Improving the students’ intercultural awareness through guided discussion an action research approach with 11th form english major students at luong van tuy gifted high school

This study aims to improve intercultural awareness of students at Luong Van Tuy Gifted High School in Ninh Binh province, and discuss the role of intercultural awareness in the developme

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

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

TRẦN THỊ THU TRANG

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS THROUGH GUIDED DISCUSSIONS: AN ACTION RESEARCH

AT LUONG VAN TUY GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL

Nâng cao nhận thức liên văn hóa của học sinh thông qua thảo luận

có định hướng Nghiên cứu hành động đối với học sinh lớp 11 chuyên Anh trường THPT chuyên Lương Văn Tụy – Ninh Bình

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

Hanoi, 2016

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

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

TRẦN THỊ THU TRANG

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS THROUGH GUIDED DISCUSSIONS: AN ACTION RESEARCH

AT LUONG VAN TUY GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL

Nâng cao nhận thức liên văn hóa của học sinh thông qua thảo luận

có định hướng Nghiên cứu hành động đối với học sinh lớp 11 chuyên Anh trường THPT chuyên Lương Văn Tụy – Ninh Bình

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Lê Văn Canh

Hanoi, 2016

DECLARATION

I, Trần Thị Thu Trang, hereby certify that the thesis entitled “Improving

students’ intercultural awareness through guided discussion An action research approach with 11 th form English major students at Luong Van Tuy High School for Gifted students.” is submitted for the partial fulfilment of the Degree of Master of

Arts at the Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies- Vietnam National University, Hanoi I also declare that this thesis is the result of my own research and efforts and it has not been submitted for any

other purposes

Hanoi, 2016

Trần Thị Thu Trang

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my sincere and deepest gratitude to my supervisor Assoc Prof Dr Le Van Canh for his unfailing support, patience and continuous help in the process of writing up this dissertation His insightful ideas and constructive suggestions have enriched my knowledge about the research in the field of interculture and it thus broadened the scope of my project

Besides, my deep thanks and appreciation also go to all the lecturers and the staff of the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies at University of Languages and International Studies for their valuable lectures and knowledge on which my minor thesis was laid the foundation In addition, I am also grateful to my lovely 11th form English major students at Luong Van Tuy High School for Gifted students who were highly cooperative in my study

Last but not least, I deeply indebted to my parents, my husband and my children, my beloved brothers and sisters and many of my friends for their love and great support so that I am able to complete my study successfully I am so convinced that without their help and spirit, I might not be able to finish this thesis and I deeply feel indebted to all of them

ABSTRACT

The development of intercultural understanding, awareness and practical communication skills has become the most useful in a multicultural society To acquire these competences, language learners need to develop intercultural awareness as a primary step Such awareness has received less than adequate attention in Vietnam to date In this action research, attempts are made to demonstrate how students’ intercultural awareness can be strengthened through guided discussion The study was designed in the form of a classroom action research It was conducted into one cycle and the cycle consisted of six classroom sessions and involved four steps namely planning, action, observation and reflection This study aims to improve intercultural awareness of students at Luong Van Tuy Gifted High School in Ninh Binh province, and discuss the role of intercultural awareness in the development of students’ intercultural communication and interaction skills in foreign language learning There were four instruments used to collect the data in this study: pre-treatment and post-treatment questionnaires administered to the students, student interview and teaching diaries to measure improvement in students’ awareness towards intercultural competence The research findings indicated that in this action research, students highly valued the role of intercultural awareness in foreign language teaching and learning in education A six weeks independent study action research was developed and delivered to thirty five 11th form English major students at Luong Van Tuy Gifted High School

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION………i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……… ii

ABSTRACT……… iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS……….………iv

LIST OF TABLES……… vii

LIST OF FIGURES………viii

LIST OF APPENDICES……… ix

PART A: INTRODUCTION……….1

1 Rationale……… 1

2 Aims and objectives of the study………2

3 Research questions……… 2

4 Method of the study……….2

5 Scope of the study……… ……….3

6 Significance of the study……… ………3

7 Structure of the thesis……… ……3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT……… 5

CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW……….5

1.1 Definitions of intercultural awareness……… 6

1.2 The role of intercultural awareness ……….10

1.3 Developing intercultural awareness ………13

1.4 Guided discussion………20

1.5 Previous studies………21

CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY……… 23

2.1 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY……… ………23

2.1.1 Setting of the study……….…… 23

2.1.2 Participants………23

2.1.3 Materials……… ………….24

2.2 RESEARCH DESIGN……… ……….24

2.2.1 Rationale for using action research method……….……….24

2.2.2 Research procedure……….……… 27

2.2.2.1 Conducting preliminary investigation………30

2.2.2.2 Planning the action ………30

2.3 DATA COLLECTION……… ………31

2.3.1 Questionnaires……….……….31

2.3.2 Student interview……….……….32

2.3.3 Classroom self-observation and teaching diaries……….33

2.4 TECHNIQUES OF ANALYZING DATA……… ………33

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION………….…………34

3.1 Pre-treatment questionnaire results……… 34

3.2 After action findings ……… ……….38

3.2.1 Post-treatment questionnaire results……… 38

3.2.2 Students’ attitudes towards effectiveness of guided discussion method… ……39

3.2.3 The interview data……….…………40

3.2.4 Classroom self-observation and teaching diaries……… ……… 44

3.3 Discussion………45

3.4 Reflection……… ……… 46

PART C CONCLUSION AND PLAN FOR THE NEXT CYCLE………50

4.1 Summary of main findings……… ……….50

4.2 Limitations of the study……… ……….50

4.3 Plan for the next cycle……….……….51

REFERENCES……….52 APPENDICES……… ………… I

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2: The model of action research ……….27 Figure 3.1 Students’ attitude towards intercultural awareness……… 35 Figure 3.2 Students’ level of knowledge about intercultural communication……… 36 Figure 3.3 Students’ levels of knowledge about interculture after action……….38

