Negotiating tasks in listening and speaking classes at DELL of USSH, HCMC

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY
UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
---- W X ----

NEGOTIATING TASKS
IN LISTENING AND SPEAKING CLASSES
AT DELL OF USSH, HCM CITY

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts (TESOL)

Submitted by NGUYỄN NHÃ TRÂN

Supervisor
NGUYỄN THỊ KIỀU THU, Ph.D.

Ho Chi Minh City, January 2010


STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
I certify that this thesis, entitled “Negotiating tasks in listening and speaking classes
at DELL of USSH, HCM City” is my own work.
This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any
other institution.

Ho Chi Minh City, January 27, 2010

Nguyen Nha Tran

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr.
Nguyen Thi Kieu Thu, for her insightful comments and generous support during the
preparation and completion of the thesis. Without her helpful guidance and kind
patience, I could not have finished this thesis.
I especially wish to send my thanks to Mr Truong Hon Huy and Ms Vo Thi Nu Anh
for their invaluable assistance with the use of SPSS in the data analysis of the study;
and Ms Nguyen Van Ha for her willingness to share her resources and experience.
I am deeply grateful to all my teachers in the course for their instruction and
dedication.
This research project would not have been possible without the cooperation of the
students in the two classes and I sincerely thank each one of them. My heartfelt
appreciation is also expressed to my colleagues for their support and encouragement
during the implementation of the thesis and the library staff at the English
Resources Centre for their wonderful help.
My special thanks also go to my friends who have supported me by way of
expressions of trust, concern, and encouragement along the way. I particularly thank
Mr Vo Duy Minh, whose insightful remarks and questions during our discussions
are invaluable for the thesis.
Finally, and most importantly, I am greatly indebted to my family for their support
and patience throughout the course.

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ABSTRACT
This thesis investigated the application of task negotiation (i.e. a process in which the
teacher and students participate in a joint enterprise, discussing with each other what tasks

to be done and how) in the listening and speaking class at the Department of English
Linguistics and Literature of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Ho Chi
Minh City. The research aimed to examine whether task negotiation could increase the
students’ motivation and involvement, foster their autonomy and improve their learning
effectiveness.
To this end, the study was conducted in two first-year classes assigned to the researcher by
the Department. The first class which agreed to try the new mode of teaching and learning
became the experimental group and the other the control group. Both the experimental
group (37 students) and the control group (40 students) took the listening and speaking
tests before and after the experimental period. Data were also collected through a courseevaluation questionnaire delivered to both groups, individual interviews with 10
experimental students and some documents collated during the process of teaching the
experimental group.
The data analysis shows that despite the finding that there was no significant difference in
student performance as a result of the different ways of teaching adopted in the two groups,
task negotiation achieved a wider range of learning outcomes, including enhanced
motivation, increased involvement, fostered autonomous learning capacity, high quality of
students’ work, a sense of progress and a good relationship of understanding and support
among the participants. Results also reveal the experimental group’s satisfaction with and
acceptance of the teaching content and form compared with the control group’s mixed
reaction. Considering the limitations of time, evidence obtained indicates that negotiation
worked well in the listening and speaking class.
The thesis therefore suggests applying classroom negotiation to the teaching and learning
of listening and speaking. Some recommendations are made regarding the introduction of
negotiation into the classroom, including the framework for negotiated decision-making,
learner-needs analysis, learner training, small group structure and teacher qualities and
expertise.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Statement of authorship ............................................................................................... i
Acknowledgements.......................................................................................................ii
Abstract........................................................................................................................iii
Table of contents ......................................................................................................... iv
List of tables................................................................................................................vii
List of figures ............................................................................................................... ix
Abbreviations................................................................................................................ x
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 1
0.1 RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH ...................................................................... 1
0.2 AIM OF THE STUDY............................................................................................. 4
0.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY......................................................................... 4
0.4 ORGANISATION OF THE REMAINDER OF THE STUDY .............................. 5
CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY................................................. 6
1.1 THE NEW LANGUAGE SKILLS PROGRAMME AT DELL, USSH ................. 6
1.2 THE LISTENING - SPEAKING 4 MODULE ....................................................... 9
1.3 SUMMARY........................................................................................................... 11
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................... 12
2.1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH.................................. 12
2.1.1 Negotiation.......................................................................................................... 12
2.1.1.1 A brief historical overview of the emergence of the concept of negotiation in
language teaching and learning...................................................................... 12
2.1.1.2 Definitions of the term ‘negotiation’.............................................................. 15
2.1.1.3 Arguments for procedural negotiation ........................................................... 16
2.1.1.4 Guidelines....................................................................................................... 22
2.1.1.5 Contextual factors .......................................................................................... 26
2.1.1.6 Roles of learners and teachers........................................................................ 29
2.1.2 Tasks in language teaching and learning ............................................................ 31
iv

