(LUẬN văn THẠC sĩ) an investigation into attitudes of teachers and students of english towards teaching and learning world englishes at hong duc university

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

LÊ THỊ HƯƠNG

AN INVESTIGATION INTO ATTITUDES OF
TEACHERS AND STUDENTS OF ENGLISH
TOWARDS TEACHING
AND LEARNING WORLD ENGLISHES AT HONG
DUC UNIVERSITY
(Điều tra về quan điểm của giáo viên và sinh viên
tiếng Anh đối với việc dạy và học các loại tiếng Anh
trên thế giới tại Trường Đại học Hồng Đức)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field: English Language Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 14 10

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


HA NOI – 2013
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

LÊ THỊ HƯƠNG

AN INVESTIGATION INTO ATTITUDES OF
TEACHERS AND STUDENTS OF ENGLISH

TOWARDS TEACHING
AND LEARNING WORLD ENGLISHES AT HONG
DUC UNIVERSITY
(Điều tra về quan điểm của giáo viên và sinh viên
tiếng Anh đối với việc dạy và học các loại tiếng Anh
trên thế giới tại Trường Đại học Hồng Đức)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field: English Language Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 14 10
Supervisor: Dr. Lê Văn Canh

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


LIST OF ABBREVIATION

EIL: English as an international language
ELT: English language teaching
EFL: English as a foreign language
FLF: Foreign Languages Faculty
HDU: Hong Duc University
IE: International English
L2: second language
L3: third language
NS: Native speaker
NNSs: Non-native speakers
RP: Received Pronunciation
S: Students
T: Teachers

WEs: World Englishes

iv

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 (first six items):
Students and teachers‟ attitudes towards “Standard English” ....................................21
Table 1 (last seven items): Students and teachers‟ attitudes towards the concept of “World
Englishes” ................................................................................................................................23
Table 2: Students' attitudes towards learning native or non-native English............................25
Table 3: Teachers‟ views on teaching World Englishes...........................................................28
Table 4: Reasons teachers choose to teach World Englishes...................................................31
Table 5: Reasons teachers avoid teaching World Englishes....................................................32

v

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP…………………………………………..

i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………..

ii

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………..

iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS………………………………………………...

iv

LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………..

vi

PART A: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………….

1

1. Rationale of the study……………………………………………………...

1

2. Aims and objectives of the study…………………………………………..

2

3. Scope of the study………………………………………………………….

2

4. Significance of the study…………………………………………………...

3

5. Research Questions………………………………………………………...

3

6. Methods of the study……………………………………………………….

3

7. Design of the study………………………………………………………...

4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT………………………………………………..

5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………….

5

1.1. Learning Attitudes……………………………………………………….

5

1.1.1. Definitions of attitudes…………………………………………………

5

1.1.2. The role of attitudes in language learning……………………………..

5

1.2. Views on Standard English………………………………………………

6

1.2.1. Standard English is not a language…………………………………….

6

1.2.2. Standard English is not an accent……………………………………...

7

1.2.3. Standard English is not a style…………………………………………

8

1.2.4. So what is it then?...................................................................................

9

vi

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


1.3. World Englishes………………………………………………………….

10

1.3.1. What is World Englishes?.......................................................................

10

1.3.2. Attitudes towards teaching and learning World Englishes…………….

12

1.3.2.1. To teach Standard English or World Englishes……………………...

12

1.3.2.2. Current attitudes and perspectives on teaching and learning World
Englishes……………………………………………………………………...

13

1.4. Summary…………………………………………………………………

14

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY…………………………………………

15

2.1. Background to the study…………………………………………………

15

2.1.1. Introduction of the Hong Duc University……………………………...

15

2.1.2. The teachers……………………………………………………………

15

2.1.3. The English major students…………………………………………….

15

2.2. The survey instrument…………………………………………………...

16

2.2.1. Questionnaire…………………………………………………………..

16

2.2.2. Interviews………………………………………………………………

17

2.3. Procedures………………………………………………………………..

17

2.3.1. Piloting the questionnaire……………………………………………...

17

2.3.2. Distribution of the questionnaire……………………………………....

18

2.3.3. Selecting participants for the interview………………………………..

18

2.3.4. The participants……………………………………………………….

18

2.3.5. Data collection and analysis…………………………………………...

19

2.4. Summary…………………………………………………………………

19

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS…..