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix A Pre-treatment questionnaire………I Appendix B Post-treatment questionnaire……… VII Appendix C Students interview……… X Appendix D Lesson plan………XIV

PART A INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Globalization and technological advancements are breaking down barriers and borders with vast implications for education in general and foreign language teaching in particular More than ever, our programs need to address internationalization and cross-cultural understanding Contemporary language classes must account for features far beyond just the linguistic They must incorporate the larger cultural fabric of which language is only a part There is a developing consensus that it is important to include culture learning as part of language learning with a primary goal of making students aware of alternative ways

of interpreting personal and social experiences (Sellami, 2000)

Furthermore, globalization has changed the goal of English language teaching from communicative competence based on the native-speakers’ norms to intercultural communicative competence So, English language teaching now is targeted at enabling learners to become intercultural speakers or mediators who are able to engage with complexity and multiple identities and to avoid the stereotyping which accompanies perceiving someone through a single identity” (Byram et al.,

2002, p 5) This implies that the aims of language teaching should include both intercultural and linguistic competences; prepare students for interaction with people of other culture(s); enable them to understand and accept people from other culture(s) who have their own perspectives, values and behaviors; and help them to see that such interaction is an inspiring, enriching, educational and new experience (Byram et al., 2002, p 6)

As Stern (1983) proposes, the language learner should not only study the cultural context (language and culture) but should be made aware of the interaction between language and culture Therefore, intercultural awareness is required if a foreign language learner is to achieve intercultural communication competence, which is now considered the major goal of foreign language learning (Han, 2013) According to Kramsch (1998), intercultural awareness, or the “fifth skill”, is the

ability to be aware of cultural relativity – following reading, writing, listening and speaking In response to the demands of a globalizing world and in order to prepare future global language learners, intercultural awareness, as an indispensable element

in language learning, becomes critical for a productive and successful life in the ever shifting social, cultural, economic and technological reality that defines the shrinking world of the twenty-first century The use of the term “intercultural” reflects the view that foreign language learners have to gain insight into both their own and the foreign culture (Kramsch, 1993) While intercultural communicative competence has become the goal of foreign language teaching and learning, the question of how teachers can develop competence for their students remains unanswered at least in the context of Vietnamese high schools This action research

entitled “Improving students’ intercultural awareness through guided discussion

Tuy High School for Gifted students.” is an attempt to try out a classroom

technique: guided discussion to raise students’ intercultural awareness

2 Aims and Objectives of the Study

This action research is aimed at exploring how students’ intercultural awareness was changed as a result of guided classroom discussions

3 Research questions

To fulfill this aim, the following research questions were raised:

To what extent do guided discussion activities change the students’

intercultural awareness?

4 Method of the Study

Since the purpose of this study is to gain understanding of a new teaching strategy in developing my own students’ intercultural awareness, an action research approach is employed The data were collected by means of:

- Pre-treatment and post-treatment questionnaires administered to the students

- Student interviews

- Teaching diaries

These three research instruments are used in cycle of the action research to for pre-research, the process and the effects that the action created, and reflection on the action cycle

5 Scope of the Study

To improve student’s intercultural awareness, EFL teachers can use varieties

of techniques However, this study merely focused on finding out whether and to what extent guided discussion helped to raise students’ intercultural consciousness

The treatment, i.e., guided discussion, was used in six classroom sessions The action was carried out with 35 English major students of Grade 11 at Luong Van Tuy High School for Gifted students The collected data were analyzed and discussed to figure out how to help improve 11th form students’ intercultural awareness through guided discussion Then some solutions were proposed to improve the quality of teaching and learning culture in high school

6 Significance of the Study

For the teachers of English division, this study is hoped to bring them the detailed and full view on the improvement of intercultural awareness at 11th form English major students of Luong Van Tuy High School for Gifted students As a result, through guided discussion, they can raise their intercultural competence In addition, they are also given chance to know about interesting differences between different countries in the world which helps them improve the ability of communication and gain effective conversation

7 Structure of the thesis

The study consists of three major parts:

Part A, Introduction, presents the rationale of the study, the aims and objectives,

the research questions, the method, the scope, the significance and the design of the study, and review of previous studies

Part B, Development, includes three chapters:

Chapter 1, Literature Review, reviews the theories on intercultural awareness;

definitions of intercultural awareness; the role of intercultural awareness; developing intercultural awareness

Chapter 2, Methodology, describes the setting of the study, the participants and

materials used during six sessions of the research Moreover, this chapter shows how the researcher applied the data collection instruments and her procedure of conducting the study

Chapter 3, Data analysis and findings, the researcher used quantitative and

qualitative method to study and analyze the figure and information collected

Part C, Conclusion, gives a summary of the study, its limitations of the study and

plan for the next cycle

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW

There is a general consensus that culture and communication are interwined Therefore, learning about culture and developing intercultural awareness is sometimes referred to as the “fifth skill” in language learning When learning a new language, learners will learn not only vocabulary, grammar, and how to understand and communicate, however will also learn about the cultures associated with that language Cultural content in learners’ language classes might include: gaining knowledge about art, literature, history, or popular culture in the target language; discussion of values important in the countries where the language is spoken; or developing awareness of everyday life and social structures This will also help develop more general intercultural awareness and intercultural competence The key question is what happens when communication has to happen outside one’s cultural sphere No two cultures are exactly alike and we cannot know all about every culture, yet we require some knowledge so that communication, for example in business and education, can occur in a successful way Byram (1989) sees cultural knowledge as systematic information which is necessary to understand another culture and the emphasis here is that the meaning of culture is transported through the vehicle of language Culture and language are inseparable for maintaining any semblance of significance for meaning-making Knowledge of how another culture works is an essential precursor to achieving better communication, as is evident in second language learning, and this is the focus of my analysis Furthermore, Tomlinson and Masuhara (2004) stress raising cultural awareness increases tolerance and achieves empathy and sensitivity which facilitates second language learning This awareness is especially significant as second language learners come with diverse learning styles and how they learn will not necessarily be the same as English Language Teaching lecturers’ expectations Thus, English Language Teaching lecturers need to have an understanding of culture from the point of view

of English Language Teaching learners, which is hard to achieve This point will be

addressed in the findings and discussion/ analysis chapters of my research To perform this function, lecturers require competence in language which is defined as

