Teachers and students perception and attitudes to the application of new dynamic english at hanoi university of business and technology

The study involves HUBT English teachers from faculty of English, who have ever takenpart in teaching New Dynamic English and their second year, non English majors as themain participant

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES viii

PARTA:INTRODUCTION……… 1

I.Rationale of the study……… 2

II Purposes of the study……… 2

III Scope of the study……… 2

IV Methodology of the study……… 2

V Significance of the study……… 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT……… 4

Chapter one : Review of Literature………

4 1.1 Computer assisted language learning(CALL)………

4 1.1.1 What is CALL? 4

1.1.2 Impacts of CALL on language learning and teaching……… 4

1.1.3 Lance Knowles( 2004)’ CALL……… 5

1.2 Blended Learning(BL) model………6

1.2.1 Definition of BL……… 6

1.2.2 Differences between blended learning and traditional classroom 6 learning(TCL)………

1.3 Dyned language learning programme……… 7

1.3.1 Overview……… 7

1.3.2 The Dyned Advantages……… 8

1.4 New Dynamic English……… 9

1.5 Attitudes ………

10 1.5.1 Definition……… 10

1.5.2 Effects of attitudes in language teaching and studying……… 11

1.5.3 Learners and teachers’ attitudes toward CALL and Dyned learning…………

11 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY AND DATA ANALYSIS……… 13

2.2.Subjects ……… 13

2.1.1 Teachers………

13 2.1.2 Students ………

13 2.3 The instrument……… 14

2.3.1 Survey questionnaires………

14 2.3.1.1 Questionnaires for students……….

14 2.3.1.2 Questionnaires for teachers……… 14

2.3.2 Interviews……… 14

2.3.2.2 Interviews for teachers………

15 2.3.2.2 Interviews for students………

15 2.4 Data collection and analysis………

15 2.5 Findings from questionaires and interviews………

16 2.5.1 Findings from questionaires and interviews for teachers……… 16

2.5.2 Findings from questionaires and interviews for students……… 25

2.6 Discussion……… 33

2.6.1 Teachers’ perception and attitudes………

33 2.6.2 Students’ understanding and attitudes………

33 2.6.3 Inconsistency in the responses between teachers and students………

34 2.6.4 Benefits in the application of NDE at HUBT………

34 2.6.5 Problems in the application of NDE at HUBT………

35 PART C : CONCLUSIONS……… 36

I Summary of the findings………36

II Recommendations ……… 36

III.Limitations of the study……… 37

A PPENDIXES ……… … IAppendix 1 Questionnaires for teacher ……… IAppendix 2 Questionnaires for students … IIAppendix 3 Interview questions for teachers and students VIAppendix 4 Interview transcripts with teachers VIII

Appendix 5 Interview transcripts with students XIII

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1 Hanoi University of Business and Technology = HUBT

2 Blended Learning = BL

3 Computer assisted language learning = CALL

4 New Dynamic English = NDE

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES FIGURES

Figure 1: Improvements of learners’ pronunciation……….… 16

Figure 2: Most effective activity to practice pronunciation from teachers’ opinion 17

Figure 3: Most interesting activity to practice pronunciation from teachers’ opinion… 17

Figure 4: The workload of grammar in each module……….…….18

Figure 5: Level of grammar exercises in each module……… …18

Figure 6: Teachers’ views on tests……….…… … 19

Figure 7: Reasons for teachers’ views on tests……… …… 19

Figure 8: Working schedule in terms of content……… 20

Figure 9: Working schedule in terms of time allocation ……….… …20

Figure10: Workload of supplementary materials in each module……….….… 21

Figure 11: Linguistic level of supplementary materials……….21

Figure 12: Design of supplementary materials……….……… 21

Figure13: Problems in delivering supplementary materials……… ………… 22

Figure 14: Difficulties in delivering NDE lessons……… ………24

Figure 15: Students’ English pronunciation after studying English………….………… 26

Figure 16: Most Effective activity for students to practice pronunciation…….….… 26

Figure17: Most effective activity for students to practice pronunciation……….… …26

