(Luận văn thạc sĩ) a study on using authentic materials in teaching english in the context of bac giang high school for gifted students

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

NGUYỄN DANH HÀO

A STUDY ON USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN TEACHING
ENGLISH IN THE CONTEXT OF BAC GIANG HIGH SCHOOL FOR
GIFTED STUDENTS
(Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng Tài liệu xác thực trong giảng dạy Tiếng Anh tại
ngữ cảnh Trường THPT Chuyên Bắc Giang - Bắc Giang)
MA. MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code:

60 14 10

Hanoi, 2010


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

NGUYỄN DANH HÀO

A STUDY ON USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS IN TEACHING
ENGLISH IN THE CONTEXT OF BAC GIANG HIGH SCHOOL FOR

GIFTED STUDENTS
(Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng Tài liệu xác thực trong giảng dạy Tiếng Anh tại
ngữ cảnh Trường THPT Chuyên Bắc Giang - Bắc Giang)
MA. MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code:

60 14 10

Cohort:

MA 17

Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Bach Thao, (M.A)

Hanoi, 2010


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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Summary of selected students
Table 2: Authentic materials and frequency
Table 3: Types of authentic materials used
Table 4: Authentic materials and skills
Table 5: Usefulness of authentic materials from students‟ perspective
Table 6: Problems in using authentic materials


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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………. i
Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………... ii
List of tables …………………………………………………………………………… iii
Table of contents ………………………………………………………………………

iv

PART A: INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………............. 1
1. Rationale for the study …………………………………………………………......

1

2. Aims of the study………………………………………………………………......... 2
3. Scope of the study ………………………………………………………………....... 3
4. Significance of the study ……………………………………………………………

3

5. Design of the study………………………………………………………………......

4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT ………………………………………………………….

5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ……………………………………………. 5
1. 1 Authenticity and authentic materials ……………………………………………

5

1.1.1. Authenticity in CLT ………………………………………………………..

5

1.1.2. Authentic materials …………………………………………………………

6

1.1.2.1. Definitions …………………………………………………………..

6

1.1.2.2. Types of authentic materials ………………………………………..

7

1.1.2.3. Criteria for selecting authentic materials …………………………..

8

1. 2 The use of authentic materials in the classroom. ……………………………….

9

1. 2.1. Reasons for using authentic materials ……………………………………... 9
1. 2.2. Possible problems in using authentic materials ……………………………

11

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY …………………………………………………… 13
2. 1. Participants ……………………………………………………………………… 13
2. 1.1 Students …………………………………………………………………….
2.1.2. Teachers ……………………………………………………………………

13
14


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2. 2. Research settings …………………………………………………………………

14

2. 3. Research methods ………………………………………………………………..

16

2. 3.1. Student Questionnaire ……………………………………………………...

16

2. 3.2. Teacher Interview ………………………………………………………….

17

2. 3.3. Classroom Observation …………………………………………………….

17

2. 4. Data collection procedure ……………………………………………………….. 18
2. 5. Data analysis procedure …………………………………………………………

18

CHAPTER 3: RESULTS ……………………………………………………………... 20
3. 1. Data description and analysis …………………………………………………...

20

3. 1.1. Research question 1 ………………………………………………………..

20

3. 1.2. Research question 2 ………………………………………………………..

24

3. 1.3. Research question 3 ………………………………………………………..

27

3. 1.4. Research question 4 ………………………………………………………..

31

3. 2 Implications ……………………………………………………………………….

35

PART C: CONCLUSION …………………………………………………………….

38

1. Summary of findings ……………………………………………………………….. 38
2. Contribution of the research ……………………………………………………….

39

3. Limitation of the research ……………………………………..…………………...

39

4. Suggestion for further research ………………………………..………………......

40

REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………... 41
APPENDIX 1: Student Questionnaire ……………………………………………….