“the sum of knowledge, skills and characteristics that allow a person to perform actions (Common European Framework, 2000, p.9) Thus, knowledge about other cultural systems, awareness of our own cultural conditioning and cultural biases, and skills acquired through real‐life interactions and experience are prerequisites for successful

1.1 Definitions of intercultural awareness

Scholars have defined intercultural awareness in various ways To explain difficult concept of intercultural awareness Kramsch claims:

“If language is seen as social practice, culture becomes the very core of language teaching Cultural awareness must then be viewed as enabling language proficiency Culture in language teaching is not an expendable fifth skill, tacked

on, so to speak, to the teaching of speaking, listening, reading and writing.” (Kramsch 1993, p 27)

Kramsch further suggests that we cannot be competent in the language “if we do not have an awareness of that culture, and how that culture relates to our own first language/ first culture.” (Kramsch, 1993) She therefore claims that it is essential to have cultural awareness together with intercultural awareness in order to be efficient

in the language In Common European Framework for Languages (2002), intercultural awareness is explained as a product of the relation between knowledge, awareness and understanding of “the world of origin” and “the world of the target culture” Intercultural awareness also includes awareness of regional and social diversity of both cultures and how the culture appears from the perspective of the other culture; often in the form of national stereotypes

According to Yassine (2006), intercultural awareness is the development of awareness and understanding of one’s own and other cultures Intercultural awareness occurs when people no longer assume that their culture’s way of looking

at things is the best way or the only way, and when people therefore begin to evaluate other perspectives

Baker (2012) adds that intercultural awareness is a conscious understanding of the role culturally based forms, practices and frames of reference can have in intercultural communication, and an ability to put these conceptions into practice in

a flexible and context specific manner in real-time communication (Baker, 2012) Furthermore, Scollon & Scollon (2001, p 13) identified that intercultural communication (ICC) considers (interpersonal) communication which has the added characteristics of cultural “variance” between those people involved, in one

or more areas, such as: values, beliefs, thought patterns, practices (including language) and other habits of behaviour Cultural variance can be salient in that it can create differing expectations and interpretations of interactions between people Besides, it can be adopted the definition proposed by Korzilius, Hooft and Planken (2007), because it is more practical and understandable when compared with other more complex and implicit definitions:

“Intercultural awareness is the ability to empathize and to decenter More specifically, in a communication situation, it is the ability to take on the perspective

of a conversational partner from another culture or with another nationality, and of their cultural background and thus, to be able to understand and take into consideration interlocutors’ different perspectives simultaneously.” (p 8)

As it can be seen, there is more to intercultural awareness than merely acquiring facts about another culture Chris Rose (2004, cited in Yassine 2006), lists observing, identifying and recording elements in both the home and target cultures, comparing and contrasting, negotiating meaning, dealing with or tolerating ambiguity, accepting difference, defending one’s own point of view while acknowledging the legitimacy of others, and not limiting the possibility of interpretation as necessary skills and attitudes for heightened intercultural awareness

Intercultural awareness, as defined by Byram et al (2002) is “the process of becoming more aware of and developing better understanding of one’s own culture and others cultures all over the world to increase international and cross-cultural understanding” (p 5) This definition is adopted in this study because the purpose of this study is to raise students’ intercultural understanding through a particular pedagogical intervention, i.e., guided discussions

Byram goes on to say that Intercultural Awareness is the ability to interact effectively with people of cultures other than one’s own (Byram, 2000, p 297) The term intercultural implies a restructuring of one’s own attitudes and world view (Seelye, 1994, p 21) In other words, Intercultural Awareness involves awareness

of different values, attitudes and behaviors of the “others”, as well as skills to deal with them in a non-judgmental way It requires that students acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and critical culture awareness to communicate interculturally, (Parmenter, 2003, p 20) Intercultural language learning is not simply a method of embedding language, culture and learning, but rather an overall orientation, a way

of thinking and doing, a stance and overall perspective which influences all decisions regarding curriculum (Asian Education Foundation, 2005, p 6) In terms

of Foreign Language classroom practice Intercultural Awareness refers to activities connected with behavior and speech patterns, such as appropriate choices for conversation topics, opening and closing a conversation, criticizing and complaining, stereotyping, reacting to culture shock, personal space restrictions and non-verbal communication

As it can be seen, intercultural awareness is awareness of how cultural context and background influence communication, the ability to predict possible areas of miscommunication and mediate between different culturally based communicative behaviours

