A study of teachers’ use of English in classrooms at Vietnam University of Commerce

v PHƯƠNG PHÁP GIẢNG DẠY

NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TIẾNG ANH
CỦA GIẢNG VIÊN TRONG GIẢNG DẠY
TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC THƯƠNG MẠI
TRẦN LAN HƯƠNG *

Đại học Thương mại, ✉
Ngày nhận bài: 22/01/2018; ngày sửa chữa: 09/02/2018; ngày duyệt đăng: 20/4/2018
*

TÓM TẮT
Bài báo tập trung vào nghiên cứu định lượng việc giảng viên sử dụng tiếng Anh trong lớp học
ngôn ngữ tại Đại học Thương mại. Kết quả cho thấy, thời gian nói và giảng bài của giảng viên
so với thời gian nói và phát biểu của sinh viên có sự chênh lệch tương đối lớn. Nói cách khác,
sinh viên chưa thực sự đóng vai trò trung tâm trong lớp học mà vẫn phụ thuộc rất nhiều vào việc
truyền thụ kiến thức của giảng viên. Nói về việc sử dụng tiếng Anh trong giảng dạy, tần suất sử
dụng tiếng Anh của giảng viên so với tiếng Việt tương đối cao, đáp ứng được yêu cầu tối đa hóa
sử dụng tiếng Anh và hạn chế tiếng mẹ đẻ trong lớp học ngôn ngữ.
Từ khóa: giảng viên, giảng dạy, tiếng Anh, tiếng mẹ đẻ

1. INTRODUCTION
In the era of communicative language
teaching, teacher talk plays an important role in
English classrooms. Teacher talk is generally
recognized as a valuable source of language
input for the learner. This is particularly true in
Vietnam where the teacher’s role is traditionally
the centre of the class. Moreover, many aspects
of teacher talk such as elicitation, and explanation
can significantly affect the quantity and quality

of student interaction in the lesson. However,
Vietnamese teachers are believed to be dominating
English classes with much teacher talking time
while students, as a consequence, are deprived
of opportunities of practicing speaking English.
Moreover, the use of English in teacher talk
determines the success of EFL classes to some

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extent because English teacher talk is sometimes
regarded as a register, with its own pedagogical
and interactive properties. English teacher talk
can be used to instruct language knowledge,
communicate and organize classroom activities.
Teacher’s use of English can greatly promote the
communicativeness of the EFL classes as long as
teacher talk is communicative, too. The importance
of teacher talk is not only apparent in the whole
class organization but also in the processes of
students’ acquisition of the target language.
Although there have been many studies on the
use of English as a foreign language in teacher
verbal behavior in EFL classroom, analyses of
the use of English in teacher talk in the context
of Vietnam in general and Hanoi universities in

particular remain necessary.


PHƯƠNG PHÁP GIẢNG DẠY v

2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
In second language acquisition research, it is
the ‘linguistic environment’ that serves as the stage
for second language acquisition. This environment
– the speakers of the target language and their
speech to the second language (L2) learnersprovides linguistic input in the form of listening
opportunities embedded in social and academic
situations. In order to acquire the language,
learners must come to understand the language
in these situations. This accessibility is made
possible in part through accommodations made by
native speakers to make language comprehension
possible and in part through strategies the learner
enacts to make the speech comprehensible.
The principle of “Teaching English through
English” is highly influential in English language
teaching. Dulay, Burt, and Krashen (1982),
emphasize that a new language is acquired through
exposure. The availability of a. desirable language
environment is of “paramount importance to
success in learning a new language” (p.13).
Teaching English through English “is defined
as speaking and using English as often as you
possibly can, for example, when organizing
teaching activities or chatting to students socially”

