Exploring learner autonomy in english speaking learning a case study of the second year students of elt education at an giang university

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY AN GIANG UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES UNDERGRADUATE THESIS EXPLORING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LEARNING: A CASE STUDY

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY

AN GIANG UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

EXPLORING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LEARNING: A CASE STUDY OF THE SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS

OF ELT EDUCATION AT AN GIANG

UNIVERSITY

DANG THI THUY BINH

AN GIANG, June 2022

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY

AN GIANG UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

EXPLORING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LEARNING: A CASE STUDY OF THE SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS

OF ELT EDUCATION AT AN GIANG

Thesis Title: “EXPLORING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN ENGLISH SPEAKING

LEARNING: A CASE STUDY OF THE SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS OF ELT EDUCATION AT AN GIANG UNIVERSITY”

By: DANGTHITHUYBINH

Field of Study: ENGLISHLANGUAGETEACHING

Advisor: Phan Thi Thanh Huyen, Ph.D

Accepted by the Faculty of Foreign Languages, An Giang University on

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The completion of this undergraduate thesis would not have been possible without the kind contributions of individuals to whom I am eternally grateful for their unwavering support

First and foremost, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Phan Thi Thanh Huyen for her unwavering assistance and detailed guidance Her real instruction and accommodating advice, in my opinion, are one of the things that will help me obtain useful experiences and successfully complete my thesis Secondly, I also give special thanks to Ms Huynh Chi Xuan Huyen, MA and Ms Ly Thi Minh Trang, MA because of their support and willingness to devote valuable time for me to send the questionnaire to class 21AV

Thirdly, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the second-year students majoring in ELT Education at the Faculty of Foreign Languages at An Giang University who passionately take part in the survey and focus group interview

Last but not least, I desire to give thanks and unending gratitude to my beloved family for always trusting me and raising me up when I was exhausted Additionally,

my sincere thanks go to my beloved friends Au Dai Phuc, Le Thi My Thuan, and Le Cao Minh Thu for their love, generosity, and understanding Especially, they always stand by my side

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the thesis entitled “Exploring learner autonomy in English speaking learning: A case study of the second-year students of ELT Education at An Giang University”represents my own work and that has not been previously submitted

to any other university or institute in application for admission to degrees or other qualifications

An Giang, June 2022

Keywords: Learner autonomy, English-speaking learning, the second-year students of

ELT Education, An Giang University

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: A summary of the data collected from the second-year ELT Education students

who took part in the survey and interview 17

Table 2: Summary of the questionnaire for ELT Education second-year students 18

Table 3: Scale to compare the average 20

Table 4: The reliability of the students' practice questionnaire 22

Table 5: The Mean, Max, Min and SD of students’ practice to develop LA for ESI 22

Table 6: The mean scores of three clusters of ELT Education students’ practice 23

Table 7: Percentage of students’ practice of setting goals/plans 24

Table 8: Percentage of students’ practice of using activities to perform learning action 25

Table 9: Percentage of Students’ practice of self-evaluating 26

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.1 Rationale of the study 1

1.1.1 Theoretical background 1 1.1.2 Practical background 2 1.2 Purpose of the study 3

1.3 Research questions 3

1.4 Significance of the study 3

1.5 Organization of the thesis 4

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5 2.1 Learner Autonomy in language education 5

2.1.1 Background information and definition of Learner Autonomy 5 2.1.2 Learner Autonomy in language education 6 2.1.3 Characteristics of Autonomous Learner 7 2.2 EFL learning and teaching speaking skills 8

2.2.1 Definition of speaking skills 8 2.2.2 The importance of English speaking skills 8 2.2.3 EFL students’ English speaking skills 9 2.3 Learner Autonomy in language learning 10

2.4 The EFL students’ roles in practice to develop Learner Autonomy for English speaking improvement (ESI) 11

2.4.1 Setting objectives and strategies for ESI 11 2.4.2 Using particular learning activities to carry out the tasks 12 2.4.3 Evaluating the process and performance of English speaking by learners 13 2.5 Related studies 13

2.6 Summary of Literature Review 15

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 16 3.1 Research design 16

3.2 Participants 16

3.3 Data collection instruments 17

3.3.1 Student questionnaire 17

3.4 Data collection procedures 19

3.4.1 Administering the questionnaire 19 3.4.2 Administering the focus group interviews 19 3.5 Data analysis 20

3.5.1 Questionnaire 20 3.5.2 Focus group interview 20 3.6 Summary 21

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 22 4.1 Findings from the questionnaire 22

