Nghiên cứu những cơ hội và thách thức trong việc dạy toán cho học sinh tiểu học thông qua bộ môn tiếng anh

The study was conducted with an attempt to examine the reality of integratingMaths into English to primary school students in order to explore how a CLILprogram was implemented in Lao Ca

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

*********************

PHAM THANH LOAN

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF TEACHING MATHS TO THE PRIMARY

SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGH ENGLISH

(Nghiên cứu những cơ hội và thách thức trong việc dạy Toán cho học sinh tiểu

học thông qua bộ môn Tiếng Anh)

M.A MINOR THESIS (Type I)

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

Hanoi - 2019

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

*********************

PHẠM THANH LOAN

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF TEACHING MATHS TO THE PRIMARY

SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGH ENGLISH

(Nghiên cứu những cơ hội và thách thức trong việc dạy Toán cho học sinh tiểu

học thông qua bộ môn Tiếng Anh)

M.A MINOR THESIS (Type I)

Field: English teaching methodology Code: 8140231.01

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Lê Văn Canh

Hanoi – 2019

I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE STUDY PROJECT REPORT

SUBMITTED ENTITLED

An investigation into the opportunities and challenges of teaching Maths

to the primary school students through English

IS MY OWN STUDY IN THE FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS

Ha Noi, 2019

Pham Thanh Loan

I also would like to thank to all my lectures who have taughtQH2017.D1 for their lectures as well as their enthusiasms during the MAcourse

Moreover, I wish to express my special thanks to two teachers andseventy-five students at grade 5 in Lao Cai city in contributing to the datacollection presented in the research

Finally, I would like to express my thanks to my family, my collegesfor their encouragements during my time of fulfilling this study

The study was conducted with an attempt to examine the reality of integratingMaths into English to primary school students in order to explore how a CLILprogram was implemented in Lao Cai primary schools, investigate theteachers’ perceptions of the advantages and challenges of integrating Mathsinto English according to teachers’ view and explore the students ‘attitudestowards the integrating Maths into English program

The subjects involved in the study are two English teachers and seventy-fivestudents at grade 5 chosen at random from two classes The data werecollected from classroom observation, teachers’ interviews and questionnairesfor students The results of the study have shown that how the implementation

of CLIL in integrating Maths into English, the opportunities and challenges inteaching process according to teachers’ view as well as students’ attitudestowards the program

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv

ABSTRACT v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix

LIST OF CHARTS AND FIGURES x

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1

1 RATIONALE 1

2 AIMS OF THE STUDY 2

3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 2

4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 2

5 METHOD OF THE STUDY 3

6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 3

7 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS 3

PART II: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1.1 What is CLIL? 5

1.2 The principles of CLIL 7

1.3 Core features of CLIL methodology 8

1.4 The impacts of teachers’ beliefs and students’ attitudes on the process of teaching and learning the second language 9

1.5 The differences between teaching English as a medium of instruction (EMI) and Content based instruction (CBI) 10

1.6 Previous studies on CLIL 11

1.7 Summary 14

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 14

2.1 Introduction 14

2.2 The context of the study 14

2.2.1 An overview of the course 14

2.2.2 The teachers 16

2.2.3 The students 17

2.3 Participants 18

2.4 Data collection instruments 18

2.4.1 Classroom observation 18

2.4.2 Questionnaires 19

2.4.3 Interviews 20

2.4.4 Procedure 21

2.5 Data analysis 22

2.6 Summary 22

CHAPTER 3 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 23

3.1 The implementation of CLIL in integrating Mathematics into English to primary school students 23

3.1.1 The teachers’ preparation for the lessons 23

3.1.2 Teachers’ practices in CLIL class 24

The use of mother tongue (L1) 25

Teaching new Maths vocabulary and grammar in context 27

Teaching Mathematics Rules 30

Using real-life examples 32

3.2 The opportunities and challenges of integrating Maths into English to primary school students according to teachers ‘views 35

3.2.1 The opportunities of integrating Maths into English to primary school students 36

3.2.2 The challenges of integrating Maths into English to primary school students 37

3.3 Students’ attitudes towards to the CLIL program 39

3.3.1 Students’ interests in learning the program 39

3.3.2 The advantages of integrating Maths into English according to students’ views 41

3.3.3 Problems in integrating Maths into English 43

3.4 Summary 44

CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION 45

4.1 Summary and conclusion 45

4.2 Pedagogical implication for integrating Maths into English to primary school students 46 4.3 The limitation of the study 47

4.4 Recommendations for further related studies 47

REFERENCES I APPENDICES III

APPENDIX A: Transcripts of Lesson 1 III APPENDIX B: Transcripts of Lesson 2 VII APPENDIX C: Transcripts of Lesson 3 XI APPENDIX D: Transcripts for lesson 4 XIV APPENDIX E: Questionnaires for students XVI

APPENDIX F: Questions for teachers’ interviews XX

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

LIST OF CHARTS AND FIGURES

Chart 1: Students’ interests in integrating Maths into English programChart 2: The benefits of integrating Maths into English program

according to students’views

Chart 3 The problems in learning process

Firgure 1 Integrating Maths into English program is exciting and useful Firgure 2 Collecting and solving Maths words problems

