Luận văn the impact of teacher generated materials on english language teaching for the 7th grade students in tran phu junior high school hai phong

NGUYÊN TIII VÂN MAI The impact of teacher-generated materials on English language teaching for the 7th grade students in Tran Phu junior High School, Hai Phong Hghiän cứu tác động củ

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNLVERSLTY OF LANGUAGES AND LNTERNATIONAL STUDIES

NGUYÊN TIII VÂN MAI

The impact of teacher-generated materials on English

language teaching for the 7th grade students

in Tran Phu junior High School, Hai Phong

(Hghiän cứu tác động của những tài liệu đạy học do giáo viên tự thiết kế đến quá trình

dạy tiếng Anh cho học sinh lớp 7 ở trường THCS Trân Phú, Hải Phòng)

M.A Thesis Linguistics

HANOT - 2010

4 Methods of the study

5, Seope and significance of the study

6 Design of the study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Theoretical background related to

1.1.1 Definitions of teacher-generated materials

1.1.2 Types of teacher-generated materials

1.1.3 The role of teacher-generated materials in Fnglish language teaching

1.1.4 How tcacher-gencrated materials have b:

teaching

1.2 The reasons teachers of English nyay choose to design their own materials

uscd in English language

1.2.1 The advantages of toacher-generated matzrials

1.2.1.1 Save money 1.2.1.2 Reoyele

1.2.1.3 Student focuscdt 1.2.1.4, Match materials to curriculum

1.2.1.6 Add in-depth information 1.2.2 The disadvantages of teacher-gencrated materials

1.2.2.1, Organization 1.2.2.2 Quality

1.2.2.3 Time 1.3 Factors to consider when designing materials

1.3.1 Learners

1.3.2 The curriculum and the eonlext

1.3.3 The resources and the facilities

1.3.4, Personal confidence and competence

2.2 Data collection instruments

Chapter 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Findings from the questionnaire

3.1.1 Students’ interest in English language learning

3.1.2 Studouls’ expoctation of Engtish language learning in their cts

3.1.3 The fiequency of the use of teacher-generated materials in English

teaching and learning

3.2 Findings from the interview with teachers

3.2.1 The purposes of the English language teachers when using their own

materials

3.3.2 Ways of applying teacher-generated materials to daily lessons

3.2.2, Efffecliveness of applying teacher-gencralcd materials to daily lessons

3.3 Discussion of the findings

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28

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2 Objectives of the study

The study aims to fulfill two objectives as follows:

(1) to investigate the impacts of teacher-generated materials on ELT for the 7”

grade Ss in Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong, (2) to suggest some guidelines for designing effective materials for ELT

3 Research questions

‘The study is carried out to find the answers to the following research questions

(1) What value is teachergencralcd mualcrials to the ELT for the 7° grade

students in Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong?

(2) How can Ts of English in JHS design effective materials for ELT?

4, Methods of the study

Tn order to reach the goals mentioned abave, the sludy is implemented in the most common procedure with the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods as folows:

~ Reading relating hooks and articles from various sources (university library, Internet, private library ) to collect uscfiil information for the study

- Consulting the supervisor and lectures of the Postgraduate Department and discussing with colleagues to get guidance and insightfial ideas in the field of the research

- Administering a questionnaire lo 107 the 7" grade Ss al Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong

- Intervicwing 4 Ts of English (at different level of ability and at diffcrent age) at Tran

Phu JHS, Hai Phong

+ Awalyring and interpreting data and responses

§ Scope and significance of the study

It is said that teacher-generated materials may impact on the efficiency of teaching and teaming of alll grades in JIS In this thesis, however, the researcher do not have an ambition lo lake ther all into consideration bul only make an investigation i a, small scale into the teacher-generated materials applied by the Ts of English at Tran Phu Junior

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationales

Over the years, English Language Teaching (ELT) has become more and more necessary

in Vietnam supplying learners (Ls) with an effective tool to integrate to the world, Worker with high Rngtish proficiency are extremely required in many fields such as politics, scienca, technology, economics, and tourism ste, Students (Ss) who become fluent in English can have the opportunity to contribute to the development of their country Thorefire, there is a groal necd to lsam English both in formal instilutions and it community courses

Nowadays, rescarchers claim that ELT in junior high schools contains a lot of challenges, for example: large class, unequal qualifivalions among teachers (Ts), unequal Isvels among Ss, lack of effective supplementary snalcrials This faet was described by Joana Baker and Heather Westrup: “Many teachers have few resources, pethaps only a blackboard and a few books The school may not have technical resources such as tape recorders, radios, television sets, video players or computers” (2002:3)

In Hai Phong, at ‘ran Phu Junior High School (JHS), day by day, I's and Ss have to cope with all these challenges al once which has unfavorable influence on Dnglish langt

All the reasons above have driven the rescarcher to the study thesis, named “Phe Impact

of Teacher-generated Materials on English Language Teaching for the 7 grade

Students in Tran Pau Juniar High School, Iai Phang”.

