Đánh giá chương trình đào tạo tiếng anh cho sinh viên giáo dục mầm non ở một trường cao đẳng ở hà nội

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES HOÀNG THỊ LAN ANH AN EVALUATION OF THE PRE-SERVICE EFL TEACHERS TRAININ

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES

HOÀNG THỊ LAN ANH

AN EVALUATION OF THE PRE-SERVICE EFL TEACHERS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR PRE-PRIMARY STUDENTS AT A

COLLEGE IN HANOI

(Đánh giá chương trình đào ta ̣o Tiếng Anh cho sinh viên giáo du ̣c mầm

non ở mô ̣t trường cao đẳng ở Hà Nô ̣i)

Minor master thesis Major: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

Supervisor: Associate Professor Lê Văn Canh

HANOI - 2018

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DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby state that I, Hoàng Thị Lan Anh, an MA student of the Faculty

of Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, certify with my signature that my thesis entitled ‗An evaluation of the pre-service EFL teachers training program for pre-primary students at a college in HanoI‘ is entirely the result of my own work I have faithfully and accurately cited all my sources, including books, journals, newspaper articles, generics, doctoral dissertations, and online resources I declare that I understood the concept of plagiarism and I acknowledge that my thesis will be rejected in case of plagiarism

The thesis contains no materials that has been submitted previously, in whole or in part, for the award of any other academic degree or diploma

Supervisor‘s signature Student‘s signature

Associate Professor Lê Văn Canh Hoàng Thị Lan Anh

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would first like to thank my thesis advisor Associate Professor Lê Văn Canh of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi The door to Prof

Lê Văn CAnh office was always open whenever I ran into a trouble spot or had a question about my research or writing He consistently allowed this paper to be my own work, but steered me in the right the direction whenever

he thought I needed it

I would also like to thank all the professors who inspired me thoroughly during this MA course so that this research project was born and carried out Without their passionate lectures and input, the project could not have been successfully conducted

Last but not least, I must express my very profound gratitude to my family and friends for providing me with unfailing support and comfort throughout my years of study

I thank you all very much!

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ABSTRACT

Pre-service training program are intended to keep practicing teachers up-to-date as well as tackle issues which occur in their teaching practices Given the importance of that mandate, this present study explored the perceptions of the instructors and trainees of such a program at a college in Hanoi, Vietnam by focusing on both strengths and weaknesses based on the related theories, models and previous empirical research findings The data gathered from teachers and trainees by means of survey and focus group interview revealed that the limitations of the program overweighs the strengths The program was seen to provide pedagogical and theory components of a kindergarten English teacher Yet, it was criticized to be out-of-date, less practical-oriented, lack of cultural knowledge, and lack of micro-teaching A number of suggestions were offered in the implications of the critical evaluation for future revision and/or designing a new in-service program

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF FIGURES vii

TABLE OF APPENDICES vii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii

Chapter I INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 1

1 Rationale of the study 1

2 The aim and objectives of the study 1

3 The scope of the study 2

4 Methods of the study 2

5 Design of the study 3

Chapter II LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 What is evaluation? 5

2.2 The purpose of evaluation 7

2.3 Program evaluation 8

2.3.1 What is program evaluation? 8

2.3.2 Why program evaluations? 8

2.3.3 What and When to evaluate program? 10

2.4 Teacher Training program evaluation 11

2.4.1 Teacher training models 11

2.4.2 Peacock’ model 12

2.5 Teacher training for teaching English to young learners (TEYL) 14

2.5.1 Young Learners 14

2.5.2 Kindergarten and What are kindergarten children like? 15

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2.5.3 Pre-Service Teacher Training Program 15

2.5.4 Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) 15

2.5.5 What will include in the teacher training program for teaching English to young learners? 16

2.6 Evaluative studies on teacher training for teaching English to young learners 17

2.6.1 Evaluative studies on teacher training for teaching English 18

2.6.2 Evaluative studies on teacher training for teaching English to young learners 21

Chapter III METHODOLOGY 23

3.1 The study context 23

3.2 Methods 24

3.3 Participants and Instruments 24

3.3.1 Participants 24

3.3.2 Instruments 24

3.3.3 Procedures 25

3.3.4 Data Analyses 26

Chapter IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 28

4.1 Findings from the student surveys 28

4.1.1 Professional knowledge and skills 28

4.1.2 Personal knowledge and skills 29

4.1.3 Teaching approaches 31

4.2 Findings from the teacher interviews 31

4.2.1 Professional knowledge and skills 31

4.2.2 Personal development 33

4.2.3 Methodological issues 34

4.3 The strengths and limitations of the program 34

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4.3.1 Strengths of the program 35

