CONTENT Chapter 1 Introduction3 Chapter 2 Literature … · Large classes, ESP, the roles of...

CONTENT

Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................... 3

I. Rationale:.............................................................................................. 3

II. Aims of the study: ................................................................................ 5

III. Research questions............................................................................ 5

IV. Scope of the study: ............................................................................ 5

V. Design of the study: .......................................................................... 6

Chapter 2 Literature Review:.......................................... 9

I. Introduction .......................................................................................... 9

II. Definition of key terms:........................................................................ 9

1. What is “a large class”? ............................................................ 9

2. What is “ESP”?....................................................................... 11

III. The roles of teachers in managing class: ........................................ 13

1. Teacher as a Controller:.......................................................... 14

2. Teacher as an Assessor: .......................................................... 15

3. Teacher as a Reconciler of Methods....................................... 17

4. Teacher as a Facilitator:.......................................................... 17

IV. Classroom management: ................................................................. 18

V. The strategies in managing classroom: ........................................... 20

1. What is the strategy?............................................................... 20

2. The types of teaching strategies: ............................................ 22

VI. Previous studies relating to the research:........................................ 29

1. In Vietnam .............................................................................. 29

2. In other countries: ................................................................... 31

VII. Summary: ........................................................................................ 32

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ABSTRACT

It is widely admitted that teaching English to a large class has certain

disadvantages over a small class in managing classroom. Therefore, knowing the

teaching strategies of ESP teachers in large classes, indeed, is very important to

good teaching. Some latest research shows that ESP teachers in many colleges

have to face special difficulties in teaching large classes.

The main purpose of this study was to explore strategies used by ESP

teachers in teaching large classes at Hue University College of Economics.

Specifically, the researcher (1) explored the roles of teachers in the teaching

process; and (2) the ways of managing large classes effectively. The instruments

used in this study were (a) questionnaire, (b) interview and (c) observation. Data

was analyzed by means of tables and charts. The findings of the study were:

(1) How large classes are defined by ESP teachers at Hue College of Economics;

(2) What issues and problems the ESP teachers often meet in the process of

teaching in large class?

(3) What the teaching strategies are of common use in these classes?

The study concludes by discussing the implications of the results for ESP

teachers teaching large classes. Hopefully, as a result ESP teachers will be more

and more innovative in their teaching methodology to achieve a higher educational

result. In addition, the study also proposes some suggestions for further research.

These suggestions state the need to conduct more research to confirm the results of

the current study and to get more information about the different roles of ESP

teachers that influence their teaching strategies.

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

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Chapter 1 Introduction

I. Rationale:

In the past ten years, because of the phenomenal expansion in students’

enrollment in Vietnamese universities in general and at the Colleges of Hue

University in particular, many teachers find that the main impact on teaching is the

size of their classes. Therefore, it is a normal phenomenon for teachers to teach

English in a large class in which there are more than 50 students, even more than

one hundred students. Often when teachers are faced with large classes they begin

to worry about how they will teach the foreign language effectively, and how they

will make learners interested in the learning process. Furthermore, the questions

puzzling all the English teachers are how they will achieve a sound attitude to

students in the class. In other words, teaching anything to a large number of

students is a very difficult task.

The aim of this thesis is to explore how ESP teachers at Hue University

deal with large classes. Large classes are a reality in Vietnam in general and in

Hue University in particular and teaching large classes can be a bit daunting even

for experienced teachers.

According to Xia (2006, p. 40), the last twenty years have seen a lot of

researches in English language teaching, but relatively little material on the issues

of how to teach English in a large class. In addition, it is universally acknowledged

that language teaching and learning are best conducted in a small class, ideally

with no more than twenty learners. However, in some universities in Vietnam,

English language teaching in a large class is a common phenomenon. The larger a

class is, the more difficult class management will be.

Normally, teaching a large class is often an unwelcome assignment due to

many vexing problems associated with the sheer size of the class. These problems

include dealing with how to encourage attendance in large classes, how to prevent

academic dishonesty, how to get feedback from students about the course and how


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to make a big class interactive. Like other classes, “large classes work best when

students take an active interest in the subject and when teachers personalize their

presentations and respect their students. However, while these basic principles of

good teaching apply in large as well as small classes, the sheer number of students

in a large class can magnify some problems that might be more manageable in a

smaller class” (Enerson, Johnson, Milner & Plank, 1997). The teaching of large

classes is therefore challenging. “Large classes are not necessarily less effective

than smaller ones, but they do require more conscious effort and planning”

(Enerson, et al., 1997).

In fact, there are other challenges of teaching a large class; for example, it

is difficult to keep good discipline in a large class or teachers cannot easily give

each student the individual attention they need or teachers may not have enough

teaching and learning aids. So teaching a large class effectively is hard work, but it

is possible to do it even if we are not a big-league entertainer as David (1997,

p.51) holds that “Given that class size is most unlikely to be reduced in the

foreseeable future, teachers need to come to terms with their problem.”