I

APPENDIX 2: Teacher Interview ……………………………………………………

IV

APPENDIX 3: Interview Transcript …………………………………………………

V

APPENDIX 4: Observation Checklist ……………………………………………….. IX


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PART A: INTRODUCTION
This part provides the rationale for carrying out the research, the aims that need to be
acquired, the scope, the significance as well as the design of the study.
1. Rationale for the study
In recent years, English has become one of the major and compulsory subjects at
schools all over Vietnam. Together with the expansion of teaching and learning this subject,
students today have been aware of its importance. English is believed to be the basic
requirement for anyone who would like to have a good job. Thus, great efforts have been
made to help students learn English better, among which the effort to search for new sources
of materials supporting the process of English teaching and learning has always been
encouraged.
In my observation, using authentic materials as supplementary materials in teaching
and learning English is a good way to increase learners‟ language proficiency.
There are a number of reasons supporting this idea.
In the first place, it is the real situation of teaching and learning English at Bac Giang
High School for Gifted Students, where the research study was carried out. Bac Giang High
School for Gifted Students is among a few schools in Vietnam having the best quality of
foreign language teaching. The students of the school are carefully chosen from all over Bac
Giang province and most of them are assured to have high level of proficiency in English
compared with those in other schools. For this reason, the school curriculum designed for the
textbooks often finishes at the end of the first term. In the second term, it mainly focuses on
developing the students‟ language skills with the help of other supplementary materials. Thus,
the demand for seeking new sources of materials has been taken into consideration by the
teachers and authentic materials are found to be an effective solution to this task.
Secondly, it is the availability of authentic materials. Due to technological

advancements and the government open-door policy, it is easy to have access to authentic
materials rich in content, diverse in forms, and of different levels of linguistic complexity.
This assists teachers and learners in using authentic materials with much convenience. An
enormous wealth of authentic materials enables teachers to have a wide variety of choice


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based on the objectives of the lesson, as well as learners‟ age, language level, interests, needs,
expectations and goals. Consequently, teachers will be able to make their lessons more
flexible, suitable and especially, interesting enough to motivate learners to learn and practice
the language.
Thirdly, it is the benefits of using authentic materials in teaching and learning
English. The materials obtained from various sources can attract learners‟ attention and create
their motivation towards learning a foreign language. As the materials help learners bridge the
gap between the classroom and the outside world and enable them to put their theoretical
knowledge into practice, they open a way for positive transfer of learning. Therefore,
authentic materials can increase the quality of foreign language teaching.
Last but not least, it is the students‟ need of communication in English in and out of
the classroom. Besides English grammar and the fixed teaching points given in textbooks,
there should be other materials to develop students‟ communicative competence, help
students to express their ideas fluently and accurately. Thus, authentic materials if used
properly will encourage learners to communicate in the target language though they are not
designed to teach a foreign language.
For the above reasons, the researcher decided to investigate the use of authentic
materials as supplementary materials in teaching English at the context of Bac Giang High
School for Gifted Students. It is hoped that this study would be of practical benefits to the
teachers at high schools for gifted students in particular and other high schools in general in
developing students‟ language skills.
2. Aims of the study
In doing the research, the author attempted to address four main issues. Firstly, the

study investigated how authentic materials are used as supplementary materials for English
learning and teaching. Secondly, it examined teachers and students‟ evaluation on the
effectiveness of authentic materials. Thirdly, the study aimed to identify possible problems
when using authentic materials, followed by suggestions to deal with these problems.


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These objectives were accomplished by answering the following research questions:
(1) How are authentic materials used as supplementary materials for English
learning and teaching?
(2) How effective are authentic materials in English learning and teaching?
(3) What are problems in using authentic materials?
(4) What solutions can be suggested to solve the identified problems?
3. Scope of the study
The study mainly focused on exploiting authentic materials as supplementary
materials for English learning and teaching in the context of Bac Giang High School for
Gifted Students. The subjects in the study were restricted to three English specializing classes
ranging from grade 10 to grade 12 and five teachers who directly taught English to these
classes.
4. Significance of the study
It is noteworthy that the study was a great attempt to examine an important issue in
language teaching methodology. Therefore, once finished, it can bring a number of benefits to
involved parties namely students, teachers, educational administrators and researchers of the
related fields.
Teachers and students at Bac Giang High School for Gifted Students are those who
directly benefit from the information the research provides. Teachers will have an overview of
the situation of their own using authentic materials to increase students‟ language proficiency,
identify difficulties that they themselves and their colleagues have encountered and consider
solutions to adjust their teaching methods. Students are likely to be well aware of the benefits
of authentic materials, which leads to their positive attitudes and effective resulting in

exploitation of authentic materials.


