EXPLORING THE GAP BETWEEN CTU TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ BELIEFS ABOUT THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING AND THE USEFULNESS OF CLASSROOM SPEAKING ACTIVITIES IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

CAN THO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT B.A Thesis EXPLORING THE GAP BETWEEN CTU TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ BELIEFS ABOUT THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING AND THE

CAN THO UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

B.A Thesis

EXPLORING THE GAP BETWEEN CTU

TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ BELIEFS ABOUT THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING AND THE USEFULNESS OF CLASSROOM SPEAKING

ACTIVITIES IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

Supervisor: M.A Bùi Minh Châu Student: Hồ Xuân Mai

Code: 7062906 Class: English Education 01- C32

Can Tho, April 2010

CONTENTS

Contents i

List of Tables and Figures iii

Abbreviation iv

Acknowledgements v

Tóm tắt vi

Abstract vii

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Research aims and questions 2

1.3 Research hypothesis 2

1.4 Research significance 2

1.5 Research organization 3

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 Speaking and speaking activities 4

2.1.1 Speaking 4

 Definition 4

 Functions of speaking 4

2.1.2 Speaking activities 5

 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity 5

 Activities to promote speaking 6

2.1 The teaching of speaking 8

2.2.1 Definition 8

2.2.2 Reasons for teaching speaking 8

2.3 Beliefs in language learning 8

2.3.1 Teachers’ beliefs 9

 Definition 9

 The role of teachers’ beliefs in language learning and teaching 9

2.3.2 Students’ beliefs 10

2.3.3 Research on the effects of the mismatch between teachers’ and students’ beliefs about language learning 10

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 13

3.1 Research design 13

3.2 Participants 13

3.2.1 English language students 13

3.2.2 English language teachers 14

3.3 Instruments 14

3.3.1 The questionnaire for students 14

3.3.2 The questionnaire for teachers 15

3.4 Data collection procedures 15

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS 17

4.1 Students’ and teachers’ beliefs in English language learning and speaking skill learning 17

4.2 Students’ and teachers’ beliefs in the usefulness of classroom speaking activities 18

CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSION 22

5 1 Discussions 22

5.1.1 Students’ and teachers’ beliefs in English language learning and speaking skill learning 22

5.1.2 Students’ and teachers’ beliefs in the usefulness of classroom speaking activities 23

5 2 Implications for learning and teaching English 25

5.3 Limitations and recommendations for further research 26

5.4 Conclusion 27

References 28

Appendices 31

Appendix A 31

Appendix B 34

List of Tables and Figures

Table 1 Profiles of the students 12 Table 2 Results of students’ general beliefs 17 Table 3 Results of teachers’ general beliefs 18 Table 4 A comparison of students (N = 80) and teachers (N = 10) mean ratings

of selected student activities 20

Figure 1 Teacher and student mean ratings of the usefulness of speaking

activities… 19

Abbreviation

CTU Can Tho University

SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences

EFL English as a Foreign Language

ESL English as a Second Language

BALLI Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory

CLT Communicative Language Teaching

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Most of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Ms Bùi Minh Châu, for her encouragement and enthusiastic help during the process of this research development She was willing to spend her valuable time giving me good advice and making corrections many times in order for this research to be completed

I would also like to express my deep thanks to Ms Bùi Lan Chi, who was enthusiastic to help me deliver questionnaires to participants She really helped me have good conditions in collecting the data for my research

Next, I am indebted to Ms Ngô Thị Trang Thảo for her invaluable lessons and advice on analyzing the data

I would also like to send my thanks to the second readers for my thesis, Dr Trịnh Quốc Lập and Ms Phan Thị Mỹ Khánh, for their good advice to perfect my thesis