1Iigh Sehool for the ?° grade Ss and to give some guidelines for a better design and usage

of therm ta safisfy the Ss in (heir learning The study is conducted with 107 the 7 Ss and

47s of English at Tran Phu Junior High School, Hai Phorg

‘The research is carried out with the hope that ‘I's of English in particular and language leacher in general may be fully aware of the role of leacher-generated materials lo freshen

the lessons and to meet the Ss’ demand in ELT Moreover, findings of the study are

thought to be favorable in some way to the researcher and other ‘I's of English to design effective supplementary malcrials hat help Ts take advantages of isacher-generated inaterials and ineet their Ss’ needs

6 Design of the study

Part A — Introduction: provides rationales, aims of the study, research questions, scope and significanee of the study and design of the study,

Part B ~ Development: consists of three main parts

Chapter 1: Literature review on theoretical background of teacher-generated materials, the reasons for Ts of English may choose ta design their own malerials, the Íxclors lo consider when designing materials

Chapter 2: Methodology introduces subjects and context of the study, data collection

instrumenis

Chapter 3: Data analysis and discussion

Chapter 4: Some guidelines for designing efffctive materials for ELT

Part C — Conclusion: presents conclusion, implications for teaching, imitation and

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationales

Over the years, English Language Teaching (ELT) has become more and more necessary

in Vietnam supplying learners (Ls) with an effective tool to integrate to the world, Worker with high Rngtish proficiency are extremely required in many fields such as politics, scienca, technology, economics, and tourism ste, Students (Ss) who become fluent in English can have the opportunity to contribute to the development of their country Thorefire, there is a groal necd to lsam English both in formal instilutions and it community courses

Nowadays, rescarchers claim that ELT in junior high schools contains a lot of challenges, for example: large class, unequal qualifivalions among teachers (Ts), unequal Isvels among Ss, lack of effective supplementary snalcrials This faet was described by Joana Baker and Heather Westrup: “Many teachers have few resources, pethaps only a blackboard and a few books The school may not have technical resources such as tape recorders, radios, television sets, video players or computers” (2002:3)

In Hai Phong, at ‘ran Phu Junior High School (JHS), day by day, I's and Ss have to cope with all these challenges al once which has unfavorable influence on Dnglish langt

All the reasons above have driven the rescarcher to the study thesis, named “Phe Impact

of Teacher-generated Materials on English Language Teaching for the 7 grade

Students in Tran Pau Juniar High School, Iai Phang”.

Similarly, Block (1991) claims that teacher-prepared materials are likely to be more up- tordale and more relevant to Ss weds and inlerests than equivalent course book materials For example, in order to provide a context for 8s to practice talking about what they did the previous weekend, he suggests that a teachar might record his or her colleagues (aking about whal they did Such a recording, he notss, alsa has Ihe aflraction

that, like other specially prepared materials, it has a “personal touch” that Ss recogni:

and appreciate

Though Ts umy slill have a preference for a book ovar handouts, the inercasing availability of computer packages which enable Ts to design professional-looking, materials and the possibility in more technologically developed settings of incorporating nuterials from the Interne, can make Icucher-gencralcd malcrials an allractive (at Toast occasional) supplement ta the course books

In general, teacher-generated materials play a necessary role in ELT, however, the question of how to use them effoctively is still in conflict and will be discussed later in this study

1.1.4, How teacher-generated matcrials have been used in ELT

Using teacher-generated materials in lnglish as Voreign Language (LI'L) classroom has involved a lange number of I's in EL, which has discussed in recent years

Not cvcryone would agree thal Ts should design their own iualcrials, Block (1991), who

is in no doubt that they should, prefaces his arguments for what he calls DIY (do-it- yourself) materials design by reviewing the papers by Allwright (2981) and O'Neill (1982) discusses in Chapter 1 Despite their contrasting positions on course books, both Allwright and O’Neill seem to agree that classroom T's are not best equipped to write nualerials Allwright puts this expbicilly: “the expertise required of materials writers is importantly different fiom that required of classroom teachers” (p.6) Johnson (1972:1) implies a similar view: “Teachers choose and use instruetional matetiais because they can not (and ought not) prepare all the materials they need” Behind this view seems to lie the assumplion thal matcrials arc best prepared by professionals (ic knowledgeable and experiences writers) and by publishing houses which can ensure a high level of production (Sheldon, 1988) Maybe because of this unsympathetic view, ‘I's, especially in junior high schouls, lends to be afraid lo design their own materials despite the necd of

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationales

Over the years, English Language Teaching (ELT) has become more and more necessary

in Vietnam supplying learners (Ls) with an effective tool to integrate to the world, Worker with high Rngtish proficiency are extremely required in many fields such as politics, scienca, technology, economics, and tourism ste, Students (Ss) who become fluent in English can have the opportunity to contribute to the development of their country Thorefire, there is a groal necd to lsam English both in formal instilutions and it community courses

Nowadays, rescarchers claim that ELT in junior high schools contains a lot of challenges, for example: large class, unequal qualifivalions among teachers (Ts), unequal Isvels among Ss, lack of effective supplementary snalcrials This faet was described by Joana Baker and Heather Westrup: “Many teachers have few resources, pethaps only a blackboard and a few books The school may not have technical resources such as tape recorders, radios, television sets, video players or computers” (2002:3)

In Hai Phong, at ‘ran Phu Junior High School (JHS), day by day, I's and Ss have to cope with all these challenges al once which has unfavorable influence on Dnglish langt

All the reasons above have driven the rescarcher to the study thesis, named “Phe Impact

of Teacher-generated Materials on English Language Teaching for the 7 grade

Students in Tran Pau Juniar High School, Iai Phang”.

1Iigh Sehool for the ?° grade Ss and to give some guidelines for a better design and usage

of therm ta safisfy the Ss in (heir learning The study is conducted with 107 the 7 Ss and

47s of English at Tran Phu Junior High School, Hai Phorg

‘The research is carried out with the hope that ‘I's of English in particular and language leacher in general may be fully aware of the role of leacher-generated materials lo freshen

the lessons and to meet the Ss’ demand in ELT Moreover, findings of the study are

thought to be favorable in some way to the researcher and other ‘I's of English to design effective supplementary malcrials hat help Ts take advantages of isacher-generated inaterials and ineet their Ss’ needs

6 Design of the study

Part A — Introduction: provides rationales, aims of the study, research questions, scope and significanee of the study and design of the study,

Part B ~ Development: consists of three main parts

Chapter 1: Literature review on theoretical background of teacher-generated materials, the reasons for Ts of English may choose ta design their own malerials, the Íxclors lo consider when designing materials

