Oral and wrtten discourse analysis basis for integrative activities for basic english course at thai nguyen university

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

ORAL AND WRITTEN DISCOURSE ANALYSIS: BASIS FOR
INTEGRATIVE ACTIVITIES FOR BASIC ENGLISH
COURSE AT THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

A Dissertation
Presented to
The Faculty of Graduate School
Batangas State University
Batangas City, Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Of Doctor of Philosophy
Major in English

By:

VU KIEU HANH

April 2015


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

ABSTRACT
Title

: Oral and Written Discourse Analysis: Basis for Integrative
Activities for Basic English Course at Thai Nguyen University

Author

: Vũ Kiều Hạnh

Course

: Doctor of Philosophy

Major

: English

Year

: 2015

Adviser

: Dr. Matilda H. Dimaano

Summary:
This study aimed to analyze the oral and written discourse of First Year
College students enrolled in Basic English Course at Thai Nguyen University
with integrative activities as the output of the study. It made use of the
descriptive method of research. The respondents of the study comprised of
367 students and 65 teachers. The statistical tools used were mean,
percentage, percentile rank, ranking, standard deviation, and t-test.
The findings of the study show that the biggest group of respondent or 46.9
percent have parents with educational attainment in the tertiary level of education
which means that student‟s parents have higher educational attainment and are
motivated to send their children to higher education as they do.


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

In addition, the students came from at least 13 different places in

Vietnam. This indicates that the University campus under study cater to
students coming from different places in Vietnam and therefore handles a
heterogeneous student population. As regards the place of origin in terms of
whether these are urban or rural, it can be noted that majority comes from
urban areas. Thus, it can be said that the respondents can afford and have
access to University education.
Further, findings revealed that 357 out of 367 students or 97.3 percent
had exposure to the English media. However, mere exposure did not give
much impact on the learning of the English language. Findings also indicates
that certain factors constrained the students to be exposed to foreign media,
like the lack of English shows in TV station, or the mandated program of the
government to control English language instruction. The identification and
resolution of these factors could be critical in the successful English language
learning of the students.
In relation to pronunciation and fluency, the average score of correct
items is 2.80 which indicates that the level of pronunciation and fluency
competence of the students is average for this set of student population while
in comprehension and vocabulary, the average score of correct items is 2.84
This indicates that the level of comprehension and vocabulary competence of


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

the students is also average. In terms of grammatical accuracy, the average
score of correct items is 2.71 which indicates that the level of grammatical

accuracy competence of the students is average.
The total performance of the students for oral discourse on the other hand
is indicated in their average score of 2.78. This means that students have
developed oral discourse competency perhaps due to varied language activities
provided by their teachers and their daily interactions using the English language.
In the evaluation of written discourse competency, for cohesion and
coherence, the average score of correct items is 4.53 This result, reflects
the poor performance of the students, but also the relative difficulty of these
test items. In the case of logical order, the results show that the average
correct score is 2.0. This indicates the poor performance of the students and
the relative difficulty of these question items.
For the student written paragraph, in terms of completeness, the average
correct score is 3.06 which means that in terms of completeness of written
paragraph, the students‟ performance is average for this given population.
In the aspect of logical order, the result shows a mean score of 2.92. This
indicates that the performance of the students in insuring logical order of a written
paragraph is average for this population while for unity and coherence, the mean
score obtained is 2.95. This indicates that the ability of the students to achieve
unity and coherence in their written paragraph is average.


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

In terms of the total performance of the students in written discourse, the
mean score obtained was 3.09. This indicates that in general, the written

discourse performance of the student respondents is average. This implies
further that students were provided by their teachers with varied classroom
writing activities for them to practice and their exposure to such activity enrich
their understanding written discourses.
Among the 28 mean combinations being compared, 19 mean
combinations showed significant differences or 67.9 percent. This indicates
that majority of the means compared are significantly different and are
generally not related to each other.
The competency items that did not show significant differences were
the mean combinations involving the oral discourse and last two items of
the student written paragraphs namely order and unity and coherence.
These mean combinations with p-values above 0.05 are indicative of
existing statistical relationship and are predictive of each other.


