An investigation into the opportunities and challenges of teaching maths to the primary school students through english

ABSTRACT The study was conducted with an attempt to examine the reality of integrating Maths into English to primary school students in order to explore how a CLIL program was implemente

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

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

PHAM THANH LOAN

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF TEACHING MATHS TO THE PRIMARY

SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGH ENGLISH

(Nghiên cứu những cơ hội và thách thức trong việc dạy Toán cho học sinh tiểu

học thông qua bộ môn Tiếng Anh)

M.A MINOR THESIS (Type I)

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

Hanoi - 2019

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

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

PHẠM THANH LOAN

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF TEACHING MATHS TO THE PRIMARY

SCHOOL STUDENTS THROUGH ENGLISH

(Nghiên cứu những cơ hội và thách thức trong việc dạy Toán cho học sinh tiểu

học thông qua bộ môn Tiếng Anh)

M.A MINOR THESIS (Type I)

Field: English teaching methodology Code: 8140231.01

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Lê Văn Canh

Hanoi – 2019

DECLARATION

I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THE STUDY PROJECT REPORT

SUBMITTED ENTITLED

An investigation into the opportunities and challenges of teaching Maths

to the primary school students through English

IS MY OWN STUDY IN THE FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS

Ha Noi, 2019

I also would like to thank to all my lectures who have taught QH2017.D1 for their lectures as well as their enthusiasms during the MA course

Moreover, I wish to express my special thanks to two teachers and seventy-five students at grade 5 in Lao Cai city in contributing to the data collection presented in the research

Finally, I would like to express my thanks to my family, my colleges for their encouragements during my time of fulfilling this study

ABSTRACT

The study was conducted with an attempt to examine the reality of integrating Maths into English to primary school students in order to explore how a CLIL program was implemented in Lao Cai primary schools, investigate the teachers‟ perceptions of the advantages and challenges of integrating Maths into English according to teachers‟ view and explore the students „attitudes towards the integrating Maths into English program

The subjects involved in the study are two English teachers and seventy-five students at grade 5 chosen at random from two classes The data were collected from classroom observation, teachers‟ interviews and questionnaires for students The results of the study have shown that how the implementation

of CLIL in integrating Maths into English, the opportunities and challenges in teaching process according to teachers‟ view as well as students‟ attitudes towards the program

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv

ABSTRACT v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii

LIST OF CHARTS AND FIGURES ix

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1

1 RATIONALE 1

2 AIMS OF THE STUDY 2

3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 2

4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 2

5 METHOD OF THE STUDY 3

6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 3

7 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS 3

PART II: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1.1 What is CLIL? 5

1.2 The principles of CLIL 7

1.3 Core features of CLIL methodology 8

1.4 The impacts of teachers‟ beliefs and students‟ attitudes on the process of teaching and learning the second language 9

1.5 The differences between teaching English as a medium of instruction (EMI) and Content based instruction (CBI) 10

1.6 Previous studies on CLIL 11

1.7 Summary 14

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 14

2.1 Introduction 14

2.2 The context of the study 14

2.2.1 An overview of the course 14

2.2.2 The teachers 16

2.2.3 The students 17

2.3 Participants 18

2.4 Data collection instruments 18

2.4.1 Classroom observation 18

2.4.2 Questionnaires 19

2.4.3 Interviews 20

2.4.4 Procedure 21

2.5 Data analysis 22

2.6 Summary 22

CHAPTER 3 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 23

3.1 The implementation of CLIL in integrating Mathematics into English to primary school students 23

3.1.1 The teachers’ preparation for the lessons 23

3.1.2 Teachers‟ practices in CLIL class 24

The use of mother tongue (L1) 25

Teaching new Maths vocabulary and grammar in context 27

Teaching Mathematics Rules 30

Using real-life examples 32

3.2 The opportunities and challenges of integrating Maths into English to primary school students according to teachers „views 35

3.2.1 The opportunities of integrating Maths into English to primary school students 36

3.2.2 The challenges of integrating Maths into English to primary school students 37

3.3 Students‟ attitudes towards to the CLIL program 39

3.3.1 Students‟ interests in learning the program 39

3.3.2 The advantages of integrating Maths into English according to students‟ views 41

3.3.3 Problems in integrating Maths into English 43

3.4 Summary 44

CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION 45

4.1 Summary and conclusion 45

4.2 Pedagogical implication for integrating Maths into English to primary school students 46 4.3 The limitation of the study 47

4.4 Recommendations for further related studies 47

REFERENCES I APPENDICES III APPENDIX A: Transcripts of Lesson 1 III APPENDIX B: Transcripts of Lesson 2 VII APPENDIX C: Transcripts of Lesson 3 XI APPENDIX D: Transcripts for lesson 4 XIV APPENDIX E: Questionnaires for students XVI APPENDIX F: Questions for teachers’ interviews XX

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

LIST OF CHARTS AND FIGURES

Chart 1: Students‟ interests in integrating Maths into English program Chart 2: The benefits of integrating Maths into English program

according to students‟views

Chart 3 The problems in learning process

Firgure 1 Integrating Maths into English program is exciting and useful Firgure 2 Collecting and solving Maths words problems

