VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES *********************** BÙI THỊ KHÁNH HUYỀN NOVICE EFL TEACHERS’ PARTICIPATION IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THEIR COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE Sự tham gia vào hoạt động phát triển chuyên môn của giáo viên tiếng Anh mới vào nghề tại cộng đồng thực hành M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI - 2017 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES BÙI THỊ KHÁNH HUYỀN NOVICE EFL TEACHERS’ PARTICIPATION IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THEIR COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE Sự tham gia vào hoạt động phát triển chuyên môn của giáo viên tiếng Anh mới vào nghề tại cộng đồng thực hành M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc. Lê Văn Canh HANOI - 2017 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I hereby declare that this thesis is a presentation of my original research work submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Art degree at the Faculty of Postgraduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, VNU.
The material in the research has not been submitted anywhere for any formal course assessment or any award. Wherever contributions of other researchers are involved, every effort is made to indicate this clearly, with due reference to the literature, and acknowledgement of collaborative research and discussion. The work was done under the guidance of Associated Professor Lê Văn Canh, at the University of Languages and International Studies. In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper.
Hanoi, 2017 Bùi Thị Khánh Huyền i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the contributions and supports of many people, to whom I would like to send my heartfelt thanks. My deep gratitude goes first to my beloved lecturer and my supervisor, Dr. Lê Văn Canh for his valuable supports and instructions. I owe a debt gratitude to his constant advices and guidance right from the beginning of this journey.
But for his supervision, this thesis would not have been completed. I also wishto take this opportunity to record my thankfulness to my friends and my colleagues for their timely assistance and effective cooperation in collecting data for completing this study. Their enthusiastic participation was indispensable to my research. Above all, I would like to express my heart full indebtedness to my family and especially my husband who have always supported, encouraged and inspired me to move on and finish the work.
I‟m strongly in debited to their unconditional love and cares. They have been always my strongest motivation to move on. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT The efficiency of professional development for novice EFL teachers has largely been validated to possess intensive influence on the quality of English teaching so far. In Vietnam, the Decision number 1400/QĐ-TTG approving the National Project 2020 by the Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan (2008) has pointed out vital purposes of teaching English as a foreign language and set a goal to shift the foreign language as the strength of Vietnamese people.
This decision has obliquely emphasized the necessity of skillful English teachers and especially the significance of professional development programs to train novice ones. However, the topic is still under-investigated as too little work related to the field could be found in the country. This study employed qualitative research approach to conduct in-depth interviews with six Vietnamese novice EFL teachers, exploring under-surface problems. Collected data revealed that although these teachers were thirsty for professionalizing their major, their professional development faced not a small number of challenges.
Indeed, their self-initiated learning appeared to be more beneficial than those training activities held at their community of practice. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS COP: Community of practice EFL: English as a Foreign Language PD: Professional development iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION. iii LIST OF FIGURES & TABLES. vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .2 Aims and objectives of the study.4 Significance of the Study.5 Scope of the study.
3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .1 Definition of terminologies .3 Community of Practice (COP) .2 Role of community of practice in professional development .3 Factors affecting teachers‟ participation in PD in their COP .4 Related studies on novice teachers‟ PD in their COP .2 Selection of research participants .1 Method of sampling. 17 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.3 Data collection instruments .4 Data collection procedure .5 Data analysis methods. 21 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .1 Access to PD activities .2 Motivating factors behind novice EFL teachers‟ participation in PD .2 Internal factors – Perceptions of PD .3 Contextual factors inhibiting novice teachers‟ participation in PD within their COP .1 Summary of findings and conclusion .2 Implications and applications .3 Limitations of the research and suggestions for further study. I APPENDIX 1 - Invitation Email.
II APPENDIX 2 - Consent form. IV APPENDIX 3 - List of interview questions. V vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES& TABLES Figure 1: Forms of professional development in language teaching. 9 Figure 2: The three elements of COP.
10 Figure 3: Factors affecting teachers' participation in PD in their COP. 14 Table 1: Participants‟ backgrounds. 18 Table 2 Teachers' PD activities in their COP. 23 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter provides information about the research problem and the reason why the problems need to be researched.
