A case study of teaching English in a remote and mountainous secondary school in Quang Binh province = Điển cứu về việc giảng dạy tiếng Anh ở một trường THCS -

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



NGUYỄN BÍCH HUỆ


A CASE STUDY OF TEACHING ENGLISH IN A REMOTE
AND MOUNTAINOUS SECONDARY SCHOOL IN QUANG
BINH PROVINCE
(ĐIỂN CỨU VỀ VIỆC GIẢNG DẠY TIẾNG ANH Ở MỘT TRƯỜNG
THCS-THPT THUỘC VÙNG SÂU VÙNG XA CỦA TỈNH QUẢNG
BÌNH)

MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS


FIELD: METHODOLOGY
CODE: 601410


HANOI-2010

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………. i

AKNOWLEDGEMENT ……………………………………………………. ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ……………………………………………………. iii
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES …………………………………… v
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION ……………………………………… 1
1. Rationale of the study ………………………………………………………. 1
2. Aims of the study ……………………………………………………… …. 1
3. Scope of the study ……………………………………………………… …. 1
4. Methods of the study …………………………………………………… …. 2
5. Design of the study …… ……………………………………………… …. 2
PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT …… …………………………………… … 3
Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW …… …………………….……… … 3
1.1. Overview …………… ……………………………………………… … 3
1.2. Definitions of second language acquisition …… …………………… …. 3
1.3. Some stratergies of teaching English ………………………………… …. 3
1.4. Factors affecting the quality of language teaching …………………… …. 6
1.4.1. Attitude and motivation of students ………………………………… …. 6
1.4.2. Teaching strategies ……………………….………………………… …. 7
1.4.3. Environment and context of teaching …….………………………… …. 8
1.4.3.1. Textbooks ……… ……………………………………………… …. 8
1.4.3.2. Classroom structure amd climate …………………………………… 9
1.4.3.3. School facilities … ………………………………………………… 10
1.4.4. Social context … ……………… …………………………………… 11
Chapter 2: METHODOLOGY .…….……………….……………… … 12
2.1. The settings … ……………… …….……………………………… … 12
2.1.1. An overview of the research site ….…… ………………………… … 12
2.1.2. Descriptions of the teachers of English at Hoa Tien secondary school … 12
2.1.3. Descriptions of the students of English at Hoa Tien secondary school … 12
2.1.4. The current situation of English teaching and learning at Hoa Tien

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secondary school ……………… …….………………………………… … 13
2.1.4.1. The materials for teaching and learning ………………………… … 13
2.1.4.2. The current situation of English teaching and learning at Hoa Tien
secondary school ……………… …….………….……………………… … 13
2.2. Research questions ………… …….………………………………… …. 14
2.3. The participants ……….…… …….………………………………… …. 14
2.4. Data collection ………… …….………… …………………………… 15
2.4.1. Questionnaires ………… …….……………………………………… 15
2.4.1.1. Questionnaire for teachers ….……………………………………… 15
2.4.1.2. Questionnaire for students ….……………………………………… 15
2.4.2. Interview with teachers ….…………………………………………… 15
2.5. Data analysis …………… …….………… ………………………….… 16
Chapter 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ……………………….… 17
3.1. Findings from the questionnaires ………… …………………………… 17
3.1.1. Questionnaire for students ………… … …………………………… 17
3.1.2. Questionnaire for teachers ………… … ………………………… … 22
3.2. Findings from the Interviews for teachers ……………………………… 30
PART THREE: CONCLUSION ………… … ………………………… … 32
4.1. Summary of the findings … ….………… ……….………………… …. 32
4.2. Recommendations and suggestions ……… ………………………… …. 33
4.3. Limitations of the study ……… …………… ……………………… …. 35
4.4. Recommendations for further research ……… …… ……………… …. 35
REFERENCES ……… …………………… ……………………………… 37
APPENDICES

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ABSTRACT

In an attempt to investigate the reality of teaching English in a remote and mountainous
school in Quang Binh province, the main purposes of the research were to find out: (1)

teachers’ attitude toward English teaching; (2) teachers’ techniques and strategies; (3) teaching
materials; and (4) main difficulties in teaching English at school. The subjects of the study
were 100 students and 5 English teachers in Hoa Tien secondary school. All of them answered
the questionnaires. Among them, three teachers were invited to participate in an interview.
The research finds out that they focus on teaching grammar points but pay less attention to
speaking, reading and even communicative skills. The findings also show that they often use
black board, pairwork and groupwork, they sometimes use teaching aids which they made by
themselves and often use their mother tongue in class. Moreover, teachers often simplify,
adapt or redesign some contents in the textbooks which are not relevant to their students. The
research also reveals the students’ negative attitude to and poor motivation for English
learning. Finally, in order to improve English teaching in a secondary remote and mountainous
school, the study recommends the followings: teachers should vary their teaching techniques
and activities; textbooks should be adapted; extra curriculum activities for language learning
should be organized; learning and teaching conditions should be improved; and local teachers
should be available to teach English for students in their communities.