2.1.2.1 Task-based learning ......................................................................................... 31
2.1.2.2 Definition of a ‘task’ ........................................................................................ 32
2.1.2.3 Task components.............................................................................................. 33
2.1.2.4 Task types......................................................................................................... 36
2.1.2.5 Tasks and syllabus negotiation ........................................................................ 38
2.1.3 Listening and speaking...................................................................................... 38
2.1.3.1 Listening........................................................................................................... 38
2.1.3.2 Speaking........................................................................................................... 40
2.2 PREVIOUS RESEARCH ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROCEDURAL
NEGOTIATION IN LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS IN VIETNAM ..................... 42

2.3 SUMMARY......................................................................................................... 43
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................. 44
3.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................................................................................... 44
3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN......................................................................................... 45
3.2.1 Subjects ............................................................................................................. 46
3.2.2 Treatment .......................................................................................................... 52
3.2.3 Instruments........................................................................................................ 53
3.2.3.1 Tests ............................................................................................................... 53
3.2.3.2 Questionnaires................................................................................................ 54
3.2.3.3 Interviews ....................................................................................................... 56
3.2.3.4 Course-related documents .............................................................................. 56
3.2.4 Data collection procedures................................................................................ 57
3.2.5 Data analysis procedures................................................................................... 58
3.3 SUMMARY......................................................................................................... 59
CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ............ 60
4.1 DATA ANALYSIS.............................................................................................. 60
4.1.1 Post-test scores.................................................................................................. 60

4.1.1.1 Post-test listening scores................................................................................. 60
4.1.1.2 Post-test speaking scores ................................................................................ 62
4.1.2. Course-evaluation questionnaire....................................................................... 64
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4.1.2.1Responses to the closed questions .................................................................... 64
4.1.2.2Responses to the open questions....................................................................... 74
4.1.3 Interviews.......................................................................................................... 87
4.1.4 Course-related documents................................................................................. 95
4.2 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ............................................................................ 97
4.3 SUMMARY......................................................................................................... 99
CHAPTER 5 IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..................... 100
5.1 IMPLICATIONS ............................................................................................... 100
5.2 RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................... 102
5.2.1 A framework for negotiated decision-making ................................................ 102
5.2.2 Learner-needs analysis.................................................................................... 104
5.2.3 Learner training............................................................................................... 106
5.2.4 Small groups ................................................................................................... 108
5.2.5 Teacher qualities and expertise ....................................................................... 109
CONCLUSION......................................................................................................... 113
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 116
APPENDIX 1

Pre-questionnaire (in Vietnamese) ................................................. 123

APPENDIX 2

Pre-questionnaire (English version) ............................................... 124

APPENDIX 3

Post-questionnaire (in Vietnamese) ............................................... 125

APPENDIX 4

Post-questionnaire (English version) ............................................. 128

APPENDIX 5

The questions for the interviews with the ten experimental students
(in Vietnamese) .............................................................................. 131

APPENDIX 6

The questions for the interviews with the ten experimental students
(English version) ............................................................................ 132

APPENDIX 7

Course-related documents .............................................................. 133

APPENDIX 8

Language Study 4 Syllabus (in Vietnamese) ................................. 142

APPENDIX 9

Brief account of the negotiation in the experimental group........... 147

APPENDIX 10 The responses to the open questions in the post-questionnaire...... 150

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LIST OF TABLES
Chapter 2
Table 2.1

A framework for describing tasks.......................................................... 34

Chapter 3
Table 3.1

Year of birth........................................................................................... 47

