An investigation into 10th grade students’ out of class learning at a high school in lao cai province

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ---oOo--- HỒ THU HUYỀN AN INVESTIGATION INTO 10TH GRADE STUDENT

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

-oOo -

HỒ THU HUYỀN

AN INVESTIGATION INTO 10TH GRADE STUDENTS’ OUT-OF-CLASS LEARNING AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN

LAO CAI PROVINCE

(Nghiên cứu việc học ngoài lớp học của học sinh khối lớp 10

ở một trường THPT tại tỉnh Lào Cai)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01

Hanoi - 2019

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

-oOo -

HỒ THU HUYỀN

AN INVESTIGATION INTO 10TH GRADE STUDENTS’ OUT-OF-CLASS LEARNING AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN

LAO CAI PROVINCE

(Nghiên cứu việc học ngoài lớp học của học sinh khối lớp 10

ở một trường THPT tại tỉnh Lào Cai)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Lê Văn Canh, PhD

Hanoi - 2019

DECLARATION

I, Ho Thu Huyen, hereby declare that my thesis entitled “An investigation into 10th grade students’ out-of-class learning at a high school in Lao Cai province” (Nghiên cứu việc học ngoài lớp học của học sinh khối lớp

10 ở một trường THPT tại tỉnh Lào Cai) submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi is my own work and has not been submitted before to any institutions for assessment Documented references have been fully provided

Post-Hanoi, 2019

Ho Thu Huyen

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor, associate professor Le Van Canh, who has constantly supported me through the stage of

my study and stimulated ideas for my growth as an academic researcher

I also want to express my profound gratitude to all the doctors, lecturers and staff members of the Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their useful lectures and helpful advice for me to complete the thesis

I would like to send my thanks to the management board and teachers

of Lao Cai High School Number 2 for their cooperation and valuable information they provided in my research Without their help, the survey could not have been successfully conducted

My thanks also go to my colleagues in Lao Cai college for their encouragement and enthusiasm for my studying time

Last but not least, I would like to express my endearing and enduring gratitude to my family and friends for their continuous support throughout my years of studying and the process of researching and writing this thesis It is virtually impossible for me to accomplish my thesis without their assistance

ABSTRACT

This research aims at exploring the ways the10th grade students learn English outside the classroom The primary purpose is to examine what activities the students take part in to improve English out of the class, the frequency of those supplementary activities The secondary purpose is to investigate the activities they like to participate in most To achieve the aim of the study, the author used survey questionnaire as instrument to collect data The results of the data analysis reveal that activities students usually do to enhance their English proficiency are watching films, doing projects, listening

to music and learning the new words by heart The out-of-class activities they prefer are listening to music, playing games and communicating in English The students also recognized the importance of learning English outside of the classroom In addition, the findings of the research suggested some

activities for the students do behind the class for their better English

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

ABBREVIATIONS vi

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF FIGURES viii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale of the study 1

2 Aims of the study 3

3 Scope of the study 3

4 Methods of the study 4

5 Significance of the study 4

6 Organization of the thesis 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Activities in teaching and learning English 6

