MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN TUONG KHANH HA AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES AND USE OF BODY LANGUAGE 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 ------------ NGUYEN TUONG KHANH HA AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES AND USE OF BODY LANGUAGE IN TEACHING ENGLISH AT SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN HUE CITY MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.11 SUPERVISOR: TON NU NHU HUONG, D. HUE, 2016 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ -------- NGUYỄN TƢỜNG KHÁNH HÀ NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ THÁI ĐỘ VÀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG NGÔN NGỮ CƠ THỂ TRONG VIỆC DẠY TIẾNG ANH Ở MỘT SỐ TRƢỜNG TIỂU HỌC TRONG 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: TS. TÔN NỮ NHƢ HƢƠNG HUẾ, 2016 ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself.
Date: 5/20/2016 Signature Full name Nguyen Tuong Khanh Ha iii ABSTRACT The research was carried to investigate the teachers‟ attitudes and use of body language in teaching English at some primary schools in Hue city. In detail, the study was done with 30 teachers at some primary schools in Hue city and the objectives of the research are to (1) explore teachers‟ attitudes towards using body language in teaching English at some primary schools in Hue city, (2) examine types of body language employed by them, (3) find out how frequently they were used and (4) make recommendations for the use of body language in English teaching classes. Questionnaires, interviews and class observations were used to collect data. 30 questionnaires were delivered to teachers at some primary schools in Hue city.
10 teachers were chosen to interview and the observations were done in 5 classes. The major findings show that(1) all of the teachers acknowledged the importance of body language in English teaching, (2) six types of body language namely facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, posture, touch, and distance were used by all of the teachers,(3) the teachers‟ frequency of using body language types was different and (4) some suggestions were given toward teachers, students, administrator officers and textbook writers to find more effective ways in teaching English for primary students. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have been finished without the help of many people. First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor Dr.
Ton Nu Nhu Huong who has supported me throughout my thesis with her patience, motivation and immense knowledge. Actually, her expert guidance and value feedback at every stage of the development of this study helped my thesis be improved and completed. I would like to thank the teachers from primary schools in Hue city for spending their time to provide me the needed information. Last but not the least, I am deeply grateful to my parents, my sister and my close friends for supporting me spiritually throughout writing this thesis and my life in general.
v TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Pages SUB COVER PAGE. i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY. v TABLE OF CONTENTS. vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.
x LIST OF FIGURES. xi CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION. Aims and Significance of the research. Objectives of the research.
Scope of study. Outline of the research. 4 CHAPTER II - LITERATURE REVIEW. Non-verbal communication.
Definition of non-verbal communication. Types of non-verbal communication. Functions of non-verbal communication in language teaching and learning. Definition of body language.
Types of body language. Importance of body language in language teaching and learning. Characteristics of young learners. Definition of attitude.
Relationship between attitude and use of body language. Vietnamese teachers of English. 27 CHAPTER III - METHODOLOGY. Participants and research sites.
Instruments of data collection. 34 CHAPTER IV - FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. Findings and discussions of the data collected from the questionnaires, interviews and class observations. Teachers‟ awareness of body language use in English teaching.
Type(s) of body language used in English class. Teachers‟ frequency of using body language types. Suggestions for teachers‟ use of body language in English teaching. Staring at students coldly when they do not focus on learning in class.
Making eye contact with good students only. Standing or sitting in a professional manner. Sitting in the chair during the process of teaching. Walking around the room while teaching.
Standing close to students .Summary of the findings. Contributions of the study. For English teachers .For curriculum design for the English language .For administration officers .For English textbook writers. Suggestions for further studies.
71 ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS NVC : Non-verbal communication ELT : English language teaching x LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.The importance of body language use in English teaching .Teachers‟ awareness of body language use in English teaching .Type(s) of body language used in English class .Teacher‟s frequency of using body language types in English teaching. Using smiling to help students take part in class activities .Using hands, head as supplementary ways to make the lesson more interesting .Staring at students coldly when they do not focus on learning in class .Teachers‟ frequency of staring at students .Making eye contact with good students only. Teachers' frequency of making eye contact with only good students .Standing or sitting in a professional manner is perceived friendly by students .Sitting in the chair during the process of teaching will make students feel bored .Touching students‟ heads, tapping on their shoulders or backs slightly to encourage students .Teachers‟ frequency of touching students‟ heads, tapping on their shoulders or backs slightly to encourage students .Walking around the room while teaching will make students more involved in class activities .Teachers are perceived friendly when they stand close to students. 56 xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.