Some people feel relaxed to teach in a large class because they can test a lot

of students at the same time and they do not take a lot of time to teach students

owing to giving some exercise for students doing it together and then they will

collect all sheets of paper as the answers from students whereas the other teachers

said that it is difficult for them to control and observe students in a large class

when teaching them. Clearly, teaching in a large class is not an easy task; teacher

is considered a controller, an assessor and a reconciler, etc to finish the task

effectively. This phenomenon happens in many universities, especially in Hue

University College of Economics where I am teaching. That is the reason why I

chose the topic “Exploring strategies used by ESP teachers in teaching large

classes at Hue University College of Economics” for my study. Through this

study, I would like to find out some useful strategies for teaching English in large

classes for ESP teachers.


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II. Aims of the study:

This study was initiated because of the urgent need for teachers concerned with

teaching large ESP classes in Hue University. It studies the issues teachers are

faced with, such as class sizes, their responses to the large classes, the strategies

and techniques they use to manage and teach the classes, and the effects of their

efforts.

For the above mentioned reasons, my study aims to investigate teachers’

perception of large classes, specify the roles of teachers for teaching English in

large classes, identify the activities often organized by teachers in large classes,

and identify the difficulties in teaching in large classes. Based on these findings,

the study will explore strategies for teaching English in large classes.

III. Research questions

In order to achieve the above-stated goals, this thesis seeks to answer these

questions:

1. How are large classes defined by ESP teachers at Hue University College of

Economics?

2. What are issues and problems in teaching large classes of Economics?

3. What teaching strategies are of common use in these classes?

IV. Scope of the study:

Because of time constraint, my study was carried out at one university only.

It is Hue University College of Economics. Within the scope of this thesis my

study focused on getting the perspectives of non-major ESP class and teachers

teaching in large classes at Hue University College of Economics on the

application for activities in teaching and learning English in large classes and

finding out strategies for teachers of English for Specific Purposes to teach

students in large classes more effectively.


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V. Design of the study:

The study is organized into five chapters together with a list of references

and appendices.

Chapter I includes the rationale, the aims, the scope and the design of the study.

Chapter II presents the related literature.

Chapter III details the method and procedures used to conduct the study and to

collect the data.

Chapter IV discusses the findings of the study.

Chapter V includes conclusion, implications resulting from the study, and

suggestions for further research.


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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

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Chapter 2 Literature Review:

I. Introduction

Large classes, ESP, the roles of teachers, classroom management and

strategies in managing classrooms are the issues that have been mentioned and

discussed in many materials and books by authors in the world and in Vietnam.

This chapter will review what the authors wrote about these issues and set up the

II. Definition of key terms:

1. What is “a large class”?

It is difficult to define what a large class is, because it means different

things to different people. So, what is large? If ‘large’ is defined as 100 or more

students per class or “one that has too many students to learn names by the end of

the semester” (Enerson, et al., 1997), then a class of 1400 students is ultra large.

Just

how large is too large? That depends on what it feels like to you. Some find 40

students too many; others find 200 just right. There is no question that it is a

setting which encourages performers - both on stage and in the audience” (Gibbs

p. 30). “The challenge is to work out a clear and educationally defensible

rationale for lecturing. Another challenge is to lecture effectively and efficiently”

(Newble & Cannon, p. 20).

In fact, people have varying opinions on how “large” the number of

students should be in a so called “large class”. The fact that the size of a class

may differ from one college to another. The concept “large class” has been

widely used by many ESP lecturers and researchers.

Coleman (1989) has researched into large classes and EFL learning and

raised a question: what is a large or problematic size? This question cannot be

simplistically answered. It depends to a great extent on the context and individual

experiences and cultural perceptions. As Locastro (2001) points out teachers who


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have taught classes of 6-12 students complain when suddenly faced with a group

of 22. Those who have coped with 40 in language learning classes ceased to find

that number large. As it is well known, language classes in developing countries

are bigger. It might be up to 150-300 or more (Locastro, 2001). It is widely

recognized that the answer to this question is country-specific. On the other hand,

it raises questions, for example, how do the native English-speaking teachers who

have been trained to teach classes of 15 –25 students teach larger classes in a

different system, for instance in an Asian country, Vietnam, where the normal

school class size is 40 plus?

According to Palmer (1999) (Universitat jaume I – Castello, Spain) in a

conference organized in Spain a couple of years ago a plenary speaker coming

from another European country stated that he had “large” groups of 15 people.

Most people in the audience were quite shocked, as English language lecturers in

Spain are quite used to taking care of considerably larger groups. What is “a large

class”? The answer varies.

Hayes (1997) shows that there can be no quantitative definition of what

constitutes a “large” class, as perceptions of this will vary from context to

context. While Le (2002) thinks that the word “large” is relative, depending on

what you are familiar with.

However, most English teachers generally agree that a language class with

from 50 students to 60 students or more is large enough. But large class is

defined by Ur (1991) is that in her own teaching situation a large class is about

from 40 to 45 students.

In addition, a study done by the team of the Lancaster-Leeds Language

Learning in Large Classes Research project (Project Report No.4 of Colemen et

al., 1989) indicates that an average perception of the large class may be around

50 students.


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In reality, the concept cannot be defined as “too precise”. Teachers who

are used to groups of 14-20 students might find a group of 30 to be rather

threatening. Others may be relieved when they have only 40 (Nolasco & Arthur,

1998). Large classes are often found at secondary level but we have seen very

large classes of 50-60 students, even more than one hundred students.

