VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES **************** PHẠM THỊ HUYỀN TRANG A STUDY ON TEACHING CROSS-CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES TO VIETNAMESE STUDY-MAJORED STUDENTS AT SAO DO UNIVERSITY (Nghiên cứu việc dạy yếu tố giao văn hóa học nói tiếng Anh cho sinh viên chuyên ngành Việt Nam học, Đại học Sao Đỏ) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.01.11 Hanoi - 2014 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES **************** PHẠM THỊ HUYỀN TRANG A STUDY ON TEACHING CROSS-CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES TO VIETNAMESE STUDY-MAJORED STUDENTS AT SAO DO UNIVERSITY (Nghiên cứu việc dạy yếu tố giao văn hóa học nói tiếng Anh cho sinh viên chuyên ngành Việt Nam học, Đại học Sao Đỏ) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.01.11 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyễn Văn Độ Hanoi - 2014 DECLARATION I hereby certify that the thesis entitled A STUDY ON TEACHING CROSS-CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES TO VIETNAMESE STUDY-MAJORED STUDENTS AT SAO DO UNIVERSITY is the result of my own research for the course of post-graduate education at ULIS, VNU I confirm that this thesis has not been submitted for any other degrees Student’s signature Phạm Thị Huyền Trang i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In completion of this thesis, I would like to express my special thanks to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Van Do (Thang Long University) for his invaluable guidance and instructive comments throughout my work I am thankful to all the staff at the post-graduate department for giving me assistance, the teachers who conducted the Master's course for providing me with valuable knowledge A further acknowledgement goes to my dear friends from the master's course and colleagues for their useful ideas, materials and encouragement I also wish to thank my students from Faculty of Tourism and Foreign languages (FTF), Sao Do University (SDU) for their valuable help The final credit must go to my family, who supported me with love and gentle pushing ii ABSTRACT In recent years, many language teachers are aware of the importance of culture in educational circles It is important for foreign language teachers to integrate culture in their classes so as to primarily raise the awareness of their students about the differences between cultures, then help them to be culturally competent and convey communication in the society of the target language The importance of gaining communicative competence and maintaining intercultural interaction has fostered the necessity of integrating cultural elements into language instruction Any language acquires value and meaning when it is integrated with cultural elements, thereby learning cultures may shed a light to communication/interaction with different cultures This paper discusses various research findings and opinions on the integration of cross-culture into the teaching of foreign language teaching The discussion aimed to highlight the important roles of cross-cultural elements, the problems during the education process integrating these elements into the English teaching speaking classes Furthermore, this study aims at suggesting some practical techniques for cross-culture teaching at FTF, SDU iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………… iv ABBREVIATION - TABLE LIST…………………………………………… vi PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale……………………………………………………………………….1 Aims of the study Research questions Scope of the study Methods of the study Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL PRELIMINARIES 1.1 What is culture? 1.2 What is cross-culture? 1.3 The process of communication 1.4 Need for cross-culture teaching 1.5 Principles for cross-culture teaching 1.5.1 Approaches for cross-culture teaching 1.5.2 Practical techniques for teaching cross-culture in the EFL classroom 11 1.6 In summary 14 CHAPTER II: RESEARCH DESIGN 16 2.1 Context 16 2.2 Method and Procedure 16 2.2.1 Selection of participants 16 2.2.2 Data collection instruments 16 iv CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 19 3.1 Data collection from the survey questionnaires 19 3.2 Data collection from the quiz 25 3.3 Discussion of the findings 26 CHAPTER IV: FURTHER DISCUSSIONS 28 4.1 Suggested framework for cross-culture teaching in English speaking class 28 4.2 Suggested techniques for teaching cross-culture in the EFL classroom 32 4.3 Practical tips 35 PART C: CONCLUSION 38 In a nutshell 38 Limitations of the study 39 Recommendations for further research 39 REFERENCES 41 APPENDIX I APPENDIX III APPENDIX V APPENDIX VII APPENDIX VIII v ABBREVIATION SDU: Sao Do University FTF: Faculty of Tourism and Foreign languages TABLE LIST Table 1: Ferrando‟s definition of culture Table 2: Students‟ opinion of the importance of cross-culture knowledge to English learning Table 3: Students‟ self-evaluation of their cross-cultural knowledge Table 4: Students‟ difficulties in participation in cross-culture activities in conversation class Table 5: Students‟ opinion of resources to obtain cross-cultural knowledge Table 6: Students‟ opinions of cross-culture activities to motivate them Table 7: Students‟ opinion of cross-cultural elements taught in conversation class Table 8: Test scores interpretation – Measures of central tendency Table 9: Test scores