CHAPTER THREE METHOD
CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS
This chapter reports the results of the study. Results of descriptive statistics, independent t-test, and Chi-square analysis are presented. These results reveal students’ and teachers’ perceived importance of the competence indicators in the 2010 Curriculum Guidelines for Senior High School English, and whether the two groups showed different tendencies in taking each competence indicator as their teaching or learning goal (i.e. course objective).
This chapter is organized into nine sections according to the assortment of competence indicators in the 2010 Curriculum Guidelines for Senior High School English, including listening, speaking, reading, writing, four-skill integration, thinking skills, learning strategies, learning attitude and motivation, and cultural understanding and global view. Each section consists of two parts: (1) teachers’ and students’
perceived importance values of the competence indicators, and a comparison between teachers’ and students’ results, and (2) the percentage of teachers and students that took each competence indicator as teaching or learning goal, and a comparison between teachers’ and students’ choices.
Participants’ Perceptions of Competence Indicators for Listening
Table 12 indicates the average scores of the competence indicators for listening in the curriculum guidelines. It also presents t-test results on teachers’ and students’
average scores of these indicators.
Table 12
Teachers’ and Students’ Perceived Importance of Competence Indicators for Listening Competence
Indicator
Teacher Student
t df p
English lectures and questions raised similar or related English dialogues, stories, or narrations
4.06 .7797 4.06 .8651 -.068 1520 .946 English programs on the radio
3.95 .7624 3.77 .9847 1.943 1517 .052
Table 12. (continued)
Competence Indicator Teacher Student
t df p
Mean SD Mean SD Listening-
advanced-5
To understand English broadcast in public places, such as MRT, stations, airports etc.
4.35 .9204 4.22 .9204 1.455 1520 .146
Listening- advanced-6 To generally understand English films and domestic English news reports
3.55 .9779 3.89 .9779 -3.393** 1517 .001
Total 4.23 .4992 4.14 .6074 1.318 1523 .050
Note. The range of possible scores is 1 to 5.
*p < .05 **p <.01 ***p < .001
According to Table 12, most indicators were assigned importance values higher than 4, with a total mean of 4.23 for teachers and 4.14 for students. The result suggests that both teachers and students considered the indicators quite important.
Table 12 shows that teachers put most emphasis on daily and classroom communication, with Listening-basic-3 (M = 4.57) and Listening-basic-2 (M = 4.50) scoring the highest. They put the least emphasis on the ability to understand English in mass media such as English films and radio programs, with Listening-advanced-4 (M = 3.95) and Listening-advanced-6 (M = 3.55) scoring the lowest. In a similar vein, students put most emphasis on the ability to understand others during a conversation, with Listening-basic-3 (M = 4.54) and Listening-advanced-3 (M = 4.49) scoring the highest. They put least emphasis on the ability to understand English in mass media such as radio programs or films, with Listening-advanced-4 (M = 3.77) and Listening-advanced-6 (M = 3.89) scoring the lowest.
However, results of t-test in table 12 show that significant differences were
observed in four competence indicators, including Listening-basic-1 (t = 5.611, p
< .001), Listening-basic-2 (t = 2.844, p < .01), Listening-advanced-3 (t = -1.990, p
< .05), and Listening-advanced-6 (t = -3.393, p < .01). The results indicate that teachers put significantly higher importance on classroom English than students did;
however, students put more emphasis on understanding daily conversation, news reports, and films. Teachers appeared to value comprehending oral language in academic settings more highly, while students put more emphasis on English conversation in real life.
Table 13 shows the percentage of teachers and students taking each competence indicator as teaching or leaning goal. Table 13 also shows results of Chi-square analyses, which reveal whether there are discrepancies in teachers’ and students’ choices.