4.2 Findings from the focus group interviews 27

4.2.2 Setting objectives and strategies for ESI 29 4.2.3 Using particular learning activities to carry out the tasks 30 4.2.4 Evaluating the process and performance of English speaking by learners 32 4.3 Discussions 33

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 36 5.1 Summary of the results 36

5.2 Implications 37

5.3 Limitations 37

5.4 Recommendations for further research 38

5.5 Conclusions 39

REFERENCES 40 APPENDICES 44 APPENDIX 1 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 44

APPENDIX 2 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENT (ENGLISH VERSION) 49

APPENDIX 3 INTERVIEW QUESTION FOR STUDENTS (ENGLISH VERSION) 53 APPENDIX 4 INTERVIEW QUESTION FOR STUDENT (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 55

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

There are five sections in this chapter: (1) rational of the study, (2) purpose of the study, (3) research questions, (4) significance of the study, and (5) organization of the thesis

1.1 Rationale of the study

1.1.1 Theoretical background

“Learner autonomy” (LA), which is one of the most recent and controversial concepts though this definition has been known in the past few decades, is considered as the ultimate objective of language education (Dickinson, 1994) It is directly related to the ability to take charge of one’s own learning, which enables students to learn a language effectively (Holec, 1979) Autonomy, independence, and self-directed learning are the terms that have been employed in a variety of contexts Many researchers found that teachers and learners encounter difficulties in defining and applying LA as well as reassigning the role of actors in the formal setting, which actually has a correlation with the difficulty of breaking habits In fact, much of the learning progress was implemented outside the classroom, but learners are not accustomed to being the center of their own learning It is implied that LA plays a vital role in English language learning In the process of teaching and learning, speaking is considered a productive skill which learners should have (Bailey, 2003)

With the growth of English as an international language of communication (Graddol, 2006, 2010), there is clearly a prerequisite for many learners to speak and interact in a multilingual environment, be it for foreign business, education, and other professional aspects In other words, people may often make judgments about our language competence from our speaking ability rather than other language skills Besides, speaking is considered as the most prominent skill compared to the three other languages skills: reading, listening and writing It enables students to succeed in communicating a foreign language and obtain a high-income job after graduation (Baker & Westrup, 2003) However, various obstacles were posed in the aspect of LA, particularly in EFL teaching context (Bailey, 2003) As a result, EFL learners are motivated to bear the responsibility of their own study so as to improve their English-speaking skills

1.1.2 Practical background

In the research context of An Giang University (AGU), listening and speaking are taught together in the courses called “Listening and Speaking” The level is upgraded every semester from A2 to C1, based on the Common European Framework

of Reference (CEFR) According to the course syllabus, the students will have only forty-five in-class hours and ninety self-study hours That explains why most EFL students have limited chances to participate in speaking activities in class and to practice speaking outside the classroom Therefore, they often find it difficult to express themselves and always have some problems when speaking

The future job as high school English teachers requires the second-year students majoring in ELT Education at An Giang University to have a high level of speaking proficiency and necessary strategies to practice their English-speaking skills Besides, exploring the perceptions of these students about learner autonomy plays a very significant role This is because the credit-based training system was implemented

in university training programs in 2007, and this issue has received increased attention (Nga, Thuy, and Truc, 2014) According to Nga, Thuy, and Truc (2014), most Vietnamese EFL students recognize the importance of LA in language acquisition They know that being autonomous in their learning is key to successful learning for them and their future students, but not all learners start their learning journey with a thorough understanding of autonomy For instance, the results imply that they do not devote enough time to self-study as required by the credit system in higher educational institutions After finishing the first year of university, it is believed that the second-year students majoring in ELT Education at AGU have been prepared for the term “learner autonomy” and apply it into their speaking learning Especially, they were equipped with the ability to take charge of their English language speaking progress

From the point of view of LA, the students should be made aware of the value

of being autonomous language learners, be trained to build their LA capacity and be equipped with good strategies in speaking learning to help their future students practice English speaking skills Thus, it is necessary to carry out the thesis on: “Exploring learner autonomy in English speaking learning: A case study of the second-year students of ELT Education at An Giang University”

1.2 Purpose of the study

This research aims to:

● Investigate the perspectives of the second-year students majoring in ELT Education at AGU about learner autonomy in English speaking learning

● Find out what students do in practice when they learn English speaking skills, particularly comparing the practices of students with low and high levels of learner autonomy

1.4 Significance of the study

The study is significant because there have not been many studies investigating students’ perspectives about learner autonomy in English speaking learning in AGU contexts This research project offers insights to English language teachers in evaluating many different fields of language learning, especially speaking learning, and teaching in different ways, and encouraging teachers to widen language learning areas at the tertiary level for learner development

