1 Vietnam national university, noi UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES - o0o - HỒ THỊ MỸ HẠNH TREATMENT OF CROSS-CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE TEACHING OF SPEAKING SKILL TO GRADE 12A1 STUDENTS OF ENGLISH IN NAM DAN HIGH SCHOOL IN NGHE AN PROVINCE Xử lý yếu tố giao văn hố dạy nói tiếng Anh cho học sinh lớp 12A1 Trường THPT Nam Đàn 1, tỉnh Nghệ An M.A MINOR - THESIS Field: Code: English linguistics 602215 HÀ NỘI, 2010 Vietnam national university, noi UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES - o0o - HỒ THỊ MỸ HẠNH TREATMENT OF CROSS-CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE TEACHING OF SPEAKING TO GRADE 12A1 STUDENTS OF ENGLISH IN NAM DAN HIGH SCHOOL IN NGHE AN PROVINCE Xử lý yếu tố giao văn hố dạy nói tiếng Anh cho học sinh lớp 12A1 Trường THPT Nam Đàn 1, tỉnh Nghệ An M.A MINOR - THESIS Field: Code: Supervisor: English linguistics 602215 Assoc Prof Dr Ngơ Đình Phương HÀ NỘI, 2010 TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION…………………………………………………………… … i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………… ……………… ii ABSTRACT………………………………………………….………………… iii TABLE OF CONTENT iv LIST OF TABLE .v LIST OF FIGURE iv PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale Aims of the study .2 Scope of the study Research questions Methods of the study Organization of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Literature review 1.1 The importance of cross- cultural knowledge in foreign language learning 1.1.1 Definitions of term “culture” and “cross-culture” 1.1.1.1 What is culture? 1.1.1.2 What is cross-culture? 1.1.2 The relationship between language and culture 1.2 Goals and objectives for treatment cross-cultural characteristics in English teaching 1.3 Some consideration in raising students` cross-cultural awareness when teaching English as Foreign language 1.4 Speaking skill and the position in E language teaching 1.4.1 Definition of speaking skill .12 1.4.2 The position of speaking skills in English language teaching 13 1.5 What types of culture should be taught in the foreign language classroom? 13 Chapter 2: The study 2.1 Situation analysis 2.1.1 Setting of the study 17 2.1.2 Participants and Classroom context 17 2.2 Data collecting instruments…………………………………………………………….18 2.3 Data analysis 2.3.1 The attitudes of the learners towards the target culture 2.3.1.1 Positive attitudes towards the target culture .18 2.3.1.2 Negative attitudes towards the target culture 20 2.3.2 The attitudes of the teachers and learners towards the importance of culture ELT 20 2.3.3 The attitudes of the learners and teachers towards cross-cultural characteristics in speaking skills 21 2.3.4 The students' evaluation on the applied culture teaching activities .24 2.3.5 Speaking as the best way of enhancing cross- cultural knowledge .25 2.3.6 The change in NDI students' test result after inserting and treating English cultureteaching activities into the teaching of speaking at NDI high school……………………… 25 2.4 Discussion of the findings …………………………………………………………… 27 Chapter 3: Suggestions for treatment cross-cultural characteristics into teaching of speaking in English to grade 12A1 students in Nam Dan I high school 3.1 Implications 3.1.1 To teachers .29 3.1.2 To students .31 3.2 Suggestions for treatment cross- cultural characteristics into teaching of speaking in English to grade 12A1 students in Nam Dan I high school 3.2.1 Teachers and students` sources in Nam Dan I high school for enriching crosscultural information 31 3.2.2 Activities for improving cross-culture teaching methods in NDI high school 32 PART C: CONCLUSIONS Recapitulation……………………………………………………………………… 36 Suggested issues for further research………………………………………………37 REFERENCES APPENDICES SUGGESTED LESSON PLANS LIST OF TABLE Table 1: Positive attitudes toward the target language .19 Table 2: Negative attitudes toward the target language 20 Table 3: The attitudes of the students toward the rank of skills in order of importance in learning speaking skill 21 Table 4: The attitudes of the teachers toward the rank of skills in order of importance in learning speaking skill 22 Table 5: The attitude of students toward the importance of speaking skill in enhancing cross-cultural knowledge 24 Table 6: The change in students` test result after treating English culture-teaching activities into the teaching of speaking skill 26 LIST OF FIGURE Figure 1: The students` perception of the role of culture in English learning 20 Figure 2: The attitudes of the students toward the rank of skills in order of importance in learning speaking skill 21 Figure 3: The attitudes of the teachers toward the rank of skills in order of importance in learning speaking skill 22 Figure 4: the attitudes of teachers and students toward influence of the difference between Vietnamese and English culture on their teaching and learning spoken English 23 Figure 5: The students` evaluation on