Luận văn a study on students' english language learning style preferences at do luong 2 high school do luong district nghe an province

LE SA A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING STYLE PREFERENCES AT DO LUONG 2 HIGH SCHOOL, DO LUONG DISTRICT, NGHE AN PROVINCE Nghiên cứu phương pháp học tiếng anh ưa thích của

A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ ENGLISIT LANGUAGE LEARNING STYLE PREFERENCES AT DO LUONG 2 HIGH SCHOOL, DO

LUONG DISTRICT, NGHE AN PROVINCE

( Nghiên cứu phương pháp học tiếng anh ưa thích của học sinh trường

Dô Lương 2, huyện Dé Luong, tinh Nghé An)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Cude: 60.14.10

Hanoi-2010

LE SA

A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING STYLE PREFERENCES AT DO LUONG 2 HIGH SCHOOL, DO

LUONG DISTRICT, NGHE AN PROVINCE

( Nghiên cứu phương pháp học tiếng anh ưa thích của học sinh trường

Dé Luong 2, huyện Đô Lương, tỉnh Nghệ An)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60.14.10

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Ngé Dinh Phuong

Tanoi-2010

Acknowledgements

PART A: INTRODUCTION

L3 Rescarch questions,

4, Scope of the study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1 Literature Review cccceessicisesinnnennesnntiennme — §

1.2 Clussilieation o[carnig syÏĂs is trseeerrrrrrrereuree 5

12.1 Perceptual leaming sfyles ào neeereerirereee Ổ

1.2.3 Active and reflective leatncts ccccecnseenneenneneieneee 7 1.3 The importance of understanding students’ leaming styles 7

1.4 Mistiaiches between Teachers’ amd Students’ perceptions of learning

ACTIVITES ee nh nen nhu Heo ng khe ddeedaeederreeo 9

1.5 The need to study students” learning styles and meet students’ needs and

2.2.1 Students

2.2.2 Teachers

2.3 Dafa InsfTuieTft co: tt tưng

2.4 Data collection procedure

Chapter 3 Dala Analysis

3.1 Students’ interest in learning English

3.2 The way of Teaming in class 3.3, Preferences of learning ÏtEEM8 tin

3.4, Preferences of teaching methodologies

3.5, Teachers” methodologies often used in English class

3.6 The importance of learning stylos esnsisteenmnnentnnemenee

3.7.1, Students’ opinions aboul thir useful activities:

3.7.2 The activities students like using in English class

3.7.3 Students’ favorite activities in class

2 Suggested tcaching and Icaning activitics for different Icarning styles

2.1 Suggested teaching aotivities

2.2 Suggested leaning activities

3 Limitations of the study

4 S0asadiom for futher studies

Appendix 3: Written test set by the teachers

‘Table 1: Students and their interest in learning Hnglish

‘Table 2: Students” and Teachers? view on learning individually or in groups

Table 3: Students’ and Teachers” preferences in leaming iietBs sess

‘Table 4: Students’ and ‘leachers” preferences of teaching methodologies

Table 5: The frequency degree of icachars using activities in class

Table 6: Students’ and Teachers’ opinion about the importance of learning styles

‘table 7: Students’ and ‘Teachers’ opinion about useful activities

‘Table 8: The activities students Tike using in English class

Table 9: Students’ and Teachers’ favorite activitics in class

‘Table LO: Students’ and ‘Teachers’ opinion in using teaching aids

‘Table |: Students’ and Teachers’ view on being corrected immediately or laler

Table 12: Students’ and Teachers’ thought in correcting errors

‘Table 13: Students’ and ‘Teachers’ view on studying at home

Table 14: Students’ and Teachers® view on inuproversnt

Table 15: Students’ written tasks’ marks from the teachers

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Since the end of the 20% century, communicative language teaching has been central

in the agenda of second and foreign language teaching It has become the order of the day

to curionlum developers and English language teachers around the world Although Vietnam accepted commumicative language teaching a little bit later than many other countries the principles of communicative language teaching have been used as the foundation of the curriculum development and pre-service and in-service teacher training programs

