MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY Vung Tau, 30 th March 2022 MASTER’S THESIS REPORT Student’s name: TRAN THI THANH THUY Sex: Female I- Thesis title: Tea
INTRODUCTION
Background to the study
Alongside the mainstream of globalization, mainly since Vietnam gained access to the United Nations, the Southeast Asian Nations Association, the Economic Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific forum, the World Trade Organization and Trans-Pacific Partnership, English has increasingly become a fundamental means of communication and a bridge to connect the domestic context with the international one Therefore, its role is especially highlighted In most elementary and secondary schools, English becomes a required subject According to Vuong (2014), the purposes of learning English as a foreign language (EFL) could make one’s scientific knowledge and techniques advanced, broaden one's cultural knowledge and help people immigrate into the global community What is more, EFL learners essentially obtain purposeful communication in authentic circumstances during the English teaching and learning process They do not have to mechanically memorize isolated vocabulary or a specific set of grammar rules To do this, English teachers have to change their teaching methodology, but EFL learners also need to change their learning methods In recent years, a wide range of nontraditional EFL teaching and learning methodologies have been flourished and introduced, such as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) Method, Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), Project-Based Learning (PBL), Content-Based Instruction (CBI) approach or Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) Such appearances are applied to meet the learners’ needs, trigger their motivation, and significantly develop their English language skills to improve their communicative competencies
In practice, when EFL learners tend to use English for communicative purposes, they desire to attend foreign language classes more meaningfully and practically
English teachers need to create a communication-driven environment to utilize English naturally and conceptually to meet their demands EFL learners can then apply their knowledge and language skills to daily authentic communication settings in the language classroom Such a state in the EFL context allows theme- based instruction (TBI) or theme-based approach (TBA) to exist and flourish It is the second model of the CBI approach According to Cameron (2001), TBA emphasized promoting learners’ communicative competence by providing more possibilities for the target language (L2) to be used through various language- related activities and content-related activities around a specific theme In this way, learners can express thematic knowledge in the L2, which they acquired in the L1 This process assists EFL learners in getting a meaningful language learning experience The appearance of the CBI in general and the TBA in particular is regarded as a giant leap for the EFL teaching and learning methodology
TBA or TBI has been flourished and applied in UK primary schools since the 1960s In these places, pupils typically implemented different learning activities with the same teacher all day, making them bored Therefore, the use of TBI provides young learners with exciting learning opportunities (Cameron, 2001) He describes that teachers who apply TBA must plan and design diverse teaching and learning activities related to the theme or the topic they choose Moreover, TBA has some great advantages such as consistency from one lesson to the next and adaptability in organization, application, as well as individual results and it connects the discovery and growth of the to-be-mastered language (speaking, reading, writing, listening) with the reality of the student's surroundings (Abraham, 1977) Generally, TBA improves EFL learners’ motivation and develops their proficiency in the L2 (Julkunen, 1999) because curricular contents are thoroughly chosen This choice helps EFL learners experience foreign language learning contextually, meaningfully, purposefully and enjoyably Remarkably, the effectiveness of TBA was determined in such previous research as Brinton et al.’s (1989) in the university context; Grabe and Stoller’s (1997), Arslan and Saka’s (2010), and Rahmawati’s
(2014) at the primary school level; Parkinson’s (2000) in the Science Faculty; Munakata and Vaidya (2015) in the introductory - level physics course; Prasasti et al.'s (2019) at the high school level
In Vietnam, it was not until 1998 that the Department of Education and Training (DOET) in Ho Chi Minh City piloted a project in which Maths and Science at Grade 1 were taught in English At that time, in Vietnam, English Bilingual Education (EBE) was a relatively new concept These days, this topic is becoming increasingly widely recognized and addressed under the label CBI or CLIL comprising TBA Students focus on meaning rather than form in CLIL-based lectures; language becomes an instrument for mastering relevant material and mediating ideas, concepts, and values In traditional classes, content and language are separated
In 2006, the Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) implemented an innovation in EFL teaching at the upper secondary school level by issuing standard textbooks In these textbooks, familiar and exciting topics expected to be encountered in learners' daily lives are presented to help EFL learners communicate in an international context (MOET, 2006; Nguyen, 2007) Concerning teaching pedagogy, communicative language teaching (CLT) is mainly utilized to improve the expressive abilities of students through language use English teachers flexibly play diverse roles in the classroom such as initiator, instructor, activator, motivator, organizer, facilitator, adviser, supporter, assessor and provider of feedback in communicative activities That the curricular content is reformed leads to innovation in learners' language competence assessment It comprises formative and summative forms; English teachers are crucial in assessing students' language abilities, assisting students in recognizing their development, and assisting students in overcoming language barriers (Douglas, 2010)
In 2013, all teachers were given the opportunity to actively choose content and construct themes, including creative and proactive teaching approaches This allowance was mentioned in Dispatch No 3535/2013/BGDĐT-GDTrH (2013) and
Dispatch No 5555/2014/BGDĐT-GDTrH (2014) issued by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) Until 2015, the MOET administered a training document of theme-based teaching to instruct teachers in social science (consisting of physics, chemistry, geography, literature, history, and civic education) to integrate similar contents in different subjects into topics/ themes to avoid repeating them Since then, TBA has also applied in the EFL teaching process in a distinctive way in which EFL students could participate in both within and outside the classroom activities, and they ought to make a specific product during the theme- based learning process, but not much because there is only one theme per term Theme-based teaching could last from two to seven periods It depends on the unity in the English teacher group who systematically, logically and methodically plans their teaching syllabus and obtains approval from the Board of school management before implementing it
In 2017, the Department of Education and Training in Lam Dong organized a one- day training for the leaders of English teacher groups at high schools in the province about theme-based teaching In that training, all English teachers were randomly divided into groups to choose one specific topic, design activities for that topic, present the topic and then get feedback from other groups despite the fact that they had not been provided with any theoretical framework related to TBA before TBA implementation was problematic due to a lack of conceptual frameworks surrounding the TBA, as well as concerns regarding what the teacher did in reality After that, they were necessitated to retrain the rest of the English teachers at their high school in the group meetings Their English teacher group had to choose one topic per semester to be implemented in the academic school year That theme ought to be included in their teaching syllabus and approved by the school management board Then, one teacher would teach that theme period for other English teachers to observe and then give feedback Up to now, the implementation of two themes has been continued annually
1.2 Statement of the TBA implementation in Dalat City-based high schools
