Nghiên cứu nhu cầu bồi dưỡng giáo viên tiếng anh của hà nội

Aims of the Study and Research Questions The study aims to identify the Hanoi‟s high school EL teachers‟ training needs on communicative language teaching by exploring their perceptions

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

DEPARTMENT OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYEN DANH CHIEN

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ TRAINING NEEDS

AT HIGH SCHOOLS IN HANOI

(NGHIÊN CỨU NHU CẦU BỒI DƯỠNG GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH

CỦA HÀ NỘI)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: ELT Methodology Code: 60 14 10

HANOI, 2010

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

DEPARTMENT OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN DANH CHIẾN

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ TRAINING NEEDS

AT HIGH SCHOOLS IN HANOI

(NGHIÊN CỨU NHU CẦU BỒI DƯỠNG GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH

CỦA HÀ NỘI)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: ELT Methodology Code: 60 14 10

Supervisor: Dr Hoàng Xuân Hoa

HANOI, 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

PART II: DEVELOPMEMT

5

1.1.2.1 General Features and Principles of CLT 7

1.1.2.2 Common Classroom Activities Used in CLT 9

1.1.2.2.1 Pairwork and Groupwork 9

1.2.1 Concept of Training Needs 12

1.2.3 Significance of Studying Teachers’ Training Needs 13

1.2.4 Interrelationship Perceptions, Practice and Training Needs 14

2.2.1 English curriculum and textbooks for high schools in Vietnam 18

2.2.2 Recent Training Workshop on Implementing the English Curriculum

2.4.2 Instruments for Data Collection 21

2.4.2.1 Teachers Survey Questionnaire 21

2.4.2.2 Teachers Observation Scheme 21

2.5.1 Teachers Questionnaire Data 22

2.5.2 Teachers Observation Data 22

3.1.1 Teachers’ Perceptions of CLT 23

3.1.1.1 Teachers’ perceptions of features and principles of CLT 23

3.1.1.2 Classroom activities used in CLT 24

3.1.1.3 Classroom procedures 25

3.1.1.4 Roles of the communicative language teacher 26

3.1.1.5 Roles of the learner in the CLT learning process 27

3.1.1.6 Teachers’ applicability of CLT to their classroom practices 28

3.2 Results of the Data Collected by Means of Teachers Observations 29

3.2.2 Using pair and group work activities 30

3.2.3 Conducting fluency-oriented and accuracy-oriented activities 31

3.2.4 Correcting students’ errors and giving feedback 32

3.2.5 Implementing roles of the teacher 33

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 Participants‟ profile

Table 2 Teachers‟ perceptions of features and principles of CLT Table 3 Teachers‟ perceptions of classroom activities used in CLT Table 4 Teachers‟ perceptions of classroom procedures

Table 5 Teachers‟ perceptions of the roles of communicative teachers Table 6 Teachers‟ perceptions of the roles of communicative learners Table 7 Descriptive statistics for the teacher observations

Table 8 Descriptive statistics for the teacher observations

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Background to the Study

Nowadays, the role of English as an international language of communication and the current tendency of the exclusive use of target language in the classroom (England, 1998) have called for re-adjustments in the way of English language teaching and learning

As a result of the changes, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is well established

as the dominant theoretical model in English language teaching (Thompson, 1996) Therefore, this approach has been intensively promoted by the Ministry of Education and Training and has been recently renewed by the introduction of a new English curriculum innovation which places an emphasis on developing learners‟ communicative competence

in the English language Following the introduction, a variety of teacher training courses and workshops on CLT has been held in order to enhance the teachers‟ knowledge about CLT and to create more favourable conditions for successful teaching to be achieved

However, despite teacher training efforts, communicative teaching is still challenging for most of the English language teachers at high schools in Hanoi They have found it difficult to acquire the new approach or adapt new methods of teaching because, like other EL teachers throughout the country, their English proficiency is low, classes are large, the buildings, furnishings and other facilities are basic, and only low levels of support can be provided in terms of materials, libraries and advisory services (Le, 1999) Additionally, although CLT has become more popular, many of the teachers reportedly advocate traditional methods to language teaching and still play a dominant role in the majority of classrooms where activities do not seem to be learner-centred As the implementers of the new approach, the teachers have found it challenging to develop their students‟ communicative competence in the target language or to foster the communicative approach This is similar to the what Kennedy (1999) claimed that in this process of change, the teachers have to face many obstacles and a barrier to the implementation of the MOET‟s innovation that they are required to learn more about their subject areas, to use textbooks that are becoming more and more difficult, and to use new methods in teaching