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PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
1. RATIONALE OF THE STUDY:

These days, there is no doubt about the fact that the English language is becoming
something of a forerunner in global communication. It is the first and second language in most
countries of the world. Almost 70% of the Internet is in English. A huge volume of the
information used on the Internet is also in English. Thus, English is playing a very significant
role in bringing the world together. Therefore, teaching and learning English have become the
necessity all over the world. In Vietnam, English is a compulsory subject from primary
schools to universities. However, quality of learning and teaching English is different from
one school to another, especially from schools in cities, towns and those from remote and
mountainous areas. Students in remote and mountainous schools, particularly in Quang Binh,
have a higher rate of low marks than those in cities and towns. It is the fact that there has been
a big difference between them. Therefore, how to teach English to students in remote and
mountainous schools has been a controversial issue. Thus, investigating the reality of teaching
English in remote and mountainous schools should be carried out in order to identify the
difficulties that teachers and students there encounter and the factors that affect their English
teaching and learning process. Hence, the topic “A case study of teaching English in a remote
and mountainous school in Quang Binh” has been chosen. This case study as the topic of this
research is carried out in the hope of giving a few benefits to teachers, students and others
concerned.
2. AIMS OF THE STUDY:
The main objectives of this study are as follows:
 To identify the reality of teaching English at Hoa Tien secondary school.
 To suggest some solutions for improving the English teaching in remote and
mountainous schools.

3. SCOPE OF THE STUDY:
The main focus of the study is on the investigation of the English teaching in a remote and
mountainous school in Quang Binh. As this is a case study research, its limitation is obviously

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on teachers at Hoa Tien secondary school, a school located at a remote and mountainous area

of Quang Binh province.
4. METHODS OF THE STUDY:
In order to carry out this research, the following methods are used:
 Theoretical study
 Survey questionnaires
 Interviews with teachers
5. DESIGN OF THE STUDY:
The minor thesis consists of two main parts: the first part is titled introduction including the
rationale, aims, scope, methods and design of the study. The second part includes five chapters.
Chapter one conceptualizes the framework through the discussion of issues and ideas on
English teaching theories.
The research methodology is presented in chapter two focusing on the settings, the research
questions, the participants, data collection and data analysis. Chapter three is the report of the
results collected from data analysis and discussion of the research questions. The last chapter
is the conclusion of the study, including summary of the findings, recommendations and
suggestions, limitations of the study and recommendations for further research.

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Part TWO: Development
Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. OVERVIEW:
This chapter deals with some of the most important issues in the theory of language
teaching. Firstly, definitions of second language acquisition will be presented. Secondly,
some strategies of teaching English put forward by some researchers and educators will be
listed. Finally, factors that affect the quality of language teaching in remote and mountainous
areas will be taken into consideration.
1.2. DEFINITIONS OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Up to now, there has been a variety of definitions of second language acquisition.
However, most of the authors have the similar definitions of second language acquisition.
Second language acquisition is concerned with the study of the way in which an individual

becomes able to use one or more languages different from his first language. This process can
take place in a natural setting or through formal classroom instruction, and, although the
degree of proficiency that can be attained is a controversial topic, it can start at childhood or
during the adult age (Krashen, 1982).
According to the website:
Second language
acquisition is the process by which people learn a second language in addition to their native
language(s). The term second language is used to describe the acquisition of any language
after the acquisition of the mother tongue.
1.3. SOME STRATEGIES OF TEACHING ENGLISH:
Linda Woolhether (2010) suggests some strategies for teaching English. These include:
 Using technologies:
Computer technology can help teachers to make learning process more effective, meaningful
and socially connected. Inquiry-based learning is a strategy that helps students better organize
their thoughts and to complete projects. The teacher can make a class presentation with
instructions for completing research projects, creative writing or literature reviews through the
use of an LCD projector. Power Point presentations enable the teacher to instruct students in a
clear, precise and motivating way.