EFL teachers in Lam Dong province generally and in Dalat City specifically have implemented theme-based teaching for three years due to the requirements of the DOET In each term, the English teacher groups at Dalat high schools choose one topic to design various learning activities for EFL learners to join During the academic year 2017–2018, the first year of TBA implementation, it was pretty innovative They had little knowledge about it; therefore, they were pretty confused to implement it thoroughly and effectively If the teachers had taught theme-based periods for other teachers and the leaders to attend and observe, they would carefully have searched for information (knowledge in other subjects like history, geography, music, etc.) to be integrated into their lesson contents Therefore, they had to prepare many things for their theme-based teaching, and it usually took them more than one week to prepare for it
In contrast, those who did not teach theme-based units did not pay much attention to TBA because of being time-consuming and ineffective Some schools used TBA twice a year, whereas others did not In reality, they did not focus on TBA much because high school students are compulsory to take part in the General Certificate of Secondary Education national examination (GCSE) after finishing the general knowledge programs The results of this examination reflect EFL teaching quality High school teachers have to “teach to the test" to achieve strong GCSE results In this way, EFL teachers spend less time on activities that are not part of the test (Kunnan, 2005) Besides, government policies and curricula that favor communicative education are frequently conflicting with national examinations' demands (Li, 1998; Littlewood, 2007), often focusing on reading, syntactic and lexical dimensions To meet the leaders' requirements, they just prepared the lesson plan of TBA for the Board of school management to check, and they did not put it into practice In short, the implementation of TBA was first uneven in Dalat City- based high schools
All English teachers needed to apply to TBA twice a year in the next two years However, English teachers could choose content-related topics or grammar-related topics to incorporate numerous abilities in a variety of ways Cameron (2001) asserts that TBI organizes lessons around topics that connect many different activities across other curriculum areas Richards and Rodgers (2001) also state that theme-based teaching provides an excellent basis to develop an integrated skills approach Before their theme-based teaching, English teachers announced the main topic, divided it into various sub-topics and EFL students into groups and asked each group to design one particular activity for one sub-topic outside the classroom That activity was probably a play, a drawing, a role-play, a diagram, a short movie, a presentation, an interview, a video clip, etc., which ultimately depends on the lesson's theme It was a requirement that they creatively applied the knowledge they studied in the previous periods and the relevant information they searched for that activity Some theme-based lessons were successful and effective while others were not because of such different reasons as teachers' and students' proficiency, teachers' lack of conceptual clarity surrounding the TBA, teachers' flexibilities and creation, teachers' training, teachers' skills about classroom management, students' needs and interests, support and relevant materials, time constraint, learning facilities and environments, class size, last but not least, teachers' readiness, the requirements and the format of the national examination
Among those things, English teachers' role is very fundamental because they directly organize classroom activities and easily see both TBA's advantages to be endured and its disadvantages to be improved When English teachers have a positive perception of TBA, they will organize the activities well, employ many different ways to implement them, or overcome difficulties to make it successful Therefore, teachers' perceptions and practice are a significant reference source for educators, experts, policymakers and researchers to get the whole view of teaching and learning methodologies
1.3 Aims and objectives of the study
The purpose of this study is to investigate EFL teachers' perceptions of the theme- based approach in the EFL classrooms and the constraints they face when TBA is implemented at high schools in Dalat City, Lam Dong province and the specific objectives of this paper endeavours to:
• investigate EFL teachers’ perceptions of implementing the theme-based approach at Dalat City-based high schools;
• examine whether there are significant differences in terms of perceptions of the theme-based approach between trained EFL teachers and untrained EFL teachers at Dalat City-based high schools;
• explore the challenges EFL teachers encounter when TBA is implemented at Dalat City-based high schools
To clarify the objectives as mentioned earlier, the research question to be addressed is as follows:
1 What are EFL teachers’ perceptions of the theme-based approach implemented at Dalat City-based high schools?
2 Are there significant differences in terms of perceptions of the theme-based approach between trained EFL teachers and untrained EFL teachers at Dalat City-based high schools? If so, how?
3 What are the constraints faced by EFL teachers when TBA is implemented at Dalat City-based high schools?
The paper investigates teachers' perceptions of implementing the theme-based approach to teaching English as a foreign language at Dalat City-based high schools and their difficulties For data collection, the mixed-methods study included a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews This study involved sixty-five EFL teachers from high schools in Dalat City, in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam,
Research questions
To clarify the objectives as mentioned earlier, the research question to be addressed is as follows:
1 What are EFL teachers’ perceptions of the theme-based approach implemented at Dalat City-based high schools?
2 Are there significant differences in terms of perceptions of the theme-based approach between trained EFL teachers and untrained EFL teachers at Dalat City-based high schools? If so, how?
3 What are the constraints faced by EFL teachers when TBA is implemented at Dalat City-based high schools?
Scope of the study
The paper investigates teachers' perceptions of implementing the theme-based approach to teaching English as a foreign language at Dalat City-based high schools and their difficulties For data collection, the mixed-methods study included a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews This study involved sixty-five EFL teachers from high schools in Dalat City, in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam,
8 answering the questionnaire and ten teachers responding to the semi-structured interview questions For data analysis, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (i.e independent samples t-test) were used to explore the quantitative data in terms of mean, standard deviation and the level of significant difference respectively.
Significance of the study
The proper use of TBA in classrooms hopefully opens a new horizon of EFL learning and teaching at high schools in Dalat City in particular and in different contexts in general In terms of the theoretical point of view, the study will provide EFL teachers with an explicit and sufficient understanding of TBA in the language classroom based on literature reviews regarding TBA's definitions, learning theories related to the TBA, the implementation of the TBA, strengths, weaknesses and related research This knowledge should be the foundation of the widespread implementation of this approach in the future Concerning the practical point of view, the study results would advance our knowledge about how the English teachers at high schools in Dalat applied TBA in the EFL classroom, what challenges and constraints they had to overcome the difficulty of putting the chosen teaching approach into practice These things would be employed as a scaffolding in lesson planning and teaching practice
Regarding the contribution to the professional field, the study's findings are expected to benefit English teachers in Dalat and other contexts Investigating TBA is a continuing concern within more future research Curriculum planners, teacher trainers, and creators of teaching materials and policymakers will use the study results to reference their future work.
Definitions of the terms
For this study, many terms must be defined to provide a specific perspective on the issues discussed
• EFL teachers refer to teachers (native Vietnamese speakers) who teach
English in grades 10, 11 and 12 at Dalat City-based high schools
• EFL refers to English as a compulsory subject in the curriculum and the national examination
• The theme-based approach refers to how EFL teachers design various activities around the content-related topics or grammar-related topics selected by the English teacher group for EFL students to prepare outside the classroom, launch them in front of the class, and integrate many language skills
• Perceptions refer to EFL teachers’ perceptions of implementing the TBA to teaching English as a foreign language at Dalat City-based high schools
• Constraints refer to difficulties EFL teachers encounter when TBA is implemented at Dalat City-based high schools.