Table 13
Percentage of Participants Taking Each Competence Indicator for Listening as Teaching or Learning Goal
Competence Indicator Teacher Student Pearson
Chi-square p Listening-basic-1
To understand classroom English
93.40% 76.96% 15.57*** .000
Listening-basic-2
To generally understand teachers’
English lectures and questions raised based on the text
93.46% 87.92% 2.95 .116
Listening-basic-3
To generally understand English daily conversation
88.79% 94.36% 5.43* .032
Table 13. (continued)
Competence Indicator Teacher Student Pearson
Chi-square p Listening-advanced-1
To understand teachers’ English lectures and questions raised based on the text
87.85% 84.86% 0.69 .482
Listening-advanced-2 To comprehend similar or related English dialogues, stories, or narrations
81.13% 83.55% 0.42 .500
Listening-advanced-3 To understand English daily conversation
83.96% 92.26% 8.86** .006
Listening-advanced-4 To understand English programs on the radio
76.42% 72.09% 0.92 .369
Listening-advanced-5 To understand English broadcast in public places, such as MRT, stations, airports etc.
59.05% 82.55% 34.86*** .000
Listening-advanced-6 To generally understand English films and domestic English news reports
43.40% 78.00% 63.81*** .000
Note. *p < .05 **p <.01 ***p < .001
According to Table 13, more than 60% of the teachers chose Listening-basic-1, Listening-basic-2, Listening-basic-3, Listening-advanced-1, Listening-advanced-2, Listening-advanced-3, and Listening-advanced-4 as teaching objectives. Among them, Listening-basic-1, Listening-basic-2, Listening-basic-3, Listening-advanced-1,
Listening-advanced-2, and Listening-advanced-3 were chosen by more than 80% of the teachers. All competence indicators for listening were also chosen by more than 60% of the students as their learning objectives. And more than 80% of the students chose Listening-basic-2, Listening-basic-3, Listening-advanced-1, Listening-advancd-2, Listening-advanced-3, and Listening-advanced-5 as their learning goals.
Chi-square analyses reveal significant differences in the percentages of teachers and students choosing competence indicators of Listening-basic-1, 2(1, 1532) = 15.57, p < .001; Listening-basic-3, 2(1, 1532) = 5.43, p < .05;
Listening-advanced-3,2(1, 1532) = 8.86, p < .01; Listening-advanced-5, 2(1, 1532)
= 34.86, p < .001; and Listening-advanced-6, 2(1, 1532) = 63.81, p < .001. The results suggest that more teachers than students set Listening-basic-1 (to understand classroom English) as their teaching goals. Teachers seem to be more concerned about classroom learning. On the other hand, more students than teachers set competence indicators related to communication as their learning goals. These indicators include: Listening-basic-3, (to generally understand English conversation);
Listening-advanced-3, (to understand English daily conversation); Listening-advanced-5, (to understand English broadcast in public places, such as MRT, stations, airports etc.); and Listening-advanced-6, (to generally understand English films and domestic English news reports). Teachers may have showed weaker tendency in choosing indicators related to daily conversations. They might have thought of these abilities as something to be cultivated outside the classroom, and that it was impractical to incorporate such activities in class.
Participants’ View of Competence Indicators for Speaking
Table 14 shows teachers’ and students’ perceived importance values of competence indicators for speaking.
Table 14
Teachers’ and Students’ Perceived Importance of Competence Indicators for Speaking Competence Indicator Teacher Student
t df p
Mean SD Mean SD Speaking-basic-1
To use basic classroom English
4.12 .8936 3.85 .9595 2.842** 1520 .005
Speaking-basic-2 To carry out simple Q&A in English based on the text
4.37 .7157 4.09 .9004 3.145** 1520 .002
Speaking-basic-3 To participate in English oral exercises in class
4.37 .7157 4.15 .9120 2.452* 1522 .014
Speaking-basic-4 To communicate in simple English
4.49 .6613 4.45 .7859 0.440 1520 .660
Speaking-basic-5 To describe daily events in simple English
4.29 .7111 4.38 .8024 -1.044 1521 .297
Speaking-advanced-1 To discuss texts in English
3.82 .8731 3.57 .9675 2.621** 1522 .009
Speaking-advanced-2 To retell texts or stories in English
3.77 .8712 3.69 .9569 .854 1520 .393
Speaking-advanced-3 To describe pictures in English
3.88 .8645 3.88 .9058 .049 1520 .961
Speaking-advanced-4 To carry out daily communication in English
4.34 .7074 4.45 .8027 -1.379 1519 .168
Speaking-advanced-5 To master verbal or non-verbal
communication skills to assist communication in English
4.00 .9526 4.21 .9324 -2.243* 1519 .025
Table 14. (continued)
Competence Indicator Teacher Student
t df p
Mean SD Mean SD Speaking–advanced-6
To introduce international or domestic customs and cultures in simple English
3.72 .8364 3.65 1.0512 .663 1520 .508
Total 4.11 .5767 4.03 .6522 1.245 1527 .193 Note. The range of possible scores is 1 to 5.
