LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TT: Thach Thanh TT3: Thach Thanh 3 CLT: Communicative Language Teaching LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: The results of teachers’ attitudes Table 2: The results
Trang 1VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN
LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF
POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -
-TRƯƠNG THỊ THU HIỀN M.A MINOR THESIS
Necessary skills of an English teacher in managing English
classes at Thach Thanh 3 High school
(Các kĩ năng cần thiết của giáo viên Tiếng Anh trong việc quản lí lớp
học ngoại ngữ ở trường THPT Thạch Thành 3)
Field: Methodology Code: 60.14.10
Hanoi, 2011
Trang 2VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN
LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF
POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -
-TRƯƠNG THỊ THU HIỀN M.A MINOR THESIS
Necessary skills of an English teacher in managing English
classes at Thach Thanh 3 High school
(Các kĩ năng cần thiết của giáo viên Tiếng Anh trong việc quản lí lớp
học ngoại ngữ ở trường THPT Thạch Thành 3)
Field: Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: VŨ THUÝ QUỲNH, M.A
Hanoi, 2011
Trang 3LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
TT: Thach Thanh TT3: Thach Thanh 3
CLT: Communicative Language Teaching
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Table 1: The results of teachers’ attitudes
Table 2: The results of the teachers’ experiences in English teaching
Table 3: The results of dominant roles applied in English classes
Table 4: The results of the roles which are difficult to apply in English classes at TT3 high school
Table 5: Characteristics of the students participating in the English learning survey
Table 6: The results of the students’ attitudes
Table 7: Ranking and percentage of the importance of items contribute to an effective class manager
Table 8: The results of the students’ experiences
Trang 42 Aims of the study
3 Scope of the study
4 Methods of the study
5 Research questions
6 Significance of the study
7 Organization of the study
PART II - DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 Different views on the roles of an English language teacher
1.2 The importance of the language teacher in managing an English class
1.3 Characteristics of a good English language teacher
1.4 Communicative approach in English language teaching
1.4.1 Definition of Communication
1.4.2 The nature of Communicative Language Teaching
1.5 Kind of activities in English language teaching
1.5.1 Whole-class teaching
1.5.2 Pair work/Group work
1.5.3 Individual work
1.6 Summary
CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
2 1 Background of the study
2.1.1 Description of the English syllabus in TT3 high school
2.1.2 Description of the students at TT3 high school
2.1.3 Description of the teachers at TT3 high school
Trang 52.1.4 Description of physical setting
2.2 Design and methodology of the study
4.2 Pedagogical implications
PART III - CONCLUSIONS
1 Summary of the study
2 Limitations of the study
3 Suggestions for further study
4 Conclusions
REFERENCES
APPENDIXES
Trang 6PART I: INTRODUCTION
1 Rationale
English is an international language; it has become a compulsory subject forstudents at schools in Vietnam nowadays In English classes, teachers have to takedifferent roles in managing their students Ince (2000) emphasized that teachers shouldknow how to manage the classes and teach students to manage themselves
There are many common important roles that English teachers act in languageteaching Moreover, they need to know more about the skills to manage English classeswell Like many English teachers in Vietnam, teachers of English at TT3 high school facedwith a common problem: lack of necessary skills in managing classes In fact, there aremany reasons for the shortage of necessary skills Thus the present study therefore, tries tofind out the solutions to change the situation This led the author to the choice of the study:
“Necessary skills of an English teacher in managing English classes at TT3 High School”
2 Aims of the study
The aims of this study is to look into the theoretical background of an English teacher andhis/her roles in classroom management, investigate the use of teacher’s roles in managingEnglish classes in TT3 high school - a school located in Thach Thanh district, Thanh Hoaprovince It also helps English teachers at TT3 to aware of the difficulties they and theirstudents have to cope with The findings and suggestions are also suggested to overcomethese constraints
3 Scope of the study
The study is designed to explore the necessary skills of an English teacher in managingEnglish classes at TT3 high school
4 Methods of the study
The study employs survey research in which two mains instruments of data collectionnamely informal interviews and questionnaire were used The data collected for the studycame from two sources: the students and English teachers at TT3 high school Thecollected data is, then calculated, analyzed, compared and finally interpreted for the results
of the study
In addition, document analysis of relevant materials was reviewed which laid thetheoretical foundation for the study
5 Research questions
Trang 7The study searched for the answers of the 3 research questions:
- How did English teachers at TT3 high school manage their English classes?
