(Luận văn thạc sĩ) students’ attitudes towards using mother tongue in EFL classrooms a survey study at tien lang high school, hai phong

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ---***--- ĐINH THỊ XUYẾN STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS USING MOTHE

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES

-*** -

ĐINH THỊ XUYẾN

STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS USING MOTHER TONGUE IN EFL CLASSROOMS: A SURVEY STUDY AT TIEN LANG HIGH

SCHOOL, HAI PHONG

THÁI ĐỘ CỦA HỌC SINH ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TIẾNG MẸ ĐẺ TRONG CÁC LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH: MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU KHẢO SÁT TẠI TRƯỜNG

THPT TIÊN LÃNG, HẢI PHÒNG

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

HANOI – 2015

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES

-*** -

ĐINH THỊ XUYẾN

STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS USING MOTHER TONGUE IN EFL CLASSROOMS: A SURVEY STUDY AT TIEN LANG HIGH

SCHOOL, HAI PHONG

THÁI ĐỘ CỦA HỌC SINH ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TIẾNG MẸ ĐẺ TRONG CÁC LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH: MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU KHẢO SÁT TẠI TRƯỜNG

THPT TIÊN LÃNG, HẢI PHÒNG

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

Supervisor: Dr Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Quỳnh

HANOI – 2015

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DECLARATIONS

I – Đinh Thị Xuyến - hereby declare that the thesis entitled “Students’ Attitudes

Towards Using Mother Tongue In EFL Classrooms: A Survey Study At Tien Lang High School, HaiPhong” is the result of my own research in the fulfillment

of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts at Faculty of Post Graduate Studies - University of Languages and International Studies, VNU, Hanoi and this

thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or institution

Date:…….………

Signature: ………

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ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS

During the process of writing this thesis, I have been fortunate to receive supports and assistance from a variety of people

First and foremost, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor,

Ms Nguyen Thi Ngoc Quynh, Ph.D., who allows me to draw fully on her wisdom and experience in implementing this study Her guidance, encouragement and invaluable detailed critical feedback have been most generous

I would like to convey my thanks to all my teachers of the Post Graduate, Cohort 21 whose fundamental knowledge about language teaching and learning is

of great importance to the achievement of my academic study

It is my pleasure to acknowledge my debt to the Board of Management of Foreign Languages Department for their support and the favorable conditions they have granted me during my study

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my deepest thanks to all the teachers, especially Ms Nguyen Thi Nguyen, at Tien Lang High School for their help in completing the survey questionnaires, for their constructive suggestions

to this research, and for their willingness to share their relevant problems with me

I am most thankful to the students of grade 11B8 and 11B2 at Tien Lang High School whose cooperation is great significance to the completion of the study Finally, I owe a great debt of gratitude to my parents whose loving support has been encouraging me to fulfill this thesis successfully

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ABSTRACT This study is an attempt to investigate whether or not students at Tien Lang High School support the use of Vietnamese in EFL classrooms and then compare high achievers’ and low achievers’ attitudes A questionnaire was administered to

91 11th grade students at Tien Lang High School, Hai Phong Then, the responses

of 24 high achievers (11th grade English final mark is above 8.0), and 29 low achievers (English final mark is below 5.5) were compared Ten students with different attitudes were then further investigated through an interview The results show that all participants supported both teacher’s and students’ use of L1 Also, there was almost no difference between two groups, except for some reasons of motivation, level of proficiency, and the occasion of checking their production with their peers However, the study also indicates that for the best use of Vietnamese, it should be used reasonably in L2 classrooms so as to expose students to English communicative opportunities as much as possible

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LIST OF ABREVIATIONS

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

L1: the first language

L2: the second language

M1: high achievers’ mean

M2: low achievers’ mean

classrooms 31

Figures:

Figure 1: Students' general attitude towards teacher's use of L1 in EFL

classrooms 23 Figure 2: The frequency that Ss prefer teacher to use L1 in EFL classrooms 26 Figure 3: Students' general attitude towards students' use of L1 in EFL

classrooms 28 Figure 4: Students’ overall view regarding the frequency of their using L1

in L2 classes 30

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATIONS i

ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF ABREVIATIONS iv

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims and objectives of the study 2

3 Research questions 3

4 The methodology of the study 3

5 The scope of the study 4

6 The significance of the study 4

7 Design of the paper 4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 6

CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

1 Attitudes 6

1.1 Definition of attitudes 6

1.2 Language attitude and effects of language attitude 7

1.2.1 Effect of attitude on behavior 7

1.2.2 Effect of attitude on mental operation 8

1.2.3 Effect of attitude on affection 8

2 Use of mother tongue in EFL classrooms 8

2.1 Monolingual approach 8

2.1.1 Support for monolingual approach 9

2.1.2 The weaknesses of monolingual approach 9

2.2 Bilingual approach 11

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2.2.1 Support for bilingual approach 11

