A STUDY ON TEACHING CROSS-CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES TO VIETNAMESE STUDY-MAJORED STUDENTS AT SAO DO UNIVERSITY

It is important for foreign language teachers to integrate culture in their classes so as to primarily raise the awareness of their students about the differences between cultures, then

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

(Nghiên cứu việc dạy các yếu tố giao văn hóa trong giờ học nói tiếng Anh

cho sinh viên chuyên ngành Việt Nam học, Đại học Sao Đỏ)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60.14.01.11

Hanoi - 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

(Nghiên cứu việc dạy các yếu tố giao văn hóa trong giờ học nói tiếng Anh

cho sinh viên chuyên ngành Việt Nam học, Đại học Sao Đỏ)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60.14.01.11

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyễn Văn Độ

Hanoi - 2014

DECLARATION

I hereby certify that the thesis entitled

A STUDY ON TEACHING CROSS-CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING

CLASSES TO VIETNAMESE STUDY-MAJORED STUDENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In completion of this thesis, I would like to express my special thanks to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Van Do (Thang Long University) for his invaluable guidance and instructive comments throughout my work

I am thankful to all the staff at the post-graduate department for giving me assistance, the teachers who conducted the Master's course for providing me with valuable knowledge

A further acknowledgement goes to my dear friends from the master's course and colleagues for their useful ideas, materials and encouragement

I also wish to thank my students from Faculty of Tourism and Foreign languages (FTF), Sao Do University (SDU) for their valuable help

The final credit must go to my family, who supported me with love and gentle pushing

ABSTRACT

In recent years, many language teachers are aware of the importance of culture in educational circles It is important for foreign language teachers to integrate culture in their classes so as to primarily raise the awareness of their students about the differences between cultures, then help them to be culturally competent and convey communication in the society of the target language The importance of gaining communicative competence and maintaining intercultural interaction has fostered the necessity of integrating cultural elements into language instruction Any language acquires value and meaning when it is integrated with cultural elements, thereby learning cultures may shed a light to communication/interaction with different cultures This paper discusses various research findings and opinions on the integration of cross-culture into the teaching

of foreign language teaching The discussion aimed to highlight the important roles

of cross-cultural elements, the problems during the education process integrating these elements into the English teaching speaking classes Furthermore, this study aims at suggesting some practical techniques for cross-culture teaching at FTF, SDU

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS……… iv

ABBREVIATION - TABLE LIST……… vi

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale……….1

2 Aims of the study 2

3 Research questions 2

4 Scope of the study 2

5 Methods of the study 3

6 Design of the study 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL PRELIMINARIES 5

1.1 What is culture? 5

1.2 What is cross-culture? 6

1.3 The process of communication 7

1.4 Need for cross-culture teaching 9

1.5 Principles for cross-culture teaching 9

1.5.1 Approaches for cross-culture teaching 9

1.5.2 Practical techniques for teaching cross-culture in the EFL classroom 11

1.6 In summary 14

CHAPTER II: RESEARCH DESIGN 16

2.1 Context 16

2.2 Method and Procedure 16

2.2.1 Selection of participants 16

2.2.2 Data collection instruments 16

CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 19

3.1 Data collection from the survey questionnaires 19

3.2 Data collection from the quiz 25

3.3 Discussion of the findings 26

CHAPTER IV: FURTHER DISCUSSIONS 28

4.1 Suggested framework for cross-culture teaching in English speaking class 28 4.2 Suggested techniques for teaching cross-culture in the EFL classroom 32

4.3 Practical tips 35

PART C: CONCLUSION 38

1 In a nutshell 38

2 Limitations of the study 39

3 Recommendations for further research 39

REFERENCES 41 APPENDIX 1 I APPENDIX 2 III APPENDIX 3 V APPENDIX 4 VII APPENDIX 5 VIII

ABBREVIATION

SDU: Sao Do University

FTF: Faculty of Tourism and Foreign languages

TABLE LIST

Table 1: Ferrando‟s definition of culture

Table 2: Students‟ opinion of the importance of cross-culture knowledge to English

learning

Table 3: Students‟ self-evaluation of their cross-cultural knowledge

Table 4: Students‟ difficulties in participation in cross-culture activities in

conversation class

Table 5: Students‟ opinion of resources to obtain cross-cultural knowledge

Table 6: Students‟ opinions of cross-culture activities to motivate them

Table 7: Students‟ opinion of cross-cultural elements taught in conversation class Table 8: Test scores interpretation – Measures of central tendency

