A Case Study of Vietnamese EFL Teachers’ Conception of Language Output and Interaction
Abstract
There exists a gap between what second language acquisition research has to say and what teachers do in the classroom. As part of an attempt to bridge this gap, this study is driven by the motive to understand how pedagogical innovations such as task-based language instruction can be influenced by teacher beliefs. Drawing on the perspective of research on teachers’ thinking which aims to inform language teaching pedagogy and teacher education, the study employed multiple data sources (focus group, lesson plan, and stimulated recall interview) to tap into the conception of six Vietnamese EFL instructors regarding language output and interaction. Cross-case analysis showed that most of the teachers geared language output and interaction activities towards achieving a targeted linguistic aim. Further analysis revealed that this view reflects a synthetic, product-oriented conception of teaching and learning by skill-building, and is in line with traditional approaches which emphasise transmission style and form instruction. This finding implies that constructivist perspectives on teaching such as task-based language instruction may run counter to teachers’ existing conception of teaching. The implementation of task-based instruction thus needs to consider negotiating between supporting teachers to focus on meaning and the need for form-focused instruction.
Downloads
References
Barnard, R., & Nguyen, G.V. (2010). Task-based language teaching (TBLT): A Vietnamese case study using narrative frames to elicit teachers' beliefs. Language Education in Asia, 1(1), 77-86. /Barnard_Nguyen. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5746/LEiA/10/V1/A07
Benson, P., & Lor, W. (1999). Conceptions of language and language learning. System, 27(4), 459-472.
Berliner, D. C. (2005). The place of process-product research in developing the agenda for research on teacher thinking. In P. M. Denicolo & M. Kompf (Eds.), Teacher thinking and professional action (pp. 3-15). Routledge.
Borg, S. (2006). Teacher cognition and language education. Continuum.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in Psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Breen, M.P., Hird, B., Milton, M., Oliver, R., & Thwaite, A. (2001). Making sense of language teaching: Teachers' principles and classroom practices. Applied Linguistics, 22(4), 470-501. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/22.4.470
Carless, D.R. (2003). Factors in the implementation of task-based teaching in primary schools. System, 31(4), 485-500. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2003.03.002
Carless, D. (2007). The suitability of task-based approaches for secondary schools: Perspectives from Hong Kong. System, 35, 595-608. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2007.09.003
Chau, T. H. (2009, April). Balancing grammar and communication in EFL teaching: A study of teachers' beliefs about grammar instruction and error correction. Paper presented at the Seventh Asian EFL Journal Conference. Pusan, Korea.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2000). Research methods in education. Routledge Falmer.
David, M. (2006). Editor's introduction. In M. David (Ed.), Case study research (vol. I, pp. xiv- xlii). Sage.
Day, C., Calderhead, J., & Denicolo, P. (Eds.). (2012). Research on teacher thinking: Understanding professional development. Routledge.
Eley, M.G. (2006). Teachers' conceptions of teaching and the making of specific decisions in planning to teach. Higher Education, 51(2), 191-214. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-004-6382-9
Ellis, R. (2001). Introduction: Investigating form-focused instruction. Language Learning, 51, 1-43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.2001.tb00013.x
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R. (2005). Principles of instructed language learning. Asian EFL Journal, 7(3). https://www.asian-efl-journal.com/main-journals/principles-of-instructed-language-learning.
Ellis, R., & He, X. (1999). The roles of modified input and output in the incidental acquisition of word meanings. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 285-301.
Ellis, R., Tanaka, Y., & Yamazaki, A. (1994). Classroom interaction, comprehension, and the acquisition of L2 word meanings. Language Learning, 44(3), 449-491.
Entwistle, N., Skinner, D., Entwistle, D., & Orr, S. (2000). Conceptions and beliefs about good teaching: An integration of contrasting research areas. Higher Education Research and Development, 19(1), 5-26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360050020444
Farrell, T.S.C., & Lim, P.C. (2005). Conceptions of grammar teaching: A case study of teachers' beliefs and classroom practices. Teaching English as a Second or a Foreign Language, 9. http://tesl-ej.org/ej34/a9.html.
