VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************

DƯƠNG THỊ MINH HẰNG

A SURVEY ON THE ROLE OF NATIVE SPEAKERS ON
LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING FOR YOUNG LEARNERS
AT A FOREIGN LANGUAGE CENTRE IN HA NOI
(KHẢO SÁT VỀ VAI TRÒ CỦA NGƯỜI BẢN ĐỊA TRONG VIỆC HỌC NÓI
TIẾNG ANH CHO TRẺ EM TẠI MỘT TRUNG TÂM NGOẠI NGỮ TẠI HÀ NỘI)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field

: English Teaching Methodology

Code

: 8140231.01

Hanoi – 2019


VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************


University, Hanoi is my own work. Documented references have been fully
provided. I have not submitted this thesis for assessment in any other training
institutions.

Hanoi, 2019

Duong Thi Minh Hang

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my special and sincere thanks to my supervisor,
Ms. Mai Thi Loan, my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly supported
me through the stages of the study, and whose stimulating ideas, expertise,
and suggestions have inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic
researcher.
I also want to express my profound gratitude to all the doctors, lecturers
and staff members of the Faculty of Postgraduate Studies, University of
Foreign Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University,
Hanoi for their valuable lectures and useful advice that is of a great help for
me to fulfill the thesis.
I would also like to send my deep sense of thanks to all the native and
non-native English teachers and 50 students at the Clever School English
Centre for their cooperation and the valuable information they provided in my
research field. Without their passionate participation and input, the validation
survey could not have been successfully conducted.
My sincere thanks also go to many writers whose ideas are useful hints
for the development of this thesis.
Last but not least, I must express my very profound gratitude to my


Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults

ESL
EFL

English as a second language
English as a foreign language

FL

Foreign language

NESTs

Native English speaking teachers

NNESTs

Non-native English speaking teachers

L2

Second language

TESOL

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

TEYLT

2.1.2 Previous studies in Viet Nam ................................................................... 7
2.1.3. Summary ................................................................................................. 8
2.2 Review of theoretical background .............................................................. 8
2.2.1 Speaking ................................................................................................... 8
2.2.2. Native speakers ..................................................................................... 14
2.2.3 Young learners ....................................................................................... 17
2.3 Summary ................................................................................................... 22
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ....................................... 23
3.1 Restatement of research questions ............................................................ 23
3.2 The setting of the study ............................................................................. 23
3.3 Participants ................................................................................................ 25
3.4 Data collection instruments ....................................................................... 26
3.4.1 Questionnaire ......................................................................................... 26
3.4.2 Class observation of the author .............................................................. 26
3.5 Data collection procedures ........................................................................ 27
vi


2.6 Analysis of data ......................................................................................... 27
3.7 Summary ................................................................................................... 28
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDING ................................... 29
4.1 Data analysis ............................................................................................. 29
4.1.1 Questionnaire for the students................................................................ 29
4.1.2 Class observation sheet .......................................................................... 33
4.2 Some major findings and discussions ....................................................... 36
4.2.1 The current situation of English speaking lessons with native speakers
of young learners ............................................................................................. 36
4.2.2. The role of native speakers for young learners at the center to speak
English ............................................................................................................. 39
4.3 Possible solutions to improve the roles of native speakers in English

Figure 3.2: The roles of native teachers in speaking lessons............................. 30
Finger 3.3: The favorite activities in speaking lessons by native speakers ..... 32
Finger 3.4: The favorite topics during speaking lesson by native speakers .... 33

ix


CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale of the study
English is more and more important and Hoang (2018) confirmed that
the ability to communicate in English has become a passport to a better job
not only in the tourism and hospitality industries but in many other enterprises
also so English is taught in schools, in universities and in evening foreign
language centers across the country in Viet Nam and there are now more
teachers and students of English than of any other subjects

Although

speaking skill is regarded one of the most difficult aspects of language
learning, many language learners find it difficult to express themselves in
spoken language. And one of the best ways to improve English speaking skill
is learning English as early as possible. With that trend, more and more
parents seek and choose a suitable English center for their children to study
English when they are at the age of kindergarten level and one of the most
attractive factors attracting these parents is native teacher. Native teachers are
considered to be one of the most crucial elements affecting the success of
students learning English speaking.
According to Hoang (2018), ― Various English centres, public and
private, have been established and a large number of foreign and joint venture
language schools, language centers of universities, professional associations,

young learners with native speakers at the center
- Finding out the role of native speakers for young learners to speak
English of at the Centre
- Proposing some solutions to improve the role of native speakers for
young learners to learn English speaking at the center
3. Research questions
In order to achieve the above aims, the following research questions are
suggested:
2


