VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ THỊ THANH DUNG TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION AND STUDENTS’ SPEAKING: A STUDY ON LISTENING – SPEAKING CLASSES WITH FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT FELTE – ULIS - VNU Tương tác giáo viên – sinh viên kỹ nói sinh viên năm thứ buổi học Nghe – Nói Khoa sư phạm Tiếng Anh – Đại học Ngoại ngữ - ĐHQGHN M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI, 2016 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ THỊ THANH DUNG TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION AND STUDENTS’ SPEAKING: A STUDY ON LISTENING – SPEAKING CLASSES WITH FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT FELTE – ULIS - VNU Tương tác giáo viên – sinh viên kỹ nói sinh viên năm thứ buổi học Nghe – Nói Khoa sư phạm Tiếng Anh – Đại học Ngoại ngữ - ĐHQGHN M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Le Van Canh HANOI, 2016 DECLARATION I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “Teacher-student interaction and students’ speaking: A study on listening – speaking classes with first year students at FELTE – ULIS - VNU” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at the University of Languages and International Studies, Viet Nam National University This thesis has not been previously submitted for any other degrees The work was done under the guidance of Associate Professor Le Van Canh, at the University of Languages and International Studies Hanoi, June 2016 Đỗ Thị Thanh Dung i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express the deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Associate Professor Doctor Le Van Canh for his encouragement, supervision and support all along the course of research This paper would not have been accomplished without his expert, constant and valuable guidance and criticism My special thanks also go to my colleagues and students at Division 1, Faculty of English Language and Teaching Education, ULIS – VNU for their enthusiastic participation during the process of data collection Finally, I would also like to express my sincere thank and love to my family who gave me time and encouragement to overcome all obstacles during the completion of this study ii ABSTRACT Due to its significant influence on learners' linguistic skills, classroom interaction has been widely discussed by researchers of the field This present research aims to present an analysis of teacher-learner in-class interaction at speaking-listening classes in the context of Vietnam Interaction patterns, teachers‟ question and feedback and learners‟ talk are put into investigation The participants include 75 first year students and three teachers at Faculty of English Language Teaching Education, University of Languages and International Studies Data is collected by classroom observation with audio-taping and field notes After transcripts are produced, interviews with three teachers and six students are implemented to obtain more information Interaction patterns are categorized, different aspects of teacher talk and learner talk are analyzed according to recognized frameworks The result demonstrates that the structure of classroom interactional mechanism is characterized by Initiation-Response-Follow up pattern, in which most of the first and the third moves are taken by teachers Teachers‟ questioning creates many opportunities for learners to produce output, whereas their feedback sometimes interrupts learners‟ flow of talk Although students not take initiatives to make questions, they fully participate in discussions Pedagogical recommendations and propositions for future fields of research are offered at the end of the study iii LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS CLT: Communicative Language Teaching EFL: English as a Foreign Language ELT: English Language Teaching DQ: Display questions RQ: Referential questions FELTE: Faculty of English Language Teaching and Education FL: Foreign language L2: Second Language ULIS: University of Languages and International Studies TL: Target Language VNU: Vietnam National University iv LIST OF FIGURES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii PART A: INTRODUCTION PART B: DEVELOPMENT Figure Time spent on major episodes in a roughly 60-minute lesson 34 Figure Patterns used in Teacher-Student Interaction 37 Figure Number of turns students speak in exchanges with Teacher 38 Figure Initiating Questions 39 Figure Teacher's Feedback 43 Figure Teacher's Follow-up 45 Figure Lexical density and Mean of Responses to Display questions and Referential questions 56 v TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS iv LIST OF FIGURES v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction Problem Statement and Rationale Objectives and Significance PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Classroom Interaction: A definition 1.2 The role of interaction in second language learning 1.3 Theoretical