Figure 18: Students’ enrichment of vocabulary……… …27

Figure19: Students’ ability to use vocabulary……… ….…… 27

Figure 20: Complexity of grammar exercises in NDE……… 28

Figure 21: Effectiveness of grammatical exercises in NDE……….…28

Figure 22: Kind of test that students like……… 29

Figure23: Reasons that students like the test……… ….….29

Figure 24: The most difficult lesson……… … ……….…32

Figure25: The most interesting lesson……… …….……32

Figure 26: Students’ recommendations……… ….…… 33

Table 1 : Vocabulary presented in each module……….… ….17

Table 2: Teachers’ perception about skills development………… ……….… 19

Table 3: Teachers’ perception of and attitudes to the difficulties……… 23

Table 4 : Teachers’ perception of and attitudes to NDE’ benefits……… 24

Table 5: Teachers’ recommendations to improve NDE……….25

Table 6: Students’ perception of and attitudes to skills development……….…….… 28

Table 7: Students’ attitudes to supplementary materials……… … … 30

Table 8: Students’ perception of and attitudes to NDE’ benefits ……….……… …….31

Table 9: Students’ perception of and attitudes to challenges ….……… 32

PART A INTRODUCTION

These days computer use has increasingly penetrated into daily life It is not surprising

to find a similar trend in the academic world Computers are becoming importantcomponents of education and the number of computers used at schools is increasing.Although the notion of face-to-face classroom instruction is still prevalent in manyorganisational and educational settings, there seems a rush and enthusiasm for computer-based approach

Computer technology can be regarded as an educational tool supporting languageteaching In fact, a wide range of electronic technologies have been developed tosupplement second language teaching and learning (Bas & Kuzucu, 2009;Warschauer,1996) These technologies include hardware delivery methods such as audiotape recorders,videotape recorders, computers and the Internet In addition, there are many innovativeelectronic tools oriented to language such as speech production and recognition, textanalysis, text translation, and software for visualisation and animation, electronic mail, listserve discussion groups, streaming audio and video and real-time synchronous as well asasynchronous communication opportunities that bring the target language environment tothe learner (LeLoup & Porterio, 1997)

One of the recent educational technology for language teaching, more specificallyEnglish Language teaching, is the Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) methodwhich is combining with face to face classroom instruction to form a new BlendedLearning(BL) model In recent years, some of the countries such as China, France,Malaysia, Korea, Miyanmar, Turkey and Vietnam are using an English Language teachingsoftware named DynED, which stands for Dynamic English Education In these countries,this software is used in a way that it assists English language teaching process at schools

In Vietnam, Dyned was first applied in Le Van Tam primary school in 2006 and gotpositive attitudes from teachers and students So far, Dyned has been experimenting inabout 40 schools and universities And this program has been getting different opinionsfrom administrators, teachers and students At Ha Noi University of Business and

Technology(HUBT) after a year of experiment, the application of New DynamicEnglish(NDE) which is a Dyned component, has caused a controversy over itseffectiveness among teachers and students Hence, this research is done to explore theperception of and attitudes of HUBT English teachers and their students toward the coursewith the hope to reveal the benefits and challenges in applying NDE so as to find ways toimprove the course.

II Purpose

The major aims of the study are as follows

 To investigate what HUBT English teachers and students perceive and think of New Dynamic English

 To discover benefits and challenges in the application of New Dynamic English

at HUBT

In light of the goals of the study, the following research questions are made:

1 What are the HUBT English teachers’ understandings of and anttitudes to New Dynamic English ?

2 What are benenits and difficulties in the application of New Dynamic English at HUBT?

The study involves HUBT English teachers from faculty of English, who have ever takenpart in teaching New Dynamic English and their second year, non English majors as themain participants of the research

Due to the limit of the study and constrain of time, my thesis would focus oninvestigating the teachers and students’ perception and attitudes toward NDE in terms of itscontent, organization, working schedule, supplementary materials and assessment

IV Methodology of the study

In order to collect reliable and valid data for the study, different methods were combined

To start with, the literature review was extensively carried out, critically examining therelevant theoretical frame concerning Dyned program, computer assisted language learningmethod as well as the matters relating to attitudes in language learning.

