School of Education Codeswitching by Tertiary Level Teachers of Business English
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School of Education Codeswitching by Tertiary Level Teachers of Business English: A Vietnamese Perspective Pham Thi Ngoc Hoa This thesis is presented for the Degree of Doctor of Education of Curtin University May 2015 Declaration To the best of my knowledge and belief this thesis contains no material previously published by any other person except where due acknowledgment has been made. This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. Signed: Date: 16th May, 2015. Acknowledgements This study would not have been possible without the assistance, encouragement and guidance of a number of individuals to whom I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation. First and foremost, my sincere gratitude goes to my two dedicated supervisors, Professor Rhonda Oliver and Professor Jennifer Nicol for their mentorship and guidance. Thank you for your wisdom, devoted supervision and unceasing encouragement that have significantly contributed to the completion of this study. Your support and expertise throughout this research is deeply appreciated and will always be remembered. I am hugely grateful to Associate Professor Katie Dunworth and Dr Christopher Conlan for all their guidance in the early stage of this study. I am also appreciative to Dr Anna Alderson for her editing and insightful comments on the earlier drafts of the thesis. I am especially indebted to the teachers and students who participated in this study for generously giving their time and honestly sharing their voices with me. Their stories and their words are the heart and soul of this work. I would like to extend my gratitude to the Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam and Curtin University, Western Australia for granting me a scholarship to study at Curtin University. Last, but not least, I wish to express my appreciation to all members of my family who have always been an unlimited source of encouragement, understanding, and love. i Abstract Code switching (CS) - the use of students' first language in classes conducted in a second language - has long been a controversial topic in the area of language teaching and second language acquisition. While CS has been widely investigated in a variety of contexts, little empirical research has been undertaken in Vietnam. This study examines the CS practice of Vietnamese teachers in content-based tertiary level Business English classes, the accounts the teachers articulated for their CS practice and students' perceptions of their teachers' CS behaviour. In order to achieve the research objectives, data were collected from teachers and students through three collection strategies: non-participant observation, stimulated recall interviews, and focus group sessions. The data generated were analysed by using a constant comparative approach. The study found that CS did occur in the observed classes, and that it served particular functions. The interviews with the teachers indicated their support for the use of CS in their pedagogical practice. The students reported overwhelmingly positive perceptions of their teachers' CS behaviour, although they suggested that this practice should be balanced. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of bilingual discourse and CS practice in content and language integrated classrooms, particularly at tertiary level in Vietnam. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... i Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables........................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ viii List of Appendices ................................................................................................................... ix List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ......................................................................................... x Chapter One: Introduction.......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background to the Study .................................................................................................. 1 1.2 The Context ...................................................................................................................... 3 1.2.1 The broad context ...................................................................................................... 4 1.2.1.1 Status of the English language before Doi moi ................................................... 4 1.2.1.2 Status of the English language after Doi moi ..................................................... 4 1.2.1.3 English teaching and learning ............................................................................. 5 1.2.1.4 Socio-cultural factors .......................................................................................... 7 1.2.2 The institutional context ............................................................................................ 8 1.3 Research Objectives and Research Questions ................................................................ 11 1.4 Research Methodology ................................................................................................... 11 1.5 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................... 12 1.6 Limitations of the Study ................................................................................................. 12 1.7 Ethical Issues and Data Storage ..................................................................................... 13 1.8 Organisation of the Thesis .............................................................................................. 14 1.9 Definitions of Terms ...................................................................................................... 14 1.10 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter Two: Literature Review .............................................................................................. 16 2.1 Code Switching .............................................................................................................. 16 2.1.1 Characteristics of code switching ............................................................................ 16 2.1.2 Approaches to code switching ................................................................................. 18 2.1.2.1 Structural approaches to code switching ........................................................... 18 2.1.2.2 Sociolinguistic approaches to code switching................................................... 19 iii 2.1.2.3 Cognitive-pragmatic approaches to code switching ......................................... 22 2.2 Second Language Pedagogy ........................................................................................... 23 2.2.1 L1 use in L2 instruction ........................................................................................... 23 2.2.2 Acknowledging the use of the L1 ............................................................................ 28 2.2.2.1 General theories of learning and bilingualisation ............................................. 29 2.2.2.2 The cognitive processing perspective ............................................................... 31 2.2.2.3 The socio-cultural approach .............................................................................. 32 2.2.2.4 The sociolinguistic perspective ........................................................................ 33 2.2.3 Teacher code switching ........................................................................................... 34 2.3 Teacher and Learner Beliefs ........................................................................................... 39 2.3.1 Nature of teacher and learner beliefs ....................................................................... 39 2.3.1.1 Teacher beliefs .................................................................................................. 39 2.3.1.2 Learner beliefs ................................................................................................... 42 2.3.2 Teacher beliefs about code switching practices ....................................................... 43 2.3.3 Teacher code switching from learners' perspectives ............................................... 46 2.4 Summary ........................................................................................................................ 49 Chapter Three: Methodology ................................................................................................... 51 3.1 The Research Paradigm and Research Design ............................................................... 51 3.2 Research Site and Research Participants ........................................................................ 52 3.3 Data Collection Procedures ...........................................................................................