VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** KHUẤT MAI AN THE USE OF QUESTIONS BY NATIVE AND NON-NATIVE EFL TEACHERS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FUNCTIONS VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CÂU HỎI BỞI CÁC GIÁO VIÊN BẢN NGỮ VÀ GIÁO VIÊN DẠY TIẾNG ANH NHƯ MỘT NGOẠI NGỮ: MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU SO SÁNH VỀ CHỨC NĂNG M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hà Nội- 2015 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** KHUẤT MAI AN THE USE OF QUESTIONS BY NATIVE AND NON-NATIVE EFL TEACHERS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF FUNCTIONS VIỆC SỬ DỤNG CÂU HỎI BỞI CÁC GIÁO VIÊN BẢN NGỮ VÀ GIÁO VIÊN DẠY TIẾNG ANH NHƯ MỘT NGOẠI NGỮ: MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU SO SÁNH VỀ CHỨC NĂNG M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60140111 Supervisor: Dr. Trần Hoài Phương Hà Nội- 2015 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY OF STUDY PROJECT REPORT I certify my authority of the Study Project Report entitled The use of questions by native and non-native EFL teachers: a comparative analysis of functions To total fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Khuất Mai An 2015 i TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest thanks to Dr. Tran Hoai Phuong for her assistance, encouragement as well as her guidance she gave me while I was doing my research. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all my lecturers at the Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi whose academic program and support have enabled me to pursue the course.
I would also like to express my thanks to the teachers at Popodoo school who helped me in providing the materials, taking an active part in interviews and making constructive comments. I am also thankful to my students in classes Dopapa 2 and Popodoo 3 at Popodoo school for their whole-heated participation in the study. Last but not least, I owe my sincere thanks to my father, my younger brothers, my husband and my kind-hearted friend – Ms Do An, who have always inspired and encouraged me to complete this study. ii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com ABSTRACT A number of young Vietnamese students take extra English lessons at cram schools where classes are taught in English by native speakers of English; however, not much has been studied in such settings in previous literature.
The research in this minor thesis was carried out to compare and contrast types of question functions which four teachers used to teach two classes of EFL students in a private language school during lessons. The variables include the language backgrounds of the teachers, i., NS teachers and NNS teachers, and the proficiency levels of the students, i., high- and low-proficiency (level D and level B). By recording twenty audio lessons, observing two classes and interviewing NS and NNS teachers, eight types of question functions used by teachers were analyzed and compared in terms of the teacher‟s language background and the students‟ proficiency levels. The study found that the class level and the teacher‟s language background, influenced how the teachers formed questions.
The teachers of high-level students (level D) used more communicative question types, while the teachers with low-level students (level B) preferred instructional questions. In addition, it was found that using the target language as the sole medium in the classroom did not guarantee a communicative learning environment. When instructional questions dominated the classroom discourse, the students became passive in the interaction. The study suggests that both NS teachers and NNS teachers should monitor the functions and effects of their questioning skills so as to facilitate genuine interaction, even with low- level EFL learners.
The thesis consists of three parts. The first part is an introduction to the thesis. The review of related literature, methodology used in the research study and the findings are all presented in the second part. The final part is the pedagogical implications and conclusion of the study, which concurrently concluding remarks and suggests some solutions for teachers.
Moreover, the limitations of the thesis are pointed out and the areas for further study are put forward in the final part. It is hoped that this thesis will be useful for teachers at Popodoo school in their teaching. iii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY OF STUDY PROJECT REPORT. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS.
iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. vi LIST OF EXCERPTS. vi LIST OF FIGURES. vii LIST OF TABLES.
vii PART A: INTRODUCTION. The aim of the study. Significance of the study. Scope of the study.
Organization of the study. 7 Chapter 1: Literature review. Native and non- native teachers of English and classroom interaction. Teacher talk and questions.
Studies about EFL teachers‟ and students‟ questioning. The aim and research questions. Background of the research site. Materials and teaching approaches.
23 iv TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail. Coding procedures and reliability. 27 PART C: PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION. Limitations and suggestions for further research.
Limitations of the study. Suggestions for further research .I v TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS o Class-H: _______High-level class o Class- L: _______Low-level class o EFL: __________English as a Foreign Language o NNS: __________Non-native speaking teacher o NS: ___________Native speaking teacher o I-R-F: _________Initiating-responding-feedback o T: ____________Teacher o S: _____________Student o Ss: ____________Students o L1: ___________First language LIST OF EXCERPTS Excerpt 1: Ms Elena-NS (L_voice5). 16 Excerpt 2: Ms Kathy- NNS (L_voice4). 30 Excerpt 3: Ms Elena – NS (H_voice3).
