Nghiên cứu giao văn hóa việt mỹ về hành vi giao tiếp của giáo viên và sinh viên trong giờ học tại trường đại học

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

A VIETNAMESE – AMERICAN INTERCULTURAL
STUDY ON EXPECTED BEHAVIORS OF TEACHERS
AND STUDENTS IN A LECTURE AT UNIVERSITY

Supervisor: Dao Thu Trang, M.A
Student: Nguyen Thu Huyen
Course: QH2008

HA NOI - 2012


ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

NGHIÊN CỨU GIAO VĂN HÓA VIỆT – MỸ
VỀ HÀNH VI GIAO TIẾP
CỦA GIÁO VIÊN VÀ SINH VIÊN TRONG GIỜ HỌC
TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC

Người hướng dẫn: Thạc sĩ Đào Thu Trang
Sinh viên: Nguyễn Thu Huyền
Khóa: QH2008

HÀ NỘI – NĂM 2012


ACCEPTANCE
I hereby state that I: Nguyễn Thu Huyền from group 08E16, being a candidate
for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College
relating to the retention and use of Bachelor‟s Graduation Paper deposited in the
library.
In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the
library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance
with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or
reproduction of the paper.
Signature

i


ACKNOWLEGEMENT
First and foremost, my sincere appreciation is extended to my supervisor, Ms.
Dao Thu Trang, for her precious guidance and valuable advice, without her support, I
could not have fulfilled this study. I am very grateful for her sympathy and patience
during the time I carry out my paper.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my thankfulness to Mr. Long,
Ms. Duong Thi Hieu from FELTE, ULIS, Ms. Nguyen Phuong Lan from Houston
Community College, Ms. Ha Linh Van from Linfield College, USA, for their
cooperation in my data collecting procedure. I also want to say a special thank to Ms.
Nguyen Ngoc Diep for her valuable advice on research methodology.
My special thanks go to the informants, both Vietnamese and American, from
University of Languages and International Studies (Vietnam), Houston Community

College, Linfield College and COE College, USA, who were willing to help me with
the questionnaires. Had it not been for their help, I could not accomplish this study.
My paper is dedicated to my family and my friends, who always stay by my
side, support me by everything they have without any conditions. Thanks to them, I
have the strength and determination to go to the end of this long challenging journey.
Hanoi, May 2012
Nguyễn Thu Huyền

ii


ABSTRACT
This study aims at comparing verbal and nonverbal behaviors of teachers and
students during a lecture to find out both similarities and differences coming from
Vietnamese teachers and students at a lecture using English. These similarities and
differences are seen and explained in the light of culture to see at which level Anglo
culture affects teaching and learning English at Faculty of English Language Teacher
Education, ULIS, VNU.
The main instruments of data collection are questionnaire. The author of the
study takes informants’ social parameters such as age, living area, years of teaching or
learning into consideration.
In addition to the similarities and differences, it is revealed in this study that
Vietnamese teachers have created an adequate English-like environment for their
students as well.

iii


TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE

Acknowledgement ........................................................................................................... ii
Abstract ...........................................................................................................................iii
List of figures, charts and tables .................................................................................... vii

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale for the study .............................................................................................. 1
1.2. Objectives of the study ............................................................................................. 2
1.3. Significance of the study .......................................................................................... 2
1.4. Scope of the study..................................................................................................... 3
1.5. Organization ............................................................................................................. 3

CHAPTER 2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
2.1. Culture
2.1.1. Definition ........................................................................................................ 5
2.1.2. Components of culture .................................................................................... 6
2.2. Communication
2.2.1. Definition ........................................................................................................ 7
2.2.2. Classification of communication .................................................................... 8
2.3. Intercultural communication ................................................................................... 10
2.4. Verbal Communication
2.4.1. Definition ...................................................................................................... 10
2.4.2. Classification of verbal communication ....................................................... 11
2.5. Nonverbal Communication
2.5.1. Definition ...................................................................................................... 11
2.5.2. Classification of nonverbal communication ................................................. 12

iv


2.5.3. Characteristics of nonverbal communication ............................................... 12

2.6. Common behaviors by teachers and students in a lecture
2.6.1. Verbal behaviors
2.6.1.1. Small talk ............................................................................................ 13
2.6.1.2. Questions uses..................................................................................... 14
2.6.1.3. Chunks and idioms ............................................................................. 16
2.6.1.4. Preferred and dispreferred expressions ............................................... 17
2.6.2. Nonverbal behaviors
2.6.2.1. Body language .................................................................................... 17
2.6.2.2. Environmental language ..................................................................... 19

CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY
3.1. Participants ............................................................................................................. 21
3.2. Data collection instrument ...................................................................................... 21
3.3. Procedures of data collection .................................................................................. 22
3.4. Procedures of data analysis ..................................................................................... 23

CHAPTER 4. RESULT AND ANALYSIS
4.1. What are verbal cues used during a lecture by Vietnamese teachers and American
teachers? ........................................................................................................................ 24
4.1.1. Before lecturing ............................................................................................ 24
4.1.2. While lecturing ............................................................................................. 26
4.1.2.1. Raising questions ................................................................................ 26
4.1.2.2. Using idioms and chunks .................................................................... 29
4.1.2.3. Preferred and dispreferred expressions ............................................... 30
4.2. What are the similarities and differences in using head movements by Vietnamese
teachers and American teachers? ................................................................................... 31

v

4.3. What are the similarities and differences in the uses of facial expressions by
Vietnamese teachers and American teachers? ............................................................... 32
4.4. What are the similarities and differences in the uses of gestures by Vietnamese
teachers and American teachers? ................................................................................... 33
4.5. What are the similarities and differences in the uses of distance during lecture by
Vietnamese teachers and American teachers? ............................................................... 34
4.6. What are the students’ inappropriate behaviors during a lecture and teacher’s
reaction? ......................................................................................................................... 35

CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION
5.1. Summary ................................................................................................................. 39
5.2. Limitation of the study and suggestion for further study ....................................... 41

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................ 42
APPENDICES
Appendix 1. Questionnaire for teachers on expected behaviors during a lecture ......... 44
Appendix 2. Questionnaire for students on expected behaviors during a lecture ......... 47

vi


LIST OF FIGURES, CHARTS AND TABLES
Figure 1. Iceberg of culture ............................................................................................. 7
Figure 2. The elements of Communication ..................................................................... 8
Figure 3. Classification of Communication (by Nguyen Quang) .................................... 9
Figure 4. Model of a classroom ..................................................................................... 20

Chart 1. Frequency of using small talk ......................................................................... 25
Chart 2. Topics of small talk ......................................................................................... 25
Chart 3. Teacher’s frequency of raising questions ........................................................ 26

Chart 4. Frequently used questions by teachers ............................................................ 27
Chart 5. Students’ responses towards teacher’s questions ............................................ 28
Chart 6. Frequency of using idioms and chunks ........................................................... 29
Chart 7. Frequency of using head movements .............................................................. 31
Chart 8. Common nonverbal cues of teachers in class .................................................. 32
Chart 9. Appropriate distance applied by teachers ........................................................ 34
Chart 10. Teacher’s positions while lecturing ............................................................... 35
Chart 11. Students’ inappropriate nonverbal behaviors in class ................................... 36
Chart 12. Teacher’s reactions on dissatisfaction ........................................................... 37
Table 1. Verbal expressions when teachers are satisfied or dissatisfied with students’
answers .......................................................................................................................... 30
Table 2. Italian hand gestures ........................................................................................ 33
Table 3. Frequency of changing distance ...................................................................... 34
Table 4. Frequency of frowning by teachers ................................................................. 38

vii


CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Rationale for the study
Despite the on-going debate whether or not English should be the international
language, English language is proving its irreplaceable position in global
communication, mostly due to the globalization. More and more countries in the world
consider English as their second language, or even their mother tongue. Going far
beyond its nature – being a language of a number of specific countries such as Britain,
the United States of America and Australia – to many nations, from Asia to Europe
and Latin-America continent, English is regarded as a tool to achieve successes in
every field in life. Due to the trend of globalization, English language becomes the
common means of communication across borders. As a result, the demand for learning