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 Planning and Organization:
It is necessary for teachers to plan lessons that are suitable to a particular class. In the
lesson plans, student-directed practice should be concentrated on rather than teacher-directed
instruction. Responsibility of students for their learning should be encouraged. The lecture
content is probably not appropriate if it minimizes student interaction and expects students to
understand the material just by receiving knowledge about the language. Students of English
as a second language require instructional strategies that are innovative and motivational.
English as a second langugage is a required course for all students that should stress the
importance of mastering the skills included in English instruction. For this objective to be
accomplished successfully, students need to be able to make the connection between what is

taught in class and their life.
 Active Learning:
Students should be encouraged to participate in the learning process by taking part in
class discussions, small group meetings, case studies and role playing. Much literature lends
itself to this type of activity. Teachers who utilize literature circles find that students gain a
better understanding of reading selections than those who read independently. Literature
circles encourage each student’s active participation. When students are actively engaged,
their learning output will improve.
As for students from remote and mountainous schools, many researchers and experts
suggest a number of strategies for teaching English.
 Facilitate autonomous students’ learning:
Weden (1985) states that learner strategies are the key element to learner autonomy, so
facilitating autonomous learning is one of the most teaching goals . Besides, it has been found
that students can benefit from the strategies-based instruction (MacIntyre & Noels 1996). To
facilitate autonomous learning, training in learning strategies could, therefore, be one of the
teaching goals in an English classroom.
 Provide strategy instruction: Teachers can provide strategy instruction by offering
examples of how they have used strategies for similar language tasks. After explaining a
strategy, the teacher can then explain the purpose and importance of the strategy. They may
explicitly discuss why a strategy works and when it might be used. Explicit instruction in

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strategies can make students use the learned strategy more frequently and more effectively,
help them become better language learners, help them add strategies to their repertoire of
learning tools, make them more aware of the strategies available to them and encourage them
to decide which strategies are most effective for particular tasks (Chamot, Barnhardt, El-
Dinary & Robbins, 1999).
 Emphasize the coordination of strategies: Once a few strategies have been introduced,
instruction should emphasize the coordination of strategies. The teacher can explain the
importance of having a repertoire of strategies for language learning. Students can be

reminded that different strategies can work for the same task and that good learners plan,
monitor, problem-solve and evaluate recursively during a given task (Chamot, Barnhardt, El-
Dinary & Robbins, 1999).
 Encourage students to talk about their thought processes: This helps make them more
aware of the strategies they have been using. This awareness is important because it enables
them to call on those strategies whenever they face challenging tasks.
 Encourage students to practice learning strategies: Finally, these learning strategies
should be practised in different learning tasks. Only through practice will students become
more familiar with these learning strategies.

According to Kristmanson (2000), in order to create an effective learning environment,
teachers should:
- Create an atmosphere in which students are not afraid to make mistakes and are
encouraged to take risks.
- Encourage and support students all the times and especially when they are struggling
with or lacking confidence in certain areas.
- Be energetic and enthusiastic about what they are teaching and on those days when they
do not have that energy, provide activities that require learners to put forth the majority of the
energy.
- Provide opportunities for interaction in the target language in and outside the language
learning environment through preplanned and spontaneous activities.

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- Avoid tension-causing strategies such as surprising quizzes, overly competitive activities,
putting students in front of their peers with no warning or chance for preparation, and
correcting errors in a negative, accusatory fashion.
- Encourage goal setting and a sense of dedication and continuous commitment to the
language learning task through meaningful, relevant and authentic language learning activities.
- Encourage learners to seek out opportunities in their lives that will help in the learning of
the target language.

- Create, through the presentation of attainable goals and reasonable challenges, a learning
environment with a definite potential for success.
- Recognize the "little successes", improvements and progress of each student or all the
students in the group.
- Allow students opportunities to talk about themselves, their interests, and their culture.
1.4. FACTORS AFFECTING THE QUALITY OF LANGUAGE TEACHING:
There is a great deal of factors affecting the quality of language teaching but because of
the limited scope of the study, the focus is only on some factors affecting English teaching in
remote and mountainous schools in Quang Binh province, which include attitude and
motivation of students; teaching strategies; environment and teaching context; and social
context.
1.4.1. Attitude and motivation of students:
There have been a large number of researches on the attitude and motivation of students on
learning and teaching English. According to Gardner (1985), “positive attitude and motivation
are closely related to success in foreign language learning”.
An attitude is a mental or neural state of readiness organized through experience, exerting
a directive or dynamic influence on the individual's response to all objects and situations to
which it is related (Allport, 1935). An attitude, roughly, is a residuum of experience, by which
further activity is conditioned and controlled. We may think of attitudes as acquired tendencies
to act in specific ways toward objects (Krueger & Reckless, 1931). According to Kavitha
(2009), we must recognize that most success stories begin with the acquisition and earnest
practice of appropriate and positive attitude toward the task on hand. For too long, we have let
our political desires, goals and propaganda come in the way of language learning. For any

