MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY ------------------------------- HO TRONG NGHIA NHAN PERCEPTIONS OF TEFL INTERNSHIP AMONG EFL TRAINEE TEACHERS AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Major: English Language Course code: 8220201 HO CHI MINH CITY, SEPTEMBER 2020 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY ------------------------------- PERCEPTIONS OF TEFL INTERNSHIP AMONG EFL TRAINEE TEACHERS AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Submitted to the Faculty of English Language in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in English Language Course code: 8220201 By HO TRONG NGHIA NHAN Supervised by NGUYEN DANG NGUYEN, Ph. HO CHI MINH CITY, SEPTEMBER 2020 The thesis entitled: PERCEPTIONS OF TEFL INTERNSHIP AMONG EFL TRAINEE TEACHERS AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY was successfully defended and approved on ………………. at Hochiminh City University of Technology (HUTECH). Academic supervisor: NGUYEN DANG NGUYEN, Ph.
Secretary Member On behalf of the Examination Committee Chair i HCMC UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE HCMC, SEPTEMBER 2020 MASTER’S THESIS REPORT Student name: HO TRONG NGHIA NHAN Sex: Male Date of birth: 04/01/1992 Place of birth: Ho Chi Minh City Major: English Language Student code: 1841900045 I- Thesis title: PERCEPTIONS OF TEFL INTERNSHIP AMONG EFL TRAINEE TEACHERS AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY II- Objectives and contents: This study aims to investigate the perceptions of TEFL internship among trainee teachers at HUFLIT. The objectives of this research work is to understand the trainee teachers’ perceptions of the internship programs at HUFLIT. The research was conducted at HUFLIT. In this study, the participants were fifty senior students from HUFLIT, who were trained in the internship program of the academic year 2019-2020.
The results are presented in tables, and the data collected from the survey are shown in percentages. This study also informs the discussions of the results and some valuable implications for trainee teachers, trainer teachers, teachers in charge of teaching “ Teaching Methodology”, “Teaching Practice”, and English Language Faculty. III- Starting date: 30/03/2020 IV- Completing date: 20/09/2020 ii V- Academic supervisor: NGUYEN DANG NGUYEN, Ph. ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR FACULTY DEAN (full name, signature) (full name, signature) Nguyễn Đăng Nguyên Nguyễn Thị Kiều Thu iii CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled: PERCEPTIONS OF TEFL INTERNSHIP AMONG EFL TRAINEE TEACHERS AT HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Faculty of English Language, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology.
Ho Chi Minh City, September 2020 HO TRONG NGHIA NHAN iv RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, HO TRONG NGHIA NHAN, being a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (English Language) 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. Ho Chi Minh City, September 2020 Signature……………………………. HO TRONG NGHIA NHAN v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First, my special thanks are given to my supervisor, Dr.
Nguyen Dang Nguyen, for his suggestions, guidance, and correction of the thesis paper, all of which has helped me accomplish my research work. The time of working with him on the paper has been a good opportunity for me to broaden my knowledge of the English language and my writing skill. Second, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu – Dean of the Faculty of English Language of Ho Chi Minh University of Technology (HUTECH) – and all the staff members at the Faculty, for having given me invaluable instructions, assistance, and provided me with all the necessary facilities for me to complete my studies and my graduation paper.
Third, I would like to extend my warmest thanks to all the lecturers of the Institute for Postgraduate and the Faculty of English Language at HUTECH. Finally, I would like to send my gratefulness to Mrs. Bui Thi Thanh Truc – Dean of the Foreign Languages Faculty of Ho Chi Minh University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology (HUFLIT) who allowed me to conduct the survey. vi ABSTRACT At present, English is used as an international language in most countries all over the world.
In Vietnam, the English language is taught as the first foreign language in almost all the secondary and high schools. The study aims to investigate the perceptions of TEFL internship among EFL trainee teachers at Ho Chi Minh University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology. More specifically, this study investigates the perceptions of 50 TEFL trainee teachers from the Department of Foreign Languages at Ho Chi Minh University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology involved in the TEFL internship program. Quantitative data was gathered from the questionnaire and analyzed to evaluate trainee teachers’ opinions to find out their perceptions on TEFL internship.
The findings expressed that most of EFL trainee teachers perceive the TEFL internship as beneficial and important in terms of improvement of language skills, teaching methods, in- class management skills, and contribution to the love for the teaching career. Depending on the findings of the study, recommendations for the trainee teachers are also suggested that full understanding of the importance of all the tasks during the internship should be required. It is highly expected that this study will play part in developing the field of TEFL internship study and preparing EFL trainee teachers for the psychological and professional obstacles that may be encountered in the practice. Moreover, the university can adjust the outline of auxiliary subjects for better internship, or have more practical support policies for students in the future that would help students apply theories into practice.
