VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN THỊ PHƢƠNG ANH DEVELOPING LEARNER AUTONOMY THROUGH ACTION PROJECTS (Phát triển tính tự học của học sinh thông qua các dự án thực tiễn) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 HANOI - 2019 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN THỊ PHƢƠNG ANH DEVELOPING LEARNER AUTONOMY THROUGH ACTION PROJECTS (Phát triển tính tự học của học sinh thông qua các dự án thực tiễn) Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231. Huỳnh Anh Tuấn HANOI – 2019 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com DECLARATION I, Nguyễn Thị Phương Anh, declare that this thesis and the work presented it are my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research. It has not been submitted to any other university or institution wholly or partially. Hanoi, August 2019 Nguyễn Thị Phƣơng Anh i TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor Dr.
Huynh Anh Tuan - Vietnam National University, Hanoi – University of Languages and International Studies who gave me a lot of valuable guidance, encouragements, criticisms and correction throughout my thesis writing. The door of Dr. Huynh Anh Tuan‘s office was always open whenever I ran into a trouble spot or had a question about my research or writing. He consistently allowed this paper to be my own work, but steered me in the right direction whenever he thought I needed it.
I would also like to thank twenty-five 7th grade students at secondary school in Ha Noi. Without their passionate participation and input, the validation survey could not have been successfully conducted. My sincere thanks go to my family, my colleagues and my friends for their encouragement and support that help me to complete my work. ii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com ABSTRACT Project-based learning is one of the approaches which is assumed to promote learner autonomy.
Since its implementation has not been effective, this study is aimed at investigating the current issues of how Project-based learning promotes learner autonomy in an EFL classroom. Employing descriptive qualitative research design 25 participants who were grade 7 of a secondary school in Hanoi. The data collected through questionnaires and observation were chosen as the information of the study. The results of data analysis led to the conclusion that project-based learning has promoted learner autonomy, which covers the criteria of self-instruction, self-direction, self-access learning and individualized instruction in each stage of project-based activity, namely the planning process, the implementation process and the monitoring process.
There are also some important findings. Firstly, there is a linear relationship between learners‘ achievement and learner autonomy through popular and effective projects. Secondly, the result showed students‘ attitudes toward action projects. But if the teachers select suitable projects, learner autonomy is gradually improved.
It is worth noting that no one becomes one hundred percent autonomous. Among the stages of the Project-based activity, the learners gain the highest degree of learner autonomy in the implementation process. There are still constraints in enhancing learner autonomy. Due to the constraints, this study recommends that promoting learner autonomy needs support in some specific areas, especially the professional treatment of the teachers and institutions.
iii TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. vi CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION. Aims and objectives of the research.
Methods of the study. Scope of the study. Significance of the research. Structure of the thesis.
6 CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW. Project-based learning. The project as a process. Promoting learner autonomy by Project-based learning.
Studies related to learner autonomy and project-based learning. Procedures of the study. Data collection instruments. 26 iv TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.
28 CHAPTER 4 - FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. The extent to which the action project improves the students‘ autonomy. Students’ autonomy before project work. Students’ autonomy after project work.
The students‘ attitudes towards the projects carried out regarding the development of the learner autonomy. Limitation of the research. Suggestion for further studies. TEACHER’S OBSERVATION JOURNALS.
I APPENDIX 2: PRE-PROJECT SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE. III PRE-PROJECT QUESTIONNAIRE (VIETNAMESE). VI APPENDIX 3: POST-PROJECT SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE. IX POST-PROJECT SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (VIETNAMESE).
XII RESPONSE TO PRE-PROJECT SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE. XVI RESPONSE TO POST- PROJECT SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE. XIX v TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL : English as a Foreign Language LA : Learner autonomy PBL : Project-based Learning vi TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Nobody can deny that English is not only an international language, but it is also seen as a vital tool for any global citizen.
In Vietnam, English is considered a foreign language (EFL) and all learners, parents, teachers, educators, leaders as well as politicians are interested in how learners are able to learn English independently and effectively. In Vietnam, learner autonomy has been studied in many studies on the global scale over the last decades, but the application of this approach to teaching English as a foreign language in Vietnam is still not popular. Nowadays, how to help students learn effectively is one the most important interests of learners, parents as well as teachers; especially in English foreign language environment as in Vietnam. However, the most important factor is learners autonomy (LA).
If a learner can raise his awareness about finding the best ways to learn English himself, what he can gain is much better than the ways he learns as guided. There are four main advantages to becoming an autonomous learner. Firstly, learners may not always have the support of their teacher, and they therefore need to be able to learn by themselves. Secondly, autonomous learners are likely to be more efficient in their learning, because the learning is more personal and focused.
