Nghiên cứu thay đổi niềm tin giáo viên tiếng Anh chuyên ngành tại Việt Nam

CHANGES IN BELIEFS OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS IN AN ESP TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN VIETNAM ĐẶNG THỊ VÂN ANH 2019 CHANGES IN BELIEFS OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS IN AN ESP TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN VIETNAM A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand ĐẶNG THỊ VÂN ANH 2019 ABSTRACT Pre-service English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teachers’ belief change has been under-researched, so little is known about how and why their beliefs change over their teacher education programs. This study aimed to identify beliefs about ESP teaching of pre-service teachers in an ESP teacher education programme in Vietnam; explore how their beliefs changed after the ESP teaching methodology course and after the practicum; and identify factors that influenced their belief changes. A qualitative case study approach and a multiple-case study design were employed to investigate the belief changes of twelve pre-service ESP teachers. Over a six month period, data were gathered through the employment of semi-structured interviews, reflective journals, observations, and stimulated recall interviews.

These qualitative data went through two main analysis processes (within-case and cross- case analyses) and were analysed inductively, deductively, comparatively, and chronologically with the support of the NVivo software program. These comprehensive processes of data collection and analyses resulted in significant research findings. The findings revealed that the pre-service ESP teachers held a wide range of initial beliefs about ESP teaching before they were provided with theory and practice about ESP teaching. These initial beliefs, which originated from their ESP learning experiences in the teacher education programme, were found to have a number of distinctive features and were susceptible to change.

The pre-service ESP teachers’ beliefs tended to change in six ways and follow two key processes of belief change. The findings also revealed a wide variety of contextual and internal factors that, despite playing different roles, exerted integrated influences on their beliefs. Therefore, this study highlights the importance of not only the ESP teacher education program but also the pre-service ESP teachers themselves in the development of their beliefs about ESP teaching. The findings from this study shed fresh light on the development of beliefs about ESP teaching of pre-service teachers in an ESP teacher education program.

Insights into the complexity of their belief change processes will not only facilitate the development and improvement of ESP teacher education programmes in the future but also provide a basis for further research into this unexplored area. i ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deep gratitude to Associate Professor Penny Haworth and Dr Karen Ashton, my research supervisors. I cannot thank them enough for their patient guidance, scholarly support, and enthusiastic encouragement. They have never stopped challenging me with critical questions that required plenty of reading and thinking.

They have also constantly given constructive feedback and comments that encouraged me to improve my knowledge and skills as a researcher. Without their academic support, this research would not have been completed with such an in-depth insight into pre-service ESP teachers’ beliefs and belief change, laying the groundwork for further research in this unexplored area. I would also like to thank my research participants, pre-service ESP teachers who enthusiastically shared their beliefs, thoughts, and feelings about their journey to become ESP teachers. Their trust and openness were of critical importance to the insight that this research has gained.

Without their contribution, pre-service ESP teachers’ beliefs and belief change would have remained untouched. My thanks are also extended to the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education for their approval for this research being conducted and their support over this time. I would also like to extend my thanks to the staff of the Institute of Education for their support over the time of my PhD journey. This journey has also been lightened by my friends from different parts of the world, including Egypt, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, and Vanuatu, at the Institute of Education.

We have been a great network of support and friendship. My sincere appreciation also goes to Professor James Chapman for his valuable support. My PhD journey would have been tougher without his kindness, encouragement, and advice. I also wish to thank my family for their love, support, and encouragement throughout my study.

Finally, I am indebted to the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training for granting me a full-time doctoral scholarship, making it possible for me to complete my doctoral study. iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction to the study. The research context.

2 Background to English language teaching in Vietnam. 3 ESP teaching in Vietnam. 4 ESP teacher education in Vietnam. Rationale and significance of the study.

Overview of the thesis. Introduction to ESP. 11 Historical development of ESP. 12 Distinguishing ESP from EGP.

17 Objectives of ESP teaching. 20 ESP teacher competencies. Examining teacher beliefs. 29 v Importance of teachers’ beliefs.

29 Characteristics of teacher beliefs. Pre-service teachers’ belief change. Influences on pre-service teachers’ belief changes. 38 Prior learning experiences.

40 Other individual factors. The qualitative research methodology. 47 Focus on meaning and understanding. 48 Concern with process.

48 Attention to actual settings of the phenomenon under study. 49 Collection of descriptive data. 49 Employment of the inductive data analysis strategy. 50 The case study method.

51 The research setting and participant selection. 53 The research setting. 53 The participant selection. 58 Phase 1: ESP teaching methodology course.

60 The data collection tools. 61 The semi-structured interviews. 62 The stimulated recall interviews. 65 The reflective journals.

65 vi The teaching observations. The data analysis. 67 The within-case analysis process. 69 The cross-case analysis process.

The researcher’s positioning. Ensuring quality in qualitative research. 77 Respect for persons. 78 Informed and voluntary consent.

79 Privacy, anonymity and confidentiality. 83 Part One: Initial beliefs. 83 ESP objectives: Teaching subject knowledge or English language?. 83 ESP teacher competence: Subject knowledge or English language competence?.

85 Motives for needing a specialized ESP teaching methodology. 87 Consistency across initial beliefs within the belief system. 88 Overview of the pre-service teachers’ initial beliefs. 91 Part Two: Changes and factors.

