Luận văn an evaluation of the america vietnam joint education program at doan thi diem secondary school

Ths school has cooperated with schools in America and Singapore to form joint cducation programs in which students have chance to follow two educational curticulum simultaneously namely

TRAN THỊ TUYẾT

AN EVALUATION OF THE AMERICA-VIETNAM JOINT EDUCATION

PROGRAM AT DOAN TL DIEM SECONDARY SCIIOOL

DANH GIA CHUONG TRINH HOP TAC GIAO DUC VIET -MỸ TẠI TRƯỜNG

'TRUNG HỌC CƠ SỞ DOAN TH DIEM

M.A Mimor Progranmnc Thesis

Ficld: ELT Mcthodotogy

Code: 601410

HANOL, 2010

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERN ONAL STUDIES:

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

TRAN THỊ TUYẾT

AN EVALUATION OF THE AMERICA-VIETNAM JOINT EDUCATION

PROGRAM AT DOAN TL DIEM SECONDARY SCIIOOL

DANH GIA CHUONG TRINH HOP TAC GIAO DUC VIET -MỸ TẠI TRƯỜNG

'TRUNG HỌC CƠ SỞ DOAN TH DIEM

M.A Mimor Programme Thesis

Field: ELT Methodology

Supervisor: Phimg Ha Thanh, M.Ed

TANOI, 2010

6 Overview of the rest of the paper -14

2.4.1 Justification for the use of semi-structured, open- ended interviews 34

3.3 Major findings

3.3.1 The strengths of the pragram 49 3.3.2 The weaknesses of the program 50

3.4 Reconmenttations 52 3.5 Chapter summary - - 54

CONCLUSION neneeeriee „55 REFERENCES, - - 57

APPENDICES, - - - - 59

APPENDICE I: TEACHER INTERVIEW SCHEDULE „60

APPENDICE 2: STUDENT INTERVIEW SCHEDULE 26

APPENDICE 3: CAU HỘI PHÓNG VẤN HỌC SINH - - 62

APPENDIX 4: CONTENTS OF THE READING STREET BOOK 63

APPENDICE 5: CONTENTS ÖE THE SCIENCE BOOK „66

APPENDICE 6: CONTENTS OF THE MATII BOOK - - 67

L1 first language

Figure 2: Model of middle imumersion program in Canada

Figure 3: Model of late immersion program in Canada

Table 1: A summary of the strengths and the weaknesses of the program

INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the siudy

In recent years, especially after Vietnam’s entry into the WTO and the becoming of English

as an international language, there has been an unprecedented increase in English learning Along with this surge in interest for English language learning is the inercasing demand for native speakers and forsign educational program, In addition, the Education and ‘Training Ministry has cooperated in detivery of foreign language courses in Vietnam One of the priorities in Vietnam is “overseas studies at home” hence, there have been independent or joint- venture schools established to implement such cooperation program such as Hanoi

International School, UN School, South International School, Grammar sehool- 110 Chi Minh

City and Japanese primary School According lo “Sai Gơn Giai Phong Online”, the number of

students enrolls the intemational school or forzign education program has been increasing the past two years or example, in 2009 there were only 200 students enrolling the Asian Pacific College This

International School, there were less than fifty students taking part in the program in 2009 but

in 2010, this number has doubled More and more parents want their children to lea with

yem, 2010 this mmnber hes miscd up lo 1000 students, al American

native speakers of forcign languages bccausc they belicved that this is the best way to eam foreign languages:

‘the increasing demand for leaming at international schools leads to the increase in the

number of this type of schools So far there have been thirty international schools cstablished

regardless of private schools which have several international classes Doan Thi Diem is one

of the schools which have applisd the model of international schools Ths school has cooperated with schools in America and Singapore to form joint cducation programs in which students have chance to follow two educational curticulum simultaneously namely Vietnamese curriculum and oversea curriculum, ‘the joint education program involves using ant additional language (or teaching and leaning both language and conto In fact, this is an adaptation of immersion program in which two (or more) languages are used for learning and teaching both language and content, One of the languages is students’ mother tongue and the other is a second or foreign language which is not the subjcet lo be taught bul the medium of instruction to teach other subjects such as math, science or history

Immersion program originated in Canada in the 1960s, is one of the most thoroughly

researched arcas of sccond language loaming Evidence and eoncem and interest in immersion program are shown through a large body of research studies on different aspects of immersion program ‘fhe effects of immersion program on second or foreign language jearning have been carefully examined through research done by Genesze (1984), Larnherl (1984), Swain (1980}, Swain (1984), Swain (1996), Genesee (2005), Zhou (2008) These researches show that immersion program has positive efiects on language learners Despite such a waallh of roscarch data in the cffectivenass of the immersion program, rescarch implications can not be applied in every context due to different social- cultures Seeing the benefits of the immersion program in language leaming, the educators have applied the

‘The study aims lo avaluate ths Amoriea-Vietnam joint cdueation program al Doan Thi Diem Secondary School from the perspective of the teachers and the students, Specifically, the research focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of the program ‘These aims could be achieved by sooking ans

ors to the following six rescarch questions:

From the perspective of the teachers

1) What are the expectations of the program?

