A CROSS CHUTRAL STUDY ON THE WAY IN WHICH SPEAKER OF VIETNAMESE AND SPEAKER OF ENGLISH

TESOL CENTREWAY IN WHICH SPEAKERS OF VIETNAMESE AND SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH ISSUE, ACCEPT AND DECLINE SPOKEN INVITATIONS By: DANG THI HUONG A Study Project Report submitted in partial fulfil

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TESOL CENTRE

WAY IN WHICH

SPEAKERS OF VIETNAMESE AND SPEAKERS OF

ENGLISH

ISSUE, ACCEPT AND DECLINE SPOKEN

INVITATIONS

By: DANG THI HUONG

A Study Project Report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (TESOL) in the University of Canberra

(month) (year)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Ms Helen Kirkpatrick,

Lecturer of TESOL Centre, Faculty of Education, University of

Canberra for her precious guidance, assistance, and

encouragement during the writing of this field study report

My sincere thanks also go to all the Staff of The TESOL Centre,

University of Canberra, especially Dr P Denham, Director of The

TESOL Centre and, Ms Ursula Nixon, Lecturer of The TESOL

Centre, and Ms Leonie Cottrill, Lecturer of The TESOL Centre,

for their useful suggestions and help

I am grateful to my colleagues, Vietnamese G Dip and ELICOS

students for their involvement in my research work

"In its primitive uses , language functions as a link in concerted

human activity, as a piece of human behaviour It is a mode of

action and not an instrument of reflection" (Malinowski 1923).

In this field study report, the author investigates behaviour

associated with inviting in order to see if there is any effect on the

language used across cultures due to factors such as status, age,

gender in actual social interactions.

Chapter one gives a brief introduction to the important role of the

English Language in the world in general, and in Vietnam

nowadays in particular, and a review of Teaching Methods which

have been used in Vietnam so far.

Chapter two will deal with the theoretical background, language

competences including linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence

and communicative competence In addition, speech act theory , face work,

distance, power in relation to status, age and gender as well as reviews

research on the differences between spoken and written are also discussed.

Chapter threedefines the structure of an invite with its social and

cultural characteristics focussing on the natural structure of a

spoken invitation.

Chapter four describes research and data analysis of the issuing,

accepting and declining of spoken invitations used by Vietnamese

speakers of Vietnamese (VSV)

Chapter five contains the data analysis of the issuing, accepting and

declining of spoken invitations used by Australian speakers of

English (ASE)

Chapter six discusses the comparison of Vietnamese and Australian

spoken invitations, the main difference being found in the use of

much more direct forms used in VSV as opposed to more tentative

forms preferred by ASEs Directness of form, however, does not

reflect a lack of politeness, which is conveyed to a much larger

extent by other prosodic and paralinguistic features

Chapter seven is a brief cross-cultural investigation of the spoken

invitations of Vietnamese learners speaking English This shows up a

degree of cross-cultural interference and offers some implications for

the classroom

Chapter eight contains a summary and conclusion The results of the

study may suggest that Vietnamese learners of English need to be

taught not only linguistic competence but also communicative

competence with an emphasis on cultural and social factors Spoken

invitations which really have some function in actual interactions

need to be incorporated in the program for teaching spoken English

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE Acknowledgements IV

Table of contents VII

List of abbreviations XI

1 INTRODUCTION

1 1 English as an International Language

1 2 The role of English in Vietnam

1 3 English Teaching in Vietnam

1 4 Problems of Vietnamese speakers of English

1 5 Aims of the study 1.6 Investigations

2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1 The meaning of competence

2.1.1 Linguistic competence 2.1.2 Communicative competence 2.1.3 Social and cultural competence 2.2 Speech Acts

2.2.1 Direct speech acts and indirect speech acts 2.2.2 Speech acts in discourse

2 3 Factors affecting degrees of formality

2.3.1 Politeness 2.3.1.1 Distance and power 2.3.1.2 Politeness in the Vietnamese Culture 2.3.2 Age

V I I

2.3.3 Gender 2.4 Spoken and Written Language

3 SOCIAL INTERACTION AND INVITATIONS

3.1 The Nature of Invitations 3.1.1 Invitations as social rituals 3.1.2 The nature of invitations 3.2 The structure of an invitation 3.2.1 Issuing invitations 3.2.2 Accepting invitations 3.2.3 Declining invitations

4 RESEARCH METHODS AND DATA ANALYSIS OF VIETNAMESE SPOKEN INVITATIONS

4.1 Research methods

4.1.1 Written invitations 4.1.2 Questionnaires 4.1.3 Role play 4.1.4 Subjects

4.2 Results: Formal written invitations 4.3 Results: Spoken invitations by Vietnamese to

Vietnamese 4.3.1 Issuing spoken invitations

a) Reasons for issuing invitations b) The people to whom invitations are issued 53

c) The channel

d) The structure of the invitation 4.3.2 Accepting invitations

4.3.3 Declining invitations

a) Self- Invitations b) Pseudo-invitations c) Non- invitations d) Who pays ? 4.3.5 Age , status and gender

5 DATA ANALYSIS OF AUSTRALIAN SPOKEN INVITATIONS

5.1 Issuing spoken invitations

a) Reasons for issuing invitations b) The people to whom invitations are issued 69

c) The channel d) The structure of the invitation 5.2 Responses to spoken invitations

5.2.1 Accepting invitations 5.2.2 Declining invitations 5.3 Problems with Invitations

a) Self-invitations b) Pseudo-invitations c) Non-invitations d) Who pays?

5.4 Status, age and gender

6 COMPARISON OF VIETNAMESE ANDAUSTRALIAN SPOKEN

INVITATIONS

6.1 Issuing spoken invitations a) Reasons for issuing invitations b) The people to whom invitations are issued

c) The structure of the invitation 6.2 Issuing invitations

6.3 Accepting invitations 6.4 Declining invitations 6.5 Status, age and gender

7 CROSS CULTURAL STUDY AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE

CLASSROOM.

7.1 Introduction 7.2 Invitations by Vietnamese Speakers of English 7.2.1 Issuing invitations

7.2.2 Accepting invitations 7.2.3 Declining invitations 7.2.4 Discussion of results

8 CONCLUSION

8.2 Suggestions for the teaching methods

BIBLIOGRAPHY

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ASE

ELICOS

F

FTA

G Dip

H

HOC

Ll

L2

M

NS

NNS

S

TA

TESOL

VSE

VSV

Australian speakers ofEnglish English language Intensive course for Students

Female Face threatening act Graduate Diploma hearer

Hearer orientation concern First language

Second/foreign language male

native speaker non-nativespeaker Speaker

term of address Teaching English to speakers of other Vietnamese speakers of English Vietnamese speakers of Vietnamese

Overseas

languages