English has grown continuously in recent decades. Vietnam is not an exception.
As regards communicative behaviors, there are two outstanding aspects that the
researcher would like to mention: verbal and non-verbal behaviors. According to the
social anthropologist Edward, 60% of all our communication is nonverbal. In
“Emotional Intelligence”, Bartam also states that 90% of our emotions are expressed
nonverbally. What could be interpreted from these statistics is that nonverbal
communication plays a very important role in communication, and to a certain extent,
it conveys more intended meanings than verbal behaviors. However, at a lecture, the
author believes that verbal and non-verbal behaviors play equal roles.
In the past few years, when English has not become familiar in Vietnam yet,
teachers of English themselves were not provided with enough learning equipments
and materials. Consequently, they could not create a good enough study environment
for students. This partially leads to the fact that Vietnamese students may master
English in terms of grammar, lexis, phonology, but have a lot of difficulties
communicating in English. What’s more, for most of students who study abroad, they
have to face and deal a huge number of culture shocks, which they are not taught when

1


they are at home. Vietnamese teachers nowadays, who teach English in every level,
pay more and more attention in another main target of teaching and learning English,
which is communicative English. Therefore, they are trying harder to create an
English-like environment for their students, from verbal behaviors to non-verbal
behaviors at a lecture. They are providing their students with not only knowledge on
English language but also building background knowledge on English-speaking
countries’ cultures in order to help students be confident when encountering culture
shock. As hard as they try, some differences still maintain in English class. When
carrying out this paper, the researcher intends to find out both similarities and
differences coming from Vietnamese teachers and students at a lecture using English.

They will be seen in the light of culture to see at which level American culture affects
teaching and learning English at Faculty of English Language Teacher Education,
University of Languages and International Studies.

1.2. Objectives of the study
This paper aims at:


Investigate the differences and similarities of verbal and non-verbal behaviors
of teacher and students during a lecture at university in America and Vietnam.



Explain the cultural factors resulting in these differences (if any).



Raise awareness of these cross-cultural differences for Vietnamese students to
avoid culture shock while attending lectures at American universities/colleges.

1.3. Significance of the study
When looking for materials on the library, the researcher realized that most of
graduation papers in this field related to nonverbal behaviors of teachers and students.
However, concerning teaching and learning activities during a lecture, the researcher
believes that verbal and nonverbal behaviors play equal roles, and verbal behaviors
also present cultural values, or are influenced by cultural factors. For example, unlike

2

Vietnamese students, who always hesitate to raise their questions, American students
do not. This problem can be more serious for those who study abroad. Divergence in
language and hesitation will make them fall behind other native students. Doing this
work, the author would like to raise English learners’ awareness on both verbal and
nonverbal behaviors at a lecture. As they get used to them, they will find it easy to fit
in a different culture.

1.4. Scope of the study
In this study, generally, the researcher aims at figuring out differences in both
verbal and nonverbal behaviors of teachers and students during a lecture in Vietnam
and the USA, with the hope that those differences will reflect some outstanding
cultural aspects of the two countries. In addition, these differences will reveal how
cultural factors influence English teaching and learning process of teachers and
students at Faculty of English Language Teacher Education, University of Languages
and International Studies.
Participants are both American and Vietnamese teachers and students. In terms
of Vietnamese and American teachers, as well as American students, the author will
not take factors such as ages and genders into consideration. In terms of Vietnamese
students, the author carries out this research on first year and second year students,
who are new to university environment in general and English-like environment at
Faculty of English Language Teacher Education in particular.

1.5 Organization
The paper consists of five chapters:
Chapter 1 – Introduction: contains the research’s rationale, objectives, significance and
the scope of the study.
Chapter 2 – Theoretical background: contains the theoretical background for the
research.

