Nghiên cứu việc dạy các yếu tố giao văn hóa trong giờ học nói tiếng anh cho sinh viên chuyên ngành việt nam học, đại học sa

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

PHẠM THỊ HUYỀN TRANG

A STUDY ON TEACHING CROSS-CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH
SPEAKING CLASSES TO VIETNAMESE STUDY-MAJORED STUDENTS
AT SAO DO UNIVERSITY
(Nghiên cứu việc dạy các yếu tố giao văn hóa trong giờ học nói tiếng Anh
cho sinh viên chuyên ngành Việt Nam học, Đại học Sao Đỏ)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60.14.01.11

Hanoi - 2014


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

PHẠM THỊ HUYỀN TRANG

A STUDY ON TEACHING CROSS-CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH
SPEAKING CLASSES TO VIETNAMESE STUDY-MAJORED STUDENTS
AT SAO DO UNIVERSITY

(Nghiên cứu việc dạy các yếu tố giao văn hóa trong giờ học nói tiếng Anh
cho sinh viên chuyên ngành Việt Nam học, Đại học Sao Đỏ)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60.14.01.11
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyễn Văn Độ

Hanoi - 2014


DECLARATION
I hereby certify that the thesis entitled
A STUDY ON TEACHING CROSS-CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING
CLASSES TO VIETNAMESE STUDY-MAJORED STUDENTS
AT SAO DO UNIVERSITY

is the result of my own research for the course of post-graduate education at ULIS,
VNU. I confirm that this thesis has not been submitted for any other degrees.

Student’s signature

Phạm Thị Huyền Trang

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In completion of this thesis, I would like to express my special thanks to my

supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Do (Thang Long University) for his
invaluable guidance and instructive comments throughout my work.
I am thankful to all the staff at the post-graduate department for giving me
assistance, the teachers who conducted the Master's course for providing me with
valuable knowledge.
A further acknowledgement goes to my dear friends from the master's course
and colleagues for their useful ideas, materials and encouragement.
I also wish to thank my students from Faculty of Tourism and Foreign
languages (FTF), Sao Do University (SDU) for their valuable help.
The final credit must go to my family, who supported me with love and
gentle pushing.

ii


ABSTRACT
In recent years, many language teachers are aware of the importance of
culture in educational circles. It is important for foreign language teachers to
integrate culture in their classes so as to primarily raise the awareness of their
students about the differences between cultures, then help them to be culturally
competent and convey communication in the society of the target language. The
importance of gaining communicative competence and maintaining intercultural
interaction has fostered the necessity of integrating cultural elements into language
instruction. Any language acquires value and meaning when it is integrated with
cultural

elements,

thereby

learning

cultures

may

shed

a

light

to

communication/interaction with different cultures. This paper discusses various
research findings and opinions on the integration of cross-culture into the teaching
of foreign language teaching. The discussion aimed to highlight the important roles
of cross-cultural elements, the problems during the education process integrating
these elements into the English teaching speaking classes. Furthermore, this study
aims at suggesting some practical techniques for cross-culture teaching at FTF,
SDU.

iii


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
DECLARATION ................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................... iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………....iv
ABBREVIATION - TABLE LIST…………………………………………….....vi
PART A: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................. 1
1. Rationale……………………………………………………………………….1
2. Aims of the study ............................................................................................... 2
3. Research questions ............................................................................................. 2
4. Scope of the study .............................................................................................. 2
5. Methods of the study .......................................................................................... 3
6. Design of the study............................................................................................. 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT................................................................................ 5
CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL PRELIMINARIES ........................................ 5
1.1. What is culture? ............................................................................................... 5
1.2. What is cross-culture? ..................................................................................... 6
1.3. The process of communication ....................................................................... 7
1.4. Need for cross-culture teaching ..................................................................... 9
1.5. Principles for cross-culture teaching ............................................................... 9
1.5.1. Approaches for cross-culture teaching ......................................................... 9
1.5.2. Practical techniques for teaching cross-culture in the EFL classroom ..... 11
1.6. In summary.................................................................................................... 14
CHAPTER II: RESEARCH DESIGN ............................................................. 16
2.1. Context .......................................................................................................... 16
2.2. Method and Procedure .................................................................................. 16
2.2.1. Selection of participants ............................................................................. 16
2.2.2. Data collection instruments ........................................................................ 16

iv


CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ................................... 19
3.1. Data collection from the survey questionnaires ............................................ 19