Table 9: Test scores interpretation – Measures of dispersion

FIGURE LIST

Figure 1: Students‟ opinion of the importance of cross-culture knowledge to

English learning

Figure 2: Students‟ self-evaluation of their cross-cultural knowledge

Figure 3: Students‟ difficulties in participation in cross-culture activities in

conversation class

Figure 4: Students‟ opinion of resources to obtain cross-cultural knowledge

Figure 5: Students‟ opinions of cross-culture activities to motivate them

Figure 6: Students‟ opinion of cross-cultural elements taught in conversation class

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

In our global world, where many people from a variety of cultures have to communicate in a way, understanding different cultures have become significantly important to convey the meaning in conversations Therefore, culture is considered

as an essential field in education, especially in language education It can be said that foreign/ second language learning is comprised of several components, including grammatical competence, communicative competence, language proficiency, as well as a change in attitudes towards one‟s own or another culture

As a result, in recent years, many foreign/ second language teachers have been aware of the importance of teaching the culture of the target language

Concerning this issue, Seelye (1993: 4) argues that “culture should be taught when we have students to teach” Moreover, day after day, more language teachers recognize that when the cultural aspects are included in the language teaching curriculum, students‟ communicative competence will be improved It means that in one form or another, culture has, even implicitly, been taught in the foreign/ second language classroom Kramsch‟s keen observation should not go unnoticed:

Culture in language learning is not an expendable fifth skill, tacked on,

so to speak, to the teaching of speaking, listening, reading, and writing It

is always in the background, right from day one, ready to unsettle the good language learners when they expect it least, making evident the limitations of their hard-won communicative competence, challenging their ability to make sense of the world around them (Kramsch, 1993: 1)

It is undeniable that culture plays an important role in language education

Therefore, with an effort to improve the language teaching in my case, “A study on teaching cross-cultural elements in English speaking classes to Vietnamese study- majored students at Sao Do University” is chosen as the topic for my study

2 Aims of the study

The aims of the thesis are:

- To investigate the attitudes of students towards the roles of cross-cultural knowledge in language speaking class

- To analyze the problems facing by students in integrating cross-cultural issues in conversational activities

- To suggest some practical methods and techniques to teach cross-cultural integrated speaking lessons

4 Scope of the study

With the globalization, it has became significantly important for language teachers to integrate culture in their classes so as to primarily raise the awareness of their students about the differences between cultures, then help them to be culturally competent and convey communication in the society of the target language

In an attempt to improve the situation of teaching English speaking skill for students of Vietnamese-study major, SDU, the researcher emphasized the methods and techniques of integrating cross-cultural elements into the speaking classes

The issues to be discussed are the most common and typical ones which are being concerned by most teachers in English teaching The attitudes of students who are at intermediate level towards the roles of cross-culture in language speaking class are investigated In addition, the problems that the students face in studying cross-culture in class are analyzed along with the cultural aspects in language

teaching The most important issue is the discussion of methods and techniques for assisting cross-cultural teaching

In order to achieve the aims stated, an action research is carried out which employs qualitative methods as main methodologies All the considerations and conclusions are largely based on the analysis of the statistic data and references The major approaches are:

- Survey questionnaires

- Semi-structured interviews

- Consultations with supervisor

- Personal observations

6 Design of the study

The thesis consists of three parts:

Part A: INTRODUCTION

This part includes the rationale, aims, scope of the study, methods and design

of the study

Part B: DEVELOPMENT

This part is divided into three chapters

Chapter I: THEORETICAL PRELIMINARIES

In this chapter, theories of culture, cross-culture, process of communication, need for cross-culture teaching, and principles for cross-culture teaching are critically discussed

