Attitudes of Vietnamese teachers of English in universities toward World Englishes in the classroom

Second, they express a positive opinion towards both Outer Circle and Expanding Circle varieties of English and the introduction of them to students.. LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Number of p

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES

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

DƯƠNG HUYỀN THẮM

ATTITUDES OF VIETNAMESE TEACHERS OF ENGLISH IN

UNIVERSITIES TOWARDS WORLD ENGLISHES IN THE CLASSROOM

(THÁI ĐỘ CỦA GIẢNG VIÊN TIẾNG ANH Ở CÁC TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CỦA VIỆT NAM VỀ WORLD ENGLISHES TRONG LỚP HỌC)

M.A COMBINED PROGRAM THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

HANOI – 2016

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES

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

DƯƠNG HUYỀN THẮM

ATTITUDES OF VIETNAMESE TEACHERS OF ENGLISH IN

UNIVERSITIES TOWARDS WORLD ENGLISHES IN THE CLASSROOM

(THÁI ĐỘ CỦA GIẢNG VIÊN TIẾNG ANH Ở CÁC TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CỦA VIỆT NAM VỀ WORLD ENGLISHES TRONG LỚP HỌC)

M.A COMBINED PROGRAM THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

Supervisor: Đỗ Thị Thanh Hà, PhD

HANOI – 2016

CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORSHIP

This is to certify that the thesis entitled ―Attitudes of Vietnamese teachers of

English in universities toward World Englishes in the classroom ” has been written

by me and the work in it has not previously been submitted for a degree In addition, I also certify that all information sources and literature have been indicated in the thesis

Hanoi, August 2016

Dương Huyền Thắm

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express the deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Đỗ Thị Thanh

Hà, for her invaluable encouragement and useful comments and advice during the whole process of this master thesis Without her immense help, this study could not have been completed

Also, I am thankful to all my lecturers at Faculty of Post Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, VNU for their great support and suggestions

Finally, my special thanks go to my beloved family and friends for their love, care and support during my MA course, especially on the completion of this thesis

Hanoi, August 2016

Dương Huyền Thắm

ABSTRACT

The growth of English worldwide has led to the emergence of English

as a Lingua Franca (EFL) in English Language Teaching (ELT) This study concentrates on cognitive and behavioral aspects of teachers‘ attitude towards

ESL and EFL

A questionnaire was delivered to 111 teachers from seven state universities in Vietnam; a semi-structured interview then was carried out with eleven volunteer teachers Data reveal the following phenomena which apply for both Outer and Expanding Circle varieties First, the vast majority of Vietnamese teachers are aware of English varieties and/or implications of EFL/EIL in TESOL Second, they express a positive opinion towards both Outer Circle and Expanding Circle varieties of English and the introduction of them to students They also believe that it is important to introduce these varieties Finally, the study indicates that teachers are likely to introduce these varieties to students but it depends on many variables Implications of this study are expected to be beneficial for researchers, educators, and policy makers in ELT, especially in ELT in Vietnam,

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Number of participants in each university

Table 2: Biographic Information of Participants

Table 3: Vietnamese students will use English to communicate more often with

Table 4: Outer Circle varieties are wrong English

Table 5: Outer Circle varieties of English should be introduced to students Table 6: Importance of being aware of Outer circle varieties of English

Table 7: Likeliness of introducing Outer varieties of English to students

Table 8: How teachers would introduce Outer circle varieties to students Table 9: Expanding Circle varieties are wrong English

Table 10: Expanding Circle varieties of English should be introduced to students

Table 11: Importance of being aware of Expanding circle varieties of English Table 12: Outer vs Expanding

Table 13: Likeliness of introducing Expanding Circle varieties of English to students

Table 14: How teachers would introduce Expanding Circle varieties to students

LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS

Figure 1:The Kachru‘s Circle

Figure 2: The Kachru‘s Circle revised

Figure 3: The British Empire at its greatest extend Table 1: Number of participants in each university

Chart 1: Varieties of English teachers are teaching

Chart 2: Vietnamese students will use English to communicate more often with

Chart 3: Outer Circle varieties are wrong English

Chart 4: Outer Circle varieties of English should be introduced to students Chart 5: Importance of being aware of Outer Circle varieties of English

Chart 6: Likeliness of introducing Outer Circle varieties of English to students Chart 7: Expanding Circle varieties are wrong English

Chart 8: Expanding Circle varieties of English should be introduced to students

Chart 9: Importance of being aware of Expanding circle varieties of English Chart 10: Likeliness of introducing Expanding Circle varieties of English to students

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

WEs World Englishes

ELT English Language Teaching

ENL English as a Native Language

ESL English as a Second Language

EFL English as a Foreign Language

EIL English as an International Language

ELF English as a Lingua Franca

NS Native speaker

NNS Non-native speaker

TESOL Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORSHIP i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF TABLES iv

LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

Chapter I - INTRODUCTION 1

Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 An Overview of World Englishes 4

