VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ************************* NGÔ THỊ CHÚC INTERCULTURAL INTERACTION BETWEEN VIETNAMESE MILITARY STUDENTS AND FOREIGN TEACHERS IN ENGLISH CLASSROOM CONTEXT: A CASE STUDY OF A MILITARY SCHOOL (SỰ TƯƠNG TÁC LIÊN VĂN HÓA GIỮA SINH VIÊN QUÂN SỰ VIỆT NAM VỚI GIÁO VIÊN NGƯỜI NƯỚC NGOÀI TRONG LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH: NGHIÊN CỨU TRƯỜNG HỢP Ở MỘT TRƯỜNG QUÂN SỰ) M.A MAJOR PROGRAMMME THESIS Field: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS Code: 60220201 HA NOI – 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ************************* NGÔ THỊ CHÚC INTERCULTURAL INTERACTION BETWEEN VIETNAMESE MILITARY STUDENTS AND FOREIGN TEACHERS IN ENGLISH CLASSROOM CONTEXT: A CASE STUDY OF A MILITARY SCHOOL (SỰ TƯƠNG TÁC LIÊN VĂN HÓA GIỮA SINH VIÊN QUÂN SỰ VIỆT NAM VỚI GIÁO VIÊN NGƯỜI NƯỚC NGOÀI TRONG LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH: NGHIÊN CỨU TRƯỜNG HỢP Ở MỘT TRƯỜNG QUÂN SỰ) M.A MAJOR PROGRAMMME THESIS Field: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS Code: 60220201 Supervisor: DR. HOÀNG THỊ HẠNH HA NOI – 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION BY AUTHOR I, NGÔ THỊ CHÚC, hereby certify that this thesis, which is entitled “Intercultural Interaction between Vietnamese Military Students and Foreign Teachers in English Classroom Context: A Case Study of a Military School”, is created from my original work. I have firmly declared the contribution of others to my thesis such as data analysis, practical strategies, and all other research that was employed or reviewed in my thesis. This thesis is the result of my own study in the fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts at Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
Hanoi, 2014 Ngô Thị Chúc i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been finished without the assistance I received from many people and organisations. I would like to express my thankfulness to: my supervisor, Dr. Hoànng Thị Hạnh for being immeasureably helpful for my work and for her detailed advice, invaluable comments and suggestions. Without her endless support this thesis would have been impossible.
the students and teachers who have participated in the study with their priceless time, attempt and keenness. the staff at the studied military school for their valuable support during my data collection process. Lê Minh Thu for her precious help in inviting the foreign teachers to participate in this research. my sister, Ngô Thị Nhâm, for her endless support and encouragement.
the Post-Graduate staff and my classmates at the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for providing me with basic knowledge about how to structure a research project and the opportunity to improve my research knowledge and skills. my colleagues at Military Academy of Logistics for their support, encouragement and constructive comments on my work. my parents and parents-in-law for their wholehearted support and motivation. my small family including my husband, Phạm Ngọc Hiệp, and my daughter Phạm Trúc Linh for their love and support.
Without their support and collaboration, this thesis would have been impossible. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT This study explores the intercultural interaction between Vietnamese military students and foreign teachers in English classroom context as well as the participants’ perceptions of those interactions using qualitative case study methodology. The participants are a class of 18 Vietnamese military students and two foreign teachers in a military school in Hanoi. Four data collection instruments were employed: classroom observation, retrospective interviews, focus group interviews and individual open-ended interviews.
The interaction were analyzed using Chaudron’s (1988) interactive features of classroom behaviours and Hofstede’s (1986) nature of teacher-student interaction related to individualism versus collectivism and power distance dimensions of culture. The findings show that the teacher-student intercultural interaction had the characteristics of both individualism and collectivism, and both large power distance and small power distance. The students participated quite actively in the lessons. The foreign teachers align themselves with their own teaching styles with lots of communicative activities during the lessons and independence of students was encouraged.
However, there was a mismatch between the students’ and teachers’ expectations. The perceptions of both students and teachers about their classroom interaction were positive. Both student and teacher participants in this study perceive that differences between two cultures do not hinder their intercultural interaction in the classroom. Nevertheless, misunderstanding was hidden during the interaction without being conscious of by both students and teachers.
The findings raise awareness of cultural differences for both students and teachers involved in intercultural interaction in the classroom. The study proposes practical suggestions for international teachers of English in Vietnam and Vietnamese students who study English with foreign teachers in their home country or go overseas to study, especially in Australia. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com NOTES ON QUOTATIONS FROM THE DATA Excerpt 3.1: Excerpt number 1 in chapter 3 JANE: Pseudonym of the teacher 20.03: The observed lesson was on March, 20 S1: Student number 1 SS: Students T: Teacher RI: Quotes taken from retrospective interview IO: Quotes taken from individual open-ended interview FG: Quotes taken from focus group interview Jane-RI21.03: Jane: Pseudonym of the teacher who produced the quoted utterance RI21.03: Quote taken from Retrospective Interview taking place on March, 21 Lyn-IO: Lyn: Pseudonym of the teacher who produced the quoted utterance IO: Quotes taken from individual open-ended interview Manh-FG1: Manh: Pseudonym of the student who produced the quoted utterance FG1: Quote taken from Focus Group Interview number 1. […]: quotations are partly omitted iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Vietnamese Teacher-Student Interaction versus Australian Teacher-Student Interaction Related to the Individualism versus Collectivism and the Power Distance Dimensions of Culture…………….
