Luận văn thái Độ của giáo viên Đối với việc sử dụng máy tính trong giảng dạy ngoại ngữ tại trường cđsp hà nam

YIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOL UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADLATE STUDIES oo de LD os — NGUYEN TH] CHUNG TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD THE US

YIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOL

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADLATE STUDIES

oo de LD os —

NGUYEN TH] CHUNG

TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD THE USES OF THE COMPUTERS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING AT HA NAM

TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE

(Thai độ của giáo viên đối với việc sử dụng máy tính trong giảng

dạt ngoại ngữ tại trường CĐSP Hà Nam)

MINOR M.A THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10

Hanoi, 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.1.3 The relationship between belicts and behaviors of teachers

1.1.4, The relationship between feeling and behaviors of teachers

1.3 English Tamguage Teaching

1.3 Computers in English Language Teaching

The roles and effectiveness of computers in English Language

14 Teaching

1, ‘Teachers’ attitudes toward computers in teaching

1.6 Factors affecting teachers’ uses of computers

Summary Chapter 2: Methodology

21 Context of the study

2.2 Participants

23 Instrument for data collection

24 Procedure of data analysis

Summary Chapter 3: Data Analysis and Discussions

41 Dala Analysis

3.1.1 Findngs from Questionnaires

3.1.1.1 Teachers” background

3.1.1.2 General attitudes toward the uses of computers

3.1.1.3 Some factors affecting teachers’ uses of computers in LLY

3.1.2 Findings from classroom observations

3.2 Discussions of the findings

2 Implications

3, Linitations oŸ the study

4 Suggestions for further study,

References

Appendices

1 APPRENDIX 4: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

Pages

Table 1: Background Information about Questionnaire Respondents 19

Table 2: Main sections of the questionnaires 21

Table 3; Teachers’ allendanee of computer training eourse and teachers’ %

computer ownership

‘Table 4; ‘Teachers’ frequency of using computers at home and at school 25

Table5: ‘Teachers’ feelings towards the uses of computer in an ESL 26

classroom Table 6 Teachers’ beliefs towards the uses of computer in an ESL 5

the field of education is also being strongly affected by this tool As a result,

English teaching and Jearning have been much easier and more effective under the assistance of computers Ilowever, computer-based technology has also brought

with it many new challenges for the teacher who seeks to determine whl il has to

offer and how that should be delivered to students

It is believed that there are many ways to encourage students to learn English and using: computers ax Fglish loaching tools is considered oue of the most effective ways Recent years have witnessed a significant shift concerning the

technology use in teaching and learning environment Remarkably the Ministry of

Education and Traimmg (MORT) has planned for a significant merease im ICT in education to take place in coming years and teachers ale being encouraged to

imcorporale TCT technology into their lessons Up to now, a grea! number of

researches have been carried out to investigate the perceptions or cffcotiveness of using computers for language teaching and leaming Llowever, the investigations into teachers’ attitudes toward the uses of computers in language teaching seem to

be limited in Vietnam

Additionally, one factor in the successful implementation of computers in the

classroom is users’ acceptance, which in tum might be greatly influenced by users”

attitudes Consequently, it is said that attitude of teacher can either be a hindering

factor or a facilitator for computer integration in education Ajzen and Fishbein

(1977) states thal by understanding an individual’s altitude Lowards something, one

can predict with high precision the individual’s overall pattern of behavior to the

object If teachers have positive attitudes toward computers, they will use them to

improve their teaching and vice verse For that reason, teachers’ attitudes arc of

great importance in deciding to use or not to use computers in language teaching

Alter five years of leaching English al Ha Nam Teachers’ Training College, the researcher found that most of the teachers have integrated the computer technology into their teaching curricula, however, their applications of computers may vary depending on their attitudes and more importantly, the question whether teachers’ actual attitudes toward the uses of computers in their classrooms have not been answered yet Stimulated by the above reasons, the researcher has decided to

conduct the study on teaches

language teaching, at HN'T'TC, Hopefully, the findings of this study will contribute

allitustes toward dhe uses of compulers in English

to the pedagogic methodology

2 Aims of the study

‘The study is aimed at identifying the teachers’ attitudes toward the computer uses in Lnglish language teaching at LINT'C and exploring some mai factors

affecting the teachers’ uses of computers in their teaching Then teachers’ attitudes from the questionnaires and their classroom praclice are compared to find out

whether there is correlation between them From the fircmgs of the study, some

suggestions for further study in this very interesting topic can be provided

3 Research questions

In order to achieve the stated aims, the following research questions are raised:

1) What are the English teachers’ attitudes toward the uses of computers in

language teaching at la Nam Teachers’ Training College?