3

Chapter 3 – Methodology: mentions methods that the author has used and the
procedures that the author has followed.
Chapter 4 – Results and analysis: discusses the answer to the research questions.
Chapter 5 – Conclusion: summarizes the research and discusses the limitation.

4


CHAPTER 2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1. Culture
2.1.1. Definition
The term “culture” is widely used in daily life; however, not many people can
define what exactly it is. Many researchers have defined this term in many ways, but
once again, it is quite difficult to judge which definition is the most appropriate.
Vereschagin & Kostomarov (1990) think that “culture” is seen as a social
phenomenon, which consists of both material and spiritual values. In other words,
there are two categories of culture: “tangible culture” (architectural buildings,
costumes, cuisine, etc.) and “invisible culture” (folk songs, festivals, etc.).
Having nearly the same idea with Vereschagin, Nguyen Quang points out that
“culture is non-natural” (Nguyen Quang, 1998), it is a social phenomenon which has
a strong attachment to history of human’s development. In addition, it is not a set of
fixed rules that requires all member of a society to obey strictly but rather is
“commonly observed patterns” and they are different from society to society, always
changing from time to time, generations to generations.
According to Levine and Adelman (1993), “culture is a shared background (for
example, national, ethnic, religious) resulting from a common language and
communication style, customs, beliefs, attitudes and value”, cited in Introduction to

Cross Cultural Communication (edited and compiled by Thanh & Trang).
Two definitions of Vereschagin & Kostomarov and Levin & Adelman
emphasize on the components of culture, while some other definitions mention
“culture” in terms of its function in society. For example, when defining the notion of
culture, Goodenough affirms: “Culture is a sort of knowledge which everyone must
possess to function within a society”, cited in Introduction to Cross Cultural
Communication (edited and compiled by Thanh & Trang). For this point of view, Gary

5


Ferrando (1996) also says “culture is everything that people have, think and do as a
member of a society”.
Some researchers define “culture” as “human’s behaviors”. One of the typical
definitions of “culture” related to human’s behaviors is Clinfford Geertz’s (1973), in
which culture is:
a.

The total way of life of a person.

b.

The social legacy that individual acquires from his group.

c.

The way of thinking, feeling and believing.

d.

An abstraction from behavior.

e.

A theory on the part of the anthropologist about the way in which a group of
people in fact behave.

f.

A store house of pooled learning.

g.

A set of standardized orientation, to recurrent problems.

h.

Learned behavior.

i.

A mechanism for the normative of behavior.

j.

A set of techniques for adjusting both of the external environment, to other men.

k.

A precipitate of history.

l.

A behavior map, sieve, matrix.

(Adapted from Do Mai Thanh & Dao Thu Trang, Introduction to cross cultural
communication, 2006, page 4)
John H. Bodley sees “culture” in eight aspects: topic, history, behavior,
normality, function, mental, structure and symbol.
As there are many definitions of “culture”, the writer decided to use the
definition and ideas of culture of Levin and Adelman (1993), with the supplementation
of Nguyen Quang’s ideas.
2.1.2. Components of culture
Levin and Adelman (1993) illustrate the components of cultures in a model of
an iceberg. The floating part includes language, food and appearance. The hidden part,

6


accounting for the vast majority of the iceberg, includes communication style, beliefs,
attitudes, values, and perceptions.

Figure 1. Iceberg of culture

2.2. Communication
2.2.1. Definition
Similar to the term “culture”, there are many definitions of “communication”.
Verderber R. & Verderber K. state in Communicate! (12th edition) that:
“Communication is the process of creating or sharing meaning in informal
conversation, group interaction, or public speaking”. The researcher thinks that this

definition is not adequate, as it cannot cover all situations where communication
occurs. Whereas, Hybels S. and Weaver R. (Communicating effectively, 3rd edition,
McGraw Hill Inc.) have a more general definition, which is: “Communication is any
process in which people share information, ideas and feelings”. Levine and Adelman
have their own way of defining communication, in which classified “communication”