Firgure 3 Comprehending the knowledge of Maths

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 RATIONALE

Many countries have attached special importance to the quality of teaching and learning English as a foreign language or the second language since English is a means of international communication and becomes dominant in many different fields including business, culture and education Therefore, teaching and learning English play a vital role in the education system in many parts of the world The Vietnamese ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has implemented different projects such as the National Foreign Language 2020 projects to enhance the language competence of teachers and learners As a result, the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) program including integrating mathematics, science into English has been implemented in Vietnam and attracted much public attention Students not only improve their language competence but also broaden their knowledge of other subjects like mathematics, science However, both teachers and learners have faced many challenges such as the qualities of teachers, the lack of materials in the implementation of CLIL program in educational curriculum Lao Cai has implemented the CLIL program in integrating mathematics into English for primary and secondary schools since 2016 The CLIL program has received many supports from Lao Cai department of Education and Training, schools, teaching staffs, students and students‟ parents However, only ten out of twenty - two primary schools have been teaching Maths through English to primary school students because other schools do not how

to integrate Maths into English to teach primary students as well as the advantages and disadvantages of integrating Maths into English to primary school students Normally, both teachers and This study is to investigate how CLIL program was implemented in Lao Cai primary schools and finds the

advantages and disadvantages of CLIL programs according to teachers‟views and students‟attitudes towards the program

2 AIMS OF THE STUDY

This study will examine the reality of integrating Maths into English to primary school students in order to

 Explore how a CLIL program was implemented in Lao Cai primary schools

 Investigate the teachers‟ perceptions of the advantages and challenges of integrating Maths into English?

 Explore the students‟attitudes towards integrating Maths into English programs?

3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The study will answer three research questions:

1 How is CLIL program implemented in integrating Maths into English in Lao Cai primary schools?

2 What are advantages and disadvantages of integrating Maths into English according to teachers „views?

3 What are students „attitudes towards the program?

4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The implement of CLIL program in integrating Maths into English has been carried out ten primary schools with over fifty classes from grade 1 to grade 5

in Lao Cai However, the study limits itself to the investigation of the reality

of integrating Maths into English through CLIL approach for two classes at grade 5 from two primary schools because of the limitation of time

5 METHOD OF THE STUDY

The study primarily adopted a survey method, according to which the study

was conducted in three phases In the first phase, classroom observation was

undertaken In the second phrase, two language teachers, who were

implementing the program, were interviewed concerning their perception of

the advantages and disadvantages of integrating Maths into English lessons

for grade 5 students This was followed by the administration of a

questionnaire to the students in the third phase The study also looks into the

teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes towards the program

6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Only ten out of twenty-two primary schools have been applied CLIL program

in integrating Maths into English to primary school students because many

teachers do not really know how to integrate Maths into English to primary

school students as well as the opportunities and challenges of the teaching

process Moreover, students are interested in integrating Maths into English,

some parents asked teachers about the program, but some teachers can not

convince students‟ parents Therefore, the study may be useful for teachers

who want to know CLIL program in Lao Cai

7 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS

The thesis is composed of three main parts: Introduction, development and

conclusion

The introduction includes the rationale, the aims, the research question, the

scope, and design of the thesis

The development has three main chapters:

Chapter 1: Literature Review - The researcher will mention relevant studies

related to CLIL programs including the notions of CLIL program, the

principles of CLIL programs, core features of CLIL methodology, the

impacts of teachers‟ beliefs and students‟ attitudes on the process of teaching

and learning the second language, the distinction between English as a

medium of Instruction (EMI) and content-based construction, the strengths

and weaknesses of implementing CLIL in teaching content subjects, the

factors leading to successful CLIL program as well as the common barriers

on the road to successful CLIL practice

Chapter 2: Methodology - The researcher introduces the context of the study

and describes the methodology employed in the study, research procedures

and the participants, instruments and the research procedures

Chapter 3: Findings and discussion – The study presents and discusses the findings that arise from the data collected and recommendations

Chapter 4: Conclusion - The researcher gives a brief summary of the content

of the study The researcher presents the pedagogical implication, the

limitation of the study and recommendation for further studies

PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

At the beginning of this chapter, the researcher will discuss the notions and the principles of CLIL, core features of CLIL methodology Secondly, the researcher mentioned the impacts of teachers‟ beliefs and students‟ attitudes

on the process of teaching and learning the second language Next, she distinguishes between using English as a medium of instruction (EMI) and content-based instruction (CBI) Finally, she presents some previous research related to CLIL program to point out the strength and weakness of CLIL and the factors leading to success of CLIL programs as well as common barriers

on the road to successful CLIL practice

1.1 What is CLIL?

Some authors state that the first known CLIL practice was appeared over

5000 years ago After conquering the Sumerians, Sumerian was used as a medium of instruction to teach other subjects such as theology, botany and zoology The value of multilingual or bilingual education are acquired profoundly in recent centuries in Europe, therefore many students are sent to abroad for studying in private schools In 1965, the authorities of Canadian established a language-immersion program that teaches English-speaking children all subjects in French The globalization promoted the rise of CLIL

