Chuyên đề tốt nghiệp: Factors attributed to silence in speaking classes of english-major students: a case study of national economics university

<span class="text_page_counter">Trang 1</span><div class="page_container" data-page="1">

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITYFACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ENGLISH

NGUYEN THI MAI HOA

FACTORS ATTRIBUTED TO SILENCE IN SPEAKING CLASSES

OF ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY OFNATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 2</span><div class="page_container" data-page="2">

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITYFACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGESDEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ENGLISH

NGUYEN THI MAI HOA

FACTORS ATTRIBUTED TO SILENCE IN SPEAKING CLASSESOF ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY OF

NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY

DR. NGUYEN THI THANH HUYEN

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 3</span><div class="page_container" data-page="3">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

Upon finishing my graduation thesis, I would like to express gratitude to allof my teachers, family members, and friends who have provided me with a lot ofsupport, advice, and encouragement.

First and foremost, I would like to express the greatest thanks to mysupervisor, my lecturer, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, from the bottom of myheart. This graduation paper could not have been finished without her all-encompassing supervision, encouraging counsel, and genuine inspiration.

I wish to extend my greatest gratitude to all of the teachers in Faculty ofForeign Languages - National Economics University for their insightful lessonsover the course of my four years of studying.

Last but not least, I would want to express my sincere thanks to my familymembers for their unwavering support and encouragement while I worked on myresearch.

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 4</span><div class="page_container" data-page="4">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Contributing factors that are responsible for silence in speaking classes ofBE students at NEU cover three areas: linguistic problems, psychologicalproblems and teaching strategies problems. Their effects on students’ in-class oralperformance include inadequate speaking skills practice and hindrance indeveloping their full potential.

The research’s conclusions are based on the data of BE students studying at

NEU of all school years supplied by 100 questionnaires’ responses and 15interviews. Findings suggested three factors attributed to silence in speaking

In a linguistic sense, English unproficiency such as lack of vocabulary,

inaccurate and unstressed pronunciation and ungrammatical uses, indirect process

of forming ideas (from Vietnamese to English), improper listening and

comprehension skills are all responsible for BE students’ silence in speaking

In a psychological sense, students may be prevented from speaking upduring class discussions due to their shyness, lack of confidence, or fear ofembarrassing themselves in front of the teacher and other students.

A number of additional elements of teaching strategies related problemsincluding insufficient time for information processing, turn-taking, anduninteresting topics are also considered to be the causes of the student's silence

behaviors. These factors affect students’ speaking skills in terms of lacking spoken

English practice and prevent students from showing their fullest potential in oral

To reduce in-class silence of BE students, it is suggested from these findingsthat when practicing speaking skills, it is important to increase students' confidencein their capacity to express themselves, boost students' language competency,adopt communicative teaching strategies, and provide an enjoyable classroomenvironment. Moreover, teachers should alter their teaching methods to stimulatestudents’ interest in the subject matter, reduce boredom in the classroom, and fosterbetter involvement in order to eventually entice more students to enhance their

English language competence.

<small>ii</small>

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 5</span><div class="page_container" data-page="5">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

BE Business English

NEU National Economics University

EFL English as a Foreign Language

L2 Second language

FFLs Faculty of Foreign Languages

<small>1H</small>

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 6</span><div class="page_container" data-page="6">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 3.1 Students’ troubles in expressing themselves in English. ... 10

Table 3.2. Psychological problems related to peer pr€SSUT€...-- ---‹--- 14Table 3.3. Problems of starting time and break time ...--- --«++-s«++<ss>++ 20Table 3.4. Problems of turn-taking .0... cece eseeseeseesecseeecseseeeeseeeeseeseeseeaeenees 21

Figure 3.1. Frequency of verbal parfICIDAfIOIN...- - - «5c xe 9

Figure 3.2. Students’ troubles in English listening and comprehension... 13

Figure 3.3. Psychological problems related to students’ personality... 15Figure 3.4. Psychological problems related passive learning mindset ... 16Figure 3.5. Problems of preparation tIIG...- - - 5 + 1k ESkESssekseersseeree 19