Chapter II: RESEARCH DESIGN

In this chapter, the context as well as the method and procedure of the study are clearly indicated

Chapter III: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

The data analysis and findings are also presented with the illustration of data The problems related to teaching cross-cultural elements in language speaking class are clarified from detailed and critical analysis of data

Chapter IV: FURTHER DISCUSSIONS

Based on the results of the study, some methods and techniques that are suitable for the chosen context will be suggested They are expected to be helpful to improve the situation of teaching cross-culture in speaking class

Part C: CONCLUSION

Summary of the major findings and suggestions for further research are

presented in this part

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL PRELIMINARIES 1.1 What is culture?

Culture is often thought of as shared behavior and beliefs, but in any society, even the simplest one, all individuals never think and act exactly the same Different authors have different definitions of culture

In the first place, UNESCO (1996:108) launches the formal definition

focusing on the character of culture as follows „Culture is a set of symbolic systems which regulate the behaviour and enable the mutual communication of a plurality

of people, establishing them into particular and instinct community.‟

According to Block (2001), “Culture, in its broadest sense, is what makes you a stranger when you are away from home It includes all beliefs and expectations about how people should speak and act which have become a kind of second nature to you as a result of social learning When you are with members of a group who share your culture, we or you do not have to think about it, for you are all viewing the world in pretty much the same way and you all know, in general terms, what to expect of one another”

Ferrando (1996:18) considers Culture according to the nature of human beings‟ possession, perception and action: Culture is everything that one has, thinks, and does as a member of a society

Table 1: Ferrando’s definition of culture

Perception

Realization Possession

CULTURE

Levine and Adelman (1993:58), on the other hand, look at the visible and invisible nature of constituting factors of culture The definition they put forth may

be the most imaginative definition of all In their view, as for an iceberg, we can hardly see most of the influence of culture on an individual The risen part of culture is not always which that causes difficulties in cross – culture; the hidden aspects of culture exert meaningful influences on one’s behaviour and interaction with others

As a matter of fact, various definitions of culture reflect different theoretical concepts of what culture is It is, however, necessary for the researcher to adopt one that best guide her study Therefore, the thesis author finds the definition offered by

Sikkema and Niyekawa (1987: 27) useful because of its influence on communication Culture is defined as the sum of total ways of living, including values, beliefs, and esthetic standards, and linguistic expressions, patterns of thinking, behaviour norm and style of communication which a group of people has developed to assure its survival in a particular physical and human environment

It can be seen from the definition that culture is viewed as a process of transaction rather than as a body of facts, which puts forth a convincing argument for introducing culture into second, or foreign language teaching The writer is personally interested in this definition as among different cultural descriptions, those factors clearly shown to affect intercultural and cross - cultural communication are absolutely the main concerns of classroom practices in second and foreign language

boundaries Cross-culture seeks ways to understand the other on the other side of the border According to Richards (1985: 92), “cross-cultural communication is an exchange of ideas, information, etc…between persons from different backgrounds There are more problems in cross-cultural communication than in communication between people of the same cultural background Each participant may interpret the other‟s speech according to his or her own cultural conventions and expectations If the cultural conventions and misunderstandings can easily arise, even resulting in a total break down of communication This has been shown by research into real life situations, such as job interviews, doctor-patient encounters and legal communication” Thus, cross-cultural communication is the exchange and negotiation of information ideas, feelings and attitudes between individuals who come from different cultural backgrounds

1.3 The process of communication

To understand communication, it is necessary to understand the nature of such process The first thing we need to know is that communication involves the use of symbols-things used to stand for or represent something else (Yule, 2000) Communication, therefore, is a complex process, which involves not only the use of verbal symbols but also other symbolic elements that people use to transmit messages (paralinguistic features, gestures, body movements…) Up to this point, it

is important to understand that the connection symbols have with their referents is totally arbitrate - that is there is not natural connection – and that such circumstance

is culturally-conditioned Therefore, if a person is out of the group consensus or social convention regarding communicative symbols, he/ she is not going to be able

to communicate with the people who share the meaning of such symbols (Brain, cited by Gudykunst and Young, 2002)