2) What ave tha factors affecting the teachers’ uses of computers in language

teaching?

3) Po ieachers’ attitudes correlate with thei classroom practives?

4, Scope of the study

The study focuses itself on the investigation of teachers’ attitudes towards the

uses of computers in English language teaching im order to understand the teachers”

views on teaching with computers as well as some main factors affecting teachers’

computer use, The participants are all of toachers of English of Faculty of Forcign Languages and Informatics at LINT'TC

5 Methods of the study

The study is carried out in form of a survey model This survey was conducted

at Ha Nam Teachers’ Training College to investigate teachers’ attitudes and some

allocting factors on using compulers in language leaching The survey assessed (he independent variables: age, time, technical support, experience, computer skills/

ve attitudes and confidence lo find out the main

taming, facilities, teachers’ po

factors affecting tcachors’ computer use in English language teaching (ELT) at UNTT

In order to achieve the above objectives, two methods will be employed to

collect the data including questionnaires and observation, Questionnaires are used to

investigate teachers’ attitudes towards the computer use in their classroom and the data were analyzed quantitatively by percentage of statistics At the meantime,

observation is to discover teachers’ actual behaviors, and then compare with teachers’ atutudes collected from the questionnaire

6 Significance of the study

The siudy is significant in the following ways

- The first significance of the study is for the author herself to enhance the skills of

conducting the study in educational contexts and for the other ESL teachers at HNTTC

- ‘the study is aimed at investigating teachers’ attitudes towards the uses of

computers in ELT, which has not been carried out before in the context of HNTTC

Consequently, resulls of the study will display Uke presen situalion of using

computers in the teaching and contribute appropriate ways to help teachers use computers in ELT more effectively

- This study can also lay grounds for further research on using new teclmology in

teaching language and renovate the teaching language methods

7 Definition of key terms

“Computer: In the context of this study, computer is used as a general term relernng to any computer thal can be used in Tanguage teaching

* Attitude: Attitude is a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events

or symbols (Hoge & Vaughan, 2005, p.150}

‘@ Attitude toward Computers: As can be inferred from the definitions above,

attitude toward computer refers ta how the respondents feel and think abaut

the impact of computer use in education and then how they behave toward

computer technologies and specific computer related activities

8 Structure of the study

Tho Ihesis is composed of three main parts: infroduotion, development sand

conclusion

Part I is the introduction in which the rationale, aims, research questions,

scope and significance of the thesis as well as methods and some definitions of key

terms of study are presented,

Part II is the development It consists of three chapters: literature review,

methodology, data analysis and discussions In chapter one, the literature review provides some grounds of attitudes, dimensions of attitudes, findings from prior

studies around teachers’ attitudes toward the uses of computers, and understandings

of computers in English language teaching as well as roles and effectiveness of computers in language teaching It also provides the factors affecting teachers’

computer use in ELT The second chapler introduces lhe methodology in terms of

setting, participants, data collection instruments, and data analysis procedure In

chapter three, results will be analyzed and discussions are presented

Part III is Conclusion part In this part, concluding remarks, implications, limitations

of the study and some suggestions for further study are presented,

PART TI: DEVELOPMENT CUAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW This part presents a review of literature on topics related Lo the study The review

focuses on some dimensions of attitudes, overview of HLT, the roles and

effectiveness of computers in DLT, findings from prior studies around teachers’

attitudes toward the uses of computers, and the factors affecting teachers” uses of

definition identifies beliefs, feelings and behaviors as important aspects of attitude

In the educational envirorment, attitudes expressed by teachers play an innpertant role in the achievement of educational objectives Specifically with regard to the

uses of computers tu the classroom, we can see teachers’ altitudes im their feelings

and belief about the way of acting towards the lessons

Additionally, Intemational Dictionary of Liducation (1977, p 32) defines attitude

as “predisposition to perceive, feel and behave towards specific objects or certain people in a particular manner Attitudes are leamed from experience rather than innate characteristics, which suggest that they can be modified.”

