Students and teachers attitudes towards the international training and education centres english curriculum at ho chi minh city university of science

ABSTRACT With the holistic purpose of improving the language teaching and learning quality at the ITEC center of University of Science Ho Chi Minh City, the study focused on the students

VƯƠNG PHẠM THÙY VÂN

STUDENTS’ AND TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE INTERNATIONAL TRAINING AND EDUCATION CENTER’S ENGLISH CURRICULUM AT HO CHI MINH CITY

UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

Tai Lieu Chat Luong

VƯƠNG PHẠM THÙY VÂN

STUDENTS’ AND TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE

INTERNATIONAL TRAINING AND EDUCATION CENTER’S

ENGLISH CURRICULUM AT HO CHI MINH CITY

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis entitled “Students‟ and Teachers‟ attitudes towards the International Tranning and Education Center‟s English Curriculum at Ho Chi Minh City University of Science” is my own work

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which

I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma

No other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any

other tertiary institution

Ho Chi Minh City, September 2019

VUONG PHAM THUY VAN, MRS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Dr Nguyen Hoang Tuan, whose compassion, encouragement and guidance throughout the research have helped in the completion of this thesis I am truly appreciated his comments, enthusiasm; kindness and calm to instruct me during a long time of doing this research

I am also sincerely grateful to all lecturers of the Open University in Ho Chi Minh City for providing me with invaluable sources of intellectual knowledge during my study there The knowledge and experience I have learned from here is a valuable present for me to improve my teaching career

Besides, I would like to say thank you to all of the lecturers, staff, and students at the ITEC- The International Training and Education Center of the University of Science who have always supported me and help me to collect the most accurate data to complete this thesis

Last but not least, I would like to express my gratefulness to family and friends who

have never given up the trust in me and facilitate my research unconditionally; especially my deceased Mom who encouraged me to pursue higher education after the Bachelor‟s degree

ABSTRACT

With the holistic purpose of improving the language teaching and learning quality at the ITEC center of University of Science (Ho Chi Minh City), the study focused on the students‟ and teachers‟ attitudes towards the current ITEC English curriculum The survey study was conducted at the ITEC center of University of Science (Ho Chi Minh City) with the participation of 105 students and 15 teachers The instruments included the attitude questionnaires and the semi-structured interviews The quantitative data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed by SPSS version 20.0, while the qualitative data obtained from the interviews were thematically analyzed The findings show that both the students and the teachers concurrently showed their positive affective, cognitive and behavioral attitudes towards the clear objectives, assessment modes, teaching materials, and extra tasks

In addition, content of the ITEC English curriculum were emotionally, cognitively and behaviorally approved by both the teachers and the students; however, some students thought that the content lacked an emphasis of culture elements and updated realistic situations Furthermore, while the teachers seemed to prefer the time allotment of the courses of the curriculum, many students did not express their favor or approval Besides, a big proportion of the target students liked its teaching methods and reckoned them as encouragement of their attendance and participation

of the given courses; by reason, they believed in the usefulness of the teaching methods and delivery techniques, especially in developing and sharpening their language skills and test-taking skills Nevertheless, some of the teachers did not feel these teaching methods impressive and they were not in line with their preferential styles Finally, considering the curriculum type of the ITEC English curriculum, many teachers thought that the target curriculum belonged to the process-based one Based on the research findings, the paper concluded with some pedagogical implications and a recommendation for further study in line of research on teachers and students‟ attitudes towards the language curriculum

TABLE OF CONTENT

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENT i

LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS vi

LIST OF TABLES vii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Introduction of Chapter 1 1

1.2 Rationale of the Study 1

1.3 Research Aims 3

1.4 Research Questions 3

1.5 Significance of the Study 3

1.6 Thesis Organization 4

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 5

2.1 Introduction of Chapter 2 5

2.2 Notion of Curriculum 5

2.3 Types of Curriculum 7

2.3.1 A Product-Based Curriculum 7

2.3.2 A Process-Based Curriculum 7

2.3.3 Learner-Centered Curriculum 8

2.4 Definitions and Roles of Attitudes in Language Acquisition 8

2.4.1 Definitions of Attitudes 8

2.4.2 Roles of Attitudes in Language Acquisition 10

2.5 Conglomerates of Attitudes 11

2.5.1 Affective Conglomerate of Attitudes 11

2.5.2 Cognitive Conglomerate of Attitudes 11

2.5.3 Behavioral Conglomerate of Attitudes 12

2.6 Previous Studies 12

2.7 Research Gaps 15

2.8 Conceptual Framework 17

2.9 Summary of Chapter 2 18

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 19

3.1 Introduction of Chapter 3 19

3.2 Research Setting 19

3.2.1 Location 19

3.2.2 ITEC English Curriculum 20

3.3 Research Participants 26

3.3.1 Students 26

3.3.2 Teachers 27

3.4 Methods of Investigation 28

3.4.1 Overall Approach 28

3.4.2 Research Instruments 29

3.4.2.1 Questionnaires for Students and Teachers 30

3.4.2.2 Semi-structured Interviews for Students and Teachers 34

3.5 Data Analytical Framework 36

3.5.1 Quantitative Analysis for Questionnaires 36

3.5.2 Qualitative Analysis for Interviews 36

3.6 Reliability and Validity 37

3.6.1 Definition 38

3.6.2 Reliability of Research Instruments 38

3.6.3 Validity of Research Instruments 39

3.7 Pilot Study 40

3.7.1 Rationale for Pilot Study 40

3.7.2 Pilot Results of the Questionnaires 40

3.7.3 Pilot Results of the Semi-structured Interviews 42

3.8 Summary of Chapter 3 42

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 44

4.1 Introduction of Chapter 4 444.2 Research Question 1 444.2.1 The Students‟ Attitudes towards the Objectives of the ITEC English Curriculum 444.2.2 The Students‟ Attitudes towards the Content of the ITEC English