Many researchers and scholars have proposed that second or foreign language

leaching should emphasize the development of communicative skills vather an just

linguistic competence, ie grammar In order to find out the suitable content and

appropriate teaching strategies, teachers have to meet leamers’ demands and needs first However, many teachers seem lo be unaware of their students? learning slyles lo find the

suitable teaching methods for different kinds of learners Each leamer has his own way of

receiving and processing information and knowledge Some leam from seeing and hearing,

some leam from reflecting and acting: reasoning logically and intuitively, memorizing and

visualizing (Felder, 1995) Similarly, lcachers do not follow the same method (caching, ar

if they do the way they implement that teaching method in the classroom is quite different

As Felder (1995: 21} noted that “teaching metheds alse vary Some instructors lecture,

others demonstrate or discuss, some focus on rules and others on examples ”

Since teachers ignore or pay little attention to their students’ learning styles, some

still use the same method of teaching Lo teach different tear serious mistnalches may

2, Aims of the study

This study is aimed to find out the students’ lcarning style preferences and the

teachers' teaching styles at Do Luong 2 high school, Do Luong district, Nghe An province

‘To be more specific, the major aims of the sludy are as follows:

» ‘To aim at investigating students! learning style preferences at Do Luong 2 high school,

* To find out the extent of the leacher’s awareness of their leaming style preferences

through a sal of questionnaires

* To examine the extent of students? improvement after teachzrs facus on learners? learning stylos and adjust tcaching accordingly,

* To make suggestions on how to satisfy students” learning styles better in classroom

3 Research questions

The study is aimed at investigating learning style preferences of the students at Do Luong 2 High School and the extent of the teacher’s awareness of them and the extent of improvement after teachers arz awareness of their learner’s learning styles The study is carried out to find answers to the following the questions:

1) What are the leaming, styles preferences of the students at Do Luong 2 high school”?

2) Whal is the gap between sludonts? learning slytos and loachers” toaching stytos in our school, if any?

3) How to narrow the gap between teaching and learning so as to bring about students’ expected leaning oulcornes?

4, Scope of the study

The main focus of the study is on the investigation of the sludcnis” loarring slyles

at Do Luong 2 school and the importance of learning stytes Particularly, this minor thesis only refers to the categorization of the students’ leaming styles in our school; finger out the gaps between students’ leaming styles and teachers! awareness and provide some

techniques for different Icarning styles.

5 Significance of the study

Oxtord (2003) emphasized that leaming styles and strategies of individual students can work together or conflict with a given instructional methodology Jf there is a harmony between them, then the sludenis are likely lo perform well, feel confident and experience low anxiety If classes happen, serious breakdowns in teacher-student interaction will exist These conflicts even result in the dispirited student” rejection of the loaching methodology, the teacher, and the subject matter Therefore, finding out the Jearers’ learning styles is a crucial step to help the teachers choose the suitable teaching method for them

The rosults from this sludy will help to provide an overview of students’ learning style preferences at Do Luong 2 school The study also finds out the extant of the gap

‘between students’ learning styles and teachers’ awareness of them Importantly, the study shows that when the teachers are aware of thair students” learning styles, there can be great improvement in their students’ language proficiency Students not only have positive attitudes towards leaming, but also towards the teacher and the subject since the teachers find out the best teaching methods for than, and creale the interesting and allractive jeamning atmosphere with many practical and effective lessons Suggested teaching activities can be drawn ont for language teachers in general and teachers in the similar leaching contex! in particular

6 Design of the study

‘The thesis ineludes three main parls

Part I is Introduction, which states the rationale, aims, research questions, scope, significance and design of the thesis

Part II consists of three chapters:

Chapter 1 reviews the literature relevant to the topic of research, deals with definition of leaming styles, classification of learning styles, the importance of

undorstanding students? learning styles, Misrusichos botwoon 5 rs? and Studunls? Perceptions of learning activities and the need to study students’ leaming styles and meet students’ needs and demands

Chapter 2 presents the research methodology of the study It provides information about the sclting of the study, participants, data colleetion instruments and data coffect procedure