2) Whut are the sttengths of the prograrn?

3) What are the weaknesses of the program?

5) What are the strangths of program?

6) What are the weaknesses of the program?

3 Scope of the study

Livery evaluation is based ona framework which determings both the strategies for gathering

this

data and the extrapolation of judgments from these In some evaluation process

famework is either implicit or explicit, but increasingly the exigencies of openness and accountability in such processes require that criteria be clearly stated, According to Dudley- Evans and St John (1998), in the evaluation process, the evaluator must tke evaluation criteria into account before any evaluation takes place Criteria for evaluation depend on what

is being evaluated and why they need to be evaluated,

Thi

Doan Thi Diem secondary school tiom the teachers’ and students’ perception The researcher focused on investigating the strengths and weaknesses of the program after a year implementation Strengths of the program in this study are identified as the factors of the

rescareh was conducted lo cvaluale the Americas Vietnam joint cdueation program al

program that mect the needs of teachers and students As a result, teachers and students can

reach the achievements And the weaknesses of the program are the factors of the program

that do nol meel the needs of teachers and sludents As a resull, teachers and students can not seach the achievernents In so doing, first and foremost, the researcher investigated the

expectations of teachers and students in terms of facilitators which include environment,

facititics, managenionl, mothedotogy and conienk; and their sxpoctations of achievericnts Based on this framework of facilitators and the achievements at the end of the first year implementing, the strengths and weaknesses of the program from the perspectives of teachers and sindents would be presented I'hen the researcher would figure out the strengths and weakne of the program

4 Methods of the study

This case study was conducted at class 6M, Doan Thi Diem secondary school With a view to support the research with varied and valid data, the qualitative research was used together with the quantitative one ‘he main tool of the research to collect data is semi- structured opon- ended interviews wilh [cachers and students The inlorviews wore conductsd with two native teachers teaching in the program of the school year 2009-2010 and with thirty- one students of class 6M he interviews were conducted after one year of teaching and learning int the program,

5 Significance of the study

After finishing the study, the researcher hopes that this case study can have some practical contributions

Mirstly, this research can provide usefull information for the stakeholder and supervisors of the program, The joint cducation program is a new model in education in Vietnam and it is

quickly widened at not only Doan Thi Diem secondary school but also many other private

schools This study involves specific information that is definitely needed to be taken into consideration The study is the description of the teachers’ and students’ perception of the

program Through the insiders’ view, the stakchelders and supervisors can have a better

understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the program ‘Then they can figure out methods to znhance the outcomes of the program Furthermore, from the weaknesses

perceived by teachers and students, some solutions oan be applied to minimize the

weaknesses of the program

Secondly, the teachers can have a full view of their teaching process, The students’ opinion is

a powerful tool for teachers to form a better reflection of their teaching The teachers can base

on this to apply the most effective teaching methods to improve the quality of teaching and jearning process Finally, this study once being completed can be a valuable source of

Auformation for further related researches.

6 Overview of the rest of the paper

Besides the first part which gives general introduction and the final part as the concluding segment, the research is divided into the following sections:

- Chapter one which traces back the literature review in the field of evaluation of educational program as well as an overview of immersion programs

- Chapter two which presents the methodology of the research,

- Chapter thres where the data are presented, the findings come up with the recommendations built upon the basis of the evaluation in the previous chapter

immersion programs In each section, the detinition, explanation of the key tems is presented together with the studies over the world

1.1 Conceptions of program evaluation

1.1.1 Definition of program evaluation

Evaluation is in facl, a very natural activity thal most people do; something thal is very much

of the daily existence However, they are not always aware of it, For example, when someone

is commented on his new suit or his behavior, or such, he is being evaluated in this sense, evaluation is the resull, the realization of how poople view something Therefore, “making evatnate judpments is a feature of social life” ( Rea-Dickins & Germaine, 1992 p.4) Nevertheless in educational context “evaluation is a purposefil activity that includes the

collection of relevant information, inlerpretation of (hat information and making

about teaching and leaming” ( Genesee & Upshur, 1996, p.256)

