Teachers code switching in pre intermediate efl classrooms a case study at university of science vietnam national university ho chi minh city

As for the students’ attitudes towards their teacher’s code-switching in English classrooms, this practice was generally supported in some specific situations, especially those that prov

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY

UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE

TEACHERS’ CODE-SWITCHING IN PRE-INTERMEDIATE EFL CLASSROOMS:

A CASE STUDY AT UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE,

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature

in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL

In addition, my sincere thanks go to the administrative staff at the Center for Foreign Languages, University of Science, Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City, for providing me with necessary conditions to approach the potential teacher participants at the site for my study

I am also greatly indebted to my colleagues at the Center, especially the four teachers who allowed me to enter their classes to make observations for both the pilot and the official studies Besides, I would like to acknowledge all the students involved in the study for their active participation Without their assistance, my thesis would never have been completed

I also owe sincere thanks to Mr Cao Thanh Tâm, my former colleague, for his valuable suggestions on the writing of this thesis as well as his constant encouragement whenever I wavered in my determination to finish it

Last but not least, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my beloved parents, who are always there for me as a never-ending source of love, caring and support on which I can rely every time I am in need of them to carry on in my life

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

I certify that this thesis entitled “TEACHERS’ CODE-SWITCHING IN INTERMEDIATE EFL CLASSROOMS: A CASE STUDY AT UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE, VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY” is my own work, except where explicit reference sources

PRE-were made

This thesis has not been previously submitted to any other institution for any degree, diploma or qualification

Ho Chi Minh City, January 25, 2018

Nguyễn Khoa Nam

RETENTION OF USE

I hereby state that I, Nguyễn Khoa Nam, being a candidate for the Master’s degree

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 copy of my thesis deposited

in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan and reproduction oftheses

Ho Chi Minh City, January 25, 2018

Nguyễn Khoa Nam

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgements i

Statement of originality ii

Retention of use iii

Table of contents iv

List of abbreviations vii

List of tables viii

List of figures ix

Abstract x

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background to the study 1

1.2 Aims of the study 3

1.3 Research questions 4

1.4 Significance of the study 4

1.5 Scope of the study 4

1.6 Outline of the thesis 5

CHAPTER 2 - LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Operational definitions of key terms 6

2.1.1 Mother tongue, the first language (L1), and the second language (L2) 6

2.1.2 The concept of code-switching 7

2.2 Functions of code-switching in second language learning and teaching 10

2.3 Opinions on L1 use in L2 learning and teaching 13

2.3.1 Arguments against L1 use in EFL classrooms 13

2.3.2 Arguments in favor of L1 use in EFL classrooms 14

2.4 Learners and teachers’ attitudes towards code-switching in different EFL contexts 16

2.5 Code-switching in English classrooms in Vietnam 18

2.6 Conceptual framework of the study 22

CHAPTER 3 - METHODOLOGY 24

3.1 Research design 24

3.2 Context of the study 26

3.3 Pilot study 28

3.4 Research participants in the study 29

3.4.1 Teacher participants 29

3.4.2 Student participants 31

3.5 Research instruments 32

3.5.1 Questionnaires 32

3.5.2 Observation scheme 41

3.5.3 Interviews 44

3.6 Data collection procedure 45

3.7 Data analysis procedure 48

CHAPTER 4 - RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 50

4.1 Teachers’ opinions and practices of code-switching in EFL classrooms 50

4.1.1 Teachers’ opinions of code-switching in EFL classrooms 50

4.1.2 Teachers’ practices of their code-switching in the A2-level English class 56 4.1.3 Comparisons between teachers’ opinions and their practices of code-switching 59

4.2 Variance in teachers’ code-switching throughout their English course in terms of frequency and functions 67

4.2.1 Observational results 67

4.2.2 Discussion 87

4.3 Students’ attitudes towards their teachers’ code-switching 89

4.3.1 General opinions about code-switching in EFL classrooms 89

4.3.2 Reflection on teacher’s code-switching in their current English class 92

4.3.3 Students’ further opinions on their teacher’s code-switching 101

4.3.4 Discussion 103

4.4 Summary 106

CHAPTER 5 - CONCLUSION 108

5.1 Conclusion 108

5.2 Pedagogical implications and suggestions 110

5.2.1 Implications for EFL teachers 110

5.2.2 Implications for school administrators 111

5.3 Limitations of the study 111

5.4 Recommendations for further research 112

REFERENCES 115

APPENDICES 124

Appendix 1 Teacher questionnaire 125

Appendix 2 Student questionnaire 129

Appendix 2A Student questionnaire (English version) 130

Appendix 2B Student questionnaire (Vietnamese version) 135

Appendix 3 Reliability analysis of the student questionnaire 140

Appendix 3A Before item analysis 141

Appendix 3B After item analysis 145

Appendix 4 Extracts of classroom observation transcripts 149

Appendix 5 Spada and Fröhlich's COLT (Communication Orientation of Language Teaching) observation scheme 159

Appendix 6 Classroom observation scheme 161

Appendix 7 Questions used in teacher interviews 162

Appendix 7A Questions used in teacher interviews (English version) 163

Appendix 7B Questions used in teacher interviews (Vietnamese version) 165

Appendix 8 Extracts of teacher interviews 167

Appendix 9 The frequency of teachers’ switches for each function in the three stages of the course 171

Appendix 10 The first page of a module in New Cutting Edge – Pre-Intermediate textbook 177

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

US, VNU-HCMC University of Science, Vietnam National

University – Ho Chi Minh City

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Distribution of the items in the teacher questionnaire 35 Table 3.2 Distribution of the items in the student questionnaire 39 Table 3.3 A summary of the number of items and the Cronbach’s alpha values for

each scale before and after item analysis 40 Table 3.4 The timeline for the data collection process in the official study 47 Table 4.1 Teachers’ general beliefs about code-switching in EFL classrooms 51 Table 4.2 Teachers’ opinions about the frequency of their code-switching for

curriculum access 54 Table 4.3 Teachers’ opinions about the frequency of their code-switching for

classroom management 55 Table 4.4 Teachers’ opinions about the frequency of their code-switching for

interpersonal relations 56 Table 4.5 The total number of each teacher’s switches in each module 56 Table 4.6 The total number of each teacher’s switches for each function in all three

modules 57 Table 4.7 The students’ opinions on the benefits of their teacher’s code-switching 93 Table 4.8 The students’ opinions on the drawbacks of their teacher’s code-

switching 95 Table 4.9 The students’ feelings about their teacher’s code-switching 97 Table 4.10a The students’ preferences for their teacher’s code-switching for

curriculum access 98 Table 4.10b The students’ preferences for their teacher’s code-switching for

classroom management 99 Table 4.10c The students’ preferences for their teacher’s code-switching for

interpersonal relations 100 Table 4.11 The students’ behaviors towards their teacher’s code-switching 101

