ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine. The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true and have not been published elsewhere. Author Le Thanh Loan iii ABSTRACT This study mainly focuses on investigating teachers and students‟ perceptions of the use of Vietnamese to give instructions in English classes at College of Urban Works Construction. Especially, this study attempts to investigate the reality of using Vietnamese to give instructions in the English classes.
In addition, this research finds out the possible solutions of using the mother tongue to give instructions effectively to improve the English learning and teaching process. The study uses both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. The data collection instruments include questionnaires, interviews and class observation. The subjects participated in this study consist of 11 teachers and 90 students at College of Urban Works Construction.
The findings indicate that the teachers and students express their negative viewpoints on the necessity, preference and importance of the use of the mother tongue to give instructions. They emphasize the disadvantages of the mother tongue instructions more than support the use of it. The findings, however, reveal that in English classes, the teachers sometimes used the mother tongue to give instructions for games, exercises and classroom activities. Some solutions for effective use of the mother tongue to give instructions suggested by the teachers and students are given in this study.
On the basis of the findings, some pedagogical implications for EFL teaching with regards to giving instructions with the help of the mother tongue as well as the suggestions for further research are provided. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Hearty thanks are firstly given to my supervisor, Assoc. Le Pham Hoai Huong for her whole-hearted guidance, valuable comments and sincere encouragement since the very beginning, without which my research is far from being complete. I am grateful particularly to teachers and the students at College of Urban Works Construction, who carefully complete the questionnaires and sincerely provided me with valuable information for this research in the interviews.
I am also thankful to the teachers who gave me opportunities to observe their classes. Moreover, I would like to thank all my close friends who helped me to collect relevant materials and gave me support as well as advice. Finally, I wish to extend my thanks to all members in my family, especially my parents, who gave me a lot of love and precious encouragements during the time I conducted the study. v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT : Communicative language teaching CS : Code switching EFL : English as a Foreign Language L1 : The first language L2 : The second language TL : Target language vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages SUB COVER PAGE i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP.
v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS. vii LIST OF TABLES. x LIST OF FIGURES.
xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. Scope of the study. Structure of the thesis. 4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.
Definitions of key terms. Giving instructions in foreign language classrooms. The pedagogical use of L1 in EFL classes. How to use L1 in EFL classes.
Advantages of L1 instructions. Disadvantages of L1 instructions. In other countries. Gaps in the literature.
The English program at Urban Works Construction College. Data collection Instruments. 32 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions of the use of Vietnamese to give instructions.
Teachers‟ perceptions of the necessity of Vietnamese use to give instructions. Teachers‟ and students‟ preference for language used to give instructions in classroom. Teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions of the importance of Vietnamese use to give instructions. Teachers‟ and students‟ view on the advantages of the use of Vietnamese to give instructions.
Teachers‟ and students‟ view on the disadvantages of the use of Vietnamese to give instructions. Teachers‟ use of the mother tongue to give instructions. The solutions of using Vietnamese to give instructions effectively. 56 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES.
Summary of the Key Findings. Limitations of the Study. Suggestions for Further Research. 69 ix LIST OF TABLES Pages Table 4.1: Reasons Why Teachers Should Not Use the Mother Tongue in the EFL Classes .2: Students‟ Preference for Vietnamese Used by Teachers to Give Instructions 41 x LIST OF FIGURES Pages Figure 4.1: Teachers and the Use of the Mother Tongue .2: Teachers‟ Preference for Language Used to Give Instructionsin Classroom 39 Figure 4.3: Students‟ Preference for Language Used to Give Instructions in Classroom 40 Figure 4.4: Teachers‟ Perceptions of the Importance of Vietnamese Use in Giving Instructions .5: Students‟ Perceptions of the Importance of Vietnamese Use in Giving Instructions .6: Teachers‟ View on the Advantages of Using the Mother Tongue to Give Instructions .7: The Disadvantages of Using the Mother Tongue to Give Instructions .8: Frequency of the Use of the Mother Tongue by Teachers to Give Instructions.