Moreover, intercultural awareness can be regarded as the foundation of communication It involves two qualities: one is the awareness of one’s own culture; the other is the awareness of another culture In other words, it involves the

ability of standing back from our own point and becoming aware of not only our own cultural values, beliefs and perceptions, but also those of other cultures Cultural awareness becomes essential when people communicate with people from other cultures Because people see, interpret and evaluate things in different ways, what is considered as appropriate in one culture is likely to be inappropriate in another, and therefore, misunderstandings arise when people communicate For example, as a Vietnamese, his intuition on seeing an American is probably as the one who always works, wears casual clothes, eats fast food, drinks coca cola and talks about business over lunch These impressions more or less reflect that the meaning people giving to certain activities, like having lunch or dinner could be different in contrast to certain cultures In Vietnam, where relationships are highly valued, lunch, dinner or a gathering for tea has a social connotation: people get together to talk and relax, and more importantly, to build an intimate relationship Misinterpretations occur primarily when we are not aware of our own behavioral rules and project them onto others In absence of cultural awareness, we tend to misinterpret the verbal or the non-verbal behavior of the person with whom we interact

To sum up, a general definition is the willingness and ability to realize the need for social changes within an international context as well as to understand the increasing connectivity between different cultural groups Ideally, this increasing connectivity will be seen as an uneven process of development upon which further efforts to improve the situation will need to be undertaken in order to ensure a more globalized social community Intercultural awareness is necessary in order to achieve competence in intercultural relations Chen (2007) argues it is “the cognitive aspect of intercultural communication” and refers to “the understanding of cultural conventions that affect how people think and behave.”

Since intercultural awareness in language learning is often talked about as though it were a 'fifth skill' - the ability to be aware of cultural relativity following reading, writing, listening and speaking There is something to be said for this as an

initial attempt to understand or define something that may seem a difficult concept but, as Claire Kramsch points out

Generally, language itself is defined by a culture We cannot be competent in the language if we do not also understand the culture that has shaped and informed it

We can not learn a second language if we do not have an awareness of that culture, and how that culture relates to our own first language/ first culture It is not only therefore essential to have cultural awareness, but also intercultural awareness Following on from what Kramsch says above, intercultural awareness is not really therefore a skill, but a collection of skills and attitudes better thought of as

a competence

1.2 The role of intercultural awareness

According to Friedman (2005), the world is “flat” now Geographical borders and boundaries are perhaps becoming increasingly irrelevant in today’s globalized world Different societies in East and West are in much greater direct contact with one another Therefore, it is critical to be aware of cultural variation, to develop intercultural communication skills, and to become more effective at working across cultures Also, a study by Stadler (2009) shows that some fundamental aspects of intercultural communication and business values that may seem obvious to some are still often overlooked; these include knowing the culture

of Asian clients, greeting appropriately, showing respect, and gift giving Not knowing these things can pose unexpected problems while doing business in the global market But if cultural awareness and intercultural competence are essential components for efficient communication in a modern, globalized world, how do we teach these skills Eastern and Western cultures are so distinct that one can only truly understand and appreciate them through concrete examples Learning language and culture in a target country not only provides language learners a clear context but also shows them how foreign customs are carried out in real life This presentation will further illustrate how to design activities that can increase learners’ intercultural awareness

In addition, intercultural competence involves raising the learner’s awareness

of their own culture as well as raising awareness of the culture of the language being learned Learners are often asked to reflect on aspects related to their own culture and the target culture as they look at differences and similarities and explore areas that are often taken for granted This will ultimately help to clarify what is deepest and most relevant to their identity Students gradually develop an awareness

of themselves and how they relate to those who are from the other culture, the

“other” With the right choice of activities, the foreign language classroom can help learners turn their attention back to their lives and discover certain aspects in which they can take pride

Learners are very active agents in the learning process; the focus is on them, what they can bring into the classroom, and what they can take out of it Learning about the target culture is redirected towards a more concerted hands-on experience learning approach where the learner engages in a discovery process of both the target and home cultures and their ways of life (Sellami, 2000) The learner, in the process, does not only learn a foreign language but also develops as a person and as

a member of a larger community Incorporating intercultural awareness in the foreign language class can and should promote developing awareness of the learner’s own identity, (Fenner, 2008) and thus personal growth The personal growth is a product of enabling students to reconcile their own beliefs with ideas from the culture of the “other” that may be very new and challenging (Porto, 2009) Many specialists use the iceberg model to explain the culture In everyday interaction we see only the surface level of culture, i e, books, film, food, fashion and language It is the underbelly of the cultural iceberg that poses the problems They are fundamentals such as attitudes, beliefs, assumptions, world views, communication styles and values If people are unaware of such differences when it comes to such fundamentals, the potential for misunderstandings, poor communication and failed relationships are increased

On the other hand, becoming aware of our cultural dynamics is a difficult task because culture is not conscious to us Since we are born we have learned to see and

do things at an unconscious level Our experiences, our values and our cultural background lead us to see and do things in a certain way Sometimes we have to step outside of our cultural boundaries in order to realize the impact that our culture has on our behavior It is very helpful to gather feedback from foreign colleagues on our behavior to get more clarity on our cultural traits

Obviously, misinterpretations occur primarily when we lack awareness of our own behavioral rules and project them on others In absence of better knowledge we tend to assume, instead of finding out what a behavior means to the person involved, e.g a straight look into your face is regarded as disrespectful in Japan Therefore, intercultural awareness becomes central when we have to interact with people from other cultures People see, interpret and evaluate things in a different ways What is considered an appropriate behavior in one culture is frequently inappropriate in another one Misunderstandings arise when we use my meanings to make sense of your reality For example, as an Italian it is almost automatic to perceive United State Americans as people who always work, talk about business over lunch and drink their coffee running in the street instead of enjoying it in a bar What does it mean? Italians are lazy and Americans hyperactive? It means that the meaning that people give to certain activities, like having lunch or dinner could be different according to certain cultures In Italy, where relationships are highly valued, lunch, dinner or simple pauses for coffee have a social connotation: people get together to talk and relax, and to get to know each other better In the United State Americans, where time is money, lunches can

be part of closing a deal where people discuss the outcomes and sign a contract over coffee