4.3.2 Limitations of the program 35

Chapter V CONCLUSION 38

5.1 Summary 38

5.2 Implications 39

5.3 Limitation and further research 40

References 41 Appendices I

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

PEF Pre-primary Education Faculty

EF English Faculty EPTP English pre-service training program NCE National College for Education VSK Values, Skills and Knowledge TEYL Teaching English to Young Learners EFL English as a Foreign Language

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Chapter I INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 1.1 Rationale of the study

At this moment, teaching English for small children in the kindergarten

is one of the top issues throughout the world in general and in Vietnam in particular According to the top linguists and experts, the three – to - five – year – old period of time of a child is the golden age for learning a foreign language In addition, preschool teachers play a very important role in the child's English learning In fact, recent surveys conducted by some experts at National College for Education show some problems English teachers do not really understand psychological and physiology of preschool age On the other hand, preschool teachers are limited in their ability to speak foreign languages, which results in poor pronunciation and / or use wrong words in situations This is very influential to children‘s English accepting process in the golden period Therefore, the training of English teachers for small children is extremely important and urgent today In my opinion, one of the prerequisites for such high-quality human resource training is the teaching program for junior students, who will be English teachers for children in the kindergarten in the near future However, from my teaching experience as well as my collecting data from students, I realize that the contemporary pre-service training program has not really met the requirements of necessary competence and quality of an English teacher for small children Therefore, it

is very necessary for me to conduct research: ―An evaluation of the service EFL teachers training program for pre-primary students at a college in Hanoi‖

pre-1.2 The aim and objectives of the study

The main purpose of this study is to point out the strong points and the

to give to improve the weak points of the temporary pre-service EFL teachers training program at National College for Education The research question is:

What are the strengths and limitations of the current English service training program (EPTP) for teaching kindergarten children at National College for Education (NCE) regarding the professional knowledge and skills?

pre-1.3 The scope of the study

The study is concerned with the assessment of the current English teaching program for pre-teachers in the kindergarten It was conducted at National College for Education, Hanoi, Vietnam The data was collected through a survey by using questionnaires for twenty-five – female - senior students at Pre-primary Education Faculty (PEF), and interviews for five lecturers at English Faculty (EF)

1.4 Methods of the study

The study was carried out by some steps as follows:

First of all, the survey questionnaire for last year students was employed to find out their opinions about the temporary pre-service EFL teachers training program at National College for Education Moreover, the students‘ solutions for the limitation that their curriculum needs adjusting were recorded

Secondly, personal interviews for instructors at English faculty were proceeded to compare between their thought and their students‘ real

1.5 Design of the study

This present study consists of five chapters in a close link together In this first chapter Introduction, the initial part briefly introduces the rationale

of the study and the background to which the study was set up The aim and objectives of the study were discussed in the second part followed by the scope of the study and a brief introduction of the methods The design of the study was proposed as the last part of this chapter

Chapter two presents the theoretical framework and the literature review of the study First, it sought to answer the question what evaluation and its purpose are Next, it discusses the components of a program evaluation

in details to set the theoretical background After that, it attempted to propose teacher training models and Peacock‘s (2009) model as an example In setting the background, the components of teaching English to young learners were introduced before a critical review of previous findings on teacher training program for TEYL

Chapter three discusses the context of the study as an initial part before discussing the methods used In this chapter, the participants and instruments were discussed in details to validate the data collection procedures and the analysis of the data

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Chapter four presented the findings and discusses the findings in comparisons with previous empirical studies This chapter aimed at answering the research question and validating the findings of the study The last chapter recapped the whole study project and restated the findings before proposing some suggestions depending on the findings and the limitations as well as

further research directions were offered

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Chapter II LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 What is evaluation?

Evaluation is the structured interpretation and giving of meaning to prediction or actual impacts of proposals or results It looks at original objectives, and at what is either predicted or what was accomplished and how

it was accomplished So evaluation can be formative that is taking place during the development of a concept or proposal, project or organization, with the intention of improving the value or effectiveness of the proposal, project,

or organization (Crooks, 2001) It can also be summative, drawing lessons from a completed action or project or an organization at a later point in time

or circumstance (Bloom, Madaus, & Hastings, 1971)

In Patton‘s (1987) opinion , evaluation is a process that critically examines a program It involves collecting and analyzing information about a program‘s activities, characteristics, and outcomes Its purpose is to make judgments about a program, to improve its effectiveness, and/or to inform programming decisions

According to some other researchers (DuBois, Portillo, Rhodes, Silverthorn, & Valentine, 2011; Ross, Elipse, & Freeman, 2004), evaluation is the systematic assessment of the design, implementation or results of an initiative for the purposes of learning or decision-making