For the Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary (2010), attitude is defined as

the way that you think and feel about somebody or something; the way that you behave towards somebody or something that shows how you think and feel.”

Apart from above definitions, there are still other defimitions of attitude

However, the researcher adopted definition of attitude of Hogg & Vaughan (2005, p.150) for the purpose of this study This definition centers on feelings, beliefs and

behaviors, that is, how a person believes, fecls and then behaves in a certain way that reflects his / her established belief and feeling

1.1.2 Dimensions of attitudes

As can be inferred from the comprehensive definition above, three main

dimensions are interrelated: beliefs, feelings, and behaviors When people question

someone's attitude, they refer to beliefs and feelings related to a person or event and

the resulting behavior

1.1.2.1 Belicfs

“Belief” is an opinion about something, something thal you think is bus (The

Oxford Advanced Learners” Dictionary, 2010) In educational environment, beliefs

are prounded in teachers’ personal belief system (opinions, values, expectations in a more or less structured way) and represented psychologically 10 make decisions about classroom practices such as the issues of computer use

1.1.2.2 Feelings

The Tntertalional Dictionary of Erucalion (1977, p 14) defies feclings as

“those aspects that emerge from experience and behavior such as the teaching

experience of teachers thal will develop emotionally in them” They can be assessed

from people's verbal expressions of how they fecl, or from their physiological

reactions to the attitude object

1.1.2.3 Behaviors

A definition from The Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary (2010),

behavior is the way a person, an animal, etc behaves or functions in a particular

1.1.3 The relationship between beliefs and behaviors of teachers

‘The constructs of attitudes, beliefs and behaviors are complex ‘The studies on

telalionship between behefs and behaviors m icaching have found thal, how the teachers behave in the classroom is strongly influenced in what they believe Compeau, Iliggins, & Tuff (1999) share the view that behavior (the use of

computers) is viewed as the result of a set of beliefs about technology and a set of

affective responses to the behavior in other words, it is the way a person thinks about somebody or something and the way s/he behaves towards someone For

teachers, they think that the uses of compulers benefit classroom teaching and

learning, and then they will use them and attempt incorporating them into their teaching As Simonsson (2004) states that the utilization of technology is related to teachers’ belicls about the use of this took

Generally speaking, beliefs can control your actions, behavior and potential If you

learned how to acquire positive beliefs and how to get rid of negative ones then you

will be able Lo use the bremendous power of belic!s on your side

However, there is still debate as to whether beliefs influence actions or

achons wifluence behels and a direct relaionsinp between the two has been

questioned Mansour (2009) reports that practice docs not always come after beliefs, but may sometimes precede them ‘Therefore, an understanding of these relationships can assist in determining their professional development needs Hugene (2005) investigated how teachers’ beliefs may make an impact on the imtegration of technology in their classes It was found that there was a discrepancy

between teachers’ beliefs and their actual instructional practices of integrating

technology ‘Teachers’ teaching, practices and the use of technology were found not

ta match their beliefs

1.1.4 The relationship between feelings and behaviors of teachers

Feelings play a crucial role in determining human behavior The behavior toward other persons is determined by the feelings toward them Obviously, we behave differently toward those we hike than loward those we dislike Sometimes,

feclings and behayiors are divergent For example, when we have a positive fecling toward the object then our overt actions and bebaviors toward the object (porson/hing/idea) will be positive, and conversely if we have negative feclings toward the object ‘his, however, is not always being the case Sometimes we cannot judge how a person feels or what they think about an object simply by

observing their overt behaviors toward that object

1.2 English Languape Teaching (FT.T)

Language teaching has been around for many centuries, and over the centuries,

il has changed Various influences have allecled language leaching Reasons for

learning language have been different in different periods In some eras, languages were mainly taught for the purpose of reading In others, it was taught mainly ta people who needed to use i orally These differences influenced how Iamguage was taught in various periods Also, theories about the nature of language and the nature

of learning have changed The changes are briefly mentioned in two following

periods through tustory:

The 19th and Karly to Mid-20th Century

The grammar-translation method was the dominant foreign language teaching,

method in Europe from the 1840s to the 1940s, and a version of it continues to be

widely used in some parts of the world, even today Llowever, even as early as the mid-19th, theorists were beginning to question the principles behind the grammar- translation method Changes were begiming to take place ‘here was a greater demand for ability to speak foreign languages, and various reformers began

reconsidering the nature of language and of learning

The Mid- to Late-20th Century up to the present

In the years following World War IL, great changes took place, some of

which would eventually influence language teaching and learning Language

diversity greatly increased, so that there wore more languages to leam Expansion of schooling meant that language learning was no longer the prerogative of the elite

bul something thal was necessary for a widening range ol people More

opportunities for international travel and busincss and intemational social and cultural exchanges increased the need for language leaming As a result, renewed allsmpis were made m the 1950s and 1960s namely use new technology (c.g tape recorders, radios, TV, and computers) effectively in language teaching, explore new educational patterns (e.g, bilingual education, individualized instruction, and

immersion programs) and establish methodological innovations (e.g., the audio-

lingual method) However, the hoped-for increase in the effectiveness of language

education did not materialize, and some of the theoretical underpinnings of the

developments were called into question Beginning in the nrid-1960s, there has been

a variety of theoretical challenges to the audio-lingual method

Developments in various directions have taken place since the early 1970s Thors las been developmemas such as ä greaL emphass on individnalized instruction, more humanistic approaches to language learning, a greater focus on the

learner, and greater emphasis on development of communicate, as opposed to

merely Imguistic, competence Some "new methods," imcluding the Silent Way, Suggestopedia, and Community Language Learning, have gained followings, and

these reflect some of the above trends In addition, there bas been disillusionment with the whole methods debate, partly duc to inconelusiveness of rescarch on

methods, and calls for a deeper understanding of the process of language leaming itself Finally, there has been a greater stress on authenticity in language learning, meaning that the activities involved in language learning reflect real-world uses of the language

1.3 Computers in English Language Teaching (ELT)

‘Technology integration in education in general and language teaching in particular could be considered as the latest educational change movement and preat

amount of imporlance since the 1980s From firsl appearances, the computer has

been becoming more widespread and from this time onwards, the development in education has been rapid Warschauer has categorized the development process of

computer (the uses of computers for language teaching and learning) - CATT is the

acronym for Computer — Assisted Language Learning (CALL) into threc “phøsos”: behavionstie CALL, commtmicative CALL and integrative CALL (Warschauer, M,

1996, Warschauer, M & Healy 1998)

communication It focuses more on using forms rather than on the forms themselves

and cmphasives leaming as a creative process of discovery, expression and

development

Integrative CALL

This phase focuses on a social or socio — cognitive view of language learning and emphasizes the use of language in a more authentic context that encourage the

students to construct meaning using computers

‘Those, three phases of CALL suggest that the computer can be used for a variety of purposes in language teaching The earlier phases are integrated into the new

development of the next new phase It can be a tutor for language drills or skill

practice, a stimulus for discussion and interaction; or a tool for teaching and a

medium of “global communication and a source of limitless authentic materials”

(Warschauer, M: 1996)

When computers arc used in education they are more than just another medium

of teaching, such as a chalkboard Fifteen years ago, it was rare for people to have

computers in [heir homes, however, today, if you do not have a compuler, you are al

10

somewhat of a disadvantage Using the computer a teacher can provide students with different kind of learning In order that teachers have always looked to

improve the effectiveness of their

Shing with the loots offered to them The

Office of Technology Association’s (OLA) Report (1995, p 6) summarizes these

attempts with these sentences:

“Throughout history, teachers have taken up the tools at hand to help them

teach - whether marking on clay with a stylus, or writing on a blackboard with chalk As new technologies have emerged-photography, filmstrips, radio,

televisioms-teachers have used them (o extend the range of what they could teach,

illustrate ideas in different ways, bring new materials to students, and motivate

leachers and leamers For these changes, the new Leaching ielhods and approaches

have been given to meet the objectives of the lessons Every type of ELT method has its own tool to support it lor example, the best tool for the grammar-

translation method is the blackboard which allows teachers to transmit

information one-way while the tape recorder is the best medium for the audio- lingual method The social development and more advanced technologies have

decided teaching methods to keep their pace Subsequently, the latest change in this

area is the integration of technology in teaching Hnglish by using the communicative language approach method, Technology in teaching refers to

technological tools and services which consis of computers, laplops, videos,

overhead projectors, digital video disks (DVDs), smart boards and the whole range of modem devices that have been developed by technical companies ta be used im (cashing (Saaid, 2010) For Percival (1984), the usc of tectmology im the

11

EFL classrooms is seen as highly beneficial for language Morcover, the birth and

rise of the Internet and the World Wide Web since its inception m the 1980s has

allowed both language teachers and students to explore various methods of learning From teacher-centered to student-centered approaches

By incorporating technology into the teaching of English, the role of the EFL

teachers in the language classroom has shifted from that of a traditional teacher who uses textbooks to one who uses a variety of methods which includes

technology Significantly, there is a shift in the learning environment from teacher—

centered towards student-centered approach with the presence of computers in the

classroom ‘hat is moving from students as passive leamers to students who are active in the search for fulfillment their own learning need Hadley and Sheingold

(1993) indicale that with lechnology, classrooms have been changed from a teacher- centered educational environment to a student-centered environment

In the same way, Warschauer & Healey (1998) states that teachers in the

computer- based environment are 1 longer the only active content provider but are also facilitators guiding, students towards their learning need and preparing students

wilh knowledge needed

Obviously, computer systems can be intograted into classrooms to make

students motivated to leam and help them build the skills lor example, students can

use the Intemet as a library source, investigate everything from a lot of materials:

they can use computers to write research reports, conduct experiments and create

electronic portfolios for job applications Similarly, computer tools and resources

can be used in many different ways to support teaching and learning, such as using

the features of word-processing programs to help students develop their skills in drafting and editing written work: using e-mail to engage students in collaborative

leamming activities with their friends and teachers withm and outside their

institutions; working with the Internet in scarching, gathoring and organizing

information

12

1.4, The roles and effectiveness af computers in English language teaching

‘rhe role of computers has dramatically changed since the 1980s saw the introduction of conmputers to the educational classrooms Compulers and technology are integrated into lesson plans, objectives and daily classroom routines Computer- based leaming has taken hold in schools Roblyer and Edwards (2000) suggested

five important reasons for teachers to use technology in education: {1} motivation,

(2) distinctive mstructional abilities, (3) higher productivity of teachers, (4) essential slalls for the Information Age, and (5) support for new teaching techniques

(ciled in, Satnak, 2006)

Using Ll and especially computers in teaching is gaining immense popularity today With the help of computer software and the Intemet, teachers can give their learners opportumilies 1o study Tanguages anywhere and anytime in classrooms, labs,

at home or even on the go Computers also help instructors to update and create

their teaching materials more easily They can also exchange their products,

thoughts, and ideas with their colleagues using c-mail, mailing lists, web siles and

other tools through the Internet,

Computers are the most popular among teachers and students either because they are associated with fun and games as student motivation is therefore increased, especially whenever a varicty of activities are offered, which make students fecl more independent With the uses of projectors in the language classrooms, language teachers can use slide presentation to make their performance more interesting, Students have reported to be highly interested in the lesson and therefore they participated increasingly into the activities given by the language teachers It means

that students are extremely motivated to interact during the class time, and as a

result, the language teaching becomes more effective In this targel, teachers” uses

of IT are one of the most effective ways

1.5 Teachers’ attitudes toward computers in teaching

Altitudes toward computer technology use play an imporlant role, they ofien

account for a large part of the teachers’ willingness or reluctance to participate in