Curriculum 474.2.3 The Students‟ Attitudes towards the Time Allotment of the ITEC English Curriculum 514.2.4 The Students‟ Attitudes towards the Teaching Methods of the ITEC English Curriculum 544.2.5 The Students‟ Attitudes towards the Assessment of the ITEC English Curriculum 574.2.6 The Students‟ Attitudes towards the Teaching Materials of the ITEC English Curriculum 604.2.7 The Students‟ Attitudes towards the Extra Tasks of the ITEC English Curriculum 634.2.8 Discussion of Research Question 1 654.3 Research Question 2 724.3.1 The Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Objectives of the ITEC English Curriculum 724.3.2 The Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Content of the ITEC English

Curriculum 744.3.3 The Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Time Allotment of the ITEC English Curriculum 774.3.4 The Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Teaching Methods of the ITEC English Curriculum 794.3.5 The Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Assessment of the ITEC English Curriculum 83

4.3.6 The Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Teaching Materials of the ITEC

English Curriculum 86

4.3.7 The Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Extra Tasks of the ITEC English Curriculum 89

4.3.8 The Teachers‟ General Attitudes towards the ITEC English Curriculum Type 92 4.3.9 Discussion of Research Question 2 93

4.4 Summary of Chapter 4 100

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 101

5.1 Conclusions 101

5.2 Implications 104

5.3 Limitations 105

5.4 Recommendations for Further Study 105

5.5 Summary of Chapter 5 106

REFERENCES 107

APPENDICES 113

APPENDIX A.1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS 114

(ENGLISH VERSION) 114

APPENDIX A.2: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 117

APPENDIX B.1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS 120

(ENGLISH VERSION) 120

APPENDIX B.2: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 124

APPENDIX C.1: SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW 128

FOR STUDENTS (ENGLISH VERSION) 128

APPENDIX C.2: SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW FOR STUDENTS (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 130

APPENDIX D.1: SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW FOR TEACHERS

(ENGLISH VERSION) 132APPENDIX D.2: SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW FOR TEACHERS

(VIETNAMESE VERSION) 134APPENDIX E.1: A SAMPLED STUDENT TRANSCRIPT 136APPENDIX E.2: A SAMPLED TEACHER TRANSCRIPT 140

LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS

Figure 2 1 Conceptual Framework of the Study 17

Figure 3 1 Overall Approach of the Study 29

Chart 3 1 Description of Students‟ Profile 26

Chart 3 2 Description of Teachers‟ Profile 28

Chart 4 1 Teachers‟ General Attitudes towards the ITEC English Curriculum Type 92

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3 1 The ITEC English Curriculum 21

Table 3 2 The Link between the Research Questions and the Research Instruments 30

Table 3 3 The Description of the Student and Teacher Questionnaires 31

Table 3 4 Reliability Index of the Student Questionnaire 39

Table 3 5 Reliability Index of the Teacher Questionnaire 39

Table 4 1 The Students‟ Attitudes towards the Objectives of the ITEC English Curriculum 45

Table 4 2 The Students‟ Attitudes towards the Content of the ITEC English Curriculum 48

Table 4 3 The Students‟ Attitudes towards the Time Allotment of the ITEC English Curriculum 51

Table 4 4 The Students‟ Attitudes towards the Teaching Methods of the ITEC English Curriculum 55

Table 4 5 The Students‟ Attitudes towards the Assessment of the ITEC English Curriculum 58

Table 4 6 The Students‟ Attitudes towards the Teaching Materials of the ITEC English Curriculum 61

Table 4 7 The Students‟ Attitudes towards the Extra Tasks of the ITEC English Curriculum 63

Table 4 8 The Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Objectives of the ITEC English Curriculum 72

Table 4 9 The Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Content of the ITEC English Curriculum 75

Table 4 10 The Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Time of the ITEC English

Curriculum 78 Table 4 11 The Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Teaching Methods of the ITEC English Curriculum 80 Table 4 12 The Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Assessment of the ITEC English Curriculum 84 Table 4 13 The Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Teaching Materials of the ITEC English Curriculum 86 Table 4 14 The Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the Extra Tasks of the ITEC English Curriculum 89

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction of Chapter 1

This chapter first provides a background of the study including a brief introduction of the study, including the rationale of the study, research objectives, research questions, and significance of the research project are presented

1.2 Rationale of the Study

English now is no longer a property of native English speakers but it is also used broadly by non-native speakers as a foreign language (Padwick, 2018) It becomes a commonly used language for various fields such as technology, science, commerce, administration, etc In Vietnam, English becomes a compulsory subject

in most educational settings at different levels from primary to tertiary systems More specifically, most universities and colleges set English as a compulsory credit course and students need to submit an international English proficiency test such as TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS as a graduation requirement Being aware of the paramount significance of English to the world development, many parents expect to send their children to study abroad or study international programs at the tertiary level to seek for a foreign degree which is considered to provide their children with better opportunities for their career path and higher education