7


into two sub-categories: “Communication is the process of sharing meaning through
verbal and non-verbal behavior”. It can be seen that even though each researcher has
his/her own interpretation of the same term, one thing in common is that all of them
consider communication as the process of sharing information using verbal and
nonverbal behaviors. The elements of communication can be illustrated as the
following figure:

Figure 2. The elements of Communication
(Adapted from Saundra & Richard, Communicating effectively, 3rd edition, page 7)
2.2.2. Classification of communication
As communication is a process of sharing information using verbal and nonverbal behaviors, communication is put into two sub-categories. This following chart
on communication classification is suggested by Nguyen Quang:

8


COMMUNICATION

Verbal
Communication

Nonverbal
Communication

Intralanguage

- Vocabulary
- Grammatical rules
- Phonetic rules
- Rules of language use
…

Body language
(Action)

- Eye contact
- Facial expressions
- Gestures
- Postures
- Touch/Haptics/Tactile
…

Paralanguage

Extralanguage

- Vocal characteristics
+ Pitch
+ Volume
+ Rate
+ Vocal quality

+ Types of vocal flow
- Vocal interferences
- Silence
…

Object language
(Artifacts)

- Clothing
- Jewellery
- Make-up
- Artificial scents
- Flowers
- Gifts…

Environmental language

- Setting
- Conversational
distance/Proxemics
- Time
- Lighting system
- Color
- Heat…

Figure 3. Classification of Communication (by Nguyen Quang)
In this paper, the researcher is going to discuss some parts of verbal
communication and nonverbal communication.

9

2.3. Intercultural communication
People find it not too difficult communicating with other people when they
belong to the same culture. As people are in the same culture, they share the same
beliefs, values, attitudes, reaction and responses to each other. Therefore, they
understand and tolerate with each other.
However, people from different cultures have different cultural beliefs, values,
attitudes and behaviors (in a particular situation). In cross-cultural communication,
people from one culture tend to judge things in another culture basing on their own
cultural beliefs and values, but not from the perspectives of the culture they are in. The
truth is, people from one culture may not interpret meanings in the same way as people
from the other culture, or their behaviors are not appropriate when communicating.
This kind of communication is called Intercultural communication, which is the
communication between people from different cultures.

2.4. Verbal Communication
2.4.1. Definition
Verbal communication is the kind of communication that uses language to
share meanings. According to Verderber R. & Verderber K. (Communicate!, 12th
edition), “language is both a body of symbols (most commonly words) and the systems
for their use in messages that are common to the people of the same speech
community”. Like culture, language is also an outstanding feature of a community, and
it is different from community to community.
Culture has a strong influence on how words are used and interpreted. In some
countries like the United States and most northern European countries, where people
dignify directness, speakers say exactly what they want to say and the words they use
are very explicit. Meanwhile, in other countries, especial Asian countries, people
prefer speaking indirectly. Depending on specific situation, speakers choose suitable
words to express what they intend to say. Therefore, the language used is more general

10


and ambiguous. Proportionally, receivers also use context cues to interpret intended
meanings.
2.4.2. Classification of verbal communication
From the chart provided by Nguyen Quang, verbal communication consists of
intralinguistic elements such as vocabulary, grammatical rules, phonetic rules, rules of
language use, etc.
In this paper, the researcher would like to look into verbal uses in some certain
situations while teachers deliver lectures. For example, the verbal uses when they want
to express their attitudes towards students or to raise questions during class and some
common phrases that they utter. In short, in terms of verbal behaviors, the researcher
will focus on these following points:
- Using verbal cues to express attitudes or draw attention
- Using small talk
- Using questions, idioms, chunks during a lectures

2.5. Nonverbal Communication
According to some researches, a vast majority of message is transmitted nonverbally while only a tiny part of them was transmitted verbally. For example, Albert
Mehrabian found that the total impact of the message is 7% verbal (words only), 38%
vocal (tone of voice, inflections, and other sounds) and 55% nonverbal. It is a fact that
interpreting nonverbal actions is not always easy.
2.5.1. Definition
To quote Verderber R. and Verderber K. (Communicate!, 12th edition):
In the broadest sense, the term nonverbal communication is commonly used to
describe all human communication events that transcend spoken or written
words (Knapp & Hall, 2006). Specifically, nonverbal behaviors are those
bodily actions and vocal qualities that typically accompany a verbal message.

