STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this research is mine. The data collected and the findings discussed in the thesis is true, used with the permission of associates, and have not been published elsewhere. Author Van Thi Minh Huong iii ABSTRACT This research aims to get to know about English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ and English majored students’ (EMSs) attitudes toward out- of-class learning activities as well as gain insight into some common out-of- class learning activities and their impacts on developing English majored students’ proficiency. The research also seeks to evaluate and give some suggestions for more effective out-of-class learning activities.
The data were collected by means of questionnaires and interviews with EFL teachers and English majored students at Hue University, College of Foreign Languages (HUCFL). The questionnaires were delivered to 120 EMSs and five EFL teachers. In addition, interviews were conducted with two EFL teachers and nine EMSs. The findings reveal that EMSs have employed a great number of out-of- class learning activities to improve their English proficiency.
Among these learning activities, listening to English songs was employed most frequently by the majority of EMSs. In addition, the findings also prove that, for English majored students, out-of-class learning activities can be most effective for improving students’ speaking skills, listening skills and English vocabulary. These learning activities have helped improve students’ reading and writing skills as well as reinforcing their grammar knowledge. Essentially, it is highlighted that most EFL teachers and EMSs had positive attitudes toward out-of-class learning activities and they were well aware of the importance of these learning activities in improving students’ English proficiency.
However, EMSs have to face a lot of difficulties in conducting out-of-class learning activities. Being well aware of the essential role of out-of-class learning activities in learning English, EMSs are trying their best to overcome the difficulties. It can be seen that, to make these learning activities become more effective, there should be the cooperation among EMSs, EFL teachers and the authorities of the university. iv AKNOWLEDGEMENTS Above all, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Dr.
Phạm Hòa Hiệp, for his enthusiastic, helpful and expert guidance as well as encouragement he has given to me at every stage of the development of this thesis. Without his help, this project would not have been completed. Sincerely, I am very grateful to the EFL teachers and English majored students at Hue University College of Foreign Languages who generously and enthusiastically spent their time on my interviews and questionnaires. Special thanks are also for the whole EFL teachers at Hue University College of Foreign Languages.
Thanks to the knowledge they have imparted to me, I can have valuable linguistic and non linguistic knowledge, which can be very essential for me in doing this research. Especially, my warm thanks go to the friends in my MA class at Hue University College of Foreign Languages who had encouraged and supported me as well as being with me in need. Finally, from the bottom of my heart, I am deeply grateful to my family who has been with me and got me through the hardest time when I am conducting this research project. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages SUB COVER PAGE.
i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP .v TABLE OF CONTENTS. vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.x LIST OF CHARTS. xi LIST OF TABLES. Background of the Research.
Rationale of the research. Purposes of the Research. Significance of the Research. Structure of the study.
Definitions of Language Learning Strategies. Concepts of out-of-class learning activities. Significances of out-of-class learning activities in assisting EFL learning. Classifications of out-of-class learning activities.
Current state of out-of-class learning activities in Vietnam and roles of teachers and students in the credit based university programs. Current state of out-of-class learning activities in Vietnam. Roles of EFL teachers and students. Traditional roles of EFL teachers and students.
Roles of EFL teachers and students in learner-centered approach. Difficulties in conducting out-of-class learning activities. Previous studies related to the research. Instruments for Data Collection.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. Findings and discussions. Reliability of the research. EFL teachers’ and English majored students’ attitudes toward out-of- class learning activities.
EFL teachers’ attitudes toward out-of-class learning activities .1 EFL Teachers’ evaluation on the EMSs’ English proficiency. EFL teachers’ attitudes toward out-of-class learning activities. English majored students’ attitudes toward out-of-class learning activities .3 Some common out-of-class learning activities and their impacts on developing English majored students’ proficiency. Some common out-of-class learning activities.
The impacts out-of-class learning activities on developing English majored students’ proficiency. The general impact of out-of-class learning activities on improving English majored students’ English proficiency. The impact of out-of-class learning activities on improving particular English skills and knowledge. The particular impact of some common out-of-class learning activities on improving students’ English proficiency.
Common difficulties in conducting out-of-class learning activities and some suggested solutions. Benefits of engaging in out-of-class learning activities. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS. Summary of the research.
EFL teachers’ and English majored students’ attitudes toward out-of- class learning activities. Common out-of-class learning activities and their impacts on developing English majored students’ proficiency .1 Common out-of-class learning activities. Impacts of out-of-class learning activities on improving English majored students’ proficiency. Common difficulties in conducting out-of-class learning activities and some suggested solutions.
Common difficulties in conducting out-of-class learning activities. Some suggested solutions. For English majored students. For EFL teachers.
For University administrators. Contribution of the research. Suggestions for further research .79 ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 1. CLT : Communicative language teaching 2.
EFL : English as a foreign language 3. EMSs : English majored students 4. ESL : English as a second language 5. HUCFL : Hue University, College of Foreign Languages 6.