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Two general viewpoints on code-switching in foreign language learning

and teaching settings 22 Figure 4.1 Changes in the frequency of teachers’ code-switching in the three stages

of the course 68 Figure 4.2 Teacher 1’s switches for curriculum access in the three stages of the

course 70 Figure 4.3 Teacher 1’s switches for classroom management in the three stages of

the course 74 Figure 4.4 Teacher 1’s switches for interpersonal relations in the three stages of the

course 76 Figure 4.5 Teacher 2’s switches for curriculum access in the three stages of the

course 78 Figure 4.6 Teacher 2’s switches for classroom management in the three stages of

the course 80 Figure 4.7 Teacher 2’s switches for interpersonal relations in the three stages of the

course 81 Figure 4.8 Teacher 3’s switches for curriculum access in the three stages of the

course 83 Figure 4.9 Teacher 3’s switches for classroom management in the three stages of

the course 84 Figure 4.10 Teacher 3’s switches for interpersonal relations in the three stages of

the course 85 Figure 4.11 The students’ opinions about whether Vietnamese should be used in

English classes 89 Figure 4.12 The students’ opinions about the expected frequency of teachers’

switching between English and Vietnamese 90 Figure 4.13 The students’ opinions about the necessity of teachers’ use of

Vietnamese in English classes 91 Figure 4.14 The students’ overall feeling about their teachers’ use of Vietnamese

in English classes 92

ABSTRACT

Code-switching, the alternation between one’s own language and another language, is a phenomenon that has long existed in bilingual communities Over the past few decades, code-switching in second and foreign language classrooms has drawn considerable attention of numerous linguists and researchers around the globe Two opposing viewpoints on code-switching are usually found in the literature and various studies on this practice in L2 classrooms: for and against the L1 use However, most studies have investigated teacher code-switching through only one or a couple of class sessions in a course Besides, the learners’ attitudes towards this practice by the teacher have yet to be explored in detail As an attempt

to fill these gaps in the literature, the triangulation of data, i.e observation in different stages of the course, teacher and student questionnaires, and teacher interviews, was employed in this current study, which consisted of three teachers and 124 non-English majors as the participants The results indicate that what the teachers thought about their own code-switching was not always consistent with what they actually performed in their English class Moreover, among the three teacher participants in this case study, only one teacher’s code-switching witnessed

a quite stable frequency in all the three stages of the course, whereas the other two’s number of switches varied remarkably through time due to different reasons

As for the students’ attitudes towards their teacher’s code-switching in English classrooms, this practice was generally supported in some specific situations, especially those that proved beneficial to their learning of the subject content and helped to promote interpersonal relationships between the teacher and students Given these findings, the study discussed some practical implications of teacher code-switching for both teachers and school administrators so that they can make the most use of this practice in EFL contexts

Key words: code-switching, L1 use, EFL classrooms, opinions, practices,

similarities, differences

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study

It has been widely accepted that English is becoming a lingua franca in many regions around the world As a result, having a good command of English can be one of the most important factors that help open the door to one’s success in their career Acknowledging the role of English in students’ future development, a vast majority of schools and academic institutions all over the world have included the English subject as one of the compulsory courses that students have to take and achieve a required result to be qualified for their course completion, and even for their university graduation (Al-Nofaie, 2010; Government of Vietnam, 2008; Graddol, 2006) Besides, for those who cannot join official training provided by a school or institution, they are still able to attend English classes at various levels offered by numerous private English language centers around their place of living

In other words, one will find it very easy to look for an English class which is not only affordable but also suitable for their need of learning the language

Along with the development of English as an international language, a number of teaching approaches have been developed with the aim of seeking an effective way to teach the English language Each method has respectively enjoyed its golden era with its own advantages and shortcomings One of the most well-known and earliest approaches is the Grammar-Translation method As its name suggests, this method highlights the importance of teaching grammar and employs translation as a principal technique, which makes it suffer from criticism by other educators later on (Richards & Rodgers, 2001) In the Reform Period (1880-1920),

a number of methods emerged with an emphasis on teaching the spoken language

as the main pedagogical priority A method that had a strong influence on the subsequent era is the Direct Method, which proscribes translation and the use of the students’ mother tongue in language schools (Howatt & Smith, 2014) The methods era followed with various methods and approaches such as the

Audiolingual Method and the Situational Method in the 1950s and 1960s, and Content-Based Instruction and Task-based Language Teaching in the 1990s, which focus on the outcome of learning rather than methods of teaching Then, the aims and priorities of language teaching shifted towards equipping the learners with the competent use of language skills in the real world, leading to the beginning of Communicative Language Teaching The general principles of this approach are widely applied and received widespread support in most institutions since it features the practice of teaching the language for communicative purposes (Richards & Rodgers, 2001) In short, each method characterizes a specific aspect

of teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL), and one can be used on its own

or as a supplementary method to another

Since the appearance of such methods and approaches, a vast number of studies have been conducted with the purpose of indicating what factors contribute

to the effective teaching of the second language (L2) Among them, the practice of using students’ first language (L1) in the teaching of an L2 has drawn considerable attention from a lot of professionals in the field, from which emerged two opposing beliefs: for and against L1 use in the L2 classroom Some language teaching experts claim that learners’ L1 should be banned in the EFL classroom, supported by the Reform Movement and the Direct Method (Richards & Rodgers, 2001; Howatt, 2004, as cited in Brooks-Lewis, 2009, p 218), whereas others argue that L1 can play an important role in facilitating L2 learning (Auerbach, 1993; V Cook, 2001) In regard to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research, “there is

no definitive, principled position upon which to posit an optimal balance between teacher use of L1 vs L2” (Turnbull & Arnett, 2002, as cited in Warford, 2007, p 51) Similarly, some studies (e.g Jingxia, 2010; Nordin, Ali, Zubir & Sadjirin, 2013; Pham, H., 2015) report a support for teachers’ use of L1 since it can benefit both teachers and learners in various aspects, whereas others studies (e.g Nazary, 2008; Cheng, 2013) show the participants’ unfavorable attitudes towards this practice