My deep thanks should also be sent to the English language teachers in the Department of English Education, who responded to the questionnaires and gave me

a lot of information for my study

Also, my best regard is respectfully sent to my friends, Miss Cao Lê Phước Ngọc, Miss Nguyễn Thị Nhuyễn, Miss Vũ Thị Hồng, Miss Lim Ngọc Hân and Miss Nguyễn Thị Trúc Linh, who helped me get experiences in the data analysis with the SPSS program

I am also particularly grateful to all the students who provided me with valuable information Without their contribution, my research questions would never have been answered

Finally, my deepest appreciation goes to my mother, my brother and sister for their unconditional love and support

Hồ Xuân Mai

TÓM TẮT

Các nhà nghiên cứu Horwitz (1988) và Richards & Lockhart (1994) khẳng định nếu niềm tin của người học và của giáo viên về những hoạt động có ích cho việc học tiếng Anh như là một ngôn ngữ thứ hai tương ứng với nhau thì một môi trường học tập tốt sẽ được hình thành và dẫn đến một quá trình dạy và học hiệu quả và thành công Bài nghiên cứu này nhằm tìm ra những khác biệt trong niềm tin của sinh viên chuyên ngành tiếng Anh năm hai và giáo viên dạy tiếng Anh của họ tại trường Đại học Cần Thơ về việc học tiếng Anh nói chung, việc học môn nói, và sự hữu ích của các hoạt động nói trong lớp học Có 80 sinh viên và 10 giáo viên của bộ môn Sư phạm Anh văn tham gia trả lời phiếu điều tra trong nghiên cứu này Phiếu điều tra

có hai phần bao gồm 14 câu phát biểu và 12 hoạt động nói để đánh giá niềm tin của

họ về (1) việc học tiếng Anh nói chung, (2) việc học kỹ năng nói tiếng Anh, và (3)

sự hữu ích của các hoạt động nói trong lớp học Số liệu được phân tích bằng phần mềm thống kê số liệu (SPSS) Theo kết quả nghiên cứu, 7 hoạt động mà cả giáo vên

và sinh viên đều chọn như những hoạt động phổ biến nhất được thực hiện trong lớp

học là: thảo luận, tường thuật, chia sẻ thông tin để lấp khoảng trống, phỏng vấn,

vận dụng trí tuệ để giải quyết một vấn đề, đóng kịch và kể chuyện Những kết quả

đó cũng đã cho thấy có một sự không tương hợp giữa niềm tin của giáo viên và sinh

viên; cụ thể là, hoạt động thảo luận và tường thuật đã được sinh viên xếp hạng thứ nhất và thứ hai về sự hữu ích của nó trong khi đó giáo viên lại xếp hạng thứ nhất và thứ hai cho hai hoạt động vận dụng trí tuệ để giải quyết một vấn đề và phỏng vấn (là

hoạt động mà sinh viên có cơ hội giao tiếp nhiều hơn trong những tình huống cụ

thể) Dù cả hai nhóm đều xem kể chuyện là hoạt động có hiệu quả kém nhất trong 7

hoạt động nhưng sự đánh giá về mức độ có ích của hoạt động này thì hoàn toàn

khác nhau – sinh viên đánh giá khá cao trong khi giáo viên lại đánh giá thấp Dựa

vào kết quả thu được, tác giả cũng đã đưa ra những đề xuất trong giảng dạy và hướng nghiên cứu mới

ABSTRACT

Research has suggested that if learner beliefs match teacher beliefs concerning which activities are useful for EFL, a good learning environment will be established, and as such leading to both effective teaching and successful learning (Horwitz, 1988, and Richards & Lockhart, 1994) The present study aims to explore the existence of differences of beliefs in the usefulness of classroom speaking activities held by the second year English major students and their teachers of English in Can Tho University Two questionnaires were used to collect the data from 80 EFL students and 10 EFL teachers of the Department of English Education

at CTU The participants were given a two-section questionnaire with 14 statements and 12 speaking activities to assess their beliefs in (1) the learning of English, (2) the learning of speaking skills, and (3) the usefulness of particular classroom speaking activities The SPSS program was used to analyze the quantitative data from the questionnaires According to the study, seven speaking activities were chosen by both teachers and students as the most common done in class; they were

