VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ------ TRẦN MINH HẰNG TEACHER TRAINERS AND MASTER STUDENTS’
Trang 1VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES
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TRẦN MINH HẰNG
TEACHER TRAINERS AND MASTER STUDENTS’/IN-SERVICE TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES OF THE NEEDED COMPETENCIES FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS: A SURVEY AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES,
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Khảo sát quan điểm của các giảng viên sư phạm và học viên Cao học/những giáo viên đang giảng dạy tại trường Đại học Ngoại Ngữ, Đại học Quốc Gia Hà
Nội về những năng lực sư phạm cần thiết của giáo viên tiếng Anh
M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111
HANOI – 2016
Trang 2VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES
- -
TRẦN MINH HẰNG
TEACHER TRAINERS AND MASTER STUDENTS’/IN-SERVICE
TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES OF THE NEEDED COMPETENCIES FOR
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS: A SURVEY AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES,
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Khảo sát quan điểm của các giảng viên sư phạm và học viên Cao học/những
giáo viên đang giảng dạy tại trường Đại học Ngoại Ngữ, Đại học Quốc Gia Hà
Nội về những năng lực sư phạm cần thiết của giáo viên tiếng Anh
M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60140111
Supervisor : Dr Dương Thu Mai
HANOI – 2016
Trang 3TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATIONS Error! Bookmark not defined ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Error! Bookmark not defined ABSTRACT Error! Bookmark not defined TABLE OF CONTENTS i LIST OF FIGURES iii INTRODUCTION I
1 Introduction I
2 Rationale I
3 Aims of the study III
4 Research questions III
5 Scope of the study III
6 Significance of the study IV
7 Method of the study IV
8 Design of the study IV
9 Summary V DEVELOPMENT Error! Bookmark not defined CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW Error! Bookmark not defined 1.1 Introduction Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2 Teacher competence and competencies Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2.1 Definitions of teacher competence and competencies Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2.2 Frameworks of Teacher Competence Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3 English language teachers’ competencies Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3.1 Frameworks of English teachers’ competencies Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.2 Previous studies on English language teachers’ competence Error! Bookmark not defined 1.3.3 English language teachers’ competence in Vietnam Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.4 English language teachers’ training needs Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.4.1 English language teachers’ training needs Error! Bookmark not defined 1.4.2 Previous studies on English language teachers’ training needs Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.5 Teachers’ self-assessment Error! Bookmark not defined 1.6 Summary Error! Bookmark not defined.
Trang 42.1 The setting of the study Error! Bookmark not defined 2.2 Participants Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.2.1 Teacher trainers Error! Bookmark not defined 2.2.2 Student teachers Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.3 The data collection instruments Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.3.1 Teacher trainers’ interview Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.2 Teacher’s survey questionnaires Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.4 Data collection and data analysis procedure Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.4.1 Teacher Trainers Interview Error! Bookmark not defined 2.4.2 Teachers Questionnaire Data Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.5 Summary Error! Bookmark not defined CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Error! Bookmark not defined 3.1 Findings of the study Error! Bookmark not defined.
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3.1.2 The needed competencies for the targeted MA students from their own perspectives Error!
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3.1.3 The targeted teachers’ self-assessment of their own competence after finishing the Master course.
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3.2 Discussion of the research questions Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2.1 The needed competencies for the targeted MA students from their own perspectives Error!
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3.2.2 The targeted teachers’ self-assessment of their own competence after finishing the Master course
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CONCLUSIONS Error! Bookmark not defined.
1 Recapitulation Error! Bookmark not defined.
2 Limitations of the study Error! Bookmark not defined.
3 Recommendations Error! Bookmark not defined REFERENCES VI APPENDICES Error! Bookmark not defined APPENDIX 1 Error! Bookmark not defined PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE AND TRAINING NEEDS Error! Bookmark
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ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRES Error! Bookmark not defined APPENDIX 2 Error! Bookmark not defined.
Trang 5LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1 : Student teachers’ perspectives in knowledge of language & language
learning Error! Bookmark not defined Figure 1.2 : Student teachers’ perspectives in language content & curriculum Error!
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Figure 2.1 : Student teachers’ perspectives in language teaching methodology,
lesson planning & conducting a lesson Error! Bookmark not defined
Figure 2.2 : Student teachers’ perspectives in assessment of language learning,
resources and technology for language teachingError! Bookmark not defined
Figure 3 : Student teachers’ perspectives in knowledge of learners Error!