20

3.1. Data analysis……………………………………………………………..

20

3.2. Findings and discussions………………………………………………...

20

3.2.1. Students and teacher‟s attitudes towards the so-called “Standard
English”……………………………………………………………………….

20

vii

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


3.2.2. Students and teacher‟s attitudes towards the concept of “World
Englishes”…………………………………………………………………….

23

3.2.3. Student‟s attitudes towards learning “non-standard” varieties of
English………………………………………………………………………...

25

3.2.4. Teachers‟ negative views on teaching “non-standard” varieties of
English in the classroom……………………………………………………...

27

3.2.5. Reasons teachers choose to teach World Englishes……………………

30

3.2.6. Reasons teachers avoid teaching World Englishes…………………….

31

PART C: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS……………………….

33

1. Summary of major findings………………………………………………..

33

2. Suggestions of the study for World Englishes teaching……………………

34

2.1. Interaction with EIL users………………………………………………..

34

2.2. Assessment focusing in communicative effectiveness…………………..

35

2.3. Teaching materials representing EIL users………………………………

36

2.4. Improving teachers‟ knowledge and understanding of different nonstandard varieties of English………………………………………………….

37

2.5. Teacher education………………………………………………………..

38

3. Conclusion………………………………………………………………….

38

4. Limitations of the study……………………………………………………

39

5. Suggestions for further research……………………………………………

40

REFERENCES………………………………………………………………

41

APPENDICES……………………………………………………………….

I

Appendix 1: Student questionnaire…………………………………………...

I

Appendix 2: Teacher questionnaire…………………………………………..

IV

Appendix 3: Interview questions……………………………………………..

VII

viii

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale of the study
The world is presently witnessing a rapid increase in the use of English as a
language of wider communication. More and more countries are making English their
lingua franca to communicate with the rest of the world - not only with native Englishspeaking countries, but also with non-native English-speaking countries in
international settings. It is high time for Vietnamese teachers of English to change their

attitudes toward so-called “standard English.” In Vietnam, only English broadcast on
the BBC (British Broadcasting Company), VOA (Voice of America), or ABC
(Australian Broadcasting Company) - in other words, only English used by speakers in
Kachru‟s Inner Circle countries - is considered to be “standard English.”
At Hong Duc University (HDU), English-major students are always taught
English in some standard textbooks followed TOEFL or IELTS format from the first
year until they graduate. So students and teachers believe that “standard English” can
become very useful to help them communicate effectively in foreign companies but
most people do not conduct business in that way. I often hear my former graduate
students, who are now working for Japanese, Korean or Taiwanese companies in
Vietnam, complain that it is difficult for them to understand Japanese English, that is,
the variety of English spoken by speakers of Japanese. Or they will say that their
“standard English” has deteriorated because of Taiwanese or Korean supervisors who
speak their own varieties of English.
World Englishes is quite a new term for many teachers and students of English at
Hong Duc University. But there is a fact that both teachers and students wanted to
know and understand more on the so-called “World Englishes” in order to help their
students prepare well for future job at companies which are not managed by native
English speakers. This inspires the researcher to conduct the study entitled “An
1

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


investigation into attitudes of teachers and students of English towards teaching and
learning World Englishes at Hong Duc University” with hope of understanding more
about not only the teachers and st udents‟ attitudes towards teaching and learning
World Englishes but also the overall problems faced by them in teaching and learning
the incorporating World Englishes as an international language.
2. Aims and objectives of the study

The study aims at investigating the attitudes of teachers and students at Hong Duc
University towards teaching and learning World Englishes. In order to achieve this
aim, the study attempts to:
-

Investigate teachers and students‟ attitudes towards Standard English and World
Englishes.

-

Find out the similarities and differences in opinions between teachers and
students towards learning and teaching World Englishes.

-

Find out the possible problems faced by the teachers and students in
incorporating World Englishes in teaching English as an international language.