In our university, non-English majors are usually grouped into classes of

40 to 55 students each, even about from 70 to 100 students each at College of

Agriculture and Forestry and College of Economics. “Probably, however, the

exact number does not really matter: what matter is how you, the teachers see the

class size in your own specific situation” (Ur, 1991, p.302).

2. What is “ESP”?

The term "specific" in ESP refers to the specific purpose for learning

English. Students approach the study of English through a field that is already

known and relevant to them. This means that they are able to use what they learn

in the ESP classroom right away in their work and studies. The ESP approach

enhances the relevance of what the students are learning and enables them to use

the English they know to learn even more English, since their interest in their field

will motivate them to interact with speakers and texts. ESP assesses needs and

integrates motivation, subject matter and content for the teaching of relevant skills.

That is to say, ESP is normally goal- directed, students study English not

because they are interested in the English language or English culture but because

they need English for study or work purposes. Daily communication is also in

ESP. Thus, designing a course that can best serve learners’ interests and needs is a

challenge for many instructors.

From the early 1960's, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has grown to

become one of the most prominent areas of EFL (English as Foreign Language)

teaching today. It is one branch of English as a Foreign Language and English as

a Second Language, which are the main branches of English Language Teaching.


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In addition, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is known as a learner-

centered approach to teaching English as a foreign or second language. It meets

the needs of (mostly) adult learners who need to learn a foreign language for use

in their specific fields, such as science, technology, medicine, leisure, and

academic learning. This course is recommended for graduate students and foreign

and second language professionals who wish to learn how to design ESP courses

and programs in an area of specialization such as English for Business, for Civil

Engineering, for Academic Purposes, and for Health Service Purposes. In addition,

they are introduced to ESP instructional strategies, materials adaptation and

development, and evaluation.

In Hutchinson’ (1987) view, ESP is distinguished into two main types:

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and English for Occupational Purposes

(EOP). ESP courses are categorized according to the learners’ specialization;

there are large categories in ESP: English for Science and Technology (EST),

English for Business and Economics (EBE), and English for the Social Sciences

(ESS). Besides, ESP is understood as an approach to language teaching in which

all decisions as to content and methods are based on the learner’s reason for

learning (Hutchinson, 1987, p.19).

Normally, an ESP course is based on needs analysis, which aims to

specify as closely as possible what exactly it is that students have to do through

the medium of English.

In fact, ESP concentrates more on language in context than on teaching

grammar and language structures. It covers subjects varying from accounting or

computer science to tourism and business management. The ESP focal point is

that English is not taught as a subject separated from the students' real world (or

wishes); instead, it is integrated into a subject matter area important to the

learners.


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However, ESP has developed at different speeds in different countries. In

Vietnam, attempts to teach ESP to Vietnamese scientists and technicians can be

traced back to 1965. The first textbook for students of science or engineering

was written by Vu Ta Lam.

And Le (2002) developed course design in teaching ESP for Agricultural

and Forestry students. From the data collection of students’ needs, she designed a

course book for “Agro-Forestry”.

To sum up, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is known as a learner-

centered approach to teaching English as a foreign or second language. It meets

the needs of (mostly) adult learners who need to learn a foreign language for use

in their specific fields, such as science, technology, medicine, leisure, and

academic learning.

III. The roles of teachers in managing class:

Teacher’s roles in classroom activities are probably the most demanding

and important factors in terms of the effective classroom management. Teachers

can play many roles in the course of teaching. Just as parents are called upon to be

many things to their children, teachers should play not only the role which

transfers knowledge to students but also be skillful with how to transfer this

knowledge successfully and effectively.

Most large classes are introductory and intended for first and second-year

students for whom learning in a large class is a new experience. They must learn

to get by with less individual attention than may have received in high school. As

a result, some students may feel anonymous in the lecture and this anonymity

may make it harder for them to become motivated to keep up. Another obstacle is

that with so many of their peers listening, many students in large classes feel too

intimidated to ask questions or too overwhelmed by the material to approach

instructors or others for help. So the roles of ESP teachers are really very

important as Hedge (1988, p.68) commented the teacher’s role will be “to advise,


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assist, monitor, and keep up motivation”. And H. Douglas Brown (2001) pointed

out that teacher’s roles are often best described in the form of metaphor: teacher

as a controller, teacher as an assessor, teacher as a reconciler of methods, teacher

as a facilitator.

Following is the whole set of metaphors to describe a spectrum of

possibilities of teacher’s roles, some of which are more conductive to creating an

interactive classroom than others.

1. Teacher as a Controller:

Though a learning-centered classroom focuses everything on learning,

teachers must control all activities in classroom, observe what students do.

Teachers as controllers take in charge of the class for controlling students’ tasks

as well as their speaking and the language they use.

When they show their roles as controllers, they want their students to get

the image that they project themselves. However, some teachers are too strict in

asking students to do what they gave, and direct students to follow only one line,

whereas some are very open to act to each other.

Once teachers are the center of attention, they find it easy to perform the

controlling role and certainly this has both advantages and disadvantages. In fact,

especially for large classes where there are about from 45 to 50 students at least,

ESP teachers play the extremely important roles; if teachers give the wrong

information, how serious students receive wrong one.