Chapter 3 is the main part of the study whose major findings are revealed and discussed

Part IM is conclusion that presents some conclusions, suggested teaching and learning, activities for different learning styles, limitations and suggestions for farther studies

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1, LITERATURE REVIEW

‘This chapter briefly presents the definition of learning styics, the classification of learning styles, the importance of understanding students’ leaming styles, mismatches

‘between teachers’ and students” perceptions of leaming activities and the need to study students’ learning styles and mect students’ needs and demands

1.1 Definition of learning style

As early as fifty years ago, Lewenfeld (1945) researched visual versus haptic preferences, but the concept of learning style has not been well explored at present ‘here

is confusion thal, cornes from a wide variation in (he scale and scope of Icarning, school achievement, and other behavior predicted by the various learning styte terms (Nel, 2008) Learning style can be defined as ‘learners’ consistent ways of responding to and using stimuli i the context of learning” (Claxion and Ralslon, 1978: 7) According to Light

Brown and Spada (1995) describes it as “learners’ nateral, habitual, and preferred ways of

absorbing, processing, and retaining new information and skills which persist regardless

of teaching methods or content area.”

Curry (1983) employs a metaphorical onion with its multiple layers to decide an

individual's preferences (Le instructional and environmental preferences, information Processing preferences of the learner, and the individual's personality diaension) Reid (1987) identified four basic perceptual style preferences: visual (for instance reading,

charts), auditory (for instance lectures, tapes), kinesthetic (like physical activity), and

tactile (for instance building models or doing laboratory experiments)

1.2 Classification of the earning style

According to Light Brown and Spada (1999, citcd in Nguyễn Thị Vân Lam and Ngé Dinh Phuong), they classify leaming styles into 2 major categories: Perceptual and

1.2.1 Perceptual learning styles

in the first category which is based on perception, there are different sub-

Auditory learners: Auditory learners profer taming in a situation when information

is presented auditory in an oral language format These kinds of learners are interested in learning through ears because they have good sense of pitch and thythin Therefore, when trying to remember something, they can often “hear” the way someone told them the information, or the way them previously repeated it out loud, Interacting with others in a Histening/spedking exchange helps them learn betler

Kinesthetic learners: Kinosthalic taxrners tearm more eflectively through cone

‘body experience or body movement They otten use their body and sense of touch to explore the world around

Tactile learners: Tactile learners learn bes from touching They are inlzrested in Jearning through experiencing or doing something They like experiencing the world and acting out events For instance, when trying to remember a phone number, they may romomber the pattem of their fingers as pressing the numbers

Haptic learners: they axe among those who leam through touch and body movement, a combination of tactile and kinesthetic styles They are successful in leaning tasks requiring manipslation

1.2.2 Cognitive learning styles

In cognitive learning styles, Light Brown and Spada (1999) divide them into two categories: field- independent learners and field- dependent leamners

Field- independent learners: They are more analylical, they can pick out hidden

figures in a complicated drawing more quickly Thay tend to perceive elements

independently of a context ar field and focus on details

Field-depenient learners: These kinds of learers aro mors relational and more

inclined to see the whole drawing and they seem to have difficulties in separating it into parts They tend to perceive the whole field or situation and focus on general meaning

1.2.3 Active and reflective learners

Felder (1995) emphasized that active learners lean well in sitnations that enable thom to do something physical and reflective Iearners Loam well in situations that provide them with opportunities to think about the information being presented ‘The more opportmilies students have to bolh participate and reflect in class, the belter they will lean new material and the longer they are likely to retain it (Kolb, 1984, MeCarthy, 1987) According to him, active leamer is someone with more of a natural tendency towards

active experimentation Lhan toward reflective observation of 4 reflective learner

1.3 The importance of understanding students’ learning style

Ihe importance in understanding sluderls" toarning styles, and

also to accommodate for different leaming styles in the classrooms, students should complete a leaming style instrument early in the course This would enable students to realise their own Icarning stylc as well as thosc of their classmates Teachers should be aware that students leam differently, which should make them aware that they have to approach teaching from different perspectives ‘Teaching and leaming styles should be of

the greatest interest to educators, particularly the relalionship between the twa