Another issue to concern is that communication involves transmitting and interpreting messages Transmitting messages implies using a way for making our thoughts, attitudes, or feeling recognizable for other people In order to transmit a message, a person may use different symbols On the other hand, interpreting

messages is the process of decoding the symbols and making sense out of them In fact, both processes are influenced by culture As a result, people from different cultures transmit and interpret messages in different ways It means that when a person does not know the way people from other cultures transmit and interpret messages, she/ he usually relies on her/ his own coding system, incorporating her/ his own cultural patterns Therefore, the meaning transmitted and interpreted is usually detective or biased Moreover, it can be seen that as soon as we feel the interactional mismatch, we will experience high levels of uncertainty and anxiety According to Gudykunst and Young, 2002, uncertainty refers to the inability to predict or explain other‟s behavior, feelings, attitudes or values; anxiety, on the other hand, is the feeling of tenseness, worry, or apprehension about what might happen in the interaction These factors, if not controlled, may lead to feelings of uneasiness, discomfort or even rejection towards target the culture or the person with a different culture

When people communicate with each other, they exhibit a style that is strongly influenced by their culture Communicative style refers to several characteristics of conversations between individuals, according to Barnlund (1989): (1) the topics people prefer to discuss, (2) their favorite forms of interaction in conversation, (3) the depth to which they want to get involved with each other, (4) the communication channels (verbal or nonverbal) on which they rely, and (5) the level of meaning (factual versus emotional) to which they are most attuned

Naturally, people prefer to use their own communicative styles Issues about communicative style rarely arise when two people from the same culture are together because their styles generally agree Most people are as unaware of their communicative style as they are of their basic values and assumptions In English speaking classes, students should have some certain knowledge about culture in communication style of the target language speaking countries

1.4 Need for cross-culture teaching

Learning a foreign language is required to attain intercultural communication between people of different cultural backgrounds Because it is important for learners to be involved in communicative acts as well as in the reality of the target culture, they are required to understand the cultural references and meanings of the native speakers Seelye (1993: 26) argued that the language teachers should consider certain goals when introducing culture in the language class: 1 Attitudes

toward other cultures and societies, 2 Interaction of language and social variables, 3

Cultural connotations of words and phrases, 4 Conventional behavior in common situations, 5 The sense or functionality of culturally conditioned behavior, 6 Evaluating statements about a society and researching other cultures

It is undeniable that there is a need for second language learners to develop

cross-cultural awareness (the recognition that culture affects perception and that culture influences values, attitudes, and behavior (Gaston, 1984)) and cross-cultural understanding (the capacity to understand that people‟s behavior differ because

they have different worldviews that have been influenced by there contextual reality and, therefore, their culture) By this way students not only broaden their horizons about the target culture, but also gain a cross-cultural awareness which gives ideas about the „other‟s point of views

1.5 Principles for cross-culture teaching

1.5.1 Approaches for cross-culture teaching

Teaching culture is considered important by most teachers but it has remained “insubstantial and sporadic in most language classrooms” (Omaggio,

1993, p 357) It seems that the biggest headache for language teachers, especially the teacher of EFL, is how to integrate culture teaching into our language programs

Risager (1998) describes four approaches to the teaching culture: the intercultural, multicultural, trans-cultural, and foreign cultural approach The intercultural and multicultural approaches include a considerable element of comparison The trans-cultural approach presupposes foreign language as an

international language The foreign cultural approach only focuses on the target culture where the language is spoken