In reality, with 30 or 40 or more students present at the same time in one

classroom, our teachers are under considerable pressure both because they are

obliged to complete the syllabus within limited time available and because they

have to manage teaching activities. The easiest and commonest way of coping

with such a class is teacher-centered “lock-step”, which means the class group

where all the students are working with the teacher, where all students are

“locked into” the same rhythm and pace, the same activity (Harmer, 1993). In


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other words, the teacher wholly controls the content, stages and pace of the

lesson, and is responsible for controlling who should speak and when.

In Harmer’s view (1993), this teacher-centered lockstep has certain

advantages in that all the class are concentrating, and the teacher can usually be

sure that everyone can hear what is being said. The students are also getting a

good language model from the teacher. On the other hand, lockstep has its

disadvantages as well. Firstly, students working in a whole group get little chance

to practice or to talk at all. What happens in our classrooms has shown that if a

ten-minute questions-and-answers stage takes place in a class of 40, and each

student spends thirty seconds to response (including instructing and correcting),

so only a few students will be able to say something in class. Secondly, lockstep

sometimes goes at the wrong speed. The teacher is either too slow for good

students or too fast for the weak ones. Thus good students get bored and the weak

may be panic and not learn what is being taught. Thirdly, lockstep involves too

much teaching and too little learning. The teacher is viewed as the main source of

knowledge and information from which students like empty bottles are filled with

what is presented. Consequently, it has been found that a problem common for

many students is that they may be structurally competent, but cannot

communicate appropriately.

Therefore, Kalpana (2001) indicates that in a classroom, the teacher's role

as a controller is important, for, then s/he will be controlling what the students

do, as well as what they speak and when they speak.

2. Teacher as an Assessor:

In large classes, assessment is not easy for teachers; it takes a lot of time

for teachers to correct students’ error or mistake at the same time. Thus, the role

of teacher as an assessor is very important and it is shown into two types of

assessments: correction and organizing feedback.


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In correction stage, teacher will correct students’ mistake in doing sub-

task. Teacher corrects students when a mistake has been made; this is called

“gentle correction”. If we correct students in right way, it makes a good

atmosphere in class comfortably and students will achieve it easily and not repeat

their error. For instance, with gentle correction the teacher says things like “well,

that’s not quite right….we do not say “ he taked…..” we say “ he took”.

Besides, organizing feedback helps teacher assess more effectively.

Organizing feedback happens when students have done some kind of task, and

the key point of this kind of assessment is for them to see the scope of their

success or failure and to be given ideas as to how their problems might be solved.

When students have finished their task, the teacher first discusses with the other

students about the mistake that students have just made.When they are giving

their observation and opinion, teachers will write down into a piece of paper, and

teachers will review and feedback more things that students should improve or

develop.

There are some ways to feedback: they can feedback about content or

form

of task have been done by students, which we call ‘content feedback and form

feedback”. Teachers will record the other students’ feedback by paper, tape

recorder or video.

Organizing feedback or correction that occurs in a large class helps the

extent of students aware of right knowledge or wrong knowledge that they are

learning. Thus, teacher can assess level of students that s/he is teaching in order

that he can apply the way of teaching effectively.

To sum up, with this role of teacher must establish assessment plan; select

appropriate methods, strategies, tools; share criteria, samples of work with

students; use results to give feedback for improvement; and use results to

establish next steps.


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3. Teacher as a Reconciler of Methods

In order to get a more learning perspective, combining a newer functional

view of language with a traditional structural view is a good basis from which a

teacher can promote learning. For large classes, teachers must reconcile

communicative approach with the traditional grammar-translation method

following students’ level. For example, with good level, teachers can apply

communicative approach to control students such as work in pairs or work in

groups; and with multilevel, teachers should apply the traditional grammar

translation method. We give the concrete grammar structures, students can use

easily and more effective when they master them. Some learners responded: “We

would like to know what happens, because if we understand the system, we can

use English more effectively”(Harvey, 1986, p.183-186).

However, by communication it is meant not only face-to-face talk, but far

more important, the basic ability to use the language to receive and to convey

information associated with their specialized studies (Keith Johnson, 1999). Few

would deny that the ultimate goal of language teaching should be communicative

competence. But teachers often find it too distant a goal to aim at in a large

classroom. To change this situation, it is suggested that both the roles of the

teacher and students have to change, and this will necessarily imply, amongst

other things, a radical change in the classroom management.

4. Teacher as a Facilitator:

A less directive role might have described as facilitating the process of

tramline, of making learning easier for students: helping them to clear away road

blocks, to find shortcuts, to negotiate rough terrain. The facilitating role requires

that you step away from the managerial or directive role and allow students, with

your guidance and gentle prodding, to find their own pathways to success. A

facilitator capitalizes on the principle of intrinsic motivation by allowing students

to discover language through using it pragmatically, rather than by telling them


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about language. In describing the role of the teacher as a facilitator of learning,

Littlewood states that the term “instructor” is not adequate and that the teacher

performs a variety of specific roles such as: general overseer, classroom manager,

language instructor, consultant or advisor, and communicator. The general

overseer must aim to coordinate activities so that they form a coherent

progression, leading towards greater communicative ability (Littlewood, p.92).

