Thái độ của học sinh lớp 10 đối với việc sửa lỗi nói của giáo viên một nghiên cứu ở trường trung học phổ thông thuận thành II

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN THANH BÌNH TEN GRADERS’ ATTITUDES TO

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

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

NGUYỄN THANH BÌNH

TEN GRADERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS TEACHERS’

ORAL ERROR CORRECTION: A STUDY AT

THUẬN THÀNH II HIGH SCHOOL

(THÁI ĐỘ CỦA HỌC SINH LỚP 10 ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC SỬA LỖI NÓI

CỦA GIÁO VIÊN: MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU

Ở TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG THUẬN THÀNH II)

M.A.MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

MAJOR : ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE : 60140111

HANOI - 2015

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

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

NGUYỄN THANH BÌNH

TEN GRADERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS TEACHERS’

ORAL ERROR CORRECTION: A STUDY

AT THUẬN THÀNH II HIGH SCHOOL

(THÁI ĐỘ CỦA HỌC SINH LỚP 10 ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC SỬA LỖI NÓI

CỦA GIÁO VIÊN: MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU

Ở TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG THUẬN THÀNH II)

M.A.MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

MAJOR : ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE : 60140111

SUPERVISOR : PROF DR HOÀNG VĂN VÂN

CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT

I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “TEN GRADERS’

CORRECTION: A STUDY AT THUẬN THÀNH II HIGH SCHOOL”

is the result of my research for the Degree of Master of Art and that the thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or tertiary institution

Ha noi, 2015

Nguyễn Thanh Bình

I gratefully acknowledge all the lecturers at Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, VNU University of Languages and International Studies for providing us with knowledge from precious and helpful lectures

I would like to express my sincere thanks to all my students and my colleagues at Thuận Thành II High School for their helpful contribution and co-operation in this study

Last but not least, my hearted thanks are reserved for my family and friends for their love and support that have encouraged me a lot in carrying out this study

ABSTRACT

Speaking seems to be the most important skill among the four language skills However, in reality, the ability to speak English of the students at Thuận Thành II High School is still far from satisfaction

This study focuses on the students‟ attitudes towards teachers‟ oral error correction The subjects of the study were 111 students from three classes (10A1, 10A5, 10A6) and 3 teachers teaching English for grade 10 The data revealed that students at Thuận Thành II High School are aware of the significance of oral errors in language learning and they have strongly positive attitudes towards teacher correction of oral errors However, they are not fully satisfied with the teachers‟ treatment of errors In addition, they have a strong desire to have their grammatical and phonological errors corrected rather than other types of errors Besides, they prefer to be corrected right after they have finished speaking Among the six techniques

of oral error correction, the most preferred one is explanation and explicit correction

Based on such findings, some suggestions were given with the hope that they might be useful for the teachers at Thuận Thành II High School to develop their students‟ speaking skill

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims and Objectives of the Study 2

2.1 Aim of the Study 2

2.2 Objectives of the study 2

3 Research Questions 3

4 Scope of the Study 3

5 Methods of the Study 3

6 Significance of the Study 4

7 Design of the Study 4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 6

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

1.1 Definition of Error 6

1.2 Classification of Errors 7

1.3 Sources of Errors 8

1.4 Distinction between “Error” and “Mistake” 9

1.5 Perspectives on Error and Error Correction 9

1.6 Techniques of Oral Error Correction 11

1.7 Previous Studies on Students‟ Attitudes Towards Teachers‟ Oral Error Correction 16

1.8 Definitions of other terms 18

1.9 Summary ……….19

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 20

2.1 Rationale for the Use of Survey Research 20

2.3 The Subjects of the Study 22

2.4 Data Collection Instruments 24

2.5 Data Collection Procedure 26

2.6 Summary 27

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISSCUSSION 28

3.1 Students‟ Perception of Oral Errors and Error Correction 28

3.2 Students‟ Reactions to Teachers‟ Actual Practices of Oral Error Correction 30

3.3 Students‟ Preferences for Teacher Correction of Oral Errors 32

3.4 Summary 41

PART C: CONCLUSION 42

1 Summary of the Findings 42

2 Pedagogical Implications 44

2.1 Student Consideration 44

2.2 Error Correction Methods Consideration 45

3 Limitations 47

4 Recommendations for Further Research 47

REFERENCES 49 APPENDIX ……… I

LIST OF TABLES

Table 0.1: Students‟ frequencies of errors 28

Table 0.2: Teachers‟ frequencies of error correction 28

Table 0.3: Students‟ perceptions on the role of oral errors in language learning 29 Table 0.4: Students‟ perceptions on the role of teachers‟ oral error correction 30 Table 0.5: Students‟ level of understanding of teachers‟ oral error correction 30

Table 0.6: Students‟ level of improvement in speaking skill due to teachers‟ correction 32 Table 0.7: Students‟ preferences for types of errors to be corrected 33