3 Related studies 13

3.1 The role of mother tongue in learning English 13

3.2 Students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards using L1 in English classrooms 14

3.2.1 Studies on students’ attitudes towards using L1 in L2 classrooms 14

3.2.2 Studies on both Sts’ and Ts’ attitudes toward using L1 in English classrooms 15

CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY 17

1 The setting of the study 17

2 Subjects of the study 17

3 Instruments of collecting data 17

4 Data collection 18

5 Data analysis 20

CHAPTER THREE: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 22

1 Results 22

1.1 Students’ questionnaire 22

1.1.1 Students’ general attitude towards teacher’s use of L1 in L2 classes 22

1.1.2 Students’ reasons for supporting teacher’s use of Vietnamese in EFL classrooms 23

1.1.3 The expected frequency of teacher’s using Vietnamese in EFL classrooms 25

1.1.4 Learning occasions in which students prefer the teacher to use Vietnamese 26

1.2 What are Tien Lang students’ attitudes towards students’ use of Vietnamese in EFL classrooms? 28

1.2.1 Students’ general views on their own use of Vietnamese in L2 classes 28

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1.2.2 Students’ reasons for using L1 in EFL classrooms 28

1.2.3 The expected frequency of students’ using Vietnamese in English classes 30

1.2.4 Learning occasions in which students prefer to use L1 31

2.1 What are high-achievers’ attitudes towards teachers’ use of Vietnamese in EFL classrooms compared to those of low-achievers? 32

2.1.1 Students’ general attitudes toward teacher’s use of Vietnamese 34

2.1.2 Students’ reasons for preferring teacher’s use of Vietnamese 34

2.1.3 Students’ expectation of the teacher’s frequency of using Vietnamese 35

2.1.4 Students’ preference of learning occasions in which teacher uses Vietnamese 35

2.2.1 Students’ general attitudes towards their own use of Vietnamese 37

2.2.2 Students’ reasons for using Vietnamese 37

2.2.3 Students’ preference of the frequency of using Vietnamese 38

2.2.4 Students’ preference of learning occasions 38

1.2 Students’ interview 39

PART C: CONCLUSION 43

1 A summary of study and implications 43

2 Limitations of the study 44

3 Suggestions for further research 44

REFERENCES 45 APPENDICES I

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PART A: INTRODUCTION Part A provides an introduction to the current study It discusses the rationale, the aims and objectives of the study In addition, two research questions are drawn and the scope, the significance and the design of the study are shown out clearly

1 Rationale

Nowadays, while the monolingual approach is a widespread principle underlying second language (L2, in this case, English) teaching, some studies have suggested that this approach may not necessarily be the most appropriate, especially when the teacher and the students share the same first language (L1, in this case Vietnamese) The issue of whether using L1 in EFL classrooms or not is an ongoing debate Some educational institutions do not have specific policy and allow teachers

to use L1 in the classes, others give out a strict rule to the use of L1 in classrooms They require teachers to keep to English only Some other institutions encourage instructors to use English in classes; however, they have no strict rule about language use, so that L1 can be used in classroom instructions Teachers and students themselves hold different views on the use of L1 in English as a Foreign Language classrooms

Generally, my own experience of first observing and then teaching English at

a high school proved that policy makers and teachers tend to impose their students

on monolingual approach without considering the benefits of using L1 in English lessons Especially, in some formal classroom evaluation contexts, L1 is banned to use under any circumstances whereas in other situations, Vietnamese is used much more frequently than English because of students’ levels and examination – oriented method Although there have been a lot of studies supporting the inclusion of learners’ mother tongue (Schweers 1999; Swain & Lapkin 2000; Burden 2001; Prodromou 2002; Tang 2002; Al-Nofaie 2010), such pedagogical decisions

regarding the exclusion of learners’ L1 have been made on ‘unexamined and

taken-for-granted assumptions’ (Auerbach 1993, p 29) In general, it seems quite

reasonable that English classrooms at high school level are conducted in English

on students’ attitudes with regard to using L1 in English classes at Tien Lang High School Therefore, this paper is done to break this gap in the literature Since both learners and teachers are major stakeholders in learning and teaching process, learners’ voices need to be heard before effective pedagogical decisions can be made

This study was conducted in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms in a high school where teachers and students are encouraged to use English only in their class, especially in formal classroom evaluation contexts, the use of English is limited as much as possible The educational policy makers believe that only English classes enhance students’ maximized exposure to target language as in line with the Natural Approach (Karashen, 1981)

2 Aims and objectives of the study

Since there have been few of studies paying attention to the L1/L2 issue in Vietnamese context, I have been motivated to undertake more investigation to find out the attitudes of Vietnamese students towards applying Vietnamese in EFL classrooms

With the above aim, the objectives of the study are as followed:

 Explore whether or not Ss support both T’s use and Ss’ use of L1 in L2 classes, their reasons and in which contexts they prefer using L1

 Investigate the differences of Ss’ attitudes towards the use of L1 in L2 classrooms according to their language proficiency levels

2.1 What are high-achievers’ attitudes towards teachers’ use of Vietnamese

in EFL classrooms compared to those of low-achievers?