in Europe and Asian in recent centuries Integrated learning is considered as a modern form of education in order to help learners have better knowledge and skills to satisfy with the global age (Peeter, Marsh & Frigols, 2008, p9-p11) The term CLIL is defined as “a dual-focused educational approach in which

an additional language is used for the learning and teaching of both content and language” (Peeter, Marsh & Frigols, 2008, p9) CLIL is used to describe teaching and learning content subjects in a second language Similarly, CLIL

is the combination of content and language in a subject For example, Malaysian children learn Maths and science in English, Norwegian students learn to do drama in German, Italian students learn science in French, Japanese children learn geography in English, Australians study Maths in Chinese Children in some big cities in Vietnam learn Maths and Science in English The current CLIL is considered as a result of complex historical factors of each part in the world Dale (2011, p19-21) mentioned that CLIL was effected by bilingualism, second language acquisition theories, cognitive learning theories and constructivism

The CLIL strategy calls on both language teachers and content teachers in CLIL programs Content teachers instruct students master the content and teach some languages Language teachers support content teachers in teaching process by assisting learners in obtaining linguistic knowledge and strengthen the acquisition of content Therefore, CLIL is integration of language learning and content from other subjects Firstly, this integration focus on language learning in content classes including mathematics, science, geography, computer programming, ect Language learning in content classes

is used to provide information in interesting manner in order to help learners understand easily The common CLIL techniques are “Chart, diagrams, drawing, hands-on experiments and the drawing out of key concepts and terminology” (Peeter, Marsh & Frigols, 2008, p11) Secondly, language teachers cooperate with content teachers to provide the language and discourse patterns for students to understand and use the content Language teachers play a role in helping students enhance the quality of their language rather than content teachers Therefore, in CLIL, language goals support content goals In addition, the achievements of content language purposes are supported by the development of learning skills In short, the CLIL goals are related to the goals of content, language and learning skills (Peeter, Marsh & Frigols, 2008, p11-12).Besides, the term of teaching Maths through English is

considered as a branch of integrating Maths into English It consists of teaching a curricular subject through the medium of language other than that which is normal used Therefore, students gain the knowledge of the curriculum subject while simultaneously learning and using the foreign language

1.2 The principles of CLIL

According to Coyle (1999), the CLIL is defined through the 4Cs framework including content, cognition, communication and culture

Content: Content is related to the community inside and outside the

classroom Students not only acquire knowledge and skills but also construct their own knowledge and develop their skills through experimental activities Moreover, content from diverse subjects is integrated and culture content is integrated into all subjects

Cognition: content and cognition (learning and thinking) have closed

relationship Content must be interpreted for its linguistics demands so that it allows the learners to build their own explanations of content Also, cognitive processes need to be analyzed according to their linguistics demands

Communication: students join in activities and communication in the

classroom and in the community The learners need to be learned language related to the language context so that they learn through that language and reconstruct the content This language must be transparent and accessible Interaction in the learning context is foundation to learn This makes sense when the learning context works through a foreign language

Culture: cultures and language are related together in complex relationship

Intercultural awareness is considered as the foundation of CLIL Its legal position is at the core of CLIL

Through the 4Cs framework, Coyle (1999; 2005; Coyle, Hood, & Marsh 2010) indicates that the requirement of the leaning of a foreign language for the future is that the learners may control content-oriented information and

use their cognitive skills to make use of that information and they also can interact effectively across cultures

1.3 Core features of CLIL methodology

Mehistor, Marsh and Frigols (2008) demonstrated six core features of CLIL methodology including multiple focus, safe and enriching learning environment, authenticity, active learning, scaffolding and co-operation

Multiple focus: CLIL supports language teaching and content learning in

content classes, integrate several subjects, organize learning through curricular themes and projects as well as support reflection on learning process

cross-Safe and enriching learning environment: CLIL use daily activities and

discourse, illustrate language and content throughout classroom, make students be confident to experiment with language and content, utilize classroom learning, conduct authentic learning materials and environments and enhance students‟ awareness of language

Authenticity: CLIL permits learners ask for the language help they need,

make the accommodation of student interests as large as possible, make connection between learning and students‟ real life, connect with other CLIL teachers and use varied materials from the media and other sources

Active learning: CLIL helps students communicate more than their teachers

Moreover, learners can help set content, language and learning skills outcomes Students also evaluate progress in achieving learning outcomes Next, students are expected to favor peer co-operative work, negotiate the language and contents with their friends Finally, teachers play a role as facilitator

Scaffolding: CLIL methodology builds on a student‟s existing knowledge,

skills, attitudes, interests and experience CLIL repackage information in user-friendly ways, respond to different learning styles, and promote the growth of creative and critical thinking