13

the use of computer technology as a teaching tool in their teaching practices in the classrooms Correspondingly, a number of studies were carried out to determine

teachers? allitudes toward computer use

According to Albirini (2006), teachers’ attitudes were considered as a major

predictor of the uses of new technologies in the educational settings In other words,

their attitudes toward computers could play an important role in the acceptance and

actual uses of computers

Besides, Kersaint, Horton, Stohl, and Garofalo (2003) found that teachers who

had positive attitudes toward technology felt more comfortable with using it and usually incorporated it into their teaching In the same way, Albirini (2004)

conducted a sLudy to investigate the atliludes of RFT teachers it: Syrian high schools

toward technology in education, both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to collect data He found that the results from both quantitative and

qualitative dala indicaled thal teachers had positive attitudes toward technology use

in education

Regarding the acceptance of IT in education, Albirini (2004, p.36) stated that

posilive allitudes offer encouraged Jess Lechnologically capable teachers lo learn the skills necessary for the implementation of technology-based activities m the

classroom

1.6 Factors affecting the uses of computers

‘There are many factors that affect teachers’ uses of computer technology in teaching were analyzed by many research studies In a study conducted by Ertmer (2002), some barriers to technology integration within teaching were: lack of computers, lack of quality software, lack of ume, technical problems, teachers’

attitudes towards computers, poor funding, lack of teacher confidence, resistance to

change, poor administrative support, lack of computer skill, poor [il with the curriculum, lack of incentives, scheduling difficulties, poor training opportunities,

and lack of vision as to how to integrate technology

14

In a report on the barriers that existed in schools that prevent teachers from making full use of 1C'l in teaching, Jones (2004, p 3) has summarized some of the

key (ndings as follows

Inappropriate training styles result in low levels of ICL use by teachers

Teachers are sometimes unable to make full use of technology because they

lack the lime needed to fully prepare and research malerials Cor lessons

‘Techmeal faults with ICT equipment are tikely to lead to lower levels of ICT

use by teachers

Rosislance to change is a factor which preverts the [ull irfegraliem of TCT in

the classroom

Teachers who do nơi realize the advantages of using lechnology in their

teaching are less likely to make use of ICT

‘There are close relationships between many of the identified barriers to ICT use; any factors influencing one barrier are likely also to influence several

other barriers,

In addition, Kong Siew (1997) listed three factors that inhibited teachers’ uses of

computers in the classroom are

Tarmled number of computers in schools

Teachers’ limited computer knowledge or skills to integrate the computer in

their lesson

(Kong Siew ,1997, viled in Rahman 2000, p 536)

15

Some other studies have reported findings on the demographic variables that moderately affect the proper integration of computers in education such as gender, age, pro

indeed may not affect teacher's uses of computers in the teaching environment and

in most researches; many of these factors interact with each other However, for the

purpose of this study the researcher will examine the factors affecting teachers’ uses

of computers by exploiting some of factors thal have been reported through

researches carried out above: age, lack of time for preparation, lack of technical support, lack of computer experience, lack of computer training, lack of computers,

Tack of teachers’ posilive attitudes and lack of confidence

Summary

In this chapter, a number of issues related to the research questions have been

presented ‘Ihe review focuses on themes such as some grounds of attitudes, findings from prior studies around integration of computers in language teaching

and teachers’ altitudes loward computers in language teaching and factors a[fecling

teachers’ computer usc This literature review serves as the theoretical framework

for the researcher to build up questionnaires, then to analyze the data collected as well as 9 suggest some implications for teachers’ uses of compulors in ETT at HNTTC The next chapter will provide the readers with the information about the

context and methodology of the study

16

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 Context of the study

The survey is conducted al Ha Nam Teachers’ Training College wlrich is lovated

in Phu Ly city, a small city in the south of Hanoi capital, Ha Nam province, this college is a training unit in the national education system Students are trained to

become teachers, administrators, and professional staff of secondary schools,

ptimary schools, and kindergartens with great passion for education career, good

political ethics, wide knowledge and skills in their major Besides, students are also

tramed to have the capacity to access knowledge and advance teaching methods to

meet the development requirements of education in the whole province Furthermore, the college provides office workers specializing in English for joint-

venue compares in the industrial zones in the củy, trains inlerprelers and translators to work in the Middle-Hast countries in Asia within the city’s project