3. Scope of the study
Currently, World Englishes is one of the discussing matters for scholars all over
the world. Many opinions are given to present the advantages and disadvantages of
introducing World Englishes to students of English. World Englishes is a new term and
can cause misunderstanding for participants to fulfill the survey questionnaire. The
participants must have a minimum understanding on native and non-native English.
Within the scope of a minor thesis, this study attempts to investigate the attitudes of
students and teachers of English at Hong Duc University towards teaching and learning
World Englishes therefore the most suitable participants should be from the 2nd year
students who have just got used to with these terms and teachers of English in Foreign
Languages Department at Hong Duc University.

2

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


4. Significance of the study
How to help students of English have enough knowledge and experience to
meet the increasing requirements of today society is a big question to almost teachers.
World Englishes can become an efficient instrument to solve that question. Firstly, this
study will be of considerable interest to both language teachers and students who
concerns on teaching and learning World Englishes. Secondly, the study provides an
useful background on the theory and perspectives related to World Englishes for those
who want to develop more on the topic. Last but not least, this study hopes to provide
teachers and students of English an analysis on attitudes towards teaching and learning
World Englishes at Hong Duc University in order to decide whether to teach or learn
World Englishes or not.
5. Research Questions
In an attempt to investigate teachers and students of English‟s perceptions of
World Englishes, the present study examined three related domains including teachers‟
and students‟ understanding of World Englishes concept, their attitudes towards
“Standard English”, and their attitudes to teaching and learning “non-standard”
varieties of English in the classroom. In light of the goal of the study, the following
research questions were posed:
1. How do teachers and students understand the concept of “World Englishes”?
2. What are teachers and students‟ attitudes towards the so-called “Standard English”?
3. What are their attitudes to teaching and learning “non-standard” varieties of English?
6. Methods of the study
In order to fulfill the task mentioned above, this study employs both qualitative
and quantitative methods. The quantitative method is used to collect data through
survey questionnaire; the aim is to explore students‟ understanding on Standard

English and World Englishes as well as their views on learning native and non-native
English. The teachers also become the participants to be asked about their
3

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


understanding towards World Englishes and their views on teaching or avoiding
teaching World Englishes. The qualitative method is used to gather information
through informal interviews and discussions with teachers of English in the Foreign
Languages Falcuty (FLF) of Hong Duc University.
7. Design of the study
The study consists of three main parts:
Part A: Introduction presents rationale; aims and objectives; scope; significance;
research questions; methods; and design of the study.
Part B: Development constitutes three chapters:
Chapter 1: Literature review - offers the reviews of literature related to studies on
learning attitudes, Standard English and World Englishes.
Chapter 2: Methodology - deals with the actual procedures of the study: study design,
subject of the study, data collection instruments as well as data collection analyzing
process.
Chapter 3: Data Analysis, Findings and Discussions - focuses on presenting,
analyzing and discussing the results obtained from the study.
Part C: Conclusion and Suggestions - summarizes some major findings, makes
conclusion for the thesis, provides suggestions for a possibly applicable teaching
approach to World Englishes, limitations of the study, and suggestions for further
research.

4

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Learning Attitudes
1.1.1. Definitions of attitudes
There have been considerable researches on attitudes towards language learning
and, according to Gardner (1979), there is an undeniable mutual relationship between
attitudes and motivation in language learning.
There are many definitions of the term. Among them, Gardner (1985:91-93)
claims that attitude is an evaluative creation to some referent or attitude objects,
inferred on the basic of individual‟s beliefs or opinions about the referent. In addition
to that, in Gibb‟s opinion (1988), attitude is generally defined as a state of mind, which
is influenced by feelings, experiences of the world and belief. More clearly, Hallorah
(1967) states that attitude represents an individual like or dislike towards an item.
Attitudes are positive, negative or neutral views of an “attitude object”, i.e. a person,
situation or event. People can also be “ambivalent”, meaning that they simultaneously
possess a positive and a negative bias towards the attitudes in question
The above definitions show people‟s attitudes towards certain referent object, a
behavioral intentions component and a cognitive component involving belief about the
object. In language learning, we can see students‟ attitudes in their feelings and belief
about the way of acting towards the lessons, learning style, teachers and the course
books.
1.1.2. The role of attitudes in language learning
Attitudes and learning always go side by side. Garder and Lamper (1972) both
agree that “success in mastering a foreign language would depend not only on