Discussion, Reporting, Information Gap, Interview, Brainstorming, Role Play, and Storytelling The results also revealed that a considerable mismatch between

teachers’ and students’ beliefs was found – in particular, the activities of discussion and reporting were ranked top and second in order of usefulness by students while

brainstorming and interview which allow students more communication in specific

contexts were ranked top and second by teachers Although both groups of the

participants considered Storytelling as the least useful activity among the seven, their ratings for its usefulness were quite different – medium high by students while

low by teachers On the basis of the findings, discussions and pedagogical

implications are accordingly proposed

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter will address (1) the rationale of this research, (2) the research aims and questions, (3) the research hypothesis, (4) the significance of the research, and (5) the thesis organization

1.1 Rationale

English has been widely used in many areas such as politics, economics, tourism, electronics, telecommunication, culture and science and technology English is not only a means but also a key to accessing the latest achievements of science and technology Therefore, it is necessary for people, especially the Vietnamese, to have

a good command of English to satisfy the growing needs in a developing country like Viet Nam

Speaking is an essential skill for English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) Especially, in modern society, communication in English is much required for any temporary or more permanent needs of communication in life Therefore, the mastery of speaking skills in English is a priority for many second-language or foreign-language learners Consequently, learners often evaluate their success in language learning as well as the effectiveness of their English course on the basis of how much they feel they have improved in their spoken language proficiency As a result, teaching speaking effectively needs to be focused in the classroom

Teaching speaking is a very important part of second language learning The ability to efficiently communicate in a second language contributes to the success of the learner in school and later in every phase of life Therefore, it is essential that language teachers pay great attention to teaching speaking Rather than leading students to pure memorization, providing a rich environment where meaningful communication takes place is desired

However, when learners and their teachers meet for the first time in class, they may bring with them different expectations concerning not only the learning process

in general, but also concerning what will be learned in a particular course and how

it will be learned (Brindley 1984, p.95) Richards and Lockhart (1994) state that the differences between teachers’ and learners’ beliefs reinforce the importance of clarifying to learners the assumptions underlying teachers’ classroom practices, or accommodating classroom practices to match them more closely to students’ expectations The consequences of not doing so are likely to be misunderstanding and mistrust on the part of both teachers and learners This may cause a mismatch between teachers’ and learners’ beliefs in what is useful to focus on in a language

lesson Furthermore, a mismatch between learners’ and teachers’ beliefs can lead to

problems in class As Green (1993, p.2) claims, “[a] mismatch between student

needs and expectations and the style of the teacher may result in learning problems for the students.”

More importantly, learners have their own beliefs about what they should study

McDonough (1995, p.121) maintains that learners “have their own learning

agendas”, and that “activities valued by teachers were not the same as activities valued by learners” (p 131) In a particular speaking lesson, the usefulness of speaking activities organized in class will decrease when a mismatch between teachers’ and learners’ beliefs in the usefulness of speaking activities occurs in the classroom As a result, the target of encouraging students to communicate effectively through speaking lessons will not be satisfactorily obtained by the teachers and success of students’ speaking skills will not be appreciated Having learned about this issue in language teaching and learning, I wish to find out whether there is a mismatch between CTU English teachers’ and students’ beliefs about the English language learning and the usefulness of speaking activities

1.2 Research aims and questions

The aims of the research were, first, to explore teachers’ and students’ beliefs about the English language learning and the effectiveness of various speaking activities organized in speaking lessons and then to consider whether there is any considerable mismatch between their beliefs

It is hoped that this study would find out the answers to the following questions:

1) What are teachers’ beliefs about the English language learning?

2) What are students’ beliefs about the English language learning?

3) What are CTU teachers’ beliefs in the usefulness of classroom speaking activities in language learning?