However, one of the weaknesses of leaning style research is the lack of investigation into the matching of teaching and leaming styles Theoretically, many

variables exist in educational literature reviews, but very few researchers deal with the

matching of toaching and learning styles Peacock (2001) is onc of the significant and influential researchers who investigated the matching of teaching and learning styles in real settings He concluded that serious disparities exist between the LS of the students and the

isaching styles of the load ig teaching and learning in the classroom means thal instructors should try to accommodate the different leaming styles of students Some researchers investigated teachers as well as administrators in the schools, as the two are closoly related, interdependent, and influence students” success Adaptabilily fo different Jearning styles plays a key role in students’ academic achievement Researchers who investigated the teaching styles of the teachers affizmed that the teachers could influence sudenis’ achicvernent by amnployings different ways of prs

maling the information Such studies have indicated the need to match the teaching styles of the teachers and the learning styles of students in order to increase competency in both teaching and learning

In order to satisfy expectations, teachers tend to shift from their natural teaching practices to the practices the administration expects of them Teaching and caring arc active processes that go hand in hand, while lecturers and learners are interdependent of one another If this concept is realized teachers wontd be able to enhance their effectiveness and enable students to achieve their full potential (Forest, 2004) Investigation mto the teaching styles asserts that the disparity between teaelting and learning is cơnlinuons, and (hal this lagely influsnces students’ attide and motivation Disparity in teaching and learning slyfes is the root of the problems that nany students face

According to a few researches, teachers have been neglecting the cornerstone of why students fail, resist, or reftise to leam Although the iscturers’ actions may be

unintentional, leachcrs have to start leoking into the main cau

zs for the sludenis? failure, resistance, and refusal in order to avoid such occurences Students who are unable to achieve in the way that is expected become less motivated and less persistent Investigation into what works best for cach student is unavoidable, and consequently, carrying out ths Endings of the investigations will lead to students’ success Designing course material based upon the students’ preference towards certain learning styles would enable students

to overcome difficulties that may arise when facing problems relaled to the Iearsting styles Once students’ learning styles are determined, teachers will have a clear picture of how to

design the courses When designing a course, educators must pay attention to students’

needs In the ESL context, teachers should use a variety of new materials to which students

can relate in terms of their personal experiences

Teachers should make use of visual aids such as photographs, drawings, sketches, and cartoons to illustrate and reinforce meaning of the new vocabulary, In order to illustrate Lextual lessons, teachers should shaw films and live dramatisation This approach will assist visual learners and motivate them, In order to rainforce the learning of grammar and vocabulary, teachers should assign some repetitive drills and exercises ‘Teachers

to think

should nol always loclure and wrile upon the board, bul they should allow stu:

about what they have been told and allow students be involved in class activities and

‘hands-on exercises, ‘This will enable students who are prone to kinesthetic or tactile

s should

Joarning to Toarn and acquire the English lmguage without less difficulty Teach

give students the option of cooperating on some homework assignments, Group leamers learn best when they work with a few of their classmates, This will give them the opportunity to express themselves in the area they learn best Likewise, teachers should facilitate those students who lcarn best on their own, They should assign individual home exercises or individual in-class grammar exercises,

1.4 Mismaiches between Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions of Learning Acti

One of the main requirements of leamer-cenlered language leaching is ta understand the learners’ needs and expectations as well as their learning proftrcnoos, Also, teachers and students may not perceive of the same activity in a similar manner By contrast, mismatehes in their opinions or perception are always in existence According to Riazi and Riasati (2007, cited in Nga Thai (20099), various studics have shown thal students’ perceptions and opinions musmatched with those of teachers which lead to learning failure, frustration and đe-motivation This can be seen clearly ftom the results of thcir study in terms of studying styics and Huc’s study in 2004, Although students hated working individually, learning new words through translation or looking up new words ina dictionary, or focusing on only receptive skills, teachers did not recognize this ‘hey still did nol change their teachityy method in the way such as creating contoxt for students lo guess the new words, using words in a sentence, or creating chance for their students to talk and discuss with other leamers, Therefore, Riazi and Riasati (2007) concluded that to

improve leamers” leaning outcome, teachers should encourage students to work in groups

or pairs dof working individually, and prepare the Ì sons and words in a contexl that is easy for leamers to guess the meaning so that leamers’ receptive and productive skills are both developed