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Sincerest and profound gratitude and appreciation are extended to all
the persons who in their own special ways have made this dissertation a
reality. The author is most grateful to:
Prof. Dr. Dang Kim Vui, President of Thai Nguyen University, Vietnam
for offering the Doctor of Philosophy major in English in cooperation with
Batangas State University, Philippines;
Dr. Matilda H. Dimaano, Dissertation Adviser, for her indisputable

expertise, invaluable comments, guidance, and encouragement that led to the
completion of this research;
The Panel of Examiners Dr. Maria Luisa A. Valdez, Dr. Amada G.
Banaag, Dr. Myrna G. Sulit, and Dr. Felix Panopio, for their profound insights,
suggestions and recommendations to improve this study;
The visiting professors from the Batangas State University including Dr.
Remedios P. Magnaye, Dr. Rosa Adelaida Ecalnir and other professors for
their lectures;
Dr. Tran Van Dien, the Rector of Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture
and Forestry, Dr. Nguyen Tuan Anh Dean of International School and Dr.
Pham Viet Binh, Rector of Thai Nguyen University of Information and


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

Transportation Technology for their approval of the researcher‟s request to
conduct the study;
The respondents of the study, for their active involvement;
Her loving classmates and colleagues, for their support and friendship
that inspire the researcher to pursue this research work;
Her parents and sibling, for their encouragement, financial, moral and
spiritual supports and for continuously believing that she can finish this
academic work.

Vu Kieu Hanh

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

DEDICATION

This research is dedicated to my beloved parents, Vu Van Hieu and
Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, children, Trinh Vu Gia Minh (Heo) and Trinh Vu Duc
Duy (Bo), for giving me the best of everything most especially their love.

Vu Kieu Hanh


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE .......................................................................................... i
APPROVAL SHEET ..............................................................................ii
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................... iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...................................................................... vii
DEDICATION ........................................................................................ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................... x
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................... xiii
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................. xiv
CHAPTER
I. THE PROBLEM
Introduction ....................................................................1
Statement of the Problem ............................................... 6
Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study ............. 7
Significance of the Study ............................................... 8
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Conceptual Literature ................................................... 10
Research Literature ...................................................... 36
Synthesis ......................................................................43


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BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

Theoretical Framework ................................................. 45
Conceptual Framework ................................................. 47
Hypothesis ....................................................................49
Definition of Terms ........................................................ 49
III. RESEARCH METHOD AND PROCEDURE
Research Environment ................................................ 50

Research Design .......................................................... 52
Subjects of the Study .................................................... 53
Data Gathering Instrument .......................................... 55
Data Gathering Procedure ............................................ 57
Statistical Treatment of Data ....................................... 58
IV. PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
OF DATA .............................................................................. 60
V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary of Findings .................................................... 98
Conclusions ............................................................... 108
Recommendation ....................................................... 109
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................. 110
APPENDICES
A.

Questionnaire on Teacher‟s Assessment.......... 116

B.

Teacher-Made Test on Oral and Written
Discourse Analysis for Students ........................ 120

C. Validation Letters ............................................... 127


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D. Response Letter of the Heads of Institution ...... 130
E.

Photographs of the Study Sites ......................... 133

F.

Photographs for Administration of Teacher-Made
Test to Students .................................................. 134

G. Photographs for Administration of Questionnaire .... 136
to Teachers ......................................................... 137
H. Photographs for Response Letters ..................... 139
CURRICULUM VITAE


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

LIST OF TABLES
Table

Title

Page

1

Distribution of the Respondents of the Study................................. 54

2

Gender Profile of Student Respondents ........................................ 60

3

Profile of Parent's Educational Attainment ..................................... 61

4

Profile of Place of Origin of Student Respondents......................... 62

5

Profile of Student‟s Exposures to English Media ........................... 63

6

Performance of Student Respondents in the Oral Discourse
Competence Test ........................................................................... 65

7

Performance of Student Respondents

in the Written

Discourse Competence Test.......................................................... 68
8

Student's Comparison of the Mean % Score for Each Test
Group Shown as P-values ............................................................. 71

9

Validated Student‟s Skills as to Oral and Written
Discourse Competencies. .............................................................. 73

10

Competencies of Freshman Students and their Frequency of Use ...... 74

11

Students‟ Oral and Written Discourse Skills According to the
Degree of Importance .................................................................... 75

12

Comparison Between Students‟ Performance and Teachers‟
Assessment in the Different Oral and Written Discourse
Competencies............................................................................................ 78

13

Bases for the Design of Integrative Activities for Basic English. ......... 79


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1

Title

Page

Conceptual Paradigm in Determining the Levels of Oral and
Discourse Competencies of Freshman tudents ............................. 48


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
Introduction
College English is one of the foreign language courses required in the
tertiary level curriculum to be taken by freshmen students. This course is
known in various titles like Basic English Course, Basic College English,
Freshman English or College Composition. A description of this course is that
it is designed to assist students in preparing for various types of writing,
reading, analyzing and responding expected of the college level student.
In Basic English class, students will learn how to focus and organize
essays through practicing several kinds of common writing patterns of
organization which the students would employ in their academic writing. In
other Universities, students taking up Basic English will study the principles of
expository writing, audience-directed prose and are expected to explain and
defend ideas. Because reading, viewing, and writing are inextricably linked,
first-year English also emphasizes critical reading and viewing.
The students are expected to analyse and understand a variety of texts,
including expository and literary texts that represent diverse voices and ideas,
visual images, and the students‟ own writing. The focus of College English is to
develop the writing skills of the students to be competent as expected of
College level students.