4) What are second-year English major students’ beliefs in the usefulness of classroom speaking activities in language learning?

5) Is there any mismatch between their beliefs?

1.3 Research hypothesis

To carry out this topic for my study, I hypothesized that there was a considerable mismatch between teachers’ and students’ beliefs about the English language learning and the usefulness of speaking activities in language learning

1.4 Research significance

As mentioned in the previous section, this study explores the beliefs in the usefulness of speaking activities of English teachers and students at School of

Education of CTU The findings of this study might be helpful to both English teachers and students at CTU in that based on the knowledge of students’ beliefs, teachers can design their speaking lessons with more effective activities and so students can gain more success in their language study

1.5 Research organization

The thesis consists of five chapters:

Chapter 1, Introduction, presents the rationale for conducting the study, the

aims of the study, the research questions and hypothesis, the research significance and the organization of the thesis

Chapter 2, Literature review, provides a theoretical framework for the study,

including the definitions of speaking skills, teaching speaking skills and beliefs in language learning and teaching Besides, functions of speaking and reasons for teaching speaking skill as well as characteristics of a successful speaking activity and activities to promote speaking English are also discussed in this chapter Finally, research on the effects of the mismatch between teachers’ and students’ beliefs in language learning is presented at the end of this chapter

Chapter 3, Research Methodology, presents the methodology used in the

research including research design, participants, instruments and the procedures for

data collection and analysis

Chapter 4, Results, reports the findings of the study

Chapter 5, Discussion and Conclusion, which summarizes what is addressed in

the study, points out the limitations, suggests pedagogical implications and provides some suggestions for further study

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter includes three parts The first part presents the definition and functions of speaking, the characteristics of a successful speaking activity and the description of common speaking activities The second part discusses the definition of and the reasons for the teaching of speaking In the third part, teachers’ and students’ beliefs in language learning and research on the effects of a mismatch between them on language learning are mentioned

2.1 Speaking and speaking activities

2.1.1 Speaking

 Definition

When people learn English, many of them believe that among the four skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing – speaking is the hardest This is because of two reasons Firstly, unlike reading or writing, speaking happens in real time; i.e., usually the person we are talking to is waiting for us to speak right then Secondly, when we speak, we can not edit or revise what we wish to say as we can while we are writing

Speaking has been defined in many different ways Speaking is “the process of

building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in

a variety of contexts” (Chaney, 1998, p.13) However, Bygate (1987, p.58)

emphasizes that speaking is “a skill which deserves attention every bit as much as

literacy skills, in both first and second languages Our learners often need to be able to speak with confidence in order to carry out many of their basic transactions

It is the skill by which they are most frequently judged, and through which they may make or lose friends It is the vehicle par excellence of social solidarity, of social ranking, of professional advancement and of business It is also a medium through which much language is learnt, and which for many is particularly conducive for learning”

Nunan (2003) points out that in language teaching, the four skills are described in terms of their direction Language generated by the learner (in speech or writing) is referred to as productive Language directed at the learner (in reading or listening)

is called receptive Another important idea is the channel, which refers to the medium of the message (aural/oral or written) Thus, speaking is the productive aural/oral skill It consists of producing systematic verbal utterances to convey meaning

 Functions of speaking

Numerous attempts have been made to classify the functions of speaking in human interaction Brown and Yule (1983) make a useful distinction of functions of speaking These researchers mention that language can be seen as having two

establishing/maintaining social relationships (interactional function) Interactional spoken language is characterized by shifts of topic and short turns The accuracy and clarity of information is not of primary importance, and facts/views are not normally questioned or challenged In transactional spoken language longer turns are the norm and there is a clear topic Since the effective transference of information is the goal, interlocutors are actively engaged in the negotiation of meaning Brown & Yule summarize the above stating that whereas interactional language is "listener oriented", transactional language is "message oriented"