Chapter 2: Methodology introduces subjects and context of the study, data collection

instrumenis

Chapter 3: Data analysis and discussion

Chapter 4: Some guidelines for designing efffctive materials for ELT

Part C — Conclusion: presents conclusion, implications for teaching, imitation and

+ clothing + usedcontainers + food

1.1.3 The role of teacher-generated materials in ELT

Nowadays, Ts are faced up with many challenges There are Ss of all types and each one

of them expects something from the teacher Keeping this in mind, Ts ought to see the need for material design and material elaboration in order to meet such expectations

‘Nunan (1988) reports that a survey of several Iundred teachers in a large-scale English as Second Language (ESL) progamme for adult migrants (Eltis and Low, 1985) found that

73 percent of the Ts “regularly used materials produced by themselves” and 50 percent

claimed not to use commercially-produced materials at all (Nunan, 1988:98) We might

infer that the 50 percent were so unhappy with commercially-available materials that they felt driven to prepare their own and that the other 27 percent who regularly designed their

own materials felt that it was desirable to supplement the commercial material they were using.

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Thearcticaf background of teacher-gencrated materials

1.1.1 Definitions of teacher-penerated materials

In Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (third edition), the verb “generate” is defined as “to create” while Webster’s New Dictionary (1997) defines it as “to produce”,

In this thesis, the torm “toacher-gencrated materials” is uscd for a particular type of materials which are found, selected, evaluated and produced by ‘fs to use in their own

teaching context

1.1.2 Types af teacher-generated materials

In this thesis, tcacher-gencrated materials “inclade anything which can be uscd to facilitate the learning of a language They can be linguistic, visual, auditory or kinaesthetic, and they can be presented in print, through live performance or display, or

on cassette, CD-ROM, DVD or the intomet” (Tomlinson, 2001:66), They can be instructional, expetiential, elicitative or exploratory, in that they can inform Ls about the language, Wey can provide experience of the language in use, Uiey can stimulale language use or they can help Ls to make discoveries about the language for themselves Designing and using resources to generate materials can be time consuming Joanna Baker and Ieather Westrup (2002:157) brought out easily found resources as the relief for busy Ts

Similarly, Block (1991) claims that teacher-prepared materials are likely to be more up- tordale and more relevant to Ss weds and inlerests than equivalent course book materials For example, in order to provide a context for 8s to practice talking about what they did the previous weekend, he suggests that a teachar might record his or her colleagues (aking about whal they did Such a recording, he notss, alsa has Ihe aflraction

that, like other specially prepared materials, it has a “personal touch” that Ss recogni:

and appreciate

Though Ts umy slill have a preference for a book ovar handouts, the inercasing availability of computer packages which enable Ts to design professional-looking, materials and the possibility in more technologically developed settings of incorporating nuterials from the Interne, can make Icucher-gencralcd malcrials an allractive (at Toast occasional) supplement ta the course books

In general, teacher-generated materials play a necessary role in ELT, however, the question of how to use them effoctively is still in conflict and will be discussed later in this study

1.1.4, How teacher-generated matcrials have been used in ELT

Using teacher-generated materials in lnglish as Voreign Language (LI'L) classroom has involved a lange number of I's in EL, which has discussed in recent years

Not cvcryone would agree thal Ts should design their own iualcrials, Block (1991), who

is in no doubt that they should, prefaces his arguments for what he calls DIY (do-it- yourself) materials design by reviewing the papers by Allwright (2981) and O'Neill (1982) discusses in Chapter 1 Despite their contrasting positions on course books, both Allwright and O’Neill seem to agree that classroom T's are not best equipped to write nualerials Allwright puts this expbicilly: “the expertise required of materials writers is importantly different fiom that required of classroom teachers” (p.6) Johnson (1972:1) implies a similar view: “Teachers choose and use instruetional matetiais because they can not (and ought not) prepare all the materials they need” Behind this view seems to lie the assumplion thal matcrials arc best prepared by professionals (ic knowledgeable and experiences writers) and by publishing houses which can ensure a high level of production (Sheldon, 1988) Maybe because of this unsympathetic view, ‘I's, especially in junior high schouls, lends to be afraid lo design their own materials despite the necd of

1Iigh Sehool for the ?° grade Ss and to give some guidelines for a better design and usage

of therm ta safisfy the Ss in (heir learning The study is conducted with 107 the 7 Ss and

47s of English at Tran Phu Junior High School, Hai Phorg

‘The research is carried out with the hope that ‘I's of English in particular and language leacher in general may be fully aware of the role of leacher-generated materials lo freshen

the lessons and to meet the Ss’ demand in ELT Moreover, findings of the study are

thought to be favorable in some way to the researcher and other ‘I's of English to design effective supplementary malcrials hat help Ts take advantages of isacher-generated inaterials and ineet their Ss’ needs

6 Design of the study

Part A — Introduction: provides rationales, aims of the study, research questions, scope and significanee of the study and design of the study,

Part B ~ Development: consists of three main parts

Chapter 1: Literature review on theoretical background of teacher-generated materials, the reasons for Ts of English may choose ta design their own malerials, the Íxclors lo consider when designing materials

Chapter 2: Methodology introduces subjects and context of the study, data collection

instrumenis

Chapter 3: Data analysis and discussion

Chapter 4: Some guidelines for designing efffctive materials for ELT

Part C — Conclusion: presents conclusion, implications for teaching, imitation and

2 Objectives of the study

The study aims to fulfill two objectives as follows:

(1) to investigate the impacts of teacher-generated materials on ELT for the 7”

grade Ss in Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong, (2) to suggest some guidelines for designing effective materials for ELT

3 Research questions

‘The study is carried out to find the answers to the following research questions

(1) What value is teachergencralcd mualcrials to the ELT for the 7° grade

students in Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong?

