FELTE Quarterly provides a snapshot of faculty activities

FELTE QUARTERLY
Volume I ☼ Issue 1 ☼ Summer 2011

Faculty of English Language Teacher Education
University of Languages and International Studies, VNU

For internal circulation only

Felte Quarterly


For internal circulation only

Editors
Mr. Ngô Xuân Minh (Division II)
Ms. Trần Hoài Giang (Division II)
Ms. Hoàng Hồng Trang (Division III)

Layout Editor
Ms. Trần Hoài Giang (Division II)

Editorial Advisory Board
Ms. Nguyễn Thu Lệ Hằng, FELTE Dean
Ms. Vũ Mai Trang, FELTE Vice- Dean
Mr. Khoa Anh Việt, FELTE Vide- Dean


Table of Contents

Editors’ Notes.................................................................................................................................... 4
FELTE Rhythm
ELT Research Methodology Course.............................................................. 5
FELTE Union of Young Lecturers’ Year-end Forum...................................... 5
CLC Curriculum Review and Book Donation................................................. 7
NETEC Articulation Project ........................................................................... 8
Khoa Anh Viet (FELTE Vice Dean)
Do you know? ................................................................................................ 8
FELTE Faces
Ms. Vu Phuong Thao, Winner of Both ALA and Endeavour Awards............. 9
Feature Article
Backchannels in the English-as-a-Second-Language Mix-sexed ................ 12
Conversations: A Discussion of Frequency, Gender Typical Expression,
and Level of Interest
Nguyen Chi Duc (ELT Division)
Review
Turnbull, M., & Dailey-O’Cain, J. (Eds.). (2009). First language use in ........ 17
second and foreign language learning. Bristol, England: Multilingual
Matters. ISBN-13: 978-1-84769-195-8. 207 pp.
Le Van Canh (Head of Office of International Relations)

Teaching in Focus
Activities that work…...................................................................................... 20
Do Thi Xuan Hoa (Division I)
Fun Corner
FELTE Word Search...................................................................................... 11
Double Puzzle................................................................................................ 16
Tran Hoai Giang (Division II)
Call for Contribution ................................................................................... 21


Editors’ Notes

In line with ULIS’s ambition of becoming a research-intensive higher education
institution, Faculty of English Language Teacher Education (FELTE) has fostered an array of
professional development and research activities among all the faculty members. Nevertheless,
there has so far been no authoritative hub for FELTE lecturers to share with and learn from each
other. Aware of this gap, the FELTE Managerial Board has initiated and sponsored the
establishment of FELTE Quarterly, which we proudly present today.

In its first issue, the journal provides a snapshot of some of the faculty’s most prominent
activities during the past few months in FELTE Rhythm, followed by an interview with an ALA –
ENDEAVOUR awardee – a striking representative of a rising young generation in FELTE.
Subsequently, F.Q., in its attempt to stimulate research interest among its readership,
introduces an intriguing research report by a young researcher - a young ELT lecturer, and a
quality book review by a senior staff member of ULIS who, despite his key administrative
position, remains highly committed to research and professional development. The issue ends
with Teaching in Focus, a column devoted to practical teaching ideas that will come into handy
for quite a few ELT practitioners. Last but not least, enthusiastic readers and potential
contributors are highly recommended to look through the Call for Papers to keep themselves
better informed of ways to join the vibrant community of F.Q. writers and editors.

Finally, in this inaugural issue, the Editorial Board would like to extend their deepest
thanks to the FELTE Managerial Board for the invaluable guidance, all FELTE staff members for
their encouragement and assistance, and especially to all the authors of the articles in this first
issue, without whom the idea of a faculty journal of, for and by FELTE teachers’ would not be
realized.

F.Q. Editorial Board

Volume I ☼ Issue 1 ☼ Summer 2011 4

FELTE Rhythm

ELT Research
Methodology
Course
Ngo Xuan Minh
Besides the day-to-day teaching job, FELTE the top FELTE research methodologists. Despite
lecturers are required to conduct research for the challenging subject matters, the class has
professional development and for fulfillment of unfailingly been immersed in an enthusiastic
ULIS mission as a research-intensive higher atmosphere thanks to the constant interactions
education institution. Yet, research has always between the inspiring and devoted instructor and
been a ‘hard nut to crack’ especially for young the highly motivated students – young lecturers
lecturers who possess limited teaching from all the three English language teaching and
experience and insufficient knowledge of research faculties.
research methodology. Aware of this issue, the
The course has exemplified an alternative
FELTE Union of Young Lecturers have decided to
and yet no less effective model for staff
organize a course in ELT Research Methodology
professional development besides the INSET
for Early-career teachers in April and May, 2011.
training sessions. Ensuing the course, the FELTE
The class meets every Monday in April and Union of Young Lecturers are committed to
May to discuss fundamental issues in ELT launching other courses in education philosophy,
research such as the nature of research, research critical thinking and new approaches in language
design and common research methods under the teaching as part of its relentless attempt to assist
guidance of Ms. Phung Ha Thanh (M.Ed), one of its members’ professional fulfillment.