With the aims to build the school to become the center of cultural, scientific of

the local lowards upgrading into Ha Nam Universily in 2015, HNTTC has gradually

enhanced the quality of teachers and students as well as the foundation of the school

At Faculty of Forcign Languages and Informatios, there are 15 teachers of

Unglish, and five teachers of Imformalces AI teachers of lmglah take

responsibilities of teaching English for the major groups and all other groups (non- major) where English is a compulsory course

Of 15 teachers of English aged between 25 and 54 at the Faculty, there are 6

M.A degree holders, four of them are studying for an M.A degree and the rest hold

a B.A degree in English language teaching All of them are very friendly and

enthusiasm

ALHNTTC, English is considered an extremely important subject Lo all students

regardless the majors they arc learning, From 2006 Ha Nam Teachers’ Training College opened the classes for students majoring in English Up to now, there have

been six classes majored in English Now there existed three English major classox

and about thirty other majored classes such as Physical Education, Maths, Biology, Accounting Almost all students come from rural areas of Lla Nam such as Kim

Rang, Ly Nhan, Thanh Liem, Binh Luc, and they siill have very limiled acooas to

Internet to find resources for studying

Computers facilities

HNTTC is fully networked, giving wireless Internet connections in every

classroom Students, however, have to bring their own computer to the classroom if they want to surf the webs There are over seventy classrooms:

> Two fixed classrooms for leaching English majored students are fully

equipped with a computer, a projector, a loudspeaker and a DVD player for each; however, keeping these computers in good quality is nat very frequent

> Filleen classrooms are equipped with projectors to facilitate (he use of visual teaching methods m some subjects for other students if necessary

> Four computer roams are for students to practice informatics

& The rest is not IT’s equipment

In fact, most of the English teachers have their own laptops excapt two teachers

(one over 40 and other over SO years old) and they offen take laplops with them

anytune they go to work (both inside and outside classrooms) Consequently, they are very easy to access computers anywhere for their personal purposes

There are four faculties, each is provided with two printers connected to computers: one for dean and one for room staff In addition, the school has licensed

software for Microsoft Office on all computers This college is in a unique position

where there has been a significant investment in ICT

More importantly, the college leaders always make ends meet for teaching

equipment to facilitate the teaching In 2008, a computer-training course was

organized for all teachers and slaffs within six weeks In general, most of people

took part in except some duc to their personal problems

18

2.2 Participants

Vifteen teachers of inglish participated in this study, and all of them are female teachers They arc from dilTerent parls of Ha Nam Province, mainly in Phu Ly cily

Most of them are married and have children, only three teachers are still single

Among these teachers, only one teacher is more than 50 years old; two teachers are

more than 40, two are above 30 and the rest of them are all from 25 to 30 years old

‘Teachers who are more than 40 years old extensively used traditional methods of teaching (blackboard and chalk) rather than with computer technology Among

these, Ihere are two Leachers majored in Russian and one majored in French so that

to join teaching Unglish officially, they had to study Lnglish to get Unglish

certificate because French and Russian were omitted in the curriculum

From the application of the new mothods, they are very enthusiastic and flexible

to update Information ‘Technology and integrate them in their teaching Most of

them used different technologies to same extent in different situations either inside

or outside the cle

sroom They also used computers as @ means of communications

such as emails and a tool for preparing lessons, designing tests, reports However,

these teachers do nol have their own Websiles; they oflen post the requirements for

students by delivery of papors but rarely on the website af the school

Table 1: Background Information about Questionnaire Respondents Age 25-30 31-35 36 - 40 41-45 | 45 above ‘Total