Table 3.2

Gender distribution ................................................................................ 47

Table 3.3

Places where students attended high school .......................................... 48

Table 3.4

Students’ age when they started learning English ................................. 48

Table 3.5

Information regarding whether students had attended English courses
at other places ........................................................................................ 48

Table 3.6

Students’ perception of their oral proficiency ....................................... 49

Table 3.7

Students’ opinions of the importance of oral communication skills ..... 49

Table 3.8

How much students liked studying listening and speaking ................... 50

Table 3.9

Descriptive statistics for the pre-test listening scores............................ 50

Table 3.10

Descriptive statistics for the pre-test speaking scores ........................... 51

Chapter 4
Table 4.1

Descriptive statistics for the post-test listening scores .......................... 61

Table 4.2

The output produced by the t-test analysis of the post-test listening
scores...................................................................................................... 61

Table 4.3

Descriptive statistics for the post-test speaking scores.......................... 63

Table 4.4

The output produced by the t-test analysis of the post-test speaking
scores...................................................................................................... 63

Table 4.5

Students’ opinions of the interestingness of the tasks ........................... 65

Table 4.6

Students’ opinions of the usefulness of the tasks .................................. 65

Table 4.7

Students’ opinions of the difficulty level of the tasks ........................... 66

Table 4.8

Students’ involvement in the tasks ........................................................ 66

Table 4.9

Students’ overall evaluation of the tasks ............................................... 67

Table 4.10

Student-student interaction .................................................................... 67

Table 4.11

Teacher-student interaction.................................................................... 68

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Table 4.12

Students’ contribution to the classes...................................................... 68

Table 4.13

Students’ assessment of their increased self-confidence ....................... 71

Table 4.14

Students’ assessment of their progress in independence in listening
and speaking learning ............................................................................ 72

Table 4.15

Students’ assessment of their increased interest in studying listening
and speaking........................................................................................... 72

Table 4.16

Students’ assessment of the number of tasks......................................... 73

Table 4.17

Students’ assessment of the effectiveness of the module in improving
their communicative competence .......................................................... 73

Table 4.18

Students’ satisfaction with the way of teaching and learning................ 74

Table 4.19

What students liked about the tasks....................................................... 75

Table 4.20

What students liked about the way of teaching and learning ................ 79

Table 4.21

What students liked about the teacher ................................................... 81

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LIST OF FIGURES

Chapter 2
Figure 2.1

Relationship between three kinds of negotiation................................... 20

Figure 2.2

A process syllabus.................................................................................. 24

Figure 2.3

A framework for analysing communicative tasks ................................. 35

Chapter 4
Figure 4.1

Experimental students’ perceptions of what they learned ..................... 69

Figure 4.2

Control students’ perceptions of what they learned............................... 69

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ABBREVIATIONS
CLT :

Communicative Language Teaching

CUP :

Cambridge University Press

DELL :

The Department of English Linguistics and Literature

L2

Second language

:

OUP :

Oxford University Press

SLA :

Second language acquisition

TBL :

Task-based learning

USSH :

The University of Social Sciences and Humanities

x


INTRODUCTION
This study aims at investigating whether task negotiation can be a viable teaching
approach in listening and speaking classes at the Department of English Linguistics
and Literature, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam
National University, Ho Chi Minh City. This introduction presents the rationale, the
aim and the significance of the study and an overview of the rest of the thesis.

0.1 RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH
Since the 1960s, learner-centredness has become a topic of widespread discussion
in the language teaching literature. A lot of effort has gone into finding means of
making language teaching more responsive to learners’ needs, characteristics and
expectations, encouraging their active involvement in their own learning and
educating them to become independent and ongoing learners. This preoccupation of
learner-centredness is clearly evident in the emergence of a number of trends in the
professional literature such as humanistic language teaching, communicative
language teaching, learning strategy research, individualisation, learner autonomy
and syllabus negotiation (Tudor, 1996). The last notion represents one of the most
significant innovations in recent years which highlight the importance of learner
independence, collaborative learning and shared decision-making (Breen &
Littlejohn, 2000). In negotiative approaches, teacher and learners discuss with each
other to decide what to learn and how to learn it. Proponents of this development
believe that the syllabus which emerges from the negotiating process will be more
flexible and relevant to learners’ needs and thus more motivating and will allow
learners to play a more informed and self-directive role in their learning (Bloor &
Bloor, 1988; Nunan, 1988b; Boomer et al., 1992; Nunan, 1992a, 1999; Tudor,
1996; Breen & Littlejohn, 2000). The fact that there is a growing number of
teachers’ accounts of successful negotiated work in a wide range of educational

settings (in Western and Eastern cultures, in state and private institutions, in small
and large classes, with students of different age ranges and levels) demonstrates the