Figure 3.6. Problems of students’ unnoticed anSW€FS... .-- s5 s55 + ++ss++ss++x 22

Figure 3.7 Problems of uninteresting fODIC...- -.- s55 + k+sE+Esskseessesee 23Figure 3.8. Problems of difficult fORIC... - s5 5 S2 13+ E+*EEseeeeeeeeeereeeeree 24Figure 3.9. Which would make you participate in an interaction? ... . 25Figure 3.10. Suggested assistance from teachers ... cies eeeeeeeeeeeeeeseereeteeseesees 26

<small>1V</small>

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 7</span><div class="page_container" data-page="7">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 0022... ... 1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYY...- Án HH TH HH HH ng ng nh nưệt il

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...0...ccccccceesceseeseeseeseeseeeeeaeeaeeeeeeeeeeaeeaeeeeseeatens 11LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES...- - Ăn, ivTABLE OF CONTTENTTS... . 0 ng HH HH HH HH nh nh nh VCHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION...- n nnSS* + HH re 1

1.1. C10):-1 888... ằe... 11.2. Purposes of the Study ...-- - - G11 1n SH TH ng ng Hết 11.3. Research questions 0n. ... 21.4. Scope of the Study... eee LH HH ng nh HH 21.5. Methodology ... -- --- - ng HH Hết 21.5.1. PaFÍCIDQHÍS ...ĂẶẶ Ăn SnnHH* TH HH He 21.5.2. ÏHSHHIN€HÍS...Ă...Ă So SH HH HH 3

1.5.3. PrOC€dHF€S...Ă.Ă TT HH HH HH hệt 3

1.6. Organization of the Study ...-- c2. 12t + nh he 4

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW... HH re 52.1. Silence in educational €0'If€XS...-- - 5 ng re. 52.2. Factors attributed to silenee... ... - -- cSnnnHgngnrưy 6CHAPTER II. ANALYSIS AND EINDINGS...ẶẶĂằằiee 9

3.1. Frequency of verbal participation ...cccccccesceseeeseeeeseeeees 93.2. Factors attributed to silence in speaking classes and their effects 103.2.1. LinguistiC pFOĐÏ€IHHS...ĂẶ TS TS HH re 103.2.2. Psychological problems ... S SĂ SSSSsSsiseirseerrsses 133.2.3. Teaching rmethodS...- Ặ SG S St sehherreireirssrreeres 18

3.3. Suggested solutions from students’ perspectfives... -- 24K7... tnốỐốỐ.ằ.Ả.. 4... 25

3.3.2. Teachers’ i Structions ... HH HH Hy 26

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 8</span><div class="page_container" data-page="8">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

CHAPTER 4. RECOMMENDATION ...-. cssssheihrey 28

4.1. Recommendations for pedagogical purp0ses... .-- -- --- --- 28

4.2. Recommendations for future research... c5 sssseeeereee 29

CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION... HH HH HH Hit 311

30 9037) 0 0... ... 33APPENDIX 1

APPENDIX 2

<small>VI</small>

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 9</span><div class="page_container" data-page="9">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION1.1. Rationales

It is widely accepted that English is one of the most spoken languages overthe world. Despite its argumentative nature as an international language, Englishhas become a useful tool for people in a variety of fields of life such as science,medicine, commerce, and especially business. Therefore, mastering English,especially speaking skills, is vital for university students as English-speaking skillsis most certainly in their job requirement. This is particularly true for English-major students whose future occupations are deeply associated with English ofspecific professions.

As important as English fluency should be to English-major students,

through observation, a significant number of these students are afraid to speak up

in English classes, specifically Speaking skills classes because of some underlying

reasons that need to be investigated.