The serious clash also happened in Tlue’s study (2004) in which although both jeamers and teachers recognized the importance of grammar and they were quite sure about their grammar knowledge, the leaming atmosphere was not very good, Students felt

‘bored and dissatisfied hocause teacher's explanation was so monotonous and tepetilive Thus, they were less active and enthusiastic in the language leaming lesson Savigon (2001) suggested that teachers should not consider their leamers the vase, and pour the imowledge into their head

The mismatch between the students’ perceptions and those of teachers can also be seen clearly om Spratt’s study in 1999 Teachers’ awareness of learners’ preferences corresponded in only 30% cases with learners” actual ones Therefore, itis really important

to narrow the gap between teachcr’s awareness and their learners’ nccds and leaming styles This will improve leaming outcomes, create a good leaming and teaching environment, and create a good relationship belween leachers and learrers

Although some similar studies have been done in some settings, in Vietnam context in general and in Nghe An in particular, they have not been done So, this study will be carried out to obtain the above goals and objectives for both teachers and learners”

sakes

1.5 The need to study students’ learning styles and meet students’ needs and dernands

Meeting leamer’s needs to improve the effectiveness in learning and teaching

languages in general and English in particular is really important Knowing our students’

camming stylcs is vital in choosing what teaching methodology is most effcctive and

suitable for our students Dunn and Griggs (1988) emphasize that “learning style is the biological and develapmentally set of characteristics that make the same teaching method wonderful for come and terrible for other”

Therefore, finding out what our students’ leaming styles play an undeniable role in determining what learning strategies are needed to improve leamers” language leaning

skills Oxford (2003) points out that if thare is a harmony happening between learning styles and lcaming stralzgics end the combination of instructional mcthodology and materials, the students then can perform really well since they feel confident enough with love anxiety, However, if there is clashes among them can lead to serious breakdowns in isacher-sludent interaction, resulting in slurfenls” oulrighl rejection of the teaching imethodology Thus, the teacher’s duties are not only preparing, materials, working out Jesson plan with many appropriate teaching activities but also helping students develop “an

awarent

ws of learning strate;

and enable them to use a wide range of appropriate

strategies since studenis are not always mvare of the power of consciously using L2

learning strategies for making learning quicker and more effective.” ( Nykios and Oxford,

1993)

Jn sunmmary, chapter 1 has presented some theoretical background knowledge related to

the topic of the study It has discussed some concepts and ideas concerning to the issue of

learning styles in general and learning styles in L2 study in particular Besides, the importance of understanding students’ learning style, mismatches between teachers’ and students’ perceptions of learning activities and the need to study students’ learning styles and meet students’ needs and demands were also discussed The following chapter will display the detuiled description of the methodology, the procedures of the siudy.

CHAPTER 2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the study The participants, the data collection instruments and the data collection

2 writer provides some information about the basic seltings for procedure are also presented here

2.1 Setting of the study

The sludy was carried ont al Do Luong 2 high school, Nghe An during the second tem of the school year 2009 2010 The school, which is located in remote area in Do Luong District of Nghe An province, consists of eighty — six teachers and twenty - eight Glassas with more thar 1,300 students in tho school yar Thers are nine teachers of English, most of them are still young and responsible for their teaching There are three grades 10, 11 and 12 with 32 classes in Do Luong High School in the school year 2009

2010 All of the students are studying the new English textbooks Because of living in remote arca, the students here often lack of proper teaching and leaming matetials when they were at primary and secondary schools, Teachers of the schools have to work harder than their colleagues al other upper secondary schools in the province to help their students study effectively, because their students are strugeling to catch up with general knowledge

2.2 Participants

2.2.1 Students

Most of students of the schoot live in remote areas of Do Luong district Their living condition as well as leaming condition is not better than other students in the centre

of Do Luong district, Most their cnuauce umuks arc very low, their knowledge is really at

the medium level.