- What are their difficulties in managing English classes?
- What are some suggestions to manage English classes more effectively?
6 Significance of the study
The significance of the study might be, first, it fills the gap of necessary skills in managingEnglish classes Second, it sheds the light on some pedagogical issues in managing Englishclasses in Vietnam general and in Thanh Hoa particular
7 Organization of the study
This study consists of three parts:
Part I: Introduction presents the rationale, the aims and objectives, scope, the methods,
significance and organization of the study The research questions are also mentioned inthis part
Part II: Development includes four chapters:
Chapter I: Literature review reviews the theory related about roles of an English teacher Chapter II: Methodology of the study discusses the methods of the study, i.e Describes
background of the study, participants, design and methods of the study
Chapter III: Presentation and analysis of data discusses the presentation of statistical
results and analysis of data
Chapter IV: Findings and suggestions focuses on the answers of three research
questions, and presents pedagogical implications
Part III: Conclusions summarize the study with limitations of the study, presents some
suggestions for further studies
Trang 8PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Different views on the roles of an English language teacher
Based on the results in the study of Arafat S (683-685), (Vol 19 (2), 2005)(research on the roles of English Language Teachers as Perceived by Learners of English)showed that:
Regardless of the amount of time the teachers spend with their students inmanaging English classes They have different roles that affect their student’s learning.Some of these functions display through daily contact with students in the classrooms andconcern relate instructions, others results from students affect to teachers in the largeschool settings and may affect students’ general linguistics, social and culturaldevelopment
Language teachers must make decisions all the time Some of the decisions arerelatively minor ones, but other decisions that the teacher should consider might be themajor roles of the teacher in managing English classes and what are the potential roles thatthe teacher can play and lead to best results in proving students with chances to participateand to be responsible for their learning These roles have been dealt with differently indifferent teaching methods
Suggestoptia Lazanov (1982), O’Connell (1982) and Racle (1979) viewed the role
is the authority in the classroom, students must trust their teacher and respect him/her
Lazanov also showed that students will retain information better if they get itfrom someone whom they can trust and who has authority on them
The role of the teacher as suggested by Gattegno (1972), Madesen (1979) is therole of an engineer or a technician The learners are helped by the teacher in their learning.The teacher will help their students if they need
Blair (1982) and Curran (1976) indicated that counselor role is the major role of theteacher To learn the foreign language, students can be threatened Thus, the teacher helpsthem overcome the difficulties dealt with learning it
The roles of the teacher according to the communicative approach as suggested by,Celce-Murcia (1983), Brumfit (1979) and Madsen (1983) that the teacher is seen asfacilitor of the learners’ learning
Trang 9Harmer (1991) showed that the roles of the teacher is to provide students withdifferent situations related to the real life Students will have many choice to practiceauthentic situations which make them understand more easily Students are shown how toperform language functions are decided which functions are more important for whichlevel
According to Diller (1978) and Paulston (1971) suggested that in the classroom theteacher directs the activities and the students’ role is less passive than the others They aremore like partners in two process: teaching and learning In this role, the teacherparticipates and works with students in activities
The roles of teachers are different so teachers should base on students’ need in theirlearning process to act these roles to get high effectiveness
Prodromou (1991) also suggested several roles for the teacher, for example, amanager, a monitor, a counselor, an informant, facilitator, a social and a friend
Stevick (1996) suggested that teachers and students have many expectations inorder to have effective language classrooms This state means that both teacher andstudents should be involved in the activity They may get interactions during the teachingand learning process
Underhill (1989) also believed that the teachers can play difference roles They can
be lecturers, teachers and facilitators
Larsen-Freeman (1986) believed that the teacher can be a supporter Teacher shouldencourage students to work individual to promote their self reliance The teacher is alsoseen as a motivator and stimulator, a prompter
These point of views show that when teachers act any roles, they have to considerwhat their students need and expect from them Teachers know what and how to do withtheir students in using these roles to work in learning activities
Harmer J (1994) mentions list of roles of a language teacher as a prompter, aparticipant, a resource, an assessor, a controller, a tutor, an observer and an organizer
In the role of a prompter teacher helps students with vocabularies, gives a group / apair suggestions on how to continue Teachers also prompt students to use English, asksquestions to check understandings so that students can work on their own Neverthelessteacher need to do it sensitively and encouragingly with description
Trang 10Teacher joins in activities to encourage students to participate and help them withthe answers when the teacher acts as a participant Teacher can be dominant because whenhe/she participate in activities if he/she isn’t careful, students will become passive.