It can be seen that the use of L1 is very common in L2 teaching contexts, and this practice very much relates to the phenomenon of code-switching Concerning code-switching of both teachers and learners in foreign language classrooms, many researchers have shown their interest in exploring what students and teachers think about this issue The findings of most studies in different settings reveal that both students and teachers share positive attitudes towards the use of L1 in L2 classrooms, although they agree that it should be employed judiciously (Schweers, 1999; Brooks-Lewis, 2009; Al-Nofaie, 2010; Makulloluwa, 2013) In Vietnam, there have been a few studies on code-switching in EFL classrooms, mainly focusing on the students’ attitudes towards or perceptions of their teachers’ use of L1 (Nguyen, T B H., Jang, & Yang, 2010; Pham, H., 2015),

or the functions of teachers’ switching and the factors leading to their switching (Nguyen, Q T., 2012; Nguyen, T H., 2013) So far, no research that delves into teachers’ opinions about their own code-switching compared to their actual practices in English classrooms as well as how teacher code-switching changes throughout the whole course can be found in the Vietnamese context, especially at the tertiary education level The present study thus aims to examine these issues with the hope of providing new insights into the phenomenon of teachers’ code-switching in EFL classrooms for non-English majored students

code-1.2 Aims of the study

Although the issue of L1 use in EFL classrooms has drawn attention of numerous researchers, not many studies have been done on this topic in the Vietnamese context, except for a few conducted to explore attitudes of teachers of English and English-majored students Furthermore, most research to date only provides a one-shot investigation into teachers’ code-switching rather than explore the issue for a longer period of time such as a whole course or semester For that reason, the present study hopes to fill in the gap in the literature on teachers’ code-switching and their non-English majored students Specifically, the aims of the study are (1) to examine how teachers’ opinions about their code-switching are similar to or different from their practices in EFL classrooms, (2) to explore how

teachers’ code-switching vary in terms of frequency and functions throughout the entire course, and (3) to investigate students’ attitudes towards their teacher’s code-switching in their English class

1.4 Significance of the study

This thesis was carried out as an attempt to complement previous studies in research methodology with the exploitation of triangulation of data Moreover, the duration of the data collection process was extended through different stages of one English course rather than in only one or two class sessions The researcher believes that the findings will provide teachers and educators with a better understanding of what opinions the teachers hold about the practice of code-switching in teaching English and how they actually code-switch in class Also, the students’ attitudes towards their teachers’ code-switching will be revealed All in all, it is hoped that such results can help teachers realize how they can effectively adjust their teaching methodology to keep a balance between the use of L1 and L2

1.5 Scope of the study

This study was conducted at the Center for Foreign Languages, University

of Science, Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City (hereafter US, HCMC) Pursuant to the university’s regulations, all students must take several

VNU-English courses and achieve a certificate in VNU-English language proficiency at the intermediate level to be qualified for their graduation As a result, besides studying their majors, the students usually register for English classes at the University’s Center for Foreign Languages

This thesis is a case study with the participation of three teachers who were

in charge of pre-intermediate English classes and their students, with the total number of 124 Given the fact that the target participants were at the pre-intermediate level, the use of Vietnamese in English classrooms by both the teachers and their students was virtually inevitable Due to constraints of time and resources, this study focuses on only the teachers’ code-switching, i.e what they think about the phenomenon and how they actually practice it in their class, and their students’ attitudes towards this practice Details of both the teacher and student participants will be discussed in Section 3.4 of Chapter 3

1.6 Outline of the thesis

This thesis is divided into five chapters Chapter 1 is the introduction, including (1) background to the study, (2) aims of the study, (3) research questions, (4) significance of the study, (5) scope of the study, and (6) outline of the thesis The second chapter gives a review of the literature related to the definition of code-switching, functions of code-switching, and the practice of using L1 in the English classrooms in different contexts around the globe, including in Vietnam, through numerous studies by both foreign and local researchers in the field Chapter 3 comes next with the methodology employed during the study, including the description of the research design, the pilot study, participants, research instruments, data collection and analysis procedures Chapter 4 focuses on the analysis of data gained from the research instruments, followed by discussion

of the results and findings of the whole study The last chapter provides a conclusion and gives some implications as well as suggestions for further research

on the topic

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

To form a theoretical background to the study, this chapter is going to review the literature on the following areas: (1) definitions of key terms, including code-switching, (2) functions of code-switching, (3) two different viewpoints on L1 use

in L2 learning and teaching, (4) teachers and learners’ attitudes towards switching in different EFL contexts, and (5) code-switching in EFL classrooms in Vietnam The chapter will end with a conceptual framework of the study

code-2.1 Operational definitions of key terms

2.1.1 Mother tongue, the first language (L1), and the second language (L2)

When it comes to the terminology related to L1 use in language teaching, it can create considerable confusion for researchers to distinguish the terms ‘first language’, ‘native language’, ‘mother tongue’ and ‘own language’ That is because different authors often use various terms to refer to the same concept (Hall & G Cook, 2012) They are usually treated as synonyms and can be used interchangeably in most cases since the distinction is not always clear

According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, ‘mother tongue’ is defined as the first and main language that one learns when he or she is

a child In this sense, ‘mother tongue’ is synonymous with ‘native language’ or

‘native tongue’, which is different from the language one learns at school or as an adult Also found in the dictionary, ‘first language’ is the language one first learns

as a child Therefore, it can be concluded that the three terms ‘first language’,

‘native language’ and ‘mother tongue’ are synonyms, which all mean the language learnt before any other languages However, this may not be applicable to some contexts In Khati’s (2011) study, the author provided an example for such a case:

A child from the Hayu community in Nepal speaks Nepali as his first language, but his mother tongue is Hayu, which has its own linguistic system For that reason, the term ‘first language’ in this case is not the same as ‘mother tongue’

Similarly, Hall and G Cook (2012) indicate that in many educational settings, the shared language of all students is not their ‘first’ or ‘native’ language For example, German is the language used in German secondary schools, but it is not the first language of those who may be new arrivals from Turkey or Poland

As for the language students are being taught at school, ‘second’ may be imprecise since many have already been bilinguals or even multilinguals Moreover, according to Graddol (2006), as the use of English becomes more and more global, the distinction between English as ‘second’ and ‘foreign’ language is being blurred; therefore, “in some senses English has become the second language

of the whole world” (Hall & G Cook, 2012, p 274) From all the reasons above, Hall and G Cook (2012) suggest two new terms: ‘own language’ for the language students already know, and ‘new language’ for the language being learned, although they still acknowledge the currency of various terms used by different authors

In this study’s context, all of the teachers and students share Vietnamese as their mother tongue, except for only a few rare cases that may come from ethnic minorities Besides, English has long been the prominent foreign language taught

in secondary and high schools in Vietnam, and it continues to be the obligatory subject for almost all non-English majored undergraduates, including those at US, VNU-HCMC As a result, within the scope and setting of this study, the terms

‘mother tongue’, ‘first language’ (L1), ‘native language’, and ‘own language’ were used interchangeably since all the research participants are from the same ethnic group, i.e Kinh people In other words, Vietnamese is their mother tongue and also their first language In the same vein, this study refers to English as the participants’ foreign language or second language (L2)