The behaviors are usually interpreted as intentional and have agreed
interpretations in a particular culture or speech community
(Burgoon&Hoobler, 2002, p. 244)

11


2.5.2. Classification of nonverbal communication
Different

theorists

have

their

own

ways

in

classifying

nonverbal

communication. Some of them only consider people’s actions. Meanwhile, some
others believe that nonverbal communication also refers to elements related to or
surrounding a conversation. Consequently, clothing, accessories, make-up, setting of
the place where the conversation taken place, conversational distance, time concepts,

etc., are also taken into account.
From Figure 2. Classification of Communication (by Nguyen Quang),
nonverbal communication consists of paralinguistic elements and extralinguistic
elements. Paralanguage concerns all dimension of vocal qualities (vocalics).
Extralanguage covers body language, object language and environment language.
In this paper, the researcher would like to look into nonverbal behaviors used in
some certain situations while teachers deliver lectures. In short, in terms of verbal
behaviors, the researcher will focus on these following points:
- Body language (kinesics): teacher’s nodding and shaking head (gestures),
teacher’s facial expressions (smiling, frowning, pouting lips).
- Environmental language: the use of distance during a lecture (proxemics)
2.5.3. Characteristics of nonverbal communication
Nonverbal communication has the following characteristics (based on
Verderber R. & Verderber K., Communicate!, 12th edition):
+ Nonverbal communication is “continuous”: even though you are intending to send
message verbally, you cannot control the fact that the receivers are, at the same time,
interpreting another message from your nonverbal behaviors while you are talking
face-to-face.
+ Nonverbal communication is “multichanneled”: When speaking, speakers produce
a series of nonverbal behaviors. Therefore, interpreting nonverbal message is the
summarization of all nonverbal behaviors that speakers produce.

12


+ Nonverbal communication is either “intentionally” or “unintentionally”: as
nonverbal behaviors are continuous, we often express some kinds of nonverbal
behaviors without control. For this reason, to a certain extent, messages coming from
nonverbal behaviors are likely more trustworthy than that verbally.
+ Nonverbal communication often leads to ambiguity: one nonverbal behavior may

have more than one meaning. So receivers can interpret it in different ways.
+ Nonverbal communication is “the primary conveyor of our emotions”: As 93% of
emotional meaning of messages are expressed through nonverbal behaviors, when
people talk to each other, they base their interpretation of speakers’ feelings, emotions
or attitudes much on nonverbal behaviors.

2.6. Common behaviors by teachers and students in a lecture
2.6.1. Verbal behaviors
Verbal behaviors used during a lecture are classified following stages of a
lecture, which are before-lecturing and while-lecturing stage. Concerning verbal
behaviors used by teachers and students during a lecture, the researcher mainly targets
four aspects listed below: small talk (as a tool to begin a lecture, i.e. it belongs to
“before-lecturing” stage), using questions, chunks and idioms, preferred and
dispreferred expressions. These three aspects belong to “while-lecturing” stage)
2.6.1.1. Small talk
According to Nguyen Quang (Intercultural Communication, 1998), small talk is
social casual conversation with others about unimportant topics or topics of common
interests. These topics can be discussed easily without knowing the others well. Small
talk helps people feel comfortable with each other, especially at the beginning of a
conversation. Therefore, small talk can be a good conversation starter. To Americans,
as well as Vietnamese people, small talk usually indicates friendliness verbally. Hence,
they often engage in a few minutes of talking about common harmless topics before
going to the main part of the conversation. However, topics of small talk are different

