Luận văn teacher’s classroom interaction strategies in a class in a secondary school in hanoi a case study

TEACHER'S CLASSROOM INTERACTION STRATEGIES IN A CLASS 1N A SECONDARY SCHOOL LN HANOL A CASE STUDY Chiến lược tương tác trong lớp học của giáo viên trong một lớp tiếng Anh tại một trườn

TEACHER'S CLASSROOM INTERACTION STRATEGIES IN A CLASS

1N A SECONDARY SCHOOL LN HANOL A CASE STUDY

(Chiến lược tương tác trong lớp học của giáo viên trong một lớp tiếng Anh tại

một trường THCS ở Hà Nội: Một nghiên cứu trường hợp)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, IIANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

DUONG NGOC HAI

TEACHER’S CLASSROOM INTERACTION STRATEGLES LN A CLASS

IN A SECONDARY SCIIOOL INIIANOI: A CASE STUDY

(Chiến lược tương tác trong lớp học của giáo viên trong một lớp tiếng Anh tại

một trường THCS ở Hà Nội: Một nghiên cứu trường hợp)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

STATEMENT OF AUTHORITY

4 hereby state that the Master's thesis entitled “Teacher's classroom interaction strategies in a class in a secondary school in Hanoi: A Case Study" was carried oul by me for ihe degree of Master of English Teaching

Methodology under the guidance and supervision of Assoc Prof Nguyễn Văn

D6 Where I have quoted from the work of the others, the sources are always given With the exceptions of quotations, this thesis is entirely on my own work

I confirm that the work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification

J agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes af study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper

Signature

Tương Ngọc Hải

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere appreciation ta my supervisor, Assoc Prof Nguyén Van Dé who has spent his precious time to imstruet me in my research topic as well as research progress Without his constructive feedhack and great encouragement, this thesis would not come into

existeriec,

Besides, I am particularly grateful to the enthusiastic lecturers and staff from Favnlly of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Tanguages and Trưemaliomal Studies, VNL ‘their shared experiences as well as their profound knowledge have extended my understanding about the world around me in several ways

Vurthermore, { truly desire to express my sincere gratitude to all the participants in the research, including the school management board, the teacher and her class of grade 7 students for their invaluable assistance and active involvement

in my data collecting procedure

Subscquently, I wish to extend my profound gratitude towards my loving family for their deep empathy and wholehearted support to me They have always

‘boon slanding by me during turbulertces of my life

Last but not least, I wish to offer my special thanks to my friends, who have been tolally tehable They have made mo partially comprehend numerous lile’s philosophy through everyday talks

Tthank them all and wish ther all the best in their lives.

ABSTRACT From the very first day of their teaching career, every language teacher has

grasped the Wemendous impact of classroom interaclion on students’ language acquisition process In an effort to follow the discemible trend, numerous teachers have siived for improving their interaction wilh students tside classroom, which has visibly developed students’ great fascination with communicating in English

With paramount cancem about the widespread occurrence, I — as a teacher — would

ke lo conduct a thesis entitled: “Teacher’s classraom interaction stratepies in a class in a secondary school in Hanoi: A case study.”

With the intontion of identifying the classroom interaction strategies adopted

by a teacher and discovering how such strategies affect interaction between teacher

and students the thesis is carried out as a case study which enables both researcher

and readers to approach from an objective standpoint Based on the theory and model from several researchers, the thesis proposes to thoroughly analyze the

classroam interaction from certain aspects

‘The major methods and procedures employed throughout the study include class observations and class recordings A combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods allow me to generate comprehensive and reliable data so as to present reliable and important findings In this way, the validity as well as the reliability of the thesis will be guaranteed Hopelully, the thesis will provide substantial support to novice teachers longing for enhancing their classroom

interaction with learners

Key words: teacher’s classroom interaction strategies, ESL classroom,

secondary school

CHAPTER 1: INTROMUCTION

1.1 Statement of problem and rationale for the thesi

2 Aims and objectives

1.3 Significance of the thesis

14, Scope of the thesis

LS Organization of the thesis

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW,

2.1 The concept of case study

2.2 The concept of interaction in ELT

2.3 Classroom interaction in ELT

3.2 Sampling

Ww

3.2.1 Teacher participant selection

3.2.2 Studcnt participant selccfion KHreideriaeie 28: 3.3 Data collection instruments

3.4, Data collection procedure

3.5, Data analysis methods

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

43.1, Research question 1: Strategies employed by teacber to enhance

14

54

4.3.1.1 Strategics cmployed by tcacher

4.3.2 Research question 2: The dominant strategies and the contribution of cach strategy to classroom ïinteracfiou "— SD 4.3.2.1 The dominant sfrategies oo sineesisaneeeeresaees DOP 4.3.2.2, The contribution of each strategy to classroom interaction 56

4.4, Implications for teaching and teacher training

CHAPTER 5; CONCLUSION

5.1 Major findings of the study

5.2, Limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies

REFERENCE!

APPENDICES

OBSERVATION RUMHER 3 eo

OBSERVALION NUMIER 6 se 2OOAIVC

APPERDIX C

SUMMARY OF AREA OF INTERACTION AND ROLE OF TEACHER

vi

LIST OF TABLES, DIAGRAMS, CHARTS AND MODELS

Number of teacher-fronted strategy units in

each teaching activity

Types of teacher interaction strategy in classroom

Data collection procedure

34

TRE 'Teacher iniöation — Stadenf response — Teacher follow-up

MOET Ministry of Education and Training

vill

CHAPTER 1: INFRODUCTION

this chapter releases statement of the problem and rationale for the thesis,

the aims, the objectives, the scope as well as the design of the whole thesis The research questions are also framed as a spewific guideline for the entire thesis,

1.1 Statement of problem and rationale for the thesis

Tis beyond dispute thal English has become the conmunicalion Iamgumge with approximately 1.75 billion users as reported by Harvard Business Review (2012) Conceivably, during the globalization, Tnglish has tumed into an

indispensable language ina great wumnber inslitulions and companies Multinational

corporation as well as enterprises have spread their business all round the world, and as a result, English tums out to be a necessity to apply for a job Not only in

goomomy but also in entertainment does English play a pivotal role Practically alt

well-known songs, books and films are released in Hoglish English somehow has

‘been an essential part of our daily life

Tn harmony with the vigorous development of English, Vielnam is not an

exception In order to integrate with other countries in the world and export

Vietnamese culture, Vietnars has exerted tremendous efforts and one of the simple

ways to fulfill this task is through teaching and Icarning English English has becn a

mandatory subject in schools, Syllabuses and methods have been improved

oonlinuously Lo satisfy the world’s growing demand for English teaching A great

quantity of concerted attempts have been made by Vietnamese government and relevant institutions to ameliorate English teaching and learning in Vietnam In his

study, Hoang (2018) stated that: “To promote the study of English further and to

better the quality of English teaching and learning in Vietnam to meet the increasing trends of globalization and intemational interdependency of the global village, on September 30th, 2008 the Vietnamese Prime Minister issued Decision N°

1400/QD-1'l'g on Approving the 10-year National Plan for ‘leaching and Learning

Foreign Languages in the National Formal Educational System in the Period of

3008 —2020, which is said to be worth 9.378 bilkton VND (currently equivalent to

about 5 billion USD).” Such investment has emphasized the significance of

teaching Lnglish at schools to a developing country like Vietnam In addition,

Allwright pointed out thal “Slevick has argued convineingly (1976) thal we may

expect leaming to be move effective the more deeply it involves the leamer Moskowitz has developed this point into a whole range of activities (1978) aimed at

helping Iearners learn through interaction with their fellow-learners, interaction that

involves bringing personal value systems to the surface in the classroom The fourth set of arguments used to support ‘communication’ in the classroom centres on the idea that learning may be enhanced by peer discussion From this point of view better understanding is likely to result if learners discuss their fearing, and share their various understandings (Bames & Todd, 1977) They may leam directly from

gach other, or, more Hkely, they will Iearn from the very act of atlempting to

articulate their own understanding.”

1.2 Aims and objectives

First, tho thesis proposes lo examine the basic slralogics adopled by a

secondary school teacher in one of her English classes so as to explore her method

to slimulale classroom communication among the class Second, anolher objective

of the thesis is to determme which strategies are the dominant ones among the

discovered ones Last but not least, the thesis aims to examine to what extent each

of the dominanl strategies boosL teacher’s classroom interaction

In order to accomplish this goal, the research is expected to address the following questions:

4, What strategies are employed by the teacher to enhance classroom

interaction in this case studp?

2 Among the listed strategies, what are the dominant ones utilized bp this teacher? To what extent does each of these strategies support her

classroom interaction?

13 Significance of the thesis

During various decades, interaction in an ELT class has long been a highly

controversial issue, Gardner (2019) commented that: “Learning requires not only

the development of linguistic competence bul also the cmergence of skills of

appropriate tum taking, of engaging in classroom activities, of performing various

social actions such as requesting or disagreeing, of telling stories, of repairing problems in understanding or speaking Understanding these is understanding what

Seedhouse (2004) called “the architecture of the language classroom” (or for that

matter other classrooms).” Thus, classroom interaction occupies a significant role in

promoting language learning in classroom Through an investigation of how

classroom communication is facilitated by the teacher, firstly, the research is aspired

to improve my method of classroom interaction in teaching secondary school students Sceordly, the research is supposed 1a contribute its discoveries to the

selected topic in DLT Last but not least, conclusions drawn from my individual

perception will be added to the help novice teachers enhancing their knowledge

1.4 Scope of the thesis

‘The research is aimed at detailed data obtained in the class such as

recordings and observations as well as the studies on the same topic In terms of in- class evidence, I have contemplated gathering recordings and observations in linglish periods of this Linglish teacher and her class at her secondary school ‘Ihe

recorded files are precise information on how the teacher’s approaches to boost

classroom interaction are used My observalions al class are meant, to detect the

non-verbal data such as body language and visual aids used at class Based on the

aforementioned sources of information, the classroom interaction method of the

teacher will be uncovered Regarding previous studios on the same topic, my study

is projected to utilize them as an additional source for analyzing information

Chapter 5 — Conclusion — summarizes the major findings of the research

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter expounds the fundumental concept of classroom interaction strategy in EFL/ESL classroom Besides, the main features of model and features for classroom interaction are also presented in this chapter so that readers can

adopt general perspectives in classroom interaction

2.1 The concept of case study

On mention the definition of case study, Stake (1995) cited Lous Snuth -

one of the first educational ethnographers - that the case is explained ad a “bounded syslem”, drawing altention Lo it as an object rather than a process Smith has added that in the social science and human services, the case is a single entity which has

its own purposes In other words, a case is an integrated system that consists of a

