Factors affecting the effectibeness of learning eng lish of students in ho chi minh city

INHCITY ID:21110015 MASTEROFBUSINESSHonours SUPERVISOR:Dr.LamNguyen Huu HoChiMinhCity–Year2014... Chapter1-INTRODUCTION 1.1 Researchbackground...6 1.2 Managementproblem...8 1.3 Researchp

HoChiMinhCity–Year2014

INHCITY

ID:21110015

MASTEROFBUSINESS(Honours) SUPERVISOR:Dr.LamNguyen Huu

HoChiMinhCity–Year2014

Page2

Table1:Theresearchprocess 31

Table2:featuresofsamples:Aboutsex 33

Table3:Featuresofsamples:AboutAge 34

Table4:Featuresofsamples:YearsoflearningEnglish 35

Table5:Featuresofsamples:ScoresinTOEIC 35

Table6:Featuresof samples:BestconfidentskillinEnglish 36

Table7:Thereliabilityanalysis:C r o n b a c h ’ s Alpha 37

Table8:KMOandBartlett’stest 39

Table9:ANOVA 43

Table10:Coefficients 44

Figure1:Theresearchmodel 28

Figure2:Processofdataanalysis 33

Figure3:TheScreeplot 40

Figure4.Conclusionmodelofimpactfactors 45

Abstract

Chapter1-INTRODUCTION 1.1 Researchbackground 6

1.2 Managementproblem 8

1.3 Researchproblem 9

1.4 Researchobjectives/questions 9

1.5 Scope/delimitations 12

Chapter2-LITTERATUREREVIEW 2.1 Definitionofforeignlanguage 13

2.1.1 Whatisforeignlanguage? 13

2.1.2 Motivationofsecondlanguagelearners 13

2.2 AboutEnglish 17

2.2.1 EnglishandcharacteristicsofEnglish 17

2.2.2 TheimportanceofEnglishtowardslearners 19

2.3 Difficultiesoflearnerwhenstudyforeignlanguage 21

2.4 FactorsimpacttolearnerwhenstudyEnglish 22

2.4.1 Learner’sselfmotivation 22

2.4.2 Hitechnologysupport 23

2.4.3 Englishteacherandteachingmethod 23

2.4.4 Onlinesocialnetwork 25

2.5 Theresearchmodelandhypothesis 27

2.5.1 Researchmodel 27

2.5.2 Hypothesis 27

Chapter3-RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY 3.1 Researchprocess 30

3.2 Researchdesign 30

3.2.1 Organizationofanalysis 30

3.2.2 Sampleandsampling 30

3.2.3 Measurementscale 31

3.3 Datacollectionandanalysis 31

3.4 Summary 31

Chapter4-DATAANALYSIS 4.1 Somefeaturesofsample 33

4.2 Dataanalysis 35

4.2.1 ReliabilityAnalysis 36

4.2.2 Exploratory FactorAnalysis 37

4.2.3 RegressionAnalysis 42

4.3 Interpretmeaningoftheregressionmodel………43

Chapter5-CONCLUSION,IMPLICATIONSANDLIMITATIONS 5.1 Conclusion 45

5.2 Implication 46

5.3 Limitationandfutureresearch 47

References 48

Appendix 51

Questionnaire 61

Abstract ThebenefitsoflearningaforeignlanguageingeneralandEnglishinparticularperhapsno bo dyar enotknown.WiththefluentlyskillofusingEnglishcanhelpyou:accesstok n o w l e d g e oftheworld, communicationwithpeople,promoteatwork.However,itisat ru e thatmanypeoplewhetherhaven ochangelearninginschooloranyclass,evenifno tlivinginaforeigncountry,buttheyhavetheabilit ytolearnandusethelanguagef l u en t l y andquickly,howevertherearemanycasesthatsomanype oplespendtimeandfeeoflearninglong-

term,butovertimetheycannotbeusedornoupgrade.Sowhatisthereasonforthisphenomenon.

Therearemanyr e a s o n s affectingtoforeignlanguagelearning.First,learnershavenog u i d e r , don’tknowwheretostart,what’simportant,whichoneshouldbestudyfirst,w h i c h onesecondand usewhichmethodology.Sotheroleoftheguiderishelplearnerssystemallknowledge.Second,lear nersaretoofocusingongrammar.Whenthegrammarj ust takes7%incommunication,93%restism otionandbodylanguage.Third,learnerss t u d y forthetesting/

examinationbutnotforuse.Mostofstudentwhentheystudiedsecond languageisbeingpressureoft heexamination,theytrytostudythetricktopasstheexamandforgetthatstudyingisforusing.Fourth ,Mostoflearnersarenotpatientenough.Theywanthowtospeakforeignlanguageinfluentinshortt ime.

ThispaperwillfigureoutthefactorsaffectingtheperformanceofstudentslearningE n g l i s h (notfo reignlanguagespecialists)areenrolledatHCMCandthuscanintroducee f f e c t i v e methodsforle arningstudents.