Regarding social needs, international joint programs have steadily increased and become a favorable choice for students who wish to achieve an international bachelor's degree without living apart from their families Not only is a requirement for entrance, but English is also a compulsory requirement for tertiary graduation The International Training and Education Center (ITEC), which belongs to the University of Science, is included; in specific, students following the ITEC English curriculum need to submit the IELTS 6.0 or equivalent to earn a bachelor's degree

of the international joint program

The ITEC English curriculum is established to test and train students‟ English abilities to ensure that they can afford their academic programs which are taught

totally in English This curriculum is expected to help them get the target IELTS certificate before graduation As a result, taking up English courses at the ITEC is the obliged demand when the students choose to study their bachelor's degrees here The English program and the academic programs are run at the same time, and students need to study both programs simultaneously until they achieve the satisfied IELTS certificate However, there is a challenge that ITEC has been facing more recently, that is, the number of students who either enroll or participate in this language curriculum is dramatically decreasing while the demand from the community of the international education is still very high Thus, an exploration of reasons for this ignorance of the students should be made

Problems arising from curriculum implementation are recognized as inevitable, and thus the implementation is inherently more complicated than what people can anticipate (Fullan & Stiegelbauer, 1991) This complexity can be perceived from several aspects, with different stakeholders interpreting the curriculum policies differently than as originally conceived Indeed, the implementation may also be affected by the resistance of the primary stakeholders, i.e the teachers and students In the same vein, Fraser and Bosanquet (2006) opine that teachers and students need to involve common curriculum understandings, attitudes and reflect critically on curriculum policies, implementation, and evaluation matters, to help them to change teaching and learning restrictions in their contexts It is believed that teachers are the key people who are interpreting the curriculum and giving life to it in the language classroom through their instructional and evaluation strategies The role of EFL teachers in the EL curriculum is an important matter in language curriculum implementation and development as well

as in transmitting knowledge from the curriculum to the learners (Freeman, 2002) Especially, it is also a fact that the audience of any curriculum is the students who are directly influenced by the curriculum Generally speaking, that is the reason why the researcher decided to conduct this study with the title: “Students‟ and

Teachers‟ Attitudes towards the ITEC English Curriculum at Ho Chi Minh City University of Science”

1.3 Research Aims

With the holistic purpose of improving the language teaching and learning quality at the ITEC center of the University of Science (Ho Chi Minh City), the study focused on the students' and teachers' attitudes towards the current ITEC English curriculum In particular, the study had two smaller research aims as follows:

The first research aim was to investigate the attitudes of the students towards the ITEC English curriculum in terms of different aspects such as types, objectives, content, time, materials, teaching methods and assessment

The second research aim was exploring the attitudes of the teachers, including lecturers and teacher tutors, towards the ITEC English curriculum in terms of different aspects such as types, objectives, content, time, materials, teaching methods and assessment as well

1.5 Significance of the Study

Hopefully, after the study was conducted and the research findings were sought, the implications for the use and modification of the existing language curriculum at the ITEC center could be made Consequently, the quality of teaching and learning English at this center would be rectified In fact, attitudes are of importance to curriculum evaluation and development Through an exploration of teachers and students' attitudes towards the existing English curriculum, its

strengths and weaknesses could be traced Afterward, amendments to the ITEC English curriculum contribute to encouraging the students to pursue it actively and enthusiastically

Chapter 2: Literature Review

This theoretical chapter reviews some relevant bodies of literature for the study It consists of the notion of the curriculum (e.g aspects, types), the understanding of attitudes (e.g definition, role, conglomerates) Besides, some previous studies are summated, which is a basis of research gaps The conceptual framework, ultimately, is constructed at the end of this chapter

Chapter 3: Methodology

This methodological chapter is dedicated to presenting research design, research setting, and participants, data collection instruments Besides, the analytical framework for these instruments is added, followed by a discussion of their reliability and validity

Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Discussion

The function of this chapter is to analyze, interpret, and report the data

emanated from the questionnaires and interviews Following that, an extensive discussion on these results is provided under the research questions

Chapter 5: Conclusions and Implications

The concluding chapter is responsible for presenting some key findings of the research questions What's more, an attempt to evaluate the strengths and limitations of the study is made Finally, the implications for the current study and further study have emerged

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1 Introduction of Chapter 2

This chapter summarizes the theoretical parts, pillaring the whole study It includes the notion and types of curriculum, definition, and role of attitudes and conglomerates of attitudes In addition, some previous studies are reviewed and the research gaps are identified Finally, the conceptual framework for this study is constructed

2.2 Notion of Curriculum

What is implied in the term "curriculum"? The answer to the question is hardly conclusive A variety of definitions of the term "curriculum" are made The indecisive nature of the term is owing to distinguishing perceptions of stakeholders like students, educators, researchers, administrators, evaluators with their agenda of emphasis in educational discourse To give a clear illustration, curriculum “is a complex, multifaceted and dynamic concept, and covers a broad range of stakeholders, perspectives, processes, and manifestations" (Adamson & Morris,

2007, p 281) In this paper, the researcher tried to clarify different conceptualizations of this term

Curriculum as a Set of Objectives

Curriculum can be seen as a means of achieving specific educational goals and objectives (Beauchamp, 1977) In this sense, a curriculum can be regarded as a checklist of desired outcomes (Su, 2012)

Curriculum as Courses of Study or Content

Curriculum can be understood as a process of selecting courses of study or content (Wood & Davis, 1978) In this sense, a curriculum also prescribes the content and goals of formal instruction (Su, 2012)

Curricula as Plans

A curriculum can be seen as a plan, or a sort of blueprint for systematically implementing educational activities (Pratt, 1994) This sense of the term combines

content with instructional methods and hence has a wider scope than the former two curriculum models due to the inclusion of methods (Su, 2012)