In addition, the aims, research questions together with scope of the study are presented. The chapter concludes with an overview of the chapters that follow in the thesis.1 Rationale “Master teachers are not born, they become. They become primarily by developing a habit of mind, a way of looking critically at the work they do; by developing the courage to recognize faults, and by struggling to improve.” (Kane, 2004) Recent decades, along with the rapid growth of globalization, has witnessed the dramatic increase in the popularity of English as an International language. As an official language of more than 67 countries and being spoken by over 840 million people around the world, this language is regarded as the third most commonly spoken language on this Earth, besides Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.
English words can be heard in every field, from economy, business to technology, entertainment and a great number of cultural and social activities. In Vietnam, due to the high requirements for communicating, studying and working, the importance of studying English has been incredibly considered these days. The Decision number 1400/QĐ-TTG approving the Project2020 by the Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan (2008) has pointed out vital purposes of studying English as a foreign language and set a goal to shift the foreign language as the strength of Vietnamese people. This decision has resulted in the necessity to enhance both the quantity and quality of teaching English, as a student is badly in need of being exposed to qualified teachers to be successful.
More seriously, they may geton the verge of “being set back one to three grade levels” in case they are“exposed to an ineffective teacher” (Teacher Induction, 2008). LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Therefore, comprehensibly, a large number of professional English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers are needed to fulfill this demand. However, according to Baggini (2005) the term “teacher professionalism” is recognized by not only teachers‟ specialized knowledge but extent they outcome the difficulties and the extent they are able to use their skills and experiences related to their profession as well. This means that ralatively merely well-qualified teachers with long time experiencing and improving in reality teaching can be master in the field.
Teachers who have just finished their studying and training in teaching field are the new comers in their community of practice (COP) where they continue learning for their professional development (PD). While there have been a great number of studies on teacher learning in their communities of practice, the issue of how teachers who have just started their career struggle to become full members of their communities of practices in EFL contexts is not yet adequately researched. Answers to this question are much needed in the context of the Project 2020. So far, however, too little attention has been paid to the investigation of this topic.
This has inspired the researcher to conduct a study on the participation in PD of Vietnamese novice EFL teachers in their COP, as well as the factors influencing their participation.2 Aims and objectives of the study This study aims to investigate how Vietnamese novice EFL teachers experience and participate in PD in their first years of teaching. Also, the study is proposed to find out the contextual influences on their participation in PD activities. To what extent do Vietnamese novice EFL teachers participate in professional development in their community of practice? 2. What are the motivating factors behind their participation? 3.
What challenges do they encounter in participating in their community of practice? 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.4 Significance of the Study Due to the great demand of high quality EFL teachers to fulfill the need of effective English learning in Vietnam these days, theefficiency of PD in novice EFL teachers‟ COP should be put into proper consideration. The answers for the three research questions in this work are supposed to explore the participation degree of Vietnamese novice teachers in PD together with both motivated and inhibited factors influenced the process. It can be seen as a reference for graduated pedagogical students as well as those who are beginning initial years of teaching career or are involved in PD. Additionally, this study is expected toassist headmasters, principals and educationalists to propose applicable policies and PD programs to facilitate novice EFL teachers to develop their profession right at their COP, from which teaching output can be enhanced by converging sufficient conditions.
Besides, the research outcomes are hoped to benefit the authorities in education and training by providing an authentic overview about the real situation of Vietnamese novice teacher‟s PD and especially recommendations for appropriate guidelines for teachers – to be and curriculum in teacher training institutions.5 Scope of the study This study is carried out with a purpose to have an insight on the PD that EFL teachers experienced when they begin their new career life in COPand together with how they perceive it. Thence, factors affecting their participation will also be explored. Various aspects of these novice teachers‟ individual and career lives will be investigated to find out whether they have influence on the process.6 Organization The thesis is organized into five chapters which are respectively named: Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Findings & Discussions and Conclusion. 3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com First of all, an overview of the whole study including rationale, the objectives, the settings and the scope of the study is presented in the very first chapter: Introduction.
The next chapter offers definitions of key terms together with a critical review of theoretical literature and related studies. How the study is carried out can be found in the following Methodology chapter with a detailed description of participants, data collection and analysis instruments. The next section is subsequently used to analyze the collected data, discuss the findings and propose answers to the three research questions.