the applied culture teaching activities 24 Figure 6: The change in students` test result after treating English culture-teaching activities into the teaching of speaking skill 26 10 PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale English, the most popular foreign language in Vietnam, has been taught from the early age (at the age of six or even younger) in most of schools throughout the country as a compulsory subject Thus, many Vietnamese, especially the young people, can speak English; however; not many of them have intelligible cultural knowledge Personally, I think that cultural gaps are one of the most important keys lead us to success in communicating genuinely and understanding the real world outside the classroom In order to use the language effectively, language teachers should realize that knowledge of the world's language and culture is increasingly important Language learners need to have mastery of not only the language itself but also the culture in which the language is used Therefore, it is suggested that language teachers should focus on the integration of culture in language classroom, which serves as a tool for helping students understand and appreciate other cultures Nowadays, in teaching and learning English as a foreign language in Vietnam, speaking has received a great deal of attention Nonetheless, English is learnt and taught in a non-native environment, students usually not have close contact with native speakers of English and have little opportunity to discover how these speakers think, feel, and interact with others That is the reason why they not feel confident enough to converse with English teachers or native speakers It proves everything clear that culture and language can not be separated and the teaching and learning of a foreign language should always be a culture- based course So as to improve student's communicative competence, teacher should insert cross- cultural knowledge into the learning and teaching of speaking skills From my teaching experience, cultural challenges in speaking-class have become a great source of inspiration for my thesis, which deals with the problem: "Treatment of cross-cultural characteristics in the teaching of speaking skill to grade 12A1 students of English." This study is, hence, to aim at treating cross-cultural characteristics into teaching of speaking in English for the teacher and students at Nam Dan I high school 11 Aims of the study The major aims of the study are as follows: - To investigate the teachers' and students' attitudes towards the importance of crosscultural knowledge to the learning of a foreign language - To find out the attitudes of teachers and students at Nam Dan high school toward the importance of culture in learning speaking skills in English language teaching - To find out the effective ways of treatment cross-cultural characteristics into teaching of speaking in English Scope of the study To develop speaking skill and the communicative competence for students at Nam Dan I high school, teachers has made a lot of effort to motivate the students to participate in speaking class effectively However, in the thesis, the researcher wants to find out the attitudes, as well as the cross-culture awareness in teaching and learning spoken English The scope of this study is limited to the raising of students' cross-cultural awareness through speaking only The subjects of the study are grade 12A1 students of English at Nam Dan I high school in Nghe An province The research is confined to English and American cultures as the cultures of the target language The suggestions and recommendations are all centered on a combination of task-based of activity- based syllabuses Research questions This study is implemented to find answers to the following questions: What is the students' perception of the role of cultural understanding in learning English? How teachers and students at NDI high school appreciate the role of culture in speaking skills? How does students' cross-cultural understanding change through the treatment of crosscultural characteristics in speaking lessons? Methods of the study Because the purpose of this study is to investigate the teachers` and students` perception of the role od cultural understanding in learning English, a questionnaire was used as the key 12 instrument of data collection Data were analysised quantitatively by means of descriptive statistics Organization of the study The study is divided into three main parts: Part A is the INTRODUCTION In this part, the rationale, the aims, research questions, the scope of the study, method, and design of the study are presented Part B is DEVELOPMENT There are three chapters in this part Chapter reviews the related knowledge that helps to give the theoretical foundation for this study This review consists of the literature on the role of cross- cultural understanding , techniques that can be used to raise