Curricula as Documents

Curriculum is associated with the official written programs of study published by ministries or departments of education, local authorities or boards of education, and commercial firms or teams of educational specialists working on specially funded projects (Barrow & Milburn, 1990, p 84) This view of the visual written document attached to curriculum derives from the need that in the phases of curriculum implementation, a written form has to be made to include a statement of objectives, content, method, and assessment (Su, 2012)

The itemization of the definitions can be illustrated as follows:

1 Curriculum as a set of objectives = Goals or objectives

2 Curriculum as courses of study or content = Content + goals

3 Curriculum as plans = Content + goals + teaching methods

4 Curriculum as documents = Content + goals + teaching methods + assessment

5 Curriculum as experiences = Content + goals + teaching methods + assessment + extracurricular tasks and materials

In this study, the researcher would focus on all aspects of the curriculum, including objectives, content, time, teaching methods, assessment, materials, and extra tasks

2.3 Types of Curriculum

In this section, some types of curriculum are synthesized, including based curriculum and process-based curriculum and learner-centered curriculum

product-2.3.1 A Product-Based Curriculum

A product-based curriculum places emphasis on the outcomes of the course

of the study or in other words on “what the learners should know and be able to produce in the L2” upon course completion (Celce-Murcia & Olshtain, 2000, p 190) The curriculum might specify that graduates of the program will be able to express themselves in spoken language on topics of everyday nature and on topics related to certain areas of personal interest A product-based curriculum looks at the result of a program and provides the types of specification that is compatible with the general approach to teaching outlined in the curriculum

2.3.3 Learner-Centered Curriculum

As Nunan (1995) states, in a learner-centered curriculum, “key decisions about what will be taught, how it will be taught, when it will be taught, and how it will be assessed will be made with reference to the learners” (p 133) Information about learners and where feasible from learners will be used to answer the key

questions of what, how, when, and how well The learner-centered curriculum is

one of the widely terms used to refer to approaches to language teaching which are based on the belief that learners and self-directed decision-makers Learners are seen to learn in different ways and to have different needs and interests Language curriculum and the teachers who work in it should therefore set out to provide learners with sufficient learning strategies, to assist learners to identify their own preferred ways of learning, to develop skills needed to negotiate the curriculum, to encourage learners to set their objectives, to encourage learners to adopt realistic goals and time frames, to encourage learners to develop self-evaluation skills (Pham, 2009) It can be seen that a learner-centered curriculum stands for not only providing learners with new language input but also trying to develop them in every aspect which makes them aware of their learning process and themselves In this study, the type of the current ITEC English curriculum is divulged by the teachers‟ views

2.4 Definitions and Roles of Attitudes in Language Acquisition

2.4.1 Definitions of Attitudes

Historically, the concept of attitudes has been defined in different ways A compilation of definitions proposed across attitude research history is presented as follows Attitudes are generally defined as positive or negative views about a person, object, idea or situation which influences the individual choice of action and responses to challenges (Zelley, Mariane & Elaine, 2005) Besides, Ajzen (2005) gives a similar definition of attitude as “an individual favorable and unfavorable attitude toward an object, institution, or event, can be inferred from verbal or nonverbal behavior toward the object, institution, or event in question” (p 5) It can

be inferred that attitudes are psychological orientations developed as a result of one‟s experiences, which influences a person‟s view of situations, objects people and how to respond to them either positively or negatively or favorably or unfavorably

Albeit the fact that attitudes have been a difficult concept to define adequately (Jonassen, 2001), attempts have been made in the light of different research approaches to expound this concept and definitions such as those fabricated by Eagly and Chaiken (1993) from a psychology perspective, or Reid (2003) from an educational perspective are broadly acceptable to most:

An attitude is a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favour or disfavour (Eagly & Chaiken,

1993, p 1)

Attitudes express our evaluation of something or someone They may be based on our knowledge, our feelings and our behaviour and they may influence future behaviour (Reid, 2003, p 22)

From these definitions, a series of common features of attitudes can be extracted as follows Firstly, attitudes are hypothetical, representing a psychological construct, which means that attitudes cannot be observed directly and have to be inferred from their manifestations (Baker, 1992) Secondly, attitudes have an evaluative nature to unfavorable, or from positive to negative, that could comprise attributes such as good-bad, harmful-beneficial, pleasant-unpleasant, and likeable-dislikeable (Ajzen, 2001) Thirdly, attitudes guide action (Oppenheim, 1982)

To sum up, although a consensus regarding the precise conceptualization of attitudes has still not reached, Eagly and Chaiken‟s (1993) definition manages to capture successfully the essential aspects in a concise manner, which “appears to be the most widely used, judging from its frequent citation in the articles and books published in the last two decades” (Ianos, 2014, p 101) Therefore, in the present work, the researcher adopted this operational definition of attitudes In addition, the

researcher considered attitudes to be an object related hypothetical construct of evaluative nature that can guide behavior and can change

2.4.2 Roles of Attitudes in Language Acquisition

It is widely acknowledged that positive attitudes facilitate language learning (Reid, 2003) If learners are reluctant to learn or they do not have positive attitudes, they cannot yield any expectedly good result In other words, positive attitudes towards learning a particular language positively affect and facilitate the acquisition

of that language On the other hand, a student‟s attitude towards a particular language may also change after attending a language course That is to say, language learning is directly affected by learners‟ attitudes when they arouse students‟ interest, engagement and motivation to learn Additionally, Karahan (2007) states "positive attitudes, let learners have a positive orientation towards learning language" (p 84) If students have more favorable attitudes towards the language, towards the teacher and the course, they will probably be more attentive

in the class, will complete assessments more seriously and, shall be willing to achieve more and will also look for situations when they can obtain further practice

in the foreign language To capsulate, an increasing interest in attitude research can also be explained by wide acknowledgment of the relationship between attitudes and successful learning (Bartram, 2006)