English is not their main concern, thns no students pay attention to it before

to social ones Fach cla:

coming into high schoal Many students prefer matural suhj

average has only four or six good students at English, The others know a little or nothing about English Some students used to be good at English but they ignore it when coming into high school because of some subjective and objective reasons They leam Fnglish

whenever they like and theix main purposes are only to pass the examinations,

in order to get information to fulfill the aims of the study, two survey

questionnaires

2 dosigned Ths qu

stiomaire was administered to 286 students of grades

12 at the school Their ages vary from 17 to 19 There time of length of English learning is different: 90% started learning English at grade 6; only 10% started at grade 10

2.2.2 Teachers

There are nine teachers at Do Luong high school, two of them are on matemal leave, so only seven teachcrs who wore toaching at the school were invited to join the study Their ages range between late-twenties and forty- five years old The length of isaching Fnglish is also different, minimum level of four years and maximum of more than twenty years, Five of them have got the University Bachelor” Degree in English, one ñnishad the in-service training course in English seven years ago becanse he used to be a leacher of Russian and one has M.A degree and one is doing M.A course As rural

teachers, they have few opporluniti

teaching facilities and materials to help their work, Despite all these disadvantages, they are helpfd, fiendly and dedicated teachers Most of them want to devote their whole lives for lcaching They all have # groat desire 10 acquire Imawledge of how io teach English well Also, they are always willing to help their students tackle with difficulties in learning

sto upgrade their Leaching and do not have a lot of

2.3 Data Instruments

‘There is a variety of methods that can be employed to collect data such as qnestionnairc, interviews, meeting, tests, observation, col, Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages The researcher chose questionnaire because it is one of the

most popular instruments It is quite easy to prepare and it can be used with a large number

of subjects What is more, the information collected is not very difficult to tabulate and ta

English The information, therefore, would he more detailed and more accurale

Questionnaires

This instrument uscd in this study was the questionna

Nunan, D, (1989) and Brindley (1984) It consisted of two sets of questionnaire, the teacher questionnaire and the student questionnaire, with both close-ended and open-ended

which was adopled (rom

items The purpose of the questionnaire was to investigaic students’ learning styles preferences and the teachers’ opinions of those learning styles preferences Respondents answered the questionnaire items by circling Yes/No or writing down their answers if they were different from the given ones For each question, respondents were provided space and were cncowaged to give their own answers if they were different from the given ones

As can be seen, responses ftom the questionnaire did not only reflect generalized statements about the style used (Cohen, 1998) Respondents could give their ows ideas instead of choosing among the limited provided options Therefore, respondents had more chances to be more accurate about their actual preferred Language leaming styles

Questionnaires which are adzninistered 1a seven teachers and 286 sludenls al the end of March and al the beginning of April

* The questionnaire completed hy the students

The questionaire consists of fiflcen questions, which are categorized into 12 paris

The questionnaires were delivered to 286 students at Do Luong 2 high school at the

‘beginning of the class time so that they could complete it during the breaks and then, were

collected by the monitors of the classes The numbers of collected swveys were used for

analysis

* The questionnaire completed hy the teachers

The questionnaire designed for the teachers’ aims at finding out the teachers’

teaching styles in the English classes, the differences between students” learning styles and

teachers’ teaching styles in order to fill in the gaps between them ‘The questionnaires for

leaning English at Do Luong 2 high school

2.4 Data collection procedure

- The questionnaires were given to pupils of the twelve grade groups at Do Luong 2 high school This was done al tha end of March 2010

- The set of questionnaire for teachers was delivered at the beginning of April, 2010

- The written test set by the teachers was carried out at the end of May

Jn summary, the second chapter has presented the methodology, the procedures of the study The following chapter will display the results of the study under the light of the

above discussed theories,

‘This section deals with the data collected ftom a survey on both the teachers and sludents concerning the students’ leaning style preferences and the teachers? Leaching styles, The data on such criteria as the way of leaming, preferences of learning items, preferences of teaching methodologies, the frequency degree of teacher’s using activities,

the importance of learning slyles, class activities, toaching aids, studying al home, orrar correction, and improvement are discussed