3.2. Data collection from the quiz ........................................................................ 25
3.3. Discussion of the findings ............................................................................. 26
CHAPTER IV: FURTHER DISCUSSIONS ................................................... 28
4.1. Suggested framework for cross-culture teaching in English speaking class 28
4.2. Suggested techniques for teaching cross-culture in the EFL classroom ...... 32
4.3. Practical tips .................................................................................................. 35
PART C: CONCLUSION.................................................................................. 38
1. In a nutshell ...................................................................................................... 38
2. Limitations of the study ...............................................................................

39

3. Recommendations for further research ............................................................ 39
REFERENCES .................................................................................................. 41
APPENDIX 1 ......................................................................................................... I
APPENDIX 2 ...................................................................................................... III
APPENDIX 3 ........................................................................................................V
APPENDIX 4 .................................................................................................... VII
APPENDIX 5 ................................................................................................... VIII

v


ABBREVIATION
SDU: Sao Do University
FTF: Faculty of Tourism and Foreign languages
TABLE LIST
Table 1: Ferrando‟s definition of culture
Table 2: Students‟ opinion of the importance of cross-culture knowledge to English
learning

Table 3: Students‟ self-evaluation of their cross-cultural knowledge
Table 4: Students‟ difficulties in participation in cross-culture activities in
conversation class
Table 5: Students‟ opinion of resources to obtain cross-cultural knowledge
Table 6: Students‟ opinions of cross-culture activities to motivate them
Table 7: Students‟ opinion of cross-cultural elements taught in conversation class
Table 8: Test scores interpretation – Measures of central tendency
Table 9: Test scores interpretation – Measures of dispersion
FIGURE LIST
Figure 1: Students‟ opinion of the importance of cross-culture knowledge to
English learning
Figure 2: Students‟ self-evaluation of their cross-cultural knowledge
Figure 3: Students‟ difficulties in participation in cross-culture activities in
conversation class
Figure 4: Students‟ opinion of resources to obtain cross-cultural knowledge
Figure 5: Students‟ opinions of cross-culture activities to motivate them
Figure 6: Students‟ opinion of cross-cultural elements taught in conversation class

vi


PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
In our global world, where many people from a variety of cultures have to
communicate in a way, understanding different cultures have become significantly
important to convey the meaning in conversations. Therefore, culture is considered
as an essential field in education, especially in language education. It can be said
that foreign/ second language learning is comprised of several components,
including

grammatical

competence,

communicative

competence,

language

proficiency, as well as a change in attitudes towards one‟s own or another culture.
As a result, in recent years, many foreign/ second language teachers have been
aware of the importance of teaching the culture of the target language.
Concerning this issue, Seelye (1993: 4) argues that “culture should be taught
when we have students to teach”. Moreover, day after day, more language teachers
recognize that when the cultural aspects are included in the language teaching
curriculum, students‟ communicative competence will be improved. It means that in
one form or another, culture has, even implicitly, been taught in the foreign/ second
language classroom. Kramsch‟s keen observation should not go unnoticed:
Culture in language learning is not an expendable fifth skill, tacked on,
so to speak, to the teaching of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. It
is always in the background, right from day one, ready to unsettle the
good language learners when they expect it least, making evident the
limitations of their hard-won communicative competence, challenging
their ability to make sense of the world around them. (Kramsch, 1993: 1)
It is undeniable that culture plays an important role in language education.
Therefore, with an effort to improve the language teaching in my case, “A study on
teaching cross-cultural elements in English speaking classes to Vietnamese studymajored students at Sao Do University” is chosen as the topic for my study.

