VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************
ĐỖ THỊ MAI CHI CHALLENGES OF TEACHING ENGLISH TO PRIMARY
CHILDREN: VOICES FROM NINH BINH TEACHERS

NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC DẠY TIẾNG ANH CHO
HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TỈNH NINH BÌNH
MA Thesis
Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 601410 Hanoi – 2010
TABLE OF CONTENT PART 1: INTRODUCTION Error! Bookmark not defined.
1. Rationale Error! Bookmark not defined.
2. Significance of the studyError! Bookmark not defined.
3. Aims of the study Error! Bookmark not defined.
4. Methods of the study Error! Bookmark not defined.
5. Scope of the study Error! Bookmark not defined.
6. Organization of the studyError! Bookmark not defined.

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT Error! Bookmark not defined.
Chapter 1: Literature review . Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1. Nature of teaching English to primary school
children Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2. Challenges of teaching English to primary school
children Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2.1. The teacher Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2.2. The continuity and curricular integrationError! Bookmark not defined.
1.3. English instruction to primary children in
Vietnam Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3.1. Policy Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3.2. Textbooks and materialsError! Bookmark not defined.
1.3.3. Implementation Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3.4. The way forward Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.4. Available studies on primary English teaching in
Vietnam Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.5. Summary Error! Bookmark not defined.
Chapter 2: The context of teaching English to primary
school children in Ninh Binh . Error! Bookmark not defined.

PART 3: CONCLUSION Error! Bookmark not defined.
1. Summary of the study Error! Bookmark not defined.
2. Limitations of the study and suggestions for
further study Error! Bookmark not defined.

References Error! Bookmark not defined.
Appendix LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Teachers’ attitudes towards English language education at the
primary school level
Table 2 Teachers' self-evaluation of their professional competence
Table 3 Teachers' self-report of students' achievement
Table 4 Teachers’ understanding of the goal of primary English
Table 5 Teachers’ perceived challenges of teaching English to primary
children
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
In response to the growth of English education, a great number of changes have
been made in Vietnam so far. On September 30
th
, 2008 the Prime Minister of Vietnam
issued Decision No 1400-QĐ-TTg, approving the Project entitled “Teaching and
Learning Foreign Languages in the National Education System, Period 2008-2020”.
According to this Decision, English is introduced into the primary education
curriculum starting from Grade 3. According to the pathway projected in the Decision,
in the time being 20% of the primary school students should be taught English, then
the percentage will reach 70% by 2015 and 100% by 2018.
The Decision has caused a hot debate in the public and among English language
education professionals. One of the common voices in this public discourse is that
teachers are not trained for primary English education. Such a discourse has some
justification since formal teacher training for primary English education was not
available in Vietnam until very recently with the cooperation of the British Council,
Vietnam. All teachers who are currently teaching English at the primary schools were,
therefore, re-trained to teach English to young children.
Teaching English to primary children, in fact, used to receive little concern in
Vietnam as it is simply thought that there is not much language knowledge to deal
with at primary level. However, when English is widely introduced to students from
Grade 3, many issues emerge. National and local education professionals, now, have a
more serious look at the situation. Teaching English to primary children is by nature
far different from teaching to other groups of learner. Thus, if teachers are not
qualified to work with primary children, they may not be able to motivate the children
to study, or to use appropriate, effective tasks to develop students‟ communicative
competence.
As a foreign language specialist in a Provincial Department of Education and
Training, the author saw a great number of challenges of teaching English to primary

The study used mixed methods to find answers to the three questions. Tools for
data collection in this study were questionnaire, interview (face-to-face and email) and
class observation. Data collected from questionnaires were analysed quantitatively via
Excel software in the forms for descriptive statistics and qualitatively in the forms of
3 different topics relating to the research questions. Data from interviews and class
observation were qualitatively classified into corresponding topics for trianguation and
for answering questions 2 and 3.
5. Scope of the study
Dealing with challenges of all types is too broad for a study of this size. Therefore,
the focus of this study is to investigate some challenges relating to professional
supports that primary teachers receive from local and national level in their teaching of
English at primary level.
6. Organization of the study
This minor thesis consists of five chapters.
The first part is the introduction which reveals the rationale, significance,
aims, methods, scope and organization of the study.
The second part includes chapters. Chapter 1 is the literature review centering
on the nature of teaching English to primary school children, problems of teaching
English to primary children in a variety of contexts are discussed, and a brief
introduction of primary English teaching in Vietnam context.
Chapter 2 is the investigation into the context of teaching English to Primary
children in Ninh Binh province
Chapter 3 discusses the methodology of the study i.e. describes the study
context, participants, instruments and procedure of the study.
Chapter 4 is about the data analysis and results. It describes how collected data
is analysed and presented.
Chapter 5 deals with result discussion, limitations and implications of the

11. Ability to organize the best to implement any activity
12. Teamwork
There is evidence that children have sensitivity to pronunciation and are good at
imitating and picking up whole phrases of language, but if their teachers lack fluency
or have difficulties with pronunciation, then children will not be able to make use of
that particular instinct.
Therefore, it is noticeable to identify what should be done in the classroom.
Carol Read (2003) proposes some of the optimal conditions for helping young learners
to learn:
- learning is natural
5 - learning is contextualized and part of a real event
- learning is interesting and enjoyable
- learning is relevant
- learning is social
- learning belongs to the child
- learning has a purpose for the child
- learning builds on things the child knows
- learning makes sense to the child
- the child is challenged appropriately
- learning is supported appropriately
- learning is part of a coherent whole
- learning is multi-sensory
- the child wants to learn
- learning is active and experiential
- learning is memorable
- learning allows for personal, divergent responses
- learning takes account of multiple intelligences

implementation in the classroom.
1.2. Challenges of teaching English to primary school children
Moon (2000) argues that children are capable of learning foreign language from
any age providing that the right conditions are in place to enable young learners to be
successful. Some of the most important conditions are:
(1) Realistic aims/expectation and expected outcome
(2) Well-trained teachers fluent in English
(3) Age appropriate curricula and materials
(4) Appropriate assessment and monitoring
(5) Enough time
(6) Continuity and Transfer to secondary level
Concerning the effectiveness of language learning at primary level, Isabel &
Elisabeth (1997, p. 23) emphasized the following factors which are considered to be of
great importance for successful early language learning:
(1) Well-trained teachers (language competence and methodological skills)
(2) Well-organized in-service training
7 (3) Well-structured curriculum with adequate timetable
(4) Suitable and motivating materials
(5) Continuity of language learning within the primary school and from primary to
secondary stage
(6) Quality assurance measures
Considering all the above factors helps to identify the challenges. For over a
decade, a number of studies investigating early language programmes have been
conducted in various countries. Nikolov. M and Curtain. H (2000) summarized a
number of issues relating to teaching English to primary children around the world.
Through their collection, a concrete picture of teaching English to primary children
was formed with a number of similar issues among which the most popular ones are

- lack of information on both sides due to little or no contact between primary
and secondary school teachers;
- different language learning approaches; holistic, child-centred teaching at the
primary level vs. academic, subject teaching at the secondary level.
In Japanese context, Yoshifumi (2006) pointed out two basic things that are lacking
in English education of elementary schools. First, the curriculum lacks practical
guidance in selecting or designing teaching materials and teaching methods as well as
clearly articulated educational goals and philosophy. Second, a pedagogical link
between language learning theory and foreign language methodology has, in practice,
been very weak for a long time.
Obviously, the lack of pedagogical continuity from primary schools to middle
school and curricular integration may have frustrating effects for all children. Teachers
and parents know that pupils who have spent three or more years in primary school
learning a language that is not available in the middle school feel demotivated.
1.3. English instruction to primary children in Vietnam
1.3.1. Policy
In terms of policy, there is a strong political will for English language teaching in
Vietnam.
On September 30
th
, 2008 the Prime Minister of Vietnam issued Decision No 1400-
QĐ-TTg by the Prime Minister, approving the project on foreign language teaching
and learning in the national education system for the 2008-2020 period. This is the
9 first official involvement of Primary Education in the teaching of foreign language in
Vietnam. According to this Decision, English is introduced at primary level from
Grade 3, the target is that by 2018 100% of primary children will be taught English.
The Ministry of Education and Training issued Decision No 50/2003/QĐ-


goals of teaching English, the expected outcomes, the means to achieve the aims or
how to assess children‟s progress and achievement. Lack of clarity about aims and
outcomes makes it difficult to assess whether the MOET‟s expected outcomes are
being achieved i.e. children are able to communicate very simply and are developing
positive attitudes to English by the end of primary school (National Curiculum 2003).
1.3.3. Implementation
Currently, English language teaching at primary level has been actively
implemented, mostly in big cities:
- English is an optional subject from grade 3 with the time allocation of two
periods per week. In 2007, 32.2% of the primary schools in Vietnam implemented this
program. (MOET report)
- English is an optional subject in grade 1, 2 using Phonics Learning Box- UK
Program. In 2009, 87 primary schools (with 25 000 students) in Vietnam were
involved in this program. (VpBox report)
- In Ho Chi Minh City, an Intensive Program has been piloted with 8 periods per
week at Grade 1 since 1998. (Nguyen Ho Thuy Anh, 2007)
It is a fact that English education at primary level has been implementing for over a
decade but there is still no institutionalized curriculum and the teachers are not trained
to teach primary English.
1.3.4. The way forward
MOET has just announced the Proposal for Primary English Curriculum.
According to this, students will learn all 4 English communicative skills with 4 periods
per week to achieve all above aims and by the end of primary level students will get
A1 level in ALTE.
Primary teachers will be required to reach standard of qualification e.g. TKT
Certificate. MOET is piloting a project within 16 provinces providing primary and
lower-secondary school teachers with TKT preparation courses.
1.4. Available studies on primary English teaching in
Vietnam

became too dependent on computers. The teachers had difficulty choosing appropriate
programme, setting up a sustainable syllabus or applying techniques relevant to
students‟ level. She provoked a conclusion that “teaching English to children not only
12 fails but puts pressure on children‟s attitude towards English language.” (p. 27)
because most primary teachers considered English a school subject like Maths,
Vietnamese so they asked children to learn by heart a list of words and structures.
Ta Van Diep (2003) explored the uses of video clips as an effective means of
developing communicative competence for primary school children in Hanoi because
“video clips create a natural language environment with the combination of sound and
pictures” (p. 19). However, the question of using video clips surprised many teachers
because they had never considered video clips a means of teaching, instead, a means of
entertainment. Moreover, most schools in Hanoi were not equipped with video so both
the teachers and learners did not have chance to enjoy video clips in English lessons.
In an exploratory study on the situation of English Bilingual Education (EBE) in
East Asia, To Thi Thu Huong (2010) gave an insightful discussion about the
implementation of EBE in Vietnam from preschool to tertiary level. As a response to
the pressing need of society and strong political will from leaders of the country, “EBE
will move very fast in years to come” (p. 112). However, introducing EBE at primary
level may cause some challenges for Vietnamese language maintenance. Moreover,
some obstacles to the implementation of EBE are identified as:
- lack of understanding and support from leaders and managers
- teacher quality and professional competence
- programme finance
- programme facilities and equipment
- the English and Vietnamese proficiency levels of the learners.
1.5. Summary
In short, this chapter provides relevant literature which is needed to form the