3.1 Students' interest in learning English

According to the first and the second questions in the questionnaire, the statistics shows that most of the students started learning English when they were in grade 6

‘Therefore, they have been learning English for 6 years until now Classes 12A1, 122 and 12A3 are the thrce best classes in Icaming English of grade 12 Although they are not specialized in English, and their majors are Math, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, they are moslly interested in learning English, Other three classes (t2A8, 1249 and 12.410) are not three best classes in learning English Many of them like leaning English and some focus on the other subjects Some do not like to lear English They must study it only to

(he examinations In summary, there are 74.12% students who are imteresled in

3.2 The way of learning in class

Table 2: Students’ and teachers’ view on learning individually or in groups

According to the above table, teachers and students respond to the ways of leaming

im class in this question, students were asked if they liked to learn individually, in pairs, in

a small group or in a large group ‘The results from the table 1 revealed students” learning mode in class, Almost 28.32% of alt thơ reapondonls did not like learning individually while most of the students really liked learning in pairs, in small groups or in a large group

On the other hand, fom the table it can be seen that there were big differences between icachets and students, 71.43% of the teachers thought their students preferred to learn individually Only 28,57% of the teachers thought the students liked to learn in a small groups or a large group This reason could be the teachers generally believed that students did not like to have interaction with their classmates and form groups

In short, evidently, teachers were not aware that their students did not prefer individual study and liked to work in other ways such as in pairs, in groups Instead, they thought their students referred lo work by theruselves independently of their peers Tn other words, there seemed to be disagreement between students and teachers with respact

‘promnciation

to leam English words by seeing them | 134/286 46 85% 3 12.86%

to eam English words by hearing | 45/286 | 15.73% 2 28.57% them,

ta lean English words by doing | 246/286 86.01% By FAAS

something

Table 3: Teachers’ and students’ preferences in learning items

‘This question finds the preferences of leaming items As can be sean from the table, mast of the siuđenls (86.01%) liked Isarning by doing hands on activity (kinesthetic) 46.85% of the students liked leaming English by seeing them (visual), However, many of them did not like studying grammar, leaming English words by heating them and practicing the sounds and pronunciation (15.73% to 24.12% respectively) In this term,

teachers also thought the same with the students

3.4 Preferences of teaching methadalogies

cassettes, or CDs

C Listening and taking notes 34/286 11.89% Vi 14.28%

F, Pictures, films, and videos 178/286 62.24% OF 85.71%

G Copying from the board 67/286 23.43% Ww 100%

‘Table 4: Teachers’ and students’ preferences of teaching methodologies

Teaching methodologies play a very important role in perceiving and processing information As is shown from the table above, most of teachers in Vietnam use chalkboard to resent their lesson Teachers think thal copying from the board is really important, which can help students revise the lesson easily, They usually requice their students to copy things from the board Checking notes in thair notebooks is to make sure that (hey have noled the things they are asked

As can be seen ftom the table, itis not expected by the teachers, they preferred mare

creative way of caning to this passive way of Ieaming, so only 23.43% students Hk: learning by copying ftom the board while 100% teachers thought they preferred this to others, Many students liked to learn by games and 71.43% of the teachers cansidered playing games are their preferences in learning English More than half of the respondents (67.13%) preferred learning by games and 71,43% of the teachars knew this 62.24% of the students liked learning with pictures, films, and videos ‘Ihe reason may be that they favor loaching methodotogics thal involve both visual and auditory senses in addition 1a

interesting stories, Listening to and use cassettes, or CDs and listening and taking notes are

not interesting for students (10.84% to 11.89% respectively) Conversations was the least favorable to the students (7.34%) whereas S7.14% of the tsachers (honght thal their students liked leaming by conversation, The reason could be this kind of activity requires miore interaction and effort from students,