1

2. Aims of the study
The aims of the thesis are:
- To investigate the attitudes of students towards the roles of cross-cultural
knowledge in language speaking class.
- To analyze the problems facing by students in integrating cross-cultural issues in
conversational activities.
- To suggest some practical methods and techniques to teach cross-cultural
integrated speaking lessons.
3. Research questions
1- What are the attitudes of students towards the roles of cross-culture in
language speaking class?
2- What are the problems facing by the students in integrating cross-cultural
issues in conversational activities?
3- How can the teachers integrate cross-cultural elements in English
speaking classes?
4. Scope of the study
With the globalization, it has became significantly important for language
teachers to integrate culture in their classes so as to primarily raise the awareness of
their students about the differences between cultures, then help them to be culturally
competent and convey communication in the society of the target language.
In an attempt to improve the situation of teaching English speaking skill for
students of Vietnamese-study major, SDU, the researcher emphasized the methods
and techniques of integrating cross-cultural elements into the speaking classes.
The issues to be discussed are the most common and typical ones which are
being concerned by most teachers in English teaching. The attitudes of students who
are at intermediate level towards the roles of cross-culture in language speaking
class are investigated. In addition, the problems that the students face in studying
cross-culture in class are analyzed along with the cultural aspects in language

2


teaching. The most important issue is the discussion of methods and techniques for
assisting cross-cultural teaching.
5. Methods of the study
In order to achieve the aims stated, an action research is carried out which
employs qualitative methods as main methodologies. All the considerations and
conclusions are largely based on the analysis of the statistic data and references.
The major approaches are:
-

Survey questionnaires

-

Semi-structured interviews

-

Consultations with supervisor

-

Personal observations

6. Design of the study
The thesis consists of three parts:
Part A: INTRODUCTION

This part includes the rationale, aims, scope of the study, methods and design
of the study.
Part B: DEVELOPMENT
This part is divided into three chapters
Chapter I: THEORETICAL PRELIMINARIES
In this chapter, theories of culture, cross-culture, process of communication,
need for cross-culture teaching, and principles for cross-culture teaching are
critically discussed.
Chapter II: RESEARCH DESIGN
In this chapter, the context as well as the method and procedure of the study
are clearly indicated.

3


Chapter III: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
The data analysis and findings are also presented with the illustration of data. The
problems related to teaching cross-cultural elements in language speaking class are
clarified from detailed and critical analysis of data.
Chapter IV: FURTHER DISCUSSIONS
Based on the results of the study, some methods and techniques that are
suitable for the chosen context will be suggested. They are expected to be helpful to
improve the situation of teaching cross-culture in speaking class.
Part C: CONCLUSION
Summary of the major findings and suggestions for further research are
presented in this part.

4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL PRELIMINARIES
1.1. What is culture?
Culture is often thought of as shared behavior and beliefs, but in any society,
even the simplest one, all individuals never think and act exactly the same. Different
authors have different definitions of culture.
In the first place, UNESCO (1996:108) launches the formal definition
focusing on the character of culture as follows „Culture is a set of symbolic systems
which regulate the behaviour and enable the mutual communication of a plurality
of people, establishing them into particular and instinct community.‟
According to Block (2001), “Culture, in its broadest sense, is what makes
you a stranger when you are away from home. It includes all beliefs and
expectations about how people should speak and act which have become a kind of
second nature to you as a result of social learning. When you are with members of a
group who share your culture, we or you do not have to think about it, for you are
all viewing the world in pretty much the same way and you all know, in general
terms, what to expect of one another”.
Ferrando (1996:18) considers Culture according to the nature of human beings‟
possession, perception and action: Culture is everything that one has, thinks, and
does as a member of a society.
Table 1: Ferrando’s definition of culture

Possession

Realization

Perception

CULTURE

5


Levine and Adelman (1993:58), on the other hand, look at the visible and
invisible nature of constituting factors of culture. The definition they put forth may
be the most imaginative definition of all. In their view, as for an iceberg, we can
hardly see most of the influence of culture on an individual. The risen part of
culture is not always which that causes difficulties in cross – culture; the hidden
aspects of culture exert meaningful influences on one’s behaviour and interaction
with others.
As a matter of fact, various definitions of culture reflect different theoretical
concepts of what culture is. It is, however, necessary for the researcher to adopt one
that best guide her study. Therefore, the thesis author finds the definition offered by
Sikkema and Niyekawa (1987: 27) useful because of its influence on communication.
Culture is defined as the sum of total ways of living, including values, beliefs, and
esthetic standards, and linguistic expressions, patterns of thinking, behaviour norm
and style of communication which a group of people has developed to assure its
survival in a particular physical and human environment.
It can be seen from the definition that culture is viewed as a process of
transaction rather than as a body of facts, which puts forth a convincing argument
for introducing culture into second, or foreign language teaching. The writer is
personally interested in this definition as among different cultural descriptions,
those factors clearly shown to affect intercultural and cross - cultural
communication are absolutely the main concerns of classroom practices in second
and foreign language.
1.2. What is cross-culture?
Cross-culture can be understood as “the meeting of two cultures or languages
across the political boundaries of nation-states” (Kramsch, 1998: 81). The term
“cross-culture” or “interculture” usually refers to the meeting of two cultures”. They
are predicated on the equivalence of one nation-one culture-one language and on the