Table 0.8: Students‟ preferences for amount of error to be corrected 35

Table 0.9: Students‟ preference for timing of error correction 35

Table 10: Students‟ preferences for error correction techniques 37

Table 11: Students‟ most favored and least favored correction techniques 39

Table 12: Students‟ preferences for error correction forms 40

ABBREVIATIONS

CLT : Communicative Language Teaching

COFs : Classroom Observation Forms

EFL : English as a Foreign Language

ESL : English as a Second Language

TESOL : Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Language

PART A: INTRODUCTION

This chapter introduces the study It begins with the rationale for the study Next, it presents the aims and objectives, the research questions of the study as well as the scopes of the study This is followed by a brief description of methodology used in the present study and the significance of the study Finally, the chapter concludes with a description of the organization

of the thesis

1 Rationale

It can‟t be denied that English plays a very important role in today‟s

global world According to Quirk (1972: 2-3), “English is the world’s most important language and the world’s most widely used language” English is also “a top requirement of those seeking good jobs” (Quirk, 1972: 4) Thus,

without the powerful language English, connecting nations all over the world would have been something impossible As a result, no language is more widely studied or used as a foreign language than English and more timetable hours are devoted to English than any other subject (Quirk, 1972: 4)

In Vietnam, English is being paid more and more attention to The English school curriculum is always changed to meet the society‟s needs Therefore, students are more motivated and get better and better results However, it

doesn‟t mean that learners have no errors in learning We are living in “an imperfect world and consequently errors will always occur in spite of our best efforts” (Richards, 1984: 20) There exist different views towards errors In the past, errors committed by students were considered to be “something undesirable which they diligently sought to prevent from occurring”

(Touchie, 1986: 75) In contrast, errors are now viewed as evidence for a

creative process in language learning (Touchie, 1986: 75) or as a necessary part of learning a language (Norrish, 1987: 6)

Over a long period, considerable attention has been paid to errors and error correction in speaking classes Correcting learners‟ oral errors seems to be the most frustrating task that English teachers have to encounter One of the factors that have a great influence on how to correct those errors is learners‟ perceptions and attitudes towards teachers‟ oral error correction Clearly, Vietnamese students are often much anxious about speaking and are afraid of making errors in speaking classrooms because of the fear of appearing a fool Nevertheless, they need to be encouraged to see it as a means of learning, rather than demonstrating learning Thus, teachers‟ error correction can be considered as a pedagogical tool for the students‟ speaking improvement Good method of correction gives students stimulation for revision and motivation to maintain their interest in speaking

2 Aims and objectives of the study

2.1 Aim of the study

As the title suggests, the overarching aim of this thesis is to study ten graders‟

attitudes towards teachers‟ oral correction at Thuận Thành II High School

2.2 Objectives of the study

To achieve the above aim, the following objectives are set for exploration:

1 investigating the teachers‟ method of oral error correction in classes: their responding methods, their correction focus as well as the error correction types;

2 finding out the students‟ perceptions of the error correction they receive from their teachers and the recommendations for improving it; and

3 finding out students‟ attitudes towards teachers‟ oral error correction by examining their perception and their preferences for teachers‟ oral error correction

Of the three objectives, the last one is the focus of the study

4 Scope of study

It is easily seen that oral error correction is so broad an issue that it is not possible to discuss all of its aspects Therefore, in this study, I would like to focus only on investigating students‟ attitudes towards teachers‟ methods of spoken error correction among a group of 10th grade students at Thuận Thành

II High School in Bắc Ninh province

5 Methods of Study

To achieve the aims of the study, the researcher reviews the related documents to lay the theoretical background of the study In the study both qualitative and quantitative methods are used That is the data serving the research analysis and discussion are collected by means of survey questionnaires and classroom observation Quantitative method is used to analyze the results from data collection of the survey questionnaires on the

10th form students at Thuận Thành II High School Besides, quantitative method is employed to analyze the data from classroom observation forms

(COFs) The COFs are then synthesized and analyzed by the researcher By using each of the methods, relevant information to support the study will be

achieved

6 Significance of Study

It is hoped that the findings of the study will be useful to both the teachers of English and students of tenth grade at Thuận Thành II High School It will help the teachers to realize their student‟s attitudes towards their oral error correction so that they can find appropriate ways for delivering oral error correction to their students

7 Design of Study

The thesis consists of three parts: Introduction, Development, and Conclusion

*The Introduction provides the rationale for the study, the aim and

objectives of the study and research questions, the scope of the study, the significance of the study, and the design of the study

* The Development consists of 3 chapters

Chapter 1 presents the theoretical background for the thesis including definitions and classifications of error; sources of errors; distinction between the notions of “error” and „mistake”; major perspectives on the roles of errors and error correction in general and of oral error correction in particular; the roles of oral error correction; common techniques of oral error correction; and review of previous studies on students‟ attitudes and preferences for teachers‟ oral error correction