*p < .05 **p <.01 ***p < .001
Based on Table 14, most indicators for speaking were assigned importance values higher than 3 by both teachers and students, with a total mean of 4.11 for teachers and 4.03 for students. The results suggest that teachers and students recognized the importance of these indicators.
Teachers put most emphasis on the ability to participate in classroom activities, with Speaking-basic-2 (M = 4.37), Speaking-basic-3 (M = 4.37), and Speaking-basic-4 (M = 4.49) scoring the highest. They put least emphasis on the ability to retell a story (Speaking-advanced-2, M = 3.77) and the ability to introduce cultures and customs (Speaking-advanced-6, M = 3.72). Students put most emphasis on comprehending daily conversation in English, with Speaking-basic-4 (M = 4.45) and Speaking-advanced-4 (M = 4.45) scoring the highest. They put the least emphasis on the ability to exchange messages in academic genres (Speaking-advanced-1, M = 3.57) and to introduce cultures and customs (Speaking-advanced-6, M = 3.65). Students’
responses tended to emphasize English daily conversation over using English in academic domains.
As showed in Table 14, significant differences between teachers and students were observed in the following competence indicators: Speaking-basic-1(t = 2.842, p
< .01), Speaking-basic-2 (t = 3.145, p < .01), Speaking-baisc-3 (t = 2.452, p < .05), Speaking-advanced-1 (t = 2.621, p < .01), and Speaking-advanced-5(t = - 2.243, p
< .05). Teachers again put more emphasis on the ability of speaking in classroom contexts than the students did. In contrast, students put higher value on mastery of verbal and non-verbal skills in communications than the teachers did.
Table 15 shows the percentage of teachers and students taking the competence indicators for speaking as course objectives. It also summarizes Chi-square results.
Table 15
Percentage of Participants Taking Each Competence Indicator for Speaking as Teaching or Learning Goal
Competence Indicator Teacher Student Pearson
Chi-square p Speaking-basic-1
To use basic classroom English
81.90% 72.15% 4.69* .031
Speaking-basic-2
To carry out simple Q&A in English based on the text
93.33% 91.84% 8.98** .002
Speaking-basic-3 To participate in English oral exercises in class
91.59% 82.90% 5.45* .021
Speaking-basic-4 To communicate in simple English
93.46% 93.29% .00 1.000
Speaking-basic-5 To describe daily events in simple English
87.74% 90.25% .69 .399
Speaking-advanced-1 To discuss texts in English
65.42% 63.01% .25 .678
Table 15. (continued)
Competence Indicator Teacher Student Pearson
Chi-square p Speaking-advanced-2
To retell texts or stories in English
67.29% 67.54% .00 1.000
Speaking-advanced-3 To describe pictures in English
67.92% 77.14% 4.65* .043
Speaking-advanced-4 To carry out daily
communication in English
81.31% 92.12% 14.67** .001
Speaking-advanced-5 To master verbal or
non-verbal communication skills to assist
communication in English
63.89% 80.20% 16.08*** .000
Speaking-dvanced-6 To introduce international or domestic customs and cultures in simple English
57.94% 62.60% .916 .352
Note. *p < .05 **p <.01 ***p < .001
According to Table 15, most of the competence indicators for speaking were chosen as teaching goals by more than 60% of the teachers, except for Speaking-advanced-6. Among them, Speaking-basic-1, Speaking-basic-2, Speaking-basic-3, Speaking-basic-4, Speaking-basic-5, and Speaking-advanced-4 were chosen by more than 80% of the students. On the other hand, all of the competence indicators for speaking were chosen as learning goals by more than 60% of the students.