Evaluation from the viewpoint of Keily and Rea- Dickins has more meanings in language programs It “ofers to the judytnent about students by (cachors, and by external assessors, the performance of teachers by students, program manages, and institution, and programs, departments and institutions by intemal assessors, external monitors and inspectors.” ( Keily

& ReaDickins, 2005, p.5) Through program evaluation, the relationship between different program components can be revealed, the procedures developed by the program participants can be seen, and the processes and the outcomes used to show the program value and enhance this value developed

When the tem svaluation is used, it is not exclusively referred fo testing, as shared by Aldeson (1986:5) evaluation is the process of seeking to establish the value of something for some purpose, {est is an instruments for gauging loarning oufcomes™ ( Aldcrson, 1986 as cited

in Brown and Rodgers, 2002, p.227) Evaluation includes all the practice and instruments involved in gathering and compiling the data necessary to make judgments about the value of Janguage course or program: this may ot may not incude students? test results More

specifically in using the phrase language program evaluation, it is meant “the systematic

collection and anal: of all relevant information ni

In the words of Lynch (1996, p.6), evaluation is also defined as the systematic attempt to gather information in order to make judgments or decisions As such, evaluative information

in schools”

1.1.2 Purposes of pregram evaluation

There are a range of motivations or purposes for evaluating, Scriven (1967) distinguishes two

2d in T.yneh, 2003)

main purposes for evaluating: formative and summative evaluation (as

The former occurs while the program is being implemented and developed The goal of this type of evaluation is to recommend changes for improving it, and towards this end it focuses

on program processes Typically the aufcome of a formative evaluation is numerons smalÏl- scale recommendations for change The later takes place at the end of a program’s natural term or cycle with a view to make judgment about the program worth, whether it has succecded in mecting its objectives or net, Accordingly, the outcome of the summative evaluation is a formal report to be used in large scale decisions such as whether to continue funding the program or not

In fact, most evaluations represent a combination of formative and summative, If evaluators are interested in judging the ultimate worth of a program, they must explain why itis or is not working and then recommend for improvement Discussing the distinction between formative and summative cvaluation, Rea-Dickis and Germain (1992) vicw this distinction as

1.1.3 Program evaluators

The next point needs considering here is who evaluates the program According to Low{ 1987) there are different perspectives could offer evaluation, namely the Leamers, the Parents, the Cumiculum Committee Principals, the Teacher Wainer, the Inspectors, the Tidncational researcher (as cited in Rea-Dickins & Germain, 1992, p.32) In Weiss’s view, the evaluation

as a process of determining the worth of the program has to engage with different

perspectives.( Weiss, 1986 as cited by Keily and Rea-Dickins, 2005) ‘hen he grouped them

into lwo calegorics which he called stakcholders: one group is members of groups affsctsd by the program and another is members of group who make decisions about fue of the program The former includes practitioners such as teachers and clients such as students

to make judgments about classrooms because they have cneountered many different leaning environments and have spent time in classroom to form accurate impressions Therefore, students should at least be able to say what they like and do not like ( Praiser, 1994 as cited in

Alausa, YA, 2000)

Discussing evaluation program through perception of teachers and students, Dillion and Peterson (1986) stated that although administrators have considerable responsibility for evaluation, cffective administrators involves teachers and students in this process and use

their views to good vantage ( Dillion & Peterson, 1986 cited by Alausa, Y.A, 2000) ‘Teachers are insiders who undertake (he program and that is lsachers who want fo improve the quality

of tzaching and leaming in their own classrooms In addition, students are the recipients of the teaching process, hence students’ perception and observation can work in practice and

‘become part of exploratory studies (Fken, 1999; Sidhu, 2003 as cited by Amad, F & Aviv, J, 2009) Students’ perception contributes as much to the teaching- learning process by providing suggestions and directions for teachers’ future improvement, ‘Teachers can use the information or comments gathered frum the students to polish their methodelogy and style of teaching and look for ways to improve

‘The recent study presents evaluation from the teachers and students who are affected by the program, Research on students” thinking and perceptions functions as a mio, can be used by

‘oth teachers and students to reflect upon their teaching and learning, hence enhancing their understanding of teaching and increase its outcome ‘Tzachers are those who are implementing the program, their views of the toaching and learning process can help them made improvements to better the quality of the program

1.20 verview of Immersion program

a large number of English speakers who had studied Hrench at school kmew little of the language which was not qualified enough to work in Fronch and lo socialize with Froneh speakers because the classes focused on grammar, memorization and duills