Firgure 3 Comprehending the knowledge of Maths

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 RATIONALE

Many countries have attached special importance to the quality of teachingand learning English as a foreign language or the second language sinceEnglish is a means of international communication and becomes dominant inmany different fields including business, culture and education Therefore,teaching and learning English play a vital role in the education system inmany parts of the world The Vietnamese ministry of Education and Training(MOET) has implemented different projects such as the National ForeignLanguage 2020 projects to enhance the language competence of teachers andlearners As a result, the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)program including integrating mathematics, science into English has beenimplemented in Vietnam and attracted much public attention Students notonly improve their language competence but also broaden their knowledge ofother subjects like mathematics, science However, both teachers and learnershave faced many challenges such as the qualities of teachers, the lack ofmaterials in the implementation of CLIL program in educational curriculum Lao Cai has implemented the CLIL program in integrating mathematics intoEnglish for primary and secondary schools since 2016 The CLIL programhas received many supports from Lao Cai department of Education andTraining, schools, teaching staffs, students and students’ parents However,only ten out of twenty - two primary schools have been teaching Mathsthrough English to primary school students because other schools do not how

to integrate Maths into English to teach primary students as well as theadvantages and disadvantages of integrating Maths into English to primaryschool students Normally, both teachers and This study is to investigate howCLIL program was implemented in Lao Cai primary schools and finds the

advantages and disadvantages of CLIL programs according to teachers’viewsand students’attitudes towards the program.

2 AIMS OF THE STUDY

This study will examine the reality of integrating Maths into English toprimary school students in order to

schools

integrating Maths into English?

Explore the students’attitudes towards integrating Maths into Englishprograms?

3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The study will answer three research questions:

1 How is CLIL program implemented in integrating Maths into English inLao Cai primary schools?

2 What are advantages and disadvantages of integrating Maths into Englishaccording to teachers ‘views?

3 What are students ‘attitudes towards the program?

4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The implement of CLIL program in integrating Maths into English has beencarried out ten primary schools with over fifty classes from grade 1 to grade 5

in Lao Cai However, the study limits itself to the investigation of the reality

of integrating Maths into English through CLIL approach for two classes atgrade 5 from two primary schools because of the limitation of time

5 METHOD OF THE STUDY

The study primarily adopted a survey method, according to which the studywas conducted in three phases In the first phase, classroom observation wasundertaken In the second phrase, two language teachers, who wereimplementing the program, were interviewed concerning their perception ofthe advantages and disadvantages of integrating Maths into English lessonsfor grade 5 students This was followed by the administration of aquestionnaire to the students in the third phase The study also looks into theteachers’ and students’ attitudes towards the program

6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Only ten out of twenty-two primary schools have been applied CLIL program

in integrating Maths into English to primary school students because manyteachers do not really know how to integrate Maths into English to primaryschool students as well as the opportunities and challenges of the teachingprocess Moreover, students are interested in integrating Maths into English,some parents asked teachers about the program, but some teachers can notconvince students’ parents Therefore, the study may be useful for teacherswho want to know CLIL program in Lao Cai

7 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS

The thesis is composed of three main parts: Introduction, development andconclusion

The introduction includes the rationale, the aims, the research question, thescope, and design of the thesis

The development has three main chapters:

Chapter 1: Literature Review - The researcher will mention relevant studiesrelated to CLIL programs including the notions of CLIL program, theprinciples of CLIL programs, core features of CLIL methodology, theimpacts of teachers’ beliefs and students’ attitudes on the process of teaching

and learning the second language, the distinction between English as amedium of Instruction (EMI) and content-based construction, the strengthsand weaknesses of implementing CLIL in teaching content subjects, thefactors leading to successful CLIL program as well as the common barriers

on the road to successful CLIL practice

Chapter 2: Methodology - The researcher introduces the context of the studyand describes the methodology employed in the study, research proceduresand the participants, instruments and the research procedures

Chapter 3: Findings and discussion – The study presents and discusses thefindings that arise from the data collected and recommendations

Chapter 4: Conclusion - The researcher gives a brief summary of the content

of the study The researcher presents the pedagogical implication, thelimitation of the study and recommendation for further studies

PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

At the beginning of this chapter, the researcher will discuss the notions andthe principles of CLIL, core features of CLIL methodology Secondly, theresearcher mentioned the impacts of teachers’ beliefs and students’ attitudes

on the process of teaching and learning the second language Next, shedistinguishes between using English as a medium of instruction (EMI) andcontent-based instruction (CBI) Finally, she presents some previous researchrelated to CLIL program to point out the strength and weakness of CLIL andthe factors leading to success of CLIL programs as well as common barriers

on the road to successful CLIL practice

1.1 What is CLIL?

Some authors state that the first known CLIL practice was appeared over

5000 years ago After conquering the Sumerians, Sumerian was used as amedium of instruction to teach other subjects such as theology, botany andzoology The value of multilingual or bilingual education are acquiredprofoundly in recent centuries in Europe, therefore many students are sent toabroad for studying in private schools In 1965, the authorities of Canadianestablished a language-immersion program that teaches English-speakingchildren all subjects in French The globalization promoted the rise of CLIL

in Europe and Asian in recent centuries Integrated learning is considered as amodern form of education in order to help learners have better knowledge andskills to satisfy with the global age (Peeter, Marsh & Frigols, 2008, p9-p11).The term CLIL is defined as “a dual-focused educational approach in which

an additional language is used for the learning and teaching of both contentand language” (Peeter, Marsh & Frigols, 2008, p9) CLIL is used to describeteaching and learning content subjects in a second language Similarly, CLIL

is the combination of content and language in a subject For example,Malaysian children learn Maths and science in English, Norwegian studentslearn to do drama in German, Italian students learn science in French,Japanese children learn geography in English, Australians study Maths inChinese Children in some big cities in Vietnam learn Maths and Science inEnglish The current CLIL is considered as a result of complex historicalfactors of each part in the world Dale (2011, p19-21) mentioned that CLILwas effected by bilingualism, second language acquisition theories, cognitivelearning theories and constructivism.