In other words, the teachers need help to tackle a lack of teaching ideas (Goh, 1999) since they may not have a clear understanding of the underlying principles of the new approach, which leads to their running out of teaching ideas when developing learning activities for

their students Apart from that, many of the teachers have to struggle to move away from the traditional teaching of rules, patterns and definitions about the language (linguistic competence) towards teaching students how to communicate genuinely, spontaneously and meaningfully in the English language (communicative competence) For those teachers who have moderate proficiency in English, and insufficient understanding of effective teaching methods and techniques, they have to suffer feelings of inadequacy and insecurity

in their teaching practices

Obviously, this lack of understandings and the ineffective teaching practices, in turn, force the teachers to seek any kind of language and teaching methodology improvement through training workshops or training courses so that they can satisfy the increasing professional requirements and stay secure in their teaching positions Moreover, the intensive changes resulted from the communicative approach and the teachers‟ limitations in teaching in diverse contexts have brought about gaps between their understandings and use of CLT for classroom practices This certainly creates urgent needs for enhancing the teachers‟ teaching, and requires continuous anticipation of training or retraining needs, e.g the needs to be further trained in ELT methods

However, up until now, there has not been any investigation into the Hanoi‟s high school teachers‟ needs for being retrained in communicative ELT or any full understanding

of the extent to which the teachers‟ perceive the communicative approach The absence of studies related to this subject matter is the basic motive for conducting a survey research into the EL teachers‟ training needs at high schools in Hanoi Hopefully, the knowledge and the result of the study will contribute to the better language policy and more effective English language teaching and learning in Hanoi

2 Aims of the Study and Research Questions

The study aims to identify the Hanoi‟s high school EL teachers‟ training needs on communicative language teaching by exploring their perceptions of CLT, their perceived needs as their desires, and their theory-practice gap that should be filled so as to satisfy new demands for communicative ELT

In order to achieve the aims of the study, the research was carried out to answer the

following questions:

(1) What are the EL teachers’ perceptions of CLT?

(2) What are the methods and techniques the teachers used in their actual classroom practices?

(3) What contents should be included in future ELT methodology training workshops?

3 Significance of the Study

The research will be of the theory of ELT management as well as practical significance for three reasons First, when completed, the research results will be used as evidence on the teachers‟ performance, and will show key factors affecting the teaching quality so that decisions could be made on whether teacher retraining courses should be organized Second, the findings of the survey research will be useful for the Hanoi DOET and its ELT specialists in deciding on the extent to which and how retraining courses should be organized if they should be Third, on a larger scale, the research will provide education administrators and high school principles with suggestions for increasing the quality of ELT in diverse contexts

4 Scope of the Study

Within the framework of a minor thesis, the study was limited to exploring Hanoi high school EL teachers‟ needs for being trained in CLT by identifying the teachers‟ perceptions of CLT theories - the extent to which they know about CLT in order to use it for classroom practices, and the retraining needs perceived by themselves as their wants or desires Therefore, there would probably be a gap or differences between the teachers‟ perceived needs and the needs resulted from the researcher‟s observations of the teachers‟ in-class teaching practices

5 Methods of the Study

The study is an integrated descriptive-analytical, qualitative and quantitative survey research In order to provide sufficient data, information should be collected by a number

of effective methods and a variety of techniques Nevertheless, within the scope of the research, the following main techniques are used:

- Teachers survey questionnaire, which was conducted to investigate the English language teachers‟ perceptions of CLT theories;

- Teachers observations, which was employed to find out some of the techniques and methods the teachers used in their classroom practices in order to identify gaps between their perceptions and use/implementation of CLT

6 Design of the Study

The study is composed of three parts, including Introduction, Development, and Conclusion Part I, Introduction, presents the background to the study, aims, research questions, significance, scope, methods, and design of the study Part II, Development, as the main developing part of the thesis, consists of three chapters Chapter One provides a review of literature relevant CLT and such perspectives as training needs, perceptions, and the

interrelation between teachers‟ perception and practice Chapter Two gives a general description of the research with relevant aspects Chapter Three is a representation of the

research findings and discussion Part III, Conclusion, is a summary of the main issues addressed in the research, limitations of the study, and some suggestions for further study

PART II: DEVELOPMEMT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature relevant to the teachers‟ needs for being retrained in CLT The chapter consists of three sections The first section addresses an overview of CLT requirements towards the teachers such as roles of the teachers in CLT, understanding of CLT‟s features and principles, and classrooms activities The second section provides concepts of needs, perception, and practice

1.1 New Requirements towards English Language Teachers

As teaching is a constantly evolving process of growth and change, English language teachers have to constantly look for alternative ways to improve instructional practices Along with the promotion of CLT, "an approach to foreign or second language teaching which emphasizes that the goal of language learning is communicative competence" (as cited by Aleixo, 2003), the teachers have to satisfy new requirements towards themselves, such as playing new roles in the classroom, and updating their understanding of the approach

