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

I hereby certify that the thesis entitled A STUDY ON TEACHING CROSS-CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES TO VIETNAMESE STUDY-MAJORED STUDENTS... It is important for foreign lang

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

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

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

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60.14.01.11

Hanoi - 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

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

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

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60.14.01.11

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyễn Văn Độ

Hanoi - 2014

I hereby certify that the thesis entitled

A STUDY ON TEACHING CROSS-CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING

CLASSES TO VIETNAMESE STUDY-MAJORED STUDENTS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS……… iv

ABBREVIATION - TABLE LIST……… vi

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale……….1

2 Aims of the study 2

3 Research questions 2

4 Scope of the study 2

5 Methods of the study 3

6 Design of the study 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL PRELIMINARIES 5

1.1 What is culture? 5

1.2 What is cross-culture? 6

1.3 The process of communication 7

1.4 Need for cross-culture teaching 9

1.5 Principles for cross-culture teaching 9

1.5.1 Approaches for cross-culture teaching 9

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

1.6 In summary 14

CHAPTER II: RESEARCH DESIGN 16

2.1 Context 16

2.2 Method and Procedure 16

2.2.1 Selection of participants 16

2.2.2 Data collection instruments 16

CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 19

3.1 Data collection from the survey questionnaires 19

3.2 Data collection from the quiz 25

3.3 Discussion of the findings 26

CHAPTER IV: FURTHER DISCUSSIONS 28

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

4.3 Practical tips 35

PART C: CONCLUSION 38

1 In a nutshell 38

2 Limitations of the study 39

3 Recommendations for further research 39

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

ABBREVIATION

SDU: Sao Do University

FTF: Faculty of Tourism and Foreign languages

TABLE LIST

Table 1: Ferrando’s definition of culture

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

learning

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

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

conversation class

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

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

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

Table 9: Test scores interpretation – Measures of dispersion

FIGURE LIST

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

English learning

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

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

conversation class

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

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

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

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Therefore, with an effort to improve the language teaching in my case, “A study on

teaching cross-cultural elements in English speaking classes to Vietnamese study-majored students at Sao Do University” is chosen as the topic for my study.

2 Aims of the study

The aims of the thesis are:

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

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

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

4 Scope of the study

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

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

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

teaching The most important issue is the discussion of methods and techniques forassisting cross-cultural teaching.

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

- Survey questionnaires

- Semi-structured interviews

- Consultations with supervisor

- Personal observations

6 Design of the study

The thesis consists of three parts:

Part A: INTRODUCTION

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

of the study

Part B: DEVELOPMENT

This part is divided into three chapters

Chapter I: THEORETICAL PRELIMINARIES

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

Chapter II: RESEARCH DESIGN

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

Chapter III: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

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

Chapter IV: FURTHER DISCUSSIONS

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

Part C: CONCLUSION

Summary of the major findings and suggestions for further research arepresented in this part

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Table 1: Ferrando’s definition of culture

Perceptio n

Realizatio n

Possessio

n

CULTURE

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

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

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

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

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

boundaries Cross-culture seeks ways to understand the other on the other side ofthe border According to Richards (1985: 92), “cross-cultural communication is anexchange of ideas, information, etc…between persons from different backgrounds.There are more problems in cross-cultural communication than in communicationbetween people of the same cultural background Each participant may interpret theother’s speech according to his or her own cultural conventions and expectations Ifthe cultural conventions and misunderstandings can easily arise, even resulting in atotal break down of communication This has been shown by research into real lifesituations, such as job interviews, doctor-patient encounters and legalcommunication” Thus, cross-cultural communication is the exchange andnegotiation of information ideas, feelings and attitudes between individuals whocome from different cultural backgrounds.

1.3 The process of communication

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1.4 Need for cross-culture teaching

Learning a foreign language is required to attain intercultural communicationbetween people of different cultural backgrounds Because it is important forlearners to be involved in communicative acts as well as in the reality of the targetculture, they are required to understand the cultural references and meanings of thenative speakers Seelye (1993: 26) argued that the language teachers shouldconsider certain goals when introducing culture in the language class: 1 Attitudestoward other cultures and societies, 2 Interaction of language and social variables,

3 Cultural connotations of words and phrases, 4 Conventional behavior in common

situations, 5 The sense or functionality of culturally conditioned behavior, 6.Evaluating statements about a society and researching other cultures

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

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

they have different worldviews that have been influenced by there contextual realityand, therefore, their culture) By this way students not only broaden their horizonsabout the target culture, but also gain a cross-cultural awareness which gives ideasabout the ‘other’s point of views