Immersion language education was bom out of grassroots initiatives prompted by parents whose concern was thal the level of second language or French attained by children would be sufficient enough to function in bilingual areas of Canada Then, the first immersion program was Krench immersion program in 1965 in St Lambert, Montreal A program in which from the first day of school in kindergarten, the unilingual English speaking children would be

instructed in Irench thus the children first learn to read in French and only in grade two, three

or four were first laniguagz Hicracy skills introduced into the omriculurs Other suibjeo

also introduced in English in later grades so that by grade six about half of the curriculum was

‘The concept of Immersion schooling was based on a very important and fundamental premise that people leam a second or foreign language (L2) in the same way as acquire their first language (1.1) umersion program secks ta provide an environment in which students are exposure to L2 in its natural form and where they are soviaily motivated to communicate

According to Krashen (1984), students acquire L2 only when they receive comprehensible

input, nol when loarnors are memorizing vocabulary or completing grammar cxerciscs Tt is assumed that methods that provide students with more comprehensible input will be more successful Students acquire a language when they understand message in that language, hence “comprehensible subjects matior teaching is language leaching” (Krashen, 1984 as cited in Celoe- Murcia, 2001, p.304)

‘There are several defining features of immersion language education model Hirst of all,

immersion education is defined as a types of bilingual cduoation in which 1.2 is uscd along with the students’ L1 for curriculum instruction during some parts of the students’ elementary

and/ or secondary schooling (Genesee, 1984) However, Lambert (1984) states that there is a

significant difforonee betwoon inmersion program and bilingual cdueation program In immersion program, no bilingual skills are required of the teacher who plays the role of a monolingual in the target language and never switches langnages, reviews materials in the other languages or otherwise uses the child’s native language in teacher-pupil interaction Therefore, in immersion program, bilingualism is developed through two separate amonolingual instruction routes

Snow (2001) claimns that, “Ihe inmnersion model of forcign language education is porhaps the prototypical content-based approach” (Snow, 2001 as cited in Celee-Mureia, 2001, p.305)

Content- based approach in her interpretation is the use of subject matters which consist of

lopies or themes based on slufents? inlerest or need in an addull setting or the subjects taught

in elementary school classes, Nevertheless, the content-based approach is more utilized in teaching English for specific puzposes in order to provide second language students with types of acatemic lasks that they will need at school, college or university Immersion program as defined by Met (1993) is a method of foreign language instruction in which the regular school curriculum is taught through the medium of the language ‘The forcign Ianguags which is nol taught explicilly as a language subject tathor is the vehicle for content

anstractions

‘Though teachers and educators have different ways to define immersion program, most of them share the view of immersion program as educalional progrant in which Iwo or more languages are used for academic instructions, One of the languages is students’ home languags (L1) and the other is a second or foreign language (L2) ‘The immersion approach

tas characteristic of other current approaches to second language teaching such as integrated,

content-based or functional instruction, These new approaches contrast with traditional

methods of second language teaching in which teachers focus on direct teaching of vocabulary, grammar or conventional patterns and correction is given whenever students

snake mistakes Nevertheless, immersion approach emphasizes the importance of using the L2

as a vehicle for teaching content and creates a condition for second language acquisition

occurring by a product of academic writing

4.2.2 Models of immersion program

‘There are several types of immersion programs that differ along two dimensions: age of the second or forcign language instruction and intensity of the second or forcign language

types: total and partial immersion program ‘The former is characterized by the use of L2 to leach entire curiculum, The later is identified by the program delivering less than onc hundred percent (at least fifty percent) of the curriculum through L2 However, the total

immersion program only oceurs at first three years of eatly immersion or late immersion program, Partial immersion is the most model used by schools Thersfore, in the following part a description of the three models of immersion program: early, middle and late are presented in detail

1.2.2.1 Early immersion

Early immersion programs start in kindergarten or grade one when students are about five

‘years old ‘There are early total immersion and early partial immersion igure 1 is an example

of a popular carly Iolal ammersion program in Canada

in early fotal ummersion program, L2 is used as the medium of instruction during the first three or four grades; the exacl number of grades during which the 1.2 is used exchusively varies among school districts The students’ L1 is introduced as a medium of instruction in some schools in grade two and in other schools; it is delayed until grade four ot even later

When it is frst introduced into the curriculum, the students’ 1.1 is uscd to teach Jaryguage arts

In suscessively of higher grades, the T is uscd to teach more academic subjects such as amathematics and science The same subjects are never taught during the same year in both Janguages The use of the L1 during the first grade of the program (grade five and six) varies from as little as twenty percent of total instructional lite ta sixty percent or seventy percent, depending on the school As nmch as possible, different teachers are used for teaching through the L1 and L2, and the teachers who teach the L2 have native or native like proficiency in the tarect language Immersion teachors often prescnt themsclves as monolingual, this is done in order to encourage the students to use the L2 as much as possible

At the secondary school level, early immersion students are offered to select academic

further develop their L2 skills The courses offered in secondary school are content- based

courses such as history or gcography and language bascd courses such as literature, drama, cto.