students' cross- cultural awareness, the role of speaking skill in English language teaching and important factor in cross-cultural communication Chapter can be seen as case study in real situation This chapter discusses the context of the study, data collection methods and analyses the data collected to answer specifically the research questions for the study It provides the detailed results of the instruments for data collection and discussion of the finding Chapter contains the summary of findings, the suggestions for treatment of cross-cultural characteristics into speaking lesson and the recommendation for further studies Part C is CONCLUSION 13 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 The importance of cross- cultural knowledge in foreign language learning When students learn a foreign language, their ultimate aim should be directed towards the understanding of the ways people things and why they them At the same time language teachers also feel that while this goal is the most ideal, it is not very easy to handle, due partly to our imbalanced knowledge of more than one dicipline, partly also to time limitation in the classrooms Students also have to face a unique problem of not being able to get themselves exposed to the natural environment while pursuing their language study Therefore, they have to be equipped with cross-cultural knowledge to learn foreign language more effectively 1.1.1 Definitions of term “culture” and “cross-culture” 1.1.1.1 What is culture? There are many definitions and ways of understanding term " culture", Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1954) found over three hundred definitions of culture in their study, which underlines the difficulty and scope of issues involved in communicating and teaching about culture "Culture" has many aspects, it includes behavior, attitudes, and the social knowledge that person use to interpret experience In other words, culture should be seen as assumptions, ideas, and belief that are used to interpret other's action, words, and thinking According to Kluckhohm (cited in Christopher Early1993:42): Culture is the patterned ways of thinking, feeling and reacting, required and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments of artifacts, the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values Benedict, R.(1934:16) thinks "Culture is what really binds men together" Culture is all accepted and collaborated ways of behavior of a given people It is that facet of human life learned behavior shared with others 58 Arrange students to work in groups of four or five and act Group work as if they were members of a family (the father, the mother, the eldest child, the youngest child, or the son, the daughter) Each person in the family says something about their family and duties their family Call on some groups to act out in front of the class Make corrections if needed and make comments Suggested answers: - I am the eldest child in my family I come from a family of four: my parents, my sister and I My parents love their children very much and have done everything for our upbringing - As a father I' ve got a lot of duty to I have to go to work to support my family I' ve got to help my wife with housework - As a mother, I have to household chores and keep the house in order I have to cook meals, go shopping, wash up My husband sometimes helps me - After school I always make time to help my mother with housework and my younger sister with homework We as children always try to get on well with one another in order to create a happy and harmonious home environment 12 IV POST-SPEAKING Divide class into groups Give each group one poster Ask students to work in groups to find out the difference between the division of household chores among members in the Vietnamese families and the English families Group work 59 After 10 minutes, ask students to hang their poster on the board, and then each group choose a leader to present their ideas Suggested ideas: Vietnamese Family -Share household chores and take care of children with their children husband -Bread winner: -Join hand to help earning money wife -Spend most time at -Have responsibility school and extra to household classes chores -Have a little time to -Have equal role in household chores Children -Do nearly all -Take care of Father family household chores Mother English family -Depend on parents' arrangement V 3' HOMEWORK Ask students to answer the questions: Why should family members share household chores? Example: - Relieve the burden on parents' shoulder - Help children become more independent Individually 60 LESSON PLAN 2: UNIT 2: CULTURAL DIVERSITY Lesson 2: speaking I Aims: By the end of the lesson, students will able to: - know about some typical features of different cultures - talk about the differences and similarities between Vietnamese and American cultures II Materials : charts, pieces of cards, posters, textbook III Procedure