FELTE Union of Young Lecturers’ Year-end Forum
Ngo Xuan Minh
Approximate calculations reveal that FELTE Faculty Managerial Board (FMB), Faculty VCP
is demographically a young faculty with around branch, and Faculty Trade Union.
60% of the staff members aged 30 or less. Hence,
Held on April 21st in Hall 6 – B2, the
its robustness is heavily dependent on the young
meeting started with a brief report of the FUYL’s
generation which often receives generous praises
accomplishments and shortcomings during the
from senior staff members. Nevertheless, there
past academic year by the FUYL secretary – Mr.
have recently emerged some complaints about
Ngo Xuan Minh. Following the report was a
young lecturers’ working conduct and
vibrant discussion in which FUYL members – also
commitment, which, if not addressed, may taint
FELTE young lecturers raised a lot of original
the long-established faculty reputation.
opinions about how to boost the union’s political,
The serious nature of this issue has cultural and academic activities for its members’
prompted the FELTE Union of Young Lecturers personal and professional betterment. For
(FUYL) to convene a forum where junior staff example, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Van with his
members have the chance to voice their opinions extensive experience in cultural activities of the
and listen to the expectations and policies of the Faculty and the University listed some challenges


FELTE Rhythm
as well as benefits and urged that teachers Trade Union, asserted the need for the junior
engaged in extracurricular jobs should be staff to raise their self-discipline and responsible
supported by the Faculty in a variety of ways, say for faculty assignments. Ensuing this line, Mr.
the exemption from supervising exams and the Khoa Anh Viet, FELTE Vice-Dean, pledged greater
reduction in the number of teaching periods. Mr. fairness in staff appraisal and assignment and
Nguyen Tuan Anh, Deputy Head of Division 1, urged the FYUL to establish and promote its own
suggested establishing a material sharing brand name with high-quality academic products
network and expressed his willingness to share a and activities like the upcoming FELTE
database of around 4,000 articles collected QUARTERLY. Nevertheless, consistent in all the
during his overseas studies. Ms. Nguyen Thu Ha three speeches was the optimism that FELTE
(CLC) proposed the whole-day INSET model young lecturers, with their knowledge and skill,
instead of the current two-hour INSET session. would not just follow but would ‘forward’ the
tradition of the Faculty and consolidate its critical
Taking these opinions into serious
position in ULIS.
consideration, representatives of Faculty CPV
branch, Trade Union and Managerial Board The forum, though not intended as a ‘pep
promised to discuss and adjust the policies in the talk’, has significantly boosted the morale of the
foreseeable future. Yet, Ms. Dinh Hai Yen, sectary FELTE young generation, raising their
of the Faculty CPV branch, reminded young commitment to give back to the faculty to which
lecturers of their payback obligation and they are heavily indebted both academically and
commitment to the Faculty. Echoing this view, personally.
Ms. Phan Hoang Yen, President of the Faculty

Professional development could be great fun!


FELTE Rhythm

CLC Curriculum Review and Book Donation
(Monday 25.4.2011)
Ngo Xuan Minh
The fast-track teacher education program
(better known as CLC SP) in FELTE plays a critical
role in the curriculum system of FELTE in particular
and ULIS in general since the majority of graduates
from this program has and will become lecturers at
FELTE, ULIS. However, there has hardly been any
external assessment project on the program’s
curricula. To address this gap, Dr. Diana Dudzik and
her assistants have conducted a systematic
investigation into the fast-track teacher education
program with a view to recommending necessary
CLC teachers and students who realized his vision
changes as well as serving as the framework and
of the program as well as to Dr. Dudzik for her
basis for future assessment of syllabi in FELTE.
assiduous research efforts. The witty and informal
Attended by President Nguyen Hoa, Vice- speech set the scholarly but no less cordial
president Do Tuan Minh, FELTE Managerial Board, atmosphere for the entire session. In two hours, Dr.
Head and Group Leaders of English I, II, III and ELT, Diana Dudzik, the speaker, presented the
the workshop has been one of the highest profile remarkable research findings of the project, and led
events in FELTE this academic year. The session a brief, but fruitful follow-up discussion about the
started with a book donation ceremony as an research process itself as well as specific changes
attempt to deal with the lack of teaching and that should be adopted to better the program. The
learning resources in FELTE, and a brief opening workshop has generated great interest into among
speech by Professor Nguyen Hoa. In his speech, FELTE key staff, some of whom have intended to
Prof. Hoa expressed his gratitude to all carry out similar program review projects in their
own divisions.


FELTE News

NETEC Articulation Project
Khoa Anh Viet
A FELTE task force was gathered to develop some of the
courses in National English Teacher Education Curriculum
(NETEC). The aims of this assignment are to develop staff capacity
for course development, to collaboratively produce 6 course
descriptions, develop syllabi, choose texts, design assignments,
determine assessments etc., and to embed teacher education,
proficiency, and technology skills and connect teaching to practice
in doable ways throughout the 6 courses.

