MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING LAC HONG UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI TRANG A STUDY ON LEARNING STYLES OF EFL LEARNERS IN CLT METHOD: THE CASE OF PEOPLE'S POLICE COLLEGE II MASTER GRADUATION PROJECT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE DONG NAI, 2024 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING LAC HONG UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI TRANG A STUDY ON LEARNING STYLES OF EFL LEARNERS IN CLT METHOD: THE CASE OF PEOPLE'S POLICE COLLEGE II MASTER GRADUATION PROJECT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAJOR: ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAJOR CODE: 8220201 INSTRUCTORS 1. Ly Ngoc Toan, Ph. Nguyen Thi Chau Anh, Ph. D DONG NAI, 2024 i TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS.
vi THE RECOGNIZANCE FOR NON-PLAGIARISM. vii LIST OF TABLES. 2 Scope of the Study. 2 Organization of the Project.
3 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW. Concepts of Reid's Theory. Characteristics of Reid's Theory. Concepts of Gardner’s Theory.
Characteristics of Gardner's Theory. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). Concepts of Communicative Language Teaching. Teacher’s and Students’ Roles.
Adoping Reid's Theory. Adoping Gardner's Theory. Participants and Samples. 25 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.
Student Survey Results. Overview of the Research Sample. Identify Student’ Learning Styles. Identify your student's preferred learning style.
Learning Listening Skills. Learning Speaking Skills. Learning Reading Comprehension Skills. Learning Writing Skills.
Identify the type of Intelligence. Logical mathematical Intelligence. Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence. Results of English learning after applying the CLT method.
Teacher Survey Results. Overview of the Research Sample. Identify Students' Learning Styles. Identify your student’s preferred Learning Style.
Learning Listening Skills. Learning Speaking Skills. Learning Reading Comprehension Skills. Learning Writing Skills.
Identify the type of Intelligence. Logical Mathematical Intelligence. Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence. Results of English teaching after applying the CLT method.
91 Recommendations for further research. 91 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the esteemed faculty of Lac Hong University for their tireless efforts in imparting invaluable knowledge and experience in English language major. Their enthusiastic guidance has equipped me with the essential building blocks to undertake this graduate project. In particular, I am profoundly indebted to my supervisors, Ly Ngoc Toan, Ph.D and Nguyen Thi Chau Anh, Ph.D for their constant support and invaluable advice throughout my project.
Despite their busy schedules, they have always made time to provide me with insightful feedback and correction of errors, enabling me to refine my work. I am truly grateful for their unwavering dedication. Besides this, I extend my sincere thanks to the Director of the Foreign Languages and Informatics Faculty at People's Police College II. He kindly permitted me to select the student participants that were imperative for this experimental study, for which I am extremely appreciative.
Furthermore, I sincerely thank the 300 students from People's Police College II who voluntarily participated in this study. Their contributions were fundamental to the completion of this research, and I greatly value the time they devoted to partaking in this project. This acknowledgement sincerely encapsulates my utmost gratitude to all those who supported the undertaking and fulfillment of this research endeavor. Their assistance facilitated the comprehensive development and fruition of this project.
I could not have completed this work without the guidance, expertise, time, and effort extended to me by my supervisor, colleagues, students, and institution. Last but certainly not least, despite best efforts, I humbly acknowledge imperfections remain due to limited time and ability. However, I earnestly welcome constructive critiques to improve this work. It has been an honor to learn from distinguished scholars, and I hope this research contributes to the esteemed institution's prestigious legacy.
Dong Nai, January, 2024 Author Nguyen Thi Trang vi ABSTRACT This project aims to investigate the learning styles of English learners utilizing the Communicative Language Teaching (henceforth CLT) method at People's Police College II, and propose teaching approaches tailored to students' preferred learning styles. The theoretical framework draws on theories of learning styles and multiple intelligences proposed by education scholars such as Reid and Howard Gardner. The research employs a quantitative survey methodology, with 300 students across 13 classes of the K03S course surveyed, including 06 classes of Police Officer of Administrative Management on Social Order (QLHC1, QLHC2, QLHC3, QLHC4, QLHC5, QLHC6) and 07 classes of Police Reconnaissance (TSCS1, TSCS2, TSCS3, TSCS4, TSCS5, TSCS6, TSCS7). Additionally, 07 teachers who are teaching these 300 students in English classes participated.
The questionnaire focuses on five key areas: i) respondent demographics; ii) identification of student learning styles; iii) preferred learning styles; iv) student intelligence types; and v) English learning outcomes before and after CLT implementation. Descriptive statistics and frequency statistics provide the primary analytical methods. The findings reveal students prefer visual learning styles for vocabulary, kinesthetic for grammar and speaking, auditory for listening, and individual styles for reading comprehension and writing. All 07 teachers and 300 students surveyed indicate the CLT method positively impacted learning outcomes.
The project recommends teaching approaches tailored to preferred learning styles, including: visual aids for vocabulary, role-playing for speaking and grammar, native speaker recordings for listening, and a blend of individual and group exercises for reading and writing. Project limitations include a small sample size from a single institution. Further multi-institutional research across various academic settings with larger sample sizes could strengthen the generalizability of the findings and teaching recommendations. vii THE RECOGNIZANCE FOR NON-PLAGIARISM I, Nguyen Thi Trang, do hereby certify that this graduation project titled “A Study on learning styles of EFL learners in CLT method: The case of People's Police College II” is my own original work that I independently researched and authored.