Teacher acts as a resource is a person for students to ask information they need andwhere to find further information Encouraging and directly making students moreindependent with their learning
In the role of an assessor, teacher provides students feedback, corrects, grades andprovides criteria for them In this role, teacher should make it clear for students to get theirclear ideas, should be fair and be sensitive support
When teacher acts as a controller, he/she teaches, give announcement, lead aquestion and gives students knowledge Teacher restores order when students do tests ormisbehavior Besides these advantages, this role has some disadvantages Students becomepassive because they do not have much chance to speak and do not have experimentallearning Teacher may be tired and students may be bored There are no activities so theclassroom atmosphere boring
Teacher helps students when students work on long projects, directs, guides andpoints them In the role of a tutor, teacher should be careful not to take over Teacher don’tfocus on the person who he/she likes, distribute your tutoring to everyone who needs it
In the role of an observe, it is very important for teacher to give students usefulfeedback and helpful to take notes If it is a success, it will give teacher different feelings
If they are problems, they will help teacher find the ways to help them to solve Teachersshould be careful not to be intrusive (officious) Teacher should sit in the back not get toclose students or he/she will disturb students when they are thinking
Organize is one of the most important roles that teacher have to perform in Englishclass In this role, teacher organize activities, puts students into groups or pairs, tells themhow to do it, how to start or how to end When students start activities, teacher gives shortand clear instruction and tells them how much time they have When students end, teacherstops the students and gives them feedback
Arafat, S (687 - 688) (research on the roles of language Teachers) also emphasized
in the study:
Cross (1995) on the other hand emphasized that prospective language teachersshould try their best to be in contact with current affairs, global issues, social concerns,
Trang 11Peterson (2004) believed that teaching is a profession in which teachers areaccustomed to be in the spotlight.
Harmer (1983) believed that the role of the teacher should go beyond the traditionalclassrooms
Clarkson (2000) offered her reflections of two types of English teachers as a time teacher and a teacher in fourth year of teaching They talked about their experiences
long-on their careers and their relatilong-onship with each other They left a deeply emphasized long-ontheir mentor importance and their significance roles
In fact, in language teaching, there are many roles that English teachers shoulddecide whether they are the major or not to effectively act in English class They have toassume different roles and play them in suitable ways There are many roles which theteachers should find the appropriate ones to their learners to get higher quality of teachingand learning process
1.2 The importance of the language teacher in managing an English class.
There are many different expressions about the importance of English teacher.Alberto & Troutman (1986: 404) mentioned that “classroom management can be defined
as the teacher’s ability to co-operatively manage time, space, resources and studentsbehaviors to provide a climate that encourages learning” From this statement, we can seethat the teacher plays an important role in managing English classes Teacher has abilitiy tomanage and encourage learning environment in the classroom
Moreover “success in learning a language depends less on materials, technique andlinguistics analysis, and more on what goes on inside and between people in theclassroom” (Stevick: 1980:4 cited in Gebhard: 1996: 69) These factors support teachersplay their roles well We will not get the successful and effective classes if we have enoughthings, such as: materials, teaching aids, time, knowledge, suitable technique, English
Trang 12language qualification…) but without skills in controlling the class Nevertheless it isobvious that the language teacher with necessary skills plays an important role in teaching
Hension and Eller (1999:45) mentioned that: “In order to be effective, teachersmust be proactive, facilitative, imaginative classroom managers” Besides many otherfactors “the procedures, strategies, and instructional techniques” teachers use to managestudents behaviors and learning activities may affect on the classroom management Themost important and the most difficult skill a teacher must be creating an environment that
