The impact of teacher-generated materials on English language teaching for the 7th grade students in Tran Phu junior High School, Hai Phong

NGUYỄN THỊ VÂN MAI The impact of teacher-generated materials on English language teaching for the 7th grade students in Tran Phu junior High School, Hai Phong Nghiên cứu tác động của n

NGUYỄN THỊ VÂN MAI

The impact of teacher-generated materials on English

language teaching for the 7th grade students

in Tran Phu junior High School, Hai Phong

(Nghiên cứu tác động của những tài liệu dạy học do giáo viên tự thiết kế đến quá trình

dạy tiếng Anh cho học sinh lớp 7 ở trường THCS Trần Phú, Hải Phòng)

M.A Thesis Linguistics Code : 60 14 10

HANOI - 2010

4 Methods of the study

5 Scope and significance of the study

6 Design of the study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Theoretical background related to

1.1.1 Definitions of teacher-generated materials

1.1.2 Types of teacher-generated materials

1.1.3 The role of teacher-generated materials in English language teaching

1.1.4 How teacher-generated materials have been used in English language

teaching

1.2 The reasons teachers of English may choose to design their own materials

1.2.1 The advantages of teacher-generated materials

iv

v Page

1.2.1.6 Add in-depth information

1.2.2 The disadvantages of teacher-generated materials

1.3.2 The curriculum and the context

1.3.3 The resources and the facilities

1.3.4 Personal confidence and competence

2.2 Data collection instruments

Chapter 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Findings from the questionnaire

3.1.1 Students’ interest in English language learning

3.1.2 Students’ expectation of English language learning in their class

3.1.3 The frequency of the use of teacher-generated materials in English

lessons

3.1.4 The impacts of teacher-generated materials on English language

teaching and learning

3.2 Findings from the interview with teachers

3.2.1 The purposes of the English language teachers when using their own

materials

3.2.2 Ways of applying teacher-generated materials to daily lessons

3.2.3 Effectiveness of applying teacher-generated materials to daily lessons

3.3 Discussion of the findings

Chapter 4: SOME GUIDELINES FOR DESIGNING EFFECTIVE

MATERIALS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

4.1 Teacher-generated materials should be contextualized

4.2 Teacher-generated materials should stimulate interaction and be

generative in terms of language

4.3 Teacher-generated materials should encourage learners to develop

learning skills and strategies

4.4 Teacher-generated materials should allow for a focus on form as well as

function

4.5 Teacher-generated materials should offer opportunities for integrated

language use

4.6 Teacher-generated materials should be authentic

4.7 Teacher-generated materials should link to each other to develop a

progression of skills, understandings and language items

4.8 Teacher-generated materials should be attractive

4.9 Teacher-generated material should have appropriate instructions

4.10 Teacher-generated materials should be flexible

PART C: CONCLUSION

1 Conclusion

2 Limitations of the study

3 Suggestion for further study

Bibliography

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Questionnaire (for students)

Appendix 2: Interview (for teachers)

Appendix 3: Summary of the interviews

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationales

Over the years, English Language Teaching (ELT) has become more and more necessary

in Vietnam supplying learners (Ls) with an effective tool to integrate to the world Worker with high English proficiency are extremely required in many fields such as politics, science, technology, economics, and tourism etc Students (Ss) who become fluent in English can have the opportunity to contribute to the development of their country Therefore, there is a great need to learn English both in formal institutions and in community courses

Nowadays, researchers claim that ELT in junior high schools contains a lot of challenges, for example: large class, unequal qualifications among teachers (Ts), unequal levels among Ss, lack of effective supplementary materials This fact was described by Joanna Baker and Heather Westrup: “Many teachers have few resources, perhaps only a blackboard and a few books The school may not have technical resources such as tape recorders, radios, television sets, video players or computers” (2002:3)

In Hai Phong, at Tran Phu Junior High School (JHS), day by day, Ts and Ss have to cope with all these challenges at once which has unfavorable influence on English language teaching and learning Within them, lack of effective supplementary materials is the hottest problem, has limited the result of English language learning (ELL) and the quality

of ELT Designing supplementary materials is easier said than done especially in a JHS