2.2 The role of out-of-class learning 8

2.3 Out-of-class learning activities 11

2.3.1 Chat rooms 11

2.3.2 Interviews 12

2.3.3 Using media 12

2.3.4 Online games 14

2.4 Language learning beyond classroom by Nunan and Richards 15

2.5 Previous studies on out-of-class learning 19

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 23

3.1 Rationale for choosing survey as the research method 23

3.2 Research site 24

3.3 The participants 25

3.4 Data collection 26

3.4.1 Data collection instruments 26

3.4.2 Data collection procedure 26

3.4.3 Data analysis 27

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 28

4.1 Students’ attitude towards English 28

4.2 Students’ self-evaluation about English 29

4.2.1 Students’ self-evaluation about their English proficiency 29

4.2.2 Students’ evaluation about their English skills and knowledge 30

4.3 Students’ attitude toward out-of-class activities 32

4.3.1 Students’ frequency of taking part in out-of-class activities 32

4.3.2 Advantages of out-of-class activities to their English 34

4.3.4 Students’ preference about out-of-class learning activities 36

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 38

5 Summary of the research results 38

5.1 Current out-of-class activities students take part in 38

5.2 Activities students like to participate in most outside the classroom 40

5.3 Suggested activities for English out-of-class learning 42

5.3.1 English clubs 42

5.3.2 Blogs 43

5.3.3 Collaborating projects 43

5.4 Implications of the study 44

5.5 Limitations of the study 46

5.6 Further research directions 46

REFERENCES 47 APPENDIX I

ABBREVIATIONS

App Application

ELT English language teaching

EFL English as a foreign language

ESL English as a second language

IT Information technology

RELC Regional English Language Center

TESOL Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Students’ frequency of taking part in out-of-class activities 32 Table 2 The necessity for taking part in out-of-class activities 35

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Students' attitude toward English 28

Figure 2 Students’ evaluation about their English proficiency 29

Figure 3 Students’ evaluation about their English skills and knowledge 30

Figure 4 Advantages of out-of-class activities 34

Figure 5 Students' preference abut out-of-class learning activities 36

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

Nowadays, English has become an international language which is used

in most fields such as education, technology, science, etc It is usual for us to see journals, articles or scientific research written in English Websites are designed and presented in English, so people have to know and use English to read and access to those sites or take part in activities on those websites As the most popular foreign language in Vietnam, English is essential to communication in our current time so that everyone learns it to get in touch with the international community as it is used in forums between different countries, in commercial contracts, etc English is also essential to the field of education In many countries, children are taught and encouraged to learn English as a second language As a compulsory subject in every school in Vietnam, it has been taught from an early age, at the age of 6 (grade 1 in primary school) or even younger in most schools and universities throughout the country beside other ones It is also one subject for entrance exam to high schools or a condition for graduation in colleges and universities in our country Good English learning at school will enhance students’ competence

in the area of globalization It will certainly reduce the communication gap between people of different countries and therefore make people in the world become closer Because of its importance, students need to improve their English language to attain get a certain level of competence

To reach a certain level in English, apart from learning at school, students also spend time practising outside the class and both of these two dimensions of learning English are beneficial Richards (2015) states two dimensions to successful second language learning: inside and outside of the

classroom, out-of-class learning opportunities provide comprehensible input and output as well as learners’ overall second language development, language learning or activation outside the classroom offers challenges and opportunities that are not available inside the classroom When talking about learning in the classroom, we often think of the images where students sit in their places, teacher is the person to control the class and give the lectures with the help of facilities such as projector, board, chalk and realia Learning inside the class, beside positive aspects, has some constraints such as the number of students in one class is large, time is limited with forty-five minutes for one period with various activities while a teacher has to pay attention to every student, lack of flexibility in teaching methods makes the teacher feel difficult to give lectures as well as control the class effectively The classroom with 30 or 40 students, each of them is different in personalities and learning level, which requires the teacher to use various methodologies suitable to all of them Besides, education outside the classroom – real world learning – makes an important contribution to building

a learner’s store of knowledge, which is based on their own creativity and enquiry Learning outside the classroom are flexible because learners do not have to obey the rules and are not controlled by the teachers, they have the chance to manifest their language skills as well as living skills Unlike class learning which is time- limited, a period of only forty-five minutes is not enough for all the learners to participate in activities carried out by the teachers, so not all skills are developed during the class time; out of class learning is not restricted by time and place, students can learn whenever and wherever they want and with whoever they feel comfortable It is undeniable that out-of-class learning is meaningful and necessary for English language development Because of the above reasons, I decided to carry out the

research entitles “An investigation into the 10th

grade students’ out-of-class learning at a high school in Lao Cai province”

The research will help teachers understand how students learn outside the classroom as well as what skills they often focus on It is also essential for teachers of English because it can be used as a reference in their teaching

2 Aims of the study

The study aims at investigating how students learn outside the classroom as well as the activities they focus on The findings will be meaningful to English teachers in the school investigated because they can understand how their students learn English outside the class; therefore, they can design suitable strategies to improve their teaching skill as well as design various activities to help their students develop their English competence This study will find the answers to the questions:

(1) How often do students participate in out-of-class English learning? (2) What out-of-class learning activities do students prefer?