13


from American culture to Vietnamese culture. In other words, people from these two
cultures have different ideas of the notion of “common harmless topics”. In American
culture, some common topics that are safe to be talked about as topics of small talk are

weather, children, sports, work, personal tastes and current events. Beginning a
conversation with a person you do not know well by mentioning his/her income or
amount of money paid for something, class status or racial issue, personal’s age or
weight is not appropriate. In Vietnam, to a certain extent, some of above “sensitive
subjects” are acceptable. For example, when two women talk to each other, they can
ask about each other’s monthly income or how much is a piece of accessories that the
other is wearing. Class status and ethnic issue are seldom mentioned. Weight and age
are forbidden/sensitive subjects to women.
In terms of teaching methodology, modern teaching methodology requires
teachers to use different techniques before going to the lecture in order to create a
positive atmosphere among class (including both teacher and students) and motivate
students in their studying. Similar to daily communication, teacher nowadays uses
small talk to begin their lecture. This technique helps both teacher and students feel
comfortable with each other and may reduce the pressure of classes. In short, small
talk in class is seen as a tool to maintain communication between teacher and students
as well as a teaching strategy.
2.6.1.2. Questions uses
One among effective and useful ways to motivate students during class is
raising questions. Bloom (Bloom, et al., 1956) suggests “as teachers, we tend to ask
questions in the "knowledge" category 80% to 90% of the time. These questions are
not bad, but using them all the time is. Try to utilize higher order level of questions”
He divides questions into six categories in the light of purposes:
a. Knowledge:
Purposes: remembering, memorizing, recognizing, recalling, describing in one’s own
words.

14


Types of questions: who?, what?, when?, where?, how?

b. Comprehension
Purposes: Interpreting, translating from one medium to another, describing in one's
own words, organization and selection of facts and ideas, retell...
c. Application
Purposes: problem solving, applying information to produce some result, use of facts,
rules and principles
Types of questions: How is (...) an example of (...)?
How is (...) related to (...)?
Why is (...) significant?
d. Analysis
Purposes: subdividing something to show how it is put together, finding the underlying
structure of a communication, identifying motives, separation of a whole into
component parts
Types of questions: What are the parts or features of (...)?
Classify (...) according to (...) outline/diagram.
How does (...) compare/contrast with (...)?
What evidence can you list for (...)
e. Synthesis
Purpose: creating a unique, original product that may be in verbal form or may be a
physical object, combination of ideas to form a new whole.
Types of questions: What would you predict/infer from (...)?
What ideas can you add to (...)?
How would you create/design a new (...)?
What might happen if you combined (...)?
What solutions would you suggest for (...)?
f. Evaluation

15

Purposes: making value decisions about issues, resolving controversies or differences
of opinion, development of opinions, judgments or decisions
Types of questions: Do you agree that (...)?
What do you think about (...)?
What is the most important (...)?
Place the following in order of priority (...)
How would you decide about (...)?
What criteria would you use to assess (...)?
Another classification is made basing on structures of questions. In this paper,
the researcher only investigates three types of questions, which seem to be the most
frequently used questions in class. They are WH-questions, Yes/No questions and Tag
questions. These types of questions are seen to have purposes as Bloom defined.
2.6.1.3. Chunks and idioms
Verbal communication concerns with words and how they are used to make
senses or meanings. When an English word stands alone, it may have several
categorical meanings. When being combined with other word(s), words may have
another sense. Such phrases are kind of idioms. Besides, spoken language or the
language people use to communicate in daily life is different from words coming from
dictionaries. In fact, people utter in chunks. Chunk is defined as “a phrase or group of
words which can be learnt as a unit by somebody who is learning a language” (Oxford
Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary, 7th edition). In From Corpus to Class Room:
Language Use and Language Teaching, O’Keeffe and McCarthy point out that idioms
and chunks are often used in classroom. Therefore, by enriching the glossaries of
chunks and idioms, Vietnamese students can handle with difficulty in listening to
lectures. In this book, the authors also give some most frequently used chunks and
idioms. For example: chunks are “You know”, “I mean”, “I think”, “I don’t know”,
“You know what I mean”, “and things like that”, etc.; idioms are “figure sth out”,
“(not) make (any) sense”, “keep an eye on sth”, “piss sth off”, etc.

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