Keywords:effectivenessoflearningE n g l i s h , learningEnglishofstudentinHCMcity,m et h o d

o lo g y tofluentEnglish

Chapter1INTROD UCTION 1.1 Researchbackground

ResearchbackgroundistheroleofEnglishincurrentsociety.Itwouldbeinterestingifwecouldhaveaccesstothelatestinformation,whileotherscouldnot.Wecantalkandcommunicatewithfriendswhocan,andcangofaronthejobwhileotherslookatyouinadmireeyes.YoucantotallydothisifyouaregoodatEnglish

foreignlanguageuse.I n addition,differencesbetweenmoreeffectivelearnersandlesseffectivelearnerswerefoundinthenumberandrangeofstrategiesused.so,itisundeniableoftheimportanceofe n

c o u r a g i n g usinglearninglanguagestrategies.Moreovereventherearesomeresearchess u p p o r tthebeliefthatlearnerswhoreceivelearnertraining,generallylearnbetterthanw h o donot.Inaddition,thereisrelationshipbetweenthefrequentuseoflearnings t r a t e g i e s andachievementinthelanguage.Therefore,thereisclaimthatuseoflanguagel e ar n i n g strategistshelpsthelearnersretrieveandstorematerial,andfacilitatetheirlearning

Thestudiesr e g a r d i n g learningEnglisheffectiveasasecondlanguagearedoneinthreed i f f e r e

n t areaswhichare:thecharacteristicsoflearningEnglishstrategies(Oxford,1990;O‟Malley&Chamot,1990;Wenden&Rubin,1987);thevariablesaffectinglearningE n g l i s h effective(Nyikos&Oxford,1993;Wharton,2000);andtheeffectofstrategyT r a i n i n g onsecond/

foreignlanguagelearning(Oxford,1990)

Fromthevariablesaffectingfrompointofviewabove,individualdifferenceshavebeeni d e n t i f i e dasvariablesinfluencinglanguagelearningoutcome;Inaddition,thehighp er c e n t ofsourceoflearnersgaintheknowledgeisteacher;encourageteacherstodiscovertheprescriptivebeliefoftheirownstudents.Andinordertoprovidesuccessfulin str uctio n, teachersneedtolearntoidentifyandunderstandtheirstudents‟individuald i f f e r e n c e , andeventheyneedbecomemoreawarethattheirteachingstylesarea p p r o p r i a t e totheirlearner'sstrategies

1.2 Managementproblem

AccordingtoasurveybytheMinistryofEducationandTrainingVietnamandETS( E n g l i s h testingservices).Thesurveywasevaluated9.948freshmansamplefrom13collegesfortheaveragescorewas250ontheTOEIC.Ontheotherhand,afterfewyearsin college,51.7%ofgraduatesdonotmeettherequirementsofEnglishlanguageskills.Only10.5%oftheuniversityhasmadesurveyassessedtheabilitytomeetthejobr e q u i r e m e n t s ofEnglishskillsofgraduates.Theresultsshowedthatabout49.3%studentsmeettherequirementsoftherecruiters,18.9%studentsdidnotmeet,and31.8%studentsneedmoretraining.SurveyresultsarestatisticallyDepartmentofHigherEducationr e p o r t s onthestatusofthe59teachingEnglishlanguagecollege( w h i c h notmajorasE n g l i s h school)inthecountry(http://www.tuoitre.vn)

ThereisarealscenarioinHCMcitythatalotofstudentscomefromsomeruralareas,countrysideorprovinceswherehavenonativeteachercanhelpthemgotabestmethodt o studyEnglish.Whentheygotoabigcitytostudy,theyunderstoodhowEnglishisim po r t a nt tothem,sotheywasspentmoneyandtimetostudy,hopingcangetabetterjobi n future,butitseemsquitehardandwasteresourcesiftheydon’thavealogicmethod

Intheotherhand,somemethodmaybeeffectinothercountriesbutnotworkwithlearneri s Vietnamese,sothisreportalsowanttofindoutisthereanydifferentbetweenthenativ e learnerandnonnativelearner.

Wheneverweunderstandinsightorthenatureoflearnerswecanadjustnotonlythet e a c h i n g methodbutalsothestudyingmethodincurrenteducationsystemtomeetdesiresf r o m learnersandfulfillrequirementsfromrecruiters

ThisthesisiswillingnesstolookforguideandorientlearnerapproachthebestmethodofstudyingEnglish

1.3 Researchproblem

TheresearchproblemofthispaperistheeffectivenessoflearningEnglishofstudentinHCM city.SowehavetoinsightunderstandstudentwithmanydimensionsofreasontostudyEnglish

Tounderstandtheissueofresearchproblem,anumberofquestionwasposedtostudentsa s , havestudentvolunteeredtostudy?,isitforcebytheirparents,requireofjobs?

Becauseofbetterlifeorit’ssimplejustbecauseofsatisfytheirhobbies?

Ifthem o t i v a t i o n s startfromtheirinside,it’smeanthattheywanttolearn,so,highresultissomethingnotovertheirabilityandpossible.Butifdifferent,theystudiedjustlikes“at h i n g mustpassifyouwanttograduatefromschool”,ofcourse,itisanotherstory

1.4 Researchobjectives/questions

Whatarethekeycharacteristicsoflearnerleadtohighresult?

Peoplewerebornwithdiversityofcharacteristics,andeveryjobinsocialneedspecialp erson Example,asalesmanmustbegoodastalkingandpersuading,ateachermusthavi ng agoodvoice,sotostudyELwell,learnersalsoneedsomespecialquality

Iflearnersafraidofmakingmistakes,oflosingfacewithfriendswhenspeakingorw r i t i n g Englishsurelythatitcomestolearner’sperformance

Example,accordingtoSelf-EfficacyTheorymentionabove,self-efficacyisakindofp e r s o n a l expectationorjudgmentconcerningone'scapabilitytoaccomplishsometask

It’salsodefinesself-efficacyasanindividual'sjudgmentsofhisorhercapabilitiestop e r f o r m givenactions.Themorepeoplebelieveinthemselvestoachievetheirgoals,thes t r o n g e r andhighertheirmotivationis.Thisreportalsowantstoanswertheotherfourquestionsbelow:

DoesteacherandteachingmethodplayarolefactorimpactstoresultoflearningEL?

