A study on the effectiveness of teachers code switching in teaching reading comprehension to ton duc thang university students

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE ---«««--- A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHE

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY

UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE

-««« -

A STUDY ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TEACHERS’ CODE-SWITCHING IN TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION TO TON DUC THANG

Supervised by PHO PHUONG DUNG, Ph.D

HO CHI MINH CITY, OCTOBER 2017

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis, entitled “A study on the effectiveness of teachers’

code-switching in teaching reading comprehension to Ton Duc Thang University students”

is my own work

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution

Ho Chi Minh City, October 2017

Nguyen Thanh Binh

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Nguyen Thanh Binh, being the candidate for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s theses deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan and

reproduction of theses

Ho Chi Minh City, October 2017

Nguyen Thanh Binh

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis supervisor,

Dr Pho Phuong Dung, for her wholehearted support to my thesis I deeply appreciate the way she read and commented on my thesis in detail Her gentle guidance and patience have always impressed me since I was in her Second Language Acquisition class Without her tremendous enthusiasm and professional expertise, I would not have completed the thesis Finally, thanks to her encouragement and companion, part of the study was successfully presented at The First International Conference on Language Development (ICLD) at Ton Duc Thang University in the summer of 2016 I could not wish for a better support from her

I would also like to extend my grateful thanks to Dr Ngô Thị Thanh Vân, Director of TOEIC Center - Ton Duc Thang University, for authorizing me to conduct my experiment at the center She was also of help in giving me advice when doing the research at the university

I would like to thank my colleagues for their support during the time I conducted the study and completed the thesis

Last but not least, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my parents and my husband for their understanding, encouragement and continuous support during my thesis writing Without them, the thesis would not have been completed

ABSTRACT

English has become one of the most popular languages used for international communication these days In Vietnam, the demand for English language learning is growing more than ever Unlike students in an ESL (English as a Second Language) setting in which they should be able to communicate and understand a certain amount of English, students living in such an EFL (English

as a Foreign Language) setting as Vietnam do not have many chances experiencing the target language (TL) Should teachers speak English entirely

as a medium of instruction and communication to maximize their students’ exposure to English? If there is a need to switch to the mother tongue, how and when should it be used? This thesis aims at investigating the effectiveness of teachers’ use of code-switching when teaching reading comprehension to non-English major students at Ton Duc Thang University To this aim, the study employed an experimental approach in which one class was taught entirely in English while the other received both English and Vietnamese instructions The instruments utilized in the study included reading tests, questionnaire and interview The students’ test scores and attitudes towards their teacher’s code-switching during class time were then compared between the two classes Based

on the findings, the thesis will provide some suggestions on how to balance the use of English and Vietnamese and on which situations teachers should code-switch to benefit the students’ learning process the most

Keywords: code-switching, reading comprehension, EFL, non-English major students

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii

ABSTRACT iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF FIGURES x

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale of the study 1

1.2 Aims of the study 3

1.3 Research questions 3

1.4 Hypothesis 3

1.5 Significance of the study 3

1.6 Scope of the study 4

1.7 Organization of the study 4

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Definition of code-switching 5

2.1.1 Code switching 5

2.1.2 Code switching and borrowing 6

2.1.3 Code switching and code mixing 7

2.2 Types of code-switching 8

2.2.1 Inter-sentential code-switching 8

2.2.2 Intra-sentential code-switching 8

2.2.3 Tag switching 9

2.3 Functions of code-switching in classrooms 9

2.3.1 Functions of teachers’ code-switching 10

2.3.2 Functions of students’ code-switching 11

2.4 Attitudes towards the use of code-switching in L2 classrooms 12

2.4.1 Arguments against code-switching 12

2.4.2 Arguments supporting code-switching 14

2.5 Previous studies on the use code-switching in English classrooms 15

2.6 Readability formula 22

2.7 Conceptual framework of the study 23

Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY 26

3.1 Research design 26

3.2 Research site 27

3.3 Participants 27

3.4 Research instruments 29

3.4.1 Tests 30

3.4.2 Questionnaire 32

3.4.3 Interview 33

3.5 Data collection procedure 34

3.5.1 Conducting the experiment 34

3.5.2 Distributing the questionnaires 36

3.5.3 Conducting the interviews 36

3.6 Data analysis procedure 38

3.6.1 Analyzing the pre-test and post-tests 38

3.6.2 Analyzing data from the questionnaire 38

3.6.3 Analyzing data from the interview 40

3.6.4 Summary of the chapter 40

Chapter 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 41

4.1 Descriptive analysis of the tests 41

4.1.1 Descriptive analysis of the pre-test results 41

4.1.2 Descriptive analysis of the post-test results 42

4.2 Participants’ opinions on teacher’s use of code-switching in the classroom 48 4.3 Participants’ opinions in the interview 68

4.4 Summary of the chapter 73

Chapter 5 CONCLUSION 74

5.1 Main findings 74

5.2 Pedagogical implications 76

5.3 Limitations of the study 78

5.4 Recommendations for further research 79

REFERENCES 81

APPENDICES 87

APPENDIX A - PRE-TEST 88

APPENDIX B - POST-TEST 1 91

APPENDIX C - POST-TEST 2 94

APPENDIX D - POST-TEST 3 97

APPENDIX E - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE CONTROL GROUP 100

APPENDIX F - QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP 102

APPENDIX G - INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE CONTROL GROUP 104

APPENDIX H - INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP 105 APPENDIX I – PUBLISHED PAPER 106

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: Description and estimated reading grade for Flesch Reading Ease Score

(Flesch, 1949, p 149) 23

Table 2.2: Functions of teachers’ code-switching in the classroom 24

Table 3.1: Levels of English classes based on students’ placement test scores 27

Table 3.2: Gender of the participants 29

Table 3.3: Readability level and length of reading passages in the coursebook ‘International Express – Intermediate Pack A’ 31

Table 3.4: Readability level and length of reading passages in the book ‘New English File’ 31

Table 3.5: Specific time of collecting data 37

Table 3.6: Coding scheme for the two Likert scales 39

Table 3.7: Recoding scheme for Section B 39

Table 3.8: Recoding scheme for Section C 40

Table 4.1: Descriptive statistics of the participants’ scores in the pre-test 41

Table 4.2: The participants’ homogeneity in reading comprehension competence 42

Table 4.3: Results of post-test 1 of the experimental and control groups 43

Table 4.4: Independent samples t-test for post-test 1 of the experimental and control groups 43

Table 4.5: Results of post-test 2 of the experimental and control groups 44

Table 4.6: Independent samples t-test for post-test 2 of the experimental and control groups 45

Table 4.7: Results of post-test 3 of the experimental and control groups 46

Table 4.8: Independent samples t-test for post-test 3 of the experimental and control groups 46