perspectives on classroom interaction 1.3.1 The cognitive interactionist tradition 1.3.2 The sociocultural theory tradition 10 1.4 Approaches to studying classroom interaction 11 1.4.1 Discourse analysis approaches 11 1.4.2 Conversation analysis approaches 13 vi 1.5 Types of classroom interaction 15 1.5.1 Teacher - student interaction 15 1.5.2 Student - student interaction 16 1.6 Teacher Talk 17 1.6.1 Teacher Questioning 17 1.5.2 Teacher‟s Feedback 19 1.6 Interaction patterns 20 1.7 Learner talk 23 1.8 Turn taking 24 CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY 27 2.1 Context and Participants 27 2.2 Methodology 29 2.3 Data Collection Instruments 29 2.4 Data Collection Procedure 30 2.5 Data analysis instruments 31 CHAPTER THREE: FINDINGS 34 3.1 Episodes 34 3.2 Interactional Patterns 36 3.3 Teacher‟s Initiating Questions 39 3.4 Teachers' Feedback 43 3.5 Learner Talk 55 CHAPTER FOUR: DISCUSSION 65 vii 4.1 Interactional patterns 65 4.2 Teachers‟ Initiating Questions 66 4.3 Teachers‟ Feedback 67 4.4 Learner Talk 69 PART C: CONCLUSION 72 REFERENCES 77 APPENDIXES I viii Division Lecturers (2015) Listening – Speaking Resources University of Languages and International Studies Vietnam National University, Hanoi Dörnyei, Z (2007) Research methods in applied linguistics: Quantitative, qualitative and mixed methodologies Oxford: Oxford University Press Dung, K.N (2004) Classroom Interaction in a Vietnamese University English Class M.A Thesis University of Languages and International Studies VietNam National University, HaNoi Hauser, E (2006) Teacher Reformulations of Students‟ Answers during an Episode of Pedagogical Talk Bulletin of the University of ElectroCommunications Dagarin, M 2004 Classroom Interaction And Comunication Strategies In Learning English As A Foreign Slovensko društvo za angleške študije, SI 1000 Ljubljana Ellis, R (1985) Understanding Second Language Acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press Ellis, R (1990) Modified oral input and the acquisition of word meanings Applied Linguistics 16, 409-441 Ernst, G (1994) Talking circle: Conversation and negotiation in the ESL classroom TESOL Quarterly 28(2): 293-322 Gass, S (1997) Input, interaction, and the second language learner Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Gass, S (2003) Input and interaction In C Doughty & M Long (Eds.), The handbook of second language acquisition (pp 224-255) Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd Gass, S., & Mackey, A (2000) Stimulated Recall Methodology in Second Language Research Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Hall, J (1997) A consideration of SLA as a theory of practice The Modern Language Journal, 81(3): 301-306 78 Hall, J (1998) Differential teacher attention to student utterances: the construction of different opportunities for learning in the IRF Linguistics and education 9(3): 287-311 Hall, J (2011) Exploring English Language Teaching Language in Action Oxon: Routledge Hall, J & Verplaetse, L (2000) Second and Foreign Language Learning Through Classroom Interaction, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc Hall, J & Walsh, M (2002) Teacher-student interaction and language learning Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 22: 186-203 Harmer, J (2001) The Practice of English Language Teaching Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd Harmer, J (2009) How to Teach English London: Longman Johnson, K (1995) Understanding Communication in Second Language Classroom Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Kouicem, K (2010) The Effect of Classroom Interaction on Developing the Learners‟ Speaking Skill Constantine: Constantine University Krashen, S (1982) Principles and practice is second language learning New York: Pergamon Press Krashen, S (1985) The input hypothesis: issues and implications New York: Pergamon Press Lantolf, J (2000) Sociocultural theory and second language learning Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press Lantolf, J (2005) Sociocultural theory and L2: State of the art Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 28, 67-109 Lemke, J (1985) Using language in the classroom Geelong, Victoria, Australia: Deakin University Press Lin, A (1999) Doing-English-Lessons in the reproduction or transformation of social worlds? TESOL Quarterly 33(3): 393-412 79 Liu, J (2001) Asian studentss classroom participation patterns in U.S universities An emic perspective Greenwood Publishing Group Long, M (1981) Input, interaction, and second language acquisition In H Winitz (Ed.), Native language and foreign language acquisition (pp 259-78) New York: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Long, M (1983) Linguistic and conversational adjustments to nonnative speakers Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 5, 177-193 Long, M (1996) The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition In W Ritchie & T Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp 413-468) San Diego, CA: Academic Press Long, M & Sato, C (1983) Classroom foreigner talk discourse: Forms and functions of teachers' questions Mackey, A (1999) Input, interaction and language development: an empirical study of question information in ESL SSLA, 21, 557-587 Mackey, A (2007) The Conversational Interaction in Second Language Acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press Markee, N (2015) Overview of the research methodologies and assessment section In N Markee (Ed.), The handbook of classroom discourse and interaction (pp.23-25) Oxford, UK: Wiley Blackwell McCarthy, M (1991) Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Mehan, H (1979) Learning lessons: Social organization in the classroom Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Naegle, P (2002) The New Teacher‟s Complete Sourcebook USA: Scholastic Professional Book Nassaji, H., & Wells, G (2000) What‟s the use of „triadic dialogue‟?: An investigation of teacher student interaction Applied Linguistics, 21, 376–406 Nunan, D (1989) Understanding language classroom London: Prentice Hall 80 Nunan, D (1999) Second language teaching and learning Boston: Heinle & Heinle Patthey, G & Chavez, G (2002) Measuring participation in instructional discourse: Tools and insights from applied linguistics A paper presented at AAAL, April 2002 Richards, J & Nunan, D (eds) (1990) Second Language Teacher Education New York: Cambridge University press Richards, J & Lockhart, C (1996) Reflective Teaching in Second Language Teaching Classrooms Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Richards, J & Rodgers, T (2001) Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Rivers, W (1987) Teaching Foreign Language Skills Chicago: University of Chicago Press Robinson, H (1994) The Ethnography of Empowerment: The Transformative Power of Classroom Interaction Newbury Park: Sage Publications Sinclair, J & Coulthard, R (1975) Towards an analysis of discourse London: Oxford University Press Shomoossi, N (2004) The effect of teachers‟ questioning behavior on efl classroom interaction: a classroom research study The Reading Matrix, Vol 4, No Smith, P (1970) Comparison of the Cognitive and Audiolingual Approaches to Foreign Language Instruction: The Pennsylvania Project Philadelphia: Center for Curriculum Development Stahl, J (1994) Using "think-time" behaviors to promote students' information processing, learning, and on-task participation An instructional module Tempe, AZ: Arizona State University Swain, M (1985) Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development In Gass, S and Madden, C (Eds.), Input in Second Language Acquisition, pp 235-256 New York: Newbury House 81 Swain, M (1995) Three functions of output in second language learning In Cook, G and Seidelhofer, B (Eds.) Principle and Practice in Applied Linguistics: Studies in Honor of H.G Widdowson, pp 125-144 Oxford: Oxford University Press Swain, M (2000) The output hypothesis and beyond: Mediating acquisition through collaborative dialogue In J Lantolf (Ed.), Sociocultural theory and second language learning (pp 97-114) New York: Oxford University Press Swain, M (2005) The output hypothesis: Theory and research In E Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook on research in second language teaching and learning (pp 471484) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Thoms, J (2006) Analyzing instructional discourse in a Spanish literature classroom: The effects of teacher questions Paper presented at the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese Annual Conference Salamanca, Spain Thoms, J (2006) The co-construction of participant expectations in second language classroom oral discourse Paper presented at the Second Language Research Forum Seattle, Washington Thoms, J (2008) Teacher-initiated talk and student oral discourse in a second language literature classroom: A sociocultural Analysis Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The University of Iowa, Iowa City Thu, N.A (2008) Teacher questioning strategies and classroom interaction in Ly Thai To School M.A Thesis University of Languages and International Studies Vietnam National University, Hanoi Tsui, A (1995) Classroom Interaction London: Penguin English Tsui, A (1996) Reticence and Anxiety in Second Language Learning In Voices from the Language Classroom: Qualitative Research in Second Language (PP.145- 165) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Ur, P (1996) A course in English Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 82 van Lier, L (1988) The Classroom and the Language Learner, London: Longman van Lier, L (1996) Interaction in the language curriculum: Awareness, autonomy and authenticity Harlow, England: Addison Wesley Longman Limited Van Lier, L (1998) The Classroom and the Language Learner London: Longman Vygotsky, L (1978) Mind and Society: The Development of Higher Mental Processes Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Walsh, S (2002) Construction or Obstruction: Teacher Talk and Learner Involvement in the EFL classroom Language Teaching Research, 6/1, 3-23 Walsh, S (2002) Construction or obstruction: teacher talk and learner involvement in the EFL classroom Language Teaching Research, 6: 3–23 Walsh, S (2003) Developing interactional awareness in the second language classroom Language Awareness, 12: 124–142 Walsh, S (2006) Investigating Classroom Discourse New York: Routledge Walsh, S (2011) Exploring Classroom Discourse Language in Action Oxon: Routledge Wells, G (1993) Reevaluating the IRF sequence: A proposal for the articulation of theories of activity and discourse for analysis of teaching and learning in the classroom Linguistics and Education, 5: 1-37 83 APPENDIXES APPENDIX A Adopted teacher‟s questions and feedback categorization of Nassaji and Wells‟ Analytical Framework (2000) Teacher’s Initiating Question Types Initiating Description question types Example Answer-checking Literally, this kind of initiation is What is the answer of questions for requesting answers for number 2? questions listed in the textbook or handouts in listening/reading exercises Display The questions to which the answers When was he born? Questions are already known Referential These questions are for asking What you think about Questions students‟ original and personal the film? ideas on certain topics Teacher's Feedback Evaluation The teacher provides Examples/Notes judgments Acknowledgement The teacher confirms students‟ Yes Thank you /Very responses by acknowledging good /Okay them Rejections When the teacher finds an No./Not really answer inappropriate or disagrees with it, he/she rejects students‟ responses I Follow-up This is the kind of remark leading the students to another level by providing various kinds of feedback Confirmation The teacher confirms students‟ Yes responses by (sometimes reiterating Repeating/Rephrasing/ with a bit of Summarizing additional information) Reformation students' responses It is provided when the students Instead of saying “no”, needed direction or further teacher modifies students' information The teacher fixes incorrect answer into a and reforms students‟ responses Solicitation The teacher information solicits after correct one more Ask for more information: students‟ Display questions or responses to go to further phases Referential questions Interestingly, this follow-up also has categories the same as Initiations Extension The teacher provides additional - Related Background information related to his prior Knowledge/Skills personal and background - Anecdotes knowledge, getting cues from students‟ answers II APPENDIX B Linguistic features of students‟ utterances by Patthey-Chavez (2002) Filler words (Fiw) The list of filler words is composed of those expressions used to signal conversational involvement The list was composed by looking through the transcripts and includes: uh, uh-huh, huh, uuh, um, umm, oh, ah, mhmm Function words The list of function words contains modals, pronouns, (Fw) frequently used prepositions, simple conjunctions, articles, and "yes" and "no": can, could, will, would, may, might, must, shall, should, ought, I, you, we, us, me, my, your, myself, yourself, yourselves, ourselves, our, he, she, they, his, her, hers, himself, herself, themselves, them, their, him, it, at, above, about, against, around, before, below, between, by, for, from, in, of, on, over, through, to, toward, towards, under, with, out, the, these, those, a, and, or, but, yes, no Prepositions of, at, in, without, between  Pronouns he, they, anybody, it, one  Determiners the, a, that, my, more, much, either, neither  Conjunctions and, that, when, while, although, or  Auxiliary verbs be (is, am, are), have, got,  Particles no, not, nor, as Subordination (Sb) A very rough count monitoring only occurrences of "because" and "if", the two most unambiguous subordinators Content (Cw) Lexical (LD) words Words other than filler words, function words, and subordinations density Estimates for lexical density were derived by dividing the number of content words by the number of turns III APPENDIX C Interviewing questions for teachers PERSONAL Full name INFORMATION Years of teaching English Context What is the prominent language that you use in the class? How much English your students speak in the class? Teacher‟s questions Answer-checking What you think about the effects of Answer-checking questions Questions on students' responses and speaking in general? Display Questions What you think about the effects of Display Questions on students' responses and speaking in general? Referential What you think about the effects of Referential Questions Questions on students' responses and speaking in general? Teacher's feedback Evaluation In what way you evaluate your students‟ responses as a wrong/incorrect one? For example, “No, it‟s not true.” Reformation In what situations you self-correct