những giáo viên đang giảng dạy tại trường Đại học Ngoại Ngữ, Đại học Quốc Gia Hà Nội về những năng lực sư phạm cần thiết của giáo viên tiếng Anh

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

TRẦN MINH HẰNG

TEACHER TRAINERS AND MASTER STUDENTS’/IN-SERVICE
TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES OF THE NEEDED COMPETENCIES FOR
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS: A SURVEY AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES,
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Khảo sát quan điểm của các giảng viên sư phạm và học viên Cao học/những
giáo viên đang giảng dạy tại trường Đại học Ngoại Ngữ, Đại học Quốc Gia Hà
Nội về những năng lực sư phạm cần thiết của giáo viên tiếng Anh

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111

HANOI – 2016


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

TRẦN MINH HẰNG

TEACHER TRAINERS AND MASTER STUDENTS’/IN-SERVICE
TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES OF THE NEEDED COMPETENCIES FOR
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS: A SURVEY AT THE UNIVERSITY
OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES,
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Khảo sát quan điểm của các giảng viên sư phạm và học viên Cao học/những
giáo viên đang giảng dạy tại trường Đại học Ngoại Ngữ, Đại học Quốc Gia Hà
Nội về những năng lực sư phạm cần thiết của giáo viên tiếng Anh

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
Field

: English Teaching Methodology

Code

: 60140111

Supervisor : Dr. Dương Thu Mai

HANOI – 2016


TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATIONS....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
ABSTRACT ................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... i
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ iii

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... I
1.

Introduction ............................................................................................................ I

2.

Rationale ................................................................................................................. I

3.

Aims of the study ................................................................................................. III

4.

Research questions .............................................................................................. III

5.

Scope of the study ................................................................................................ III

6.

Significance of the study ..................................................................................... IV

7.

Method of the study ............................................................................................ IV

8.

Design of the study .............................................................................................. IV

9.

Summary ............................................................................................................... V

DEVELOPMENT ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW .................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1.

Introduction ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.2.

Teacher competence and competencies ............. Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.2.1.

Definitions of teacher competence and competencies ........................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.2.2.

Frameworks of Teacher Competence .................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.3.

English language teachers’ competencies ......... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.3.1.

Frameworks of English teachers’ competencies. ................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.3.2.

Previous studies on English language teachers’ competence ............. Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.3.3.

English language teachers’ competence in Vietnam .......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.4.

English language teachers’ training needs........ Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.4.1.

English language teachers’ training needs .......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.4.2.

Previous studies on English language teachers’ training needs ........ Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.5.

Teachers’ self-assessment ................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

1.6.

Summary .............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

i


2.1.

The setting of the study ....................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.2.

Participants .......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.2.1.

Teacher trainers .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.2.2.

Student teachers .................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.3.

The data collection instruments ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.3.1.

Teacher trainers’ interview .................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.3.2.

Teacher’s survey questionnaires. ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.4.

Data collection and data analysis procedure .... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.4.1.

Teacher Trainers Interview ................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.4.2.

Teachers Questionnaire Data ............................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.5.

Summary .............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.

Findings of the study ........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
The needed competencies for the targeted MA students from teacher trainers’ perspectives.

3.1.1.

................................................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1.2.

The needed competencies for the targeted MA students from their own perspectives. .......... Error!

Bookmark not defined.
The targeted teachers’ self-assessment of their own competence after finishing the Master course.

3.1.3.

................................................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.2.

Discussion of the research questions ................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.2.1.

The needed competencies for the targeted MA students from their own perspectives ........... Error!
Bookmark not defined.
The targeted teachers’ self-assessment of their own competence after finishing the Master course

3.2.2.

................................................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

CONCLUSIONS ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.

Recapitulation ...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

2.

Limitations of the study ...................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

3.

