A STUDY OF TEACHERS’ TECHNIQUES FOR PROMOTING CLASSROOM INTERACTION IN THE ENGLISH CLASS AT NINH CHAU HIGH SCHOOLIN QUANG BINH PROVINCE

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ---LE THI KHANH HUYEN A STUDY OF TEACHERS’ TECHNIQUES FOR PROMOTING CLASSROOM INTERACTION IN THE ENGLISH CLASS AT N

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

-LE THI KHANH HUYEN

A STUDY OF TEACHERS’ TECHNIQUES FOR PROMOTING CLASSROOM INTERACTION IN THE ENGLISH CLASS AT NINH CHAU HIGH SCHOOLIN

QUANG BINH PROVINCE

MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOY OF ENGLISH

LANGUAGE TEACHING

In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of

Foreign Languages

HUE, 2015

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

-LE THI KHANH HUYEN

A STUDY OF TEACHERS’ TECHNIQUES

FOR PROMOTING CLASSROOM INTERACTION

IN THE ENGLISH CLASS AT NINH CHAU HIGH

SCHOOL IN QUANG BINH PROVINCE

MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOY OF ENGLISH

LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11

SUPERVISOR: PHAM HOA HIEP, D.Ed.

HUE, 2015

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

-LÊ THỊ KHÁNH HUYỀN

KHẢO SÁT KỸ THUẬT DẠY HỌC CỦA GIÁO VIÊN NHẰM THÚC ĐẨY SỰ TƯƠNG TÁC TRONG LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG

THPT NINH CHÂU QUẢNG BÌNH

LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC

BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH

MÃ SỐ: 60.14.01.11

NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC:

TS PHẠM HÒA HIỆP

HUẾ, 2015

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

This work has not been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university

To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previouslypublished or written by another person except where due reference is made in thethesis itself

Date: ……./ ……./ 20…

Author

Le Thi Khanh Huyen

This study aims to explore high school teachers and students’ views abouteffective classroom interaction and how it can be promoted at Ninh Chau HighSchool The data were collected by means of questionnaires, in-depth interviewsand classroom observations The findings show that the most teachers and studentsunderstood the importance of classroom interaction for more effective teaching andlearning English All the teachers agreed a good communication in classroom couldhelp create a communicative environment and thus could make students feel moreconfident in using English to communicate with each other

On the basis of the findings, to promote effective classroom interaction, it issuggested the teachers need to develop suitable communicative activities that allstudents could take part in The teachers could also use a variety of teachingequipment and tools such as a computer, projector, posters and pictures to promotecommunication In addition, the teachers could use pair-work, group-work or evenindividual work to facilitate students’ interaction Furthermore, the teachers shouldcreate a positive atmosphere in the classroom to encourage more interaction amongstudent

I would like to sincerely thank all of teachers of College of ForeignLanguages, Hue University for teaching me in the course work program

Particularly, this thesis would not have been completed without the support of

my supervisor Dr Pham Hoa Hiep; I would like to express my special thanks tohim

I also would like to thank the teachers and students at Ninh Chau high schoolwho enthusiastically participated in my research I am grateful to the principal ofNinh Chau high school for giving me favorable conditions during my study

Additionally, I would like to thank all my classmates for the meaningful timeduring the course

Last but not least, I am deeply grateful to my parents, my older brothers, myfriends who always beside me to support and encourage me to conduct this mastercourse Thank you so much for all

Sincerely,

Le Thi Khanh Huyen

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUB COVER PAGE i

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY iii

ABSTRACT iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF FIGURES ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS x

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Research aims and questions of the study 3

1.3 Significances of the study 3

1.4 Scope of the study 4

1.5 Organization of the Study 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Introduction 5

2.2 Definitions of classroom interaction 6

2.3 Types of classroom interaction in English language teaching 7

2.3.1 Teacher-students interaction 7

2.3.2 Teacher-student interaction 8

2.3.3 Student-student interaction 9

2.3.4 Student-students interaction 9

2.3.5 Student-content interaction 10

2.4 Classroom interaction and its role for English language teaching 10

2.5 Teacher’s techniques for promoting classroom interaction in the English class.12 2.6 Current classroom interaction in Vietnam and Quang Binh province 14

2.7 Previous studies 16

2.8 Conclusion 18

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 19

3.1 Research approach 19

3.2 Research site and participants 19

3.3 Data collection 20

3.4 Data analysis 21

3.5 Conclusion 22

CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 23

4.1 Teachers’ views of effective classroom interaction 23

4.1.1 Teachers’ perception of effective classroom interaction in the English class at Ninh Chau High School 23

4.1.2 Teachers’ use of techniques for promoting effective classroom interaction in the English class 25

4.2 Students’ views of teachers’ techniques for promoting effective classroom interaction in the English class 32

4.2.1 Students’ perception of effective classroom interaction in the English class 32

4.2.2 Students’ attitude towards teachers’ techniques for promoting effective classroom interaction in the English class 34

4.3 Implication for promoting better classroom interaction in the English class 39 4.4 Chapter conclusion 42

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 43

5.2 Recommendations 44

5.2.1 Recommendations for teachers 45

5.2.2 Recommendations for students 46

5.3 Limitations of the study 47

REFERENCES 48

APPENDICES 52

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4-1 The role of classroom interaction (n=8) 23