2.1.2 The concept of code-switching

2.1.2.1 Code-switching in bilingualism

The concept of bilingualism has been viewed from various perspectives, but the most common one concerns how fluently one can speak two different

languages According to Myers-Scotton (2006), a person who is considered bilingual does not necessarily mean that he has acquired “complete mastery of two languages” because “speakers are rarely fluent in two languages” (p 3) In a dissertation by Nguyen, T H (2013), she had a discussion about how the term is defined by different groups of experts in the field While the first group use bilingualism to refer to those who can use two languages equally well or at least have a native-like control of two languages, the second group state that one can still be regarded as a bilingual even though that person has a low level of proficiency in either of the two languages that he/she can speak Not agreeing with these two somewhat extreme perspectives, the third group of researchers describe bilinguals as people who can speak two languages alternately without mentioning the speakers’ proficiency level of either language

In bilingual communities, code-switching is a phenomenon that occurs very frequently, and it has drawn the attention of numerous researchers for several decades; therefore, various definitions of the term have been proposed since then

In one of the most widely-cited articles about this field, Poplack (1980) stated that

“Code-switching is the alternation of two languages within a single discourse, sentence or constituent” (p 3) Sociolinguistically, each dialect can be considered

as a language code; therefore, code-switching is defined by Gardner-Chloros (2009) as “the use of several languages or dialects in the same conversation or sentence by bilingual people” (p 4) Being capable of speaking two languages, bilinguals often resort to code-switching in order to help them convey their message more effectively, especially in conversations As Gumperz’s (1982) definition, conversational code switching is “the juxtaposition within the same speech exchange of passages of speech belonging to two different grammatical systems or subsystems” (p 59) More specifically, a speaker frequently uses a second language to make his message as clear as possible or to respond to another person’s statement More recently, V Cook (2008) refers to code-switching by a simpler definition, which is the process of “going from one language to the other

in mid-speech when both speakers know the same languages” (p 174)

From what has been discussed so far, a number of definitions of switching have been put forward by different scholars, depending on their own perspective In other words, it is almost impossible for everyone to agree with one single definition of this term In the opinion of the author of this thesis, however, van der Meij and Zhao (2010) may be the one who, to some extent, come up with a generally comprehensible summary of the concept: Code-switching is the mixing

code-of words, phrases, and sentences from two distinct grammatical (sub) systems A distinction should also be made between structural approaches and functional approaches in studying this phenomenon, in which the former focuses on “the

what of language alternation and the regularities behind these appearances”, whereas the latter explores “the why of such alternations” to find out the reasons

for and effects of code-switching (van der Meij & Zhao, 2010, p 397) A lot of studies have been conducted to investigate the characteristics of code-switching from the sociolinguistic perspective; however, that is not the focus of this research

In this thesis, the researcher would like to examine a narrower aspect of the phenomenon of code-switching in a specific context, i.e teachers’ code-switching

in EFL classrooms

2.1.2.2 Code-switching in language learning and teaching

Developed from what used to be considered as “possibly a somewhat peculiar…act” (Luckmann, 1983, as cited in Auer, 1998, p 1), code-switching has been recognized as a systematic phenomenon for it is able to help “shed light on fundamental linguistic issues” (Auer, 1998, p 1) This recognition indicated a shift

in research interest from what used to mainly emphasize the socio-psychological analysis of code-switching to a focus on pedagogical implications in foreign language classrooms

In classroom settings, code-switching can be defined as the alternating use

of more than one linguistic code in the classroom by any of the classroom participants (e.g teachers, students, teacher aids) and this practice includes both code-mixing (intra-clausal/sentential alternation) and code-switching (alternation

at the inter-clausal/sentential level) (Lin, 2008) The discussion of this

phenomenon can become more complicated, and somewhat confusing, due to the overlapping fields of study as discussed in Lin (2013), for example L1 use in second and foreign language classrooms, incorporation of L1 in foreign language teaching and learning, or the use of mother tongue in foreign language classrooms, etc to name but a few

Basically, the distinction between “code-mixing” and “code-switching” lies

in the linguistic level at which the phenomena arise, i.e within the clause or between clauses, sentences or utterances respectively (Muysken, 2004) However,

as this study was not aimed at differentiating the different types of code-switching, the term “code-switching” is used to cover both cases Since the teacher and student participants in this study all speak Vietnamese as their mother tongue (or L1) and English as their foreign language (L2), this study refers to code-switching

in EFL classrooms as the changing back and forth between English and Vietnamese by both teachers and learners

2.2 Functions of code-switching in second language learning and teaching

One of the earliest linguists who suggested a list of functions of conversational code-switching is Gumperz (1982) Through his analyses of several

tape-recorded conversations, he identified quotations, addressee specification, interjections, reiteration, message qualification, and personalization versus objectivization as six main functions of conversation code-switching (Gumperz,

1982, pp 75-80) Although this list can illustrate some of the most common uses

of code-switching, it is “by no means exhaustive” as he noted (p 81) However, Gumperz’s list of code-switching functions, as well as others suggested by a number of subsequent researchers, was remarked by Auer (1995) that such listing

is “problematic” because the conversational categories are often “ill-defined” and such typologies often confuse conversational structures, linguistic forms and functions of code-switching or code-alternation as he called (p 120) For that reason, Nilep (2006) noted that code-switching may perform several functions in a particular interaction, which makes any finite list of functions become “more or less arbitrary” (p 10), so he suggested that researchers had better observe actual

interaction rather than rely on the general effects of code-switching they had assumed

In the classroom context, Lin (2013) summarized the functional view of language from Halliday (1994, as cited in Lin, 2013), who asserted that code-switching in second or foreign language classes can be seen as a communicative resource to help classroom participants (the teacher or students) gain three purposes through what he called “metafunctions” The first one is ideational metafunctions That is when the teacher switches to students’ L1 to translate or annotate key L2 terms, explain, elaborate or exemplify L2 academic content to help ease the access of students with low proficiency level to the L2 textbook or curriculum Another one is textual metafunctions, in which the teacher uses L1 to highlight topic changes or mark out transitions between different activity types Finally, students’ L1 can be utilized in order to serve interpersonal metafunctions, i.e to signal and negotiate shifts in frames and footings, role-relationships, identities and change in social distance as well as appealing to shared cultural values or institutional norms

Also having a similar categorization to Halliday’s but with the focus on teachers’ code-switching, Ferguson (2003) grouped the functions of code-switching in various studies into three broad categories: code-switching for curriculum access, code-switching for classroom management discourse and code-switching for interpersonal relations As for curriculum access, he explains that the teachers in those studies code-switch to clarify the meaning of some sections of the text or annotate key textbook terms first introduced in English for students who have difficulty in working out the language of those texts themselves This function of code-switching matches the above-mentioned ideational metafunctions proposed by Halliday, for code-switching plays an important role in providing access to English medium content and scaffolding knowledge construction for students with limited resources in English language Switches to the shared language of the teacher and students are also exploited in the management of classroom discourse More specifically, they occur when the teacher needs to

contextualize a shift away from lesson content or some off-lesson situations – to teach a student to behave in a more appropriate way, to deal with latecomers or to encourage students’ contribution In the same vein, Merritt, Cleghorn, Abagi, and Bunyi (1992) postulated that code-switching functions as an “attention-focusing device”, which is used when the teacher wants to have students shift their focus of attention or change their activity The third category of function of classroom code-switching is when the teacher wants to build rapport with individual students, create greater personal warmth and encourage more student involvement, or sometimes negotiate different identities