The appropriateness of focusing on a single variety of English is becoming hard

to sustain Instead there is a need to negotiate the diversity of English through developing the skills and knowledge associated with multilingual, intercultural

communication such as accommodation, code-switching, negotiation and mediation Intercultural awareness (Baker, 2009 a; 2012) is an attempt to specify what some of these skills and knowledge might be

As stated in Byram, intercultural awareness builds on the earlier approaches to intercultural communicative competence (Byram, 1997) in viewing successful intercultural communication as a process which goes beyond vocabulary, grammar and phonology However, whereas cultural awareness has tended to deal in cultures

as definable entities, ICA recognizes the intercultural nature of the socio-cultural context of lingua franca communication through English

According to Straub (1999) as cited in Thanasoulas (2001), learners need to be provided with some kind of meta-language in order to talk about their culture and

“to cultivate a degree of intellectual objectivity essential in cross-cultural analysis.” Critical thinking skills are developed when students are forced to confront the foundations of their own culture as they relate to the foundations of the culture of the language being learned

1.3 Developing intercultural awareness

Intercultural awareness means the transformation from “ethnocentrism” to

“ethnorelativism” and the ability to view an issue through the eyes of another person and “empathize” with and recognize the fact that dynamics of communication can lead to intercultural changes in person and society (Frederique

& Pascaline 2005)

One of the most well-established models of intercultural competence was developed by Byram in 1997 (Sinicrope, Norris and Watanabe, 2007) Byram proposed a five-factor model of intercultural competence (Byram, 1997, Chapter 2):

1 The attitude factor which refers to the ability to see oneself in relation to others,

2 Knowledge about one’s own and other cultures, and in addition knowledge about the process of social interaction

3 The skills of interpreting and relating,

4 The skills of discovery and interaction, and

5 Cultural awareness which describes the ability to use perspectives, practices, and products, in one’s own culture and in other cultures to make evaluations

In order to improve students’ intercultural awareness, should pay attention to enhance intercultural awareness skills What are these attitudes and skills that make

up the competence? Among them are:

- observing, identifying and recognizing

- comparing and contrasting

- negotiating meaning

- dealing with or tolerating ambiguity

- effectively interpreting messages

- limiting the possibility of misinterpretation

- defending one's own point of view while acknowledging the legitimacy of others

- accepting difference

These are very similar to many of the skills we teach normally So what makes intercultural learning different? Raised awareness of what we do and of the vital importance of these skills already makes intercultural communicative competence a more attainable goal Moreover, despite the fact that the competence is more than just a body of knowledge-intercultural awareness skills can be developed by designing materials which have cultural and intercultural themes as their content, a kind of loop input, if you like Developing intercultural awareness involves not only becoming familiar with cultural beliefs and practices in a new language and cultural context, but also becoming aware of own beliefs and values Intercultural skills can

be developed in a number of ways; these are a few that you can do outside the classroom, or bring into your language classes for discussion

Discussion is very often used as a teaching tool in classrooms When designed properly and used thoughtfully, discussion tasks can be an effective learning tool that promote creativity, as well as generate meaningful interaction and understanding for the learner Well-designed discussion tasks lead to progressive

knowledge-seeking inquiry (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1994) or expansive learning (Engestrom, 1999) where learners are actively synthesizing new information with prior knowledge and experiences in the process of creating not only new knowledge but also new understanding of the learning process

Class discussions can enhance student understanding, add context to academic content, broaden student perspectives, highlight opposing viewpoints, reinforce knowledge, build confidence, and support community in learning The opportunities for meaningful and engaging in-class discussion may vary widely, depending on the subject matter and format of the course Motivation for holding planned classroom discussion, however, remain consistent

The move to understanding discussion as more than an instructional tool that encourages learners to talk has implications for the design of discussion tasks Hacker and Niederhauser (2000) argue that effective learning comes about through teachers' thoughtful design and use of instructional strategies

The learning-through-discussion framework shares aspects of Bereiter's (1994) concept of progressive discourse, where the goals are for learners to first develop their individual thinking, then suspend these opinions to consider alternatives, and later negotiate meaning with other discussants to arrive at a shared understanding of the issues at hand With thoughtful and well-designed discussion tasks, teachers can help students attain learning goals of critical inquiry, debate and reflection

There are four major discussion tasks designed for classroom use, with a description of teachers' roles and learning strategies to be adopted by the discussants However, guided discussion task will be used effectively in this research

According to Ngeow, Karen - Kong, Yoon-San (2003), the goal of guided or directed discussion tasks is to give learners a chance to develop critical thinking, clear oral expression, as well as experience in posing and responding to questions

Stage 1: The teacher poses a discussion question to the whole class Guidelines are given on discussion etiquette and criteria for evaluation Each learner contributes an original answer in response to the discussion question

Stage 2: Learners offer responses or questions to each other's contributions as a means of broadening the discussion's scope

Stage 3: Learners present their views or the views of their groups, either orally

or in writing at the end of the guided discussion task

Increasing cultural awareness means to see both the positive and negative aspects of cultural differences Cultural diversity could be a source of problems, in particular when the organization needs people to think or act in a similar way Diversity increases the level of complexity and confusion and makes agreement difficult to reach On the other hand, cultural diversity becomes an advantage when the organization expands its solutions and its sense of identity, and begins to take different approaches to problem solving Diversity in this case creates valuable new skills and behaviors

In becoming culturally aware, people realize that:

- We are not all the same

- Similarities and differences are both important

- There are multiple ways to reach the same goal and to live life

- The best way depends on the cultural contingency Each situation is different and may require a different solution