Among them, Speaking-basic-2, Speaking-basic-3, Speaking-basic-4, Speaking-basic-5,
students.
Chi-square analyses reveal significant differences in the percentages of teachers and students choosing the following competence indicators:
Speaking-basic-1, 2(1, 1532) = 4.69, p < .05; Speaking-basic-2, 2(1, 1532) = 8.98, p < .01; Speaking-basic-3,2(1, 1532) = 5.45, p < .05; Speaking-advanced-3, 2(1, 1532) = 4.65, p < .05; Speaking-advanced-4, 2(1, 1532) = 14.67, p < .01; and Speaking-advanced-5,2(1, 1532) = 16.08, p < .001. Significantly more students chose Speaking-advanced-3, Speaking-advanced-4, and Speaking-advanced-5 than teachers. The results indicate that more students wanted to improve English speaking proficiency with a view to communicating beyond classroom. On the other hand, significantly more teachers chose Speaking-basic-1, Speaking-basic-2, and Speaking-basic-3 as their teaching goals. The results show that teachers tended to focus their attention on improving students’ abilities to speak English in the classroom.
Participants’ Views of Competence Indicators for Reading
Table 16 indicates the average scores of the competence indicators for reading in the curriculum guidelines. It also shows the T-test results on teachers’ and students’
scores on each indicator for reading.
Table 16
Teachers’ and Students’ Perceived Importance of Competence Indicators for Reading Competence Indicator Teacher Students
t df p
Mean SD Mean SD Reading-basic-1
To understand frequently-used English signs,
symbols and diagrams
4.11 .8166 4.14 .9075 -.375 1518 .708
Table 16. (continued)
Competence Indicator Teacher Students
t df p
Mean SD Mean SD Reading-basic-2
To comprehend basic information in the English reading texts
4.63 .5562 4.33 .8107 3.830*** 1517 .000
Reading-basic-3 To understand
English short stories and get the main ideas
4.62 .5582 4.24 .8287 4.753*** 1515 .000
Reading-basic-4 To autonomously read English outside readings of the same level as the textbook through the aid of dictionaries or other reference books
4.54 .6460 4.14 .9166 4.460*** 1520 .000
Reading-advanced-1 To infer the meanings of English words or sentences based on word formation, To master various reading skills (such as summary, inference, and prediction) and effectively apply them in extensive English reading
4.52 .6315 4.25 .8926 3.099** 1520 .002
Table 16. (continued)
Competence Indicator Teacher Students
t df p
Mean SD Mean SD Reading-advanced-3
To understand the contents or the plots of English essays, letters, stories, comics, playlets, and simple news reports
4.34 .6944 4.16 .8676 2.026* 1517 .043
Reading-advanced-4 To understand and appreciate English articles of different genres and topics
4.04 .8005 3.77 .9933 2.733** 1514 .006
Reading-advanced-5 To analyze and judge the contents of English articles to understand the
According to Table 16, most indicators for reading were assigned importance values higher than 4, with a total mean of 4.39 for teachers and 4.13 for students. The results suggest that teachers and students both recognized the indicators as important.
Table 16 reveals that teachers put most emphasis on the ability to infer word and sentence meanings in a text (Reading-advanced-1, M = 4.65) and the ability to understand short English texts (Reading-basic-2, M = 4.63; Reading-basic-3, M = 4.62). On the other hand, teachers put least emphasis on the ability to read English signs (Reading-basic-1, M = 4.11) and appreciate English text of different genres and topics (Reading-advanced-4, M = 4.04). According to Table 16, students put greatest emphasis on the abilities to get basic ideas of reading (Reading-basic-2, M = 4.33)
and infer word meanings (Reading-advanced-1, M = 4.31). On the other hand, students put least emphasis on the ability to appreciate articles of different genres and topics (Reading-advanced-4, M = 3.77) and analyze the writer’s attitude and viewpoint (Reading-advanced-5, M = 3.90). The results suggest that teachers’ and students’ perceptions about what reading abilities to focus on were still influenced by school exams, which usually look for basic information of a text or word meanings.
T-test results in Table 16 show that teachers and students were significantly different in their overall rating of the competence indicators for reading. Specifically, teachers placed significantly more values on reading abilities than students (t = 3.958, p <.01). Significant differences were also observed in the following competence indicators: Reading-basic-2 (t = 3.830, p < .001), Reading-basic-3 (t = 4.753, p
< .001), Reading-basic-4 (t = 4.460, p < .001), Reading-advanced-1 (t = 4.155, p
< .001), Reading-advanced-2 (t = 3.099, p < .01), Reading-advanced-3 (t = 2.026, p < .05), Reading-advanced-4 (t = 2.733, p < .01), and Reading-advanced-5 (t = 2.841, p < .05). Teachers put significantly more emphasis on all indicators for reading than students did, except Reading-basic-1 (to understand English signs, symbols, and diagrams). The results reflect teachers’ high value of English reading abilities, which are generally required for academic success in EFL contexts.
Table 17 shows the percentage of teachers and students that took the competence indicators for reading as course objectives, as well as Chi-square results on teachers’ and students’ choices.
Table 17
Percentage of Participants Taking Each Competence Indicator for Reading as Teaching or Learning Goal
Competence Indicator Teacher Student Pearson
Chi-square p Reading-basic-1
To understand frequently-used English signs, symbols and diagrams
75.00% 83.31% 4.84* .034
Reading-basic-2 To comprehend basic information in the English reading texts
97.22% 90.30% 5.74* .014
Reading-basic-3 To understand English short stories and get the main ideas
98.15% 88.44% 9.58** .001
Reading-basic-4
To autonomously read English outside readings of the same level as the textbook through the aid of dictionaries or other reference books
86.97% 82.05% 1.53 .236
Reading-advanced-1 To infer the meanings of English words or sentences based on word formation, context,
sentence structure, and discourse cues
97.20% 88.93% 7.24** .005
Reading-advanced-2 To master various reading skills (such as summary, inference, and prediction) and effectively apply them in extensive English reading
94.50% 85.04% 7.34** .004
Table 17. (continued)
Competence Indicator Teacher Student Pearson
Chi-square p Reading-advanced-3
To understand the contents or the plots of English essays, letters, stories, comics, playlets, and simple news reports
83.18% 86.05% .68 .390
Reading-advanced-4 To understand and appreciate English articles of different genres and topics
85.05% 69.41% 11.68*** .000
Reading-advanced-5 To analyze and judge the contents of English articles to understand the viewpoints and attitudes of authors
86.11% 74.93% 6.82** .007
Note. *p < .05 **p <.01 ***p < .001
According to Table 17, all of the competence indicators for reading were chosen by more than 60% of teachers and students as their objectives in the course.
Besides, eight of the nine indicators (Reading-basic-2, Reading-basic-3, Reading-basic-4, Reading-advanced-1, Reading-advanced-2, Reading-advanced-3, Reading-advanced-4, and Reading advanced-5) were chosen by more than 80% of the teachers as teaching goals. Similarly, six of the nine competence indicators were chosen by more than 80% of the students, except for Reading-advanced-4 and Reading-advanced-5.
Table 17 shows that significant differences were found between teachers and students in their choice of seven indicators: Reading-basic-1, 2(1, 1532) = 4.847, p
< .05; Reading-basic-2, 2(1, 1532) = 5.74, p < .05; Reading-basic-3,2(1, 1532) =
9.58, p < .01; Reading-advanced-1, 2(1, 1532) = 7.24, p < .01; Reading-advanced-2,
2(1, 1532) = 7.34, p < .01; Reading-advanced-4, 2(1, 1532) = 11.68, p < .001; and Reading-advanced-5, 2(1, 1532) = 6.82, p < .01. Among the seven indicators that exhibited significant differences, six of them were chosen by a significantly higher percentage of teachers than students as objectives of the course. The results suggest that teachers put more emphasis on the development of various reading skills, from comprehending basic information to appreciation of different genres and writers’
viewpoints. Only Reading-basic-1 was chose by significantly more students than teachers. The indicator is concerned with the ability to understand signs, symbols, and diagrams. The result indicates that many more students desired survival English (e.g.
reading English signs) than teachers, who tend to see more value in academic reading abilities.