expectation that a “culture-shock” may take place upon crossing national

6


boundaries. Cross-culture seeks ways to understand the other on the other side of
the border. According to Richards (1985: 92), “cross-cultural communication is an
exchange of ideas, information, etc…between persons from different backgrounds.
There are more problems in cross-cultural communication than in communication
between people of the same cultural background. Each participant may interpret the
other‟s speech according to his or her own cultural conventions and expectations. If
the cultural conventions and misunderstandings can easily arise, even resulting in a
total break down of communication. This has been shown by research into real life
situations,

such

as

job

interviews,

doctor-patient

encounters

and

legal

communication”. Thus, cross-cultural communication is the exchange and
negotiation of information ideas, feelings and attitudes between individuals who
come from different cultural backgrounds.
1.3. The process of communication
To understand communication, it is necessary to understand the nature of
such process. The first thing we need to know is that communication involves the
use of symbols-things used to stand for or represent something else (Yule, 2000).
Communication, therefore, is a complex process, which involves not only the use of
verbal symbols but also other symbolic elements that people use to transmit
messages (paralinguistic features, gestures, body movements…). Up to this point, it
is important to understand that the connection symbols have with their referents is
totally arbitrate - that is there is not natural connection – and that such circumstance
is culturally-conditioned. Therefore, if a person is out of the group consensus or
social convention regarding communicative symbols, he/ she is not going to be able
to communicate with the people who share the meaning of such symbols (Brain,
cited by Gudykunst and Young, 2002).
Another issue to concern is that communication involves transmitting and
interpreting messages. Transmitting messages implies using a way for making our
thoughts, attitudes, or feeling recognizable for other people. In order to transmit a
message, a person may use different symbols. On the other hand, interpreting

7


messages is the process of decoding the symbols and making sense out of them. In
fact, both processes are influenced by culture. As a result, people from different
cultures transmit and interpret messages in different ways. It means that when a
person does not know the way people from other cultures transmit and interpret
messages, she/ he usually relies on her/ his own coding system, incorporating her/

his own cultural patterns. Therefore, the meaning transmitted and interpreted is
usually detective or biased. Moreover, it can be seen that as soon as we feel the
interactional mismatch, we will experience high levels of uncertainty and anxiety.
According to Gudykunst and Young, 2002, uncertainty refers to the inability to
predict or explain other‟s behavior, feelings, attitudes or values; anxiety, on the
other hand, is the feeling of tenseness, worry, or apprehension about what might
happen in the interaction. These factors, if not controlled, may lead to feelings of
uneasiness, discomfort or even rejection towards target the culture or the person
with a different culture.
When people communicate with each other, they exhibit a style that is
strongly influenced by their culture. Communicative style refers to several
characteristics of conversations between individuals, according to Barnlund (1989):
(1) the topics people prefer to discuss, (2) their favorite forms of interaction in
conversation, (3) the depth to which they want to get involved with each other, (4)
the communication channels (verbal or nonverbal) on which they rely, and (5) the
level of meaning (factual versus emotional) to which they are most attuned.
Naturally, people prefer to use their own communicative styles. Issues about
communicative style rarely arise when two people from the same culture are
together because their styles generally agree. Most people are as unaware of their
communicative style as they are of their basic values and assumptions. In English
speaking classes, students should have some certain knowledge about culture in
communication style of the target language speaking countries.