The classroom manager is responsible for planning group activities in class and

for ensuring that these are satisfactorily organized at the practical level. The

language instructor’s duty in some of the activities is to present new language,

exercise direct control over learners’ performances, evaluate, correct, and so on.

When there is an independent activity in progress, she may serve as consultant or

advisor, helping where necessary. The last role is as “communicator” in which

she participates in the activity.

IV. Classroom management:

Definition of classroom management

Some of the initial problems that teachers of large classes face can be

categorized under the heading “classroom management”. In fact, teaching large

classes effectively certainly involves having a clear and useful syllabus, well-

organized lectures. Besides, in order to transfer teacher’s preparation completely,

classroom management is an indispensable element in the process of teaching.

Classroom management is defined by David Nunan (1999) as:

Techniques and procedures employed by the teacher in the classroom to control

student behavior, including setting up different kinds of tasks, dealing with

disruptive behavior, establishing and moving between different kinds of learning

groups, and using audio-visual aids and other forms of relia and equipment

efficiently.


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Classroom management focuses on encouraging and establishing student

self-control through a process of promoting positive student achievement and

behavior.

In Hanson’ view (1998) classroom management depends upon several

interdependent components such as engaging curriculum; working with anger,

projection, and depression; students as responsible citizens; the teacher as a self-

knowing model; classroom management skills; working with resistance, conflict,

and stress; and robust instruction. And if even one of these components is

neglected, the whole process is compromised. Compromise results in the need for

discipline.

According to Teaching Resources (Planning and Policies) “Classroom

management involves being in charge of all aspects of the classroom

environment. Most experienced teachers will attest to the fact that effective

classroom management is a necessity rather than a luxury. If an instructor loses

control of the students’ behavior, everything else can, and most likely will, fall

apart. The online resources below offer many tips for managing the classroom

environment.”

In addition, classroom management is also defined as s broad set of

teaching behaviors through which the teacher shapes and maintains learning

conditions that facilitate effective and efficient instruction resulting in a learning

community. Effective classroom management is an ongoing, maintenance-

oriented process. It involves motivating students to learn, providing appropriate

instruction and feedback, and managing student work. Efforts of the effective

classroom teacher are proactive, responsive, supportive.(www3.uakron.edu.)

In brief, classroom management focuses on creating and maintaining an

orderly learning environment, and discipline involves teacher responses to

student misbehavior.


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V. The strategies in managing classroom:

1. What is the strategy?

The concept of strategy has been borrowed from the military and adapted

for use in business. A review of what noted writers about business strategy have

to say suggests that adopting the concept was easy because the adaptation

required has been modest. In business, as in the military, strategy bridges the gap

between policy and tactics. Together, strategy and tactics bridge the gap between

ends and means.

The fact that strategy is a term that comes from the Greek strategia,

meaning "generalship." In the military, strategy often refers to maneuvering troops

into position before the enemy is actually engaged. In this sense, strategy refers to

the deployment of troops. Once the enemy has been engaged, attention shifts to

tactics. Here, the employment of troops is central. Substitute "resources" for troops

and the transfer of the concept to the business world begins to take form.

In addition, strategy also refers to the means by which policy is effected,

accounting for Clauswitz’ famous statement that war is the continuation of

political relations via other means. Given the centuries-old military origins of

strategy, it seems sensible to begin our examination of strategy with the military

view.

Liddell Hart (1967) concludes that Clausewitz’ definition of strategy as

"the art of the employment of battles as a means to gain the object of war" is

seriously flawed in that this view of strategy intrudes upon policy and makes battle

the only means of achieving strategic ends. Liddell Hart observes that Clausewitz

later acknowledged these flaws and then points to what he views as a wiser

definition of strategy set forth by Moltke: "the practical adaptation of the means

placed at a general’s disposal to the attainment of the object in view." In Moltke's

formulation, military strategy is clearly a means to political ends.


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However, George Steiner, a professor of management and one of the

founders of The California Management Review does not bother to define

strategy except in the notes at the end of his book. There, he notes that strategy

entered the management literature as a way of referring to what one did to counter

a competitor’s actual or predicted moves. Steiner also points out in his notes that

there is very little agreement as to the meaning of strategy in the business world.

Some of the definitions in use to which Steiner pointed include the following:

• Strategy is that which top management does that is of great importance to

the organization.

• Strategy refers to basic directional decisions, that is, to purposes and

missions.

• Strategy consists of the important actions necessary to realize these

directions.

• Strategy answers the question: What should the organization be doing?

• Strategy answers the question: What are the ends we seek and how should

we achieve them?

And Henry Mintzberg (1994) points out that people use "strategy" in

several different ways, the most common being these four:

• Strategy is a plan, a "how," a means of getting from here to there.

• Strategy is a pattern in actions over time; for example, a company that

regularly markets very expensive products is using a "high end" strategy.

• Strategy is position; that is, it reflects decisions to offer particular products

or services in particular markets.

• Strategy is perspective, that is, vision and direction.

Besides, Mintzberg also argues that strategy emerges over time as intentions

collide with and accommodate a changing reality. Thus, one might start with a

perspective and conclude that it calls for a certain position, which is to be achieved

by way of a carefully crafted plan, with the eventual outcome and strategy


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reflected in a pattern evident in decisions and actions over time. This pattern in

decisions and actions defines what Mintzberg called "realized" or emergent

strategy.