5

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


intellectual capacity and language aptitude, but on one‟s attitudes towards
representatives of that language as well.”
It has been proved that those with less positive attitudes towards second
language learning drop out of further language study, while those who continue have
more favorable attitudes. Students may become bored and inattentive in class, do badly
on tests and get discouraged from the course if they keep negative attitudes in learning.
In one of their studies, Gardner and Smythe (1976) found that the dropouts in study
demonstrated less positive attitude and lower motivation than students who continued
with their language study the next year.
Besides, Lightbrown and Spada (1999) state that attitude is fundamental to the
success or failure that we experience in learning. Depending on the learners‟ attitudes,
language learning can be a source of enrichment or a source of resentment. Agreeing
with the role of attitudes, Brown (1994) says that language learners benefit from
positive attitudes while negative attitudes may lead to unsuccessful attainment of
proficiency. Moreover, Gardener (1985: 41) emphasizes that favorable attitudes would
be expected to result in better performance than negative attitudes. If learners hold
positive learning attitudes, they will be willing to participate in it, and they themselves
find motivation and inspiration in learning.
To summarize, it would be better to quote Marzano et all‟s (1994) emphasizing
the importance of positive attitudes in learning that “without positive attitudes and
perceptions or holding negative attitudes towards the learning students have little
chance of learning proficiently, if at all”
1.2. Views on Standard English
1.2.1. Standard English is not a language
Standard English is often referred to as "the standard language". It is clear,
however, that Standard English is not "a language" in any meaningful sense of this
term. Standard English, whatever it is, is less than a language, since it is only one

6

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


variety of English among many. Standard English may be the most important variety of
English, in all sorts of ways: it is the variety of English normally used in writing,
especially printing; it is the variety associated with the education system in all the
English-speaking countries of the world, and is therefore the variety spoken by those
who are often referred to as "educated people"; and it is the variety taught to non-native
learners. But most native speakers of English in the world are native speakers of some
nonstandard variety of the language, and English, like other Ausbau languages (see
Kloss, 1967), can be described (Chambers and Trudgill, 1997) as consisting of an
autonomous standardised variety together with all the nonstandard varieties which are
heteronomous with respect to it. Standard English is thus not the English language but
simply one variety of it.
1.2.2. Standard English is not an accent
There is one thing about Standard English on which most linguists, or at least
British linguists, do appear to be agreed, and that is that Standard English has nothing
to do with pronunciation. From a British perspective, we have to acknowledge that
there is in Britain a high status and widely described accent known as Received
Pronunciation (RP) which is sociolinguistically unusual when seen from a global
perspective in that it is not associated with any geographical area, being instead a
purely social accent associated with speakers in all parts of the country, or at least in
England, from upper-class and upper-middle-class backgrounds. It is widely agreed,
though, that while all RP speakers also speak Standard English, the reverse is not the
case. Perhaps 9%-12% of the population of Britain (see Trudgill and Cheshire, 1989)
speaks Standard English with some form of regional accent. It is true that in most cases
Standard English speakers do not have "broad" local accents i.e. accents with large
numbers of regional features which are phonologically and phonetically very distant

from RP, but it is clear that in principle we can say that, while RP is in a sense,
standardised, it is a standardised accent of English and not Standard English itself. This
7