2.1.2 Speaking activities

 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity

Speaking activities and speaking practice in the classroom should enable students

to gain experience using all the “prerequisites” for effective oral communication that have been mentioned (Murcia & Olshtain, 2000) Classroom activities that develop learner’ ability to express themselves through speech would therefore seem

an important component of a language course According to Gower, R., Phillips, D and Walters, S (1995), one of the ways required to encourage students in speaking English is to give students a reason or purpose for speaking in every activity However, it is more difficult to design and administer activities for speaking than so

do we for listening, reading and writing This means that teachers should carefully consider the characteristics of an effective speaking activity when designing classroom speaking activities

Ur (1991) figures out that a successful speaking activity should include a large amount of learner talk, even participation, high motivation, and acceptable language According to Ur (1991), most of the time given to the speaking activity should be occupied by learner talk; however, the researcher adds, often most of the class time is taken up with teacher talk or pauses An effective speaking activity should also involve all learners; i.e all learners will get opportunities to speak, and contributions are fairly evenly distributed Moreover, learners should be highly motivated; that is, they should be eager to speak possibly because of an interesting topic or of their desire to achieve a task objective Finally, learners’ discourse should be relevant, easily comprehensive to each other, and of an acceptable level

of language accuracy

 Activities to promote speaking

In “Teaching Speaking: Activities to Promote Speaking in a Second Language” from the website http://unr.edu/homepage/hayriyek, Kayi (1984) suggested the

following activities which are considered to be helpful in getting students to practice “speaking-as-a-skill”

Discussions and Brainstorming

These two activities are similar in ways of organizing There is a given topic or context set by the teacher The common requirement here is that students have to discuss in groups to share ideas or find solutions for the topic or context However,

brainstorming can also be an individual activity and students are not criticized for

their ideas, while discussion cannot Certainly, students are required to work in a

limited time to avoid chatting with each other about irrelevant things These activities foster critical thinking and quick decision making, and students learn how

to express and justify themselves For efficient group discussions, it is always better not to form large groups because quiet and shy students may avoid contributing in large groups The group members should also be determined and rearranged in every discussion activity by the teacher so that students can work with various people and learn to be open to different ideas Lastly, in class or group discussions, the students are encouraged to report or state their ideas by asking questions, paraphrasing ideas, expressing ideas and so on

Role Play and Simulations

Other ways of getting students to speak are play and simulations In

role-play activities, the teacher gives information to the learners such as who they are

and what they think or feel Students are required to play a variety of social roles in

various social contexts Simulations are very similar to role-plays; however, they are more elaborate In simulations, students can bring items to the class to create a

realistic environment For instance, if a student is acting as a singer, she brings a

microphone to sing, etc Role-plays and simulations have many advantages First,

since they are entertaining, they motivate the students Second, as Harmer (1984)

suggests, they increase the self-confidence of hesitant students, because in

role-plays and simulations activities, they will have a different role and do not have to

speak for themselves, which means they do not have to take the same responsibility

Storytelling and Story Completion

The aim of these activities is to foster creative thinking from students It also helps students express ideas in the format of beginning, development, and ending, including the characters and the setting that a story has to have In these two

activities, students are required to tell a story In storytelling, students can briefly

summarize a tale or story they heard from somebody beforehand, or they may create

their own stories to tell their classmates Story Completion is a very enjoyable,

whole-class, free-speaking activity For this activity, students often sit in a circle, and the teacher starts to tell a story, but after a few sentences he or she stops narrating Then, each student starts to narrate from the point where the previous one stopped Each student is supposed to add from four to ten sentences Students can add new characters, events, descriptions and the like These two activities are very effective in encouraging students to be active, flexible and creative for speaking activity in class

