Tài liệu The use of technologies in teaching ielts at naturally english speaking language center (nes) teachers' and students' perspectives master of tesol

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY --------------THESIS TRAN THI THUY DUNG THE USE OF TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHING IELTS AT NATURALLY ENGLISH SPEAKING LANGUAGE CENTER (NES): TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERSECTIVES BA RIA VUNG TAU 2022 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY --------------THESIS THE USE OF TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHING IELTS AT NATURALLY ENGLISH SPEAKING LANGUAGE CENTER (NES): TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES Submitted to the Postgraduate Institute in partial fulfilment of the Master’s degree in TESOL Course code: MTSOL18K2 By TRAN THI THUY DUNG Student’s code: 18110101 Supervised by: NGUYEN HOANG TUAN, Ph.D. BA RIA VUNG TAU 2022 2 MASTER’S THESIS REPORT Ba Ria Vung Tau, 20th March 2022 Student name: TRAN THI THUY DUNG Date of birth: 30 January 1982 Major: Sex: Female Place of birth: Vung Tau Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Student code: 18110101 I- Thesis title: “The use of technologies in teaching IELTS at Naturally English Speaking Language Center (NES): Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives” II- Objectives: This study aims to closely and thoroughly inspect teachers’ and student’s perspectives of using technologies in teaching IELTS with knowledge-based approaches at the context of Naturally English Speaking Language Center (NES). The research objectives are as follows: - To investigate the teachers’ self-efficacy, attitudes and ICT utility toward use of technologies in teaching IELTS at the context of NES. - To investigate students’ Perceived of Easy to Use (POEU), Perceived Usefulness (PU), attitudes, behavior towards ICT use, as well as contextual factors of ICT use to learn IELTS at NES. To answer the two below thesis’ question: 1. From teachers’ perspectives, what are benefits and challenges when using ICT to teach IELTS at NES? 2. From students’ perspectives, what are students’ benefits and challenges when using ICT to learn IELTS at NES? This study was conducted at the context of Naturally English Speaking Language Centre (NES). Participants were 25 IELTS teachers and 200 students from classes from Preparation-IELTS and IELTS classes of 4 Vung Tau branches of the system. They participated in surveys designed with system of questionnaires and semi-structured interviews which focused on plenty of factors. Firstly, these questionnaires are about teacher’s and students’ perspectives on ICT use for IELTS teaching and learning. Secondly, five elements to consider when studying for the IELTS utilizing IT tools: ICT Utilizing, English Environment, Interactive ability and means, Strategic and organizational learning and knowledge-based approach. In addition, a statics of technology tools used for teaching IELTS also made for a reference and comparison on the technology need of teachers and students so that the researcher makes any conclusion or and suggestion on how the teachers and students at NES use ICT. Orderly, there are many technology-based facilities such as self- study rooms, smart classrooms, multimedia rooms to assist students to study English. As a result, in order to learn properly, learners must assume responsibility. III- Starting date: June 1st 2020 IV- Completing date: March 30th 2022 V- Academic supervisor: Nguyen Hoang Tuan, Ph. D. ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR SCHOOL DEAN ii CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled: “THE USE OF TECHNOLOGIES IN TEACHING IELTS AT NATURALLY ENGLISH SPEAKING LANGUAGE CENTER (NES): TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES” Ba Ria Vung Tau, March 2022 TRAN THI THUY DUNG iii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I, TRAN THI THUY DUNG, a candidate for the Master of TESOL degree, thus declare that I accept the University's rules for the keeping and use of Master's Theses deposited in the library. In accordance with these terms, I agree that the original of my Master's Thesis deposited in the library should be available for study and research purposes, in accordance with the Librarian's regular rules for the care, lending, and replication of theses. Ba Ria Vung Tau, March 2021 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I want to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to my Supervisor, Dr. Nguyen Hoang Tuan, for his professional guidance, efforts, and support he provided me during the many stages of completing my Master Thesis. His unwavering encouragement, counsel, and patience have been essential to me. His leadership abilities, teaching quality, true compassion, and academic integrity have taught me a great deal about what counts most in lecturer education and in life. I would like to take this occasion to thank the examiners for reviewing my proposal and providing detailed remarks and recommendations during the thesis defense. I am particularly grateful for the active engagement of students and teachers in this study project, as well as the assistance of teachers and students at Natural English School. Without the crucial information they contributed, this study would not have been feasible. Finally, I want to express my thankfulness to my family for their unfailing support and encouragement. Without them, I might not have gotten as far in my academic career as I have. v ABSTRACTS The research aimed