2.1.1 The Concept of World Englishes 4

2.1.2 Models of World Englishes and Kachru's Circle 5

2.1.3 The past, present, and future of English worldwide 9

2.1.4 English in South East Asia 13

2.1.5 The implications of World Englishes for ELT 16

2.1.6 ELT in Vietnamese context 20

2.2 Attitude and the importance of studies on attitude 22

2.2.1 Concept, components, and measurement of attitude 22

2.2.2 The importance of studies on attitude 24

2.3 Overview of previous researches on attitude toward WEs 25

2.3.1 Studies on attitude toward WEs 25

2.3.2 Studies on attitude toward WEs in Vietnam 27

2.4 Concluding remarks 28

Chapter III: Research Methodology 30

3.1 Research questions 30

3.2 Participants 30

3.3 Data collection procedure 32

3.3.1 Survey 32

3.3.2 Interview 34

Chapter IV: Findings and Discussion 36

4.1 Attitudes towards Outer Circle varieties 36

4.1.1 Cognitive attitude 39

4.1.2 Behavioral attitude 44

4.2 Attitudes towards Expanding Circle varieties 46

4.2.1 Cognitive attitude 46

4.2.2 Behavioral attitude 53

Chapter V: CONCLUSION 60

5.1 Conclusion 60

5.2 Recommendation 63

5.3 Limitations of the study 64

REFERENCES 66 APPENDIXES I

Chapter I - INTRODUCTION

English has become the international language which performs the role

of a lingua franca for global communication The number of non-native speakers of English exceeds that of native speakers Braine (2006) estimated

that ―80 per cent of the English speakers in the world are non-native English

speakers.” Together with this phenomenon is the rise in number of countries

which adopt English as a Second/Foreign language and use it in the new era and influence it in their own way As a result, English has been transformed into Englishes (i.e different varieties of English) and non-native speakers of

English are predicted to ―decide the global future of the language” (Crystal

2000, p.10)

World Englishes refers to at least two senses: Englishes of different areas in the world (the Caribean, East, South, and West Africa, and Asia, etc.) and the field of study Englishes worldwide (Bolton & Kachru 2005)

Since its background was constructed by Kachru, Crystal, Bolton, Jenkins, and other scholars several decades ago, a considerable number of researchers have contributed to the recognition of World Englishes and its study Thus, the field of World Englishes has been expanded with new branches and more interest from scholars such as Jenkins, Seidlhofer, Firth, etc on Phonetics and Phonology, Pragmatics, Lexicogrammar; Jenkins, Matsuda, Timmis, etc on teachers‘ and learners‘ attitude, and so on

Teachers‘ and learners‘ attitude is one of the key factors that contribute

to shape the future of English language teaching and learning of a country, as Kachru & Nelson stated:

―It is essential for us to have more sociolinguistic information about the attitudes towards, and domains and functions of English in each context, especially as the use of English intersects with local languages Users‘ and

policy-makers‘ attitudes have impacts on the domains and functions of the language, and all three — attitudes, domains and functions — together determine the future developments in nativization and acculturation of the medium.‖ (Kachru & Nelson 2011, p.323)

Therefore, attitudes have attracted attention from a great number of researchers in different countries, such as Chiba, Matsuura, & Yamamoto (1995), Kawanami & Kawanami (2009), and Tokuboto & Shibata (2011) on Japanese‘s attitude Another example is Ahn (2014) on Korean‘s However, a small number of studies have been done on attitude of Vietnamese teachers and learners toward World Englishes

In Vietnam, English has become the primary foreign language and the teaching and learning of English is encouraged by the government all over the country Therefore, the number of Vietnamese with the ability to speak English has been significantly increased However, few researches have been done about the English of Vietnamese, which belongs to The Expanding Circle in Kachru‘s model of English, or attitude of Vietnamese towards Englishes

This study, based on background theory and researches on attitude towards different varieties of English in other countries, aims to fill in the gap

in the study of the attitudes towards World Englishes in Vietnam It is an attempt to describe the attitudes of Vietnamese university teachers of English towards the introduction of World Englishes into English teaching and learning in Vietnam

Therefore, the results of this study would contribute to the description

of what Vietnamese teachers think about the introduction of World Englishes

to their students Findings of the research would also have implications on ELT in Vietnam in terms of the teaching and learning of EIL Last but not

least, it would provide empirical evidence to support or decline results of previous researches on attitudes of Vietnamese teachers and students, for example, Ton & Pham (2012), Ngo (2012), Tran & Moor (2015)

The research concentrates on describing attitudes of teachers of English

in Vietnamese universities, with focus on leading universities in foreign languages and international studies They are the ones with the most influence

to current situation and future direction of ELT in Vietnam The goal of the research is interpreted into two research questions as following:

1 What are attitudes of Vietnamese university teachers of English towards the introduction of Outer Circle varieties of English to their students?

2 What are attitudes of Vietnamese university teachers of English towards the introduction of Expanding Circle varieties of English to their students?

The thesis has the following chapters:

Chapter I: INTRODUCTION, presents statement of the problem and rationale for the study, aims, scope, significance, and outline of the study

Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW, clarifies theoretical background and related studies relevant for the research

Chapter III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, elicits information related to research questions, research methods, data collection, data procedure, and data analysis

Chapter IV: FINDINGS AND DISSCUSION includes the core of the study Their results of the survey and interview will be presented and discussed to describe teachers‘ cognitive and behavioral attitude

Chapter V: CONCLUSION, summarizes essential findings, provides some linguistic and pedagogical implications, and gives suggestions for further studies

Besides, there are REFERENCES and APPENDIXES at the end of the research

Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 An Overview of World Englishes