-Systematic: An evaluation should be as systematic and impartial as possible (Ross et al., 2004) An evaluation is methodical, providing information that is credible, reliable, and useful to enable the incorporation of lessons learned into decision-making process of users and funders Evaluation

is based on empirical evidence and typically on social research methods, thus

on the process of collecting and synthesizing evidence (Ross et al., 2004)

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Conclusions made in evaluations encompass both an empirical aspect and a normative aspect (Fournier, 2005) It is the value feature that distinguishes evaluation from other types of enquiry such as basic science research, clinical epidemiology, investigative journalism, or public polling

- Assessment: Evaluation assessment considers value, merit, worth, significance or quality (Scriven, 1993) It may aim to identify what works, for whom, in what respects, to what extent, in what contexts, and how (Pawson, Tilley, & Tilley, 1997) It may examine expected and achieved accomplishments, the results chain, processes, contextual factors and causality in order to understand achievements or the lack thereof (UNEG, 2005) Evaluation may focus on a broad range of topics including relevance, accessibility, comprehensiveness, integration, fulfillment of objectives, effectiveness, impact, cost, efficiency, and sustainability (Patton, 1987) The evaluation process normally involves some identification of relevant standards, some investigation of performance on these standards, and some integration or synthesis of the results to achieve an overall evaluation (Scriven, 1993)

- Initiatives: Evaluation can focus on any kind of initiative such as programs, projects, sub-programs, sub-projects, and/or their components or elements (Scriven, 2003; Yarbrough, Shulha, Caruthers, & Hopson, 2011)

In my opinion, evaluation means value It is the process of recording, storing and providing information to the evaluator of something Review is systematic, independent and documented to receive objective evidence and to determine the level of performance of the evaluation criteria The assessment should be objective, accurate by gathering real, objective, regular and continuous data Meaningful words close to the rating are criticism, comment and review

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2.2 The purpose of evaluation

Experts say that evaluation is essential in education Evaluation can improve the current program It is important to periodically organize the performance of the assessment and program adjustment Evaluations help us find the areas that need improvement and help us achieve our goals more effectively When we know what is ineffective, what works, we promote the educational environment In addition, evaluations allow us to prove that the current program is successful or unsuccessful Review information is collected from real data, undergoing analysis and final conclusions Therefore, evaluations can help us prove the impact of the program being used

Evaluation can be conducted for the purposes of decision making, judgements, conclusion, findings, new knowledge, organizational development and capacity building in response to the needs of identified stakeholders leading to improvement, decisions about future programming, and/or accountability ultimately informing social action ameliorating social problems and contributing to organizational or social value (Patton, 1987; Yarbrough et al., 2011)

Institute of Museum and Library Services believes that the two most important purposes of evaluation are:

- to provide the information needed for good decisions on priorities, resource deployment and program design

- to help communicate the value of initiatives

In my point of view, in education, evaluation is understood as the process of forming judgments:

- guess the results of the work, based on the analysis of the information obtained against

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- targets, standards set, to propose appropriate decisions to improve the real

- adjusting, improving the quality and effectiveness of education

- through this understanding, evaluation in education not only recognizes the real situation but also deals with it

- making decisions that change the status of education in the desired direction of society

2.3 Program evaluation

2.3.1 What is program evaluation?

Evaluation is the systematic application of scientific methods to assess the design, implementation, improvement or outcomes of a program (Ross et al., 2004)

Program evaluation is a systematic approach to collecting, analyzing and using information to answer questions about projects, policies, and programs, and their effectiveness In both the public and private sectors, stakeholders often want to know if the programs they are sponsoring, implementing, voting, receiving or opposing are creating the intended effect

To sum up, program evaluation is systematic research conducted periodically or on a special basis to evaluate program performance As tools

to support good management practices, they help managers determine if there

is a need for timely adjustments in program design to improve the rate or quality of performance associated with committed resources or not The assessment also helps educators and managers quantify the effects of the program

2.3.2 Why program evaluations?

The main purpose of a program evaluation may be to "determine the quality of a program by constructing a judgment." (Hurteau, Houle, & Mongiat, 2009) And to manage linked programs to measure and display

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results Therefore, there is strong emphasis on good management practices Good management practices include the key action of the program manager to decide, preferably on their own initiative, to carry out the assessment The next is to use the results Ideally, programs should collect assessment information as a matter of common management practice because evaluation

is a tool that can help programs achieve managerial excellence The assessment does this by serving two important purposes - program improvement and accountability Many evaluations will be designed to serve both purposes

Improvement: Assessment helps managers measure the effectiveness of their programs by estimating the extent to which they achieve the desired results and by determining if improvements are needed to increase efficiency for goals or not Evaluation helps program managers proactively optimize the performance of the program Evaluations provide actionable information on program activities that are not being implemented as expected, resulting in ineffective outputs, unmet needs or expectations, and results under forecast Managers can use this information to request more resources or modify the program design to improve its performance A program of implementation of assessment activities to obtain timely information in the planning process, budgeting, implementation and other management cycles to make continuous improvements will achieve success larger than no activities