In theory, there has not been any research on this field with JHS teaching and learning situation In teaching practice, Ts of English have not paid serious attention to designing supplementary materials as well as to using them in the right way

All the reasons above have driven the researcher to the study thesis, named “The Impact

of Teacher-generated Materials on English Language Teaching for the 7 th grade Students in Tran Phu Junior High School, Hai Phong”

2 Objectives of the study

The study aims to fulfill two objectives as follows:

(1) to investigate the impacts of teacher-generated materials on ELT for the 7thgrade Ss in Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong

(2) to suggest some guidelines for designing effective materials for ELT

3 Research questions

The study is carried out to find the answers to the following research questions:

(1) What value is teacher-generated materials to the ELT for the 7th grade students in Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong?

(2) How can Ts of English in JHS design effective materials for ELT?

4 Methods of the study

In order to reach the goals mentioned above, the study is implemented in the most common procedure with the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods as follows:

- Reading relating books and articles from various sources (university library, Internet, private library…) to collect useful information for the study

- Consulting the supervisor and lectures of the Postgraduate Department and discussing with colleagues to get guidance and insightful ideas in the field of the research

- Administering a questionnaire to 107 the 7th grade Ss at Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong

- Interviewing 4 Ts of English (at different level of ability and at different age) at Tran Phu JHS, Hai Phong

- Analyzing and interpreting data and responses

5 Scope and significance of the study

It is said that teacher-generated materials may impact on the efficiency of teaching and learning of all grades in JHS In this thesis, however, the researcher do not have an ambition to take them all into consideration but only make an investigation in a small scale into the teacher-generated materials applied by the Ts of English at Tran Phu Junior

High School for the 7th grade Ss and to give some guidelines for a better design and usage

of them to satisfy the Ss in their learning The study is conducted with 107 the 7th Ss and

4 Ts of English at Tran Phu Junior High School, Hai Phong

The research is carried out with the hope that Ts of English in particular and language teacher in general may be fully aware of the role of teacher-generated materials to freshen the lessons and to meet the Ss‟ demand in ELT Moreover, findings of the study are thought to be favorable in some way to the researcher and other Ts of English to design effective supplementary materials that help Ts take advantages of teacher-generated materials and meet their Ss‟ needs

6 Design of the study

Part A – Introduction: provides rationales, aims of the study, research questions, scope and significance of the study and design of the study

Part B – Development: consists of three main parts

Chapter 1: Literature review on theoretical background of teacher-generated materials, the reasons for Ts of English may choose to design their own materials, the factors to consider when designing materials

Chapter 2: Methodology introduces subjects and context of the study, data collection instruments

Chapter 3: Data analysis and discussion

Chapter 4: Some guidelines for designing effective materials for ELT

Part C – Conclusion: presents conclusion, implications for teaching, limitation and

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Theoretical background of teacher-generated materials

1.1.1 Definitions of teacher-generated materials

In Cambridge Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary (third edition), the verb “generate” is defined as “to create” while Webster‟s New Dictionary (1997) defines it as “to produce”

In this thesis, the term “teacher-generated materials” is used for a particular type of materials which are found, selected, evaluated and produced by Ts to use in their own teaching context

1.1.2 Types of teacher-generated materials

In this thesis, teacher-generated materials “include anything which can be used to facilitate the learning of a language They can be linguistic, visual, auditory or kinaesthetic, and they can be presented in print, through live performance or display, or

on cassette, CD-ROM, DVD or the internet” (Tomlinson, 2001:66) They can be instructional, experiential, elicitative or exploratory, in that they can inform Ls about the language, they can provide experience of the language in use, they can stimulate language use or they can help Ls to make discoveries about the language for themselves Designing and using resources to generate materials can be time consuming Joanna Baker and Heather Westrup (2002:157) brought out easily found resources as the relief for busy Ts

1.1.3 The role of teacher-generated materials in ELT

Nowadays, Ts are faced up with many challenges There are Ss of all types and each one

of them expects something from the teacher Keeping this in mind, Ts ought to see the need for material design and material elaboration in order to meet such expectations Nunan (1988) reports that a survey of several hundred teachers in a large-scale English as Second Language (ESL) progamme for adult migrants (Eltis and Low, 1985) found that