Furthermore, this research will help the researcher in her future academic endeavors It is to assist the researcher in knowing how to measure students’ autonomy degree whose majors are ELT Education at AGU In addition, the findings will help the teacher of the Faculty of Foreign Languages better understand the ways students practice in speaking learning in order to have timely support and encouragement

Besides that, the research points out the reasons why students study speaking skills independently as well as the process of their learning, with the hope of creating an excellent source of track for evaluating their speaking proficiency, setting objectives, and developing teaching and learning materials

1.5 Organization of the thesis

Through this study, the researcher explores learner autonomy in speaking learning of English Language Teaching Education at An Giang University Chapter 1 provides the rationale for the analysis, the research aims, the research questions, the importance of the study, and the study’s organization Chapter 2 focuses on the theoretical framework Chapter 3 explains the research methodology used in the study including research design, research site, data collection instruments, data collection procedures, and data analysis Chapter 4 presents the outcomes of data collection and analyzes the findings using statistics in figures, tables, and descriptions of the results from the qualitative data Chapter 5, the last chapter, shows a summary of major findings and conclusions drawn from the findings of the study It also provides implications, limitations, and recommendations for further research

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

In this chapter, literature relevant to the study in question will be presented The first three sections discuss the concept of learner autonomy in language education, EFL learning and teaching speaking skills, and LA in language learning Next, the chapter focuses on students’ roles in developing LA for their English speaking development Finally, the summaries of some relevant studies on learner autonomy are presented

2.1 Learner Autonomy in language education

2.1.1 Background information and definition of Learner Autonomy

Learner autonomy is one of the comparatively new and much-discussed concepts that scholars and academic experts have had controversial definitions However, various obstacles were posed in the field, particularly in the context of teaching EFL (Bailey, 2003) Many countries' training systems impose restrictions on teachers and students that are unlikely to improve learner autonomy As a result, EFL learners are motivated to bear the responsibility of their own study Trebbie believes that we need to figure out what freedom is before answering what learner autonomy is (Lamb & Reinders, 2008)

According to Gremmo and Riley (1995), the original interest in the concept of autonomous learning is partially an answer to ideals and prospects which appeared as a consequence of political tumult in Europe in the 1960s As Holec (1981) puts it, Western nations had progressed much more in industrialization at the time, and they were defined by "social development" rather than the number of things produced Furthermore, living standards were becoming increasingly focused, which would ultimately lead to human respect and industrialization (p.1) After the Council of Europe's Modern Languages Project was established in 1971, the notion of learner autonomy was created The major purpose was to focus more on adult learners and lifelong education Furthermore, self-directed learning, which was attracting people's attention every single day, had a significant impact on this initiative In this aspect, autonomy is regarded as “the capacity to take charge of one’s own learning” as in the highly well-known definition of Holec’s (1981, p.3) In reality, it is a form of learning that its goals, progress, and evaluation are kept under the learner’s observation Moreover, Pemberton (1996) defines self-directed learning as “the techniques used in

order to direct one’s own learning” (p.3) which is similar to the definition of Holec (1981) However, Pemberton does note out that while Holec (1981) and he define LA as

“the ability to take responsibility for one’s own learning” (p.3), other researchers define

LA by many different terms such as self-directed learning and independent learning Autonomous learning, according to Holec, is a two-step process It entails learning a foreign language on the one hand, and learning how to study on the other

Although there are various definitions of “learner autonomy”, we can see the common point that the ultimate purpose of learner autonomy is for learners to study more effectively and achieve the purpose of learning English skills This undergraduate thesis deploys Holec’s (1981) deniftion of LA which refers to learners’ ability to take responsibilities for their own learning, be able to set learning goals, perform learning activities to achieve the goals and evaluate their learning intentionally

2.1.2 Learner Autonomy in language education

The definition of LA in language education, according to Holec (1981), was defined by five characteristics of responsibility They include (1) setting the goals, (2) identifying the contents and developments, (3) choosing techniques and strategies to

be used, (4) observe the acquiring procedure, and (5) evaluating the ontained results

LA mentions a student's ability to set goals, assess their progress, and take responsibility for their decisions Holec (1981) defines the term as follows: "By accepting responsibility for their own learning, learners can create learning objectives, observe them, and assess them in a systematic and conscious way" (Little & Dam, 1998) Another important feature of Holec's concept of LA is that independent learners must apply their language skills and understanding in real-world circumstances When learners grow self-sufficient, they are able to deal with a variety of situations in which they may encounter difficulties As a result, LA exists and plays a significant role not only in formal schooling but also in the post-learning phase After graduating from formal education, students are ready to apply their skills and knowledge in a variety of situations