M e t h o d s ofteachingEnglishnotonlyinuniversitiesbutalsoinhighschoolhasbeenacontrove

rsial issueinmanyforumsonlineandofflineinVN.Therehasbeensurveyofte a c h i n g effectivenessisduetothequalityofteachers,however,fromEnglishteachersarealsocounteredquitereasonable.Somesaidthatbypsychologyofstudentjustwantedt o achievetheachievementorscores;otherssaidthatduetothedesignoftrainingprogram(issuedbytheMinistryofEducationandTraining)isnotreallyjustified

Howthehi-techequipmentssupportbringbacktheeffectivetolearnersinstudyprocess?

I t ' s

undeniablethathi-techfacilitiesaremoreandmoreeffecttoyounggenerationwhoa r e leanerinEnglishasasecondlanguagenowadays

Ifpreviouslystudentarelimitedduetolackingofmaterialandmostlyusinghardcopydocumentonlearningpurpose,nowadayswithtechnology,modernequipmentsuchasl a p t o p s , smartphoneandotherdevicescaneasilyaccesstheinternet,italsomeanstheyo w n diversifiedandmoreabundantreferencematerialsources,suchasallkindsofdictionary,onlineforumstosharematerialsandexperiences,soundtractandvideoinEnglish,testssamples

about20-milionactiveaccountsonlyinVietnam.Inwhich,45%usersarebetween18-24years-Page10

Theaveragetimeperuserspendoninternetis2hoursand23minutes.Withthatamountoftime,usershavemorechangetointeractwithEnglish,soperhapssomemorewilli m p ac t tolearningELeffectiveofstudent,dataretrievingfromwww.socialbakers.com( Stat isti cs onsocialnetworksVietnam)

Doesjob’srequirementimpacttoresultoflearningEL?

EspeciallyafterVNWTO,moreandmoremultinationalcompaniesentryVNtodob u s i n e s s Thus,theneedforusinghighqualityhumanresourcesisincreasingdaybyday.o n e oftherequirementsisalmostmandatoryinrequestsfromemployersistheabilitytoc o m m u n i c a t e inEnglish.JustspendfewminutesatsomepopularrecruitmentwebsitesinV i e t n a m suchas:www.careerlink.vn,www.myjob.vn,www.mywork.vn itisnothardt o realizethatEnglishisalmostthenecessaryskillintherecruitmentfile

Englishisoneofimportantsitesforyoungpeopleenteringthelifeanditisnearlyi n d is p e n s ab l e ifstudentswishtoworkforforeigncompanies,jointventuresorinthebigpublicVietnamcompanies,whichoftenhaveabusinessrelationshipcooperationwithinternationalpartners

Differentfromothersknowledgeandskillsthatmaybethecompanytoaccepttraininga f t e r recruitment,Englishisoftentestedandusedimmediatelyintherecruitmentprocess,t h e r e f o r e readytouseEnglishallthetime,everywhereisveryimportantpointtobeablet o getagoodjob

1.5 Scope/delimitations

ThisreportisplannedtoconductinHCMcity,year2014.AccordingtoreportfromMinistryofEducationandTraining(Vietnam),in2014thereareabout240.000studentsi n multilevelofeducationsystemfromcollegetouniversityinHCMcity(reportaboutb u d g e t andamountofstudent)

Conclusionchapter1:

Thecontentsofthischaptergeneralizedsomebasicsofthereportsuchas,researcho b j e c t i v e , res earchscope,researchmanagement…

continueinchapter2,willintroducel i t e r a t u r e relatedtoreportandsomehypothesisbeforecondu ctthesurvey.

Chapter2LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Definitionofforeignlanguage

2.1.1 Whatisforeignlanguage?

Aforeignlanguageisalanguageindigenoustoanothercountry.Itisalsoalanguagenotsp o k en inthenativecountryofthepersonreferredto,i.e.anEnglishspeakerlivinginJ a p a n cansaythatJapaneseisaforeignlanguagetohimorher.Thesetwoc h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n s donotexhaustthepossibledefinitions,however,andthelabeliso c c a s i o n al l y appliedinwaysthatarevariouslymisleadingorfactuallyinaccurate

Alanguageotherthanthemothertonguethatapersonorcommunityusesforpublicc o m m u n i c a t

i o n , intrade,highereducation,andadministration

Non-nativelanguageofficiallyrecognizedandadoptedinamultilingualcountryasameansofpubliccommunication

2.1.2 Motivationsofsecondlanguagelearners

Amongfactorsdeterminingsecondlanguagelearningachievementssuchasattitude,l e a r n e r preferences,learnerbeliefs,andageofacquisition,motivationgainswidespreada c k n o w l e d g e m e n t asthemostinfluential.Thus,beingabletoconceptualizemotivationase x a c t l y aspossiblewill,withoutashredofdoubt,bebeneficialtoallwhorelated,likeeducationalists,psychologists,teachersandlearners,tonameafew

Thoughmotivationhassecureditsdominantandpreeminentpositioninsecondlanguagel e a rn i n gresearch,paradoxically,noconsensusisactuallyreachedonasatisfactorilyp r e c i s e definitionofmotivation.Thelongtermcontroversyputdowntothecompl icated ness, multi-faceted,ormulti-factorednatureofmotivationasaconclusiond rawnbyDörnyei(1998,p.117),“Although,motivation‟isatermfrequentlyusedinb o t h educationalandresearchcontexts,itisr a t h e r s u r p r i s i n

g h o w littleagreementtherei s intheliteraturewithregardtotheexactmeaningoftheconcept”.Lat

eron,Dörnyei(2001b,p.7),ironicallynamedit“asnomorethananobsoleteumbrellathathostsawide

rangeo f c o n c e p t s thatd o n o t h a v e m u c h inc o m m o n ” Thecomplexityofmotivationcanbeunifieds i n c e themallintendedtoexplainnothinglessthanthereasonsf o r humanbehavior(Dörnyei,Csizér,a n d Németh,2006).