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

English language is consists of four macro skills namely: listening,
speaking, reading and writing and these can be developed in a longitudinal
and sequential fashion. This means that as first language is learned, it all
started with listening to parents, imitating them until one becomes capable of
speaking. Then as more words come as part of one‟s vocabulary, sentences
are recognized and read. As reading skills increase writing skills are
developed. Thus writing is an advanced linguistic skill and it is the primary
focus for development in College English.
Aside from these four macro skills, there are also linguistic micro skills
and these include: grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling. These
micro skills are equally important as without them, English will not be sensible.
Among the micro skills however, it is grammar that is most important as it is
with syntax that group of words

have a sensible meaning. To develop

competence in writing, grammatical skill is a vital pre-requisite, more so, when
the objective is academic writing as in the case of College English.
In the study of grammar, there is a process of dissecting and
understanding the arrangement of words and phrases in sentences, a process
called grammatical analysis. Grammatical analysis is an advanced skill that is
applied to understand a written material. It implies a strong familiarity with the
grammatical rules and sensitivity to the fine aspects of the English language


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

because there are exceptions to the rules and these remain accepted among
the expert native speakers. Thus, in College English, being able to write
purposively is not the only objective but also to be able to critique other
people‟s written works as they become the references for the kind of writing
the students will make. While the act of making a critique involves different
processes, one of these is grammatical analysis. It is presumed that the quality
of a given written work will not be hidden from a grammatical analysis, that in
fact, it will reveal its strong points and grammatical precision.
In the conduct of a grammatical analysis however, three parameters are
important: the level, the label and the function. The level refers to how
language is organized like at different levels starting from sounds, to words,
phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and even more complex pieces
such as essays, chapters, and books and in each of these levels, an analysis
can be done. The next parameter is the label. Labels are given to the various
levels according to their functions in context, however, for grammatical
labelling, only the three levels are considered: word, phrase, and clause. The
terms used for labelling are commonly known as the parts of speech. The third
parameter is function. In this context, a word is labelled because of its function,
not the other way around. The importance of grammatical analysis relies on its
ability to determine which word to select in a word study that helps determine
the outline of the text; and raise additional interpretative questions.


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

Discourse analysis is defined as the analysis of language beyond the
sentence. This type of analysis is different from those done by modern
linguistics, which mainly involves the study of grammar: the study of smaller
bits of language, such as sounds which include phonetics and phonology,
parts of words or morphology, meaning or semantics, and the order of words in
sentences or syntax.
Discourse analysis is concerned with larger chunks of language as they
flow together. This is exemplified by two sentences that when taken together
as a single discourse can convey meaning quite different from the meaning
conveyed by each sentence taken separately. The difference in meaning
arises from the context they were considered, such that a frame analysis is a
type of discourse analysis that would be able to shed light on context that
mediate this change in meaning.
Discourse analysis is a type of linguistic analysis concerns with whole
texts rather than sentences or clauses. It is divided into types like the Spoken
Discourse Analysis, which involves the study of conversations, dialogues,
spoken monologues, and Written Discourse Analysis, which involves the study
of written texts, such as essays, news, and political speeches. Discourse
analysis is more concerned with naturally occurring data rather than in made
up examples as it wants to prove the rigorousness of its procedures. Its


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

practitioners assert that discourse analysis in fact is a collection of techniques,
rather than a single analysis.
One distinctive identity of discourse analysis are the discourse markers,
a term linguists used to refer to little words like well, oh, but, so as well as and
that segment the speech and show the relation between parts. In written
discourse analysis this can refer to words such as appear, suggests,
speculation, that convey scepticism and signals doubt and thus indicate a
claim-counterclaim

structure.

Other

vocabularies

are

used

to

signal

problem/solution structure and general/specific structure.
Discourse analysis is important for various reasons. For the linguists, it
helps to find out how language works, to improve their understanding of this
important human activity; for the educators in finding out how good texts work,
so that they can focus on teaching the students these writing and speaking
strategies; and for the critical analysts, to discover meanings in the text which

are not obvious on the surface such as analysing a politician‟s speech to see
their preconceptions.
Considering the need of the students for a quality English education, and
evaluating the current curriculum for College English, it would seem
reasonable to evaluate and analyse the oral and written discourse among the
College students. These two aspects are important to the development of oral


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

and writing skills, one aimed at developing the sentence to sub-sentence level
of knowledge and skills development and the other on the supra sentence
level appealing to the intuitive sense of the individual.
As a college teacher teaching Basic English Course, the researcher
observed difficulties among college student include writing effective sentences
in a paragraph, conceptualizing a topic in composition as well as difficulties in
accuracy, comprehension, vocabulary and phonological aspects in oral
discourse. This prompted the researcher to probe deeper into the learning
aspects of the college students.
Statement of the Problem
This study aimed to analyze the oral and written discourse of college
freshman students in Basic English Course at Thai Nguyen University.
Specifically, this study sought answers to the following questions:
1.

