Abstract not available

In recent years, English has become a compulsory subject in schools and many tertiary institutions of Vietnam. The need to train teachers of English is greater than ever before. However, in the Hanoi Foreign Languages Teachers Training College (HFLTTC), English language teaching in general and the teaching of oral skills in particular leave much room for improvement. The students' oral proficiency is far from satisfactory. This problem has inspired the writing of this study report as an attempt to search for an appropriate method to improve the students' communicative competence. The study consists of four chapters. Chapter one will overview some English Language Teaching (ELT) methods in relation to teaching spoken English and their application in Vietnam. Chapter two will consider the context of the HFLTTC where teaching and learning are carried out with a view to identifying an appropriate approach to the problem. Chapter three will outline communicative competence as an objective of the ELT and discuss principles of the communicative approach to attain the objective, and suggest teaching material through which the principles can be applied. Chapter four will recommend the classroom techniques which may improve the students' oral proficiency. This study report should be regarded as an attempt to apply the communicative approach to teaching oral skills to students in the context of Vietnam.

This Study is concerned with the problems arising from the application of new ideas in communicative language teaching for EFL adult learners in Vietnam, and the solutions to these problems. The Study argues that to learn to communicate effectively in a foreign language does not mean merely to master the linguistic forms of the language, but also to be able to use them in an appropriate way: to acquire what is called communicative competence. The Study also suggests that in Vietnam, the structural system of the language cannot be neglected if teaching/learning is to be successful. Accordingly, the Study attempts to search for an appropriate approach to develop communicative competence in the EFL adult learners of Vietnam. In order to achieve this aim, the Study enters into consideration of the relevant literature with reference to the development of the concept of communicative competence, and communicative language teaching. Then the Study makes a survey of some communicative-approach-based textbooks pointing out the practical values of different syllabus design models and teaching strategies discussed in the literature. Finally the Study proposes a communicative-structural approach to syllabus design for the target group, the teaching strategies as well as some techniques and activities associated with the suggested approach.

In this field study report, the author investigates behaviour associated with inviting in order to see if there is any effect on the language used across cultures due to factors such as status, age, gender in actual social interactions. Chapter one gives a brief introduction to the important role of the English Language in the world in general, and in Vietnam nowadays in particular, and a review of Teaching Methods which have been used in Vietnam so far. Chapter two will deal with the theoretical background, language competences including linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence and communicative competence. In addition, speech act theory , face work, distance, power in relation to status, age and gender as well as reviews research on the differences between spoken and written are also discussed. Chapter three defines the structure of an invite with its social and cultural characteristics focussing on the natural structure of a spoken invitation. Chapter four describes research and data analysis of the issuing, accepting and declining of spoken invitations used by Vietnamese speakers of Vietnamese (VSV). Chapter five contains the data analysis of the issuing, accepting and declining of spoken invitations used by Australian speakers of English (ASE). Chapter six discusses the comparison of Vietnamese and Australian spoken invitations, the main difference being found in the use of much more direct forms used in VSV as opposed to more tentative forms preferred by ASEs. Directness of form, however, does not reflect a lack of politeness, which is conveyed to a much larger extent by other prosodic and paralinguistic features. Chapter seven is a brief cross-cultural investigation of the spoken invitations of Vietnamese learners speaking English. This shows up a degree of cross-cultural interference and offers some implications for the classroom. Chapter eight contains a summary and conclusion. The results of the study may suggest that Vietnamese learners of English need to be taught not only linguistic competence but also communicative competence with an emphasis on cultural and social factors. Spoken invitations which really have some function in actual interactions need to be incorporated in the program for teaching spoken English.

This Field Study Report aims to advocate that the target culture should also be taught while teaching the English language to Chinese students. Chinese students are learning English to communicate and socialize with the English speaking people. But learning only the English language is not enough for this purpose. They have to learn the way the English speaking people express themselves, their value judgements, and their customs. In the review of literature, many linguists like Chastain and Rivers share this same opinion. English teaching in China started more than one hundred years ago. The traditional teaching method still has some influence. The present curriculum appears a little unbalanced. Some of the teaching materials are found to be inadequate to teach the target culture. To illustrate some cross-cultural interferences, a survey questionnaire was conducted among some Chinese students and some Australian students. The data obtained from the survey indicated some selected problem areas for the Chinese students in talking with the native speakers of English. Two teaching aids were designed. One is a fifteenminute video tape, the other is three simulation exercises. They demonstrate several cultural conflicts between the English speakers and Chinese English learners. Both the video tape and the simulation were trialled among the Chinese students. They proved to be relatively effective in teaching the target culture. The trialling convinced this writer that it was possible for a teacher of English to prepare teaching aids such as video and simulation exercises. However, this may be very time consuming. But the result of the trialling proved that it was worth the time and effort.