Co-operation: CLIL and non-CLIL teachers collaborate together in planning

courses, lessons or themes Also, CLIL involve parents in learning about CLIL and how to support students and involve the local community,

authorities and employers

1.4 The impacts of teachers’ beliefs and students’ attitudes on the process of teaching and learning the second language

Li (2012) remarked that beliefs play a key role in language They help people make sense of the world, impact on how new information is comprehended and whether it is accepted or rejected Beliefs make a portrait of memories and adjust our understanding of occurrences Teachers‟ beliefs are important elements to comprehend the processes of teachers‟ thoughts and teaching methods (Zheng, 2009) Teachers‟ beliefs have greater impacts than teachers‟ knowledge on making lesson plans and their decision on classroom practice Teacher‟s beliefs have remarkable impacts on their objectives, their produces, their roles in teaching process and their learners (Harste and Burke , 1977) According to Ellis (1985), there are many general factors effecting learning second language including motivation, attitude, age, aptitude, intelligence, cognitive styles and personality Attitudes were defined as sets of beliefs about factors as the target language, their own culture and the learning task Language attitudes are the attitude which speakers of different language have towards other languages or to their own language Expression of positive or negative attitudes towards a language can express the impression of linguistics difficulty or simplicity, ease or difficulty of learning, degree of important, ect (Richard,1985) Attitudes were classified three types including attitudes toward the community and people who speak second language, attitudes towards learning and language concerned, attitude languages and language learning in general It is also important to know how students feel about learning a particular language in a particular course with particular teachers (Ellis, 1985) In short, the study was conducted to contribute

teachers‟ beliefs on benefits and challenges of integrating Maths into English

to primary school students and students‟ attitudes towards the program to the literature

1.5 The differences between teaching English as a medium of instruction (EMI) and Content based instruction (CBI)

English is not only taught as second language in many countries in the world,

it has been used to teach other academic subjects such as mathematics, science, geography and economics and English is known as a medium of instruction (EMI) Julie Dearden, the head of English Medium Instruction at the University of Oxford‟s Hertford College, defined EMI as: “The use of English language to teach academic subjects in countries or jurisdiction where the first language (L1) of the majority of population is not English” English is used as a means of teaching academic subjects such as mathematics, science, biology and medicine in countries where English is not the first language (L1) Two main approaches supporting for the adoption of EMI are the communicative approach to language teaching (CLT) and the content language integrating learning (CLIL) (Hassan 2015) Firstly, the communicative approach to language teaching pointed that it is necessary for learners to interact in a language frequently if they desire to learn it (Holiday 1994) Based on this approach, the success of language acquisition process is communication and interaction in meaningful contexts The use of English instead of the mother tongue as a medium of instruction can let students have opportunities to use English everyday basic and in a wide of communicative situations with other students, teachers, administrators and advisors in meaningful and authentic contexts (Belhiah, Elhami 2015) Secondly, EMI is considered in relation to Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) by applied linguists The CLIL is one of the language teaching methodologies that subjects are taught through a foreign language with the aims of learning contents and foreign language ( Marsh, 1994).CLIL is the teaching of the

subjects such as science, geography or history through English to learners who do not speak English as the first language Dearden (2015) states the conceptual separation between EMI and CLIL Whereas EMI has no specific contextual origin, CLIL originated in European ideas for the development of plurilingual and pluricultural competence for European citizen Also, the language of education in EMI with all the implications of geopolitics and social culture is English but CLIL does not mention which second language

or foreign language are to be studied in The objective of CLIL focuses on both content subject learning and acquisition of language (Coyle, 2002; Darn, 2006) when it is not necessary for EMI to have that objective

The term of CBI came up from mid-to-late 1980s because of Canada French immersion programs and bilingual education for immigrants in the United States CBI attracted much attention in secondary schools and universities in the North of American since they helped foreigner students adapt the matter of education quickly The term of CBI is defined as: “an integrated approach to language instruction, drawing topics, text, and tasks from content or subject matter classes, but focusing on cognitive, academic language skills” (Crandall & Tucker, 1990, p 83) CBI is an effective method to support students‟ success by engaging with content-source and improving their language abilities at the same time (Mesureur, 2012, p 71) The aim of CBI is to help the learners enhance their content knowledge and improve their language competence (Butler, 2005, p.229) In CBI lessons, the language lessons are combined with stimulating contents, students focus on subject matter rather than the language learning process and they learn language automatically

In short, while EMI focuses on content learning only, CBI helps the learners both master their content knowledge and enhance their language competence

1.6 Previous studies on CLIL

A number of studies have been conducted about CLIL in different contexts These studies showed both positive and negative effects of the

implementation of CLIL in teaching some academic subjects through a foreign language CLIL has been implemented to teach some subjects in education curriculum in many countries over the world such as teaching Maths and science in English in Malaysia CLIL has been used for Norwegian students to do drama in German Also, students in Italia learn science in French, students in Japan learn geography in English and Australian students study Maths in Chinese In this part, the researcher will mention some previous research of CLIL to investigate the strength and weakness of the implement CLIL in teaching content subjects and also explore the factors leading to the success of CLIL as well as some common potential barriers on the road to successful CLIL practice