to investigate teachers’ self-efficacy, attitudes and ICT utility toward use of technologies in teaching IELTS at the context of NES and to investigate students perceived of easy to use (POEU), Perceived Usefulness (PU), attitudes, behavior towards ICT use, as well as contextual factors of ICT use to learn IELTS at NES. A descriptive qualitative method, surveys and interviews were used as instruments. The quantitative data from questionnaires were processed by SPSS, while the qualitative data from interviews were analyzed using the content analysis approach. The result of this research shows that the teachers used kinds of technologies including informative constructive tools, communicative tools, resignation devices and constructive tools. Teacher preferred use of technology because students motivated, interested and surrounded by English environments for gaining knowledge for IELTS strategies. Also, ICT helped teachers displaying materials, send assignments and give notification very conveniently motivate students to learn. This study also shows that students are interested in using ICT in learning IELTS and be motivated to learn. In addition, various aspects of technology used in Ielts teaching by developing innovative curricula that take advantage of recent scientific and technological developments. Training teachers in technological skills was to ensure effective and quality subject delivery. Providing technical media such as audio-visual and modern technical programs, and establishing student-teacher platforms that maximize positive language learning outcomes. Some previous relevant literature has been studied. The correlation with modern teaching skills has been completely evaluated for the goals of this study. Accordingly, the researcher discusses the main research question, clarifies the importance of the research objectives and hypotheses, and summarizes the findings. The study was finished by making a number of recommendations that could help to improve teaching methods even further by promoting the wider use of current technologies. Keywords: knowledge-based approach; impacts of technology; ICT; IELTS learning; English learning environments effectively; benefits; challenges. vi vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of originality iii Retention and use of the thesis iv Acknowledgements v Abstracts vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 3 1.1 3 Background of the study 1.2. Statement of the Problem 6 1.3. Aims of the Study 6 1.4 Research Questions 7 1.5. Scope of the Study 7 1.6. Significance of the Study 7 1.7. Definitions of the Terms 8 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1 Introduction 10 2.2 Concepts related to the study 10 2.2.1 Knowledge-based approach in teaching and learning IELTS 10 2.2.2 The Use of ICT in Teaching and Learning IELTS 13 2.2.3 Benefits and Challenges in using ICT in teaching and learning IELTS from teachers’ and students’ perspectives’ 15 2.2.4 Organizational Learning 17 2.3. Previous Studies on the Benefits and Challenges of Technology in Improving Language Skills 19 2.4. The Conceptual Framework 19 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1. Research Site 23 23 3.2. Research design 23 3.3 Research implements 24 3.4. Sample and Instrument 26 3.4.1 Questionnaire 26 3.4.2 Interviews 26 3.5 Data Collection Procedure 27 3.6 Data Analysis Procedure 27 3.7 Reliability and Validity Testing 28 3.8 Chapter Summary 28 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1. Results and Findings 30 30 4.1.1 From teachers’ perspectives, what are benefits and challenges when using ICT to teach IELTS at NES? 30 4.1.2 From students’ perspectives, what are benefits and challenges when using ICT to learn IELTS at NES? 36 4.2. Discussions 60 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 46 5.1. Introduction 46 5.2. Conclusions 46 5.3. The Implications of the Research 49 5.4. Limitations of the Research 50 5.5. Recommendation for Further Research 51 REFERENCES 52 APPENDIX 61 ii LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1. Demographic findings from teachers Table 4.2. Demographic findings from teachers Table 4.3. Demographic findings from teachers Table 4.4: The frequency ICT used, the kind of ICT and the ways/reasons/purpose to use ICT integration in teaching and learning IELTS Table 4.5 Teachers’ perspective in using ICT tool Table 4.6. The benefits of using ICT – teachers’ perspectives. Table 4.7. Demographic findings from students Table 4.8. Demographic findings from students Table 4.9. Demographic findings from students Table 4.10: Means of students’ perspective in ICT use Table 4.11. Students’ perspective in using ICT tool Table 4.12. The challenges in using ICT to learn IELTS – Students’ perspective LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: “Technology Acceptance Model” (Davis et al. 1989) Figure 2: A Conceptual framework modified of TAM 2 and TPACK (Source: Venkatesh & Davis, 2000, Schmidt, Baran, Thompson, Mishra, Koehler, & Shin 2009) Figure 3: Sequential explanatory design (Creswell, 2009, p. 209) ii LIST OF ABREVIATIONS TBLL Technology-based Language Learning CALL Computer-Assisted Language Learning NES System of Natural English Centers ICT Information and Communication Technology MALL Mobile-Assisted Language Learning TAM Technology Acceptance Model TPACK Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Model PEOU Perceived ease of use PU Perceived usefulness …. …. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is an English proficiency exam which measures candidate’s English proficiency for higher academic study in the four basic English language skills – listening, reading and writing. This certificate has become widely accepted in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA, and Canada. As a result of the increased demand for IELTS preparation, several IELTS preparation courses have been offered in various regions around Vietnam in various formats, including official instruction at public schools, private language centers, and one-on-one tutoring lessons at home. However, little is known about the viewpoints of teachers and students in the country's IELTS courses (preparation courses and IELTS courses). IELTS and other high-stakes language assessments have long been thought to have a direct impact on educational procedures and stakeholders. To date, the majority of language testing and assessment research has focused on determining how these examinations affect instructional practices (e.g. teaching methodology, lesson content, and materials). Test effect has been considered as a reflection of how teachers modify their teaching approaches in order to prepare students to fulfill the test's criteria. This phenomena is commonly referred to as 'washback' or 'backwash,' implying that course materials and teaching methods are altered in response to the results of the assessments (Alderson, 2004; Bachman, 1990; Bachman & Palmer, 1996; Hawkey, 2006; Hughes, 1989; McKinley & Thompson, 2018). And, to some extent, past research has effectively explored the benefits and challenges or difficulties that IELTS teachers students have, their potential causes, and solutions to these problems. Time constraints, a lack of background knowledge, an enthusiastic learning atmosphere, modern technology tools for learning, and a lack of interactive capacity and means were identified as the five most pressing issues. The interference of Vietnamese, worry, a lack of exposure to the English language, and the cultural gap between the two languages in question were also highlighted as four linked causes on which the majority of the participants agreed. Furthermore, despite the fact that different problems, reasons, and suggestions for learners participating in the described endeavor were highlighted, no real relationship was formed between the presented issues and their sources, as well as the resulting recommendations. To sustain high levels of excellence in vocations and highly satisfying everyday lives in an ever changing and diversified society, continuous learning is required. The fast spread of information and communication technology (ICT) is hastening job insecurity and requiring everyone to renew professional knowledge and competence, which is frequently their responsibility. All teachers wish for their students to embrace responsibility. The responsible student is eager to work with the teacher and other members of the learning group for the greater good of everyone. If you're looking for something to do, you've come to the right place. The responsible student is eager to work with the teacher and other members of the learning group for the greater good of everyone. In the mood to discover solutions to the issues, causes, and recommendations that are thought the most urgent, acute, and useful. And the purpose of the study is to try to figure out what the issues, reasons, and, as a result, recommendations are for such a concept. As a result, the study's goal is to conduct a more in-depth, empirical investigation of the issue. To this purpose, the study enlisted the help of 200 IELTS students and 25 teachers from four NES facilities in Vung Tau City, who were asked to give their impressions via convenience interviews and surveys. Next, the analysis was conducted with the comparing the means of the items listed in the questionnaire based on the Ielts band descriptors managed to discover a series of problems, causes, and suggestions considered the most relevant to the NES’s teachers and learners, concerning Ielts teaching and learning. The result is to serve as a foundation for Ielts teachers and students to identify recurring challenges and propose relatable solutions. According to Ertmer & Ottenbrat (2010), teaching with technology necessitates teachers developing their knowledge of pedagogical approaches in a variety of parts of the planning, implementation, and evaluation processes. Teachers, for example, 4 must be able to build plans for teaching students software, select appropriate computer applications to meet the curriculum's instructional needs and their students' learning needs, and manage computer hardware and software, including the use of technology in education, particularly in the teaching and learning process.. Any application of a tool strategy, according to the study, is more relevant and effective when the user has a solid understanding of the conceptual foundation and understands the benefits of employing the strategy tool. In this regard, the researcher considers the respondents' comprehension of the concept of Technology Integration, as well as their identification of the advantages or benefits of using Technology Integration, to be critical to the effective use of technology in education. Furthermore, the method teachers teach the students has a big impact on the factors that cause ups and downs in student learning motivation. For example, in order to keep students' attention and interest when using technology in the classroom, teachers must be familiar with technological tools and skills. NES has employed ICT to assist teachers