Picture Narrating, Picture Describing and Find the Difference

These three activities are similar in that they are all relevant to pictures; i.e.,

students are required to talk about the pictures their teacher gives them In picture

narrating, students are asked to tell the story taking place in the sequential pictures

by paying attention to the criteria provided by the teacher as a rubric Rubrics can include the vocabulary or structures they need to use while narrating However, in

picture describing activity, students are given just one picture and they have to

describe what it is in the picture This activity fosters the creativity and imagination

of the learners as well as their public speaking skills In the activity of find the

difference, students are asked to discuss the similarities and/or differences in the

two different pictures (e.g one picture of boys playing football and another picture

of girls playing tennis) In these activities, students can work in pairs or groups, then share information with other pairs or groups and lastly report to the whole class

Interview

In this activity, students can conduct interviews on selected topics with various people The teacher is suggested to provide a rubric to students so that they know what type of questions they can ask or what path to follow, but students should prepare their own interview questions Conducting interviews with people gives students a chance to practice their speaking ability not only in class but also outside and helps them become socialized After interviews, each student can present his or her study to the class

Information Gap

In this activity, students are supposed to be working in pairs One student will have the information that his or her other partner does not and they will share their

information Information gap activities serve a number of purposes such as solving

a problem or collecting information Also, each partner plays an important role

because the task cannot be completed if the partners do not provide the information the other needs Such activities are effective because everybody has the opportunity

to talk extensively in the target language

Reporting

This activity requires students to read a newspaper or magazine article before class, then in class they will report to their friends what they find as the most interesting news Students can also talk about whether they have experienced anything worth telling their friends in their daily lives

2.2 The teaching of speaking

2.2.1 Definition

Speaking is a crucial part of second language learning and teaching Despite its importance, for many years, teaching speaking has been undervalued and English language teachers have continued to teach speaking just as a repetition of drills or memorization of dialogues (Chaney, 1998) However, today’s world requires that the goal of teaching speaking should be to improve students’ communicative skills, because, only in that way, students can express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules appropriate in each communicative circumstance According to Nunan (2003), what is meant by “teaching speaking” is to teach English second language learners to correctly produce the sounds, stress, intonation and the rhythm of English as well as to properly use words and sentences in every situation In addition, learners should be taught to organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence and use language to express values and judgments quickly, confidently with few unnatural pauses In other words, “teaching speaking” means teaching learners to communicate successfully; that is, they can use language accurately, fluently and appropriately

2.2.2 Reasons for teaching speaking

Teachers should not only be aware of the importance of teaching speaking but also consider reasons for teaching speaking to have more effective speaking lessons Harmer (2003) suggests three main reasons for getting students to speak in the classroom Firstly, speaking activities give students opportunities to practice real-life speaking in the safety of the classroom Secondly, through the language students use to accomplish the speaking tasks both the teacher and the students can evaluate how well the students are doing; i.e how successful they are, and also what language problems they are experiencing Finally, the more opportunities students have to activate the various elements of language stored in their brains, the better they become at using language As a result, students gradually become autonomous

language users This means that they will be able to use words and phrases fluently without very much conscious thought

2.3 Beliefs in language learning

2.3.1 Teachers’ beliefs

 Definition

Through their studies, researchers observe that teachers come to the classroom with their own system of beliefs and, to some extent, these determine many of the choices they make in relation to what and how they teach So, what is “teachers’ beliefs”? According to Richards (1998, p.66), teachers’ belief is “the information, attitudes, values, expectations, theories, and assumptions about teaching and learning that teachers build up over time and bring them to the classroom” Also, in Murphy’s (2000, p.4) teachers’ beliefs are regarded as the representation of:

… a complex and inter-related system of personal and professional knowledge that serves as implicit theories and cognitive maps for experiencing and responding to reality Beliefs rely on cognitive and affective components and are often tacitly held

As Nespor (1987) states, beliefs come into play when teachers attempt to define goals and tasks which they have no direct experience The researcher then suggests that “…teachers’ beliefs play a major role in defining teaching tasks and organizing the knowledge and information relevant to those tasks” (Nespor 1987, p.324)