What is the demographic profile of Freshman students in terms of
1.1 gender;
1.2 parents‟ educational attainment;
1.3 student's place of origin; and
1.4 English media exposure?

2. What are the levels of oral and written discourse competencies of the
students?


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

3. Are there significant relationships between the students‟ oral and
written discourse competencies?
4. How do teachers assess the students' oral and written discourse
competencies?
5. Are there significant differences between the students' oral and
written discourse competencies and the teachers‟ assessments in the
same areas?
6. What integrative activities may be proposed to enhance students in
oral and written discourse competencies?
Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study
This study is focused on analyzing the oral and written discourse of
college freshman students of Thai Nguyen University. The responses of 367
first year English language students from tertiary schools in Vietnam and 65 of

their respective English teachers were analyzed. The teachers were
requested

to

validate

and

answer

the

students‟

skill

assessment

questionnaires where ratings were based on their perceptions on the skill
levels of their students while the students were asked to answer the validated
constructed teacher- made test. These two data gathering instruments served
as the source of quantitative data that were analyzed statistically. The study
sites were the tertiary schools in an urbanized area.


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

Stratification on the students‟ and teachers‟ responses was done
according to their demographic profile and the data were consolidated. The
respondents were enrolled in an English Basic course. Those students who
were not enrolled in this course were not included in the study. The teacher
respondents were the respective teachers of the evaluated students.
Excluded as respondents of the study are those teachers not teaching Basic
English course. Statistical tools used include mean comparisons, t-test, and
correlation analysis.
Significance of the Study
This study will be useful to different individuals, administrator and
policy makers.
Students. They will benefit from the results of the study particularly, the
teaching learning materials that will be developed. The students participating in
this study will have a chance to try the test and assessment schemes.
English Teachers. This will be significant to the teachers not only
because they will be participants of the study but they will also learn something
from the results and will have a chance to utilize the developed
teaching/learning material to their students.
Administrator. The administrators will benefit from this study through
insights gathered as this will guide them in what decisions they will make


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

regarding the students‟ skills assessments. The administrators also will benefit
from the teaching learning materials that will be developed as they can
implement them in the classes of their schools.
Policy-Makers. They will be benefited from the knowledge gathered in
this study as this will aid them in formulating policy/ specific and relevant laws
that could influence the current educational system as they will have a
concrete basis for doing so.
Researcher Herself. Results of the study will provide very rich
information regarding oral and written discourse of freshman students for
appropriate utilization of intervention activities and other pedagogic materials.
Future Researchers. Results of the study will provide them insights to
explore other areas relative to this research undertaking.


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This chapter presents the relevant conceptual and research literature
which have bearing to the present study. The literatures included are found
substantial to the study and gives the necessary background to understand the
present research. This chapter further presents the theoretical and conceptual
frameworks of the study, synthesis and definition of terms.

Conceptual Literature
The following concepts which focused on instruction in basic college English
course, evaluation of students‟ competencies, approaches to discourse analysis, and
integrative English activities were reviewed to substantiate the study.
Instruction in Basic College English Course. College English is one
of the language subjects in the general curriculum of the tertiary education. It is
known in different names like English 101 or Basic College English or
freshman English or College Composition. English 101 is the first English
subject in College geared towards introducing the students to the conventions
of academic writing and critical thinking. It is a course that explores the
meaning of academic writing to different people and different circumstances
and its commonality elements. It explores the use of writing in communication;
idea assertion for discovery and epistemological purposes. It is a course that


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

capitalizes on writing as a medium for self-reflection, self-expression, and
communication, a means of coming to know for both the writer and reader
(www.u.arizona.edu/~sung/english101/).
English 101 sometimes called freshman English or college composition is
one course that almost every first-year student in every college and university is
required to take (grammar.about.com/od/your writing/a/ freshcomptips.htm).
The

requirements for this Basic College English vary depending on the

college or university that is offering the course. Most often, instructions of these
classes are known to deal heavily in reading, more than high school. The
readings will include a mixture of classical literature, contemporary poetry, social
commentary, opinion pieces, academic articles and/or drama. The Harvard
Report on Reading explains that many students today read with obedient
purposelessness meaning they read to simply get through a text and further
recommends that students need to read by knowing what it is they want to get
out of a reading assignment and search for those points.
Basic College English implicitly wants students to have and develop a
strong lexicon. The rationale for this is that words represent ideas, and the
more words students possess, the more ideas they can effectively
communicate. To build their vocabulary, students now have capitalized on
technology like the word of the day apps that exist in smartphones although
traditional approaches remain to be reliable options like flashcards.