8


1.4. Need for cross-culture teaching
Learning a foreign language is required to attain intercultural communication
between people of different cultural backgrounds. Because it is important for
learners to be involved in communicative acts as well as in the reality of the target

culture, they are required to understand the cultural references and meanings of the
native speakers. Seelye (1993: 26) argued that the language teachers should
consider certain goals when introducing culture in the language class: 1. Attitudes
toward other cultures and societies, 2. Interaction of language and social variables, 3.
Cultural connotations of words and phrases, 4. Conventional behavior in common
situations, 5. The sense or functionality of culturally conditioned behavior, 6.
Evaluating statements about a society and researching other cultures.
It is undeniable that there is a need for second language learners to develop
cross-cultural awareness (the recognition that culture affects perception and that
culture influences values, attitudes, and behavior (Gaston, 1984)) and cross-cultural
understanding (the capacity to understand that people‟s behavior differ because
they have different worldviews that have been influenced by there contextual reality
and, therefore, their culture). By this way students not only broaden their horizons
about the target culture, but also gain a cross-cultural awareness which gives ideas
about the „other‟s point of views.
1.5. Principles for cross-culture teaching
1.5.1. Approaches for cross-culture teaching
Teaching culture is considered important by most teachers but it has
remained “insubstantial and sporadic in most language classrooms” (Omaggio,
1993, p. 357). It seems that the biggest headache for language teachers, especially
the teacher of EFL, is how to integrate culture teaching into our language programs.
Risager (1998) describes four approaches to the teaching culture: the
intercultural, multicultural, trans-cultural, and foreign cultural approach. The
intercultural and multicultural approaches include a considerable element of
comparison. The trans-cultural approach presupposes foreign language as an

9


international language. The foreign cultural approach only focuses on the target

culture where the language is spoken.
Apart from the above-discussed approaches, there are several approaches
that center on different aspects of the target culture or concentrate on developing
certain skills in learners. The theme-based or thematic approach is based on certain
themes, for example, symbolism, value, ceremony, love, honor, humor, beauty,
intellectuality, the art of living, realism, common sense, family, liberty, patriotism,
religion, and education, which are typical of a culture. This approach tries to show
the relationships and values in a target culture and, by his way, it helps learners to
maintain a better understanding of it (Saluveer,2004). The topic-based approach
concentrates on more general and cross-sectional topics which involve bringing life
to class and develops a more holistic and integrated view of the target culture
(Wisniewska-Brogowska, 2004). The problem-oriented approach aiming to get
learners to be interested in the target culture encourages them to do some research
on their own. Seelye (1993) sees the teacher's role in defining the problem that
interests learners. The task-oriented approach is characterized by co-operative tasks
based on learners' own research. Learners work in pairs or small groups on different
aspects of the target culture (Tomalin & Stempleski 1993). The skill-centered
approach is different from the above-given approaches because it is more practical
and might be useful for students who need to live in the country where target
language is spoken. The aim is to develop learners' skills, which help them manage
the problems of (mis)communication between cultures/societies (Saluveer 2004).
One or more of these latter mentioned five approaches can be chosen by the
teachers to integrate into their culture instruction according to the objectives of the
class. If the aim is to help students live in the target country and maintain effective
communication in the society, the skill-centered approach can be followed. On the
other hand, if the aim of the lesson is to raise consciousness about the target
language culture, then, topic–based or the theme-based approaches can be followed
during the instruction. In my case, I am applying the approach of topic-basing,

10

which is so practical and useful for students to experience the cross-sections in
communication and develop their language competence as well.
1.5.2. Practical techniques for teaching cross-culture in the EFL classroom
It can be seen clearly that there are a range of practical techniques that we
found to be successful in culture-based courses that can help to make the teaching
of culture a better experience for both teachers and students.
According to Lili Dai (2011), the teachers can adopt an effective method on
cultural texture in order to make a better cultural acquisition from language teaching.
Oxford (1994) has used the term “cultural texture” to describe the many aspects of
the culture that teachers need to teach to their students. To achieve this texture,
teachers need to vary three different parameters: information sources, activity-types
and positive interactions.
a. Information sources
Lili Dai (2011) claimed that first of all, teachers should encourage students to
collect information, and they can use encyclopedias, multimedia software and the
internet for the required material. Students will try every means possible to get the
knowledge themselves instead of waiting for it. In addition, they will analyze the
information and select what material best fits their cultural topics.
In order to get a comprehensive picture of the target culture from many
angles, teachers need to present their students with different kinds of information by
accumulating a great deal of courseware. There are some popular sources for
teachers and students to get information as listed below. As a result, we can use one
or combine more than one source to access the cultural information successfully.
 Information sources
Extracts from literary