Numerous studies of silence in second language classrooms have been

conducted, Bao & Nguyen Thanh-My (2020); Bista, K. (2012); Ochoa, G. L., &Pineda, D. (2008); Safford & Tracey Costley (2008); to name a few. Nonetheless,

they mostly focused on those of non-English major students. In addition, althoughseveral prior studies have discussed the verbal muteness in English as a ForeignLanguage (EFL) classes (Choi 2015; Liu, 2005; Nguyen Thu Hanh & Pham Thi

Hoai Phuong, 2019; Schultz, 2012;), it seems that insufficient exploratory

approach, which places factors attributed to in-class silence at the center of itsanalysis, has been done. It is then crucial that more cases of silence in theclassroom, especially in speaking classes of English-major students, locating thecontributing factors at the heart of their examination be carried out.

1.2. Purposes of the study

The study aims to investigate factors attributed to silence in the speakingclassrooms of BE major students at NEU as well as their influences on Englishspeaking skills and in-class performance. On the basis of the examined information,the research then suggests some solutions to prevent or reduce this silence in orderto minimize these effects.

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 10</span><div class="page_container" data-page="10">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

1.3. Research questions

1. What are the factors attributed to silence in Speaking classes reported by

BE-major students at NEU?

2. What are the effects of these factors on those students’ speaking skills and

their performance in oral practice?

3. What can be done to break the silence in Speaking classes of BE-majorstudents in order to minimize the effects of these factors?

1.4. Scope of the study

The research focuses on major factors attributed to silence within Speakingclasses of BE-major students at National Economics University, Vietnam. Theresearcher examined the frequency of verbal participation of these students as abackground knowledge, and then further investigated to specify contributingfactors. This research also explored the effects of the factors attributed to in-classsilence. Some suggestions were then generated.

This study only investigates BE students without classifying their schoolyears and English levels due to the limited time available for performing theresearch. The data were collected after one week of distribution.

conducted anonymously and voluntarily by which students’ names were not

collected which meant that participation or non-participation had no effect on thestudent's result in their classes. Students were asked to complete an in-classquestionnaire on their perspectives and behaviors toward silence in speaking class.

Semi-structured interviews’ participants

15 BE-major students of the three classes mentioned above participated inthe semi-structured interviews. Chosen respondents were familiar with theresearcher in order to create a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere.

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 11</span><div class="page_container" data-page="11">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

1.5.2. Instruments

The research used two instruments to acquire a more thoroughunderstanding of the factors attributed to student’s silence in speaking classes: aquestionnaire and a semi-structured interview.

In a quantitative sense, this study yielded statistical data to measure the

differences in students’ attitudes toward silence via a survey. Anticipated factors

and related situations were measured on a 5-point Likert scale from always,frequently, occasionally, rarely to never. Moreover, the questionnaire includedfour open-ended questions to encourage independent thinking and stimulateparticipants' ideas, a theory motivated by Johnson and Christensen (2017). Thanksto this open design, the questionnaire functioned as both a qualitative andquantitative data collecting tool.

Another qualitative tool of data collection was semi-structured interviewswith students to collect detailed information of the reason behind their silenceduring classroom engagement.

1.5.3. Procedures

The questionnaire was distributed to 100 BE students at all school years. Acorresponding 100 responses were received. An informal meeting was scheduledbetween the researcher and the participants after they finished their classes toexplain each question in detail and to affirm the confidentiality of the study beforehanding out the survey forms. The data were then collected, tallied and computed.In the findings, open-ended questions were decoded, and relevant replies weregrouped together. Respondents who chose to answer the open-ended questionswere coded as Q1 to Q41.

The 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted online to match with

interviewees’ schedules. Each interview lasted for 15 minutes in a non-judgmentalway in which respondents were repeatedly reassured that there were no right orincorrect responses prior to describing their personal behaviors and beliefsconcerning silence in language courses. The interviews were recorded with

respondents’ permission. From the recording, key points were then noted. To

ensure the confidentiality of all participants, interviewees’ names were coded fromS1-S15. The fundamental benefit of interviews is that they offer far more extensiveinformation than other methods of data collection as people may feel morecomfortable in a conversation than filling out a survey Boyce, C., & Neale, P.(2006). The study, therefore; focused on qualitative methods. Results of the

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 12</span><div class="page_container" data-page="12">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

quantitative analysis served as the foundation for the qualitative analysis,commentary, and evaluation.