No. Courses

Teaching English for Content Areas
1
TEAM 1 Ngô Việt Hà Phương - Hoàng Hồng Hải

Materials Development and Lesson Planning
2
TEAM 2 Trần Quỳnh Lê - Vũ Mai Trang Consulting group: Dr. Martha
Curriculum and Syllabus Development Bigalow, Dr. Diana Dudzik, Dr. Nguyễn
3
TEAM 3 Vũ Tường Vi - Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà Hòa, Dr. Đỗ Tuấn Minh, and Ms.
Nguyễn Thu Lệ Hằng.
Language Learning Theories and Exploratory Practice
4
TEAM 4 Nguyễn Tuấn Anh - Khoa Anh Việt After two weeks of hard work,
Psychology for Foreign Language Teaching: a Social the team achieved great success in
5 Constructive Approach course development and all the six
TEAM 5 Lương Quỳnh Trang - Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền
courses are ready to be piloted in the
Classroom English and Micro-teaching Practicum upcoming years.
6
TEAM 6 Phạm Thị Thanh Thủy - Trần Thị Lan Anh

Do you know?

FELTE, FLCE, FoE
Outsiders, as a rule, are utterly confused on hearing that there are up to 3 English faculties in ULIS. So
what are the differences between them?
o FELTE (Faculty of English Language Teacher Education) is responsible for training TEFL and translation-
interpretation majors in undergraduate and postgraduate studies as well as conducting researches and
projects in the related areas.
o FLCE (Faculty of Linguistics and Cultures of English speaking countries) is in charge of training Linguistics
and Culture-related majors at all levels of studies in ULIS, VNU as well as conducting researches and projects
in the related areas.
o FoE (Faculty of English) assumes the task of teaching English to non-majors in all the member universities
and faculties of Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
Yet, there are constant interactions between the three faculties thanks to the flexible policy of ULIS and
the commitment of all three faculties to conform with ULIS’s vision of excellence in teaching and
research of languages and international studies.


FELTE Faces

Ms. Vu Phuong Thao, winner of both ALA and
Endeavour Awards
The first issue of FELTE Quarterly is published right in the
middle of what FELTE teachers normally jokingly name
“Scholarship Season”. During this critical span, many
teachers work twice harder to deal with the strenuous daily
teaching jobs and at the same time pursue their life-long
dream of overseas postgraduate studies. Among the
scholarships most sought after by them are probably ALA
(Australian Leadership Awards) and Endeavour Awards,
both known for their prestige and competitiveness.
Unfortunately, the number of ALAs and Endeavour Awards
presented to Vietnamese candidates is quite limited
(around 20 for each award). However, in 2010 a young
teacher from FELTE, named Vu Thi Phuong Thao
successfully gained the offers from the Selection Panels of
both awards. Currently, she is doing her Master of
Education at the University of Melbourne, Australia under
ALA scheme.
Taken by Duong Thu Mai

“A cool head and a warm heart”
As an attempt to assist ambitious FELTE teachers in their pursuit of overseas studies, FELTE
editors have invited Thao to share her firsthand experience in applying for the scholarships as
well as in studying and living in Australia.

• Minh Ngo (MN): Hi, Ms. Thao. Thank you for requirement of the scholarship, and
joining us in this first issue of FELTE demonstrate in his/her profile, reference
Quarterly. letters, and the shortlist interview that “I’m
‘Ms. Or Mr. Right’ for this scholarship,” then
• Thao Vu (TV): Hi. Thank you for this
the chance would be very high. My
opportunity. It’s great to stay connected with
suggestion would be analyzing rigorously the
our faculty this way.
requirements described in the scholarship
• MN: First, shall we talk about the Australian handbook and the checklist in the reference
Leadership Awards? Besides the core letter form, collecting real-life evidence to
requirements posted on the web, what do match yourself with the description, and
you think are the qualities and skills that the articulating the evidence in the most
potential candidates need to demonstrate? convincing and original manner. For ALA
• TV: Well, I would say if a candidate can scholarship, leadership is an umbrella term.
confidently put a tick next to every single An interested candidate may need to work