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significant change in the mastery of a second language, teachers must acknowledge and
respect students' attitudes, beliefs, and expectations and help them overcome any harmful
perceptions and blocks.
Language attitudes may have an effect on second language or foreign language learning.
The measurement of language attitudes provides information which is useful in language

teaching and language planning. (Richard et all, 1993)
Motivation is one of the important aspects of second language acquisition. Motivation has
been identified as the learner's orientation with regard to the goal of learning a second
language (Crookes and Schmidt 1991). Motivation is a kind of desire for learning. It is very
difficult to teach a second language in a learning environment if the learner does not have a
desire to learn a language. Taking into consideration from that aspect, to be able to make the
learner active and desirable in learning process gains importance. According to Gardner
(1985), motivation involves four aspects: a goal, effortful behaviour, a desire to attain the goal
and favorable attitude towards the activity in question.
Motivation can be divided into extrinsic and intrinsic ones. Brown (1994) suggests that
extrinsic motivation comes from the learner’ s desire to get reward or cognition of the peers
and parents or the avoidance of punishment. According to Deci and Ryan (1985), intrinsic
motivation is related to basic human needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness.
Intrinsically motivated activities are those that the learners are engaged in for their own sake
because of their value, interest, and challenge. Such activities present the best possible
opportunities for learning.
1.4.2. Teaching strategies:
As for Ming-Nuan Yang (2007), it is important for English teachers to believe that
effective strategy use can determine student’s success.
Maeroff (1988) stated that minority students need teachers who inspire them, who have
rapport with them, who have high expectations of them, and who can provide them with
supportive environments which bolster their confidence. She also stated that these teachers
need to be able to communicate with the parents, to modify the curriculum where needed, and
to have the skills and the time to talk with students about life and its problems.

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The choice of teaching strategy on motivation is emphasized by Reece & Walker (1997).
The choice of teaching strategy has an effect upon the motivation and interest of the student.
The manner in which the teacher approaches the teaching strategy will have an effect upon
motivation: an enthusiastic approach is more likely to motivate than a dull approach.

1.4.3. Environment and context of teaching:
A rich and stimulating language environment during the early years and beyond is
essential to the development of verbal and intellectual skills necessary for language learning.
1.4.3.1. Textbooks:
A great deal of researchers consider textbooks as a factor affecting the teaching and
learning foreign/ second languages. Richards (2001) suggests:
“Textbooks are a key component in most language programs. In some situations
they serve as the basis for much of the language input learners receive and the
language practice that occurs in the classroom. They may provide the basis for the
content of the lessons, the balance of skills taught and the kinds of language practice
the students take part in[…]. In the case of inexperienced teachers textbooks may also
serve as a form of teacher training- they provide ideas how to plan and teach lessons
as well as formats that teachers can use”.
In Vietnam all the textbooks for schools are produced by the Ministry of Education and
Training and no alternatives are available. These course books are used in both private and
public schools and all the teachers follow the same syllabus. Thus, students and teachers from
remote and mountainous schools have difficulty in learning and teaching English. Moreover,
Rivers (1968: 475) states that the textbook plays an important part determining the major part
of the classroom teaching and the students’ out-of-class learning. According to Hutchinson &
Torres (1994: 315), “The danger with ready-made textbooks is that they can seem to absolve
teachers of responsibility. Instead of participating in the day-to-day decisions that have to be
made about what to teach and how to teach it, it is easy to just sit back and operate the system,
secure in the belief that the wise and virtuous people who produced the textbook knew what
was good for us. Unfortunately this is rarely the case.”
As for students, Tomlinson (2008: 3) has argued:

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“Many ELT materials (especially global course books) currently make a significant
contribution to the failure of many learners of English as a second, foreign or other
language to even acquire basic competence in English and to the failure of most of

them to develop the ability to use it successfully. They do so by focusing on the
teaching of linguistic items rather than on the provision of opportunities for acquisition
and development. And they do this because that’s what teachers are expected and
required to do by administrators, by parents, by publishers, and by learners too.”
1.4.3.2. Classroom structure and climate:
As for classroom structure, Brown & Koschmann (1992) support the interactive
environment of group work, which allows students to control their own learning and presents
them with direct feedback in the learning process.
Classroom structure refers to how the physical environment is organized to facilitate
students’ success in learning. When students enter the classroom, they should be able to
identify where their workspace or desk is located, and where the play or break area is located.
Therefore, classroom structure can be a powerful factor in setting up the environment for
success by letting individuals know what is expected, what to do next, and when they finish
with an activity. A well-structured classroom not only improves learning opportunities, and
can increase opportunities for appropriate social interactions but also decreases frustration,
which may result in fewer challenging behaviors. A well-structured classroom should be a
positive, pleasant place where students and staff alike want to be.
According to Bilgic & Yurtal (2009), the term “classroom climate” is defined as “the
main structure of students’ learning environment where knowledge, skills and attitudes in line
with students’ education and social development are acquired”.
Soltis (1984) coins the term the affective environment as the “subjective engines” of
teachers and learners in thepedagogical situation:
“Sometimes it’s compulsion or curiosity that motivates the learner; sometimes it’s
duty or social need that moves the teacher. But for those who have truly experienced
this universal human activity, there is always an expectation of a joyful subjective
feeling that is recognized as ever potential by both teacher and learner in every
pedagogical situation. The learner has felt and seeks again the good feeling of the