Chapter 2 presents the methodology of the research: the participants involved in the study, the data collection procedure and the statistical analysis

of data

Chapter 3 presents the findings and discussion of the findings, pointing the students‟ attitudes towards teachers‟ oral error correction, and recommendations for teaching

* The Conclusion summarizes what has been studied, points out the

limitations of the study, and makes some suggestions for further study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

The purpose of this chapter is to lay the theoretical background for the thesis by reviewing relevant authoritative studies This chapter starts by defining the term “error” which is followed by the distinction between the terms “error” and “mistake” Besides, major perspectives on the place of errors and error correction are discussed The following are description and illustration of some common correction techniques Finally, a number of previous studies on students‟ attitudes and preferences for teachers‟ oral error correction are reviewed critically

error as systematic deviations from the norms of language being learned It

seems that the phrase “systematic deviation” in these definitions is a key word

which can be interpreted as the deviation which happens repeatedly More

specifically, Hendrickson (1980) defines error as “an utterance, form, or structure that a particular language teacher deems unacceptable because of its inappropriate use or its absence in real-life discourse” In the light of this,

an error could be a deviation from a phonological or grammatical rule, an incorrect form or expression in a particular situation

It can be said that defining error is a complicated matter facing applied linguists, researchers and teachers Thus, Chaudron (1986: 69) concluded that

“the determination of errors is clearly a difficult process that depends on the immediate context of the utterance in question as well as on an understanding

of the content of the lesson, the intent of the teacher or student, and at times, the prior learning of the students.”

1.2 Classification of Errors

Errors have been classified in different ways depending on psycholinguistic origin, language skills, language components and the CLT point of view

Basing on the difference between the learners‟ utterance and the reconstructed version, Corder (1971, cited in Nada Salid, 2012) classified

errors into overt and covert errors “Overtly erroneous utterances are

unquestionably ungrammatical at the sentence level Covertly erroneous utterances are grammatically well-formed at the sentence level but are not interpretable within the context of communication" An overt error is easy to

identify because there is a clear deviation in form (e.g: I runned all the way.)

A covert error occurs in utterances that are superficially well-formed but

which do not mean what the learner intended them to mean (example: It was stopped, It means The wind) Then, in 1973 (cited in Nada Salid, 2012), he

classified errors into four main categories: omission of some required elements, addition of some unnecessary or incorrect element, selection of incorrect element, and disordering of elements In this way, errors are categorized on the basis of language components such as phonology, morphology, lexicon, grammar and discourse

Basing on psycholinguistic considerations, Richard and Littlewood (1984) classified errors into “intralingual”, “interlingual”, and

“developmental” An intralingual error is the one that results from the use of elements from one language while speaking/writing another An intralingual error refers to the error reflecting general characteristic of the rule learning

such as faulty generalization, incomplete application of the rules and failure to learn conditions under which rules apply

Categories of errors can also be based on language skills Thus, error can be grouped in the four skill areas of the language: listening, speaking, writing, and reading

Under the CLT point of view which considers errors as those which block communication, Burt and Kiparsky (1974, cited in Nada Salid, 2012)

distinguish between global and local errors The former refers to errors that

hinder communication and “affect overall sentence organization, such as connectors, distributors between co-ordinate and relative clause construction, parallel structures in reduced co-ordinate clauses, and time continuity across clause On the other hand, the latter affects single elements in a sentence without hindering communication such as errors in noun and verb inflections, articles, quantifiers and auxiliaries, etc

1.3 Sources of Errors

It is by no means easy to identify the actual sources of errors in the field

of English language teaching Many applied linguists see that there are mainly two major sources of errors in second language learning The first source is interference from the native language while the second source can be attributed to intralingual and developmental factors Among them, interlingual transfer is the significant source of error for all learners (Browns, 2000) This means that when using the second language, learners often tend to transfer from the native language or interference because “learning a language was a matter of habit formation” (Norish, 1987: 22) Intralingual and developmental errors are due to the difficulty of the second/target language Whereas Norrish

(1987) points three causes of errors, they are carelessness, first language interference, translation In tone with it, Richards (1984: 174) mentions that

the source of errors in studying a language might be derived from the interference of the learners‟ mother tongue and the general characteristics of

the rule learning, such as “faulty generalization, incomplete application of rules, and failure to learn conditions under which rules apply.”