2.1.1 The Concept of World Englishes

World Englishes (WEs), also alternatively used in singular form by a number of scholars, has been used to present a number of concepts Different scholars suggest and favor different terms which are often duplicated and overlapping, though confusions and misinterpretations are probably limited as Jenkins (2006) pointed out For example, World English(es), Global English(es), English as an International Language, English as Global Language, etc This section, therefore, is an attempt to briefly summarize them and identify one that would be the most appropriate and beneficial for purposes of this paper

Bolton (2006, p.241) summarized three major interpretations of WEs

among “a plethora of terminology” First, the notion of WEs includes ―a

wide range of differing approaches to the description and analysis of English(es) worldwide.” In other words, WEs in this broad sense refers to

different varieties of English worldwide and the branch of research on issues related to them

Second, the term specifies varieties of English in former British colonies including English in the Caribbean, West and East Africa, and some countries and territories in Asia This sense is regularly used in both research works of the field, such as in Jenkins (2006), and teaching methods publications, such as Celce-Murcia et al (2014) Within the scope of this terminology, WEs refers to the varieties of English which are also indicated

as ―New Englishes‖ by scholars such as Crystal (1997, 2003) and Schneider (2011), as Kachru‘s ―Outer Circle‖, or as English as a Second Language (ESL)

Third, WEs is used to describe the “pluricentric approach” (Jenkins

2006, p 159) of Kachru and the Kachruvian scholars This approach inclusively explores aspects of global Englishes with respect to their diversities

To serve the purposes of this research, the researcher would like to adopt the term WEs to refer to varieties of English in former British colonies and in countries where English is used as a foreign language That means Kachru‘s Outer and Expanding Circle, or ESL and EFL Other terms such as non-native varieties of English would also be used simultaneously

2.1.2 Models of World Englishes and Kachru's Circle

English has spread to almost every part of the world together with the rapid globalization and industrialization of the world‘s economy It has been globalized and become the lingua franca for the purpose of international communications Meanwhile, it has also been localized by a growing number

of speakers and their cultures; thus different varieties of English, or Englishes, were created Scholars hold different opinions toward the glocalization of English; however, Englishes flourish and attempts to distinguish them have yet withered away

Native vs Non-native

The most commonly-known model of Englishes is probably the Native – Non-native model which categorize Englishes into English as a Native Language (ENL), English as a Second Language (ESL), and English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

This model, based on the ―long-asserted requirement of exposure in early childhood‖ (Kachru &Nelson, 2011), is a pioneer attempt to differentiate Englishes

 ENL refers to English in countries where English is used by the majority of population as the primary language for every aspect of life, for example, The United Kingdom and The United States

 ESL is the varieties of English in countries where English is used as an important language in communication In those countries, English could be the official language (for instance, Singapore) or not (for example, Malaysia)

 EFL, which has highest number of speaker, refers to varieties of English in countries where English is used primarily in education and international communication In everyday situations, a native language

is in charge

It does have, however, its own issues The first one is that it suggests a sense of superiority of ENL over ESL and EFL (Kirkpatrick 2007), and apparently, also ESL over EFL This distinction also affects the learners‘ advance contact with English, learners‘ expectation of success, average level

of achievement, and learners‘ and teachers‘ goals for success (Strevens, 1992, cited in Kachru & Nelson, 2011, p 26)

Kachru’s Model of World Englishes, or Kachru’s Circle

Based on ―types of spread, the patterns of acquisition and the

functional domains in which English is used across cultures and languages

(B Kachru (1985, p.12), he proposed a model of World Englishes in which he divided Englishes into the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle, and the Expanding Circle

Fig 1: The Kachru‘s Circle, cited in Graddol (2007, p 100)

Kachru himself, as cited in Kirkpatrick (2007, p.28), explained his

Circle as followed First, Inner Circle includes “traditional cultural and

linguistic bases of English,” like British English, American English, etc

Second, Outer Circle indicates “institutionalized non-native varieties in the

regions that have passed through extended period of colonization,” for

example, South Africa, Malaysia, India, etc Finally, Expanding Circle refers

to English in countries where it is used “essentially in EFL context.” In other

words, English is used primarily in educational context and in global communication (Schneider, 2011); and another language (in this case is the native language) plays its irreplaceable role in everyday life situations

The Kachru‘s Circle is probably the most influential model by far for researchers of World Englishes One advantage of this model over the Native – Non-native one is that it does not suggest inequality among varieties of English (Kachru & Nelson, 2011; Kirkpatrick, 2007) This implication of

equality, as stated by Schneider (2011, p 32), contributes to the increase of

“self-confidence in localized varieties of English and strongly influenced language teaching and applied linguistics.” In fact, through recognition and

description of English in pluralistic context, it proposes and enhances the diversities of English

This model, on the other hand, has its limitations as varieties of English changes together with its rapid expansion For example, a number of researchers (Graddol, 2007; Jenkins, 2008; Schneider, 2011) stated that the boundary among circles has been blurred and the Circle has failed to take into account growing phenomena like bilingualism

Kachru, therefore, proposed a revised model of Englishes based solely

on user‘ proficiency of English

Fig 2: The Kachru‘s Circle revised, cited in Graddol (2007, p 100) However, this revised model has not received plethora of applications

in the field; thus not as influential as its old version

Generally, multiple models of English varieties have been proposed and discussed However, the two model summarized above are the most common and influential ones to scholars of the field To serve the purposes of this study, the researcher would like to adopt the Kachru‘s Circle of Inner,