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feasibility of negotiation in diverse contexts (Boomer et al., 1992; Breen &
Littlejohn, 2000; Huang, 2006). This indicates the potential of this approach in the
realm of language teaching and learning.
In Vietnam, learner-centredness has become one of the buzzwords in the language
teaching circle over recent years. Learner roles and ways to tailor the teaching to
learners’ needs and encourage them to become active participants and self-directive
learners have been the focus of many workshops and studies. There have, however,
been few formal discussions and research projects on negotiation as a learnercentred approach to language teaching although interest in this development is high
in the professional literature. It was this fact that motivated the present researcher in
the first place to carry out the study in order to investigate how negotiation works in
the Vietnamese context.
Moreover, since the school year 2005-2006, the University of Social Sciences and
Humanities (henceforth USSH) – Ho Chi Minh City has implemented the credit
system training, which has called for a change in teaching methods in order to meet
students’ needs and actively involve them in the teaching and learning process. In
response to this demand, the Department of English Linguistics and Literature
(henceforth DELL) has re-designed the BA programme in general and the language
skills syllabuses in particular. This behoves teachers at DELL to make their
teaching more learner-centred and increase students’ independence and active
engagement in their learning. As a teacher in the Language Skills Section of DELL,
the researcher found it necessary to conduct a study to test the feasibility of
negotiation as a learner-centred approach in language teaching at DELL, USSH.
Another inspiration of the study is the concern over Vietnamese learners’ verbal
communicative competence and the growing interest in communicative language

teaching in Vietnam in recent years. For a long period of time, the language
teaching in Vietnam has been dominated by grammar – translation methods, which
results in the often heard complaint that Vietnamese learners are good at grammar,
reading and writing but cannot conduct a short conversation. With the development

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of the economy, Vietnam has become a popular destination for foreign tourists and
investors; mastering spoken English has, therefore, become a must for learners of
English. This demand leads to the shift of focus towards the aural/oral skills and
communicative approaches to language teaching. This drove the researcher to
undertake research on syllabus negotiation, a development which emerged from the
communicative language teaching movement and has been vigorously upheld by a
growing number of writers. According to Breen (2001) “collaborative decisionmaking about different aspects of the teaching – learning process in the classroom
[…] involves learners in authentic opportunities to use and develop their knowledge
and capabilities” (p. 154). While engaging them in responsible decisions about their
work, syllabus negotiation generates meaningful interaction among the participants
in the classroom and thus contributes to learners’ language development.
Above are the main factors that led to the implementation of the study on syllabus
negotiation in listening and speaking classes. The research just focuses on the task
level of the syllabus, however. One obvious reason is the existence of a predetermined syllabus in the context of the study. The other is the increasing
recognition of the importance of tasks in syllabus design ever since the emergence
of task-based learning. Research on second language acquisition area during the
1980s suggested that learners’ interaction and, through it, negotiation for meaning
during task performance could facilitate their acquisition of linguistic knowledge
and its social use. It is, therefore, proposed that task should be the key unit in the
syllabus and teachers should provide appropriate tasks that can generate rich and
meaningful interaction which will be facilitative of language acquisition. In
addition, some writers have highlighted a connection between learner-centredness

and learning tasks in the classroom (Wright, 1987; Nunan, 1989). Nunan (1989), for
example, suggests learner role and teacher role as two components of a task and
points out the need to involve learners in task design and selection. Given the
significant implications for language acquisition and learner-centredness of tasks in
classrooms, the researcher found it justified in undertaking negotiation between
teacher and learners at the level of tasks.