in teaching students, particularly in the area of English. One of the most difficult tasks for an ielts teacher is to encourage students to take use of all of the options available to them and to take greater responsibility for their own learning. While learning is a dynamic process, Vietnamese students are notorious for being passive learners. Vietnamese students expect their teachers to teach them rather than going out and discovering things for themselves. While the communicative approach and learning-centeredness are being introduced and applied into pedagogy of institutions in Vietnam as well as in some other Asian countries, little attention is paid to the idea of raising the learner’s awareness of a more independent learning style through the use of technology. Technology will provide learners with new options for language acquisition; it will ensure a life-long learning process for those who understand how to take advantage of all that technology has to offer. At recent years, technology has been employed to teach English in a number of Vietnamese high schools, private English centers, and colleges. In Vietnam, the development and implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has had a significant impact on language learners' autonomy. In Vietnam, the increased usage of ICT has clearly altered 5 English learning approaches. English learners in Vietnam may control their own learning process and access to a wealth of important information, such as English online resources, English study tools, and online dictionaries, by utilizing technology to learn English language better and faster. Many students in the context of NES use these NES technologies outside of the classroom on a regular basis, and their English language skill has improved significantly. However, in order to determine its true usefulness, a thorough examination of the images is required, followed by the provision of solutions for NES and students to better incorporate into the training program and learning plan. 1.2. Statement of the Problem At NES, besides a great deal of benefits gaining from ICT’s use there are numerous challenges in teaching and learning Ielts. As a result, both teachers and students must accept responsibility for learning proficiently and independently. Despite this, students continue to have significant challenges studying Ielts for a variety of reasons. To begin with, some students may dislike using technology in their English language studies. Second, they might not be self-taught. Finally, they may face a variety of challenges in learning English. Fourth, they may not be able to properly learn English using technology-based solutions. As a result, in order to find plausible solutions to such problems, the purpose of this study, as defined by the scope of this paper, is to investigate English teachers' and learners' attitudes and strategies toward technologybased language learning in the context of the Naturally English Speaking Language Center (NES). 1.3. Aims of the Study This study aims to closely and thoroughly inspect teachers’ and student’s perspectives of using technologies (ICT) in teaching Ielts with knowledge-based approaches at the context of Naturally English Speaking Language Center. The requirements are as follows: - To investigate the teachers’ self-efficacy, attitudes and ICT utility toward use of technologies in teaching Ielts at the context of NES. 6 - To investigate students’ POEU, PO, attitudes, behavior towards ICT use as well as contextual factors of ICT use to learn Ielts at NES. 1.4 Research Questions In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, the following research questions must be addressed: 1. From teachers’ perspectives, what are benefits and challenges when using ICT to teach IELTS at NES? 2. From students’ perspectives, what are students’ benefits and challenges when using ICT to learn IELTS at NES? 1.5. Scope of the Study This study will look at how teachers use technology (ICT) as a tool or as an application for teaching, as well as how they use technology (ICT) to overcome challenges in teaching IELTS at NES. Otherwise, the current study uses a mixed methods approach to determine student demand for ICT and satisfaction with ICT use to overcome problems in acquiring the four Ielts abilities of hearing, speaking, reading, and writing. The participants in this study are 25 Ielts teachers and 200 Ielts students from four NES branches. The questionnaire and semistructured interview, as well as statics of ICT tools, were used as research instruments in this study. To determine the NES stakeholders' tasks to improve the efficacy of Ielts teaching and learning via ICT at NES, quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using SPSS and content analysis, respectively. 1.6. Significance of the Study The following is the outcome of this study for instructors, students, and researchers: Theoretically, the research aims to learn about the technology (ICT) that has been used in the classroom, particularly in teaching Ielts, as well as the ways in which teachers use various types of (ICT) in teaching English. Practically, the research can contribute to future research by gathering information or data about the use of technology information and communication in teaching and learning English. Instructors can also become more conscious of their own assumptions and habits in the classroom when it comes to learner autonomy. Finally, all of these may contribute to increased use of technology-based autonomous language learning methodologies not 7