MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ LE THI QUYNH ANH AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND USE OF SCAFFOLDING IN TEACHING ENGLISH AT SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN HUE CITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2016 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ LE THI QUYNH ANH AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND USE OF SCAFFOLDING IN TEACHING ENGLISH AT SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN HUE CITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60. Le Pham Hoai Huong HUE, 2016 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ -------- LÊ THỊ QUỲNH ANH ĐIỀU TRA VỀ NHẬN THỨC VÀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG VIỆC HỌC CÓ TRỢ GIÚP (SCAFFOLDING) CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀO VIỆC DẠY TIẾNG ANH Ở MỘT SỐ TRƢỜNG TIỂU HỌC THÀNH PHỐ HUẾ 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 HUẾ, 2016 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine. The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from associates and have not been published elsewhere. Date: 25/ 06/ 2016 Signature Le Thi Quynh Anh i ABSTRACT This research paper was implemented to explore primary teachers‘ perceptions and use of scaffolding in teaching English at some primary schools in Hue city.
In addition, it also investigated the difficulties faced by teachers when using scaffolding in teaching. Fifty English teachers from some primary schools in Hue city participated in this study. The data collected from the questionnaires, interviews and audio recordings were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings of the study revealed that most of English teachers had positive perceptions towards scaffolding.
They also shared their viewpoints about the advantages and disadvantages of scaffolding. Besides, some scaffolding strategies were conducted efficiently in English classrooms such as showing an example, using visual aids and asking questions. On the basis of the findings, some implications and suggestions are made with the hope that primary teachers will be in favor of scaffolding and use it in teaching English to young learners more effectively. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Most importantly, I owe a major debt to my supervisor, Assoc.
Le Pham Hoai Huong for her enthusiastic guidance and precious suggestions which help me fulfill this study. I would like to express my great thanks to all English teachers from Hue primary schools, who provided an important basis and stimulus to collect the needed data for the research. I am also grateful to the staff of librarians working in Hue University of Foreign Languages, who helped me assess the necessary and valuable materials for the fulfillment of the study. Moreover, my deepest love and grateful acknowledgement go to my family, my friends for their endless support, encouragement and care which help me overcome all difficulties during the time I conducted this study.
In a word, my sincere gratitude goes to all of those without whose support my study is far from being finished. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LISTS OF TABLES, FIGURES AND CHARTS.
vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .Significance of the research .Structure of the research.4 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW. Scaffolding and its theoretical concepts .Socio-cultural theory .The notion of the ZPD. Scaffolding young learners. Previous studies on scaffolding.Participants and research sites .Instruments for data collection .23 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.
Primary English teachers‘ perceptions of scaffolding. Primary English teachers‘ perceptions towards scaffolding in teaching English. Primary English teachers‘ perceptions towards socio-cultural theory. Primary English teachers‘ perceptions towards the notion of ZPD.
Primary English teachers‘ perceptions towards advantages and disadvantages of using scaffolding. Primary English teachers‘ perceptions towards scaffolding strategies. Difficulties faced by primary English teachers when using scaffolding. Primary English teachers‘ use of scaffolding .41 CHAPTER 5 IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION.
Summary of key findings. Limitations of the study. Suggestions for further research.56 APPENDICES v LISTS OF TABLES, FIGURES AND CHARTS Table 3. Summary of data collection tools.
Summary of questionnaire. The mean score of the questionnaire. The mean score of cluster 1. The mean score of cluster 1.
Summary of primary English teachers‘ responses to each item in cluster 1. The mean score of cluster 1. Summary of primary English teachers‘ responses to each item in cluster 1. The mean score of cluster 1.
Summary of primary English teachers‘ responses to each item in cluster 1. The mean score of cluster 2. The mean score of cluster 3. Zone of Proximal Development.
The interaction between the teacher/ parent and learner/ child. Primary English teachers‘ responses to advantages and disadvantages of using scaffolding. Primary English teachers‘ responses to scaffolding strategies .38 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Nowadays, English is one of the predominant languages used all over the world.
It is used as a means of international communication among the speakers of other languages in various fields such as medicine, science and technology, business, etc. Accordingly, English has achieved a special position in the world as a global language, and thus, learning English is increasingly necessary for the country development. Learning English as a second language is more and more paid attention, especially as for young learners. As Scott (2003) mentions, the importance of teaching English to young learners has been specially emphasized in recent years.
English has become a compulsory subject at most schools in the world in general and in Vietnam in particular. Therefore, it is really important and necessary to raise teaching quality of classes and the language competence of learners through real contexts, authentic materials, and to introduce the knowledge of English subject to students in easier-understanding and more creative way. In order to teach English to children well, teachers have to focus on the characteristics of young learners and their learning styles that affect the second language acquisition. According to Vygotsky (1962), children learn through social interaction.