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Figure 4 : Student teachers’ perspectives in professional attitudes & values in
language teaching Error! Bookmark not defined
Figure 5 : Student teachers’ perspectives in practice & context of language
teaching Error! Bookmark not defined
Figure 6.1 : Student teachers’ self-assessment of their knowledge of language,
language learning Error! Bookmark not defined
Figure 6.2 : Student teachers’ self-assessment of their knowledge of language
content and curriculum Error! Bookmark not defined
Figure 7.1 : Student teachers’ self-assessment of their knowledge of language
teaching methodology, lesson planning & conducting a lesson Error! Bookmark not defined
Trang 6Figure 7.2 : Student teachers’ self-assessment of their knowledge of assessment of
language learning, resources and technology for language teaching
Error! Bookmark not defined
Figure 8 : Student teachers’ self-assessment of their knowledge of language
learners Error! Bookmark not defined
Figure 9 : Student teachers’ self-assessment of their professional attitudes &
values in language teaching Error! Bookmark not defined
Figure 10 : Student teachers’ self-assessment of their practice & context of
language teaching Error! Bookmark not defined
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INTRODUCTION
1 Introduction
In this part, the rationale for carrying out this study is presented followed by a brief presentation of the aims and objectives, the research questions, the methods, the scope and the significance of the study Finally, the thesis structure is introduced
2 Rationale
As English becomes vital to most countries all over the world, it is taught from pre-school to higher education English language teachers who are considered to have substantial impacts on their students’ achievement therefore are among the most important elements of the education system, as Rockoff (2004) indicated:
“teachers also have a fundamental role in their learners’ academic achievement and their quality can highly influence student outcomes” In order to encourage students
to learn effectively and efficiently, a teacher has to perform a large number of activities both inside and outside of the classroom Each teacher is expected to possess a certain amount of knowledge, skills, as well as attitudes, which together is known as teacher competence Teacher competence is crucial that can lead to positive individual student development and even lessen the aggressive behavior in the classroom (Çubukçu, 2010)
In reality, as entering the 21st century, the real situation of teaching and learning English is a major topic of discussion in the education domain More particularly, the status of language teaching has changed over time; for example, many new developmental policies in knowledge, teaching methods, or programs have been updated in order to achieve the targets and to skill the force of the education system, the English language teachers Consequently, teachers must keep up with these changes to move towards professional competence which includes subject matter knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge of teaching and learning, curricular knowledge, teaching experience, and certification status (Shulman, 1986, Grossman, 1995)
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It has become a major issue for teaching staff to innovate and upgrade their competence through training programs, which is to cope with the new advancement
In fact, “teachers who need to be well-trained at the beginning of their careers and provided with high quality in subsequent years in their profession (Hargreaves,
1998, p.38) are the key assets of schools” Teachers, such as, non-native speakers of English as in this study, should recognize the need of professional competence and training in order to address the demands of society
Vietnam is not the exceptional country in the world that considers professional competence and training needs as essential factors for any English language teachers Since Vietnam has implemented Doi Moi policies, one of the issues on this landscape of change is the development of new English language teacher generations Accordingly, the Vietnam government has decided to carry out an important project entitled “Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Education System, Period 2008-2020” (dated 30 September, 2008 of the Prime Minister on the country) The project offers many opportunities for Vietnam because it can help a massive group of teachers be aware of the importance of English teaching standards and encourage them in gaining higher professional competence in their career
The project is an attempt of the government to promote teachers’ motivation to become skilled language instructors By highly appreciating the great influences of professional competence and training programs on education system, English language teachers are active to learn and develop themselves continuously during their teaching career
However, up till now, research findings on English language teachers’ professional competence and their training needs in Vietnam are rare Specifically, there has not been any investigation of the English language teachers – TESOL Master students at ULIS, VNU, a leading institution in English language teacher training nationwide They are young, energetic in-service English teachers coming from various kinds of educational institutions in English language teaching They
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are also the typical human resources who keep a decisive role in transforming the educational goals into a reality Moreover, with the participations in MA course, most of these long-term teaching staff perceive that improving their competence with the master's degree is a vital stimulant for their teaching practice, especially for the young teachers whose experience and practical teaching knowledge are not still sufficient A study into these teachers’ competence and training needs should be able to yield interesting results In addition, the findings may hold crucial importance to the design of training courses for the teachers, including both formal courses such as MA and seasonal trainings at institutional, local or ministerial scale Hopefully, the findings of the study may also be a source of reference for language policy makers towards more effective English language teaching and learning in similar contexts in Viet Nam
3 Aims of the study
The study aims are to find out:
a what teacher trainers and in-service English language teachers – MA students at ULIS, VNU consider as needed competencies for in-service teachers, and
b how in-service English language teachers – MA students at ULIS, VNU assess their own professional competence
4 Research questions
In order to achieve the above-mentioned aims, the following research questions are raised in the study:
1 What are the needed competencies for the targeted teachers from teacher trainers’ perspectives?
2 What are the needed competencies for the targeted MA students from their own perspectives?
3 What are the targeted teachers’ self-assessment of their own competence after finishing the Master course?
5 Scope of the study
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Professional competence and training needs are such broad topics that they cannot be wholly discussed within the framework of this paper For this small-scale thesis, the study attempts to investigate the needed competencies from English language teachers’ perspectives, accordingly to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the targeted teachers based on an in-service version of English Teacher Competency Framework (ETCF) The subjects of the thesis are three teacher trainers and sixty-five in-service English teachers - MA students at ULIS, VNU The study results should not be generalized to English teachers in Vietnam, but only to those in similar contexts
6 Significance of the study
Teacher’s competence has a strong impact on the students’ acquisition in language learning First, when completed, the research results may be used as an evidence to provide teacher educators and administrators with useful information about the needed competencies of in-service English teachers – MA students after finishing MA course according to their self-assessment The training programs then may be formed to support and motivate the in-service English language teachers better so that the quality of English language teaching can be enhanced in the similar contexts
7 Method of the study
This study employs qualitative and quantitative research methods in order to obtain a more detailed and comprehensive picture about what are investigated Two survey questionnaires were conducted with 65 in-service English language teachers – MA students after finishing the Master course to investigate their training needs and self-assessment of their own competence
The qualitative research approach was involved to find out the targeted teachers’ training needs from the teacher trainers’ perspectives Three teacher trainers were invited to bring out their opinions based on the given questionnaire
8 Design of the study
The research study is organized into three parts: