Teaching and Learning Oral Presentation For Learners of English in Universities in Vietnam and New Zealand: a Comparative Study

Abstract

This research investigates the teaching and learning of oral presentation (OP) skills in learning English as a foreign language (EFL) at a university in Vietnam, and as a second language (ESL) at university in New Zealand. The research addresses issues of curriculum design, classroom practices, and the beliefs and attitudes of teachers and students toward the teaching and learning of OP, and compares the two programmes. A qualitative ethnographic approach using grounded analysis and theory-building (Van Lier, 1988) was employed to create a realistic and multilayered description of the OP programmes in the two cases and the behaviour, beliefs and attitudes of teachers and students involved. The data collection tools consisted of questionnaires, document reviews, class observation and interviews in two classes in each case. Data analysis involved both interpretative qualitative and quantitative methods, using NVivo as the primary qualitative research tool. The two cases were similar in terms of teachers' and students' commitment to teaching and learning, and their belief in the importance and the benefits of OP. Other similarities were found in the process of teaching and learning OP, such as preparation, feedback, and classroom interaction patterns. Overall, however, there were more differences than similarities between the two cases in how teaching and learning were constructed, and in the practices and beliefs about OP of teachers and students. In the New Zealand case, the English programme was organised around thematic units with fully integrated skills work, based on student needs and independent learning. Thus the OP component was taught together with other basic language skills. In contrast, in the Vietnamese case all language skills were taught separately, following a traditional sequence from listening to speaking and from reading to writing. OP was taught as a separate subject for advanced speaking skills. In both cases, independence was encouraged, though the focus was on independent learning in the New Zealand case and on independent work in the Vietnamese case. There were differences in OP curriculum design, types of classrooms, and characteristics of the classroom as a community. In the New Zealand case, there was consistency between what the participants said and did, and between what they said on different occasions. In contrast, there was considerable inconsistency in the Vietnamese case. Based on the analysis, implications have been suggested for both cases, addressing the teaching and learning of OP in particular and of ESL and EFL in general. Finally, directions for future research are suggested. The analysis of the two cases provides a basis for understanding not only the teaching and learning of OP, but also, more generally, it reveals the unique ways in which teaching and learning were constructed in the two cases. Such constructions provide useful implications for curriculum design, classroom practices and learning opportunities in similar ESL and EFL programmes. The research fills a gap, because no comparative and qualitative research on OP has been carried out in Vietnam or New Zealand, or elsewhere.