Numbers of

Teachers

Years of

Most of the teachers at HNTTC have some basic knowledge about the

computer because the school management insisted that all worksheets, tests, oxamination questions, analysis for the monthly tests, and analysis of results [or term examination must be typed

2.3, Instruments for data collection

In order to obtain in-depth, rich data and information for identifying the

teachers’ attitudes toward the uses of computers in HLT, the study used two methods of data collection: questionnaires and class observation The comparison

between these two methods was iuplemented to find oul whether teachers’ atliludes:

toward the uses of computers in Linglish teaching corresponded with what they

actually behaved in their ESL classrooms

The questionnaires,

A five-point Likert-scale questionnaires were employed as the basic instrament and

developed by the researcher to identify the teachers’ attitudes toward the uses of

computers in English language teavhing The development of questionnaires was

guided by extensive review of literature (Albirini, 2006, Ertmer, 2002; Jones, 2004, Kory Siew, 1997, Payetle, 1987; Tuch, 1987, Vakalis, 1990; Kersainl, Horton,

Stohl, and Garofalo, 2003) To gain data for the rescarch, the questionnaires were

administered to 15 teachers of Lnglish in Department of Languages and Information

Technology at HNTTC

Before the actual data collection period, the questionnaires were first piloted

to five teachers to check its validity and reality The piloted questionnaires then

were re-edited In order to ensure the success of obtaining data, an advance notice

was made to all teachers via group e-mail to invite participation After having the permission, the researcher made an appointment with the teachers The researcher

explained why the mformation was being collected and how x would be used Then,

the teachers wore asked to spond their time reading the questionnaires and to tick

the statements in the questionnaires that came closest to expressing their feelings,

belie& and behaviers conceming the uses of computers in their classroom on a §- point scale

The teacher « slionnaires comprised Unree main sections as [ollows:

(1) Section 1 aims at teachers’ background

(2) Section 2 elicits general attitudes of teachers toward the uses of computers in

1 Background Computer training, ownership o£| 4

the personal computer at home, frequency of using them at home and at school

2 Teachers’ general attitudes | Teachers’ feelings, beliefs and| 19

toward the uses of | behaviors concerning the uses of

computers in teaching | computers

English

3 Faotors affecting teachers’ | Possible factors that could have 8

uses of computers to teach | discouraged a teacher's uses off Lnglish computers to teach Linglish in the

this study because it helps document teachers’ behaviors toward the uses of

computers in their classroom practice and enhances rater reliability

Tt was conducted within a month, the researcher observed ten lessons by

seven teachers at HNI'TC to get a quick view on teachers’ uses of computers and

document teachers’ actual performance in their teaching Then, the result of the

observation would be compared with the result of the questionnaires in order to

state whether what teachers say was consistent with what they did in their classroom Seven of the teachers aged from 25 — 30 years ald were selected

Fach of category, in Ihe observation was presented on S— point scale used as

the rating to document teachers’ actual behaviors in LISL classrooms, with five fixed

alternatives to choose from “never”, “rarely”, “sometimes”, “usually”, “always” (Appouchx B)

‘The observation checklists were developed by the researcher for identifying

teachers’ uses of computers in classroom, the elements in the checklist were given

asycssment The checklist includes five criteria

= ‘Types of computer used

= How activities are presented

* How slides are presented

= Llow soft wares are presented

= Some problems in using, computers in the classroom

2.4, Procedure af data analysis

After all the data were gathered, they were transformed and classified

according to the two research questions From the data analysis, a large amount of

statistics obtained from the questionnaire was transformed into tables and charts, which reassured the clear-cut format and facilitate the analytical task as well as help

readers undersiand more easily

Regarding classroom observation, the researcher made a thorough analysis on

the observation checklist The results then were compared with those of the

questiormaires

Summary

In this chapter, general description of the survey research and the school context where the study conducted are presenled Concerning the context of the

study, some characteristics of the school such as teachers, facilities were mentioned

In addition, the researcher presented participants of the study and the rationale of

using the instruments for data collection in detail The next chapter analyses various

types of data collected and findings are made with an attempt to answer the research

questions