2.2 What are high-achievers’ attitudes towards students’ use of Vietnamese

in EFL classrooms compared to those of low-achievers?

In this study, the term ‘attitudes’ is used to refer to participants’ tendencies to accept or reject ideas by indicating whether or not they feel favorably towards these

ideas or beliefs (Gay, Mills & Airasian, 2006)

4 The methodology of the study

The methods applied in this study are both quantitative and qualitative The data come from questionnaire and audio record for interview section

The participants of the study include 91 grade 11 students at Tien Lang High School, who are randomly chosen by the researcher For research question 2, they are then divided into two groups in terms of their English proficiency levels according to the scores of their end-of-semester test: low-achievers (below 5.5), and

5 The scope of the study

The study was conducted at Tien Lang High School, Hai Phong Because of the limited time, it only focused on investigating the attitudes of 11th grade students toward both teachers’ and students’ use of mother tongue in EFL classrooms, and whether different English proficiency level students hold different views or not The participants were students from two classes 11B2 and 11B8, who were non – English major students

6 The significance of the study

This study can contribute to help teachers and educators to know students’ attitudes toward the use of Vietnamese in English lessons, to understand why their students support or not the use of their first language in English language classrooms, and to understand in which contexts their students prefer to use their mother tongue instead of using English Thanks to it, teachers will be better informed about which methods may facilitate their students’ language learning Therefore, this may lead to the eventual improvement of the students’ English language skills in the classrooms Besides, students themselves could have a better idea and explanation of their attitudes toward learning target language By realizing their own justifications, they may have a better chance to develop their English language skills

7 Design of the paper

The current thesis paper includes three main parts Part one is introduction

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW

1 Attitudes

1.1 Definition of attitudes

In fact, there are many ways to define an attitude Researchers in the fields of psychology and education, especially language learning, consider several definitions of attitudes which mention different meanings from different contexts and perspectives (Alhmali, 2007, cited in Alzwari H., 2012)

According to Lambert, 1973, as cited in Lambert, 1987, an attitude may be defined as an original and consistent manner of thinking, feeling, and reacting to people, groups, social issues or, more generally, to any event in the environment It

is presumed to be highly variable from person to person and from one time to another for any person (Lambert, 1987, cited in Porkaew K., 2004) It forms a part

of one’s perception of self, of others, and of the culture one lives in (Brown, 1980)

Gardner (1985: 91) also points out that an attitude is an evaluative reaction to some referent or attitude object, inferred on the basis of the individual’s beliefs or

opinions about the referent “Attitude is thus linked to a person’s values and beliefs

and promotes or discourages the choices made in all realms of activity, whether academic or informal.” (as cited in Padwick, 2010: 16)

Gardner’s argument leads Wenden (1991) to present a comprehensive definition of the attitude concept He classifies the term “attitude” into three interrelated components, namely cognitive, affective and behavioral The cognitive component involves the beliefs, thoughts or viewpoints about the object of the attitude The affective component refers to the individual’s feelings and emotions towards an object, whether he/she likes or dislikes The behavioral component involves the way the attitude people have influences how they act or behave

All in all, Wenden’s definition (1991) shows out an overall and clear view on

“attitude” with three main components, which the researcher bases on to design a survey questionnaire afterwards

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1.2 Language attitude and effects of language attitude

According to Gardner and Lambert (1972), in order to master a second language, students themselves not only need mental competence or language skills, but also have positive attitudes and perceptions towards the target language Baker (1992: 9) as cited in Abidin (2012: 122) states that, “In the life of a language, attitudes to that language appear to be important in language restoration, preservation, decay or death.” In addition, De Bot et al (2005) assert that high motivation and positive attitudes of students can facilitate second language learning process

Learning process is regarded as a positive change in the individual’s personality in terms of the emotional, psychomotor (behavioral) as well as cognitive domains, since when one has learned a specific subject, he/she is supposed to think and behave in a different manner and one’s beliefs have been distinguished (Kara,

2009, cited in Abidin, 2012: 123)

Furthermore, in addition to the cognitive aspect, ‘learning process has social

as well as psychological aspects’ The concept of attitudes can be viewed from three effects of attitudes on behavior, mental operation and affection

1.2.1 Effect of attitude on behavior

One of the effects of attitude is the effect on behavior This effect of attitude involves the way one behaves and reacts in particular situations In fact, the successful language learning improves learners’ identification with the native speakers of that language and ‘acquire or adopt various aspects of behaviors which characterize the members of the target language community’ Kara, 2009, as cited in

Abidin (2012: 123) states that,

“Positive attitudes lead to the exhibition of positive behaviors toward courses of study, with participants absorbing themselves in courses and striving to learn more Such students are also observed to be more eager to solve problems, to acquire the information and skills useful for daily life and to engage themselves emotionally.”