Questionnaire which is time- saving and realiable means of data collection wasemployed primarily to obtain teachers and students’ evaluative comments on NewDynamic English programme, to reveal the difficulties they faced in the application ofNDE as well as disclose their expectation for the improvement of the program at HUBT.Interview, a method of collecting data to facilitate the results of the questionnaires, wasconducted to get better insights about the issues from teachers The data would be codedinto text for convenience

V Significance of the study

Firstly, the study serves as a reference source for HUBT administrators and Englishteaching staffs who are directly involved in New Dynamic English program andadministrators as well as for students who are beneficiaries of the program They will bemade aware of both benefits and challenges in the application of NDE and thus promotethe quality & effectiveness of the program

Secondly, it would make a contribution to the research area in the field of computerassisted learning, blended learning model as well as relating to the application of languagelearning software

Finally, the thesis would also be helpful for those who share similar concern with theresearcher

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I : REVIEW OF LITERATURE

1.1 Computer assisted language learning(CALL)

1.1.1 What is CALL?

According to Kocak (1997) CALL is “a term used by teachers and students to describethe use of computers as part of a language course” Hardisty & Windeatt (1989) give amore detailed definition that CALL is traditionally considered as a method of 'presenting,reinforcing and testing' particular language items in which the learner is first presentedwith a rule and some examples, and then answers a series of questions which test her/hisknowledge of the rule and the computer gives appropriate feedback and awards a markwhich may be stored for later inspection for the teacher and reference for the learner

1.1.2 Impacts of CALL on language learning and teaching.

In fact, CALL has a lot of effects on language learning in term of methods, context andlanguage knowledge acquisition Higgins (1995) indicates that the value of CALL is that itallows a richer form of language exploration and the use of computers is compatible with avariety of approaches, methods and techniques This gives teachers much flexibility in theirteaching practise According to Kramsch and Andersen (1999) multimedia technology canprovide authentic cultural contexts that are important for language learning In other words

it creates a supportive learning environment Kocak’s( 1997) study investigates theeffectiveness of CALL on vocabulary learning and teaching and draws a conclusion that

“computer instruction may offer a noteworthy experience to students with respect tovocabulary learning”

Besides, CALL considerably influences the development of language skills As someresearchers who advocated CALL programs, especially voice-interactive, say that CALLcan improve learners' speaking skills (Ehsani, & Knodt, 1998; James, 1996) Moreover,computer technology in combination with a conferencing system is considered an effectivemeans of providing goal-directed writing courses tailored to different learning styles

(Cornu, Decker, Rosseel, & Vanderheiden, 1990) So, making complete use of CALL todevelop integrative language skills is truly valuable in language teaching and learning.

However, working with the computer, as any other teaching aid, needs to be linkedwith ordinary classroom work and CALL lessons, like other lessons, need to be plannedcarefully because Jones & Fortescue (1987) warns that the computer is a resource and not aprogrammed-learning machine

1.1.3 Lance Knowles( 2004)’ CALL

Long-Term Memory

Working Memory

The diagram shows how various processors in the brain communicate with theworking memory, which is instrumental in the learning process The multiple processorssuch as the visual, auditory, conceptual and many others are involved and can be activated

in well designed activites In addition, these processors work in parallel in the unconsciousprocess and interact with the working memory and long term memory to interpretelanguage In fact, when languages are repeated many times, neurons are connected, thencreate automaticity Making use of this working process of the brain, people create a newmodel of language learning naming Computer Assisted Language Learning( CALL).CALL can simultaneously activate auditory, phonological, and visual systems in the brain.Lance Knowles (2004) states that CALL is an emerging force in language educationand affirms that “CALL is now moving toward a blended model where the computer

provides the necessary optimal input and practice activities, and the classroom provides thehuman element accommodating and utilizing the needs and lives of the learners in a socialcontext” Besides, he shows the different but essential roles of “both multimedia andclassroom activities” Without the effective practice provided by well-designed, media-richcourseware, language learning is slow, painful and discouraging However, without socialenvironment of classroom, learning is tedious, unmotivating, and too restrictive to meet thelearners’ needs Moreover, he argues that learners’ practice should be assisted by teacherswho point out practice strategies and materials so that students practice English moreeffectively.

1.2 Blended Learning(BL) model

1.2.1 Definition of BL

The two most commonly mentioned definitions documented are from Singh &Reed(2001) and Thomson(2002) They all refer to BL as combining instructionalmodalities The other authors including House(2002) and Rossett(2002) focus on the field

of approaches and think that BL combines instructional methods Both of these positionssuffer from the problem that they define BL so broadly that there encompass virtually alllearning systems It would be very difficult to find any learning system that did not involvemultiple instructional methods as well as multiple delivery media

Along with the development of technology and existing theoritical background of

BL, the researchers Ward & LaBranche(2003), Young(2002) have a different idea of BLwhich is a combination of online and face to face instruction This is also a foundation forthe later BL system combining traditional classroom and digital learning environments inthe context of a specific educational setting (Rovai and Jordan 2004)

1.2.2 Differences between blended learning and traditional

classroom learning(TCL)

There are a lot of differences between blended learning and tradional text basedapproach

In terms of time, BL is more flexible than TCL BL allows learners to study on theirown schedule and make their own decision on how long they would like to spend on eachsession while learners have to work on a fixed schedule and assigned period of time in thetraditional classroom learning So, BL is very convenient for those who both work andstudy or learn many subjects at the same time.