2. The types of teaching strategies:

a. The “compulsory + optional” strategy:

According to Ur (1991), the “compulsory + optional” strategy means that

the class is given material or a task and told that a certain minimal component of

it has to be learned or done by everyone, the rest only by some. The basic

attainment requested should be accessible to all, including the slowest; but

provision should be made for more, or more advanced, work by those for whom

it is appropriate. Thus, everyone should be able to succeed; but the amount

actually done to achieve this success will vary from individual to individual.

Typically, instructions that introduce “compulsory + optional” work include

phrases like “do at least”, “if you have time”, “do as much as you can of…”. This

strategy can be applied to the syllabus, practice activities and tests.

b. Instructional strategies:

In an article of Nakabugo and Opolot-Okurut at A-A Dialogue Reflective

Meeting organized in Kampala Regency on 14-17 November, 2006, they hold that

some strategies identified had pedagogical merit and potential to facilitate learning

in large classes.

Other strategies were of limited pedagogical merit. Firstly, for strategies with

potential, teachers often used group work and team teaching activities to attract

students’ attention and develop school-based staff. Secondly, for strategies with

minimal potential to promote learning, teachers will focus on lesson duration,

daily homework. Besides, to reduce marking burden teachers gave little classroom

exercises.


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In fact, some of the strategies developed have great potential to facilitate

teaching and learning in large classes if well nurtured.

c. Pair work and group work activities:

The role of pair work and group work is very important to English classes

as Michael Long and his colleagues (1985, p.207) pointed out, students not only

produce a greater quantity but also a greater variety of speech in groups than in

teacher-centered activities. Not surprisingly, in teacher-centered activities,

students primarily respond to teachers’ questions and rarely initiate speech on

their own. Besides, pair work and group work is an important technique to use in

large classes, where otherwise only a fewer stronger or more confident students

have opportunities to participate (Baker & Westrup, 2000).

i. Pair work activities:

In a large class students pair or group can help each other and learn from

each other so that students will not get bored listening to teacher talk.

Pair work is, of course, a form of group work, working in cooperation with others

(Anderson, 1993). The reasons for the use of pair work are similar to those of

group work (Littlejohn & Hicks, 2005). Pair work activities are an integral aspect

of many teachers’ approach to language teaching (Pellowe, 1996). Pair work is

used when the teacher divides the whole class into pairs. Every student works

with his or her partner and the pairs work at the same time. It is not the same as

public pair work- where pairs speak in turn in front of the class. Pair work is a

way of organizing a class, which is naturally suitable for many different kinds of

activities.

According to Celce-Murcia (1991) pair work is a process in which

students work in pairs for practice or discussion. Pair work seems to be a good

idea because it helps students practice together at any one time. You can feel easy


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to control or assess amount of students in a large class at the same time when

they practice in pairs instead of some.

Pair work allows the students to use language and also promotes student

co-operation which is itself important for the atmosphere of the class, also

motivates the enthusiasm of learning with others.

There are some types of pair work which the teacher has to reconcile for

each kind of class he is teaching. The teacher will organize bases on the type of

activity the class is working with. For example, there is a pair work activity

where students worked in pairs doing drills or asking and answering questions

using language that had just been showed. Sometimes students practice a model

dialogue, role play an exercise or focus on a reading and find out the answer after

discussing together.

When students work in pairs doing exercise, the teacher must go around to

control and give a helping if any. Of course, the teacher will still able to act as an

assessor, controller, prompter or resource. With pair work, students can practice

language use and connect learning.

In fact, pair work involves students in working in pairs simultaneously.

Working one on one makes all students involves in the task, the students then get

more practice. Pair work is therefore the most efficient way of increasing

students’ participation. The class may be a little bit chaotic but the students are

actively involves. Moreover, the students working in pair are able to share ideas

and adjust to each other. They can get the chance to help each other

cooperatively. And pair work provides the students with a change of pace to a

lesson and helps them to sustain motivation when interacting with their partners.

The students then can learn with less stress. The key words for the reasons of

using pair work here are involvement, sharing and adjustment, and cooperation

and motivation (Fujita, 1994; Helgesen, 1998 and Littlejohn & Hicks, 2005).


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However, there are some problems happening with pair work. Teachers

sometimes worry about noise and indiscipline when pair work is used particularly

with children and adolescents. If you go and focus on one pair in the corner of the

class, the rest of the class will ignore their task and play about. But if you go

around all pairs and correct students directly, they may be ashamed to present

their task if they cannot do the task. It is difficult to give feedback for students

completely if you could not control and observe all class. Therefore, the teacher

has to be flexible to divide the pairs; teacher can put strong students with weak

students into a pair or he can arrange students together randomly.

The advantages of pair work over teacher dominated classes, including a

higher possibility of engaging an individual’s preferred learning style, a

proportional increase in each students’ chance to be actively involved in language

use, and a greater variety of types of language which can be used by students,

have been extensively discussed in the literature on language teaching

methodology (McDonough & Shaw, 1993; Brown, 1994 and Nunan, 1991).

Pair work is frequently referred to as “open” and “closed”, depending on

whether just one pair practicing, usually across the class, to provide some sort of

model for others or whether the whole class is divided into pairs and working for

its own sake (Gower& Walters, 1983).