Table 4.9: Summary of the results of the three post-tests 47

Table 4.10: Students’ language preference 49

Table 4.11: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in explaining English grammar 50

Table 4.12: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in explaining difficult or abstract vocabulary 51 Table 4.13: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in explaining difficult concepts 52 Table 4.14: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in emphasizing

or clarifying important points 53 Table 4.15: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in explaining differences and similarities between English and Vietnamese 53 Table 4.16: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in checking comprehension 54 Table 4.17: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in translating difficult texts or sentences 55 Table 4.18: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in maintaining classroom discipline 56 Table 4.19: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in organizing classroom activities 56 Table 4.20: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in correcting their mistakes when studying 57 Table 4.21: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in making small talk with students 58 Table 4.22: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in giving

feedback or praise to students 59 Table 4.23: Students’ expectation of teacher’s use of code-switching in sharing

learning tips 59 Table 4.24: Summary of students’ expectations about the situations in which the teacher should code-switch 60 Table 4.25 Teacher’s code-switching and students’ learning satisfaction in the

experimental group 61 Table 4.26: Teacher’s use of English only and students’ learning satisfaction in the control group 63

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.1: Students’ frequent learning satisfaction in relation to teacher's use of language(s) 67

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study

It is no doubt that English is becoming more and more popular in the world It is the language widely used in every area of daily life such as education, politics, economy and entertainment In Vietnam, the demand for English is growing more than ever Unlike students in an ESL (English as a Second Language) setting in which they can communicate and understand a certain amount of English, students living in such an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) setting as Vietnam do not have many chances experiencing the target language (TL) It is argued that EFL teachers should maximize the use of TL in classrooms to create an English environment for students, thus increasing their exposure to English and learning effectiveness (Krashen, 1985) However, this English Only classroom policy has been criticized by many language educators because it does not result in learning effectiveness (Dujmovic, 2007) Additionally, EFL teachers sometimes find it difficult to make their messages understood correctly while their students are left with incomprehension and resentment (Harbord, 1992) While this argument has not ended, many English teachers resort to the use of both mother tongue and TL in classroom as a medium of instruction and communication This phenomenon is called code-switching It occurs consciously or unconsciously in the process of learning and teaching because it is “a natural part of being bilingual” (Palmer, 2009, p 42) and even considered as a teaching tool (Sert, 2005) By alternating between two languages, teachers can ensure they get their meaning across while students still have sufficient exposure to and practice the target language

Much attention has been paid to the interesting topic of code-switching by researchers all over the world It means that this phenomenon occurs to people who know at least two languages whether they live in ESL or EFL contexts (Ahmed & Yassin, 2013; Esfahani, 2014; Selemat, 2014; Storch & Wigglesworth, 2003) The phenomenon has been further investigated in EFL classrooms where students of English major hold different views from students of non-English major (Chowdhury, 2012;

Nguyen, T B H., Jang & Yang, 2010) Moreover, educators have shown their interest

in studying how code-switching is used by learners of all ages, such as kindergarten children (Anggraeni, 2012), students at high school (Eldrige, 1996; Hamdan & Diab, 1997) or at tertiary level (Chowdhury, 2012; Schweers, 1999) Researchers have also examined the use of code-switching by students at beginner level (Greggio & Gil, 2007)

or intermediate level (Barandagh, Zoghi & Amini, 2013)

Vietnamese researchers have also contributed a number of studies in this area While a few studies survey the practice of code-switching in daily conversations by Vietnamese living in English-speaking countries (e.g Australia and USA) (Nguyen, T

P, 2012), some are done in the context of Vietnam Nguyen, T B H et al (2010) examined the effectiveness of implementing English Only policy in English classrooms They find out that most first year English-major students (approximately 70%) wish their teachers to use Vietnamese occasionally in lecturing in English, so that they can understand the lessons Other Vietnamese researchers focused on teachers’ perspectives

on using switching in classrooms, particularly types and functions of switching, the reason why and when teachers code-switched (Nguyen, Q T, 2012; Nguyen, T H, 2013) In general, such studies, which are done either by Vietnamese or foreign researchers, investigate teachers’ and/or students’ code-switching by delivering questionnaires, interviewing the participants and observing classroom activities The present study will adopt the experimental research method to discover how effective it

code-is when the teacher employs code-switching in EFL classrooms It will also reveal students’ attitudes towards the use of code-switching by their teacher, thus helping the teacher to adjust the language used in classrooms to facilitate students’ learning process

With the purpose of measuring the effect of the teacher’s code-switching on students’ learning success, the present study only focuses on teacher’s discourse in the classroom Besides, among the three skills mainly focused on in the course (namely listening, reading and speaking), the present study only investigates the use of teacher’s code-switching in explaining grammar, structures and new vocabulary may help students understand the reading texts Besides, reading skill is chosen because it is considered beneficial for students to enlarge their vocabulary and “invaluable source of

authentic language that is always meaningful, often in fully grammatical form, and that includes every feature of the target language but pronunciation” (Eskey, 2005, as cited

in Naserieh & Salehi, 2013, p 25) Finally, during the reading experiment of the study, students are provided not only vocabulary and grammar but also reading techniques, which is helpful for their preparation for the TOEIC test

1.2 Aims of the study

The study aims at investigating the effect of teachers’ use of code-switching when teaching reading comprehension to EFL students It also attempts to find out what students think about their teacher’s code-switching in the classroom

1.3 Research questions

For the above purposes, the study will be led by two research questions:

1 How does teacher’s code-switching affect students’ reading comprehension?

2 What are students’ attitudes towards their teacher’s use of code-switching in the classroom?

1.4 Hypothesis

Based on the results from previous studies in the field, the present study will be conducted with the hypothesis that teacher’s use of code-switching in the classroom can help students understand the texts better, thus enhancing their performance in doing reading comprehension tasks

1.5 Significance of the study

The study may bring benefits to both EFL teachers and educational administrators

To EFL teachers, the study will help to dispel the misconception that using L1 occasionally in L2 classrooms indicates teachers’ deficiency in using the target language (Choomthong, 2014; Kamwangamalu, 2010) Numerous studies done in Vietnam and other countries have proven that using code-switching judiciously to students of low proficiency may facilitate their process of acquiring the target language

Regarding educational administrators, the policy of using only the target language should be considered carefully as using a combination of Vietnamese and English in the classroom serves many functions and is seen as one of the effective tools

in teaching a foreign language

1.6 Scope of the study

The study will be conducted in two intermediate classes with non-English major students at Ton Duc Thang University