is conducive to learning and by managing the ongoing teaching - learning process
1.3 Characteristics of a good language teacher.
Effective teachers are born with the skills to teach It is possible to develop andtrain someone to be an effective teacher (Carr, 1998; Hunt, Touzle, & Wiseman, 1999).But this is very natural and personal characteristics except being well trained Manyteachers lack even the most Basic English classroom managements skills English teachers
at TT3 also have to cope with this matter
Smith (1995:89) expressed that “what makes a teacher good, is the organization of
a classroom and techniques involved rely heavily on the teaching style” He seemed toemphasize the role of teacher as an organizer who organizes activities for students in theclass When teacher organizes activities well, students will get the things they need.Nevertheless it depends much on the teaching style that teacher use in the class
Ince (2000), in his research (on the subject of classroom management), analyzedand showed that: “Smith looks should happen in an ideal classrooms by attempting toidentify “good” and “bad” teaching style Also there is a common idea that the betterteacher and the more effective classroom is the quality of teaching and learning process
Trang 13Smith’s (1988) viewed that a “good” teacher is able to raise students’ self-esteem,develop a positive work ethos without resorting to a punitive regime, praise rather thancriticize and use students’ enthusiasms and interests in a creative and positive way”.Teacher shouldn’t concentrate much on their work Students have chance to work morecomfortable with encouragement but little criticism to make them less bored with theirmistakes but more motivative Students will feel more confident when teacher gives theminterest and pleasure in their work
However, based on Altman’s (1981) (research on students’ view of the goodlanguage teacher):
“- A real language teacher is on my side
- A real second language teacher lets me be and tries to understand what it is like to be me
- A real second language teacher accepts me whether he or she likes me or not
- A real second language teacher doesn’t have expectations of me because of what I havebeen or what he or she has been
- A real second language teacher is more interested in how I learn than what I learn
- A real second language teacher doesn’t make me feel anxious and afraid
- A real second language teacher provides many choices
- A real second language teacher lets me teach myself even if it takes longer
- A real second language teacher talks so I can understand what he or she means to say
- A real second language teacher can make mistakes and admit it
- A real second language teacher can show his or her feelings and let me show mine
- A real second language teacher wants me to evaluate my own work”
The following are the views of some French learners of English (from research by
D Girard, 1997) (the “top ten” chosen from a list of twenty):
“- The good language teacher makes his course interesting
- He teaches good pronunciation
- He explains clearly
- He speaks good English
- He shows the same interest in all pupils
- He makes them participate
- He shows great patience
- He insists on the spoken language
Trang 14- He makes pupils work
- He used an audio - visual method”
(From Peck A (1988) Language Teachers At Work Prentice Hall)
Besides the criteria of a good language teacher in general, it also depends upon theperception of students A language teacher should show their skills in teaching process inthe role of a class manager The up above ideas, I aim to raise our awareness about thevarious roles of a teacher in my short assumption The English teachers need goodcharacteristics to help students do well in classrooms These characteristics of a goodlanguage teacher may be suitable or inappropriate in Vietnam in general and in TT3 highschool in particular Because not all the characteristics can be “taught” for all the teachersbut due to the teacher’s individual personality The fact that the roles of a language teacherbecomes effective only when they support the necessary things which students are in need