interpretation – Measures of dispersion FIGURE LIST Figure 1: Students‟ opinion of the importance of cross-culture knowledge to English learning Figure 2: Students‟ self-evaluation of their cross-cultural knowledge Figure 3: Students‟ difficulties in participation in cross-culture activities in conversation class Figure 4: Students‟ opinion of resources to obtain cross-cultural knowledge Figure 5: Students‟ opinions of cross-culture activities to motivate them Figure 6: Students‟ opinion of cross-cultural elements taught in conversation class vi PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale In our global world, where many people from a variety of cultures have to communicate in a way, understanding different cultures have become significantly important to convey the meaning in conversations Therefore, culture is considered as an essential field in education, especially in language education It can be said that foreign/ second language learning is comprised of several components, including grammatical competence, communicative competence, language proficiency, as well as a change in attitudes towards one‟s own or another culture As a result, in recent years, many foreign/ second language teachers have been aware of the importance of teaching the culture of the target language Concerning this issue, Seelye (1993: 4) argues that “culture should be taught when we have students to teach” Moreover, day after day, more language teachers recognize that when the cultural aspects are included in the language teaching curriculum, students‟ communicative competence will be improved It means that in one form or another, culture has, even implicitly, been taught in the foreign/ second language classroom Kramsch‟s keen observation should not go unnoticed: Culture in language learning is not an expendable fifth skill, tacked on, so to speak, to the teaching of speaking, listening, reading, and writing It is always in the background, right from day one, ready to unsettle the good language learners when they expect it least, making evident the limitations of their hard-won communicative competence, challenging their ability to make sense of the world around them (Kramsch, 1993: 1) It is undeniable that culture plays an important role in language education Therefore, with an effort to improve the language teaching in my case, “A study on teaching cross-cultural elements in English speaking classes to Vietnamese studymajored students at Sao Do University” is chosen as the topic for my study Aims of the study The aims of the thesis are: - To investigate the attitudes of students towards the roles of cross-cultural knowledge in language speaking class - To analyze the problems facing by students in integrating cross-cultural issues in conversational activities - To suggest some practical methods and techniques to teach cross-cultural integrated speaking lessons Research questions 1- What are the attitudes of students towards the roles of cross-culture in language speaking class? 2- What are the problems facing by the students in integrating cross-cultural issues in conversational activities? 3- How can the teachers integrate cross-cultural elements in English speaking classes? Scope of the study With the globalization, it has became significantly important for language teachers to integrate culture in their classes so as to primarily raise the awareness of their students about the differences between cultures, then help them to be culturally competent and convey communication in the society of the target language In an attempt to improve the situation of teaching English speaking skill for students of Vietnamese-study major, SDU, the researcher emphasized the methods and techniques of integrating cross-cultural elements into the speaking classes The issues to be discussed are the most common and typical ones which are being concerned by most teachers in English teaching The attitudes of students who are at intermediate level towards the roles of cross-culture in language speaking class are investigated In addition, the problems that the students face in studying cross-culture in class are analyzed along with the cultural aspects in language inter-textual connections, these reader-responses methods engage them and increase the depth of their learning.” b Group-work Lili Dai also claimed that students can learn autonomously more in groups They have more opportunities for using the target language, discussing the target culture, and gaining additional perspectives on their own cultural They can decide their work partner, the topic, materials, presentation, audience involvement, etc While working, the group members co-operate, influence, and simulate each other There is more interaction among members because they assume different roles and share responsibilities There is also a team spirit since they all work towards the same goal Students can decide their own group‟s presentation, which can best communicate their ideas to the class and get the whole class involve They may present their materials through debate, lectures and short plays, simulate press conference, etc They can use pictures, maps, charts, and video shows as visual aids In this way, students can learn how to conduct basic interaction Besides, in this kind of activity, the members must evaluate their own work by comparing their actual performance with what they prepare and expect