THE INFLUENCE OF PERSONAL, SITUATIONAL AND SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS ON VIETNAMESE EFL NOVICE TEACHERS’ COGNITIONS AND PRACTICES NGUYEN TIEN NGO Supervisors: Dr Michelle J. Eady Dr Amanda Baker Professor Janice Wright This thesis is presented as part of the requirement for the conferral of the degree: DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY The University of Wollongong School of Education March 2018 Abstract Over the past several decades, English has become a compulsory subject in primary, secondary, high school, and tertiary education in Vietnam. Despite its inclusion across multiple tiers of the Vietnamese education system, many Vietnamese learners of English have not acquired adequate language skills to become competent communicators of English (Nunan, 2003; Tien, 2013; Van, 2009). This may be attributed to teachers’ cognitions and practices, as what teachers believe and do in their classrooms ultimately impacts students’ learning (Helen, 2003).
An increasing number of studies of teacher cognition in Vietnam have been conducted (Canh, 2011; Canh & Barnard, 2009; Hiep, 2007; Tran, 2015; Viet, 2013, 2014); however, these studies are targeted at more experienced teachers, giving little attention to novice teachers. There is a need to examine what novice teachers believe and practice in their classrooms because, as recent university graduates, they represent teachers who have received the most contemporary education in how to effectively teach EFL learners. Guided by Borg’s (2015) language teacher cognition model and Shulman’s (1986, 1987) teachers’ knowledge categories as theoretical frameworks, this study investigates the relationship between the cognitions and practices of five novice EFL high school teachers in Vietnam and the influence of personal, situational and sociocultural factors on their cognitions and practices. Following a qualitative research approach, this study employed multiple methods of data collection including curriculum texts, interviews with teacher educators and school vice-principals, and classroom observations, as well as biographical and stimulated recall interviews with the novice teachers.
The findings reveal that personal, situational, and sociocultural factors have significant influence on the novice teachers’ cognitions and practices. Results indicate that the teachers struggled to find appropriate ways of teaching to meet the expectations of different stakeholders, namely language policy makers, teacher educators, colleagues and students. On one hand, the teachers tried to follow a communicative language teaching approach (CLT) (e. using games and the L2) as mandated in the curriculum, textbooks and teacher education.
On the other hand, they experienced considerable difficulty in implementing many other important features of CLT into the classroom, due to classroom constraints such as pressures from their students, colleagues and examinations. In response to this dilemma, through their various choices in terms of i game utilisation, activity selection, grammar instruction, and the use of the L1 and L2, the participating teachers tried to find a pedagogical compromise between teaching expectations, and what they perceived to be realistic for their students. Modifying lessons allowed the teachers to include some elements of CLT for their students but also left room for other components of form-focused teaching to help their students prepare for examinations. Nevertheless, due to the more immediate and pressing constraints in their teaching contexts, these compromises and modifications tended to gravitate more towards form-focused rather than communicative practice.
The results of this study offer several significant contributions to the understanding of novice teachers’ cognitions and practices in the context of Vietnam, which could be applied to similar contexts. Methodologically, with the inclusion of teachers’ biographies, this empirical study makes an important contribution to the literature on language teacher cognition research. Drawing on these findings, implications for theory, language policy, teacher education programs, schools and teachers are discussed. ii Acknowledgments This strenuous and interesting journey has been a good opportunity for me to enrich not only my academic knowledge and research skills but also to gain an understanding more about life and myself.
The completion of this PhD thesis would not be possible without the support and contributions of many people. With my sincerest gratitude, I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their important contributions to my learning development. First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude and appreciation to my supervisors, Dr Michelle Eady, Dr Amanda Baker and Professor Janice Wright for their continuous and invaluable support and guidance throughout the years that I conducted the PhD study at the University of Wollongong. I am indebted to my supervisors not only for their critical, insightful and constructive feedback, but also for their kindness, understanding and encouragement throughout the study.
I would also like to thank them for their challenging questions, additional valuable time and sense of humour that have helped me relieve my anxieties and be confident in these critical and exciting years of learning. Without their support, this thesis would not have been possible. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the joint scholarship between the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) and the University of Wollongong for their financial support for my academic learning. Specifically, I am very grateful to MOET officials, Mr Nguyễn Xuân Vang, Ms Quách Thị Ngọc Minh, Ms Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Liên and Ms Hoàng Thị Kim Oanh, for their kind assistance in the scholarship administration.
I wish to extend my appreciation to the academic and professional staff in the School of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Wollongong including Professor Sue Bennett, Associate Professor Honglin Chen, Associate Professor Wendy Nielsen, Dr Steven Howard, Dr Ken Cliff, Dr Jane Warren, Ms Kerry Banks, Ms Debra Millar, Ms Leanne Denison, and Ms Kim Oborn for their lectures, understanding and support in my initial years of the PhD journey. I wish to thank the staff at the Library, Student Central, Graduate Research School and Learning Development for their great support in many ways through providing excellent support services, extensive and valuable sources of databases, seminars and workshops that I have found very beneficial. iii I am also thankful to my Vietnamese and other PhD office mates: Hải Quân, Thanh Phúc, Khánh Đoan, Bích Diệp, Thu Hiền, Hoa, Mike, Amir, Sophie, Saichon, Nasim, Ika, Clara, to name just a few, for their friendship, kindness, and support. Especially, Quân and I have had many memorable experiences.