of them and authentic context
1.4 Communicative approach to language teaching
1.4.1 Definitions of Communication.
There are many different definitions of Communication In Thompson’s book(2003: 9) “Communication and Language”, he considers that “communication is such awell-integrated part of our day-to-day existence that we tend to take it for granted rarelypassing to consider what it involves or just how important it is to us”
Fiske’s ideas (1990) also recognized that: “Communication is one of those humanactivities that everyone recognizes but few can definite satisfactorily” (Fiske 1990: 1) and
“communication is too often taken for granted when it should be taken to pieces” (Fiske1994: 8)
Thompson, N (2003: 10) “I quickly recognized that communication is used in anumber of senses and at a number of levels to indicate the transmission of information oreven, as in the transport networks example, the transmission of goods and people”
He quietly agreed with Fiske’s ideas “The most relevant definition ofcommunication for present purposes is social interaction through messages” When talkingabout the definitions ò communication, two related aspects are mentioned in their ideas is
“social” and “interaction”
Trang 151.4.2 Communicative Language Teaching
1.4.2.1 The nature of Communicative Language Teaching
Littlewood (1981:1) emphasized, “one of the most characteristic features ofcommunicative language teaching is that it pays systematic attention to functional as well
as structural aspects of language” Both grammatical and functional teaching are paidattention in CLT CLT means little more than an integration of these aspects
1.4.2.2 The Techniques of Communicative Language Teaching
The techniques of CLT can be described by different criteria
Techniques and class management procedures are discussed by Savignon (1983),associated with a number of CLT classroom procedures, for examples, language games,role plays, pair/group activities Both activities and ways in which they are exclusivelyused to CLT classrooms
The Techniques of Communicative Language Teaching are described by itsfeatures Nunan (1991a: 279) gives five features to characterize CLT CLT attached withinteraction, authentic texts, personal experiences …
Johnson (1998: 23) also offered five core characteristics of communicativemethodology that give applications of it They are: appropriateness, message focus,psycholinguistic processing, risk taking and free practice
CLT seems to be an approach rather than a method in a communicative view oflanguage and language learning It refers to many principles in which they can be used withclassroom procedures as mentioned above
1.5.2 Pair work/Group work
Students may be organized to do work in pairs or small groups in the classroom.Especially, it is very important when teacher organizes activities for students There aremany definitions of pair work/group work
Trang 16Pair work
According to Doff (1998: 137) , the whole class is divided into pairs by the teacher.Every students works with his or her partner in pairs and all the pairs work at the sametime
Students works in pair work has some advantages, Harmer (2001: 116) wrote “inpair wok students can practice language together, study a text, research language or takepart in information-gap activities They can write dialogues, predict the content of readingtexts, or compare notes on what they have listened to or seen” Through pair work studentscan work together, share ideas and thoughts
Group work
“Group is a group of students working together A class can be divided into smallgroups to work together (usually four or five students in each group), as in pair work, allthe group work at the same time” ( Doff: 1988: 137)
“The advantage of small group work is that it promotes maximum participant fromall students” (Felisa Tibbitts) Group work encourages students to share the thoughts andideas when they work with their participants
When we want to divide the class into teams for games or preparation phase, weneed a larger group for learning activity
1.5.3 Individual work
The students sometimes don’t work in pair work or group work, they have to work ontheir own Students have to work independently with their own thinking Working inindividual, pair or group work depends much on the demand of the tasks or activities.Some time teachers have to use all kinds of activities in class
Ur, P (1999: 233) stated: “this can range from students going exercises on their own
in class, to situations in which teachers are able to spend time working with individualstudents, or when students take charge of their own learning in self-access centre or otherout-of-class environments” Individual work makes students promote their autonomy
1.6 Summary
The chapter presents the related literature which are considered to be essential forlaying the background for the study To achieve a good quality of teaching and learningEnglish language processes, the roles of teachers in managing English language classeswith necessary skills is essential Next chapter will present the school context, participants,data collection and data analysis