In conclusion, errors can be ascribed to many factors Some errors are caused because of learners‟ language competence; some are due to cultural interference, while others are the results of individual variables, and so on

1.4 Distinction between “Error” and “Mistake”

Before studying errors, it is essential to distinguish the two terms:

“errors” and “mistakes” According to Edge (1989: 1), “making mistakes is a part of learning” He defines mistake as “a performance error that is either a random guess or a “slip” It is a failure to utilize a known system correctly”

(Brown, 2000: 217)

Edge (1989) classifies mistakes into three types: slips, errors and

attempt A slip is a mistake that “a student could self-correct”, whereas an error is a mistake that “a student cannot self-correct” The reason for this

difference is that the learner makes mistakes because of the lacks of attention

or the carelessness in writing and speaking, so these mistakes can be corrected

if attention is called In contrast, an error is defined as the use of linguistic item in a way that a fluent or native speaker of the language regards it as showing faulty or incomplete learning It means that errors occur as a result of lack of knowledge or lack of competence whereas mistakes occur when learners fail to perform their competence

1.5 Perspectives on Error and Error Correction

The correction of learner's oral errors in classroom has always been the main concern of many researchers and educators Based on the ideas of learner-centered approach toward language teaching process, it needs to

consider learners' reactions and feelings toward error correction as we do in other aspects of learning

It is believed that in order to have a successful learning and teaching process it is necessary to consider EFL learners‟ perceptions In language

teaching, there have been two “schools of thought in respect of learners’ errors” (Corder, cited in Richards, 1984: 20) Firstly, most teachers consider

errors to be undesirable, a sign of failure not only on the learner‟s but also on the teacher‟s part This results in anxiety and hesitancy among learners to say anything for fear of making errors and being reprimanded by their teachers, which becomes one of the most inhibiting factors in language classes (Norish, 1987: 1) As a result, errors were seen as evidence of ineffective learning Moreover, researchers in the field of applied linguistics begin to view errors

as evidence for a creative process in language or a positive aid to learning

According to Yule (1997, cited in Islam, 2007: 7), an error “is not something which hinders a learner’s progress, but is probably a clue to the active learning progress behind made by a learner as he or she tries out ways of communicating in the new language” It is necessary that the teacher should

concentrate on techniques for dealing with errors after they have occurred

Similarly, there has been a sea-change in error correction because “the language teacher’s attitude to errors is influenced by his view of what he is trying to do in class.” (Norish, 1987: 2) On one hand, “like sin, error is to be avoided… the principal way of overcoming it is to shorten the time lapse between the incorrect response and a presentation once more of the correct model ” Thus, error correction has no use and may even have a harmful effect

on language development As a result, some teachers consider error to be some kinds of a crime, making students more afraid and unsure than they usually are They try to prevent their students from making errors by giving

immediate correction On the other hand, error correction can be effective to language learning if teachers handle it appropriately According to Edge

(1989: 50), “Correction should mean helping people to become more accurate, not insisting on completely Standard English” and “Involving learners in judgments about correctness helps them become more accurate in their own use of the language” However, it is impossible to correct all the

errors that learners make because correction doesn‟t mean making everything absolutely correct Therefore, before correcting student errors, teachers need

to consider whether the errors should be corrected at all

The issue of error and error correction is a complicated topic which has been open to a great deal of discussion On the whole, error correction plays

an important part in the process of second and foreign language acquisition

1.6 Techniques of Oral Error Correction

One of the questions facing every ESL/EFL teacher is how to correct oral errors and how much to correct Researcher opinions vary widely on this: from no correction to extensive correction, from immediate to delayed correction, and from implicit to explicit correction Brown (2000) also found that teachers and learners employ a multiplicity of strategies for teaching and learning the target language and that one teacher or learner‟s strategies for success may differ markedly from another‟s Therefore, the teacher has to be flexible and aware of the effect of correcting errors on each individual learner and it is necessary to use error correction in a way supporting the learning process (Edge, 1989)

There are many ways to handle error correction in English speaking classes Generally, error correction is placed under the category of implicit or explicit While explicit correction indicates that an error has occurred within

an utterance by pointing it out, implicit correction, generally through recasts,

allows for the teacher to state the correct form out loud According to Doughty (1994, cited in Russell & Spada, 2006) “clarification requests”,

“repetition” and “recasts” were the most frequently used types In 1997, a study by Lyster and Ranta discussed the six common ways in which errors are corrected They are explicit correction, recasts, clarification requests, metalinguistic clues, elicitation, and repetition Among those six techniques, recasts are found to be the most common one used by the teachers Recasts, clarification requests, elicitation, and repetition all fall under the category of implicit correction Contrarily, explicit correction and metalinguistic clues fall under the category of explicit correction

1.6.1 Explicit correction refers to the explicit condition of the correct form

As the teacher provides the correct form, he or she clearly indicates that what

the student said was incorrect by using such terms as “I’m sorry…is wrong/ You should say…/ You shouldn’t say…/ We don’t say…/ We (can) say…/ Pay attention to…/ There is a mistake in…”

Example 1: S: He go to school every day,

T: You should say “goes”, not “go”

Example 2: S: I goed to the movies yesterday

T: We don‟t say “goed,” we say “went.”