Table 4-2 Some purposes of effective classroom interaction (n=8) 24

Table 4-3 Interaction pattern used in the English class (n=8) 25

Table 4-4 Activity often used in the English class (n=8) 25

Table 4-5 Activity offers the best chance for classroom interaction (n=8) 26

Table 4-6 Types of communicative activities used in the English class (n=8) .27 Table 4-7 The ways used by teachers to promote effective classroom interaction (n=8) 28

Table 4-8 Stage often used classroom interaction (n=8) 29

Table 4-9 Attitude of students towards teachers’ techniques (n=8) 30

Table 4-10 Students’ participation in classroom interaction (n=8) 30

Table 4-11 Teachers’ difficulties when using techniques (n=8) 31

Table 4-12 The roles of classroom interaction in the English class (n=80) 33

Table 4-13 The favorite classroom pattern by students (n=80) 34

Table 4-14 The students’ favorite activities (n=80) 35

Table 4-15 Teachers’ ways to motivate students’ interaction (n=80) 36

Table 4-16 Skill gives best chance for classroom interaction (n=8) 36

Table 4-17 The effectiveness of teachers’ techniques to students (n=80) 38

Table 4-18 The difficulties of students in classroom interaction (n=80) 38

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4-1 Types of interaction used most in teaching different skills 27

Figure 4.2 Importance of classroom interaction (n=80) 33

Figure 4-3 How students participate in classroom interaction (n=80) 34

Figure 4-4 The students’ favorite communicative activities (n=80) 35

Figure 4-5 Students’ participation in classroom (n=80) 37

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter will first present the background of the research Then, it willstate the aims and questions of the study This is followed with the significance andthe scope of the study Finally, the structure of the study is outlined

1.1 Background of the study

As an international language, English is the common means ofcommunication among people in the world According to Ramelan (1992:2-3)English as an international language is used to communication, to strengthen and tofasten relationship among all countries in the world in all fields, for example intourism, business, science, technology, ect English has now acquired the title of theworld’s leading “global language” (Crystal, 2003:1) Therefore, English has beentaught and learnt in many countries as a second language

Nowadays, teaching and learning English as Foreign Language (EFL) is animportant task in Vietnam’s Education System For the past decades, efforts havebeen made so that English teaching methods in our country can be changed fromtraditional grammar- translation method to the communicative language teaching(CLT) The idea of CLT has been expanded since the mid-1970s CLT was alsogreatly influenced by the early version of Long’s Interaction Hypothesis (1996).Since then, second language instructors have been encouraged to employcommunicative ways in their classroom The focal point of CLT was almostexclusively on meaningful interaction through the use of spontaneous speech duringpair and group work There are various methods for teaching communicatively, forexample, immersion, task – based instruction and structure input (Krashen &Terrell, 1993) In current classroom, CLT often takes the form of pair and groupwork requiring the negotiation and cooperation between learners In addition, there

are also different activities to help them get their own courage in developing theirconfidence Moreover, role-plays in which students practice and improve languagefunction as well as judicious use of grammar and pronunciation focused activities.CLT enables students get their great interest and energy in learning English skill bythemselves.

According to Wikipedia dictionary, CLT or communicative approach is anapproach to language teaching that emphasize interaction as both the means and theultimate goals of the study For CLT, classroom interaction is an important element

to promote its method Nunan (1991) has recognized one of five features of CLT is

an emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language

He claimed that CLT pays much intention in communication through interactionand leads learners to connect themselves with language in class and used it outsideclassroom According to Chickering & Gamson (1987), the concept of interaction is

a core element of the seven principles of good practice in education including: goodpractice encourages student-instructor contact; good practice encouragescooperation among students; good practice gives prompt feedback; good practiceemphasizes time on task; good practice communicates high expectation; and goodpractice respects diverse talent and ways of learning On the other hand, classroominteraction is a significant performance of effective communicative teaching andlearning Classroom interaction stimulates the students’ involvement in theclassroom It also fuels students’ motivation and helps the students see the relevance

of lessons and teachers’ topics In addition, the interaction between the teacher andthe students is an essential part of teaching and learning process For the advancedstudy of teaching and learning, the teacher – student interaction is the key of qualityclassroom It means that teachers view classroom through a common lens anddiscuss it using a common language providing support for improving the quality ofteacher – student interaction and ultimately student learning

The Oxford Learner’s Dictionary of English defines the verb “interact” as “tohave an effect on each other” or “communicate and work together” (p.232) It

means that interaction is more than action followed by reaction According toBrown (2001) interaction is, in fact, the heart of communication, it whatcommunication is about The more interaction learners have on classroom, the moresuccessful in the application of the learner-central approach.

