VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN LAN HƢƠNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE IMPACT OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION ON STUDENTS’ SPEAKING COMPETENCE AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HANOI Điều tra sự ảnh hƣởng của giáo dục song ngữ tới khả năng nói tiếng Anh của học sinh tại một trƣờng trung học cơ sở tại Hà Nội M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Method Code: 8140231.01 Hanoi, 2018 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG downloadi : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN LAN HƢƠNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE IMPACT OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION ON STUDENTS’ SPEAKING COMPETENCE AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HANOI Điều tra sự ảnh hƣởng của giáo dục song ngữ tới khả năng nói tiếng Anh của học sinh tại một trƣờng trung học cơ sở tại Hà Nội M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Method Code: 8140231. Nguyễn Hoà Hanoi, 2018 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG downloadii : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I, Nguyễn Lan Hương, an M. student of the Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies of University of Languages and International Studies, hereby certify my authority of the study entitled “An investigation into the impact of Bilingual education on students’ English speaking competence at a secondary school in Hanoi”. My study has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Teaching Methodology.
Except where the reference is provided, no other person’s work has been utilized without the acknowledgement in the text of the thesis. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG downloadi : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Initially, I would like to express my appreciation to my supervisor, Professor Dr. Nguyễn Hòa for his guideline and support. Without his precious advice and constructive suggestion, my thesis could have not been as flourishing.
Nguyễn Hòa’s remarkable encouragement kept me moving forwards. I wish to thank the Management Board, lecturers and staff members of Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their tremendous encouragement to students throughout the course. Additionally, I would like also to extend my thanks to teachers and students at the local secondary school where I conducted my study. Their dedication inspires me to complete my thesis regardless several emerging difficulties during the process.
Finally, I also owe a great debt of gratitude to my dearest family and colleagues for accompanying and supporting me during my period of study and through the process of researching and doing the thesis. This accomplishment would not have been possible without all their support. Hanoi, May 2018 Nguyễn Lan Hương LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG downloadii : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATION CEFR The Common European Framework of Reference CELTA Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages ERB Educational Records Bureau ESL English as a Second Language ESOL English for Speaker of other Languages ETS Educational Testing Service ICT Information Communications Technology IGCSE International General Certificate of Secondary Education MOET Ministry of Education and Training PET Preliminary English Test LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download iii : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1 Weekly subjects’ distribution Table 2 Participants’ profile Table 3 Cambridge PET exam procedure Table 4 Participants’ English speaking level Table 5 Participants’ length of learning in Bilingual school Figure 1 Pre- test speaking results Figure 2 While- test speaking results Figure 3 Post-test speaking results Figure 4 Participants’ speaking progress Figure 5 Distribution of the interview reporting the reasons to choose Bilingual Education Figure 6 Distribution of the interview reporting the expectation to Bilingual education Figure 7 Distribution of the interview reporting the frequency of speaking English at Bilingual school LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG downloadiv : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT This study was to determine the impacts of Bilingual program on the ability of speaking English of a secondary Bilingual school in Hanoi. The participants were four eighth and ninth graders who have been enrolling in bilingual program.
The study used qualitative method; therefore, the data was collected through classroom observation and semi-structured in-depth interview with participants: four students and two teachers. This study was based on an interpretive approach concerned with subjective meaning in a particular context with the collected data analyzed inductively. The study revealed that those Bilingual school students were capable of speaking English quite well. Besides, the study’s result was to suggest that bilingual education has had a concrete impact on the instructional approach of bilingual students, namely, the learning environment or the attitude towards English speaking.
LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG downloadv : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENT Content Page CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION. Aims of the study. Scope of the study. Significance of the study.
3 CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW. Definition of Bilingual Education. Characteristics of Bilingual Education. The concept of speaking competence.
Review of previous studies. Context of the study. Description of the Program and the school’s philosophy 3. Curriculum, learning - time proportion and assessment 3.
Type of Bilingual education in the context 3. Research instrument and design of the study. Data collection procedure. Testing LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG downloadvi : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Semi- structured interview and interview protocol 3. Observation CHAPTER 4 – FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Semi- structured interview. 37- 39 REFERENCES APPENDICES LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download vii : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION 1.
Rationale In recent years, bilingual education has continued to fuel controversy in the national and local areas. “Bilingual schools are frequently found in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, and they are widely understood to be schools that promote bilingualism and literacy in two (or more) languages as goals for all students” (Baker, 2001, Crawford, 2004). The protesters assume that this program is a catalyst for the dominant culture while neglecting minorities found in the society. The advocates, nevertheless, strongly believe that bilingual education breaks down the language barrier to acceptance into a new culture as well as create a positive self-concept allowing students to learn more effectively.