With regard to the assessment , BL supports teachers and administrators to managetheir students more effectively than TCL Students with BL often receive personalizedfeedback about their progress, both language knowledge and languge skills whereasteachers in the TCL often do not have time to give personalized feedback to each student

So, students in BL know exactly what they are lacking in order to improve Besides, BLassists administrators to have a correct report on the students’ progresss but administrators

in TCL just receives a list of student attendance and must presume that the students havelearnt something, which does not reflect the reality of teaching and learning

In addition, BL can make use of modern technological equipment, which is limited

in TCL Using technology will enhance the learning experience and improve retention for

Training-www.tjtaylor.net)

1.3 Dyned language learning programme

1.3.1 Overview

Basically, Dyned (Dynamic English) is a useful language learning computer software.

Each DynED course is based on sound, time-proven approaches to language teaching,curriculum design, and human interface design DynEd's research-based courses cover allproficiency levels and include a range of age-appropriate courses, from kids in school toadults in leading corporations Moreover, DynED courses are supported by RecordsManagement System, Mastery and Placement tests, and extensive teacher-support

materials, including teacher training and mentoring (http://www.dyned.com/about/)

Dyned is well sequenced as the activities build on one another in a gradual manner, andthere is an increasing vocabulary as students move through each level With theprogramme shuffler feature, students are gradually introduced to new language as their

level increases They are exposed to comprehensible activities that balance communicativeand linguistic needs.

DynED is a four-level introductory program which is presented from elementary toupper intermediate learners It focuses on building the receptive skill of listening and theproductive speaking skill that are essential for basic English communication Lessons aresubject based that relate to students' lives at the college level Topics vary from dailyroutine to social issues Grammar and vocabulary are strongly founded because learners areintroduced to the language needed for effective communication (Marimuthu Soon, 2005)

However, Dyned also suffers from some limitation that it tends to be quite formulaic inthe patterning of its instructional sequences, from unit to unit Being aware of thisweakness, ways of offsetting any negative side effects should be planned (Watt &Foscolos, 1998)

1.3.2 The Dyned Advantages

First and foremost, Dyned is designed to develop integrated skills, especially oral skills.Through a lot of listening activities, learners can first improve their listening skills byanswering listening comprehension questions Practicing speaking through voice recordingand the most advanced Speech Recognition technology also helps learners gain vocalfluency Writen skills are built and developed on the framework of oral skills

DynEd has computer-adaptive and variable length skill assessment by using Dynedrecord manager and Inteligent Tutor Dyned record manager records students’ practise interms of time which allows teachers to know exactly when learners study, the percentage tocomplete in each module, their study score which reflect learners’ quality of practice, times

of repeating, recording, comparing and quality of practising with speech recognition.Intelligent Tutor supports teachers in understanding what difficulties students have so thatnecessary assistance can be given to promote their learning

Dyned are well designed with a wide range of tests that serve different purposes Thereare separate placement tests for grown-ups and kids to put learners in correct classes.Besides, proprietary oral fluency tests and mastery tests for ongoing assesment are

additional strengths These tests can really reduce the workload for teachers in process oftesting and evaluating.

In addition, DynEd offers free tech support and has free and automatic updating for allcourses The comprehensive teacher training software, support tools, manuals and on lineteacher guides are all free of charge And to support the process of teaching and learning ,materials are approciately designed for non-native learners and teachers So, it is veryconvenient for both teacher and learners when using Dyned

(http://www.dynedeurope.com/home)

1.4 New Dynamic English

NDE, a component of Dyned, is a comprehensive English language course thatincludes 8 modules along with Placement and Mastery Tests, a sophisticated RecordsManagement and Assessment System, and detailed Teacher Guides

The contents of these 8 modules are arranged according to four linguistic levels Eachlevel has same types of lessons such as presentation, matrix vocabulary, concepts, reviewexercises and video interaction lessons Students may listen to the lessons with or withouttexts They can also make their own recording and replay Speech recognition functions arewell explained Students may also access video interactions that are interactive andinteresting