Figure 1: Model of early total immersion program in Canada (Genesee, 2005)

In early partial immersion programs, approximately half of the instruction in all elementary grades is presented through the L2 and half through the L1 Different subjects are taught through each language from the beginning, in other words, the same subject is never taught in both languages during the same grade Moreover, the teacher never (or almost never) translates information that he/she presents in the L2 into the L1 so that students can understand it more easily This problem with this strategy is that students come to rely on translation to understand classroom instruction and they turn off when the L2 is used One exception to the one-language/ one subject rule is language arts which is taught by both languages (by different teachers, where possible) In secondary school, optional language based or content- based courses are taught using the L2 The number and types of such

courses available to students depends on the school and the availability of teachers

1.2.2.2 Middle immersion

In these programs, students receive instruction through their L1 in kindergarten until the

middle grades (grade four or five) Figure 2 is an example of middle immersion program

During these grades, the students frequently receive thirty to sixty minutes per day of direct

L2 instruction to prepare them for immersion in the L2 The use of L2 as a medium of

academic instruction is delayed until the middle elementary grades, usually grade four (when students are at about nine or ten years old) In grade four to six, the end of elementary school,

approximately half of the curriculum instruction is presented in the L2 and the remainder in the L1, exact proportions differs from district to district.

Figure 2: Model of middle immersion program in Canada.( Genesee, 2005)

In secondary school, the students receive some academic instruction through their first language and some through their second language The amount of instruction they get in each language varies somewhat from school to school

1.2.2.3 Late immersion program

Late immersion programs usually begin in the first year of secondary school when the

students are about twelve years of age An example of late immersion program is shown by figure 3

ou nL2

‘the students have had same prior L2 instruction; the amount varies depend on the school district but is oflen forty to sixty minutes per day from grade one, Such prior exposure is necessary if the students are to make successful transition to schooling in the L2 in secondary

As carly imorsion alternatives, the studerts arc tequired to addra

inthe L2 and all of their reading and written assignments in their academic classes are done in

‘the L2 as well

1.2.3 Character

of immersion programs

1.2.3.1 Objectives of immersion programs

Immersion programs, first inlroduced in 1972 as a way to incorporale intensive second language education into public elementary schools have gradually spread widely in Canada, United States of America, Hong Kong, China, Japan and are now viewed by educators and

parents as a highly offoctive way of teaching forcign language to children

Immersion programs promote proficiency in the L2 by teaching academic subjects through

the medium of the L2 Immersion teachers use only the L2 for instruction during all ot significant portions (a1 least fifly percent) of the school day Studems inductively learn the

language that is part of theiz everyday social interaction with their teachers and other students,

in other words students learn the language by using it in school during social and academic activities Allhough immersion teachers usc the 1.2 al all times during designated 1.2 periods

immersion students continue using their first language during the beginning of the program with one another and with the teacher- usually during the kindergarten years in an early

immersion program ‘the students begin to make all of their comments in class to one another

and to their (cachers in the L2 once they acquire basic proficicney wil, on the assumption thal

using the language will promote its acquisition Because the primary focus in immersion class

is on meaningful commmmication L2 leaming in immersion is often incidental to academic

While the bulk of immersion programs exist in Canada and the United States, the model has been also implemented in international setting such as Hungary, Spain, Finland, Korea, China

and Japan According ta Cloud, Goncosc and Hamayan (2000) despite differences in program design and delivery, most immersion program shared the following four objectives

= Age appropriate tevel of T.1 competence in reading, writing, speaking and listening

- Advanced levels of functional proficiency in L2 reading, writing, speaking and listening comprehension

- Grade- appropriate level levels of academic achievement in non-langnage school as such mathemativs and seicnve

- An understanding and appreciation of the culture of the home language group and that

of the target language group

(Cloud, Gencese & Hamayan ,2000 as cited in C “Murcia, 2001, p.306)

From the objectives mentioned above, immersion students are expected to achieve the same

wath and science as

1.2.3.2 Outcomes of immersion programs

Since it is the goal of immersion programs to develop proficiency in two languages as well as

in all other subject areas, it is important to have clear program expectations for both the first and second languages as well as for subject area contents, Immersion program has been used

as a model to develop sccond or forcign language acquisition with different languages in different countries ‘Therefore to achieve the outcomes of the program there should be a framework thal teachers can base upon as guideline Bolger (2009) has summarized the framework that identities the knowledge and skills that students will be expected to develop at