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mastery and understanding of a skill, or the consumatory experience of insight,

appreciation, and understanding of ideas, or the thrill of discovering something not
known before, or the feeling of accomplishment that comes with making sense of the
World. The teacher also has experienced and seeks again the joy or success found in
the purposeful pedagogical activity, the empathetic sharing of the joy of the learner,
and the basic human satisfaction of freely giving to another human being those things
that nurture their growth as individuals and as social beings. The subjective experience
is an important part of the process (p. 8).”
1.4.3.3. School facilities:
Most teaching takes place in a specific physical location (a school building) and the
quality of that location can affect the ability of teachers to teach, teacher morale, and the very
health and safety of teachers. Many factors contribute to the quality of the school building and,
in turn, affect the quality of teachers’ life, teaching and educational outcomes. Successful
teaching and learning take place in school buildings that are clean, quiet, safe, comfortable,
and healthy (Blagojevich, Illinois Capital Development Board, & Illinois State Board of
Education, 2006). There are many factors related to school facilities that affect the quality of
teaching and learning. According to Blagojevich (2006), among them are Indoor Air Quality,
ventilation and thermal comfort, lighting, acoustics, building age and quality, school size, and
class size. Students, teachers, staff, and administrators all are affected by the physical
environment. (Blagojevich, 2006).
Having the same view of Blagojevich’s, Scheider (2002) states that poor indoor air quality
(IAQ) can affect teaching and learning process in classrooms. It makes teachers and students
sick - and sick students and teachers can't perform as well as healthy ones (EPA 2000,
Kennedy 2001, Leach 1997, as cited in Scheider, 2002).
Another area in which research has linked school facilities to teacher performance is
thermal comfort. Lackney (1999) showed that teachers believe that thermal comfort affects
both teaching quality and learning achievement. Corcoran et al. (1988) focused on how the
physical condition of school facilities, including thermal factors, affects teacher morale and
effectiveness.

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The final facility condition that we note here pertains to noise levels. Lackney (1999)
found out that teachers believe that noise impairs academic performance. Indeed, it appears
that external noise causes more discomfort and lowers efficiency for teachers than for students
(Lucas, 1981).
1.4.4. Social context:
Social context can make children less interested in attending school. First, the opportunity
costs of attending schools are often higher in rural areas (Lockheed and Verspoor, 1991, p158)
especially in remote ones. Many rural households are dependent on their children for help at
busy times of the agricultural year such as harvest time.
Second, parents in rural areas often have a lower level of education, and may attach a
lower value to schooling. The perceived lack of relevance of schooling may be enhanced by a
rigid curriculum, often designed for a context (and sometimes culture) removed from that in
rural areas. Rural schools rarely adapt the curriculum to make use of local settings, or to link
the curriculum to local needs (Taylor and Mulhall, 2001).
Third, even where parents place a value on schooling, they may be less able to help their
children learning. Parents in rural areas are less likely to be educated themselves, and so have
less ability to provide support for their children. Some report that they are embarrassed to
discuss school topics with their children, because of their own lack of knowledge. Further,
homes in rural areas are often ill-equipped to meet the needs of children to study, and often
lack facilities like electricity (Taylor and Mulhall, 2001).
In summary, children in rural and remote areas may be considered to have more
disadvantages of getting education. They are likely to have less parental encouragement to go
to school, and more alternative demands on their time, such as helping with agricultural tasks.
When they attend school, they may find the curriculum less relevant to their lives, and find
less support for their learning from the home environment.