Moreover,fromobservationsofDörnyei(2001b,p.8),mostscholarsagree,atleast,thatmotivationprovidesasourceofenergythatisresponsiblefor“thechoiceofaparticulara c t i o n , ” “thepersistencewithit,”and“theeffortexpendedonit”

OnepopulardefinitionproposedbyGardner(2011,p.10)inhiseminentsocio-educationalmodeloflanguageacquisition,regardedmotivationas“thecombinationofe f f o r t plusdesiretoachievethegoaloflearningthelanguageplusfavorableattitudesto war d learningthelanguage.”Inthisdefinition,threementionedfactorsofeffort,desirea n d attitudeapparentlybelongstotheinteriordimensionoflearnersthemselves.Thus,iti s detectablethatGardnerneglectedsocialaspectsofmotivationsuchaslearnerss t i m u l a t i o n s linkedtoparents,teachersandpeers,forinstance

Subsequently,amorethoroughdefinitionofsecondlanguagemotivationissuggested,w h e r e inmotivationisastateofcognitiveoremotionalarousal’whichprovokesadecisiontoa c t w h i c h resultsinsustainedintellectualand/

orphysicaleffort’sothattheperson canachievesomepreviouslysetg o a l ’ ( W i l l i a m s andBurden,2001,p.120).Thet w o researchersconsidertherolesofbothindividualandcontextualfactorsinmotivationa n d thetemporalaspectofmotivation

Inrecentperiodofprocess-orientedperspective,DörnyeiandOttό(1998,p.65)

presentedaratherwell-roundeddefinitioninrecognitionofmanyotherauthors‟previousachievementsgainedthroughyearsofhardworkonthefield

Theyconcludedthatmotivationisadynamicallychangingcumulativearousalinapersont h a t initiates,directs,coordinates,amplifies,terminates,andevaluatesthecognitiveandmotorprocesseswherebyinitialwishesanddesiresareselected,priority,operationalised,a n d (successfullyorunsuccessfully)actedout.Thisumbrellatermcoverswellthet e m p o r a l , dynamicnatureofmotivationaswellaspointsoutitsdirectiveroleinthec o g n i t i v e process

Anextensivebodyofliteratureexistsonclassifyingmotivationintotypesbasedonv a r i e t i e s ofcriteria.Integrativemotivationisperceivedas“asincereandpersonalinteresti n thepeopleandculturerepresentedbytheotherlanguagegroup”(Lambert,1974).

Instrumentalmotivationrefersto“thepracticalvalueandadvantagesoflearninganewlanguage”suchas,getgoodmarks,passanexamination,orfindbetterjobs/

promotionse t c Resultativemotivationsuggeststhattheirsuccessinlearningtriggermoremo t i v a

t i o n , whilefailuredoestheopposite(CrookesandSchmidt,1991).Extrinsicmo ti vat io n , consideredbymostscholarstobethesameasinstrumentalmotivation,d e r i v e s fromanumberofoutsidefactorssuchaswinningaprizeoravoidingpunishment( D ec i andRyan,2010)

Alternatively,intrinsicmotivation,partlyresembleintegrativemotivation,originatesf r o m learners

‟internalneedsforcompetenceandself-determination,satisfaction,and

enjoyment(ibid,p.32).A c c o r d i n g tothefindingsofmoststudies,intrinsicmotivationtot h e secondlanguagelearningisresponsibleforlearners‟achievementmoresignificantlyt h a n extrinsicone

However,inpeculiarsituations,theextrinsicmaysurpassoreveninternalizedtobeintrinsic.Forinstance,itholdstruewheretheroleofsecondlanguageisasmeansofwidec o m m u n i c a t i o n ; thus,weightofeachtypesofmotivationreliesonparticularsocio-

culturalconditions.Inanutshell,thesetypesofmotivationare“complimentaryratherthana s distinctandoppositional”(Ellis,1998)asalearner,inreality,oftenpossessesajointmotivationofallabovementioned

Demotivation:

Viewedasthenegativecounterpartofmotivation,nonetheless,demotivationseriouslyf a i l s tocatchduescholarlyconcentrationandthusreceivesscantempiricalresearchesupt o 1990s

Dörnyeidescribeddemotivesas"specificexternalforcesthatreduceordiminishthem o t i v a t i o n

a l basisofabehavioralintentionoranongoingaction"(2001b,p.90)

However,itappearstoconflictwithhislaterreferenceto"externalandinternal

demotivatingfactors"(Dörnyei,2007,pp.29-30).Inthesamevein,SakaiandKikuchi( 2 0 0 9 ) indicate,researchersregardbothinternalfactorsandexternalfactorsasd e m o t i v a t o r s Inaddition,theborderlinebetweeninternalfactorsandexternalfactorsisi n d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e atsomepoints.Henceforth,theterm“demotive”or“demotivator”appearsinthepresentstudyis“forceswhichsubtractfromtheoverallmotivationalbasiso f intendedorongoingaction.”(Pigott,2008adaptedfromDörnyei,2001b,p.43)andd e mo t iv at i o n tomean“thestateofalearnerwhoselevelofmotivationislackingenoughtoseverelyrestrictprogress”(Pigott,2008)