The students‟ performance is not completely the result of their work; performance is affected by many factors and the first one is the attitudes of the teachers Actually, positive attitudes from the teachers affect the student‟s motivation, attitudes towards school and schoolwork, the student's self-confidence and as a result academic development (Ulug, Ozden, & Eryilmaz, 2011)

Given the prominent role of attitudes in the language education arena, the researcher of this study decided to focus on both teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes towards the ITEC English curriculum to which they were exposed during their language teaching and learning

2.5 Conglomerates of Attitudes

Learning process is regarded as a positive change in the individual's personality in terms of the emotional, behavioral as well as cognitive domains (Wenden, 1991), since when one has learned a specific subject, he/she is supposed

to think and behave in a different manner and one's beliefs have been distinguished (Kara, 2009) Thus, the attitude concept should be viewed from these three dimensions because each one of these dimensions has different features to bring out language attitude results Briefly, the attitude concept has three conglomerates: behavioral, cognitive and affective (emotional)

2.5.1 Affective Conglomerate of Attitudes

The first one, the affective component covers the person's emotions and feelings towards an object This affects one's preferences such as to stand for or against or to like or dislike (Wenden, 1991) Feng and Chen (2009) opine that the learning process is an emotional process which is affected by different emotional factors Affective attitude can help the learners to express whether they like or dislike the objects or surrounding situations Generally speaking, the inner feelings and emotions of EFL learners influence their perspectives and their attitudes towards the target language

2.5.2 Cognitive Conglomerate of Attitudes

This second component of attitude involves the beliefs of the language learners about the knowledge that they receive and their understanding in the process of language learning (Wenden, 1991) This component seems to affect the learning substantially since it relates to one‟s mind, in this case, belief Indeed, learners‟ beliefs have proved to influence both the actions and experiences of language learners (Horwitz, 1999) For example, if they believe that languages can only be learned through translation and explanation, they will expect the language instruction to be based on translation and explanation

2.5.3 Behavioral Conglomerate of Attitudes

The behavioral aspect deals with an individual‟s actions or disposition to take up and practice special behavior(s) when one is in a certain situation (Wenden, 1991) In fact, successful language learning enhances the learners to acquire or adopt various aspects of behaviors that characterize the members of the target language community (Kara, 2009) In other words, positive attitudes lead to the exhibition of positive behaviors toward courses of study, with participants absorbing themselves in courses and striving to learn more

In this study, the researcher would focus on three conglomerates of the attitudes mentioned above In specific, the teachers‟ and students‟ feelings (i.e affective conglomerate), beliefs (i.e cognitive conglomerate), and intentions of actions or behaviors (i.e behavioral conglomerate) towards their exposure to the ITEC English curriculum were put on an emphasis

2.6 Previous Studies

Shah (2008) explored the attitudes of the students and the teachers towards the English curriculum in different higher secondary schools in Pakistan The research study was carried out with the help of a detailed questionnaire, asking students about different teaching methods, instructions, evaluations, textbooks, students‟ participation, audio-visual aids and their effect on the teaching and learning of the English language Besides, both students and teachers were interviewed about the present difficulties in the teaching of English Teachers were also asked to give their suggestions for the improvement of teaching and learning activities for English The findings of this study showed a contrast between teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes towards the English curriculum However, there was a strong agreement between teachers and students about the need to make changes in the curriculum of English and its assessment For example, speaking activities should be supplemented; listening and speaking skills should be evaluated, and visual aids should be used in teaching Besides, teachers were recommended that they should encourage their students‟ participation in learning activities

Finally, textbooks should be loaded with several activities so that knowledge imparted was not only theoretical but also practical

Raba (2017) investigated the teachers of English attitudes towards the new Palestinian English Curriculum for the 8th Grade in Jenin and Qabatia Directorates

To achieve this aim, the researcher used a 20-item questionnaire that covers five domains: Book general shape domain, book content domain such as structures, terms, grammar, methods, aids teacher‟s book domain, and the communicative material Results also showed that there were no significant differences in the degree of evaluation of the new Palestinian English language curriculum of the eighth grade due to gender, level of education or years of experience The eighth grade English textbook of New English for Palestine should be modified to be more relevant to the students‟ levels, environments, and individual differences

Yanik (2007) aimed to investigate how English language curriculum of the sixth, seventh and eighth grades of public primary schools was implemented by teachers and how it was experienced by students The major areas of investigation were the teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions of the curriculum goals and content, instructional strategies, evaluation and assessment procedures, learner attitudes and the problems encountered during the curriculum implementation Through a questionnaire for teachers and students, the data collected were from 368 teachers and 1235 students randomly selected from the 21 cities and 42 towns of the seven regions of Turkey The results revealed that the implementation process of the English language curriculum showed differences concerning the facilities of schools and classrooms, teacher and student characteristics and perceptions Majority of the curriculum goals were attained at a moderate level and there were some problems with the selection and ordering of curriculum content Various types of teacher-centered and learner-centered instructional strategies were implemented depending

on the language skill to be taught and learned, and the students had positive attitudes towards most of these instructional strategies The main problems encountered in the implementation process resulted from the lack of materials and

resources, the course-book, the learners, the classroom environment and the curriculum These problems influenced the attainment of goals, classroom practices, and assessment procedures Teachers‟ perceptions of curriculum goals and content differed about school location, age, teaching experience, and educational background Students‟ perceptions of the curriculum differed concerning their grade levels, gender, parents‟ educational and English level, and previous English grade