Accountability: Assessment helps the program manager to demonstrate internal and external accountability of public resource use This includes demonstrating responsible management in a sophisticated way, establishing evidence that the objectives are being met or that services are being provided

as promised, and quantifying "real" present "of the program Accountability,

in part, is driven by the need to address internal and external needs and

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expectations A program that can calculate for its public investments by demonstrating progress and results is more likely to be seen as more successful by the right people and stakeholders

2.3.3 What and When to evaluate program?

What and when to evaluate program performance depend on several related considerations (Kiely & Rea-Dickins, 2005), such as:

- The process of the program in its life cycle (creating the program, the current program or the nearly ending program)

- The decision is informed by evaluation information during planning, budgeting, implementation, reporting of benefits and communication cycles

- Any need to meet program evaluation expecting request

- Ideally, a comprehensive strategy and plan for the overall program evaluation should be developed to outline the planned assessment over a multi-year time frame, so the information is generated:

+ is timely, not too often not enough time to make recommendations from the assessment

+ in line with the management and decision-making process of the program

+ in addition to other program data collection activities

Determining the timing of program performance assessments will take into account the relevant considerations described above (e.g the phase of the program cycle, the timing of the program decisions and the assessment requirements) In general, program activities are selected or the whole program should have some evaluation done over a period of five to two or three years

Currently, internal program issues include (Kiely & Rea-Dickins, 2005):

- Contribution to aims of school

- Internal administration systems

- Contributions to teaching within the English Department

- Professional impact

To sum up, in school today, teaching is not just about teaching something but also teaching living skills Renovating teaching methods is an urgent need to improve the quality of teaching Innovative teaching methods require a coherent innovation of content from textbook programs, teaching methods to teaching-learning outcomes Assessment and evaluation program play a very important role in improving the quality of training The results of the assessment are the basis for adjusting teaching, learning and educational management Failure to do that will result in a great misperception in the use

of human resources Innovative testing has become a pressing need for the education sector and for today's society Accurate and objective evaluation will help learners with confidence, enthusiasm, enhancement in the creative ability in learning

2.4 Teacher Training program evaluation

2.4.1 Teacher training models

In this paper, the term model (or approach) is meant to characterize the overall way in which a pre-service program presents or delivers knowledge to its learners The Apprentice-Expert Model (Day, 1991) is the oldest form of professional education and is still used today in ESL teacher education, albeit rather limited Its conceptual basis, however, is widely used in practical

The applied science model put forward by Wallace (1991) This model gained power from the achievements of experimental science The applied science model is based on the following assumptions: Teaching is a science and so can be tested in a reasonable and objective way Teachers learn to become teachers by teaching research-based theories These theories are being communicated to the students only by those who are considered professionals

in the particular field Teachers are supposed to be educated when they become proficient enough to apply these theories in practice

In the reflective model (Clegg, 2000), reflective practice has become a dominant pattern in the study of teacher language education and programs around the world But it is not an innovation in teaching It has its origins in the work of some theorists and educators The reflection model is based on the assumption that teachers develop their professional competence by reflecting their own practices In other words, a teaching experience is revoked and considered to achieve an evaluation and provide input to future plans and actions

2.4.2 Peacock’ model

Peacock‘s (2009) model is a recent model of assessment in the context

of Turkish universities According to Coskun and Daloglu (2010) , Peacock‘s model has been effective in providing multidimensional feedback about the program being evaluated Most specifically, Peacock‘s questions have

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encouraged the participants to consider the following aspects of the program: its philosophy, the knowledge provided through the program, the reflection student teachers engage in during the program and the reflective skills they develop, relationship among the courses in the program, the types of competences developed through the program, and the extent to which student teachers‘ need are met Contrary to most program evaluation models that have chronological approach that addresses the planning, implementation, and evaluation phrases of a program, Peacock‘s model has enabled addressing components that are critical in educating English language teacher candidates

Minott and Young (2009) considered reflexive diary recording as a source of evaluation of training programs And more specifically, they have developed a hybrid approach that is published through reflective assessment and journaling Although the benefits of using a variety of sources for evaluating a previously highlighted training program by Darling-Hammond (2006) and Schwille, Dembélé, and Schubert (2007), their research has introduced the concept of a mixed evaluation method that includes both diary and reflective logs