Children construct knowledge through other people, through interaction with adults. In his theory of child development, Lev Vygotsky proposed the notion of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), a region where they acquire new skills more readily with the assistance of someone more knowledgeable than themselves (Berk 2001; Vygotsky 1962). Therefore, young children need assistance as they attempt new tasks and seek to master familiar ones. Moreover, the adult‘s role is very important in a child‘s learning process.
Teacher aids children in their efforts by scaffolding experiences, using a collection of strategies named for their resemblance to the temporary construction sites structures (Wood, Bruner, and Ross 1976). Like Vygotsky, Bruner (1983) said that children learn effectively 1 through scaffolding by adults. For him, language is the most important tool for cognitive growth, and he has investigated how adults use language to mediate the world for children and help them to solve problems (Bruner 1983, 1990). Regarding to the definition, scaffolding has been defined by Wood, Bruner, and Ross (1976) as an ―adult controlling those elements of the task that are essentially beyond the learner's capacity, thus permitting him to concentrate upon and complete only those elements that are within his range of competence.‖ Furthermore, scaffolding, in its original use (Bruner, 1975), described interactions between a parent and a child or between a tutor and a student.
The adult (parent, tutor) provided just enough support based on the progress made by the child on an ongoing basis. The notion of scaffolding is now increasingly being used to describe the prompts and hints provided in tools to support learning. Scaffolding techniques are the means by which the more knowledgeable other, a teacher, guides the learner within the learner ‘s own zone to reach a greater understanding and mastery of the task. Scaffolding strategies are an integral part of instructions in the early childhood classroom.
By employing scaffolding techniques, educators assist children in the construction of their understanding and the development of their abilities. Moreover, they can help children to achieve problem-solving and self-help skills, ushering them into greater understanding, increased mastery of tasks, and ultimately independent functioning. As educators, we need to be mindful of our implementation of these techniques, remaining attentive to feedback from the child, adjusting our teaching strategies accordingly. Actually, the notion of scaffolding has been an issue of discussion of many scholars and researchers all over the world.
However, there has been little research on this topic in Vietnam. Thus, the researcher would like to conduct this thesis paper in order to examine several scaffolding strategies commonly used with young children, and how English primary teachers use these techniques to help children develop in their language growth entitled ―AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHERS‘ PERCEPTIONS AND USE OF SCAFFOLDING IN TEACHING ENGLISH AT SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN HUE CITY‖ 2 1. Research aims This study firstly attempts to investigate teachers‘ perceptions of the use of scaffolding in teaching English to young learners. Next, the aim of this study is to find out the reality of scaffolding used by teachers in teaching English, as well as to explore the difficulties that teachers meet when they use scaffolding in some primary classrooms in Hue city.
Finally, the researcher suggests some useful strategies to help teachers give instructional scaffolding effectively. Research questions The research is aimed at solving these following questions: 1.What are English teachers‘ perceptions of the use of scaffolding in primary English classrooms? 2.How is scaffolding used by teachers in teaching English to young learners? 3.What are difficulties faced by teachers when using scaffolding in teaching English to young learners? 1. Significance of the research Theoretically, the study is expected to contribute to the literature review on scaffolding and its features for further research. Practically, the findings of this research help English teachers to extend their understanding and raise their awareness of the important role of scaffolding used in teaching English to children.
In addition, the research hopes to provide some suggestions on how scaffolding is used by primary school teachers in class. Personally, by doing this research, the research can also develop knowledge, adopt and adapt innovative techniques in teaching English to young learners. Research scope With the sole purpose of investigating the perceptions of English primary school teachers about scaffolding and how scaffolding is used in some classrooms, the study focuses on explore the difficulties faced by teachers in the reality of teaching. Therefore, the data for this research are collected from English teachers at some primary schools in Hue city.
Structure of the research This thesis consists of five chapters with the structure as follows: Chapter 1: Introduction – Deals with the background and the rationale for the research, the aims, the research questions, the scope, as well as the significance and the structure of the thesis. Chapter 2: Literature Review – Reviews materials related to the field of the study, including key definitions and concepts relating to this study and presents previous research projects conducted by different scholars. Chapter 3: Research Methodology – Provides description of the basic research methods, participants in the study, produces of the research and data collection. Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion – Reports the findings and detailed discussions of the findings from the investigation.
Chapter 5: Conclusion- Summarizes the result of the study and offers some suggestions for enhancing usage of scaffolding by teachers in some primary classrooms. 4 CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 2. Introduction This chapter begins with the theoretical concepts of scaffolding including Vygotsky‘s socio-cultural theory and his notion of Zone of Proximal Development (hereafter ZPD). The following part focuses on the definitions of scaffolding as well as some scaffolding features and strategies used by teachers when teaching English to children.