(Willis, 1981). It means establishing English as
the main language of communication between
students and instructors.
Cummins and Swain (1986) warn that if the
mother tongue is used together with the second
language (L2), students will tend to avoid the one
which they feel uneasy about and it will be harmful
to L2 learning. Cook (2000), when elaborating the
importance of “exposure,” further argues that the
role of English, in a language class is not only a
medium of instruction, but teaching content as
well. The interaction language between teachers
and students is exactly the objective of English
language teaching. Therefore, teachers should
stick to the L2 all the time so as to maximize
students’ exposure to the target language.
Willis (1981) emphasizes the teacher’s role in

maintaining English as the language of instruction
and communication in a language teacher’s course
book that includes phrase lists for non-native
teachers.
However, the question of how to make target
language instruction understandable to L2 learners,
especially low-level ones is a thorn in language
teachers’ flesh. Input adjustments, therefore, are
often made in teacher talk to boost comprehension.
Krashen (1982) claimed that ‘comprehensible
input’ was a necessary condition for language
learning. Krashen claims that comprehension is

necessary in order for input to become ‘intake’…
This ability to understand new language, Krashen
maintained, is made possible by speech adjustments
made to learners, in addition to the learner’s use of
shared knowledge of the context (Larsen-Freeman
and Long, 1991). The need to use extra-linguistic
information is also emphasized.
The use of the target language for instruction:
From simpler notions like ‘teaching English
through English’ (J. Willis et al, 1981), through
teaching ‘sheltered content’ courses in the
target language (Briton et al, 1989) to full-scale
immersion programmes ( Genesee 1984) proves to
be extremely necessary in non-English speaking
countries such as Vietnamese context. Unlike
countries where English is the second language,
Vietnamese contexts do not provide opportunities
for the target language exposure outside the
classrooms. Hence, teacher talk provides the main
contact with the target language. In many Asian
countries including China, and Korea, it is suggested
that English is the medium for communication
and teaching in the classrooms and the use of
mother tongue should be kept to the minimum.
However, the use of English is recommended
by some scholars to be considered in a particular
context. In Vietnam, like other non-English
speaking countries, according to Sandra Lee
McKay in her book “Principles and Practices for
Teaching English as an International Language”

(edited with L. Alsagoff, G. Hu & W. Renandya,
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v PHƯƠNG PHÁP GIẢNG DẠY
2012, Routledge), there are some factors that
should be taken into consideration before
implement the principle “teaching English through
English”: (1) Students’ Proficiency Level; (2)
Teachers’ Proficiency in English; (3) Grammatical
Rules; (4) Accuracy versus fluency; (5) Lexical
development.
In general then it seems reasonable to consider
the many variables that can influence English
learning before requiring all teachers to teach
English through English.
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The data for this study collected through the
use of two main instruments: Questionnaires and
Observation.
Selection of subjects:
The groups of teachers are 3 Vietnamese
females teachers aged from 28 to 50. Most of them
are regarded as experienced teachers with at least
4 years teaching. All of them have got Master
Qualification in teaching English.

150 first-year-students from the faculty
of English in Hanoi University of Commerce
responded to the questionnaires. All are Vietnamese
aged from 18 to 20. Their levels varying from lower
intermediate to pre-intermediate are proven by the
fact that they have studied English for at least 3
years at high school. The average size of their
class varies from 30 to 45 students. “The Business
- Pre-Intermediate” is used as their textbook.
Observation:
Observations were conducted firstly to provide
a general overview of the EFL teaching situation
in University of Commerce. Three observations
focused mainly on the use of English in teacher talk
there. Observation sheet was adapted as partially
cited according to Holland and Shortall, in 2001
and Lightbrown and Spada in 1999. Observations
were made in February and March, 2017:
- The first observation was conducted on
February 24th, 2017 in a speaking lesson.

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- The second observation was conducted on
March 17th, 2017 in a writing lesson.
- The third observation was conducted on

March 17th, 2017 in a listening lesson.
Questionnaires:
In relation with data collected from
observations, data from questionnaires were
processed to provide a better understanding of the
use of English in teacher talk.
There were two questionnaires: one for 150
students and the other for 3 teachers. Both of
them are written in Vietnamese to make sure that
the participants fully understand all the question
items. Each questionnaire consists of three parts:
Part 1/Part 4: Participants’ perception of the
amount of teacher talking time and the use of
English in teacher talk in EFL classrooms.
Part 2: Participants’ perception of some aspects
of English teacher talk such as: speech rate, lexical
and grammatical simplification, pronunciation,
and extra linguistic behaviors.
Part 3: Participants’ idea of what are obstacles
to the use of English in teacher talk in these EFL
classrooms.
4. RESULT
4.1. Teacher talking time
Results from 3 observations illustrated in
Table 1 show that the amount of teacher talking
time for questions, instructions, explanation,
elicitation, answering questions, and repetition or
clarification occupied more than 60% of the total
class time, especially Teacher 1’s talk accounted
for up to 66%. Obviously, this shows that teachers