1.6. Organization of the study

This research is divided into four chapters, each of which has a distinctpurpose and is structured as follows:

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION: This chapter provides an overview of the

study, including its context, objectives, goals, scope. It also discusses the research'srationale and research questions.

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW: This chapter deals with theconcepts of Classroom silence and reviews findings of previous studies related tofactors contributing silence in second language classes.

CHAPTER 3. DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS: This chapter offersthe conclusions reached after performing research and gathering data. Presentation,analysis, and discussion of the data will be covered in this part.

CHAPTER 4. RECOMMENDATIONS: This chapter contains therecommendations for other researchers who want to study related subjects. Somelimitations are also listed.

CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSIONS: This chapter presents an overview of alltheoretical and practical frameworks of the study.

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 13</span><div class="page_container" data-page="13">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Silence has been long recognized as a phenomenon that appears in all

aspects of life. It is perceived differently depending on culture and context. Whileto Easterners, silence is golden meaning that silence presents self-time or time tothink, their Western counterparts often consider silence as a negative occurrence.

This stereotype is proven to be a miscomprehension by King, J. (2013). Silence inEastern culture can be as awkward as it is to Westerners, especially in a classroom

<small>context.</small>

Many educators consider students’ silence in the classroom to be a severeissue. This is especially true in the circumstance ofa second language

class whereas a great deal of research has shown how oral interaction and

production of the target language can greatly enhance L2 learning (e.g. Izumi 2003;Swain 2005). The anxiety of non-native English teachers when they faceprolonged silence without knowing the underlying meanings, causes, and

appropriate responses has thus received particular attention. Seeking the answers,this research investigates silence under linguistic approach for pedagogicalobjectives, thereby solely addressing silence in educational contexts.

2.1. Silence in educational contexts

Silence, in the words of Bosacki (2005), is the absence of vocalization. The

definition of silence can be expanded to encompass a student who fails to conveya particular content or to express what is expected. Granger (2004) links classroomsilence to misconduct, disagreement, disobedience, and, in the instance of pupils

playing the listener, dishonesty. He contends that silence in the classroom mightbe viewed as a type of defense since it allows pupils to cling onto performances

and presumptions that may make them vulnerable to their peers and professors.

In addition, according to Silva (2016) in a classroom, silence can indicateobjections, exhaustion, appreciation, dejection, loss of motivation, attentiveness,or interactional methods such as refusal, agreement, demand, caution, control,

threat, or clarification. Students may choose to remain silent in class as a kind ofemotional defiance against the teacher's authority in the classroom and as a way

to discreetly express their unfavorable feelings. In some circumstances, silencemay be beneficial for education since it fosters learning, yet when teachers assessa student's academic performance, they generally seem to view silence as a

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 14</span><div class="page_container" data-page="14">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

negative characteristic. According to Teng's research, college students’ in-classsilence can be interpreted as a type of psychological state and behavior on thelevels of thinking, emotion, and action. He emphasizes that silence merely denotesa lack of discourse, not a lack of cognition, since it only indicates a limited or

insufficient engagement in classroom communication.

To summarize, silence in the classroom happens when the teachers askquestions and receive no response from the students, or when students hesitate to

voice their opinions when the teachers raise discussion or debate. While silence

could either present a fascinating or destructive occurrence, it is mostly regarded

as negative actions of students towards the instructors and thus build a barrier tothe teaching and learning progress of the target languages.

2.2. Factors attributed to silence

Negative silence in language classrooms is the subject of numerous studies

(Delima, 2012; Liu, 2005; Nakane, 2005; Tani, 2005). Most studies focused on

identifying factors that contribute to such silence with the intention of avoidingstudents' vocal absence (Chen 2003; Liu & Jackson, 2009).