The CLIL strategy calls on both language teachers and content teachers inCLIL programs Content teachers instruct students master the content andteach some languages Language teachers support content teachers inteaching process by assisting learners in obtaining linguistic knowledge andstrengthen the acquisition of content Therefore, CLIL is integration oflanguage learning and content from other subjects Firstly, this integrationfocus on language learning in content classes including mathematics, science,geography, computer programming, ect Language learning in content classes

is used to provide information in interesting manner in order to help learnersunderstand easily The common CLIL techniques are “Chart, diagrams,drawing, hands-on experiments and the drawing out of key concepts andterminology” (Peeter, Marsh & Frigols, 2008, p11) Secondly, languageteachers cooperate with content teachers to provide the language anddiscourse patterns for students to understand and use the content Languageteachers play a role in helping students enhance the quality of their languagerather than content teachers Therefore, in CLIL, language goals supportcontent goals In addition, the achievements of content language purposes aresupported by the development of learning skills In short, the CLIL goals arerelated to the goals of content, language and learning skills (Peeter, Marsh &Frigols, 2008, p11-12).Besides, the term of teaching Maths through English is

considered as a branch of integrating Maths into English It consists ofteaching a curricular subject through the medium of language other than thatwhich is normal used Therefore, students gain the knowledge of thecurriculum subject while simultaneously learning and using the foreignlanguage

1.2 The principles of CLIL

According to Coyle (1999), the CLIL is defined through the 4Cs frameworkincluding content, cognition, communication and culture

Content: Content is related to the community inside and outside the

classroom Students not only acquire knowledge and skills but also constructtheir own knowledge and develop their skills through experimental activities.Moreover, content from diverse subjects is integrated and culture content isintegrated into all subjects

Cognition: content and cognition (learning and thinking) have closed

relationship Content must be interpreted for its linguistics demands so that itallows the learners to build their own explanations of content Also, cognitiveprocesses need to be analyzed according to their linguistics demands

Communication: students join in activities and communication in the

classroom and in the community The learners need to be learned languagerelated to the language context so that they learn through that language andreconstruct the content This language must be transparent and accessible.Interaction in the learning context is foundation to learn This makes sensewhen the learning context works through a foreign language

Culture: cultures and language are related together in complex relationship.

Intercultural awareness is considered as the foundation of CLIL Its legalposition is at the core of CLIL

Through the 4Cs framework, Coyle (1999; 2005; Coyle, Hood, & Marsh2010) indicates that the requirement of the leaning of a foreign language forthe future is that the learners may control content-oriented information and

use their cognitive skills to make use of that information and they also caninteract effectively across cultures

1.3 Core features of CLIL methodology

Mehistor, Marsh and Frigols (2008) demonstrated six core features of CLILmethodology including multiple focus, safe and enriching learningenvironment, authenticity, active learning, scaffolding and co-operation

Multiple focus: CLIL supports language teaching and content learning in

content classes, integrate several subjects, organize learning through curricular themes and projects as well as support reflection on learningprocess

cross-Safe and enriching learning environment: CLIL use daily activities and

discourse, illustrate language and content throughout classroom, makestudents be confident to experiment with language and content, utilizeclassroom learning, conduct authentic learning materials and environmentsand enhance students’ awareness of language

Authenticity: CLIL permits learners ask for the language help they need,

make the accommodation of student interests as large as possible, makeconnection between learning and students’ real life, connect with other CLILteachers and use varied materials from the media and other sources

Active learning: CLIL helps students communicate more than their teachers.

Moreover, learners can help set content, language and learning skillsoutcomes Students also evaluate progress in achieving learning outcomes.Next, students are expected to favor peer co-operative work, negotiate thelanguage and contents with their friends Finally, teachers play a role asfacilitator

Scaffolding: CLIL methodology builds on a student’s existing knowledge,

skills, attitudes, interests and experience CLIL repackage information inuser-friendly ways, respond to different learning styles, and promote thegrowth of creative and critical thinking

Co-operation: CLIL and non-CLIL teachers collaborate together in planning

courses, lessons or themes Also, CLIL involve parents in learning aboutCLIL and how to support students and involve the local community,authorities and employers