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


point becomes even clearer from an international perspective. Standard English
speakers can be found in all English-speaking countries, and it goes without saying that
they speak this variety with different non-RP accents depending on whether they came
from Scotland or the USA or New Zealand or wherever.
1.2.3. Standard English is not a style
There is, however and unfortunately, considerable confusion in the minds of
many concerning the relationship between Standard English and the vocabulary
associated with formal varieties of the English language. We characterise styles (see
Trudgill, 1992) as varieties of language viewed from the point of view of formality.
Styles are varieties of language which can be ranged on a continuum ranging from very
formal to very informal. Formal styles are employed in social situations which are
formal, and informal styles are employed in social situations which are informal which is not to say, however, that speakers are "sociolinguistic automata" (Giles, 1973)
who respond blindly to the particular degree of formality of a particular social
situation. On the contrary, speakers are able to influence and change the degree of
formality of a social situation by manipulation of stylistic choice.
All the languages of the world would appear to demonstrate some degree of
stylistic differentiation in this sense, reflecting the wide range of social relationships
and social situations found, to a greater or lesser extent, in all human societies. I
believe, with Labov (1972) that there is no such thing as a single-style speaker,
although it is obviously also the case that the repertoire of styles available to individual
speakers will be a reflection of their social experiences and, in many cases, also their
education. It is of course important here to distinguish between individual speakers of
languages and those languages themselves, but it is clear that languages too may differ

similarly in the range of styles available to their speakers. In many areas of the world,
switching from informal to formal situations also involves switching from one
language to another. In such cases, it is probable that neither of the two languages
8

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


involved will have the full range of styles available to speakers in monolingual
situations.
1.2.4. So what is it then?
If Standard English is not therefore a language, an accent or a style, then of
course we are obliged to say what it actually is. The answer is, as at least most British
sociolinguists are agreed, that Standard English is a dialect. As we saw above, Standard
English is simply one variety of English among many. It is a sub-variety of English.
Sub-varieties of languages are usually referred to as dialects, and languages are often
described as consisting of dialects. As a named dialect, like Cockney, or Scouse, or
Yorkshire, it is entirely normal that we should spell the name of the Standard English
dialect with capital letters.
Standard English is however of course an unusual dialect in a number of ways.
It is for example by far the most important dialect in the English-speaking world from a
social, intellectual and cultural point of view; and it does not have an associated accent.
It is also of interest that dialects of English, as of other languages, are generally
simultaneously both geographical and social dialects which combine to form both
geographical and social dialect continua. First, the distinction between Standard
English and other dialects is not arbitrary or a matter of slicing up a continuum at some
point of our own choice, although as we have seen there are some difficulties. This is
inherent in the nature of standardisation itself. There is really no continuum linking
Standard English to other dialects because the codification that forms a crucial part of
the standardisation process results in a situation where, in most cases, a feature is either

standard or it is not. Secondly, unlike other dialects, Standard English is a purely social
dialect. Because of its unusual history and its extreme sociological importance, it is no
longer a geographical dialect, even if we can tell that its origins were originally in the
southeast of England. It is true that, in the English-speaking world as a whole, it comes
in a number of different forms, so that we can talk, if we wish to for some particular
9

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


purpose, of Scottish Standard English, or American Standard English, or English
Standard English. (Bizarrely, the British National Curriculuim document suggests that
American and Australian English are not Standard English!) And even in England we
can note that there is a small amount of geographical variation at least in spoken
Standard English, such as the different tendencies in different parts of the country to
employ contractions such as He‟s not as opposed to he hasn‟t. But the most salient
sociolinguistic characteristic of Standard English is that it is a social dialect.
1.3. World Englishes
1.3.1. What is World Englishes?
The term „World Englishes‟ needs attention in the light of this thesis, because it
is also widely used by many academics. The journal „World Englishes‟ which deals
with this field has been published since 1981 and has been popular ever since. The
following description about the journal is given: „World Englishes is committed to the
study of global varieties of English in their distinctive cultural, sociological and
educational contexts. It is integrative in its scope and includes theoretical and applied
studies on language, literature and English teaching, with emphasis on cross-cultural
perspectives and identities‟. The journal is edited
by Kachru and Smith. Channing Burt (2005)
mentions several opinions on the conceptualization
of IE in his article „What is International

English?‟. He starts with mentioning the work of
Kachru (1997). In 1997
Kachru developed a model that explains the spread
and use of English internationally, which he calls
the Concentric Circles. He claims that the Inner
Circle is center or origin of the traditional cultural
and linguistic bases of English (this includes the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, and
10