Introduction This chapter presents the rationale, aims, significance, objectives, research questions, scope and outline of the research. Rationale English playsan important role in human life. It is the global languageand is spoken by many people in the world. It is used widely in all aspects such as science, technology, and education.
It also creates advantages for people who want to get good jobs. Hasman (2000) stated, “English may become one tool that opens windows to the world, unlocks doors to opportunities, and expands our minds to new ideas” (p. Moreover, English can help people communicate and transmit information among people who have different languages. Being aware of its importance, Government of Vietnam asked students to learn English as a compulsory subject from grade 3 (Government of Viet Nam, Decision 1400/QD- TTg, 2008).According to Wilburn Robinson (1998), young students who learn a foreign language at an early stage will demonstrate academic benefits in other areas of curriculum.
Besides, students learning a second language with native speakers will speak it naturally if they learn it when they are young (Chavez, 2006). Moreover, Lightbown and Spada (2000) said that it is good to teach foreign languages at the ages of 10, 11, 12. Therefore, it is taught since the early age because learning English at this stage will be better. However, when students study English at the early age, they do not have knowledge of vocabulary to understand what the teachers mean.
Yuanyuan (2014) said that the limitation in vocabulary is one of the reasons making teaching English for young students not easy, so it requires teachers have effective ways to enhance their teaching. Children aged 10 to 12 are at critical period for learning English (Lightbown &Spada 2000), but young learners are often distracted and they do not focus on anything in a long time. Thus, teaching English requires creativity to 1 attract students‟ attention as well as help them acquire knowledge easily. To meet the need of effective ways for English teaching, Yuanyuan (2014) mentioned one of the useful and proper ways to help students understand the teachers‟ instructions is using body language.
Stevich (1982) stated, “The body language of a teacher is the most important thing in the class… it is the way you use your eyes, the distance you stand front of students, the way you touch or refrain touching them. All of these unnoticeable things in the class very important signals create a profound effect on your students‟ feelings of welcome and comfort with you.6) It cannot be denied the necessity of using body language in English teaching, especially for primary teachers because it is a useful way to transfer knowledge to children who have limitations on English vocabulary. In Vietnam, English has been made as a compulsory subject from grade 3(Government of Viet Nam, Decision 1400/QD-TTg, 2008). A pilot of English teaching program for young learners was implemented from grade 3 (Nguyen, 2011) but English language teachers find it difficult to teach it because most primary teachers are lack of skills to teach young students.
They were trained to teach secondary level or higher (Viet Nam News, 2011). Besides, according to Vietnamnet (2016), over 50% of primary teachers do not meet language proficiency requirements. This leads to 24.000 primary English teachers will be retrained by 2018 with the purpose of developing English proficiency and Teaching English for young students (Pham & Vu, 2014). For these reasons, finding a proper way or a useful method to help English primary teachers is necessary.
Being aware of the importance of body language in teaching English for primary students, the author has decided to carry out the study entitled “An investigation into teachers’ attitudes and use of body language in teaching English at some primary schools in Hue city”. Aims and Significance of the research The research was carried out to find out the teachers‟ attitudes as well as the teachers‟ use of body language in teaching English for primary students. Besides, the research provided teachers theories of body language and some suggestions were given to help teachers know how to apply it well in teaching. Furthermore, it is also useful for teachers in designing interesting lesson plans to attract students‟ learning.
Lastly, it might play a role as an inspiration for further studies on body language, especially the domain of how to apply it in teaching English for primary students. Objectives of the research The research was carried out to (1) explore teachers‟ attitudes towards using body language in teaching English at some primary schools in Hue city in order to consider whether it is a popular way in English teaching for young students, (2) examine types of body language teachers use in order to recognize which types teachers often use effectively in English teaching , (3) find out how frequently teachers use them in order to identify how to apply them widely in teaching English at some primary schools in Hue city, and (4) make recommendations for the use of body language in English teaching classes in order to help teachers apply it well in English teaching.Research questions Based on the objectives of the research, the research questions were raised as follows: 1. What are teachers‟ attitudes towards using body language in teaching English at some primary schools in Hue city? 2. What types of body language do they use? 3.
How frequently do teachers use them? 4. What are their suggestions for a better use of body language in English classes? 3 1.