1.4 The impacts of teachers’ beliefs and students’ attitudes on the process of teaching and learning the second language

Li (2012) remarked that beliefs play a key role in language They help peoplemake sense of the world, impact on how new information is comprehendedand whether it is accepted or rejected Beliefs make a portrait of memoriesand adjust our understanding of occurrences Teachers’ beliefs are importantelements to comprehend the processes of teachers’ thoughts and teachingmethods (Zheng, 2009) Teachers’ beliefs have greater impacts than teachers’knowledge on making lesson plans and their decision on classroom practice.Teacher’s beliefs have remarkable impacts on their objectives, their produces,their roles in teaching process and their learners (Harste and Burke , 1977).According to Ellis (1985), there are many general factors effecting learningsecond language including motivation, attitude, age, aptitude, intelligence,cognitive styles and personality Attitudes were defined as sets of beliefsabout factors as the target language, their own culture and the learning task.Language attitudes are the attitude which speakers of different language havetowards other languages or to their own language Expression of positive ornegative attitudes towards a language can express the impression oflinguistics difficulty or simplicity, ease or difficulty of learning, degree ofimportant, ect (Richard,1985) Attitudes were classified three types includingattitudes toward the community and people who speak second language,attitudes towards learning and language concerned, attitude languages andlanguage learning in general It is also important to know how students feelabout learning a particular language in a particular course with particularteachers (Ellis, 1985) In short, the study was conducted to contribute

teachers’ beliefs on benefits and challenges of integrating Maths into English

to primary school students and students’ attitudes towards the program to theliterature

1.5 The differences between teaching English as a medium of instruction (EMI) and Content based instruction (CBI)

English is not only taught as second language in many countries in the world,

it has been used to teach other academic subjects such as mathematics,science, geography and economics and English is known as a medium ofinstruction (EMI) Julie Dearden, the head of English Medium Instruction atthe University of Oxford’s Hertford College, defined EMI as: “The use ofEnglish language to teach academic subjects in countries or jurisdictionwhere the first language (L1) of the majority of population is not English”.English is used as a means of teaching academic subjects such asmathematics, science, biology and medicine in countries where English is notthe first language (L1) Two main approaches supporting for the adoption ofEMI are the communicative approach to language teaching (CLT) and thecontent language integrating learning (CLIL) (Hassan 2015) Firstly, thecommunicative approach to language teaching pointed that it is necessary forlearners to interact in a language frequently if they desire to learn it (Holiday1994) Based on this approach, the success of language acquisition process iscommunication and interaction in meaningful contexts The use of Englishinstead of the mother tongue as a medium of instruction can let students haveopportunities to use English everyday basic and in a wide of communicativesituations with other students, teachers, administrators and advisors inmeaningful and authentic contexts (Belhiah, Elhami 2015) Secondly, EMI isconsidered in relation to Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) byapplied linguists The CLIL is one of the language teaching methodologiesthat subjects are taught through a foreign language with the aims of learningcontents and foreign language ( Marsh, 1994).CLIL is the teaching of the

subjects such as science, geography or history through English to learnerswho do not speak English as the first language Dearden (2015) states theconceptual separation between EMI and CLIL Whereas EMI has no specificcontextual origin, CLIL originated in European ideas for the development ofplurilingual and pluricultural competence for European citizen Also, thelanguage of education in EMI with all the implications of geopolitics andsocial culture is English but CLIL does not mention which second language

or foreign language are to be studied in The objective of CLIL focuses onboth content subject learning and acquisition of language (Coyle, 2002; Darn,2006) when it is not necessary for EMI to have that objective

The term of CBI came up from mid-to-late 1980s because of Canada Frenchimmersion programs and bilingual education for immigrants in the UnitedStates CBI attracted much attention in secondary schools and universities in theNorth of American since they helped foreigner students adapt the matter ofeducation quickly The term of CBI is defined as: “an integrated approach tolanguage instruction, drawing topics, text, and tasks from content or subjectmatter classes, but focusing on cognitive, academic language skills” (Crandall &Tucker, 1990, p 83) CBI is an effective method to support students’ success byengaging with content-source and improving their language abilities at the sametime (Mesureur, 2012, p 71) The aim of CBI is to help the learners enhancetheir content knowledge and improve their language competence (Butler, 2005,p.229) In CBI lessons, the language lessons are combined with stimulatingcontents, students focus on subject matter rather than the language learningprocess and they learn language automatically

In short, while EMI focuses on content learning only, CBI helps the learnersboth master their content knowledge and enhance their language competence

1.6 Previous studies on CLIL

A number of studies have been conducted about CLIL in different contexts.These studies showed both positive and negative effects of the

implementation of CLIL in teaching some academic subjects through aforeign language CLIL has been implemented to teach some subjects ineducation curriculum in many countries over the world such as teachingMaths and science in English in Malaysia CLIL has been used for Norwegianstudents to do drama in German Also, students in Italia learn science inFrench, students in Japan learn geography in English and Australian studentsstudy Maths in Chinese In this part, the researcher will mention someprevious research of CLIL to investigate the strength and weakness of theimplement CLIL in teaching content subjects and also explore the factorsleading to the success of CLIL as well as some common potential barriers onthe road to successful CLIL practice

*The strength and weakness of CLIL program in teaching content subject

A study of the teaching science through English in Malaysia conducted bySopia Md Yassin, Ong Eng Tek, Hashimah Alimon, Sadiah Baharom, LaiYing Yin (2010) showed the opportunities and the challenges of theimplementation of CLIL in teaching science in English The research showedthat the teachers’ questioning strategies fostered cognitive engagement of thestudents at different cognitive level in the teaching Science through English.However, the findings of the research indicate that where teacher talk wasdominated than students’ responses in the class If this problem wasaddressed, it could lead to extremely consequences including students’learning and understanding of science concepts since students do not havemany opportunities to ask questions and express their thoughts in the class Among the studies on the impacts of CLIL instruction of learners’ skills(Jexenflicker &Dalton-Puffer,2010; Ruiz de Zarobe, 2010), some of themshowed the positive impacts on linguistic outcomes According to Dalton- Puffer(2011), students are better at language performance, they use a foreign languagemore accurately and frequently Moreover, learners enhance particular strategiesincluding code-switching to keep on interacting in CLIL classes