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Educational administrators may be provided close and comprehensive view into the
current situation of using authentic materials in teaching English. This urges them to
implement necessary amendments in terms of curriculum, facilities and so on.
Researchers of the related fields can also refer to the present work for literature
review.
In general, students, teachers, educational administrators and researchers are those
who are likely to benefit from the study.
5. Design of the study
The study consists of three parts:
PART A, Introduction, provides the rationale, the aims, the scope, the significance
and the design of the study.
PART B, Development, discusses the following contents of the study:
Chapter 1, Literature Review, discusses the literature relating authenticity and
authentic materials as well as the use of authentic materials in the classroom.
Chapter 2, Methodology, defines the methodology of the research including features
of the participants, settings, research methods, data collection and data analysis procedure.
Chapter 3, Results, presents and discusses the findings, which gives comprehensive
answers to the four research questions. It also offers suggestions to solve all the identified
problems for a higher effectiveness of authentic materials.
PART C, Conclusion, summarizes significant findings, highlights contributions of the
research, addresses notable limitations, and puts forward practical suggestions for future
research.
References
Appendix

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1. 1. Authenticity and authentic materials
1.1.1. Authenticity in Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
For many years, there have been many authors discussing the authenticity in language
teaching such as Taylor (1994), Widdowson (1996), Michael Breen (1985). Among these
authors, McDonough and Shaw (1993) have provided the most generalized idea that
authenticity is much defined with the selection of the materials, the activities and methods
teachers use in the classroom. They describe authenticity as the following:
“…. a term which loosely implies as close an approximation as possible to the world
outside the classroom, in the selection both of language material and of the activities and
methods used for practice in the classroom” (cited in Murdoch, 1999).
Authenticity appears to be naturally associated with CLT. According to Richards and
Rodgers (1986: 69), CLT is promoted as an approach to language teaching which supports the
development of learners‟ abilities to use language fluently and meaningfully. Thus, real
communication is considered not only the goal of language teaching but also the tool helping
teachers to achieve the aim.
These authors also stress one of the features of CLT as "learner-centeredness view of
second language teaching". This means that teachers need to create a learner-centered
classroom and engage learners in authentic and meaningful communications that require
meaning negotiations, with the goal to increase comprehensible language input for learners
and expect them to generate more output. In order to do so, teachers should develop methods,
exploit materials, organize activities, and design tasks based on learners' demonstrated needs
of a particular class.
Especially, CLT emphasizes the use of authentic materials in teaching language
(Widdowson, 1996). Authentic materials give learners the opportunity to respond to genuine
communicative needs in real-life situations. This is to help learners develop strategies for
understanding language as actually used by native speakers (Canale and Swain, 1980).

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According to Michael Breen (1985: 61), known for his theories on authenticity, there
are four types of authenticity within the classroom that have been identified and the strong
emphasis is on the use of authentic texts:
(1)

Authenticity of the texts that we may use as input data for learners. If the input
is not comprehended, regardless of how applicable and adaptable it is, it
appears to serve no purpose to the learners.

(2)

Authenticity of the learner‟s own interpretations of texts. The question arising
is whether s/he understands the material as it was meant to be understood. If
so, the material is authentic to the learner regardless of its origin.

(3)

Authenticity of tasks conductive to language learning. Tasks should be suitable
for the students‟ cognitive and linguistic competence and the steps to do the
tasks should be staged properly

(4)

Authenticity of actual social situation of the classroom language. It means that
the contexts teachers create in conjunction with materials have to be relevant.

Regarding the four types identified by Breen, authenticity can therefore be considered
the interaction between the reader and the discourse, not just the text in itself. Davies (1984:

192) states, “It is not that a text is understood because it is authentic but that it is authentic
because it is understood. …Everything the learner understands is authentic for him”. Using
authentic texts in teaching English effectively requires teachers‟ attempts in localizing,
contextualizing the tasks as well as providing learners with pedagogical support so that these
materials can meet the objectives of the lesson as well as learners‟ need and result in the
highest effectiveness of language learning.
1.1.2. Authentic materials
1.1.2.1. Definitions
Reviewing literature, it is clear that authors tend to be in a consensus in defining
authentic materials. Nunan (1988: 99-102) provides the conventional definition of authentic
texts like this: “Authentic materials are usually defined as those which have been produced
for purposes other than to teach language”, in contrast to non-authentic texts that are
especially designed for language purposes.