1.1.1 Roles of the Teachers

In the traditional methods of language teaching, the teachers are the experts, carry

the responsibility for students learning, and are the most important role in the learning In

the light of CLT, teachers assume several “new” or “changing” roles in communicative classrooms First, the teachers find themselves talking less and listening more- becoming active facilitators of their students' learning (Larsen-Freeman, 1986) In other words, the

teachers must serve as facilitators of the communication process between all participants in

the classroom, and between these participants and the various activities and texts (Breen and Candlin, 1980, p.99), which allows students to be in charge of their own learning For instance, the teachers promote students while they are in the process of talking or writing The students, then, have an increasing sense of confidence in using the target language to communicate during classroom activities On some occasions, the teachers have to take

part in the learning-teaching group, becoming independent participants who return to the

positions of students and are willing to understand and share the students‟ difficulties The

teachers can also be “managers of classroom activities” (Larsen-Freeman, 1986), assuming

responsibility for establishing situations to promote communication Richards and Rogers (1986) draw on Breen and Candlin‟s (1980) introduction to teacher roles, expanding the scope of teacher roles by adding those of needs analysts, counsellors, and group process

managers As needs analysts, the teachers take a responsibility for determining and

responding to learner learning needs They note that the teachers can talk to students informally and personally though one-to-one sessions in order to know students‟ perception of their learning style and learning goals By so-doing, the teachers can assess students' needs and attempt to determine students‟ motivation for studying the language Then, the teachers are expected to plan group and individual instruction that responds to

the students‟ needs Serving as counsellors, the teacher are expected to exemplify effective

communicators, which reflects the restrictions of communicative language teaching and

see the learners as managers of their own learning process In the role of group process

managers, the teachers are required to acquire less teacher-centred classroom management

skills, and to organize the classroom as a setting for communication and communicative

activities The teachers can also act as researchers who monitor and investigate what is

going on in the classroom and in their own teaching in order to find out appropriate methods and teaching techniques for better teaching and learning Other roles of the

teachers explained by Harmer (1991) that the teachers act as assessors, organizers,

prompters, and as resources In the role of assessors, the teachers are to assess the

students‟ work A more difficult role is that of organizers, who organize the classroom as a setting for communication and communicative activities (Richards & Rodgers, 2001, p.168), because the success of classroom activities depend much upon good organization and on the students‟ knowing exactly what they have to do Being in the role of prompters, the teachers are required to makes suggestions about how students may proceed in an activity Fulfilling the role of resources, the teachers provide a range of useful real resources to connect with the learner‟s own life experiences Obviously, roles of the teachers in the communicative classroom have changed significantly, and is less dominant and more demanding than in traditional methods, as unpredictability and uncertainty are

continuously present

1.1.2 Updating Understanding of CLT

Since CLT is a new approach to language teaching, the teachers are required to understand its features and principles, common classroom activities use in CLT,

procedures in a CLT classroom, and roles of the learners in order to conduct

communicative teaching

1.1.2.1 General Features and Principles of CLT

As CLT aims to make communicative competence the goal of language teaching and develop procedures for the teaching of the four language skills that acknowledge the interdependence of language and communication (Richard and Rodgers, 2001), it consists

of broad features and principles

According to Richard and Rodgers (2001), as cited in Littelewood (1981:1), pointed out that one of the most characteristic features of CLT is that it pays systematic attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language In other words, grammar is not ignored

in the CLT classroom, but it is dealt with in relation to the communicative function that specific grammatical structures perform This important feature distinguishes CLT from other traditional approaches to language teaching

In addition to that, in CLT, meaning is paramount (Finocchiaro and Brumfit, 1983) According to Larsen-Freeman (1986), meaning is derived from the written words through

an interaction between the reader and the writer, just as oral communication becomes meaningful through negotiation between the speaker and the listener Thus, the primary purpose of using a language is to convey meaning in appropriate ways (Mckay, 2000) Language learning, then, should encourage learners to use the target language in appropriate appropriately in a given social context in order to convey meaning

Another beneficial feature of CLT is that accuracy and fluency are put together in language learning thanks to its emphasis on meaningful communication as well as awareness of form According to Brumfit (1984), a classroom activity may aim either for accuracy or fluency, a distinction first aided by an accuracy-oriented activity such as pattern drills, which are usually used in the teaching of a new target item Additionally, Brumfit (1984) argued that fluency activities provide opportunities for students to produce and understand tokens of the language which they may have been made aware of, or even learnt, during accuracy activities In the view of these considerations, both accuracy-oriented and fluency-oriented activities should be included in the communicative classroom in order to achieve communicative competence in the target language Sharing

this view, Long (1991) and Dought (2001, cited in Ellis et al., 2002, p.422) argue that

form-focused instruction, which aims to develop the target language accuracy, combined

with meaning-focused instruction, which aims to develop the fluency of the target language, works better than meaning-focused instruction on its own In other words, form-focused instruction helps develop learners‟ ability to use the linguistic form in a communicative task