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Chapter 2: METHODOLOGY
2.1. THE SETTINGS:

2.1.1. An overview of the research site:
Quang Binh is a province in the centre of Vietnam with a population of 846.924. It
consists of 7 districts, among which there are the two main remote and mountainous districts
named Minh Hoa and Tuyen Hoa. The school in my study, named Hoa Tien secondary school,
is located in Minh Hoa, a north-eastern district. It is a mountainous and remote school,
including the lower and upper secondary level. At present, there are 19 classes from 6 to 12
grade (8 classes at the lower secondary level and 11 classes at the upper secondary one) with
about 570 students. The teaching staff composes of 36 teachers (16 are females and the others
are males). Most of them are young (from 26 to 37 years old), enthusiastic and creative.
Almost teachers of this school live in the school’s boarding motel built beside the school.
2.1.2. Descriptions of the teachers of English at Hoa Tien secondary school:
At Hoa Tien secondary school, there are five teachers of English currently working. Three
are female and the rest are male, at the age of from 28 to 38. Their experience in teaching
English varies from 4 years to 13 years. Three of them graduated from Ha Noi Foreign
Languages University, the rest were from Hue Foreign Languages University. It is proved that
all of them are qualified and experienced English teachers. Most of them are from different
regions of Quang Binh (two are native, two are from Dong Hoi city) and one is from Thai
Binh province.
2.1.3. Descriptions of the students of English at Hoa Tien secondary school:
The school has 19 classes with over 570 students ranging from grade 6 to grade 12, at the
age from 12 to 19. They learn English from grade 6 on.
Most of them come from poor and large families with low income so they are not provided
with good learning conditions. They borrow the textbooks from their school and almost do not
have reference or supplementary materials. Because of disadvantage family background, after
school, they have to sell goods at the local market and do farming (working in rice paddy,
feeding buffalos). Moreover, most of them are Kinh people, the others are from ethnic
minorities (May, Sach, Ruc). They communicate to each other in their local language called

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“Nguon language”. Only when talking to their teachers and people from other regions, they

use the popular language. Therefore, as for teachers from other regions, in their teaching
process, they find it hard to understand their students and have to make greater efforts to
encourage them to use Vietnamses or English when in class.
2.1.4. The current situation of English teaching and learning at Hoa Tien
secondary school:
2.1.4.1. The materials for teaching and learning:
At Hoa Tien secondary school, English is one of the compulsory subjects in the curriculum.
As in other secondary schools in Vietnam, the textbooks currently used for teaching and
learning English is a series of textbooks from “Tieng Anh 6” to “Tieng Anh 12” published by
Ministry of Education and Training. All of them consist of 16 units with a variety of topics.
From “Tieng Anh 6” to “Tieng Anh 9”, in each unit, there are two or three main parts (A, B,
C) which are taught in five or six lessons. Therefore, there is no detailed division in each
lesson. Each teacher has to adapt and design the lesson basing themselves upon their students
and context. From “Tieng Anh 10” to “Tieng Anh 12”, all units have the same structure,
starting with the theme of the unit, followed by 4 lessons focusing on language skills (reading,
speaking, listening and writing), and ending with language focus. The textbooks
systematically provide secondary schools English forms and use and communicative skills as
well, which are suitable to their ages. Moreover, they help students to have adequate
understanding about the land, the people and the cultures of Vietnam, England and other
countries in the world.
2.1.4.2. The current situation of English teaching and learning at Hoa Tien secondary
school:
English teaching and learning in Hoa Tien secondary school is quite different from that in
other developed regions in Vietnam. Firstly, it is a remote mountainous area, so educational
conditions are comparatively poorer than other areas. Secondly, the habitants have their own
language called “Nguon language” but they do not have their own written words/language. As
it was mentioned in the previous section, students communicate with each other in their local
language, they only use the official language when talking to their teachers or others from
other regions. The Vietnamese language (the working one) is not their mother tongue, now

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they have to learn English as a foreign language so it is clearly inferred that they will get so
many problems in learning English. Thirdly, students in rural and remote areas are likely to
have less parental guidance in learning English. It is due to the fact that most of their parents
have never known anything about English and they can not help their children’s English
learning. Last but not least, there is no English environment in daily life for students to
practice what they learn in schools. The main goal of teaching and learning English in schools
is to practice and improve communicative competence for students; but how can they –
students in remote and mountainous area- use their communicative skills in such a place where
there is almost no English environment for them to practice the language.
In summary, students at Hoa Tien secondary school may be considered to have more
disadvantages of learning English than at other schools. As a result, English teachers at this
school have to face many significant teaching challenges. However, somewhat surprisingly
under these conditions, teachers at this school prove to take pleasure in their work and enjoy
being part of this small community.
2.2. RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
As it has been stated, this study was carried out to give insights into the reality of English
teaching of teachers at Hoa Tien secondary school as well as to find out difficulties and some
major factors affecting their English teaching. Therefore, the study was designed in an attempt
to seek answers to the following questions:
1. What is the reality of English teaching of teachers at Hoa Tien secondary school?
2. What are some main difficulties in teaching English in the school?
2.3. THE PARTICIPANTS:
In order to get the data for the study, 100 students and five teachers of Hoa Tien secondary
school are the research objects.
100 students have been randomly chosen from grade 7 to grade 12. Their ages vary from
13 to 19. They are 43 females and 57 males. Their time length of learning English is different:
98% started learning English at grade 6, only 2% started at grade 10. Some of them belong to
ethnic minorities such as May, Sach and Ruc.
Five teachers who are teaching at the school were invited to participate in the research. As

being stated from the previous section, they came from different regions (two are natives, two