Trang 17CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY
2 1 Background of the study
2.1.1 Description of the English syllabus in TT3 high school.
English is a compulsory subject in TT3 high school and students here have Englishlesson during the first and second term of the school year There are three levels ofEnglish: English 10, English 11 and English 12 In 2007, the English textbook used herestill was three-year-course textbook, now we are teaching seven-year-course textbook atTT3 high school
The English text book chosen is English 10, 11, 12 Each textbook consists of 16lessons which have been covered through out the school year with mid-term tests inbetween Each lesson concludes 5 periods with the aims of practicing four language skills(reading, speaking, listening, writing) and language elements There are new textbookswith many visual aids like pictures, drawing and creative suitable for applying CLT inteaching By using these textbooks, it’s hoped that students’ communicative competencecould be developed as students can learn and relate to the real things from daily life.Students are required to work in individuals, in pairs, in groups to practice English incommon situations with English teachers managing classes Additionally, students alsohave chances to listen to both native and non-native English speakers from the tapes usedwith these textbooks These textbooks also aim at developing students’ reading skill andwriting skill At the end of each term, students have the final test for semester
2.1.2 Description of the students at TT3 high school
Like many students in other high schools, in order to be 10th form students of TT3high school, they have to pass a national examination Students mostly come fromcountryside which mainly being 80% students are Muong Ethnic Minority and remote areawith low living-condition in Thach Thach District, Thanh Hoa province Students theredon’t have similar level of English language proficiency to each other because at manysecondary schools in TT, students have not been taught English yet (students have learntFrench or other foreign language or the lack of English teachers) This led to a big gapamong 10th students when they entered high school Nowadays students seems to be moreaware of the importance of learning English and they have more motivation in learning it.Although English is a difficult subject, students at TT3 still like learning it Besides manyother subjects, students often have three periods of English per week, and take part in 15
Trang 18minutes test, 45 minutes test in the examination at the last semester In class, they are givenmany chances to practice mainly four language skills: reading, speaking, listening andwriting skill They are organized to work in pair or group, given from the teachers’feedbacks, helped with vocabularies/grammar, corrected and graded.
2.1.3 Description of the teachers at TT3 high school
In TT3 high school, there are eight English teachers aged from 28 to 35, one maleand seven female teachers Three English teachers have been trained at Hong DucUniversity in Thanh Hoa province, three are trained at Vinh University and one teacherwho has been trained at VNU - CFL (as a French teacher and now obtain anotheruniversity degree as an English teacher) and one teacher who has been graduated from in-service training at Hanoi University Now two of them are studying post graduate at HanoiNational University and one teacher is studying at Hanoi University In the past, most ofthese teachers mainly used the Grammar - Translation Method - a way of teaching andlearning a foreign language on the basis of detailed analysis of grammar rules andapplication of these rules to the translation of sentences and texts into the mother tongueand into English Now, the text book is designed for CLT in which the use of proceduresthat develops four language skills through the roles of a language teacher The skills used
in managing English classes are still limited which causes a large amount of difficulties inteaching and learning process
2.1.4 Description of physical setting
In TT3 school, English teaching and learning activities are mostly carried outinside the classrooms with the classroom equipments - blackboards, student desks andteacher tables The teaching aids for English lessons are some cassettes recorders, radios,overhead projectors
In term of class size, the number of students is an English class is quite large from
40 to 58 students per class This large number causes a great deal of difficulties forteaching and learning and in managing an English class
The materials for reference and self-study are not available for teachers andstudents at TT3 high school In the school library, there are only some English books butthey are unsuitable to the level of the students here Teachers find their own referencesoutside but for students it is not easy to do so themselves
Trang 19There is an informal interview for two random English language teachers It iscarried out during the break time the last semester of the school year 2010 – 2011 in twoweeks It is a friendly conversation in which the researcher asks selected teachers questionsrandomly and take notes during the break time.
2.2.3 Methods of data analysis
In fact, the process by which the researcher interprets the data collected from thesurvey research are questionnaires and informal interview The data was collected,analyzed, compared and finally interpreted for the results of the study
2.3 Summary
This chapter present the background and methodology of the study Through thischapter we can see the participants and research instruments of collecting the data
Trang 20CHAPTER III: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
This chapter presents the collected data from two instruments: questionnaires and informalinterview
teacher’s roles in an
English language class
play the most important?
your roles in English
efficiently when… way for the learning activities
with the teacher
d There is discipline and harmony
Trang 21think can affect most on b The good organization students
the success of managing activities
classes… c The English language proficiency
e The hard work of the students 7 87
f The co-operation of the students 4 50
g The teacher’s good preparation 7 87.5
(Table 1: The results of teachers’ attitudes in English teaching survey)
Trang 22For the question about the importance of the teacher’s roles, most of the teachers(87.5%) recognized teacher’s roles play the most important in an English language class.Only one person (12.5%) chose other options and none of them chose option b.