Overall, students' target language competency, previous speakingperformance in class, confidence level, students’ personalities and teachingmethodology are all feasible factors for their tendency to stay silent in languageclassrooms (Delima, 2012; Liu, 2005; Liu & Jackson, 2009).

Firstly, students’ target language competency is a significant factor for

in-class silence. Recent investigations showed that it is linguistic problems thatprevent most students from expressing their ideas (Hanh, 2020; Harumi 2010).

Hanh’s interviewed students said that they faced difficulties in making themselvesunderstood due to lack of vocabulary, ungrammatical expression uses and

incorrect pronunciation. Moreover, insufficient language input and output werealso considered as important causes leading to students' silence (Chen 2003;

Cheng, 2000).

Secondly, psychological factors that originated from students’

psychological insecurities and different personalities are responsible for silence inthe classroom. Tsui (1996) highlighted students' anxiety regarding peer pressure

as one of the various parameters affecting student-reticence. Harumi (2010) added

that it is interesting to note that their lack of self-assurance is caused by the

presence of other students or the classroom environment. Students were afraid of

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 15</span><div class="page_container" data-page="15">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

looking ignorant or unintelligent in front of their peers. As a result, individualstended to remain silent since they were unsure whether their answers wereaccurate, or their opinions varied from those of others (Hanh, 2020).

Some previous studies on student engagement identified students'personalities as major contributors to student silence (Liu, 2005; Nakane, 2005).Cole & McCroskey (2003) also suggested the differences in students’ personality

may have a significant influence on their participation in language classinteractions. The characteristics of students vary from energetic to quiet,extroverted to introverted, optimistic to pessimistic. Extroverted students are moreeager in expressing themselves than introverted students due to their desire toexpress their opinions to their teacher and classmates. On the other hand,Introverts tend to stay silent in class, appear uninterested in class sessions, andunwilling to answer instructor questions.

Additional psychological factors contributing to students' unwillingness toparticipate actively in EFL classrooms emerged from the lack of interest and highstress level, which are expressed as avoidance of class involvement. Teachingstudents that are unmotivated is one of the most challenging tasks for many

teachers (Miller & Aldred, 2000; Otoshi & Heffernan, 2011). If students are eagerto learn in EFL classes, they will attempt to participate in class activities regardlessof their English-speaking skills levels. One behavior of avoiding class interactioninvolves being reluctant to join in with class activities. Some studentsintentionally sit in the back rows since they prefer not to actively engage inthe lesson, opting to work in small groups.

Lastly, teaching methodology including turn-taking, classroomenvironment time execution, pedagogical style and lesson content is alsoconsidered as a contributing factor to in-class silence. Turn-taking was recognizedas a relevant factor by Harumi (2010). Even though linguistic barriers were

prominent in the participants' responses to his research, the effects of students’issues with turn taking were also noteworthy in the context of cultural norms.

Several respondents appear to have struggled to take their turn and consequentlymissed the chance to speak up. In addition to turn-taking, difficult topics,

uninteresting tasks were contributing factors that stopped them from engagingverbally more (Hanh, 2020). Classroom environment is also responsible for in-class silence. According to Liu and Littlewood (1997), large classroomsdiscouraged students from sharing their views and increased their anxiety about

communicating in a foreign language for fear of public disgrace if they made a

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 16</span><div class="page_container" data-page="16">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

mistake in front of their classmates. This is associated with the peer pressure factormentioned in the previous point. High levels of stress or anxiety may alsocontribute to students’ reluctance to engage in EFL classroom activities. Anxiety,according to Jackson (2002), is a state of tension, uneasiness, and fear caused by

an activation of the nervous system that controls emotions. EFL students are moreprone to feel uneasy as they attempt to utilize a foreign language without actuallyusing it successfully.

Relevant factors Tsui (1996) claimed included students’ failure to grasp

teacher's intention, inadequate time to absorb information. Instructors’pedagogical style choices to apply to a specific class, as well as the lessonresources and task activities used, may also have a significant impact on classroomparticipation (King, 2013).

