The teachers’ interaction with students

This section describes the teachers’ interactions, which were expressed in the tone of voice and the way they gave feedback to students. The marks representing the interaction in this section are as follows:

The teacher’s rising tone of voice: ↑ (signifies a tension in the voice) The teacher’s soft tone of voice: ≈ (signifies mildness in the voice) Frustrated words: (signifies a criticism)

The mark at the end of each sentence in the excerpts indicates that the teacher used that particular tone of voice for the sentence. The mark after each utterance means

149 that the teacher used that tone of voice for the whole utterance. All marks are put in the English translation versions, not in the original versions, for ease of reference. The data show that there were differences in the teachers’ tones of voice when giving feedback to students’ responses. The experimental teacher’s voice was mild (excerpts 5.9 and 5.10).

Excerpt 5.9: Experimental teacher

Now, how do you get to school, how do you go to school. Đây là câu hỏi về gì nhỉ? Phương tiện đúng không. Collin đi đến trường bằng phương tiện gì. Như vậy thì đúng hay sai?

[Now, how do you get to school, how do you go to school. What is the question about? Means of transport, right. How Collin goes to school. So is this right or wrong?] ≈

One student Đúng. [Right] Experimental

teacher

Đúng. How does Colin get to? Các em có thể thay get bang go. How does Colin go to. Number 10. Does she often misses the bus. Câu này với câu số 8 thì có gì giống nhau? Does she often misses the bus. Như vậy câu này…?

[Right. How does Colin get to? You can replace get with go. How does Colin go to. Number 10? Does she often misses the bus. How is this sentence similar to sentence 8? Does she often misses the bus. So this sentence..?] ≈

One student Miss Experimental

teacher

Ừ, đúng rồi, như vậy misses bỏ gì?

[Uh, right, so what needs to be omitted in misses?] ≈ One student Es

Experimental teacher

Đúng rồi. Bỏ es. Thế vậy là Does she often miss the bus?

[Right. Omit es. So the sentence is Does she often miss the bus, isn’t it] ≈. (L1 – EAR1)

Excerpt 5.10: Experimental teacher

Now number 2. Do you listen to the radio in the morning. Do you listen to the radio in the morning. Right or wrong? ≈

One student Wrong Experimental

teacher

No, right. Do you listen to the radio in the morning? Listen to something. Lắng nghe cái gì [Listen to something]. Number 3. What time do you go downstairs? Right or wrong? ≈

150 As indicated above, in the experimental class, the experimental teacher’s tone of voice was soft when students had the right answer. When students had the wrong answer (Excerpt 5.10), the experimental teacher corrected immediately and gave further explanation. For example, in Excerpt 5.10 the student said: ‘wrong’, then the experimental teacher corrected them immediately by saying ‘no, right’. The teacher’s tone of voice did not change.

In the control class, the control teacher’s tone of voice rose when students demonstrated that they did not understand or gave the wrong answer. Examples are underlined in excerpts 5.11 and 5.12 below. HAS (high-achieving student), LAS (low- achieving student), and Ph are students (Ph is a pseudonym).

Excerpt 5.11:

Control teacher Bạn HAS chuyển như thế nào? [HAS, how to correct this sentence?]

HAS (silent)

Control teacher Nào, Your flatmates nó là chủ ngữ. Rồi, HAS ngồi xuống. Ph nào. [Now, your flatmates is subject. Sit down, H. Ph please]

Ph Thưa cô, vì đứng trước nó là your flatmates… [Teacher, because your flatmates precedes...]

Control teacher Không, your flatmates là danh từ cơ mà em. [No, your flatmate is the noun.] ↑

Ph Thế thì câu này đúng ạ. [So this sentence is correct.]

Control teacher Your flatmates đây là… Em … em nhìn nhầm rồi đúng không. When... do… Do chỗ này là gì ạ? Là trợ từ đúng không? Sau đó đến your flatmates là danh từ này, là chủ ngữ. Và đến get up là phần? Cụm động từ phía sau. Thế câu này đúng hay sai?

[Your flatmate here is...You... you are wrong, aren’t you ↑ . When... do... Do here ...what is it? It is an auxiliary verb, isn’t it? Then is your flatmates, the noun, the subject. How about get up? The verb phrase follows. So is this sentence right or wrong?] ↑.

151 Excerpt 5.12:

Control teacher Lớp trưởng nào. [Monitor please.]

LAS (silent)

Control teacher Nào. [Please.]

LAS Thưa cô là… miss… does he often miss the bus… [Teacher... it is... miss... does he often miss the bus...]

Control teacher Does he often … gì ạ? Câu số 9, misses sẽ chuyển thành miss, tại vì sao? [Does he often …what? Number 9, misses is corrected to miss, why?] LAS Tại vì trước đó là do, chuyển thành does ạ.

[Because the preceding is do which is corrected to does.] Control teacher Tại vì sao em lại đổi misses thành miss?

[Why you change misses to miss?] LAS Tại vì nó số ít ạ.

[Because it is singular noun.] Control teacher Tại vì nó số ít à?

[Because it is singular noun?]↑

LAS Vâng.

[Yes.]

Control teacher Tại vì nó số ít à? he là số ít, nên động từ sau nó cũng phải chia số ít, hôm trước cô dạy thế à?

[Because it is singular noun? he is singular, so the verb followed must be singular. Did I teach you that?] ↑

LAS (silent)

Control teacher Nào, he là ngôi thứ 3 số ít rồi, thế nên động từ cũng phải chia là ngôi thứ 3 số ít. Thế nhưng đây là câu gì ạ?

[Now, he is the third singular, so the verb must be singular person. But what kind of sentence is this?] ↑

LAS Câu hỏi ạ.

[It is a question.]

Control teacher Câu hỏi, có cần chia động từ nữa không? Trợ động từ chia rồi, thì động từ làm sao? Có cần chia nữa không?

[It is question, so is it needed to change the verb? The auxiliary verb is changed, how about the main verb?] ↑

Students Không. [No.]

152 Control teacher Thôi, ngồi xuống. Rõ chưa?

[Stop, sit down. Understand?] ↑

LAS Vâng.

[Yes.]

Control teacher Các em chữa vào vở đi.

[The whole class, correct it and copy into your notebook.] (The whole class was silent for three minutes)

(L1 – CAR2)

It is evident that the control teacher used quite strong words when giving feedback to the students. For example, when a student answered incorrectly, the teacher said ‘you are wrong, aren’t you?’ (Excerpt 5.11). Stronger words were also used, such as ‘Did I teach you that?’ or ‘Stop, sit down. Understand?’ (Excerpt 5.12).

In summary, the pre-intervention teaching in both classes had three similar features. Firstly, both teachers focused on explaining grammar points and new words rather than on providing the students with opportunities to practice their speaking. Secondly, in relation to this, speaking tasks were assigned as homework rather than being practised in the classroom. Thirdly, pair and group work were used as it was the requirement of the original tasks in the textbook. However there was one notable difference regarding the teachers’ interactions with students; the experimental teacher’s tone of voice was soft when giving feedback. In contrast, the control teacher’s tone of voice rose when giving feedback when answers were incorrect and she did say strong words when students answered incorrectly. The next section will outline the teaching of the during-intervention stage for both experimental and control classes.