Before Ferguson’s (2003) typologies were provided, V Cook (2001) affirmed that there are a number of ways for the L1 to be used positively in teaching and learning the L2, such as for the teacher to convey meaning, explain grammar and organize the class, and for students to use as part of their collaborative learning and individual strategy use In the conclusion of his article,

he also provides some suggestions for L1 use in a way it can benefit both the teacher and students as follows:

- to provide a short-cut for giving instructions and explanations where the cost of the L2 is too great

- to build up interlinked L1 and L2 knowledge in the students’ minds

- to carry out learning tasks through collaborative dialogue with fellow students

- to develop L2 activities such as code-switching for later real-life use

(V Cook, 2001, p 418)

To recapitulate, code-switching can serve a variety of functions in the classroom settings at different levels if it is used in a selective and judicious way

by the teacher as Adendorff (1993) puts it in the following remark:

“Code-switching is in fact highly functional, though mostly

subconscious It is a communicative resource which enables

teachers and pupils to accomplish a considerable number and

range of social and educational objectives.”

(Adendorff, 1993, p 142) Although many studies have shown multiple positive functions of code-switching, not all classroom participants express the same attitudes towards the use

of L1 in educational settings, and this is going to be discussed in the next section

2.3 Opinions on L1 use in L2 learning and teaching

2.3.1 Arguments against L1 use in EFL classrooms

Opinions against the use of L1 can be traced back to the appearance of different language teaching approaches While the Grammar-Translation method strongly supports L1 use in L2 classrooms since translation is the medium of instruction, the Direct Method, followed by the Audio-lingual approach, recommends avoidance of L1 The premise of the Direct Method was that second language learning reflected first language acquisition with substantial oral interaction, little grammatical analysis and no translation (Miles, 2004)

The practice of using nothing but the target language in L2 classrooms was long supported by a conference report at Makerere University in Uganda in 1961 with five tenets taken as the “truth”: (1) English is best taught monolingually; (2) The ideal teacher of English is a native English speaker; (3) The earlier English is taught, the better the results; (4) The more English is taught, the better the results; (5) If other languages are used much, standards of English will drop These tenets are described as “five fallacies” of modern English language teaching by Phillipson (1992, p 185), yet their implications and influence are undeniably widespread

Since the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach was introduced in the 1970s, it “has served as a major source of influence on language teaching practice around the world” (Richards, 2006, p 1) This method puts emphasis on the teaching of communicative competence rather than grammatical

competence CLT’s proponents also support the use of L2 as a main medium of instruction in classrooms, although a judicious use of L1 is acceptable to a certain degree (Larsen-Freeman, 2000)

To sum up, most arguments against the use of learners’ mother tongue in second language learning come from the two main assumptions that L1 can be an interference in the L2 learning process and the more target language students are exposed to in their classrooms, the better they acquire it

2.3.2 Arguments in favor of L1 use in EFL classrooms

The use of students’ mother tongue, or L1, in English language classrooms has been a contentious subject for decades Along with opinions on anti-L1 use in EFL classrooms, there still exist numerous theorists and researchers expressing support for the use of mother tongue Their arguments are mainly based on the benefits L1 can bring to learners and teachers in different situations

In his influencing article titled “The mother tongue in the classroom: A neglected resource?”, Atkinson (1987) indicated some general advantages of

mother tongue use The first and most important of these is that translation techniques are regarded as “the preferred learning strategies” by most learners in most places (p 242) Another significant role of mother tongue is that it allows learners to fully express themselves (Bolitho, 1983, as cited in Atkinson, 1987) In addition, the use of L1 can result in efficient use of time spent in the classroom to achieve a particular purpose, such as explaining difficult vocabulary items or grammar rules From his experiment of exploiting mother tongue in his own teaching, Atkinson (1987) pointed out some uses of L1 by both the teacher and students which he found helpful, including eliciting language (all levels), checking comprehension (all levels), giving instructions (early levels), cooperation among learners, discussions of classroom methodology (early levels), presentation and reinforcement of language (mainly early levels), checking for sense and testing

Sharing the opinions on L1 use with Atkinson, Auerbach (1993) concluded:

“Starting with the L1 provides a sense of security and validates the learners’ lived

experiences, allowing them to express themselves The learner is then willing to experiment and take risks with English” (p 19) Similarly, Schweers (1999) believes that “the first language (L1) has a necessary and facilitating role in the second and foreign language (L2) classroom” (p 6) In his research conducted with monolingual Spanish speaking classes in Puerto Rico, 88.7% of the student participants agreed that Spanish should be used in their English classes, and nearly the same percentage (86%) would like their teachers to use Spanish to explain difficult concepts These results lead to his conclusion that the use of Spanish (L1)

in the classroom can make learners have positive attitudes towards the process of learning English as it facilitates their comprehension

V Cook (2001) also expresses his support for L1 use in the classroom According to him, there are many ways of using L1 positively in teaching and learning the L2 More specifically, teachers can employ students’ L1 for conveying and checking meaning of words or sentences, explaining grammar, organizing tasks, maintaining classroom discipline, gaining contact with individual students, and testing For students, on the other hand, their use of L1 can be regarded as part of their collaborative learning and individual strategy use, both inside and outside the classroom, through the use of bilingual dictionaries or watching L2 films with L1 subtitles, etc The author also provides several suggestions for the first language to be “deliberately and systematically used in the classroom” (V Cook, 2001, p 418)

In an article which examines various ways in which teachers use L1 and compares them with some alternative techniques using the target language, Harbord (1992) comes to a conclusion that mother tongue should be used to develop clarity and flexibility of thinking and help increase both teachers and students’ awareness of the inevitable interaction between L1 and L2 that takes place during any type of language acquisition

To conclude what has been discussed so far about the advantages brought

by the use of L1, it is worth noticing a remark put by Nation (2003): “All the arguments against L1 use similarly apply to the use of pictures, real objects, and

demonstration” (p 5) Obviously enough, the employment of photographs, realia, and actions to convey meaning or explain something has become an indispensable part of methodologies for teaching English or any other foreign languages As a result, he claims that L1 needs to be considered as a useful tool like other tools, and it should be employed where necessary but should not be overused