1.5 Principles for cross-culture teaching

1.5.1 Approaches for cross-culture teaching

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

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

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

international language The foreign cultural approach only focuses on the targetculture where the language is spoken.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

of culture a better experience for both teachers and students

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

a Information sources

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

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

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

 Information sources

Extracts from literary Anecdotes Multimedia software

Background information

b Activity types

 Quizzes

We have found that quizzes are one of the more successful activity types.Quizzes are useful in learning new information We can apply this type in pairs orgroups, so that students can share their existing knowledge and common sense togive answers It is not important whether students get the right answer or not, but bythe predicting, students will become more interested in finding out the right answer

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

 Selecting authentic materials

Lili Dai (2011) considered selecting adaptive materials to be an essentialfactor for students to improve their comprehension ability “A selection of authenticforeign material should be used, especially dialogues, because it is more authenticand reflects cultural behavior followed by speakers Authentic materials canfrustrate students lacking sufficient cultural and social knowledge of the targetlanguage, and therefore teachers should carefully select suitable materials tomotivate their learning interests Teachers should explain cultural factorsencountered in the material Students now have easier access to visual aids such asfilms and videotapes It is generally agreed that what helps in cultural acquisition is

to be shown regularly about cultural background Dialogue is a large proportion ofauthentic listening materials It provides a wide range of western culture, such ascustoms, habits, social manners, life style Therefore, it is quite necessary forteachers to give students an introduction to help them understand well nativespeakers and their culture

Through multimedia and network technology, the teacher can offer studentsnot only rich sources of authentic learning materials, but also an attractive andfriendly interface, vivid pictures and pleasant sounds, which to a large extentovercome the lack of authentic language environment and arouses students‟ interest

in learning There are many good videos and texts published concerning the classic

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

 Doing research based learning

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

or library and find information on any aspect of the target-culture that intereststhem In the following class, students explain to their group what they have learnedand answer any questions about it This can lead to poster-sessions or longerprojects For some students, it can even lead to a long-term interest in the target-culture

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

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

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

c Positive classroom interactions

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

 Darks aspects of culture vs Bright aspects of culture

1.6 In summary

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

From the literature review, the place of cross-cultural knowledge in foreignlanguage learning and particularly in speaking class has been discussed It isimportant to highlight the fact that culture and language are intertwined closely, sothat knowledge of target culture helps learners communicate successfully However,although teachers realize that culture has an important role to play in EFL, nosystematic ways of approaching how to teach it as an integrated part of languageprogram were uncovered

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

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

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

CHAPTER II: RESEARCH DESIGN 2.1 The context

First year Vietnamese-study major students at FTF, SDU, aged from 19 to

21, both male and female, have learnt English for at least four years, three years athigh school and nearly one year at the university Many of them have learnt Englishsince they were grade 6 students However, their level of English proficiency is stillquite low because they come from different countryside surrounding Hai Duongwhere there is lack of favorable English learning conditions Furthermore, duringyears at schools, a majority of the students did not have chances to know about what

we call ‘culture’ or ‘cross-culture’

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

2.2 Method and Procedure

2.2.1 Selection of participants

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

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

2.2.2 Data collection instruments

The data collection methods adopted is aimed to collecting qualitative data.The full period of data collection covered the whole term During the term, theresearcher used the following four ways to see the effects of her interventions:

Survey questionnaire

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

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

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

Informal interviews

The interviews were carried out to clarify some information gained from thequestionnaire responses Moreover, throughout the whole term, the researcherconducted informal interview with her students during the class breaks Her majorconcerns were their opinions of the new way of teaching, and how useful theythought it was Obtained information was to reflect regularly their learning process

Classroom observation

The observation falls on three aspects: students' attendance, classroombehavior, and performances in English speaking class If they are motivated to theactivities during the lessons, they should be more willing to participate and performactively, and then they could improve their speaking The observation was noteddown in the observation checklist after each lesson

Cultural knowledge quiz

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

in which cross-cultural elements was integrated, the quiz was delivered againamong these students in order to discover how their cross-cultural knowledge bechanged

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

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

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

The data from the survey questionnaires are shown below:

Essential Very important Rather

important

Not veryimportant

Not important

at all

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

learning (Question 1, appendix 3)

60

30 10

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

English learning (Question 1, appendix 3)

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

%

Very good Good Rather good Not good at all

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

(Question 2, appendix 3)

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

You are lack of cultural You are not interested in You are shy and cannot do

%

knowledge these activities well

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

conversation class (Question 3, appendix 3)

You are shy and cannot do well

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

conversation class (Question 3, appendix 3)

Question 3 adds more details about the difficulties that the students deal withduring the cross-cultural activities in the conversation class The major difficulty isthe lack of cross-cultural knowledge which is proved by such a great percentage of93.3% Another difficulty is that the students are shy and cannot do these activitieswell with the percentage of 83.3% The data are fairly high which mean that theyare should be considered seriously by both teacher and student Just a very smallnumber of students say that the problem is they are not interested in these activities(6.7%) One idea added by a student is that he finds it hard because he has little time

to practice in class

%