Effective classroom interaction begins with an effective teacher In order tofoster a healthy classroom environment, the teacher must have a clear understandingthe effect of teacher in classroom interaction Then teacher finds suitable techniques

in teaching to get students involve to the lesson and encourage them to create theirmotivation in English learning

In Quang Binh Province, English has also been an important curriculum ofmost upper secondary schools For Ninh Chau High School, teachers always try torenovate their teaching methodology frequently and create a close teaching andlearning environment With the aim to investigate teachers’ perception and howteacher creates classroom interaction in the English Class at Ninh Chau HighSchool in Quang Binh as well as suggests techniques for promoting interaction inclassroom to enhance success of English learning; I am motivated to conduct thisresearch project

1.2 Research aims and questions of the study

The study aims to explore teachers’ effective classroom interaction in theEnglish Class at Ninh Chau High School and to collect suggestion of techniques topromote effective classroom interaction to enhance the quality of English languageteaching to student

This study particularly seeks the answer to the following questions:

1 What are teachers’ perceptions of classroom interaction?

2 What are the techniques that teachers currently use in the English classroom

to promote effective interaction at Ninh Chau High School in Quang Binh?

3 What are student’s views about these techniques?

4 What can be done to promote better classroom interaction?

1.3 Significances of the study

This research is significant because it focuses on teachers, techniques, andinfluences which might affect the classroom interaction in English teaching at NinhChau High School in Quang Binh The findings will provide an insight into thereality of teachers’ techniques in classroom interaction and thus can be useful toimprove the interaction in the English classroom at Ninh Chau High School inQuang Binh Province

1.4 Scope of the study

The research was conducted with the participants are 8 English teachers and

80 students in grade 10 at Ninh Chau High School in Quang Binh Province Eventhough the classroom interaction covers a large number of aspects, this research willjust focus on the techniques which are used by EFL teachers in classroom topromote the interaction among teachers and students at Ninh Chau High School

1.5 Organization of the Study

Apart from Appendices and References, this study consists of five chapters.Chapter One has provided a brief introduction to the background and significance ofthe study, including definitions and key terms Chapter Two will provide a review

of previous literature in relation to teacher’s techniques for promoting classroominteraction in the English class Chapter Three will describe the researchmethodology in this study Chapter Four will present the results of both thequantitative and qualitative investigations of the study Chapter Five will discuss thefindings and limitations then gives recommendations and implications for teacher’techniques in promoting classroom interaction in the English class

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents the review of literature regarding to the acquisition ofclassroom interaction, the concept of classroom interaction and its types in EnglishLanguage Teaching The chapter will then describe the problems of interaction inthe English class in Vietnam and Quang Binh province and mention some previousstudies in relation to classroom interaction The last section of the chapter willsummarize the key issues concerning classroom interaction in the context underresearch and point out the rigor for this story

2.1 Introduction

According to Tsui (2001), the term classroom interaction refers to theinteraction between the teacher and the learners and among the learners in theclassroom In addition, in recent year, language learning has been viewed from avery different perspectives; it seems as result from one of process such asinteraction between learning and users of language (Richards, 2006) In otherwords, classroom interaction gives students more opportunities to use English andpractice all four language skills and helps them become more responsible for theirlearning In reality, it is difficult for students to really work in a lesson with astrange language, they are not patient enough to pay attention then give up soon.However, classroom interaction depends much on teachers’ method to create apleasant classroom atmosphere in which students are trying to communicate inforeign language

In this study, I investigate teacher’s use of techniques to motivate students’learning English to see how the use of supplementary activities motivates students

in English learning and the benefits as well as difficulties teacher and students haveencountered in teaching and learning English

2.2 Definitions of classroom interaction

Brown (1994:159) defines interaction as “the collaborative exchange of thethought, feeling, or ideas between two or more people resulting in a reciprocaleffect on each other” In fact, to be the heart of CLT, interaction is considered as

important factor for communicative achievement Brown also states that in teaching

learning process, the teacher should look for the most appropriate approach, design

of materials, or set of procedures in a particular case

Having the same idea, Rivers (1987) sees interaction as the key to teaching

language for communication “Part of the teacher art is to create, or stimulate

students creation of, the types of situation in which interaction naturally blossomsand in which students can use for actual communication what they have beenlearning in a or formal fashion In this way, they are already engaging in the centralactivity for which languages is used in human relation.” (Rivers, 1987:4)

According to All Wright and Bailey (1991:25), through classroom interaction,

the lesson can produce input, practice opportunities, receptivity The teacher alsohas to plan what he intends to teach such as syllabus, method and atmosphere asseen from the figure below

Figure 2.1 Relationship between plans and outcomes

(All Wright and Bailey, 1991:25)Besides, Sims (1999) points interaction is to facilitate programs based on thelearner’s input, allowing various forms of participation of communication Inaddition, Lipmann (1991) states that interaction or activity is fundamentally tocreate the learning communities It is key learning component in learning theory

Classroom Interaction

Interaction is considered as a critical component of the education process.