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Wallace (1992: 145) defines authentic materials as “…real-life texts, not written for
pedagogic purposes”; they are therefore designed for native speakers while not for language
students and they contain “real” language.
Little et al (1988: 17) also has the same opinion as these authors when he states that
authentic materials are “created to fulfill some social purposes in the language community in
which it was produced”. Similarly, Jordan (1997) refers to authentic texts as texts that are not
written for language teaching purposes.
Obviously, authentic materials are not produced for pedagogic purposes but they can
be and should be introduced into language classrooms generally to help bridge the gap
between classroom knowledge and “a student‟s capacities to participate in real world
events” (Wilkins 1976: 79)
1.1.2.2. Types of authentic materials
Authentic materials are print, video, and audio materials learners encounter in their
daily lives, such as job applications, menus, voice mail messages, radio programs, and videos,

etc. Authentic materials are not created specifically to be used in the classroom, but they
compliment language classes by enlivening the class, providing excellent learning tools for
learners, creating a more positive attitude toward learning and preparing learners for real
communication successfully and effectively.
Many authentic materials can be made use of in foreign language teaching. These
materials can be classified into five categories depending on their characteristics:
(1) Printed Materials: Newspaper articles, song lyrics, restaurant menus, tourist
information brochures, leaflets, receipts, etc.
(2) Audio Materials: Songs, speeches, talks, conversations, audio-taped short stories and
novels, etc.
(3) Visual Materials: Photographs, paintings, postcards, pictures, stamps, stick-figure
drawings, wordless street signs, wordless picture books, posters, etc.
(4) Audio- Visual Materials: documentaries, TV ads or broadcasts, quiz shows, cartoons,
movies, etc.


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(5) Realia (Real Objects): Masks, dolls, puppets, toys, etc.
( />Each of these types of authentic materials has certain benefits to certain kinds of
learners in certain contexts of teaching and learning. It goes beyond doubt that some of the
teachers in non- English speaking countries, to some extent, have ever used authentic
materials in their language teaching. However, whether incorporating these types of materials
into classrooms is effective or not greatly depends on the selection of materials. Therefore,
much attention must be paid to this aspect in order to make use of them to the full in language
teaching.
1.1.2.3. Criteria for selecting authentic materials
The sources of authentic materials that can be used in the classroom are infinite, but
the most common are newspapers, magazines, TV programs, movies, songs and Internet. For
the authentic materials to be effective, they should not be chosen randomly. There must be an
aim in using them and the chosen materials should meet the objectives of the lesson. Nuttal

(1996) gives three main criteria when selecting authentic materials to be used in the
classroom: suitability of content, exploitability and readability.


Suitability of content can be considered the most important of the three, in that
the materials should interest the students, motivate the students as well as be
relevant to their needs.



Exploitability means that the materials facilitate the development of language
skills in order to help the students become competent and independent learners.



Readability is used to describe the combination of structural and lexical
difficulty of a text, as well as refer to the amount of new vocabulary and any
new grammatical forms presented. It is important to assess the right linguistic
level for the right students.

Besides the three main criteria given, presentation also influences the effectiveness of
authentic materials. Whether the text appears authentic or not, depends much on how it is
presented to learners. The authentic presentation, by using pictures, diagrams, photographs,
etc helps put the text into the context. This helps learners understand not only the meaning of


16
the text better but also how it would be exploited. A more “attractive” text and interesting
ways of introducing it will appeal to learners, grab learners‟ attention and motivate them to
get engaged in the discovery and learning process.