*Some factors leading to the success of CLIL

Banegas,(2015) indicated some factors leading to the success of CLIL.Firstly, CLIL should be implemented when learners have already known

“some English” or learners have developed their basic language skills Also,the CLIL curriculum should be based on learners’ prior experiences.Moreover, the modules of CLIL should be make links between CLIL and theofficial curriculum

*Some common possible obstructions of CLIL program

Mehisto, Marsh, Frigols (2008) mentioned some common potential barriers

on the road to successful CLIL practice The major obstacle to CLIL is tograpple with misconceptions Firstly, common sense says that it was notpossible for students studying in the second language to learn the sameamount of contents as students studying in their mother tongue In fact, CLILstudents perform as well as or even outperform compared to non-CLILstudents in term of learning contents Another big misconception of CLIL isthat it is only suitable for the excellent students However, the results of someresearch show that although students in CLIL class have a C- grade average,they still learn to speak another language and gain social-cultural skills.Another obstacle of CLIL is the shortage of CLIL teachers Teacher traininginstitutions in many countries do not prepare teachers for CLIL Therefore,the number of teachers who meet the requirement of CLIL is limited.Moreover, the shortage of materials is also one of the common obstructions

on CLIL program Teachers teaching CLIL program need more preparationtime to set contents, language as well as learning skills goals and greater co-operation among teachers Since CLIL materials are in short supply, teachersoften develop or adapt existing learning resources In summary, there arethree main barriers on the road to successful CLIL practice includinggrappling with misconception, the shortage of CLIL teachers and materials

1.7 Summary

This chapter provides a brief review of literature on CLIL program in manyparts of the world Next chapter presents the study reported in this thesis

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 Introduction

In this chapter, the current of integrating Maths into English in two primaryschools will be taken in close-up and the methodology will be discussed

2.2 The context of the study

2.2.1 An overview of the course

Integrating Maths into English for primary school students program in LaoCai is not an obligatory program One of the purposes of the program is tohelp students practice four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) todeal with different situations, purposes in their life With the knowledge,students absorb from the course, they could use English in communicating,evaluating, analyzing confidently and effectively Besides, students are alsowell-trained to use critical thinking to debate and protect their opinions.Moreover, students are trained to learn from observing and practicemeasuring to guess and experiment all the rules and hypothesis Theprogram’s contents are parallel with the Educational and Training Ministry’sprogram Mathematics is expected to teach 100% in English which givestudents opportunities to apply and use English frequently The program notonly helps students consolidate, enhance knowledge of Mathematics but alsoprovide students academic words related to mathematics Also, students haveopportunities to communicate in English in class In short, apart fromlanguage proficiency, students are equipped with Maths knowledge, creativethinking

The syllabus of the program consists of 8 units, it covers topics: fractions,ratios, decimal numbers, measurement, percentage, perimeter and area,cuboids and cube and speed The syllabus contains 35 lessons including 24theoretical lessons, 9 revisions, 2 progress tests and 2 end-term tests

The following is the description of the course-book currently used inintegrating Maths into English program for grade 5 of primary schools

The course book title: DIGIMATH 5 The CLIL program has been applying

to teach for primary school students for 3 years Because the demand ofintegrating Maths into English has increased, the content of the program haschanged to adapt in order to fit for students

The course- book content consists of 8 units:

Unit 1: Fractions Unit 1 has three lessons including 2 theoretical lessons andone revision lesson In unit 1, students learn how to recognize equivalentfactions, proper fractions, improper fractions, mixed fractions; how to convertbetween improper and mixed fractions, how to find common denominatorsand solve word problems involving calculation fractions and mixed fractions,how to multiply and divide two fractions

Unit 2: Ratios In this unit, students learn how to find the ratios of one value

to the other and solve word problems involving ratios

Unit 3: Decimal numbers Students learn how to read and write decimalnumbers, compare decimal numbers using place value

Unit 4: Measurement Students will know how to convert between units ofmass, units of length, units of areas, units of time; know how to solve wordproblems involving mass units, length units, areas units and time units

Unit 5: Percentage In this unit, students will know the relationship betweenfractions, ratios and percentages; know how to convert fractions, ratios topercentages; solve word problems involving percentages

Unit 6: Perimeters and Areas Students will know how to recognize the basesand the heights of a triangle or trapezium; calculate the area and the perimeter

of these shapes; calculate the areas and the perimeter of a circle

Unit 7: Cuboids and cubes In this unit, students will know about the basicconcept about cuboids, cubes, cylinders, spheres; recognize cuboids, cubes,cylinders and spheres; identify the faces, edges and vertices of a cuboid orcube, identify the base of a cylinder; know how to find the surface area of acuboid or a cube; know how to calculate the lateral and total surface area of acuboid or cube, find the volume of a cuboid or cube; solve word problemsinvolving the surface, the volume of these shapes;

Unit 8: Speed In unit 8, students know how to find the speed of an object;know the relationship between speed, distance and time; solve word problemsinvolving speed