TIME WORK STEPS ARRANGEMENT 7' I WARM UP Game : good luck or bad luck? - divide class into groups - give students questions: 1.In Britain, what does a black cat mean? a good luck b bad luck c a feature weeding In Vietnam, when the bride leaves her own family to live in groom' family, what object will the bride take with her? a a hat b shoes c a pillow In Vietnam, what does it mean when it starts to rain on the wedding day? a the couple will be poor b the couple will be happy c the couple will be rich In France, what creature brings you good luck? a a mouse b a spider c a fox In Britain, you are in a crowded bus and by accident step on somebody's toes You say: a please excuse me b oh god c I'm sorry Group work 61 d I must apologies Great Britain is a England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland b England, Scotland and Wales c England and Scotland d England only Ask students to read questions and work in each group to discuss With each question, which group raise their hands more quickly, this group will have chance to answer The group with the most correct answers wins Key: 1.a 2.a 3.c 4.c 5.c 6b II PRE-SPEAKING 8' Have Ss work in pairs, express their point of view on some matters related to cultural views by using suitable expression following the example: I think it is not convenient for a family of four generations to live together under one roof The distance of ages may cause disagreement among the members Some expressions to express the points of view: + I think/ feel/ believe + In my opinion/ In my point of view/ As far as I am concerned/ For me + I agree/ I not agree/ it is not true because + Perhaps you are right,/ but / I think it is wrong to + I not really have any strong opinions about + Shall we come back to that later? III WHILE SPEAKING Pair work 62 12' Divide class into teams Teacher prepares some typical features of the American and Vietnamese culture The teacher writes these typical feature on the pieces of paper and stick them on the board Students have to find out which are the typical features of the American culture and which are the typical features of the Vietnamese culture Some features of American and Vietnamese culture: Christmas and New Year holidays are the most important Two generations live in a home Elders live with children and are taken care by their son Tet (Lunar New Year) is the most important Children often sleep with their parents Groceries are bought everyday American can greet anyone in the family first Old-aged parents live in nursing homes Children sleep in their own bedrooms 10 A .greets the head of the family or an older person first, then the younger ones 11 it is not polite to ask questions about age, marriage and salary 12 celebrate death days They prepare meal and invite their relatives to get together and talk about good respect of the dead person 13 Asking about age, marriage and salary is acceptable 14 Three or sometimes four generations live under one roof 15 Groceries are bought once a week 16 celebrate birthdays and give presents at Group work 63 birthday party Which teams have more correct answers will win Call some students to read statements again Suggested answers: American culture: 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 11, 15, 16, Vietnamese culture: 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, IV POST-SPEAKING Compare and Contrast 15' Ask students to work in groups Give each group a poster and a board marker In group, students write about the similarities and the differences between the Vietnamese and American cultures, then stick the posters on the board Invite representatives from the groups to talk about the similarities and differences between Vietnamese and American cultures Remind student of words and expressions used to compare and contrast: Comparison : Similarly; likewise; .the same as ; .also ; ., too; both; in the same way; X and Y are similar in that they ; like X, Y (verb) Contrast: However; in contrast; by contrast; , but; , yet; on the other hand; even though; unlike; while; nevertheless; whereas; Give feedback and make comment Suggested ideas: Differences: American culture: - Most of the Americans are individualists - People always ask if it is ok when they want to Group work 64 smoke - People often kiss friends on the cheek when they meet to express friendliness - Young people usually live in their own houses or flats after marriage - Teenagers go out on dates a lot - Asking someone about his/ her age/ marriage is considered to be impolite - People live in nuclear family Vietnamese culture: - the Vietnamese are collectivists - Smokers light up cigarettes at any time without asking permission - The Vietnamese never exchange cheek-kisses It is a shock to most married women - It is OK to blow your nose in public - Young people usually live with their parents after their marriage - It is OK to ask people about their marriage/ age - People live in extended