Similarly, the research conducted in Singapore, Chong and Cheah (2009) explain the development as well as the foundational values of concepts, skills and frameworks, and through an assessment program, they looked at the validity and reliability of the items developed through the VSK (Values, Skills and Knowledge) framework to evaluate the values, skills and knowledge that graduates receive Through their preparation program, they become English teachers Based on the data they collected from last year students preparing for graduation, they stated that while the VSK framework provides trainees with the ultimate knowledge of teaching and learning, it is isolated between the ideal theory and the practical implementation steps They

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assert that trainees should consider initial education as a part of continuing high-quality learning and they need to develop a problem-solving skill and attitude from learning to accumulating experience through reflection Hence a challenge to the teacher's education then becomes one of the perceptions of the whole experience and knowledge that have been managed contextually as

a complement to discuss the framework for informing the practice of teaching and learning

In conclusion, these models focus on assessing the personal and professional development of the teachers in the training program

2.5 Teacher training for teaching English to young learners (TEYL)

2.5.1 Young Learners

Young Learners are a compulsory term for underage students The term that embraced fashion in the early nineties reflected a declining trend in the age and expanded access to English learning for young people in many countries around the world

In this interpretation, the term 'young people' covers all ages and stages

of development of children from infants, young children and older children, through adolescents, adolescents and children

In other explanations, 'young people' is a term used to refer to children from the first formal school year (usually 5-7 years) to when they are 11-12 years of age or when They move from primary to secondary school This is an interpretation that is generally or implicitly accepted by publishers and inspection boards In this interpretation, a 'young learner' grows labeled something else, usually a teenager, in adolescence In this explanation, there

is often an additional term for 'very young learners' that are used to refer to pre-primary children aged 3-6

In different brochures for language courses, teaching resources and

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camps, you can also find the term 'young learner' that is used to cover a wide range of different age groups 8-16, 4-14, 9-15, 5-16, etc

2.5.2 Kindergarten and What are kindergarten children like?

Kindergarten is defined as ‗A formally organized pre-first grade class for children usually five years old‘ (Unger, , p 626) Now considered an essential part of formal education worldwide, kindergarten originated from Germany in 1837 when ‗German pedagogue Friedric Froebel discovered that children seemed to learn more from play than they did from strict, formal, direct instruction and rote memorization‘ (Unger, 2014, p 626)

Kindergarten children are like other children in many ways They have similar developmental, physical, and behavioral characteristics that characterize them as kindergarteners—children ages five to six Yet, at the same time, they have characteristics that make them unique individuals (Loban, 1976)

2.5.3 Pre-Service Teacher Training Program

The program purports to prepare university graduates to undertake teaching responsibilities There is an attempt to combine theory and practice

in such a way that theory will be based on the accumulated results of practice, while at the same time practice should possess organizational and systematic characteristics deriving from generalization and principles One of the program's purposes is to enrich each graduate's potential with all necessary experiences and abilities that will render him capable of interpreting pedagogical theories and transforming the content of various cognitive subjects, so as to be able to play a successful role both in class and in the broader school environment

2.5.4 Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL)

Teaching English to Young Learners is a course for all elementary school teachers It aims to provide teachers with the knowledge and skills

2.5.5 What will include in the teacher training program for teaching English to young learners?

In his book ‗Teaching English to Young Learners,‘ Nunan (2010) clearly states what it takes to include to teach English as a second or foreign language to young learners The key aspects of TEYL include:

- Learning and development of young learners

- Theories of young learner learning and development

- Characteristics of young learners

- Learning styles

- Language acquisition

- The young learner classroom

- Young learner lessons

- Lesson approaches

- Lesson structure and planning

- Classroom management

- Error and error correction

- Adapting EFL techniques

- Teaching language to young learners

- Teaching vocabulary

- Teaching grammar

- Young learner teacher‘s toolbox

- Visual and teaching aids

- Games and activities

- Songs, music, chants and rhymes

- Drama, dialogue and poetry

- Storytelling

- Resources and materials

- Using course books

- Adapting course books

- Designing materials

- Assessing young learners

- Purpose of assessment

- Assessing young learners

- Assessment tools and techniques

- Professional development for teachers

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2.6.1 Evaluative studies on teacher training for teaching English

Al-Gaeed (1983) developed a survey question covering different parts

of the world in an effort to unveil the strengths and weaknesses of the Saudi teacher education program in Saudi Arabia through examining the perceptions

of students and graduates That survey questioned from the teaching methods

to the difficulty of expressing of the members in the English department and the difficulty in their teaching environment The author found that the training program was rated positively by both the learners and the trainers who had mastered the facets of teaching practice, teaching methods, faculty quality, and language courses However, they learn that preparation for English speaking skills and the opportunity to communicate in English are not enough and literary courses are not really worth the preparation for them