Question 2 is about how the teacher’s roles were used in English language classes.50% of teachers found they used their roles in English language classes well and 37.5% ofthem used it normally and one person admitted using it not so badly None of them choseusing it badly
Question 5 mentions about the ways students participate in activities when they areorganized by their English language teacher Most teachers (62.5%) say that their studentsparticipate actively, forcedly (25%) Surprisingly, 12.5% of teachers answered that theirstudents participate passively This means that their students don’t understand what isgoing on in the class (day-dreaming) None of them chose other options
In the next question, quite all the teachers (100%) answered that an Englishlanguage class is managed efficiently when the teachers play appropriate roles, next isclasses are organized in a suitable way for the learning activities (75%) When teacherplays appropriate roles which means they put students into pair work / group work, getstudents involved, tell them how to start or finish the various activities Students have goodco-operation with the teacher (50%) and there is discipline and harmony in the class areequal (50%) Only one person (12.5%) chose other options To answer for question 8, thefactors can affect most on the success of managing classes With the same view in thequestion 3, most of teachers (87.5%) considered teacher’s good preparation and the hardwork of students (87.5%), next is the English language proficiency of the students (75%),then the teacher’s good organization students activities (62.5%) The others have littleinfluences on the teacher’s roles No person chose other options
After answering all questions about the benefits, the importance… of the teacher’sroles, most of teachers see that using the roles in managing English language classes sowell The hard work of students, the teacher’s good preparation, the students languageproficiency, the teacher’s natural activities organization are main factors affect most on thesuccess of the teacher’s roles Besides these factors, there are also some difficult factorsmainly are language class sized, students at different levels, class facilities and due timeper learning period These factors depend much on the classes they are in charge
Trang 233 In your opinion, a Prepare the lessons carefully 6 75managing English classes b Well organize students activities 5 62.5the most successfully, the c Have good co-operation from students 3 37.5teacher has to… d Make the tasks suitable to the students 4 50
e Set clear goals for students 1 12.5
4 What are the benefits of a To help the teaching and learning
managing English language process run smoothly
classes well? b To make the class more interesting 4 50
d To get students in good orders 6 50
e To make students more motivative 8 100
7 According to you, which a Language class-sized 8 100are the most difficult factors b Students at different levels 8 100
in the roles of a class c Students not co-operate well 4 50
9 Being successful in a Use appropriate methods at pre, while
teaching English, the and post stages of teaching
teacher should b Change roles appropriately to the
teaching stages and activities
c Maintain discipline in the class 5 62.5
d Well organize activities naturally 7 87.5
e Provide clear instruction before the
work with samples
Trang 24g Others: 0 0
(Table 2: The results of the teachers’ experiences in English teaching)
Trang 25In question 3, almost of the teachers (75%) thought that the teacher’s lessonspreparation is the most important factor It means that in order to manage English classessuccessfully, the teacher has to prepare every lesson well before 62.5% of them consideredthe teacher has to organize students activities well This related to the roles of teacher whenhe/she controls or organizes class activities Half of the teachers (50%) answered theteacher has to make the tasks suitable to the students They seemed not to concentrate onthe students co-operation from students (37.5%) and to set clear goals for students (12.5%).None of them chose other options
Question 4 is about the benefits of managing English language classes well All theteachers (100%) answered is to help the teaching and learning process run smoothly and tomake students more motivate (100%) Half of them saw the benefit of teacher’s roles is tomake class more interesting (50%) and 50% of getting students in good orders Only oneperson (12.5%) chose to help the teaching and learning process run smoothly They seemednot to find the benefits of the teacher’s roles in it None of them chose the other options
In the question 7, noticeably 100% of the teachers in this school say that the most difficult factors in the roles of a class manager are language class-sized and students at different levels (100%) They paid less attention to class facilities (75%), then due time per learning period (62.5%) and not good student’s co-operation (50%) No one chose other options.