73 percent of the Ts “regularly used materials produced by themselves” and 50 percent claimed not to use commercially-produced materials at all (Nunan, 1988:98) We might infer that the 50 percent were so unhappy with commercially-available materials that they felt driven to prepare their own and that the other 27 percent who regularly designed their own materials felt that it was desirable to supplement the commercial material they were using

Similarly, Block (1991) claims that teacher-prepared materials are likely to be more to-date and more relevant to Ss‟ needs and interests than equivalent course book materials For example, in order to provide a context for Ss to practice talking about what they did the previous weekend, he suggests that a teacher might record his or her colleagues taking about what they did Such a recording, he notes, also has the attraction that, like other specially prepared materials, it has a “personal touch” that Ss recognize and appreciate

up-Though Ls may still have a preference for a book over handouts, the increasing availability of computer packages which enable Ts to design professional-looking materials and the possibility in more technologically developed settings of incorporating materials from the Internet can make teacher-generated materials an attractive (at least occasional) supplement to the course books

In general, teacher-generated materials play a necessary role in ELT, however, the question of how to use them effectively is still in conflict and will be discussed later in this study

1.1.4 How teacher-generated materials have been used in ELT

Using teacher-generated materials in English as Foreign Language (EFL) classroom has involved a large number of Ts in ELT, which has discussed in recent years

Not everyone would agree that Ts should design their own materials Block (1991), who

is in no doubt that they should, prefaces his arguments for what he calls DIY yourself) materials design by reviewing the papers by Allwright (1981) and O‟Neill (1982) discusses in Chapter 1 Despite their contrasting positions on course books, both Allwright and O‟Neill seem to agree that classroom Ts are not best equipped to write materials Allwright puts this explicitly: “the expertise required of materials writers is importantly different from that required of classroom teachers” (p.6) Johnson (1972:1) implies a similar view: “Teachers choose and use instructional materials because they can not (and ought not) prepare all the materials they need” Behind this view seems to lie the assumption that materials are best prepared by professionals (i.e knowledgeable and experiences writers) and by publishing houses which can ensure a high level of production (Sheldon, 1988) Maybe because of this unsympathetic view, Ts, especially in junior high schools, tends to be afraid to design their own materials despite the need of

(do-it-their teaching context They would rather accept boring and ineffective lessons than be laughed or criticized

Some other Ts, it seems, have their own view Block‟s (1991) argument that Ts should prepare their own materials derives in part from his dissatisfaction with published materials The decision to supplement the course book may also be prompted by affective considerations Experienced Ts know that walking into class and saying: “Hello Open your books at page …” is not the best way to capture the attention of a group of learners, and many use “warm-up” activities for this reason They also know that there are other points in a lesson (and there are not always predictable) or a certain time in the week when learners just need something a little different Maley (1998:281), probably thinking

of dreary days in Britain, refers to this as “the wet Friday afternoon affect” This is the time when learners are tired or apathetic or having difficulty, a time when learning needs

to be made lighter, more fun – through a game, a song, a video … A few of these Ts have redundant self-confidence to work as materials designer but lack of experience to create high quality materials or to use those ones in the best way for their Ss It leads to ineffective lessons, which are not really helpful for Ss to get and for Ts to transmit knowledge In some cases, the time and the content of the lessons are under the bad influence of this inadequacy

Indeed, when we think of how to use teacher-generated materials effectively, it is necessary for us to deal with the reasons for Ts of English may choose to design their own materials

1.2 The reasons teachers of English may choose to design their own materials

Discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of teacher-generated materials help clarify the reasons for Ts of English may choose to design their own materials They often focus on a comparison with using text or course books Instead of attending to course books, the thesis has turned the attention to teacher-generated materials and find that the disadvantages of the course books are able to become the advantages of teacher-generated materials

1.2.1 The advantages of teacher-generated materials

Teacher-generated materials are developed and produced by teaching professionals for their own Ss These are different from materials created for educators because they are generated to fit the needs of the Ss in the classroom Imagination and some good arts and crafts skills are needed to generate materials for the classroom Springboard off pre-made materials or develop a new concept Either way, there are several benefits of teacher-generated materials