Lookingatitsroleinsecondlanguagelearning,thoughthepictureremainsratherblurred,Ch ri s to p

h el a n d Gorham(1995)figureoutthat“thestrongestinfluenceonmotivationw a s notthepresenceofmotivatorsintheclassroom,buttheabsenceofdemotivators.”Int h e samevein,Rost(2004)warned,“onedemotivatingactcannegateorwipeoutthep o si t i v e effectsoftenmotivatingacts”.Dörnyei(2001b,p.142)describesademotivatedlearneras“someonewhowasoncemotivatedbuthaslosthis/hercommitment/

interestforsomereason”.Demotivatedl e a r n e r s showalackofinterestinthesecondlanguageorsecondlanguagecommunityc u l t u r e , hesitatetoparticipateinanyclassactivities,havenointimateaffiliationwitht e a c h e r and/orpeers.Consequently,theyharbourever-

growingdiffidenceinclassroomen v i r o n m e n t Eventually,theselearnersendupwithappallinglearningoutcomes,whichi n turnaggravateremainingmotivation.Oncesuchawickedcirclematerializes,itturnsa l m o s t unbreakable

Amotivation

Amotivation,orlearnedhelplessness,aconceptemergedinself-determinationtheory.A m o t i v a t i o n isdefinedasthesituationinwhichpeoplelackthemotivationtotakeanyact io nseeingthat'thereisnopoint 'or'it'sbeyondme '(DeciandRyan,2010).Thish

a p p e n s

whentheylackself-efficacyorasenseofcontrolonthedesiredoutcome.Thus,t h e amotivatedlearnersetsnogoalandholdneitherintrinsicnorextrinsicmotivationtomakeanymove

2.2 AboutEnglish

2.2.1 EnglishandcharacteristicsofEnglish

EnglishistheInternationalLanguageandisoneofthemostpopularandmostspokeninthetechnologyworld.WeneedtoknowEnglishlanguageinordertostudyanysciences u b j e c t oranycomputerlanguage.WeneedtoknowEnglishtocommunicateeffectivelytoomanydevelopedcountries.Englishisverymuchimportantinourlife itisnecessaryi n eachandeveryfield.IfweknowEnglishweneverfeeltonguetideinfrontofothers.It'sawidelyspokenlanguage.PeopletakeprideinspeakingEnglish.Ifwedon'tknowE n g l i s h , wewillleavebehindtheothers.Englishisaneedofhour.Todaywecan'tdenyt h e importanceofEnglishinourlife.ToanyonewholivesinanEnglishspeakingcountry,itisofvitalimportance.Languageisalwaysveryimportant,becauseitisthemeansofcommunication.Ifyoucannotspeakthelanguageofaplace,itwillbeveryd i f f i c u l t tocommunicatewiththepeople.Andsoitisanabsolutenecessity.Wecommunicatewithotherseveryday.Weatherwejustsay'hello'orhavealongco n v er sa t i o n , orweatherwegiveorfollowinstructions,orweatherathomeorattheshopo r intheworkplace.Communicationisatoolforeverydaylife-

Everyoneusesiteveryday.Andlanguagemakesitawholeloteasier,soeveryonelearnstospeaktheirnativelanguage AndEnglishisthemostwidelyspokenlanguageintheworld,andifyouknowhowtospeakit,itwillbeaninvaluabletoolofcommunication.Youcandevelopyourknowledgeforbettermentofyourknowledge.Aslongasyoueducateyourself,youwillcomeacrossmanynewthings.Thereisnoendforlearning

A/vocabulary:

1- ManywordsinEnglishcanusuallybeusedinacademicEnglish,butitsmeaningi s notentirelythesameasspeech.Forexample,theword"underline"inthesentence "TheresearchunderlinestheImportanceofInternationalTradeA g r e em e n t s" meanstoprovide(giveemphasistosomething)isnotunderlinedasin"Underlineyourfamilyname."Thisconcernledtothedebatewhenhesaidthew o r d meansA,Botherssaythatwhentheyreallymeanthatitmustdependonthe

context.Itisalsoclassifiedbycandidateswhohaveextensivebackgroundandst ron gEnglishlanguagewillbeused,"asolidEvidence"contestantsalsousuallye n d uptaking"solid"whenreferringtothesolidstateoftheobjectthatonly.Sotou n d e r s t a n d thisisnotmuchelsetoreadacademicarticles,asitwillgraduallyu n d er s t a n d thedifferencesinmeaningofsimplewordsinacademicwritingthannormal,andcanbeconfidentuseitinmyarticle.

2- Academicofficecontainsalargeamountofformal,highacademicnatureislesscommoninspeech.ThisisalsothereasonwhyIopenedthecompetitiontor e i n f o r c e learningforthewholefamilytothissegmentatleastpeoplecanr e c o g n i z e itinthereading,listening,proceedtouseitinthearticle.Howtousetheword,expressionisextremelyimportantbecausejudgesrelyonthisbutd e c i d e d todoallofthecontestantsishighorlow

3- LastfeatureisextremelyimportantanddifferentfromVietnameseacademicE n g l i s h thatuselargeamountsofnounphrases(nounphrases),eachnounphraset o containalotofimportantinformation.Skilledpeoplewhoknowhowtowriteacademicwritingismoreofanounphraseandlinkthemtogethercoherentt h r o u g h o u t IhavelearnedagreatexperiencefromdiscussingtheuseofGooglewhilewritingthroughwhicheachpersoncanedittheirownpostsveryeffectiveasf o l l o w s Wheneveryouwriteonenounphrasesbutcertainlynotnativespeakersu

s e itornot,gotoGoogletypethatphraseintothesearchbox,putinthememoryordual(i.e"anEmergingdisease").Afteryoupressenterandgetthesearchresult s, thenlooktotheleftcolumnwith'everything,news,andmore(muchmore).YouwillfindoutmoreclickonaseriesfromothersourcessuchasBooks,Films NowthatyouselectBooksorNewsthenwaitfortheresults.Iffoundinc a t a l o g Booksthatthedatademonstratethatnativespeakerscanuse

>Iusedtobe.Conversely,iftheydonotseehowthephraseisnotokay,needtoreconsider.ThisishowIdiscoveredtheabsurdityof"alotofdiseasesstartingup"asaresultd o nothavetheresourcestowritethisintheknowledgeofmankind.Butwithall

theattentionthiswayshouldbeusedonlybythephrasebecauseifmadewithwh o l e sentencesandparagraphs,itisveryeasytosuspect"plagiarism"(plagiarism) ThisVN’sstudentsnotstumblemuch,butifyouarepreparedtostud y andsubmitoneessayforallforeignteachersthatwerefound,itwouldbeaverybadimpressiononusthat.