- What is the current situation of English speaking lessons of young
learners with native speakers at the center?
- What are the roles of native speakers to young learners at the center to
speak English?
- What should be done to improve the role of English native speakers in
teaching English speaking skills for young learners at the Center?
4. Scope of the study
The study was conducted at the Clever English Center. It attempted to
investigate the issues and problems that arise from fifty young learners in
speaking class with five native speakers as well as finding out how the native
speakers affected on learning English speaking of young learners at the
Center. From above findings, the recommendations for improving the role of
English native speakers in teaching English speaking skills for young learners
at the Center were employed.
5. Method of the study
Both qualitative and quantitative methods were chosen for this study in
order to achieve the tasks mentioned above. A survey questionnaire was
designed for 50 young learners; this is considered as the main instrument to
find out the current status of English speaking teaching lessons of native

Chapter 3, METHODOLOGY, introduces the research context and
methodology of the study including the context, the subject, the data collection
instruments, data collection procedure, and data analysis.
Chapter 4, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION, gives a detailed presentation
of data and detailed description of data analysis. This focuses on presenting,
analyzing and discussing the results obtained from the study based on the survey
questionnaire and class observation. Besides, the chapter also presents some
discussion and interpretations of the findings of the study, and then gives possible
suggestions for native speakers, young learners and managing board of the center.
Chapter

5, CONCLUSION, offers a summary of the key findings,

implications, limitations, and future directions for further study.

4


CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
In this section, previously conducted researches in the detail fields of
the role of native speakers for English learners as well as will be presented
and discussed. This must be done in order to place the thesis in the context
relevant to the research which will be conducted. Furthermore, it will provide
the readers with some basic knowledge of the background and present state of
this field of research.
2.1 Review of previous studies
The topic of NESTs and NNSTs has been received interests and
attentions of many researchers and studies. This part briefly reviews some
studies relating my thesis in both Viet Nam and Overseas.
2.1.1 Previous studies overseas

non-native teachers. Thereby, the writer attempted to put forward several
ideas related to teacher education and professional development, expecting
that non-native teachers would be able to make the most of their potentials.
The study only focused on the perceptions of students of NSTs and NNSTs at
a university in Indonesia for learning English language in general.
Omar Al-Nawrasy (2013) investigated the effect of the native English
language teachers in comparison with nonnative English language teachers on
the tenth grade students‘ achievement in speaking skills. The instrument of
the study was a speaking test implemented at the end of term one of the
academic year 2008/2009. The findings revealed that there was no significant
difference among students‘ overall speaking achievement test scores and the
author confirmed that a trained, proficient and kind teacher who enjoyed
his/her job would be effective and popular with students, regardless where
they were from. However, the study only focused on the students in the public
schools where exposure to English was limited to few hours per week, and
where chances to speak communicatively were also limited.
6


As we know, different research method and different research
context result in different findings. And we can recognize that there are
many factors affecting English speaking skill and native teacher is one of the
most important factors helping the learners learn to speak English well.
However, the roles of native speakers for young learners in learning speaking
English at private centers have not been fully mentioned yet.
2.1.2 Previous studies in Viet Nam
The students‘ perception of NESTs and NNESTs is not a new area with
researchers in the world as well as in Viet Nam. Some domestic studies have
been selected and discussed here:
Walkinshaw and Duong (2012) had a paper examining a common

aiming that NESTs are better than NNESTs at teaching speaking skill and
game activities in primary English classes are needed.
2.1.3. Summary
In the light of the studies above, we may conclude that native speaker
teachers have an effect on students‘ attitudes and motivation. If their effect is
positive, they can contribute to their students‘ achievement, in a way. Some
gaps, notwithstanding, have not been filled up to meet our curiosity on native
speaker teachers on teaching speaking skill. In this thesis, the author will
hopefully fill out the crucial role of native teachers for younger learners at
English private center on teaching speaking skill.
2.2 Review of theoretical background
2.2.1 Speaking
1.2.1.1 Definition of speaking
There are a lot of definitions of the word ―speaking‖ that have been
suggested by the researchers in language learning. In Webster New World
Dictionary, speaking is to say words orally, to communicate as by talking, to
make a request, and to make a speech (Nunan, 1995). According to Chaney