1.7 Organization of the study

The thesis is composed of five chapters Chapter 1 gives an introduction to the thesis Chapter 2 presents a literature review of the background of the thesis Similar studies done by researchers from ESL to EFL contexts are also discussed to find out what they have contributed to the topic, thus leading the researcher to conduct her study

to fill the research gap in the context of Vietnam The chapter ends with the conceptual framework guiding the researcher to carry out the study and analyze the results Chapter

3 presents in detail how the study is conducted, in terms of how the researcher designed the study, chose the research sampling, carried out the experiment, collected and analyzed the data After that, the results will be presented and discussed in Chapter 4 to answer the two research questions Finally, the study ends with Chapter 5 in which main findings of the study will be summarized The last chapter also addresses some pedagogical implications, limitations and suggestions for future study

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

As mentioned in Chapter 1, code-switching has long been a controversial topic

to researchers around the world while it has not been studied thoroughly in the context

of Vietnam With the purpose of outlining the background of the study, this chapter will review theories of code-switching concerning its definition, category, functions and teachers’ attitudes Furthermore, previous studies conducted in Vietnam and other countries are summarized to provide the general overview on code-switching The chapter will end with the conceptual framework of the study

2.1 Definition of code-switching

2.1.1 Code switching

According to Wardhaugh (2010, p 84), the term “code” in the field of

sociolinguistics refers to “a language or a variety of a language” or simply “any kind of system that two or more people employ for communication.” When both interlocutors share the same language repertoire, it is very likely that they change their language from one to another or mix those languages even in the same utterance This process is widely known as code-switching Poplack (1980, p 583) considered code-switching as “the alternation of two languages within a single discourse, sentence or constituent.” Similarly, Valdes-Fallis (1978, p 6) stated that code-switching is “the alternating use

of two languages on the word, phrase, clause, or sentence level.” Muysken (2000, p 1) treated this term as “the rapid succession of several languages in a single speech event”, which also indicates the shift of language use occurring between sentences Myers (2008, p 43) simply defined code-switching as an occasion when “learners of a second language (L2) include elements of their mother tongue in their speech.” This phenomenon occurs not only in bilingual communities in which English is spoken as a second language (ESL contexts) but also in places where English is a foreign language (EFL contexts) because people can code switch even when they have “very little bilingual ability” (Auer, 2011, p 461) In such a narrow context as EFL classrooms, code-switching occurs Littlewood and Yu (2009) realized that code-switching happens

in most of primary and secondary schools all over the world as teachers share a first language with their students In general, Cook (1996, as cited in Chowdhury, 2012, p

42) also acknowledged the inevitability of code-switching and supplemented that it is common in the classroom where “the teacher and students share the same languages.”

In the classroom context, code switching is understood as the alternation of both teacher’s and students’ mother tongue and the target language that they are learning (Sert, 2005)

In the literature, the term “code-switching” appears together with other terms

such as borrowing and code mixing As these terms are easily misunderstood, they need

to be clearly defined and distinguished

2.1.2 Code switching and borrowing

According to Gumperz (1982, as cited in Selemat, 2014, p 20), borrowing is defined as “the introduction of single words or short, frozen, idiomatic phrases from one variety into the other.” Experts on this field have differentiated between the two terms in many ways Poplack (1980, p 584) held the idea that the borrowed linguistic item is “phonologically, morphologically and syntactically integrated into the base language” despite little or no modification in the spelling or/and the pronunciation and/or grammar

On the contrary, in the process of code-switching, phonological, morphological and syntactic rules are kept in the code-switched language (Selemat, 2014) It can be inferred that the two terms are different in their level of integration into another language Borrowing occurs at lexical level while code-switching can be found at lexical and even syntactic level Furthermore, Kamwangamalu (2010) suggested that the two terms are different as code-switching is used when the interlocutors are not proficient in using the languages while borrowing does not indicate that incompetence Moreover, borrowing and code-switching are different in their function Specifically, borrowing serves as a way to fill the lexical gaps in both languages whereas code-switching is used with various functions such as to express solidarity or to emphasize some important points

The distinction between code-switching and borrowing can be clearly illustrated with the following examples Both of the following French sentences mean “I can’t believe that we code-switched as often as that”:

(a) Ca m’étonnerait qu’on ait code-switched autant que ca

(b) Ca m’étonnerait qu’on ait code-switché autant que ca

(Grosjean, 1982, p 308, as cited in Nguyen, T H, 2013, p 15)

In the case of sentence (a), the word “switched” is considered as switching because the word is used with correct English grammar, and possibly with correct English pronunciation However, in the latter case, the word “code-switché” is assimilated into French grammar and morphology and therefore, borrowing occurs

code-In other words, when a word or even a phrase of a particular language is used in another language without any grammatical, phonological, morphological and syntactic assimilation, the phenomenon is called code-switching However, after the word or the phrase has been used frequently, widely and finally accepted by the people of the other language, it is considered as borrowing With such explanation, some researchers even suggest that in the process of developing the lexicon of a language, code-switching is the first step and the source of borrowing (Eastman, 1992; Hoffmann, 1991, as cited in Nguyen, T H, 2013, p 16)

2.1.3 Code switching and code mixing

As stated by Myers-Scotton (1997, as cited in Selemat, 2014, p 1), code mixing

is “the use of words, affixes, phrases and clauses from more than one language within the same sentence.” Sharing the same idea as Myers-Scotton, Muysken (2000, p 1) also described that code mixing is the situation in which “lexical items and grammatical features from two languages appear in one sentence.” In general, code-switching, as defined previously, refers to the alternation of languages between sentences while code mixing is the alternation of languages within a sentence These two terms seem to be complementary to each other However, as Hamers and Blanc (2000) indicated, code mixing is a type of insertional code switching; therefore, it can be inferred that code-switching and code mixing overlap each other In other words, as code-switching is a

cover term of code mixing, the present study will employ the term “code-switching” to refer to any alternation of languages

2.2 Types of code-switching

In the field of sociolinguistics, the categorization of code-switching by Poplack (1980) is widely used by a number of experts because of its long-standing reputation (Nguyen, T H, 2013) According to Poplack (1980), there are three types of code-switching: inter-sentential code-switching, intra-sentential code-switching and tag switching

2.2.1 Inter-sentential code-switching

Poplack described that inter-sentential code-switching occurs at a sentence or clause boundary In other words, there is a shift from one language to another between different sentences or clauses It can be understood that one sentence or clause is spoken with one language and the other with a different language One of the most famous example of inter-sentential code-switching appears in the title of her study: “Sometimes

I’ll start a sentence in English y termino en espanol”, which means “Sometimes I’ll start a sentence in English and finish it in Spanish.” In this perfect example, the

language is changed from English to Spanish between the two clauses

Additionally, Barandagh et al (2013) recorded that this type of code-switching does exist between speakers’ turns or when a speaker needs to translate or explain something In their observation, they find that the teacher starts with an English sentence and then translates the whole sentence into students’ first language in the next utterance

as in the following example:

Teacher: Most of the families wanted to have a television back in their house Bishtare khanevadeha khastand ke telvizion be khanehaieshan bargardad (Barandagh et al., 2013, p 878)

2.2.2 Intra-sentential code-switching

As for the second type, Poplack (1980) noted that the language is switched within

a sentence or clause boundary, which means that the shift occurs within the same

sentence It infers that a single sentence or clause is spoken with different languages This type may also appear within word boundary as in the following example given by Barandagh et al (2013, p 878) in which the student switches to his mother tongue as

he cannot find a word in the target language:

Teacher: Can watching TV have bad effects on our body?