We were classmates at Cantho University 12 years ago before we met each other again at the University of Wollongong. During the PhD life, we have together participated in many academic and fun activities. We have shared not only our thoughts about research but also other aspects of life throughout this journey. My sincere appreciation also goes to my home university, An Giang University, and my colleagues for providing me with study leave to undertake this doctoral study and excusing me from my teaching responsibilities.
I also want to thank my friends in Vietnam and Australia for their encouragement and support in different ways during my studies. I wish to thank the Provincial Department of Education and Training and the high schools for granting me the permission to conduct the study at the schools. I am indebted to my research participants, the teacher educators, vice-principals and especially the five novice teachers, for their voluntary and enthusiastic participation, which has helped me obtain valuable data for the thesis. Due to ethical reasons, I cannot mention their names here; however, without their participation and cooperation, this thesis would not come into fruition.
Finally, my heartfelt appreciation goes to all my extended family members and in-laws, especially my parents and parents-in law for their unwavering love and support for me while I was away from home. They have always followed my path, supported me and believed in me. I particularly dedicate this work with my love and wholehearted appreciation to my beloved wife, Lý Thị Thanh Trúc and two children, Nguyễn Tiến Khoa and Nguyễn Quỳnh Chi, for their sacrifices and understanding in my initial years of study as well as their unconditional love and support in my final years. We have had many beautiful memories while in Australia but they have often seen me not at home in the evenings and during the weekends.
I promise that, from now on, I will spend more time with all of them. iv Certification I, Nguyen Tien Ngo, declare that this thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the conferral of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the School of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. This document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. Nguyen Tien Ngo March 2018 v Table of Contents Abstract.
v Table of Contents. vi List of Tables. x List of Figures. x List of Abbreviations.
xi Chapter 1 Introduction .2 Purpose of the study.3 Significance of the study.4 Outline of the thesis. 6 Chapter 2 Literature review .2 Novice teachers and their challenges .3 Language teachers’ cognitions and relations to practice.1 Pre-service teachers’ cognitions .2 Experienced teachers’ cognitions .3 Novice teachers’ cognitions .4 Challenges of teaching CLT in an Asian context.5 In summary: Identifying the gap. 32 Chapter 3 Theoretical framework .2 Borg’s model of language teacher cognition .3 Shulman’s teachers’ knowledge base categories .4 Communicative language teaching and its principles .6 Task-based language teaching.1 Scaffolding and related concepts .4 Gaining access to schools.1 The novice teachers .2 The teacher educators .8 Trustworthiness of the study. 76 Chapter 5 Sociocultural factors impacting teachers’ cognitions and practices: The role of curriculum and teacher education .2 Curriculum analysis: A curriculum commitment to CLT .3 Assessment in the curriculum .4 Curriculum influences: In summary.5 Textbook analysis: An overview.6 A closer look: An analysis of a textbook unit .7 The textbooks and the components of communicative competence in CLT .8 A summary of the textbook analysis .1 CLT- A preferred teaching approach .2 Adaptability issues and teaching flexibility with CLT .3 Classroom constraints in implementing CLT.
113 vii Chapter 6 Impact of the teachers’ biographies on their cognitions .2 The sociocultural context: The Mekong Delta .3 The biographies of the participating teachers .4 Insights from teachers’ biographies .1 School-based experiences of language teaching and learning .3 The classroom and related contexts. 146 Chapter 7 Teachers’ cognitions and classroom practices .1 Retention of activities .2 Modification of activities .3 Omission of activities .4 Addition of activities .3 The use of target and source language .4 Form-focused grammar instruction. 202 Chapter 8 Discussion and conclusion .2 The context of teaching English in Vietnamese schools .1 English language education in Vietnam .3 Impact of context on novice teachers’ cognitions and practices .1 The influence of school-based language learning.2 The influence of professional coursework .3 The influence of the school and classroom contexts .4 Implications of the study .3 Implications for teaching reluctant students .4 Implications for teacher education .5 Implications for schools and teachers. 5 Contributions of the study.
6 Limitations of the study. 230 Appendix A: Participant information sheet for novice teachers. 246 Appendix B: Consent form for novice teachers. 248 Appendix C:Email scripts to school principals.
250 Appendix D: Letter of approval from school principals. 251 Appendix E: Letter of approval from DOET. 252 Appendix F: Participant information sheet for school vice-principals. 253 Appendix G: Consent form for school vice-principals.
254 Appendix H: Participant information sheet for teacher educators. 256 Appendix I: Consent form for teacher educators. 257 Appendix J: Semi-structured interview questions for teacher educators. 258 Appendix K: Biographical semi-structured interview questions for novice teachers.
259 Appendix L: Stimulated recall interview guidelines. 260 Appendix M: Timelines of semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and stimulated recall interviews conducted with the novice teachers. 261 Appendix N: Semi-structured interview questions for school vice-principals. 263 ix List of Tables Table 4.1 A summary of the novice teachers.2 A summary of data collection and analysis procedure….1 General requirements for students’ language knowledge and skills by the end of Grade 10 and 11.2 Unit 7 - World Population - teaching contents .