1.2.1.1 Save Money

Materials purchased at education stores are expensive Create the same materials for less money by visiting a few hobby stores For example, instead of buying a pre-assembled puppet-making kit, go to the store and buy the different parts needed and combine them

in a plastic bag Share ideas with other Ts to help them save, too (Joanna Baker and Heather Westrup, 2002)

Ts work hard to put together lesson plans that are exciting and educational However, sometimes schools do not have the funding to provide all the supplies and materials that

Ts need in order to plan the most effective lessons For this reason, there are many benefits to Ts generating their own materials

1.2.1.4 Match Materials to Curriculum

Sometimes the teaching materials provided by the school district will not be as current as possible One benefit of creating and putting together Ts‟ own materials and teaching supplements is that Ts can pick and choose relevant materials to go along with the lessons Ts are teaching Ts can create specific activities that are appropriate for particular groups of Ss Not only will this make teaching job easier and more fluid, but the Ss will get a more well-rounded education (Dewey,1916)

1.2.1.6 Add In-Depth Information

When a school district purchases materials, they may select only the materials needed to meet the core curriculum If Ss are more advanced, or require more in-depth learning, Ts may feel as though they have nothing more to provide them When Ts create their own teaching materials, they can make their curriculum more detailed and in-depth to allow Ss who excel to learn more information about the topic they are teaching (Zieba-Warcholak, 2003)

In conclusion, the advantages of teacher-generated materials can be summed up in the idea that they avoid the „one-size-fits-all‟ approach of most commercial materials

1.2.2 The disadvantages of teacher-generated materials

There is a number of potential pitfalls for Ts who would be materials designers These can be considered under three headings

A further aspect of organization relates to the physical organization and storage of materials Without a clearly thought through and well-organized system, teacher-generated materials may be difficult to locate for ongoing use, or may end up damaged or with parts missing

1.2.2.2 Quality

Possibly the most common criticism leveled against teacher-generated materials is to do with their quality At the surface level, teacher-generated materials may “seem ragged and unprofessional next to those produced by professionals.” (Block, 1991:212, emphasis

in original) They may contain errors, be poorly constructed, lack clarity in layout and print and lack durability Harmer probably speaks for many when he says, “If the alternative is a collection of scruffy photocopies, give me a well-produced course book any time.” (2001:7)

In addition, a lack of experience and understanding on the part of the teacher may result

in important elements being left out or inadequately covered Teacher-generated materials may be produced to take advantage of authentic text However, if not guided by clear criteria and some experience, Ts may take inconsistent or poor choices of texts Besides, they can become outdated easily, e.g news stories, articles

A further problem may be a lack of clear instructions about how to make effective use of the materials – particularly instructions designed for Ss

1.2.2.3 Time

Yet another disadvantage of teacher-generated materials, and perhaps the key factor inhibiting many Ts from producing their own teaching materials, is time Almost Ts in JHS (graduated from college) have not professionally educated to design and using materials in the most effective way so special preparation is necessary and it can be time consuming “Any teachers in any environment can be pressed for time” (Bruce Marsland, 1998:1)

However, passionately one may believe in the advantages of teacher-generated materials, the reality is that for many Ts, it is simply not viable – at least not all the time

1.3 Factors to consider when designing materials

1.3.1 Learners

The first and most important factor to be considered is the Ls If the point of generated materials is relevance, interest, motivation and meeting specific individual needs, then clearly Ts must ensure they know their Ls well Any consideration of syllabus

teacher-or materials design must begin with a needs analysis This should reveal learning needs with regard to English language skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary knowledge and grammar as well as individual student‟s learning preferences It is not just learning needs that are relevant to the teacher as materials designer, however Equally important is knowledge about students‟ experiences (life and educational), their first language and levels of literacy in it, their aspirations, their interests and their purposes for learning English

The following summary of the learner factors that need to be considered in materials design draws on Daoud and Celce-Murcia (1979), Matthews (1991), Harmer (1991), McDonough and Shaw (1993) and Cunningsworth (1995)

1 age range

2 proficiency level in the target language (and homogeneity within the learner group)

3 first language (all the same?)