Ebrahimi: Yes, it can be harmful for our binayi (meaning “eyesight”)

From the above example, it is interesting to note that many linguists consider intra-sentential code-switching as code mixing because both terms refer to the language change within a single word, clause or sentence (Pfaff, 1979, as cited in Wardhaugh

2010, p 106; Selemat, 2014)

2.2.3 Tag switching

The third type is also known as “extra-sentential code-switching” as Milroy and Muysken (1995, as cited in Barandagh et al., 2013, p 877) called It is considered as a brief insertion of fixed phrases such as the English tags “Well” or “Right” or English fillers “You know” or “I mean” into an utterance of a different language Poplack (1980,

p 596) also emphasized that these fillers or tags “are less intimately linked with the remainder of the utterance.” Tag-switching can be illustrated in the following example:

But I wanted to fight her con los punos, you know (meaning “But I want to fight her with my fists, you know”) (Poplack, 1980, p 596)

2.3 Functions of code-switching in classrooms

Code-switching in the context of either ESL or EFL classrooms is the alternation between teacher’s and students’ first language (L1) and their second or foreign language (L2) which is the target of their language course Experts in the field of education have acknowledged the benefits of using two languages in the classroom as code-switching serves some crucial functions in the process of learning and teaching

2.3.1 Functions of teachers’ code-switching

Ferguson (2003) categorized functions of teachers’ code-switching into three broad groups: (1) code switching for curriculum access, (2) code switching for classroom discourse management, and (3) code switching for interpersonal relations

In the first group, code-switching is used by teachers to convey the content in the lessons It may include the explanations, usually from L2 to L1, of some points or difficult terms and concepts to clarify confusion and clear up any misunderstanding (Ahmad & Jusoff, 2009; Mujiono, Poedjosoedarmo, Subroto, & Wiratno, 2013; Pei-shi, 2012; Yletyinen, 2004) Sometimes teachers can switch to L1 when they need to check whether their students understand the question that has just been raised to them or the knowledge that has been conveyed (Greggio & Gil, 2007; Yletyinen, 2004) Similarly, code-switching in giving explanation can be found when teachers teach grammatical rules or structures, especially those which do not exist in students’ mother tongue, or provide the meaning of new words by merely giving the translation (Ahmad & Jusoff, 2009; Chowdhury, 2012; Greggio & Gil, 2007; Pei-shi, 2012; Yletyinen, 2004) Besides, Nazari (2008) suggested that teachers can resort to students’ mother tongue when explaining the similarities and differences between L1 and L2 and translating a text from L2 to L1 Although code-switching plays a facilitating role in students’ learning process, Sert (2005) advised that teachers should not overuse it to explain the issues being mentioned because this procedure can cause backwash on students’ attention As students are sure that the explanation will be made in their L1 afterwards, they lose their focus on listening to the English instructions Therefore, teachers need

to balance the use of L1 and L2 to ensure that they transfer the knowledge comprehensively and allow their students to expose to adequate amount of the target language

Regarding the second function of teachers’ code-switching, it is agreed by many researchers that teachers switch codes to manage the class and maintain discipline, especially in large classrooms (Ahmad & Jusoff, 2009; Chowdhury, 2012; Cook, 2001; Selemat, 2014) Teachers can switch to L1 when changing the topics of the lessons or moving from one activity to another as it is argued that they can draw their students’

attention better if L1 is used instead of L2 (Greggio & Gil, 2007; Pei-shi, 2012; Sert, 2005) Moreover, for students of low English proficiency, it is better if teachers organize classroom tasks using students’ mother tongue (Ahmad & Jusoff, 2009; Cook, 2001) Ferguson (2003) said that classroom discourse management also includes the use of code-switching to control students’ behavior For example, when students do not focus

on learning but chatting or failing to do homework, teachers may switch to L1 to express their disappointment or to reprimand their students Yletyinen (2004) argued that in this situation, teachers may feel that their wording is more powerful and effective if they put

it in L1 Besides, students may recognize that this code-switching serves “as an indicator […] that they have done something wrong” (Yletyinen, 2004, p 90)

For the last function, code-switching deals with maintaining and negotiating the relationship between teachers and students This function of code-switching is for

“unofficial interactions” in which both teachers and students discussed something not related to or demanded by the lessons (Canagarajah, 1995, as cited in Yletyinen, 2004,

p 80) These unofficial interactions can take place at any time during the lesson For example, teachers may begin the lesson by merely asking how students spent their weekend or holiday During the lesson, they can make some jokes just to lighten the tense atmosphere in the classroom (Greggio & Gil, 2007; Mujiono et al., 2013) Additionally, code-switching can serve as a medium to express solidarity, i.e establishing interpersonal relationships between teachers and students (Ahmad & Jusoff, 2009; Chowdhury, 2012; Mujiono et al., 2013) Moreover, Selemat (2014) suggested that teachers can switch to L1 to reduce students’ anxiety when learning a foreign language, to give feedback and comments on their performance and to encourage them to participate in classroom activities, thus increasing their motivation and confidence in learning English

2.3.2 Functions of students’ code-switching

As for students, the functions of their code-switching are not the same as those

of their teachers The most noticeable function is to fill the gap in their incompetence at using the target language When they cannot find an English counterpart, they switch to the structure or vocabulary in their native language to maintain the conversation with

their teachers and other students (Greggio & Gil, 2007; Selemat, 2014; Sert, 2005) Krashen (1981) also acknowledged that students tend to resort to L1 when they encounter difficulties in expressing their ideas in L2 because they do not have gain enough proficiency in the target language In other words, students switch to L1 on an

ad hoc basis to overcome their deficiency in communication

Another function that students’ code-switching performs is to facilitate their learning process It is common to beginners of English who could feel at ease if they can use their L1 as “a starting point […] to explore and generate ideas” (Selemat, 2014,

p 31) The use of L1 by low proficient students, of course, should be gradually reduced when they gain more competence in their target language Moreover, the languages used

by students are shifted from L2 to L1 when they seek help from teachers For example, Greggio and Gil (2007) and Yletyinen (2004) noted that students speak in their mother tongue to ask teachers how to pronounce a word, to translate a text or a word, to navigate themselves in using the books and to clarify some grammatical rules or structures Lastly, in several cases, they shift from L2 to L1 to repeat teachers’ messages as a way

to indicate that they understand what their teachers have just said (Sert, 2005)