B/AboutGrammar

AcademicEnglishrequirestheuseofvariedsentencepatterns,alternatingsingles e n t e n c

e , complexsentence,compoundsentence(therearemanypropositions).Highpointwhencandidatesusemorecomplexsentencepatternswhilemaintainingstablegrammarandaccuracy.Weshouldreviewthegrammarbookstoreinforcetheknowledgeofthecommonphrases,andcanlookatthediscussiono f thearticlealsohasalotofqualitywithsamplesentencesandthatpeoplehavetolearnthat

2.2.2 TheimportanceofEnglishtowardslearners

Inglobalworldtoday,theimportanceofEnglishcannotbedeniedandignoredwhenEnglishwasbeingthemostcommonlanguagespokenallovertheworld.Withthehelp

oftechnology,Englishhasbeenplayingamajorroleinmanysectorsincludingmedicine,e n g i n e e

r i n g , andeducation

ThefirstreasonforwhyEnglishshouldbethemediumofinstructionatuniversitiesisthatithelpsstu dentsfindahighqualityjobs.

Inbusinesslife,themostimportantcommonlanguageisobviouslyEnglish.Inadditiont o this,especially,high-

qualityjobsneedgoodunderstandingabilityandspeakinginE n g l i s h Therefore,companiescaneasilyopenouttoothercountries,andthesecompaniesgenerallyemploygraduateswhoseEnglishisfluentandorderly.Forexample,t h e studentwhoisgraduatedfromauniversitywhichtakesEnglishasamajorlanguagew i l l findabetterorhigh-

qualityjobthanotherstudentswhodon’tknowEnglisha d eq u a t el y Inotherwords,thestudentwhoknowsEnglishisabletobemoreefficientinh i s jobbecausehecanusetheinformationfromforeignsourcesandwebsites.Hecan

preparehisassignmentsandtaskswiththehelpoftheseinformation.Therefore,undoubtedly,hismanagerswouldlikehiseffortorpreparedprojects.Inaddition,manyh i g h -

q u a l i t y

jobsarerelatedwithinternationalcommunicationandworld-widedatas h a r i n g Universitygraduateswhoareinainternationalcompanyandbusinessaren e e d

e d tocommunicatewithforeignworkers.Forinstance,iftheirmanagerswantthemt o sharethecompany’sdata,theyareexpectedtoknowEnglish.Moreover,theywillevenhavetogobusinesstripfortheircompany.Absolutely,allofthesedependonsp eak in g English;asaresult,newgraduateshavetoknowEnglishinordertogetahigh-

q u al i ty job,andtheothers,whodon’tknowEnglish,mayhavelackofcommunicationa n d bepaidlessmoney

Thesecondandthemostimportantreason,forEnglishtobethemediumofinstructionhighereduca tionsystemisthatitenablesstudentstocommunicatewiththeinternationalw o r l d

Inthesedays,inmyopinion,themostimportantthingforbothuniversitystudentsandg r a d u a t e s istofollowthedevelopmentintechnology.Forthisreason,theyhavetolearncommonlanguage.Certainly,theyshouldnotlosetheirinterestoncommunicatingwithth eworld.However,someoftheuniversitystudentscan’tobtainEnglisheducationint h e i r university.Unfortunately,thesepeoplemaylosetheircommunicationwithw o r l d w i d e subjectsandtopics.Inshort,theywillnotcommunicateforeignpeople.Top r e v en tthesepeoplefromlackingofspeakingEnglish,universities’administrationwillprovideEnglisheducationtothem.Inaddition,universitystudentscanusesomespecifich a r d w a

r e andsoftwareofcomputerswiththeirEnglishtocommunicateothers.Forexample,theInternet,which,inmyownopinion,isthelargestsourceintheworld,basedo n Englishknowledgeandinformation.Also,mostofthesoftwaresuchas“Windows”,“Microsoft Office”,“InternetExplorer”arefirstlywritteninEnglish,andtheseprogramsar e thebasicvitalthingsforcommunicationovercomputer.Thatistosay,eveninalittler e s e a r c h aboutsomething,theyneedtheseprogramsandtheInternettofindnecessarys o u r c e s andinformation

Languagelearnersoftenproduceerrorsofsyntaxandpronunciationthoughttoresultf r o m theinfluenceoftheirL1,suchasmappingitsgrammaticalpatternsinappropriatelyo n t o thesecondlanguage,pronouncingcertainsoundsincorrectlyorwithdifficulty,andc o n f u s i n g itemsofvocabularyknownasfalsefriends.ThisisknownasL1transferor" l a n g u a g e interference".However,thesetransfereffectsaretypicallystrongerfor

beginners'languageproduction,andsecondlanguageacquisitionresearchhashighlightedm a n y errorswhichcannotbeattributedtotheL1,astheyareattestedinlearnersofmanylanguagebackgrounds.Itisimportanttorememberthatlearningasecondlanguageinvolvesmuchmorethanlearningthewordsandthesoundsofalanguage.Communicationbreakdownsoccurnotonlyduetothemorecommonlyunderstoodsyntaxandpronunciationdifficultiesbutb e c a u s e whenwelearnalanguagewealsolearnaculture.Whatisperceivedasright,normalandcorrectinonelanguageandculturedoesnotalways"translate"intoasecondl a n g u a g e e v e n whenthevocabularyisunderstood.Communicationbreakdownsmayo c c u r asaresultofculturalassumptionsregardingage,formsofaddress,authorityand

respect,touching,eyecontactandotherbodylanguage,greetings,invitations,andp u n c t u a l i t y tonamejustafew.