Organization of the thesis
The dissertation comprises five main parts, including Introduction, Literature review, Methodology, Results and discussion, and Conclusion
Chapter 1, Introduction, consists of the study’s background, statement, goals and objectives, the research questions, the scope, and the significance and the definitions of the terms Then the design of the study is also presented
Chapter 2, Literature review, provides a review of relevant literature that illustrates approaches to EFL/ ESL teaching and learning, content-based instruction (CBI) or Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), theme-based approach (TBA), and the previous studies Notably, the first section deals with traditional teaching methods, communicative language teaching, task-based language teaching, project-based learning The second section focuses on the definition and models of CBI/ CLIL, its advantages and disadvantages The third section consists of the definition of theme- based approach (TBA), learning theories concerning the TBA, the implementation of the TBA in EFL/ ESL education, teachers’ and students’ roles in TBA-based language classrooms The final section summarizes the previous studies and shows the research gaps
Chapter 3, Methodology, deals with the research tradition/ context, research participants, instruments for study, as well as data gathering and analysis techniques
Chapter 4, Results and discussion, focuses on the study results (using complete paragraphs supported by tables/ graphs), interprets the results presented in the results section, and discusses them concerning the research question and previous research results in the field
Chapter 5, Conclusion, summarises the main points and puts forward tentative suggestions and limitations as well
LITERATURE REVIEW
Approaches to EFL/ESL teaching and learning
The teacher-centered language teaching approaches (e.g., the grammar-translation method, the audio-lingual method, the structure-based approach, Presentation- Practice-Production (P.P.P), etc.) emphasize grammatical competence and accuracy activities; and are generally affected by behaviourists Behaviourism regards knowledge as the product of a search process, instruction as the process of knowledge transmission (Bichelmeyer & Hsu, 1999), and the student as a non- reflective receiver and does not highly appreciate the learner’s knowledge devoted to the learning process (Boghossian, 2006) In such classrooms, foreign language teachers play essential roles in instructional activities and are considered the transmitters and controllers who dominate all classroom activities Their teaching style is highly teacher-dominated; as mentioned in the words of Robinson (1979), the teacher sees himself as a reserved and demanding individual who is focused on the subject matter and completing assigned tasks According to Slavin (1995),
12 traditional instruction is teacher-directed instruction, negative interdependence and one-way transmission They usually spend much time speaking and explaining the class curriculum Besides that, they use the P-P-P cycle to help EFL learners know and practise using the new structures (Richards, 2006) EFL students focus on exercises and practices that require repetition and substitution, as well as memorization and revision of knowledge (e.g., English grammar princilpes, rote vocabulary, and translation abilities from the textbooks) (Wang, 2001) This process is a mechanical practice During the teaching and learning process, students attentively listen to the lecture, passively learn a language, and hardly have real communicative interaction between the teacher and students However, they succeed in practising specific grammatical points and other dimensions of language without understanding them (Richards, 2006)
2.1.2 Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach
Unlike the traditional approaches, CLT focuses on communicative competence and fluency activities based on small-group interaction It is a meaningful and communicative practice because it emphasizes the learning process rather than the products learners make and meaning rather than form From Savignon's (1991) perspective, the notion of "communicative" is used to describe a program to meet particular assessing and communicating needs Therefore, CLT helps learners to utilize grammar and other dimensions of language to communicate or negotiate meaning for different purposes and functions, such of making a request, offering advice, providing recommendations, and stating wants and needs with various people in diverse contexts (formal or informal, oral or written communication) (Richards, 2006) In CLT class, students work in pairs or groups rather than individually; rather than a model for proper speech and writing, the EFL teacher serves as a facilitator and a monitor Besides, language learning focuses on making honest communication; learners have opportunities to experience, discover and induct grammar rules and knowledge; learners' errors are accepted, accuracy and fluency are developed, distinct abilities (comprising speaking, reading, writing and
13 listening) are integrated Furthermore, teachers must employ a variety of learning activities for students to show their communicative competence, including observation, interviews, journals, and portfolios Aside from the benefits listed earlier in this section, the CLT approach assists students to improve higher-order thinking skills, which are one of the most important 21st-century skills (Thomas,
1998), because language is used as a means of meaning negotiating in real-world situations (outside of the classroom), but not in the classroom (Richards, 2006)
2.1.3 Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT)
During the learning process, learners need to interact with each other through communicative tasks Therefore TBLT is flourished In second language acquisition, TBLT is defined as a teaching method in which students participate in English communicative tasks A task is considered an activity that is related to the real world More importantly, the task requires recognizing, creating, manipulating, or interacting in natural language Foreign language learners tend to employ grammatical knowledge to express meaning or communicate effectively for a specific communicative goal Therefore, meaning is paid more attention to than form; task completion is also prioritized, task performance and the outcome are primarily assessed (Nunan, 2004)
Moreover, Willis (1996) stated that a task brings about an outcome (a communicative purpose) during exchanging meanings Notwithstanding, specific practical school settings need to be considered when TBLT is implemented, such as class size, class space, classroom materials/ reference resources, teacher training, teachers' and students' proficiency, and examination orientation Carless's (2002) observation, noise/ indiscipline, code-switching from the L1 language to the L2 language and vice versa, pupil contribution to task-based learning activities, linguistic output for pupils' drawing and colouring activities are the issues FL teachers are facing Skehan (1996) found that task-based instruction has strong and weak forms For the former, tasks are regarded as the primary unit of language instruction, with everything else being supplementary For the latter, TBLT is the
14 same as CLT and P-P-P approach However, the production stage is based on tasks
In Skehan’s (1996) viewpoint, tasks are considered a significant part of language learning; however, they are a more sophisticated teaching context
One of the techniques is used to activate learners' motivation, collaboration, and critical thinking skills to solve real-world circumstances is PBL PBL is defined as an effective strategy that encourages students to expand their knowledge learned in class (Bransford et al., 1999) PBL, according to Savery (2006), is a constructivist educational strategy that encourages students to work in groups or interact with one another in order to apply classroom information to real-world situations Additionally, this method develops learners' self-efficacy (Vaiz, 2003), active learning engagement (Cornell & Clarke, 1999) and self-assessment (Gubacs, 2004) From then, critical and creative thinking is developed (Richards, 2006)
2.1.5 Content-based instruction (CBI) or content and language integrated learning (CLIL)
In some teaching methodologies, as mentioned above, meaning is paid great attention to (fluency over accuracy); however, learners have a strong ambition of getting a high level of fluency and accuracy when acquiring a second language The CBI approach or CLIL was flourished to achieve that goal CBI/ CLIL refers to a wide range of instructional models in which academic subject matter and language skills were simultaneously learned in a second or foreign language (Widdowson,
1978) It also includes teaching and learning practices that are impassioned about and dedicated to both language and content acquisition (Stoller, 2004) CBI is defined by Richards and Rodgers (2001) as a teaching approach in which EFL learners will acquire the content and information through teaching activities organized around themes In the CBI approach, a more authentic language learning experience is provided, both meaning and form are treated, and language and cognitive dimensions are integrated (Lyster, 2007) According to Krahnke (1987),
FL teachers convey the content without teaching language separately in the CBI method Unlikely, Wesche (1993) emphasized that CBI aims to develop second or foreign language skills and differs from content learning combined with language skill learning In this circumstance, foreign language is utilized to transport the relevant contents through the interaction between learners, between the teacher and them From the perspective of Heindler (1998), CLIL is seen as a necessary component of modern foreign language instruction
2.1.5.2 Advantages and disadvantages of CBI/CLIL
Many benefits can be achieved by applying CBI Firstly, the CBI approach brings language and content instruction into balance because EFL learners are required to present topics or tasks in second or foreign language learning (Crandall & Tucker,
1990) Therefore, the target language is viewed as a language tool but not a learning object (Brinton et al., 1989) Similarly, Dalton-Puffer (2007) depicted the language, not a mother tongue, as a medium, not a subject, of instruction in educational contexts Secondly, in CLIL, meaning is paid more attention to than form; consequently, students could conceptually integrate the new data into the prior knowledge through language (Van Lier, 1996; Swain 1996) In this integrating process, learners of ESL must use language as a medium to convey the relevant contents or as a tool to communicate Moreover, Richards and Rodgers (2001) declared that EFL learners become more successful in acquiring knowledge by using language than by learning a language In one way, content is the object of learning acquired through communication, and it is not acquired through learning language (Richards, 2006) In another way, content is recognized as the framework, the guiding dimension, and EFL students' reason to learn English (Richards, 2006) Learners' exposure to the target language is significantly increasing (Lightbown & Spada, 2006) thanks to reading, listening to, speaking and writing about meaningful topics What is more, the social and academic content will become an exciting resource or the objective of language learning in honest communication; that is why their target language is utilized as naturally as possible (Van Lier, 1996; Swain