3 Scope of the study

With the above aims, the research is limited to explore out-of-class activities that students at Lao Cai High school number 2 take part in It involves the participation of 100 students at grade 10 The findings and suggested activities will be applied to the 10th grade students in Lao Cai High school number 2 Besides, the ability to encourage learning is essential to all students Therefore, the result of the activities can be transferred to other students who learn English As a result, students will find the ways to improve their English language

In addition, this research project can also contribute to the development

of teaching programs The result might raise the awareness of teachers about

students’ ways of learning English outside of the class This study is expected

to bring more insights into the teacher-student understandings The result hopefully can fill in the gaps between the teacher and their students

4 Methods of the study

The study was designed to survey the extent to which the researched students participated in out-of-class English language learning as well as their preferred out-of-class English language learning activities

Since the study is a survey, data was collected by means of a questionnaire

5 Significance of the study

Teachers have the role of understanding all the aspects of their students’s such as their background knowledge, real competence, interest, attitude, personalities, etc Knowing these aspects will help them have appropriate teaching methods as well as be active in planning or designing activities in each lesson The study with the aim at investigating 10th grade students’ out-of-class English learning activities at a high school will be useful for teachers of English at that school because basing on the results, they know how active their students are, how often they take part in some popular activities as well as what activities they often participate in or what activities they like most to improve their English competence after learning at school The result will also be useful for teachers of other subjects because English is now integrated with other subjects thus teachers of other subjects can give extra activities for students do basing on their out-of-class English activities The study will also be useful for teachers of other schools The result of one hundred 10th students in a high school will be the results of the majority of the 10th grade students in that province

6 Organization of the thesis

The study consists of five chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction presents the rationale, the aims, the scope, the

methods, the significance and the organization of the study

Chapter 2: Literature review introduces the review of the literature,

theoretical background and related studies

Chapter 3: Research methodology describes the research methodology,

in which the context of the study, participants, instruments, data collection procedures and data analysis are presented

Chapter 4: Findings and discussion gains results from the

questionnaires This focus on presenting, analyzing and discussing the results obtained from the study through questionnaires

Chapter 5: Conclusion summarizes the research results, implication,

limitation of the study and gives some suggestions for futher research

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

In this chapter, previous studies about out-of-class learning will be presented and discussed This is to place the thesis in the relavant context and provide the readers with basic background of the research

2.1 Activities in teaching and learning English

Almost everybody loves playing even they are old or young, male or female Games are defined as a structure with rules, goals and agreement of the players on the surface (Turtledove, 1996) or an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun (Hadfield, 1990) Therefore, when talking about games,

we often regard competition, rules and enjoyment Nowadays, games are used

in language teaching and learners are usually active in the classroom by playing games (Sugar, 1998) Any teacher would be able to use games to get students’ motivation in language learning and when being in the games, students can develop their language abilities Carrier (1980) stated that games are very useful in a class because they provide an opportunity for students to use their language in a less formal situation

There are many types of games that can be used in English language teaching as role-playing games, imitation games, substitution games, theatrical performance and problem-solving activities Among those, problems solving activities are especially fitting for all stages of language learning Howard Gardner claimed that when exploring a certain topic in school, games can be used in different ways to give students the maximum chances of reaching all students in the classroom “The personal way” is the one, where the ultimate goal is to see if it is possible to approach a specific topic by using, for example, role play, or other interactions (Gardner, 2006) Another one, board games were suggested by Armstrong (2000) as a teaching

strategy that might be suitable for students with interpersonal intelligence because they provide an excellent setting for interaction between students

In the classroom, teachers should be the one to decide the appropriate games for their students Carrier (1980) assumed that there are many factors that should be taken into account when choosing the games that bring success

to students at any time The principal factors they have to consider are related

to the students’ language level, the game, the time to apply the game and the preparation for it as well as its objectives

Drama is defined by Holden (1981) as any activity which asks the student to portray self or another person in an imaginary situation, by Shand (2008) as techniques to teach other subjects These techniques include storytelling, story dramatization, role-playing, etc In other words, drama refers to the dramatic scenes applied in the classroom There is a location, characters and dramatic activities that done in pairs and groups in a scene