According to Wagner (1994), interaction is defined as reciprocal events thatrequire at least two objects and actions This action may be verbal and non-verbal

An interaction is an event which takes place between learner and learner in a wayattended to change his or her behavior toward educational goals In other words,interaction is mainly achieved by two means of resource that are verbal and non-verbal means of expression Verbal communication means communicating withword, written or spoken; consisting of speaking, writing, listening and reading.Besides, non-verbal communicating includes all unwritten and unspoken messages,both intentional and unintentional

It is necessary that teachers not only spend time on talking, lecturing, askingquestions, giving instructions and so on but also needs to demonstrate and usegesture to make students understand easily what teachers talk in language classthrough a foreign language I believe that if teachers have a fully understanding ofclassroom interaction, we are able to get our students involve to our lesson to attain

a success in teaching effectively and efficiently

To sum up, interaction enhances English teaching and learning Firstly, it notonly promotes learning, but also autonomous learning as well Secondly, it builds

up a state of dynamic interaction in the classroom through cooperative learning,communicative competence Lastly, it provides the communication and creates anactive motivation

2.3 Types of classroom interaction in English language teaching

Interaction is really important in language classes, especially English classes

It comes from teachers and students This section provides common interactiontypes depending on who communicate with whom in language classes

2.3.1 Teacher-students interaction

This form of interaction requires more than one student to involve ininteraction with the teacher Example of the partner is the teacher interacting with agroup of students or with the whole class According to Matthews (1994), designingand planning activities which should depend on the material and level of students

provides learning motivation; and suits the particular needs of classes Whenworking with intermediate students, teacher will probably work carefully; whenworking with advanced students, teacher may work quickly.

In this mode of interaction, teacher talks to the whole class at the same time,plays a role as the controller and decides the type and process of the activities Afterrequiring, the teacher is a model and students are in form of activities However, bybroader interaction with students at the same time, students may not be helpful ininteraction with students in class when they receive less chance to talk in a largegroup Therefore, the role of teacher is to establish a positive atmosphere to createcommunication in class Teacher also forms activities in pair or in small groups andlets students act as the role of a leader and reporter Encouraging students toparticipate in class is the way that teacher involves students’ interaction As John &Jones (1998) mention, “The teacher’s effectiveness paradigm focuses on the effectthat teacher-student interactions have on the students’ achievement and behavior”

2.3.2 Teacher-student interaction

This type of interaction, as Moore (1989) states, teacher-student is regarded

as essential by many educators and as highly desirable by many learners Teacher is

an instructor who gives instruction to encourage students in learning and stimulatestudents’ interests Moore (1989) further states that due to teacher-studentinteraction, students come under the influence of professional and experiencedteachers, and they are able to draw on the experience of their teacher to interact withthe content; that is most effective for particular learner Besides, Garrison (1990)mentions that students who interact regularly with their teacher and with otherstudents are more motivated and have better experience They are often self-confident, self- directed and self- motivated

During the teacher – learner interaction, teacher is closed to student and vice –versa That is significant in teaching and learning By doing activities based onteacher’s instruction, students are able to strengthen their own critical thinking bybrain storming, supporting opinion, and making decision Students feel motivated to

learn and confident to share ideas.

2.3.3 Student-student interaction

Interaction between student and student is essential for developing skills thatare needed for collaborative and cooperative task (Anderson, 2002) This mode ofinteraction can be seen as the most frequently used interaction pattern in languageclassroom, especially in carrying out conversation In addition, Johnson (1995)supports the idea that if learner- learner interaction is well structured and managed,then it can be an important factor of cognitive development, educationalachievement of students and emerging social competencies Hence, students willestablish their relationship in learning and friendship in classrooms

It is obvious that student – student interaction refers to pair- work which helpsstudents exchange their ideas, encourage collaborative work, providing interactionand active environment in classroom Naegle Paula (2002:128) also comments

“talking students with their peers about the content of the course is a powerful wayfor them to reinforce what they have learnt”

2.3.4 Student-students interaction

In this mode of interaction, students use more language functions in pair andgroup work than in other forms of interaction However, even in group presentationwhere more than one student presents a topic in the whole class, the main mode ofinteraction is only one presenter at one time

According to Moore (1989), interaction among members of groups inclassroom is highly valuable resource and essential for learning The differentmembers of group have different tasks related to the same topic Students performthe task individually then come back to group to put the information and to sharetheir opinions Group work incorporates principles and themes forms cooperativelearning and collaborative learning During small group, the teacher circulatedaround the room and talk with group one by one Students stayed on task and askedfor clarification as needed A representative from each group take turn to present theissues related to topic while other listen, giving comments

2.3.5 Student-content interaction

According to Andreson (2002), student- content interaction is most accessibleand adapted, individualized such as students’ portfolios In addition, the value ofcontent is dependent on the extent which engages both students and teachers ininteraction The content leads to relevant knowledge construction related to directrelationship between the capacity for interaction and resulting engagementmotivation

Interaction taking place between the learner and the content is the most basic

of four types of interaction in classroom (Moore, 1989) Because student – contentinteraction is the process of interacting with the content which bring about thechange in the student’s understanding, and the cognition of student’s mind It meansthat the students hardly interact with teacher while they interact easily with thecontent such as a radio, TV, test and ect

2.4 Classroom interaction and its role for English language teaching

The significance of interaction is investigated and emphasized by a lot ofresearchers Gass and Varonis (1994) state that learners have greater comprehensionwhen they are allowed to interact According to Swain (1985 : 223) “Interactionallows the learner to practice the target language, thus enhancing fluency; to noticethe trigger a particular structural form that needs modifying; to test hypothesesabout structural points and to reflect meta- linguistically” Similar to Swain, Brown(1991) and McLaugh (1987) point out that interaction provides opportunity for thenon - native speaker (NNS) to practice structural components, increasing thelikelihood of automaticity of such components