1996) Another benefit of CLIL is that the cognitive dimension is developed in parallel with the linguistic one when language and content are integrated (Snow, Met & Genesee, 1989) In the words of Coyle et al (2009), learners' creativity and higher-order thinking skills are also promoted when their cognition is enhanced Additionally, while some EFL programs place a strong emphasis on language knowledge, the content-based syllabus emphasizes using language to negotiate the meaning of relevant content in real-world circumstances; hence, theme-based CLIL lessons are designed into meaningful communicative activities related to four principles in the Cs framework (content, cognition, communication, and culture) This design activates learners' enthusiasm and curiosity Furthermore, Van Lier
(1988) stated that acquiring language on the street could be easier and more rapid than in the classrooms if foreign language classrooms were converted into authentic communication situations like "streets" EFL learners could quickly become more motivated and engaged in learning activities in this approach than in traditional grammar-focused instruction The rationale is that the topics of the instructional materials are exciting and relevant to learners' needs and requirements Thus, providing motivation for learning and improved learning is one of the advantages of the CLIL approach
CLIL has also been shown to offer considerable advantages These advantages have been proved by empirical research Primary school students’ L2 proficiency and language learning skills are effectively enhanced (Serra, 2007; Hüter & Rieder-Bünemann, 2010; Yamano, 2013, and Ouazizi's, 2016) In her study, Ikeda (2013) reveals that secondary school students in Japan improved their essay writing skills significantly Similarly, Yamano (2013) finds that a CLIL curriculum in a Japanese primary school encourages pupils to have a positive mindset toward learning vocabulary and the target language Other benefits of CLIL for FL learners have been demonstrated in much other research Admiraal et al (2006) showed that students in the CLIL-based classroom in the Netherlands became proficient in speaking skills and reading comprehension Similarly, Prieto-Arranz et al (2015)
Theme-based approach (TBA)
As mentioned above, TBI is the second model of CBI in which both language- driven and content-driven activities are structured around a specific theme for FL learners to join From the perspectives of Dueủas (2004), in FL contexts, CBI is most often equivalent to TBI; and Grabe and Stoller (1997) generally considered TBI as CBI Moreover, Van Lier (1996) and Swain (1996), two language educationalists, asserted that integrating the L2 instruction into the curricular content greatly benefits FL learners The effectiveness of this approach is generally referred to as TBI However, as mentioned in the words of Cameron (2001), TBI is a method consisting of the planning process, language strategies and learning activities In contrast, CBI is an approach which does not require any specific techniques and particular activities (Richards & Rodgers, 2001)
TBI, on the other hand, is defined by Snow (2001) as programs in which teachers derive activities for language learning from pre-determined subjects or themes Brinton et al (2001) defined TBA as a collection of language learning activities derived from subjects or themes surrounding a content Meanwhile, Cameron
(2001) generally depicted TBA as an organization of language lessons and learning activities around a topic integrated with various curriculum areas All these activities are derived from real-world contexts and necessities According to Brinton et al (2003), thematic content is integrated into the teaching of language skills in the theme-based methodology The goal is to improve pupils' language competency and proficiency by using content resources The themes were chosen based on their potential contribution to accomplishing this goal Besides that, TBI is a language- driven strategy that combines language and information that is relevant to learners'
20 interests and specialties (Brinton & Snow, 2017; Lyster, 2018; Snow & Brinton,
2.2.2 Learning theories relating to the theme-based approach
According to Snow (cited in Celce-Murcia, 2001), TBI is focused on second language acquisition research, communicative approaches and cognitive psychology Therefore, in this section, three learning theories relating to the theme- based approach will be presented
In terms of constructivist learning's cognitive nature, Piaget (1980) and Bruner
(1990) emphasized that learners form new ideas or concepts based upon their prior knowledge through active learning Mental activities are organized based on previously learned knowledge and new experiences in this process In these activities, learners methodically select and transform new information relying on the cognitive structures that have already existed or the knowledge they have already known Thus, teachers need to provide them with the learning materials related to their current state of understanding to encourage them to discover their knowledge From their perspectives, individuals actively construct knowledge through a series of internal intellectual stages or steps; motivation is intrinsically driven
Concerning the social nature of constructivist learning, constructivists argue that each person does not isolatedly exist, but they live in webs of relationships with others in the living world Mainly, Vygotsky (1986) showed that the importance of social connection cannot be overstated in cognition development; knowledge is a social interaction product (genuine tasks in contexts that are meaningful and realistic) Learners are the major agendas responsible for their knowledge being constructed Learners improve their linguistic competence and human consciousness by using language to interact with others in society (interpsychological) and inside those people (intrapsychological) Additionally, the possibility for cognitive development has been identified as the "zone of proximal
21 development" (ZPD), could be limited at any given time through such social interactions; and motivation is intrinsically and extrinsically driven Figure 2.1 shows the way of forming new ideas/concepts/knowledge
Second language acquisition theory: Comprehensible output
It is considered that students learn language when they are exposed to understandable material (Krashen, 1981), represented i+1 In this term, i refers to the current knowledge of the student While 1 is an undefined index It refers to the level of knowledge students will acquire, which is slightly higher or a little more complicated than they have in the current situation This means that people acquire language best through the state of being exposed to input that is just a level above their current degree of competence The critical issue is how to assist the students in transforming the input they are exposed to internalized intake According to the input hypothesis, a language classroom is a great venue to offer a variety of dynamic classroom activities since learners may supply intelligible input for a whole day in class in under an hour To help learners obtain i+1, teachers play a vital role in the classroom of a foreign language, such as a key source of
22 understandable data This creator chooses a rich mix of meaningful practice activities to make the classroom atmosphere exciting and friendly to lower the affective filter Learners also play different roles in the language class They have to process comprehensible input, decide when one should speak, what one should say, and what linguistic idioms one should use In the pre-production stage, they participate in the language class without responding They respond to familiar questions and fixed conversations in the early production stage In the speech- emergent phase, they take part in a wide range of meaningful practice activities such as role-play, games, personal information and opinions, group problem- solving Figure 2.2 shows the way of creating comprehensible input
Figure 2.2: Second language acquisition theory
Thorne (2000) observed that the fundamental rules of some life expectancy are formed as a result of the historical and socio-cultural activity This activity influences current circumstances, resulting in interactional and communicative behaviors The sociocultural theory opposes the notion that form and meaning can be completely separated, arguing that context and language influence each other and recognizing that people's consciousness and linguistic/communicative practices are heavily influenced by the sociocultural context
Operating within a sociocultural theoretical framework enforces broadening the definition of language, which demands adopting a perspective on language and its use in context This viewpoint does not take language's role for granted; instead, it
A rich mix of meaningful practice activities
Role-play, games, personal information and opinions, group work, problem-solving,
23 emphasizes the centrality of discourse and how discourse constructs context As Wells (1999) explained that by learning and using language, we enter and participate in the ongoing conversation of meaning-making in the societies to which we belong Language learning is defined as the acquisition of new forms of communication, according to the fundamental principles that shape the CBI curricular approach (Kramsch, 1993) and, as just that, in terms of language form (e.g., syntax, grammar, lexicon) as an essential component of interaction practice and the meaning that it actually involves (i.e., a focus on the use of language, discourse production, and interpretations) Figure 2.3 reveals the link between social settings and language
2.2.3 Implementing TBA in EFL/ESL education
Brinton et al (2003), language teachers are the only ones who teach theme-based courses Meanwhile, from the perspectives of Snow and Brinton (1984), the subject instructor needs to collaborate with the language instructor to integrate language and content well Their responsibility is to design the whole activity as meaningful and attractive as possible to stimulate learners' curiosity to be involved instead of simply remaining silent and listening to the teacher's explanation (Harmer, 1991) interaction and communicati ve behaviors communication and communicative behaviors