Other factors worth taking into consideration when selecting authentic materials for
the classroom can include whether the text challenges the students‟ intelligence without
making unreasonable linguistic demands, the language reflects written or spoken usage, the
language in the text is natural or it has been distorted to include examples of particular
teaching points or to draw inferences in a particular context.
Above all, selecting authentic materials are supposed to make learners want to read or
listen for themselves, tell themselves something they do not know as well as to introduce new
and relevant ideas to them. Therefore, being aware of different types of authentic materials,
what these materials can offer and how to incorporate them into classrooms is very important
to every language teacher. When selected and used properly in the language environment,
authentic materials may have many benefits for both teachers and learners.
1.2. The use of authentic materials in the classroom.
1.2.1. Reasons for using authentic materials
Authenticity is felt to be significant because it offers learners a sense of the real world,
a chance to “rehearse‟ in a protected situation, hence the less authentic the materials we use,
the less preparation learners make for that real world (McGrath, 2002). Using authentic
materials in foreign language teaching has many advantages as follows:
First, authentic materials have a positive effect on learners‟ motivation. They engage
learners‟ attention in the language being taught. They have a high interest value because of
their relevance to the real world keeping learners informed about what is happening in the
world they live. Therefore, they have an intrinsic educational value (Martinez, 2002). Nuttall
(1996: 172) also states, “Authentic texts can be motivating because they are proof that the
language is used for real-life purposes by real people.”
Besides, a variety of text types and language styles of authentic materials also affect
learners‟ motivation positively. It is very difficult to find this variety in conventional teaching
materials, particularly in textbooks, which include only the proper and fluent language


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(Martinez, 2002). It also means that it is easier to find something in authentic materials that

will interest learners and may encourage them to read and enjoy reading since they are likely
to contain topics of interest to learners, especially if learners are given the chance to have a
say about the topics used in the class. As a result, learners will keep high motivation and
interest in language learning through these meaningful interactions with the materials.
Nunan (1999: 212) also supports:
“The use of authentic sources leads to greater interest and variety in the material that
learners deal with in the classroom. This authentic material helps bring the contact to life,
and ultimately makes learning and using language more meaningful, and, ultimately, easy for
students”
Second, authentic materials provide authentic cultural information. According to
Spelleri (2002), authentic materials have at least three layers of learning embedded within
them: language (the structure and vocabulary), cultural insights (cultural norms and values of
the community in which this language is used) and practical application (using the item in the
way it was intended). These layers motivate learners intrinsically because they have the
chance to enjoy both learning the language and the culture where this language is spoken and
putting what they have learned into practice as used in real world. In that way, they can
understand the value of learning a language.
Also, Shanahan (1997: 168) states:
“Cultural content [richly found in authentic materials] provides exposures to living
language that a foreign language student lacks. So, culture is not something consisting of
facts to be learnt, but a helpful tool to makes learners feel the need to speak and use the target
language.”
Third, authentic materials provide exposure to real life. Martinez (2000) points out
that using authentic materials is an ideal way to contextualize language learning. When used
in class, authentic materials provide learners with the chance to read, rehearse, practice and
use the language via the materials that they can see, examine, touch and listen to. Learners
can enjoy watching their favorite programs in English, following the lyrics of their favorite
songs, viewing the photographs of famous places in the world, participating in a quiz show,
etc. without going to the country where the language they learn is spoken. Spelleri (2002: 3)

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states that authentic materials can help “bridge the gap from the classroom lessons to real life
by making immediate use of classroom lessons in their lives”. Exposing learners to authentic
language can help them develop their predication skills and improve their strategies for
dealing with uncertainty in understanding or using target language.
Finally, authentic materials are available everywhere. A vast amount of materials can
be accessed on the Internet. Teachers can take these materials to the class, integrate the
technology into the class, or even cooperate with learners to access them on the Internet right
in the classroom. Moreover, newspapers and magazines in English are available in the
newsagent‟s and music CDs, movies, documentaries, in the books and music stores. When
putting different types of authentic materials into lessons, teachers can enliven his or her class
with the materials rich in content.
These are the reasons that can make teachers and learners excited and be willing to use
authentic materials in the classrooms, but while using them, it is inevitable that they face
some problems.
1. 2.2. Possible problems in using authentic materials
Despite the above mentioned advantages, several problems should be taken into
consideration while using authentic materials.
The first problem is the complexity of the language. Authentic materials may be too
linguistically difficult for learners to understand outside the language community, thereby
making them inaccessible to learners, especially to beginners or elementary learners. (Matinez
2002; Peacock, 1997). Authentic materials created purposefully for native speakers may
contain unnecessary or/and inappropriate structures and vocabulary items for teaching and
learning a language, which may impose a burden on learners, especially those in lower-level
classes when decoding the texts. As a result, learners might become less motivated, or even
develop negative attitudes towards these kinds of materials (Richards 2001: 253; Matinez
2002; Peacock, 1997)
The second problem may be caused by the too culturally biased content of the
authentic materials (Matinez, 2002). Prepared for native speakers in a specific language

community, some authentic materials can only be understood with readers‟ good cultural