1.6.2 Recasts: Unlike Explicit correction in which the teacher provides the

correct form directly, Recasts are the ways in which the teacher indirectly points out the students‟ error by repeating all or part of the student‟s utterance using the correct form Recast is a type of the feedback that has received a lot

of attention from researchers and is the most preferred error correction by teachers (Loewen & Philips, 2006) However, recasts are only beneficial only when they are noticed by the learners Therefore, they will be a risk if they

pass unnoticed Loewen & Philips (2006) has concluded that the younger the learners are, the higher the risk that they will not notice the recast

Example 3: S: I go to cinema at weekend

T: Oh, you went to the cinema at the weekend

S: Yeah, I went to the cinema

Example 4: S: I seed it yesterday

T: Oh, you saw it yesterday?

1.6.3 Clarification requests are the way in which the teacher indicates that

the student‟s utterance has been misunderstood or ill formed in some way and that a reformulation is necessary It means that the teacher pretends he/she didn't understand the student by saying something like "excuse me", "sorry", etc

Example 5: S: What happens for the boat?

T: What?

S: What‟s wrong with the boat?

Example 6: Teacher: Pardon? Do I have-?

Student: Do you have a man near a big spaceship?

Example 7: S: I saw the movie Kilanic yesterday

T: Excuse me, you saw what movie?

1.6.4 Metalinguistic Clues refers to the questions posed by the teacher like

“Do we say it like that?”; “Is that how it is said?” ; “Is that English?” or provides comments, information or questions related to the formation of the student's utterance without providing the correct form Metalinguistic comments generally indicate that there is an error somewhere (e.g., “Can you find your error?”) Metalinguistic information generally provides either some grammatical metalanguage that refers to the nature of the error (e.g., “It‟s”) or

a word definition in the case of lexical errors Metalinguistic questions also

point to the nature of the error but attempt to elicit the information from the student (e.g., “Is it feminine?”)

Metalinguistic feedback is divided into three subcategories: metalinguistic comments, metalinguistic information and metalinguistic questions (Lyster & Ranta, 1997)

Example 8: S: "Uhm, the, the elephant The elephant growls."

T: "Do we say the elephant?"

Example 9: S: I seed it yesterday

T: Is seed the past tense of saw?

1.6.5 Elicitation has three different techniques

a Elicit completion of their own utterance by strategically pausing to allow students to “fill in the blank as it were

b Use questions to elicit the forms such as “How do we say that in English?

c Teachers occasionally ask students to reformulate their utterance such as

“Please say that again.”

Example 10 : S: Yesterday with friends I saw a ummm…

T: What do we call a video on a big screen?

Example 11: S: I find horror films really interested

T: You find horror films really…?

1.6.6 Repetition refers to the teacher‟s repetition, in isolation, of the student‟s

erroneous utterance In most cases, the teacher adjusts his/her intonation so as

to highlight the error and to attract student‟s attention to it By doing so, the teacher can make the student aware of the error and correct it

Example 12: S: My father enjoys listen to classical music

T: Listen?

Example 13: S: I seed it yesterday

T: You seed it?

* Delayed correction

Besides six techniques proposed by Lyster and Ranta, delayed error support is also an option suggested by Edge (1989) It is explained that the teacher should make a note of errors that he/she hears Especially, in a large class of forty, there would be twenty pairs doing the exercise at the same time The teacher cannot even hear most of the students, and if the teacher stops to correct someone, he/she will certainly miss lots more errors In this case, the teacher can wait until the pairs have finished the exercise without thinking too much about correction He/She can change the sentences on the board until they are correct

Example 14: She has about fourteen years

* Gestures

If teachers correct students too much, teachers might make their students feel discouraged and compromise students‟ fluency for the sake of accuracy If teachers correct students too little, students will continue making the same mistakes Achieving the right balance is a daunting task, although not an impossible one Besides verbal strategies, teachers can use non-verbal ones, among which is gestures Teachers typically gesture backwards with their hands or point to the back to show students they haven‟t used the verb in the past Students often use the wrong pronouns; it is quite common to hear a

student say, “She went to the movies with your boyfriend.” To which teachers

simply reply by pointing to themselves with a look of shock or surprise If

students repeat the errors, teachers can raise a finger to show them where in

the sentence the error is, though they have to figure out what they are doing wrong

1.7 Previous Studies on Students’ Attitudes towards Teachers’ Oral Error Correction

Oral error correction plays a significant role in the learning process Recent years have yielded several important review papers or studies devoted

to research into error correction (e.g Tomková, 2013; Pawlak, 2012; Katayama, 2007; Ken Hyland and Eri Anan , 2006; Lasagabaster and Manuel Sierra , 2005; Schulz, 1996; Azara and Molavib, 2013)

Concerning teachers‟ perception towards error correction, Katayama (2007) presented the change in the perception of error correction Hyland and Anan (2006) focused on teachers‟ perception towards error correction They indicated that although all the teachers viewed error correction as a positive pedagogic strategy, they performed the task in different ways Japanese teachers of English tend to focus on grammatical accuracy in their classes In their study, Japanese L1 teachers of English are less lenient in correcting

errors, find more errors, and employ infringement of rules as their main criterion in judging error gravity The native English speaking teachers, in

contrast, drew on both grammaticality and intelligibility in identifying errors,

were more selective in correction by identifying far fewer errors, and saw appropriacy as a basis of error judgments

