MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI U N IV ER SITY HOANG THI KIM CHI AN INVESTIGATION INTO NGUYEN GIA THIEƯ HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS' BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAG
B a c k g r o u n d t o t h e s t u d y
The growing importance o f English as an international language is observed in virtually all countries o f the world from its increasing status in educational curricula to its role as the language o f international business, tourism, news broadcasting etc, In Vietnam, the recognition by the Government o f the growing importance o f English can be seen in its recent initiatives on English language teaching in the high schools, colleges, and universities.
Beliefs play a key role in identifying the way learners view language and language learning approaches It appears obvious that many language learners have definite beliefs about learning a foreign language Whenever the topic o f foreign languages comes up in a conversation, many people seem eager to express their views and opinions about language learning.
Richardson (1996) defines beliefs as psychologically held understandings, premises, or propositions about the world that are felt to be true Current definitions o f beliefs found in the foreign language education literature focus primarily on how teachers think about the nature o f foreign languages, teaching and learning.
Studies into language learning beliefs have shown that beliefs play a crucial role in language learning The beliefs students hold about language and language learning affect the way they learn the language Students’ awareness o f their beliefs, therefore, may help to enhance language learning and to develop their language competence Such awareness can also help them to become autonomous language learners They will become not only efficient at learning and using their second language but also able to self-direct these endeavors Pedagogically, understanding o f students’ beliefs about language learning can help teachers to intervene appropriately in an attempt to modify or change the students’ beliefs.
The role beliefs play to the students’ learning outcomes has been empirically justified Studies on students’ learning beliefs which were conducted internationally have shown that students hold different beliefs or notions about language learning (Horwitz 1987), and those studies support the idea that learners’ beliefs have the potential to influence both their experiences and actions as language learners According to Putcha (1999), beliefs are guiding principles for our students’ behavior and strong perceptual filters they act as if they were true Similarly, Stevick (1980) asserts that learning success is credited more to the beliefs students hold than to the learning materials and teaching techniques.
The purpose behind studies on learners’ beliefs varies from study to study For example, Cortazzi (1990) studied the relationship between learners’ culture and their beliefs about language learning while Bacon and Finnemann (1992) were interested in finding out the relationship between gender and beliefs Other researchers such as Mantle-Bromley
(1995) and W en and Johnson (1997) were interested in investigating the link between learners’ beliefs and their language proficiency For this purpose, Me Donough (1995) and Victori & Lockhart (1995) studied the impact ofbeliefs on language learning Mori
(1997) conducted a study to look into the beliefs students hold in specific domains o f language learning whereas Cotterall (1995; Sakui & Gaies (1998) were concerned about various dim ensions underlying learner’s beliefs Unlike other researchers, (Kalaja 1995, Sakui & Gaies 1998) looked into the issue o f methods used in studying learners' beliefs.
Despite the availability o f extensive research on language learning beliefs, little has been reported on Vietnam ese students’ beliefs Despite the researchers’ effort to track down studies o f this type on Vietnamese high school students, she failed to find any This study was aimed at contributing knowledge and understanding o f Vietnamese high school students’ beliefs about learning English as a foreign language.
Besides, in Vietnam ese culture, gender is still a key variable that may directly influence or even determ ine attitudes or motivations or behaviors Therefore, it is reasonable to suppose that students o f different genders may have different beliefs about what learning is and how it occurs This paper will explore the nature o f high school students’ beliefs and the difference between male and female students with regard to their language learning beliefs, if any The study is limited to a description o f students’ language learning beliefs in the context o f a high school in Vietnam.
The study sets out to achieve two following specific purposes:
- To find out high school students' beliefs about learning English as a foreign language;
- To find out the relationships between beliefs and gender.
In order to reach the research aims, the study mainly focused on the research questions as follows:
1 W hat beliefs do high school students have about language learning?
2 Are the beliefs moderated by the gender o f the learner?
1.3 Context and scope o f the study
As the title o f the study has indicated, the focus o f the study is on students’ beliefs about learning English as a foreign language at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school (NGTHS) NGTHS was established in 1950 in Gia Lam district, Hanoi As being an advanced high school o f Hanoi Department o f Education and Training, NGTHS has gained achievements in teaching and learning With 2150 students, NGTHS always have students who win high prizes at city and nation level - examinations The English department with 9 teachers is always a leading one in teaching and proposing pedagogical initiatives for better teaching and learning.
English is one o f the compulsory subjects in the high school In the Vietnamese educational system, Vietnamese students learn English from the primary school (since 3rd grade) to university Learning English is paid more attention to by almost students because they realize the importance o f English in the context o f international globalization Students in big cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, etc,, have more opportunities to learn English and to meet foreigners to practise English than those who live in the rural area.
Students o f NGTHS have quite good English knowledge The rate o f students who have good marks in English examinations is always high and the number o f students participating in excellent student exams is numerous Therefore, investigating NGTHS students’ beliefs about language learning is relevant to the current EFL learning context.
Research on the beliefs about language learning since H orw itz’s pioneering study in
1985 has shown that some o f these beliefs held by students have damaging effects on their learning However, there is still a great shortage o f research that investigates the beliefs o f students and especially high school students.
Considering these and hinging on the assumption that if students identify their beliefs about learning language they probably become successful in learning a foreign language and knowledge o f students' beliefs provides teachers with better understanding o f their students' expectation of, comm itment to, success in, and satisfaction with their language classes (Horwitz, 1988, p 283) Also, it is clear that the study o f students' beliefs is very important for pedagogy which helps students to construct a good understanding o f their language learning processes Moreover, understanding learner beliefs about language learning is essential to understanding learner strategies and planning appropriate language instruction Also, investigating the differences between male and female’s beliefs will help teachers select a suitable pedagogical instrument to teach their students Since understanding o f students’ beliefs about their learning English and the relationship between beliefs and gender will inform teachers o f appropriate pedagogical intervention, this issue has attracted researchers’ interest on the global scale Thus, the researcher would like to carry out this study to identify the beliefs about learning English o f high school students to determine whether system o f language learning beliefs helps students improve their language competence and strategies However, little has been published about Vietnamese students’ beliefs about their learning English, this study will, to some extent; contribute to the endeavor to narrow the gap.
This thesis is composed o f five chapters, which are structured as follows:
Chapter 1: “Introduction” deals with the reasons for carrying out this study, states the aims o f the study, research question The significance and the outline o f the study are also presented.