Until recently, English teaching in Japan focused on giving much grammatical knowledge to students, and paid little attention to communicative competence, 'competence as to when to speak, when not, and as to what to talk about with whom, when, where, in what manner' (Hymes 1971: 277). However, nowadays, the importance of communicating with foreign people for mutual understanding is often pointed out, and communicative competence is gradually receiving more attention in English teaching in Japan. Grammatical knowledge is not sufficient for making students communicate well, and in addition to grammatical knowledge, the knowledge of appropriate use of the language is necessary for effective communication. Furthermore, as a part of communicative competence, 'social competence', the knowledge and ability to create and maintain a harmonious atmosphere in social interaction, should be given more attention in order to allow students to communicate with English speaking people harmoniously and effectively. Although a number of teachers have noticed the importance of communicative and social competence, such competence is not taught sufficiently in Japan. One reason for this is that, with few opportunities to communicate with native speakers of English in Japan, teachers themselves do not know well the communication patterns of English in actual situations. To develop students' communicative competence, Japanese teachers of English need to know the cultural patterns in English, and to see what kind of problems could occur for Japanese students. It is intended that this field study will contribute a small part to the growing understanding of the cultural patterns in English and Japanese. Before considering the possible problems especially for Japanese learners of English, three possible causal factors of communication problems for non-native speakers are discussed: (1) lack of linguistic competence (2) transfer of native cultural patterns (3) false stereotyping. As a basis for considering the problems in terms of politeness strategies, in particular, Brown and Levinson (1978)'s 'face theory' is introduced, and some characteristics of Japanese cultural patterns which may cause some politeness problems are discussed. Based on the discussion, some hypotheses are built up about Australian and Japanese communication patterns, and an investigation has been conducted, focusing on two request situations: (1) asking a lecturer to lend a book (2) asking a friend to lend a book. Four Australian native speakers of English and four native speakers of Japanese were asked to role-play in each situation, and their results were compared with each other. These results were also analyzed in comparison with the results of four Japanese speakers of English and four Australian speakers of Japanese. Although this is a preliminary study and has some limitations in the investigation, the results show that, although politeness is a universal phenomenon, it is expressed differently in English and Japanese, and they indicate some possible problems in politeness strategies for Japanese speakers of English and for Australian speakers of Japanese. As to the implications of the results for English teaching in Japan, three points can be considered: (1) the need to make students aware of the cultural patterns of English (2) the need to teach students sufficient variety of expressions (3) the need to give students enough practice. In terms of these points, some weaknesses in English teaching in Japan are discussed. For example, teachers do not have enough knowledge of communication patterns in English, materials used in class do not give enough information about the target culture and actual use of English by native speakers, and the amount of time spent on English in the school curriculum and the number of students in one class cannot be considered desirable for the purpose of giving enough practice to each student. These problems are not easy to solve, but it is possible to find ways to improve the situation. In the final chapter, some practical, though tentative, suggestions are made in the hope that English teaching in Japan will be improved to help students to communicate well with people in different cultures.

Increasing contact between China and English-speaking countries in recent years calls for competent language workers to fulfil various communication tasks. To meet this need, it is of great importance and urgency for the Chinese EFL teaching profession to be conscious of the existing problem of communicative incompetence of Chinese EFL learners and to strive for ways and means of reducing it. This study was undertaken as an exploratory study of this problem. As recognised by many now, linguistic competence alone is not sufficient for a successful foreign language learner, one needs to acquire communicative competence as well. In this study, a historical overview of the theory of communicative competence is provided. Following it is a detailed description of a survey which aimed to measure several areas of communicative competence of Chinese learners of English and to find out existing problems. Possible causal factors of those problems are also discussed and are categorised into two groups: communicative interference and weaknesses in the present curriculum, teaching methodology and teaching materials. Finally, implications of this study are examined and tentative suggestions are made in the hope that more and more Chinese EFL teachers will respond to the problem and search for ways to bring about effective learning.

Thesis (M.Ed.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2004. / Bibliography: leaves 111-116.

The aim of this essay is to analyze two different educational paradigms, which I refer to broadly as the behavioristic way of learning through imitation versus intercultural education, as these are depicted in the novel Purple Hibiscus by the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The analysis focuses on how the narrator Kambili´s learning, identity and personal development are differently affected by these two contrastive approaches to education. After the analysis, examples of how the novel can be taught in intercultural, communicative EFL classrooms will be given. In the analysis theories of mimicry and imitation, and identity will be used as well as understandings of the terms intercultural education and behaviorism. The analysis shows that Kambili´s father Eugene represents behaviorism in the novel, whereas Kambili´s aunt Ifeoma symbolizes intercultural education. At home, Kambili learns to imitate her father´s behavior and values. In Ifeoma´s house on the other hand she encounters a kind of intercultural education, where critical thinking and questioning are encouraged. The thematization of contrastive educational and developmental paradigms in the novel is relevant to the comprehensive goals of Swedish upper secondary schools, which promote intercultural learning, as well as critical thinking and reflection on learning processes. Reading literature in the EFL classroom at this level may promote these broad educational objectives as well as the achievement of more specific, language- and culture-based learning outcomes. For many Swedish EFL students, Purple Hibiscus may represent difference, and therefore it is a suitable novel to include in intercultural education, as the students are encouraged tounderstand and reflect on different perspectives. By discussing the novel in groups, the education becomes intercultural because everyone becomes active participants and everyone´s voices are heard.

Observations of adolescent's language in upper secondary school in Sweden. Do teenagers stule-shift when speaking in different communicative settings; that is the core of this essay. Five informants have been observed in three different speaking sessions, and their language is analyzed, discussed and compared to secondary sources.