Foster, P., & Skehan, P. (1999). The influence of source of planning and focus of planning on task-based performance. Language Teaching Research, 3(3), 215-247. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/136216889900300303
Freeman, D. (1991). To make the tacit explicit: Teacher education, emerging discourse, and conceptions of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 7(5-6), 439-454. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0742-051X(91)90040-V
Freeman, D. (2002). The hidden side of the work: Teacher knowledge and learning to teach: A perspective from North American educational research on teacher education in English language teaching. Language Teaching, 35(1), 1-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444801001720
Freeman, D., & Richards, J.C. (1993). Conceptions of teaching and the education of second language teachers. TESOL Quarterly, 27(2), 193-216. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3587143
Fullan, M. (1993). Changing forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. Falmer.
Gass, S. M., & Mackey, A. (2000). Stimulated recall methodology in second language research. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Gass, S.M., & Torres, M.J.A. (2005). Attention when? An investigation of the ordering effect of input and interaction. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27, 1-31.
Glense, C. (2005). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.
Goodyear, P., & Hativa, N. (2002). Introduction: Research on teacher thinking, beliefs and knowledge in higher education. In N. Hativa & P. Goodyear (Eds.), Teacher thinking, beliefs and knowledge in higher education (pp. 1-14). Kluwer.
Green, C. (2005). Integrating extensive reading in the task-based curriculum. ELT Journal, 59(4), 306-311. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/cci059
Howard, J. & Millar, S. (2009). The applicability of principles for instructed second language learning: A South Korean perspective. Asian EFL Journal, 11(4). http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/December_2009_jh.php.
Izumi, S., & Bigelow, M. (2000). Does output promote noticing and second language acquisition? TESOL Quarterly, 34(2), 239-278. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3587952
Johnson, K.E. (2006). The socio-cultural turn and its challenges for second language teacher education. TESOL Quarterly, 40(1), 235-252. https://doi.org. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/40264518
Kalaja, P., & Barcelos, A.M.F. (2003). Introduction. In P. Kalaja, & A.M.F. Barcelos (Eds.), Beliefs about SLA: New research approaches (Vol. 2, pp. 1-4). Kluwer.
Kech, C.M, Iberri-Shea, G., Tracy-Ventura, N., & Wa-Mbaleka, S. (2006). Investigating the empirical link between task-based instruction and acquisition: A meta-analysis. In J. M. Norris & L. Ortega (Eds.), Synthesizing research on language learning and teaching (pp. 91-132). John Benjamin's Publishing Company.
Kember, D. (1997). A reconceptualisation of the research into university academics' conceptions of teaching. Learning and Instruction, 7(3), 255-275. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0959-4752(96)00028-X
Lam, B.H., & Kember, D. (2006). The relationship between conceptions of teaching and approaches to teaching. Teachers and Teaching, 12(6), 693-713. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13540600601029744
Le, V.C. (2008). Teachers' beliefs about curricular innovation in Vietnam: A preliminary study. In Y. H. Choi, B. Spolsky & R. Barnard (Eds.), ELT curriculum innovation and implementation (pp. 191-216). Asia TEFL.
Long, M.H. (1996). The role of linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In W. Ritchie & T. J. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp.413-468). Academic Press.
Long, M. H., & Crookes, G. (1992). Three approaches to task-based syllabus design. TESOL Quarterly, 26(1), 27-56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3587368
MacDonald, M., Badger, R., & White, G. (2001). Changing values: What use are theories of language learning and teaching? Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(8), 949-963.
Mackey, A. (1999). Input, interaction, and second language development. Studies in Second Language Aacquisition, 21, 557-587. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263199004027
Mackay, J., Birello, M., & Xerri, D. (2018). ELT research in action: Bridging the gap between research and classroom practice. IATEFL.
Mangubhai, F., Dashwood, A., Berthold, M., Flores, M., & Dale, J. (1998). Primary LOTE teachers' understandings and beliefs about communicative language teaching: Report on the first phase of the project. http://eprints.usq.edu.au/890/1/Mangubhai_et_al_CLTREP97.pdf.