IT : Information and technology 7. M : Middle value x LIST OF CHARTS Pages Chart 4. English majored students’ current level of English. English majored students’ satisfaction on their English proficiency.
The frequency of engaging in out-of-class learning activities. Out-of-class learning activities. The general impact of out-of-class learning activities on improving English majored students’ English proficiency. The impact of out-of-class learning activities on improving particular English skills and knowledge.
Most common difficulties in conducting out-of-class learning activities 51 Chart 4. Benefits of engaging in out-of-class learning activities .58 LIST OF TABLES Pages Table 3. Instruments for data collection. Teachers’ evaluation on the EMSs’ English proficiency.
Teachers’ opinions on the importance of out-of-class learning activities for EFL students at HUCFL. Teachers’ opinions on students’ current state of improving English proficiency through engaging in out-of-class learning activities. The particular impact of some common out-of-class learning activities on improving students’ English proficiency .48 xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. Overview This chapter firstly presents the background of this research project.
It then describes its rationale, the main aims of the research, research questions, research scope as well as the significance of the research. Finally, the structure of the study is also presented in the chapter. Background of the Research Nowadays, out-of-class learning activities can be very important for students in learning a language and it, therefore, soon becomes a topic of universal interest (Jordan. M, 1999; Pearson, 2004; Forsman, 2004; Kerri-Lee Krause, 2007; Atnafe, 2008; Carden, 2012; Stanton, 2010).
Furthermore, since learning can take place not only inside but also outside classrooms, beside studying in-class, students should take part in some out-of-class learning activities to enhance their proficiency, as President Benjamin Franklin said, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn”. In addition, nowadays, with the communicative approach which focuses on the learners or “learner centeredness”, teachers seem to be instructors, facilitators and partners of students (Littlewood, 1981; Larsen-Freeman, 1986; Bang, N. et all, 2003; Tan. In this case, teachers are only responsible for transmitting knowledge to their students as well as introducing different ways to study most effectively.
The students themselves, therefore, have to try their best to gain the knowledge under their teachers’ instructions. Thus, the importance of out-of-class learning activities can be undeniable. However, it is the fact that self study or “out-of-class learning activities” cannot always be well-conducted by a lot of students. It seems that a great number of students do not know “how and where to advance their English skill except by waiting for teachers to feed them an explicit instruction in the classroom” (Chusanachoti, 2011, p.
In other words, it can be seen that out-of- 1 class learning activities still have not been really effectively conducted by students in the process of learning English. Rationale of the research As a teacher of English, I find that out-of-class learning activities can play a very important role in the process of learning English. However, the term “out-of- class learning activities” still have not been fully understood by a lot of students. It seems that not every student can be well aware of the important roles of these activities and how to conduct them most effectively to improve their English proficiency.
Therefore, getting to know some common and effective out-of-class learning activities can be very important and necessary for those who are interested in learning English, especially students majoring in English. Secondly, as a famous Vietnamese saying goes, Có công mài sắt có ngày nên kim (Practice makes perfect), learning English, of course, needs a lot of practice. Thanks to practising English frequently not only inside but also outside classrooms; for example, at homes, in some English clubs or English centers; students can develop their English proficiency more effectively. Therefore, I would like to explore some out-of-class learning activities conducted by students majoring in English.
Thanks to this, teachers of English can get to know more about them as well as encourage and help their students develop their English proficiency effectively and naturally through engaging in out-of-class learning activities. Thirdly, in reality, with the limited periods at College, students majoring in English can hardly develop their English proficiency effectively without taking part in out-of-class learning activities. Therefore, it can be seen that these learning activities can be very essential in helping students make progress in the process of learning a language. However, not many students can be well aware of the importance of these learning activities.
Therefore, a study on “Out-of-class learning activities and their impacts on developing proficiency for English majored students at Hue University, College of Foreign Languages” can be very urgent to help these students be more successful in their process of learning a language. 2 For the reasons above, I hope that the research project can, to some extent, give a general look on out-of-class learning activities conducted by English majors at Hue University, College of Foreign Languages and their impacts on developing these students’ English proficiency. Thanks to this, some suggestions can be made in order to help students make necessary improvements in the process of learning English. Purposes of the Research The research seeks to: - Get to know more about EFL teachers’ and English majored students’ attitude toward out-of-class learning activities.
- Gain more insight into some common out-of-class learning activities and their impacts on developing English majored students’ proficiency. - Evaluate and give some suggestions for more effective out-of-class learning activities. Research Questions As far as the aims of this research are concerned, the following research questions are taken into consideration: 1. What are English language teachers’ and students’ perceptions on out-of-class learning activities at Hue University, College of Foreign Languages? 2.
How are out-of-class learning activities conducted by English majored students at Hue University, College of Foreign Languages? 3. What are the impacts of out-of-class learning activities on developing students’ English proficiency? 4. What implications can be drawn for more effective out-of-class learning activities? 1.