The relationship between teacher cognition and classroom practices in English speaking instruction - A case study at Europe Vietnam America English language center

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

TEACHER COGNITION AND CLASSROOM PRACTICES

IN ENGLISH SPEAKING INSTRUCTION:

A CASE STUDY AT EUROPE VIETNAM AMERICA

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTER

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL)

Submitted by NGUYEN MINH HOANG

Supervisor: Dr. NGUYEN THUY NGA

HO CHI MINH City, May 2017

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

------------------------------

NGUYEN MINH HOANG

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN

TEACHER COGNITION AND CLASSROOM PRACTICES

IN ENGLISH SPEAKING INSTRUCTION:

A CASE STUDY AT EUROPE VIETNAM AMERICA

ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTER

Major: TESOL

Major number: 60 14 01 11

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL)

Supervisor:

NGUYEN THUY NGA, Ph.D.

HO CHI MINH City, May 2017

i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis entitled “The relationship between teacher cognition and

classroom practices in English speaking instruction: A case study at Europe

Vietnam America English Language Center” is my own work.

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain

material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by

which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main

text of the thesis.

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any

other tertiary institution.

Ho Chi Minh City, 2017

Nguyen Minh Hoang

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank this section for giving me the opportunity to thank my

loved ones.

Dr. Nguyen Thuy Nga has been and will always be my VIP. Her instruction,

guidance, and support mean a great deal to me. I would like to thank her for

everything she has done for me and, above all, for being part of my life.

My special thanks goes to the participants for their generous help and

support. Without them, this thesis would not be possible.

I would also like to thank all the teachers at the Graduate school of Ho Chi

Minh City Open University. Their lessons have helped me grow, not only in my

teaching career but also in my life.

The last, but most important, ones are my parents and younger sister. I love

them more than I can say. Thank you for being the world to me.

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ABSTRACT

Thinking and actions do not always converge. In teaching, what teachers

think they should do is not always executed in their classrooms. Therefore, this

study set out to investigate the relationship between teacher cognition (i.e. thinking,

knowledge, and beliefs) and classroom practices. One teacher teaching English for

International Communication at Europe Vietnam America English Language

Center participated in this case study. Multiple data collection strategies including

one semi-structured interview, five classroom observations, and one stimulated

recall interview were utilized to investigate the relationship between her cognition

and classroom practices in English speaking instruction. The findings showed that

her cognition was both consistent and inconsistent with her classroom practices.

Consistencies were found in all four themes of the study including accuracy and

fluency, speaking elements, teacher roles, and teacher feedback. Inconsistencies

were seen in fluency-focused activities, teacher roles, and feedback in fluency￾focused activities. The study revealed two reasons for the inconsistencies. First, her

classroom practices were inconsistent with her ideal-oriented cognition derived

from the semi-structured interview, but consistent with her reality-oriented

cognition inferred from the rationale behind her classroom practices. Second, she

was not fully aware of the impact of one cognition on her classroom practices.

Based on these findings, several recommendations for research on teacher

cognition and the teaching of speaking (including textbook writers, teacher

educators, and teachers) were made.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Statement of authorship ...........................................................................................i

Acknowledgements...................................................................................................ii

Abstract................................................................................................................... iii

Table of contents .....................................................................................................iv

List of figures...........................................................................................................ix

List of tables..............................................................................................................x

Transcript conventions...........................................................................................xi

Abbreviations..........................................................................................................xii

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................1

1.1 Background to the study ..................................................................................1

1.2 Rationale for the study.....................................................................................3

1.3 Research aims ..................................................................................................6

1.4 Research questions...........................................................................................6

1.5 Theoretical framework.....................................................................................6

1.6 Research significance.......................................................................................6

1.7 Structure of the thesis.......................................................................................7

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................8

2.1 Definitions of teacher cognition.......................................................................8

2.2 Definitions of classroom practices...................................................................9

2.3 Previous studies on the relationship between teacher cognition

and classroom practices .......................................................................................10

v

2.3.1 Language areas (grammar, vocabulary, and

pronunciation)..................................................................................................10

2.3.2 Language skills (reading, writing, and speaking)...................................13

2.3.3 Studies on the relationship between teacher cognition and

classroom practices in Vietnam.......................................................................14

2.4 Four themes of English speaking instruction.................................................18

2.4.1 Accuracy and fluency .............................................................................19

2.4.2 Speaking elements ..................................................................................22

2.4.3 Teacher roles...........................................................................................23

2.4.4 Teacher feedback ....................................................................................24

2.5 Chapter summary...........................................................................................27

Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY......................................................29