Markee, N. (1997). Second language acquisition research: A resource for changing teachers' professional cultures? Modern Language Journal, 81(1), 80-93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1997.tb01628.x
Mattheoudakis, M. (2007). Tracking changes in pre-service EFL teacher beliefs in Greece: A longitudinal study. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 23(8), 1272-1288. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.06.001
McDonough, K. (2004). Learner-learner interaction during pair and small group activities in a Thai EFL context. System, 32, 207-224. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2004.01.003
McLaughlin, B. (1987). Theories of second language learning. Edward Arnold.
Nguyen, G. V. (2014). Forms or meaning? Teachers' beliefs and practices regarding task-based language teaching: A Vietnamese case study. The Journal of Asia TEFL, 11(1), 1-36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1075/ltyl.00004.new
Nguyen, V.G., Le, V.C., & Barnard, R. (2015). Old wine in new bottles: Two case studies of task-based language teaching in Vietnam. In M. Thomas & H. Reinders (Eds.), Contemporary task-based language teaching in Asia (pp. 68-86). Bloomsbury.
Nguyen, V. L. (2011). Dynamic conceptions of input, output and interaction: Vietnamese EFL lecturers learning second language acquisition theory [Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Waikato]. https://hdl.handle.net/10289/5167.
Pajares, M. F. (1992). Teachers' beliefs and educational research: Cleaning up a messy construct. Review of Educational Research, 62 (3), 307-332. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543062003307
Peacock, M. (2001). Pre-service ESL teachers' beliefs about second language learning: A longitudinal study. System, 29(2), 177-195. https://. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0346-251X(01)00010-0
Pica, T. (1994). Research on negotiation: What does it reveal about second-language learning conditions, processes, and outcomes? Language Learning, 44(3), 493-527. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1994.tb01115.x
Pica, T., Young, R., & Doughty, C. (1987). The impact of interaction on comprehension. TESOL Quarterly, 21(4), 737-758. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3586992
Prabhu, N.S. (1987). Second language pedagogy. Oxford University Press.
Pratt, D. D. (1992). Conceptions of teaching. Adult Education Quarterly, 42(4), 203-220. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/074171369204200401
Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Sato, K., & Kleinsasser, R. (1999). Multiple data sources: converging and diverging conceptualisations of LOTE teaching. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 24(1), 17-34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.1999v24n1.2
Shehadeh, A. (1999). Non-native speakers' production of comprehensible output and second language learning. Language Learning, 94(4), 627-675. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.00104
Shi, L., & Cumming, A. (1995). Teachers' conceptions of second language writing instruction: Five case studies. Journal of Second Language Writing, 4(2), 87-111. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/1060-3743(95)90002-0
Skehan, P. (1996). A framework for the implementation of task-based instruction. Applied Linguistics, 17(1), 38-62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/17.1.38
Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford University Press.
Skehan, P. (2003). Task-based instruction. Language Teaching, 36, 1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S026144480200188X
Stake, R.E. (1995). The art of case study research. Sage.
Sturman, A. (1994). Case study methods. In J.P. Keeves (Ed.), Educational research, methodology, and measurement: An international handbook (pp.61-66). Pergamon.
Swain, M. (1995). Three functions of output in second language learning. In G. Cook & B. Seidlhofer (Eds.), Principle and practice in applied linguistics (pp. 125-144). Oxford University Press.
Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (1998). Interaction and second language learning: Two adolescent French immersion students working together. The Modern Language Journal, 82(3), 320-337. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1998.tb01209.x
Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (2000). Task-based second language learning: the uses of the first language. Language Teaching Research, 4(3), 251-274. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/136216880000400304
Todd, W.R. (2006). Continuing change after the innovation. System, 34(1), 1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2005.09.002
Tsui, A. B. M. (2003). Understanding expertise in teaching: Case studies of second language teachers. Cambridge University Press.
Wilkins, D. A. (1976). Notional syllabuses. Oxford University Press.
Willis, D., & Willis, J. (2007). Doing task-based teaching. Oxford University Press.
Wilson, V. (1997). Focus groups: A useful qualitative method for educational research? British Educational Research Journal, 23(2), 209-224. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0141192970230207
Yin, R. K. (1994). Case study research: Design and methods (2nd ed.). Sage.
Copyright (c) 2020 National Research University Higher School of Economics
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the Copyright Notice.
