THE ATTITUDES OF UNIVERSITY VIETNAMESE STUDENTS & THE PERCEPTIONS OF VIETNAMESE TEACHERS OF ENGLISH TOWARDS THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH SPEAKING AND PRONUNCIATION AT UNIVERSITY LEVEL IN VIETNAM Duong Nguyen

INTRODUCTION: RESEARCH AREA  EFL (English as a foreign language)  NNESTs (Nonnative teachers of English)  Students’ attitudes  Teachers’ self-perceptions

AIM/JUSTIFICATION  The majority of empirical studies on students’ attitudes towards NNESTs have focused more on the ESL than EFL classrooms.  As for English teaching and learning in Asia, Vietnam has very little research on.

AIM/JUSTIFICATION (cont.)  Empirical studies conducted in the EFL classrooms have mostly aimed to find out about students’ attitudes and/or NNESTs’ self-perceptions towards the teaching of English in general.  This study examines a more specific aspect: the teaching of English speaking and pronunciation.

REFERENCES  Braine, G. & Ling, C. (2007). The attitudes of university students towards non-native speakers English teachers in Hong Kong. Sage publications. Vol 38(3),  Butler, Y. (2007). How are nonnative English speaking teachers perceived by young learners?. TESOL. Vol 41(4),  Jenkins, J. (2000). The phonology of English as an international language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.  Jenkins, J. (2001). Teaching English pronunciation: do non-native teachers know best?. Professional development. Retrieved from  Llurda, E. (2005). Nonnative language teachers: perceptions, challenges and contributions to the profession. New York: Springer.  Moussu, L. (2006). Native and nonnative English speaking ESL teachers: students’ attitudes, teachers’ self-perceptions, and intensive English administrator beliefs and practices. (Doctoral dissertation, Purdue University, 2006).  Tod, R. & Pojanapunya, P. (2009). Implicit attitudes towards native and nonnative speaker teachers. System 37(1), Retrieved from 1&article=23_iatnanst 1&article=23_iatnanst

RESEARCH QUESTIONS  What are the attitudes of university Vietnamese students towards the teaching of English speaking and pronunciation by Vietnamese teachers of English?  What are the self-perceptions of university Vietnamese teachers towards their own teaching of English speaking and pronunciation?  As nonnative teachers of English, what are the challenges and the potentials that Vietnamese teachers of English think they have in teaching English speaking and pronunciation at university level?

METHODOLOGY  Mixed methods:  Quantitative method Questionnaires (participants: university Vietnamese students)  Qualitative method Focus group interview (participants: university Vietnamese teachers of English)

METHODOLOGY  Materials/Instruments:  Questionnaires / Focus group Interview

METHODOLOGY  Participants:  Students: freshmen students in the English Department and the Foundation Studies Department in Hanoi University - the leading university specializing in foreign language teaching in Hanoi (the capital of Vietnam).  Teachers: Vietnamese teachers of English (specializing in the teaching of speaking and pronunciation) in Hanoi University.

METHODOLOGY  Procedure:  Questionnaire: Handout questionnaires to freshmen students in the 2 departments in Hanoi University (about students)  Focus group interview: Interview a group of Vietnamese teachers of English (about 10 teachers)  Data/analysis:  The data will consist of: written answers provided by students through questionnaires recorded & transcribed answers provided by teachers  The analysis will consist of a quantitative and a qualitative analysis of answers taken from the questionnaires and from the interview

ANTICIPATED PROBLEMS/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY  How Vietnamese students and Vietnamese teachers of English in other universities across Vietnam think about the teaching of English speaking and pronunciation by NNESTs?  Longitudinal studies will reveal better and more precise results on students’ attitudes towards Vietnamese teachers of English in the teaching of English speaking and pronunciation (students’ attitudes prior to the course versus their attitudes toward or at the end of the course)

EXPECTED FINDINGS  Students’ attitudes: Different attitudes (either positive or negative, or both) that university Vietnamese students have towards the teaching of English speaking and pronunciation by Vietnamese teachers.  Teachers’ self-perceptions: Mixed self-perceptions:  A number of Vietnamese teachers have positive self- perceptions towards their teaching of English speaking and pronunciation;  Others might be more reluctant to say that they have positive self-perceptions towards their own teaching of English speaking and pronunciation.