2.4 Learners and teachers’ attitudes towards code-switching in different EFL contexts

From the review of related literature on arguments about the pros and cons

of using L1 in the L2 classroom in the earlier section, it has proven impossible to provide a definite answer to the question whether or not L1 should be included in the process of learning and teaching the second language During the last two decades, many scholars in the field of second language acquisition have undertaken a number of studies to find out what learners and teachers think about this issue

According to the results of Schweers’s (1999) research, both teachers and students share the opinion that the mother tongue (Spanish) should be used in English classes to some degree because using Spanish produces positive effects on

the students’ process of learning English The findings of a study conducted by

Brooks-Lewis (2009) also reinforce those of earlier studies which are in favor of the inclusion of L1 (Spanish) in foreign language teaching and learning since it helps learners reduce anxiety, enhance the affective environment for learning and develop social and interpersonal skills, etc Similarly, Nordin et al (2013) found out in a study of forty-five students at a university in Malaysia that about 82% of the learners think code-switching helps them learn English better although a large percentage of them (68.9%) agree that code-switching should only be employed

sometimes in their English class The result also reveals students’ preference for

teachers’ code-switching in explaining the differences between L1 and L2 as well

as in helping students feel more confident and comfortable in the English classroom

In a study on the attitudes of teachers and students towards using Arabic in EFL classrooms by Al-Nofaie (2010), the author concludes that the use of L1 (Arabic) is “an unavoidable phenomenon” (p 77) More specifically, teachers prefer falling back on their L1 with beginners and low-achieving students as well

as in some particular situations, such as explaining grammatical terms, introducing new vocabulary and giving exam instructions Meanwhile, the majority of the student participants favor the systematic use of Arabic, and they desire to practice the new language Similarly, a survey conducted in three Chinese universities by Jingxia (2010) shows that teachers’ code-switching exists in EFL classrooms there, both for English and non-English majors In addition, most of the teachers and students in the study expressed a positive view on teachers’ code-switching because it is a good strategy of efficiency and brings benefits to their EFL classrooms

On the other hand, Nazary (2008) administers a survey on Iranian university students’ attitudes towards the role of L1 in L2 acquisition This study’s subjects comprised students at three different proficiency levels (Elementary, Intermediate, and Advanced) The results show that the student participants at all three proficiency levels are disinclined to use their mother tongue (Farsi) in English language classrooms and a large percentage of them also expect their teachers not

to use L1 in class Moreover, they do not believe in the effectiveness and importance of L1 use either This finding seems contradictory to that of previous studies on the same topic implemented by other researchers since they put emphasis on the importance of L1 use in EFL contexts Additionally, in a study investigating the beliefs and attitudes of Chinese college English teachers towards classroom code-switching, Cheng (2013) finds out that although the participants acknowledge the use of Chinese in EFL classrooms as a commonplace, most of them do not regard L1 as a useful pedagogical resource According to them, the target-language only method would create an ideal, authentic environment for foreign language learning More recently, however, Mohebbi and Alavi (2014) indicate that L1 (Persian or Farsi) may be employed effectively in English classrooms for different reasons by teachers, but they are encouraged to maintain a balance between L1 and L2 use in the L2 learning context

In another study on when and why mother tongue is used in English classrooms at secondary level undertaken in Nepal, Khati (2011) reports that students from government-funded schools with poor English background feel a need to use more of their L1 (Nepali) compared to those from private English-medium schools because they are shy to speak in front of a large class or incapable

of expressing complex ideas in English The findings also reveal that, according to the student participants, their teachers of English prefer using Nepali and they do not make any effort to enhance the use of the target language in the classroom

From the above review of literature on the practice of code-switching, or the use of mother tongue (L1), in EFL classrooms, it can be seen that most teachers and learners do not oppose the practice of employing L1 in their L2 class, although how frequently and to what extent it should be used may vary A number

of reasons making both teachers and learners support L1 use in the classroom can

be listed, such as helping students feel “less lost” (Schweers, 1999) with their English lessons, fostering their positive attitudes towards the process of learning English, or enabling them to express what they really want to say when they are not competent enough to speak in English Such findings lead to a conclusion that the benefits of code-switching in the English classroom have been confirmed in various EFL settings, and, as a result, there is no point in abandoning this teaching practice, for “maximizing the TL [target language] does not and should not mean that it is harmful for the teacher to use the L1” (Turnbull, 2001, p 535)

The next section will review the literature on the practice of code-switching

in EFL classrooms in the Vietnamese context, where this study was conducted

2.5 Code-switching in English classrooms in Vietnam

As discussed earlier, the practice of using students’ mother tongue, or L1, in teaching the second language is commonplace in many countries Vietnam is no exception From the researcher’s own experience, it can be easily observed that the L1 (Vietnamese in this case) is employed so frequently by Vietnamese teachers of English that it is regarded as an essential teaching tool Furthermore, this

phenomenon exists at all levels, from elementary schools to higher education institutions, although the viewpoint of teachers and learners about it may differ from each other Some studies have been recently done in the local context with the purpose of providing a better understanding of this issue

In Bui, P H and Nguyen, T T A.’s (2014) paper, the authors indicate some common reasons why teachers use L1 (Vietnamese) in communicative English classes First, teachers need to be certain that students can understand their instructions, especially in large classes of mixed levels The second reason is that teachers want to ensure they can cover all the lessons required within a limited time; therefore, translation from English into Vietnamese is of great help to them

in this case Finally, teachers have to resort to Vietnamese when they are not prepared for their class, i.e lack of teaching aids such as pictures or video clips

well-Concerning the advantages of using L1, the most frequently-mentioned is that teachers want to facilitate their students’ understanding of the lesson so that they can pass their examinations Moreover, teachers usually find mother tongue helpful as it compensates for their deficiency in English (Nguyen, T H., 2013) This is understandable because a large number of teachers in Southeast Asia, of course including Vietnam, “suffer from the notorious reputation of being incompetent language users” (Dat, B., 2008, p 270) Additionally, teachers often use Vietnamese to solve some classroom issues, such as breaking the tension, making the class more exciting, creating a positive learning atmosphere, and saving time for teachers, etc (Nguyen, T H., 2013) Therefore, such findings help confirm the benefits of L1 use in L2 teaching, and most teachers share positive attitudes towards the use of Vietnamese in the English classroom

In Nguyen, T B H., Jang, and Yang’s (2010) study on the insistence on English only in EFL classrooms at the tertiary level in Vietnam, the findings revealed that more than half of the student participants (55%) expressed negative attitudes towards the English-Only policy since it interfered with students’ learning rather than had a positive effect on their English acquisition More specifically, the use of only English “hinders thorough comprehension, prevents full participation

and creates a psychological blockage.” (Nguyen, T B H et al., 2010, p 9) Furthermore, also according to this study, about 70% of students endorsed the use

of L1 as an auxiliary teaching and learning medium These results prove to be consistent with Schweers’s (1999) belief that L1 should be regarded to have a

“necessary and facilitating role” in the L2 classroom (p 6)