In recent decades, although many researchers and experts have studied LA in many different aspects, it is considered as a strange term to some contexts of EFL learning and teaching That means learners lack a linguistic environment and opportunities to practice while language learning is a lifelong process (Hong, 2016) In the current year, according to Dinh (2017), the overview of LA in Vietnam was

reflected through more than 10 periodicals and conference documents, and 20 reports about LA in foreign language learning and teaching In Dinh’s study, she also says that the majority of the research is focused on students, with the majority of them being non-English majors From this perspective, EFL majored university students should be given greater priority

2.1.3 Characteristics of Autonomous Learner

Learners are characterized as the control in an independent environment, which

is the main element of the term autonomy Is it, however, feasible to alter the function

of instructors, who are the focal point of conventional classrooms? Of course, it isn't possible This shift, according to Thanasoulas (2000), does not happen in a vacuum since it is "a result of a concatenation of modifications to the curriculum itself toward a more learner-centered style of learning" Autonomous learners can understand the aim

of their learning program, accept full responsibility for their learning, divide the set of learning objectives, organize and implement learning activities on their own, and review and evaluate their learning on a regular basis (Little, 1991) Nunan (1996), in a concluding sentence, supports the notion that the autonomous learner is capable of creating their own learning objectives An independent learner, according to this argument, is one who is successful in determining the appropriate learning and success method According to Wenden (1991), effective language learners possess seven features that can distinguish them from less successful ones These characteristics are: (1) they have a better understanding of their own language learning styles and preferences, as well as the task's nature, (2) they play an active role in learning, (3) they are risk-takers, (4) they are capable of making accurate predictions, (5) they are willing

to participate in both form and content, (6) they try to think in the target language as soon as feasible and actively build the target language into a different reference system, and (7) they have a patient and outgoing attitude toward the target language

Joshi (2011) conducted a study on Napalese students’ autonomy and he figured out that the students devoted a significant amount of time and attention to improving and enhancing their English Many autonomous activities were performed outside the classroom such as listening and watching audio-visual materials in English and taking advantage of library resources From theoretical issues (Holec, 1981; Little, 1991) to practical issues (Lamb, 2004; Joshi, 2011), autonomous learners should be guided to become autonomous and the degree of autonomy is another matter that accounts for

success in language learning Rousseau (1762) claims that the “autonomous learner is obedient to a law that he prescribes to himself” (cited in Thanasoulas, 2000)

Although the literature shows that there are numerous definitions of an autonomous learner, it is important to note that autonomy is a process rather than a product, and work toward it rather than become one

2.2 EFL learning and teaching speaking skills

2.2.1 Definition of speaking skills

According to experts, speaking is defined by many different definitions Speaking, according to Harmer (2007), is the ability to speak fluently, which implies not only knowledge of future languages, but also the ability to process information and language "on the spot," whereas Quianthy (1990) defines speaking as the process of conveying ideas and information orally in a variety of situations Furthermore, as Hedge (2000) puts it, speaking is “a skill that people judge the speaker when they first meet”

There are several definitions of speaking ability, especially in the context of learning and teaching English According to Richards (1990, p3), “speaking is a process

of repeating after the teacher, remembering the dialog, or responding to drills in traditional methodologies” Bueno, Madrid, and Mclaren (2006) state that “Speaking is one of the most challenging skills which language learners have to face” It is considered as the most significant of the other four language skills of English They still find it difficult to speak in real-time situations even though they have learned English for a long time Moreover, speaking is also the process of producing and communicating meaning through verbal and nonverbal signals in a variety of contexts (Chaney, 1998)

Although speaking has many definitions in different circumstances, the most common purpose of speaking in EFL learning and teaching is to give learners communicative skills as well as classroom activities that let them express themselves via speech (Richards, 2006)

2.2.2 The importance of English speaking skills

Speaking is one of the most crucial skills to develop when learning a second language such as English Richards (2008) says that many second-language or foreign language learners prioritize learning English speaking skills That is because people

may often make judgments about our language competence from our speaking ability rather than other language skills As a result, students routinely evaluate their language learning abilities as well as the efficacy of their spoken language ability

According to Qureshi’s article, he claims that wherever there is speech, communication takes place Without speech, we cannot converse and language is reduced to a mere script Therefore, speaking skills are extremely important for English learners

Many people utilize speaking as their primary means of exchanging information It influences many aspects of daily life For that reason, teaching and learning English speaking skills are essential for any language learner