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1.2.2 Effect of attitude on mental operation

According to Abidin (2012: 122), ‘the beliefs of the language learners about the knowledge that they receive and their understanding in the process of language learning’ is related to cognitive aspect of attitude This aspect of attitude can be classified into four steps, i.e ‘connecting the previous knowledge and the new one, creating new knowledge, checking new knowledge, and applying the new knowledge in many situations’

1.2.3 Effect of attitude on affection

Feng and Chen (2009), as cited in Abidin (2012: 123) state that, “Learning

process is an emotional process It is affected by different emotional factors The teacher and his students engage in various emotional activities in it and varied fruits of emotions are yield.” Attitudes can help the learners to express whether they

like or dislike the objects or surrounding situations It is agreed that the inner feelings and emotions of FL learners influence their perspectives and their attitudes towards the target language (Choy &Troudi, 2006, cited in Abidin, 2012: 123)

This study mainly focuses on the effect of attitude on behaviors, mental operation and affection

2 Use of mother tongue in EFL classrooms

One of the major theoretical issues which has been dominated the field of teaching and learning English as a foreign language is the use of students’ first language (L1) in second language (L2) classrooms The debate between supporters

of “monolingual approach” (avoid using L1) and “bilingual approach” (allowing students’ L1) has not seen an end yet to date Many supporters of “monolingual approach” believe that students can become more proficient in L2 whenever they have many opportunities to be exposed to this language The opponents, on the other hand, consider the effective use of L1 in the second language acquisition process They claim that a moderate use of L1 in L2 classrooms can help encourage students to learn English, get less tense and less lost (Schweers, 1999)

2.1 Monolingual approach

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2.1.1 Support for monolingual approach

Monolingual approach means an approach avoiding the use of L1 for the sake of focusing on target language The main reason for supporting this approach may be the exposure to target language This theory is in accordance with Krashen’s Input Hypotheses Krashen (1995) insists that learner’s first language should not be used in order to maximize the exposure of using target language In fact, in EFL environment, students do not have many chances to expose to target language Therefore, that teachers provide opportunities for them to use L2 as many as possible can enhance their language proficiency level Turnbull (2001) asserts that using L1 in classrooms can ‘take away students’ opportunities’ to practice target language In his research, Cook (2001) comes to believe that classroom interaction

in L2 has been encouraged to provide learners with a naturally communicative environment

Throughout the history, a number of teaching methods have been developed Some methods are in line with the use of L1, others exclude learners’ first language use

In the sixteenth century, the appearance of Grammar Translation Method (GTM) required both teachers and students to make use of L1 in EFL classrooms This language was used to translate sentences and make grammar understandable

From time to time, other methods have given birth One of the methods that does not allow the use of L1 was Direct Method It is believed that words should be associated directly to the objects, and thinking in L1 should be banned The other method known as Audiolingual Method does not encourage the use of L1

2.1.2 The weaknesses of monolingual approach

Although there are a number of researchers and linguists supporting the monolingual approach, it has been also received a huge of considerable criticism and opposition

Firstly, most L1 opponents argue that language learning by adults is similar

to language acquisition by children, and their reason is that both L1 children and L2

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learners do not have any previous knowledge about the new language However, this is not proved to be true There are many researchers proving the opponent, because it is no doubt that age is one of the determining factors in learning process (Elmetwally, 2012) Bley-Vroman (1990) presents a thorough explanation of five basic differences between L1 acquisition by children and L2 learning by adults Firstly, children's innate ability to acquire their L1 disappears in adults Secondly, adults rely on their L1 when learning L2, unlike children who do not have previous knowledge of their mother language Thirdly, in contrast to children, adults' exposure to L2 is not enough since language input is confined to being in a learning environment such as schools Moreover, children are helped by social factors as motivation and personal situations that adults lack Finally, notwithstanding adults' difficulties when learning, they do have more mature cognitive abilities

Similarly, Brown (2007) makes a conclusion on the differences between children’s and adults’ learning process He claims that children learn two languages simultaneously while adults do it systematically They tend to use their L1 knowledge to bridge the linguistic gap they cannot fill in L2 It seems that mother tongue always exists in learners’ mind even during their EFL/ ESL classes (Wechsler, 1997) This more or less affects the L2 learning process

Considering children who learn a foreign language, it could be difficult to hypothesize that their L2 learning is similar to their L1 acquisition It has been believed that children can learn a foreign language better than adults This belief is related to the Critical Period Hypothesis which claims that effective foreign language learning occurs before puberty (Cameron, 2001)

Another drawback with the principle of monolingual approach is its impracticality This is because most of teachers of English are non-native speakers (Phillipson 1992: 191-192) and they do not master English at the same level of proficiency

Last but not least, monolingual approach fails to differentiate between English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL)