If the social environment encourages the coexistence of more than one culture, individuals, particularly the younger generation, tend to show enthusiasm and generally have positive attitudes towards these combinations In this way, integration of cultures can create a more balanced harmony and establish a logical behavioural paradigm On the contrary, if there is difficulty integrating two cultures

or even hostility between ethnic groups, persons are usually put in a position where they need to choose one culture over the other This often leads to hesitancy in choosing one's own cultural identity The optimum outcome of integrating two

cultures is that the individuals are allowed to make their own decisions without

“having to deny the existence of one of the cultures unless a person shows a positive emotion towards learning, understanding, recognizing, and respecting the cultural similarities and differences, intercultural awareness is unreachable” (Chen,

2007, p 31)

Intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is a framework for intercultural learning that prepares foreign language students for meaningful interactions with those from other cultures by addressing the attitudes, knowledge, and skills needed for effective intercultural communication (Byram, 1997; Deardorff, 2006; Fantini, 2007) The literature on intercultural communicative competence focuses heavily on the notion of preparing learners to interact appropriately and effectively with people from diverse linguistic systems, backgrounds, and worldviews (Byram, 1997; Deardorff, 2006; Fantini, 2007; Sinicrope et al., 2007) In order to prepare students for intercultural interactions, teachers are encouraged to design foreign language lessons that ask students to reflect on their beliefs about the target culture in conjunction with opportunities for students to participate in active inquiry regarding the products, practices, and perspectives of another culture (Byram, 1997; Byram, Gribkova, & Starkey, 2002; Council of Europe, 2001; Deardorff, 2006; McGee, 2011; Merryfield, 2008; Moore, 2006; National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project, 2013; Smith, 2013) Once attitudes and knowledge have been addressed, students should participate in tasks that promote the intercultural skills needed for participation in reciprocal relationships with individuals from different cultures (Byram, 1997) Teachers can incorporate an intercultural stance into the curriculum by providing opportunities for learners to practice skills in analysis, interpretation, communication, and interaction in relation to the products and practices of the target culture (Byram, 1997)

According to Byram (1997), students will undoubtedly bring their predetermined ideas into intercultural conversations

The role of the language teacher is a supportive one, which is to provide learners with the means to understand their own culture and at the same time to learn to relate to the social world inhabited by their interlocutors Language teachers have to introduce and develop skills, attitudes and awareness of values just as much as to develop knowledge of a particular culture or country by including terms and topics about human rights, equality, dignity; gender; bias; prejudice; stereotype; racism, ethnic minority and the names of ethnic groups etc which can help learners talk about cultural diversity, (Byram et al., 2002, p.16) We emphasize the fact that

"teachers need to see themselves as “transformative intellectuals” rather than mere

"classroom technicians employed to pass on a body of knowledge" and teachers can empower learners through a combination of approaches known as “critical pedagogy”, (Pennycook, 1994, p 299) Comprehensiveness, coherence and transparency (Foreign Language Council of Europe, 1993) as well as precision play

a great role in developing intercultural communicative awareness and competence among learners (Robatjazi, 2008, p 252) which can be introduced and developed by language teachers Language teachers have “the responsibility to help students consider different world views so that a dialogue can be established between different realities and knowledge”(Agudelo, 2007, 202) It is evident from the above mentioned discussion that the role of the language teacher is crucial in helping students to develop linguistic and intercultural awareness as he/she can help learners talk, write, read and discuss topics dealing with human rights, politics among many other topics as mentioned above

Teacher helps learners to express and respond to their cultural learning experiences Learners move through the stages of learning cycle building skills, developing cultural behaviour, discovering cultural explanation The teacher’s role

in the learning cycle is crucial as it can to a great deal influence learner’s attitude towards culture learning Teacher needs to establish a good working relationship with learners, “creating an atmosphere of mutuality and respect.” (Ellis 2003, p 17) Teacher needs to be versatile There are numerous roles he has to be able to

perform: “to present and elicit cultural information, coach and model cultural behaviors, guide and conduct cultural research and analysis.” (Moran 2001, p 138)

He also has to listen to learners and empathize with them Teacher should share their own cultural experience with learners to help them enter another culture

It is obvious that teacher has a central role in developing cultural awareness of his learners He supplements learners with core materials to integrate cultural objectives into the learning process He needs to be aware of the fact that every child is individual and has his own cultural identity Teacher encourages active reflection and cultural comparison; develops metacognitive awareness which includes cultural awareness (Ellis 2003, p 17)

According to Kramsch (1993), the teacher’s task is, therefore, to:

… stimulate students’ interest in the target culture, and to help establish the foreign language classroom not so much as a place where the language is taught, but

as one where opportunities for learning of various kinds are provided through the interactions that take place between the participants’ (Ellis cited in Kramsch 1993,

p 245)

Setting goals is one of the stages in planning culture teaching Kramsch has defined four categories of the teaching goals For the purpose of rising cultural awareness at primary level education, her following definition of teaching goal is the most appropriate:

… developing a greater awareness of and a broader knowledge about the target culture; acquiring a command of the etiquette of the target culture; understanding differences between the target culture and the students’ culture; and understanding the values of the target culture (Kramsch, 1993, p 4)

Byram urges teachers to be very specific about what they want to achieve in their module, unit, or lesson because intercultural competence is such a complex concept that it cannot be achieved in a few lessons and teachers should not be too ambitious He suggests clearly defining feasible aims There are different approaches to formulation of objectives; they can be stated as a focus of a lesson

(analysis of a text, learn to respect otherness) or formulated in terms what learners should be able to know and perform at the end of the lesson or a unit (e g, knowledge of the cultural icons of Irish identity or ability to design and develop a questionnaire) (Planet, Byram, 1999)