Outer, and Expanding Circle First, this model categorizes Englishes varieties and proposes equality while retaining diversity as well as the culture associated with them, which other models such as the revised version has failed to describe Second, its disadvantages is not a considerable hindrance because the study does not particularly involve with bilingualism Finally, World Englishes/Global English(es) is a new concept to many of the teachers

in Vietnam; therefore, this model, which based on the ENL-ESL-EFL model would become more familiar to them

2.1.3 The past, present, and future of English worldwide

This section provides a brief review of the historical background for the spread of English worldwide and description of current situations and predictions about the future of English

The spread of English worldwide

Crystal (2003, p.59) addressed two primary elements for the current status of English as a global language: the expansion of the British colonial power and the emergence of the United States as the leading economic power The spread of English globally started in the 16th century along with the expansion of the British Empire to North America, the Caribbean, and Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, South Asia, and South East Asia

Fig 3: The British Empire at its greatest extend (Schneider 2011, p 50)

After the Empire collapsed in the end of the 19th century, some countries like the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand continued to use English as their main language, which created new versions of ―native English.‖ In some other colonies, English was adopted as the official language (Singapore), or continued to be used as an alternative language beside their mother tongue (India, Malaysia, South Africa, etc.)

In the 20th century, the rise of the United States further encouraged the use of English as a lingua franca for the purpose of international communication worldwide Thus the role of English in this century is settled

English in the present

It is undeniable that English is a global language Schneider (2011) estimated that there were approximately 350 and 380 million speakers of English as the first language, 600 million of speakers of English as a second language, and 500 million and 1500 million speakers of English as a foreign language at various levels fluency This number is rapidly growing as more and more countries, especially in Asia, adopt English as their primary foreign language, for example, China and Vietnam

Schneider also described two main trends in the development of English: Internationalization and Localization First, English is being internationalized, associated with the term English as an Internal Language, English as a Global Language, or English as a Lingua Franca regardless of origins and other social factors related to the speakers In fact, the majority of communication is among non-native participants and between non-native and native participants, which was caused by the fact that the number of non-native speakers of English nowadays exceeds that of native speakers EIL or ELF has received considerable attentions from researchers and multiple works

on the topic have been published on its characteristics and implications in

ELT, for example, Jenkins (2006, 2009a, 2009b, 2009c, 2012), Seidlholfer (2003, 2009), Kirkpatrick (2007, 2012)

The other trend, which seems to contradict the first one, is the

“localization, indigenization, and nativization of English” (Schneider 2011,

p.53) As English spreads to different cultures, it develops its own forms under the influence of local languages and cultures, thus generates localized English, or English in the Outer and Expanding Circle In the Outer Circle, this localized English is cherished by indigenous people and becomes the

―symbol of regional identities” (p 54) In other words, these speakers

consider this English part of their characteristics and use it to distinguish themselves from other speakers of English In the Expanding Circle, especially in East Asia, younger speakers seem to be promoting their localized English as a mean to express their own identity, as well as to establish their global identity (Jenkins 2009c, p.54) A large number of researches have been carried out on non-native varieties of English, for example, Kirkpatrick (2012a, 2012b), Bolton (2002), and contributors from different countries

The future of English

Current developing trends of English may lead to different outcome for the future of the language There are both optimistic and less optimistic predictions on the position of English in the future and for speakers of the language in all three Circles

As Jones and Bradwell (2007, p.19) describe have described, British and other native-speaking countries may meet three challenges in the future

First, it is the “risk of becoming outdated and possibly resented.” Second, it

is possible that they will miss out on opportunities that knowing another

language may bring Finally, it may be disadvantaged for them to “operate

multilingually in a globalised world” compared with other non-native

speakers In other words, speakers of English in Outer and Expanding Circle, who are bilingual or trilingual and experienced in a multi-lingual and multi-cultural environment, will be in favored position in competition for opportunities in a flatten world Graddol (2007, p 117) also confirmed that the cultural flows are now multi-directional and that native speakers may be

seen as “an obstacle to the free development of global English”

In Outer and Expanding Circle, Graddol has emphasized that English is

growing vigorously, especially in Asia where English is becoming “an Asian

lingua franca” or English as an Asian language Moreover, it is expected that

speakers of English will signal their identity through their English accent and

a non-native accent will no longer be seen as “a sign of poor competence.”

This means that the status of non-native speakers will be enhanced English will no longer be the language of native speakers; instead, it will truly become the language of the world

On the other hand, there might be a more pessimistic vision for English Ostler (2010) has pointed out that English might lose its position as a lingual franca, if its localization process creates new varieties which is intelligible for speakers of other varieties – the same case as Latin in ancient time However, he has also stated out that this scenario is unlikely to happen

In conclusion, the past and the present of English demonstrate the fact that the expansion of English has been and is inevitable, and that this expansion is likely to continue in the future English is becoming a global language There are positive expectations for the future of English and its international speakers English as a global language may become barriers for the development and integration of countries with lower proficiency of English

2.1.4 English in South East Asia

Due to the dominance of ASEAN (Associations of Southeast Asian Nations) in the region, this chapter will focus on status of English in the education system and in societies of ASEAN countries

English functions as the lingua franca for the political, economic, and cultural co-operations of ASEAN members It was stated in Article 34 of

ASEAN Charter (2008) that “The working language of ASEAN shall be

English.” Therefore, it is vitally important for citizens of ASEAN countries to

learn English and those who speak fluent English will certainly have advantages over those who do not