*The strength and weakness of CLIL program in teaching content subject

A study of the teaching science through English in Malaysia conducted by Sopia Md Yassin, Ong Eng Tek, Hashimah Alimon, Sadiah Baharom, Lai Ying Yin (2010) showed the opportunities and the challenges of the implementation of CLIL in teaching science in English The research showed that the teachers‟ questioning strategies fostered cognitive engagement of the students at different cognitive level in the teaching Science through English However, the findings of the research indicate that where teacher talk was dominated than students‟ responses in the class If this problem was addressed, it could lead to extremely consequences including students‟ learning and understanding of science concepts since students do not have many opportunities to ask questions and express their thoughts in the class Among the studies on the impacts of CLIL instruction of learners‟ skills (Jexenflicker &Dalton-Puffer,2010; Ruiz de Zarobe, 2010), some of them showed the positive impacts on linguistic outcomes According to Dalton- Puffer (2011), students are better at language performance, they use a foreign language more accurately and frequently Moreover, learners enhance particular strategies including code-switching to keep on interacting in CLIL classes

*Some factors leading to the success of CLIL

Firstly, CLIL should be implemented when learners have already known

“some English” or learners have developed their basic language skills Also, the CLIL curriculum should be based on learners‟ prior experiences Moreover, the modules of CLIL should be make links between CLIL and the official curriculum

*Some common possible obstructions of CLIL program

Mehisto, Marsh, Frigols (2008) mentioned some common potential barriers

on the road to successful CLIL practice The major obstacle to CLIL is to grapple with misconceptions Firstly, common sense says that it was not possible for students studying in the second language to learn the same amount of contents as students studying in their mother tongue In fact, CLIL students perform as well as or even outperform compared to non-CLIL students in term of learning contents Another big misconception of CLIL is that it is only suitable for the excellent students However, the results of some research show that although students in CLIL class have a C- grade average, they still learn to speak another language and gain social-cultural skills Another obstacle of CLIL is the shortage of CLIL teachers Teacher training institutions in many countries do not prepare teachers for CLIL Therefore, the number of teachers who meet the requirement of CLIL is limited Moreover, the shortage of materials is also one of the common obstructions

on CLIL program Teachers teaching CLIL program need more preparation time to set contents, language as well as learning skills goals and greater co-operation among teachers Since CLIL materials are in short supply, teachers often develop or adapt existing learning resources In summary, there are three main barriers on the road to successful CLIL practice including grappling with misconception, the shortage of CLIL teachers and materials

1.7 Summary

This chapter provides a brief review of literature on CLIL program in many parts of the world Next chapter presents the study reported in this thesis

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 Introduction

In this chapter, the current of integrating Maths into English in two primary schools will be taken in close-up and the methodology will be discussed

2.2 The context of the study

2.2.1 An overview of the course

Integrating Maths into English for primary school students program in Lao Cai is not an obligatory program One of the purposes of the program is to help students practice four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) to deal with different situations, purposes in their life With the knowledge, students absorb from the course, they could use English in communicating, evaluating, analyzing confidently and effectively Besides, students are also well-trained to use critical thinking to debate and protect their opinions Moreover, students are trained to learn from observing and practice measuring to guess and experiment all the rules and hypothesis The program‟s contents are parallel with the Educational and Training Ministry‟s program Mathematics is expected to teach 100% in English which give students opportunities to apply and use English frequently The program not only helps students consolidate, enhance knowledge of Mathematics but also provide students academic words related to mathematics Also, students have opportunities to communicate in English in class In short, apart from language proficiency, students are equipped with Maths knowledge, creative

thinking

The syllabus of the program consists of 8 units, it covers topics: fractions, ratios, decimal numbers, measurement, percentage, perimeter and area, cuboids and cube and speed The syllabus contains 35 lessons including 24 theoretical lessons, 9 revisions, 2 progress tests and 2 end-term tests

The following is the description of the course-book currently used in integrating Maths into English program for grade 5 of primary schools

The course book title: DIGIMATH 5 The CLIL program has been applying

to teach for primary school students for 3 years Because the demand of integrating Maths into English has increased, the content of the program has changed to adapt in order to fit for students

The course- book content consists of 8 units:

Unit 1: Fractions Unit 1 has three lessons including 2 theoretical lessons and one revision lesson In unit 1, students learn how to recognize equivalent factions, proper fractions, improper fractions, mixed fractions; how to convert between improper and mixed fractions, how to find common denominators and solve word problems involving calculation fractions and mixed fractions, how to multiply and divide two fractions

Unit 2: Ratios In this unit, students learn how to find the ratios of one value

to the other and solve word problems involving ratios

Unit 3: Decimal numbers Students learn how to read and write decimal numbers, compare decimal numbers using place value

Unit 4: Measurement Students will know how to convert between units of mass, units of length, units of areas, units of time; know how to solve word problems involving mass units, length units, areas units and time units

Unit 5: Percentage In this unit, students will know the relationship between fractions, ratios and percentages; know how to convert fractions, ratios to percentages; solve word problems involving percentages

Unit 6: Perimeters and Areas Students will know how to recognize the bases and the heights of a triangle or trapezium; calculate the area and the perimeter

of these shapes; calculate the areas and the perimeter of a circle

Unit 7: Cuboids and cubes In this unit, students will know about the basic concept about cuboids, cubes, cylinders, spheres; recognize cuboids, cubes, cylinders and spheres; identify the faces, edges and vertices of a cuboid or cube, identify the base of a cylinder; know how to find the surface area of a cuboid or a cube; know how to calculate the lateral and total surface area of a cuboid or cube, find the volume of a cuboid or cube; solve word problems involving the surface, the volume of these shapes;