To sum up, as teaching is a very personal activity, individual teachers will certainly bring to teaching very different beliefs and assumptions about what constitutes effective teaching Therefore, an investigation of teachers’ beliefs is necessary in order to gain a better understanding of what goes on in the classroom (Borg, 2001)

 The role of teachers’ beliefs in language learning and teaching

Since teachers’ beliefs are central to the instructional strategies they implement, beliefs become one of the foremost important factors in driving their actions in class and contributing to the effectiveness of teaching and learning (Feiman-Nemser & Floden, 1983; Stallings & Stipek, 1986)

Similarly, Johnson (1994) suggests that teachers’ beliefs influence their perception and judgment as well as play a role in how information about teaching is translated into classroom practices He states that because teachers are the critical factor in the implementation of an appropriate approach, their values, attitudes, and

It should also be noted that although classroom practices are concluded to be based on a logical system of beliefs, previous research on teacher practice has focused little attention on the thoughts and beliefs teachers have about their practice (Erickson, 1986; Gardner, 1987) Thus, it is important to have an understanding of teachers’ belief systems, in order to identify and understand the variables that mediate the difference between teachers’ thinking and practices (Gardner, 1987)

2.3.2 Students’ beliefs

Language learners bring a variety of beliefs to the classroom These beliefs can

be categorized as (a) difficulty of language learning, (b) foreign language aptitude, (c) the nature of language learning, (d) learning communication strategies, and (e) motivations and expectations (Horwitz, 1988) They can also be grouped into the following areas as in Wenden’s (1986) study: (a) designating (language), (b) diagnosing (language proficiency), (c) evaluating (outcome of strategies), (d) self-analyzing (personal factors), and (e) theorizing (how best to approach language learning)

According to Tumposky (1991), learners’ beliefs are influenced by the social context of learning and can influence their attitude toward the language itself as well as toward language learning in general For example, they can influence learners’ motivation to learn, their expectations about language learning, their perceptions about what is easy or difficult about a language, as well as the kind of learning strategies they favor (Richards & Lockhart, 1994, p 52)

Also, it is suggested that learners’ beliefs not only influence their approaches to language learning and acquisition but also affect the way they respond to teaching activities According to Horwitz (1987), learners bring various expectations to the classroom For instance, some students prefer to have more free conversations rather than pattern drills, and some others insist on their teacher’s correction As a result, if the teaching methods in which they are engaged differ from what they believed those teaching methods should be, they may feel frustrated and offer resistance This situation can in some ways hinder learners’ progress in language learning As stated in Horwitz, (1987, p 119), ‘when language classes fail to meet student expectations, students can lose confidence in the instructional approach and their ultimate achievement can be limited.’

2.3.3 Research on the effects of the mismatch between teachers’ and students’ beliefs about language learning

Richards & Lockhart (1994) mention that differences between teachers’ and

students’ beliefs can sometimes lead to a mismatch between their assumptions about what is useful to focus on in a language lesson This can lead to students undervaluing an activity assigned by the teacher For example, a teacher working with intermediate-level students in a speaking class reported that she included a large number of group and pair work tasks in the course However, her students gave poor evaluations for the course They commented that they could not see the point of such activities; in other words, they could not identify the teaching point (Richards & Lockhart, 1994, p 52)

Actually, there are only a few studies that have investigated the relationship between teachers’ and students’ beliefs Four of them are studies of Allen (1996), Kern (1995), Kuntz (1997), and Peacock (1998) Of these four studies, just one (Allen, 1996) employed classroom observation Kern (1995) and Kuntz (1997) used the BALLI (Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory) and compared students’ and teachers’ answers to the questionnaire items

Kern (1995) examined the degree to which American foreign language students’ beliefs about language learning corresponded to those of their teachers The BALLI was given at the beginning and at the end of the semester The researcher reported that students were not matched with their respective instructors, and that the results were not conclusive They indicated that overall, students’ and teachers’ beliefs were similar, but individually, they showed differences He concluded that teachers’ beliefs might be influential on an individual basis