In an ESL classroom, drama is regarded as an effective method as Mattevi (2005) stated that the use of drama in the language classroom allows the teacher to present the target language in an active, communicative and contextualized way Using drama can help teacher develop students’ four skills of language learning (speaking, listening, writing and reading), and facilitate pronunciation and body language It allows the students to express their individuality and brings to life the cultural context of the foreign language Campbell (2008) proved the effectiveness of using drama on students' achievement whereas the effect of drama in foreign language teaching Moreover, drama has effectiveness on critical thinking as it develops students’ intellectual skills such as creativity, problem solving, communication, socialization

There are may ways to incorporating drama in the ESL class One of

the easiest ways is to have students act out the dialogue from their textbooks To do this, teacher pair or group the students, have them choose

roles, then work together to act out the dialogue This is simple but effective

for a beginning activity of incorporating drama in the classroom Performing reader’s theater is another effective beginning exercise in which teachers

hand out copies of a short or one-act play, have students choose roles and then

read the play, encourage them to read dramatically or model as necessary

Teacher can also have the students write the dialogue for a scene by having students watch a brief clip of a movie without the sound on and write the

dialogue for it and act it out

In short, the above activities are almost useful in language classroom Therefore, teachers can base on the lesson and students’ level to choose the appropriate ones

2.2 The role of out-of-class learning

Out-of-class learning is defined as “any kind of learning that takes place outside the classroom” and is classified into three categories: self-instruction, naturalistic language learning and self-directed naturalistic language learning (Benson, 2001) Benson also gave definition about out-of-class English learning activities as students’ activities in vocabulary learning, grammar learning and language skills such as listening, speaking reading, writing to improve their English out of the classroom Pickard (1996) also indicated out-of-class learning activities as the ones they do outside the class room: listening to the radio, reading newspapers and novels In Brooks (1992) and Suh, Wasanasomsithi, Short and Majid’s (1999) research, students’ major out-of-class activities were watching television, going to the cinema, listening

to music and interacting with native speakers In this study, out-of-class

English language learning refers to students’ learning outside the regular classrooms, including extra-curriculum activities organized by the teachers or the school if there was any

Out-of-class learning means using places other than the school for teaching and learning In other words, it is about getting learners out and about, providing them with challenging, exciting and different experiences to help them learn Places may be a location, activity or workshop where learning outside the classroom takes place, the purpose of learning is to give learners a real-world learning experience that will be useful for their real life communication Learning outside the classroom differs from those that happen inside the classroom because students may be encouraged to engage

in a wide range of soft skills such as teamwork and leadership It not only helps encourage students develop critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills, etc but also leads to a deeper understanding and provides a context for learning in many areas

Out-of-class learning provides opportunities for language use; in other words, it gives chances for language activation outside the classroom The time for learning in the classroom is not long enough for leaners to practice basing on the theory given, so they have to practice outside of the class Furthermore, learners not only activate their language in authentic contexts, but they also develop their communicative repertoires and acquiring new language skills that are not mastered in the classroom (Choi, 2017) Apart from acquiring new vocabulary, learners can improve fluency and pronunciation, refine their grammatical knowledge, skills, confidence and so

on It is easy to understand because learners move from their classroom to the wider world, they have to deal with the linguistic demands summarized above, cope with a more extensive range of interactional and communicative

variables This motivates them to study hard for communicative purposes

Thomas (2010) also stated that learning outside the classroom creates fun, enjoyment and negotiated goals Firstly, unlike a classroom with four sides of walls and learners only sit at the desks, out-of-class learning can take place anywhere: at a café, a garden, a corner, etc Secondly, when learners are

in the classroom, they are under disciplines and controlled by the teacher, they do not feel free to express their ideas, especially shy ones However, outside the classroom, they can make their own learning regulations, develop their creativity It is true to say that out-of-class learning builds personal experience and provides learners’ interests When learners have the chance to choose their partners who are at their same level or the ones of the same learning styles or interests, they can improve their language competence and therefore the negotiated goals are easily reached