Unit 8: Speed In unit 8, students know how to find the speed of an object; know the relationship between speed, distance and time; solve word problems involving speed

About lectures, applying hi-tech equipment entirely in teaching helps teachers prepare lessons, design class activities, and evaluate students‟ studying results more precise Moreover, digital lectures system consists of different units Each unit has five main parts including warm-up, vocabulary, presentation, practice and summary Especially, there are many games in practice part that attract students to the lesson Using hi-tech equipment in teaching is regarded

as a great positive effect to catch students‟ attention and make students engage in class activities productively

Before starting new school year, teachers are trained to master the aims, the curriculum, the materials and the methodology of integrating Maths into English and also they are educated how to use digital lectures system in order

to support for teaching

2.2.2 The teachers

The teaching staffs of the program consist of 25 teachers aged between 25 and 45 and they are teachers of English However, the study focuses on only two teachers with different experience of teaching Mathematics in English

The first teacher has taught English at primary school for 9 years and taken part in integrating Maths into English at the beginning of the CLIL program She is confident about her English language level, but her knowledge of Maths is also one of the challenges in integrating Maths into English The second teacher has been teaching at primary school for 3 years and this is the first time she has taught integrating Maths into English for primary school students Although, teachers are not subject teachers, they always try their best to instruct in the best way so that students could develop their English language level and enhance the knowledge of Maths However, they have to face some difficulties in teaching process such as the knowledge of Maths, teaching methodology, materials and so on One of the most advantages when the research conducted the study is that teachers are willing to share their teaching experience, opportunities and challenges in integrating Maths into English to primary school students and let the researcher observe their classroom

2.2.3 The students

The CLIL program was implemented at ten primary schools in Lao Cai The CLIL program is not obligatory for all students, any student wish to learn the CLIL program have right to register in CLIL classroom The study focuses on students at grade 5 and these students were educated in CLIL classroom from grade 3 to 5 so they are familiar with the learning environment, curriculum and materials of CLIL classroom These factors are seemed to be the advantages of integrating Maths into English for primary school students However, these students have different levels of mathematics, abilities of using English in class and learning styles Some students are good at both Mathematics and English but some students are not able to use English to communicate in class Most of the students are expected to improve their

English and their knowledge of mathematics

English-The study was conducted with 75 students at different levels of English and the knowledge of mathematics They started taking the CLIL lessons when they were at grade 3 Some of them had joined the international mathematics completion; some had taken part in mathematics or English clubs at schools

2.4 Data collection instruments

2.4.1 Classroom observation

Classroom observation is used as one of the instruments to collect data for the study Classroom observation is defined as a method of directly observing teaching practice when it reveals in real time, the observer records, takes notes and code instructional behaviors in the classroom (Hora, 2013) Griffe (2012) recommended that classroom observation must be systematic, intentional, principled and theoretical Systematic means classroom observation is not random but it covers all the time Also, the observer has reasons for observing Next, theoretical means the observer is working with

or looking for underlying principles In this study, the researcher observed the classes of two colleagues because she wished to have more time to observe and record as well as take notes the teaching process to get the results of the observation This study was conducted with two classrooms coded as C1 to C2 One Mathematics lesson from each class was observed, video recorded and transcribed The communication between teachers and students for the purposes of the pedagogical functions were observed and examined Respondents in this research were two English teachers from two schools,

identified as T1 and T2 Their involvements in primary mathematics teaching are reported in table 1

CLIL programs

Primary English teacher

To answer the research questions that how the CLIL program is implemented

to integrate Mathematics into English to primary school students, the verbal discourse of four videotaped lessons was transcribed After the transcription, all the teachers‟ questions and students‟ answers from each lesson are analyzed to identify the pedagogical functions in each conversation

2.4.2 Questionnaires

Gay and Airasian (2000) assert that a general definition of a questionnaire is considered as some questions related to the topic of the research Questionnaires are popular research instruments in order to gather data for research in many fields such as education, psychology and sociology For example, Lumley and Brown (2005) used questionnaires in language testing research to assemble background data on test candidates, to provide data for needs analysis, to promote the growth of test and to evaluate the tests

Creswell (2002) indicated some advantages of using questionnaires to collect data Firstly, questionnaires are suitable for gathering data on what your learners think or believe about certain issues Next, the respondents do not have to write their names or any personal information in questionnaires which may reduce the teacher‟s influences on the results of questionnaires Finally, a questionnaire can be used to survey a class or groups of classes For these reasons, the researcher decided to use questionnaire to collect data

In the study, questionnaires were sent to 75 students to investigate the students‟ attitude toward the integrating Mathematics into English to primary school students program

can follow any idea or take creative advantage of the entire interview Additional respondent probing is always necessary to garner information for a research study The best application of semi-structured interview is when the researcher doesn‟t have time to conduct research and requires detailed

interviews are usually described as conversations held with a purpose in mind – to gather data about the research study These interviews have the least number of questions as they lean more towards a normal conversation but with an underlying subject The main objective of most researchers using unstructured interviews is to build a bond with the respondents due to which there are high chances that the respondents will be 100% truthful with their answers There are no guidelines for the researchers to follow and so, they can approach the participants in any ethical manner to gain as much information as they possibly can for their research topic

