English teachers’ use of target language: a study in song cong primary schools

 it is more likely 
that they will increase the intake to transform 
what they have exposed in English class into 
their own repetoire. 
4.2. Supporting comprehension and production 
through context/ gestures/ visual support 
Learners at all levels seem to acquire TL 
more effectively if the teachers’ instructions 
in TL are supported through context, 
gestures, visual objects, or connections with 
prior learning or experiences. It is 
particularly true with students at primary 
schools who prefer animation and are more 
engaged with visual things regardless of 
whether they are visual learners or not. The 
biggest benefit this strategy can offer is 
keeping and increasing students’ interest and 
motivation in learning. The feeling of 
comfort in a friendly language environment 
to a large extent can guarantee students’ 
comprehension in and production of the TL. 
4.3. Focusing on meaning before details 
Before digging in to figure out details or 
nuances, primary students need support to get 
a general understanding of what is heard, 
read, or viewed, which will facilitate their 
success in classroom task performance. It is 
the instructors that provide students with a 
strong context, visuals, and a focused task 
such as finding out what is new information, 
or figuring out the main idea. Once students’ 
understanding of meaning is formed, they will 
feel more comfortable and motivated in 
learning; the effectiveness of English learning 
is better guarantted and thus the teacher’s use 
of TL will bring about benefits for both 
teachers and learners. 
4.4. Conducting comprehension check to 
ensure understanding 
Students take many advantages from showing 
their understanding frequently. Frequent 
comprehension checks give students feelings 
that their efforts are valued and know what is 
necessary for them to improve upon. These 
comprehension checks also give teachers 
essential data to adjust their English 
instructions, whether they need to change 
Nguyen Thi Hong Minh et al TNU Journal of Science and Technology 199(06): 93 - 100 
 Email: jst@tnu.edu.vn 99 
their instruction-giving techniques or develop 
better TL use to support students’ 
understanding. 
4.5. Negotiating meaning with students and 
encouraging negotiations among students 
Learning takes place when learners are 
engaged and become essential part of the 
process. Teachers should help this happen by 
encouraging students’ participation in class 
negotiation. During an interpersonal activity 
to negotiate meaning and ideas, learners may 
need certain phrases to make their interactions 
more natural and teachers can provide these 
in the moment, adding key phrases to a 
physical or virtual “word wall” for learners to 
access during future language activities. 
4.6. Eliciting talk that increases in fluency, 
accuracy, and complexity over time 
In order to raise primary students’ speaking 
skill, teachers should make simple questions 
such as tag questions or yes/no questions. The 
teachers also need to encourage students to 
interact with them by adding more details 
(who, when, what, etc.) since learners practice 
asking such questions, their speaking 
performance with increasing rate of fluency, 
accuracy and complexity will be improved 
over time. 
4.7. Encouraging self-expression and 
spontaneous use of language 
It is crucial for students to realize from the 
beginning that they can respond in the TL, 
though simply at the word-level or with 
comprehensive gestures. This can be 
supported by teachers’ giving lots of choices 
using visuals and repetitive phrases that can 
be easily modified. As confidence builds, 
young learners should be encouraged to mix 
and match their language chunks to create 
their own messages. Students who apply 
their learned vocabulary and/or structures in 
new contexts are making their progress in 
English learning. 
4.8. Teaching students strategies for 
requesting clarification and assistance when 
faced with comprehension difficulties 
To maintain target language use by both 
teachers and learners in English classes in 
primary schools, set phrases should be taught 
for students to ask for help or clarification in 
the target language (What? Huh? What do 
you mean by ___? How do you say ____? I 
don’t understand. Can you repeat that?). 
These learning aids, as well as other common 
classroom phrases, can be included on a 
“word wall” or printed on a list that can be 
given to the learners or even taped to desks. 
4.9. Avoiding the mother tongue as the default 
for checking on meaning or understanding 
Another importance strategy is making 
careful instructional decisions about when 
NOT to use TL (keeping the minimum 
amount of classtime of what students say, 
hear, read, write, or view in the mother 
language). Teachers should maintain that for 
deeper processing of understanding in 
generally private exchanges between teacher 
and student, for reflection on the learning 
process or for explaining deeper 
understanding on an assessment. Native 
language use of Vietnamese is reserved for 
some certain situation and purposes, such as 
explaining why this approach is worthwhile 
and what learners should expect in this class 
(not knowing every word, but being able to 
guess at the meaning and show understanding 
in a variety of ways), to briefly explain a 
concept that would take too long to act out or 
demonstrate, or to allow for brief processing 
of an idea. The mother tongue should not be 
an easy default choice – otherwise, learners 
simply wait to hear words given in 
Vietnamese. This does not help build up 
students’ English yet decrease their efforts 
and strategies in communicating in the TL. 
From the revealed findings, it is seen that the 
teachers have been encountering some 
difficulties in using TL. The following 
recommendations are based on those 
difficulties. 
Nguyen Thi Hong Minh et al TNU Journal of Science and Technology 199(06): 93 - 100 
 Email: jst@tnu.edu.vn 100 
4.10. Combine the use of CL with 
communication strategies 
All of the teachers admit that their students do 
not understand. Therefore, they should use 
more communication strategies such as body 
language, gestures, voice, or eye contact to 
provide more support for the students. Such 
communication strategies help students find it 
easier to understand the teachers’ instructions, 
be able to follow the instructions and perform 
given tasks successfully. 
4.11. Improve their use of TL competence 
Not only should the teachers improve their 
general English competence, but they also 
develop their TL competence. They should 
attend workshops organized by Thai 
Nguyen DoET where they are not only 
equipped with current trends in English 
teaching methodologies but also can 
exchange their experience with other fellow 
teachers in the field. 
4.12. Set an ideal English class that is 
suitable for primary students 
According to the MoET, there are no more 
than 35 students per classroom; however, 
many primary schools in Vietnam have been 
overloaded with students, which reduces the 
quality of teaching and learning. Therefore, 
the ideal English class should have such 
desired size to ensure that every student can 
practice and interact with the teachers and 
other students. 
In conclusion, improving teachers’ use of TL 
is very important. Using TL everyday 
develop teachers’ general English 
competence as well as TL competence and 
help their students get used to using English 
extensively in the class. It is obvious that 
teachers’ use of TL as authentic inputs for 
students facilitates the achievement of the 
ultimate goal in EFL learning. 
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