Barkhuizen (1997) delves into the elements that make up the student's shyness This is an important issue for the future teacher when they are in front of their students In order to restructure the curriculum and eliminate the factors that cause such shyness, the 120 final-year students of the three English teacher training programs in southern Africa are surveyed with one open question series This research shows that the participants mainly focus

on the following reasons: weak English skills, learning attitudes, mother tongue interventions, their English acquisition and influence from their teachers

There are not many studies on teacher training programs in Turkey Except for some studies, not much researched, written on the evaluation of the curriculum Ögeyik (2009) seems to address only the improvement of recent language courses in the English language curriculum for elementary schools

in Turkey By conducting a survey of final year students at a university in Turkey, she found a program deemed fit for purpose and the criteria set out to

is not reasonable and teaching is not appropriate, so the course is criticized by the students

Focusing on the practical elements of the training program, Seferoğlu (2006) conducted a quantitative study and explored end-of-course views on teaching methods and practice components Research has shown that most students expressed greater need for micro teaching and more small details to look more at different aspects of different teachers at different levels in the skills courses

Şallı-Çopur (2008) discovered that English-speaking teachers at a university in Turkey from 2002 to 2006 were perceived themselves as good and qualified ones They find the ingredients that help them succeed in learning to gain high energy Through survey questions and interviews, she found that students who graduated from self-awareness were competent in most areas This was assessed by the educational association in addressing the

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need for improved language skills, use of spoken English, classroom management, assessment methods and classroom instruction In addition, most participants think that there are some unnecessary duplicates between courses and some of them believe that the practical components of the program should be focused more

Uysal (2012) conducted a study evaluating a retraining program for language teachers in Turkey The researcher interviewed three teachers who taught in the program and six teachers did not teach in the program 72 teachers participated in the survey responded to the questions The main questions focus on teacher satisfaction, motivation, basic knowledge, and classroom practice The researcher concluded that top-down reforms cannot guarantee good reception in educational reform In order to successfully train English teachers, there should be close links and cooperation between competent persons, trainers and trainees through educational reform programs In addition, managers should focus on input methods, resources and types of materials Participant feedback should be collected and their participation should be evaluated and monitored

Huong and Yeo (2016) conducted a study to evaluate the retraining of English language teachers in a Vietnamese center Sixty teachers participated

in answering survey questions with sixteen sentences in a similar scale and fifteen of them were interviewed randomly Evaluation focuses on content, materials, methods and management New findings have indicated that most respondents generally appreciate with the training program they have been experiencing They also focus on a number of key issues First, the content should focus more on reality Secondly, the participants wanted more time to practice and discuss Finally, teachers should have equal opportunities to be trained

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Nguyen (2012) conducted CEFR research in rural areas of Vietnam 64 principals and 47 English teachers were invited to participate in the study Based on the author's conclusions, most of the goals set are not fully achieved It is recommended that the government should focus more on in-service training so that teachers can achieve teaching quality in teaching methods, content and materials One of those approaches will be continuous professional development for teachers via the internet for those who cannot attend the training

2.6.2 Evaluative studies on teacher training for teaching English to young learners

Previous studies focused only on the effectiveness of PSTE (personal science teaching efficacy) programs or courses from different stakeholders, such as the views of teacher educators (Yavuz & Zehir Topkaya, 2013) and other stakeholders Other as pre-service and in-service teachers (Çelik & Arıkan, 2012; Özkan & Arikan, 2010) In this regard, it seems necessary to understand and evaluate these programs from the requirements of a kindergarten English teacher Therefore, this study aims to investigate wage teachers "practice assessment of the" TEYL Young Learner English Language Learner (TEYL) "course in PSTE-based instructional programs

There are a number of studies conducted in the context of Turkey as to evaluate ELT programs and TEYL courses Çelik and Arıkan (2012) conducted their study with 25 on-site English teachers to check the effectiveness of ELT programs to see if programs were available for them to teach English to the child or not Their results show that participating teachers viewed the program effectively in preparing English language courses to teach English to young learners based on practice sessions at the pre-service level However, the program was criticized for lack of practical teaching

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experience in the context of young learners Özkan and Arıkan (2010) surveyed 40 English language teachers who were acquainted with the "TEYL I-II" course in preparing English teachers for TEYL These findings suggest that the strong demand of these teachers is to experience teaching in YL's practical classes and to know about their characteristics Yavuz and Zehir Topkaya (2013), on the other hand, focus on the opinions of 18 teacher teachers from five different universities on ELT program evaluation As a result of the study, educators criticized the program because of the top-down and centralized movement, and to ignore the experiences and opinions of educators, teacher and PST about the restructuring of the program It has been emphasized that there has been mutual communication and cooperation between the Higher Education Council and the Ministry of Education throughout the process of restructuring and education of the movement

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Chapter III METHODOLOGY 3.1 The study context