Moreover, with regard to error correction in CLT classroom, practitioners of the communicative approach consider “errors” as “a completely normal phenomenon in the development of communicative skills” (Littlewood, 1981, p.94) In other words, errors are unavoidable when learning a language and developing communicative competence Larsen-Freeman (1986) claims that errors of form are tolerated as learners can be successful communicators though they have limited linguistic knowledge, which can mean that if students make errors during their speaking or presentation, these errors can be tolerated in order to encourage fluency But this does not mean that the teacher ignore the errors but save the errors for later corrective feedback that help the students be aware of the areas they have to improve Therefore, explicit error correction should be avoided, because

it tends to make students feel they are criticized, and instead teachers should correct errors

in indirect ways (Doyon, 2000), and because when second language learners make errors, they are demonstrating part of the natural process of language learning (Harmer, 1999, p.100) It should be realized that error correction should be kept to a minimum and priority should be given to the errors that hinder communication, as the aim is to develop learners‟ communicative fluency, and teachers need to have students understand that they can learn through mistakes so that in a motivating and supportive classroom, students feel comfortable taking risks and participating positively in the class activities because they know that they will not be criticized or embarrassed if they make mistakes

Apart from those features and principles, Nunan‟s (1991) made another recognized list of five general principles or features of CLT: (1) An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language; (2) The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation; (3) The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on the learning process itself; (4) An enhancement of the learner‟s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning; and (5) An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside the classroom Furthermore, according to Richards & Schmidt (2001), CLT

consists of five notable principles: (1) Learners learn a language through using it to

communicate; (2) Authentic and meaningful communication should be the goal of classroom activities; (3) Fluency and accuracy are both important in language learning; (4) Communication involves the integration of different language skills; (5) Learning is a process of creative construction and involves trial and error

It is unquestionable that, with those features and principles, CLT helps students learn

to communicate through interaction in the target language and create meaning rather than constructing perfectly grammatical structures or having a native-live pronunciation, and that learners need to engage in meaningful communication to attain communicative

fluency in English

1.1.2.2 Common Classroom Activities Used in CLT

Because CLT consists of broad features and principles, there is a wide variety of activities that can be used in the classroom Richards & Rodgers (2001) state that the range

of activities compatible with a communicative approach is unlimited, provided that such activities enable learners to attain the communicative objectives of the curriculum, engage learners in communication, and require the use of such communicative processes as information sharing, negotiation of meaning, and interaction In other words, CLT includes all possible activities with given situations that can build up as well as boost up the learner‟s courage to language learning These activities can be pair and group work, role-plays, information gap, discussions, interviews, and problem-solving tasks that require negotiation and cooperation between learners, and encourage them to develop their confidence

1.1.2.2.1 Pairwork and Groupwork

One of common activities promoted by CLT is pairwork and groupwork In the classroom, CLT often takes the form of pair and group work requiring negotiation and cooperation between learners According to Doff (1988), pair work is a process in which the teacher divides the whole class into pairs that work at the same time Group work is a process in which „the teachers divide the class into some groups to work together, usually four or five students in each group (Doff, 1988, p137)

Pair and group work are to give students of different background to join classroom activities in order to share information and ideas and to negotiate meanings Working in pairs, students are encouraged to practise the target language more, which increases their talking time in the class, and promotes their cooperation Thus, in pair work and group

work activities, interaction occurs with meaningful negotiation and increases the development of the target language by raising learners‟ awareness of learning processes

(Ellis, 1994)

1.1.2.2.2 Role Play

Harmer (1998) defined "role-play activities are those where students are asked to imagine that they are in different situations and act accordingly" (p.92), which means students are given roles to act out by imagining themselves in a situation or playing the role of someone else, using language relevant to the context Thus, students are the centre

of the class, and become actors and actresses on the stage They enjoy their performance and use the target language as a tool for role-playing In fact, using role play activities in class is a special technique to wake up students, especially shy students who should be made to feel at ease playing in front of the class

1.1.2.2.3 Information Gap Activities

One type of activity that promotes negotiation is the information-gap task According

to Lee and Vanpatten (2003), the gap refers to information that one person possesses but others do not (p.65) Gaps, therefore, create the absolute need to communicate as well as the need to cooperate In an information-gap activity, different students are given different pieces of information, so there is a need to communicate and share information, which is useful in language learning and teaching For example, different students in a group are given different parts of a story or different pictures telling the same story Then they need

to talk about their part or picture to construct the story As a result, students practise English a lot because they need to discuss with their original group members and present individually in the new group Another example is that students are given different texts with similar content but different gaps In pairs, they have to read, ask, and complete the gapped texts In an actual fact, this activity is designed especially for practising