Anecdotes

Multimedia software

Internet

Fieldwork

DVD & CDs

Films and TV

Photographs

Illustrations

Encyclopedias

Plays and songs

Video

Literature

Interviews

Newspapers, magazines

11


Background information

b. Activity types
 Quizzes
We have found that quizzes are one of the more successful activity types.
Quizzes are useful in learning new information. We can apply this type in pairs or
groups, so that students can share their existing knowledge and common sense to
give answers. It is not important whether students get the right answer or not, but by
the predicting, students will become more interested in finding out the right answer.
In addition, we can also ask students to quiz their partner about readings or other
materials. Quizzes offer a high-interest activity that keeps students involved and
learning.
 Selecting authentic materials
Lili Dai (2011) considered selecting adaptive materials to be an essential
factor for students to improve their comprehension ability. “A selection of authentic
foreign material should be used, especially dialogues, because it is more authentic
and reflects cultural behavior followed by speakers. Authentic materials can
frustrate students lacking sufficient cultural and social knowledge of the target
language, and therefore teachers should carefully select suitable materials to
motivate their learning interests. Teachers should explain cultural factors
encountered in the material. Students now have easier access to visual aids such as
films and videotapes. It is generally agreed that what helps in cultural acquisition is
to be shown regularly about cultural background. Dialogue is a large proportion of
authentic listening materials. It provides a wide range of western culture, such as
customs, habits, social manners, life style. Therefore, it is quite necessary for
teachers to give students an introduction to help them understand well native
speakers and their culture.
Through multimedia and network technology, the teacher can offer students
not only rich sources of authentic learning materials, but also an attractive and
friendly interface, vivid pictures and pleasant sounds, which to a large extent

12

overcome the lack of authentic language environment and arouses students‟ interest
in learning. There are many good videos and texts published concerning the classic
literacy works and most teachers have access to them and the video equipment.
Watching videos is simply another tool for learning and enjoyment. Frequently,
when some writer and his or her works are dealt with, especially the classic ones,
the students should be offered the opportunity to enjoy the video. The teacher still
can make use of the chances to work out some methods to arouse the curiosity and
motivation.”
 Doing research based learning
Moreover, he also suggested an academic methodology that asks students to
complete a task through research. Student research is one of the most powerful tools
that we can use with college students because it combines their interests with the
classroom. For example, after the first class, we ask students to search the internet
or library and find information on any aspect of the target-culture that interests them.
In the following class, students explain to their group what they have learned and
answer any questions about it. This can lead to poster-sessions or longer projects.
For some students, it can even lead to a long-term interest in the target-culture.
“To do research, one first needs to have a “topic”. The topic may be a
problem, a study, or an area to be investigated to find out more information or to
confirm or disprove existing knowledge.” The research program can big or small; it
can be completed within a month or a day according to the level of difficulty; it can
be done either in groups or by one person. An example of a task with a number of
components is one in which students choose a topic that combines their interests
with the classroom, collect material about it by searching the internet or library to
find information on any aspect of the target-culture that interests them., compile that
material into a booklet and give a presentation in the following class. Students can
explain to the teacher or their group what they have learned and answer any
questions about it. This can lead to poster-sessions or longer projects. For some

students, it can even lead to a long-term interest in the target-culture.

13


Some other types of activity that have been found useful include the
following: games, role play, field trips, reading activities, listening activities,
writing activities, discussion activities, singing and so on, but with a bit of thought,
most standard EFL activities can be easily adapted for use in the culture classroom.
The most important point is to ensure that the students are actively engaged in the
target culture and language.”
c. Positive classroom interactions
According to Lili Dai (2011), classroom interaction can provide different
selling points to create a positive cultural learning environment, such as: a wide
diversity of opinions, references, values, many different experiences and cultural
background. As Cullen, selling points for culture means the feature of classroom
teaching activities that make it attractive to students. In order to create cultural
texture, teachers must be careful not to portray the culture as monolithic, nor to only
teach the pleasant aspects. In other words, teachers need to “sell” different views of
the culture to their students. Introducing deliberate contrasts within a culture can be
useful (Cullen, 2004). These are some different teaching activities which are
contrasted.
 Attractive

vs.