TBA consists of three phases, according to Di Pietro (1987): rehearsal, performance, and debriefing In the rehearsal phase, students prepare for the speaking activity by taking notes and asking their partners and teachers for assistance In performance one, students discuss the concept they practiced and learnt in class In the debriefing one, students need to assess their own work, correct others' work and give their reflections During the performance, some guiding questions prompt students to reflect on their fluency
Similarly, Cameron (2001) mentioned three stages of implementing TBA in an EFL classroom; however, they are planning process, language strategies and different learning activities Brainstorming and webbing are two basic planning techniques of TBA In the brainstorming stage, a mental stage, learners think random and spontaneous ideas linked to the initial idea In the webbing one, they write down connected ideas In both stages, teachers and learners could mention all dimensions related to the topic they would like to discover
Previous study
In their article, "The Effectiveness of a Theme-based Syllabus for Young L2 Learners", Alptekin et al (2007) investigated the effectiveness of a theme-based syllabus versus an essentially grammatical syllabus with functional elements for 97 young Turkish learners of English (aged 10-11) in a primary school setting The theme-based syllabus rested on two different theoretical premises: Widdowson's
(1990) notion of systemic versus schematic knowledge in language learning and Cummins' (1981) two-dimensional language proficiency concept of basic interpersonal/communicative skills and cognitive/academic skills language proficiency Two entire groups are randomly assigned to one of these syllabus types and receive instruction for two years The students' language development was measured three times throughout the study The researcher used the Cambridge YLE Test when they finished the first and the second school year and began the second school year Moreover, at the end of the first and second school years, the researcher employed semi-structured interviews with randomly selected students from each group The interviews took place one week after the test was administered The study's findings indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group in listening and reading/writing skills
Amalia (2019) also found the effectiveness of TBI on reading activities, especially in narrative text Classroom Action Research was done through planning, action, observation, and reflection A descriptive qualitative and quantitative design was used in this study This study was conducted at SMP Muhammadiyah 58 Sukaramai, Jl Denai Gg Dua In the academic year 2019-2020 at Kota Medan, twenty-six students participated in the research Students' reading scores were based on the Pre-test result; the mean score was 54.23 The average student score in the first cycle test was 66.15, and the average student score in the second cycle test was 86.15 The use of theme-based teaching in activities helped students improve their reading comprehension skills, especially theme-based narrative text Reading skill was considerably improved based on diary notes, observation sheets, and interviews
27 with the English teacher and students; it showed the expression and excitement of students They became more motivated to learn the narrative text Moreover, utilizing a theme-based instruction methodology to teach extensive reading made students more engaged and active in their classroom reading learning process There was a considerable influence on the students' extensive reading learning process These results were exemplified in the study of Mutiarani and Rahman (2019)
Likely, De La Cerda (2016) investigated reading comprehension improvement using the theme-based and genre-oriented strategic reading course This paper reported the process of designing and partially implementing and evaluating a content-based and genre-oriented syllabus with a group of ninth-graders at a public school in Barranquilla, Colombia The participants were 35 students in ninth grade at a public school located in the southwestern part of Barranquilla, Colombia They chose the topics of science, social studies, and arts as those they preferred the most The syllabus sought to promote reading strategies in order to improve learners' comprehension of natural science texts The study employed a twenty-one questionnaire for students, a ten-question test, interviews of teachers and coordinators, and class observations The results of this intervention showed that the use of academic texts with low achievers was possible They, in turn, could develop a good comprehension of different kinds of texts if these students were aware of the structure of the texts they were reading and if they were provided with reading strategies that were appropriate for each genre
Another receptive skill also improved by using TBI is writing Moreover, writing apprehension is decreased from a moderate level to a low level This decrease was clarified in Phonhan et al (2015) study The narrative and descriptive composition course were provided for 23 third-year English majoring students who enrolled in a descriptive and narrative course in the second semester of 2014 at Mahasarakham University, Mahasarakham province The sample group consisted of 6 lesson plans using theme-based instruction, a writing apprehension test based on Daly and Miller's study (1975), a semi-structured interview, and a students' journal The
28 statistics used for analyzing data were means, standard deviation and t-test After teaching by Theme-based instruction, the students' writing performance improved, as seen from the individual score on the English language proficiency test before and after class, which showed that 90% of the students passed the determined criteria of the writing ability test Only 10% of them did not pass the test because they had language grammar and structures problems However, they were able to understand descriptive writing and wrote the correct pattern of descriptive writing Similarly, Prasasti et al (2019) pointed out that students' narrative writing achievement was improved by employing TBI This study was a pre-experimental study that applied a pretest-posttest one-group design The population was 123 10th-grade students of SMA N 1 Indralaya Utara in 2013-2014 Thirty-two students among them were purposively chosen The data was obtained by employing writing tests First, the research findings revealed that the post-test scores were higher than those in the pre-test The calculation of the paired-samples t-test showed a significant difference in students' narrative writing achievement before and after the treatment Second, the calculation of the paired-samples t-test per aspect of writing showed that content (purpose and narrative development) was the most significantly improved aspect out of the five aspects Besides, students' narrative writing was significantly improved in content after they were taught using a Theme-Based Approach The usefulness of the theme-based instructional (TBI) method in sharpening the writing abilities and motivation for writing was investigated in the study of Osman et al (2009)
Besides bettering receptive language skills, TBI helps learners improve their academic language skills This finding was shown in Arslan and Saka (2010) They investigated the use of a theme-based model of CBI on a group of science students learning English at a tertiary level in Turkey This study applied course materials based upon the theme-based CBI model to teach academic English language skills Questionnaires about the program's language needs, including structured interview questions, were employed and distributed to 97 students in Physics, Chemistry and
Biology departments A questionnaire about the impact of such an application was completed by 19 students who had specifically studied thematic units The majority of students said they needed to learn English to pursue future courses taught in English for academic purposes Those students who studied science-related thematic units argued that their motivation to learn English increased as they improved their academic language skills through the content they received and the activities they joined Data findings may also suggest that if the theme-based model of CBI was widely used in the preparatory program, it could meet language needs because such a practice engaged learners in science English, providing them with necessary academic language skills
In terms of encouraging the creative process in science by administrating TBI, Munakata and Vaidya (2015) described an introductory-level physics course In this course, students' creativity was encouraged by participating in project-based learning The overall project went beyond the physics classroom; however, physics knowledge was linked to visual arts, music, theatre, and English to create a sustainable means to produce short films on sustainability This article presented the physics project and provided the context of the overarching project They described the project's motivation and the implementation and outcomes, reported the impact on students, and suggested ways to encourage creativity in all science classes
Besides the advantages mentioned above, through an integrated 4-skills approach, TBI could provide more learning chances than traditional techniques and drive higher levels of cognition (Brinton et al., 2003; Brown & Lee, 2015; and Tedick & Lyster, 2020) TBI was common in many ESL/EFL settings (Brinton & Snow,
2017), and its favorable influence on language acquisition was well-proven (e.g., Brinton et al., 2003; Donato, 2016; and Brinton & Snow, 2017) What is more, TBA helped high school students learn about cross-cultural understanding and environmental challenges by increasing their global awareness Through a sociocultural scaffolding process, the participants improved their understanding of given themes and realized the relevance of discussing significant global concerns
30 while simultaneously developing communication and teamwork abilities (Shibata,
2021) In addition, many scholars considered TBA as a “meaningful” technique to personally involve pupils in the learning process (Lipson et al., 1993, and Handal & Bobis, 2004) It was connected to students’ life experiences, interests, and existing knowledge bases (Handal & Bobis, 2004; Lipson et al., 1993; and Mangan, 2014); created a focus for learners that reveals connections among knowledge areas (Lipson et al., 1993); promoted positive attitudes in learners (Lipson et al., 1993); and improved student success/achievement (Handal & Bobis, 2004; and Mangan,
2014) Mangan (2014) claimed that students performed better in theme-based classes The "fear and horror" rate in themed introductory English classes decreased more than in traditional versions of these classes in the community college system From Tessia and Tessia’s (2015) viewpoints, the use of themes throughout a course can help students enhance their impressions of their learning and their comfort level with learning new subjects Furthermore, Oghyanous (2018) clarified that explicit instruction through the text-theme method had a considerably stronger effect on learning new vocabulary items than regular instruction.