(2) How can Ts of English in JHS design effective materials for ELT?

4, Methods of the study

Tn order to reach the goals mentioned abave, the sludy is implemented in the most common procedure with the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods as folows:

~ Reading relating hooks and articles from various sources (university library, Internet, private library ) to collect uscfiil information for the study

- Consulting the supervisor and lectures of the Postgraduate Department and discussing with colleagues to get guidance and insightfial ideas in the field of the research

- Administering a questionnaire lo 107 the 7" grade Ss al Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong

- Intervicwing 4 Ts of English (at different level of ability and at diffcrent age) at Tran

Phu JHS, Hai Phong

+ Awalyring and interpreting data and responses

§ Scope and significance of the study

It is said that teacher-generated materials may impact on the efficiency of teaching and teaming of alll grades in JIS In this thesis, however, the researcher do not have an ambition lo lake ther all into consideration bul only make an investigation i a, small scale into the teacher-generated materials applied by the Ts of English at Tran Phu Junior

1Iigh Sehool for the ?° grade Ss and to give some guidelines for a better design and usage

of therm ta safisfy the Ss in (heir learning The study is conducted with 107 the 7 Ss and

47s of English at Tran Phu Junior High School, Hai Phorg

‘The research is carried out with the hope that ‘I's of English in particular and language leacher in general may be fully aware of the role of leacher-generated materials lo freshen

the lessons and to meet the Ss’ demand in ELT Moreover, findings of the study are

thought to be favorable in some way to the researcher and other ‘I's of English to design effective supplementary malcrials hat help Ts take advantages of isacher-generated inaterials and ineet their Ss’ needs

6 Design of the study

Part A — Introduction: provides rationales, aims of the study, research questions, scope and significanee of the study and design of the study,

Part B ~ Development: consists of three main parts

Chapter 1: Literature review on theoretical background of teacher-generated materials, the reasons for Ts of English may choose ta design their own malerials, the Íxclors lo consider when designing materials

Chapter 2: Methodology introduces subjects and context of the study, data collection

instrumenis

Chapter 3: Data analysis and discussion

Chapter 4: Some guidelines for designing efffctive materials for ELT

Part C — Conclusion: presents conclusion, implications for teaching, imitation and

+ clothing + usedcontainers + food

1.1.3 The role of teacher-generated materials in ELT

Nowadays, Ts are faced up with many challenges There are Ss of all types and each one

of them expects something from the teacher Keeping this in mind, Ts ought to see the need for material design and material elaboration in order to meet such expectations

‘Nunan (1988) reports that a survey of several Iundred teachers in a large-scale English as Second Language (ESL) progamme for adult migrants (Eltis and Low, 1985) found that

73 percent of the Ts “regularly used materials produced by themselves” and 50 percent

claimed not to use commercially-produced materials at all (Nunan, 1988:98) We might

infer that the 50 percent were so unhappy with commercially-available materials that they felt driven to prepare their own and that the other 27 percent who regularly designed their

own materials felt that it was desirable to supplement the commercial material they were using.

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Thearcticaf background of teacher-gencrated materials

1.1.1 Definitions of teacher-penerated materials

In Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (third edition), the verb “generate” is defined as “to create” while Webster’s New Dictionary (1997) defines it as “to produce”,

In this thesis, the torm “toacher-gencrated materials” is uscd for a particular type of materials which are found, selected, evaluated and produced by ‘fs to use in their own

teaching context

1.1.2 Types af teacher-generated materials

In this thesis, tcacher-gencrated materials “inclade anything which can be uscd to facilitate the learning of a language They can be linguistic, visual, auditory or kinaesthetic, and they can be presented in print, through live performance or display, or

on cassette, CD-ROM, DVD or the intomet” (Tomlinson, 2001:66), They can be instructional, expetiential, elicitative or exploratory, in that they can inform Ls about the language, Wey can provide experience of the language in use, Uiey can stimulale language use or they can help Ls to make discoveries about the language for themselves Designing and using resources to generate materials can be time consuming Joanna Baker and Ieather Westrup (2002:157) brought out easily found resources as the relief for busy Ts

+ clothing + usedcontainers + food

1.1.3 The role of teacher-generated materials in ELT

Nowadays, Ts are faced up with many challenges There are Ss of all types and each one

of them expects something from the teacher Keeping this in mind, Ts ought to see the need for material design and material elaboration in order to meet such expectations

‘Nunan (1988) reports that a survey of several Iundred teachers in a large-scale English as Second Language (ESL) progamme for adult migrants (Eltis and Low, 1985) found that

73 percent of the Ts “regularly used materials produced by themselves” and 50 percent

claimed not to use commercially-produced materials at all (Nunan, 1988:98) We might

infer that the 50 percent were so unhappy with commercially-available materials that they felt driven to prepare their own and that the other 27 percent who regularly designed their

own materials felt that it was desirable to supplement the commercial material they were using.

2 Objectives of the study

The study aims to fulfill two objectives as follows:

(1) to investigate the impacts of teacher-generated materials on ELT for the 7”

grade Ss in Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong, (2) to suggest some guidelines for designing effective materials for ELT

3 Research questions

‘The study is carried out to find the answers to the following research questions

(1) What value is teachergencralcd mualcrials to the ELT for the 7° grade

students in Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong?

(2) How can Ts of English in JHS design effective materials for ELT?