‘boundary and working parts The parts do not have to be working well, the purposes anay be irrational, but it is a system Thus people and programs clearly are

prospective cases

Swiths also points out thal the compelling cases im cducational and sociat services are related to people and programs “Hach one is similar to other persons and programs in many ways and unique in many ways We are interested in them for both uniqueness and commorialily” It is human nature to raise doubt about whual other people tell us, and vice versa, they will cast doubt about our saying Llowever,

ina case, researchers tend to enter the scene with a sincere interest in “learning how

they function iu their ordinary pursuits and settings and with a wilhngness Le put aside many presumptions we leam” ‘Iherefore, the case study is adopted when

there is a perceived necessity to study a person or a program as well as its

contelalion with the context

After having carefully considered, 1 decided that the research will be

conducted as a case study for a broad variety of reasons First of all, in an

classroom interaction, How the teacher applicd certain strategies into her classroom communication should be surveyed in her own context Second, as the world has changed dramatically in the past few decades, il is unavoidable Gat public opinion has regarded particular interaction strategies, such as teacher-fronted strategy, as outdated The below case will find out whether the such point of view is suitable to

this case or not Last but not least, the selection of case study is projected to

highlight the strategies of this individual and her relation with her milieu

One more remarkable feature is the case af this study As mentioned before,

a case is a “bounded system” which consists of a boundary and working parts Which interaction strategy teacher uses in each period is the case that needs researching The boundary limited in a single class with 7 random periods The

working parts, in this case, will aim to lackle the following lopics: which strategies

teacher chooses to interact with her students, how her students reply and why she chooses such strategies

2.2 The concept of interaction in ELT

There has been a wide range of opinion about the delimilion of mteraction im

ELT Rivers (1987) has asserted that: “Students achieve facility in using a language

when their attention is focused on conveying and receiving authentic messages (that

is, messages that conlain information of interes! to speaker and listener in a situation

of importance to both) This is interaction.” In other words, classroom interaction

appears when speakers and listeners concentrate on the messages delivered and veceived in class “As Wells has expressed il “Linguislic imleraction is a collaborative activity” involving “the establishment of a triangular relationship

between the sender, the receiver and the context of situation” (Wells, 1981),

whether the communication be in speech or writing (For Wells the content of the

message is part of the “situation”).” (Rivers, 1994) What Wells really meant closely resembles what Rivers thought about interaction: communicative activities

are the essenlial mature of aneraction Another striking feature that 1s also

acknowledged by both Rivers and Wells is that classroom interaction is extremely

likely to happen when both the listeners and speakers are put in a context that is significant to them Under a circumstance that both teachers and students are

involved does inleraclion exclusively ovcur

Rivers continued that whether the interaction is straightforward or implied,

‘the involvement of the crowd is compulsory to create face-to-face communication

In LIL, the crowd is comprised of the leamers and, indisputably, the teacher Likewise, the setting in which people convey and collect messages plays a crucial

role in crealing interaction “The parlicipanis work oul interpretations of meaning

through this interaction, which is always understood in a context, physical or experiential, with nonverbal cues adding aspects of meaning beyond the verbal All

of these factors should be present as students car to communicate: listen to others, talking with others, negotiating meaning in a shared context.”

“A structured sequence of structured activities we may or may not have; we

may promote inductive or deductive leaming, or a mixture of the two: but communication must be there — interaction between people who have something to share.” Whatever the teaching method is, interaction is a fundamental prerequisite

to the procedure of learning acquisition In short, interaction does not happen with only one person Such phenomenon emerges when more than one individual engage

in the learning process in LL

2.3 Classroom interaction in ELT

2.3.1 ‘Types of interaction

According to Robinson (1994), interaction is divided into 2 types: verbal tnleraction and its coumerpart — nonverbal interaction Fundamentally, each of these two fundamentals affects and supports cach other, orcating a perfect structure of

classroom interaction

conversation owing to its verbosity, style and method, all of which were mentioned

by Lreire (1970) Giroux (1998), however, underlined the importance of words an accelerating an individual’s cducalional progress Freire argued (ut int dialogue cach word contains two aspects: reflection and action If a word is unable to spur students into action, the function of reflection will be impoverished as well Specifically, without verbal inleraction in classroom, sludenls may find it impossible to rapidly advance in learning,

Regarding teachcr’s speech in classroom, Fraire has argued that there are lwo practical purposes which teacher's classroom interaction serves: First, speech is adopted to “direct, guide, instruct, suggest, and persuade the students to do different

things” Second, it can be utilized to “silence students, deprive thein of their own words and keep them locked in silence.” (Freire, 1970) Nevertheless, he elucidated

that belween two mentioned roles, the first one embraces the dominant part ia

teaching in class, Although in many classrooms, silence is considered the prevailing,

condition of stimulating classroom activities Yet, learners “are not built in silence,

bul in word, work, in action-reflection” (Freire, 1970)

Studies conducted on coaperative and brain-compatible leaming have validated the argument that students’ ability to formulate their thoughts in dialogue

with other people is pivotal (Ilart, 1986; Johnson and Johnson, 1991) In addition to

speech, prosodic signals such as timing, pitch and emphasis so that the students demonstrate teachers’ verbal commands Also, Robinson have reporled thal “all

paralinguistic signals, messages independent of the content of speech such as emotional tone of speech (hurt, excitement), are present in interactions Nonverbal signals are used when attitudes, expericnces and emotions are not so expressible by