92 Insights into different belief development processes. 93 My: The process of forming and strengthening beliefs. 93 vii Nga: The process of forming, reforming and strengthening beliefs. 95 Nhi: The process of expanding, deepening and strengthening beliefs.

97 Insights into setbacks to belief development. 100 Thùy: Confusing input. 100 Giang: The contrast between two ESP teaching experiences. 102 Châu: The convergence of ESP learning and teaching experiences.

104 Involvement of internal factors in belief change processes. 107 Hoa: A pragmatic approach to learning to become an ESP teacher. 107 Thu: A proactive approach to learning to become an ESP teacher. 109 Trà: Gaining confidence to teach ESP.

110 Huệ: Increasingly consistent beliefs versus decreasing motivation. 113 Teasing out the factors influencing belief changes. 116 The ESP teaching methodology course. 116 The theory lesson.

117 The micro-teaching session. 120 Observing experienced teachers’ ESP lessons. 122 Observing pre-service teachers’ ESP lessons. 123 Planning and teaching an ESP lesson.

127 Approaches to developing ESP teaching skills. 129 Motivation for developing ESP teaching skills. 130 Overview of belief changes and influencing factors. The features of pre-service ESP teachers’ initial beliefs.

135 The critical role of prior learning experiences. 135 The tendency to prioritize subject knowledge. 140 viii Influences of beliefs about ESP objectives on consistency across beliefs. Changes in the pre-service teachers’ beliefs about ESP teaching.

148 Susceptibility to change in pre-service ESP teachers’ beliefs. 148 Discrete categories of belief change. 161 Belief change processes: varied combinations of discrete changes. 162 Development change processes.

165 Counter-development change processes. Belief change: The integration of influencing factors. 167 Contextual factors: Input from knowledge and experiences. 169 The ESP teaching methodology course as a theoretical input provider.

169 Practicum as realistic teaching input. 171 Internal factors as a personal filter. 178 The integration of contextual and internal factors. 185 Pre-service ESP teachers’ initial beliefs.

185 Pre-service ESP teachers’ belief changes over time. 187 Factors influencing pre-service ESP teachers’ beliefs. 190 Pre-service ESP teachers’ beliefs. 190 Pre-service teachers’ belief change.

193 Recommendations for pre-service ESP teachers. 193 Recommendations for ESP teacher educators. 195 Recommendations for ESP teacher education management. Limitations of the study.

Suggestions for future research. 201 x LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Required competencies of ESP teachers .2: Categories of belief change .1: Overview of the study .2: Participants’ teaching and learning experiences .3: Participants’ teaching and learning experiences .4: Research questions and data collection tools .1: An overview of the participants’ initial beliefs .2: Changes in My’s beliefs .3: Changes in Nga’s beliefs .4: Changes in Nhi’s beliefs .5: Giang’s ESP practical teaching experiences .6: Changes in Châu’s beliefs .7: Changes in Trà’s beliefs.8: An overview of Huệ’s beliefs and motivation .9: The participants’ practicum experiences .1: The pre-service teachers’ initial beliefs about ESP teaching. 141 xi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: ESP in the relationship with EGP and specific courses .2: The continuum of ELT course types .3: ESP teaching and course considerations .4: The language/ subject knowledge continuum .1: The research procedure .1: The relationship between learning experiences and initial beliefs about teaching .2: The interconnections of beliefs within a belief system .3: Continuum of belief stability and changeability .4: The primary reasons for different categories of belief change .5: Belief change processes.6: Influences of internal and external factors on pre-service teachers’ beliefs. 168 xii LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A: Course distribution in the ESP teacher education program at the University of Technology and Education.

233 Appendix B: Guiding questions for in-depth interviews. 235 Appendix C: Pre-lesson interview questions (Sample). 240 Appendix D: Post-lesson interview questions. 242 Appendix E: Reflective journals.

244 Appendix F: Transcript release authority (in English). 255 Appendix G: Case folders. 256 Appendix H: Multi-level nodes of within-case analysis. 257 Appendix I: Multi-phase analysis of belief changes.

258 Appendix J: Within-case analysis of influencing factors. 259 Appendix K: Cross-case analysis. 260 Appendix L: Low risk notification. 261 Appendix M: Information sheet for pre-service ESP teachers (in English).

262 Appendix N: Consent form for pre-service ESP teachers (in English). 265 Appendix O: Consent form for Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages (in English). 266 Appendix P: Consent form for President of the University (in English). 267 Appendix Q: Invitation letter to Dean of Faculty (in English).

268 Appendix R: Invitation letter to President of the University (in English). 270 Appendix S: Information sheet for ESP learners (in English). 272 Appendix T: Information sheet for ESP learners (in Vietnamese). 274 Appendix U: Consent form for ESP learners (in English).

276 xiii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AL Audio Lingual Approach CLIL Content and Language Integrated Learning CLT Communicative Language Teaching EGP English for General Purposes EMI English-Medium Instruction ESP English for Specific Purposes GTM Grammar-Translation Method xiv INTRODUCTION 1. Introduction to the study This thesis focuses on the change in pre-service English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teachers’ beliefs and the factors influencing these belief changes. My interest in this study began during my role as a teacher educator in an ESP teacher education programme at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education (commonly known as the University of Technology and Education).