Alright (1984) emphasizes the immerse importance of classroom interaction

by saying that:

We need to stop thinking of interaction as an aspect of teaching method that

we may or may not wish to adopt in our class as a weapon in ourpedagogical aong to be used only when appropriate and, and so startthinking of it as something inherent in the very notion of classroom

pedagogy itself (1984:158)

Undoubtedly, interaction is an indispensable component in a language classroom.Brown (1994) also indicates that interactive classes have the followingbeneficial features:

There is a large amount of pair and group work

Students engage themselves in spontaneous and authentic conversation

Students work for actual audiences and purposes, not artificial ones

The task – based activities prepare students for the real world outside of theclassroom

The relationship between interaction and theories of second languageacquisition is also highlighted in related literature Micheal Long (1983) believesthat interaction is one of the best sources of comprehensible input When twospeakers interact, they use “the situational contexts, repetitions and classifications tomaximize comprehension” In other words, in the English language classroom,input from teacher and textbook is not sufficient and comprehensible In addition,Krashen and Terrell (1998) observer the role of interaction in second languageacquisition “acquisition requires meaningful interactions in the target language –natural communication – in which speakers are concerned not with the form of theirutterance but with the messages they are conveying and understanding”

It is clear that through classroom interaction, students in language class areable to improve their language as they listen or read authentic linguistic materialand participate in discussion or conversation, even in the real life exchanges Thus,they have experience in creating messages from what they hear or read, sincecomprehension is a process of creation (River, 1981:160-2) It is also underscored

by Richards (2001) that second language learning is facilitated when learners areengaged in interaction and meaningful communication

In general, classroom interaction offers students opportunity to ask forrepetition and confirmation It facilities the comprehension of input; and therefore,

fosters students’ English language development Interaction involves students in thelanguage use and enhances students’ communicative competence.

2.5 Teacher’s techniques for promoting classroom interaction in the English class

Interaction is an elicitation of students’ participation and initiative willinglywhich requires a high degree of interpersonal communication skill (River, 1997:10)

It refers to the exchange of communication between the teacher and the students oramong students It has an important role in language learning “It may be quiet; Itmay be noisy; It may be alert and dynamic; It may take place in large group, smallgroup or pair” (Kramsch, 1987:18) It will make students deeply involved inactivities that draw on their creativity Therefore, teacher should create effectivetechniques to help students participate positively in class and overcome theirinhibition and fear of embarrassment as well

Technique is the teaching activities can be used in the classroom to promoteeffective learning Also, teaching activities for promoting effective classroominteraction is communicative activities integrated into the lesson; such as classsurvey, line dialogue, conversation grid, information gap, game; which encourageand require the learner to speak with and listen to other learners in classroom Moss

& Ross- Feldman (2003) suggest that more learning takes place when students areengaged in relevant tasks within a dynamic learning environment rather than intraditional teacher-led classes

Moreover, this study also focus on the possibility of the use of one thetechniques of communicative language teaching (CLT), that is, pair work and groupwork Group and pair work are techniques that provide a chance for classroominteraction Nunan (1991) advocates that speaking learning in a foreign languagewill facilitated when learners are actively engaged in attempting to communicate ingroup Similarly, Brown (1994) says that group work creates a favorable climate forcommunication by giving students chances to talk in front of whole class.Moreover, it is an effective technique for producing active learning and forproviding simultaneous opportunities for all class members It also helps students

carry out the task without direct and immediate supervision of a teacher.Additionally, the task was set to establish the relationship between teachingtechniques and patterns of classroom interaction In a classroom setting, the teacherwork with the students on a giving task, explaining, informing, inquiring, correctingand forcing the students work in pair or group to speak through a number of tasks.

In other words, teachers control classroom activities through demonstration,explanation, questioning and in some instance through group work

Also, Cohen (1994) identifies group work as a strategy for solving twocommon classroom problems:

Keeping students involved with their work

Managing instruction for students with a wide range of academic skills

In addition, group has the following advantages:

Collaboration – it provides a social aspect when students work together

Peer teaching – group work provided us with a natural context for peerteaching and it has many advantage such as: a) it not threatening; b) sometimepupils find it is difficult to grasp a specific point from the teacher but amongthemselves they can help and understand one another; c) it develop social skills –students learn to speak with conviction, they also learn to receive help becauseasking for help is a good skill to learn

Effectiveness in mixed abilities classes

Prevention of discipline problems – order is maintained in the class while theteacher monitors students working in groups

Opportunities for learners to use both comprehensible output and input in anauthentic manner because when learners are thinking or writing, they are doing thisfor the sake of completing a task

Less teacher dominance

These groups can be formed of pairs of students, small groups or large groups.Teacher has to play as a facilitator who organizes groups at any time in class of anysize to check on the students’ understanding of the material, to give students an

opportunity to apply what they are learning.