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While ESL refers to teaching English where “the language is necessary for everyday life … or in a country in which English plays an important role in education, business, and government” (Richards & Schmidt, 2002: 180) in some countries like Canada, the USA, Australia, etc., EFL “implies the use of English in a community where it is not the usual means of communication” (Abbott, 2001) In other words, in ESL context, learners do not share the same L1 and background, so they need to use English as a tool to communicate in the outside world In contrast,

in EFL context, English is only used in formal classroom settings Hence, they do not use English much in everyday life This difference gives some effective teaching approaches for each learning context

In conclusion, monolingual approach per se has been a subject of much criticism There is not enough evidence to prove that this is the most effective approach in teaching English Therefore, the next section explores bilingual approach

2.2 Bilingual approach

2.2.1 Support for bilingual approach

The bilingual approach which was developed by Dodson (1967) allows students to switch from L1 to L2 and vice versa There are three main reasons for the employment of this approach They are ‘maintaining a comfortable atmosphere

in class, promoting students’ comprehension and using class-time efficiently’ (Tsukamoto, 2011:147)

In the history of teaching L2, besides GTM, it was revealed that a so-called New Current Method balanced the use of L1 and L2 in classrooms ‘Codeswitching’ enhancing language learning should be ‘systematic and purposeful’ (Alnofaie, 2010) Moreover, a recent study by Raschka et al (2009) in a Taiwanese classroom concludes that ‘code switching’ is a ‘frequent strategic device’ used by highly communicative competent teachers

However, the balance between L1 and L2 does not avoid problems More methods appear to limit the use of L1 in the EFL contexts They are Communicative

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Language Teaching Method and Task-based Learning In CLT classrooms, L1 is only used for certain situations like giving instructions, etc In Task-based learning, learners can use different tools to communicate in L2 such as gestures and copying words from the task sheet, translation can be used as the last strategy as proposed by Prabhu (1987: 60) Several views claim the benefits of using L1 in L2 classrooms Chavez (2002) concludes that students do not prefer using both L1 and L2 because

‘classroom is not real context for L2 social culture’ (as cited in Alnofaie, 2010)

Prodromou (2000), Atkinson (1987), and Cook (2001) conduct studies on the use of L1 and students’ attitudes towards using L1 in L2 classrooms They all agree that L1 is very benefit for students to:

 To explain difficult concepts or vocabulary items

 To motivate students in classes (To joke around with students)

 To help students feel more comfortable and confident

 To explain difficult grammar points

 To check for comprehension

 To explain the relationship between English and Vietnamese

 To give difficult instructions

 To give students comments

Besides, Cook (2001) also concludes that students’ mother tongue is advised

to be used in pair works or group works Furthermore, through using L1, they may explain the task to each other, negotiate the roles they are going to take, or check their understanding or production of language against their peers through the L1

2.2.2 The weaknesses of bilingual approach

Although bilingual approach is useful for teaching L2 in many ways, there are still some weaknesses of this method, as followed:

 The focus is on the grammatical structures not on the day-to-day conversation

 The teacher must be proficient in L1 and L2

 It does not follow any set theory

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 Students become dependent on their mother tongue

 The methods and procedures are not different

 A possible disadvantage of the method is that if the teacher is not imaginative enough, this method may degenerate into the Grammar Translation Method with all the attendant drawbacks

 Whereas, the Bilingual Method is useful at the secondary stage, the Direct Method is more useful than the Bilingual Method at the primary stage

(Aiiulistya, 2013)

3 Related studies

In the literature of the use of mother tongue in EFL classrooms, studies can

be categorized into three kinds: the roles of L1 in second language learning, students or teachers’ attitudes towards the use of mother tongue and both teachers and students’ perceptions on the use of L1 However, there are limited studies at school levels Instead of this, they focus much on university teachers and students

3.1 The role of mother tongue in learning English

Recently, there have been many studies paying attention to the impact of L1

in learning L2 For example, the research by Mattioli (2004) demonstrates that in Chinese classrooms, ‘L1 is a valuable tool for socio-cognitive processes in language learning’ and enhances a ‘positive affective learning environment’ (Kavaliauskienė, 2009: 3) L1 should also be inserted into lessons to create a dynamic classroom as well as provide ‘a sense of security and validate the learners’ experience’ (Schweers, 1999: 6) Swain &Lapkin (2000) argue that L1 may be beneficially used for task management, focusing attention, and interpersonal interaction Storch & Wigglesworth (2003) suggest that L1 also can be helpful when clarifying and managing the joint composition task, whereas it is used to discuss vocabulary on the reconstruction task

However, supporting mother tongue in L2 classrooms may lead to many disadvantages, notably minimizing students’ opportunities to practice L2 Swain and Lapkin (2000) argue that L1 use should be available for learners in the target

The studies highlighted above indicate that L1 has the potential as a facilitating learning tool However, there is still a need to explore learners’ and teachers’ views in this regard Decisions to adopt the monolingual or bilingual approach have been made without taking learners’ and/or teachers’ input into consideration Since they are the ones who are directly affected by such decisions, the next section aims to shed the light on some studies that examine their perceptions toward the use of L1 in English classrooms