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


New Zealand). Next is the Outer Circle, which contains countries where
institutionalized, non-L1 varieties of English are used (for example Bangladesh,
Ghana, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri
Lanka, Tanzania and Zambia). Most of the countries in the Outer Circle are former
colonies of the Inner Circle. Finally, he mentions the Expanding Circle „where
performance varieties with no official status and of restricted use are spoken in English
as a Foreign Language context‟ (Burt, 2005, p. 2).
This model does not only prove that there are different ways to look upon the
use and spread of English, it
also points out clearly that

What does “World Englishes” mean?

there are clearly different
levels of English. Germany,
for example, is a country that
obviously belongs to the
Expanding

therefore,

Circle,
the

level

and

The Expanding Circle
China, Egypt, Indonesia,
Israel, Japan, Korea,
Nepal, Saudi Arabia,
Taiwan, Russia,
Zimbabwe, South Africa,
Caribbean Islands
(EFL)

of

The Outer Circle
Bangladesh, India
Ghana, Kenya,
Nigeria, Malaysia,
Pakistan, Philippines,
Singapore, Sri Lanka,
Tanzania, Zambia
(ESL)

The Inner Circle

USA
UK
Canada
Australia
New Zealand

English should be expected
to be a lot different from

Krachu’s Three Concentric Circles

those who live in the Inner Circle. L2 stands for ‟Language two‟, meaning the second
language of a person. English is a L2 or even L3 for many people all over the world.
Kachru argues that the term World English is a better way of describing the global use
of English than International English. The argument he uses is that the word
„international‟ implies that there is an international variety of English that has been
codified, accepted and taught around the world, which, according to him, is far from
reality. Another reason for opposing the word international is that it is often used
inaccurately, and according to Kachru it often refers solely to „America, Britain and
Australia‟ (Kachru, 1997, p. 70).
11

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


According to Erling (2004, p. 60) the term World English is the oldest term,
dating back from 1920‟s. This might be one of the reasons, along the reasons
mentioned above by Kachru, why this is the most accepted term among academics. The
use of the term World English implies not only awareness of the multiple varieties of
English in the world, but also the fact that all varieties of English, both native and non

native, „belong equally to all who use them and merit serious and consistent study both
individually and collectively‟ (McArthur, 1998, p. 61).
When defining these terms and when providing different views on these terms,
it is important to keep in mind why so much attention had been paid to this. Of course,
from a (socio-) linguistic point of view, it is important to outline the development,
shifts, and changes of a language. There are however interesting practical purposes
when it comes to education and business life as well. Ayo Bamgbose (2001) argues in
her article „World Englishes and Globalization‟ that finding out how World English is
developing and how it can be taught best in non-native countries is a duty to the
academic world. She stresses the fact that the level of English is dramatically
decreasing in third world countries (Bamgbose, 2001, p. 357), and that something
should be done to turn the tide again.
1.3.2. Attitudes towards teaching and learning World Englishes
1.3.2.1. To teach Standard English or World Englishes?
Since teaching local varieties of English (such as Singlish) may be just as
problematic as teaching inner circle Standard English, English language teachers may
find themselves in a quandary as to what type of English to emphasize to their students.
We recognize that many English language teachers may not have the luxury of
deciding what variety to emphasize and teach to their students because this may
already be mandated by Ministries of Education, school boards, and/or school
directors. Nevertheless, we suggest that teachers can inform their practices about the

12

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


different varieties of English that exist and consider a balanced approach to teaching
English. Such an approach would include three key considerations:
1. Teachers need to carefully consider their teaching context (McKay 2002).