2.2.3 EFL students’ English speaking skills

Speaking is an important part of learning a language and achieving success in a modern society because it is a mean of communication According to Baker and Westrup (2003), excellent speaking skills help students get a decent job post-graduation, while McDonough and Shaw (1993) illustrate that in real-life communication, speaking ability aids students in achieving a certain goal (Leong & Ahmadi, 2017) Despite its importance, reading and writing appear to take precedence in traditional educational methods, whereas speaking is generally overlooked (Richards & Rodgers, 2014) It was found that students who are learning English as a Foreign Language face a variety of problems when it comes to speaking performance in a study of Nasri, Namaziandost, and Akbari (2019)

These problems are similar in Vietnam Current research in the Vietnamese context have revealed numerous issues with Vietnamese EFL students' speaking abilities Various research projects were conducted to address this issue in Mekong Delta According to a study conducted by Vo, Pham and Ho (2018), EFL students in Can Tho University confronted with two key barriers in English speaking learning, including external and internal challenges Also, Phan et al (2021) did a study to explore common faults which the first-year students majoring in English get in speaking classes at Tay Do University, and its results reveal that vocabulary, pronunciation, and psychology are all issues they face on a regular basis These concerns also affect English majors at Ba Ria-Vung Tau University, according to Tram's study (2020) findings, who say they have to cope with linguistic issues in the classroom, including language aspects and non-linguistic issues

In a nutshell, English speaking is a common field in EFL contexts that attracts the experts' and educators' consideration In the Vietnamese context, it is a necessary prerequisite for international businesses and other workplaces Nonetheless, it's logical

to presume that EFL students from similar learning context have similar problems in speaking English There are obviously several solutions to these issues One of the effective solutions, LA, will be presented in the following section

2.3 Learner Autonomy in language learning

It is evident that LA plays an important role in the development of language abilities For more than three decades, learner autonomy, which emphasizes the learners' own roles and responsibilities in their learning process, has been the primary preoccupation of language education

Language learners' self-perceptions of their autonomous responsibilities, skills, and enactment of autonomous in-class and out-of-class actions are all crucial to explore The research done by Truong et al (2019) examined the perceptions of 80 EFL students

at Hung Vuong University about autonomous learning across four dimensions: (1) the importance of learner autonomy, (2) the responsibilities of learner autonomy, (3) the abilities of learner autonomy, and (4) the behaviors of learner autonomy Data was collected and analyzed using a mixed-methods approach that included a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview The students strongly noted that the value of LA in English language acquisition, according to the findings Despite being aware of their independent obligations, such as setting learning objectives, choosing learning activities and tactics, and assessing their progress, they stated that their autonomy was constrained to some level

The goal of Le's (2018) study was to investigate Vietnamese EFL students' perspectives on LA, including their point of views and activities LA was examined in this study using a four-part framework: (1) perceptions on learning responsibilities, (2) capacity and desire to develop learning strategies and set goals, (3) technique, strategy, and resource selection for carrying out learning tasks with and without the assistance of instructors, and (4) assessment of learning processes and outcomes Sixty English-majoring students were chosen on a voluntary basis to engage in a narrative interview for the study All of the participants agreed that learner autonomy plays an important role in higher education and that students should develop the ability to act

independently The findings also revealed that they had varying levels of independent learning practices

According to Phan’s (2018) study, one facet of second language acquisition is linguistic autonomy Many academics and researchers are interested in finding out how language learners take responsibility for their studies Her research looks on language autonomy tactics utilized by EFL Vietnamese students to engage in the language learning process, as well as EFL teachers' assessments of students' language learning autonomy A mixed research technique was adopted in the study The study recruited

246 participants, including 238 English major students and 8 EFL teachers, who were polled by questionnaire and semi-structured interview to explore their perspectives of language learning autonomy The findings showed that autonomy in English learning among Vietnamese EFL learners is positive It suggested that students need more independence as learning autonomy plays an important role among Vietnamese learners

In brief, the literature review shows that LA plays a very significant role in language learning as well as the students’ roles in developing LA, especially in English

2.4.1 Setting objectives and strategies for ESI

One of the roles found by Holec (1979) to create LA is the ability to set the objectives If learners begin to act, clearly identifying a learning aim is critical As previously said, acquiring English speaking traits such as correctness and fluency necessitates learners' work Also, learners are confronted with a variety of hurdles in speaking; learners must pay attention to whatever aspects of English speaking they need

to develop as a priority As a result, setting English speaking learning objectives is an important aspect of promoting learner autonomy for ESI