3.5 The frequency degree f teacher's using activities in class

Question 10 asks students how the frequency degree their teachers use these activities in

the fact that most of the teachers have not

books From the table, we can sce thal

them beeause they have to teach duc to the

discussing/debating, role-play, using handouts‘pictures’ games are activities that the

teachers always used in class (from 42.31% to 22.03% respectively)

3.6 The importance af learning Myles

Question Choices Percentage of | Percentage of

The role of learning styles | A nat important, 15.09% 14.28%

in target language learning | P important 36.54% 37.149

C very important | 48.37% 28.57%

Table 6: Teachers’ and students’ opinions about the importance of learning styles

The result from the table showed thal De Luong 2 pupils were aware of the important of English learning styles in target language learning 48.37 % students estimate Jeaming styles as a very important factors effecting to leaming process, 36.54 % of students think it is important factor and only 15.09 % do not think the same From these results, we can see that both students and teachers were aware of the importance of Jearning and teaching styles,

3.7 Class activities

3.7.1 Teachers’ and students' opinions about their useful activities

‘Activities Stndents | Percentage | Teachers | Percentage

workbooks

articles

F Discussions, debates, presentations 37 12.94% az 57.14%

Table 7: Teachers’ and students’ opinions about useful activittes

For this question, it shows the teachers’ and students! opinions about the activities

‘that help students iearn best in class

Tt is truc that class activitics play a very important role in teaching and learning

English They help not only teachers in teaching better but also students in learning well by organizing the suitable and effective activities for their students’ knowledge ‘This chart

shows us he information about the activilics which students believe thal they are freiiful

for their English learning As is shown from the chart above, the two most useful activities

that help them Learn best in class are playing games and doing exercises from the

workbooks (27.274-25.87%) 15.03% studetts like watching videos Wr

ng (slorics, sentences, and poems) and Listening (stories, sentences, articles) are not interesting for them so much In addition, the least interesting activity is listening to nglish songs ‘They thought il was not useful for therm in earning English In contrast, lic teachers’ results are different from the students’ opinions Al teachers (100%) thought that doing exercises from the workbooks is the most important activity to help their students lear best in class

57.14% teachers assumed thal discussion, debates and presentations are the second.

important activity ‘'hey also believed that writing would help their students well in their learning im class (42.86%), All teachers considered thal listening fromm the English songs was the least useftd activity in the students’ learning

3.7.2 The activities students Ilke using in English class

‘Activities that students most use when] Students Percentage

leaming English

A often read matenals, textbooks and see 83 29.02%

charls, pictures to gol knowksdge

Table &: The activities students like using in English class

In this question, students are asked which activities they offen use most when they

are learning English Tt can be scon that, 56.29% of the studeris liked to take im activities, games and through discussions they could attain knowledge quickly, and 83 out of 286

students thought that they liked reading materials, textbooks and seeing charts, pictures For them it is the easiest way to get knowledge However, there were only 14.68% of the students liked to listen to the Lectures, tapes or disks, It scems that many of students are not

nich interested in listening

3.7.3 Teachers’ und siudents' favorile activi in class

Question Students Percentage Teachars | Percentage

Table 9: Teachers’ and students’ favorite acti in class

When being asked about what activities they like, most of the students (77.27%) said they liked role-playing As we know that rolc-play is a popular activity in English classrooms in Vietnam, especially at pre and post stages for each lesson It is clear that role-play activity is interesting, requires creativeness as well as imagination and the students of grade 12 have done t

students liked it 58.39% of the students liked to discuss and debate whereas most of the

teachers (85.71%) considered that their studenis were more interested than other activities

well, while only 57.14% of the teachers thought thir

They believed discussion will make the students exchange their knowledge and help ther

feel more self-confident in the future, especially for the students of grade 12 Only 52.80%

of the students liked talking with and listening ‘I'he resulis showed that in students” view,

the interaction between students was very useful to their learning Students want to talk

and listen to other students They want to cxperience some difficulties as they try to usc

the target language to communicate Meanwhile, 71.43% of the teachers believed that their students liked talking with and listening to ofher students Obviausly, there were rmany

differences between the teachers’ thoughts and students’ preferences Language games, getting information from guest speakers were not their preferences