Research gaps
The integration of theme-based instruction into English teaching is a relatively new development in the field, and it helps students learn the language naturally and improve their L2 proficiency However, the empirical research on implementing the TBA to teaching EFL at high schools worldwide, especially in Vietnam, is still modest and a vague concept for teachers to put into practice in the language classrooms In addition, given that most theme-based instruction research studies focus on teaching the English language, other commonly taught language skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening) and students’ viewpoints More importantly, empirical research on teachers' perceptions of implementing the TBA to teaching EFL at high schools and its challenges has not been conducted yet Therefore, this study explored teachers' perceptions and the constraints the EFL teachers encounter in practice regarding the implementation of TBA at high schools, and it can add
31 another perspective to theme-based instruction practice and devote to the general discussion of the impact of this teaching strategy
In addition, teachers' experiences with changing their practices are rarely considered In the case of FL education, questions about the meaning of teachers' experiences with curricular change are rarely asked (Cammarata, 2009) Hence, the field is still in the dark about what it means for FL teachers in middle, high school, and college who work in traditional language-driven programs to adopt new curricular visions like the one required by TBA Attempting to answer such questions necessitates the development of an entirely new research agenda that views teachers as change agents (Freeman, 2004; Hargreaves; 1992; and Hawkins,
2004) An agenda like this is crucial for teacher educators who want to help FL teachers learn and use TBA to develop their students' translingual and transcultural competence
The current study adds to this new research agenda by focusing on the subjective meaning and lived experience of FL teachers attempting to learn TBI Such a research agenda, driven by epistemological questions attempting to investigate teachers' ways of knowing, is critical because it serves as the foundation for any pedagogical practice As Reagan (2004) reminds us that the way we think about knowledge and what it means to know is intrinsically linked to all aspects of how we teach Thus, exploring what it means for teachers to consider changing their practice to accommodate a new curricular vision is the first step in understanding the challenges associated with TBA learning Only then will we be able to fully grasp the complexities of the change experience that is central to any curricular reform This study takes a phenomenological approach because phenomenological inquiry seeks to answer epistemological questions about the experiences of teachers The purpose of this research is to better understand the various factors that may influence high school and college foreign language teachers' experiences learning about TBA It focuses solely on teachers who are evolving in what could be described as traditional or conventional instructional settings It builds upon a
32 preliminary study's findings (Cammarata, 2009) that helped to clarify critical challenges teachers faced as they attempted to transition to CBI This study raised new questions about the nature of teachers' difficulties in incorporating content into existing language-driven programs.
Conceptual framework
The purpose of the current study is to investigate EFL teachers’ perceptions of implementing the theme-based approach at Dalat City-based high schools; examine whether there are significant differences in terms of perceptions of the theme-based approach between trained EFL teachers and untrained EFL teachers at Dalat City- based high schools; and explore the challenges EFL teachers encounter when TBA is implemented at Dalat City-based high schools
The conceptual framework of the current study is presented in Figure 2.4 as follows
Figure 2.4: Conceptual framework of the study
The usefulness of the TBA
The usefulness of the TBA to EFL learners
The requirements of the EFL learners
The requirements of the EFL teachers
The requirements of the EFL teachers
METHODOLOGY
Research context
This study was conducted at high schools in Dalat City, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam In particular, Lam Dong province is considered one of the top places in English teaching quality in each national examination According to the statistic table of the results of the annual national examination of MOET, the high school education rate of Lam Dong is always moderately higher than that of the whole country in recent years In 2021, for instance, the rate of the whole country was 59.73%, while the rate of Lam Dong was 69.22% Notwithstanding, the English teaching quality rate is entirely distinguishing between high schools in the region
There are from 35 to 45 students per class All classrooms at high schools in Dalat are equipped with projectors, speakers and cassette players to support English teaching, but there are no labs to practise English speaking and listening skills Generally, students have three English classes every week so that they can learn and practise English frequently What is more, the Department of Education and Training of Lam Dong (DOET) demanded that each high school set up an English- speaking club This club is a playground for EFL students to utilize English as
34 naturally and effectively as possible Generally, this club at some high schools was regularly organized, thoroughly successful and helpful for students while that in others was not because of such reasons as students’ needs and motivation, timetable, venue, study pressure, lack of various activities, and budget
3.1.2 EFL learners at Dalat City-based high schools
EFL students at Dalat City-based high schools have different levels of proficiency in English Those with a high level (who wish to achieve a scholar to study abroad or have a strong ambition to learn a foreign language to apply for a thriving – known university or to succeed in their more advanced studies) spend much time and make a great effort to study English both inside and outside the classroom Notwithstanding, those with a low level (who learn English just because it is compulsory in the curriculum and must complete it) do not usually work hard and spend little time learning it or ignoring it Insufficient learning time (only three 45- minute lessons per week) and most learners' negative attitudes (learning English to pass the exams) make them study ineffectively Diverse attitudes lead to various ways of learning English Besides, Dalat has been known as a famous tourist attraction for domestic and international visitors Notably, a wide range of foreign language centers was opened in urban areas Therefore, students in the urban have many opportunities to interact with foreigners from diverse English-speaking countries and strengthen their language skills, especially speaking and listening skills Many students are proficient in English communicative competence However, rural students have few opportunities to communicate with speakers of other languages, and there is no foreign language center in these places As a result, they cannot practice English outside the classroom or in real-life communication situations These make students not feel confident speaking English to people from other countries and demotivating them to learn English
3.1.3 EFL teachers at Lam Dong high schools