family Similarities: - America and Vietnamese are multi-culture countries - Both Americans and Vietnamese are friendly, hospitable, and hard-working people who always proud of their countries - They both hate war and love peace - They like doing charity work V HOMEWORK Ask students to prepare a short paragraph about some typical features of Vietnamese culture and present it at the next lesson individually 65 ESSON PLAN 3: UNIT 3: WAYS OF SOCIALISING Lesson 2: speaking I Aims: By the end of the lesson, students will able to: - Practice giving compliments in different situations - Know how to respond to compliments II Materials : charts, cards, textbook III Procedure TIME STEPS WORK ARRANGEMENT 7' I WARM UP Teacher tell a story: accepting a compliment Linda, an American teacher in a class in Vietnam, was Group work speaking Hoa, one of her Vietnamese students She said: " Hoa, I'm very happy with your work Your English is really improving" Hoa looked down and said" Oh, no I'm not a good students My English is not very good." Linda continued " You are a good students, and you should be proud of you work" Hoa responded to this remark saying " No, no You are very good teacher, but I am not a good student" Linda not know what to say, so she decided not to give Hoa any more comliments After telling the story Teacher hangs two questions on the board and asks students work in groups of three to the multiple choice: Why did Hoa look down when the teacher 66 complimented her? a She was ashamed of her work b She was embarrassed by the teacher's compliment c She was trying to show respect for the teacher d She did not like the teacher Why did Linda decide not to give Hoa any more compliment ? a She decided that Hoa really was not a good student b Hoa's behavior was disrespectful c Hoa did not seem to be pleased with the compliment d She expected Hoa to say something like " Thank you" but Hoa did not Teacher gives suggested answers: b; 2.d Lead in: How often you hear people complimenting each other in English? Do you often give or receive compliments? Compliment is a tool for establishing friendship that creates ties of solidarity The inappropriate use of compliments may cause embarrassment and even offense Today we will practice giving and responding to compliments in different situations II 13' PRE-TEACHING Have students work in pairs, red the dialogues about giving and responding to compliments Teacher is advised to read through the dialogues so that students may know how to make stress to the sentences to express their compliments Again in pairs, ask students to make their own dialogues Call on some pairs to practice speaking in front of the class Pair work 67 Comment on students' work Eliciting: - Elicit compliment formulas and some useful expressions used to compliment from students - The great majority of compliments included the most common five adjectives (nice, good, beautiful, pretty, great) and two verbs (like and love) Noun Phrase + be/look + Adjective Your hat is really beautiful I + (really) + like/love + Noun Phrase I love your new apartment Pronoun + is + (really) + Adjective + Noun Phrase That is a great looking car Some useful expressions: You have such beautiful hair/ how beautiful your hair is! What a lovely baby you have! You really did a good jod! Congratulations! You have played so well in the game Amazing! You've made an excellent speech That's a great/ an excellent Suggested responses to the compliments: Thanks for your compliment I am glad you like it Thanks It is all very well for you to say so Your compliment is encouraging It is nice of you to say so III WHILE-TEACHING Task 1: Giving compliments 5' Lets students work with their partners to practice giving compliments to suit the responds Call some pairs to practice speaking in front of the class Comment and give suggested answers: Your new dress fits you very well Pair work 68 your motorbike really matches your clothes you made an impressive performance today, Colin Task 2: Responding to compliments 5' Put students into pairs to practice responding to the Pair work compliments Call some pairs to practice speaking in front of the class Comment and give suggested answers: Thanks, Phil I have worked very hard in preparation for the contest you must be joking! I've just learnt to play the guitar four weeks ago thank you, Tom I practice public speaking almost everyday by standing and speaking in front of the mirror IV POST-SPEAKING Have students build dialogues to practice giving 10' responding to compliments in pairs Tell students they can use the cues in the book Go around the class and provide help when necessary Call on several pairs to practice speaking in front of the class Suggested answers: A: Your new glasses look good on you, Mary B: Thanks, Peter I decides to buy it after seeing three shops A: That is a fashionable jacket! B: Oh, you like it? A: Yeah, that is a nice color B: That is very kind of you