“Although a good deal of research has been done en various aspects of nonverbal

communication, that research has had little or no impact on teaching (Woolfolk and Galloway, 1985)—possibly because iL is so difficull for teachers, or anyone else, 1o become aware of their nonverbal communication and go on behaving normally And yet nonverbal communication is integral to classroom climate or atmosphere,

which im tam forms the context in whieh the micractions between teacher and

students take place.” It is a widely held belief that teaching is solely verbal process

which inchides “conscious, rational, articulate, the teacher talking to the students”,

whereas non-verbal interaction is also a contributing factor in classroom interaction

(Ross, 1989)

Bemet (1990), with a view lo clarilying her opinion about nonverbal

interaction in classroom, she uses examples of how students denote their boredom

to the Leacher nonverbally, “by fidgeting, gelling up to go lo the bathroom or Lo sharpen their pencil, talking to their neighbors, or otherwise ‘disrupting’ the

‘classroom’ which means, of course, disrupting the flow of the teacher’s talk”

Yel the teacher commonly regards these actions as “misbehavior” and as a result

enforces discipline, with an intention of preserving order in the classroom and preventing such communication The teacher talks, the children sit silently and

listen Robinson provides an in-depth analysis of the example: “The teacher’s body

does not communicate to the children nonverbally which is to say, the children are not to notice or ‘read’ the teacher’s nonverbal communication, are to act as if the only relevant, communication in the classroom were verbal The children’s voices are to remain silent until they are called on by the teacher, and while they are waiting to be called on, their bodies are to remain perfectly still, so that the teacher

{oo can pretend that nonverbal communication is aelevant, even nonexistent As

Duc to the space and time constraint, the non-verbal interaction will not be

‘under scrutiny in this research ‘Therefore, when classroom interaction is mentioned

in the upeomting study, (here is the morc presonce of verbal interaction

2.3.2 The concept of classroom interaction in ELT

Seedhouse (1996) gave the definition of classroom interaction in ELT as the

Collowirys: “ELT classroum interaclion is, on the one hand, a very straightforward

phonomenon; it consists of whatever people say and do in the ELT classroom On the other hand, it has been conceptualised and approached as a phenomenon in a greal number of ways Tl can be conceplualised as a ‘poimt of dchvery’, where different aspects of a language are taught and learnt (vocabulary, listening), where a

teaching method or syllabus or materials or assessment are delivered, where cross-

linguistic and cross-cultural communication takes place: a location where affeel, identity, motivation interact with group dynamics, a place where educational theory and practice interact, or where interaction and pedagogy combine.” What Scedhouse expounded on classtoom interaction in ELT is uncomplicated: it is the activities conducted by teachers as well as students in the classroom Subsequently,

he provides his readers with clarification of how classroom interaction in ELT can

‘be grasped, which is elaborate owing to individual’s point of view about classroom interaction in LIL' Seedhouse describes the classroom as either a preparation for

the application of English into the real world or a location io get English

qualification “H can be investigated as a location where learners produce systematic and thus analysable interlanguage data, including errors, or where they display learning strategies It can be seen as a place where teachers teach, make pedagogical choices, display toaching strategies or beliefs, respond to learner talk (including, error treatment), deliver a curriculum and evaluate leamer progress It is

a sile where bilingualism, multilingualism, code-swilching, and above all, learning,

aay be investigated It is a place where technology is deployed.” As a primary component of the teaching and learning process, classroom interaction is confined

10

or promoted by the policy from the institution of all levels as well as the technology available “he classroom can be considered, perticularly from a second language acquisition (SLA) perspeelive, as a place where the internal cognitive processes of leamers are engaged and may be investigated.” Classroom interaction are adjusted

to meet leamers’ distinction “such as proficiency, gender, ethnicity, age, social class, linguistic or cultural background” The activilics in the ELT classroom is closely associated with the way English is spoken 1 the real life, especially when it comes to technological innovation and requirement intemational communication The interaction in the classroom can be viewed as a place of ideological contradiction (Canagarajah, 1999) and is concemed with broader political or social trends in the outside world

Seedhouse claims that language acquisition arises in a social and meaningful selling which is open and lifelike Learning happens when sludents interact with other people, or in other words, in authentic to the practical experience that humans

have gained during their life (Neve, 1985; Llart, 1986, 1990, Nummela & Rosengren, 1986; Nummela Caiue and Caine, 1991) “To achieve ‘mutual

humanization’ the teacher ‘must be a partner of the students in lus relations with

them’ (Freire, 1970) Social relationships, including the teacher-child relationship,

require reciprocity (Buber, 1970)” Only through the process of reciprocal exchange

can children and adult be involved in the conversation that extend their

comprehensive knowledge in English Seedhouse concludes: “This means that at the

heart of teaching aud leamting lies classroom inleraction” This view is supported by

Buber (1970) who writes that in the face-to-face interaction, the teacher turns into a facilitation of learner’s self-actuated enhancement Howe (1963) argues that his data

support Buber’s view [hal withoul dialogues, education (concerning much of Ihe traditional classroom teaching) would be extremely damaging and exploitative The

above mentioned points of view are remarkably close to Freire’s (1970) belief about

banking concept of education He has identified that lraditional education severely

hindered the progress of becoming fully human in students

2.4 Theories of Second Language Acquisition

Jt is admitted that there are three views of second language acquisition:

Cognitive Development by Jean Piagel, Monitor Model by Krashen and

Sociocultural Approach by Vygotsky According to Pinget, there are 4 stages of cognitive development describing the process of second language acquisition in

children Tu cach stage, children develop their second language abilities in different

domains Krashen’s Theory of SLA includes 5 hypotheses: ‘the Acquisition- Learning hypothesis, the Monitor Hypothesis, the Input Ilypothesis, the Affective

Filler Hypothesis and the Natural Order Hypothesis As for Monitor Hypothesis,

‘This hypothesis states that acquiring an L2 will be developed automatically allowing the acquirer ta monitor his new language grammatical miles and edit the

imistakes uncorsciously al some slage, which we will sec laler as “Ihe Monitor”

These monitor uses vary from a learner to another, with different degree of

accomplishment Stephen Krashen (1981) classify the monitors into two types, Over-users who habitually try 1o tác their Monitor, in fact, this application loads to

a result of a correct language lacks a lot of natural fluency that should help the

learners in their real live Monitor Under-users either have nol intentionally learned

or decide to mot use their aware mformation of the language Even though the

modification of errors by others has little effect on the leamers, they can frequently

correct themselves, later on, based on a good judgment for correctness Tn the Trput

Hypothesis, Krashen explained how second language acquisition takes place According to this hypothesis, the leamer improves and progresses along the ‘natural order’ when he/she receives second language ‘input! that is one step beyond his/her current stage of linguistic competence For example, if a leamer is at a stage ‘i, then acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to ‘Comprehensible Input! that

belongs lo fevel i 1 1 Since not all of the learners can be al the same level of

Imguistic competence at the same time, Krashen suggests that natural

communicative input is the key to designing a syllabus, ensuring in this way that cach leamer will reecive some H1 + 7" inpul (hal is appropriate for his/her pưnenl

stage of linguistic competence Vygotsky’s Sociocultual Theory has the following major concepts: Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), Mediation, Internalization, Regulation and Frtersubjeetvily The mes! outstanding one is the ZPD, which was explained by Vygostky himself in 1986: “Ihe distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of polential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance,

or in collaboration with more capable peers ” He focuses on language development through social communication between leamers and their teachers as well as peers

Afler having considered (he above theories, the researcher bas decided that the study will follow the Monitor Model by Krashen, as it sheds light on grammatical learning and editing mistakes in learning second language

2.8 Types of teacher interaction strategy in classroom discourse

Lee and Ng (2009) staled that: Generally, three types of leacher merachion

strategy can be identified in an EFL classroom discourse: teacher fronted, facilitator

oriented, and learner oriented,

for traditional teacher to employ such strategy because they select to interact with

learners in a controlled and conventional style They skillfully manipulate the

classroom interaction to make the best of the limited time in a period Therefore, the

teacher is the only one in the classroom stimulating the flow of teaching and learning process Most of the time, the teacher frame non-communicative display

questions in order to provide the whole lesson to all of his/her students As a result,

the English periods tum into teacher-dominated, inflexible with controlled

14

interaction cycle Lec’s journal has revealed that there is pattcra named IRF pattern describing the cycle of interactive communication based on the teacher-fronted

stralogy “The TRF pattern {leacher iniliation/sludent response/leacher follow-up) is associated with a teacher-centered classroom methodology, pedagogically oriented lessons, and teacher-fronted activities (Clifton; Garton), In spite of this, this strategy appears lo be popular among (cachers TL is found that ‘teachers inistinetively adopt

an 18K mode of instruction because it is perceived, perhaps unconsciously, to be a powerful pedagogical device for transmitting and constructing knowledge’ (Cullen, 2002)” Teachers have a tendency Lo use this stralegy because it helps therm convey

a great deal of knowledge ‘Teachers, especially Asian one, pick this type of strategy

to largely solves a thomy dilemma: ensuring that students are able to acquire precise and detailed information during a shorl period of time Particularly, when young learners are more fascinated to “chit-chatting” with their peers than focusing on the

lesson, the teacher are impelled to enforce rigorous discipline in the classroom,

which is time-consuming The time available [or clfective teaching is hence sharply decreased ‘he example of teacher-fronted strategy, which was given by Lee in her

stuly, is presented below

Txample 1:

Purpose: checking understanding of vocabulary,

‘Teacher: What’s this? (teacher initiation a display question)

Student: A tower (Iearnar response—a short reply)

Teacher: Good, yes, a lower (Jeacher follow-up—comunient)

2.8.1.1 A model for classroom interaction

While classroom interaction was receiving public attention, Byrne (1991)

proposed a model which aims lo summarize classroom interaction in ELT His

model las sharply contrasted three following key points; Whole class versus pairs

or groups; Teacher control; What is your goal: accuracy or fluency’?

15

The above-mentioned fundamental components have beon expressly incorporated in countless ways to create the most suitable and balanced approach for cach ELT classroom How each feature is used in the teachnng process is mainly

dependent on particular classroom situation: “to give the students practice in

grammar and vocabulary (accuracy work) and opportunities to use the language (Queney work) through a combination of class work, pait work and group work.”