Language classroom is the place where teachers and students come togetherfor interaction and learn in natural settings Group work is a teaching technique atall levels of education and researchers observed that group based assignments anddiscussions are a common feature of tertiary education (All Wright & Bailey, 2004).The effective use of group work with communicative activities in the English classcan provide a friendly environment for students to practically experience the ideaspresented and strengthen their learning

2.6 Current classroom interaction in Vietnam and Quang Binh province

In Vietnam, there was a time when the traditional approach of teaching wasadapted by most of teacher, when students used to depend only on the lecturedelivered by the teacher They had not enough practices to speak on their own andhence the interaction among the students in the classroom was almost absent.Nowadays, communicative approach changed our education system; it demandsmore of student interaction rather than just listening to the instructor Hence, bothteacher and students understand that classroom interaction is very essential inEnglish teaching and learning today

However, the classroom interaction has not applied broadly in Vietnamesecontext Vietnamese students are not familiar with the communicative approachbecause they still mainly expect from teachers who give context, plans the lessonand directs the activities Le (1999) states that the Vietnamese students are expected

to sit in silence unless the teacher calls them individually to speak Moreover, it isnot common to see any students to express their own opinions Nguyen (2005)concludes from her own previous research that “Vietnamese students are veryreluctant to question ideas to express their opinion or individual reference”(2005:16) The main point is that being accustomed to the traditional teachingmethods, students are greatly dependent on their teacher with the concept that theteacher has the most important role in their learning process and provides the bulk

of the knowledge and resources Students are confused of interaction with teachers

and peers They might have been passive in learning; they are on doing the task butnot on the actual learning process.

Despite the fact that some students who have learnt English language formany years, they are unable to use the language fluently and effectively inside andoutside class It can be observed that some students have no experience inexercising, participating in activities because of traditional training in languagelearning Therefore, most English learners in Vietnam, particularly in Quang Binhare shy in using English to interact in class and in real communication due tovarious factors like:

Student’s motivation in learning

Attitude and interested

The competences of English teachers

Learning facilities, methods and effective use of techniques

Approach

It is observed that English language learners at high school level suffer from alack of motivation and actual practice in using the language in classroom Inaddition, some barriers of classroom interaction come from the poor classroomconditions and supportive equipment for both students and teachers In Quang Binh,there are few schools with well-equipped classrooms Therefore, using audio-visualmaterials supporting English language learning is still limited in classroom.Moreover, because of time limitation, students do not have enough opportunities tofor improving their communication skill in class Nuun (1996) states that only forty-five minutes of class time is not enough for students’ participation In other words,teacher just has time to tell and students listen; then the students tell or regurgitateinformation on a written test and the teacher evaluates Besides, the teacher may nothave properly used the concept of classroom techniques in developing English forcommunication; it is difficult for teacher to get students involve to the lesson andstudents often participate without motivation

In fact, there is a little interaction in English class in Quang Binh, particularly

at Ninh Chau High School The students have known about the importance ofEnglish nowadays, but they don’t seriously consider themselves in learning.Therefore, they lack the courage for interaction in classroom to enhance theirlearning.

Also, with the educational reform in higher education and the innovation inteaching method at present, English teachers in Quang Binh always consider thequality of teacher – student as the keystone for all other aspects of classroominteraction Teacher – student relationship provides an essential foundation foreffective classroom interaction and classroom management is the key of studentachievement Therefore, by using teaching techniques supported by research,teacher can influence the dynamic of their classroom for effectiveness of teachingprocess

2.7 Previous studies

Classroom interaction is an important aspect of English language andespecially since the appearance of the communicative approach in languageteaching which emphases on developing students’ communicative competences.Therefore, many researchers have investigated classroom interaction in differentaspects and different contexts, which provides for an effective teaching and learningEnglish for those who work in language teaching field

Nicolas & Arthur (1988) assumed that appropriate communicative activitieshelp students to master fluency which is most likely to happen in languageclassroom They thought that activities as tasks encourage students to communicate.Mateja Dagarin (2002) investigated the development of interaction in a foreignlanguage classroom This author conducted that teachers can help students todevelop their interaction skills and students themselves can apply various strategies

to become effective communicators in a foreign language

Nguyen, T.T.B (2009) presented some typical factor influencing verbalinteraction in classroom She found three types of factor which concluded culturalhabits, personal factor and constitutional factors She also suggested making

communicative activities which can help students to interact actively in class.

In addition, Nguyen, T.H.A (2002) conducts a study on cultural effects onlearning and teaching in Vietnam context She concludes that education is stillheavily influenced by the traditional, grammar-translation centered method It can

be inferred that the traditional teaching and learning styles in Vietnam hinder theactive interaction among teacher and students in language classroom

In another field of classroom interactions, Phan, L.H (2004) and Pham, H H(2005) look at the university classroom in Vietnam by analyzing the efforts of someVietnamese teacher to be successful in their teaching practices regardless of thestereotypes about Asian teaching styles Through having controversial opinions onthe success of Vietnamese teachers, these two authors help describe commoncultural barriers to the teaching and learning English in Vietnam

Hoang, T S (2009) presented a general investigation into classroominteraction in the English class at Hue city His study focused on three types ofinteraction including teacher-student, student-student and student-content whichwere used to promote student learning He also found that interaction is reallysignificant for an active lesson

Moreover, Nguyen, T K N (2010) mentioned oral interaction in EFLclassroom to second language acquisition According to her findings, interactionfacilities language learning, engages students in participating language learningactivities and make more output