to say so A: I love your clock It looks great in your living room! Pair work 69 B: Thanks! A: It is really very nice Where did you get it? B: A friend of mine brought it to me from London V HOMEWORK Ask students to make a dialogue of giving and individually 5' responding to compliments LESSON PLAN 4: UNIT 4: SCHOOL EDUCATION SYSTEM Lesson 2: speaking I Aims: By the end of the lesson, students will able to: - Get some knowledge of the education system - Talk about the school education system in Vietnam II Materials : textbook, handouts, pieces of paper III Procedure TIME STEPS WORK ARRANGEMENT 7' I WARM UP Teacher supplies some information about education in England _ Education is important in England _ British children are required by law to have an education until they are 16 years old _ Education is compulsory, but school is not, children are not required to attend school They could be educated at home Students listen 70 _ Education is free for all children from to 16 About 94 percent of pupils in England, and the rest of the UK, receive free education from public funds, while percent attend independent fee paying schools or homeschooling Teacher asks students supply more information which they know Lead in: Today, we will find about education in Vietnam We will practice speaking about the school education system in Vietnam 5' II PRE-SPEAKING Pre-teaching vocabulary - nursery school (n): nha tre - kindergarten: truong mau giao - primary school: truong cap - lower secondary school: truong cap - upper secondary school: truong cap III Individually WHILE-SPEAKING Task 1: Asking and answering about school education 7' system in Vietnam Have sets work in pairs, ask ans answer about the school education system in Vietnam basing on the information given in the table Call on some pairs to practice asking and answering in front of the class Teacher gives comment Suggested answers: A: How many levels are there in the pre-school education? B: There are two levels They are nursery and kindergarten Pair work 71 A: Do all children from the age of through have to attend school? B: No, they not They may school to stay home during the ages A: What is the right age for children to attend primary school? B: to 10 A: How many grades are included in this level of education? B: grades, from to A: Is primary education compulsory for all children? B: Yes, it is Task 2: talking about the school education system in 7' Vietnam Divide class into groups of four Tell them to talk about the school education system in Group work Vietnam, using the information from task Teachers is advised to provide students with expressions used to make a presentation in front of the class For example: - Good morning, everyone - In my talk today, I' d like to mention - First, Second, Call some group members to talk in front of the class Teacher gives comments IV 16' POST-SPEAKING Discuss the similarities and difference Teacher divides the class into six groups Give each groups a poster and a board marker Ask groups to write the similarities and difference between the school system in Vietnam and England Group work 72 Have students stick the posters on the broard Call on some groups to report their results to the class Give feedback and comments Suggested talk: The school education system in Vietnam and England have some points in common Still there are remarkable differences to notice Regarding pre-school education, there is no differences Both countries divide this level into two sub-levels with the age starting from to however, there is a big difference between the systems of the two countries at primary level While England divides this level into two sub-levels with three grades each, Vietnam makes it one level with five grades With respect to secondary education, endland have six grades compared with seven grades of that the age of this level ranging from 11 to 16 for English students; whereas, the age for Vietnamese students is from 11 to 17 however, after finishing the curriculum, sets of the two countries all need to sit for the examination for the GCSE In conclusion, though there are differences between the school education system in Vietnam and England, the knowledge of the students may remain the same 3' V HOMEWORK Ask students to write a short paragraph about the individually school education system in Vietnam ... cultural characteristics into teaching of speaking in English to grade 12 A1 students in Nam Dan I high school 3.2 .1 Teachers and students` sources in Nam Dan I high school for enriching crosscultural... by themselves 3.2 Suggestions for treatment of cross- cultural characteristics in the teaching of speaking skill to grade 12 A1 students of English in Nam Dan I high school in Nghe An province. .. limited to the raising of students'' cross-cultural awareness through speaking only The subjects of the study are grade 12 A1 students of English at Nam Dan I high school in Nghe An province The research