Learners can also entertain when learning outside the classroom Unlike learning in the class with much pressure from teachers, school rules and time limitation, learning outside the class room is very flexible Learners can learn at any time they want and learning time can last whenever they like Apart from learning, they share their hobbies as well as their perspectives for future learning Without disciplines and management from the teacher, they feel comfortable and create activities they like basing on the content of the lesson This is also the time for them to relax without neglecting their duty Ellis (1994) concluded that learners get the most benefit from normal language instruction when it is coupled with opportunities for natural exposure to the language

In short, learning beyond the classroom is significant for learners in general and language development in particular Therefore, learners are not only guided in class time but also encouraged to learn outside the class In

fact, many teachers tend to increase assignments or homework to encourage out-of-class learning This is necessary for language improvement

While the benefits of out-of-class learning are obvious and without participating in out-of-class learning, students can hardly achieve the desired learning results, no much research on this issue has ever been undertaken in the context of Vietnamese high schools In Lao Cai, where this study was conducted, this issue was not given adequate attention because teachers were concerned with in-class learning only This provides a rationale for this study

2.3 Out-of-class learning activities

2.3.1 Chat rooms

Richards (2015) stated that one of the easiest ways for learners to engage in real communication out of class is through chat rooms Chat rooms enable people with similar interests to interact, either through written text-based messages or in spoken medium They are organized with different topics and there are a large number of people giving their ideas if the topics are of their interest Those topics are also for learners of different levels and are for them to apply the language and knowledge they have achieved to exchange their ideas as well as communicate with different people all over the world including native speakers In contrast with stressful classroom-based learning that makes learners sometimes unwilling to communicate, chat room communication is quite flexible and makes them comfortable to use their language as well as express their ideas They are not punished if they make mistakes, so they do not fear of speaking in front of their peers Apart form consolidating knowledge, chat rooms are the places for participants to entertain When they feel comfortable, they often express their interest and concerns about fashions, music, etc Therefore, their understanding about different areas of life is exposed through the target language they are using In

short, chat room interactions often result in more successful comprehension as well as a greater quantity of target language production than classroom-based communication

2.3.2 Interviews

In an interview, the interviewer tries to find out about interviewees’ knowledge, skill and experience, which they have acquired In addition to that, the environment they perform needs communication When learning a foreign language, learners should be given opportunities to practice their speaking because it is the most important aspect of communication Moreover, Richards and Rogers (2001) stated that communicative language teaching needs to practice in the real communication, carrying out the meaningful tasks, and the learners are involved in the authentic and meaningful language Interviews provide opportunities for face to face, for give and take, for negotiation of meaning, for extended conversational exchanges While participating in an interview, the learners become vocal participants in the process, they have to think and share their ideas about the issues of interest Each interview often focuses on one issue Therefore, when taking part in different interviews, learners develop their vocabulary of different issues It also makes students raise their awareness about the different matters of the society and widen their general knowledge; therefore interviews create motivation for language learning

2.3.3 Using media

Films, stories, music, and other cultural products for English language learning have a long established history They are useful for language development According to Jack Richards, social media plays an important role in most people’s daily life and can also be used to support language development Reading authentic texts and news articles from the electronic

media such as BBC News, CNN World, The New York Times can help learners develop their language skills Beside giving learners the chances to practice listening to English, films also help them acquire idiomatic contexts and cultural situations Film are useful for language learning outside the classroom for the following reasons First, it plays an integral part as a motivator, it makes the language learning process more entertaining and enjoyable Second, film provides authentic and varied language, it gives examples of situations in which English is used, as well as conversations for them to imitate in real life Third, it creates a visual context which enables watchers understand more what they have seen Fourth, films assist learners’ comprehension by giving them the chance to listen to language exchanges and see visual supports as facial expressions and gestures simultaneously Moreover, films can bring variety and flexibility to the language learning