National College for Education was established 22 years ago, according

to the Decree 93 / HDBT of the Council of Ministers (the Government nowadays) with the original name: College of Education Kindergarten - Kindergarten Central Its mission was to train kindergarten managers and teachers as well as study about scientific education for students before they went to the higher schools More than 20 years passed, the college has developed and innovated continuously It is always on the top of Pre-school Kindergartens of the whole country

In the Preschool Education Faculty, higher education programs are used for training in order to meet necessary requirements of a kindergarten teacher in the period of industrialization and modernization Teachers need to have qualifications, ability, health and self-cultivation to supply the demand

of the society nowadays In this sense, after finishing general knowledge block, students will choose to study further in one of four following curriculums (from the third term): program of music activities in preschool; program of animation organization in preschool; cognitive, language, emotional and social development programs; and English program in preschool The students whom I am going to conduct the survey are at the English Program in Preschool curriculum

English Faculty was established since 2015 according to decision No

678 / QD-CD -DTD of the Rector at National College for Education on June

19, 2015 It developed on the basis of Basic Science Faculty to deal with the increasing demands of the society for training high quality preschool teachers The program of training English teachers for preschool children was founded

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in 2015 after the birth of English Faculty It is applied for the first high quality students; therefore, mistakes cannot be avoided The program includes twenty syllabuses (See appendices 1 to 20)

3.2 Methods

This present study employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to have ‗the potential of providing an alternative to validity through which the findings from one approach might have a chance of being validated by data from another.‘ (Flick, 2014, p 18) Triangulation is achieved using multiple sources of evidence, which can develop converging lines of inquiry and the findings or conclusion is likely to be more convincing and accurate if it is based on several different sources and perspectives of information (Yin, 1994) This study relies mostly on qualitative data for considerations of its reliability and validity, which are usually regarded as the key to judge the adequacy of research Reliability is ‗a synonym of consistency and reliability over time, over instruments and over groups of respondents‘ (Cohen, Manion,

3.3.2 Instruments

The data were conducted by means of a questionnaire (see Appendix

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21) and an interview form (see Appendix 22) that were prepared by the researcher The interview form contained open-ended questions about the contents of the program, the effectiveness of the program, the contribution of the courses to students‘ personal and professional improvement, and about the teaching methods of other lecturers

Questionnaires allows us to gather information that the learners are able

to report about themselves, such as descriptions, beliefs, and values about the learning and their reactions to learning (Mackey & Gass, 2005) In this present study, in order to answer the research question, a questionnaire survey seemed to be appropriate since it can be used to gather and analyze data on a certain scale

The questionnaire contained seven questions regarding professional knowledge and skills, the effectiveness of the program, the balance between theory and practice, students‘ personal development and comments on the methods the lecturers used On the same basis, the students‘ answers are also used to provide a general focus on the key issues associated with the program and to shape the interview with the lecturers In so doing, lecturer opinions related to the categories and themes above were collected as a crosscheck so that the general opinions of the program provided were evaluated

In order to a clear cut and look, the research Instrument was formed (See appendix 23) as a link between research question, data source, data collection methods and results of the study

3.3.3 Procedures

The study was implemented in two stages First, the survey questionnaire for twenty-five – female - last year students was employed to find out their opinions about the temporary pre-service EFL teachers training program at National College for Education Moreover, the students‘ solutions

3.3.4 Data Analyses

The data were examined and subjected to content analysis, which is defined as ‗a research technique for making replicable and valid inferences from texts (or other meaningful matter) to the contexts of their use‘ (Krippendorff, 2004, p 36) Inductive content analysis was adopted in this present study The analysis process includes open coding, creating categories and abstraction Open coding means that when reading, the researcher took notes and wrote headings in the text The written data were read through again, and all the headings were written down in the margins to describe all aspects of the content (Burnard, 1991, 1996; Hsieh & Shannon, 2005) The headings were collected from the margins on to coding sheets (Cole, 1988; Dey, 2003), and categories were generated at this stage (Burnard, 1991) When formulating categories, the researcher came to a decision, through interpretation, as to which things to put in the same categories (Dey, 2003)

Abstraction means generating a general description of the research topic through categories (Burnard, 1996), and such categories were named and grouped as abstraction (Dey, 2003)

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Figure 3.1: Five stages of content analysis

As an empirical basis for the construction of trustworthiness of this method, Dey (2003) assures that categorization is an empirically and a conceptually grounded; defensible inferences are based on the collection of valid and reliable data – it is to demonstrate a link between the results and the

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Chapter IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter presents the findings from the teacher interviews and student surveys in accordance with the research question:

What are the strengths and limitations of the current English

pre-service training program (EPTP) for teaching kindergarten children at National College for Education regarding the professional knowledge and skills?