According to Joshi (2011), to encourage LA in language learning, it is critical

to determine learning progress and goals so that learners must have a good strategy for practicing English speaking

2.4.2 Using particular learning activities to carry out the tasks

After defining objectives and developing strategies, selecting suitable learning techniques and ways of practicing is viewed as a way of putting those plans into action Methods and practices are emphasized as crucial components in fostering LA Furthermore, Dam (1995) claims that engaging in learning activities might help EFL students promote LA Furthermore, in terms of ESI techniques, the study of Leong and Ahmadi (2017) reveals those proper activities are helpful in assisting EFL learners in improving their speaking abilities, demonstrating the relevance of using activities in speaking practice Learning activities can occur both within and outside of the classroom, so EFL students must practice in both of these settings in order to improve their LA (Chan, Spratt, & Humphreys, 2002)

Learners cannot acquire LA in formal learning without adequate contact with their teacher and classmates (Little, 1991) Engaging in dialogues allows students to better control their study It indicates that EFL students should devote time to talk with relatives, friends, and teachers, or ask more information about their learning process with their instructors in English Dam (2011) also recommends creating short chat in language classes to foster LA Furthermore, promoting LA requires the use of suitable terminology (Little, 1998) As a result, conversing with partners in the target language may help them improve their LA when speaking English

Since speaking has the ability to transfer messages, pair and group activities are extremely effective in enhancing EFL students' transactional skills In a similar vein, Vilmec (2006) believes that while devising exercises to improve English speaking abilities, group work, pair work, and whole-class are necessary As a result, according

to Ur (1981), adding these types of exercises to LA's English-speaking development might be beneficial

2.4.3 Evaluating the process and performance of English speaking by learners

With regard to self-evaluation, Dam (1995) claims that reviewing the learning process on a regular basis can help EFL students promote LA Furthermore, according

to Berry (2008), learners might attain their learning goals by self-evaluating

The ability to self-reflect on one's own learning is essential for students, which includes their procedure of learning and performing in English, when it comes to English speaking It has to do with a learner's capacity to decide how to evaluate their own progress (Holec, 1979) Another functional feature he highlights is learners' knowledge of the link between what they learn, how they learn, and the resources they have to control their learning To put it another way, students must assess their English speaking abilities, adapt their objectives and techniques in order to achieve greater success One of the characteristics of autonomous learners is their understanding of learning techniques and styles, according to Thanasoulas (2000), and they must be able

to understand their own requirements in self-development in practice

This does not, however, imply that students complete the procedure independently According to Dam (1995), continuous assessment is generated by a compound of instructor, friends, and self-evaluation Receiving criticism and self-reflection enable students to hone their strengths and improve their weaknesses

2.5 Related studies

Pham and Nguyen (2021) did the research on how to develop EFL learners' autonomy in English speaking learning at Kien Giang University Its purpose is to find out what students do to improve their LA in English speaking The data was collected via a semi-structured interview and a questionnaire with 102 English-majoring students ranging in age from the first year to the last year The results show that students' levels

of practicing LA are on par with the average, as are the roles of EFL students to enhance LA in English speaking learning, and activities that students still have difficulty with

Dinh (2017) conducted a study about LA in Vietnam One of the most important findings from student study is that students became more conscious of the necessity of LA in the academic setting However, it is just at the perception level, and

LA had yet to be put into action Dinh (2017) also mentions a lack of comprehension of

the university learning environment, a lack of defined goals, and a lack of learning approaches as major problems

Le (2018) looked at the practice of 60 English-major students in developing

LA Her research was carried out at Dong Thap University and data were gathered through narrative interviews 60 participants expressed their LA’s perceptions in three primary concepts: "ability," "responsibility," and "attitude" throughout the interview She concludes that students have a good perception of LA, but that in fact, LA is only

on level two of the five levels described by Nunan (1997) Le (2018) demonstrates that most learners lack a particular objective as well as a planned daily or weekly study timetable Furthermore, some of them have learning plans, but they are not being implemented successfully due to the unexpected events She emphasizes the importance

of instructors as facilitators, particularly in the early years when pupils require assistance in setting learning objectives Repeated instruction might help with LA, and the instructor should always encourage students who are depressed

Because LA helps language learners to improve their speaking abilities, it will aid them in dealing with a variety of issues Many researchers have looked at these difficulties Vo, Pham, and Ho (2018), for example, distributed a survey to 131 first-year English majors at Can Tho University and carried out one-on-one interviews with EFL professors, and observe EFL speaking classes to investigate speaking barriers These researchers discovered that the students confronted with two key barriers in English speaking learning, including external and internal challenges which limit their ability to communicate well The second difficulty is the limitation of English-speaking environments and activities outside of the classroom It means that students should be very conscious of their own learning style In order to find out other obstacles, the experts urge more research on sophomores and juniors Unfortunately, the research did not find out whether these students had reflected on their learning and adjusted to better their abilities