However, Celce-Murcia (1991) states that there seems to be no research to

give an answer to the ideal combinations for pairs. Then, pair work is a way of

developing students’ participation and language use. It can be used in some

activities whether speaking, writing or reading.

ii. Group work activities:

Similar to pair work, Celce-Murcia indicates that group work is also a

popular activity and is frequently used by large class teachers. Group work is a

common activity in the outside world and experiencing it here is in itself a useful

undertaking. Woolfolk (2001) holds that group work means several students


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working together in mixed - ability groups and are rewarded on the basis of the

success of the group.

According to Johnson & Holubec (1998) in small groups, students work

together to maximize their own and each other’s learning. In fact, group work is

also understood as a number of people (but it should not be as large as a class)

who are assigned a task and work on it collaboratively (nation, 1989: Savova &

Donato, 1991 and Touba, 1999) or as three or more students working in a group,

teaching one another and learning together to solve problems or other types of

exercises.

Nevertheless, Pica (1994,p.61) defines group work as : “ A compensary

practice employed in large classrooms…as a way of giving language learners

more speaking turns than are possible during teacher-led instruction.”

In fact, group work activities have allowed teachers to have opportunities

of helping students with individual problems which perhaps before has not been a

improving the quality of students’ talk. In group activities, the students work with

one another, they all help each other to fulfill the handed group task and they

must be responsible for their group’s fate (we all “swim and sink together” here).

Therefore, cooperative learning methods also increase students’ responsibility

and encourage group members to participate and learn more quickly because

group members do real work together and they bring out whatever assistance and

encouragement that is necessary to promote each other’s success.

A well-organized group work with each group given clear, defined and

achievable goals, can raise deeper and broader learning outcomes for all students.

It not only can help students develop language and communication skills but also

can give the students' opportunities to experience cooperated learning. When

students are working together in a group to manufacture a result, all students give

many good ideas and thus they have a lot of choice to collect accurate goals, from

that they can be teaching and learning in the group.


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It is said that when working in a group some different ideas will happen:

there are some people will agree or disagree with each other, it is obvious they

will debate and discuss together. There is a big chance for someone to be able to

solve a problem when it arises and take over giving the last opinion. Certainly it

is true that group work activities can often more exciting and dynamic than some

other activities. The positive and pleasant atmosphere will help to realize the

notion of learner-centered language teaching.

What is more, group work turns the competition between individual

students into a race of different groups. In a large class, the advantage of group

work may be doubled. On the one hand, too many students make it impossible

for the teacher to give proper directions to each of them; on the other hand, the

many students make it easier to share their ideas.

Johnson and Johnson (1987) describe a group as a collection of

individuals who are interacting with one another. In terms of group size, it is

quite problematic: you can safely divide some groups of six or seven in a class of

40-50 students. Moreover it depends on the task, you can put students into

smaller group of 3 or 4 and then combine again to share the ideas and finish the

tasks. In the end, there are many ways to make group size, teacher should know

how to control and form the groups in time. If you arrange students into group to

do the task at the first time when they have not known each other yet, you may

need to initially set lower goals for the task given. In any case, the teacher should

be keen and ready to give group work activities.

Forming groups where weak and strong students are mixed together is also

an issue of concern. In general, people usually mix weak and strong students

together so they the weak students can improve and learn from the strong

students, whereas the strong students have a chance to show out their abilities in

leading group. However, some people feel that it is better to make groups of

strong students and groups of weaker students separately.


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With all these merits, group work and pair work are no doubt very

reasonable options for large classes. When planning group work, teachers should

know clearly what the students are supposed to achieve, outline expectation and

provide guidance on how to achieve the group’s objective.

There is a view that when teaching a new or difficult skill, teach the class

in groups of 15 to 20, instead of trying to teach the whole class all at once. For

example, if you have a class of 45, you will have three groups of 15. While you

are teaching the first group, the other two groups can be given practice or drill

exercises on the previous days lesson (enrichment or remediation, as needed) that

they can do on their own, with little supervision from you. Then, when they are

ready, you can give the first group practice exercises on the newly-learned skill

while you move on to the second group. Repeat the process with the third group.

Divide a large class into two or three groups. Assign practice or review exercises

to the other group(s) while you teach one group.

Besides, Zenhui (2001) points out benefits of group work such as help a

majority of language learners, creates more opportunities for interaction,

facilitates cooperation among students, enables students to plan and evaluate their

learning.

Nevertheless, Underwood (1987) thinks that this should not be done too

often, as it may be that in some groups one student will dominate and do all the

work while the rest make very small contributions.

In summary, pair and group work also enhance students’ understanding.

This active engagement with peers in learning should be more likely to lead to

‘deep learning’, in which the students really understand the meaning of theories

(Watkins, 2004). It means that the students learn from each other and benefit

from activities that require them to articulate and test their knowledge. Pair and

group work activities provide opportunities for the students to clarify and refine


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their understanding of concept through discussion and rehearsal with peers

(Devlin, 2002).

iii. Individual activities:

Together with pair work and group work, individual activities can also

contribute to the effective management of a large class . Sometimes you have to

permit students to work within their own ability and conditions. Students can

relax from pressure of their colleagues, they no longer worry about following the

ideas of the others, they can believe in their decision because they themselves

think of the answers and make up their mind giving the result.