The majority of countries in the South East Asia belong to the Expanding Circle, except for Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Brunei which were former colonies of the British Empire, and by definition belong to the Outer Circle of World Englishes

Outer Circle Countries

In Outer Circle countries in South East Asia, English is used as a second language, mostly by the middle and upper classes Governments of these countries are implementing bilingual or multi-lingual language policy to ensure that their future generations are able to use English and their mother-tongue

Singapore

English is the dominant language of the country and is used widely in every aspect of their citizens‘ life Schneider (2011, p.159) reported that it has become the native language for a large number of young Singaporean He

also stated that there is “a recognizable standard form” of Singaporean English being used along with an “informal indigenous variety” which is

usually referred to as Singlish (p.160) This highly localized variety, which is

usually used in everyday communication, is prevented by the government (Hung 2009, Schneider 2011) In education, the government of Singapore promotes a language policy that all subjects are taught in English while other languages become subjects In other words, Singaporean children are expected to learn at least two languages (English and their mother-tongue)

Malaysia

Bahasa Malaysia or Malaysian was adopted as the official language after the country regained their independence in 1957 The role of English was decreased and nowadays it is used prominently by people with wealth and status

In education, Malaysian is used as the medium of instruction in the education system English had been used as the medium of instruction for several years until its implementation was terminated in 2012, because students from disadvantaged backgrounds could not keep up with mathematics and science when they are taught in English (Kirkpatrick 2012b)

The Philippines

In the Philippines, the national language is Tagalog, or Filipino while there are 100 languages spoken in different regions of the Philippines (Kirkpatrick 2012b) According to Schneider (2011), approximately 75% of the population is able to use English and more than 50% speaks the language

In education, the government attempts to implement a multi-lingual language policy which emphasizes the role of mother-tongue as the language of instruction

Brunei

In Brunei, English and Malay are the most popularly used languages In the education system, the government implements a bi-lingual language policy of English and Malay with the former being the primary medium of

instruction from the fourth year of Primary school, and the latter in Primary 1

to 3

Expanding Circle Countries

All other countries in South East Asia belong to the Expanding Circle

In these countries, English is becoming the tool for communication – the lingua franca within and beyond ASEAN

Indonesia

Indonesia was colonized by the Dutch Bahasa Indonesia became the official language of Indonesia after its independence Alongside Bahasa Indonesia, English is the second most important language in high school‘s curriculum (Alisjahbana 1990, cited in Y Kachru & Nelson 2011) However, unlike other Expanding Circle countries in ASEAN, English is not compulsory in primary‘s curriculum (Kirkpatrick 2012b)

Thailand

The dominant languages of Thailand are standard Thai and English Being the only country which had not been colonized by European countries through trade and foreign relations, Thailand introduced English as a mandatory subject in the curriculum from 1913 to 1977 (Pongtongchareon,

1999, cited in Y Kachru & Nelson 2011) Nowadays, English is the primary foreign language in schools (Kirkpatrick 2012b)

Laos

Lao is used as a lingua franca for the country and English is the primary foreign language in the education system

Cambodia

The majority of Cambodian speaks Kh‘mer English, as other countries

in the region, is considered highly important for the competitiveness of the country in the era of globalization

In general, in Outer Circle countries, English either serves as the official language or the second most popular language in society A bilingual language policy is adopted with one language being the majority‘s mother tongue, and the other being English In Expanding Circle countries, English is the predominant foreign language and the teaching and learning of English is actively promoted by governments

2.1.5 The implications of World Englishes for ELT

The expansion of different varieties of English worldwide has created a new branch of Applied Linguistics with the name of World English(es) or Global English(es) The trend has influenced the field of English Language Teaching to some extent, for example, tests and teaching materials begin to have speakers from all circles, etc This section briefly discusses its influence and implications in ELT

Models of English in ELT

According to Kirkpatrick (2007), two major models of English are currently being applied in ELT: the Exonormative native model and the

Endonormative nativised model

Exonormative native model

The majority of countries in Outer and Expanding circle adopt the native speaker model, or the ―Standard English,‖ for their English language classroom due to their ―prestige and legitimacy,‖ the availability of materials, and political reason This model advantages the British and American language teaching industry, and native speaker teachers, while disadvantages non-native speaker teachers, and majority of students It could severely damage students‘ motivation to use English because it is not possible for learners to achieve a native-like accent of English (Kirkpatrick 2007, Y Kachru & Nelson 2011) In other words, it is not appropriate for the majority

of learners in non-native countries

Endonormative nativised model

This model is primarily adopted in Outer circle countries It includes the teaching and learning of a localized model of English which ensures intelligibility in international communication, while retains local linguistic and cultural features It is beneficial for local teachers and local education system and advantages the students in certain context because of its nativised features A disadvantage is that the local variety might not have been

―codified,‖ and there might be a lack of teaching materials

In Expanding circle, disadvantages of this model might outweigh its advantages However, it is still possible for these countries are able to use a

―codified nativised variety of English‖ (p 191) if the two Expanding Circle

country shares a large number of linguistic and cultural features with the Outer circle one For example, SEAMEO has established Regional Language

Centre with the goal to ―promote collaborative ELT within ASEAN.‖

Implications of WEs in ELT

The belief that native varieties of English, particularly British and American English, should be the ultimate goal for learners of the language has dominated the field of ELT during its history Despite the absolute dominance of native varieties of English, scholars have pointed out that this belief does not have empirical validation (Y.Kachru & Nelson 2011) and the