Shocking

 Similarities

vs.

Differences

 Facts

vs.

Behaviors

 Historical

vs.

Modern

 Old people

vs.

Young people

 City life

vs.

Country life

 Stated belief

vs.

Actual belief

 Darks aspects of culture

vs.

Bright aspects of culture

1.6. In summary
In this chapter, the relevant literature which has been reviewed in order to
form the theoretical and conceptual framework for the present study is presented.

14


From the literature review, the place of cross-cultural knowledge in foreign
language learning and particularly in speaking class has been discussed. It is
important to highlight the fact that culture and language are intertwined closely, so
that knowledge of target culture helps learners communicate successfully. However,
although teachers realize that culture has an important role to play in EFL, no
systematic ways of approaching how to teach it as an integrated part of language
program were uncovered.
Secondly, some approaches for cross-culture teaching are analyzed critically
with the clear teaching purposes. Then, the researcher suggests one, which she
believes that it is suitable in her context.
Finally, it can be seen that there are many useful techniques in teaching
language and culture together to obtain certain goals. Due to the size of the study,
cross-cultural activities and classroom interactions are taken in consideration. After

a term of teaching cross-cultural elements integrated speaking lessons, the
researcher now turns to investigate the attitude of the participants and how their
cross-cultural knowledge changed. As a result, the most appropriate techniques for
cross-culture teaching are suggested to improve the current problems.

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CHAPTER II: RESEARCH DESIGN
2.1. The context
First year Vietnamese-study major students at FTF, SDU, aged from 19 to 21,
both male and female, have learnt English for at least four years, three years at high
school and nearly one year at the university. Many of them have learnt English
since they were grade 6 students. However, their level of English proficiency is still
quite low because they come from different countryside surrounding Hai Duong
where there is lack of favorable English learning conditions. Furthermore, during
years at schools, a majority of the students did not have chances to know about what
we call „culture‟ or „cross-culture‟.
The fact is that although the students have learnt English for several years,
along with their difficulties in acquiring any effective language skills at university,
their cultural background knowledge is still very poor. Moreover, while students in
English language major are taught with the course of cross-culture communication,
there is no cross-culture communication course in the curriculum of Vietnamesestudy major students. Actually, they just study about Vietnamese culture, so there
are certainly difficulties for them in communicating appropriately in English.
2.2. Method and Procedure
2.2.1. Selection of participants
The subjects who participated in this research are 30 students in Vietnamesestudy major at FTF, SDU. The 30 students under investigation are in the second
terms of the first year of the academic training program. They are supposed to be at
intermediate level of proficiency in English. These students are young aged from 19
to 21, both female and male. All of these students were born and live on northern

parts of Vietnam. Therefore, they appear to have similar educational background,
more importantly; they have similar cultural background knowledge.

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2.2.2. Data collection instruments
The data collection methods adopted is aimed to collecting qualitative data.
The full period of data collection covered the whole term. During the term, the
researcher used the following four ways to see the effects of her interventions:
Survey questionnaire
The questionnaires (see appendix 1) were delivered directly at the beginning
of the term with clear explanation about the purpose of the study. It was to
investigate the attitude of the participants towards the role of cross-cultural elements
in English speaking classes; to find out the difficulties faced by them during the
studying; and to seek for the ways to improve the problems.
Informal interviews
The interviews were carried out to clarify some information gained from the
questionnaire responses. Moreover, throughout the whole term, the researcher
conducted informal interview with her students during the class breaks. Her major
concerns were their opinions of the new way of teaching, and how useful they
thought it was. Obtained information was to reflect regularly their learning process.
Classroom observation
The observation falls on three aspects: students' attendance, classroom
behavior, and performances in English speaking class. If they are motivated to the
activities during the lessons, they should be more willing to participate and perform
actively, and then they could improve their speaking. The observation was noted
down in the observation checklist after each lesson.
Cultural knowledge quiz
The quiz (see appendix 2 and 3) was conducted among 30 first year students

for the first time at the beginning of the second term to quiz the students‟
knowledge about certain aspects of cross-culture. After a term of teaching speaking
in which cross-cultural elements was integrated, the quiz was delivered again
among these students in order to discover how their cross-cultural knowledge be
changed.

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