Kuntz (1997) examined and compared the beliefs of 27 adult students and 10 teachers of Arabic in the US She used the Kuntz-Rifkin Instrument (KRI) with five demographic statements and 47 statements, in Likert-scale format The results suggested that there were differences between teachers’ and students’ beliefs According to the researcher, the problem of her research is that she gave the same questionnaire to teachers and students On the one hand, this is good because she had the same statements to compare On the other hand, some of the statements did not apply to teachers or to students

Allen (1996) investigated the extent to which a teacher’s beliefs about language learning influenced a learner’s established beliefs and perceptions of success and the learner’s own language learning behavior Her subject is from Libya He was an intermediate-level student of English for Academic Purposes at Carleton School of Linguistics, in Canada The methodology included classroom observations and teacher and student interviews The results indicated that the student seemed to have

been affected by his teacher’s beliefs about language learning At the end of the term, the student’s beliefs had become more similar to the teacher’s According to Allen, “these evolving criteria, in turn, had an effect on his [the students] sense of his level of success and his language learning behaviors and strategies” (p.79) Moreover, Peacock (1998) explored the gap between teachers’ and learners’ beliefs about ‘useful’ activities for EFL The methodology included questionnaires and interviews hold by 158 EFL students and 30 EFL teachers in a Hong Kong University A considerable mismatch between learner and teacher beliefs was found

- in particular, learners rated error correction and grammar exercises much higher, and pair work and group work much lower, than did the teachers The results revealed that that this wide gap almost certainly had a negative effect on learners’ linguistic progress, satisfaction with the class, and confidence in their teachers, and that similar differences probably occur in many other contexts and classrooms Generally, the studies about beliefs mismatch have not presented conclusive results, partly because the methodologies adapted in most studies have failed to investigate beliefs according to participants’ meaning Furthermore, there have not been studies on the mismatch between teachers’ and students’ beliefs in classroom speaking activities Therefore, this research aims at finding out whether CTU English teachers and students hold different or similar beliefs in speaking activities

I hope the results of this research will help teachers of English at CTU to design more efficient speaking lessons

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter will present the methodology of the research, including (1) the research design, (2) the participants, (3) the research instruments, (4) the data collection procedures

3.1 Research design

The aim of the study was to investigate the beliefs of CTU English teachers and students about the English language learning and the usefulness of classroom speaking activities in language learning so that both instructors and learners could get benefits for their teaching and learning; therefore, this study is a descriptive-survey in which quantitative data were collected

3.2 Participants

The participants were 80 EFL students and 10 EFL teachers at CTU These participants were selected randomly

3.2.1 English language students

The students in this study were second-year learners of English as a foreign language, aged between 20 and 22 All of them have studied English for around 9 years At CTU they have spent nearly two years studying Listening/ Speaking as well as other subjects Having had opportunities to practice speaking for nearly four semesters, they certainly have formed beliefs in language learning in general and in the study of speaking in particular

The detailed numbers of the participants and their classes are displayed in Table

3.2.2 English language teachers

All the teachers are Vietnamese and have been teaching at the English Education Department of CTU Most of them had Master degrees and all had at least two years

of experience of teaching speaking

3.3.1 The questionnaire for students

The first part of the survey questionnaire was the participants’ personal information such as class, course and gender Thanks to this information, the researcher could describe the major characteristics of the participants in her research

The two main sections of the questionnaires are described below:

SECTION 1:

This section included 14 statements The participants were asked to respond to the statements as they apply to their study of English In order to complete this section, the participants had to read the statements and decide whether they strongly agree, agree, are undecided, disagree or strongly disagree with the statements The major purpose of this section was to get information about participants’ beliefs in studying English, studying speaking English and the usefulness of the speaking activities organized in class With the answers from this section, the researcher could know what the participants thought about English learning, speaking English learning and speaking activities

SECTION 2:

This section was divided into two parts