Keywords: TEFL internship, EFL trainee teachers, important, beneficial, tasks, perceptions. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Master’s thesis report. ii Certificate of originality. iv Retention and use of the thesis.
vii Table of contents. viii List of tables. xii List of figures. xiii List of abbreviations.
xiv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to The Study .2 Statement of The Problem .3 Aims and Objectives .5 Scope of The Study .6 Significance of The Study .7 Definition of Key Terms .8 Organization of The Study. 10 viii CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Essential Factors to be Good Teachers .2 Types of Internship.1 Cooperative Internship or Cooperative Education (Co-op)…………………14 2.2 Independent and College-sponsored Internships .3 Paid and Unpaid Internships .3 Typical Teaching English Internship Tasks .3 Demonstrating Micro-teaching .4 How Can Internships Be Beneficial? .1 Acquiring Practical Knowledge and Skills .2 Gaining Career Preparation Skills .5 Criteria of TEFL Internship. 37 ix CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.3 Sample and Sampling Procedures .5 Data Collection Procedures .6 Data Analysis Procedures.7 Reliability and Validity. 45 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.2 Results of the Study .1 Tasks that Trainee Teachers Think Important to Them .2 Benefits of Internship Tasks .3 Tasks that Trainee teachers Like the Most .1 Tasks that Trainee Teachers Think Important to Them .2 Benefits of Internship Tasks .3 Tasks that Trainee teachers Like the Most .1 Summary of the Main Findings of the Thesis .1 Implications for Trainee Teachers .2 Implications for Trainer Teachers .3 Implications for Teachers teaching “Teaching Methodology” and “Teaching Practice” .2 Implications for English Language Faculty .4 Recommendations for Further Research.
82 APPENDIX C: Trainee Teacher’s Reflection Paper. 85 APPENDIX D: Trainee Teacher Assessment Form. 87 APPENDIX E: Endorsement Form. 89 APPENDIX F: Viper Plagiarism Report.
90 xi LIST OF TABLES page Table 3.1: Cronbach’s Alpha Indexes of the Questionnaire Items……………………………44 Table 4.1: Tasks Trainee Teachers Think Important (percentage)………………………….2: Trainee Teachers Rate the Benefits of The Internship Tasks (percentage)….3: Tasks Liked The Most by Trainee Teachers (percentage)………………….51 xii LIST OF FIGURES page Figure 1: Essential Factors to be Good Teachers. 14 Figure 2: The Benefits of TEFL Internship. 23 Figure 3: The Conceptual Framework. 36 xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as a Foreign Language HUFLIT: Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology TEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language xiv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study In a study which set out to determine the importance of TEFL internship, Glenn (2006) found that TEFL internship is a specific educational activity that contributes to the formation and development of the necessary professional qualifications and competencies of students on becoming teachers according to the training objectives set out.
The internships include: vocational training for students not in the teacher training industry and pedagogical practice for pedagogical students. This activity has an important role and meaning for students. Since the beginning of twentieth century, English has been used internationally and has played an important role in many aspects of life, for example, in education, communication, business, politics, science, and entertainment. Moreover, it is estimated that almost 400 million people in the world speak English as their first language and more than one and a half billion people from over 80 countries worldwide speak English as a foreign language.
In fact, English is the world‘s leading international language, and young people who master the English language have good chances to obtain promising jobs in many areas of interest, both in their countries and abroad. For this reason, young people around the world have tried to gain proficiency in English so that they can advance in their life careers. For more than a half century, the English language has been prevailing in Vietnam and the Ministry of Education and Training has assigned the teaching of English an important role in secondary and high schools around the country (Phung Xuan Nha, 2018). On the higher education level, many universities in large cities, for example, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho, Da Nang, have their Foreign Languages Faculties, in which English is the prominent language.
In addition, to meet the great 1 demands of students’ learning the English language, the centers for teaching English at all levels have been established around large cities. For students, the TEFL internship plays an important role not only with the learning process but also with the career of students in the future (Levine, 2010). TEFL internship results are usually calculated with a relatively large weight in the semester, affecting the graduating results of students. But actually, the score only plays a small role.
This internship gives students access to the career of their choice upon entering university. Practical activities once again help students understand how they will work after graduation and make timely adjustments, along with more appropriate training strategies. Researchers have tried to explain the notion of internship. According to Furco (1996), internships are viewed as the programs that engage students in activities in real workplaces, mainly for the purpose of offering them a chance to gain hands-on experience, which promotes their learning and understanding of the subjects they have taken in schools or universities.
In addition, Mc Mahon and Quinn (1995) believe that internships provide students with work experience within the school time, during which senior students leave their schools and engage themselves in occupations relevant to their current majors. In the period of internship, the trainees are closely supervised and guided by experience officials in their fields of study. To students majoring in English-teaching methodology, teaching experience in real classrooms in the internship period is an essential factor contributing to the success of their future career. The nature of teaching knowledge and teaching skills can not be entirely captured by written instruments for measuring teaching ability and skills.
The context- dependent essence of judgment in teaching.