In another research paper aimed at investigating the attitudes of Vietnamese university teachers towards the use of Vietnamese in English Language Teaching (ELT) by Kieu, H K A (2010), the findings also support the judicious use of students’ mother tongue (Vietnamese) in some ELT situations, such as explaining new words, especially terminologies and abstract words Her article ended with the conclusion that L1 could be considered as an effective tool in ELT classrooms provided that it is not overused Furthermore, how much teachers adapt L1 use should be based on the context of each specific class

Also at the tertiary level, Pham, H (2015) carried out a study with five groups of Vietnamese undergraduate students taking a course in English for Business Communication The results reveal that most of the participants hold a positive view towards their teachers’ code-switching since it plays a role as an aid

to their comprehension of the subject content, especially the business concepts, and a resource for their enhanced understanding of English language features, including phonetic rules and some pragmatic aspects Moreover, some students believe that their teachers’ code-switching helps promote their involvement in the language learning process, build a low-stress classroom environment and support them in their language production, such as developing appropriate word choices for translation tasks or using English grammar properly Nevertheless, it is worth noticing that although the students see the benefits of teachers’ code-switching, they still prefer it to be constrained since they are aware that extensive code-switching would result in impediment to their language learning and barrier to learning autonomy

Most recently, in Nguyen, T B.’s (2017) study on the effectiveness of teachers’ code-switching on students’ reading comprehension, the result indicates

that the use of code-switching by the teacher facilitates the students’ understanding

of reading texts because those in the experimental group, who was taught with both English and Vietnamese, performed much better than those in the control group, who learned in an English-only classroom As for the students’ attitudes to their teacher’s code-switching, they preferred the teacher to use both English and Vietnamese as an aid to help them understand the subject matter such as explaining abstract vocabulary or difficult concepts, clarifying important sections,

as well as sharing learning tips with them However, the majority of students from both groups did not show preference for their teacher’s switching to Vietnamese in situations related to classroom management since they had already been familiar with English use in such circumstances in high schools

The results of several studies on the role of L1 in L2 learning and teaching

in the Vietnamese context have so far contributed to confirming that the use of students’ first language does no harm to their second language acquisition In fact, most teachers and students both share positive views about the practice of using Vietnamese in the English classroom since they enjoy many benefits from it The findings of those studies also match the beliefs held by a number of distinguished professionals in the field and the results of various studies on the same topic conducted by other researchers in other countries (e.g Auerbach, 1993; V Cook, 2001; Jingxia, 2010; Nordin et al 2013; Tang, 2002)

Although there has been considerable research into what teachers think about code-switching in a foreign language classroom, to the researcher’s knowledge, very few studies have made comparisons between teachers’ opinions

of their own code-switching and their practice in class Besides, little literature about teachers’ code-switching throughout an entire course or semester can be found Instead, the vast majority of research on code-switching only explores this phenomenon based on a few hours of class meetings, or even a single class session

in several studies Realizing such a gap in the literature, as a result, the researcher would like to set up a study in which teacher code-switching in the three different stages of the course (i.e beginning, middle, and end) would be investigated with

the purpose of figuring out whether there are any noticeable variations in the frequency and functions of teacher code-switching in their EFL classrooms Also, this thesis is aimed at inspecting the mismatch between what the teachers think about their own code-switching and what they actually do in class, and the reasons behind such discrepancies (if any) Furthermore, students’ attitudes towards their teacher’s code-switching would be revealed through a detailed attitudinal questionnaire

2.6 Conceptual framework of the study

What has been discussed so far in the related literature of code-switching as well as the use of the teacher and students’ shared language in the learning and teaching of a foreign language can be summarized as in Figure 2.1

Figure 2.1 Two general viewpoints on code-switching in foreign language

learning and teaching settings

From the figure above, it can be figured out that there exist two opposite points of view on the practice of L1 use in EFL classrooms The first one is held

by opponents, who insist on abandoning the use of L1 in L2 learning and teaching Meanwhile, proponents of students’ mother tongue are in favor of L1 use in the L2 classroom since they assert that L1 can be beneficial to both learners and teachers, although their opinions may vary in terms of why, when and how much L1 should

be employed in each particular context

In this study, the designs of the teacher questionnaires and interviews would

be aimed at exploring when, why and how frequently the teachers should switch to the L1 in their English classes In addition, in another set of questionnaire the students would express their attitudes towards the use of Vietnamese by their teacher, both in teaching the lessons and in addressing other issues in the classroom The research design and research instruments employed in this study will be described in detail in the next chapter

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the methodological process that helps answer the three following research questions as stated in Chapter 1:

(1) What are the similarities and differences between teachers’ opinions about and practices of their code-switching in EFL classrooms?

(2) To what extent does teachers’ code-switching vary in frequency and functions throughout their English course?

(3) What are non-English majors’ attitudes towards their teachers’ code-switching

in EFL classrooms?

3.1 Research design

According to Yin (2009), there are different types of case studies, but a technical definition can be put as “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident” (p 18) In the scope of this study, its aim was to investigate the code-switching phenomenon

of teachers in the setting of EFL classrooms The multiple-case study, instead of the single-case one, was selected for this research since “the evidence from multiple cases often considered more compelling, and the overall study is therefore regarded as being more robust”(Herriott & Firestone, 1983, as cited in Yin, 2009,

p 53)

Case studies use various methods to gather data with the aim of arriving at

“a detailed description and understanding of the entity (the “case”)” (Ary, Jacobs, Sorensen, & Razavieh, 2010, p 29) This study was no exception One of the main data collection methods employed in this study was the administration of two sets

of questionnaires The first one was administered to the teacher participants to seek their opinions about code-switching in EFL classrooms in general as well as

beliefs in their own code-switching in their current class The second questionnaire was delivered to the student participants in each class to explore their attitudes towards their teacher’s code-switching Those questionnaires contain mainly quantitative data since the respondents only needed to check the box next to their answers to multiple-choice questions or circle the coded number based on the Likert-scale which represents their best opinion about the given statement Further qualitative data were collected through one open-ended item in order for the researcher to get a deeper understanding of what the students thought about the phenomenon in question (this part was not applied to the teacher questionnaire) Additionally, the study gathered data from classroom observations (17 sessions in total) at three different stages of the course (i.e beginning, middle, and end), which also mainly yielded quantitative data via the frequency counts of tally marks

on observation schemes, besides the researcher’s field notes Data from observations would help to indicate whether the teachers’ reported opinions about code-switching in the questionnaire would be convergent with or divergent from what they actually did in their English classrooms They were also utilized to examine to what extent teachers’ code-switching varied during the course in terms

of frequency and functions To delve deeply into the code-switching phenomenon, another set of data was derived from interviews with teachers at the end of the course, which was aimed at discovering the reasons for any possible discrepancies between their opinions and practice as well as differences in their code-switching frequency and functions at the three stages of the course