1.4 Guided discussion method

Guided discussion is an active learning technique that encourages students to reflect on their own experiences, explore alternative ways of thinking, connect to a topic, and improve analytical skills As students participate, they demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the course topics, promoting a deeper comprehension of the material You can use guiding questions to help students create content together, allowing you to become a facilitator of information rather than the lecturer

The guided discussion pedagogy is an active learning technique which offers many benefits to your students Guided discussion exposes students to a variety of diverse perspectives, helps them recognize and investigate their assumptions, improves listening and conversation skills, fosters connection to a topic, and affirms students as co-creators of knowledge As they participate in discussion, students situate new knowledge within the context of their current understandings, thus

facilitating a more thorough understanding of the course material

Guided discussion enables the teacher to tailor the teaching to the needs of the group The teacher is working with the groups to guide them in the correct use

of the target language

Through guided discussion, students are supported during the different stages

of the process of discussion about any topics As an activity, it should be carefully targeted towards groups of students according to their current targets or specific needs Teachers should consider carefully the purpose of the guided session and select the students accordingly The aim is to provide support that is going to help students to improve their intercultural awareness and to work with increasing independence

As intercultural awareness was not included in the English language curriculum objectives for high schools and intercultural activities were not, accordingly, included in the prescribed textbook, I decided to use guided discussion

as a pedagogical treatment in this action research project

1.5 Related previous studies on improving students’ intercultural awareness through guided discussion

A number of studies have investigated how to improve students’ intercultural awareness Some recent studies have been selected and discussed here

Strasheim (1981) argues there is no question that the successful integration

of culture and language teaching can contribute significantly to general human knowledge, that language ability and cultural sensitivity can play a vital role in the security, defense and economic well-being of the country and that global understanding ought to be a mandatory component of basic education (Stratiem

1981, cited in Hadley, 1993)

Besides, Hadley (1993) asserts that intercultural understanding must be promoted in various ways so that students are sensitive to other cultures prepared to live more harmoniously in the target language community As Stern (1992) reiterates, “One of the most important aims of culture teaching is to help the learner gain an understanding of the native speaker’s perspective” (p 216) It is a matter of the learner “becoming sensitive to the state of mind of individuals and groups within the target language community” (p 217)

In addition, Wieto (2010) claims intercultural sensitivity becomes little because it does little to solve deep-seated problems of inequity She suggests that multicultural education needs to be understood as “arrogance reduction”; that

is, as encompassing both individual and structural changes that squarely confront the individual biases, attitudes, and behaviors of educators, as well as the policies and practices in schools that emanate from them

In a broad sense, making mistakes can not be universal in language learning, but that is not a sufficient excuse for cultural mistake Mistake of this kind derive

from leaners’ lack of knowledge about their target culture (Chen Ru & Chen GuoJuan, 2005) Thus, intercultural learning, both home and foreign culture learning appears to be crucially significant

To put it in the nutshell, the previous studies mentioned above on intercultural awareness are diverse However there are few studies that have investigated the effectiveness of guided discussion activities in raising students’ intercultural awareness Therefore, the present study aims to improve students’ intercultural awareness of 11th form English major students

CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY

The purpose of the chapter is to present the specific procedure of the study

In the first place, this chapter describes the context, participants of the study as well

as material used during sessions Then, it explains why action research is used to undertake this study and the procedure of research The next parts in this chapter are

to present the instruments used to collect and analyze data

2.1 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY

2.1.1 Setting of the study

The research was carried out in Luong Van Tuy High School for Gifted students, Ninh Binh, where English is considered as one of the most important subjects in training the students The school is situated in Ninh Binh city, and named after the local hero Luong Van Tuy The leaders have always created the best possible conditions for English teaching and learning For instance, in order to help students to improve listening and speaking ability effectively, English speaking club has been established recently Every week, the students have eight periods learning English in English major classes Students of the school are candidates who are qualified enough to pass an entrance exam organized by Ninh Binh department

of Education and Training and put into classes according to the major subject they are excellent It can be said that they are the most outstanding students coming from every corner of Ninh Binh

2.1.2 Participants

The students

The subject of this research was the 11th form English major students of Luong Van Tuy High School for Gifted students, Ninh Binh province The 11thform class consisted of 35 students, 29 girls and 6 boys The students were 17 years old and they were really fond of social knowledge All the students learned English from seven to eight years at elementary and secondary school; therefore, their English knowledge was quite good especially grammar However, most of them had little knowledge about social communication and intercultural competence

At the time this research was conducted, they were in the second term of the academic year and learned 57 main periods and 19 consolidation periods of English

in 19 weeks, which covered the last 7 units of “11 English textbook” Each unit lasted 5 or 6 periods

2.1.3 Materials

In this study, the materials are chosen not only from topics which are selected in 11 English textbook published by Ministry of Education and Training but also many supplement materials adapted by the teachers

2.2 RESEARCH DESIGN

2.2.1 Rationale for using action research method

The research was conducted as a classroom action research There are some definitions of action research proposed by experts It was defined by Elliot (1991, p 54) that action research integrates teaching and teacher development, curriculum development and evaluation, research and philosophical reflection into a unified conception of a reflective educational practice “Insider”, i.e teachers, is empowered by a unified education practice Regarding to teachers, Wallace (1998) states that action research is a way of reflecting on the teacher’s teaching (or teacher-training, or management of an English department, or whatever the teacher does in ELT) It is done by systematically collecting data on his/her everyday practice and analyzing it in order to come to some decision about what the future should be

Kemmis and Mc Taggart (cited in Nunan 1988) claims that action research is

a group activity It is a piece of description research is carried out by a teacher in his

or her own classroom without the involvement of others, which is aimed at increasing our understanding rather than changing the phenomenon under investigation For Kemmis and Mc Taggart, the necessary impetus for carrying out action research was to change the system

Cohen and Manion (1985) offered a similar set of characteristics They argued that action research is first and foremost situational, being concerned with

the identification and solution of problems in a specific context They also argued that the aim of action research was to improve the current state of affairs within the educational context in which the research was being conducted In other words, action research is situational; the research is initiated by practitioner and derived from a real problem in the classroom Using action research concurrently to solve a problem, improve the current state of affairs and generate new knowledge Sharing the same ideas with Cohen and Manion, Mills (2003, p 4) defined action research

as “any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers to gather information about the ways that their particular school operates how they teach, and how well their students learn The information is gathered with the goals of gaining insight, developing reflective practice, effecting positive changes in the school environment and on educational practices in generals, and improving student outcomes.”