Participants’ Views of Competence Indicators for Writing
Table 18 presents the average scores of the competence indicators for writing in the curriculum guidelines. It also presents the t-test results on teachers’ and students’ scores on each competence indicator.
Table 18
Teachers’ and Students’ Perceived Importance of Competence Indicators for Writing Competence
Indicator Teacher Student t df p
Mean SD Mean SD
Writing-basic-1 To correctly use mechanics such as case and punctuation in English writing
4.42 .7088 3.83 1.0931 5.536*** 1516 .000
Table 18. (continued) To make correct English sentences with proper words or sentence patterns
4.57 .5975 4.21 .8921 4.198*** 1512 .000
Writing-basic-4 To write down the answers to the questions of the text in English
4.41 .7077 3.85 .9887 5.85*** 1515 .000 To properly write down the answers in English to the paragraph on a certain topic
4.17 .7760 4.02 .9527 1.507 1515 .132
Table 18. (continued) To write simple notes, letters, e-mails,
reflections, etc. in English.
4.31 .7262 4.11 .9310 2.618* 1517 .030
Writing-
advanced-4 To write concise English stories or explanations based or paragraphs into English
4.16 .7726 4.10 .9403 .621 1516 .535
Total 4.33 .5104 4.05 .6981 4.146*** 1521 .000 Note. The range of possible scores is 1 to 5.
*p < .05 **p <.01 ***p < .001
As shown in Table 18, most indicators for writing were assigned important values higher than 4, with a total mean of 4.33 for teachers and 4.05 for students. The results suggest that both teachers and students considered the competence indicators for writing as important.
According to Table 18, teachers put most emphasis on the ability to make grammatical sentences (Writing-basic-3, M= 4.57) and to translate simple sentences (Writing-basic-5, M = 4.54). Teachers put least emphasis on paragraph writing, with the lowest scores assigned to Writing-advanced-2 (M = 4.17) and Writing-advanced-5 (M =
4.16). Similarly, students put greatest emphasis on the ability to translate simple sentences (Writing-basic-5, M = 4.23) and making accurate sentences (Writing-basic-3, M = 4.21). But they put least emphasis on the ability to use mechanics in English writing (Writing-basic-1, M = 3.83) and answer questions about the text (Writing-basic-4, M = 3.85).
Teachers showed a similar tendency to students for they, like students, laid highest values on the competence indicators involving translating simple sentences.
However, while teachers assigned values higher than 4 to all of the competence indicators for writing, students only assigned values higher than 4 to half of the indicators for writing.
As also shown in Table 18, teachers and students differed significantly in overall rating of writing abilities (t = 4.146, p < .001). Specifically, teaches placed a significantly higher value on writing abilities than students. Significant differences were also observed in the following competence indicators: Writing-basic-1 (t = 5.536, p < .001), Writing-basic-2 (t = 5.202, p < .001), Writing-basic-3 (t = 4.198, p <.001), Writing-basic-4 (t = 5.850, p < .001), Writing-basic-5 (t = 3.533, p < .001), Writing-advanced-1 (t = 2.822, p < .01), Writing-advanced-3 (t = 2.618, p < .05), Writing-advanced-4 (t = 3.664, p < .001). Teachers valued all the indicators mentioned above more highly than students did. The results suggest that students had not perceived English writing abilities as highly as teachers did.
Table 19 shows the percentages of teachers and students taking competence indicators for writing as course objectives, as well as the Chi-square results on teachers’ and students’ choices.
Table 19
Percentage of Participants Taking Each Competence Indicator for Writing as Teaching or Learning Goal
Competence Indicator Teacher Student Pearson
Chi-square p Writing-basic-1
To correctly use mechanics such as case and punctuation in English writing
94.44% 72.65% 24.87*** .000
Writing-basic-2 To correctly combine and rewrite English sentences
96.33% 81.18% 15.91*** .000
Writing-basic-3 To make correct English sentences with proper words or sentence patterns
97.25% 88.66% 7.79** .003
Writing-basic-4
Writing-basic-4