Although many studies on the classroom interaction have been conductedbecause of its important role in effective English language learning, the area ofteachers’ techniques for promoting classroom has not been investigated in QuangBinh province Therefore, I am motivated to conduct this study

2.8 Conclusion

In short, this chapter has provided the significance of interaction in classroomtoward learners and teachers Classroom interaction helps students to build up anautonomous learning and collaborative learning; it provides students the vehicle ofcommunication and enhances students’ communicative competence The role ofteacher is to use suitable techniques to provide the most interactive environment togive students good opportunities to develop their ability of learning English Based

on the relevant literature, this study is conducted to focus on teacher’s techniqueswith purpose is to give suggestions for promoting interaction in class; this is anengaging and creating interest in learning among students in order to encouragethem to interact and participate in classroom practices at Ninh Chau high school inQuang Binh province

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes the research methodology for the sake of findinginformation to respond to the research questions The chapter will start bydescribing the research approach, research method of collecting empirical data,participants and data analysis

3.1 Research approach

To conduct the research, qualitative and quantitative methods were used.Qualitative approach was mainly used to document the views of students andteachers in getting interaction in classroom, evaluating current interaction in theEnglish class, and suggesting recommendations from English teachers to improvethe interaction in classroom for the context of Ninh Chau High School Besides,quantitative approach with statistical analyses from qualitative questionnaires for anumber of attributes was used

The integration of both qualitative and quantitative approaches can help theresearcher get relevant data in terms of quality and quantity The combination ofthese two approaches is appropriate in theory (Mercurio, 1979, citied in BogdanR.C & Biklen S.K., 1992)

3.2 Research site and participants

I chose to conduct my research at Ninh Chau High School because I had easyaccess to it Ninh Chau High School was established in 1996 and now is one of thestandard schools of Quang Binh Province

The participants in the study consisted of 8 English teachers and 80 students.The teachers were all female with their ages ranged from 30 to 45 and their teachingexperiences ranged from 5 to 20 years The students were both male and femalefrom two 10th grade classes with 7 years of English learning

3.3 Data collection

The data for the research were collected by means of questionnaires,interviews and classroom observations

Questionnaires: The main of questionnaire was to identify teachers’ and

students’ perception of techniques used for promoting classroom interaction inenhancing English learning at Ninh Chau High School

The questionnaire was the main tool to get the information from the subjects

of the study because it is the most widely used techniques for obtaining informationfrom subjects and it is relatively economical (McMillan & Schumacher, 1993) Tocollect data related to teachers’ and students’ views on classroom interaction, thequestionnaire consisted of two sets for both students and teachers

The first set of questionnaires of 13 questions delivered to the teachers (seeappendix 1) and the second one was delivered to students (see appendix 2) Thequestions consisted of both closed and open-ended ones which were put in alogical order so that it was quicker for respondents to give answers and easier forthe researcher to categorize Besides, additional ideas were also encouraged to get

a variety of ideas from the respondents All questions were designed inVietnamese and English, but the questionnaires in Vietnamese were provided tostudents under instruction of the researcher and the questionnaires in English weregiven to English teachers

Interviews: Along with questionnaire, interview was conducted with the

teachers and student used to obtain detailed information about perceptions andopinion from the participants Using interview is to supplement the questionnaireand to understand about participants clearly and provide greater confidence in theunderstanding the teachers’ attitudes and beliefs toward the classroom interaction atNinh Chau High School in Quang Binh Province

Two sets of interview were used in this study: one was for eight Englishteachers (see appendix 3) and the other was for ten 10th grade students (see appendix4)

Classroom observations: Classroom observation was another tool to collect

the data for this study In order to ensure that teacher and students are all involved

in classroom interaction and have a real look in class, the researcher was anobserver and did not take part in any teachings The classroom observation wascarried out via three stages Before observing the classes, the researcher designedobservation sheets including four columns: stage, teacher’s activities, students’activities and comments While observing the classes, the researcher paid attention

to the following issues: 1) The activities the teacher use; 2) The time used to carryout the activities; 3) How student took part in the activities; 4) The activitiesinterested students or not; 5) The activities attractive students to the lesson or not.After observing the classes, the teacher gave comments and shared the result of theobservation with the teachers in charge of teaching in these classes to know whetherthe researcher’s remarks were valuable and objective or not

The classroom observations aimed to triangulate the results from thequestionnaires and interviews were precise or not In other words, the classroomobservation helped the researcher clearly see how supplementary activities couldmotivate students in different stages in the English class

3.4 Data analysis

Descriptive statistics were used to analyze collected data in this study.Because interviews and observations were effective ways to analyze and present thedata from questionnaires, as expressed by McMillan and Schumacher (1993:192)

“the use of descriptive statistics is the most fundamental way to summarize data,and it is indispensable in interpreting the results of quantitative research”

After the questionnaires were finished and collected, all of the answers werecategorized, ordered, processed, and analyzed in form of statistic frequency andpercentage Then the results were presented in the tables Additionally, results fromthe interviews and classroom observations were also analyzed to provide validinformation about the reality of teachers’ use of interactive activities in supportingclassroom interaction

In collecting and analyzing the data, the following detailed criteria were set up

in order to get reliable and trustworthy information

In general, the data collected were processed (total up, grouped, compared andanalyzed) with care and then presented in tables based on percentage Hence, thecarefulness in processing the data collected made the results more trustworthy andreliable