Apart from the above-discussed approaches, there are several approaches that center on different aspects of the target culture or concentrate on developing certain skills in learners The theme-based or thematic approach is based on certain themes, for example, symbolism, value, ceremony, love, honor, humor, beauty, intellectuality, the art of living, realism, common sense, family, liberty, patriotism, religion, and education, which are typical of a culture This approach tries to show the relationships and values in a target culture and, by his way, it helps learners to maintain a better understanding of it (Saluveer,2004) The topic-based approach concentrates on more general and cross-sectional topics which involve bringing life

to class and develops a more holistic and integrated view of the target culture (Wisniewska-Brogowska, 2004) The problem-oriented approach aiming to get learners to be interested in the target culture encourages them to do some research

on their own Seelye (1993) sees the teacher's role in defining the problem that interests learners The task-oriented approach is characterized by co-operative tasks based on learners' own research Learners work in pairs or small groups on different aspects of the target culture (Tomalin & Stempleski 1993) The skill-centered approach is different from the above-given approaches because it is more practical and might be useful for students who need to live in the country where target language is spoken The aim is to develop learners' skills, which help them manage the problems of (mis)communication between cultures/societies (Saluveer 2004)

One or more of these latter mentioned five approaches can be chosen by the teachers to integrate into their culture instruction according to the objectives of the class If the aim is to help students live in the target country and maintain effective communication in the society, the skill-centered approach can be followed On the other hand, if the aim of the lesson is to raise consciousness about the target language culture, then, topic–based or the theme-based approaches can be followed during the instruction In my case, I am applying the approach of topic-basing,

which is so practical and useful for students to experience the cross-sections in communication and develop their language competence as well

1.5.2 Practical techniques for teaching cross-culture in the EFL classroom

It can be seen clearly that there are a range of practical techniques that we found to be successful in culture-based courses that can help to make the teaching

of culture a better experience for both teachers and students

According to Lili Dai (2011), the teachers can adopt an effective method on cultural texture in order to make a better cultural acquisition from language teaching Oxford (1994) has used the term “cultural texture” to describe the many aspects of the culture that teachers need to teach to their students To achieve this texture, teachers need to vary three different parameters: information sources, activity-types and positive interactions

a Information sources

Lili Dai (2011) claimed that first of all, teachers should encourage students to collect information, and they can use encyclopedias, multimedia software and the internet for the required material Students will try every means possible to get the knowledge themselves instead of waiting for it In addition, they will analyze the information and select what material best fits their cultural topics

In order to get a comprehensive picture of the target culture from many angles, teachers need to present their students with different kinds of information by accumulating a great deal of courseware There are some popular sources for teachers and students to get information as listed below As a result, we can use one

or combine more than one source to access the cultural information successfully

 Information sources

Extracts from literary Anecdotes Multimedia software

Encyclopedias Plays and songs Video

In addition, we can also ask students to quiz their partner about readings or other materials Quizzes offer a high-interest activity that keeps students involved and learning

 Selecting authentic materials

Lili Dai (2011) considered selecting adaptive materials to be an essential factor for students to improve their comprehension ability “A selection of authentic foreign material should be used, especially dialogues, because it is more authentic and reflects cultural behavior followed by speakers Authentic materials can frustrate students lacking sufficient cultural and social knowledge of the target language, and therefore teachers should carefully select suitable materials to motivate their learning interests Teachers should explain cultural factors encountered in the material Students now have easier access to visual aids such as films and videotapes It is generally agreed that what helps in cultural acquisition is

to be shown regularly about cultural background Dialogue is a large proportion of authentic listening materials It provides a wide range of western culture, such as customs, habits, social manners, life style Therefore, it is quite necessary for teachers to give students an introduction to help them understand well native speakers and their culture

Through multimedia and network technology, the teacher can offer students not only rich sources of authentic learning materials, but also an attractive and friendly interface, vivid pictures and pleasant sounds, which to a large extent

overcome the lack of authentic language environment and arouses students‟ interest

in learning There are many good videos and texts published concerning the classic literacy works and most teachers have access to them and the video equipment Watching videos is simply another tool for learning and enjoyment Frequently, when some writer and his or her works are dealt with, especially the classic ones, the students should be offered the opportunity to enjoy the video The teacher still can make use of the chances to work out some methods to arouse the curiosity and motivation.”