2. After choosing their target of instruction based on that context, teachers should
value their learners‟ current English usage (El-Sayed 1991).
3. Teachers need to prepare learners for future international English encounters by
exposing them to other varieties of English (Matsuda 2003) and by teaching them
strategic competence when interacting with speakers who speak other varieties of
English.
1.3.2.2. Current attitudes and perspectives on teaching and learning World Englishes
as a Lingua France.
In any context of language learning and teaching, the issue of what to learn or to
teach is bound to rise. In the case of ELT, the debate in recent decades has been about
which English to aim for. For a majority of ELT experts in the Inner Circle as well as
in some members of Outer and Expanding Circle the competing standards are still
British or American English. Other members of the Outer Circle, however, have started
challenging the exocentric norms and rethinking the questions of standards. The
observations relevant to the debate are the following. Contrary to the myth that people
in China or India or Japan or Nigeria learn English to interact with users of English
from the Inner Circle, English is basically used by people of Outer and Expanding
Circle interacting with each other within or outside their respective Circle.
B. Krachu (1997b) suggests that there are enough resources for imaginative use
in the teaching and learning of World Englishes. For instance, Hannam University and
Open Cyber University of Korea have introduced and are developing the Internet as a
resource for teaching WEs to Korean learners of English (Jung & Min, 2002; Shim,
2002). Both sets of teachers are collecting materials from the websites of all the three

13

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


Circles of English and preparing appropriate units for language teaching based on these

materials.
Dictionary-making has woken up to the usefulness of documenting the immense
impact of language contact on the lexicon of English, and there are several attempts at
incorporating items from different regional Englishes into the mainstream dictionaries
of Inner Circle varieties (Encarta World English Dictionary, 1999, had consultants for
East Africa, Hong Kong, Hawaii, Malaysia-Singapore, South Africa, U.K.Black
English, and U.S. African American English; the Macquarie Dictionary, 1997, has
lexical items from Southeast Asian Englishes, for example, Malaysia, Singapore, and
The Philippines).
There is, however, a great deal of work to be done before all those involved in
ELT worldwide feel comfortable with the paradigm shift that teaching and learning
WEs signals. Applied linguistics and ELT professionals have yet to take a principled
stand and prepare themselves to incorporate the world Englishes perspective into their
academic practices. These then will have an effect on the education policymakers, the
educational authorities will then be able to adopt an appropriate stance toward the
teaching and learning of English.
1.4. Summary
In this chapter, I tried to provide a brief description of the theoretical knowledge
relating to the study. Included is learning attitudes and its important role in teaching
and learning English. This chapter also included views on Standard English from a new
angle, the term “World Englishes”, debates and attitudes around teaching and learning
it.

14

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
2.1. Background to the study

2.1.1. Introduction of the Hong Duc University (HDU)
Hong Duc University was established by the Decision No. 797/ TTg issued by
the Prime Minister on the 24th September 1997. The university was founded on the
basis of three separate colleges of Thanh Hoa Province namely: The Teacher Training
College, the Economics & Technology College and the Medical College. Nowadays, it
is a public, multi-discipline, and multi-branch institution in Vietnam Higher Education
System which focuses in training scientific and technological cadres up to a four-year
degree standard to meet the socio-economic development requirements of the Province
and the neighboring provinces.
2.1.2. The teachers
Most the teachers who are in charge of teaching English to the students of
English belong to the foreign languages faculty (FLF). There are 33 teachers, in which
2 teachers of French, 1 teachers of Russian and the rest are the teachers of English. As
for the teachers of English, 25 of them have been training to teach the English major
students. However, due to the limited number of students who rolled in the foreign
languages faculty, only 20 teachers of English are in charge of teaching these students.
And at the moment, 12 got a master degree, 3 are studying the Ph.D course, and 5 are
studying M.A course in English at the University of Languages and International
Studies, VNU. All of them are at the age of from 25 – 45 and have been teaching to
English major students for at least 2 years.
2.1.3. The English major students
There are eight semesters for university students and six for college ones. As a
first year students, they are provided with lot of materials to develop their language
skills so they can have a basic understanding on the so-called Standard English. But the
15