FELTE Faces
qualities accordingly? Do I possess them and more about leadership. Depending on how
how to convince people that I do?” The whole each candidate designates their concept of
‘application package’ and answers in the leadership, the convergence between these
interview need to consistently portray the two scholarships could be more or less. In
candidate as the leader that he/she has addition, Endeavour and ALA scholarships
already shaped in mind. also differ in their conditions and offers that
you can find out from their handbook.
• MN: So what’s your idea of leadership?
• MN: Thank you. As you may know, most
• TV: I would think of a change agent, who is
applicants (FELTE teachers included) apply for
devoted to bringing about changes and
both ALA and Endeavour Awards in order to
connecting other people to bring about
boost their winning chances. Then how
positive changes.
should they adapt their ALA packages to
• MN: As far as I know, shortlisted candidates enter for Endeavour Awards?
will be invited to an interview. Could you
• TV: I don’t remember making use much of
please share with us some tips to impress the
my ALA application for the Endeavour one
selection panel?
because the questions are not really similar.
• TV: The strategies would vary, I have to say. I But again, it comes back to how close your
compared my experience with other understanding of leadership is to the focus
successful candidates and they turned out to on social contributions of Endeavour. For
be quite different. The common advice, as example, if your reasoning is that leadership
you may know already, is to stay relaxed, mainly involves creating changes that may
confident, and connected with the listeners, progressively affect the community and
to support the answers with evidence from society, I reckon some ideas could be
your genuine experience, and to be as transferrable between the two applications.
eloquent as possible. I’ve learnt that telling
stories is an effective way to engage the
panel. It’d be a good idea to anticipate a
couple of interview questions and prepare
“ The FELTE community in Melbourne and
stories to illustrate the answers beforehand. my housemates are such a blessing to me
For more tips, I would recommend the ALA
and Fulbright scholarship discussion threads
”
• MN: Now that you have attended University of
in ttvnol.com. It’s a wonderful sharing
Melbourne for almost nine months, what do
community – definitely something we can’t
you think are the main differences between
miss out.
studying in ULIS and in U.o.M?
• MN: Another prestigious scholarship often
• TV: Well, I’m particularly delighted at the
applied for by those wishing to undertake
student supporting services like orientation,
graduate studies in Australia is Endeavour
counselling, and tutoring services. They are
Awards. So what are the differences between
very helpful in easing my study and personal
this scholarship scheme and ALA?
life. Another advantage about U.o.M is the
• TV: My personal idea would be…Endeavour library facilities and information systems,
focuses more on social contributions, which really assist and help enhance self-
regarding the candidate’s extra-curriculum, study and research capacity.
social activities and professional activities
• MN: Another equally important aspect is the
that are meaningful to the society. ALA is
life in Australia. Are there any shocks that


FELTE Faces
FELTE teachers are likely to face when living • MN: So is there anything they should bring
in Australia? along in order to better cope with life there?

• TV: I’m afraid I can’t give you a lot first-hand • TV: A cool head and a warm heart. And I wish
experience here coz’ I fortunately feel like you a stroke of luck as well.
home when living in Melbourne. The FELTE
• MN: Thank you for your enthusiastic and
community in Melbourne and my housemates
informative answers. I believe that FELTE
are such a blessing to me. Their support and
teachers will benefit immensely from them.
company from the very first day I arrived here
On behalf of FELTE Quarterly Editorial Board
until now has made me forget that I could
and FELTE staff, I wish you to complete your
have suffered from culture shock,
M.A. study with a high distinction grade.
homesickness, or single-available-and-
Hope to see you soon in Hanoi.
lonely trauma. Other than this, I used to
struggle for quite a while with using the • Ms. Thao: Thank you. My best wishes to
public transport and getting around the city beloved colleagues and your application. I
without getting lost. But believe me, direction look forward to seeing you soon and hearing
is never my thing, and you may find it just a good news from you then.
piece of cake.

FELTE Word Search ☻
Tran Hoai Giang

Can you find all the 9 hidden ELT-related
words in this Word Search?

Words can go in the following directions:

⇦⇧⇨⇩
Visit www.Busyteacher.org to create
your own Word Search and much more!

SOLUTIONS


Feature Article

Backchannels in the English-as-a-Second-Language Mix-sexed Conversations:
A Discussion of Frequency, Gender Typical Expression, and Level of Interest
Nguyen Chi Duc

1. Introduction
According to Zimmerman and West (1975), Fishman (1983), Coates (1989), and Jenkins & Cheshire
(1990), women tended to be more active than men in supportive roles in conversations. They showed
their conversation support by signaling that the speaker’s messages had been received, understood,
agreed to and/or brought out a certain effect (Orestrom, 1983). This phenomenon was originally
addressed as backchannels by Yngve (1970). However, whether this pattern is also true for other target
population and in other communication settings is still subject to test. Additionally, little body of
research explicitly seeks to learn typical expressions and level of interest that men and women employ in
their own conversations. This research gap inspires me to conduct a small study on English Backchannel
in mix-sexed conversations in the academic context of a university in Vietnam, in which English as a
second language is the medium of instruction.

2. Aims, Research Questions and Scopes of Study
The paper purports to address the following research questions: (1) is there any difference in
frequency of backchannel items in mix-sexed conversations? If yes, which gender use more backchannel
responses?; (2) is there any difference in their backchannel expressions? If yes, which expressions are
typical for each sex?; and (3) is there any difference in level of interest between the two genders? If yes,
which sex uses higher level?. The findings would provide a modest contribution to linguistic analysis
work based on gender and application to better real-life communications.

Due to the limitation of time, the paper excludes such other influential factors as: age, ethnic
groups, religion, class, sexual orientation, and regional and cultural background. The number of samples
is also limited within the capacity of the researcher’s analysis.