Recommendations ............................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

REFERENCES ....................................................................................................... VI
APPENDICES ............................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
APPENDIX 1 ............................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE AND TRAINING NEEDS Error! Bookmark
not defined.
ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRES ....................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
APPENDIX 2 ............................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

ii


LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 : Student teachers’ perspectives in knowledge of language & language
learning .................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 1.2 : Student teachers’ perspectives in language content & curriculum Error!
Bookmark not defined.
Figure 2.1 : Student teachers’ perspectives in language teaching methodology,
lesson planning & conducting a lesson.... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 2.2 : Student teachers’ perspectives in assessment of language learning,
resources and technology for language teachingError! Bookmark not
defined.
Figure 3

: Student teachers’ perspectives in knowledge of learners .............. Error!
Bookmark not defined.

Figure 4

: Student teachers’ perspectives in professional attitudes & values in
language teaching .................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 5

: Student teachers’ perspectives in practice & context of language
teaching .................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 6.1 : Student teachers’ self-assessment of their knowledge of language,
language learning ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 6.2 : Student teachers’ self-assessment of their knowledge of language
content and curriculum ............................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 7.1 : Student teachers’ self-assessment of their knowledge of language
teaching methodology, lesson planning & conducting a lesson ...... Error!
Bookmark not defined.

iii


Figure 7.2 : Student teachers’ self-assessment of their knowledge of assessment of
language learning, resources and technology for language teaching
................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
Figure 8

: Student teachers’ self-assessment of their knowledge of language
learners ..................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 9

: Student teachers’ self-assessment of their professional attitudes &
values in language teaching ..................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 10 : Student teachers’ self-assessment of their practice & context of
language teaching .................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

iv


INTRODUCTION
1. Introduction
In this part, the rationale for carrying out this study is presented followed by a
brief presentation of the aims and objectives, the research questions, the methods,
the scope and the significance of the study. Finally, the thesis structure is
introduced.
2. Rationale
As English becomes vital to most countries all over the world, it is taught from
pre-school to higher education. English language teachers who are considered to
have substantial impacts on their students’ achievement therefore are among the
most important elements of the education system, as Rockoff (2004) indicated:
“teachers also have a fundamental role in their learners’ academic achievement and
their quality can highly influence student outcomes”. In order to encourage students
to learn effectively and efficiently, a teacher has to perform a large number of
activities both inside and outside of the classroom. Each teacher is expected to
possess a certain amount of knowledge, skills, as well as attitudes, which together is
known as teacher competence. Teacher competence is crucial that can lead to
positive individual student development and even lessen the aggressive behavior in
the classroom (ầubukỗu, 2010).

In reality, as entering the 21st century, the real situation of teaching and learning
English is a major topic of discussion in the education domain. More particularly,
the status of language teaching has changed over time; for example, many new
developmental policies in knowledge, teaching methods, or programs have been
updated in order to achieve the targets and to skill the force of the education system,
the English language teachers. Consequently, teachers must keep up with these
changes to move towards professional competence which includes subject matter
knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge of teaching and learning,
curricular knowledge, teaching experience, and certification status (Shulman, 1986,
Grossman, 1995).

I


It has become a major issue for teaching staff to innovate and upgrade their
competence through training programs, which is to cope with the new advancement.
In fact, “teachers who need to be well-trained at the beginning of their careers and
provided with high quality in subsequent years in their profession (Hargreaves,
1998, p.38) are the key assets of schools”. Teachers, such as, non-native speakers of
English as in this study, should recognize the need of professional competence and
training in order to address the demands of society.
Vietnam is not the exceptional country in the world that considers professional
competence and training needs as essential factors for any English language
teachers. Since Vietnam has implemented Doi Moi policies, one of the issues on
this landscape of change is the development of new English language teacher
generations. Accordingly, the Vietnam government has decided to carry out an
important project entitled “Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the
National Education System, Period 2008-2020” (dated 30 September, 2008 of the
Prime Minister on the country). The project offers many opportunities for Vietnam
because it can help a massive group of teachers be aware of the importance of