Such procedure can be performed in the model below:

16

A Accuracy activities controlled by the teacher and done with the whole class

Ấn this area, the loacher's primary duty is lo ensure thal the students know what they have to practice and to observe whether they practice it effectively

B Accuracy activities dirceted by the learners and done in pairs (or occasionally

in groups) in this area, teacher needs to organize the activities in which

siudents are capable of working in pairs and o

pairs The teacher’s role here is that of ORGANISER and MONITOR

k while thoy are working in

C Fhiency activities controlled by the teacher and done with the whole class In

that of STIMULATOR

D Fluency activities diected by the leamers and done in groups (or

occasionally in pairs) Tu this area, (he leacher’s primary duly is lo sel up

activities and remaim available for help and advice if the students need and

ask for it Teacher mustn't try to check these activities as in B The teacher's

tole here is thal of MANAGER and CONSULTANT

Byme also adds thal itis the teacher who decides their roles and area of”

activities after he/she discerns his/her teaching situation and the level at which

he/she is working For further clarification, Byme claims that, accuracy practice should be assigned priority when working with elementary level students At an

elementary level, and working with a large class, it is crucial that the teacher starts

with some class work and pair work (for accuracy practice) before going on to do some kind of fluency work Thence, only when the teachers really understand which particular realistic zoals must be achieved in the class can they occupy their exact

roles in the class

2.5.1.2 Teacher classroom interaction and questions

In the vigorous debate about teacher interaction in EL classroom, some academicians support the view that the adoption of particular types of questions can

be a clear indication of how teacher interacts with students in the classroom Wu (1993) commented that regarding questions, there are 4 types of questions that can

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be created by teachers, namely: referential questions display questions, closed

questions, and open questions

First, referential question ‘The referential question is the descriptive term introduced by Long and Sato (1983) It is used to indicate the type of question that

‘the teacher phrases but does not already know the answer A specific instance for referential question is: “Llave you finished?” In this case, when the teacher asks,

he/she does not know whether the response from students will be “Yes” or “No”

Second, display question Long and Sato (1983) also created another phrase named “display question” Contasting referential one, “display question” ia used to identify a question which the teacher already knows the answer If a display question is put, the teacher does not aim to tackle an issue Plainly he/she is apparently intent on aking the students repeal the knowledge learned previously

or example “What do we call this kind of person?”

Third, close question The closed question is the sort of question that evokes

a limited number of possible response as its acceptable answers A particular instance for this question is “Can everybody see that?”, which is answerable by

“yes” or “no”

Fourth, opert question Open question is the ype of question lo which a great

quantity of different answers would be satisfactory For example: “Why do you think four is a very good number?”

‘Yo sum up, the four mentioned types of questions are considered imperative

to the process of creating classroom interaction of a teacher Bach of the above kind

of question has its useful contribution to the strategies that teacher employs to

improve classroom communication among teacher and students

2.5.2 Facilitator-oricnted strategy

Facilitator-oricnted strategy, on the other hand, is the one that emphasizes the authenticity of interaction in classroom The learning environment will therefore

promote students’ acquisition in an English period “Facilitator-oriented strategy is

a set of facilitative interaction devices used by a teacher to facilitate interaction with

histhor sluderits in classrooms, and it imeludes personalizing a topic, use of referential questions, reformulation, elaboration, comment, repetition, and use of back channels, giving content focused feedback and longer wait time This set of stratogics crubles teachers (o creale ‘authentic’ dialogues wilh learners throughout the interaction process” When teachers employ this strategy, the period will be covered in a more “Ist-g0” and “meaning-facused” method that somewhat follows the TRF interaction pallern, offering learners more opporlumilies to participate in the classroom Presenting the instance from Garton and Gil, Lee and Ng (2009)

highlights the distinctive traits of facilitatar-oriented strategy: “For example, yefcrontial questions arc used, and the wail time is longer The right of lon

allocation is returned to learners, and non-verbal expressions such as backchannels

are used to show teacher support/ approval In addition, the feedback given is confer focused rather than form focused (Garton & Gil, 2002) As a resull, learners,

are empowered to take more initiative and responsibility for learning.”

It is also worth noting that these strategies can be directly applicable for pedagogically oriented classrooms Gil proposes that communicative talk can be

transformed into focus-on-form talk if teacher willingly obliges students with

creating open space for learners to make personal comments He attempted to explain that “with the use of an effective strategy such as personalizing the topic, focus-on-form talk and foous-on-meaning lalk are uol mutually exclusive” Cullen (2002) supported the view that the popular IRI’ interaction cycle in traditional classroams can be converted into a mare leamer directed as well as communicative

method “if the Follow-up Move (F-move), the third part of a chain of TRF (imliale—

respond- follow-up), carries discoursal (content-focused) rather than evaluative (form-focused) functions.” This implies that pedagogically teacher-fronted

classrooms are nol necessarily form focused and nen-cottnunieative TL depends on

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how teacher starts and dircets the dialogues between teacher and students The following example by Lee and Ng (2009) illustrates the features of this strategy

Example 2:

Purpose: teaching past tense

T: How did you spond your Xinas holiday? (Initiating move—use of a

referential question)

1; mm (pause for more than two seconds) Bored .1 sleep every day

(Response move—expressing opinions)

T: Ob, what a shame Your holiday was boring, You slept the whole day (Follow-up move—reformulation to show correct expression | showing sympathy)

Why didn’t you go oul? (nifiating move—asking another referential question to create a rapport with the student)

$1; No, no money (The whole class laughs.) (Response 1uove—expressing

opinions)

T: Yeah (Vollow-up move _ backchannel showing understanding)

82, No, he had money (Student 2 self-selects and joins in)

$1: How you know T had money? (Expressing opinion and using the correc! past tense verb form)

