VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES LÊ THỊ HƯƠNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO ATTITUDES OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS OF ENGLISH TOWARDS TEACHING AND LEARNING WORLD ENGLISHES AT HONG DUC UNIVERSITY (Điều tra quan điểm giáo viên sinh viên tiếng Anh việc dạy học loại tiếng Anh giới Trường Đại học Hồng Đức) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 HA NOI – 2013 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES LÊ THỊ HƯƠNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO ATTITUDES OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS OF ENGLISH TOWARDS TEACHING AND LEARNING WORLD ENGLISHES AT HONG DUC UNIVERSITY (Điều tra quan điểm giáo viên sinh viên tiếng Anh việc dạy học loại tiếng Anh giới Trường Đại học Hồng Đức) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Dr Lê Văn Canh LIST OF ABBREVIATION EIL: English as an international language ELT: English language teaching EFL: English as a foreign language FLF: Foreign Languages Faculty HDU: Hong Duc University IE: International English L2: second language L3: third language NS: Native speaker NNSs: Non-native speakers RP: Received Pronunciation S: Students T: Teachers WEs: World Englishes iv LIST OF TABLES Table (first six items): Students and teachers‟ attitudes towards “Standard English” 21 Table (last seven items): Students and teachers‟ attitudes towards the concept of “World Englishes” 23 Table 2: Students' attitudes towards learning native or non-native English 25 Table 3: Teachers‟ views on teaching World Englishes 28 Table 4: Reasons teachers choose to teach World Englishes 31 Table 5: Reasons teachers avoid teaching World Englishes 32 v TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP………………………………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………… ii ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………… iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………… iv LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………… v TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………… vi PART A: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………… 1 Rationale of the study…………………………………………………… Aims and objectives of the study………………………………………… Scope of the study………………………………………………………… Significance of the study………………………………………………… Research Questions……………………………………………………… Methods of the study……………………………………………………… Design of the study……………………………………………………… PART B: DEVELOPMENT……………………………………………… CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………… 1.1 Learning Attitudes……………………………………………………… 1.1.1 Definitions of attitudes………………………………………………… 1.1.2 The role of attitudes in language learning…………………………… 1.2 Views on Standard English……………………………………………… 1.2.1 Standard English is not a language…………………………………… 1.2.2 Standard English is not an accent…………………………………… 1.2.3 Standard English is not a style………………………………………… 1.2.4 So what is it then? vi 1.3 World Englishes………………………………………………………… 10 1.3.1 What is World Englishes? 10 1.3.2 Attitudes towards teaching and learning World Englishes…………… 12 1.3.2.1 To teach Standard English or World Englishes…………………… 12 1.3.2.2 Current attitudes and perspectives on teaching and learning World Englishes…………………………………………………………………… 13 1.4 Summary………………………………………………………………… 14 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY………………………………………… 15 2.1 Background to the study………………………………………………… 15 2.1.1 Introduction of the Hong Duc University…………………………… 15 2.1.2 The teachers…………………………………………………………… 15 2.1.3 The English major students…………………………………………… 15 2.2 The survey instrument………………………………………………… 16 2.2.1 Questionnaire………………………………………………………… 16 2.2.2 Interviews……………………………………………………………… 17 2.3 Procedures……………………………………………………………… 17 2.3.1 Piloting the questionnaire…………………………………………… 17 2.3.2 Distribution of the questionnaire…………………………………… 18 2.3.3 Selecting participants for the interview……………………………… 18 2.3.4 The participants……………………………………………………… 18 2.3.5 Data collection and analysis………………………………………… 19 2.4 Summary………………………………………………………………… 19 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS… 20 3.1 Data analysis…………………………………………………………… 20 3.2 Findings and discussions……………………………………………… 20 3.2.1 Students and teacher‟s attitudes towards the so-called “Standard English”……………………………………………………………………… vii 20 3.2.2 Students and teacher‟s attitudes towards the concept of “World Englishes”…………………………………………………………………… 23 3.2.3 Student‟s attitudes towards learning “non-standard” varieties of English……………………………………………………………………… 25 3.2.4 Teachers‟ negative views on teaching “non-standard” varieties of English in the classroom…………………………………………………… 27 3.2.5 Reasons teachers choose to teach World Englishes…………………… 30 3.2.6 Reasons teachers avoid teaching World Englishes…………………… 31 PART C: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS……………………… 33 Summary of major findings……………………………………………… 33 Suggestions of the study for World Englishes teaching…………………… 34 2.1 Interaction with EIL users……………………………………………… 34 2.2 Assessment focusing in communicative effectiveness………………… 35 2.3 Teaching materials representing EIL users……………………………… 36 2.4 Improving teachers‟ knowledge and understanding of different nonstandard varieties of English………………………………………………… 37 2.5 Teacher education……………………………………………………… 38 Conclusion………………………………………………………………… 38 Limitations of the study…………………………………………………… 39 Suggestions for further research…………………………………………… 40 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………… 41 APPENDICES……………………………………………………………… I Appendix 1: Student questionnaire………………………………………… I Appendix 2: Teacher questionnaire………………………………………… IV Appendix 3: Interview questions…………………………………………… VII viii PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study The world is presently witnessing a rapid increase in the use of English as a language of wider communication More and more countries are making English their lingua franca to communicate with the rest of the world - not only with