3. Core Concept: Backchannel
In Linguistics, backchannels are defined as listener responses that can be either verbal or non-
verbal in nature. Backchannel responses used to refer to the short utterances (e.g., uh, huh, okay, Yeah, I
see) that would occur in the backchannel by the non-primary speaker or the listener as the front channel
is occupied by the primary speaker (Yngve, 1970). Later, scholars extended the scope of backchannel
responses to include sentence completions, requests for clarification, brief statements, and non-verbal
responses (Duncan & Niederehe, 1974; Duncan & Fiske, 1977). To recognize backchannel responses, two
criteria must be fulfilled: (a) they do not seriously interrupt the primary speaker’s speakership, and (b)
they do not intend to take over the floor of the current speaker (Clancy, Thompson, Suzuki & Tao, 1996).
The two major functions of backchannel responses are ‘‘continuers’’ and ‘‘assessments’’ (Goodwin,
1986; Schegloff, 1982). That is to say, they are indications to the current speaker that the listener is
paying attention to and/or understands what is being said.


Feature Article
4. Method and Data:
Participants
Ten participants (five males and five females) volunteered to participate in the study without any
incentives offered. They formed five dyads of mix-sexed conversation. However, one dyad was dropped
from the data analysis since they both did not follow the instruction and were highly aware of recording.
The majority of participants were in their twenties or early thirties with an average of 29.1. The mean
ages for the males and females were 30.0 and 28.2, respectively. These means were not statistically
significant: t (1,78) = -1.90, P > 0.05. All the participants were recruited from English Department of
University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS). Prior to this recruitment, the ethics approval
was obtained from the University’s Ethics Review Board. Since all the participants were the instructors
and students of English in ULIS, their English proficiency was highly ensured. Additionally, they all had an
IELTS score of band 5.5 or over at the time of recording.

Experimental Design and Procedure
A daily-topic-conversation design was applied under two conditions: over-the-phone and face-
to-face conversations. All the participants were well informed about the recording and the purpose of
data collection. An open atmosphere was created by a well-trained facilitator, which was supposed to
mitigate the psychological confront by high awareness of recording. The bulk of recorded data proved to
be of natural contribution except for the first two minutes since the participants were still well conscious
about the tape-recorder. Therefore, all the data retrieved from the first-two-minute block was dropped
from the data analysis. The targeted conversations were then transcribed and coded properly. In the first
stage, all the backchannel items were counted and compared between dyads and the two sexes. Next,
typical backchannel expressions in each sex were documented and then compared between the two
genders. At the final stage, a discourse analysis (function-focused) was conducted to learn the level of
supportiveness in these expressions.

5. Result: Discussion of Findings
Discussion of frequency of backchannel items between two sexes

16
14
12
10
8 Male
6 Fem ale
4
2
0
C1 C2 C3 C4

Figure 1: Frequency of backchannel items

It can be seen from Figure 1 that males prove to use more backchannel items than females, only
except for the conversation 4. In addition, the ratio is rather high: 15 times in the conversation 2, over 3
times in the conversation 1, and nearly 2 times in the conversation 3. Meanwhile, the conversation 4
presents only two times of female’s employment of backchannel items over that of the male. This result


Feature Article
is obviously contradictory to the hypothesis generated from the previous research. It should be well
noted that in the three conversations 1-3, the female speakers are the primary source of information
giving. Therefore, the males are just information token. They accordingly have no or little chance to take
the floor. However, in the conversation 4 where the male speaker is the main information deliverer and
the female is rather a passive receiver, then the reverse patterns. The number of backchannel items that
the female employs actually doubles that by the male. Apparently, the frequency of backchannel use, in
this study, depends heavily on the role of the participants. A common pattern can be roughly established
that who is the primary source of information tends to employ less backchannel items and vise versa.

Discussion of typical features in backchannel use between the two sexes

Backchannel Males % Females %

/oh/ 9 12% 1 1.2%

/oh?/ 4 5% 0 0%

/um, umhm, mmhm/ 4 5% 2 2.4%

/uh, uhuh, huh, ahah/ 5 6% 5 6%

/yeh, yeah, yah/ 6 7.5% 4 5%

/yep?/ 0 0% 1 1.2%

/yes/ 4 5% 1 1.2%

/ah/ 2 2.5% 0 0%

/ok/ 4 5% 1 1.2%

/so/ 0 0% 2 2.4%

/right, that’s right/ 0 0% 2 2.4%

Sentence with /good, great, nice, well,
7 9% 1 1.2%
interesting, beautiful, helpful/

Others 7 9% 7 9%

/laugh/ 1 1.2% 0 0%

Total 53 >=67% 26 =<33%

Figure 2: Typical features in backchannel use between the two sexes


Feature Article
As shown in Figure 2, the majority of the backchannel items that the females use is rather short
(either a single word or two). Meanwhile, the responses from the males’ utterances seem to be longer.
This feature is also different from that of the previous research, which contends that the females’
sentences tend to be longer that the males’ (Fishman (1983), Coates (1989), and Jenkins & Cheshire
(1990)). The males in this study employ quite many sentences with positive words such as: “good, great,
nice, well, beautiful and helpful” in comparison with only one utterance from the female in the
conversation 3. This reveals that the males highly appreciate the information that the females send out.
It is well noticing that a laugh was recorded in the male’s utterance in the conversation 1, whereas none
was found in the females’. Since a laugh can, according to Steiner (2005), show a spontaneous and
strongly emotional response, it can be a good indicator of supportiveness in conversation. Therefore, the
males seem to support the wheel of conversation better than the females.