Iskandar (2015) explored the primary EFL teachers‟ viewpoints on the implementation of the National Standards into their School-Based EFL Curriculum

in primary schools in South Sulawesi Province in Indonesia, through interviews with eleven individuals Though the majority of teachers maintained their fidelity to the National Standards, some others suggested that it needed adaptation or modification A few others indicated their incompatibility with the National Standards Two different positions demonstrated the teachers‟ fidelity First, some posited the clarity of the National Standards which they used for their curriculum development Some others saw no choice except to adhere to it, perceiving the National Standards as the underpinning for their constructed curriculum Teachers who perceived the National Standards were adaptable saw that it needed to be contextualized in the School-Based EFL Curriculum implementation Meanwhile, teachers who felt incompatibility with it were mainly concerned that the government had failed to take into account and provide them with the facilities and resources they needed for the curriculum implementation These teachers also maintained that there was an inadequate description of the competencies for students to achieve Besides, most teachers were critical of the time allocated for primary EFL in the National Standards With only one two-hour lesson per week, teachers perceived it as insufficient, and that they could not optimize their teaching delivery Moreover, teachers relied on textbooks since they were usually supplemented with a syllabus and lesson plans; therefore, they were ready for immediate use in the classroom Generally speaking, materials, time allocation,

objectives and facilities of the curriculum were focused on by the teachers interviewed

In Vietnam, Nguyen (2011) conducted an exploratory case study (e.g one private school and one public school in Hanoi) on the implementation of primary English language education curriculum Data was collected from multiple sources, including classroom observations and interviews with different stakeholders The results revealed variation in the implementation of primary English education between the two schools, with the private school providing better outcomes The study suggested that teacher supply, methods, materials, training, and professional development remained unresolved issues that hindered the implementation of the new English language education curriculum The study revealed that there were incongruities between the government‟s policies and what happened in practice Teaching practices in schools were still in sharp contrast to the recommended methodology found in the new curriculum policy The study also found out that such gaps were a result of the lack of changes in teacher training and teachers‟ attitudes in teaching English

2.7 Research Gaps

In nature, most of the studies in the literature denoted that an exploration of teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes towards the English language curriculum which they followed was vital This identification of their attitudes could become an advantageous step in ameliorating language teaching and learning quality In any event, the pith of literature epitomizing the related works has divulged some insufficiencies

The attitudes from teachers and students towards the language curriculum have persistently been the core theme of recent studies such as in 2007, 2008, 2011,

2015 and 2017 in both outside and inside the Vietnamese context However, no study was found in the context of ITEC center at University of Science Therefore, the researcher decided to investigate the students' and teachers towards the ITEC English curriculum at this site The first and second research questions were

accordingly contrived It was convinced that students‟ and teachers‟ attitudes would help much in adapting and modifying the language education policies and materials

of the target setting This was the key purposes of this study, which entailed the two research questions

Apropos of research methodology, a mixed-methods design was the most widely utilizeed to address the research problems Therefore, the current study would be implemented with a mixed-methods research approach In specific, questionnaires and interviews would be developed in an amalgamated way Hopefully, the combination of quantitative data and qualitative data could elucidate the teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes towards the ITEC English curriculum in depth and breadth This was the eminent method to answer the two research questions in depth and breadth

Regarding the content, the students‟ and teachers‟ attitudes towards the language curriculum in the previous studies seemed to not be systematized In theory, attitudes consist of three conglomerates, i.e affective attitudes, cognitive attitudes, and behavioral attitudes Therefore, this study would explore the students' and teachers' attitudes in terms of such three conglomerates Besides, only some ingredients of the language curriculum were focused on in each previous study; for example, time allocation, teaching methods, assessment or purely materials (e.g textbooks) However, in reality, a language curriculum contains several facets, including objectives, content, time, teaching methods, assessment, teaching materials and extra tasks, and types As a consequence, the researcher would pay attention to a multitude of various aspects of a language curriculum It was important as the language curriculum could be probed extensively as much as possible

To encapsulate, despite that each study had its linchpin, these studies agreed

on the necessity of the students‟ and teachers‟ attitudes towards the language curriculum, which ultimately resulted in refinement of language teaching and learning quality Generally speaking, the previous studies not only helped the

researcher discern research gaps, but they also gave the researcher some useful lessons about both theoretical and methodological underpinnings

2.8 Conceptual Framework

Upon what has been critically reviewed in the previous sections, the conceptual framework was accordingly constructed In specific, an exploration of the students‟ and teachers‟ attitudes towards the ITEC English curriculum was carried out thanks to a mixed-methods research design with the involvement of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews Eight aspects of the ITEC English curriculum were put on an emphasis, inclusive of objectives, content, time, teaching methods, assessment, teaching materials and extra tasks, and types The students‟ and teachers‟ attitudes were illuminated through three conglomerates, i.e affective attitudes, cognitive attitudes, and behavioral attitudes The conceptual framework is depicted in Figure 2.1

Figure 2 1 Conceptual Framework of the Study

Objectives Content Time Teaching methods Assessment Teaching materials Extra tasks Types (General attitudes)