Then, their classmates will tell them directly their strengths and weaknesses Lastly, the teacher should summarize the key points of the group‟s work to not only make the group see their problems, but also enables the other groups to become aware of the problems so they can avoid them and better in the next lessons c Suitable level of difficulty We are working with EFL students, so we must always remember that they probably will not understand everything that we say Therefore, know our students It is not necessary that they understand every word and indeed a challenge is wonderful for learning, but consistently using material or a way of speaking that is too difficult is a sure way to make students lose their interest in a target-culture 36 d Design of course objectives This introductory course hopes to help students better understand the culture that has formed us in relation to “other” cultures that have found “others” by studying how one particular culture has itself been formed Placing cultural texts in their social environments, this course will primarily introduce students to the international perspectives of comparative cultural studies in relation to other forms of presentation This will enable us to appreciate how a particular form of writing encodes, transmits and questions cultural values and hence to understand the forces that shape our world (Lili Dai, 2011) Teachers should consider different techniques to give the instruction and help to help the students during the lessons, and model an enthusiasm for and curiosity about the target culture through their own behaviors and attitudes For example, the teachers can point out interesting words or sentences as they crop up in texts, stories, or conversation; ask students to explore ways to express the topic and meaning; and help identify colorful, descriptive ways of speaking and writing in the material 37 PART C: CONCLUSION The previous chapters have provided answers to the three research questions In this chapter, the researcher will give a summary of the important findings and present the limitations of the study as well as the recommendations for further research In a nutshell The instruments for data collection of this study (questionnaire, quiz test, interview) have shown the necessary findings that have been analyzed and discussed for the following final conclusions Effective communication requires more than mastering a language's lexicon and grammar It is a process that requires knowledge of the socio-cultural patterns that allow people transmit and interpret messages Therefore, culture becomes an important part of the dynamics of the teaching process in all language classrooms English as a second language programs that are solely language oriented cannot fully assist students to understand important cultural insights necessary for appropriate communication However, there are several certain problems in teaching cross-cultural elements for a language classroom inasmuch as the students are lack of cross-cultural knowledge, there is lack of time and authentic materials… Different approaches, methods and techniques have been suggested to assist the teaching of culture in the second language classroom They might differ in their features, but their purpose is always the same: the systematic approach for crossculture teaching in the language classroom Perhaps, the most significant finding of this study is that the teaching and learning of speaking lessons are more interesting and motivating when cultural and cross-cultural elements are integrated Students become more motivated having opportunities to understand better about the target culture as well as their own culture This can be achieved by teachers‟ effort to employ cross-cultural activities and positive interactions in their speaking lessons These techniques are believed to 38 be among the effective teaching techniques to encourage students to learn and understand about other cultures in such an easier way It can be said that the teaching of cross-cultural elements in speaking lessons can help the two important purposes of foreign language education efficiently achieved at the same time: one is improving speaking skill (communication skill) and the other is fostering cross-cultural knowledge Limitations of the study The study has been conducted in a short phase of time and the data have been attainted from a small number of particular students from FTF, SDU, so the findings may hold true for the teaching and learning in FTF, SDU context Accordingly, the findings may not be applied number of informants Moreover, the researcher has suggested some techniques based on her little experience in teaching in a conversation class beforehand Recommendations for further research The researcher finds it interesting and essential to study more into the issue of teaching culture as an integrated part of foreign language teaching and learning First, this study only focuses on the integration of cultural elements into speaking lessons as mean to raise students‟ cross-cultural understanding It is also necessary to investigate into cross-cultural integration into teaching other skills Secondly, besides the teaching of culture and cross-culture as a subject with only 30 students at FTF, SDU, the teaching of speaking with cross-cultural information integrated has got positive effects to students‟ motivation There should be