Studying students‟ perception towards error correction, Lasagabaster and Manuel Sierra (2005) concluded that the students stated their preference for not being corrected constantly, as they felt inhibited They preferred to communicate more freely rather than being continuously corrected However,

this did not mean that they did not wish to be corrected What they preferred was a more selective correction Similarly, Katayama (2006) investigated students‟ perceptions toward oral error correction in Japanese classrooms in the US, and found that 92.8% of the respondents expressed strongly favorable attitudes toward teacher correction Schulz‟s (1996, 2001) studies also revealed that students‟ attitudes toward error correction were more favorable than their teachers‟ attitudes; that is, learners want more error correction

Another study related to this study was carried out by Azara and Molavib (2013) Participants were 13 EFL learners at Maragheh Islamic Azad University, Iran The results showed that EFL learners have strongly positive attitudes toward correction of all errors by their teacher and they prefer correction of phonology and grammar errors more than others and they would rather self-correction among methods

In terms of oral correction techniques used by teachers, Panova and Lyster (2002) conducted an observational study in which they involved some early-intermediate adult ESL classrooms in Quebec They found that recasts were the most frequent type of oral error correction used by the teachers Similarly, Lyster and Ranta in (1997) investigated the use of oral error correction by teachers in grades 4 and 5 French immersion classrooms They identified six feedback types of oral corrective feedback used by teachers: explicit correction, recasts, clarification requests, metalinguistic feedback, elicitation, and repetition They found that recasts were the most common type of corrective feedback used by the teachers

To sum up, students‟ attitudes toward teacher‟s oral error correction gets more and more concern However, the previous studies have mainly focused on college and university students It seems that there is little research

into this issue in the contexts of high schools Thus, the present study is one attempt to add to the literature on this important topic

1.8 Definition of other terms

* Cognitive

Cognitive linguistics (CL) refers to the branch of linguistics that interprets language in terms of the concepts, sometimes universal, sometimes specific to a particular tongue, which underlie its forms

* Perception

Perception is defined as the process by which people translate sensory impressions into a coherent and unified view of the world around them Though necessarily based on incomplete and unverified (or unreliable) information, perception is equated with reality for most practical purposes and guides human behavior in general

*Belief

Beliefs are the core of who we are, what we do, and the success that we acquire Most people define beliefs as inward convictions, a feeling of certainty about what something means They are what you hold dear and are rooted deeply within A belief is both mental and emotional It is imbedded in the mind and in the heart

1.9 Summary

In this chapter, the researcher has tried to give an overview of the relevant literature in the concern of the study This chapter has dealt with the definition of errors as well as mistakes This chapter also briefly presents types of errors, sources of errors and different viewpoints dealing with errors and error correction in speaking lessons Moreover, it helps the teachers and students understand more deeply and acknowledge some common techniques

of error correction

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, a detailed presentation of the method used in the study

is given It is comprised of the rationale for using survey research and a discussion of the components related to this method including an overview of the research site, the instruments, the data collection procedure and data collection methods

2.1 Rationale for the Use of Survey Research

In the process of finding out an appropriate methodology for the research, the researcher decided that survey research would be the best choice

to achieve the main aim of the study It is considered to be one of the most important areas of measurement in applied social research According to Johnson, survey is a study of a large group through a direct study of a subset

of that group whereas Brown and Rodgers (2001) said that survey is procedures used to gather and describe characteristics, attitudes, views, opinions, and so forth of students, teachers, administrators, or other people who are important to study McDonough and McDonough (2001) also highlights that survey is especially suited for research in attitudes of teachers/learners toward a teaching method

2.2 An Overview of the Research Site

2.2.1 The School

The study was conducted at Thuận Thành II High School, a rural school in Bắc Ninh province It ranks the second in the district The school has obtained national standard since 2012 with spacious and modernly

equipped buildings

The school has 40 classes with a number of 36 to 42 students in each class Each grade has two classes, in which the students major in the subjects

of Social Science like Language, Literature, History and Geography, one class major in English and one in Literature, Geography and History, and three classes specialise in Basic Science including Mathematics, Physics,

Chemistry and Biology

The facility of the school is relatively good in comparison with the others in the district However, teaching aids for teaching English is rather poor: the number of cassettes is not sufficient for all classes; there is no language laboratory in school Consequently, teachers have to face many difficulties in teaching listening

2.2.2 The Textbook

The 10th form students are now using Tieng Anh 10, the standard

category, written by Hoang Van Van et al It follows two popular approaches, namely learner-centered approach and communicative approach There are 16 units in the textbook Each unit contains 5 lessons: Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing and Language Focus Obviously these textbooks focus on linguistic knowledge as well as skill formation and development Speaking skill is taught in one lesson of a unit Its primary goal is to improve students‟ communicative competence, that is, the ability to communicate in English