23
are from Dong Hoi city and one is from Thai Binh province). Their ages range from 28 to 38.
Three are females and the rest are males. Their time length of teaching English is different:
minimum is 4 years and maximum is 13 years.
2.4. DATA COLLECTION: The data for this project were mainly collected in two
ways: questionnaires and interviews.
2.4.1. Questionnaires: To gather data for the research, two questionnaires were designed:
one for teachers and the other for students.
2.4.1.1. Questionnaire for teachers:
The questionnaire for teachers was written in English. It comprises two main parts: part
one focused on teachers’ demographic information, containing the teachers’ gender, age, the
number of years they have been teaching English. Part two consists of ten questions both
closed and open-ended. The questions focused on the following categories: teachers’
professional knowledge, the ways they use teaching materials, their uses of mother tongue or
the target language, their teaching strategies, and their opinions on some factors affecting their
English teaching. (See Appendix A)
2.4.1.2. Questionnaire for students:
The questionnaire for students was written in Vietnamese to ensure students’ accurate
understanding of all the questions before answering them. It also comprised the two main
parts: part one is about the students’ background information, which includes the students’
grade, the number of years they have been learning English and their average marks in English
in the first semester. Part two consists of ten questions. The questions were designed to aim at
obtaining a snapshot of: the students’ general motivation and attitudes to learning English
(question 1, 2 and 3) their uses of language (question 4, 5); the facility in learning English
(question 6, 7, 8); their English learning materials (question 9); and their opinions about the
textbook (question 10).
(see Appendix B)
2.4.2. Interview:

In order to get in-depth data for the study, three teachers were chosen to take part in the
interview. Each of them was individually interviewed for 10 minutes by the researcher. The
interview used a list of questions to prompt the interviewees in an effort to elicit useful

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information. The interview questions were designed to elicit teachers’ attitudes toward their
teaching job; their daily work at a remote and mountainous school; their teaching experience
and their ways of teaching English. (see Appendix C)
2.5.DATA ANALYSIS:
The information from the two sources was first read through for a sense of overall data. Then
they were analyzed both descriptively and interpretatively. The information from the
questionnaires was displayed in the form of tables and figures, while the information from the
interviews was used as reflective notes and quotation.



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Chapter 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
3.1. FINDINGS FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRES:
3.1.1. Student questionnaire:
The participants’ background information from the questionnaire shows that they are at the
age of from 13 to 18. Most of them began learning English at grade 6. Moreover, their
average marks of English subject were not high, ranking from 4.2 to 8.3. The questions from
the questionnaire were designed to explore some information about their learning and their
teachers’ teaching of English at one of the mountainous and remote schools in Quang Binh.
The data collected and analyzed in order to help the researcher have all-sided data for the
study.
 Students’ motivation and attitudes toward learning English:
The survey questionnaire consists of three questions designed to explore students’
motivation and attitudes toward learning English.

For the first question, the participants were asked to respond to the six items showing
reasons for learning English. The result is presented in table 1, analyzed by quantitative
counting the occurrences of their choice.
Reasons for learning English
Number of respondents
(%)
Interest in English
9
Communicate in English
6
Need for future career
20
Pass the exams
60
A compulsory subject
5
Others
0
Table 1: Students’ reasons for learning English (N=100)
As seen from table 1, more than half of the respondents (60%) stated that they learned
English to “pass the exams” while 20% of them learned English for their future career. Only
few respondents had a real interest in English (9%) or learned it to communicate in English
(6%) or considered it a compulsory subject (5%). It is revealed from the data collection that a

26
greater number of the students were not interested in learning English and they did not have
much motivation for learning English.
As for the importance of getting good marks, table 2 shows that nearly half of the
respondents (48%) said that they just wanted to get a pass mark, they did not care whether
their mark was high or not. It is proved that the result from table 1 showing their low

motivation was revealed in their responses in question 2. 41% of the respondents paid much
attention to good marks. Only few of them (11%) did not care about marks.

The importance of good marks
Number of respondents (%)
Very important
41
Just to get a pass mark
48
Do not care about them
11
Table 2: Students’ responses to the importance of good marks (N=100)
With regard to the students’ attitudes to English lessons in class, table 3 shows that more
than half of the respondents (56%) found their English lessons interesting, 33% of them
thought that the lessons were normal. As seen from the table, the portion of respondents who
felt bored, excited and interested in their English lessons were nearly equal. It confirms that a
great number of students in this school have neutral and positive attitudes to their English
lessons.