Reading stories is one of the best ways to increase vocabulary and consolidate understanding of grammar A good learning environment can be created, meaningful as well as comprehensible input can be provided through the use of story According to Krashen (1981), through stories, the language acquisition device is activated and it is easy for children to induce the language elements from the data provided by the stories Stories can benefit to learners because they help readers to develop the ability to understand spoken language and engage in thinking skills When meeting and coming across new words and phrases in context, readers will find that they begin to make their way into spoken English as well In this way, the more they read, the more quickly their spoken English will improve Nowadays, with the help of modern technology, we can easily find the sources of stories especially online Khaleel (2017) stated that stories can attract students’ attention, because they provide challenging topics based on their everyday interests A

good story interests readers and encourages them to turn the next page and read more They may feel excited, sad, afraid, angry or really happy following

up the content of the story and feel like they are part of it, too This is why the words and structures that relate a story's events, descriptions and conversations are processed in this deeper way and make readers easy to understand Through the stories, the learners widen cultural values which are different from theirs, deepen their memory and develop the ability to predict and infer When retelling the stories they have read, learners are provided with the opportunities to speak the foreign language creatively, integrate information and knowledge they learn from other sources, and become more confident in the ability to express themselves spontaneously

Music has become part of our life Besides, it is a useful tool in learning languages Music can help listeners improve their listening skills, therefore it helps enhance their speaking skills as well When listening to an English song, listeners often listen to it many times This makes them be familiar with the vocabulary and when they remember the words of the song, they tend to repeat them then their pronunciation will be improved Apart from improving vocabulary, songs provide useful sentence structures and grammar as well English songs with a simple sentence structure and conversational language make us understand easily so we can learn them by heart quickly Besides, songs are enjoyable Learners listen to them to reduce stress and anxiety in lives, their rhythms and melodies make them feel comfortable

2.3.4 Online games

Games provide a fun way to practise English – it can be a really motivating way to learn a language Games are also great for those who are shy or worried about making mistakes It can give them an opportunity to

communicate in English in a safe and fun way There are various games with the focus on different skills, grammar, pronunciation, so they can be extremely complex According to Wright et al (2006), games provide one way of helping the learners to experience language rather than merely study

it Games also offer the possibility of repeated use of language items and when the language items are repeated, participants will remember them deeply In addition to practicing language, games are useful for creating motivation and reduce stress of learning During playing games, learners feel comfortable and do not worry much about mistakes of using grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation, they focus only on the language they use to get the points or win the games

There are different activities for learners study English outside the classroom and each of them have certain effects to enhance language competence Learners can choose one activity or combine them together depending on their circumstances

2.4 Language learning beyond classroom by Nunan and Richards

Richard and Nunan states two important dimensions to successful second language learning: inside the classroom and outside of the classroom There is limitation of classroom-based learning such as class-size, time limitation and lack of flexibility in teaching methods Learning inside the classroom is sometimes inefficient because of unfavorable class-size; classes

of 50 or more students are not uncommon in some countries making opportunities for authentic communication difficult In addition, not all of the learners have the chance to communicate with all of their classmates Moreover, large classrooms make discussion and group work more difficult as well as difficulties in classroom management As teachers struggle to handle individual student needs, it becomes very difficult to control a large class

In compariosn with Vietnamese schools nowadays, a period of studying

is only forty-five minutes which is not enough for all learners to participate in activities carried out by the teachers, so not all skills are developed during the class time In addition, apart from knowledge in the textbook, teachers want

to give extra practice associated with real life or realistic situations which are necessary for learners to communicate out side the classroom However, they

do not have time to implement that Besides, the tasks given by the teacher are not only for teaching knowledge but also for focusing on the individual needs With the class time of only thirty or forty-five minutes, it is difficult for them to complete all of those If they spend all the time for one task, they cannot solve the other ones Lack of flexibility in teaching methods is also one problem For instance, introverted learners learn more effectively in individual, independent situations but extroverted learners learn more effectively through concrete experiences, contacts with the outside world and relationships with others Furthermore, not all teachers are physical and emotional enough and because of the large class size and lack of time, teacher can choose the method which is suitable for most students in the class but not all of them