2.2.4 Learning Situation in 10 th Form

In English lessons, the main teaching aids used are simply a blackboard, textbooks and in recent years teachers have been using cassettes

in listening lessons The classrooms are physically overcrowded, with limited space for activity organization Besides, there are no competitions and outdoor activities for students to take part in Moreover, most of the students

do not care much for the importance of English They just focus on learning the subjects for their entrance exam, namely maths, chemistry and physics English tests are administered to measure students‟ language ability However, skills tests including speaking one are not implemented Generally, the students‟ knowledge of English is poor Their exposure to English in the classroom is limited, so they are not good at communicative skills Therefore, the teaching of English in general, and the teaching speaking English in particular has experienced a lot of difficulties

Error correction in speaking lessons is not done properly Each teacher has different reactions to learners‟ errors Most of them correct errors unmethodically They rarely adopt appropriate error-correction strategies They either never correct or correct almost all errors made by students, mostly

in negative ways Thus, error correction is ineffective and even counterproductive

2.3 The Subjects of the Study

The subjects of the study are 111 students at Thuận Thành II High School, where the researcher teaches English Besides, 3 teachers of English teaching the 10th form students are invited to perform their lesson teaching The teachers and students will help by filling in the questionnaires and carrying out their classes as usual for the researcher to observe and collect the most reliable data

2.3.1 The Students

There are reasons for my choice of 10th grade students as the subjects of this study On one hand, they are more eager to speak English in class than those of 11th or 12th grades On the other hand, findings of the study are hoped

to provide teachers with practical and useful recommendations as soon as possible for better teaching and learning in the forthcoming school years

Having experienced 14 years of teaching English at Thuận Thành II High School, the researcher has recognized that all of the subjects had learned English since grade 3 before participating in the research However, they just focus on learning grammar points and vocabulary in order to complete all their written tests with positive outcomes rather than covering four basic skills

in English learning, including reading, speaking, listening and writing Consequently, listening and speaking are likely to be paid little attention to during their learning English

The subjects of the study are a sample of 111 students in the 10th form selected at Thuận Thành II High School They are from three classes, 10A1 (specializing in Maths, Chemistry and Physics), 10 A5 (specializing in English) and 10A6 (specializing in Literature, History and Geography) They all come from the countryside Their parents are farmers so their living condition is not really good After school, they have to do the farming and housework However, most of their parents encourage them to study well One thing that should be noted is that although all of them have been learning English since grade 3, they are not of the same level of proficiency and in particular, their speaking ability is poor Only some of students of class 10A1 and 10A5 are good and active in speaking classes while the rest of these two classes and the students in class 10A6 remain passive and quiet

2.3.2 The Teachers

The 3 teachers of English who are currently teaching the 10th form are asked to conduct the lessons for the researcher to observe Among them, there are 1 male and 2 female Their ages range for from 29 to 37 They have been teaching English at Thuận Thành II High School from six to ten years One of them got formal training and two got in-service training

2.4 Data Collection Instruments

In this minor thesis, the survey questionnaire is the main research instrument used to collect quantitative and qualitative data According to

Babbie (1973), the survey is a non-experimental, descriptive research method

Surveys can be useful when a researcher wants to collect data on phenomena that cannot be directly observed Besides, observation is employed to support the results obtained from the questionnaire

2.4.1 Survey Questionnaire

2.4.1.1 Reasons for Choosing Survey Questionnaire

The main instrument for collecting data in the study was the

questionnaire According to Brown (2001:6), “Questionnaires are any written instruments that present respondents with a series of questions or statements

to which they are to react either by writing out their answers or selecting from among existing answers” Survey questionnaires are always considered

one of the most frequently used and effective methods for studying This is the reason why the writer decided to choose questionnaires as her main type

of instruments used to accomplish the research The survey questionnaire is mainly to collect information from the subjects of this study Moreover, it is easy and simple to summarize and report collect data while the researcher does not spend much time on it

Nevertheless, survey questionnaire is undoubtedly not a perfect method for study It is the truth that researchers cannot gather unpredicted responses from subjects for the surveys are usually mainly multiple choice questions As

a consequence, other supplementary instruments, semi-structured interview and observation are also used to lessen the draw backs of survey questionnaire

2.4.1.2 Description of Survey Questionnaires

In order to achieve the purpose of the study, the researcher designed a questionnaire (Appendix 1, page I-XII) which comprised 12 questions of such

as multiple-choice questions, open-ended questions, ranked questions and scaled questions It was translated into Vietnamese with the help of three teacher participants and the students were clearly instructed to ensure that they understood all the questions before answering them The students‟ identity was not required so that they could feel free and comfortable to express opinions, hence more honest responses