Bilingual education provides human cultures with an opportunity to diverse. It is a chance of studying from the distinction instead of being scared of them. Once people learn a second language, they will obviously found it will be much easier to learn even more languages. Bilingual education enriches brain and mind growth, encourages students’ concentration, and reduces the amount of transition time when switching tasks.
Tozer (2009) claimed that those students who experience discriminatory practices will retreat into “a posture of resistance in which they stop working with the school and its agent”. Therefore, bilingual education, to some extent, can boost students to feel being accepted and communicate more easily. As an international language, English has been widely used in all fields of activities throughout the world. English is spoken in so many different countries and there are numerous schools and centers around the world which offer LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download1 : add luanvanchat@agmail.com programs in English.
Thus, there are various opportunities for students to find an appropriate school and course to suit their academic needs provided that they know English. To catch the trend of the world, in Vietnam, learning English is apparently crucial for most of the students and it is a mandatory subject since students are at primary school. Additionally, the rapid development of the integrated society also requires people to communicate English fluently. For these following reasons, the educators know how committed the parents are to ensure that their children are able to acquire an international standard education, especially their English speaking skill.
With the purpose of meeting social demands, therefore, there have been numerous bilingual schools appearing in Vietnam so far. It is definitely an opportunity to be part of a new school system that is developing in Vietnam. The goal of bilingual schools is to provide an international education system for both domestic and foreign students, which creates a new English environment so that students are able to cultivate their English skills. Specifically, for most of students in eighth and ninth grade who enroll in bilingual program at bilingual schools, speaking English fluently and confidently is one of the most fundamental skills which assist them to be more adaptable and easier to approach a new culture when studying abroad.
Thus, it is extremely essential to investigate the influence of bilingual education on speaking competence of secondary students at a secondary bilingual school where English currently has great additive value. Aims of the study This study investigates the influence concerning the development of speaking competence of secondary students at the local bilingual school where LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download2 : add luanvanchat@agmail.com English currently has great additive value. With this regard, one research question is developed. The research aims at answering the following question: To what extent does bilingual education have impact on enhancing secondary students’ English speaking competence? 1.
Scope of the study The study limits its scope within the English learning context at a local Bilingual school with four student participants who have been learning in bilingual educational system for at least one school year. These four participants were all in grade 8 and 9. The justification of choosing participants is that they had been learning English for such a long time that they could somehow produce English in pre-intermediate or intermediate levels. Secondly, they were junior students who started to fulfill their cognitive competence as well as their critical thinking.
Moreover, the needs of improving bilingual education of students accounted for the vast majority of young learners. Last but not least, those students were going to be in high school or apply for the international program IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) after finishing their program in grade 8 or grade 9. Significance of the study There has been a new tendency of bilingual educational system in Vietnam recently. Parents are concerned more about language learning for their children and they are willing to spend a fortune so that their children are able to receive the idealistic environment of accessibly new languages, especially LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download3 : add luanvanchat@agmail.
To understand and meet such a social demand, a variety of bilingual schools have appeared. Furthermore, Vietnamese students have got accustomed to learning grammar, writing and reading skills only at school. As a result, most of students who graduated from secondary school or high school are not able to communicate fluently in English. Therefore, parents now, to some extent, try to let their children learn in bilingual schools where they can practice English more often.
Besides, a language may be acquired by being in the environment where the language is spoken, and participating in that cultural setting, or may be learned in a classroom with field techniques that allow practice in the new language. Bilingual education has been around for quite a while. However, the question is whether bilingual education meets the expectation of parents and children remains unanswered. Consequently, it is necessary for the research to consider the impact of bilingual school on students’ English speaking competence, which is likely to answer the above question.
LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download4 : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW 2. Definition of Bilingual education Cambridge has used the term “bilingual education” to refer to “the use of two or more languages as mediums of instruction for content subjects such as science or history”. Bilingual education is another term that requires clarification. The reason lies on its variation of meaning in different circles; the following is a commonly accepted definition of bilingual education.
The three main concepts which have been used in bilingual education indicate the crucial distinctions in practice: language immersion, monolingual, and bilingual. Bilingual education is sometimes referred to as language immersion. Bilingual education, on the other hand, supplies two languages in form of instruction with the goal of language proficiency in one or both of the languages used.