MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ NGUYEN THI HIEP AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE OF NON-NATIVE ENGLISH MATERIALS AT HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.11 SUPERVISOR: TRAN QUANG NGOC THUY, Ph. HUE, 2016 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ -------- NGUYỄN THỊ HIỆP NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TÀI LIỆU TIẾNG ANH KHÔNG BẢN NGỮ TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. TRẦN QUANG NGỌC THÚY HUẾ, 2016 ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself.
Nguyen Thi Hiep December 19, 2016 iii ABSTRACT This current study focuses on the use of the materials which are referred to as “non-native English materials” (NNEMs). In particular, this study took into consideration students’ and teachers’ perceptions on the effectiveness of using NNEMs in learning and teaching English and perceived features of non-native English varieties that should be learned through NNEMs, the reality of using NNEMs in class including challenges faced by teachers and students’ and teachers’ expectations about NNEMs in learning and teaching English. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 230 students and 8 teachers of English at Hue University College of Foreign Languages (HUCFL), by means of written questionnaire, interview, observation and document. The findings showed that most of the teachers and students supported using NNEMs with its great value.
Pronunciation and culture aspects were perceived most important and useful to learn through NNEMs. The use of NNEMs by the teachers was reported in terms of skills, types, stages of lesson, and activities involved. The teachers had faced many difficulties including materials selection, time constraint, learners’ negative view and lack of support from their college. The students expressed their hope to be exposed more to NNEMs.
Apart from these, the teachers wished to be provided more support in teaching practice. Pedagogical implications, limitations and suggestions for further research are also discussed. Key words: non-native English materials (NNEMs), world Englishes (WEs), native speakers of English (NSs), non-native speakers of English (NNSs). iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS After an intensive period doing thesis, today is the day: writing this note of thanks is the finishing touch on my thesis.
I would like to reflect on the people who have helped and supported me a lot throughout this period. First and above all, I praise the Almighty God who obviously has always blessed and granted me to work on the right path of life. Secondly, I gratefully acknowledge the continuous support and guidance, most particularly my supervisor, Dr. Tran Quang Ngoc Thuy.
This thesis would have never taken shape without her immense patience, thoughtful encouragement and careful supervision. I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor in all the time of doing research and writing this thesis. In addition, I would like to include a special note of thanks to my parents and family members, whom I am greatly indebted for bringing me up with love and encouragement to this success. I am also feeling obliged to sisters of “The Lovers of The Holy Cross congregation of Vinh” for opportunities and prayers I was given to carry out the Master’s course and throughout the year of conducting the research.
My thanks also go out to all of my friends who so kindly supported me greatly and were always willing to help me. Last but not least, my deep gratitude goes to all teachers and students at HUCFL who have been kindly participated in this research. Thanks for all contributions to the direction and richness of this research. I have no valuable words to express my thanks, but my heart is still full of the favors received from people around me.
Thank you everyone for everything you have done for me! Hue, October 26, 2016 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EIL: English as an international language EFL: English as a foreign language ELF: English as a Lingua Franca ELT: English language teaching ESL: English as a second language NNEMs: Non-native English materials NNSs: Non-native speakers NSs: Native speakers HUCFL: Hue University College of Foreign Languages SE: Standard English WEs: World Englishes The above acronyms and terms will be used in this thesis. While some terms are easily defined, others are more complex and are clarified below. EFL: English as a Foreign Language. English taught in non-English-speaking countries such as Venezuela, France, or Vietnam.
The distinction between EFL and ESL is not always clear, especially in multilingual countries. Kachru’s (1985) model of inner circle, outer circle, and expending circle Englishes would probably place EFL in the expanding. EIL: “English as an international language” is an umbrella term which refers to the use of English worldwide between any two speakers and especially in those lingua franca interactions where non-native speakers interact in English both with native speakers and other non-native speakers (McKay, 2008; Llurda, 2004). ELF is defined as a common language which speakers from diverse language and cultural backgrounds use when they come together.
Jenkins (2009) explains that the term ELF traditionally described only interactions between non-native speakers (NNS) while the term EIL was used when a native speaker was involved. However, the distinction might be becoming less obvious and marked recently, and the two terms could be considered to be different names for the same phenomenon, with EIL an older, now outdated term for what has become ELF. vi NNSs: Non-Native Speakers of English, in this case. Someone who has learned a language other than English as a first language, and is learning or has learned English as an additional language.