In this research, the researcher use semi-structured interview to collect the data The research interviewed two teachers to know about how long the teachers have taught integrating Mathematics into English to primary school students, the innovation of this program in comparison with other programs they have taught, the benefits of the program to students as well as the challenges teachers had to face and what they did to overcome these challenges in teaching process

2.4.4 Procedure

Firstly, when the researcher observed four lessons, she recorded videos, took notes and transcribed the teaching and learning process of each lesson Next, two interviews were carried out with two teachers of integrating Maths into English The researcher raised the same questions to interview and collected all answers Finally, the questionnaires were delivered to 75 students The researcher guided students master the questions and give their answer based

on their thoughts about the course Students have 30 minutes to read the

questions and tick the answers The researcher collected all questionnaires, analyzed data and interpreted the results

2.5 Data analysis

Observational data are extracts of interest (i.e Extracts of the observed lessons) that provided information relevant to research questions The main purpose of analyzing observational data is to gain understanding of how Maths and English were integrated (i.e how teachers conducted their lessons that integrate Maths and English in the lesson)

Questionnaire data was analyzed quantitatively Descriptive statistical analysis was used to identify the pattern of responses as indicated by percentage The analysis of questionnaire data was aimed at gaining information regarding students‟ attitude toward integrating Maths into English program

Interview data was analyzed qualitatively to explore teachers‟ beliefs about the benefits and challenges regarding integrating Maths into English lessons Data from these sources were triangulated to find out the answer to the research questions

2.6 Summary

This chapter has provided an overview of integrating Maths into English to primary school students in Lao Cai The participants of the study were 75 students at grade 5 and two teachers integrating Maths into English program Also, classroom observation, interviews and questionnaires were considered

as major and useful instruments to collect data so that the researcher could seek the answers for the research questions

CHAPTER 3 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The result of the study is presented as the following frame:

 The implementation of CLIL in integrating Maths into English to primary school students

 The opportunities and challenges of integrating Maths into English to primary school students according to teacher‟s views

 Students‟ attitudes towards to the program

3.1 The implementation of CLIL in integrating Mathematics into English to primary school students

The teaching processes have been observed by the researcher Video data has been collected during the lessons The researcher filmed 4 lessons of 40 minutes including division two fractions, ratios and words problems, units of mass and percentages The initial result of the study are based on transcriptions and reconstructed from videos recordings Thanks to the transcription of the lessons, the researcher identified extracts of interests in order to interpret the pedagogical functions in the conversations between teacher and students in teaching and learning processes To investigate how the CLIL was implemented in integrating Mathematics into English to primary school students, the researcher has analyzed the teachers‟ preparation for the lessons and the teachers‟ practice in teaching process

3.1.1 The teachers’ preparation for the lessons

The interviews with two teachers were conducted to find out how they prepared for the lessons The teachers said that when they prepared for the new lessons, they studied the knowledge of Maths related to the lessons by reading Vietnamese Maths book, Digital Maths book and searched videos about how to teach division multiplication, ratios, units of mass and percentages for primary students on the Internet Also, they stated that there

were some academic words in Digital Maths which they did not sure the meanings Therefore, reading both Vietnamese Maths book and Digital Math book made them comprehend the meanings of these words more exactly Moreover, they tried to make the rules of Maths become shorter and easier for students to master in English by using phrases verbs or nouns instead of long sentences Also, when they had troubles with the knowledge of Maths, they

that language teachers and content teachers should be given more opportunities to work together to promote students‟ language skills Both T1 and T2 also say that making lesson plan plays a vital role to decide how the lesson is successful For each lesson plan, they consider the learning outcomes which students will achieve at the end of each lesson in order to decide what they will teach and which activity they will apply for each task in teaching produces In short, teachers often read materials, search videos related to the knowledge of Maths and cooperate with teachers of Maths in order to prepare for the lessons

3.1.2 Teachers’ practices in CLIL class

The basic stages of four observed lessons are the following stages

Stage 1: Warm-up In this stage, teachers activate what students have already

known about the topic to make associations of prior knowledge with new knowledge Teachers ask the questions or let students listen to a song related

to knowledge of Maths which they are going to learn in order to recall their previous knowledge

Stage 2: Presentation Teachers explain the knowledge of Maths in English as

well as teaching new Maths vocabulary and related structures to help students master the knowledge

Stage 3: Practice This stage gives students opportunities for cooperative

learning with their classmates to practice what they have learnt through a variety of activities

Stage 4: Summary Teachers help students revise vocabulary, structures and

main content of the lessons

To answer the question “How is CLIL program implemented in integrating Maths into English to primary school students”, the researcher has not focused on analyzing all stages in observed lessons, she has interpreted significant features in teaching process to gain the objective of contents and language learning including the use of the first language, the way of teaching new Maths vocabulary as well as grammar in context, Mathematic rules and the use of real-life examples in teaching process

The use of mother tongue (L1)