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background. This may discourage both teachers and learners from using authentic materials in
language teaching and learning.
The third problem is that obtaining and adapting authentic materials can be timeconsuming. Teachers may need to spend hours and hours selecting and preparing these
materials until they finally have what they need and figure out how to use them effectively in
the classroom. What‟s more, since these materials can become outdated easily, such as stories,
news in newspapers or magazines, updating new materials to fit learners‟ needs and interest is
considered to be so time-consuming. (Matinez 2002; Peacock, 1997)
Another weakness of using authentic materials may come out when students learn a
language for the sole purpose of getting success in an examination that focuses largely on the
knowledge of a language such as grammatical structures or/and lexical items. This problem
obviously has a negative impact on developing learners‟ language skills. In fact, if learners
are presented with authentic texts that may not give the rules, patterns, or structures they need
in order to pass an exam, they may get frustrated and consider them as an obstacle to their
success. It even becomes worse if the wrong type of text is chosen with linguistic demands
irrelevant to learners‟ needs and interest (Murdoch, 1999)
For these reasons, some teachers may be discouraged from gathering and adapting
authentic materials for their learners. However, regardless of the possible problems, using
authentic materials may result in the effectiveness in teaching and learning a foreign language
on condition that teachers are enthusiastic and know how to take advantage of the benefits and
use them properly and effectively.


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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
This chapter is intended to define the methodology of the research including features
of the participants, research settings, research instruments, data collection and data analysis

procedures.
2.1. Participants
2.1.1 Students
Although the research focused on teachers‟ job in using authentic materials in teaching
English, students play a no-less-important role as direct beneficiaries, observers and
evaluators of the process. They were primarily selected to do the questionnaire. The number
of students participating in the research was 90. All of them were from three English
specializing classes ranging from grade 10 to grade 12; therefore, their level of proficiency is
comparatively high. Besides, it seems that in the area of learning foreign language, the
number of female students is much bigger than that of male ones. In the study, the former
accounted for approximately 95% whereas the latter made up only 5%. All of them had been
learning English for at least 5 years. Their average score in the previous term ranged from
good (grade over 8.0), fairly good (grade from 6.5 to 7.9) to average & weak (grade below
6.5), which reflected the difference in English competence of the students. These students
were categorized according to their grades & GPA (grade point average). Detailed
information could be seen in the table below:
Table 1: Summary of selected students
Grade

Number of

Gender

Average Score

students

Male

Female

< 6. 5

6. 5 ->7. 9

> 8. 0

10 English

30

1

29

3

14

13

11 English

30

2

28

7

11

12

12 English

30

2

28

7

8

15

Total

90

5

85

17

33

40


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2.1.2. Teachers
Since teachers are core subjects of this research, they were deliberately chosen for the
interview session. Five teachers of English (four female and one male), aged from 29 to 49, at
Bac Giang High School for Gifted Students were invited to share their opinion and experience
on the investigated issue. All the teachers were chosen from English specializing classes
where the researcher carried out the questionnaire survey with their students beforehand. Of
the five teachers interviewed, one of them has an M.A. and four of them have an B.A. in
English teaching methodology; one of them has been teaching for 5 years and the rest have
more than 10-year teaching experience. All of them have been teaching English in urban areas
for many years.
Although five was not a very big number compared to the scope of the study, this
quantity hardly affected the richness and depth of information. The researcher benefited from
this selection in the way that he could listen to students‟ opinion and then further verify it with
their own teachers. In other words, double-checking was one technique which could be
employed to enhance the reliability of the research.
2.2. Research settings
The study was carried out at Bac Giang High School for Gifted Students. As the case
in majority of high schools nationwide, English is not only a compulsory subject but also a
largely chosen foreign language among students here. The new emphasis on English resulted
from the fact that for the past few years, the new social and economic settings in Vietnam
have increased the demand for English-speaking people who are expected to be competent to
communicate verbally with the outside world and to access technology (Le, 1999). One
remarkable sign of the implementation of CLT is the introduction of the newly edited
textbook for grade -10 students in 2006 nationwide. At Bac Giang High School for Gifted
Students, no longer are students oriented to focus on traditional targets namely vocabulary,

grammar and pronunciation. Instead, under CLT approach, they have to gradually master four
macro skills including speaking, reading, listening and writing. To satisfy this need, we
should provide more creative, different and effective teaching-learning strategies in and out of
class.