more research into the design and the use of cultural-oriented textbooks, not only for Vietnamese-study major students but also for students of other majors who will be the highest frequency users in a variety of foreign working environments of globalization The purpose of this small study has been to learn more about students‟ attitudes toward the role of cultural knowledge in foreign language learning and the possible ways to foster students‟ cross-cultural understanding through speaking 39 lessons The sample used to attain data was small, somewhat non-random Accordingly, it is doubtful whether the results can be generalized to a larger population However, the research believes that this study is beneficial to the foreign language teachers in respect of cross-culture teaching in their teaching program 40 REFERENCES Adelman, M.B & Levine, D.R (1993), Beyond Language – Cross cultural Communication, Regents/ Prentice Hall Inc Annals, Damen, L (1987), Culture learning: The fifth dimension in the language classroom Block, D., & Cameron, D (2001), Globalization and language teaching, London, UK: Routledge Brooks, N (1993), Teaching culture in the foreign language classroom, Foreign Language Byram and M Fleming (eds.), Language learning in intercultural perspective Approaches through drama and ethnography, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Cullen, B (2004), Practical Techniques for Teaching Culture in the EFL Classroom, (I-TESL-J) http://iteslj.org/ Techniques/Cullen-Culture.html Gudykunst, W., & Young K (1996), Communicating with strangers, New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers Kramsch, C (1993), Context and Culture in Language Teaching, Oxford: Oxford University Press Kramsch, C (1998), Language and Culture, Oxford: Oxford University Press 10 Kramsch C (2000), Language and Culture, Oxford: OUP 11 Kumaravadivelu, B (1994), The post-method Condition: (E)merging Strategies for Second/ Foreign Language teaching, TESOL Quarterly, Vol 28, No 1, pp 2748 12 Kumaravadivelu, B (2006), TESOL methods: Changing Tracks, Challenging Trends, TESOL Quarterly Vol 40, No 1, March 13 Lili, D (2011), Practical techniques for cultural-based language teaching in the EFL classroom, Journal of Language teaching and research, Vol 2, No 5, pp, 1031-1036, September 41 14 Liu Renqing (2004), English Educational Research, (1ed) Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 235-249 15.Omagio-Hadley, A (1993), Teaching language in context, Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle Publishers 16 Oxford, R L (1994), Teaching culture in the language classroom: Toward a new philosophy, In J Alatis (ed.), Georgetown University Round Table on Language and Linguistics 1994 (pp 26-45) Washington DC: Georgetown University Press 17 Peck, D (1998), Teaching Culture: Beyond Language, Yale: New Haven Teachers Institute 18 Richards, J C., & Rodgers, T S (1986), Approaches and methods in language teaching: A description and analysis, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 19 Risager, K.(1998), Language Teaching and the Process of European Integration 20 Saluveer, E (2004), Teaching culture in English classes, Master‟s Thesis, Tartu: University of Tartu 21 Seelye, H.N (1993), Teaching culture: Strategies for intercultural communication, (3rd edition) Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company 22 Straub, H (1999), Designing a Cross-Cultural Course, English Forum, vol 37: 3, July- September, 1999 23 Tomalin, B & Stemleski, S (1993), Cultural awareness, Oxford: Oxford University press 24 Wisniewska-Brogowska, D (2004), A topic-based approach to teaching culture, Teacher's Forum, (Online), [http://elt.britcoun.org.pl/forum/dorota.htm] 25 Yule, G (2000), The study of language, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 42 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE This survey questionnaire is designed for the study on teaching cross-cultural elements in English speaking classes to Vietnamese study-majored students at Sao Do University Your assistance in completing the following questions is greatly appreciated You can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussions or data analysis Your age: …………… Your sex: Male/ Female Circle the answer that is appropriate How important is cross-cultural knowledge to English learning? A Essential D Not very important B Very important C Rather important E Not important at all Please explain why you think so: ……………………………………… How you evaluate you own English cultural knowledge? A Very good C Rather good B Good D Not good at all What are the difficulties when you deal with cross-cultural activities in the conversation class? A You are lack of cultural knowledge B You are not interested in these activities C You are shy and cannot well Others: …………………………………………………………… From which resources you obtain English cultural knowledge? A TV F Surveys B Video/ Movies G Stories C CDs/ DVD H Illustrations D Newspapers I Literature E Internet J Photographs Others: ………………………………………………………… If you have a cross-cultural activity in the conversation class, what you think motivate you the most? A Role-plays D Discussion B Situational exercises E Dialogues C Research F Quizzes Others: …………………………………………………………… I What elements of cross-cultural conversations you find important? A Topics G Work B Social taboos H Entertainment C Social norms I Food and