The teachers started their lessons by activating prior knowledge of the students The teachers want to find out what their learners already know about the topic in Vietnamese (L1) but students may have difficulties in explaining this knowledge in English (L2) When brainstorming ideas for new topic, students can use some Vietnamese and then teachers translate into English Through classroom observation, the researcher identifies that the use of the first language in CLIL may help students communicate more frequently

In the lesson of Fraction divisions, T1 use Vietnamese to ask students about how to divide two fractions, then T1 guided students know how to read an expression of dividing two fractions and master the concept of reciprocal in English.T1 use L1 as an instrument to lead in new lesson so that all students know what they are going to learn

Extract 1 from Fractions division lesson

T1: Bây giờ chúng ta cùng điểm qua các phép toán phân số mà chúng ta đã học : + ; - ; x ;

T1: the first is……( T1 points these expressions )

Ss: addition; subtraction; multiplication

T1: Look at the expression: : = ……?

What‟s this? Who can guess? Come here and complete the expression?

Ss: ( go to the board and fill in the blank) : = x =

T1: Bạn Tâm cho cả lớp biết con vừa làm phép toán gì?

Ss: Dạ thưa Cô, con làm phép toán chia 2 phân số ạ

T1: Và phép chia cũng chính là nội dung bài học hôm nay, chúng ta sẽ học

về phép chia 2 phân số Today, we learn about the division of fractions Và khi cô muốn diễn đạt phép chia trên cô diễn đạt như sau: seven by three divided by three by five equals thirty- five by nine

Và bây giờ cô muốn hỏi cả lớp, trong phép chia phân số, có 1 thuật ngữ rất đặc biệt, đó là gì ? Cô mời Phương Anh?

Ss: Dạ thưa cô, đó là phân số nghịch đảo ạ ?

T1: Và trong Tiếng Anh, phân số nghịch đảo được gọi là Reciprocal

For example: four by five is reciprocal of five by four

So, three is reciprocal of ……?

Ss: three is reciprocal of one by three

The study shows that the teachers let students use L1 to encourage them talk about what they already know but they do not know how to express in L2 Through classroom observation, the researcher shows that moving between Vietnamese and English, either mid-sentences or between sentences is used flexibly in CLIL class in order to allow all students to join in classroom interaction Similarly, the use of L1 can help student feel more confident in the CLIL classroom

Extract 2 from Ratios lesson

T1: How do you solve this problem?

Ss: um…uh ….con thưa cô con trả lời Tiếng Việt được không ạ?

T1: Ok

S: Con tính tổng số phần là 7, sau đó con lấy tổng số học sinh chia cho tổng

số phần , tìm ra được 1 phần con nhân với 3 thì ra số học sinh nam trong lớp T1: Thank you, Minh Các con thấy bạn Minh làm đã đúng chưa Vậy hôm nay cô sẽ hướng dẫn các con bài toán tìm 2 số khi biết tổng tỉ hoặc hiệu tỉ của hai số đó Finding two unknown numbers when you know sum ratios or difference ratios

In the lesson of percentage, T2 gave a new game named Hang man to check students‟ understanding about percentages Because it was the first time, students have played Hang man game, T2 used L1 to explain the rules of game in order to make her instruction clearer and save time

Extract 3 from Percentage lesson

T2: Do you want to play game?

In short, the use of L1 is considered as a useful tool for teachers to examine prior knowledge of students, help students be more confidents and communicate more fluently in CLIL class Also, L1 aids teachers simplify their instructions and save time

Teaching new Maths vocabulary and grammar in context

After observing four classes, the researcher states that one of the most common way teachers use to teach new Maths vocabulary for primary school students is repetition After giving new words, teachers asked students read words as whole class, groups, in pair and individual so that they could remember how to read and write new Maths vocabulary in the lesson Teacher T1 asked students take turn to read new words that helps all students have chance to read words and they are corrected their mistakes of pronunciation by teacher T1 Teachers also let students play games to review vocabularies they have learnt

Extract 4 from Fraction division lesson

T1: Now, whole class, look, listen and repeat

Division; Reciprocal ; Divided by;

Ss: (whole class) repeat (three times)

T1: take turn, repeat these words

Ss: division, reciprocal, divided by………

The teacher T1 has taught students not only isolated words but also related structures to help students solve word problems The structures: “The ratio of N1 to N2 is…, the number of N is …” were introduced at the beginning of the lesson and consolidated in teaching vocabulary part The combination of teaching vocabulary and structures helps students know how to find the ratio

of one value to the other and solve word problems involving ratios

Extract 5 from Ratios lesson

T1: Students Look, listen and repeat

Ratio

The ratio of N1to N2 is…

The ratio of boys to girls is three over four

The number of …is …

The number of girls is 30 girls

Ss: (listen and repeat) : ratio, the ratio of N1 to N2 is

T1: Open your notebook and write new words and structures

Open your book and do exercises Page 13-14

Unlike teacher T1, teacher T2 has not taught new Maths vocabulary and structures at the presentation stage She introduces new Maths vocabulary in the presentation stage, only when students have difficulties in solving word problems in the practice stage, T2 provides correlative structures for giving answers for word problems

Extract 6 from Units of Mass lesson

T2: Open your notebook and write new words

Tone : tấn

Quintal: tạ