8


(1998), speaking is the process of making and sharing meaning by using
verbal and non-verbal symbols in different contexts. Brown (1994) and Burns
and Joyce (1997) defined speaking as an interactive process of making
meaning that includes producing, receiving, and processing information. Its
form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs, including
the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical
environment, and the purposes for speaking. It is often spontaneous, openended, and evolving. However, speech is not always unpredictable. Language
functions (or patterns) that tend to recur in certain discourse situations (e.g.,
declining an invitation or requesting time off from work), can be identified

about speaking. It has two main purposes: to encourage learners to a speaking
development and prepare learners to approach a specific speaking task in a
lesson by the teacher. In addition, the teacher prepares students for the actual
speaking activity and asks them to do some language awareness activities
such as vocabulary/grammar related to asking and giving directions.
While speaking
The purpose of real communication is to accomplish a task, such as
conveying a telephone message, obtaining information, or expressing an
opinion. Authentic communication involves an information gap; each
participant has information that the other does not have. In addition, to
achieve their purpose, participants may have to clarify their meaning or ask
for confirmation of their own understanding. To create classroom speaking
activities that will develop communicative competence, instructors need to
incorporate a purpose and an information gap and allow for multiple forms
of expression. Instructors need to combine structured output activities,
which

allow

for

error

correction

and

increased

accuracy,

* Communication games: There are many communication games, all of
which aim to get students talking as quickly and fluently as possible. Two
particular categories are worth mentioning here: information-gap games and
television and radio games.
*Discussion: this ranges from highly formal, whole-group

staged

events to informal small-group interactions which include Buzz groups,
Instant comment, Formal debates, Unplanned discussion and Reaching a
consensus. Each of discussion has their own benefit.

11


*Prepared talks: One popular kind of activity is the prepared
talk, where a student (or students) makes a presentation on a topic of
their

own

choice.

Such talks

are

not

designed


12


often the teachers organize them and how effectively they use them we will
explore in the case of this study.
Generally speaking, the author supposes that three steps such as prespeaking, while-speaking and post-speaking must be followed but whether
they are effective or not totally depends on the classroom speaking activities
between teacher and students.
1.2.1.3 Factors that cause speaking difficulties to EFL learners
According to Ur (1996), there are many factors that cause difficulty in
speaking, and they are inhibition, lack of topical knowledge, low
participation, and mother-tongue use.
Inhibition is the first problem that students encounter in class. When
they want to say something in the classroom they are sometimes inhibited.
They are worried about making mistakes and fearful of criticism.
The second problem is that learners complain that they cannot
remember anything to say and they do not have any motivation to express
themselves
The third problem in the speaking class is that the participation is very
low. In a class with a large number of students, each student will have very
little time for talking because just one student talks at a time and the other
students try to hear him/her. In the speaking class, some learners dominate the
whole class while others talk very little or never speak.
The last problem related to the speaking ability is that when some
learners share the same mother-tongue, they try to use it in the speaking class
because it is very easy for them.
With the general view, Hammer (2007) showed three main important
factors causing students‘ difficulty. They are students' personalities, What the
teacher does, Creating successful classrooms and Behavior norms.


14


Bloomfield (1933) states that ―the first language a human being learns
to speak in their native language, they are a native speaker of this language‖.
Moreover, McArthur (1992) takes up Bloomfield‘s early definition of a
native speaker and says that it is ―a person who has spoken a certain language
since early childhood‖.
Cook (1999) adds that native speakers are even capable of producing
new sentences that they have not heard before. All these features can be seen
with regard to pronunciation.
According to Cambridge University Press (2009), a native speaker is
someone who has spoken a particular language since he or she was a baby,
rather than having learned it as a child or an adult.
To sum up, a native speaker is a person who speaks the first language
as their mother tongue and does not change in any other languages when
growing up. Moreover, defining the native speaker becomes clear by referring
to the language identity and the use of language indicates who the speaker is.
1.2.2.2 Roles of native speakers in teaching English speaking
From the point of view of Cook, V. (1999), native speakers play the
role of a pronunciation model and a language source in teaching language.
According to Brown (2001), teacher can play many roles in the course of
teaching such as a controller, a director, a manager, a facilitator, and a source.
According to Harmer (2007) a teacher is like ―a gardener because
he/she plants the seeds and watches them grow‖. Students are the field and the
seed is seen as the knowledge planted by educators. As a gardener takes very
good care of the roses, flowers, waters them when necessary, the
teacher also plays different roles in the lives of the students not only by
planting knowledge in them but also acting as a model in the classroom and