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To sum up, presented in this section of the chapter are the inspirations for the study
on task negotiation in listening and speaking classes at DELL, USSH. Task
negotiation refers to the discussion between all members of the classroom regarding
what tasks to learn and how to do them. The research aims at examining first
whether this mode of teaching and learning can be applied in the Vietnamese
context in general and in DELL context in particular and second whether it can help
better address students’ needs, generate genuine motivation, develop responsible
learning and increase learning effectiveness.

0.2 AIM OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are: (1) to investigate the feasibility of classroom
negotiation in Vietnam in general and at DELL, USSH in particular; (2) to seek
empirical evidence of the effects of task negotiation on the teaching and learning of
listening - speaking at DELL; (3) to examine students’ attitudes towards the
adoption of negotiation as an approach to the teaching and learning of listening speaking; and (4) to offer recommendations concerning the use of negotiation in
listening - speaking classes.
To this end, an experimental method was employed. The subjects of the study were
students in two Listening – Speaking 4 classes at DELL of USSH. Data were
collected from four sources, i.e. test scores, questionnaires, interviews and courserelated documents.

0.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The fact that there has been little research concerning the practicality of negotiation
in language teaching in Vietnam in general and at DELL of USSH in particular in
spite of the growing interest in this teaching mode in the professional literature
demonstrates the importance of this study. Moreover, the research is of even greater
significance in light of the shift of focus towards learner-centred and
communicative approaches that help enhance learners’ communicative competence

4


and encourage them to assume a more informed and active role in their own
learning. It is the researcher’s hope that the study can reveal some insight into
negotiation as an approach to language teaching and offer some recommendations
concerning how negotiation can be adopted in the Vietnamese context.

0.4 ORGANISATION OF THE REMAINDER OF THE STUDY
Apart from the present introductory chapter, which states the rationale, aim and
significance of the study, and the conclusion at the end, the thesis consists of five
main chapters:
Chapter 1 provides the background to the study with a description of the new
language skills programme and, particularly, the Listening - Speaking 4 module at
DELL of USSH.
Chapter 2 is the literature review, presenting an overview of the theoretical
background and the related research in the Vietnamese context.
Chapter 3 focuses upon the methodology of the study with a presentation of the
research questions and the research design, including the participants, treatment,
instruments, and data collection and analysis procedures.
Chapter 4 deals with a detailed analysis of the data collected and a discussion of the
research findings.

Chapter 5 sets out the implications of the research results and then offers some
tentative recommendations regarding the application of negotiation in listening and
speaking classes at DELL.

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CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
For an understanding of the study context, this chapter looks in detail at (1) the new
language skills programme and (2) the Listening - Speaking 4 module at DELL,
USSH.

1.1 THE NEW LANGUAGE SKILLS PROGRAMME AT DELL,
USSH
Since the school year 2007-2008, the teaching of language skills at DELL has
undergone a great change with an emphasis upon the application of the integrated
skills approach. Previously, the four sets of skills were taught separately; students
spent three periods studying, for example, listening, and listening only, and then the
next three periods on speaking, and merely speaking. This teaching mode is,
however, not congruent with real-world situations which require the simultaneous
use of different skills. For instance, a student who attends a workshop will listen to
the presenter and read the power point slides at the same time; (s)he may also take
notes and then talk with the presenter and fellow students. For this reason, it is
essential that language skills be taught in an integrated fashion (Harmer, 1991;
Celce-Murcia & Olshtain, 2000; Thornbury, 2005). In the context of the shift to the
credit system training, which reflects the emphasis on learner-centredness, DELL
has re-designed all the language skills courses in an attempt to meet students’ reallife communicative needs. Listening is now taught in conjunction with Speaking;
Reading, Writing and Grammar are no longer separated. In one class meeting,
students practise listening and speaking or reading, writing and grammar in 5
periods (each period lasts 50 minutes in the credit-based system compared to 45

minutes in the year-based system). At the time that the study was carried out,
although students learnt Listening - Speaking and Reading - Writing - Grammar in
two separate classes, they earned only one mark at the end for the subject called
Language Study. The Listening - Speaking module accounted for 40% of the total
mark and the Reading - Writing - Grammar module made up 60%. This meant that
if a student failed the Language Study course, (s)he had to repeat both modules.