Schedule for each module is carefully designed to suit learners’ linguistic level.Each module of NDE provides 15-30 hours of study, and is designed for easy classroomextension and personalization activities Especially, the program includes detailed recordkeeping, testing, and a unique learning sequence, which reduces learning time at schoolsand increase learners’ automomy Moreover, the content automatically adjusts based onlearner performance New Dynamic English has proven to be ideal for blended programs,with either teacher-led classes or on-line study with tutor support

Apart from general advantages as other Dyned courses, NDE is confirmed to be thequickest way to develop effective communication skills in English With daily practice andclassroom support, students develop their pronunciation and oral fluency, especially, theiroral presentation and summarization skills Students can also master listening skill better

when they answer the listening comprehension questions Then, learners can deal withsentence structure and effective sequencing of ideas exercises to improve their grammarknowledge so that they can effectively express abstract ideas and relationships in every daylife.

(http://www.dyned.com/products/nde/)

1.5 Attitudes

1.5.1 Definition

An attitude is a hypothetical construct that represents an individual's degree of like

or dislike for something Attitudes are generally positive or negative views of a person,place, thing, or event which is often referred to as the attitude object People can also beconflicted or ambivalent toward an object, meaning that they simultaneously possess bothpositive and negative attitudes toward the item in question (Wikipedia,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attitude_(psychology)) Jung(1921) in Psychological Types

has said that attitude is a "readiness of the psyche to act or react in a certain way" (Jung,1921) In another study, Iman(2009) has the similar idea about attitudes that are usuallydefined as a disposition or tendency to respond positively or negatively towards a certainthing such as an idea, object, person or situation

Related to language learning, attitudes are defined in different aspects Johnson andJohnson(1998) give the definition of attitudes in the context of language, in which he saidthat attitudes are defined as the way learners look at the language, the people who speakthat language, and the culture that nourishes the language In other words, attitudes thathave been explored in relation to language learning range from anxiety about or interest inthe language and the learning situation, to attitudes toward speakers of the target language

In terms of the origin of language learning attitudes, Agheyisi and Fishman (1970)state that attitudes develop through experience and can influence a person's linguistic

behavior In reality, when learners spend time on studying a new language, they can repond

positively or negatively to the language If learners have positive attitudes, they will

become motivated to study better and in contrast, learners can be demotivated Actually,

discovering where a learner’s attitudes come from and how they are developed are veryimportant in teaching a foreign language

1.5.2 Effects of attitudes in language teaching and studying.

To substantiate, extensive studies have been done to examine the effect of attitudes

on language learning and the relationship between attitudes and language success

First and formost, attitudes are very important in the academic success in generaland language learning sucess in particular Some researchers such as Gardner & Lambert(1972); Raymond and Robert(1983); Titone(1990) have recognized attitude as the mostimportant factor in academic success and have confirmed that attitudes toward an area ofthe study is more important than aptitude In addition, Hakutta( 1985) has commented :“The importance of a positive attitude toward the target language has been shown in avariety of foreign language learning contexts”

Besides, attitudes motivate or demotivate learners a lot in their studying.Brown(2000) thinks that second language learners benefit from positive attitudes whereasnegative attitudes may lead to decreased motivation In fact, positive attitudes on the part

of language learners can develop an integrative motivation and this can consequentlyfacilitate second language achievement So teachers need to strengthen and enhance thestudents ‘internal motivator” (Longman & Atkinson, 2002, p43) in order to help themdevelop positive attitudes towards the second language

On the other hand, negative attitudes can produce bad effects on language learning

As what Harmer (2002) has said if students feel hostile towards the language, materials andthe teachers, they will hardly achieve any success Nevertheless, he believes negativeattitudes can be changed, often by exposure to reality for example, by immersing in asupportive and favorable learning environment

1.5.3 Learners and teachers’ attitudes toward CALL and Dyned learning

There are studies on CALL and all these researches got optimistic results Tuzcuoglu’sstudy (2000) revealed that the teachers at Osmangazi University Department of ForeignLanguages, Eskisehir, Turkey had positive attitudes towards using CALL and were willing

to teach in the computer lab for a few hours a week Additionally, Some researches showedthat computer assisted language learning method was more encouraging to students thantraditional language teaching methods For example, Onsoy (2004), Yalcinalp (1993),