VI. Previous studies relating to the research:

Much research in Vietnam as well as in other countries has been done to

explore teaching strategies for large English classes, especially for ESP classes.

1. In Vietnam

Le (2002) pointed out problems, solutions, and advantages of large classes

at Dong Nai College of Education and Lac Hong University. According to him,

the first problem a large class encounters is that because there are so many

students – each class has from 40 to 60 students. So the teacher cannot give

attention equally to all of them. The second problem he mentioned that is the

differences in background knowledge. He followed Ur’s view that in large

classes where are always heterogeneous and heterogeneous classes are especially

problematic when they are large. Because of the fact that in a large class,

students’ levels of English vary greatly, the materials used are too easy for some

students, but too difficult for others. The third problem that a teacher of a large

class must cope with is how to correct written work. Besides, he also discussed

discipline in a large class. One final problem a teacher of a large class must deal

with is that it is difficult to get to know all the students.


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In an article at Website of Global Education

(http://globaledu.com.vn/ViewContent.aspx?CatID=7) the writer Bich Hoa

pointed out some techniques in teaching large classes. She said that the

characteristics of a

foreign class is that students are not very crowded. With the current condition,

however, the criterion will not be guaranteed. So she held that in a large class

students should work in pairs or groups in order that they can help together during

the process of learning. She thought that if you did not have enough textbooks, let

them work in groups and each group would share a textbook. We should also

establish a mutual agreement between teacher and student such as: ask students to

work in silent way, or exchange ideas but not speak loudly, or exchange

information in English.

In Scientific Conference of Teaching Foreign Language for non-major

English students and International Cooperation between Vietnam Colleges and

Junior Colleges, there are many different ideas in teaching large classes. Firstly,

Master Le Thi Hong (Hai Phong College) stated the difficulties for teachers. She

claimed that the class is often crowded; classroom facilities such as Lab room and

cassette are lacking , so students only listened to most of listening lessons through

the voice of teachers. She also said that the unequal levels of students, unclear

syllabus are challenges in the teaching process. Secondly, Master Nguyen Thi Thu

Thuy (Ho Chi Minh Culture College) agreed with Master Le Thi Hong about the

syllabus problem. She said that at present her syllabus as well as her colleagues

has not been assessed yet and also they do not know who the assessor is. Teacher

Tran Thi Nga (Ha Noi National University) suggested that students should be

granted foreign language credit. Due to it, we will solve the difficulties in teaching

for students who are unequal about level and decrease the difficulties in arranging

lecture hall and classroom facilities. Simultaneously teachers will have more

conditions for helping weak students to be better motivated in the learning

process. Next, Master To Thi Thanh Tinh (Hue Junior Teachers’ College) also


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pointed out the unequal level of students, lack of syllabus, etc. in teaching large

classes.

Like this, the unequal level of students and the syllabus problem are the

difficulties that teachers often meet in teaching large classes and non-major

English students.

2. In other countries:

Nowadays, in most colleges teachers are confronting the challenge of

teaching larger than before. For example in China, College English classes are

usually large.

Jianling Peng (2006) shows some problems in large English classes such

as different levels and different backgrounds, the same textbooks, different

interests, different participants; and teaching strategies to such problems such as

multimedia technology, extra plan, open-ended tasks, personalizing the tasks, and

team work.

Zhichang Xu’s study (2001) also gives a quite detailed report of problems

and strategies of teaching in large classes in the people’s Republic of China. Juan

Carlos Palmer (1999) shares his experience in teaching ESP large classes,

heterogeneous classes in Spain. He says that one of the most difficult things to do

in a large class is trying to get the attention of every single student. His view is

that a large class is nothing more than a group of smaller classes in the same

room, so it may be interesting to turn control over to small groups whenever

possible, trying to get everyone involved in the different activities; if we do not

do so, students may not get much practice, and they may feel too bored.

Nunan’s report (2001) describes proven management techniques and

procedures to use when dealing with a large class.

And Peng Ning (2007) gives out some strategies in teaching English to

large classes. She claims that how teachers manage and administrate the

classroom activities is very important. So she gives some suggestions to large


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class teachers as follows: Firstly, understanding individual students as much as

possible. Secondly, clarifying learning goals to inspire the motivation and interest

of the

students. Thirdly, the use of group work and collaborative learning. Fourthly,

fostering the students’ independent learning abilities and reducing their

dependence on teacher. Lastly, different learning materials and different teaching

forms.

From the previous studies, it is clear that teaching a large class is a reality

which teachers are concerned with and all of them want to give out reasonable

strategies. However, they just focus on problems happening in large classes as

well as some strategies in general. They have not explored strategies for teachers

yet through the roles of teachers and effective classroom management techniques.

This thesis, therefore, focuses on exploring the strategies for ESP teachers to deal

with large classes.

VII. Summary:

In summary, this chapter has focused on the definitions of some key terms

used in the research. It has pointed out the techniques in managing large classes as

well as distinguishing the difference in the roles of the teacher in managing a

classroom. Moreover, it has reviewed some studies related to the problems about

large classes. Finally, it has explored which strategies have been used in large

classes.


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