Students’ attitudes to English lessons
Number of respondents
(%)
Very interesting
5
Interesting
56
Normal
33
Boring
6

Table 3: Students’ attitudes to English lessons (N=100)
 Effects of students’ first language on their English learning.
The questionnaire consists of two questions related to the effects of students’ first
language on their English learning. Question 4 was designed to find out which language they

27
often used when talking to their friends and families, and question 5 examine how their
language affected their English acquisition. The results were demonstrated in two tables below
(table 4 and 5).
Table 4 shows that there is no participant who used English or others but majority of them
(79%) often used their “Nguon” language when talking to their friends and families while
official language was used by the rest (21%). It is clearly understood since their friends and
families often talked to each other in their language which is hard to be understood by people
from other regions. When being asked about whether their first language influenced their
second language acquisition (question 5), more than half of the respondents (54%) stated that
it did, only 35% of them confessed their language used just a little. Some respondents (11%)
said that there is no influence of their local language on their English acquisition.

Students’ language when communicating with
families and friends
Number of respondents
(%)
Official language
21
Dialect (“Nguon” language)
79
English
0
others
0

Table 4: Students’ language when communicating with families and friends (N=100)
 Students’ English learning facilities:
With regard to the frequency of using teaching aids by their teachers when teaching
English in classes, table 5 below proves that majority of the respondents (62%) said that their
teachers often used teaching aids in classes while 33% said that their teachers often used
teaching aids. Only few of them (5%) said that their teachers rarely used technologies or
teaching aids in teaching process.
Question 7 was designed in order to find out the frequency of learning English in the
language laboratory. As can be seen from the table below, all of the respondents agreed that
they never learned English in language lab room. The reason for this was there is no language
laboratory for students to learn English.

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As for the English curriculum activities that the school organized, most of the participants
(93%) thought that their school rarely organized English curriculum activities for them to
participate in. The result shows that their school did not pay much attention to organizing
curriculum activities for students to practise their English.
Frequency of …
Number of respondents (%)
Often
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
their teachers using teaching aids in
English lessons
33
62
5
0
learning English in language lab

0
0
0
100
school’s English curriculum activities
0
7
93
0
Table 5: Students’opinions about English learning facilities (N=100)
 Students’ access to resources of learning English:
Learning materials are a necessary factor in helping students to learn English effectively.
Question 9 was designed to explore students’ materials in learning English. The result is
demonstrated in table 6. It is proved that a majority of the participants (79%) often used
textbooks in learning English. Nearly half of them (47%) considered reference books were
helpful for their language learning. Meanwhile, workbooks which include a large number of
exercises for English practice were not paid much attention to (only 17% ). It is not a
surprising result that only 8% of the respondents chose the Internet as the material for learning
English better and there was no selection for “newspapers/ magazines in English”. It is due to
the fact that students in this school were lack of English learning materials. It is really hard to
find newspapers or magazines in English in this region, even those in Vietnamese. Moreover,
there are only some rich families who have access to the Internet but most of the students in
this school were from poor families who have never got a chance.
Materials
Textbooks
Workbooks
Reference
books
Newspapers in
English

Internet
Others
Number of
respondents
(%)
79
17
47
0
8
0
Table 6: Students’ materials for learning English better (N=100)

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The result from table 6 proves that a great deal of participants considered textbooks an
effective material for English learning. However, how do they think about the textbooks they
are using? Question 10 was designed to find out their evaluation on their textbooks and the
result is presented in the table below.
As seen from the table below, none of the respondents found the tasks in their textbooks
easy for them. In their opinions, the new textbooks were difficult for them (57%) and
especially overwhelmed by the amount of vocabulary (84%). Some of the participants (21%)
also stated that the contents in some units were remote from their daily life. Moreover, it is an
unexpected result that there are “too many tasks in each skill practice lessons” and “there are
many grammar points in each unit” which were added to their questionnaires. It is easily
understood as all secondary schools in Vietnam have to use the same textbooks in teaching
and learning English and students in this research school belong to a remote and mountainous
region so most of them can not be provided with as good conditions for English learning as
those in towns or cities.
Students’ evaluation on their textbooks
Number of respondents

(%)
Difficulty level
57
Easy level
0
Contents in some units are not familiar with their daily life
21
Too many vocabularies
84
Others
Too many tasks in each skill practice lessons
9
There are many grammar points in each unit
11
Table 7: Students’ evaluation of their textbooks (N=100)