 Doing research based learning

Moreover, he also suggested an academic methodology that asks students to complete a task through research Student research is one of the most powerful tools that we can use with college students because it combines their interests with the classroom For example, after the first class, we ask students to search the internet

or library and find information on any aspect of the target-culture that interests them

In the following class, students explain to their group what they have learned and answer any questions about it This can lead to poster-sessions or longer projects For some students, it can even lead to a long-term interest in the target-culture

“To do research, one first needs to have a “topic” The topic may be a problem, a study, or an area to be investigated to find out more information or to confirm or disprove existing knowledge.” The research program can big or small; it can be completed within a month or a day according to the level of difficulty; it can

be done either in groups or by one person An example of a task with a number of components is one in which students choose a topic that combines their interests with the classroom, collect material about it by searching the internet or library to find information on any aspect of the target-culture that interests them., compile that material into a booklet and give a presentation in the following class Students can explain to the teacher or their group what they have learned and answer any questions about it This can lead to poster-sessions or longer projects For some students, it can even lead to a long-term interest in the target-culture

Some other types of activity that have been found useful include the following: games, role play, field trips, reading activities, listening activities, writing activities, discussion activities, singing and so on, but with a bit of thought, most standard EFL activities can be easily adapted for use in the culture classroom The most important point is to ensure that the students are actively engaged in the target culture and language.”

c Positive classroom interactions

According to Lili Dai (2011), classroom interaction can provide different selling points to create a positive cultural learning environment, such as: a wide diversity of opinions, references, values, many different experiences and cultural background As Cullen, selling points for culture means the feature of classroom teaching activities that make it attractive to students In order to create cultural texture, teachers must be careful not to portray the culture as monolithic, nor to only teach the pleasant aspects In other words, teachers need to “sell” different views of the culture to their students Introducing deliberate contrasts within a culture can be useful (Cullen, 2004) These are some different teaching activities which are contrasted

 Similarities vs Differences

 Stated belief vs Actual belief

 Darks aspects of culture vs Bright aspects of culture

1.6 In summary

In this chapter, the relevant literature which has been reviewed in order to form the theoretical and conceptual framework for the present study is presented

From the literature review, the place of cross-cultural knowledge in foreign language learning and particularly in speaking class has been discussed It is important to highlight the fact that culture and language are intertwined closely, so that knowledge of target culture helps learners communicate successfully However, although teachers realize that culture has an important role to play in EFL, no systematic ways of approaching how to teach it as an integrated part of language program were uncovered

Secondly, some approaches for cross-culture teaching are analyzed critically with the clear teaching purposes Then, the researcher suggests one, which she believes that it is suitable in her context

Finally, it can be seen that there are many useful techniques in teaching language and culture together to obtain certain goals Due to the size of the study, cross-cultural activities and classroom interactions are taken in consideration After

a term of teaching cross-cultural elements integrated speaking lessons, the researcher now turns to investigate the attitude of the participants and how their cross-cultural knowledge changed As a result, the most appropriate techniques for cross-culture teaching are suggested to improve the current problems

CHAPTER II: RESEARCH DESIGN 2.1 The context

First year Vietnamese-study major students at FTF, SDU, aged from 19 to 21, both male and female, have learnt English for at least four years, three years at high school and nearly one year at the university Many of them have learnt English since they were grade 6 students However, their level of English proficiency is still quite low because they come from different countryside surrounding Hai Duong where there is lack of favorable English learning conditions Furthermore, during years at schools, a majority of the students did not have chances to know about what

we call „culture‟ or „cross-culture‟

The fact is that although the students have learnt English for several years, along with their difficulties in acquiring any effective language skills at university, their cultural background knowledge is still very poor Moreover, while students in English language major are taught with the course of cross-culture communication, there is no cross-culture communication course in the curriculum of Vietnamese-study major students Actually, they just study about Vietnamese culture, so there are certainly difficulties for them in communicating appropriately in English

2.2 Method and Procedure

2.2.1 Selection of participants

The subjects who participated in this research are 30 students in study major at FTF, SDU The 30 students under investigation are in the second terms of the first year of the academic training program They are supposed to be at intermediate level of proficiency in English These students are young aged from 19