English teaching standards and encourage them in gaining higher professional
competence in their career.
The project is an attempt of the government to promote teachers’ motivation to
become skilled language instructors. By highly appreciating the great influences of
professional competence and training programs on education system, English
language teachers are active to learn and develop themselves continuously during
their teaching career.
However, up till now, research findings on English language teachers’
professional competence and their training needs in Vietnam are rare. Specifically,
there has not been any investigation of the English language teachers – TESOL
Master students at ULIS, VNU, a leading institution in English language teacher
training nationwide. They are young, energetic in-service English teachers coming
from various kinds of educational institutions in English language teaching. They

II


are also the typical human resources who keep a decisive role in transforming the
educational goals into a reality. Moreover, with the participations in MA course,
most of these long-term teaching staff perceive that improving their competence
with the master's degree is a vital stimulant for their teaching practice, especially for
the young teachers whose experience and practical teaching knowledge are not still
sufficient. A study into these teachers’ competence and training needs should be
able to yield interesting results. In addition, the findings may hold crucial
importance to the design of training courses for the teachers, including both formal
courses such as MA and seasonal trainings at institutional, local or ministerial scale.
Hopefully, the findings of the study may also be a source of reference for language
policy makers towards more effective English language teaching and learning in
similar contexts in Viet Nam.
3. Aims of the study

The study aims are to find out:
a. what teacher trainers and in-service English language teachers – MA
students at ULIS, VNU consider as needed competencies for in-service
teachers, and
b. how in-service English language teachers – MA students at ULIS, VNU
assess their own professional competence.
4. Research questions
In order to achieve the above-mentioned aims, the following research questions are
raised in the study:
1. What are the needed competencies for the targeted teachers from teacher
trainers’ perspectives?
2. What are the needed competencies for the targeted MA students from their
own perspectives?
3. What are the targeted teachers’ self-assessment of their own competence
after finishing the Master course?
5. Scope of the study

III


Professional competence and training needs are such broad topics that they
cannot be wholly discussed within the framework of this paper. For this small-scale
thesis, the study attempts to investigate the needed competencies from English
language teachers’ perspectives, accordingly to explore the strengths and
weaknesses of the targeted teachers based on an in-service version of English
Teacher Competency Framework (ETCF). The subjects of the thesis are three
teacher trainers and sixty-five in-service English teachers - MA students at ULIS,
VNU. The study results should not be generalized to English teachers in Vietnam,
but only to those in similar contexts.
6. Significance of the study

Teacher’s competence has a strong impact on the students’ acquisition in
language learning. First, when completed, the research results may be used as an
evidence to provide teacher educators and administrators with useful information
about the needed competencies of in-service English teachers – MA students after
finishing MA course according to their self-assessment. The training programs then
may be formed to support and motivate the in-service English language teachers
better so that the quality of English language teaching can be enhanced in the
similar contexts.
7. Method of the study
This study employs qualitative and quantitative research methods in order to
obtain a more detailed and comprehensive picture about what are investigated.
Two survey questionnaires were conducted with 65 in-service English language
teachers – MA students after finishing the Master course to investigate their training
needs and self-assessment of their own competence.
The qualitative research approach was involved to find out the targeted teachers’
training needs from the teacher trainers’ perspectives. Three teacher trainers were
invited to bring out their opinions based on the given questionnaire.
8. Design of the study
The research study is organized into three parts:

IV


Introduction provides basic information including the rationale, aims, research
questions, scope, methods, significance and the design of the study.
Development is organized around three chapters as follows.
Chapter 1 - Reviews the related literature on theories of teacher’s competence,
teacher’s competencies, training needs and self-assessment.
Chapter 2 - Presents the information about the setting of the study, detailed
methodology used in this study including participants, data collection instruments,

and data collection & data analysis procedure.
Chapter 3 - Consists of a comprehensive analysis of the data and discussion on the
findings of the study.
Conclusions offer a summary of major findings of the study, limitations,
recommendations for further study.
9. Summary
In this part, the rationale as well as how to conduct the study was presented. In
the next part - Development, the literature review of the study will be presented.

V


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