In the first part of questionnaire, the researcher would like to mention the level of respondents by asking them which field of study they major in Students from different fields of study may have more various attitudes towards error and error correction

There are two main parts in the questionnaire:

Part A: Questions 1-4 are aimed to find out students‟ perception of oral error and oral error correction

Part B: Questions 5-6 deal with reactions to their teacher‟s actual practice of oral error correction

Questions 7- 12 are concerned with students‟ preferences for teacher correction of oral errors: what types of errors they want to be corrected

(Questions 7-8), when and how they want teachers‟ error correction to be delivered (Questions 9-11), and who they prefer to correct the errors (Question 12)

2.5 Data Collection Procedure

The work of data collection for this study was carried out at the middle and at the end of the second semester At this time, the 10th form students have learned in Thuận Thành II High School for one semester They have quite adapted to the new environment in general and the teaching and learning

of English in particular Also the teachers have got to know quite a lot about their students

2.5.1 For Questionnaires

To collect data, the researcher has to design the questionnaires for the students Student-questionnaires were distributed to 111 students of the three classes 10A1, 10A5 and 10A6 at Thuận Thành II High School The survey was conducted at the end of the class meeting periods of the three classes with the head teachers‟ permission The students completed the questionnaires in

about 30 minutes Before administering the questionnaires, the researcher gave some introduction and instructions, including Vietnamese explanation when necessary, in order to make the procedures clear to the students in the hope that the subjects would fully understand the contents of the questionnaires Then, 111 student-questionnaires in which 8 students only tick the same column were returned to the researcher, so the number of total respondents is 93

2.5.2 For Classroom Observation

Before embarking in observing the classes, the researcher got permission from the school and the teachers to be observed to avoid ethics violations The observations were conducted with the three 10th grade classes

in 3 periods When observing the lessons, the researcher did not do anything which interfered the class The researcher took notes of the teacher‟s instruction concerning frequency of delivering correction, the types of errors which were in focus of the teacher‟s correction and the teacher‟s employment

of correction techniques Besides, the researcher used a camera to record all the lessons in case of later reference

2.6 Summary

The chapter gives a full description of methodology to carry out the study As shown above, this study makes use of questionnaire and classroom observation as the main research instruments because they are the most suitable for the aims of the study The participants of the study are 93 students

of three classes and three teachers teaching at these three classes The characteristics of the participants are fully described in order to help readers understand the present context, in which the present study is carried out In the next chapter, findings of the research and some discussing of the finding will be provided

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISSCUSSION

This chapter serves as a representation of data collected during research procedure Accordingly, the interpretation of these data is also offered to address the three research questions

3.1 Students’ Perception of Oral Errors and Error Correction

Questions 1 and 2 (Appendix 1, page I) ask about Students‟ judgment

on error-correction in their speaking lessons Below are the results

Table 0.1: Students’ frequencies of errors

Respondents

(No)

Very often (%)

Often (%)

Sometimes (%)

Rarely (%)

Never (%)

no student has ever made any errors because making errors is unavoidable

Table 0.2: Teachers’ frequencies of error correction

Respondents

(No)

Very often (%)

Often (%)

Sometimes (%)

Rarely (%)

Never (%)

As can be seen from the table above, students gave different ideas on the frequency of teachers‟ error-correcting practice 2.2 % of the students showed that their teachers very often implement error correction in speaking lessons More than half of them (63.3%) chose that error-correction was often carried out in speaking lessons About one-third of them (32.3%) agreed that correcting errors was sometimes used in their lessons Especially, quite few

students (2.2%) assessed that the teachers rarely corrected errors and no student responded that their teachers never corrected errors In general, the work of error correction was done with high frequency in speaking lessons

Questions 3 and 4 (Appendix 1, page I) in the survey questionnaire aim

at exploring students‟ awareness of the role of oral errors and teachers‟ oral error correction in the EFL classrooms The results are summarized in the tables below

Table 0.3: Students’ perceptions on the role of oral errors in language learning

Respondents

(No)

Strongly agree (%)

Agree (%)

Neutral (%)

Disagree (%)

Strongly disagree (%)

As can be seen from table 3, more than half of the students were aware

of the usefulness of oral errors in English language learning (21.5% strongly agree and 50.5% agree) Most of them state that speaking is not an easy skill and the occurrence of errors in language learning is therefore inevitable They explained that committing errors helps them understand more about what they have learnt and improve their speaking skill as well In addition, they state that committing errors helps them know what needs to be improved in the future According to them, their failure will lead to their success, which is of great use in shaping their positive attitudes towards the making of errors in the classroom

On the other hand, 12 of 93 respondents (accounting for 12.9%) showed their disagreement on the important role of oral errors In terms of neutral ideas, the number of those people makes up 15.1% They consider that they will lose their face if committing errors Unfortunately, they blame errors for showing their speaking ability and it is errors that degrade their learning progress