Meyveci (1997), Pekel (2002) and Ayturk (1999) found that there was a significantdifference in the attitude levels of the students towards the lesson between the groups inwhich computer assisted language learning was practiced (experimental group) and theother group in which the traditional language teaching methods was used (control group).The students who were educated by computer assisted language learning method haddeveloped more positive attitudes towards the lesson than the students who were educated

by the traditional language teaching methods

Similarly, Dyned courses achieved optimistic results The study carried out by Bas

& Kuzucu (2009) revealed that the students who were educated by the DynED languagelearning software were both more successful and had a higher motivation than those who wereeducated by traditional language teaching methods Watt & Foscolos (1998) added that DynEDcourses help students develop vocabulary knowledge as well as practise and improve theirlistening and speaking skills

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY AND DATA ANALYSIS

2.1 Context of the study

The leaders of Ha Noi university of business and technology(HUBT) and Englishfaculty decided to introduce New Dynamic English(NDE), a Dyned course, for K15 nonEnglish majored students The introduction of the new English software is considered as aninnovation in the ways of teaching and learning English at HUBT

Actually, NDE is undertaken by making use of blended learning model and computerassisted language learning, which is different from traditional classroom model Thisrequires teachers to adapt their teaching methods as well as improve their proficiencylevels Also, students have to change their way of studying Therefore, NDE has beenreceived differently by HUBT teachers and students In such a context, it is critical toinvestigate the teachers and students’ perception of and attitudes to the new Englishprogram in order to have empirical evidence for administrative decisions on how to supportteachers and students in running the program

2.2.Subjects

2.1.1 Teachers

The participants in the study were 44 teachers working at the Faculty of English, whoare in charge of teaching English to non English majored students and have been teachingNDE for a year Most of teachers have more than 3 year’s experience teaching English as aforeign language

2.1.2 Students

The second population participated in this study were those who all have one yearexperience of learning New Dynamic English, including 120 students who are at the age ofaround 18 The students who had their Dyned placement level from 0.0 to 0.5 accountedfor 80% of the people taking part in the research 18% of the participants got the placementlevel from 0.7 to 1 and only 2% achieved the placement level over 1.2

2.3.1.1 Questionnaires for students

The questionnaires consisted of 11 items and were divided into 3 sections The firstsection contained 6 questions( from number one to number six) in order to explorestudents’ understanding and attitudes to New Dynamic English The second section( fromitem seven to ten) dealt with the benefits and difficulties in the application of NDE Andthe the last item was to reveal students’ suggestions to improve the course

2.3.1.2 Questionnaires for teachers

The questionnaires, consisting of 13 questions, were delivered to 44 teachers ofEnglish All the questionnaires were written in English and they were designed to focus onthree main areas The first area( from question 1 to question 8) refered to teachers’understanding and attitudes to NDE The second area coped with advantages anddisadvantages in the application of NDE And the last question( number 13) exploited therecommendations to improve the course

categorized and analyzed in accordance with the data from the questionnaires to answer theresearch questions.

2.3.2.1 Interviews for teachers

Three English teachers from the sample who were delivered the questionnaireswere randomly chosen for the interview The interview included 5 questions to furtherdiscorver teachers’ opinions of NDE teaching in comparison with traditional classroomteaching, their perceptions of the program’s benefits The difficulties and their suggestions

to improve the course were also extracted Each interview was about 15 minutes long andwould be recorded and transcripted for later reference

2.3.2.2 Interviews for students

Four students who had taken part in the surveyed questionnaires were chosen forthe interviews The interview had 4 questions to get insightful students’ perceptions andattitudes to NDE’ benefits, their difficulties in the process of learning, activities that theyliked or disliked inside and outsides the language lab, their opinion about if they would like

to continue NDE Each interview lasted about 15 minutes

2.4 Data collection and analysis

Firstly, both of teachers and students filled out the questionnaires The researcherdirectly explained the purpose, relevance and the importance of the study, as well asanswered all the questions that the students and teachers had

Then, the researcher counted, coded the data collected from the questionnaires

Next, the results were displayed in forms of tables, figures or charts for theconvenience of analysis while qualitative data from the open- ended questionnaires itemsand the interviews were presented by quoting relevant responses from the respondents.After that collected data were synthesized, categorized and discussed to reveal answers

to the research questions Comparison between the data from the questionnaires and thosefrom the interviews were also made to assist interpretation