dominated the classes with their talk, which left
students few opportunities of speaking practice.
Results from questionnaires for students and
teachers lead to the same conclusion. Most of the
students (46%) believed that their teachers talked
between 60-80%. Teachers themselves gave the
same percentage of their talking time in EFL classes.


PHƯƠNG PHÁP GIẢNG DẠY v

Table 1: Teacher Talking Time

Total TTT
(min)/a period
(45 min)

% of total
TTT

Teacher 1

30/45

66%

Teacher 2

28/45

62%

Teacher 3

28/45

62%

4.2. The use of English in teacher talk
As can be seen from Table 2, three teachers
used the target language as a medium to teach
English with a different quantity. Their English
talking time was about 60%. The results from
questionnaires show that the majority of students
(40%) thought that English teacher talk reached 6080%, but a comparatively high number of students
(31%) agreed that their teachers talked 40-60%
of total talking time in English. In fact, teachers
themselves admitted that they spoke English
less than 60% of the total talking time. A teacher
shared her experience that she could not speak
more English than 60% during her teacher talk for
the sake of a smooth lesson. These figures reveal
the medium quantity of English use in teacher talk.
The limited use of English means an excessive use
of Vietnamese, which may deprive students from
maximum exposures to the target language. This
also causes the limited use of English between
students once the teacher fails to form the habit of
using English as much as possible in the classroom
as well as set an example for them at the same time.

lexical simplification as well as slow speech rate
exited in English teacher talk made up majority.
Also, most teachers and students expressed their
neutral point of view on the statement that teachers
had a master of native-like pronunciation. In fact,
that the rest of the teachers and students showed
their disagreement is reasonable because the
capacity of native-like pronunciation is hardly
possible for non-native adult speakers no matter
how good their command of English can be.
Concerning the extra linguistic behaviors, most of
the students (61%) thought that their teachers use
non-verbal language effectively to go with their
teacher talk.
120

106

100
80
60

91
70
61

6367

Neutral

40

30

20
0

Agree

18

9
A

B

Disagree

27
8

6
C

D

Figure 1: Students’ perception of some
features of English teacher talk
A: Slow speech rate

B: Native-like pronunciation
C: Lexical simplification
D: Effective Extra linguistic behaviors

Table 2: The use of English in TT

English

% of English

Teacher 1

18/30

60%

Teacher 2

17/28

61%

Teacher 3

18/32

60%

4.3. Features of English teacher talk
As can be seen from the Figure 1 and 2, both the

number of students and teachers who agreed that

Figure 2: Teachers’ perception of some
features of English teacher talk

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v PHƯƠNG PHÁP GIẢNG DẠY
4.4. Categories and frequencies of TT in English and Vietnamese
Data for categories and frequencies of English/Vietnamese TT types were collected mainly through
questionnaires for students and teachers. The questionnaires were distributed to 150 students and 3
teachers on March 24th, 2017 after first three speaking lessons of the first year’s second term in the
university. These three speaking lessons were designed at least 60% for students’ speaking and teachers
were just instructors to help students fulfill their tasks. On the same day, questionnaires were collected.
In general, each teacher speech type in English appeared to enjoy high frequency. Such teacher talk
types as questions, instructions, explanation, elicitation, answering questions, and repetition or clarification
were considered as usually performed in English. Especially, the frequency of error correction, procedural
talk and compliments in English were thought to be higher by about half of the subjects (see Table 3).
Interactional and other teacher speech types enjoyed lower frequency.
Vietnamese teacher talk types were believed to occur less frequently than English corresponding ones.
Most of teacher speech types were sometimes performed in Vietnamese.
Table 3: Frequency of teacher talk in English