6


Students therefore had to try their best to improve all of their skills and their
grammar and, inevitably, vocabulary and pronunciation at the same time.
In parallel with the reconstruction of the language skills courses, all the textbooks
have been replaced by the new ones: the Interactions Mosaic series (4th edition)
published by McGraw-Hill/Contemporary. The specific textbooks used in the four
language study courses, which students at the time of the study had to complete in
the first year, are as follows:
- Language Study 1: Interactions 2 (Low Intermediate – Intermediate) (4th
edition) (Units 1 – 9)
- Language Study 2: Interactions 2 (Low Intermediate – Intermediate) (4th
edition) (Units 10 – 12) and Mosaic 1 (Intermediate – High Intermediate) (4th
edition) (Units 1 – 6).
- Language Study 3: Mosaic 1 (Intermediate – High Intermediate) (4th edition)
(Units 7 – 12) and Mosaic 2 (High Intermediate – Low Advanced) (4th edition)
(Units 1-3).
- Language Study 4: Mosaic 2 (High Intermediate – Low Advanced) (4th edition)
(Units 4-12).
This series is a four-skill comprehensive one with updated academic content, skillbuilding exercises and communicative activities. Although there are separate books
for Listening - Speaking, Reading, Writing and Grammar for each level, the units in
all the books share the same topics, which promotes the intertwined link in the

development of the skills and the language areas, namely grammar, vocabulary and
pronunciation. In the Reading - Writing - Grammar class, students, after reading
passages about a topic and discussing, have to write a paragraph or an essay. The
grammar points needed to complete this writing task are provided in the Grammar
book. In the Listening - Speaking class, students listen to a lecture about the same
theme and practise note-taking skills and then do some speaking activities (e.g. roleplay, discussion and mini-presentation) related to the topic in hand. In short, all the
exercises for building skills and enhancing language areas in each unit revolve
7


around a theme, which simulates real-world communication tasks in which the same
experience or topic requires the use of different skills.
The new language skills program requires much effort from students. First of all, as
has been mentioned, students have to improve all the skills in order to pass
language study courses. Second, they need to be active, responsible and
independent. This is manifest in the students’ duties clearly stated in the syllabuses:
- read the materials and do the exercises before each class
- make necessary preparations as required by the teacher
- actively participate in the lessons
- do the exercises – inside as well as outside the classroom – assigned by the
teacher
- consult materials relevant to the lessons
- take the initiative in studying issues of interest
- attend at least 80% of the time in class. A reasonable excuse is needed in case
of absence.
(See Appendix 8 for the Language Study 4 Syllabus)
The aim of fostering students’ independence is also reflected in the
recommendation of some reference books and, particularly, many useful websites
for improving their English and learning how to learn. Further, out of nine chapters
required for each course, there is always one chapter for self-study at home under

the teacher’s guidance.
In short, the development of the new language study syllabuses is a great advance in
the attempt to make teaching more learner-centred. The integrated skills approach is
adopted in the hope of enhancing students’ communicative skills. Further, more
effort is put into increasing students’ responsibility and fostering their autonomy,
which is one of the main goals of the credit system training.

8


1.2 THE LISTENING - SPEAKING 4 MODULE
The experiment was implemented in the Language Study 4 – Listening - Speaking
class. The detailed course syllabus, designed by DELL, is provided in Appendix 8
of the thesis.
Out of 120 periods allotted for the Language Study 4 course, the Listening Speaking module took up 50, out of which 40 periods were devoted to class time, 5
to self-study and another 5 to the mid-term test and the teacher’s feedback on the
test results. Students attended one five-period class each week in 8 weeks. At the
time when the study was conducted, students took the mid-term test in the fifth or
sixth week and the end-of-term test after finishing the whole course. Apart from the
speaking mid-term test, which was decided by each teacher, students of all the
listening - speaking classes took the same test papers, selected by the Head of the
Language Skills Section from the papers submitted by the listening - speaking
teachers. As for the grading policy, the mid-term test accounted for 30%, the endof-term test 60%, and student’s participation the rest 10%. The participation mark
was based on the student’s regular attendance, careful preparation for the lessons
and active participation in class. Regarding the marks for the mid-term and end-ofterm tests in the listening - speaking module, each set of skills took up 50%.
The objectives of the whole Language Study 4 course in general and the Listening Speaking 4 module in particular are developing students’ communicative
competence, equipping students with the subskills necessary for real-life situations,
and improving students’ grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.
The textbook used in the Listening - Speaking 4 module is Mosaic 2
Listening/Speaking 4th edition (by Jami Hanreddy and Elizabeth Whalley, 2004, The

McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., New York). It is designed for the High Intermediate
and Low Advanced levels. As the last book in the series, it aims at sharpening the
skills the other books help students build up in the first three Language Study
courses. Specifically, it provides students with:

9


- academic English, note-taking strategies and learning strategies: by listening to
lectures and radio broadcasts, students get used to academic English and at the
same time practise necessary note-taking strategies such as using illustrations,
using target expressions to help understand lectures, using cohesive devices as
markers and so on. Additionally, they are trained to use a variety of learning
strategies such as understanding and using figurative language, listening for
comparisons and contrasts, listening for causes and effects, distinguishing
between fact and opinion, predicting exam questions and thinking critically.
- listening sub-skills and test-taking strategies: students listen to short
conversations and practise essential sub-skills e.g. listening for gist and
listening for details. At the same time, students can learn some necessary testtaking strategies for standardized tests.
- natural conversational language, a variety of language functions and
communication tasks: in listening to short conversations, students are exposed
to natural conversational language and taught to identify and understand a
variety of language functions (e.g. persuading and giving in, acquiescing and
expressing reservations, and taking and keeping the floor). Moreover, students
have the chance to practise speaking and, particularly, learn to use language
functions in everyday contexts through a wide range of activities such as roleplays, interviews, presentations and small group discussions.
- useful cultural information: The culture notes in some chapters help students
learn more about the culture of the target language.
It is clear enough that Mosaic 2 Listening/Speaking offers a lot of opportunities to
expose students to authentic language, develop their listening skills and improve

their fluency and accuracy. By providing a variety of listening and speaking
activities, it allows teachers and students to make choices, consider alternatives and
plan for specific needs.
In addition to Mosaic 2 Listening/Speaking, some reference resources are suggested
to teachers and students, including Advanced listening comprehension – Developing

10


aural and note-taking skills (by Patricia Dunkel and Frank Pialorsi, 2000), New
English File – Upper Intermediate (by Clive Oxenden et al., 2005, OUP), New
Headway – Advanced (by John Soars and Liz Soars, 2003, OUP, Hong Kong).
Besides, a number of interesting and useful websites are recommended for reference
(see Appendix 8). Teachers are also allowed to use materials of their own as long as
they are congruent with the course requirements concerning topics, skills and task
types.

1.3 SUMMARY
This chapter has given a detailed depiction of the new language skills programme
and the Listening - Speaking 4 module of DELL, USSH. In the next chapter, the
literature relevant to the study including the theoretical background and the related
research which has been carried out in the Vietnamese context will be presented.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
Chapter 1 has provided the background to the study. This chapter reviews the
literature relevant, including (1) the theoretical background to the study and (2) an
overview of previous research on the notion of classroom negotiation in the

Vietnamese context.

2.1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH
2.1.1 Negotiation
2.1.1.1

A brief historical overview of the emergence of the concept of
negotiation in language teaching and learning

The concept of negotiation in learning has been shaped by a number of
developments in different fields including education, psychology, second language
acquisition, linguistics and, of course, language pedagogy. The purpose of this
section is to present an overview of the main trends of thought that have led to the
profession’s interest in syllabus negotiation as an approach to language teaching.
The origins of the idea of negotiated decision-making can be said to lie in the
Enlightenment, which was reflected in Bertrand Russell’s and John Dewey’s
‘humanist conception’ in the early twentieth century (Breen & Littlejohn, 2000).
Realising the inegalitarian and dehumanising characteristics of the industrial
revolution, Russell and Dewey highlighted the significant role of education in
developing a genuinely democratic society. In their liberal schooling agenda, they
stressed the importance of “collaborative responsibility” and “choice” as opposed to
“competition” and “coercion” (Breen & Littlejohn, 2000, p. 14). Their ‘humanist
conception’ was further developed by educators both inside and outside the USA
and significantly influenced innovations in several fields. Following Dewey, many a
humanist educator criticised transmission modes of education, calling for more
democratic forms of teaching (Boomer et al., 1992; Breen & Littlejohn, 2000). One
educational theorist whose work has had a direct impact on language teaching is