In short, it is crystal clear that code-switching serves numerous functions in the process of teaching and learning However, the use of code-switching in L2 classrooms has always been a controversial issue in sociolinguistics and other related fields If code-switching is used inappropriately, it may turn out to be a hindrance to the acquisition of new language(s)

2.4 Attitudes towards the use of code-switching in L2 classrooms

As the controversy about whether the use of code-switching in a language classroom impedes or facilitates the process of learning L2 has not came to an end, the present study will examine both of the extremes of the argument before proposing its own solutions for using code-switching effectively in classrooms

2.4.1 Arguments against code-switching

Resorting to the mother tongue in language classrooms has been criticized because it goes against the pedagogical principles Many experts in the field of

linguistics and second language acquisition believe that the process of acquiring L2 is the same as that of L1; therefore, students should be put in a completely L2 environment

to be exposed to the target language as much as possible The exclusive use of L1 in L2 classroom gained its popularity in the nineteenth century when the Natural Method – or later known as the Direct Method – asserted that “teachers must encourage direct and spontaneous use of the foreign language in the classroom” (Richards & Rodgers, 1986,

p 9) and students should learn to think directly in L2 at an early stage in their acquisition process (Nguyen, T N & Ho, T L, 2012) With the focus on how to use the target language actively, this teaching method suggests grammatical rules should be taught inductively and meaning of new vocabulary should be conveyed through

“demonstration, objects, and pictures” for concrete vocabulary and “by association of ideas” for abstract one (Richards & Rodgers, 1986, p 10) Therefore, there is no need for teachers to use translation or students’ mother tongue during class time

The avoidance of using L1 in L2 classrooms at all costs is also advocated by Krashen (1985), who is the father of the Input Hypothesis In his work, he claimed that

“humans acquire language in only one way – by understanding messages, or by receiving comprehensible input” (Krashen, 1985, p 2) which is necessary to help them

go a little beyond their existing knowledge The statement aims at language acquirers

in general, from a child learning their L1 to an adult learning another language While children acquire L1 through caretaker speech, adults acquire their L2 with the help of what is called modified input (i.e teacher talk in classrooms) The teachers’ purpose of using modified input is merely to make themselves understood by their students Once students understand the input, they will automatically learn the new structures without the teacher’s deliberate attempt to teach any grammar Teachers should tune their language of instructions to their students’ proficiency in L2 instead of using any L1 in classrooms because there is a strong correlation between students’ amount of exposure

to L2 and their proficiency (Krashen, 1982) In other words, he attributed the success in acquiring L2 to the input only and the interference of L1 may impede the process of acquiring the new language

Moreover, being the primary source of L2 to students in EFL classrooms, teachers need to simulate real-life situations in the classroom to train students how to use the target language Krashen also concurred this idea when he believes that the comprehensible input provided in the classroom is “the essential environmental ingredient” (Krashen, 1985, p 80) to language acquirers; therefore, teachers have no right to derive their students from being exposed to their target language, especially when classrooms are “the main, if not only, source of comprehensible input” (Krashen,

1982, p 35) Furthermore, excessive use of L1 may even lead to severe consequences when students are used to the habit of translating between their L1 and L2, which prevents them from thinking directly in the language they are trying to acquire (Choomthong, 2014)

2.4.2 Arguments supporting code-switching

A number of researchers holding positive attitudes towards code-switching have attacked the monolingual approach in teaching L2 because it reveals some defects

The main reason for employing code-switching is that it serves crucial functions

in classrooms Both teachers and students gain benefits from using both L1 and L2 in the EFL classrooms It appears to be very useful when teachers need to explain grammatical issues or unknown words because using the mother tongue can save much time and ensure students’ understanding (Turnbull, 2001) Besides, switching to L1 when providing meanings of L2 words is also effective as translation is “clear, short and familiar” to students (McKeown, 1993, as cited in Nguyen, T B H et al., 2010, p 4) Atkinson – an advocate for the use of mother tongue in L2 classrooms – also asserted that translation is “a part of the preferred learning strategies of most learners in most places” (Atkinson, 1987, p 242) In this case, code-switching is considered as an effective teaching and learning strategy in the EFL classrooms where it “builds a bridge from known to unknown” (Sert, 2005, p 5) Similarly, McLaughlin (1978) and Taylor (1975, as cited in Ellis, 1985, p 37) argued that L1 is used as part of the psychological process – “that of relying on prior knowledge to facilitate new learning.”

Moreover, the monolingual approach is criticized as it turns out to be impractical when teaching low proficient language students As they have not gained much

command of the target language, it is impossible for them to understand the lessons conducted in L2 (Kieu, H K A, 2010) If teachers keep lecturing in L2, students would leave the classrooms not only with incompetence in L2 but also with resentment, frustration, and “alienation from the learning process” (Pachler & Field, 2001, p 85) Therefore, when flexibly switching to using L1, teachers could make “learning English appear to be less of a threat” and help students to enhance their confidence and maintain positive attitudes towards learning English (Schweers, 1999, p 13)

The Input Hypothesis, which is the main principle of L2 only policy, is also

attacked for it claims that maximum exposure to L2 results in students’ learning success Although the role of exposure to the target language is very important in students’ acquiring process, it is not always that case Phillipson (1992, as cited in Kieu, H K A,

2010, p 121) pointed out that students’ learning success is influenced by not only the quantity of L2 input but also by other factors such as the quality of teachers and teaching materials as well as teaching methodology Furthermore, Elridge (1996) believed that the maximum exposure to L1 and decreasing the use of using mother tongue do not increase the quality and quantity of the target language produced by students

Lastly, those supporting the use of code-switching express their concern over

“humanistic approach” in the classroom This term was introduced by Atkinson (1987) who argued that teachers should allow their students to “say what they really want to say sometimes” in their target language (Atkinson, 1987, p 242) When the ideas are formulated, teachers are advised to encourage their students to express those ideas in L2 with the help from teachers if necessary

2.5 Previous studies on the use code-switching in English classrooms

Previous studies on the use of code-switching or the interference of L1 in L2 classrooms are conducted in both ESL and EFL contexts, mainly taking into consideration of teaching reading and writing skills and other language aspects such as grammar and vocabulary