For the last question to get successful teaching, 100% of teachers consideredchanging roles appropriately to the teaching stages and activities, 25% of using appropriatemethods at pre, while and post stages of teaching, organizing students activities well(87.5%), providing clear instruction before the tasks with samples (75%), maintainingdiscipline in the class (62.5%) While 50% of teachers chose controlling the work (62.5%)
No one chose other option
Dominant roles in your English classes Teacher’s roles
Trang 26Difficult roles in your English classes Teacher’s roles
Organizer 70
Assessor 60
Prompter 50
Participant 40
Resource 30
Tutor 20
Observer 10
0
Dominant roles Difficult roles
This chart describes the results of dominant roles in English language classes andthe difficult roles in English language classes at TT3 high school
As we can see the data on the chart, these results agree with Larsen-Freeman (1996)who believed that teachers can play different roles in the English language classrooms The
Trang 27chart shows that all teachers (100%) have coincidence in 8 dominant roles that they are incharge of applying to their English classes However, they still have difficulties in theseroles On the contrary, of 8 teacher’s roles, 87.5% of teachers
Trang 28considered that the teacher’s roles in their as a controller, prompter (75%), participant(75%) and assessor (62.5%) This means that the teachers at TT3 high school have usedtheir roles in English language classes but they find some roles difficult to apply in theirEnglish classes If the English language teacher acts these roles well, students will obtainwhat they need through various learning activities So understanding of the difficult roles
of teachers help teachers adjust to make it suitable for their students English languageproficiency These data help the researchers see the dominant roles applied and the difficultroles to apply in English language classes, find out the suitable ways in using the teachers’roles
After answering the questions about the dominant roles applied and the difficultroles to apply in English language classes at TT3 high school, the teachers displayed theoptions which they chose with the considerable percentages
3.1.2 The results of language learning survey questionnaire
120 sheets of language survey questionnaires were delivered for students in allthree grades 10, 11, 12 Forty students were chosen randomly from each grade, twenty ofthem from level A and another twenty from level B The students were from eight classestaught by different teachers Students were chosen freely in order to have different abilities
of English study with different attitudes to English learning Of course, they are bothgenders (male and female)
Gender English study result of the previous
Trang 29(Table 5: Characteristics of the students participating in the English learning survey)
Trang 30No Questions Options No %
What do you think a It is a vital activity in language
about teacher’s roles teaching
in promoted learning b It is neither good nor bad 0 0English at your
1 c It is one of the most important and
school? useful activities
your English teachers
2
The factors which a Teacher’s teaching experiences 50 41.7you think can affect b The teacher’s organizing activities 43 35.8most on the success c The English language proficiency of
of the teachers in the teacher
managing English d The English language proficiency of
e The hard work of the students 76 3
f The collaboration of the students 47 63
g The teacher’s good preparation in
Trang 31managed efficiently, way for the learning activities
when:
d Discipline and harmony
Trang 32From the shown table with 4 questions and answers by the students at TT3 highschool, the author has some following comments:
In question 1, quite a number of students who asked (61.7%) chose it is one of themost important and useful activities 29.2% of students thought it motivates them, it isneither good nor bad (9.2%) While no person chose it is a vital activity in languageteaching and other options
Question 2 is the same as teacher’s one but a different option a and d Both teachers(50%) and students (48.3%) found teachers use their roles in English language classes sowell 32.5% of students answered teachers use their roles very well Only 19.2% ofstudents thought their teachers use it normally and no one chose other options
In the next question, 8 factors were chosen but the percentage for each option quitedifferent All students (100%) chose the teacher’s good preparation in making lesson plansfor the factor can affect most on the success of the teacher’s roles, next is the hard work ofthe students (63.3%), then the English language proficiency of the students (51.7%) and theEnglish language proficiency of the teacher (48.3%) The other factors affected little on thesuccess of the teacher’s roles Other options occupy 4.2%
In question 6, students considered that an English language class is managedefficiently when the teacher plays appropriate roles (34.2%), classes are organized in asuitable way for the learning activities (25%), discipline and harmony environment in theclass (24.2%) The other things have little fluencies on it