MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY --------------- TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE USE OF L1 IN THE EFL CLASSROOM AT DALAT UNIVERSITY (LAM DONG PROVINCE) Student’s name: TON NU THU HIEN Student’s code: 18110087 Class: MTESOL18K3 Instructor’s name: NGUYEN HOANG TUAN, Ph. Ba Ria – Vung Tau, 07/2022 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY --------------- TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE USE OF L1 IN THE EFL CLASSROOM AT DALAT UNIVERSITY (LAM DONG PROVINCE) Submitted to the Postgraduate Institute in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By TON NU THU HIEN Supervised by NGUYEN HOANG TUAN, Ph. BA RIA VUNG TAU, July 2022 i The thesis entitled TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE USE OF L1 IN THE EFL CLASSROOM AT DALAT UNIVERSITY (LAM DONG PROVINCE) was successfully defended and approved on 18/09/2022 at Ba Ria Vung Tau University. Academic supervisor: Dr.
NGUYEN HOANG TUAN Examination Committee 1Assoc. Nguyen Huu Duc Chair 2. Bui Thi Kim Loan Reader 1 3. Nguyen Xuan Hong Reader 2 4.
Nguyen Huu The Member 5. Dinh Lu Giang Secretary Member On behalf of the Examination Committee Chair (full name, title, signature) ii BA RIA VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE Ba Ria Vung Tau, July 2022 MASTER’S THESIS REPORT Student name: TON NU THU HIEN Sex: Female Date of birth: 18/06/1984 Place of birth : Lam Dong Province Major: English Language Student code: 18110087 I- Thesis title: TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE USE OF L1 IN THE EFL CLASSROOM AT DALAT UNIVERSITY (LAM DONG PROVINCE) II-Objectives and contents: This study aims at investigating the Teachers’ and Students’ attitudes towards the use of L1 in the EFL classroom at Dalat University ( Lam Dong province). The research objectives are as follows: - To explore the Teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards the use of L1 in the EFL classroom at Dalat University. - To investigate the perception of teachers and students when the L1 was used in classroom at Dalat University.
This study was conducted at Dalat University in Dalat, Lam Dong Province, which is one of the honored University in Dalat. The participants were the EFL University students who were studying English. In order to gain the results, I applied the mixed- method: quantitative and qualitative, two instruments were utilized: questionnaire and semi-structured interview so as to collect the data, both of which are applied for the students who have learnt at Tourism and International Falcuty. III- Starting date: 08/09/2020 IV- Completing date: 01/07/2022 V- Academic supervisor: (full name,title) NGUYEN HOANG TUAN, Ph.
ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR FACULTY DEAN ((full name, signature) ((full name, signature) iii Statement of Original Authorship I certify that this thesis “Teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the use of L1 in the EFL classroom at Da Lat University (Lam Dong Province)” is my own work. Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person. Signature: _________________________ Date: 01/07/2022 iv RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, TON NU THU HIEN, being a candidate for the degree of TESOL accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library. In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan, and reproduction for theses.
Ba Ria Vung Tau, July 2022 Signature ……………………………. TON NU THU HIEN v Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my advisor, Dr. Nguyen Hoang Tuan, for providing me with academic guidance and constructive feedback during the writing of this thesis. Without his support and encouragement, this work would not have been completed.
Next, I would like to thank the students and the English teachers at Da Lat University where I did my research. They gave me a lot of time during the data collection process, and they also encouraged me to complete my research. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my family and friends, who have always been by my side to encourage and be a great source of encouragement and motivation to help me complete this thesis. vi Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the teacher’ and students' perceptions of the use of L1 in the EFL classroom at Da Lat University in the central hinghland of Lam Dong Province.
The participants for this study were twenty EFL instructors who teach General English at the Faculty of Tourism, and the Faculty of International Studies and one hundred and fifty second year students from the two faculties. Student questionnaire, in-depth interview for teachers and students were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using qualitative analysis with a focus on different types of situations in which L1 was used as well as perceived role of L1 use. The results of the study indicated that teachers and learners held positive attitudes towards the use of L1, and that L1 should be used in some situations with a purpose to facilitate L2 learning.
Based on the findings of the research, several implications are offered to support learners in their English language acquisition. Keywords: Use of Native Language (L1), Target Language (L2), English as a Foreign Language (EFL), Code-switching to L1, teachers’ and students’ perceptions. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY .iv RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS. xiii LIST OF TABLES.
ix LIST OF FIGURES. xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS. xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION. Background to the study.
Statement of the problem. Aim and objectives of the study. Scope of the study. Significance of the study.