drink D Politeness formulae E People F Living conditions J Relationships K Values L People‟s attitudes Others: ……………………………………………………………… Thank you very much for your co-operation and assistance! II APPENDIX CROSS-CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT TEST You’ve just been introduced to a British or American friend’s colleague What would you do? A Say „Hello, and bow B Say nothing and shake hands C Say „Nice to meet you‟, and shake hands D Say „Hi‟ English people avoid this in conversation with a new acquaintance: A Are you married? B What‟s your job? C Where are you from? D Where are you living now? When you want to ask for confirmation, you should avoid: A Do you mean that…? B Are you saying…? C Do you mean to say that…? D What? When you want to express disagreement, you should avoid saying: A Wrong B I guess that‟s true, but… C That‟s more or less true, but… D You could say that, but… When an American gives a compliment, ‘Your dress is beautiful’, you should say: A Thank you B No, it‟s not beautiful C Yours is more beautiful D I don‟t think so When an English suggests you have more food or drink, you usually refuse this way: A No, I don‟t need any more B Not at all C No, thanks D Don‟t that III When an English suggests you have more food or drink, you usually accept this way: A Yes, please B Yes, it right now C Yes, give me more D Yes, that‟s fine When an English point up his/ her finger to you, it means: A Good B Bad C Silly D Terrible The sign of thumb up doesn’t mean: A Well done B Agreement C All well D Lost 10 You are 20 minutes late for class The teacher is giving the lecture to the class when you arrive What would you do? A Go in, walk up to the teacher and apologize B Wait outside the classroom until the class is over and then apologize to the teacher C Knock on the door and wait for the teacher to tell you it‟s OK to come in D Go in as quietly as you can and take a seat Key: 1–C 6–C 2–A 7–A 3–D 8–A 4–A 9–D IV 5–A 10 - D APPENDIX CROSS-CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT TEST True False Don’t know When speaking to others, Vietnamese people avoid looking directly into the eyes Hand shaking is popular in communicating of Vietnamese The British shake hands when first introduced to new people, and they also that when parting When shaking hands, people may give you give you their name without a hello first Also if you wish to be on a first – name basis with someone you can indicate this by repeating your first name It is normal to ask an English lady her age To greet English and American women, we can kiss their hands The greeting topic of conversation for the Vietnamese is the family, the British the weather and the American the geographical association Although British people like to complain about bad weather, they generally put a brave face on it A smiling face is a welcoming face 10 There is no uniform for pupils and students in the U.S 11 When going to parties, Vietnamese people often bring wine, cake or flowers 12 In social situations, a man is traditionally introduced to a woman 13 In America, a woman usually stays at home and does housework after marriage 14 It‟s acceptable to talk loudly in public places in Britain 15 It is quite normal to ask American questions about their salary 16 Saying „Thank you‟ is common way of reacting to a compliment 17 „Excuse me‟ is a way of attracting attention 18 „How are you?‟ is a request for information about a V person‟s health 19 When you are talking to someone, it is acceptable if they approach closer that about feet 20 Both the Vietnamese and the British tend to come to the appointment a few minutes late Key: 1-T 2-F 3-F 4-T 5–F 6–F 7-T 8-T 9-T 10 - F 11 – F 12 - T 13 - F 14 - F 15 - F 16 – T 17 - T 18 - F 19 - F 20 - F VI APPENDIX SCORES OF STUDENTS WITH PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST PRE-TEST POST-TEST 6.0 28.0 6.0 22.0 4.0 24.0 4.0 18.0 4.0 28.0 6.0 28.0 4.0 28.0 12.0 28.0 6.0 28.0 10 2.0 28.0 11 10.0 20.0 12 6.0 22.0 13 8.0 22.0 14 6.0 26.0 15 8.0 22.0 16 6.0 24.0 17 4.0 28.0 18 6.0 20.0 19 4.0 18.0 20 8.0 28.0 21 10.0 28.0 22 10.0 28.0 23 4.0 18.0 24 6.0 28.0 25 6.0 26.0 26 8.0 24.0 27 4.0 22.0 28 6.0 22.0 29 6.0 24.0 30 12.0 28.0 VII APPENDIX STATISTICS FROM SPSS Frequency Table Pre-Test Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 3.3 3.3 3.3 26.7 26.7 30.0 12 40.0 40.0 70.0 13.3 13.3 83.3 10 10.0 10.0 93.3 12 6.7 6.7 100.0 30 100.0 100.0 Total Post-Test Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 18 10.0 10.0 10.0 20 6.7 6.7 16.7 22 20.0 20.0 36.7 24 13.3 13.3 50.0 26 6.7 6.7 56.7 28 13 43.3 43.3 100.0 Total 30 100.0 100.0 Statistics Pre-Test Post-Test N Valid Missing Mean Median Mode Std Deviation Sum 30 30 6.4000 6.0000 6.00 2.48582 192.00 24.6000 25.0000 28.00 3.56806 738.00 VIII ... SPEAKING CLASSES TO VIETNAMESE STUDY-MAJORED STUDENTS AT SAO DO UNIVERSITY (Nghiên cứu việc dạy yếu tố giao văn hóa học nói tiếng Anh cho sinh viên chuyên ngành Việt Nam học, Đại học Sao Đỏ) M.A MINOR... Nguyễn Văn Độ Hanoi - 2014 DECLARATION I hereby certify that the thesis entitled A STUDY ON TEACHING CROSS-CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES TO VIETNAMESE STUDY-MAJORED STUDENTS AT SAO... teaching cross-cultural elements in English speaking classes to Vietnamese studymajored students at Sao Do University” is chosen as the topic for my study Aims of the study The aims of the thesis