In conclusion, silence in a second language classroom is caused by

linguistic problems (students’ low level of English fluency and proficiencyincluding lack of vocabulary, incorrect pronunciation and ungrammatical sentenceuses), psychological problems (lack of confidence, peer pressure, introverted

personality, uninterested attitude) and teachers’ methodology (turn-taking, classenvironment, lesson contents, time execution). These factors are furtherinvestigated in the case of BE students in the next chapter.

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 17</span><div class="page_container" data-page="17">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

CHAPTER III. ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

The purpose of this chapter is to present the research findings and discussthe findings in order to address the research questions. Therefore, this part focuseson three main issues: factors attributed to silence in speaking classes, the relatedeffects and some suggested solutions to reduce this silence.

3.1. Frequency of verbal participation

Before investigating the factors affecting students’ silence in speakingclasses, it is essential to examine the general preference of students towardsactively participating in classroom activities. Therefore, the first part of the

questionnaire and interview were designed to evaluate the verbal participationfrequency of BE students.

- |

<small>0</small>

<small>Always Frequently Never Rarely</small>

Figure 3.1. Frequency of verbal participation

Overall, BE students show high frequency of oral interaction in speaking

classes activities with 50% (50 out of 100 students) frequently participating and11% (11 out of 100 students) always participating. Although, the number of

students who are actively involved in oral interactions took up the larger proportion,a relatively high percentage of 34% of participants rarely joined in these oralinteractions. It is indicated that in-class silence still acted as an issue in BE

speaking classes.

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 18</span><div class="page_container" data-page="18">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

The following section examined factors attributed to silence as well asfurther explained and inspected the level of orally engaging frequency of BEstudents.

3.2. Factors attributed to silence in speaking classes and their effects

3.2.1. Linguistic problems

The next section of the questionnaire intended to collect the frequency ofBE students towards two areas regarding the ability to express oneself in Englishand the comprehension and listening ability. The data of the questionnaire wasgrouped and demonstrated in Table 3.1 and Figure 3.2. The interview’s designexamined the same aspects.

3.2.1.1. Students’ troubles in expressing themselves in English

Table 3.1 below illustrates how often BE students find themselves unableto express their ideas in English. The average values of the three sub items aredemonstrated in the second row (Students’ troubles in expressing themselves inEnglish). As can be seen from the average items, when participants were presentedwith the suggested situations related to problems of English uses that might stopstudents from engaging in classroom activities, the majority of BE students (37%)showed troubles in expressing themselves at a high frequency. They frequently

found themselves in such circumstances as “J cannot find the words to express my

ideas (45%); I am afraid I might use the wrong grammar (31%); I am afraid thatmy voice would sound weird because of my accent (35%).” (See Table 3.1)

LINGUISTICPROBLEMS

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 19</span><div class="page_container" data-page="19">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

I'm afraid that my voice

would sound weird| 18% 35% 14% 24% | 9%because of my accent.

Table 3.1. Students’ troubles in expressing themselves in English

In general, students of BE major are facing linguistic problems includinglack of vocabulary, unsure grammatical uses and incorrect pronunciation. Even the3 students in their fourth year (S1, S3, S4) interviewed who claimed to have anIELTS score of 6.5 which meant they were at a level of intermediate admitted thattheir hesitation to interact in speaking classes came from the difficulty in findingthe right words. S1 explained:

“My mind just went blank. The words would not come out.”

Therefore, the issue is also a problem of how to build their thoughts in

English, including the difficulties of translating their thoughts from Vietnamese

into English, spontaneous responses, and the effort to express themselves utterly

in English. S3, S4 added:

“Tf I do not plan the answer, my grammar would be all over the place andthen my accent would just come out. I often drop the stress and ending sounds

“T tend to think in Vietnamese first then I try to find the relevant English

vocabulary for my ideas.” (S4)

Thanks to the confession of students in the interviews, more underlyingreasons were unveiled. Four four-year (S1, S2, S3, S4) and two third year (S5, S8)

interviewees who were born in 2001 and 2002, respectively, confessed that theyused to study in state-owned schools and thus experienced the older curriculum.