native Englishspeaking countries, but also with non-native English-speaking countries in international settings It is high time for Vietnamese teachers of English to change their attitudes toward so-called “standard English.” In Vietnam, only English broadcast on the BBC (British Broadcasting Company), VOA (Voice of America), or ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) - in other words, only English used by speakers in Kachru‟s Inner Circle countries - is considered to be “standard English.” At Hong Duc University (HDU), English-major students are always taught English in some standard textbooks followed TOEFL or IELTS format from the first year until they graduate So students and teachers believe that “standard English” can become very useful to help them communicate effectively in foreign companies but most people not conduct business in that way I often hear my former graduate students, who are now working for Japanese, Korean or Taiwanese companies in Vietnam, complain that it is difficult for them to understand Japanese English, that is, the variety of English spoken by speakers of Japanese Or they will say that their “standard English” has deteriorated because of Taiwanese or Korean supervisors who speak their own varieties of English World Englishes is quite a new term for many teachers and students of English at Hong Duc University But there is a fact that both teachers and students wanted to know and understand more on the so-called “World Englishes” in order to help their students prepare well for future job at companies which are not managed by native English speakers This inspires the researcher to conduct the study entitled “An investigation into attitudes of teachers and students of English towards teaching and learning World Englishes at Hong Duc University” with hope of understanding more about not only the teachers and st udents‟ attitudes towards teaching and learning World Englishes but also the overall problems faced by them in teaching and learning the incorporating World Englishes as an international language Aims and objectives of the study The study aims at investigating the attitudes of teachers and students at Hong Duc University towards teaching and learning World Englishes In order to achieve this aim, the study attempts to: - Investigate teachers and students‟ attitudes towards Standard English and World Englishes - Find out the similarities and differences in opinions between teachers and students towards learning and teaching World Englishes - Find out the possible problems faced by the teachers and students in incorporating World Englishes in teaching English as an international language Scope of the study Currently, World Englishes is one of the discussing matters for scholars all over the world Many opinions are given to present the advantages and disadvantages of introducing World Englishes to students of English World Englishes is a new term and can cause misunderstanding for participants to fulfill the survey questionnaire The participants must have a minimum understanding on native and non-native English Within the scope of a minor thesis, this study attempts to investigate the attitudes of students and teachers of English at Hong Duc University towards teaching and learning World Englishes therefore the most suitable participants should be from the 2nd year students who have just got used to with these terms and teachers of English in Foreign Languages Department at Hong Duc University Significance of the study How to help students of English have enough knowledge and experience to meet the increasing requirements of today society is a big question to almost teachers World Englishes can become an efficient instrument to solve that question Firstly, this study will be of considerable interest to both language teachers and students who concerns on teaching and learning World Englishes Secondly, the study provides an useful background on the theory and perspectives related to World Englishes for those who want to develop more on the topic Last but not least, this study hopes to provide teachers and students of English an analysis on attitudes towards teaching and learning World Englishes at Hong Duc University in order to decide whether to teach or learn World Englishes or not Research Questions In an attempt to investigate teachers and students of English‟s perceptions of World Englishes, the present study examined three related domains including teachers‟ and students‟ understanding of World Englishes concept, their attitudes towards “Standard English”, and their attitudes to teaching and learning “non-standard” varieties of English in the classroom In light of the goal of the study, the following research questions were posed: How teachers and students understand the concept of “World Englishes”? What are teachers and students‟ attitudes towards the so-called “Standard English”? What are their attitudes to teaching and learning “non-standard” varieties of English? Methods of the study In order to fulfill the task mentioned above, this study employs both qualitative and quantitative methods The quantitative method is used to collect data through survey questionnaire; the aim is to explore students‟ understanding on Standard English and World Englishes as well as their views on learning native and non-native English The teachers also become the participants to be asked about their ... LEARNING WORLD ENGLISHES AT HONG DUC UNIVERSITY (Điều tra quan điểm giáo viên sinh viên tiếng Anh việc dạy học loại tiếng Anh giới Trường Đại học Hồng Đức) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English... order to fulfill the task mentioned above, this study employs both qualitative and quantitative methods The quantitative method is used to collect data through survey questionnaire; the aim is... contrary, speakers are able to influence and change the degree of formality of a social situation by manipulation of stylistic choice All the languages of the world would appear to demonstrate