As seen, English-speaking issues have been explored, and a variety of concerns have been identified among colleges Furthermore, LA was considered to have an important function in language learning In light of these considerations, the current study looks into how students practice improving LA in their English-speaking abilities

2.6 Summary of Literature Review

This chapter has reviewed the concept of LA with related issues in detail Specifically, through offering insights into the relevant literature, more aspects concerning the current study become clearer such as LA in English speaking learning and summarize some related studies The method employed in this study, which includes participants, instruments, data collecting, and data analysis processes, will be discussed in the next chapter

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents several aspects of methodology of the study, including the research design, participants, data collection instruments along with data collection procedure and data analysis

3.1 Research design

A case study design was employed in the research because the purpose of this study was to find out the perceptions of the second-year students majoring in ELT Education at AGU about learner autonomy in English speaking learning

In this case study, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected The students were given a questionnaire with two sections to find out the perceptions of the second-year students majoring in ELT Education at AGU about learner autonomy in English speaking learning To triangulate the quantitative results from the student questionnaire, the researcher used focus group interview with their students

3.2 Participants

Second-year students from class 21AV were chosen in this study because of three main reasons Firstly, they will be English teachers in the future An example to illustrate this point is that learner autonomy plays a vital role in both teaching and learning, so the teacher can decide the LA levels of the students by instructing them how to self-study and be more motivated in their own learning, especially in English speaking learning Secondly, all the participants are the second-year students, so they may know the term “learner autonomy” and have more chance to practice their speaking skills while the freshman has recently come back to school after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the final year students are preparing for graduation If the result shows that these ELT Education students’ levels of LA in English speaking learning is not high, the leaders of FFL and training departments should set up more projects to improve this situation In a nutshell, these future English teachers are the best subjects and irreplaceable in this study

Because of the small number of the target population (104 students), all of them were recruited for this research project At the time of the research was carried out, the researcher was able to contact 98 students and all of them agreed to participate

in the study Demographic information of the student participants was described in the

Interview participants (n=8)

More than 12 years 36 36.7% 1

3.3 Data collection instruments

3.3.1 Student questionnaire

Because questionnaires are seen to be effective instruments for collecting data from many respondents at the same time (Hinds, 2000), a questionnaire was specifically created particularly for this research and consisted of 28 items on a 5-point Likert scale: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, and Never

Except for the introduction and a thank-you of the researchers to the participants, the student questionnaire has two primary sections The first section's goal

is to gather some basic demographic data The three required questions are year of birth, gender, and number of years involved in studying English The second section focuses

on the learning actions that students do to perform their English speaking The structure for the survey was developed from a study of Le (2018), which was also based on previously described primary fields of LA In particular, the study examined the

autonomy of EFL students in three clusters: (1) setting objectives and strategies for ESI, (2) using particular learning activities to carry out the tasks, and (3) evaluating the process and performance of English speaking by learners, as described in Table 2

Table 2: Summary of the questionnaire for ELT Education second-year students

Setting learning goals

(6 items)

Using activities to

perform learning

actions (16 items)

LA practice inside the classroom 10, 20, 21, 22

LA practice outside the classroom

● Self-study

● Interacting with friends, teachers, and native speakers

3.3.2 Focus group interview with students

Since interviews are the greatest technique to find out what other people have

in mind (Merriam, 1998), focus group interview with students was undertaken to collect qualitative data and get insights into the study topics Moreover, because focus group

interviews are designed to save time and money for the researchers by allowing a large number of people to participate at the same time (Bryman, 2004), they were included to obtain qualitative data with the goal of exploring the student participants' perspectives

on LA and what they do to put their ESS into practice in the real world

The questions in the interview were translated into Vietnamese and doubled check with the supervisor before the interview The interviews were conducted in Vietnamese and at the time and place chosen by each interviewee so that the participants can fully understand them and freely answer It was developed on a narrative interview conducted by Le (2018) to investigate EFL learners' LA practices In particular, interviewing questions were divided into three parts: (1) students’ perceptions of LA and its significant in language learning at An Giang University, (2) students’ learning activities/ways to practive their English-speaking skills, (3) students’ self-evaluation of their LA ability (see Appendix) Its goal was for EFL students to share their perspectives on LA and how they utilized LA activities outside of the classroom Students were invited to participate in an interview in groups via Zoom and face-to-face for 45 - 60 minutes, at the participants’ convenience