31 Excerpt 4: Ms Nancy- NNS (H_voice6). Error! Bookmark not defined. Excerpt 5: Ms Elena-NS ( H_voice10). Error! Bookmark not defined.
vi TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Communicative levels of the eight question functions. 18 Figure 2: The percentage use of the four teachers‟ question vs. non-question discourses.
28 Figure 3: The four teachers‟ percentage use of the eight question functions. 29 Figure 4: The distribution of the four teachers‟ instructional vs. 30 Figure 5: The percentage use of question functions between the NNS teachers and NS teachers. 32 Figure 6: The percentage use of question functions between the Class-L and Class-H teachers.
34 Figure 7: Class-H‟s percentage use of question functions with NNS-H and NS-H. Error! Bookmark not defined. LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The Raw Numbers and Percentage Question Use of the Two Classes with the Four Teachers. Error! Bookmark not defined.
vii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION The rationale, the aim of the study, the research questions, the significance and the scope of the study as well as organization of the study are all dealt with in this part. Rationale Nowadays, learning at least a foreign language is necessary in human‟s life: “Language is arguably the defining characteristic of the human species and knowledge of language in general, as well as ability to use one‟s first and, at least one other language, should be one of the defining characteristics of the educated individual” (Nunan, 1999: 71). The world has become smaller. It is said it has turned into the size of the so-called “global village”.
We are living in the time of immense technological inventions where communication among people has expanded way beyond their local speech communities (Ellis, 1997: 3). Today receiving education, language education not excepting, is not an issue connected exclusively with schools; the time requires everyone to learn throughout their lifetimes. Therefore, learning a second language has become a means of keeping up with the pace of the rapidly changing world. English language has gained its significance among a number of foreign languages such as French, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, etc on the world.
English is the official language in fifty three countries as well as in all the major international organizations, including the United Nations, the European Union and the International Olympic Committee. It is the most used language on the Internet, and is currently the language most often taught as a second language around the world (Shahi & Pang, 2009). Moreover, since Vietnam joined WTO in 2006, English has become very important to Vietnamese people to enrich their 1 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com knowledge and to contact with people from other countries. Therefore the teaching and learning of English plays an essential role in the development of this country.
In Vietnam, in recent years, English as a foreign language has gained considerable attention. It has become a compulsory subject in the syllabus of many schools, colleges and universities. It has been taught and learnt throughout the country, both urban areas and rural (or remote) ones. Even in the countryside, children now start learning English when they are in grade three or four.
However, Vietnamese people have faced many difficulties in learning English, although English has become an important requirement both at school and at work. “Vietnamese students start studying English as early as middle school, with many even learning it in elementary school or kindergarten – just like many other countries where it is spoken as a second language – but few of them can speak the language fluently when they leave high school” (Tuoitrenews, 2013). According to Assoc. Tran Thi Ha - Director, Department of Higher Education - Ministry of Education and Training (MOET): “Only 10.5% of universities conducted survey is to satisfy job requirements for English skills of graduated students.
The results show that about 49.3% of students‟ statistic requirements of employers, 18.9% of students does not satisfy and 31.8% of students needs more training. Understanding of the requirements of the society, many parents have decided to enroll their children in private foreign language centers where native teachers are teaching. This is because they believe that native English-speaking teachers can offer authentic language models to their children, so it is more effective for their children to learn English from native speaking (NS) teachers. To meet the parents‟ expectation, many English cram schools hire NS teachers to teach students at all levels, together with Vietnamese English teachers.
Hence, 2 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com this issue of whether there are any differences between native and non- native speaking (NNS) teachers in their teaching is a topic of much concern. Furthermore, in any effective language learning environment, the most important factor is that students are enabled to do most of the talking. An ideal classroom situation is one in which students are actively involved and both able and willing to participate in the lesson. Student participation is more beneficial if the students are productive rather than purely receptive.
Nevertheless, in order for the students to participate actively, they need to be stimulated. This stimulation can arise as a result of the implementation of appealing activities or through the use of thought provoking questions. One popular method of involving students in a lesson and facilitating student participation used by many language teachers is asking questions. In some classrooms, over half of the class time is taken up with question-and-answer exchanges (Gall, 1984).
Teacher question functions are used as target language input for the students and form an integral part of classroom interaction (Ho, 2005). Nunan (2007: 80) suggests that teachers use questions “to elicit information, to check understanding, and to control behavior.” Because of all the reasons above, the topic of this thesis is: “The use of questions by native and non-native EFL teachers: a comparative analysis of functions”, which took place in a branch of a chain private English school called Popodoo school.