Discussion of level of interest between the two sexes
To learn the level of interest between the two sexes, a “level-of-interest” scale should be well-
defined as the following groups:

o the single form (oh, uhuh, yeah, mh, ah, so, ok, yes) (single words)

o the complex form (yeah yeah, oh ok) (two words or more)

o the questions (yep?, oh? Really?, about half an hour?)

o the restatement

o the appreciative full sentences

o the laughter

35
30
25
20 Males
15 Females
10
5
0
res
co

qu

ap

lau
sin

mp

pr
es
gle

gh
tat

e
t io
lex

em

ci a
n

tiv
nte

e

Figure 3: Level of Interest

Low Interest High Interest

The order above indicates the increasing level of interest.

At most of the levels of interest, the males prove to have a higher involvement than the females
except for the restatement. It should be noted that the restatement is regularly used by the female in the
conversation 4 since she is currently noting the information that the male delivers. So her restatement


Feature Article
purports to confirm the messages that she has taken from him. Additionally, the males tend to use more
appreciative full-sentence response to show their interest than the females. However, this pattern is
designated by the particular setting in which the females are informants and the males themselves are
information tokens.

6. Conclusion
From the discussion above, (1) the males prove to be more supportive in mix-sexed conversations
than the females. This is contradictory to the hypothesis stated in the introduction. This pattern clearly
depends on the roles of the participants in the conversations rather than their genders. Those who
primarily give information tends to deliver less backchannel items than the other and vice versa. (2) The
males’ responses are longer, more varied, and embedded with more feelings and functions than those of
the females. (3) At the bulk of levels, the males present their higher interest in the message transfers.
However, due to the limitation of the target population and the settings of conversations, these findings
and interpretations should not be over-generalized. This is just a study to prove the hypothesis
aforementioned should not be widely administrated. For further research, the paper suggests a more in-
depth investigation of the effects of participants’ roles over their use of backchannel items.

References
Coates, J.(1989). Gossip revisited: language in all-female groups. In Coates, J. and Cameron, D. (eds.)
Women in their speech communications, London: Longman.

Fishman, Pamela (1983), Interaction: the work women do, in Thorne, B., Kramerae, C. and Henley, N.
(eds.), Language and sex: Difference and dominance, Rowley, MA: Newbury House.

Hoang, Thi Hanh (2006), Appreciating Utterances in Conversation: A Cross-culture Analysis, PhD Thesis.
Faculty of Art, Melbourne University

Jenkins, Nancy and Cheshire, Jenny (1990), Gender issues in the GCSE oral English examination: part 1’,
Language and education, 4: 261-92.

Nguyen, Thi Mai Hoa (2005), Pragmatic Analysis of Appreciating Responses in daily conversations: A
comparison between Vietnamese and Australian Culture, PhD Thesis, Faculty of Art,
Melbourne University.

Thomas, Linda, et al. (2004), Language, Society and Power, London: Routledge.

Zimmerman, Dan and West, Candace (1975), Sexroles, interruptions and silences in conversation,
inThorne, B. , Kramerae, C., and Henley, N. (eds.), Language and sex: Difference and
dominance, Rowley, MA: Newbury House.

Double Puzzle ☻
Tran Hoai Giang
(Created with Busyteacher.org Double Puzzle
Creator)

Unscramble each of the clue words related to
FELTE. Then take all the letters that appear in
the circles and unscramble them for the hidden
message. See solutions after the Review.


Review

Turnbull, M., & Dailey-O’Cain, J. (Eds.). (2009).
First language use in second and foreign language
learning. Bristol, England: Multilingual Matters. ISBN-13:
978-1-84769-195-8. 207 pp.
Review by Le Van Canh

University of Languages & International Studies

The use of first language in teaching and learning second and foreign languages has fuelled
a great debate among applied linguists and language educators over the last few years.
According to Macaro (2005), perspectives on target language use and first language use are
along the same continuum. At one end of the continuum lies the position which views first
language use as having no pedagogical or communicative value. Proponents of this position
(e.g., Ellis, 1986; Krashen, 1982; Swain, 1985) draw on Krashen’s (1982) comprehensible input
hypothesis and Swain’s (1985) pushed output hypothesis, which argue for the need to expose
learners to a flood of comprehensible target-language input as well as to provide them with
ample opportunities to produce the target language to ensure mastery of the target language.
All of these authors support the view that second language learning is a monolingual process.
At the other extreme of the continuum are perspectives which argue that the first language can
be beneficial as a cognitive tool that aids in second language learning (e.g. Swain & Lapkin,
2000; Watanabe, 2008). Classroom-based research also shows that teachers, to varying
degrees, do use the first language even in contexts that are based on principles of
communicative language teaching (e.g., Polio & Duff, 1994; Turnbull, 2005), and students tend
to opt for their first language even when monitored (Behan et al., 1997). In the context of the
on-going debate over the issue and in the absence of solid empirical evidence of a causal
relationship between exclusion of the first language and improved second/foreign language
learning, the book First Language Use in Second and Foreign Language Learning comes out just
in time. The book is welcomingly added by Guy Cook’s (2010) recent volume Translation in
Language Teaching .
The book is a collection of nine empirical studies related to first language use in a variety of second
and foreign language contexts (French immersion in Canada; English as a foreign language in
China; the multimedia learning context of French as a foreign language and English as a foreign and
second language in England; Primary school English as a foreign language in Hungary; Spanish-
English dual immersion in the United States, German as a foreign language in Canada and the
United States; and French as a foreign language in the United States). In Chapter 10, the concluding
chapter, the editors reflect on all the studies reported in the book and point out that the studies
raise more questions than answers. Then, they make recommendations for policy, practice and
teacher development as well as avenues for future research. It is worth quoting the editors’ remarks
in full because if the enormous implications it has for language teaching and language learning
research:

Optimal first language use in communicative and immersion second and foreign language
classrooms recognizes the benefits of the learner’s first language as a cognitive and meta-


Review
cognitive tool, as a strategic organizer and as a scaffold for language development. In addition,
the first language helps learners navigate a bilingual identity and thereby learn to function as a
bilingual. Neither the classroom teacher nor the second or foreign language learner becomes so
dependent on the first language that neither can function without the first language. Optimal
codeswitching practices will ultimately lead to enhanced language learning and the development
of bilingual communicative practices (Turnbull & Dailey-O’Cain, p. 183).

Regarding research methodology, all the studies presented in the book draw on multiple
theoretical frameworks and use both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. However,
what I find most useful in terms of methodology is the way authors use qualitative methods
informed by principles of grounded theory and narrative inquiry to investigate the issue. I
believe that the shift to the qualitative paradigm from the conventional psychometric paradigm,
which has dominated mainstream Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research must be
appreciated given the huge gap between laboratory conditions and the social reality of
language classroom. Such a paradigmatical shift represents the recognition of teaching and
learning as human individual activities, and therefore, as “a system of social relations”
(Leontiev, 1981, p. 46) which are “experienced and created by teachers and learners” (Breen,
1985, p. 141) within a particular cultural-historic milieu.

All in all, the book provides a wealth of information about the use of first language in the second
and foreign language classroom, which is summarised by the editors as follows:

Despite the persistence of policies that prohibit the use of the first language, both teachers
and learners are in fact using the first language in cognitively and sociolinguistically productive
ways, and in every kind of classroom imaginable. (p. 14)

Such an observation is aligned with the call for more empirical inquiries into the influence of
teachers’ mental lives on their practice (Borg, 2009; Burns, 2009) in an attempt to gain insights into
why teachers tend to divorce their practice from mainstream SSLA theories.

Another value of the book lies in the suggestions the authors make for future investigation into the
issue of first language use in the second and foreign language classroom. Among the questions
raised by the editors in the final chapter that need further inquiries, codeswitching is in the
forefront.

In my opinion, the book has two basic limitations. First, although the editors claim that the book
covers a “variety of second and foreign language contexts” (p. 8), most of the studies were
conducted in either European or North American contexts. The absence of studies in Asian contexts
may lead the readers to the impression that the book is dominated by eurocentricity. The second
limitation, which has been already acknowledged by the editors, is that it fails to provide practical
tips for classroom teachers on the optimal use of first language in the second and foreign language
classroom. Personally, I think this is an unfortunate omission if we agree that target-language
exposure is necessary, but not sufficient to guarantee target language learning while overuse or
overdependence on the first language may disempower both teachers and learners in the second
and foreign language classroom.

Despite these limitations, I strongly recommend this book; it deserves a good place on the
shelf of second language teacher educators, curriculum developers and classroom language
policy-makers.


Review
References
Behan, L., Turnbull, M., & Spek, J.(1997). The proficiency gap in late French immersion: Language use in
collaborative tasks. Le Journal de l’Immersion, 29(2), 41-44.
Breen, M. P. (1985). The social context for language learning – a neglected situation Studies in
Second Language Acquisition, 7, 135-158.
Borg, S. (2009). Language teacher cognition. In A. Burns & J. C. Richards (eds.), The Cambridge Guide to
second language teacher education (pp. 163-171). Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press.
Burns, A. (2009).Grammar and communicative language teaching: Why, when and how to teach it?
CamTESOL on English Language Teaching: Selected Papers, Vol. 5 (pp.9-15).
Cook, G. (2010). Translation in language teaching. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Ellis, R. (1986). Understanding second language acquisition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practices in second language acquisition. New York, NY: Pergamon.
Leontiev, A. N. (1981). The problem of activity in psychology. In J. V. Wertsch (Ed. & trans.), The
concept of activity in Soviet psychology (pp. 37-71). New York, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
Macaro, E. (2005). Codeswitching in the L2 classroom: A communication and learning strategy. In E.
Llurda (ed.), Non-native language teachers: Perceptions, challenges and contributions to the
profession (pp. 63-84). New York, NY: Springer.
Polio, C., & Duff, P. (1994). Teachers’ language use in university foreign language classrooms: A
qualitative analysis of English and target language alternation. The Modern Language Journal,
78, 313-326.
Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible
output in its development. In S. Gass & C. Madden (eds.), Input and second language acquisition
(pp. 235-254). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Swain, M., & Lapkin, S. (2000). Task-based second language learning: The uses of the first language.
Language Teaching Research, 4, 253-276.
Turnbull, M. (2005). Investigating and understanding Core French teachers’ uses of English and
French: Beliefs and practices. Final report submitted to Eastern and Western School District,
P. E. I
Watanabe, Y. (2008). Peer-peer interaction between L2 learners of different proficiency levels: Their
interactions and reflections. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 64(4), 605-635.