“negotiation for meaning” as it takes efforts to deliver the exact meaning of the information Participating in this kind of activities, students can also use and practise such techniques such as elaboration, clarification, and recast in order to finish the required task

1.1.2.2.4 Group Discussions

Discussion is a learner-centred activity where ideas and experiences are shared; involvement and participation are reinforced This is an activity in which students are asked to express their own opinions on a topic There are some types of discussion, such as

controversial statements, and debate With controversial statements, students are given statements and then in pairs or groups, they are asked to express their opinion for or against them and give reasons In terms of debate, students are given a controversial statement and are put into two different groups representing two opposing sides After that they prepare arguments to argue their case At the end of this type of discussion, there can

be a vote to see who has the most convincing arguments

1.1.2.2.5 Problem-solving Tasks

With problem-solving tasks, students are given some real-life problems which are

interesting and debatable for the class and need solving They are divided into groups to do research after class, discuss the result in the class and ask every group report their conclusion for the whole class, which means students work out solutions to problems Through this activity, students can practise both target language and critical thinking ability

Generally speaking, the classroom activities discussed above can be used in all classes and adapted for any kind of CLT lesson With the activities, the classroom become like the world outside the classroom, where students are seen using language spontaneously and communicatively

1.2.3 Roles of Learners

In CLT, students can practise every situation in daily life, which is a good way for them use English as a tool to communicate with others Because of the changes in the

emphasis of CLT, learners have to change their roles in the communicative classroom

According to Richards and Rodgers (2001), the emphasis of CLT on the processes of communication rather than the mastery of language forms leads to different roles for learners from those found in more traditional second language classrooms Breen and Cadlin (1980), cited in Richards and Rodgers (2001, p.166) describe the learner‟s role

within CLT as a negotiator – between the self, the learning process, and the object of

learning, emerges from and interacts with the role of joint negotiator within the group and within the classroom procedures and activities which the group undertakes As a negotiator, therefore, the implication for the learner is that he should contribute as much as

he gains, and thereby learn in an independent way Richards and Rodgers (2001) show that

„learners are expected to interact primarily with each other, rather than with the teacher, and correction of errors may be absent or infrequent Apart from that, the learners should

be co-operators in their learning processes rather than individuals, for Richards and

Rodgers (2001) point out that successful communication is an accomplishment jointly achieved and acknowledged The learners have to see that unsuccessful communication is

a joint responsibility and not the fault of the individual learner Apart from those roles, the

learners are considered by Larsen-Freeman (1986) to be communicators who are expected

to engage in negotiating meaning They, therefore, should try to understand and make themselves understood if their use of the target language is limited Additionally, as part of

the learning process, the learners should be an active participant in the learning

activities/tasks, which means that they need to change their role in the learning progress from passive recipients to active participants and will not be isolated The learners should

become the centre of the learning process, being responsible for their own learning, their

participation in classroom activities, and their limited English competence in what they must gain and in using the target language Moreover, because of the increased responsibility to participate, students may find they gain confidence in using the target

language in general, and are more responsible managers of their own learning

(Larsen-Freeman, 1986) It is clear that, since the teachers‟ role is less dominant and more demanding than in traditional methods, students are seen more responsible managers of their own learning

In conclusion, since the communicative approach has created the changes in the way

of teaching and learning, as implementers of the new approach, the teachers are required to understand, adapt and apply the CLT theories to effective classroom teaching In other words, there are needs for training the EL teachers in implementing CLT for more effective practices

1.2 Teacher Training Needs

1.2.1 Concept of Training Needs

In fact, any new approach to language teaching requires new understandings and skills, which creates the needs to train the teachers as the implementers of the approach Additionally, if the teachers do not have understanding and skills appropriate to their teaching, or if they are not skilled enough to do their teaching job, it will becomes difficult

to do it or may even be impossible With regard to CLT, when CLT came to the level of practice, teachers often encountered many difficulties (Pham, 2007), and whenever the

teachers feel that they do not meet the required standards of teaching communicatively, the need for training arises Training based on such needs will then supply the teachers with the knowledge and skills to do their job properly Therefore, the training needs can be seen

as the needs to build specific teaching skills, to acquire the theories of the new approach, to adapt and apply the theories to effective teaching practices