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One of the ways to achieve better proficiency in English is to establish a natural
learning environment and to use authentic materials in the classroom. However, these
praiseworthy objectives can hardly be achieved when a large number of teachers and students
still maintain the traditional learning and teaching habits and styles of passiveness.
Besides, it should be noted that there are typical features in Bac Giang High School
for Gifted Students including geographical locations, level of specialization in English. Bac
Giang High School for Gifted Students is the top foreign language specialized school in Bac
Giang, which is located in downtown. However, teaching and learning facilities are far from
standard and have never met the teachers & students‟ satisfaction. To make up for teaching
and learning conditions, we have good students who, in order to be admitted to an Englishspecializing class in this school, must take a hard entrance examination in English and thus
ensure a relatively high linguistic competence. These students study not only for the regular
exams nationally but also for a special exam for top students held for all the specializing high
schools in Vietnam every year.
Therefore, teaching methods, materials and activities are gradually altered to achieve
the highest results. Among them, materials used in the classroom take an important role and
have been paid much attention to recently. Besides the textbooks, which are mainly used,
authentic materials are put into practice as supplementary ones to improve students‟ language
proficiency.
However, some challenges have been revealed when authentic materials are put in use,
which draw much attention of the teachers in charge. In order to use authentic materials
effectively, many things should be taken into consideration including both technical
adaptation and supportive attitudes of teachers, learners and education managers.
Thus, in this context, the research was conducted with the hope that the research could

suggest possible solutions to the problems so that authentic materials can be used the most
successfully in the classroom.


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2.3. Research methods
In this study, questionnaire, interview and classroom observation were fully employed.
The combination of these three instruments was expected to triangulate and thus generate
valid and reliable data.
2.3.1. Student Questionnaire (See Appendix 1)
The first data collection method was questionnaire delivered to students. This tool was
widely used in primary research. Wilson and Mc Lean (1994, as cited in Cohen, Manion and
Morrison, 2000: 245) appreciated questionnaire for its outstanding merits including
“providing structured, numerical data, being able to be administered without the presence of
the researcher, and often straightforward to be analyzed”. The advantages of questionnaire
were also recognized by Mackey and Gass (2005: 94) as “being economical and practical
than individual interviews” as “questionnaires in many cases elicit longitudinal information
from learners in a short period of time.”
In this research context, the questionnaire consisted of two main parts. Part 1 collected
the learners‟ personal information (years of learning English, grade and English score of the
previous term). Part 2 was the main content of the questionnaire that was used to deliberately
find the answers to the research questions such as the teachers‟ employment of authentic
materials, the effectiveness of the work, difficulties, and some suggestions. In order to get
sincere opinions and objective assessment, the questionnaire was carefully designed with a
brief overview of the study, the purpose of conducting the survey and a desire for cooperation
from respondents. The researcher also emphasized the confidentiality of the shared
information. In the main part, questions were mostly of three main types namely multiple
choices, table grading, and open-ended questions. As for the language, in order to make it
easy for students to understand, the questionnaire did not consist of difficult terminology.
In short, to maximize the effectiveness of the questionnaire, the researcher attempted

to design it as carefully as possible in terms of both appearance and content.


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2.3.2. Teacher Interview (See Appendix 2 and 3)
To gather more information and crosscheck data collected from the questionnaire
about using authentic materials in teaching and learning English, five teachers of English in
Bac Giang High School for Gifted Students were interviewed. Justification for this tool of
research lies in the fact that interview is a tool helping the researcher explore opinions and
feelings to find out insightful and valuable information that can hardly be revealed in a
questionnaire or just by observation (Gillham, 2000).
The interview employed to seek opinions of the teachers consisted of two parts. The
first part sought answers to the first two research questions focusing on how authentic
materials were used as supplementary ones, and the effectiveness of authentic materials in
English learning and teaching. The second part helped the researcher find out problems and
suggestions in using authentic materials that were raised in the last two research questions.
As can be seen, the choice of interviews conducted among teachers along with
questionnaires and class observation gave the researcher a comprehensive look at the issue,
which helped work out the satisfactory answers to the four research questions.
2.3.3 Classroom observation (See Appendix 4)
Since the research is on a practical issue, classroom observation was regarded as an
effective tool to verify the results obtained through questionnaires and interviews. Cohen,
Manion and Morrison (2000: 305) claimed, “Observational data are attractive as they afford
the researcher the opportunity to gather „live‟ data from „live‟ situations”. This merit is
particularly significant in a research where both questionnaires and interviews are also
included. With the use of “over time and repeated observation, the researcher can gain a
deeper and more multilayered understanding of the participants and their content” (Mackey
and Gass 2005: 176).
In the study, the researcher attended three lessons in three English specializing classes
where he carried out the questionnaire survey with the students beforehand. During the