students‟ answers? What you to make students realize the reformation, otherwise they might get it as confirmation? Solicitation Teachers have a tendency to repeat learners‟ short response, then ask them to explain their answer instead of waiting for students to that The following extract is a typical conversation observed in your class Extract T: What else? S: Table manner T: Table manner Table manner yes, maybe What is meant by table manners? S: Eh, in Vn, we have the Eastern manner when we're eating IV together T: Yes, for eg? S: We have to invite the other people What are the reasons for this kind of solicitation? What might be the effects on students‟ responses and speaking in general? What would happen if you waited for students to keep talking without asking those questions? Extension When you share your background knowledge/learning techniques/anecdotes? What are the purposes for doing so? Learner Talk Do your students volunteer to answer your questions? If they not volunteer, what will you do? What you think are the reasons for students‟ short responses? (one-word answer, a phrase or a simple sentence) What you think are the effects of students‟ short responses on their learning? Do your students make questions for you? What they often ask about? Suggestions improvement for What are some of the challenges or problems that you have faced in participating in class discussion in this course? What have you done or what can you to overcome the difficulties? In what ways could teachers improve teacher-student oral interaction? Is there anything else you want to share about teacher-student interaction? V APPENDIX D Interviewing questions for students PERSONAL Full name INFORMATION Years of learning English Context What is the prominent language that you use in the class (Vietnamese or English)? Where you speak English the most (in class or other places)? Teacher‟s questions Answer-checking What you think are the effects of Answer-checking questions Questions on your responses and speaking in general? Display Questions What you think are the effects of Display Questions on your responses and speaking in general? Referential What you think are the effects of Referential Questions on Questions your responses and speaking in general? Teacher's feedback Evaluation Do you recognize when you/your friends provide an improper response? What the teacher say in that situation? Reformation Does the teacher ask you/your friends correct pronunciation/grammatical/lexical mistakes or does he/she selfcorrect them? How you feel if your mistakes are revealed and corrected by the teacher in class? Solicitation Teachers have a tendency to repeat learners‟ short response, then ask them to explain their answer instead of waiting for students to that The following extract is a typical conversation observed in your class Extract T: What else? VI S: Table manner T: Table manner Table manner yes, maybe What is meant by table manners? S: Eh, in Vn, we have the Eastern manner when we're eating together T: Yes, for eg? S: We have to invite the other people What you think of the conversation? What might be the effects of solicitation on students‟ responses and speaking in general? If the teacher had not asked you to clarify your ideas, would you have explained them? Extension Does the teacher share his/her background knowledge/learning techniques/anecdotes? What are the effects of their sharing on your learning? Learner Talk Do you volunteer to answer the teacher's questions? Why/Why not? Why students often provide short responses (one-word answer, a phrase or a simple sentence)? Is it because of questions/your speaking ability or other factors? Do you often make questions for the teacher? If yes, what you often ask about? If no, why? Suggestions improvement for What are some of the challenges or problems that you have faced in participating in class discussion in this course? What have you done or what can you to overcome the difficulties? What motivates you to participate in class discussion? In what ways could teachers improve teacher-student oral VII interaction? Is there anything else you want to share about teacher-student interaction? VIII APPENDIX E Transcription system (Adapted from van Lier 1988; Johnson 1995) T teacher L learner LL several learners at once or the whole class (…) unintelligible speech (3) Silence, length given in seconds T organises groups (in bold type) editor‟s comments IX ... interaction and students speaking: A study on listening – speaking classes with first year students at FELTE – ULIS - VNU is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at. ..VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ THỊ THANH DUNG TEACHER- STUDENT INTERACTION AND STUDENTS SPEAKING: A STUDY ON LISTENING. .. research aims to present an analysis of teacher- learner in-class interaction at speaking- listening classes in the context of Vietnam Interaction patterns, teachers‟ question and feedback and learners‟