Teachers‟

attitudes

Affective Cognitive

I T E

C E N G L I S

H C U R R I C U L

2.9 Summary of Chapter 2

This chapter is believed to be paramount important to the researcher as it provided the theoretical skeleton for this study In this theoretical chapter, the researcher critically reviewed some key notions and aspects of the current survey First, the notion of curriculum including definition, components, and types was clarified Secondly, the term of attitudes including definition and conglomerates was elucidated Thirdly, some previous studies were reviewed and the research gaps were accordingly elicited Lastly, the conceptual framework applied to this study was constructed

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Introduction of Chapter 3

This chapter describes the research methodology used to meet the objectives determined in Chapter 1 It consists of details about the research setting, the participants, the research design, the data collection, and the analysis, and the methodological issues Through these parts, the following research questions can be addressed:

1 What are the students‟ attitudes towards the ITEC English curriculum?

2 What are the teachers‟ attitudes towards the ITEC English curriculum?

as helped fulfill the demand of the national socio-economic development and international development trends, and integrating into the region‟s and global advanced higher education

The International Training and Education Center (ITEC) is a center of the University of Science This center was established in June 2007 to promote international collaboration in higher education through jointly offering undergraduate programs with foreign education institutions such as the Auckland University for the Technology Bachelor degree and Keuka College for the International Business Bachelor degree The two joint programs are taught in English Therefore, to be admitted to the programs, students need to show their English proficiency certificates which are equivalent to IELTS 6.0 or take an

English entrance test and qualify at a minimum of an elementary level (CEFR level A2) The ITEC English Program is responsible to improve English skills and prepare students for achieving the IELTS test band 6.0 which is the compulsory requirement for their graduation As an English Program Coordinator, the researcher understood where and whom she could find to collect data and ask for more support from everybody to have the most credible results and constructive lessons

3.2.2 ITEC English Curriculum

The ITEC English curriculum was established to test and train students‟ English abilities in order to ensure they can afford their academic programs which are holistically taught in English as well as to help them get the IELTS Certificate before graduating As a result, studying English at ITEC is the obliged requirement when students choose to study their bachelor degrees here The English program and the academic programs are run at the same time and students need to study both programs simultaneously until they achieve the required IELTS certificate

The curriculum consists of eight courses equivalent to eight levels, inclusive

of Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper-Intermediate, English for Academic Purposes, IELTS 1, IELTS 2, and ITP-IELTS Test Preparation The courses (i.e levels) of ITEC curriculum are to help learners develop English skills

in general and obtain the target IELTS band in particular Each level of the curriculum is built up in the ascending order of difficulty level in terms of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, and language skills Learners have to take an entrance examination to be put at an appropriate level During the whole ITEC English curriculum, learners are constantly assessed their language proficiency through their completion of homework, exams and trial tests The learners receive their scores, evaluative feedback, and comments, which elicits their existing strengths and weaknesses Learners at all the given levels must take at least one IELTS test to familiarize with IELTS format, and this is seen as a summative

assessment for the whole course The number of trial tests is increased according to the levels

For materials, the book series IELTS Cambridge 1-13, Barron Test Plus, Official Cambridge Guide for IELTS, Cambridge IELTS Plus Test, and Essential IELTS Practice Test are used as mock tests for learners to practice In addition, teachers collect tests of Listening and Reading, in which one collection is sent to learners in the first week and another collection is delivered to learners in the sixth week Learners are reminded to do the mock test every two weeks (e.g the second week, the fourth week, the sixth week, the eighth week, and the tenth week) Teachers will give answer through PowerPoint

Below is a description of the ITEC English curriculum

Table 3 1 The ITEC English Curriculum

Elementary

This is the beginning level of the ITEC English curriculum, designed to develop English basis and to help learners acquire and practice basic English

This level concentrates on developing grammar points, and four skills Besides, pronunciation is also emphasized through pronunciation exercises of vowels, consonants, syllables, stress, intonation, linking sounds, etc

Life Elementary

Pre-Intermediate

This level emphasizes more on building up and developing communicative foundations, oral productions

on daily topics Pronunciation and grammar are still put

on an emphasis Learners begin to build up basic writing

as well as expand vocabulary size

This level is dedicated to building up learners‟

confidence in communication In addition, this level also

Life Pre- Intermediate

focuses on developing learners‟ reading comprehension

to become more confident in expressing ideas

Besides, reading comprehension skills are sharpened in this level

Life Intermediate IELTS Introduction

Upper –

Intermediate

Ability to express ideas independently for any topics is developed at this level Learners are taught to reading comprehension skills with concrete and abstract topics

Besides, learners are given opportunities to react to new topics in both written and spoken forms

Learners get access to advanced grammar structures and academic vocabulary items At this level, learners‟

reading comprehension skills and analytical skills continue to be sharpened

Complete IELTS Bands 4-5 IELTS Introduction

In particular, learners are instructed the content of Writing precisely Besides, this level provides learners with useful tips for the Speaking section Strategies for Reading section and Listening section are also concentrated on and practiced regularly

Complete IELTS Bands 4-5 Writing for IELTS 4.5-6.0 Active Reading Skills- 3

IELTS 1 At this level, teachers will instruct learners about scoring Ready for

scales of IELTS tests, as well as about strategies of obtaining the maximum scores for the distinct sections

Academic vocabulary, a key to the success of taking the tests, will be emphasized at this level

At this level, learners' speaking section is restored and assessed Learners are still trained in all four skills:

Listening, speaking, reading and writing

Especially, learners of this level are granted chances to the trial IELTS tests every two weeks (4 tests in total)

These trial tests are scored and returned to learners so that they will recognize their test performances, giving useful recommendations for their actual tests