Inparticular,somelearnersmayhaveverydifferentculturalperceptionsintheclassrooma s faraslearningasecondlanguageisconcerned.Also,culturaldifferencesincommunicationstylesandpreferencesaresignificant

2.4 FactorsimpacttolearnerwhenstudyEnglish

2.4.1 Learner’sselfmotivation

- Lackofalargeenoughforce,averyspecificpurpose.Peopleoftenhesitatetostartac o u r s e , orwhenschoolisnottrying,andinmanycasesenrolledforsometime,thenquith a l f w a y through

- Thesecondisthedifficultymostpeoplehavenorationalmethodology,thereisnomethodkn

owninVietnamasthestandardforalltofollow

- HabittranslatedintoVietnamesetounderstandtheletter,eagertohearandrememberi n f o r m a

t i o n aswellas100%somecollegestudentsdonotdistinguishbetweenthecorecontentisnecessarytograsp,whatistheSecondaryinformationcanbeignoredinthep r o c e s s oflistening.Distortedperceptionoftherequirementsofthistypeofcourseaslearnersandfatiguetendtohesitate,confusioninclasslisteninginclass

- Fromlimitedcapitalisthebiggestobstacleforthecomprehensionofthelearners.Thisr e s tr i c ti o nmakestheschoolsostoppedthinkingwhenmeetingnewwords,hadtomissmostofthenextinformation.That'snottomentionthepsychologicalstressfactorscanh e a r thefamiliarwordprocessingbecamepopularnotrecognizenewwordsduringtheh e a r i n g PronunciationVocabularyalsoincreasesthedifficultyofthesubjectstolistentom a n y times.Thenegativechangeinrapidandcontinuousspeechcomparedtoarticulateeach syllableoftheteacherintheclassaswellassignificantobstacles.Suchphenomenaschwasound/

ə/,swallowingnegativephenomena(elision),negativeassimilation( a s s i m i l a t i o n ) , andthatsoundsimple(homophone),isalwaysthechallengefornon-

lan gu ag e learners.That'snottomentionthedifferentaccent(accents)capitalshockandp s y c h o l

o g i c a l crisisfortheschool

2.4.2 Hightechnologysupport

HightechnologyalreadyhasanimportantroleoflearningEnglisheffectivetobothi n d i v i d u a l s andschools

Butintheotherhand,weareunderstoodofitspotentialshasencouragedashiftinemp hasi s fromcomputertechnologyitselftoitsapplications.So,lookingwaystouseh i g h technologyforconvincingteachingandlearninghasgainedprominenceinther e s e a r c h Nowadays,theuseofmultimedia,theInternet,anddiversityformsofdistancel e a r n i n g arewidespread.Interestinusingthemastoolstosupportlanguagelearningisgrowing,bothfromtheperspectiveofalanguageeducatorandthatofalanguagelearner.Asignificantamountofliteratureexploredthepotentialsofcomputertechnologywit

hr e g a r d s toteachingandlearninglanguagesmoreeffectively.Dunkel(1990),forexample,a s s e

r t e d thatthepossibilitiesofcomputertechnologyasatoolcouldincludeincreasingl a n g u a g e learners’selfesteem,vocationalpreparedness,languageproficiencyandoverallacademicskills.Furthermore,thebenefitsofmultimedia,theInternet,andvariousformso f distanceeducationwereexploredbymanyothers.Educatorswereparticularlyi n t e r e st e d intechnology’sinteractivecapabilities,suchasprovidingimmediatefeedbackandincreasinglearnerautonomy,inadditiontothecapabilityofsimulatingreal-worlds i t u a t i o n s viaaudio

Moreover,discussionsofthebenefitsofcomputertechnologyincludedtheexplorationoft h e applicationofcertaintechnologiesinspecificlanguageareas.Hypermediatechnologyw i t h itslinkingandinteractivecapabilitieswasdiscussedasatooltoenhancevocabularyl e a r n i n g , andreadingcomprehension.Videoandaudioconsideredasthepotentialstos u p p o r t textcomprehension

2.4.3 Teachersandteachingmethod

Thereweremanyr e s e a r c h e r s a n d a r t i c l e s h a v e a t t e m p t e d t o d e s c r i b e a

n d e x p l a i n howisthebestmodelofsecondlanguageteacherandlanguagelearningmethods.Althoughtheyhaveshoweddifferentclassificationsandconceptualizationso f b o t h c o n c e p t sabove,f o r e x a m p l e , O ’ M a l l e y & Chamot( 1 9 9 0 ) c o n c l u s i o n l a n g u a g e

learningmethodsintothreecategories:cognitive,meta-cognitive,andsocial-affective,O x f o r d (1990)wasimprovedtobecomemorecomprehensive,clearlyandsystematic.Althoughfromthisresearch,O x f o r d a l s o s e p a r a t e d l a n g u a g e learningmethodsintot w o domains:

- DirectMethods:itmeansthatlanguagelearningmethodsw h i c h directlyinvolvet h e t a r g e tlanguage.A l l directmethodsrequirementalprocessingofthelanguage.(1990,

p.37)Therearethreeelementsofdirectmethods:

 Memorymethods–

techniquesspecificallytailoredtohelpthelearnerstorenewi n f o r m a t i o n intheirmemoryandretrieveitlateron,e.g.placingneww o r d s incontext,usingkeywordsandrepresentingsoundsinmemory,etc