‘various grads levels,

Sccond language goals:

When developing the second language goals for immersion programs, it is important to consider the importance of the pedagogical elements in the planning:

- Anintegrated approach to listening, speaking, reading and writing

- A balance between the devclopment of active language skills and the acquisition of grammar and vocabulary

= Reinforcement of langnage through learning other subjects

- The development of an understanding of the second language cultwe and of other cultures

- A comprehensible assessment and evaluation process

Sccond language outcomes can be grouped into thce catcgorics: language skills, langage knowledge and cultural understanding

Language skills

The four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing are central to the development of affective communication skills in the second language Proficiency in these skills involves comprohension of oral language and wrillen loxts as well as oral and written production Immersion programs should provide students with various opportunities to use the second janguage in order to convey meaning in everyday situations and in different subject areas Meaningful communication can be promoted through inlegraled language activities in which language skill development and social stady contents are combined

Language knowledge and other subject knowledge

Language knowledge includes the grammar, vocabulary and conventions that comprise the language content and non-language subjects of immersion program The program outcomes should describe the language knowledge that sindents will he expected to know and use in communicative activitics such as oral prescntations, dialogues, compositions and storics, By infeprating the teaching of language knowledge while developing language skills, teacher can

‘hetp students to focus on language accuracy in their speaking and writing

1.2.3.3 Staffing for immersion programs

In addition to the objectives and outcomes of the program, immersion programs are characterized by staffing features The se

si of the program is dircelly related lo teachers”

skills and commitment Therefore, immersion teachers must have excellent language skills

and be knowledgeable about the theory and practice of immersion instruction and the principles of second language leaming They must be supportive of the program goals and

outcomes Employing the best profile teaching staff for the immersion classrooin may well be

the most important contribution that the principals can make to the success of the program

According lo Bolgcr (2005), a! the lop of the fist of skills required by good immersion teacher

is target’ immersion language fluency While a teacher with limited dluency may be able to function successfully in a traditional second language classroom with a more sequential curriculum, native like fluency is most desirable in the immersion classroom Students who arc dealing with a cwriculum: content, concepts and skills need teachers who have many ways of expressing ideas, ‘[he students are not only trying to understand the new concepts but they are simultaneously trying to sort oul how the new language works ence, teachers must

‘be fluent in the second language in order to provide an excellent model for students Furthermore, it is necessary that teachers have a good command of students” home language

in order to understand students at the very beginning of the program and communicate with paren

If the current staff members meet these criteria, they are ideal candidates for the program However in some instances, school systems may employ teachers ftom abroad where the target language predominates In such cases, home Fanguage Musi

wy may also become a concem Generally, teachers must interact with a staff who knows both the students’ home Janguage and the second language to work with parents using the home language Moreover,

and 1980s these three fundamental questions were add

is delivered, Swain tock two comparisons between caily total immersion and carly partial immersion and between late immersion students with different second language learning experiences,

Early torad verse early partial

Standard tests of mathematics and science have been administrated to groups of students from these programs The results showed that early total immersion students consistently performed as well as their unilingwal L1 instructed peers on these tests However, eatly partial immersion did nol For example, al grade six partial immersion sludents did nol performed as well as their L1 educated peers in either science or mathematics whereas total immersion did

As it tums out the level of L2 performance of the partial immersion students approximate that

of grade three or four total immersion sludenls ( Swain, 1996) A likcly interpretation of these results is that level of L2 attained by the partial immersion students was not adequate to deal with the more sophisticated level of mathematical and scientific concepts being represented to

them in 1.2

Late immersion studenis with different L2 experiences

Tn late immersion programs (begiiming at grade seven or at the firsl grade al secondary schoo?) when L2 has bean taught as a subject for only one or two grades prior to entry into the immersion program, the immersion group’s performance has on occasion been inferior to that

of its comparison group in science and math, However, when lale immersion students have

‘eon tanghl 1.2 a8 a subject cach year through lo the inmnetsion years, the level of inastery of content taught in L2 has been comparable to that attained by their L1 instructed comparison

group (Genesee, 1987 cited in Swain, 1996)

Second language proficiency

‘the question rose in most evaluation and the major focus of many studies of immersion students is how able the immersion students are in their second language In evaluating socond language proficiency, results showed that inid-imuncrsion students, not surprisingly do not comprehend spoken or written L2 as well as early total immersion students and perform well below the level of carly immersion students in all measures of speaking and writing, However, mid-mmersion students are as able as total immersion students to state and support opinions in writing and orally, and the two groups write texts of equal length under similar

conditions Liuthermore, comparisons of early and late immersion students suggest that the differen

Amonp the four skills, listening is the best skill students have made improvement Swain