3.2 Students’ and teachers’ attitudes towards using L1 in English classrooms

3.2.1 Studies on students’ attitudes towards using L1 in L2 classrooms

A well-known research is conducted by Prodromou (2002) investigating the perceptions of 300 Greek students to the use of L1 in learning English The study finds out that there is a difference among learners’ proficiency levels That means beginners show a more positive attitude toward the use of Greek in English classrooms than intermediate and advanced students They tend to accept using L1

to explain grammar, explain differences in the use of L1 and L2 rules, and check comprehension In a similar study conducted in an Iranian context, Nazary (2008) strongly rejects using Farsi and prefers the sole exposure to English The results reveal that all three levels hold negative attitudes toward the use of the native language in leaning L2 whereas intermediate students have more negative attitudes

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to the L1 inclusion This study is in contrast with other studies of Schweers (1999); Burden (2001); Tang (2002); Prodromou (2002) because surveyed students see a limited value of L1 in defining new vocabulary and explaining grammar points In line with Prodromou’s work, Mouhanna (2009) asserts that the higher the English proficiency level was, the less reliant the students are on L1 use

In an attempt to explore learners’ perceptions of using Spanish in English classrooms, Brooks-Lewis (2009) carry out a study into adult learners’ perceptions toward the use of their native language in the L2 classes He concludes that learners shows an ‘overwhelming positive attitude’ towards the L1 inclusion as they believe that L1 use can help students to learn English much easier It is a facilitating tool to foster learner-centered methodology “which not only allows but invites the learner

to become actively and consciously involved in the language learning experience” (Brooks-Lewis, 2009: 234)

All the research above is helpful for teachers and educators in finding out students’ perceptions toward whether or not L1 should be used in L2 classes However, the necessary amount of L1 using is not considered carefully The frequency of L1 using determines students’ exposure to target language Therefore, this requires a high level of awareness between teachers and student regarding what can be done in L1 and what should be carried out in L2 In the next section, both students’ and teachers’ attitudes are going to be explored

3.2.2 Studies on both Sts’ and Ts’ attitudes toward using L1 in English classrooms

Burden (2001) investigates the issue of when learners and their teachers felt there was a need to use Japanese in English classes The results indicate that there is

a general agreement between teachers and students regarding the importance of L1 use in the TL classes The surveyed teachers and students also accept to use L1 to explain new vocabulary, give instructions, teach grammar and check comprehension

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Tang (2002) also researches students’ and teachers’ attitudes toward using Chinese in English classes as a foreign language The study results indicate that both teachers and students hold positive attitudes toward L1 inclusion in discussing difficult grammatical rules and explaining challenging vocabulary items, practicing new phrases and expression The researcher claims that a limited use of L1 can

“assist in the teaching and learning process”

In accordance with Al-Nofaie (2010), Arabic teachers and students agree with the limited use of their native language in learning and teaching English process They prefer to use Arabic to give exam instructions, translate new words, and contrast between English and Arabic

All the studies above share the same results of students’ and teachers’ perceptions toward the use of L1 in L2 classes in spite of in different context The surveyed students believe that L1 should be utilized by both teachers and students They all support L1 inclusion in L2 classrooms except for Nazary’s (2008) The participants also agree that L1 should be used in many different classroom situations like teaching grammar, explaining new vocabulary, comparing the L1 and L2 and checking comprehension These studies also show the difference among learners’ proficiency levels of English More specifically, lower achievers students tend to hold positive attitudes toward the use of L1 than those of higher achievers

On the other hand, almost all teachers have positive attitudes to the use of mother tongue but in a limited way to avoid interference in teaching and learning English

All in all, this chapter provides a theoretical background behind monolingual and bilingual approach as well as empirical studies on the role of L1 and students’ and teachers’ attitudes toward L1 inclusion The coming section will describe the methodology adopted in this paper, the study context, participants, data collection instruments, steps of conducting the study, and data analysis procedures

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CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY

1 The setting of the study

Tien Lang High School is located in a small town of Hai Phong – Tien Lang town It is the first high school of Tien Lang, established in 1961 with a number of successful generations of students Honorably, the school is one of the three best high schools in Hai Phong with 41 classes and nearly 1,500 students Each year, the school selects two classes for gifted students from lower secondary schools based

on competitive examinations for two sections: natural science and social science sections For 11th grade, the students aged from 16 to 18 have learned English for a number of years and most of them have more or less mastered the basic grammar structures and vocabulary However, those who learn at social science classes obtain highest level of proficiency among those from non – gifted and natural science ones This results in a big gap between those groups

2 Subjects of the study

The study was conducted in a high school in Hai Phong, i.e Tien Lang High School For selecting participants, a random sampling was applied They included