 Cognitivemethods–

skillsthatallowstudentstobettercomprehendandproducelanguage indifferentways,e.g.note-taking,repetition,summarizingtext,etc

 Compensationmethods–

behaviorsusedtocompensateandhelpthemtoemployt h e language,e.g.guessingw h i l e

l i s t e n i n g orr e a d i n g , o r u s i n g s y n o n y m s o r p ar ap h r a s i n g w h i l espeakingorwriting

- IndirectMethods

Thismethodsistheothersideofview,“IndirectM e t h o d s p r o v i d e i n d i r e c t s u p p o r t

f o r l a n g u a g e learningt h r o u g h f o c u s i n g , p l a n n i n g , e v a l u a t i n g , s e e k i

n g o p p o r t u n i t i e s , c o n t r o l l i n g anxiety,i n c r e a s i n g c o o p e r a t i o n a n d empathy,a n d o t h e r means”(1990,

p 151).Thefactorsofthisindirectmethodsarebelow:

 Meta-cognitivem e t h o d s –

behaviorsu s e d f o r a r r a n g i n g , p l a n n i n g a n d evaluatingone’slearning,e.g.overviewandlinkingwithalreadyknownmaterial

 Affectivemethods–

techniqueswhichregulateemotionalbehaviorsandm o t i v a t i o n , e.g.usingrelaxationtechniques,singingsongsinatargetlanguagetol o w e r one’sanxiety,etc

 Socialmethods–

actionsallowingbetterlearnerinteractionwithotherpeopleint h e languagelearningprocess,e.g.askingquestions,cooperatingwithpeers,anddevelo pi ng empathytowardstargetlanguagespeakingpeople,etc

Intheotherhand,theteacherisoneofthefactorsthathasalotofinfluenceonstudentachievement.Anineffectiveteacherplacesstudentsatanextremedisadvantageduetop oo rinstruction.AccordingtoAdams&Pierce(1999),havingmanyyearsofexperience

doesn’tguaranteeexpertteaching;experienceisusefulonlywhentheteachercontinuallye n g a g e s inself-

reflectionandmodifiesclassroomtechniquestobetterservetheneedsofstudents Teachersmustpreparetoteachawiderangeofstudentsintermsofinterest,motivationandability,someofwhommayneedadditionalassistanceandtheseb e h a v i o r a l

characteristicsaresaidtohaveeffectsonthestudents

inlearningEnglish.However,apartfromgoodteachingskillsthatteachersneedtohave,personaltraitsarealsoequallyimportantbecausetheyalsoplayavitalroleinthesuccesso f learningasstatedbyThorne(2009)thatbuildingandmaintainingrelationshipsinclassroomsisnecessary.Andtobuildrelationships,teachersneedtobeabletobuildr a p p o r t andfosteranenvironmentthatencouragesquestions,negotiationandprocessing,a n d ultimately,autonomy,ratherthananover-

dependenceonteachers.Inorderforthistooccur,teachersshouldbewell-planned,creativeandpatientwiththelearnerstheyarewo rk ing.”

2.4.4 Onlinesocialnetworks

ThereisaresearchstudypublishedinDecember2008ontheuseofdigitaltechnologiesbyadultsfrom16industrialnationssuggeststhat“onaveragespendathirdoftheirleisuretimeonline,belongtotwosocialnetworkingsitesandhaveregularcontactwith16peo pl e whotheyhave‘virtually’metontheinternet”.WhilemostEuropeancountriesandt h e USAhoveredaroundthe30%average,Asia’sdigitalnativesfarexceededit,with

China,KoreaandJapanregisteringatthe40%markduetotheirculturalfascinationwithb l o g s , SocialNetworkingSites(SNS),onlinegamingandvirtualworlds.InAsiainp a r t i c u l a r , thewidespreadavailabilityof3Gtelephonyhasmadeaccesstothesenewa p p l i c a t i o n s viaportablehandhelddevicesallthemoresignificant.ThepopularityofS N S s suchasFacebook,MySpaceandLinkedIndemonstratetheaddictiveappealofo n l i n e andvirtualcommunitiesacrossgenerationsandcultures,particularlytheira t t r a c t i o n toteenagers,housewives,studentsandanewgroupofrecentlyenfranchisede l d e r l y digitalimmigrants.Facebook,forexample,reputedlyhasmorethan175millioni n t

e r n a t i o n a l users,aclaimthat,iftrue,wouldmakeitthesixthlargestcountryinthew o r l d

ThearticleexamineshowoneexampleofsocialsoftwareishavingadirectimpactonforeignlanguageteachingandlearninginJapan,byallowingbothteachersandlearners

tobuildandparticipateinmultimediacollaborativelearningenvironmentsthatareabletopromoteactiveandcreativelanguagelearning.Languagelearningthattakesplacesint h e s e socialnetworkscanbebasedonthecreationandsharingofuserprofiles,friends,in st ant messaging,bloggingandcomments,aswellasphotosandvideos.Whatfollowsw i l l presentresearchfindingsfromapilotprojectcarriedoutonthefirstSNSspecificallya i m e d atdevelopinganonlinecommunityoflanguagelearners,Livemocha.com,whichwaslaunchedattheendof2007intheUnitedStates.TheaimoftheprojectwastoexaminethewaythatanSNSdesignedspecificallytoenhancelanguagelearningrespondstoanumberofconcernsofexistingresearchinthisarea,impressionmanagement,friendshipperformance,networksandnetworkstructure,andprivacyissues(Boyd&Ellison2007),aswellasthepotentialtoenhanceopportunitiesforlanguagee x c h an g e betweennativeandnon-nativespeakers

Self-motivate

Job requirement of English

Online social network participant

Teacher and teaching method

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