1.2.2 Types of Needs

The needs can be subjective, i.e., teachers‟ perceived needs as their wants or desires for enhancing their teaching practices The needs can also be objective, i.e., professional requirements for the teachers to conduct successful teaching, because the teaching job requires teachers to meet certain standards, and to comply with reach certain levels of

expertise or skills in order to do their job properly

1.2.3 Significance of Studying Teachers’ Training Needs

In the study, the teachers‟ training needs would be identified by assessing their understanding of CLT (e.g perceptions), and how they used CLT for classroom teaching (e.g practices), which would then help determine whether there was a gap between their perceptions and practices of CLT and how big the gap was if there was If there was a gap, there would be training needs or necessity to fill it by retraining the teachers so that they could achieve successful teaching under the light of CLT In other words, studying the teachers‟ training needs would help identify the teachers' strengths and weaknesses, fill the gap, update their knowledge and skills, and increase their teaching job satisfaction Moreover, in terms of ELT management, the study would show how successful previous teacher training workshops were and suggest measures that should be taken by the Hanoi DOET in order to contribute to increasing ELT quality at high schools in Hanoi, and demonstrate the challenges facing the teachers while they are implement the communicative based curriculum

From these points of view, it is noticeable that using CLT for classroom teaching requires the needs for support/assistance in the aspects of both theory and practice, which aims at enhancing the teachers‟ knowledge and teaching skills in order to enable the

teachers to conduct more effective English lessons

1.2.4 Interrelationship Perceptions, Practice and Training Needs

1.2.4.1 Perceptions

Slavin (1988) defined perceptions as a person‟s interpretation of stimuli that may be influenced by one‟s mental/emotional state, experience, knowledge, motivations, and other factors In the study, EL teachers‟ perceptions referred to their interpretation and understanding of CLT which is realized as their responses to each of the survey questionnaire items and questionnaire questions Through their previous training and teaching experience, they can reveal their understanding and express their desires or wants for further training in what they think they have insufficient knowledge about If the teachers well perceive the communicative approach or method, they would value it and view it as important for success Therefore, identifying how the teachers understand CLT

is one of the ways to get to know the need to develop their appropriate understanding of the approach in order for them to avoid misconceptions, and the need to apply the theories

of the approach to classroom practices In other words, the needs for retraining the teachers will be identified once the teachers‟ perceptions of the communicative approach become

clear

1.2.4.2 Practice

Ur (1996) considered “practice” as “the rehearsal of certain behaviour with the objective of consolidating language teaching skills and knowledge in order to improve performance” (p.19) In the study, the concept “practice” is adopted as the use or implementation of CLT for teaching practices Therefore, evaluating the teachers‟ implementation of CLT means assessing how they apply the principles of CLT and classroom techniques to their classroom teaching practices, how they carry out classroom activities, and how they play their new roles, which then helps identify the methods the teachers use In other words, the knowledge of the teachers‟ performance provides evidence for whether the teachers need to be retrained, and what they need to be retrained

In summary, it is necessary to have a sufficient understanding of the teachers' perceptions of CLT and how they use it for classroom practices in order to indentify the teacher training needs, which reveals the interrelation among the constructs of perceptions, practices and needs

1.3 Previous Studies on Teacher Training Needs

Because of the influence of perceptions and practices on needs and the relative interdependence among these three constructs, teachers‟ needs for being retrained in CLT have been extensively studied Following are some major studies on this issue

In South Korean, Li (1998) carried out a study on the perception of CLT of 18 secondary teachers‟ who were at a training program in Canada and found that difficulties caused by teachers, such as deficiency in spoken English, lack of training in CLT, few opportunities for retraining in CLT, and misconceptions about CLT, prevented teachers from implementing CLT successfully during in-class activities in South Korea He also discovered that although the teachers had the theoretical notion of CLT, they had no practical experiences in terms of methodological issues of CLT

In Bangladesh, Khaled Mahrnud Rezaul Karim (2004) conducted a research into teachers' perceptions, attitudes and expectations about CLT in post-secondary education, surveyed 36 ESF teachers, and examined how they defined CLT and implemented it in their classrooms It was found that the teachers had very good understanding of the communicative activities and the general principles of CLT, and that there were positive relationships between teachers' perceptions about CLT and their classroom practices The study revealed that although there were some discrepancies between teachers' perceptions and practices, these were not remarkable as these were not causing obstacles in the way of communicative practices or discouraging teachers from practicing CLT, and that although EFL teachers thought lack of training in CLT as a major difficulty in adopting CLT in Bangladesh, it might not be true that they are in serious need of training in CLT or their lack of training in CLT was posing problem in practicing communicative language teaching These teachers only indicated a need for more training in developing and implementing CLT techniques, which means that their overall need is needs for training in understanding and developing CLT techniques

A recent research by Serdar Mehmet Bal (2006) evaluated 20 public primary school teachers‟ perceptions and practices of CLT in Turkish EFL setting, and revealed the teachers generally did not apply CLT activities in their EFL classrooms, that they consumed much time on explicit grammar teaching and reading activities rather than CLT practices, and that the discrepancy between teachers‟ theoretical perceptions of CLT and

their ineffective in-class practices may prevent them from implementing CLT principles in their classrooms