4, Methods of the study

Tn order to reach the goals mentioned abave, the sludy is implemented in the most common procedure with the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods as folows:

~ Reading relating hooks and articles from various sources (university library, Internet, private library ) to collect uscfiil information for the study

- Consulting the supervisor and lectures of the Postgraduate Department and discussing with colleagues to get guidance and insightfial ideas in the field of the research

- Administering a questionnaire lo 107 the 7" grade Ss al Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong

- Intervicwing 4 Ts of English (at different level of ability and at diffcrent age) at Tran

Phu JHS, Hai Phong

+ Awalyring and interpreting data and responses

§ Scope and significance of the study

It is said that teacher-generated materials may impact on the efficiency of teaching and teaming of alll grades in JIS In this thesis, however, the researcher do not have an ambition lo lake ther all into consideration bul only make an investigation i a, small scale into the teacher-generated materials applied by the Ts of English at Tran Phu Junior

Similarly, Block (1991) claims that teacher-prepared materials are likely to be more up- tordale and more relevant to Ss weds and inlerests than equivalent course book materials For example, in order to provide a context for 8s to practice talking about what they did the previous weekend, he suggests that a teachar might record his or her colleagues (aking about whal they did Such a recording, he notss, alsa has Ihe aflraction

that, like other specially prepared materials, it has a “personal touch” that Ss recogni:

and appreciate

Though Ts umy slill have a preference for a book ovar handouts, the inercasing availability of computer packages which enable Ts to design professional-looking, materials and the possibility in more technologically developed settings of incorporating nuterials from the Interne, can make Icucher-gencralcd malcrials an allractive (at Toast occasional) supplement ta the course books

In general, teacher-generated materials play a necessary role in ELT, however, the question of how to use them effoctively is still in conflict and will be discussed later in this study

1.1.4, How teacher-generated matcrials have been used in ELT

Using teacher-generated materials in lnglish as Voreign Language (LI'L) classroom has involved a lange number of I's in EL, which has discussed in recent years

Not cvcryone would agree thal Ts should design their own iualcrials, Block (1991), who

is in no doubt that they should, prefaces his arguments for what he calls DIY (do-it- yourself) materials design by reviewing the papers by Allwright (2981) and O'Neill (1982) discusses in Chapter 1 Despite their contrasting positions on course books, both Allwright and O’Neill seem to agree that classroom T's are not best equipped to write nualerials Allwright puts this expbicilly: “the expertise required of materials writers is importantly different fiom that required of classroom teachers” (p.6) Johnson (1972:1) implies a similar view: “Teachers choose and use instruetional matetiais because they can not (and ought not) prepare all the materials they need” Behind this view seems to lie the assumplion thal matcrials arc best prepared by professionals (ic knowledgeable and experiences writers) and by publishing houses which can ensure a high level of production (Sheldon, 1988) Maybe because of this unsympathetic view, ‘I's, especially in junior high schouls, lends to be afraid lo design their own materials despite the necd of

1Iigh Sehool for the ?° grade Ss and to give some guidelines for a better design and usage

of therm ta safisfy the Ss in (heir learning The study is conducted with 107 the 7 Ss and

47s of English at Tran Phu Junior High School, Hai Phorg

‘The research is carried out with the hope that ‘I's of English in particular and language leacher in general may be fully aware of the role of leacher-generated materials lo freshen

the lessons and to meet the Ss’ demand in ELT Moreover, findings of the study are

thought to be favorable in some way to the researcher and other ‘I's of English to design effective supplementary malcrials hat help Ts take advantages of isacher-generated inaterials and ineet their Ss’ needs

6 Design of the study

Part A — Introduction: provides rationales, aims of the study, research questions, scope and significanee of the study and design of the study,

Part B ~ Development: consists of three main parts

Chapter 1: Literature review on theoretical background of teacher-generated materials, the reasons for Ts of English may choose ta design their own malerials, the Íxclors lo consider when designing materials

Chapter 2: Methodology introduces subjects and context of the study, data collection

instrumenis

Chapter 3: Data analysis and discussion

Chapter 4: Some guidelines for designing efffctive materials for ELT

Part C — Conclusion: presents conclusion, implications for teaching, imitation and

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationales

Over the years, English Language Teaching (ELT) has become more and more necessary

in Vietnam supplying learners (Ls) with an effective tool to integrate to the world, Worker with high Rngtish proficiency are extremely required in many fields such as politics, scienca, technology, economics, and tourism ste, Students (Ss) who become fluent in English can have the opportunity to contribute to the development of their country Thorefire, there is a groal necd to lsam English both in formal instilutions and it community courses

Nowadays, rescarchers claim that ELT in junior high schools contains a lot of challenges, for example: large class, unequal qualifivalions among teachers (Ts), unequal Isvels among Ss, lack of effective supplementary snalcrials This faet was described by Joana Baker and Heather Westrup: “Many teachers have few resources, pethaps only a blackboard and a few books The school may not have technical resources such as tape recorders, radios, television sets, video players or computers” (2002:3)

In Hai Phong, at ‘ran Phu Junior High School (JHS), day by day, I's and Ss have to cope with all these challenges al once which has unfavorable influence on Dnglish langt

All the reasons above have driven the rescarcher to the study thesis, named “Phe Impact

of Teacher-generated Materials on English Language Teaching for the 7 grade

Students in Tran Pau Juniar High School, Iai Phang”.

Chapter 4: SOME GUIDELINES FOR DESIGNING EFFECTIVE

MATERIALS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

4.1 Teacher-generated materials should be contextualized

4.2 Teacher-generated materials should stimulate interaction and be

generative in terms of anguage

4.3 Teacher-generated materials should encourage learners to develop

learning skills and strategies

4.4 Teacher-generated materials should allow for a focus on form as well as

function

4.5 Tcacher-gencrated materials should offer opportunities for integrated

language use

4.6 Teacher-generated materials should be authentic

4.7 Teacher-generated materials should link to cach other te develop a

progression of skills, understandings and language items

4.8 Teacher-generated materials should be attractive

4.9 Teacher-generated material should have appropriate instructions

4.10 Teacher- generated materials should be flexible

PART C: CONCLUSION

1 Conclusion

2 Limitations of the study

3, Suggestion for further study

Bibliography

APPENDICES:

Appendix 1: Questionnaire (for students)

Appendix 2: Interview (for teachers)

Appendix 3: Summary of the interviews

33

VI

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationales

Over the years, English Language Teaching (ELT) has become more and more necessary

in Vietnam supplying learners (Ls) with an effective tool to integrate to the world, Worker with high Rngtish proficiency are extremely required in many fields such as politics, scienca, technology, economics, and tourism ste, Students (Ss) who become fluent in English can have the opportunity to contribute to the development of their country Thorefire, there is a groal necd to lsam English both in formal instilutions and it community courses

Nowadays, rescarchers claim that ELT in junior high schools contains a lot of challenges, for example: large class, unequal qualifivalions among teachers (Ts), unequal Isvels among Ss, lack of effective supplementary snalcrials This faet was described by Joana Baker and Heather Westrup: “Many teachers have few resources, pethaps only a blackboard and a few books The school may not have technical resources such as tape recorders, radios, television sets, video players or computers” (2002:3)

In Hai Phong, at ‘ran Phu Junior High School (JHS), day by day, I's and Ss have to cope with all these challenges al once which has unfavorable influence on Dnglish langt

All the reasons above have driven the rescarcher to the study thesis, named “Phe Impact

of Teacher-generated Materials on English Language Teaching for the 7 grade

Students in Tran Pau Juniar High School, Iai Phang”.

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationales

Over the years, English Language Teaching (ELT) has become more and more necessary

in Vietnam supplying learners (Ls) with an effective tool to integrate to the world, Worker with high Rngtish proficiency are extremely required in many fields such as politics, scienca, technology, economics, and tourism ste, Students (Ss) who become fluent in English can have the opportunity to contribute to the development of their country Thorefire, there is a groal necd to lsam English both in formal instilutions and it community courses

Nowadays, rescarchers claim that ELT in junior high schools contains a lot of challenges, for example: large class, unequal qualifivalions among teachers (Ts), unequal Isvels among Ss, lack of effective supplementary snalcrials This faet was described by Joana Baker and Heather Westrup: “Many teachers have few resources, pethaps only a blackboard and a few books The school may not have technical resources such as tape recorders, radios, television sets, video players or computers” (2002:3)

In Hai Phong, at ‘ran Phu Junior High School (JHS), day by day, I's and Ss have to cope with all these challenges al once which has unfavorable influence on Dnglish langt

All the reasons above have driven the rescarcher to the study thesis, named “Phe Impact

of Teacher-generated Materials on English Language Teaching for the 7 grade

Students in Tran Pau Juniar High School, Iai Phang”.

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Thearcticaf background of teacher-gencrated materials

1.1.1 Definitions of teacher-penerated materials

In Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (third edition), the verb “generate” is defined as “to create” while Webster’s New Dictionary (1997) defines it as “to produce”,

In this thesis, the torm “toacher-gencrated materials” is uscd for a particular type of materials which are found, selected, evaluated and produced by ‘fs to use in their own

teaching context

1.1.2 Types af teacher-generated materials

In this thesis, tcacher-gencrated materials “inclade anything which can be uscd to facilitate the learning of a language They can be linguistic, visual, auditory or kinaesthetic, and they can be presented in print, through live performance or display, or

on cassette, CD-ROM, DVD or the intomet” (Tomlinson, 2001:66), They can be instructional, expetiential, elicitative or exploratory, in that they can inform Ls about the language, Wey can provide experience of the language in use, Uiey can stimulale language use or they can help Ls to make discoveries about the language for themselves Designing and using resources to generate materials can be time consuming Joanna Baker and Ieather Westrup (2002:157) brought out easily found resources as the relief for busy Ts

Chapter 4: SOME GUIDELINES FOR DESIGNING EFFECTIVE

MATERIALS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

4.1 Teacher-generated materials should be contextualized

4.2 Teacher-generated materials should stimulate interaction and be

generative in terms of anguage

4.3 Teacher-generated materials should encourage learners to develop

learning skills and strategies

4.4 Teacher-generated materials should allow for a focus on form as well as

function

4.5 Tcacher-gencrated materials should offer opportunities for integrated

language use

4.6 Teacher-generated materials should be authentic

4.7 Teacher-generated materials should link to cach other te develop a

progression of skills, understandings and language items

4.8 Teacher-generated materials should be attractive

4.9 Teacher-generated material should have appropriate instructions

4.10 Teacher- generated materials should be flexible

PART C: CONCLUSION

1 Conclusion

2 Limitations of the study

3, Suggestion for further study

Bibliography

APPENDICES:

Appendix 1: Questionnaire (for students)

Appendix 2: Interview (for teachers)

Appendix 3: Summary of the interviews

33

VI

2 Objectives of the study

The study aims to fulfill two objectives as follows:

(1) to investigate the impacts of teacher-generated materials on ELT for the 7”

grade Ss in Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong, (2) to suggest some guidelines for designing effective materials for ELT

3 Research questions

‘The study is carried out to find the answers to the following research questions

(1) What value is teachergencralcd mualcrials to the ELT for the 7° grade

students in Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong?

(2) How can Ts of English in JHS design effective materials for ELT?