2.8.3 Learner-oriented strategy

Lee and Ng (2009) also added another sort of strategy, which is learuer- oiiented During the past few decades, the HLT leaming has got increasingly

familiar with the term “learner-oriented” As stated in Lee and Ng, a learn-oriented

siralegy is a “nom-intervernng action device” thal absolutely provides learners with

every chance to raise their voice in Linglish classroom ‘Ihe teacher has utilized an

absolute hands-off methed to cncourage students to interact among themselves and

bandle the given task, which forms a very leamer-directed classroom interaction

patter known as student—sludent interaction The whole process of the interaction

is primarily generated by leamers, whilst the teacher will not interfere unless the learners confront challenges Thus, “participation rights are open to all leamers who

have access Lo the ‘discursive resources’ of self-selection, (opie initiation, topic

development, and topic shift” (Clifton, 2006) Garrett and Shortall (2002) hold a

firm belief that this strategy is able to ameliorate both passive and reticent students During the whole iiteracting process, such students will receive peer support and negotiation of meaning when they are involved in the task, which promotes their

motivation in participating, in the classroom

However, Johnson (1992) asserted that the adoption of leamer-oriented strategy should be recommended with carefulness The absence of a language model or structure may result in fossilization of cirors O’Neil (1991) shares the same idea when he warns that “some students view learning on their own as a form

of leacher negleol” Thus, in order Lo ensure hat learners can crigage comfortably and confidently in a student student interaction, a facilitator-oriented strategy can

be used to scaffold leamers throughout their interaction process.” The instance provided by Lov and Ng (2009) shows how leamer-orientated stralegy van be applied in classroom:

Fxample 3:

Purpose: practising discussion skills

T: Get yourselves into groups of three, and discuss who's your favourite singor and give reasons for your choice (Task setting by a teacher)

Sl: My favourite singer is Lesley Cheung he die I feel very very sad (Fxpressing opinions)

S2, Did you ory when nmm he was died? (Asking for information)

2.5.4

S1 1 was not believe it first but um it was truc I cricd (Giving information)

$2: Now who you like? (Askinyg for more information)

$1, Mum .No, no .only like Lesley Cheung [Student 3 keeps quiet and does not participate, and so the teacher intervenes]

T: (Uses body language to signal she is going lo intervenc—Lacilitater- oriented strategy) .right, John, how about you? Do you like Lesley Cheung? S3: (Looks very shy) mum (shakes his head)

T: Ok Do you mean you don’t like him? (Says this very slowly and clearly confirming)

S3: (Shakes his head) don’t like him (Imitates the teacher's speaking)

82: Why?

3: (thinking) I like Leon (Ixpresses opinion)

T: Ab You like Leon more than Lesley Is that right? (Confirming and

reformulating the expression)

S8: Yenh .yoah (ooks very happy)

The difference between IRF pattern in teacher fronted strategy and IRF pattern in facilitator-oriented strategy

There are obvious distinctions between TRF pattern in teacher-fronted

strategy and that of facilitator-oriented,

First of all, in lors of the first stage — Teacher Initiation In teacher-lronted

strategy, teacher puts display questions for students to answer Teacher makes

questions not for the sake of knowing but for the sake of checking sluderis’ Imowledge of an alrcady mentioned lexical item Such stage in facilitator-oriented requires teacher to ask referential question, through which teacher does not know

the answer in advance, The studenis can answer whatever they wanl, provided (hat

it contributes to referential question made by teacher,

Sccond, the sccond stage, as mentioned above, the Student Response to

‘Teacher Initiation is dissimilar based on what question teacher asks in the first step Teacher's display question will result in students making arsswer (hal Wcachor knows beforehand, and vice versa, teacher’s referential question will result in students

making answer that teacher does not know beforehand

‘Third, the last stage of LAI pattern, ‘Teacher Follow-up in each strategy is

different In teacher-fronted, the feedback is form-focused, confirming whether

students’ answer is righl or wrong However, in the feedback of facililater-oricnled

is content-focused and using backchannel There are certain differences that can be

recognized between these 2 strategies, creating a distinction in terms of

communication in (eacher’s classroom imleraction with her students

Tn short, the interaction strategy in every period will be analyzed with the application of IRF pattem in the classroom Hach tum of IRF pattem, including, first, initiation from teacher, second, reply from students and third, teacher’s foodback, is considered an interaction unit The number of interaction units counted

in every period will be shown, which indicates the dominant strategy in general

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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

This chapter offers a full description of method utilized in data collection and data analysis it is composed of methods applied in this research

T aliempt to adopt both quantitative and qualialive research fo conduet (his

research There is a general consensus among researchers about how quantitative and qualitative method should be employed According to Lichtman (2006), quantitalive method intends to clarify an issus by gathering numeral data as well as employing mathematically-based method On the other hand, it is necessary to examine qualitative information by words, images and objects Johnson and

Chnistensen (2008) agree with the mentioned idea and make further corner thal

quantitative research pursues logical explanation, whilst qualitative research enables researchers to address the topic with meticulous description and justification, so that the problem can be tackled straightforwardly As for rescarch which requires thorough analysis like case study, a combination of quantitative and qualitative

research is the most appropriate method that can be applied to the research

Allhoogh the case study is calegorivad as a qualitative rescarch in which researchers get deeper comprehension of the case, the presence of quantitative research through

gathering numeral data supporls me in discovering the prevailing trend in leacher’s

using IRF patton in interaction strategy The detailed cxamination of the relationship between the major trend of IRI’ pattern and lesson objective, considered

as qualilative research, will supply readers with adequale information of why

teacher selects certain interaction strategies Through analyzing as well as listing the collected data from observations, qualitative and quantitative method will be fully

employed in this research

3.1 Study context

The case study is conducted m a secondary school which follows the

textbook series by Vietnam Hducstion Publishing House (VEPH) in collaboration with MacMillan Education and Pearson Education Every English period lasts 45

minutes, which means that the school fully complics with MOET’s instructions An experienced teacher was randomly selected by the school manager board to carry oul her teaching im the class Rach grade 7 class in this school includes approximately 25 students, all of whom have been Hnglish learners for 6 years The official language used in the classroom is Inglish The presence of Vietnamese is considered an additional help so thal sturlents are able lo acquire target language English better