Vietnamese-to 21, both female and male All of these students were born and live on northern parts of Vietnam Therefore, they appear to have similar educational background, more importantly; they have similar cultural background knowledge

2.2.2 Data collection instruments

The data collection methods adopted is aimed to collecting qualitative data The full period of data collection covered the whole term During the term, the

researcher used the following four ways to see the effects of her interventions:

Survey questionnaire

The questionnaires (see appendix 1) were delivered directly at the beginning

of the term with clear explanation about the purpose of the study It was to investigate the attitude of the participants towards the role of cross-cultural elements

in English speaking classes; to find out the difficulties faced by them during the studying; and to seek for the ways to improve the problems

Informal interviews

The interviews were carried out to clarify some information gained from the questionnaire responses Moreover, throughout the whole term, the researcher conducted informal interview with her students during the class breaks Her major concerns were their opinions of the new way of teaching, and how useful they thought it was Obtained information was to reflect regularly their learning process

Classroom observation

The observation falls on three aspects: students' attendance, classroom behavior, and performances in English speaking class If they are motivated to the activities during the lessons, they should be more willing to participate and perform actively, and then they could improve their speaking The observation was noted down in the observation checklist after each lesson

Cultural knowledge quiz

The quiz (see appendix 2 and 3) was conducted among 30 first year students for the first time at the beginning of the second term to quiz the students‟ knowledge about certain aspects of cross-culture After a term of teaching speaking

in which cross-cultural elements was integrated, the quiz was delivered again among these students in order to discover how their cross-cultural knowledge be changed

The quiz contained of two culture assessment tests with 30 questions The participants were expected to deal with various cultural situations which relate to different cultural aspects in British, American and Vietnamese cultures

The results of the quiz were analyzed with SPSS 16.0, a comprehensive system for analyzing data which can take data from almost any type of file and use them to generate tabulated reports, charts and plots of distributions and trends, descriptive statistics, and complex statistical analyses

CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 3.1 Data collection from the survey questionnaires

The data from the survey questionnaires are shown below:

Essential Very important Rather

Table 2: Students’ opinion of the importance of cross-culture knowledge to English

learning (Question 1, appendix 3)

60

30 10

Figure 1: Students’ opinion of the importance of cross-culture knowledge to

English learning (Question 1, appendix 3)

The result of the first question showed that almost students have positive attitudes towards the importance of cross-cultural knowledge in English learning They agreed that cross-cultural knowledge is very important (60%), essential (30%) Only 10% of the students think that it is rather important Moreover, according to the observation, the researcher found that although they do not have any course about cross-cultural communication, almost students are aware of the important roles of cross-cultural knowledge in English learning and they are interested in cross-culture integrated lessons

%

Very good Good Rather good Not good at all

Figure 2: Students’ self-evaluation of their cross-cultural knowledge

(Question 2, appendix 3)

For the second question, 83.3% of the students think that their English cultural knowledge is not good at all The others claim that they are rather good at cultural knowledge The data indicates that although most students understand the important role of cross-cultural knowledge in English learning, they do not have good knowledge about it Actually, it is also shown in the result of researcher‟s observation and the score of the pre-test which is incredibly low

%

You are lack of cultural

Table 4: Students’ difficulties in participation in cross-culture activities in

conversation class (Question 3, appendix 3)

You are shy and cannot do well

Figure 3: Students’ difficulties in participation in cross-culture activities in

conversation class (Question 3, appendix 3)

Question 3 adds more details about the difficulties that the students deal with during the cross-cultural activities in the conversation class The major difficulty is the lack of cross-cultural knowledge which is proved by such a great percentage of 93.3% Another difficulty is that the students are shy and cannot do these activities well with the percentage of 83.3% The data are fairly high which mean that they are should be considered seriously by both teacher and student Just a very small number of students say that the problem is they are not interested in these activities (6.7%) One idea added by a student is that he finds it hard because he has little time

to practice in class

%