NSs: Native Speakers of English, in this case. Someone whose main or first language is English and who has learned it first as a child. As will be discussed later, these definitions are vague and highly contested, and the distinction between NS and NNS is often problematic. WEs: World Englishes: Sutherland’ study (as cited in Kachru, 1985) refers to the term as the various forms of English that exist in the world.
It also implies awareness of the multiple varieties of both native and non-native English. The term is a better way of describing the global use of English than International English. However, in this study, WEs is used in a narrower application which refers to non- native varieties of English in Outer and Expanding circles. vii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES * FIGURES Figure 1.
Kachru’s concentric circle model of World Englishes. Types of English preferred to learn at school. The necessity of using NNEMs. Frequency of using NNEMs in class.
Stages of lessons teachers used NNEMs in class. Students’ interest on the use of NNEMs in class. Skills in which NNEMs are used. Students’ opinions on which year at university is best suitable to use NNEMs .52 viii * TABLES Table 4.
Advantages of using NNEMs. Useful features of non-native English perceived by students. Activities to make a better use of NNEMs. Students’ expectations about NNEMs in learning English .51 ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Pages STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP .v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.
vi LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS. Rationale for the study. Aims of the study.
Significance of the study. Scope of the study. Structure of the study .4 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW. Overview of materials.
Roles of materials in English language teaching. Current trends and perspectives in learning and teaching materials. Authentic and non-authentic materials. Native and non-native English varieties in materials.
WEs and teaching materials. Non-native English materials (NNEMs). Teachers’ and students’ perception towards the use of NNEMs in class. Learner’s perception towards the target language.
Language learners’ attitudes. The influence of teachers’ attitude on students. Learners attitudes towards varieties of English. Challenges that teachers may face when using NNEMs.
Concerned factors when using NNEMs. Learners’ need and objectives. Levels of learners. Curriculum and time management .27 CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.
Data collection instruments .34 CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS. Questionnaire and interview data. Students’ perceptions towards the use of NNEMs. Useful features of non-native English perceived by students.
Teachers’ use of NNEMs in class. Students’ expectation on the use of NNEMs…………………………. Teachers’ perception on the use of NNEMs……………………. Teachers’ view on the content of NNEMs.
Teachers’ use of NNEMs. Challenges faced by teachers when incorporating NNEMs. Class observation data and document analysis .1 Class observation data .61 xi CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS. Summary of major findings.
Implications of the study. Implications for teachers. Implications for students. Implications for administrators.
Limitations of the study. Suggestions for further research .75 xii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale for the study In recent years, witnessing the widespread use of English as an effective tool for global communication, more and more people in the world are using English as a lingua franca (ELF). This means that people from different geographical and cultural backgrounds communicate with not only native speakers (NSs) but also non-native speakers (NNSs) of English.
Thus it is not surprising that NNSs have already outnumbered their native counterparts (Crystal, 2004; Kumar-Bhowmik, 2015). One of these debated issues is whether or not instructional materials should include the introduction of World Englishes and their features into the curriculum in which students can be exposed to various language backgrounds and cultures (Matsuda, 2003) and how to utilize materials appropriately in specific contexts. Especially, being the heart of learning and teaching, the content of mainstream materials has received many criticisms (Rashidi & Safari, 2011) and attention in the ELT research (Matsuda, 2010). For example, Erling (2005) suggests a move from the focus of teaching English varieties of Inner circle to those of Expanding circle (EC) or Outer circle (OC).
As also argued by Coskun (2010), and most pertinent to this current study, if teaching materials represent both native and non-native varieties and cultures of English speaking people, then teachers can raise students’ awareness of English in different geographical regions. Despite the fact that learners of English interact more with NNSs than NSs outside the classroom, in most of the ELT contexts, like in Vietnam, the so-called “standard English” (SE) such as American English and British English still dominates and receives much more attention (Lê Thị Hương, 2013) than other dialects which are considered. Even though learning materials in classes which 1 introduce native varieties may motivate students and enhance their language learning experiences, they may not be accommodating enough in a world where English is taught as an International language (EIL) or ELF. The question raised here is if materials in class should reflect authenticity and correspond to students’ actual language use, then non-native English materials (NNEMs) should be of interest.
Therefore, it is really an urgent call for Vietnamese learners and teachers of English to be aware of the necessity of knowing and understanding different non- native English varieties besides those of native English so that they can meet the requirements of using authentic English in the society nowadays. At Hue University College of Foreign Languages (HUCLF), most learning and teaching English materials used are those written by NSs. Thus some teachers and students may have it in mind that the target of learning English is SE. Moreover, a more common belief is that SE will help people to successfully communicate.