Besides, action research according to Dick (2002) is a natural way of acting and researching at the same time It is a form of self-reflective inquiry that can be utilized by teachers in order to improve the rationality and justice of their own practices, their understanding of these practices and the situations in which these practices are carried out (Carr and Kemmis, 1983) It was effective to use this method because this study dealt with classroom setting

According to Gay and Airasian (2003), when applying this method, teachers can investigate their own practice in new ways, looking deeper in what they and their students actually do and fail to do; teachers can develop a deeper understanding of students, the teacher learning process and their role in the education of both teachers and students; in most cases, solutions for identified problems are arrived cooperatively among teachers; teachers are viewed as equal partners in deciding what works best and what needs improvement in their classrooms

The characteristics of action research can be summarized as follows: (1) Action research is carried out by practitioners (2) The results of the research have

direct application to real word problems (3) The treatments and approach that are investigated are flexible

Based on the characteristics of action research above, this research was appropriately undertaken as classroom action research in order to bring about educational change and improvement in intercultural awareness This action research project was conducted following the procedures suggested by Kemmis and McTaggart (1988, cited in Burns, 2009, p 8)

Although action research has been defined differently as indicated in this literature review, the generally agreed purpose of action research is researching one’s own teaching for improvement This fits well the purpose of this study, which

is to find out the extent to which guided discussion helps to raise my students’ intercultural awareness That is the rationale for choosing action research as an approach to this study

Besides, Kemmis and McTaggart (cited in Burns, 2009) explain that action research proceeds through a dynamic and complementary process which consists of four essential steps: planning, action, observation, and reflection Each step in this model of action research can be explained in the following:

1 Identifying problems and planning the action;

2 Implementing the action and observing the effect of the critically informed action in the context in which it occurs;

3 Reflecting the result of the observation, and

4 Revising the plan for the following step

This model can be illustrated in diagram as follow:

Figure 2: The model of action research

Plan

Reflection

Action &

Observation

problem; ii) planning the action; iii) implementing the action; iv) observing the action; v) reflecting the action; and vi) revising the plan Moreover, bcause of the limited time, I conducted the action study after only one cycle instead of two or three cycles that would give better results

The following is the timetable I followed during six weeks of the action implementation:

Table 2 The timetable of the action implementation

Topic Research program

Students: Prepare in groups of 6-7 students about selected topic The researcher: Write teaching diary

3 Guided discussion

topic: Gestures

Discussion Students: Prepare in

groups of 6-7 students about selected topic The researcher: Write teaching diary

4 Guided discussion

topic: Business

Discussion Students: Prepare in

groups of 6-7 students about selected topic The researcher: Write teaching diary

6 Do post-treatment

questionnaire and the

student interview

Do post-treatment questionnaire and the student interview

Students: Prepare in groups of 6-7 students about selected topic The researcher: Write teaching diary

For each week, the teaching lasted four periods (45 minutes per period) Students worked in different groups as well as in their base groups to fulfill the given tasks

2.2.2.1 Conducting preliminary investigation

In order to find out whether guided discussion activities are effectively used

in improving students’ intercultural awareness or not, I conducted a preliminary study one week before implementing action The data collected from the pre-treatment questionnaire helped me to design appropriate action plan to solve the students’ problems in raising intercultural awareness of students

2.2.2.2 Planning the action

Based on the findings of the pre-treatment questionnaire, I chose guided discussion activities to use during the teaching The activities were prepared before each of the lessons by the teacher

Step 1 Choosing topic for guided discussion activities

As most of the discussion activities used in class have been proved to be not effective and stimulating enough, I decided to choose guided discussion which is quite similar to the students to discuss some topics which were mentioned in the textbook However, I need to use supplement materials because topic in the

textbook is not efficient enough to improve students’ intercultural awareness Based

on my experience and students’ interest, class chose 4 topics to discuss

Step 2 Preparing the discussion activities

At the stage, I designed the discussion activities based on the target knowledge in the three units Before applying the activities in lessons, I tried to provide the students with useful language and expressions which are relevant to the lessons

Step 3 Implementing the action

The implementation of the action lasted six weeks, and there was a period speaking class for each week

three-While implementing the action, I acted as a practitioner conducting the teaching in the class, and also an observer observing changes in students’ intercultural awareness At the first stage, I tried to gather all possible materials, presented new language, equipped students with new structures and vocabulary, dilled new forms, and correct mistakes immediately Next, during the discussion activities, the emphssis was on the students’ input

The students worked in groups and in class, read the instructions carefully and worked out what they had to do

I moved round the classroom, monitored the activity to see the strengths and weakness of the students, how students communicated with each other, what to extent the students know about intercultural competence, and noted down their ideas and communicative problems After the activity, I gave feedback to the students

Step 4 Observing the action

At this stage, I observed the whole aspects of the implementation of the action covering the students’ participation in the classroom activities and during the students’ discussion in groups for each week of the implementation Besides,

noticing how the students know about intercultural situation related to the topic