3.1 Research setting .............................................................................................29

3.2 Participant ......................................................................................................30

3.3 Research design .............................................................................................31

3.4 Data collection strategies...............................................................................32

3.4.1 Semi-structured interview.......................................................................34

3.4.2 Classroom observations..........................................................................38

3.4.3 Stimulated recall interview .....................................................................38

3.5 My roles .........................................................................................................40

3.6 Data collection procedure ..............................................................................41

3.7 Data analysis..................................................................................................42

3.8 Validity and reliability ...................................................................................43

vi

3.9 Chapter summary...........................................................................................44

Chapter 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .......................................................45

4.1 The teacher’s cognition and classroom practices in terms of

accuracy and fluency............................................................................................45

4.1.1 Cognition in terms of accuracy and fluency...........................................45

4.1.2 Classroom practices in terms of accuracy and fluency...........................46

4.1.3 The relationship between the teacher’s cognition and

classroom practices in terms of accuracy and fluency ....................................55

4.1.4 Discussion of the teacher’s cognition and classroom

practices in terms of accuracy and fluency......................................................56

4.2 The teacher’s cognition and classroom practices in terms of

speaking elements................................................................................................59

4.2.1 Cognition in terms of speaking elements................................................59

4.2.2 Classroom practices in terms of speaking elements...............................59

4.2.3 The relationship between the teacher’s cognition and

classroom practices in terms of speaking elements.........................................60

4.2.4 Discussion of the teacher’s cognition and classroom

practices in terms of speaking elements ..........................................................61

4.3 The teacher’s cognition and classroom practices in terms of

teacher roles .........................................................................................................62

4.3.1 Cognition in terms of teacher roles.........................................................62

4.3.2 Classroom practices in terms of teacher roles ........................................63

4.3.3 The relationship between the teacher’s cognition and

classroom practices in terms of teacher roles..................................................65

vii

4.3.4 Discussion of the teacher’s cognition and classroom

practices in terms of teacher roles ...................................................................67

4.4 The teacher’s cognition and classroom practices in terms of

teacher feedback...................................................................................................68

4.4.1 Cognition in terms of teacher feedback ..................................................68

4.4.2 Classroom practices in terms of teacher feedback..................................69

4.4.3 The relationship between the teacher’s cognition and

classroom practices in terms of teacher feedback............................................73

4.4.4 Discussion of the teacher’s cognition and classroom

practices in terms of teacher feedback.............................................................74

4.5 Summary and discussion of the key findings about the

teacher’s cognition and classroom practices related to four themes

of this study..........................................................................................................75

4.5.1 Summary of the key findings..................................................................75

4.5.2 Discussion of the key findings................................................................77

4.6 Chapter summary...........................................................................................78

Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............................79

5.1 Conclusion .....................................................................................................79

5.2 Contributions and limitations.........................................................................80

5.2.1 Contributions ..........................................................................................80

5.2.2 Limitations..............................................................................................82

5.3 Recommendations..........................................................................................83

5.4 Suggestions for further studies.......................................................................84

5.5 Chapter summary...........................................................................................85

viii

REFERENCES.......................................................................................................86

APPENDIX 1 ...........................................................................................................93

APPENDIX 2 ...........................................................................................................94

APPENDIX 3 ...........................................................................................................99

APPENDIX 3 ...........................................................................................................99

APPENDIX 4 .........................................................................................................101

APPENDIX 5 .........................................................................................................113

APPENDIX 6 .........................................................................................................117

APPENDIX 7 .........................................................................................................124

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LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 2.1 The relationship among four themes of English speaking

instruction used in this study....................................................................................26

Figure 2.2 Theoretical framework for this study .....................................................27

Figure 4.1 The relationship between the participant’s cognition and

classroom practices related to four themes of English speaking

instruction.................................................................................................................76

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LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 2.1 A summary of previous studies on the relationship

between teacher cognition and classroom practices ................................................16

Table 2.2 Non-communicative activities (audio-lingual drills)...............................19

Table 2.3 Communicative activities.........................................................................21

Table 3.1 The interview guide for the semi-structured interview............................37

Table 4.1 The relationship between the teacher’s cognition and

classroom practices in terms of accuracy and fluency.............................................55

Table 4.2 The relationship between the teacher’s cognition and

classroom practices in terms of speaking elements .................................................61

Table 4.3 The relationship between the teacher’s cognition and

classroom practices in terms of teacher roles...........................................................66

Table 4.4 The relationship between the teacher’s cognition and

classroom practices in terms of teacher feedback....................................................73

xi

TRANSCRIPT CONVENTIONS

T teacher

S, S1, S2 student’s pseudonym

W writer

I semi-structured interview

O observation

SR stimulated recall interview

… pause

< > interpretive comment

italics translation of original speech

[…] skipped text