4, Methods of the study

Tn order to reach the goals mentioned abave, the sludy is implemented in the most common procedure with the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods as folows:

~ Reading relating hooks and articles from various sources (university library, Internet, private library ) to collect uscfiil information for the study

- Consulting the supervisor and lectures of the Postgraduate Department and discussing with colleagues to get guidance and insightfial ideas in the field of the research

- Administering a questionnaire lo 107 the 7" grade Ss al Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong

- Intervicwing 4 Ts of English (at different level of ability and at diffcrent age) at Tran

Phu JHS, Hai Phong

+ Awalyring and interpreting data and responses

§ Scope and significance of the study

It is said that teacher-generated materials may impact on the efficiency of teaching and teaming of alll grades in JIS In this thesis, however, the researcher do not have an ambition lo lake ther all into consideration bul only make an investigation i a, small scale into the teacher-generated materials applied by the Ts of English at Tran Phu Junior

Similarly, Block (1991) claims that teacher-prepared materials are likely to be more up- tordale and more relevant to Ss weds and inlerests than equivalent course book materials For example, in order to provide a context for 8s to practice talking about what they did the previous weekend, he suggests that a teachar might record his or her colleagues (aking about whal they did Such a recording, he notss, alsa has Ihe aflraction

that, like other specially prepared materials, it has a “personal touch” that Ss recogni:

and appreciate

Though Ts umy slill have a preference for a book ovar handouts, the inercasing availability of computer packages which enable Ts to design professional-looking, materials and the possibility in more technologically developed settings of incorporating nuterials from the Interne, can make Icucher-gencralcd malcrials an allractive (at Toast occasional) supplement ta the course books

In general, teacher-generated materials play a necessary role in ELT, however, the question of how to use them effoctively is still in conflict and will be discussed later in this study

1.1.4, How teacher-generated matcrials have been used in ELT

Using teacher-generated materials in lnglish as Voreign Language (LI'L) classroom has involved a lange number of I's in EL, which has discussed in recent years

Not cvcryone would agree thal Ts should design their own iualcrials, Block (1991), who

is in no doubt that they should, prefaces his arguments for what he calls DIY (do-it- yourself) materials design by reviewing the papers by Allwright (2981) and O'Neill (1982) discusses in Chapter 1 Despite their contrasting positions on course books, both Allwright and O’Neill seem to agree that classroom T's are not best equipped to write nualerials Allwright puts this expbicilly: “the expertise required of materials writers is importantly different fiom that required of classroom teachers” (p.6) Johnson (1972:1) implies a similar view: “Teachers choose and use instruetional matetiais because they can not (and ought not) prepare all the materials they need” Behind this view seems to lie the assumplion thal matcrials arc best prepared by professionals (ic knowledgeable and experiences writers) and by publishing houses which can ensure a high level of production (Sheldon, 1988) Maybe because of this unsympathetic view, ‘I's, especially in junior high schouls, lends to be afraid lo design their own materials despite the necd of

1Iigh Sehool for the ?° grade Ss and to give some guidelines for a better design and usage

of therm ta safisfy the Ss in (heir learning The study is conducted with 107 the 7 Ss and

47s of English at Tran Phu Junior High School, Hai Phorg

‘The research is carried out with the hope that ‘I's of English in particular and language leacher in general may be fully aware of the role of leacher-generated materials lo freshen

the lessons and to meet the Ss’ demand in ELT Moreover, findings of the study are

thought to be favorable in some way to the researcher and other ‘I's of English to design effective supplementary malcrials hat help Ts take advantages of isacher-generated inaterials and ineet their Ss’ needs

6 Design of the study

Part A — Introduction: provides rationales, aims of the study, research questions, scope and significanee of the study and design of the study,

Part B ~ Development: consists of three main parts

Chapter 1: Literature review on theoretical background of teacher-generated materials, the reasons for Ts of English may choose ta design their own malerials, the Íxclors lo consider when designing materials

Chapter 2: Methodology introduces subjects and context of the study, data collection

instrumenis

Chapter 3: Data analysis and discussion

Chapter 4: Some guidelines for designing efffctive materials for ELT

Part C — Conclusion: presents conclusion, implications for teaching, imitation and

Similarly, Block (1991) claims that teacher-prepared materials are likely to be more up- tordale and more relevant to Ss weds and inlerests than equivalent course book materials For example, in order to provide a context for 8s to practice talking about what they did the previous weekend, he suggests that a teachar might record his or her colleagues (aking about whal they did Such a recording, he notss, alsa has Ihe aflraction

that, like other specially prepared materials, it has a “personal touch” that Ss recogni:

and appreciate

Though Ts umy slill have a preference for a book ovar handouts, the inercasing availability of computer packages which enable Ts to design professional-looking, materials and the possibility in more technologically developed settings of incorporating nuterials from the Interne, can make Icucher-gencralcd malcrials an allractive (at Toast occasional) supplement ta the course books

In general, teacher-generated materials play a necessary role in ELT, however, the question of how to use them effoctively is still in conflict and will be discussed later in this study

1.1.4, How teacher-generated matcrials have been used in ELT

Using teacher-generated materials in lnglish as Voreign Language (LI'L) classroom has involved a lange number of I's in EL, which has discussed in recent years

Not cvcryone would agree thal Ts should design their own iualcrials, Block (1991), who

is in no doubt that they should, prefaces his arguments for what he calls DIY (do-it- yourself) materials design by reviewing the papers by Allwright (2981) and O'Neill (1982) discusses in Chapter 1 Despite their contrasting positions on course books, both Allwright and O’Neill seem to agree that classroom T's are not best equipped to write nualerials Allwright puts this expbicilly: “the expertise required of materials writers is importantly different fiom that required of classroom teachers” (p.6) Johnson (1972:1) implies a similar view: “Teachers choose and use instruetional matetiais because they can not (and ought not) prepare all the materials they need” Behind this view seems to lie the assumplion thal matcrials arc best prepared by professionals (ic knowledgeable and experiences writers) and by publishing houses which can ensure a high level of production (Sheldon, 1988) Maybe because of this unsympathetic view, ‘I's, especially in junior high schouls, lends to be afraid lo design their own materials despite the necd of

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Thearcticaf background of teacher-gencrated materials

1.1.1 Definitions of teacher-penerated materials

In Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (third edition), the verb “generate” is defined as “to create” while Webster’s New Dictionary (1997) defines it as “to produce”,