“preference for particular varieties [of English] over others is based on prejudice” (Kirkpatrick 2006, p 15)

They have also argued that learners of English should be equipped with

the ability to “communicate effectively across linguistic and cultural

boundaries” (Kirkpatrick 2006, p 15) due to the fact that the number of

speakers in Outer and Expanding Circle far exceeds that of the Inner Circle

To reach this goal, different suggestions have been made One growing trend

in recent years in ELT is to promote the teaching and learning of English as a Lingua Franca or English as an International Language with supports from a large number of leading scholars

Seildhofer (2003) went as far as suggesting that EIL should be considered as the major, or alternative, option instead of ENL in curricula of European countries Also, the demand for English will remain and that English should be re-conceptualized as EIL

Kirkpatrick (2006) stated that the goal of this approach was that learners attain the ability to communicate successfully across cultures For this purpose, he suggested a curriculum through which students could perceive linguistics features that interfere with interlocutors‘ intelligibility, understand cultural differences and their importance in intercultural communication, and apply communicative strategies

He argued that this model would concentrate on linguistics features, cultural features, and communicative strategies It would also motivate learners by setting attainable goals for their learning progress, i.e becoming competent users of English in global context

McKay (2012) elaborated this approach and suggested that a ―socially sensitive and responsible‖ EIL pedagogy should take into account the following principles:

 the promotion of multilingualism and multiculturalism;

 localized L2 language planning and policies;

 the development of an awareness of language variation and use for all students;

 a critical approach to the discourse surrounding the acquisition and use

of English;

 equal access to English learning for all who desire it; and

 a re-examination of the concept of qualified teachers of English

(p 42, 43)

In addition, Matsuda (2003) proposed four specific ways to teach EIL First, there should be interaction with EIL users (i.e non-native users who use English to communicate with other non-native users) Second, assessment should focus on the effectiveness of communication (i.e the ability to deliver the message) Third, teaching materials representing EIL users should be used

in the classroom Finally, teachers of English should be trained to teach EIL

At lower levels, Jenkins (2006) suggested that learners‘ awareness could be raised through exposure to different varieties of English

Even though there have been controversial opinions about EIL/ELF, most scholars agree that teachers and students should develop awareness of varieties of English to meet the needs of intercultural communication (Bolton

2004, Jenkins 2006, Y Kachru & Smith 2008, Y Kachru & Nelson 2011, Kirkpatrick 2012, etc.)

Jenkins (2006, p 173) stressed that:

“Teachers and their learners … need to learn not (a variety of) English, but about Englishes, their similarities and differences, issues involved in intelligibility, the strong link between language and identity, and so on.”

It is clear that the native speaker model of English, or Standard English, remains the ideal choice of most countries in Outer and Expanding circle However, the World English paradigm has brought to ELT new approaches such as EIL/ELF, which promotes learners‘ awareness of different varieties of English, equip them with intercultural communication strategies, and contribute to shaping their identity as users of Global English

On the other hand, as Timmis (2002) pointed out, some students want

to learn native varieties of English and this defines the varieties of English that teachers provide Therefore, features like teachers and students‘ attitudes

in local contexts should be taken into account when new approaches to ELT are applied

2.1.6 ELT in Vietnamese context

Vietnam has a long history of being dominated by China, which resulted to the influence of Chinese to the language of Vietnamese and the introduction of Chinese as the primary foreign language in Vietnam throughout its history In 19th century, the country was colonized by France and French became the language of instruction in schools and universities (Dang 1986, cited in Denham 1992) The 20th century witnessed the changes

of the primary language being taught in Vietnamese schools from French (under colonization period) to Russian (before Doi Moi), to English (after the Doi Moi in 1986) (Do, 2006) Since then, the amount of English learners in Vietnam has tremendously increased In the present, English is the compulsory foreign language for ninety per cent of children in Vietnamese schools (Kirkpatrick, 2012b); in colleges and universities where all students are required to learn a foreign language, ninety per cent of them choose to learn English (Le, 2007)

With the integration of Vietnam into the global labor market, it is essential for Vietnamese learners of English to be able to function in international communication cross the border of cultures and languages The government provides strong supports towards the teaching and learning of English in Vietnam, especially in tertiary level The launch of Project

―Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Education System, Period 2008-2020,‖ which is usually referred to as National Project

2020, is an evidence of the government‘s determination to improve the country‘s foreign language competence The project stated:

“by 2020 most Vietnamese students graduating from secondary,

vocational schools, colleges and universities will be able to use a

foreign language confidently in their daily communication, their study and work in an integrated, multi-cultural and multi-lingual environment, making foreign languages a comparative advantage of

development for Vietnamese people in the cause of industrialization and modernization for the country.‖

(Decision 1400/QĐ-TTG dated 30 September, 2008 of the Prime Minister on the Approval of the Project entitled ―Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Education System, Period 2008-2020)

In other words, Vietnamese students are expected to be able to use a foreign language - usually English - confidently in cross-cultural communications (i.e to become inter-cultural speakers) in order to work in an international environment One of the key factors to achieve this expectation, according to Savignon and Berns (1984), as cited in Y.Kachru & Smith (2008), is to be able to accommodate with different varieties of English However, similar to the majority of countries in the Expanding Circle, Vietnam is applying the Exonormative native model English language teaching It means that native varieties of English, especially British English and American English, are primarily used in the education system, colleges, and universities Learners are extensively exposed to Native and Standard English and intensively learn to use them Moreover, most school students spend most of their time learning grammar and reading in order to achieve a

high score on the English test in the National University Entrance Exam which concentrates mainly on grammar and vocabulary, reading and writing, and pronunciation