Ironically, even the teachers who have been trained in CLT training courses still do not use CLT for their teaching In Indonesia, Lamb (1995) conducted a study on the 12 teachers who had attended an in-service teacher training course on CLT and found that the teachers did not use CLT in their classrooms Lamb observed the teachers‟ teaching to see how their teaching had progressed since they attended the training course, and found that they teachers taught differently from the ideas presented on the course, and very few ideas presented on the course were taken up in the way anticipated by the course tutors

In Vietnam, Sullivan (1994) carried out a classroom study, and observed a teacher‟s lesson in a second year university level English language classroom Although the observed teacher described his lesson as communicative, it was considered not to be communicative, because no pairwork or groupwork activities were conducted, and the lesson was teacher-centred Sullivan (1994) concluded that if CLT classroom observation checklists and schemas were used as indicators of communicative teaching, the Vietnamese class emerged as mostly uncommunicative since the class was generally teacher-fronted with whole class responses, and there was little group work, pair work, or use of authentic materials Moreover, Le (1999) conducted a research into the degree the communicative approach fits Vietnamese pedagogical contexts on the basis of an analysis

of Vietnamese learner‟s communicative needs, Vietnamese classroom culture and discourse, and the constraints on the teacher in teaching English communicatively, and discovered that although the EL teachers had positive view of the communicative approach, they feel constrained to implement communicative teaching in their classroom and found it difficult to use this approach for their pedagogical practice

To summarize the results of previous research on perceptions of CLT, and actual use

of CLT, it was found that teachers‟ understanding of CLT is different, and that their classroom teaching was shown not to be communicative under observations Thus, training needs for CLT implementation differ in different areas and contexts Based on the findings

of the studies mentioned above, a comprehension research is needed to identify the Hanoi‟s high school EL teachers‟ training needs for better communicative EL teaching

1.4 Summary

This chapter has highlighted new requirements towards the teachers while implementing CLT, which leads to the needs to train and retrain the teachers for more successful communicative teaching, and has discussed necessary considerations related to perceptions, practices and training needs

The literature is a useful source for the research to use for identifying objective and subjective needs for teacher retraining in the next chapter

CHAPTER 2: THE RESEARCH

This chapter presents a general description of the study with relevant aspects including data collection, data analysis, and discussions

2.1 Research Questions:

In order to get more information about the teachers‟ training needs, the researcher tended

to find the information necessary to answer the three following questions:

(1) What are the EL teachers’ perceptions of CLT?

(2) What are the techniques and methods the teachers used in their actual classroom practices?

(3) What contents should be included in ELT methodology retraining courses?

2.2 Research Settings

2.2.1 English curriculum and textbooks for high schools in Vietnam

From 2006 to 2009, MOET introduced a new English curriculum and a set of English textbooks (i.e English 10, English 11, and English 12) embodying communicative principles, which considers the development of students‟ communicative competence in the target language through the four linguistic skills (e.g listening, speaking, reading and writing) the ultimate goal of the language teaching and learning process (Teacher Training Material: Implementing English Curriculum and Textbooks for Grade 10, 2006, p.39), and regarding language items such as vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar rules to be constitutions for promoting the development of learners‟ linguistic skills In addition to developing the language skills and accompanying sound system, vocabulary and grammar, the English curriculum adopts an intercultural communication perspective with an attempt

to educate students into both national and international citizens who are knowledgeable about the target culture and their own national culture (MOET, 2006) As a result, the reform of ELT at high schools toward greater emphasis on students‟ ability to use English for communicative and academic purposes (Le, 2008) has created changes in teaching methodology as the new curriculum adopts a “learner-centred approach and the communicative approach with task-based teaching being the central teaching method” (English 10, Teacher‟s Book, 2006, p.12)

2.2.2 Recent Training Workshop on Implementing the English Curriculum in Hanoi

In order to implement the new curriculum, three short in-service teacher training workshop have been organized by the Hanoi Department of Education and Training (DOET) These workshops were run mainly by key high school EL teachers who were trained at short in-service teacher training workshop held by the Ministry of Education and Training, and by some invited university teachers and textbook writers The workshop participants were all of local teachers who were pursuing their teaching careers at high schools throughout Hanoi These teachers were requested to attend the workshops of four

to six days in order to update their teaching methods and perceive guidance on the implementation of the curriculum The contents of the first training workshop was comprised of an introduction to the new English curriculum and the textbook “English 10”,

a preliminary review of the implementation of the new English language curriculum, theories of the communicative approach, getting to know about sequential stages of a lesson and new lesson plan models, watching VCDs on model teaching practices, some basic techniques for teaching language skills and linguistic items, and learning about evaluation and assessment The second and the third training workshops consisted of similar contents, but its emphasis was placed on teaching techniques, textbook adaptation, and sharing teaching ideas and initiatives