(1996) stated that L2 results at secondary level indicate that students understand the L2 they

‘hear This is indicatod by the test rcsnlls, by their own pereoplions of their abilities and by the fact that they leam content of the subject materials taught to them in L2, Comparisons showed that immersion students doing very well relative to other groups who have only taken L2 asa

ills concerning reading comprchension parallel

listening comprehension findings though relative to native speakers of L1, their performance is not quite equivalent

In terms of writing skills, carly and late immersion students generally have similar levels Roth groups perform less well than their LI peers, Their weaknesses elcarly relate ta deficits

in their grammatical competence and vocabulary knowledge rather than to discourse aspects

of performance, Speaking is the weakest of the four skills areas for immersion students As

with their writing skills, their weaknes

tend ta be grammatical and Texical in sour

Discourse skills appear the least problematic

In summary, iramersion sludents appoar to allsin native like reocptive skills, thsir productive skills continne to remain nonnative like They are capable of communicating their ideas in the L2 but grammatical accuracy and precise vocabulary use are stil] particular problems

1.3 Chapter summary

This chapter has provided a brief review of literature on program evaluation and immersion program, ‘The first section addressed major issues reflecting the definition and purposes of program evaluation and program evaluators The second sections presented major issues of immersion programs: definitions, models and charactctistics of immersion programs and an overview of evaluation of immersion program ‘Therefore, this chapter can be seen as the theoretical foundation (or the applications for the stuly in chapter three

CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY

Chapter two is deveted to a brief presentation of the research method including the overview

of participants and data collection instruments

2.1 Research design

In this section, some important considerations regarding case studies as a research method will be discussed, A case study is defined as a specific instance that is ftequently defined to

iustate a more general principle (Misbel & Walt, 1984:72 cited in Cohen cf al, 2001 -p.253)

In Altman's words, a case study is the study of “an instance in action” (Altman, 1980 as cited

in Cohen ef al, 2001, p.254) where the researcher usually observes particular characteristics of

an individual unit in the context in which it occurs, A single instance is described as a

‘bounded system, for cxample a child, a clique, a class, a school or a community, By providing

a unique example of real people in real situation, a case study enables readers to understand ideas more clearly than simply by presenting them with abstract theories or principles The amain aim of case study is fo portray “what it is like” to be in a particular situation, to catch the close up reality and “thick description” of particulars’ lived experiences of, thoughts about and feclings for a silualion, (Gort, 1973 as cited in Cohon of al, 2001, p.254)

Although rescarchers (Nisbet & Watt, 1984) claim that the results of case studies may not be

generalized because they are selective, biased, personal and subjective some others suggest a number of advantages of adopting case sludies as a method Alderman et al (1980) for

instance suggests that case studies are strong in reality and consequently likely to appeal te

practitioners because one can generalize either from a case or from an instance to a class Whal is more, cass studies are “a step Io action”, they begin in a world of action and

contribute to it Their insights may be directly interpreted and put to use for staff or individual selt-development, for within institutional feedback, for formative evaluation and in

educational policy-making Last but not least, case studies present research or evaluation data

an a amore publicly accessible foom tien olber kinds of conventional rescarch accounts

Therefore, case studies are capable of serving multiple audiences and readers can judge the

implications of a study for themselves

interviews administered by the researcher at the end of fizst year implementation In the next section the putticipants and the methods of dala collection as well as analysis will bs described in depth and later the results obtained will be analyzed

2.2, Setting of the study

Doan Thi Diem secondary school is the context of the study where the researcher has worked

as a teacher assistant for a year Doan Thi Diem School founded in 2005, developed from DID primary school Since it was set up, there have been several joint- education programs

private school as well as international students transforming from their home countries

Class 6M, the only class of this program, includes thirty one students of which there are twenty one hoys and ten girls All of them are belter al Frgtish than students of olher classes, More than half of school day, students work with native speakers of English, the rest of time they learn Vietnamese curriculum with Vietnamese teachers ‘hree subjects are chosen to

each including: Math, Seis

and designed for native speakers of English The program has a staff help native teachers to

co and language arts, These textbooks are reruiled from abroad

work with students at the beginning of the program and to communicate with parents during the time The two teacher assistants are required to work with them every class Reports are senl lo parents to inform studenls’ results every month,

‘There are three books used to teach three subjects in the programs I'he detail contents can be found at appendices

‘the textbook “Reading Street” used to teach language arts ‘he book contains six units of

which cach unil covers one theme Several siorics are arranged in cach umil io convey the message of each unit, The books aimed to develop students’ reading skills and strategies Furthermore, each unit presents background information which helps students fully understand the story, Also, culture lopies are given in each Ihemue in order to enrich eudlurat understanding