observation, the researcher played the role of a non- participant observer who performed three
main tasks including observing, recording and completing the checklists to support the
answers to the four research questions of the study.


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In conclusion, the combination of the three most common tools namely questionnaire,
interview and classroom observation brought to the researcher a rich amount of valid and
reliable data, the analysis of which would be presented in the next chapter.
2.4. Data collection procedure
To collect data for the study, the researcher did undergo two steps as follows.
Step 1:
Student questionnaires were issued first. Creating good rapports with the participants
and directly monitoring the process of students‟ doing questionnaires helped the researcher
collect 90 from 90 issued copies. Afterwards, five interviews were conducted face to face
with selected teachers of English. Similar to the structures of the questionnaires, every
interview was initiated by a session of sharing personal information, followed by the core
content. While interviewing, the researcher tried the best to take notes and tape-record the
content under the interviewees‟ permission. At times, unclear points were clarified to ensure
the quantity and quality of the collected data. During the interview, the researcher tried to be
flexible in asking supplementary questions to obtain a deeper layer of information.
Step 2:
Classroom observation was conducted in three lessons, the choice of which was not
determined by the researcher himself but on permission. Before the date of observation, a
checklist was drafted to make the observation more oriented and focused. Due to several
external obstacles, the researcher was permitted to attend only three lessons: one at the 10th
grade (Unit 12: Lesson 2: Listening), one at the 11th grade (Unit 13: Lesson 1, Reading), and
the other at the 12th Unit 4 (lesson 3, Speaking skill). The lessons were observed, recorded
and the checklists were completed so that the analysis became more convenient and precise.
2.5. Data analysis procedure

Based on the results of 90 returned questionnaires, the researcher began to classify,
synthesize and report data. To make the analysis comprehensible, answers to every question
were transferred into tables first, followed by a detailed explanation. Interviews were


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transcribed, analyzed and integrated into the presentation of questionnaire results so that
readers could have a better understanding of the situations.
Regarding classroom observation, the researcher made a thorough analysis on the
observation details recorded from the three lessons. The results then were compared with
those of the questionnaires and interviews.
To sum up, this chapter has clarified major characteristics of participants and settings
of the research. Later on, thorough descriptions of data collection instruments, procedure and
data analysis procedure were also provided.


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CHAPTER 3: RESULTS
This chapter is going to present and discuss the data obtained from the three employed
instruments namely survey questionnaire, interview and classroom observation, which gives
comprehensive answers to the four research questions. Afterwards, based on the findings, the
researcher works out pedagogical implications that might benefit all the concerned.
3.1. Data description and analysis
3.1.1. Research question 1: How are authentic materials used as supplementary
materials for English learning and teaching?
The researcher investigated three major aspects of the issue, namely the frequency of
using authentic materials, types of authentic materials used and the language skills developed
when teachers use authentic materials to teach English in the classroom. The results can be
seen as follows.


Student questionnaire results
Question 1: The 1st question asked the students how frequently their teachers use

authentic materials to teach English in the classroom.
Table 2: Authentic materials and frequency
Frequency

Never

Rarely

Sometimes

Often

Always

10

0 (0%)

5 (16.7%)

21 (70%)

4 (13.3%)

0 (0%)

11

0 (0%)

0 (0%)

19 (63.3%)

11 (36.7%)

0 (0%)

12

0 (0%)

9 (30%)

21 (70%)

0 (0%)

0 (0%)

Grade

As shown in table 2, all of the students said that their teachers did use authentic
materials to teach English in the classroom. However, the frequency of using them was not
very high (mostly sometimes) and differed considerably in each grade. Authentic materials
were said to be the most often used in the 11th grade.