In the ESL context, Seng and Hashim (2006) investigated the extent and reasons why Malaysian first-year students majoring in Education use Bahasa Melayu (L1) when

reading L2 texts The students were asked to work in groups and already trained to think aloud in English The process of thinking aloud and group working were video- and audio- taped so that the researchers could identify how students deal with L2 reading comprehension texts The results showed that there are three patterns of language choice made by the students when they read and try to understand the texts: using L2 entirely, using L1 entirely, and using both L1 and L2 in a sentence As for the last pattern, it is worth mentioning that their switch between L1 and L2 is very smooth as they were bilinguals living in an ESL community The study also revealed that making use of L1 constitutes 32.2% of students’ reading strategies Concerning the reasons for code-switching, the researchers reported that students switch to their mother tongue when they encountered some problems related to word meaning or comprehension Seng and Hashim (2006) further suggested teachers should not totally ban the use of L1 by students, especially those at low English proficiency as it could help them study more effectively

Also conducted in the Malaysian tertiary context, Azlan and Narasuman (2013) examined the use of code-switching in communication among university students and between students and their lecturer The results of the study revealed that students code-switched for many reasons Most of them switched to L1 (i.e Malay) when they needed

to emphasize or to clarify a certain point during their discussion Although they were trained to be English teachers after their university graduation, 50% of them felt it hard

to use English all the time due to their small language repertoire The questionnaire also showed that most of them used their L1 when communicating with their classmates and even during class presentation More importantly, as the lecturer and students were Malay Muslims, the use of L1 helped them to express solidarity within their social group The researcher also recognized a close bond existed between the lecturer and students, which meant that they tent to switch to L1 in their informal conversations Although the lecturer maintained to speak English most of the time and compelled students to do so, half of them still preferred to code-switching and even 10% of them opted for using L1 in communicating with classmates while the remaining 50% revealed that they used the target language because they were asked to do What concerned the researcher was that these TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) students

code-switched frequently and even made grammatical mistakes in the target language which they were expected to be good at The researcher proposed that teachers should control students’ use of languages in such “English-oriented classes” (Azlan & Narasuman, 2013, p 467) For non-English major students, L1 could be used for only students of low proficiency as long as the use of L1 “must not be allowed to overtake the target language in the classroom” (Azlan & Narasuman, 2013, p 467)

A number of researchers also show their interest in the use of code-switching in EFL classrooms They investigate teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards the interference of mother tongue in L2 classrooms and the relationship between code-switching and students’ learning success A few of them conclude that code-switching does not help students much in their learning process, particularly Torki, Kasmani and Valipour (2014) who examined the effects of code-switching on Iranian university students’ L2 reading comprehension The results revealed that code-switching did not help students in learning process as they found no significant difference between the scores in the pre-test and post-test of both control and experimental groups This can be attributed to the qualities of the participants who were all sophomores majoring in English translation In other words, they needed to be good at English and their mother tongue to become a translator, dealing with an L2 reading text may not be a challenge

to them

Unlike what Torki et al (2014) discovered, many researchers’ findings confirm the positive role of code-switching on students’ learning process Ahmed and Yassin (2013) conducted a study with the same purpose of investigating the effects of using L1

to teach reading comprehension to high school students who were native speakers of Arabian With the test-retest method used in the study, the students in both groups were asked to take a pre-test before the experiment and a post-test after the experiment In the study, the teacher explained and clarified new vocabulary or phrases to the students

in Arabic in the experimental group while the control group was taught with English only The results from the post-test showed that both groups gained higher scores compared to the scores in the pre-test However, the students in the experimental group significantly surpassed their friends in the control group in terms of comprehending L2

text It can be inferred that the use of L1 facilitated students’ reading comprehension The researchers also noted a slight improvement in students’ post-test scores in the control group and attributed their betterment to their adaptation to their teacher’s English only instructions by having “applied their own skills” (Ahmed & Yassin, 2013,

p 121) after 2-month intensive study

Similarly, Hamdan and Diab’s (1997) study confirms the effect of using L1 in testing students’ reading comprehension ability Their secondary school students were divided into two groups after being instructed the reading texts in their textbook A comprehension post-test was given to one group with questions in English (L2) while the other group with the same questions but in Arabic (L1) Their results showed that the scores in L1 test version were higher than that in L2 version The researchers; therefore, came to the conclusion that “learners of intermediate achievement level may show a better understanding of an L2 reading comprehension text if the test items are written in their native language and if they are required to answer them in the same language” (Hamdan & Diab, 1997, p 16)

Esfahani (2014) made a positive contribution to this field when she studied the relationship between code-switching and students’ learning success in an ESP (English for specific purposes) context in Iran By using questionnaires to explore students’ perceptions of code-switching, she found out that most of them prefer their teacher’s use of L1 and L2, particularly when teaching complex issues such as grammar or difficult concepts and giving meanings of new words More importantly, the students revealed that the use of L1 in the classroom helped to relieve learning anxiety The researcher also came to her conclusion that “teachers’ code-switching is significantly associated with learners’ learning success” (Esfahani, 2014, p 112) However, the relationship the researcher wished to investigate seems not convincing enough as she just asked students’ subjective perception It would be much better if she conducted an experimental study in which students’ learning success can be persuasively measured with the help of a treatment and a post-test

As code-switching is an inevitable phenomenon in any L2 classrooms and serves some important roles, researchers have tried to determine how often teachers should

switch to students’ mother tongue to facilitate their learning In his study, Sipra (2007) aimed at finding out the role of bilingualism in facilitating L2 learning process of intermediate students Based on classroom observation, questionnaires given to both teachers and students, and interviews with teachers, he drew some important conclusions Firstly, the results of this study concurred with others in the facilitating role of bilingualism in teaching and learning process, especially when teaching integrated skills to students of intermediate level According to him, classroom management should be done in L2 to expose students to the target language which they

do not have much chance to use outside the classroom However, conversation activities, discussion of intensive reading, preparation for writing should be done in L1 because it is more natural, effective and appropriate to the students who are shy and/or not proficient in L2 Lastly, the researcher suggested the amount of L1 should be used

in classrooms To increase students’ exposure to L2, he claimed that less than 10% of class time should be allocated for using L1 However, he recommended that, as most of the students and teachers in his study suggested, L1 could even account for 20-30% of class time as long as teachers could manage to meet the needs of their students

When it comes to the ratio of using L1 in L2 classrooms, the percentage is not consistent among researchers For example, Dujmovic (2007) proposed that teachers should spend 10% - 20% of class time switching to L1 when teaching intermediate or upper-intermediate students while Atkinson (1987) suggested L1 and L2 should deserve 5% and 95% of class time respectively to early levels Not giving a specific answer on this matter, Turnbull (2001) stated generally that teachers who speak L2 less than 25%

of class time are considered to rely heavily on the L1, thus depriving students of acquiring “the valuable TL input” in the classroom (Turnbull, 2001, p 536) Although the researchers do not find the consistent voice in the frequency of L1 interference, they all share the same attitudes that only a small amount of L1 should be used in the classroom and that the frequency should be decreased when students gain more proficiency in L2