Thirdly, the skills required in autonomous learning are ones which is needed in future working. Finally, since autonomous learners are more proactive in their learning, they will usually succeed even though they may not always feel positive towards their learning or may sometimes lack motivation. Developing learner autonomy involves learning how to learn, and is a gradual and sometimes difficult process. In order to become autonomous, learners need to be exposed to a range of useful learning activities, and have the opportunity to evaluate and reflect on these.
This will be achieved by a combination of efforts by the teacher, 1 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com peers and the student. Assessment of learning, by all three groups, will also be important. Working with others in this way can be difficult for some students, who may not be used to viewing learning as a social activity, and the autonomous learner therefore needs to develop social skills such as empathy, tolerance and understanding of difference, as well as the ability to explain, discuss and negotiate with the teacher and other learners. In short, developing learner autonomy means developing a wide range of academic, intellectual, personal and interpersonal skills, requiring engagement with cognitive, metacognitive, effective and social dimensions.
In Viet Nam many students seemed to follow the methods applied from primary schools to secondary schools. Some students had to do heavier and more difficult homework than their real levels because some parents expect their children to learn excellently in any subjects and any areas. However, they mostly depended on teachers at schools and tutors at home. Nowadays, things are changing, students are encouraged to learn autonomously inside and outside classes.
However, to evaluate the effective learning through autonomous learning, it needs to carry out a study in a concrete object. This study planned to carry out with one class in grade 7 at a secondary school in Ha Noi. Students are controlled by teachers and parents through fixed syllabus and curriculum applied all over the country. These seemed to lead them to the situation that they cannot sometimes do anything without teacher‘s instruction that makes them change their learning style during Secondary school.
Holec (1981) confirms that some learners still largely see the teacher as an authority figure in the classroom to take most of the responsibilities and make most of the decisions about their learning in the classroom context. This might be considered as the reason why some students cannot show autonomous behaviors positively and independently in the classroom. 2 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com Little (1991) also shows that some teachers still use traditional methods in teaching English in EFL contexts to make their teaching safer. Therefore, they sometimes do not motivate their learners self-study.
Teachers with an autonomy-supportive style rely on different instructional behaviors to motivate their students than do teachers with a controlling style. The role of teachers is not meaningful for transmitting knowledge, but for creating proper conditions for the construction of knowledge. In addition, Vietnam educational system seeks to promote proficient learners in language skills as well as to enhance their cognitive and intercultural development, but suitable conditions to meet this requirement do not exist widely in public education system. That is why there is a high risk that formal education may affect learners' autonomy (making their own learning decisions) due to the fact that some students tend to be passive, that is, they just do what they are required to do without judging what teachers implement in classes.
Nowadays, many secondary students are familiar with projects in their textbooks. Projects are the most important part to shape students into a responsible student. However, all projects in textbooks are not enough for helping them to be autonomous learners. Giving students more addition action projects is giving them a chance to become responsible for their own learning in school and in life.
It is obvious that teaching is not only providing students a good knowledge but also teaching them to develop the sense of responsibility and self-motivation through projects. Autonomous learning plays an important role in English learning process to achieve their short and long goals. Meanwhile, how to exploit and encourage learners autonomously needs the efforts from learners, teachers and learning environment. Aims and objectives of the research To evaluate whether learner autonomy could be improved through action projects effectively, it needs to carry out a study to determine the real performance of 3 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com supportive-learning extra action research in class in a term.
The author decided to conduct this study in a class of a secondary school. Particularly, this research would seek to identify how action projects help students improve their autonomy, learners‘ attitude and problems linked to these projects. Through this research, it seeks to identify problem areas and further make recommendations for providing supportive- learning extra action projects. There were 4 projects designed for learners to take part in.
These projects were divided equally for group work. By highlighting some available projects, study‘s goal is to shape students‘ awareness about these projects and gain access to a resource that can improve their autonomy. Using actual situations involving projects in a class and comparing it to the corresponding learners‘ attitudes, this research would raise practical recommendations that could be used to enhance learner autonomy. Through this study, it was referred that other secondary school teachers interested in doing project-based learning in a language classroom and how learners react to learning with action projects and if whether it affected their language learning and performance.
This action research is conducted with the aim of discovering whether students can improve their autonomy through project-based learning. Specifically, the study trying to affair the following objectives: - To investigate the improvement of secondary students‘ autonomy in learning English before and after doing projects.