TIEU LUAN MOI download :


researcher aimed to investigate the attitudes of students from the second year after they

have experienced language proficiency for at least one year. On average, English major
students from the 2nd year of the HDU are aged between 20 - 28, both male and female.
However, the majority of them are female because of the characteristics of the social
specialties at this university. Most students come from different parts in the North of
the country, mainly from Thanh Hoa province and are trained to become a teacher of
English in the future.
2.2. The Survey Instrument
2.2.1. Questionnaire
The survey questionnaire was chosen as the main instrument for data collection.
Survey questionnaire is a simple and familiar instrument of appreciating attitudes of
participants. Also, it is easy to administer and less time-consuming than other
instruments. The questionnaire was design to evaluating attitudes through Likert-scale
items using a five-point scale ranging from 'strongly disagree' to 'strongly agree' which
are a useful and effective means of determining opinions and attitudes (Turner, 1993).
A three-page questionnaire for English major students composed of 24 Likerttype items was divided into three sections. The first section contained demographic
questions in order to gain information about students. The second section (items 1-13)
dealt with the basic concept of Standard English and World Englishes. The third
section (items 14-24) related to students‟ view on native and non-native English.
A three-page questionnaire for teachers of English composed of 23 Likert-type
items and two open-ended items, was divided into four sections. The first section
contained demographic questions in order to gain demographic information about
teachers. The second section (items 1-13) dealt with the basic concept of Standard
English and World Englishes in order to review teachers‟ practical understandings of
World Englishes. The third section (items 14-23) related to teachers‟ view on teaching

16

TIEU LUAN MOI download :

World Englishes. Finally, in the fourth section, teachers were asked to rate their own
reasons for choosing or avoiding teaching World Englishes.
2.2. 2. Interviews
The interview questions were structured to get better insights into the research
questions and to discuss further information about the items raised in the questionnaire
for teachers to clarify more on the reasons for teachers to choose Standard English or
World Englishes to teach so that the study would be more sufficient and valid. The
interview was carried out in English in the form of an informal conversation between
the researcher and 20 teachers of English at FLF. Each interview lasted about 10
minutes. The questions in the interview were based on the questions in the
questionnaire for teachers, but were extended to get more through understanding of the
matter. The data collected from the interview was recorded, transcribed for the
purposes of the study.
2.3. Procedures
Most questionnaire items of the questionnaire were structured to explore
students and teachers‟ attitudes towards World Englishes. The researcher did not
design all questionnaire items but modified most of them from other researchers
because there are many similar and useful items which can suit the researcher‟s
purpose.
2.3.1. Piloting the questionnaire
The questionnaire was piloted between January 10th and 11th, 2013 with a
random sample of thirty students and ten teachers at the FLF, HDU. Thirty students at
the FLF were selected randomly from the total of 186 students who are from the
second years and more. Ten teachers at the FLF were selected randomly from the total
of twenty-five teachers who are teaching English for English major students.
The reason for selecting representatives of the different levels was to ensure that
the samples selected for the study represented the whole population. The constructive
17

TIEU LUAN MOI download :

feedback from these thirty students and ten teachers was taken into consideration in
rewording items, adding new ones, modifying ambiguous wordings, and deleting the
items that were irrelevant to the purpose of the study. Additionally, grammatical
mistakes were corrected, instructions and directions were modified, and terms and
concepts were modified so that they were clear to the participants. For this reason, the
pilot study proved to be very beneficial.
2.3.2. Distribution of the questionnaire
The questionnaire was distributed on January 20th, 2013 by the researcher to the
teachers and students in their class and was collected by the researcher at the end of the
day, and the following day, January 21st, 2013.
2.3.3. Selecting participants for the interview
After analyzing the data gathered from the questionnaires, 20 teachers were
chosen for the interviews. The following criteria were considered while choosing the
participants for the interview: Whether the participants had taught World Englishes in
2012-2013 academic year, in previous years, or had not taught it at all; which kind of
English they choose to teach their students. The aim of the interview was to get indepth answers to second and third research questions:
2. What are teachers and students‟ attitudes towards the so-called “Standard English”?
3. What are their attitudes to teaching and learning “non-standard” varieties of English?
A total of five interview questions were prepared for the teachers to answer. The
interviews were carried out in English.
2.3.4. The participants
The study was carried out with 186 students of English from the second year at
FLF, HDU belonging to 2 big groups: university students and college students and 20
teachers of English. 165 of students are females and 21 are males, 15 of teachers are
females and 5 are males.

18

TIEU LUAN MOI download :