91 11th grade students

In order to select students for interviewing, the Stratified Sampling type was adopted This type of sampling is considered a mini-reproduction of the population (Sommer, 2006) The student subjects were classified into two categories in terms

of their English proficiency levels according to the scores of their end-of-semester test: low-achievers (below 5.5), and high-achievers (above 8.0) The sample included subjects from the two strata to allow comparison Among those interested students to be interviewed, ten were selected: five students of each level of proficiency

3 Instruments of collecting data

Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed in order to reduce potential limitations of relying on a single approach and enhance confidence in the collected data as recommended by Nunan (1992)

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Two instruments were employed to collect data They were questionnaire and interview The questionnaire was adopted from the study of Elmetwally Elmenshawy (2012) and Wafa Al Sharaeai (2012) In order to help students follow easily and create the suitability with the aims of the research, those questionnaire items were adapted and re-ordered reasonably The Likert-type scale was widely used for its relative reliability, flexibility and ease in construction It also requires neither statistical assumptions nor judges (Karavas-Doukas, 1996) Such a scale provides quantitative data that are accurate, measurable and easy to analyze It also measures direction and intensity of attitudes through inviting respondents to determine to what extent they agree or disagree to a set of statements (Albaum, 1997) The reliability in terms of Cronbach’s α for the items 1 – 7 was 0.707; items

9 – 18 was 0.7; items 19 – 25 was 0.8; items 27 – 34 was 0.71, which achieved the reliability coefficient of 0.7 recommended in most social science research situations (Santos, 1999)

The interview was opted for as they provided the researchers with an depth understanding of the interviewees’ perceptions, attitudes and feelings Among the different types of interviews, a) structured, b) semi-structured and c) unstructured, the semi-structured one seems to be more convenient for the purpose

in-of this study, as it “combine[s] the flexibility in-of unstructured, open-ended interview with the directionality and agenda of the survey instrument to produce focused, qualitative, textual data” (Schensul, Schensul & Le Compete 1999: 149) A semi-structured interview consists of a set of pre-formulated, open-ended questions related to an area of interest in an attempt to identify and analyze the different factors and variables contributing to a particular research area (Brown 2001; Schensul, Schensul & Le Compete, 1999) Unlike questionnaires, semi-structured interviews allow the researcher to probe for more information to obtain rich, spontaneous and truthful data (Brown, 2001)

4 Data collection

Before delivering the questionnaire, a pilot was carried out in order to obtain

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estimates about the expected response rates, data quality, the validity and comprehensibility of the questionnaire, correcting inappropriate questions or ambiguity, grouping and sequencing questions into an appropriate order before starting the real survey (Silman & Macfarlane, 2001) The average time, in the pilot study, for completion of the survey was 15–20 minutes

In the middle of July, the questionnaire was handed out to 91 students at Tien Lang High School The researcher came to two chosen classes and explained anything that students were not clear when they filled in the survey questionnaire

By this way, the researcher could not only assure that students would not make any copies of each other’ answers but make them clear about what should be done in the questionnaire also The questionnaire was divided into two parts to examine students’ attitudes toward both of teacher’s use and students’ use of Vietnamese in English classrooms, using a five-point Likert scale, ranging from ‘Strongly Disagree’ to ‘Strongly Agree’ and ‘never’ to ‘every time’ in item 8 and 26 However, this type of scale is not free of problems The midpoint is not always easy

to interpret It shows either respondents do not have a clear opinion or are not interested in a particular statement (McDonough & McDonough, 1997) The first part included demographic items related to age, gender, 11th grade English final marks and eighteen items related to students’ attitudes toward teacher’s use of Vietnamese; the second part included sixteen items and focused on students’ attitudes, perceptions to their own use of L1 in L2 classes The effect of attitudes on affection, mental operation and behaviors are represented in the questionnaire in terms of the way students express whether they prefer or not the use of Vietnamese, the way they believe using Vietnamese is comfortable or not, and their choice of using Vietnamese in certain learning occasions

In order to accommodate students’ different levels of English proficiency, the questionnaire was translated into Vietnamese On each questionnaire item,

‘strongly agree’ and ‘agree’ both reflected students’ support and vice versa

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After collecting questionnaire, for the sake of clarification of some responses, the researcher conducted a semi-structured interview to elicit more explanations Audio-recorded was used to record interviews with students’ agreement Similar to questionnaires, the interviews helped to clarify students’ attitudes and feelings The questions were designed to find more information that might not appear in the questionnaires This kind of interview is quite beneficial for the researcher since it “give interviewers a great deal of flexibility” (Nunan D., 1992: 150) because questions can be prepared ahead of time This allows the interviewer to be prepared and appear competent during the interview Semi-structured interviews also allow informants the freedom to express their views in their own terms as well as provide reliable and relevant data