Frequency
Teacher

speech type

never

arely

sometimes

usually

always

1. Questions

0

0

12

58

30

2. Instructions Questions

1

7

24

51

17

3. Explanations

0

4

16

49

31

4. Elicitation

0

10

28

42

20

5. Error correction or negotiation

1

2

12

30

55

6. Answering questions

0

2

21

39

38

7. Repetition or clarification

1

7

24

45

23

8. Interaction

5

10

36

30

19

9. T praises

2

8

22

29

39

10. Procedural

3

4

14

37

42

11. Other

6

27

30

23

14

5. CONCLUSION
The amount of teacher talk in the classrooms under the investigation is still large with teacher talking
time that occupies more than 60% of the total class time. This is a consequence of traditional teaching
style which has a deep root in Vietnamese education system. Excessive teacher talk means minimum
of student talking time. Students, thus, are deprived of opportunities to raise their voice in the class.
Moreover, there is a limitation to the use of English in teacher talk due to some obstacles such as: students’

incapability of understanding, teachers’ limited proficiency, time pressure, heavy syllabus pressure, and
testing-oriented teaching. Thus, though English has been claimed to be the medium of teaching, the
average use of English is less than 60% of total teacher talking time. Some teachers also admitted that

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PHƯƠNG PHÁP GIẢNG DẠY v

they could not speak English more than 50% for
the sake of students’ understanding. This may
deprive of students of maximum exposure to the
target language and leads to students’ hesitation
to speak English once teachers themselves fail to
form a habit of speaking this language as much as
possible in classrooms.
Secondly, some features such as lexical
and grammatical simplification as well as slow
speech rate can be found in English teacher
talk. Concerning the pronunciation, Vietnamese
teachers of English hardly reach the standard of
native-like pronunciation. Regarding the extra
linguistic information, it seems that English
teachers do make use of non-verbal language
but not very effectively as noted by teachers
themselves.

Finally, each teacher speech type in English
appears to enjoy high frequency in general. The
most common teacher speech types are instruction,
questions, and explanation are performed in
English with high quantity./.
References:
1. Cook, V.J. (2000) ‘Linguistics and Second
Language Acquisition: One Person with Two
Languages’ Aronoff & Rees-Miller, Blackwell
Handbook of Linguistics, Blackwell Publishing.
2. Jim Cummins, Merrill Swain (1986),
Bilingualism in education: aspects of theory,
research, and practice, London: Longman
Publishing.
3. Dulay, H., M. Burt and S.Krashen (1982),
Language two, Oxford, England, Oxford
University Press.
4. Edwards, C. et al. (1998), Language
Teaching Methodology, Centre for English
Language Studies: Birmingham University.
5. Ellis, R. (1994), The Study of Second
Language Acquisition, Shanghai: Shanghai
Foreign Language Education Press.

Centre for English Language Studies, Birmingham
University.
7. Larsen-Freeman, D. & Long, M. (1991),
An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition
Research, London & New York: Longmans.
8. Long, M. (1996), The role of the linguistic

environment in second language acquisition. In W. C.
Ritchie & T. K. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of language
acquisition. Vol. 2: Second language acquisition
(pp. 413 - 468), New York: Academic Press.
9. Willis, J (1981), Teaching English Through
English. Longman. Hughes, G.S: A Handbook of
Classroom English, Oxford University Press.

A STUDY OF TEACHERS’ USE OF
ENGLISH IN CLASSROOMS
AT VIETNAM UNIVERSITY
OF COMMERCE
TRAN LAN HUONG
Abstract: This paper focuses on the
quantitative study of teachers’ use of English
in the language school at the University of
Commerce. The results show that lecture
time of teachers dominates speaking time
of students. In other words, students do not
really play a central role in the classroom but
rely heavily on the knowledge transfer of the
teacher. With reference to the use of English in
teaching, the frequency of Vietnamese teachers
of English use compared to Vietnamese is
relatively high, meeting the requirement to
maximize the use of English and limit mother
tongue in the language classroom.
Keywords: teacher talk, English, mother
tongue
Received: 22/01/2018; Revised: 09/2/2018;

Accepted for publication: 20/4/2018

6. Holland, R. and T. Shortall (2000),
Classroom Research and Research Methods,
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