Listening and Speaking are not taken into account And most students graduated from high schools, especially ones in rural areas, are not able to communicate using English

In general, Vietnam has gone through its history with different predominant foreign languages from Chinese, French, Russian, to English For the near future, the Vietnamese government aims to create intercultural speakers of English to compete in the world labor force market However, in the education system, the Exonormative native model of English is adopted; and students and teachers focus on aspects which could help students pass exams, such as grammar and reading

2.2 Attitude and the importance of studies on attitude

2.2.1 Concept, components, and measurement of attitude

The concept of attitude

A definition of attitude which was commonly accepted by scholars is

the one by Sarnoff, cited in Garrett (2007, p 116) as ―a disposition to react

favourably or unfavourably to a class of objects.‖ In other words, a person

may hold positive or negative attitude towards an object or a behavior Depends on attitudes, a person is likely to response differently to different objects Additionally, attitude is formed through social interactions (Day 1982) and it is not likely for attitude to be modified in later years (Sears 1983), as cited in Garett (2007,p.116)

Components of attitude

Attitude is generally considered to consist of three components: cognitive, affective, and behavioural Cognitive component of attitude refers

to opinions and beliefs that a person has Affective component is a person‘s feelings and evaluation of an entity Behavioural component indicates how a person is likely to behave However, the relationships among these

components are ―moderate‖ and researchers are advised to measure each of

them or specify which of them is their focus (Breckler 1984, p 1203)

The measurement of attitude

According to Krosnick et al (2005), the purpose of measuring attitude

is to identify “the stable construct underlying responses.‖ It means that

researchers should be aware of how different responses are created in order to determine what the stable attitude behind them is

According to Garrett (2007, p 116), three necessary methods to

measure attitude include the societal treatment approach, the direct approach and the indirect approach The societal treatment approach involves methods

which primarily draw out attitude based on observation and analysis of social sources The direct approach refers to methods in which participants are asked

to “report self-analytically what their attitudes are” through surveys This

measurement is particularly beneficial and has been popularly applied in

measuring language attitude However, results from the direct approach may

be altered by biases like acquiescence bias (people response with what they think the researcher is looking for) and socially desirable responses (people response with what they think they should response, rather than what they actually think) A typical example of the indirect method is the MGT (matched-guise technique) In a research on accents using MGT method, listeners listen to the same person imitating different accents uttering the same speech, which makes them think that they are listening to different people The consequence is that, as all other speech features are controlled, any

difference in evaluation must be caused by listeners‘ judgment on accents MGT has produced surprising findings in research on language attitude

In this study, the direct approach has been applied, particularly a survey with Likert-type items and an interview were used to collect data This indirect method was adopted for two reasons First, it is the most convenient and time-saving when it comes to investigating attitudes of a large population Second, even though it has weaknesses, this method has been widely applied in a great number of studies on language attitudes in the world and in Vietnam, such as Timmis (2002), Jenkins (2008), Young & Walsh (2010), Ton & Pham (2010), Groom (2012), Ahn (2014), etc

2.2.2 The importance of studies on attitude

The study of attitudes is an important topic in social sciences, especially in the fields of linguistics and sociolinguistics In particular, learning about attitudes of learners and teachers play significant roles in ELT Some of them include motivating students and localizing ELT approaches First, language attitudes may result to stereotypes of its speakers and influence learners‘ motivations of learning the language (McKenzie 2008a, as cited in Tokumoto & Shibata 2011, p.392) In other words, when learners have positive attitudes to a language, it is more likely that they will build a positive image of themselves as speakers of that language, and have stronger motivations to learn it

Second, by taking into account attitudes of teachers and students, the

researchers could avoid “a patronizing approach” in the implications of

EIL/EFL in ELT (Taylor 2006, as cited in Ton & Pham 2010, p 49) It means that attitudes may provide researchers with information so that they could localize innovative ELT approaches for specific teaching contexts

Therefore, more empirical studies need to be done in order to provide detailed descriptions of teachers‘ and students‘ attitude towards WEs in different contexts, including Vietnam

2.3 Overview of previous researches on attitude toward WEs

2.3.1 Studies on attitude toward WEs

Over the years, researchers from all over the world have attempted to explore people‘s attitudes towards different varieties of English, especially learners‘ and teachers‘ Empirical researches have shown that there is generally prejudice against non-native varieties of English and rejection of the teaching and learning of EFL worldwide However, young learners of English, especially in Asia, seem to begin to form their identity as speakers of English while retaining their L1 identity

Based on 180 survey responses from teachers in 45 countries and 400 survey responses from students in 14 countries, Timmis (2002) has come to the conclusion that some students still desire to have native-like English regardless their perception of who they use English to communicate with The teachers, on the other hand, seem to be ―moving away from native-speaker norms faster than students are‖ (p 258) He has also noted that learners‘ aspiration for native-like English is possibly the consequence of their idealization rather than practical goals