The findings are then discussed in line with previous findings in order

to give some recommendations Therefore, this chapter is designed into three sections Section 1 presents the findings from the teacher interviews; section 2 presents the findings from the student surveys; and chapter 3 presents the major findings of the study

4.1 Findings from the student surveys

4.1.1 Professional knowledge and skills

On being asked about the professional knowledge and skills, student participants expressed that the program could provide them with the pedagogical skills and knowledge (1) The program provided them with in-class skills such as class control, dealing with pedagogical situations, being more creative in using games to teach English to young learners, how to attract students‘ attention, how to deliver the knowledge to students, ways to create warm-up activities (2) The participants expressed that the program provided them with English knowledge; one of them said ‗The program helped me to improve the four language skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing.‘; most of them answered in a general sense that the program helped them to improve their teaching practices; most of them said the program helped them with suitable teaching methods to teaching English to young learners

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Regarding which components of the program are considered as being effective or ineffective, students expressed a variety of viewpoints Firstly, effective components of the program include (1) suitable syllabus, (2) ways to use stories, games and songs in teaching English to young learners, (3) suitable methods to teach English to young learners, (4) good activities to make young learners familiar with English, (5) teaching phonics to young learners

When the student participants were asked what components of the program needs a change, most of them needed to learn more of pronunciation and grammar, they explained that there are a lot of varieties of English in the world and they need to learn to well meet the demand of the society; besides, they needed more practice, they needed more realistic methods Noticeably, one student talked of the unsuitable syllabuses of the programs delivering at the college, they had to study too many syllabuses at the same time

Concerning the balance between theory and practice delivered in the program, the minority of the students focused on the need of study more methods to teach English to young learners because ‗In deed, the teaching practices were various among kindergartens,‘ one student said Besides, most

of them paid special concern to the applicability of the methods, they said that the teaching English at bilingual schools were quite different to what they were learning Meanwhile, the majority of the student participants felt the need of more practice, they wanted to have more outdoors activities, more time with young learners to apply the methods they learned as well as the need of speaking English with native speakers

4.1.2 Personal knowledge and skills

Personal development is very important in the training of kindergarten teachers and on being asked about this, most of the participants said they were

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not yet confident and yet ready to become a kindergarten teacher The first reason was that they were not good at speaking English, their pronunciation was not perfect They gave examples of teaching at bilingual schools, they mispronounced some words and students asked them why but they could not explain and they felt ashamed; and they explained that they still could not tell their young learners the differences and similarities of grammar mistakes Only one fifth of them said they were somewhat confident to become a kindergarten They said that they had improved their English skills in the program, they learned a lot of warm-up activities as well as teaching English with songs and stories

Taking the strengths and weaknesses of the participants as kindergarten English teachers into consideration, all of the participants took part in the survey and after analysis, we had some explicit findings Regarding personal strengths, the participants mostly shared an agreement that they were equipped with pedagogical skills to deal with classroom situations; they were more flexible with designing activities and finding topics to teach; they were more active and had a sense of responsibility in controlling the class; last but not least, they said they were more confident in speaking English in the classroom Noticeably, some of them expressed their enhancements in communication skills with young learners and their parents

Their weaknesses vary among the participants Some of them expressed the lack of proficiency in English due to the limitation of practicing time, they could not pronounce well and listen to English well; some others expressed the lack of pedagogical skills, especially the advanced and up-to-date skills; they found it hard to deal with sudden situations in the classroom; some other students expressed that they did not feel confident and flexible enough in the classroom

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4.1.3 Teaching approaches

On analyzing students‘ responses on the delivery of the program contributing to their development, findings reveal that there are not many pros but a lot of cons of the methods of the instructors Concerning the pros, most

of the students agreed that the instructors were active and enthusiastic in delivering the program; and that the instructors were punctual Meanwhile, student participants expressed their distress on a variety of weaknesses: the instructors had a great deal of mispronunciations; they did not like the lectures due to the fact that there was a lack of micro-teaching, one said ‗Because the problems were not taught in depths so I do not like the teaching methods‘; some other participants confirmed that they needed more realistic situations in the program so that they could have more experiences to deal with classroom situations; the instructors needed to be more creative and delivered more interesting lectures to the students; some instructors were criticized to have ill-prepared lessons and the students could not understand steps or techniques

as needed; the others criticized that the method was not suitable – the instructors needed to understand the individual needs of the students to boost the learning process

4.2 Findings from the teacher interviews

The focus group with the instructors were hold openly and all of them felt no annoyance or intimidation during the interview and it helped the researcher to access their deep feelings, perceptions and decisions about the research topic A micro analysis was carried out and the findings can be divided into major themes equivalent to the findings from the surveys as follows

4.2.1 Professional knowledge and skills

The findings from the instructors‘ perspectives show that the program