5 Data analysis

5.1 Quantitative method

The thirty – four items were classified into two main parts Part one focuses

on students’ attitudes towards teacher’s use of mother tongue in EFL classes In this part, there were eighteen items totally, which was divided into three sub groups: students’ general attitudes, frequency of teacher’s use of Vietnamese and learning occasions that students prefer teachers to use Vietnamese The second part mainly focuses on students’ attitudes to their own use of L1 in L2 classes consists of sixteen items (items 19 – 34) Similar to the part one, it is also divided into three sub groups, i.e students’ general attitudes to their own use of L1, frequency of students’ L1 use and learning occasions in which students support for using L1 The collected data were analyzed by using a counting method called central tendency Frequency count was utilized to deal with the responses to the close-ended questions In addition, where necessary, participants’ qualitative responses (parts of items 8 and 26) were discussed together with the quantitative data

For the positive statements, participants’ responses were coded as followed: strongly disagree = 1, disagree = 2, neutral = 3, agree = 4, strongly agree = 5 Therefore, the higher the score, the more positive the attitudes towards the use of L1

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in L2 classes For the frequency items, never = 1, almost never = 2, sometimes = 3, almost every time = 4, every time = 5 Thus, the higher the score is, the more frequently Vietnamese is used by both teachers and students in English classes A participants’ response to any item, as a result fell between the highest score (5) and the lowest score (1)

After all 34 items had been coded, the two groups’ (low achievers and high achievers) average scores for the whole questionnaire, as well as average scores for each part were calculated These average scores also fell within a range between 5 and 1 For presentation purposes, a score of 3 was considered to be the neutral point An average score higher than 3 for the whole questionnaire or for one of the sub groups would suggest a favorable attitude In order to determine whether there were any significant differences between high achievers’ and low achievers’ attitudes, Mann Whitney U-tests were carried out with the alpha level set at 05 In addition, where necessary, participants’ qualitative responses (parts of items 8, 26) were discussed together with the quantitative data

5.2 Qualitative method

A qualitative analysis was used for analyzing the additional points that the participants stated for the open ended questions in the interview part This part was used to find more information whether students prefer the use of mother tongue in L2 classes or not, their own reasons for their choices and in which learning occasions students support the use of their first language

On one hand, for the positive statements, participants’ responses were

analyzed as followed: “I prefer…”, “ Vietnamese should be used frequently…”,

“I like… ” or “I do like…” On the other hand, for the negative statements,

participants’ responses should be “I feel difficult in…”, “I do not prefer….”, or

“….should never be used…”

Figure 1 illustrating item 1 indicates students’ general attitude towards

teacher’s use of L1 in L2 classes in percentage As can be seen from the table, 14%

of students did not agree with teacher’s use of mother tongue whereas a higher percentage of students (65%) supported for teacher’s use of Vietnamese (Mean = 3.6; SD = 1.05)

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1.1.2 Students’ reasons for supporting teacher’s use of Vietnamese in EFL classrooms

Furthermore, Table 1 shows students’ reasons for supporting teacher’s use

of Vietnamese in English lessons There were four reasons why students agree with

teacher’s use of L1 in L2 classes They included students’ motivation (items 2, 3), language anxiety (item 4), level of proficiency (item 5) and L1’s assistance to L2 learning (items 6,7)

As can be seen from this table, the students’ responses on all items 2-7 indicate that a favorable attitudes to teacher’s use of L1 Out of 91 students, 71% and 65% of students agreed that teacher’s use of L1 could make them feel comfortable and motivated to take part in English classroom activities This means that they were highly motivated in English lessons if their teacher used their first language

Due to language anxiety, a high percentage of students supported the fact that they felt nervous when their teacher uses English only

Moreover, 53% of students thought that they preferred the teacher to use Vietnamese because of their low language level of proficiency

Last but not least, the majority of students (62% and 73%) believed that teacher’s use of Vietnamese in class helped them learn English and understand lesson much better

Neutral Support Mean Mode SD

Students’

motivation

2 I feel more comfortable when the teacher talks to students

in Vietnamese in English lessons

3 Teacher’s use of Vietnamese motivates me to participate more

in English classroom activities

Language

anxiety

4 That teacher using only English in class makes me feel nervous

Level of

proficiency

5 I prefer the teacher to use Vietnamese in English lessons because I do not learn English well

7 I understand the lesson much better when the teacher uses Vietnamese

Table 1 1.1.3 The expected frequency of teacher’s using Vietnamese in EFL classrooms

Figure 2 below shows the students’ overall view regarding the expected

frequency of teacher’s using Vietnamese in English classes As can be seen from

the table, about 2% of students believed that the teacher should never use Vietnamese in English lessons This is partly because they thought that in order to help students really master/acquire English, teacher had to use Vietnamese exclusively in the classrooms They seemed to be aware of the potential drawbacks

of using Vietnamese during English classes They admitted that excessive use of Vietnamese limited their opportunities to use English, as they got used to it It also demotivated and drove them to be lazier

Thanks to it, students could have many more chances to practice listening English On the other hand, almost all students (72.5%) indicated that Vietnamese should be sometimes used by their teachers in English classes Only 8.8% of students supported that the teacher should use Vietnamese every time