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Paulo Freire in Brazil. In his book “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”, Freire (1970)
attacked traditional ‘banking’ concepts of education in which learners are viewed as
empty vessels and teachers are experts whose job is impart information that they
consider relevant and necessary (in Brown, 2000). Learners should, as he proposed,
be given the opportunities “to negotiate learning outcomes, to cooperate with
teachers and other [learners] in a process of discovery, to engage in critical
thinking, and to relate everything they do in school to their reality outside the
classroom” (Brown, 2000, p. 90). The ideas of Freire and other humanist educators
have contributed greatly to the profession’s current understanding of the educational
process.
In the field of psychology, the 1960s witnessed the emergence of the humanistic
approach, which has had a significant impact upon language teaching. Two much
talked-about psychologists in the literature are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.
Their important contribution to pedagogy is the idea of “a ‘person-centred’ agenda
for ‘self-actualisation’ through education” (Breen & Littlejohn, 2000, p.13).
Education is, as they believed, a life-long process and the learner is a ‘whole
person’ and thus their subjective needs and experience should be taken into
consideration in the learning agenda. According to Rogers, learners do have the
inherent ability to reach their potential; hence, teachers should act as facilitators
whose task is to create a nonthreatening environment for learning by establishing
interpersonal relationships with learners (Rogers, 1951, 1983, in Brown, 2000).
Rogers’s and Maslow’s humanistic psychology, together with the ideas of humanist
educators as mentioned above, led to the development of the humanistic movement
in language teaching. With the emphasis upon the process side of learning, the
personal assumption of responsibility and the respect for learners’ subjective
experience, the humanistic movement has contributed significantly to language
teaching practice.
During the period of 1970s-1980s, there was a substantial body of research in the
second language acquisition (SLA) realm, which has had a profound influence on

the development of language pedagogy. The first work that should be noted is that
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of Hatch (1978) (Breen & Littlejohn, 2000). Her research on how learners learn
language forms via interaction has drawn SLA researchers’ attention to the
important role of interaction in second language (L2) acquisition. The second
influential theoretical perspective at the time was proposed by Stephen Krashen. In
his Input Hypothesis, Krashen claimed that acquisition will occur if learners are
exposed to language input which is just beyond their current level of competence.
Hatch’s assumption concerning conversation and Krashen’s contention regarding
‘comprehensible input’ were later combined and extended in Long’s Interaction
Hypothesis. According to Long, ‘modified interaction’ in which the more
competent speaker alters the language form to make it more comprehensible can
facilitate language acquisition (Long, 1981, in Breen & Littlejohn, 2000). Long’s
work marked a shift in the view of language acquisition process from “the mere
interaction between input data and the learners’ mind” to “overt negotiation for
meaning within social relationships” and provided impetus for research on how to
generate negotiated interaction in the language classroom (Breen & Littlejohn,
2000, p. 16).
Another significant innovation in the late twentieth century that language pedagogy
owes its development to is that in the field of linguistics. During the 1970s, a
number of linguists began to see and analyse language as a system for the
expression of meaning. The emphasis was placed upon language use rather than the
formal aspects of language. This social view of language is best reflected in the
concept of ‘communication competence’, coined by Hymes in reaction to
Chomsky’s notion of underlying linguistic competence. This change in perspective
led to a reorientation in language pedagogy: the primary goal is to help learners
develop the ability to use language rather than the knowledge about the language.
Ever since Hymes’s concept of ‘communicative competence’, one of the language

teaching community’s primary concerns has been how to make language teaching
more communicative. This has given rise to different innovations under the
umbrella term ‘communicative language teaching’ (CLT). In the early days of CLT,
the focus was on the goals and content of instruction, which was manifest in the
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