All data, analysis, findings, conclusions, and other content presented in this thesis are based solely on my own academic research and have not been used for any other thesis, dissertation, publication, or degree qualification of the same level previously. This is to guarantee that the entirety of this thesis represents my own scholarship and ideas, conducted ethically and transparently. I take full accountability for the originality and authenticity of the knowledge produced and shared through this academic work. This guarantee is made in good faith on the date of submission.
Dong Nai, January, 2024 Author Nguyen Thi Trang viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Proposed Research Model. Comparing CLT use in two stages. Results of English teaching after applying the CLT method. 87 ix LIST OF TABLES Table 1.
Eight types of Human Intelligence. Teacher's and Student's Roles. Sampling rate of Students. Sampling rate of Teachers.
The questionnaire for Students. The questionnaire for Teachers. Data description for Students. Data Description for Teachers.
Genders in the Survey. Descriptive statistics on determining students' learning styles. Descriptive statistics on students' preferred learning styles. Learning Listening Skills.
Learning Speaking Skills. Learning Reading Comprehension Skills. Learning Writing Skills. Logical mathematical Intelligence 1.
Logical mathematical Intelligence 2. Logical mathematical Intelligence 3. Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence 1. Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence 2.
Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence 3. Gender of teachers. Age of teachers. Statistics Describing Students' Learning Styles.
Learning Listening Skills. Learning Speaking Skills. Learning Reading Comprehension Skills. Learning Writing Skills.
Logical Mathematical Intelligence 1. Logical Mathematical Intelligence 2. Logical mathematical Intelligence 3. Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence 1.
Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence 2. Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence 3. 86 1 INTRODUCTION Rationale Background of English Learning in Vietnam With increased global integration, English skills are vital for Vietnamese students' academic and career success. The government has declared improving English proficiency a national priority through policies like the National Foreign Languages Project 2020 and curriculum reform to prioritize communicative English (Le, 2013).
English is compulsory from grade 3 and a core exam subject. There are over 14,000 language centers across Vietnam serving an estimated 8 million learners (British Council, 2022). However, English teaching faces challenges like limited class time, large classes of 40-60 students, scarce authentic practice opportunities, and exam focus on grammar over communication skills (Le, 2011). Limitations of Current Research and Gaps While learning styles and CLT are studied worldwide and in Vietnam, their relationship is under-investigated, usually in isolation.
There is need for research merging these domains to maximize learner-centered education given resource constraints (Tomlinson, 2012). Key gaps include how Vietnamese EFL learners' styles align with common models, what tendencies emerge with CLT instruction, how to combine CLT and learning styles synergistically, and what adaptations are needed for optimal Vietnamese EFL education. Rationale for Project The rationale for this study stems from practical observations about the challenges posed by diverse learning styles and the need to enhance language teaching methods. By recognizing that students have different learning preferences, tailoring instruction accordingly could yield improved educational outcomes.
A firm belief exists that adapting the Communicative Language Teaching approach to align with the predominant learning styles of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students at People's Police College II is crucial. This customization may optimize language acquisition and achievement levels, addressing an observed problem through a student-centered, empirically-grounded approach. 2 Research Objectives - Theoretical purpose: To investigate the relationship between learning styles and CLT methodology in the Vietnamese EFL classroom context. - Practical purpose: To inform adaptations of learner-centered teaching methods, materials and activities that effectively combine CLT principles with Vietnamese EFL students' learning style tendencies.
Scope of the Study - Theoretical scope: Focuses on theories of English learners' learning styles aligned with CLT method. - Methodological scope: Employs quantitative methods to identify preferred learning styles and their influence on learning outcomes. - Participant scope: 300 students studying English via CLT at People's Police College II in academic year 2022 – 2023 and 07 teachers who are teaching these students. - Instrument scope: Uses quantitative, qualitative methods and measurement tools to collect data on students' learning styles.
Research Questions (1) What learning styles are preferred in CLT method by students? (2) How are learning styles adopted effectively to enhance students in People's Police College II? Organization of the Project Introduction This section states the necessity of the project topic and the general and specific goals for conducting the research, questions that need to be clarified in the research, and the research scope of the topic. 3 Chapter 1: Literature review Chapter 1 reviews relevant learning style theories and prior research. It conceptualizes a research model integrating Reid's and Gardner's frameworks with CLT method. Chapter 2: Methodology Chapter 2 details the mixed quantitative-qualitative methodology.
Quantitative analysis will identify learning styles and multiple intelligences. Qualitative data provides additional insights. Chapter 3: Findings and Discussions Chapter 3 will present findings and discussions from the statistical analysis. It will outline the sample's characteristics, dominant learning styles, multiple intelligence strengths, and English proficiency improvements with CLT method.
Summary This chapter has established the rationale and framework for a study investigating the relationship between learning styles and CLT method for English education in Vietnam. It outlined relevant background research showing improved outcomes when teaching considers learning styles, and principles of CLT aligning with learner- centeredness. However, applying CLT fully has proved challenging, and little research combines CLT with learning styles, representing a key gap this study aims to address. Research objectives were defined as examining links between learning styles and CLT in English classrooms at People's Police College II, and recommending adapted teaching methods accordingly.
The scope and methodology involve quantitative analysis of 300 students' learning styles under CLT instruction at People's Police College II. Two research questions were presented focused on preferred students’ learning styles in CLT, and identify the relationship between learning styles and CLT methodology in the Vietnamese EFL classroom context, and effective adaptations for the context. 4 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1. Theoretical Background The study of learning styles has a long history in educational psychology and language acquisition research.