2.5 Findings from questionaires and interviews

Question 1 : How much do you think NDE can improve your students’ English

As can be seen from the chart, among 44 respondents, 87% of the teachers shared

the same idea with the author that this program helped improve learners’ pronunciation

much While 8% of the population said that NDE could improve their students’

pronunciation very much, there was a small number of them(5%) stating that students just

progressed a little and nobody denied the improvement of learners’ pronunciation in this

Repeating the model sentences Self recording 80% Other

Figure 3: The most interesting activity to practise pronunciation

Listening to the model

sentences Repeating the

25% model sentences Self recording

67%

Other

In regard to the most effective or most interesting activities in improving students’

pronunciation, 80% of the respondents thought that repeating the models sentences was the

most effective way However, the most interesting activity to practice English

be familiar with sounds, imitate, then swap the sounds to create automaticity Besides, asmall number of teachers(15%) claimed that listening to the model sentences and recordingcould be used as a productive method to improve pronunciation If repeating wasconsidered the most effective activity, it was not highly appriciated as an interestingactivity with only 25% of the respondents And listening was the least interesting activity(just 8% of the population asked) 5% shared the idea that comparing with native speakerswas a good way to learn pronunciation.

In short, from question one and two, a high percentage of teachers understand thatNDE allows learners to practise and improve their pronunciation a lot This idea is also

shared by the first interviewee that “ learning NDE helps students pronounce English

better than before”.

Question 3: What do you think of vocabulary presented in each module?

Table 1 : Vocabulary presented in each module

It can be clearly seen in the table that 81.5% teachers stated that vocabulary in NDEwas topic based while 30% of the teachers chose “situation based” as their response Therewas a tiny rate saying that the program’s vocabulary was randomly done Hence, it could

be easily understood that the majority of the population cited answer vocabulary wassystematically presented

Through interviews, most of the teachers shared the same idea that vocabulary wassystematically presented in specific topics The second interviewee focused on the

usefulness of “the exercises following each module As for her, students could practise

with words in “click and drag exercise to consolidate their vocabulary Besides, they can take part in matrix game to do vocabulary quiz so that they could better use the words learnt.”

Question 4: What do you think of grammar given in each module in NDE?

Figure 4: The w orkload of grammar in Figure 5: Level of grammar

Not

79%

With regard to the teachers’ evaluation of the workload and level of grammar

exercises in each module, the options provided were “too much”, “sufficient”, “not

enough”; “difficult”, “suitable”, and “simple” The most selection went to “not

enough”(64%) and “suitable”(79%) Although the majority of grammar exercises were

suitable for students’ level, they are not enough for students to practise However, 34% of

the respondents think the workload of grammar in each module was enough and there was

a contrasting idea that grammar exercises in NDE were very simple(16%), thus, could not

help students consolidate and improve their knowledge of grammar.In the explanation for

the choices, an interviewee stated that “ due to students’ bad grammar foundation, they

need to practise more grammar tructure exercises to be able to improve productive skills

like speaking and writing”.

Question 5 : In your opinion, how do your students develop English skills when

they learn New Dynamic English?

language The table showed how language skills are developed Most of the teachers askedresponded that NDE developed listening skill “much”, which accounts for 72.5% The rest

of the participants said that NDE developed listening a little

More than half of the teachers stated that speaking skill was also muchdeveloped(55%) but ranked the second after listening This reflects exactly the theoriticalbackground on which this program was built that listening is the first skill to be focused.

As shown in the table, all of the sample put their answers to “a little”, or “not at all”

to show that written skills were not paid much attention to Especially, 45% reflected thatstudents’ writing skill was not developed at all and this is the highest percentage choosing

“not at all”

Question 6: What do you think of the final achivement tests for first year students?

Figure 6: Teachers' views on

Figure 7: Reasons for teachers' vews on

tests tests

100%

They test what 91% needs testing 80%

They are well

52%

designed

54.50%

They are compatible

0%

2.20%

Others Not suitable

From the teachers’ point of view, it can be easy to recognize that more than a halfsaid that final achievement tests for first years students were suitable(52%) The secondmost selected belonged to the option “very suitable”(39%) and only 9% of the subjectsclaimed that final achievement tests were not suitable at all

Figure 7 showed the reasons for teachers’ views on tests Most visibly, 91% of thesurveyed teachers explained that tests were compatible with the content of NDE, whichwas the highest percentage among the options The second and third highest

percentage were : they test what needs testing and they are well designed, with 50% and54.5% respectively These results indicated that the final achievement tests for first year

judgements implied that kind of tests did not measure students’ ability but only checked

learners’ memorization One of the interviewee disclosed that the designed tests in

NDE which had already been done during their lessons would not be used as final tests because some students could learn by heart the answers.