14 Table 2: List of Teacher Participants ……………………. 21 Table 3: List of Student Participants ……………….……………………… 22 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Comparison of value orientations: Vietnam versus Australia. 12 Figure 2: Stages of Data Analysis …………………….…………………… 30 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION BY AUTHOR. iii NOTES ON QUOTATIONS FROM THE DATA.
iv LIST OF TABLES. v LIST OF FIGURES. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS. vii PART A: INTRODUCTION.
Significance of the study. Aims and scope of the study .1 Aims of the study and research questions .2 Scope of the Study. Organization of the study. 5 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEWS.
1 Review of theoretical background for the study .2 Culture and communication.4 Intercultural communication versus Cross-cultural communication .5 Intercultural communicative competence (ICC).1 Definitions of interaction in the classroom .2 Features of classroom interaction.3 Classroom interaction and foreign/second language acquisition .7 Cultural dimensions and teacher-student interaction in the classroom. 11 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.8 Individualism versus Collectivism and teacher-student interaction.9 Power distance and teacher-student interaction .10 Vietnamese and Australian teacher-student interaction influenced by cultural factors.2 Reviews of relevant studies. 17 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .2 Participants and Site.3 Data Collection Instruments .2 The retrospective interview .1 Retrospective interview with students .2 Retrospective interview with teachers .3 Individual open-ended interview .4 The focus-group interview .4 Transcription and analysis of data .5 Validity of the study. 31 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS.
33 viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. The intercultural interaction between Vietnamese military students and foreign teachers in English classroom .1 Starting the lessons .2 During the lessons .3 Ending the lessons .3 The features of interaction between teachers and students in the classroom .2 Questioning and answering .3 Negotiation of meaning. Teachers’ and students’ perceptions of their intercultural interactions .3 Cultural factors underlie the teacher-student interaction and their impact on the teacher-student intercultural interaction in the classroom .1 Attitudes to topics for public discussions .2 Conceptions of beauty .3 Love for romance .4 Respect for teachers .4 To some extent, do cultural differences hinder or facilitate the teacher- student intercultural interaction in the classroom?. 70 ix LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.1 How do the Vietnamese military students and their foreign teachers interact in English classroom? .2 How do the Vietnamese students and their foreign teachers perceive their inter-cultural interaction in the classroom? .3 What cultural factors underlie their classroom interaction? .4 To some extent, do those cultural factors facilitate or hinder the classroom interaction?.
Recommendations for further study .I x LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION This part presents two main motivations for conducting the study. It begins with the status of English language education in Vietnam, focusing on Vietnamese students’ learning English as a foreign language. The status initiated a need for researching on intercultural interaction between Vietnamese students and foreign teachers. Then, it presents the significance, aims, research questions, scope and methodology of the study.
This part ends with a brief description of the study’s organization. Contextual motivation With the fast process of integration and the growth of international businesses and trades in Vietnam, the ability to communicate in English has become a passport to a better job and a turnkey to opportunity. The need for highly skilled and competent English speakers makes English language learning and teaching a major issue in Vietnamese education today. In 2008, the project to improve the teaching and learning of foreign languages in Vietnam through 2020 was approved by the Prime Minister, and attracting overseas foreigners to teach in Vietnam is included in the project.
As a result, there have been an increasing number of foreign teachers teaching English in Vietnam in recent years (Binh, 2012; Vietnam to bring in more native speakers to teach English, 2013). This situation happens not only in schools and universities but also in various kindergartens, international schools, and English language centers such as the British Council, the American Apollo, and the Cambridge International Examinations. Consequently, the access to a multicultural classroom in Vietnam has become increasingly easy. In addition, a significantly rising number of Vietnamese are choosing to study abroad (Hang, 2009) to gain globally-recognised degrees, which increases job prospects and boosts their language skills.
Australia and America are the leading study destinations for Vietnamese students (Vietnamese students on the move, 2014). In English classroom at military schools, the presence of foreign teachers may be less common. However, Vietnam’s development cooperation with English speaking 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com countries has gradually been stronger. Hence, there are more and more native English teachers teaching Vietnamese military students in Vietnam, and it is also true for the number of scholarships for military students to study in English speaking countries such as America, Australia and New Zealand.
In the current context, the need for understanding of intercultural interaction between Vietnamese students and foreign teachers in English classroom and the role of culture in intercultural communication has been rising. There have been many international studies of intercultural communication (Hall, 1966; Hofstede, 1986; Bennett, 1998; Corbett, 2003; Dogancay-Aktuna, 2005; Crose, 2011; Nataša Bakić-Mirić, 2012). In Vietnam, intercultural communication has not been paid due attention to in English language teaching and learning, but there is a growing interest (Nguyen, 2010; Kiet, 2011; Bright, 2012; Canh, 2013). However, the focus is more on the side of teachers or overseas Vietnamese students.
There has not been much research on how intercultural interaction between Vietnamese students and foreign teachers takes place in English classroom, let alone the interaction between military students and foreign teachers. Having taught English at a military school for several years, I can see that military students, like Vietnamese students in general, are eager to have English lessons taught by foreign teachers. However, the cultural differences between Vietnamese students and foreign teachers are considered to cause conflicts and misunderstanding when they encounter intercultural interaction (Ellis, 1995).