3.2 Sampling

During the entire study, all the observations will refer to neither the involved

participants’ real names nor their psendonyms Their names will be concealed to

protect (heir personal privacy

3.2.1 Teacher participant sckection

Based on purposive sampling, a veleran leacher ala secondary school designated as T was chosen to join the study Having worked in the teaching domain at a lower secondary school for 18 years, ‘[ possesses a profound undorstandiry, of how 10 teach elliciently Lo different types of sludents Thus, the fust-hand experiences obtained by the mentioned teacher is valuable not only to me

‘but also to other novice teachers

Moreover, the English leaching periods execuled by T wore absoluicly crucial since they are the factual data on which classroom mteraction strategies are employed The samples, including 7 periods, were selected for the following

principal reasons Fist, the textbook utilived for teaching and leaming in the

secondary school is the one that included in the textbook series released by Vietnam Education Publishing House (VEPH) in collaboration with MacMillan Education

and Pearsou Fducation The increasing popularity of the lextbock scnes among secondary schools in all over Vietnam has urged me to do the research on classroom

interaction using this book The research on classroom interaction employing such

fexihook also assisis olher toachers in Viclnam territory with improving the

efficiency of classroom communication in official cwriculum

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3.2.2 Student participant selection

‘The chosen class was selected from a number of class which have been

taughl by the referred Ieacher for a penied of time Such class include 30 sbudents im grade 7 at a junior high school, Unlike grade 6 students, English learners in grade 7 shared a close bond with the target teacher for more than a year (grade 6 and few

amonihs in grade 7); and henee, they are capable of accurately understanding the

verbal instructions that are given by the teacher Furthermore, students in grade 7 have not received as prolonged exposure to English as grade 8 and grade 9 It is my

strong belief thal the classroom interaction in English grade 9 is nol as reliable as

that of grade 7 because senior year students are expected to take an entrance exam

to the high school, which makes their classroom interaction less natural,

Besides, grade 7 learners have grown entirely accustorned to the grammalicat

structures and vocabulary provided in the textbook series by VEPII Regarding

students’ level in English competence, Van (2015) reports that im the textbook series, “three sels of specifications are developed sparming the three levels from

level zero to level So cdp bac 1 (equivalent to CHER level AL) which includes level 1-1 for grade 3, level 1-2 for grade 4 and level 1-3 for grade 5, lo level Sơ cap hac 2

(cquivalent to CEFR level A2) which mcludes level 2-1 for grade 6, level 2-2 for

grade 7, level 2-3 for grade 8, and level 2-4 for grade 9” Accordingly, the level of guade 7 student is ranked as the middle of A2 in CEFR, and is constdered elementary level by British Council, At this point, leaers have achieved certain understanding in English for an ISL classroom Thus, such participant selection is apt for this case study

3.3 Data collection instruments

Diagram 3: Data collection instrument

With potent combination of classroom observation and interaction unit in

form of IRF pattern, as a researcher, I am able to exploit various sources as well as

deliver an accurate and detailed description of the research problem and produce satisfactory replies to research questions

According to Mason (1996), observation stipulates that the researcher soaks

him/herself in the research context and distinctly perceives various aspects of that

context including interactions, relationships, actions, events and so forth Hence,

should observation be used as a research method, it will acquire data with validity and reliability Based on the recorded files of 7 periods in classroom, teacher's

verbal interaction with her students in the classroom have been transcribed into

classroom observation The transcript will be given in-depth analysis in terms of

setting, interactions, lesson plan and so forth; thence the reliability of the

information will be immensely improved, Owing to the outstanding merits seen in

the observation instrument, all of the analyzed periods will be transcribed into observation documents to answer two presented research questions

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3.4 Data collection procedure

After having worked with the administration board and obtained their

permission, I invited an experienced teacher (T) who is responsible for teaching

English in a grade-7 class to join my study When seeking for support from teacher

T and school staff, I made a clear commitment that recorded files will be used for

research purpose only The recording was generated and obtained during English classes of the aforementioned English teacher Subsequently, I, as a guest, was

granted the authority to put a recorder in the classroom and make observations on

the whole recorded periods Undoubtedly, there would be no external interference from the observer with the teaching periods Afterwards, the recorded files were

transcribed and attached to the study as an appendix It is essential that the lesson

plan is added to the observation because both of them will give a panoramic view of

how teacher employs classroom interaction strategies The use of observation is

projected to explicitly address two research questions

In short, the data collection procedure can be depicted in the illustration

below with 4 main steps:

3.5 Data analysis methods

‘The data analysis will be implemented basing on observations ‘The word documents anseribed from recorded files and saved as observations will be utilized for further analysis

After the observation is made, the number of interaction units in each period will be analyzed lo find oul the main interaction strategies in classroom discourse Subsequently, the predominant strategies discovered will be disvovered and

considered as a classroom interaction tendency of this mdividual teacher

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