With regard to the perceived effectiveness of the workshops, most of the trainees shared a mutual feeling of positivity about the workshops by giving feedback that the workshops were useful to some extent in introducing new ideas to them, deepening their understanding of communicative teaching, techniques for teaching linguistic skills and knowledge, helping the teachers with textbook and task adaptation as well as the MOET‟s requirements for implementing the curriculum However, a considerable number

teacher-of teacher-trainees did not feel satisfied with the fact that the workshop contents included too much of theory while there were few opportunities for them to discuss teaching and classroom techniques, little time was spend practising and developing the skills necessary for successful implementation of the workshop ideas, little attention was paid to finding out solutions to the constraints preventing them from using the communicative approach The local teachers also expressed their discontent with the workshop agenda which were fixed before the workshops and did not consider the teacher-trainees‟ needs before any

attempt at organizing a training workshop They also did not feel happy with little assessment of the teachers‟ achievement at the end of the workshops as they expected some forms of assessment such as an assignment, and a written test

In general, in order to implement the new English curriculum and the communicative approach, more successful training workshops should be held Additionally, it is crucial to evaluate how the teacher-trainees apply now ideas in their classrooms after their return from the workshops, and to put what they need to be trained or retrained into consideration

2.3 Participants

The participants were English language teachers (N=56) in the eight selected high schools representing other teachers throughout Hanoi Their teaching experience ranges from one year of teaching to 10 or more years The teachers answered the questionnaires on the training needs (See the table below for their profile)

Table 1 Participants’ profile

is a larger number of young teachers Additionally, the table indicates the similarity between the number of the teachers in the urban areas and that in the rural ones

2.4 Data Collection Procedures

2.4.1 Sampling

In fact, in order for the generalization of the data collected to be high, it is necessary

to get samples on a large scale But it is not possible to survey a whole population The

researcher, therefore, collected information from a smaller subset of the population, and chose eight schools under the category of school location, i.e., four schools in rural areas and

four in urban areas, and surveyed all teachers in these schools

2.4.2 Instruments for Data Collection

In an effort to obtain information, two instruments of data collection were used; a teacher survey questionnaire and teacher observations schemes Both of these methods are employed to collect information from the teachers

2.4.2.1 Teachers Survey Questionnaire

A four-point Likert-scale questionnaire was employed as the basic instrument in the study to identify the teachers‟ training needs by discovering their perceptions of and responses on CLT The questionnaire was given to the teachers of English at eight high schools which were categorized It consisted of four parts (Appendix 1) Part One elicited data on the teachers‟ background, such as their qualifications, teaching experience, and location of their school Part Two consists of 27 statements about the teachers‟ apparently objective responses on CLT, including main features and principles of CLT, classroom activities used in CLT, classroom procedures in a lesson, roles of the communicative language teacher, and roles of the learners in the CLT learning process, of which the teachers have shown their perceptions In order to avoid providing positive responses, some statements were expressed negatively Part Three addressed the teachers‟ personal responses to their applicability of CLT to their classroom teaching practices In Part Four, there are two questions aiming at the teachers‟ identified difficulties or problems they have encountered in applying CLT to their classroom teaching practices, and at their particular suggestions for the contents of a further training courses/workshop shown as their perceived training needs

2.4.2.2 Teachers Observation Scheme

This observation (coding) scheme was developed by the researcher for identifying more needs by valuating the teachers‟ use of a few teaching techniques for their classroom teaching In details, the observation scheme was comprised of eight categories of techniques (e.g including eliciting, pair and group work, fluency and accuracy, error correction, role of teachers and learners, waiting time, questioning, and classroom management) with five alternatives for the observer to choose from; „always‟, „usually‟,

„sometimes‟, „rarely‟ and „never‟ (Appendix 2) The data collected were categorized and

analyzed in accordance with classroom observation criteria in order to find necessary information

2.5 Data Analysis Procedures

2.5.1 Teachers Questionnaire Data:

In order to analyze the collected questionnaire data, the researcher grouped the

data under categories which serve to answer the first research question “What are the

English language teachers’ perceptions of CLT?” In addition to that, part of the

questionnaire provides some evidence for the teachers‟ perceived needs as their wants or

desires in order to help answer the third question “What contents should be included in

ELT methodology training courses?

2.5.2 Teachers Observation Data:

The observation results were used to answer the second research question “What

are the techniques the teachers use in their actual classroom practices?”

Based on what was analyzed, the teachers‟ training needs would be identified, and possible suggestions for the contents of a future training workshop or course would be made