3.5 Conclusion

In summary, this chapter has described the method for data collection Thestudy applied the qualitative and quantitative approaches in collecting and analyzingdata through questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations, therefore theyallowed the researcher to cross-check the information and data provided by studentsand teachers

CHAPTER 4 RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter will report the findings from data collection in reference to threeresearch questions from the questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations.The chapter will first present the views of teacher on effective classroom interactionand their using of techniques for promoting effective classroom interaction in theEnglish class It will then describe the views of students on teachers’ techniques.After that, the implications for better classroom interaction will be presented

4.1 Teachers’ views of effective classroom interaction

4.1.1 Teachers’ perception of effective classroom interaction in the English class at Ninh Chau High School

a The role of effective interaction in the English class

Table 4.1 shows that 100% of the teachers confirmed that classroominteraction plays an important role in creating positive atmosphere in the Englishclass For example, one teacher explained that:

“Interaction is really important in classroom, especially the English class It’s

a performance of an active and effective class”

(Teacher interview, No.1, May 10th, 2015)

Table 4-1 The role of classroom interaction (n=8)

The role of classroom

interaction

Number ofteachers

%

of respondentsFor creating positive atmosphere

in the English class, classroom

b Purposes of effective classroom interaction in teaching English

Table 4.2 reveals that 100% of the teachers appreciated the roles of classroominteraction in the English class All the teachers agreed that classroom interactionfirst provided the vehicle of communication and enhances students’ communicativecompetence It also helped students build up their own learning method,autonomous and collaborative learning, as well as create an active motivation inteaching and learning English

Table 4-2 Some purposes of effective classroom interaction (n=8)

Purposes of effective classroom interaction Number of

teachers

%

of respondents

It provides the vehicle of communication and

enhances students’ communicative competence

It builds up a collaborative learning environment 8 100%

It builds up an autonomous learning and students’

own learning method

It creates a good and active motivation and promotes

teaching and learning

Source: Author’s questionnaire with teachers, 2015

Obviously, all of the teachers realized the necessity of classroom interaction tostudents because it creates a good communicative environment and help them feelmore confident in using English to communicate In other words, the teacher herehighly appreciated the importance of interaction in the English class This view onclassroom interaction is also confirmed by Rivers (1987) that “Interaction is the key

to teaching language for communication”

4.1.2 Teachers’ use of techniques for promoting effective classroom interaction

in the English class

a The way teachers used techniques for promoting effective classroom interaction in the English class

Table 4.3 shows 50% of the teachers made great efforts to maintain classroominteraction by student-student interaction Meanwhile, 12.5% of the teachers choseteacher-student interaction In term of student-students interaction, 37.5% ofteachers focused on it in their teaching In general, all of teachers paid attention tostudents and try to create interaction among them One teacher said that:

“In my English class, I often use different types of classroom interaction asteacher-student, student- student or student-students interaction, depending

on different skills to get my students involve my lesson”

(Teacher interview, No.2, May 10th, 2015)

Table 4-3 Interaction pattern used in the English class (n=8)

Interaction pattern Number of teachers % of respondents

Source: Author’s questionnaire with teachers, 2015

The result in the table 4.4 reveals the activities that teachers use in the Englishclass to promote effective classroom interaction As shown in the table, 62.5% ofteachers used pair –work; 37.5% of teachers used group-work; and none of teacherchose individual activities for effective classroom interaction

Table 4-4 Activity often used in the English class (n=8)

Kind of activities Number of teachers % of respondents

(Source: Author’s questionnaire with teachers, 2015)

In addition, the result in the table 4.5 supports the fact that 62.5% of theteachers thought that pair-work activities offers the best chance for effective

classroom interaction and 37.5% of others preferred group-work One teacherexplained more that:

“When we set students working in pair, many students can work at the sametime, while in group-work maybe only active students take part in theactivities.”

(Teacher interview, No.2, May 10th, 2015)

Table 4-5 Activity offers the best chance for classroom interaction (n=8)

Kind of activities Number of teachers % of respondents

Source: Author’s questionnaire with teachers, 2015

The first and foremost benefit of both pair work and group work is that theyincrease the amount of student practice It is known that lessons have limited time –usually only forty-five minutes, during pair-work twenty students are speaking.That is why the more pair work activity the students have, the more often they usethe language in the English class As far as group work is concerned, however, itdepends on the skill how much the students practice language

The figure 4.1 shows that when teaching different skills, teachers mainly useddifferent types of interaction to control the class In teaching reading, teachers focused

on student-student (pair-work); with speaking skill, teachers mainly let student interactwith students (group-work) When teaching listening skill, teachers favored teacher-student interaction However, for writing skill teacher also flexibly combined thesetypes to make lesson more active One teacher shared her experience:

“Student-student interaction is to help students have chance to practice doingthe task and discuss the result Besides, student-students interaction is to helpstudents work in cooperation and practice skills and teacher-student is for theinstruction and correction after peer-correction Therefore, it is necessary tocombine these types in any teaching skills to make an effective lesson”

(Teacher interview, No.3, May 10th, 2015)

Figure 4-1 Types of interaction used most in teaching different skills