In Europe, an online survey of 127 participants from different European countries shows that the majority of is in favor of native models of English In fact, the result shows that many of them would like to be able to speak like a

native speakers, while others would like to ―speak English that in grammar

and lexis resembles a native variety and can be understood by NSs and NNSs

of English alike” (Groom 2012, p 53) It is not clear if these participants are

learners of English; however, the survey shows that they do use English to

some extent at home, at work/school/university, and in communication socially

Young & Walsh (2010) interviewed 26 teachers of English who were studying for a Master or Ph.D degree in the same university in the UK The result shows five main findings First, all teachers are not aware of the variety

of English that they learned in their country Second, the majority of teachers identify the English they teach as British, American, Standard, or Formal English Third, all teachers strongly states that they would like to teach Standard English Fourth, all teachers are interested in the theory of EIL/EFL,

but are not fully aware of EIL/EFL ―content, lexis, and pronunciation‖ for

classroom activities Finally, all teachers expect to teach American English in the future

In Asia, Jenkins (2008) interviewed a group of young learners from different countries about their attitude towards different Englishes The result shows that most students express preference of native accent over non-native accents They also show contradictory views about their own accent One on hand, they are proud of their own accent and consider it part of their identity;

on the other hand, they strive for a native-like accent

These findings are supported by a qualitative research on 12 young learners in Japan S Kawanami & K Kawanami (2009) reported that the dominance model of English in ELT in Japan is still the prestigious native-like models However, in the future, Japanese young learners of English might be able to identify themselves as speakers of English and acknowledge their variety as legitimate This might be done through developing awareness of different varieties of English and learning to respect the differences

Tokumoto & Shibata (2011) surveyed 128 English-major university students from three Asian countries including Korea, Japan, and Malaysia, on the self-

perception of their pronunciation Their work shows that, while learners from both countries consider native English their ideal model, Korean learners seem to have negative attitudes towards their own accent, while Japanese

learners ―consider their pronunciation intelligible to some extent‖ (p.406)

Malaysian learners, on the other hand, express confidence in their own variety of English

In 2014, a survey on 204 participants followed by 25 interviews on teachers of English in Korea was implemented The result indicates that the majority of participants seem to have a positive attitude towards Korean English (Ahn 2014)

In general, there has been a great deal of controversies in attitudes towards World Englishes While students and teachers begin to realize the existence of different varieties, the vast majority of them are still in favor of the native model of English, commonly British and American There are, however, a number of young learners who would like to retain their L1 accent

in English as part of their identity in the era of globalization

2.3.2 Studies on attitude toward WEs in Vietnam

While attitudes towards World Englishes in East Asia have been extensively investigated, there are only a few researches on similar topics in Vietnam The following academic works are the first looks at teachers and students‘ attitudes towards WEs in Vietnam

A study on 150 students majoring in English and 80 university teachers

of English in Central Vietnam shows that many students and teachers are aware of the fact that they will use English with NNS more than with NS However, most students still wish to learn native-like pronunciation and grammar, and teachers teach exclusively native varieties of English (Ton & Pham 2010)

Their findings were supported by another research in Hue University Ngo (2012) has investigated 106 students and 25 teachers in Hue University, Vietnam and reported that both participating students and teachers prefer Standard English The research also indicates that teachers seem to accept and support EFL, but reject it in ELT This rejection of ELF in the classroom is because of the lack of material, the schools‘ goals, or the popularity of native-based tests

Tran & Moore (2015) has studied attitudes of 76 teachers in 26 different Vietnamese universities/colleges The result of this study shows that

teachers consider the introduction of WEs in ELT in Vietnam “important and

necessary” (p.113) Nevertheless, there are challenges which prevent them

from doing so They include the lack of teaching materials, extra time and effort, teacher‘s lack of awareness on WEs, and students‘ preference on native varieties

In conclusion, similar to other countries in the world, Vietnamese teachers and learners seem to have controversial opinions on World Englishes and the teaching and learning of EIL/EFL As there have been only a few studies on the topic in the context of Vietnam, it is necessary to have more researches on the topic to build a more detailed picture of attitudes towards WEs in Vietnam

2.4 Concluding remarks

In the modernization, English has become the global language and this trend is expected to continue A lot of methods to categorize English varieties have been proposed, including the Kachru‘s Circle model which is adopted for this research because of its advantages

Researchers have suggested EIL/EFL as a new approach for ELT which respects different varieties of English and emphasizes intercultural

communication competence Even though there have been disagreements in terms of EFL/EIL principles, most scholars agree that English varieties should

be introduced to students

In Vietnam, the education system retains the use of native English (mainly British and American English) with little focus on language skills In recent years, the government invests a great deal of effort in the teaching and learning of English, expecting Vietnamese youth to be able to communicate confidently in English in international context Therefore, it is necessary for learners to be aware of different varieties of English in order to support their study and form their intercultural competence

The study of attitude is a popular topic on ELT because it has great influence on the teaching and learning process Attitude is generally accepted

as having three components: Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral The study applied the indirect method (survey and interview) to measure Cognitive and Affective aspects of attitude

EFL/EIL is still a new concept for Vietnamese teachers of English It is important to explore attitudes of Vietnamese teachers towards this approach There have been, however, a small number of researches on attitudes of Vietnamese university teachers and students Therefore, it is necessary to have more research on teachers and students‘ perceptions and attitudes towards English varieties and the introduction of English varieties This study aims to describe attitudes of state university teachers, with focus on those whose students major in English and/or TESOL, to fill in the gap in language