4 academic and educational level

5 socio-cultural background

6 occupation (if relevant)

7 reasons for studying the target language (if applicable)

8 attitudes to learning (including attitudes to the language, its speakers, the teacher, the institution)

9 previous language-learning experience (of the target language, its speakers, other languages)

10 language-learning aptitude

11 general expectations (of the course/ textbook/ teacher/ own role)

12 specific wants

13 preferred learning styles

14 sex distribution (single sex? If mixed, what proportion of M/ F)

15 interests (insofar as these are generalisable)

In short, teacher-generated materials have to meet the same criteria as course book materials, but these are likely to be more strictly applied because Ts know their own Ss and will be able to „tune‟ the materials to suit their level, their aptitude, their interests, their needs, and personalize it so that it seems even more meaningful

1.3.2 The curriculum and the context

Discussing the curriculum, the researcher does need to pay further attention to the social context in which it is created Curriculum for Catherine Cornbleth (1990) is what actually happens in classrooms, that is, “an ongoing social process comprised of the interactions of students, teachers, knowledge and milieu” (p5) In contrast, Stenhouse defines curriculum as the attempt to describe what happens in classrooms rather than what actually occurs Cornbleth further contends that curriculum as practice cannot be understood adequately or changed substantially without attention to its setting or context Curriculum is contextually shaped

The curriculum and the context are variables that will significantly impact on decisions about teaching materials Many Ts are bound by a mandated curriculum defining the content, skills and values to be taught Whether imposed at school or state level, a curriculum, it is the teacher‟s responsibility to ensure that the goals and objectives of the overarching curriculum are kept close at hand when designing materials (Nunan, 1988)

As noted earlier, the context in which the teaching and learning occurs will impact on the types of materials that may need to be designed For example, primary-level Ss, with weak speaking and listening skills, may require materials that facilitate interaction about subject content instead of developing cognitive academic language proficiency However, advanced-level Ss may need teaching materials that focus on complex tasks that require clever reaction and combination of skills to solve

1.3.3 The resources and the facilities

Although the government mandates a “highly qualified teacher” for every classroom, many districts and schools still face the challenge of recruiting and retaining these professionals

to work under inadequate physical working conditions with grossly inadequate resources to support their teaching efforts The current national budget for school facilities improvement and construction is greater than at any point in history Due to the expanding student population and the age of many school buildings, overall spending on facilities is expected to increase, regardless of economic fluctuations

There is a growing body of research confirming that the quality of facilities contributes directly to teacher turnover rates and student performance A study by Anthony S Bryk on the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (1998) found that student attitudes about education directly reflect their learning environment, and various other studies have shown that clean air, good light, and a quiet, comfortable, and safe learning environment are essential for academic achievement As a condition under direct control of the school district and state, the physical building setting of a school and its related resources should be considered as much more than merely an institutional backdrop They should be considered as a potential opportunity to significantly improve teacher working conditions, student learning conditions and student achievement

1.3.4 Personal confidence and competence

Personal confidence and competence are factors that will determine an individual teacher‟s willingness to embark on materials development This will be influenced by the teacher‟s level of teaching experience and his or her perceived creativity or artistic skills and overall understanding of the principles of materials design and production In reality, most Ts undertake materials design to modify, adapt or supplement a course book, rather than starting from scratch, and this is probably the most realistic option for most Ts Decisions available to Ts include the following (adapted from Harmer, 2001 and Lamie, 1999):

1 Add activities to those already suggested

2 Leave out activities that do not meet your learners‟ needs

3 Replace or adapt activities or materials with:

- supplementary materials from other commercial texts

- authentic materials (newspapers, radio reports, films etc.)