In this thesis, the torm “toacher-gencrated materials” is uscd for a particular type of materials which are found, selected, evaluated and produced by ‘fs to use in their own

teaching context

1.1.2 Types af teacher-generated materials

In this thesis, tcacher-gencrated materials “inclade anything which can be uscd to facilitate the learning of a language They can be linguistic, visual, auditory or kinaesthetic, and they can be presented in print, through live performance or display, or

on cassette, CD-ROM, DVD or the intomet” (Tomlinson, 2001:66), They can be instructional, expetiential, elicitative or exploratory, in that they can inform Ls about the language, Wey can provide experience of the language in use, Uiey can stimulale language use or they can help Ls to make discoveries about the language for themselves Designing and using resources to generate materials can be time consuming Joanna Baker and Ieather Westrup (2002:157) brought out easily found resources as the relief for busy Ts

+ clothing + usedcontainers + food

1.1.3 The role of teacher-generated materials in ELT

Nowadays, Ts are faced up with many challenges There are Ss of all types and each one

of them expects something from the teacher Keeping this in mind, Ts ought to see the need for material design and material elaboration in order to meet such expectations

‘Nunan (1988) reports that a survey of several Iundred teachers in a large-scale English as Second Language (ESL) progamme for adult migrants (Eltis and Low, 1985) found that

73 percent of the Ts “regularly used materials produced by themselves” and 50 percent

claimed not to use commercially-produced materials at all (Nunan, 1988:98) We might

infer that the 50 percent were so unhappy with commercially-available materials that they felt driven to prepare their own and that the other 27 percent who regularly designed their

own materials felt that it was desirable to supplement the commercial material they were using.

2 Objectives of the study

The study aims to fulfill two objectives as follows:

(1) to investigate the impacts of teacher-generated materials on ELT for the 7”

grade Ss in Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong, (2) to suggest some guidelines for designing effective materials for ELT

3 Research questions

‘The study is carried out to find the answers to the following research questions

(1) What value is teachergencralcd mualcrials to the ELT for the 7° grade

students in Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong?

(2) How can Ts of English in JHS design effective materials for ELT?

4, Methods of the study

Tn order to reach the goals mentioned abave, the sludy is implemented in the most common procedure with the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods as folows:

~ Reading relating hooks and articles from various sources (university library, Internet, private library ) to collect uscfiil information for the study

- Consulting the supervisor and lectures of the Postgraduate Department and discussing with colleagues to get guidance and insightfial ideas in the field of the research

- Administering a questionnaire lo 107 the 7" grade Ss al Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong

- Intervicwing 4 Ts of English (at different level of ability and at diffcrent age) at Tran

Phu JHS, Hai Phong

+ Awalyring and interpreting data and responses

§ Scope and significance of the study

It is said that teacher-generated materials may impact on the efficiency of teaching and teaming of alll grades in JIS In this thesis, however, the researcher do not have an ambition lo lake ther all into consideration bul only make an investigation i a, small scale into the teacher-generated materials applied by the Ts of English at Tran Phu Junior

Similarly, Block (1991) claims that teacher-prepared materials are likely to be more up- tordale and more relevant to Ss weds and inlerests than equivalent course book materials For example, in order to provide a context for 8s to practice talking about what they did the previous weekend, he suggests that a teachar might record his or her colleagues (aking about whal they did Such a recording, he notss, alsa has Ihe aflraction

that, like other specially prepared materials, it has a “personal touch” that Ss recogni:

and appreciate

Though Ts umy slill have a preference for a book ovar handouts, the inercasing availability of computer packages which enable Ts to design professional-looking, materials and the possibility in more technologically developed settings of incorporating nuterials from the Interne, can make Icucher-gencralcd malcrials an allractive (at Toast occasional) supplement ta the course books

In general, teacher-generated materials play a necessary role in ELT, however, the question of how to use them effoctively is still in conflict and will be discussed later in this study

1.1.4, How teacher-generated matcrials have been used in ELT

Using teacher-generated materials in lnglish as Voreign Language (LI'L) classroom has involved a lange number of I's in EL, which has discussed in recent years

Not cvcryone would agree thal Ts should design their own iualcrials, Block (1991), who

is in no doubt that they should, prefaces his arguments for what he calls DIY (do-it- yourself) materials design by reviewing the papers by Allwright (2981) and O'Neill (1982) discusses in Chapter 1 Despite their contrasting positions on course books, both Allwright and O’Neill seem to agree that classroom T's are not best equipped to write nualerials Allwright puts this expbicilly: “the expertise required of materials writers is importantly different fiom that required of classroom teachers” (p.6) Johnson (1972:1) implies a similar view: “Teachers choose and use instruetional matetiais because they can not (and ought not) prepare all the materials they need” Behind this view seems to lie the assumplion thal matcrials arc best prepared by professionals (ic knowledgeable and experiences writers) and by publishing houses which can ensure a high level of production (Sheldon, 1988) Maybe because of this unsympathetic view, ‘I's, especially in junior high schouls, lends to be afraid lo design their own materials despite the necd of

+ clothing + usedcontainers + food

1.1.3 The role of teacher-generated materials in ELT

Nowadays, Ts are faced up with many challenges There are Ss of all types and each one

of them expects something from the teacher Keeping this in mind, Ts ought to see the need for material design and material elaboration in order to meet such expectations

‘Nunan (1988) reports that a survey of several Iundred teachers in a large-scale English as Second Language (ESL) progamme for adult migrants (Eltis and Low, 1985) found that

73 percent of the Ts “regularly used materials produced by themselves” and 50 percent

claimed not to use commercially-produced materials at all (Nunan, 1988:98) We might

infer that the 50 percent were so unhappy with commercially-available materials that they felt driven to prepare their own and that the other 27 percent who regularly designed their

own materials felt that it was desirable to supplement the commercial material they were using.