About lectures, applying hi-tech equipment entirely in teaching helps teachersprepare lessons, design class activities, and evaluate students’ studying resultsmore precise Moreover, digital lectures system consists of different units.Each unit has five main parts including warm-up, vocabulary, presentation,practice and summary Especially, there are many games in practice part thatattract students to the lesson Using hi-tech equipment in teaching is regarded

as a great positive effect to catch students’ attention and make studentsengage in class activities productively

Before starting new school year, teachers are trained to master the aims, thecurriculum, the materials and the methodology of integrating Maths intoEnglish and also they are educated how to use digital lectures system in order

to support for teaching

2.2.2 The teachers

The teaching staffs of the program consist of 25 teachers aged between 25and 45 and they are teachers of English However, the study focuses on onlytwo teachers with different experience of teaching Mathematics in English

The first teacher has taught English at primary school for 9 years and takenpart in integrating Maths into English at the beginning of the CLIL program.She is confident about her English language level, but her knowledge ofMaths is also one of the challenges in integrating Maths into English Thesecond teacher has been teaching at primary school for 3 years and this is thefirst time she has taught integrating Maths into English for primary schoolstudents Although, teachers are not subject teachers, they always try theirbest to instruct in the best way so that students could develop their Englishlanguage level and enhance the knowledge of Maths However, they have toface some difficulties in teaching process such as the knowledge of Maths,teaching methodology, materials and so on One of the most advantages whenthe research conducted the study is that teachers are willing to share theirteaching experience, opportunities and challenges in integrating Maths intoEnglish to primary school students and let the researcher observe theirclassroom

2.2.3 The students

The CLIL program was implemented at ten primary schools in Lao Cai TheCLIL program is not obligatory for all students, any student wish to learn theCLIL program have right to register in CLIL classroom The study focuses onstudents at grade 5 and these students were educated in CLIL classroom fromgrade 3 to 5 so they are familiar with the learning environment, curriculumand materials of CLIL classroom These factors are seemed to be theadvantages of integrating Maths into English for primary school students.However, these students have different levels of mathematics, abilities ofusing English in class and learning styles Some students are good at bothMathematics and English but some students are not able to use English tocommunicate in class Most of the students are expected to improve theirEnglish and their knowledge of mathematics

English-The study was conducted with 75 students at different levels of English andthe knowledge of mathematics They started taking the CLIL lessons whenthey were at grade 3 Some of them had joined the international mathematicscompletion; some had taken part in mathematics or English clubs at schools

2.4 Data collection instruments

2.4.1 Classroom observation

Classroom observation is used as one of the instruments to collect data for thestudy Classroom observation is defined as a method of directly observingteaching practice when it reveals in real time, the observer records, takesnotes and code instructional behaviors in the classroom (Hora, 2013) Griffe(2012) recommended that classroom observation must be systematic,intentional, principled and theoretical Systematic means classroomobservation is not random but it covers all the time Also, the observer hasreasons for observing Next, theoretical means the observer is working with

or looking for underlying principles In this study, the researcher observed theclasses of two colleagues because she wished to have more time to observeand record as well as take notes the teaching process to get the results of theobservation This study was conducted with two classrooms coded as C1 toC2 One Mathematics lesson from each class was observed, video recordedand transcribed The communication between teachers and students for thepurposes of the pedagogical functions were observed and examined.Respondents in this research were two English teachers from two schools,

identified as T1 and T2 Their involvements in primary mathematics teachingare reported in table 1

CLILprograms

PrimaryEnglishteacher

To answer the research questions that how the CLIL program is implemented

to integrate Mathematics into English to primary school students, the verbaldiscourse of four videotaped lessons was transcribed After the transcription,all the teachers’ questions and students’ answers from each lesson areanalyzed to identify the pedagogical functions in each conversation

2.4.2 Questionnaires

Gay and Airasian (2000) assert that a general definition of a questionnaire isconsidered as some questions related to the topic of the research.Questionnaires are popular research instruments in order to gather data forresearch in many fields such as education, psychology and sociology Forexample, Lumley and Brown (2005) used questionnaires in language testingresearch to assemble background data on test candidates, to provide data forneeds analysis, to promote the growth of test and to evaluate the tests.Creswell (2002) indicated some advantages of using questionnaires to collectdata Firstly, questionnaires are suitable for gathering data on what your

learners think or believe about certain issues Next, the respondents do nothave to write their names or any personal information in questionnaires whichmay reduce the teacher’s influences on the results of questionnaires Finally, aquestionnaire can be used to survey a class or groups of classes For thesereasons, the researcher decided to use questionnaire to collect data.

In the study, questionnaires were sent to 75 students to investigate thestudents’ attitude toward the integrating Mathematics into English to primaryschool students program

pre-decided according to the required detail of information Structured interviewsare excessively used in survey research with the intention of maintaininguniformity throughout all the interview sessions Semi-structured interviewsoffer a considerable amount of leeway to the researcher to probe therespondents along with maintaining basic interview structure Even if it is aguided conversation between researchers and interviewees – an appreciableflexibility is offered to the researchers A researcher can be assured thatmultiple interview rounds will not be required in the presence of structure inthis type of research interview.Keeping the structure in mind, the researchercan follow any idea or take creative advantage of the entire interview.Additional respondent probing is always necessary to garner information for a

research study The best application of semi-structured interview is when theresearcher doesn’t have time to conduct research and requires detailed

interviews are usually described as conversations held with a purpose in mind– to gather data about the research study These interviews have the leastnumber of questions as they lean more towards a normal conversation butwith an underlying subject The main objective of most researchers usingunstructured interviews is to build a bond with the respondents due to whichthere are high chances that the respondents will be 100% truthful with theiranswers There are no guidelines for the researchers to follow and so, theycan approach the participants in any ethical manner to gain as muchinformation as they possibly can for their research topic