3.4 Data collection procedures

The data collection procedures for each instrument are described as follows

3.4.1 Administering the questionnaire

The questionnaire and interview were piloted by the researcher before they were used in the study Before administering the questionnaire, permission was acquired from the supervisor After she had thoroughly checked the content, it was translated into Vietnamese to make it easy to understand

The data for the present study were collected among 98 English-majored students in class 21AV after getting permission from my supervisor and in-class teachers The students were introduced the topic and instructed to fill up questionnaire sets The researchers did observe participants accomplish tasks honestly It took about

15 minutes to be done this stage

3.4.2 Administering the focus group interviews

After analyzing the survey carefully, the researcher contacted with 20 students who filled their personal information in the questionnaire As a result, there were 8

students accepting to participate in the focus group interview They were divided into 2 groups with different levels of LA in speaking learning: low and high They were chosen to become the interviewees of this study base on the MeanOverall value of each student for 28 items It took about 60 minutes for each group to answer questions The researcher used the focus group interview to elicit the greater detail of data of the autonomous, in detail that is students' perspectives towards learning autonomy After collecting data, to keep information confidentially, the researchers coded each participant as a number from number 1 In group A, they were students with high levels

of LA, including S1, S2, S3, and S4 In group B, they were students with low levels of

LA, including A5, S6, S7, and S8

3.5 Data analysis

3.5.1 Questionnaire

The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 was used to examine the quantitative data To assess students' levels of LA in speaking English, One Sample T-tests and Descriptive Statistic Tests were used The researcher used the Oxford's (1990) scale to determine if the collected data is high or low on a scale of 1 to

3.5.2 Focus group interview

The qualitative data was encoded using theme analysis by the researcher (Boyatzis, 1998) The replies of the participants were categorized into each highlighted theme based on similarities and differences, including students’ perceptions on LA,

learning objectives and strategies for ESI, particular learning activities to carry out the tasks, and the process and performance of English speaking assessment by learners These qualitative results were evaluated to reflect the reality of how students perceive the notion of LA and its role in the academic setting, and the similar and different ways

of practicing English speaking skills between students with low and high levels of learner autonomy

3.6 Summary

This chapter presented the design of the research, and detailed information about the participants There were two research instruments which consisted of the questionnaire and focus group discussion The author also introduced the steps of two research instruments with fulfill information The two main research questions were also rewritten with specific description of the data instruments

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

This chapter is devoted to the analysis of data collected from the student questionnaires and the student focus group interviews, described in the previous chapter Section 4.1 reviews the result of the questionnaires for students The results from the focus group interviews are presented in section 4.2 Chapter 4 ends with the discussion in section 4.3

4.1 Findings from the questionnaire

The twenty-eight-item questionnaire was given to second-year ELT Education students at AGU to investigate their practice in enhancing their autonomy for ESS after the pilot result proved its reliability The survey had a total of 98 responses According

to a scale test, the Cronbach alpha Coefficient (α) is =.91, indicating that the each item

in the questionnaire is sufficiently trustworthy The Cronbach alpha coefficients for each cluster were calculated and found to be =.741, =.840, and =.827 Table 4 shows the results

Table 4: The reliability of the students' practice questionnaire

In order to focus on the overall Max, Min, Mean, and SD values of students in

practice on enhancing their LA in English speaking learning, a Descriptive Statistic Test

were run Table 5 shows the outcomes

Table 5: The Mean, Max, Min and SD of students’ practice to develop LA for ESI

Valid N (listwise) 98

The data revealed that the Meanoverall value of students' practice in enhancing

LA for ESI is somewhat higher than the average (M=3.2, SD=0.5) (see Table 3)

To investigate whether the level of learner autonomy is high or not, the Meanoverall value (M= 3.2) was compared with the scale of 3.5 After a One Sample T-test was run, the data revealed that these two mean scores are considerably different (p= 00) It concludes that students reach medium level of LA in ESI

The mean score of the three sections was further examined using Descriptive Statistic Tests., including: (1) setting learning goals, (2) using activities, and (3) self-evaluating Table 6 will show the results

Table 6: The mean scores of three clusters of ELT Education students’ practice

The Frequency Tests were run on the items in sections 1, 2 and 3, respectively

in order to fully study particular behaviors that the second-year students of ELT Education at An Giang University do for practicing LA

To find out which items were most frequently completed by the participants, the first Frequency Test was performed to examine 6 items of Section 1 Table 7 shows the results