14
Chapter 2: The context of teaching English to primary school children
in Ninh Binh
2.1. Introduction to Ninh Binh context of teaching-learning English at
primary level.
Ninh Binh is a small province in the North of Vietnam with 8 districts. On July 8
th
,
2008 the President of Ninh Binh Provincial Committee of People issued Plan No
21/ĐA-UBND, approving the Scheme on foreign language teaching and learning in
the education system for the 2008-2015 period. According to this plan, English is
introduced into the primary education curriculum starting from grade 3 from the
school year 2008-2009. Thus, English has been a compulsory subject for 10234
students of grade 3 and 4 in 153 primary schools throughout Ninh Binh, 164 primary
teachers have been employed to teach English.
Two years after the introduction of English at primary level, there have been no
official evaluation of the teaching-learning quality. The Director of Ninh Binh
Provincial Department of Education and Training decided to take an evaluation of the

primary teachers in Ninh Binh, except one-day in-service training which was mainly
focus on textbook analysis.
Basing on teachers‟ original training it can be deduced that most of them have low
level of English proficiency. This can be proved by the results of Oral and General
Test given by Apollo Organization of Education and Training, according to which the
level of primary English teachers is described below:
Level
Number of teacher
Level
Number of teacher
Intermediate+
01
Elementary+
17
Intermediate
05
Elementary
22
Intermediate-
19
Elementary-
08
Pre-Intermediate+
18
Beginner+
03
Pre-Intermediate
33
Beginner
04

17 Chapter 3: The Study
Research questions and research approach
The study seeks to find answers to the 3 following research questions:
1) What are teachers‟ attitudes and perception about teaching English to
primary children?
2) What do classroom teachers perceive of the challenges of teaching English to
primary children with particular reference to professional support?
3) What are feasible solutions to overcome those difficulties?

The study used mixed methods to find answers to the three questions. This approach is
used because by “using more than one method within a research program, we are able
to obtain a more complete picture of human behaviour and experience. Thus, we are
better able to …achieve our research goals more quickly” (Abbasi & Teddlie, 2003:
189).
The data collection instruments
The instruments for data collection in this study were questionnaire, interview
(face-to-face and email) and class observation.
Instrumentation one: A set of questionnaire answered by the teachers.
The questionnaire consisted of three sections. In section one teachers were asked to
tick or give answer to 14 questions relating to their background which included their
gender, place of residence, the number of years they had been teaching English, the
training they receive to teach English to primary children, the number of students in
their class, the number of their colleagues, and some issues relating to professional
outcome, success, problems/challenges of teaching English to primary children.
Session two aimed to collect information about teachers‟ perceptions and attitudes
towards some issues relating to teaching English at primary school using 5-scale
degree of agreement (including 10 statements). Section three aimed to explore

survey copies were distributed and 104 teachers completed and hand in the surveys to
the researcher. The survey contains items addressing their perceptions and attitudes
towards various aspects of English teaching and in total the survey took 30 to 35
minutes on average for the teachers to complete.
85 respondents came from rural area. More than 80% of the respondents were
young female teachers in their twenty and thirties. The average years of English
teaching experience was 4 years, only 5 respondents had been teaching for more than
19 10 years. The popular English class size that the teachers had been teaching was from
25 to 30 students.
The majority of the respondents had never received any training in teaching
English to primary school children except one-day training organized by Ninh Binh
DOET, sponsored by Hanoi Education Development Joint Stock Company. Most of
them work alone as they are the unique English teacher at school.
Data collection procedure
The researcher had one - year experience visiting 10 different schools
throughout the province (3 schools in the city and 7 schools in the countryside). The
researcher had 17 class observations in total: 5 in Grade 3, 6 in Grade 4 and 6 in Grade
5. Thus, class observations with a lot of notes and small talk with the teachers revealed
much about what was happening in the classroom.
The questionnaire was administered during the time the teachers took oral test
and OPT test given by Apollo Organization of Education and Training. Before the
questionnaire was delivered the researcher took time to explain the purpose of the
questionnaire, the requirement for the respondents and answer any questions made by
the respondents (even translated some questions into Vietnamese). The respondents
were also encouraged to ask if there was anything in the questionnaire they did not
understand. Then they were instructed to take as much time as they needed to
complete the questionnaire.