Even though English was added to the curriculum from their third grade, it was notuntil when they were in high school that English was considered to be one of thekey subjects. Moreover, the outdated English curriculum that focused on grammarteaching instead of practical English skills resulted in a generation who was solelyfamiliar with passive English, as in S4 revealed:

“T am not used to speaking in English. We studied everything on paper backin high school because the only important thing was the grammar test. As I do nothave much time to practice speaking, I am not used to speaking English.”

<small>11</small>

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 20</span><div class="page_container" data-page="20">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

Another important implication respondents provided in the interviews is thelack of practicing English speaking skills inside and outside the classroom. Whenasked about the frequency of English practice and use in their everyday life, allinterviewed students said that they never used English in normal conversation withtheir friends out of the class or even during class discussion if not requested.Students being interviewed then confessed:

“T only speak English when the teacher is around.” (S10)

This is the case even in the workplace where English is supposed to be thekey element in BE-major students’ jobs. S3 confessed:

“Tt is all Vietnamese people I am working with. There is no need to speakEnglish. The customers are Vietnamese too. Besides, my coworkers do not speakEnglish well.”

In a linguistic sense, BE students often hesitate to speak up because theyare occupied organizing their speech in English. Since their living and workingenvironment offer few opportunities to use spoken English, they are likely to lackEnglish oral practice. It is unpracticed English that results in their decreasinggrammar uses along with the fact that their vocabulary is hardly expanded, andtheir pronunciation is rarely polished. The poor English foundation also acts as acorrespondent factor to BE low level of practical English. Students were not taught

to think directly in English. Consequently, BE students’ speaking skills are

insufficient to freely participate in verbal interaction. They tend to use

ungrammatical expressions, unstressed pronunciation, and inappropriatevocabulary.

3.2.1.2. Students’ troubles in English listening and comprehension

In terms of the ability to listen and process information in English, it isexpected that the difficulties in speaking skills are associated with students’inability of listening and comprehension. However, the majority of studentsexperienced these problems at a lower frequency with 33% as rarely and 22% asnever. Nonetheless, limited listening and comprehension skills play a part in

students’ silence in verbal participation. Figure 3.2 indicates that 35% BE studentsoften missed the teacher’s questions and thus, remained silent in classroom

Because of poor listening skills, students failed to process the tasks givenin speaking practice. Students’ inadequate comprehensive ability led them to miss

<small>12</small>

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 21</span><div class="page_container" data-page="21">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

the information needed to understand their teachers’ questions and instructionswhich resulted in their non-engagement in the interaction with their teachers.

| didn't understand the teacher's questions or whathe/she was saying because of my English

<small>m Always m Frequently Never Occasionally Rarely</small>

Figure 3.2. Students’ troubles in English listening and comprehension

In conclusion, linguistic problems related to English unproficiency such as

lack of vocabulary, inaccurate and unstressed pronunciation and ungrammaticaluses, indirect process of forming ideas (from Vietnamese to English), improper

listening and comprehension skills are all responsible for BE students’ silence in

speaking classes. The reasons behind this can be the low levels of English due topoor English foundation and insufficient oral practice. As a result, students’

speaking skills are correspondingly inadequate.3.2.2. Psychological problems

A similar method to the previous section was applied to explorepsychological factors affecting in-class silence. The questionnaire presentedcircumstances that prevent students from participating in speaking classes’interaction. The items were grouped into three categories that are peer pressure,

student’s personality and passive learning mindset.

3.2.2.1. Peer pressure

As can be seen from the average values in the second row (peer pressure)of Table 3.2, a proportion of 34% of the participants experienced the stress of peerevaluation in the struggle to interact with their teacher and classmates. 26% and 8%

of answers recorded as frequently and always respectively in the two items of “I’m

<small>13</small>

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 22</span><div class="page_container" data-page="22">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

scared to make mistakes because my classmates would judge my English” and

“I’m scared my classmates would find my answers stupid”. Meanwhile, more thanhalf of BE students show issues of peer pressure at low frequency (36% as rarelyand 18% as never). This means that even though peer evaluation acted as acontributing factor to in-class silence of BE students, its related problems showless effect than linguistic problems in the previous sections. Nevertheless, peerpressure’s influence on students is also significant and worth further investigation.