In short, triangulation was used in this study’s data collection process As Ary et al (2010) noted, “triangulation seeks to examine the convergence of evidence from different methods that study the same phenomenon or to corroborate findings from one method by examining the findings using a different method” (p 561) The purpose of using triangulation is to collect, analyze and merge results to provide a better understanding of a research problem, i.e teachers’ code-switching in this case In this regard, this study employed a mixed methods design, with both quantitative and qualitative data to provide the answers

to the three research questions posed from the outset

3.2 Context of the study

This study was conducted at the Center for Foreign Languages, which is under the management of US, VNU-HCMC The university consists of two campuses, one located in District 5 and the other in Thu Duc District Students usually spend their first two years studying at the latter campus before continuing

to finish their undergraduate program at the former for the last two academic years

As one of the school’s requirements, all students have to take English courses during the first four semesters, i.e the first two years, and pass their final exams with a satisfactory result in order to be eligible to choose their major at the beginning of the third year Besides, students are required to reach a particular level of English, as clearly stated in the university’s training policy, so that they can be qualified for their graduation

There are three levels for the entire English program, which is divided into five courses and coded as Elementary, A1 and A2 (Pre-intermediate), and A3 and A4 (Intermediate) At the beginning of each new academic school year, all first-year students who have just passed the National High School Graduation Examination and entered the university have to take an English Placement Test The result they achieved from this test will be used as a criterion for their first English course For those who got a lower score than the average (i.e below 5 out

of 10), they have to attend the Elementary course If students can get a score ranging from 5 to below 8, they start at an A1 class The rest, who got an 8 or higher, will be exempt from the A1 course and begin at the A2 level class The participants of this study were English teachers and their non-English majored students at the A2 level In other words, although their teachers may be in charge

of teaching in both places, all the student participants were studying at the Thu Duc campus Therefore, the current study was conducted on this site

Except for the Elementary level course, which only lasts for 11 weeks, the duration of other courses is 15 weeks There is only one 4-period class session per week, and each period lasts 50 minutes The coursebook designated for all courses

is the New Cutting Edge series (first published in 2005 by Pearson Longman) This

textbook’s objectives are to provide learners with thorough grammar and systematic vocabulary building through clearly-structured tasks to enhance their fluency and confidence A module typically starts with a vocabulary activity in which key words related to the topic in that unit are introduced The grammar

section comes next with Language focus 1 and 2 alongside several exercises to

help students practice those grammatical structures Then, learners are supposed to

do some tasks, which can be a speaking or writing activity A module ends with a

section called Study, Practice, Remember which gives students some tips for

effective learning and further exercises to help them review what they have learned

in that unit

For A1 and A2 classes, students will study with New Cutting Edge Intermediate More specifically, for the A1 course, its syllabus will cover the first

Pre-eight modules in the book, and the rest (modules 9-15) are left for students in A2

classes A similar division is also applied to A3 and A4 courses, but with the New Cutting Edge Intermediate book In addition to this main textbook, pursuant to the

university’s policy, teachers in charge are permitted to supplement their teaching with any other materials that they find useful for their students, provided that they are relevant to the content being taught or they might help students with their end-of-term examination Since students at US, VNU-HCMC are non-English majors, they do not study in separate classes with each focusing on a single skill or aspect

of the English language, such as grammar or pronunciation, as English-majored students do at other universities Instead, they experience each class session with multiple skills required, following the coursebook’s structure or their own teacher’s lesson plan for each week To some extent, that can be beneficial to students since they have a chance to practice integrated skills in each class session, which supposedly helps them develop all their English skills equally well Nevertheless, given the limited amount of time for each session with a large number of linguistic aspects to cover, various tasks are inevitably performed in a perfunctory manner, making students hardly able to have sufficient practice for each section or language skill Though clearly perceived by both teachers and the

school’s administrators, such a predicament should not be blamed to anyone because it is a typical English program designed for non-English majored students, most of whom, after all, simply need to reach a certain level necessary for their university graduation

3.3 Pilot study

A pilot study was conducted one semester before the official study was carried out with the purpose of detecting any problems that might occur during classroom observations, which helped the researcher address them in advance or,

at least, anticipate such difficulties in real observation and think of appropriate solutions accordingly Moreover, piloting also contributed to improving the quality

of research instruments for it aided to measure the reliability of each tool and indicated whether any changes or revisions to the questionnaire and observation scheme were needed

To ensure that the setting of the pilot study and that of the official study were homogeneous, a teacher who was also teaching an A2 level class at US, VNU-HCMC and her students were selected On the recommendation of one of the researcher’s friends, he obtained that teacher’s contact details Through an application on a social networking site, the researcher had a conversation with her

to explain the significance of the study he was doing and requested for her help After some short conversations, she agreed to let the researcher enter her class for class observation any time in the following week This teacher was chosen for the pilot case study since she had several characteristics in common with the teacher participants in the real study: (1) She was a young teacher with a few years of experience before teaching at US, VNU-HCMC, which made it reasonable to assume that her teaching style could be more or less similar to that of the teacher participants; (2) Her students were also studying at the A2 level after successfully passing the A1 level examination For that reason, her students were virtually identical to the student participants in the official study as well Besides, that teacher wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to receive some comments

from her peer’s observation in her class so that she could hone her pedagogical skills This was actually anticipated by the researcher since the informant often hopes to obtain some feedback from the observer about her class “in return for serving as a pilot case” (Yin, 2009, p 93)

After the pilot case study, several parts in the design of the observation scheme were modified to suit the real situations in an EFL classroom where non-English majors were studying “mix-skills” Also, several changes in the design and construct of the two questionnaires for the pilot teacher and students were made before the official data collection phase started All of these revisions will be presented in Section 3.5 (Research Instruments)

3.4 Research participants in the study

3.4.1 Teacher participants

To be recruited as a teacher of English at US, VNU-HCMC, there are several requirements that applicants need to meet First, they must hold at least a bachelor’s degree in English linguistics or English language teaching Then, they have to sit an English proficiency test and oral interview For those who have got a master’s degree in TESOL or a bachelor’s degree alongside an internationally recognized certificate in English such as IELTS (overall band score of 7.0 or higher), they do not have to take this test Finally, these candidates must get at least the minimum score decided by the Board of Directors of the Center for Foreign Languages in order to be officially offered a teaching position The level

of the class they will teach depends on their test score and the interview’s results

Apart from a small number of regular English teachers with over 10 years

of teaching experience, at the time this study was implemented, the majority of teachers, who had just been recruited for almost two years, were young with age ranging from 24 to 29 and had a few years of teaching experience elsewhere before they took up the teaching position at US, VNU-HCMC Given the scope of this study, only those teaching A2 classes were of concern to the researcher