- teacher-created supplementary materials

4 Change the organizational structure of the activities, for example, pairs, small groups or whole class

Modern technology provides Ts with access to tools that enable professional results in materials production Computers with Clipart, Internet access and digital pictures offer unprecedented means for publishing high quality teaching materials

1.3.5 Copyright compliance

Back in November, the New York Times ran an article about the growing number of teachers who sell their lesson plans and other curriculum materials through online portals

like Teachers Pay Teachers (Winnie Hu, Selling Lesson Plans Online, Teachers Raise

Cash and Questions, Nov 15, 2009) Obviously, teacher-made materials have been

considered as goods so Ts have to pay more attention to copyright compliance in designing materials

Because teacher-made materials are the product of Ts‟ brainwork, they tends to protect it for themselves or to share in a small scope under their supervision and permission For use them in the classroom, Ts need to be aware of the restrictions that copyright laws place on the copying of authentic materials, published materials and materials downloaded from the Internet This is particularly important when creating course materials that will be used by a large number of classes over time Copyright law has implications when creating materials that include excerpts from published works An example of this would be creating a worksheet that uses a picture or exercise from a commercial text, alongside teacher-created activities While an idea cannot be copyright, the expression of the idea can be and Ts need to be mindful of this “If you do not acknowledge the source you are, in effect, stealing material from another writer This stealing is called plagiarism and is a serious offense within the academic world” (Princeton Writing Program, 1999)

1.3.6 Time

Time was discussed earlier as a disadvantage for Ts who wish to design their own materials It is thus, important to consider ways to make this aspect manageable Overcome the obsession of time consuming, arrange the housework and teaching job reasonably, Ts are absolutely able to spend time on their own teaching materials Block (1991) suggests a number of ways in which Ts can lighten the load, including sharing materials with other Ts, working in a team to take turns to design and produce materials, and organizing central storage so materials are available to everyone

Thus, this chapter has reviewed theoretical issues related to the thesis In order to obtain empirical knowledge of using teacher-generated materials in ELT to the 7th grade Ss in Tran Phu JHS and to point out practical suggestions for teacher to design effective materials, a study is conducted Results of the study are presented in the next chapter

The questionnaires were distributed among both boys and girls Ss chosen incidentally from gifted classes and normal ones at grade 7 to see their attitude towards the usage and effectiveness of teacher-generated materials They had learned English in JHS for two years Besides, during the time they were at primary school, English was brought to teach

in their syllabus as an optional subject

Additionally, small-scaled unstructured interviews were carried out among 4 Ts, at different age and level of ability, teaching English at Tran Phu JHS to see if they have been using teacher-generated materials and how they have been designing these ones

2.1.2 The context

The research is conducted at Tran Phu JHS which located at Le Chan District, Hai Phong This school has been being considered the gifted school for junior high students in Hai Phong with over 50 years for training talented students It always leads junior high schools in Hai Phong area in prizes

Ss here are chosen selectively mainly from some gifted primary schools in Hai Phong such as Van To, Minh Khai, Dinh Tien Hoang so they seem to be better than ones in other junior high schools It is asserted by the number of prizes Tran Phu got in school-year 2009-2010 in comparison with some others in the same district

Order School name The 1

st

prize

The 2ndprize

The 3rdprize

Consolation prize

In general, Tran Phu Ss have better learning capacity, equipped with more comfortable stationary and receiving more attentions than Ss in other schools However, it is also the main reason for their laziness, haughtiness as well as their reliance discouragement in failures Furthermore, the majority of Ss in this school have the need for learning the lessons before class which leads to the artificial studying quality in the class and the boring sensation of studying the same things too many times

English group in Tran Phu JHS has fourteen Ts at different age, on different levels and with different teaching experience, even some of them were not in a regular training as Ts

of English which causes the difficulties in designing general tests and the arguments in marking crosswise In addition, the conservativeness puts a hard barrier among them

Male Female Regular In-service

Average age

Teaching experience

Educational formGender

Table 2: Ts of English in Tran Phu JHS

Taking the different ways of pronunciation as an example Course books are written in American English but almost Ts were educated in British English so they often pronounce as their experience instead of the lessons with the attendance of another Ts or school leaders On the other hand, Ts can not get the standard tapes for the course books from their school but from unreliable bookstores Ts‟ incorrect pronunciation and bad-qualified tapes have made Ss‟ pronunciation worse and worse

There are 11 classes in grade 7, in which the smallest has 40 Ss and the biggest has 62 Ss This means that Ts and Ss can face the following challenges:

 Ts can have difficulty keeping everyone‟s attention

 Ss‟ motivation to learn English can be poor

 Ss have difficulty hearing the teacher

 Ts do not have enough opportunity to help weaker Ss

 Attendance can be poor and irregular, leading to lack of continuity

 This lack of continuity can cause extra work for Ts and confusion for Ss

 Taking the register can be time-consuming

 Ts can have too much marking to do

 There are few resources to make learning interesting

(Joanna Baker and Heather Westrup, 2002) The 7th grade Ss have three English lessons per week Each unit lasts around 5 or 6 periods depending on the load of knowledge required The National curriculum for JHS is the textbook “Tiếng Anh 7”, published by Vietnam Education Publishing House The book “Tiếng Anh 7” consists of 16 units Every four units, teacher spends a lesson reviewing, a lesson testing and two lessons correcting and feeding back Each unit consists of 2 sections (A and B) with 5 activities as following:

- Introducing language target: includes Listen – Repeat/ Listen – Read/ Read

- Examining comprehension: includes Ask – Answer/ Practice with a partner/ Match/

2.2 Data collection instruments

This thesis used questionnaire and interviews as the main resources for data collection

By using questionnaire, the researcher can obtain data quantitatively, which later on will assist the study with persuasive figures concerning the investigated issues It should be noted that the writer had informal meetings with the Ss because they are not the Ss of the researcher

By using interview, the writer could have more in-depth information The interview is unstructured which still has to start with some kind of agenda, but it is loose one, a rough checklist built around issues formulated in outline only The direction of the interview intentionally follows interviewee responses, with some of the characteristics of natural conversation “The qualitative interviewer should arrive with a short list of issue-oriented questions… The purpose for the most part is not to get simple yes or no answer but descriptions of an episode, a linkage, an explanation Formulating the questions and anticipating probes that evoke good responses is a special art” (Stake, 1995:65) Before it,

the writer had prepared a set of questions Furthermore, some possible follow-up questions were also prepared (for the interview questions, refer to appendices) All the interviews were recorded so that the writer could concentrate on observing interviewees‟ behavior without wasting time taking notes Their facial expressions sometimes unveiled more information than worlds could These interviews were conducted individually in an informal setting Each interview took about 30 minutes, arranged at the interviewees‟ convenience Enough time was spared for the interviewees to think of proper answers The steps of the research were arranged as follows:

(1) Piloting the questionnaire for students

(2) Delivering and collecting the questionnaire

(3) Conducting interviews with selected Ts

(4) Analyzing the collected data and discussing the finding

Chapter 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Finding from the questionnaire

The Ss‟ attitudes towards their ELL and ELT in JHS and teacher-generated materials are collected by means of questionnaire The result of the survey questionnaire has been summarized in the following table

Table 3: Result of the survey questionnaire

Options (%)

Very little Not much Much Very much

1 Would you like to learn

2 Are you interested in ELL in

3 Does your ELL in your class

5 Are they helpful to make the

lesson more interesting and

4 Does your teacher of

English often use materials

made by herself/ himself in

her/ his lessons?

0 11.1 25.9 38.9 24.1

7 Does your teacher of

English sometimes spend so

much time on the

teacher-generated materials that

cannnot focus on the main

part of the lesson?

35.2 48.1 12.9 1.9 1.9

Options (%)

Statements Reading skill Writing skill Speaking skill Listening skill Vocabulary Grammar Structure

6 In which field, are

teacher-generated materials the most

Ss‟ responses are restructured and analyzed as follows

3.1.1 Students’ interest in English language learning

Source: Statement 1, survey questionnaire

Most of Ss show their desire to learn English to fulfill their demand and purposes for the future With the use of different audio and video aids such as posters, cards, pictures, photos in colors, cassette tapes, magazines, newspaper… there is no wonder that ELL interest and attract almost of the Ss However, ELT need to be improved to involve more

Ss to English lessons in class

Source: Statement 2, survey questionnaire

The number of Ss like English is more 14.8% than the number of ones dislike it, but the number of ones like and dislike the English lessons in class are equal This ratio reflects the inattractiveness of the English lessons in class originating from the inflexibility of the

Ts of English in their ELT Although the lack of effective teaching materials is the common problem of all teachers in JHS, losing Ss‟ motivation should not be in being in a

gifted school like Tran Phu

3.1.2 Students’ expectation of English language learning in their class