Question 7: What do you think of the working schedule for each lesson and

each module?

Figure 8: Working schedule in term of

content

Heavy 100% 82%

80%

Sufficient 60%

20%

slo w 0%

0%

Figure 8 and figure 9 showed an argumentative results The workload for eachlesson was too heavy for 68% of the participants while time allocation for each lesson waslimited, which was agreed by 81% Nobody said the working schedule was “light” or “tooslow” in terms of content and time And only 18% and 19% supposed the schedule wassufficient in content and reasonable in time allocation

The above data linked closely with the interview’s results Many of those

questioned complained about the presure on each lesson One interviewee said “ I tried my

best to complete such a long lesson and heavy workload in a limited time” The other

added “ everything became teacher-centered, students sat, listened and copied down and

seemed to do nothing to practise”.

In a word, the findings showed that there was an unreasonable allocation of timeand workload in each lesson and each module This might lead to the bad quality ofteaching and learning Hence, students had negative attitudes to the program As a result,NDE program could not be productive as expected

Figure 10: Workload of Figure 11: Linguistic Figure 12: Design of

supplimentary materials level of supplimentary supplimentary

Noticeably, in the interview with some teachers, they disapproved of a lot of the

supplimentary material An interviewee said “ it is very difficult to cover a wide range of

activities in a lesson We often have to work very hard to transfer all these things to

students Sometimes we feel exhausted Another teacher stated “ with poor background, our students are not able to deal with such a difficult and huge workload” and “ it seems that

Question 9: What problems do you have when conducting supplimentary activities to extend contennt of NDE in classrooms?

Figure 13: Problems in delivering supplimentary

From figure 14, it could be easily recognizeable that two prominent problems were

level students and too many activities (75% and 82% respectively) Teaching

multi-level students always causes teachers a lot of difficulties If teachers instruct too fast, less

able students will not follow and in contrast, if teachers teach slowly, stronger students will

feel bored and not be motivated Also, too many activities were a real cause to make weak

students stressed and demotivated and then became more discouraged for the higher-level

lessons 12% of the poll said that they had difficulty in teaching in large class and 10%

stated that boring activities made teachers and students tired and unmotivated

Sharing the idea with the majority, an interview subject responded “ I often fetl

stressed when delivering lessons in multilevel classes When I explained something in

English, just one or two students understood what I meant and the rest just sat and

appeared to understand nothing.”Another interviewee said that “ I feel worried when

thinking of too many activities in a short time.

Question 10 : What problems do you have when delivering NDE lessons?

Difficulty in interaction between teachers and students 75%

Table 3: Teachers’ perception of and attitudes to the difficulties

A lot of obstacles came up when teachers delivered NDE lessons One of theproblems was the shortage of time which made up the highest percentage(87.5%) It could

be a reason to explain why a number of learners had negative attitudes to English lessons.The second highest percentage(75%) was difficulty in interaction between teachers and

students An interviewee confirmed this problem by saying that “my students refuse to

interact as instructed because they are used to tradional approach” 36% of the

respondents said that lack of computer skills was a problem When there were technicalproblems relating computers or projectors, teachers often did not know how to fix theproblem In addition, some teachers reflected that students’ poor background knowledgealso formed an obstacle Another problem was revealed by an interviewee saying that

“students have difficulty in comprehending the content without teachers’ explanation of

words and grammar”.

Question 11: In the process of teaching New Dynamic English, which type of lessons

or activities appear to be the most difficult to conduct?

Figure 14: Difficulties in delivering NDE lessons

o thers

48%

As shown from the chart, speech practice lessons were ranked the most difficult

(48%) The reason for this was exposed in the interview that “ speech recognition suffers

from some limitation that it is very difficult to record voices in a noisy environment”.

Actually, some teachers said in the process of teaching they were not confident in thelessons because they sometimes recorded without recognition in front of the class Videointeraction and presentation lessons were the second and third most difficult as seen fromthe data with 27% and 20% respectively It was partly due to some technical problems inthe lab an partly due to students’ English proficiency