Solutions to Double Puzzle ☻

Clue words: language, education, teacher, professional, development, students, english,
course, translation

Hidden message: Opportunitas


Teaching in Focus

Activities that work…
Do Thi Xuan Hoa

Do you keep a teaching journal? Do you own a lesson plan that works well with a group of
students? Do you have any experience applying new approaches or activities that are expected to be
successful but actually turn out failures? If you say “yes” to one of the above questions, then why
don’t you share your knowledge with your colleague? Not only can useful practices be popularized
but potential mistakes or problems can be avoided thanks to this sharing activity. And to have a
kick-off for this newly-set habit among lecturers in our faculty, I would like to share with you how I
adapt some conventional activities in our actual class setting and with our students.

Slap the board Matching
T prepares a list of words taken This activity is quite demanding for T but it pays off
from a recording related to a certain when Ss can remember the words well as they move to
theme, say sickness or natural find their partners and when they do the follow up
disaster, and some other words with exercise.
similar pronunciation. For each part
This activity works most effectively in a class with the
of the recording, T asks 4 to 6
number of students divisible by 3.
students to stand right in front of
the blackboard. T plays the
Phase 1
recording and students listen then T prepares 1 set of words, 1 set of explanation for the
slap at any words they catch. meaning of the words and 1 set of pictures that demonstrate
the words. T delivers the small pieces of papers to Ss and asks
Asking students to stand near the them to find other two Ss so that the word, the explanation
board, rather than at a certain and the picture match.
distance, appears suitable in our
Phase 2
narrow classroom. Moreover, with 4
to 6 students playing at a time, T Once Ss finish finding their partners, T can give a small gift for

can get almost all students involved the fastest group.

in an activity. Ss are then put in new groups of 4 to 6 members. T should
bear in mind that no group should have more than one S from
the previous group. T gives each group a handout with a
filling in the blank exercise using the words they have just
learned.

T sets time for the groups.

When time is over, each group sends one representative to the
board to write the answers. T checks. Another small gift can
be given to a group with all correct answers

Phase 3
Finally, T gives each S a handout of all the new words, picture,
explanation and example. T can ask some Ss to pronounce the
words and give Vietnamese equivalence for “difficult” words.


Call for Contribution
Editorial Board

FELTE Quarterly (FQ) invites you to submit articles. FQ is a journal of, for and by
FELTE teachers to report on multifaceted life at Faculty of English Language Teacher Education,
ULIS, VNU and to engage its staff members in collegial discussion about issues in the field.

FQ is published quarterly as an e-journal and for internal circulation only. Below are the
guidelines for submission.

1. Submission categories
- News (in FELTE Rhythm): pieces of news about pre-eminent activities involving FELTE
teachers to keep the whole faculty staff up to date.

- Interviews (in FELTE Faces): interviews with conspicuous faculty figures so that their
colleagues can learn from their recipes for success.

- Feature articles: research reports on a variety of ELT issues.

- Reviews: reviews of ELT- related books, articles, and other teaching – learning materials

- Teaching in focus: practical ideas for classrooms (including but not limited to lesson plan,
worksheets and Power Point slide show).

- Do you know: short pieces of information which are often taken for granted but may be new
to quite a few.

- Fun corner: may include but not limited to word searches, crossword puzzles, funny stories
and comic strips for edutainment.

2. Technical requirements
- The submission should conform to the style guidelines in The Publications Manual of the
American Psychological Association(6th edition). For information, see the APA Web site.
- Authors may use British or American spelling, but they must be consistent.

- Submit manuscripts electronically to the FQ Managerial Board via the email address
chidoangiaovienspta@gmail.com.

- Submissions should be in Microsoft Word or compatible program. Please submit figures,
graphs, and other graphic elements in a standard graphic format (e.g., JPEG) or Excel.
Tables should be created in Microsoft Word or compatible program.

- All quoted material must be cited in text and in a reference list. The FQ Editorial Advisory
Board will determine a clear policy and definition of plagiarism, and its decision will be final.


FELTE QUARTERLY



22

FELTE Quarterly provides a snapshot of faculty activities

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Ähnlich wie FELTE Quarterly provides a snapshot of faculty activities

Ähnlich wie FELTE Quarterly provides a snapshot of faculty activities (20)

Mehr von englishonecfl

Mehr von englishonecfl (20)

FELTE Quarterly provides a snapshot of faculty activities