In this research, the researcher use semi-structured interview to collect thedata The research interviewed two teachers to know about how long theteachers have taught integrating Mathematics into English to primary schoolstudents, the innovation of this program in comparison with other programsthey have taught, the benefits of the program to students as well as thechallenges teachers had to face and what they did to overcome thesechallenges in teaching process

2.4.4 Procedure

Firstly, when the researcher observed four lessons, she recorded videos, tooknotes and transcribed the teaching and learning process of each lesson Next,two interviews were carried out with two teachers of integrating Maths intoEnglish The researcher raised the same questions to interview and collectedall answers Finally, the questionnaires were delivered to 75 students Theresearcher guided students master the questions and give their answer based

on their thoughts about the course Students have 30 minutes to read thequestions and tick the answers The researcher collected all questionnaires,analyzed data and interpreted the results

2.5 Data analysis

Observational data are extracts of interest (i.e Extracts of the observedlessons) that provided information relevant to research questions The mainpurpose of analyzing observational data is to gain understanding of howMaths and English were integrated (i.e how teachers conducted their lessonsthat integrate Maths and English in the lesson)

Questionnaire data was analyzed quantitatively Descriptive statisticalanalysis was used to identify the pattern of responses as indicated bypercentage The analysis of questionnaire data was aimed at gaininginformation regarding students’ attitude toward integrating Maths intoEnglish program

Interview data was analyzed qualitatively to explore teachers’ beliefs aboutthe benefits and challenges regarding integrating Maths into English lessons.Data from these sources were triangulated to find out the answer to theresearch questions

2.6 Summary

This chapter has provided an overview of integrating Maths into English toprimary school students in Lao Cai The participants of the study were 75students at grade 5 and two teachers integrating Maths into English program.Also, classroom observation, interviews and questionnaires were considered

as major and useful instruments to collect data so that the researcher couldseek the answers for the research questions

CHAPTER 3 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The result of the study is presented as the following frame:

school students

The opportunities and challenges of integrating Maths into English toprimary school students according to teacher’s views

3.1 The implementation of CLIL in integrating Mathematics into English to primary school students

The teaching processes have been observed by the researcher Video data hasbeen collected during the lessons The researcher filmed 4 lessons of 40minutes including division two fractions, ratios and words problems, units ofmass and percentages The initial result of the study are based ontranscriptions and reconstructed from videos recordings Thanks to thetranscription of the lessons, the researcher identified extracts of interests inorder to interpret the pedagogical functions in the conversations betweenteacher and students in teaching and learning processes To investigate howthe CLIL was implemented in integrating Mathematics into English toprimary school students, the researcher has analyzed the teachers’ preparationfor the lessons and the teachers’ practice in teaching process

3.1.1 The teachers’ preparation for the lessons

The interviews with two teachers were conducted to find out how theyprepared for the lessons The teachers said that when they prepared for thenew lessons, they studied the knowledge of Maths related to the lessons byreading Vietnamese Maths book, Digital Maths book and searched videosabout how to teach division multiplication, ratios, units of mass andpercentages for primary students on the Internet Also, they stated that there

were some academic words in Digital Maths which they did not sure themeanings Therefore, reading both Vietnamese Maths book and Digital Mathbook made them comprehend the meanings of these words more exactly.Moreover, they tried to make the rules of Maths become shorter and easier forstudents to master in English by using phrases verbs or nouns instead of longsentences Also, when they had troubles with the knowledge of Maths, they

that language teachers and content teachers should be given moreopportunities to work together to promote students’ language skills Both T1and T2 also say that making lesson plan plays a vital role to decide how thelesson is successful For each lesson plan, they consider the learningoutcomes which students will achieve at the end of each lesson in order todecide what they will teach and which activity they will apply for each task inteaching produces In short, teachers often read materials, search videosrelated to the knowledge of Maths and cooperate with teachers of Maths inorder to prepare for the lessons

3.1.2 Teachers’ practices in CLIL class

The basic stages of four observed lessons are the following stages

Stage 1: Warm-up In this stage, teachers activate what students have already

known about the topic to make associations of prior knowledge with newknowledge Teachers ask the questions or let students listen to a song related

to knowledge of Maths which they are going to learn in order to recall theirprevious knowledge

Stage 2: Presentation Teachers explain the knowledge of Maths in English as

well as teaching new Maths vocabulary and related structures to help studentsmaster the knowledge

Stage 3: Practice This stage gives students opportunities for cooperative

learning with their classmates to practice what they have learnt through avariety of activities

Stage 4: Summary Teachers help students revise vocabulary, structures and

main content of the lessons

To answer the question “How is CLIL program implemented in integratingMaths into English to primary school students”, the researcher has notfocused on analyzing all stages in observed lessons, she has interpretedsignificant features in teaching process to gain the objective of contents andlanguage learning including the use of the first language, the way of teachingnew Maths vocabulary as well as grammar in context, Mathematic rules andthe use of real-life examples in teaching process

The use of mother tongue (L1)

The teachers started their lessons by activating prior knowledge of thestudents The teachers want to find out what their learners already know aboutthe topic in Vietnamese (L1) but students may have difficulties in explainingthis knowledge in English (L2) When brainstorming ideas for new topic,students can use some Vietnamese and then teachers translate into English.Through classroom observation, the researcher identifies that the use of thefirst language in CLIL may help students communicate more frequently

In the lesson of Fraction divisions, T1 use Vietnamese to ask students abouthow to divide two fractions, then T1 guided students know how to read anexpression of dividing two fractions and master the concept of reciprocal inEnglish.T1 use L1 as an instrument to lead in new lesson so that all studentsknow what they are going to learn

Extract 1 from Fractions division lesson.