The use of L1 in university classrooms has been investigated by several researchers in Thailand where English is used as a foreign language as in Vietnam

According to Choomthong (2014), it is the national entrance examination that has some backwash effects on teaching and learning English English classes only focus on teaching grammar and reading skills while little attention is paid to improve students’ speaking and writing skills Besides, due to teachers’ low proficiency in English speaking skills, L1 (i.e Thai) is used most of the time in English classes, which results

in students’ incompetence in speaking English He suggested that English be more prioritized to create an English environment in the classroom to help students acquire the accent, pronunciation, and language rules and usage The researcher also noted that

a little Thai can be used together with English because of the purpose of the class and students’ English level

Thongwichit (2013) also shared the opinion that Thai should be used in English classrooms as it can “be regarded as a worthy source in the field of second language learning” if the teacher switches to L1 judiciously and pedagogically (Thongwichit,

2013, p 179) By using questionnaire, semi-structured interview and classroom observation, the researcher came to several conclusions concerning university students’ attitudes and the purposes of using L1 in foreign language classrooms Firstly, most of the students in the study acknowledged that teachers’ use of L1 during class time helped them understand the lessons more, especially when dealing with tough exercises They even learnt new vocabulary better if they used an English-Thai dictionary Secondly, the data from the questionnaire revealed that most of the students showed their affection towards learning English with the help of L1 However, when being interviewed, some students reported that the use of Thai in English classrooms “could lead to feelings of being unmotivated, disappointed and bored” (Thongwichit, 2013, p 189) Therefore, the researcher suggested the teacher should use L1 carefully to benefit their students who have limited exposure to English outside the classroom Although students showed their preference for using Thai in the classroom, they were well aware that excessive use of Thai may be a hindrance to their learning English Finally, according to them, L1 should be allowed when they raised questions to the teacher and discuss the lessons in pair or group work They also expected their teacher to use Thai when giving classroom instructions, teaching vocabulary and grammar, and checking listening and reading comprehension From these suggestions, teachers should take the use of L1 into

consideration when they prepare their lessons On the one hand, the interference of L1

in L2 classrooms facilitates students’ learning process, but on the other hand, L1 should

be used judiciously and pedagogically to “avoid negative feelings from students” (Thongwichit, 2013, p 197) and allow them to be exposed to adequate L2 for their language acquisition

In the context of Vietnam, a few studies have been done on this topic By observing a teacher who taught in a private university and a public university in Ho Chi Minh City and getting students’ written feedback, Nguyen, Q T (2012) came to several conclusions which contribute greatly to the literature in Vietnam context Although code-switching was used in the two universities with the same functions, i.e

“communicative and facilitating tool to aid in and check L2 comprehension and to add more information” (Nguyen, Q T, 2012, p 21), higher frequency of its occurrence was found in the public university than in the private one There lied several reasons for the higher frequency of code-switching in the former educational context Firstly, the teacher did not have to rush for teaching the lesson within time constraints In other words, there was no need for the teacher to resort to Vietnamese try to make her students understand the lessons quickly to finish the lesson on schedule As “students were taught at their own learning pace” (Nguyen, Q T, 2012, p 17), the teacher taught under

no pressure and tried to use English to help students understand the lesson Secondly, students were put in the class appropriate to their level, which helped the teacher much

in delivering the lessons in English Besides, teacher evaluation system (including frequent classroom observation and a merit-based teacher evaluation) in the private university was more effective than that in the private institution, making all teachers to try their best to maximize the use of the target language in their classrooms Additionally, the use of code-switching was found in both public and private schools for two reasons The Asian culture in the classroom should be mentioned first The researcher reported that “no discourse initiation from the students” can be found in both institutions (Nguyen, Q T, 2012, p 20) Students were accustomed to listening to their teacher’s lecture, not asking questions and only responding to their teacher if they were asked to Therefore, basing on students’ gesture (e.g frowning faces), the teacher code-switched to help them understand the lessons Besides, no matter where the teacher was

teaching, she made use of code-switching in L2 classrooms because of the scaffolding and the comprehensible input that the use of both English and Vietnamese offered to her students

Being interested in identifying in which situations Vietnamese is used in L2 classrooms, Kieu, H K A (2010) conducted her study based on the attitudes of teachers

in three universities in Ho Chi Minh City From the information obtained from the questionnaire and interview, she came to some conclusions In line with other studies, the teacher participants in her study supported the use of code-switching and acknowledged the important role it performed in the classroom They reported that Vietnamese was used mostly to explain grammatical and vocabulary issues and to check understanding The study also unveiled that most teachers were aware of using limited Vietnamese and gradually reducing the amount of mother tongue when students’ English proficiency develops Finally, the researcher suggested that the use of code-switching should be explored more in experimental studies to assess its actual role to students’ learning process

2.6 Readability formula

As the present study aims at teaching reading comprehension to university students, the difficulty of the reading passages – one of the factors that affect students’ comprehension level – should be taken into consideration That difficulty, which is also known as readability, can be measured by using readability formulas Among over 40 formulas, Flesch Reading Ease Readability Formula, suggested by Rudolph Flesch, is commonly used by many researchers (Heydari, 2012) The difficulty of any reading passages written in English is computed as follows:

In the above formula, ASL stands for the Average Sentence Length (i.e the number of words divided by the number of sentences), and ASW the Average of Syllables per Word (the number of syllables divided by the number of words) (Heydari,

2012, p 424)

Reading ease score = 206.835 – (1.015 x ASL) – (84.6 x ASW)

The results range from 0 to 100 – the higher it is, the easier the reading text is for readers’ understanding According to Flesch (1949), the value of Reading Ease could be interpreted as in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1: Description and estimated reading grade for Flesch Reading Ease Score

(Flesch, 1949, p 149)

Reading Ease Score Description of Style Estimated Reading Grade

0-30 Very difficult College graduate

30-50 Difficult 13th – 16th grade (college) 50-60 Fairly difficult 10th - 12th grade (high school) 60-70 Standard 8th – 9th grade

70-80 Fairly easy 7th grade

2.7 Conceptual framework of the study

The operational definition for the term “code-switching” employed in the present study is that it is the use of both English and Vietnamese by the teacher in the classroom Besides, the study adapted Ferguson’s (2003) three functional categories of teachers’ code-switching Specific situations in which code-switching was used in each category were taken from other researchers such as Jingxia (2010, p 20), Nazari (2008, p 146), and Selemat (2014, pp 138-140) Functions of teachers’ code-switching are summarized in Table 2.2