PSYCHOLOGICAL ;

Always | Frequently | Occasionally /Rarely| NeverPROBLEMS

Peer pressure: 8% 26% 12% 36% | 18%

I'm scared to make mistake

because my classmates would | 12% 26% 10% 35% | 17%judge my English.

I'm scared my classmates

4% 26% 14% 37% | 19%

would find my ideas stupid.

Table 3.2. Psychological problems related to peer pressure

A related explanation could be linked to BE students’ English levels and

foundation mentioned in linguistic factors. Not only did these students lackconfidence with their own ideas, but they were also concerned for their level of

English, pronunciation and grammatical accuracy. It means they feared judgementfrom their friends of both their English ability and their ideas.

Ten interviewees including all five fourth years (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5), two

second years (S12, S13) and three third years (S6, S9, S10) responded that theydid not want to appear ignorant or inaccurate in front of their peers. The anxiety ofbeing judged and compared stopped these students from voicing their ideas. As aresult, individuals tended to remain silent when they were unsure whether theirresponses were correct or when their opinions varied from those of others. In

accordance with this, a commonly occurring topic in the interview statistics wasthe extent to which students were nervous about having to speak English openly infront of their classmates. S1, S10 and S12 confessed:

<small>14</small>

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 23</span><div class="page_container" data-page="23">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

“T'm anxious about what my classmates think of me. If I did not givethe right answers, which everyone knows, they would believe I was incompetent.”(S10)

“T don't feel confident in my answer, and I'm scared of the others’judgments.” (S1)

“I feel especially uncomfortable to speak up after one student gives anoutstanding performance, what if my answer isn't as good as theirs.” (S12)

The fear of peers prevented BE students from expressing themselves as theywere afraid of the unacceptance of their ideas and of being inferior to their friendsin terms of English ability. Therefore, they lost the chance to practice speaking andinteraction skills.

3.2.2.2. Students’ personality

| prefer to keep the answers to myself

<small>mAlways mTM Frequently Never Occasionally Rarely</small>

Figure 3.3. Psychological problems related to students’ personality

Another notable psychological issue deprives from students’ introvertedpersonality. The majority of BE participants showed a high frequency of havingproblems regarding personality factor as 31% of students chose frequently for the

items “I prefer to keep the answers for myself” if they were to remain silent in

verbal interactions. Introverts are likely to silence their ideas instead of raising theirvoice during classroom engagement, as in S4 revealed:

“T tend to listen and observe my friends’ answers rather than speaking up.”

<small>15</small>

</div><span class="text_page_counter">Trang 24</span><div class="page_container" data-page="24">

<small>Nguyen Thi Mai Hoa — 11192000 — Business English 61C</small>

3.2.2.3. Classroom environmenf

Social dynamics and the classroom atmosphere also affected students withintroverted and shy personality. What intriguing here is the fact that there is a

correspondence between these students’ desire to be involved in oral practice and

the attitudes of other students or the classroom environment. Studying in an activeenvironment, shy students would likely to engage in classroom activities, as in SĨ

unfamiliar faces. S10 confessed:

“T feel like interacting when my classmates are those who I can talk to. Itmakes me relaxed and comfortable enough to stop being over-conscious of mysurroundings.”

Some introverted and timid BE students tend to be affected by the tensionof the classroom. A stressful classroom may stop these individuals fromparticipating in engagement of their own accord. In addition, when they arenervous, their oral performance might be not as good as when they are in a more

relaxed state.

3.2.2.4. Passive learning mindset

| expect my classmates to answer the questions instead of me

<small>mAlways Frequently Never Occasionally m Rarely</small>

Figure 3.4. Psychological problems related passive learning mindset

<small>16</small>

</div>