51 xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale In the recent years, with the importance of English in the world today and the development of the demand of using English to communicate successfully, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) method is given priority to use by the English teachers because CLT “assist learners to develop greater competence in the use of English for communication” (Pham, 2005, p. In Vietnam, English teachers “recognize that traditional pedagogy, emphasizing the acquisition of grammar and vocabulary rather than communicative competence” is not beneficial any more. Therefore, since the early 1990s, CLT has become popular in Vietnam (Pham, 2005, p.
With this tendency, it seems that English teachers in our country avoid using the mother tongue in English classes; the only use of English in EFL classrooms is supported: In accordance with the popularity of CLT in the country, it seems that the use of English in EFL classrooms is widely supported. However, in reality, the phenomenon that teachers use Vietnamese in the process of teaching English is quite common in Vietnam (Nguyen, 2006). The use of learners‟ first language in foreign language classrooms has been a controversial topic among language teachers and researchers not only in Viet Nam but also in many other countries all over the world. There have been many controversies about the use of L1 in the L2 teaching and many studies about the role of L1 in L2 classrooms.279) shows, “the role of L1 in L2 teaching” is “one of the most long-standing controversies in the history of language pedagogy.” And according to Mahmoudi (2011, p.135), “The use of the students‟ native language in foreign language classes has always been a matter of “to be or not to be”.
There have been opinions approving the use of L1 in the teaching of a second language claim that L1 should be used when teaching L2 to facilitate students‟ learning. In other words, some opinions state “L1 is a source of errors in learners‟ L2 performance.”(Krashen, 1986, cited in Brown, 2000, p.280), therefore, L1 should be avoided using in second language classes by foreign language teachers. 1 In Vietnam, although there have been many changes in English teaching methods, Vietnamese is still used in EFL classes by both teachers and students. This has led to many debates on the use of Vietnamese in English classes such as: whether the use of Vietnamese is right or wrong, whether the use of mother tongue is an assistance or interference, whether we can avoid using Vietnamese in English classes or not? Or how can we use Vietnamese in teaching English effectively? etc.
As most of other English teachers in Vietnam, English teachers at College of Urban Works Construction use the mother tongue in EFL classes. Especially, at College of Urban Works Construction, students are non-English major, they learn English as a compulsory school subject and students at this college are almost not good at English proficiency, so the use of Vietnamese in English teaching is unavoidable. In other words, Vietnamese use seems to be a teaching tool in teaching English.148) points out, the use of L1 in English classrooms brings many benefits, it “can assist in making the classroom a more comprehensible place and help lower affective filters” when used in some roles. The first role is “to allay a possible perceived threat posed by the L2 to the cultural identity of the students”.
The second role is to “provide administrative/managerial knowledge - knowledge of school and classroom policies (i. classroom management) and for discipline enforcement”. The use of L1 can “allow the teacher to conduct comprehension checks” is mentioned as another function. Furthermore, L1 using “allows students to request clarification from the teacher regarding a specific issue (i.
grammar, instructions for an activity)”. Besides, it “provide schematic and contextual/situational knowledge-students‟ can draw upon their background knowledge of: facts, physical settings, situations and the culture of the foreign/second language”. Another function is to “allow students to attain greater fluency and make learning meaningful by allowing them to engage in code- switching, especially when engaging in story telling techniques”. Finally, L1 can be used to “contrast/raise consciousness of similarities or differences between the students L1 and the L2”.
English teachers at College of Urban Works Construction 2 use Vietnamese for many different functions such as: using the L1 for classroom management, for comprehension checks, for explanations for difficult grammar points, for giving instructions, for giving feedback, for teaching new words, etc. This study investigates the use of Vietnamese to give instructions in English classes at College of Urban Works Construction. To explore how the English teachers and students at this college perceive of the use of the mother tongue to give instructions in English language teaching, the study was carried out with the title: “An investigation into teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the use of Vietnamese to give instructions in English classes at College of Urban Works Construction”. Aims This study aims to seek the perceptions of the teachers and students at College of Urban Works Construction of the use of Vietnamese to give instructions in English classes.