Table 2.2: Functions of teachers’ code-switching in the classroom

Three broad functional categories Situations

Code-switching for curriculum

access

Explaining grammar points Explaining difficult or abstract vocabulary

Explaining difficult concepts Emphasizing or clarifying important points

Explaining the similarities and differences between L1 and L2 Checking students’ comprehension Translating difficult texts/sentences from L2 to L1

Code-switching for discourse

Reducing students’ anxiety in the classroom

Increasing students’ motivation and confidence in learning English Providing praise, feedback or personal remarks about student’s performance Encouraging students’ participation in classroom activities

The situations in Table 2.2 helped the researcher to decide when to use both English and Vietnamese in teaching the experimental group to find out how effective code-switching was in the EFL classrooms Additionally, the researcher based on the

functions of teachers’ code-switching to design the questionnaire and interview questions (see Chapter 3)

Concerning the amount of time spent on code-switching in the classroom of intermediate level, after investigating the literature, the present study opted for a range from 20% to 25% of L1 occurrence during the time allotted for teaching reading comprehension to the experimental group

Finally, among numerous reading texts available in books, the researcher decided

to choose those whose Reading Ease Scores felt at the level “Difficult” (i.e 30-50) because this level was appropriate to university students (Flesch, 1949)

In general, the conceptual framework laid the foundation guiding the researcher

to decide when to code-switch in teaching the experimental group to find out how effective code-switching was in EFL classrooms Additionally, it helped the researcher

to design the questionnaire and interview questions to answer the second research question concerning students’ attitudes towards their teacher’s use of code-switching in teaching reading comprehension Furthermore, it formed the basis for the discussion and analysis in Chapter 4 of the study

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

As stated in Chapter 1, the present study aimed at examining the effectiveness of teachers’ code-switching in teaching reading comprehension In addition, students’ attitudes towards their teacher’s code-switching in the classroom were taken into consideration Therefore, the study attempted to answer the two following research questions:

1 How does teacher’s code-switching affect students’ reading comprehension ability?

2 What are students’ attitudes towards their teacher’s use of code-switching in the classroom?

The study was also carried out with the hypothesis that teacher’s code-switching could facilitate students’ understanding of the reading texts, thus helping them perform better when doing reading comprehension tests

In this chapter, the methodological approach to the study is discussed in detail in terms of research design, research site, the participants of the study, research instruments, the process of collecting data and the method used in analyzing the data

3.1 Research design

As the study attempted to find out the effectiveness of teacher’s use of switching in the classroom, the research employed quasi-experimental design in which the experimental group received both English and Vietnamese instructions during class time while the control group was taught entirely in English In other words, the experiment involved changing the independent variable (i.e teacher’s use of code-switching) and observing its effect on the dependent variable (i.e students’ performance

code-on reading comprehensicode-on tasks) (Cohen, Manicode-on & Morriscode-on, 2000) For the seccode-ond research question, questionnaire and interview could best help the researcher to gain students’ opinions about the teacher’s use of code-switching during class time

3.2 Research site

The study was conducted at the TOEIC Center (TTC), which belongs to Ton Duc Thang University, located in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City The sampling strategy used for the present study was convenience sampling because the researcher had been working at the university for three years and could gain easy access to the participants

3.3 Participants

All non-English major students are required to take TOEIC preparation courses

in order to be able to obtain the TOEIC score of 500 and 420 out of 900, respectively, for their graduation Before beginning their first year, all freshmen are required to take

a placement test so that they can be assigned to the class level according to their language ability

The input requirement for the freshmen set by the university is that they must score at least 200 in the placement TOEIC test Those who fail to meet that requirement are assigned to two classes of lower level namely General English 1 and General English 2 All eight classes are classified into three levels of English proficiency by the university as in Table 3.1

Table 3.1: Levels of English classes based on students’ placement test scores

Placement test score Class Level of English

The students attend six English periods per week in a 15-week semester, making the total attendance of 90 periods per semester All students of the first five class levels (i.e from General English 1 to TOEIC 3) are required to use two coursebooks at the

same time One is the International Express (Harding & Taylor, 2014) helping them to

reinforce their general English knowledge and the other is a TOEIC preparation book providing foundation for them to take the TOEIC test Meanwhile, the students who are

at intermediate level (except those studying TOEIC 3) enroll in an intensive preparation program in which they focus on practicing doing some simulated TOEIC tests

Among the eight levels, the researcher decided to choose the students who were

at TOEIC 3 level for three reasons Firstly, they were sophomores and had spent three out of eight semesters at the university; therefore, they would be somewhat familiar with the way English was taught by university lecturers Secondly, among the students

in the university, their level was between those who were not good at English (i.e beginning and pre-intermediate students) and those who gained some proficiency in English (i.e who were at TOEIC 4, 5, and 6 level) The lower proficient students were excluded from the study because experts in this field suggested that teachers use more L1 in teaching L2 to these students (Chowdhury, 2012; Yousofi & Khaksar, 2014) In other words, in the situation of the present study, students of lower proficiency could not be put in the control group in which they were taught entirely in English Students

at higher class levels were also eliminated because their English knowledge and skills were quite good, they might find that code-switching did not much facilitate their learning when they were put in the experimental group Finally, as the researcher realized, students at TOEIC 3 level could manage to learn in the classroom where the teacher spoke both L1 and L2 during class time

After consulting with the Director of TTC about the requirements of the participants, the researcher was assigned to teach two classes, namely Class 001003_26

of 39 students and Class 001003_83 of 31 students However, some students in the former class moved to other classes from the beginning of the semester, making the total number of students in this class 34 Throughout the study, 2 participants in this class were disqualified because of their incomplete participation Therefore, there were

63 participants in the study, i.e 32 in the former class and 31 in the latter Class 001003_26 served as the experimental group in which the teacher gave instructions in both English and Vietnamese while Class 001003_83 was assigned the control group in which there were only English instructions

The homogeneity of the participants could be ensured because they were sorted earlier in the placement test given by the university Moreover, before the study began, all of them were invited to take a pre-test so that their real homogeneity could be computed by using SPSS software In addition, both classes studied English at Shift 2 (i.e from 9h25 to 11h50), thus it was assumed that they had the same state of mind and body

Table 3.2 presents the general information about the participants of the study

Table 3.2: Gender of the participants

Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage Experimental group

(Class 001003_26) 12 37.5% 20 62.5% Control group

(Class 001003_83) 13 41.9% 18 58.1%

3.4 Research instruments

In order to answer the research questions, the study employed three research instruments, namely reading tests, questionnaire and interview The use of a pre-test was to test students’ homogeneity and the use of the post-tests was to compare the influence of code-switching on the two groups In other words, the researcher intended

to find out whether or not the use of code-switching helped students to understand the lessons and performed well in the post-tests The questionnaire was then employed to seek students’ attitudes towards the language(s) the teacher used in the classroom Finally, the researcher took advantage of the semi-structured interview to get more