Definiton of the key terms. Organization of the thesis. 15 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW.1 Theories and teaching approaches relevant to L1 use .3 Benefit of L1 use in Foreign Language teaching .4 L1 use practises in the EFL classroom .5 Functions of L1 use .6 Specific functions of L1 use .1 Maintaining classroom discipline or exercising control .2 Drawing students’ attention .3 Giving instructions and explaining administrative issues.4 Eliciting students’ responses .5 Checking learners’ comprehension .10 Explaining cultural references .7 Teachers’ perceptions of L1 use .1 Aims and Research Questions .3 Data collection and analysis procedures .2 Semi-structured interview.6 Data analysis procedures. 57 CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .1 Results of the present study .1 Types of L1 use activities in the EFL classroom .2 Teachers’ perceptions of L1 use .3 Learners' perceptions of L1 use .4 The extent to which teachers' and learners' views of L1 use coincide .1 Teachers' perceptions of the use of L1 in the English classroom .1 The need to establish a principled use of L1 in each classroom setting .2 Teachers’ use of L1 inspired by pedagogical theory or method .3 Perceived functions of L1 use .1 Use of L1 in facilitating language learning .2 Maitaining classroom discipline or exercising control .3 Giving instructions and explaining admisnitrative issues .2 Learners' perceptions of the use of L1 in the English classroom .3 Significant differences between teachers' and learners' perceptions of L1 use .1 Summary of the key findings from this present study .4 Recommendations for the further research.
106 x APPENDICES Appendix A: Questionnaire for teachers Appendix B: Questionnaire for Students Appendix C: Questionaire for Students (Vietnamese translation) Appendix D: Students Interview Appendix E: Sample of interview (Vietnamese translation) Appendix F: Viper Plagiarism Report LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Conceptual framework of Teachers’ and Students’ Attitudes Error! Bookmark not defined.1: Gender of teachers 40 Figure 3.2: Ages of teachers 41 Figure 3.3: Experiences of teachers 42 Figure 4.1: Types of activities in which L1 was useful.2: Types of activities in which L1 was not useful Error! Bookmark not defined.3: Frequency of L1 use 61 Figure 4.4: The use of Vietnamese help students learn English. 64 xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS EFL English as Foreign Language L1 Native language L2 Foreign language ELT English Language Teaching CEFR Common European Framework of Reference for Languages xii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. Background to the study The use of native language or mother tongue (L1) has been a controversial issue in English language teaching (ELT) literature and research. Until recently, most of the literature was in favor of teaching and learning a new language monolingually without using students’ L1 to explain, translate, or test (Hall and Cook, 2012).
According to Hall & Cook (2013), the monolingual approach to English language teaching (ELT) has been avocated by many ELT researchers and educators because of the assumption that the use of L1 in the classroom may hinder L2 exposure of the learners. Against the background of globalization, research interest in L1 use has increased significantly. This tendency has influenced the perspectives L1 use. The updated Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (Council of Europe, 2018) includes competences like translating from one language to another, or explaining, in one language, information that is derived from a text in another.
L1 use has been found to be an effective tool for comparing L1 and L2 cultures and increasing learners’ awareness of cross-culture similarities and differences. The potential benefits of L1 use in the classroom have been increasingly recognised in more language classrooms across the world. According to Kerr (2019), teaching methods involving the use of L1 can be useful to fulfil a specific pedagogic objective. It is believed that the use of L1 might serve different purposes such as teaching grammar, giving instruction, motivating students, building rapport, construct a positive atmosphere in the classroom (Jin & Cortazzi, 2018).
However, the overuse of L1 might be a hindrance to learners’ language acquisition (Chen, 2019). The issues mentioned above indicate that it is not easy to reach a consensus on L1 use in L2 class. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to investigate into the use of L1 in the EFL classroom at a particular educational institution in Vietnam.2 Statement of the problem This study aims at exploring learners’ and teachers’ attitudes toward using L1 in the EFL classroom in the context of Da Lat University. There may be challenges and 13 constraints in implementing the English program at such a particular learning context.
In Jin & Cortazzi’s view (2018), perceptions of whether students or teachers should use their L1 in the English classroom have changed in different periods of language teaching and, decisions on this matter vary in different contexts. Such perceptions may be influenced by theoretical considerations related to a predominant methodology or by policy and local practices (Jin & Cortazzi, 2018). Given such constraints, it is necessary to examine the English teaching and leaning situations at the research site and find reasons for whether, when, and why L1 might or might not be used.3 Aims and objectives of the study This study aims to explore teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the use of L1 in the EFL classroom at Da Lat University, Lam Dong Province. The specific objectives of this research are: To explore teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the use of L1 in the EFL classroom; To explore if there are any significant differences between teachers’ and students’ perceptions of use of L1 in the EFL classroom.4 Research questions In order to identify the previously mentioned objectives, the research questions made in this study are: (1) What are the teachers’ perceptions of the use of L1 in the English classroom? (2) What are the students’ perceptions of the use of L1 in the English classroom? (3) Are there any significant differences between teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the use of L1 in the EFL classroom? If yes, what are the differences? 1.