All EFL teachers at high schools in Lam Dong province were obliged to achieve Band 5 in the common Vietnamese framework of language references (consisting of
6 Bands) Annually, the EFL group leaders at high schools in Lam Dong are trained to discuss and exchange teaching experiences between them Then they were required to train those contents again for the rest of the members in their groups Since 2017, at the beginning of the academic year, all EFL group members have been required to choose two themes to implement in the school year (one for each semester) That theme ought to be included in their teaching syllabus and approved by the school management board Then, one teacher would teach that theme period for other EFL teachers to observe and then give feedback Up to now, the implementation of two themes has been continued annually However, this implementation occurs in clubs or extra-curriculum activities More importantly, DOET is very attentive to English teaching quality in the province Hence, they strengthen EFL teachers' teaching competency and methodology through training courses The EFL group leaders were called for a three-month training course in teaching methodologies organized by SEMEO RETRACT in Bao Loc in 2019 In
2020, one to two EFL teachers per high school were trained a teaching methodology course of a month organized in Dalat by Ho Chi Minh City University of Education These courses were both face-to-face and online EFL teachers could practice and apply active teaching methodologies (including TBA) to motivate EFL students All EFL teachers in Lam Dong were training for the National English Program 2018 to get ready to apply the new textbooks in the following years
The principal pedagogical methodologies in the curriculum guidelines and textbooks claimed to adopt are "learner-centered approach and the communicative approach with task-based teaching" (English 10, Teacher’s Manual, p.12, English
11, Teacher’s Manual, p.12, English 12, Teacher’s Manual, p.6) The teaching contents are organized around six themes related to students' daily life, including
36 personal information/ You and me, education, community, nature, recreation, people, and places A book map on each book's first page summarizes each unit's teaching contents At the end of each textbook, a glossary is provided Both phonetic transcription and Vietnamese translation for each entry are included in the glossary Many Dalat City-based high schools have utilized the introductory English textbooks designed by MOET of Vietnam and published in 2006 These textbooks comprise sixteen teaching units and six review units Each teaching unit consists of five sections: reading, speaking, listening, writing, and language focus
In every 45 minutes, students focus on a distinct skill for the same topic, except for the last skill (included pronunciation and grammar) The first period, for example, is for reading skills, the second is for speaking one, the third is for listening one, the fourth is for writing one, and the last is for language focus This process happens similarly from Unit one to Unit sixteen In the curriculum guidelines, two forms of continuous and regular assessment are claimed to apply The continuous assessment includes various forms such as oral tests, fifteen-minute tests, project assessment, portfolio assessment, self-assessment, peer assessment, etc The regular assessment consists of the midterm examination and the end-term examination The guidelines also emphasize that the regular assessment should cover all four language skills and knowledge with equal weighting
3.1.5 English teaching quality at Dalat City-based high schools
There are 60 high schools in the whole province and 11 high schools in Dalat City The English teaching quality in Lam Dong generally and in Dalat particularly is not measured by the number of excellent and good students but by the national education rate in English of the EFL students The schools with the high rate are considered to have a good teaching quality As shown in Table 3.1, Thang Long Gifted High School ranks first in the English education rate with an average score of 8.883 in 2021 This figure is followed by Tran Phu High School (7.744), which ranks fourth, and Bui Thi Xuan High School (7.509), sixth The schools with the lowest scores in Dalat are Hermann Gmeiner (5.174), forty-sixth, and Yersin High
School (5.173), forty-seventh To achieve high teaching quality, EFL teachers constantly strengthen their self-study and vary their teaching approaches flexibly Table 3.1: The high school education rate in English of eleven high schools in
No Name of high schools Average Rank
1 Thang Long high school for the gifted 8.883 1
3 Bui Thi Xuan high school 7.509 6
4 Tay Son secondary and high school 7.069 8
5 Lam Dong ethnic minority boarding high school 6.566 11
6 Dong Da secondary and high school 5.991 18
7 Ta Nung secondary and high school 5.989 19
8 Chi Lang secondary and high school 5.877 24
9 Xuan Truong secondary and high school 5.632 33
Research participants
This study involved 65 English teachers (native Vietnamese speakers) conveniently sampled from 11 high schools in Dalat City in answering a questionnaire Table 3.2 shows the status of all Dalat City-based high schools There are nine high schools located in the urban with 59 participants (90.8%), while two schools situated in the rural with 6 participants (9.2%)
Table 3.2: The high school status in Dalat
No Name of high schools Frequency Percent School status
2 Chi Lang secondary and high school
4 Tay Son secondary and high school 7 10.8
5 Thang Long high school for the gifted
6 Lam Dong ethnic minority boarding high school 5 7.7
7 Bui Thi Xuan high school 11 16.9
8 Dong Da secondary and high school
10 Xuan Truong secondary and high school
11 Ta Nung secondary and high school
As seen in Table 3.3, 61 participants (93.8%) were female, and 4 participants (6.2%) were male The number of respondents in the rural is 6 (9.2%) while those in the urban is 59 (90.8%) Additionally, 61 participants (93.8%) have more than ten years of teaching experience while 2 (3.1%) have from 6 to 10 years of that, 2 (3.1%) have from 1 to 5 years of that, and no one has less than one year of that What is more, 55 (84.6%) achieved a Bachelor's Degree, whereas 10 (15.4%) got a Master's Degree, and no one obtained a Doctoral Degree More interestingly, 35 participants were at the ages of 31 to 40, which accounts for 53.8%, 23 participants were at the ages of 41 to 50, which accounts for 35.4%, only 4 (6.2%) were under
30 years old, and 3 (4.6%) were more than 50 Of all participants, 61.5% (40 respondents) did not participate in any TBA training courses over the last five years, while 38.5% (25 respondents) did Fifty participants (76.5%) have observed TBA- based classes to learn about TBA, but fifteen participants (23.1%) have not Therefore, almost all of them are moderately familiar with TBA, which accounts for 70.8% (46 respondents), and 11 participants (16.9%) are very familiar, but only
39 eight respondents (12.3%) are not To meet the requirement of DOET, 49 respondents (75.4%) have utilized TBA once a semester, and 6 (9.2%) have applied it twice a term, but there is still 15.4 % (10 participants) who have not
Number of years teaching English
8 Having participated in any TBA training courses over the last five years
9 Having participated in any TBA training courses
10 Having observed a theme-based class before
Utilization of a TBA per term
Three or over three times 0 0
Ten English teachers were purposively invited for semi-structured interviews Out of 10, five participants had joined the TBA training course, and the rest had not.