Richards and Nunan presented the benefits out-of class learning activities Extensive reading improves reading fluency and comprehension and increases vocabulary A list of instructional principles for extensive reading has been drawn as well as the major advantages of extensive reading are addressed Technology and the internet were used to promote language learning outside of the classroom Richards also stated the importance of technology and the internet in the development of specific language skills Digital games are mostly liked by young learners because they offer possibilities both for entertainment as well as language learning, particularly

in developing vocabulary and ideas for the topic given Moreover, listening logs can be used to give assignment through which students demonstrate their participation in out-of-class activities and improve their listening abilities since listening log assignments require students to attend a variety of authentic events, take notes and reflect on their own comprehension of each event Apart from listening logs, social media plays an important role in the daily lives and can also be used to support language development By reading authentic texts and news articles from the electronic media such as those from BBC News, CNN World, The New York Times, etc In short, out-of-class activities provide a number of benefits

Traditionally, language teaching has always been seen as a preparation for out-of-class use of language, much of the focus in language teaching in the past has typically been on classroom-based As a result, language teaching has focused on the design of syllabuses, methods and materials as well as on training teachers to best exploit the classroom Therefore, students had little opportunities to use English outside the classroom However, with the help of the internet, technology and media, there are greater opportunities for meaningful and authentic language use than those available in the classroom Nowadays, apart from learning in the classroom, learners can interact using English with people in almost every part of the world by using Apps that support language learning and people can use these while waiting for the bus

or train or travelling At home, they may enter a chat room to interact with other people or with native speakers; they can also watch TV programs or movies in English, following subtitles if necessary Richards proved that young people in the northern European countries, such as Finland and Denmark, have good listening skills and are often quite fluent in English compared to their counterparts in countries such as Portugal and Italy One of

the reasons is that in these countries, English language movies on TV and cinemas are shown in their original language with subtitles This means that learners would make progress in learning English if they made use of the opportunities to learn English outside of the classroom There are a number of ways to maintain and extend proficiency in English such as using English to maintain social networks with people in different countries, using English as the target language in their job Richards suggested a number of activities to provide opportunities to use and develop proficiency in English such as chat rooms, self-access centres, interviews, language villages Chat rooms can be designed to promote the use of English; self-access centre, student interviews, and the language village can be designed to provide language learning opportunities The activities motivate learners in learning English To take part in chat rooms, students have to spend sustained periods of time since they can serve a variety of social as well as cognitive purposes Interviews are motivating because participants can carry out meaningful interactions with other people in English Participants in the self-access centre as well as the language village similarly develop confidence in using their language since they participate in success-oriented activities in a non-threatening supportive atmosphere In short, each of the above activities involves learners in collaborative interaction Participants can experience a social learning space

in which they can share interests, concerns, and needs Nunan stated the difference between learning inside and outside the classroom Traditionally, classroom was referred to as a “black box” because it is a place where teachers shut their doors to teach their students However, when learners move from the classroom to the wider world, they not only have to deal with the linguistic demands but also have to cope with a more extensive range of interactional and communicative variables Therefore, they need cultural

knowledge as well as knowledge of the content and context of the conversation There are factors affecting the result of learning beyond the class such as physical factors, for example, face-to-face conversation or the one through the telephone or the Internet will affect their ability to communicate effectively, and emotional factors such as the anxiety as well as the pressure to perform

In the classroom, after posing a question, teachers often provide learners with sufficient time to think of the questions then give responses However, when communicating outside the classroom, the listeners are often expected to give an immediate response A pause of time will result in a repetition of the question or a show of impatience which can affect the success of the communication

“Language learning beyond the classroom” by Nunan and Richards is

an innovative book that promotes learning opportunities outside classroom The ideas and activities given in the book create readers’ interest and make the book attractive to teachers The book becomes an important resource for language learning

2.5 Previous studies on out-of-class learning

Tavakoli, Shakeri and Ghanbarzadeh (2016) in their study provided an overview of learning within the second language classroom and gave an image of how to create the ground for learning from teachers, learners and learning resources It also gave out the effectiveness of learning beyond the classroom such as providing development of language and communication skills or authentic language experience integrating classroom based learning

or leading to language learning in the contexts outside the classroom Besides, the study stated that out-of-class learning provides authentic language opportunities as well as raises issues for second language acquisition; this

kind of learning can provide a pleasurable and positive language use experience In addition, the study suggested some ways for learning outside the classroom such as extensive reading, extensive listening, dialog journals, online learning and the use of computers However, the study did not point out the frequency of the activities the students do