T1: Bây giờ chúng ta cùng điểm qua các phép toán phân số mà chúng ta đã

học : + ; - ; x ;

T1: the first is……( T1 points these expressions )

Ss: addition; subtraction; multiplication

T1: Look at the expression: : = ……?

What’s this? Who can guess? Come here and complete the expression?

Ss: ( go to the board and fill in the blank) : = x =

T1: Bạn Tâm cho cả lớp biết con vừa làm phép toán gì?

Ss: Dạ thưa Cô, con làm phép toán chia 2 phân số ạ

T1: Và phép chia cũng chính là nội dung bài học hôm nay, chúng ta sẽ học

về phép chia 2 phân số Today, we learn about the division of fractions Vàkhi cô muốn diễn đạt phép chia trên cô diễn đạt như sau: seven by threedivided by three by five equals thirty- five by nine

Và bây giờ cô muốn hỏi cả lớp, trong phép chia phân số, có 1 thuật ngữ rấtđặc biệt, đó là gì ? Cô mời Phương Anh?

Ss: Dạ thưa cô, đó là phân số nghịch đảo ạ ?

T1: Và trong Tiếng Anh, phân số nghịch đảo được gọi là Reciprocal

For example: four by five is reciprocal of five by four

So, three is reciprocal of ……?

Ss: three is reciprocal of one by three

The study shows that the teachers let students use L1 to encourage them talkabout what they already know but they do not know how to express in L2.Through classroom observation, the researcher shows that moving betweenVietnamese and English, either mid-sentences or between sentences is usedflexibly in CLIL class in order to allow all students to join in classroominteraction Similarly, the use of L1 can help student feel more confident inthe CLIL classroom

Extract 2 from Ratios lesson

T1: How do you solve this problem?

Ss: um…uh ….con thưa cô con trả lời Tiếng Việt được không ạ?

T1: Ok

S: Con tính tổng số phần là 7, sau đó con lấy tổng số học sinh chia cho tổng

số phần , tìm ra được 1 phần con nhân với 3 thì ra số học sinh nam trong lớp T1: Thank you, Minh Các con thấy bạn Minh làm đã đúng chưa Vậy hômnay cô sẽ hướng dẫn các con bài toán tìm 2 số khi biết tổng tỉ hoặc hiệu tỉ củahai số đó Finding two unknown numbers when you know sum ratios ordifference ratios

In the lesson of percentage, T2 gave a new game named Hang man to checkstudents’ understanding about percentages Because it was the first time,students have played Hang man game, T2 used L1 to explain the rules ofgame in order to make her instruction clearer and save time

Extract 3 from Percentage lesson

T2: Do you want to play game?

In short, the use of L1 is considered as a useful tool for teachers to examineprior knowledge of students, help students be more confidents andcommunicate more fluently in CLIL class Also, L1 aids teachers simplifytheir instructions and save time

Teaching new Maths vocabulary and grammar in context

After observing four classes, the researcher states that one of the mostcommon way teachers use to teach new Maths vocabulary for primary schoolstudents is repetition After giving new words, teachers asked students readwords as whole class, groups, in pair and individual so that they couldremember how to read and write new Maths vocabulary in the lesson.Teacher T1 asked students take turn to read new words that helps all studentshave chance to read words and they are corrected their mistakes ofpronunciation by teacher T1 Teachers also let students play games to reviewvocabularies they have learnt

Extract 4 from Fraction division lesson

T1: Now, whole class, look, listen and repeat

Division; Reciprocal ; Divided by;

Ss: (whole class) repeat (three times)

T1: take turn, repeat these words

Ss: division, reciprocal, divided by………

The teacher T1 has taught students not only isolated words but also relatedstructures to help students solve word problems The structures: “The ratio ofN1 to N2 is…, the number of N is …” were introduced at the beginning of thelesson and consolidated in teaching vocabulary part The combination ofteaching vocabulary and structures helps students know how to find the ratio

of one value to the other and solve word problems involving ratios

Extract 5 from Ratios lesson

T1: Students Look, listen and repeat

Ratio

The ratio of N1to N2 is…

The ratio of boys to girls is three over four

The number of …is …

The number of girls is 30 girls

Ss: (listen and repeat) : ratio, the ratio of N1 to N2 is

T1: Open your notebook and write new words and structures

Open your book and do exercises Page 13-14

Unlike teacher T1, teacher T2 has not taught new Maths vocabulary andstructures at the presentation stage She introduces new Maths vocabulary inthe presentation stage, only when students have difficulties in solving wordproblems in the practice stage, T2 provides correlative structures for givinganswers for word problems

Extract 6 from Units of Mass lesson

T2: Open your notebook and write new words

Tone : tấn

Quintal: tạ