Research instruments
In order to reach the overall goal, this study administered a mixed-methods design Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were employed to collect data This mixed-method combines a quantitative approach with a qualitative approach, philosophical assumptions with theoretical frameworks The reason for using the mixed-method is that it provides a complete understanding of a research problem than either approach alone (Creswell, 2014) In general, it minimizes the weaknesses of both approaches because it is a comprehensive approach In practice, it offers a sophisticated approach to research that attracts those who have enthusiasts in new research procedures In procedure, it provides a complete understanding of research issues (Creswell, 2014)
According to Smith (1994), a questionnaire is used to collect most data in quantitative research and is mainly regarded as a structured approach for collecting primary data (Bell, 2003) Moreover, data collected through a questionnaire is practical, express, and convenient (Ackroyd & Hughes, 1981)
The questionnaire in the present study was adapted from the study of Chowdhury
(2017) Most of the features in her study were in common with the related literature
41 that the author reviewed Hence, the questionnaire collected quantitative data on EFL teachers' perceptions of the theme-based approach to teaching EFL at Da Lat City-based high schools (31 items) and their constraints (12 items)
Comprising of 55 closed-ended items, the questionnaire includes two parts: Part A
(12 items) is about the respondent’s demographic information; Part B (43 items) The first 12 items in Part A were designed with the participants’ information related to gender, school status, the highest degree, age, English teaching experience, English proficiency level, knowledge of TBA, participation in the TBA training course, observation, and utilization of TBA Part B consists of two sections, employing the five-point Likert scale (Strongly disagree, Disagree, neutral, Agree,
Strongly agree) The first section in Part B (the perceptions of English teachers of implementing TBA in their EFL teaching) consists of 31 items It is divided into five sub-topics: (1) The usefulness of the TBA (items 1-6), (2) The usefulness of the TBA to EFL learners (items 7- 14), (3) The requirements of the EFL learners in the TBA-based classroom (items 15- 22), (4) the requirements of the EFL teachers in the TBA-based classroom (items 23-28), (5) The requirements of activities in the TBA-based classroom (items 29-31) The second section of Part B (the constraints faced by the EFL teachers) comprises 12 items
One of the most popular methods to collect qualitative data is an interview (Ary et al., 2002) Through the interview, especially the semi-structured interview, respondents provide researchers with detailed and profound information of some aspects related to the research question they can not explain or modify in the questionnaire (Berg, 2007) The respondents freely share their opinions because the interview aims at producing “adequate” and “relevant” data (Ackroyd & Hughes,
1992) More importantly, open-ended research questions help decline the respondents’ bias possibility that the respondent’s answers are authentic and reliable (Patton,1990)
In this study, the respondents' perceptions of implementing TBA in teaching EFL and their challenges were detailedly discovered through personally interviewing The individual interview of ten English teachers was employed via telephone for in- depth information Five questions were made to ask the perceptions of English teachers and their constraints to implement TBA in teaching EFL The interview questions were in respondents' mother tongue so that they did not have any language difficulty in answering the questionnaires
In conclusion, a mixed-methods study will better understand the research problem (Creswell, 2012) The questionnaire and the semi-structured interview were administered in this study to collect quantitative and qualitative data to investigate EFL teachers' perceptions of the theme-based approach to teaching English as a foreign language at Dalat City-based high schools and the constraints they have faced.
Procedures for data collection and analysis
The research was conducted from August to October in 2021 because all English teachers in Lam Dong still were on their summer holiday and were being called for a training course for the National English Program 2018 They had to learn online due to the Covid-19 epidemic They had much leisure time to read and get knowledge of TBA from the training system In addition, they are willing to answer the questionnaires Therefore, this is a convenient time for the survey
The procedures of collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data of this study are presented in Figure 3.1 as follows:
Figure 3.1 Data Collection and Analysis Procedures 3.4.1 Procedures for quantitative data collection and analysis
The Vietnamese questionnaire had been designed on Google form and sent to five English teachers in different high schools to pilot for its clarity and comprehensibility for a week The items were also examined to see if any needed to be changed or removed in order to improve the scale's reliability Fortunately, the findings revealed that there was no need to delete and change any items After that, it was administered online to 65 respondents who are English teachers at Dalat City-based high schools Before answering the questionnaire, respondents were informed about the research purpose and instructed to complete it They spent at least fifteen minutes completing all the questionnaire items via Google form While completing the questionnaire, they could have asked for any unclear or incomprehensible item All their wonder was explained to make sure they understood clearly about the items
In respect of data analysis, the quantitative data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and the significance level through the descriptive statistics and independent samples t-test by SPSS version 22 The mean interval scores were interpreted as follows:
3.4.2 Procedures for qualitative data collection and analysis
Ten participating teachers were invited to semi-structured interviews via telephone when the questionnaire was screened after the questionnaire's raw data Each participant from different high schools spent 15-20 minutes responding to the interview questions The questions' purpose was explained in advance All interviews were recorded for content analysis Simultaneously, notes were taken during interviews
The qualitative data from interviews were analyzed by content analysis within three steps, viz familiarizing and organizing, coding and recoding, and summarizing and interpreting Interviewees were coded as T1 to T5 for the trained EFL teachers and T6 to T10 for the untrained EFL teachers.
Validity and reliability
To ensure the questionnaire's reliability and validity, the author had written it first in English (see Appendix A) and checked for the validity of the content by a Vietnamese lecture of English who is working at the university of economics Ho
Chi Minh City Then it was translated into Vietnamese for respondents not to face any language barriers in completing the questionnaire Three high school teachers cross-checked the Vietnamese version (see Appendix B) for the translation's accuracy, clarification, and comprehensibility Of three high school teachers, one has finished a TESOL course, one of the core English teachers of DOET in Lam Dong, and the other is a literature teacher All of them have many years of teaching experience
More importantly, to enhance the quality of the questionnaire, the Vietnamese version was sent to five English teachers in different high schools in Dalat to be piloted According to Radhakrishna (2007), piloting the questions increases the reliability, validity and practicality of the research instruments Fortunately, the questionnaire was completely comprehensible and there were no corrections or modifications then Specifically, the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients set by George and Mallery (2003) were used to measure the reliability in the present study It comprises unacceptable: α < 0.500; poor: 0.500 < α < 0.600; questionable: 0.600 < α < 0.700; acceptable: 0.700 < α < 0.800; good: 0.800 < α < 0.900; and excellent: 0.900 < α
The questionnaire's first and second sections were simultaneously measured The first section included 31 items concerning English teachers' perception of TBA teaching EFL In terms of correlation, all items are moderately or highly correlated with one another The author also tested the dependability of both the adopted and newly designed items The reliability of the 43 self-designed and adopted additional items was 0.90 It came to the conclusion that the questionnaire was a reliable tool The Cronbach’s Alpha for English teachers' perception of TBA teaching EFL was .85, as presented in Table 3.4
Table 3.4: Reliability Statistics on the terms concerning English teachers' perception of TBA teaching EFL
The second section of the questionnaire comprises 12 items related to the constraints faced by EFL teachers when TBA is implemented at Dalat City-based high schools The Cronbach’s Alpha for the constraints was 84, as presented in Table 3.5
Table 3.5: Reliability Statistics on the items concerning the constraints faced by EFL teachers when TBA is implemented at Dalat City-based high schools
In conclusion, the results of reliability statistics are represented in Table 3.4 and Table 3.5, specifically 85 for the items concerning English teachers' perception of TBA teaching EFL and 84 for the items concerning the constraints faced by EFL teachers when TBA is implemented at Dalat City-based high schools These scores have shown that the questionnaire was very reliable to be used for collecting data
To ensure the qualitative data source's validity, the author consulted the supervisor about the content of the interview questions The pre-decided questions of the semi- structured interview were written in English (see Appendix C) and then translated into Vietnamese (see Appendix D) so that the participants did not have any language difficulty in answering them In this way, more in-depth information was gained Before conducting the official interview, a pilot interview was conducted
47 with the participation of three English majors to check the appropriateness of the questions After the official interview, the information was transcribed into English Two Vietnamese teachers of English were invited to verify the accuracy of the translation to ensure that there was no significant difference between the original text and the translated version and therefore was reliable for data analysis in the next stage.
Chapter summary
This chapter deals with the research methodology used in the present study, including four main sections: (1) research context (consisting of learning facilities and conditions, EFL learners at Dalat City-based high school, English teachers at Lam Dong high schools, curriculum guidelines and textbooks, English teaching quality at Dalat City-based high schools), (2) research participants, (3) research instruments (including the questionnaire and semi-structured interview), (4) procedures for data collection and analysis, (5) validity and reliability The results obtained from the instruments as mentioned earlier are presented, analyzed and discussed in the next chapter