‘The Science textbook with four units covers twenty one chapters, namely Unit A: Life science, Unit B: Furth scicnice, Unil C: Physical science and Unil D: Space and technology Fach umit

included fiom four to six chapters There are several lessons in each chapter which explain every technical term and demonstrate the definition, Every chapter has a review part to help students revise the vocabulary and the main content teamnl previonsty

‘The Math book consists of twelve chapters including both algebra and geometry, Students are required to get the basic knowledge including math terms and problem-solving skills in math

afer completing the program, Bach chapter covering a problem is divided into leo ơr thước sections which have several lessons In each lesson, a new content is explained by presenting examptes and definition and lots of exercises are also given to help students practice problem solving skills,

2.3 Participants

‘The subjects who took part in this research were lwo nalive teachers of English and thirly one students of class 6M at DTD secondary school The two teachers are assigned by Solomon school teaching staff to be responsitle for teaching all three subjects ‘They have been teaching this program for a ysar Thotofore they can provide their own view of the program Al} the students were in class 6M aged twelve have been leaming for at least five years but their language competence ranged differently in class, The study was conducted after the program

‘has been taken for a year with the hope that both teachers and students can have enough time and zxpericnee lo provide reliable ans as well as to clicil as much information of the program as possible, In this study, the researcher worked as participant observer

2.4 Data collection instrument

2.4.1 Justification for the use of semi structured, open- ended interviews

The researcher chooses interviews as the data collection instrument for this study Unlike

other types of data collection instruments such as questionnaire or observation, interviews

offer the researcher insighl into individual respondents’ beliavior, alliludes, opinions, feelings and practice and experiences thanks to the face to face discussion between interviewer and inierviewees During interviews, the researcher is given an opportunity to clarify the respondsnts’ answers or ask for further explanation, which are hard lo coficet through other

aAnstraments

‘There is a continuum of interviews, which ranges from the informal and conversational inicraction which Nows with the thoughts and leclings of both interviewer and interviewee and much tighter, more structured interview In this study the semi- structured, open- ended interviews were used in order to give the researcher enough flexibility to deal with unexpected situation during the interviews Furthermore, the interviewer can elicit an almost cndless munbers of responses, which would give the rescarcher a very good idea of the variety of the ideas and feelings the respondents have and it would enable them to think and talk for longer and sa show their feelings and views more fully The sim of this study is to describe the perception of teachers and students, the information needed from the participants required the use of a lof of open-ended questions All the things considered, the researcher found that the objectives of the research would be most eflectively achieved with semi- structured, opon- cndod interviews

2.4.2 Description of interview schedule

‘The interview schedule ormptoyed in this study is sonmi- structured, open- ended mlerview with two major parts The aim of the first part is to provide the researcher with general profile of the interviewees such as their years of English teaching or learning, and their Latest total scores, The sccond part contains two main parts to provide answers fo rescarch questions conceming the expectations, the strengths and weaknesses of the program In this second part the researcher would like the participants to show their own view by answering several opsn- ended questions

2.4.3 Procedure of data collection

‘The procedure of collecting data is described as follow:

with the participants in person to ask for their consent in helping her with the interview

For the two foreigner teachers, the researcher got contact with them by email She asked thern

for permission to be interviewed and then phoned them to arrange the time and place

appropriate for the interview Hor the students, the researcher met them at class and asked for their agreement to couperate with the researcher After having their consent, the researcher

auade plan so that the interviews would not interfere the students’ learning time at school Last

but not least, the recording device was set up to ensure that nothing said by the respondents

would be messed

Step 2 Conducting the interview

All the interviews were conducted through face to face discussion in English with teachers, in

Vietnamese with students The researcher and the interviewees had a good rapport for a long

time as the researcher had bezn working as a teacher assistant since the program started

‘Therefore the researcher and the interviewees were now faitly acquainted

‘The researcher began each interview hy ensuring the respondents of their anonymous in the

current study Then the questions were asked and answered in the order specified in the

interview schedule ‘The researcher tried to take as many notes as possible during each

interview and the whole conversations were recorded by a device placed close ta the

respondents, The recording of courss had to be permitted by the respondents

2.5 Data analysis

‘The analysis of the interviews is broken into smaller steps:

All the interviews were transcribed to enable closer, full investigation of the information

provided by the respondents With the transcription, the examination of the data is more

convenicnt and makes it casicr for the rescareher to find out the theory generated from the

data

Step 2: Classifying the data

First and foremosl, the dala wore classified according lo research questions (ha the study

seeks to answer, Thus there are four major groups of answers corresponding to the research