Hyland (2004) examined the out-of-class English language learning activities of student teachers in Hong Kong Through instruments such as questionnaires, interviews and learner diaries, he found out that among activities outside the classroom, many students spend their time on receptive ones such as listening and reading They had a tendency to private rather than public activities which did not involve face-to-face contact He also investigated students’ out-of-class learning activities and their feelings and found out that they avoided activities because of fear of negative judgement The study highlighted the importance of considering for learning, students’ attitudes and society’s attitudes These factors are important for language learning as it may inhibit or facilitate the taking up of specific learning activities However, the study did not emphasize on the students’ preferred activities

Suh et al (1999) investigated the out-of-class learning experiences of non-native speakers of English and the impact of the experiences on the individuals' second-language conversation skills of eight international students at Indiana University, Bloomington By using structured interviews,

he indicated that independent leisure activities such as watching television, going to the cinema, listening to music and interacting with native speakers benefited their English conversational skills Some of the activities had a positive effect on their conversation skills, especially listening comprehension Another study by Pickard (1996) looked at the out-of-class

learning activities carried out by German students studying English in Germany pointed out that the students preferred activities involving the receptive skills such as reading and listening, rather than the productive skills, but were also influenced by whether the activity was intrinsically interesting

to them This study can, however, serve only as an introduction to this topic

It did not determine the actual impact of specific out of class on the development of second language conversation skills

Orhon (2018) sought language activities that EFL learners are engaged outside the class in order to support their language learning process and their attitude towards out-of-class language learning 109 students with different proficiency levels studying at Pamukkale University were chosen to participate in the study By using a questionnaire, the author collected the data Through data analysis, the author concluded that learners were mostly engaged in listening and watching activities which were considered as the most helpful activities and the type of language education (compulsory or elective) and language proficiency level were determined to be effective regardless students’ gender However, the study did not respect the gender of the participants

Spratt et al (2002) also looked at how often the high school students take part in specific activities outside classroom The results was that most of the activities are related to communication and entertainment such as watching movies and television in English and using the internet However, the result of the study was only based on self-report and needed further direct investigation using other methodologies

Do Thi Thuy (2017) carried out a study named “The relationship between students’ motivation and their out-of-class learning strategies: A survey at a high school in Vietnam” This thesis has pointed out students’

motivations and learning strategies over time and the interplay between these two factors The results of the study show that the majority of students are motivated to learn English, the reasons are mainly for taking the test (motivation for the tool) or because of their parents and relatives (external motivation) The most used after school learning strategies are indirect strategies (metacognitive and affective) In addition, the survey results show that after school students often learn English through songs or games in English However, this study did not reveal students’ opinions about the importance and effectiveness of those activities

In conclusion, this literature review provides evidence that out-of-class English language learning was not researched in Lao Cai high schools While the benefits of out-of-class learning are obvious and because out-of-class activities play a certain role in improving students’ English proficiency, this topic needs to be further researched

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Rationale for choosing survey as the research method

According to Wager (2016: 48-49), survey research is a research methodology in which the researcher does not attempt to manipulate or control the setting or environment; instead, the goal is a systematic gathering

of information, often from a large sample or even an entire population In applied linguistics, survey research is commonly used to investigate psychological constructs such as learner beliefs, attitudes, motivation, and strategy use

This study aimes to investigate high school students’ attitudes towards out-of-class English language learning and their preferred out-of-class learning activities There is no intention to manipulate or to intervene the research environment Therefore, is fits the definition of survey research

This survey method is adopted because of the following reasons:

- Relatively to administer: The number of students is not too big for the author to observe or provide help when asking them to give the answers to the questionnaires

- A broad range of data collection can be collected: Student’s attitude, opinion and behaviour can be collected through the questions

- Numerous questions can be asked about one subject: A number of questions are designed to ask for student’s out-of-class learning

- Data can be collected from a large number of participants: the number

of people answering the questions can be large depending on the author’s purpose

- It does not waste much time to carry out the survey: By delivering a questionnaire, the author can collect ideas from a large number of participants