IELTS Writing for IELTS 4.5-6.0 Supplementary for Reading and Listening sections

IELTS 2

At this level, skills and strategies trained in IELTS 1 are applied to IELTS 2 situations Learners are instructed on how to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses From that, learners will self-design and self-plan their learner autonomy

Learners at this level will experience the trial test under time pressure Through it, learners learn how to treat tremendous situations and avoid traps during the tests

Learners of this level are exposed to trial tests every two weeks (5 tests in total) These trial tests are scored and returned to learners so that they will recognize their test performances, giving useful recommendations for their actual tests

Ready for IELTS Writing for IELTS 4.5-6.0 Supplementary for Reading and Listening sections

This level focuses on all four skills: listening, speaking,

Self-designed materials by teachers

reading and writing Each part of this level includes reviewing salient test-taking skills, strategies, providing useful practice tasks, which makes learners more confident and skillful whenever they cope with the given IELTS tests

This level also helps learners review functional grammar, academic writing, advanced vocabulary, and oral productions Besides, this level reinforces learners' strengths and solves their weaknesses

Learners of this level are exposed to trial tests every two weeks (5 tests in total) These trial tests are scored and returned to learners so that they will recognize their test performances, giving useful recommendations for their actual tests

For the staff of teachers, the lecturers of ITEC English curriculum are 100% native speakers from USA, England, Australia, who have at least one B.A Degree

or get the M.A Degree and Pedagogical certificate such as TESOL, TEFL, and CELTA They all have several years of teaching English including General English, English for Academic Purposes or International English Proficiency exams as IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, etc Each level of ITEC English curriculum is run for ten weeks, adhering to a strict curriculum Teachers will be required to prepare for classes, teach, design and assign weekly assignments, grade, and keep records of achievement Additionally, teachers will coordinate with class tutors (i.e Vietnamese teachers) to work with students who need, or desire, additional help In most cases, teachers can expect to teach the same students for 4 mornings a week for a full 3 hours per class

For the field of assessment and evaluation, the ITEC English curriculum consists of several forms, including classwork, mid-term tests, final tests, and participation notice

 Classwork: It is a collection of the scores from quiz, assignment, reading tasks, presentation, and mock tests At the lower levels from Elementary to English for Academic Purposes, mock tests are only used to examine the current level of learners at the seventh week of the course And at other higher levels, the scores from mock tests are used as a part of the classwork Classwork takes up 30% of the total score

 Mid-term test: It is taken at the fifth week of the course The mid-term test registers at 20% of the total score To the lower levels from Elementary to Upper-Intermediate, the mid-term test includes Vocabulary, Grammar, Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing To the higher levels, the mid-term test looks like an IELTS test

 Final test: It is taken in the tenth week of the course To the lower levels from Elementary to Upper-Intermediate, the mid-term test includes Vocabulary, Grammar, Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing To the higher levels, the mid-term test looks like an IELTS test This test registers at 40%

 Participation notice: The score is made based on the learners‟ attendance level, engagement level into class activities This aspect is assessed at the fifth and the tenth weeks of the course The score for it registers at 10% Overall, the learners must achieve at least 70% of the total course at a specific level

so that they can move to another higher level

For the time, learners will take the ITEC English curriculum from Monday to Thursday every week, at from 8:30 to 11:30 On Fridays, learners study with Vietnamese tutors who help them review vocabulary and grammar points, assist the weak learners Every week, lecturers will send the list of weak learners to the tutors

In specific, tutors are Vietnamese teachers holding high IELTS band and good experience Every year, four levels (i.e courses) are commenced, including Course

1 (October–December), Course 2 (January–March), Course 3 (April–June), and Course 4 (July–September)

Chart 3 1 Description of Students’ Profile

As can be observed from Chart 3.1, the age range of the student participants was scattered from 19 to above 22 years old In specific, 32.4% of the student participants was 19 years old, followed by 28.6% of the participants as the 21-aged students, and 21.0% of the participants as 20-aged students In terms of gender,

19 20 21 22 > 22 Female Male Like

much

Like a little bitDislike Much Little No

Age (Years old) Gender Overall perception on

English learning Learner autonomyPercentage 32.4% 21.0% 28.6% 14.3% 3.8% 23.8% 76.2% 22.9% 67.6% 9.5% 20.0% 66.7% 13.3%

roughly three-quarters of the student participants were males (76.2%); meanwhile, 23.8% of the student participants were females When being asked about the overall perception on English learning, more than two-thirds of the participants (67.6%) exhibited that they liked to learn this language a little bit; and, only 22.9% of the participants liked learning English much Interestingly, two-thirds of the student participants (66.7%) showed that they learned English autonomously at a "little" level Learner autonomy was of importance to the students since it helped them planned and controlled their English learning behaviors Hopefully, these students should spend more time practicing and acquiring this language

3.3.2 Teachers

Contributing to the response community of this study was the participation of

15 English teachers who were in charge of different levels of the ITEC English course (e.g both lecturers and tutors) These teachers‟ responses were of paramount importance as they played a directive role in administering the target curriculum

As can be seen from Chart 3.2 below, two-thirds of the teacher participants (66.7%) were in the age of 31-40 years old And nearly one-third of this sample was from 22 to 30 years old In terms of gender, 60% of the teacher participants were females, and 40% of them were males The teachers came from different countries such as Australia (46.7%), Vietnam (33.3%), England (13.3%) and USA (6.7%) Nearly four-fifths of the participants (73.3%) had their teaching experience from 11

to 20 years