Teachers' perspectives of theme-based approach in high schools in Dalat city, Lam Dong Province: Master of TESOL

Abstract

Theme-based approach (TBA) is considered one of the innovative foreign language teaching methodologies and brings many benefits. However, the research on TBA, especially teachers' perspectives on TBA to teaching English as a foreign language at high schools in Vietnam, has not been conducted yet. Therefore, the current study aims at exploring teachers’ perspectives and the constraints they have encountered regarding the implementation of TBA. The mixed-method was administrated with 65 participants (native Vietnamese teachers) teaching English at Dalat City-based high schools. The quantitative data from the questionnaire was processed using SPSS (22.0), while the qualitative data from the semi-structured interview was analyzed using content analysis. The findings, in general, revealed that the target participants had positive perceptions of the TBA implementation. It provides EFL learners with advantages, such as increased linguistic opportunities, improved English vocabulary and competency, strengthened cooperation, problem-solving, information technology, and presentation skills, developing English content and cognition, as well as connecting content to the real world and their own needs and interests. However, EFL teachers faced many disadvantages when implementing it. More interestingly, there were several different points of view between trained and untrained EFL teachers on the requirements of activities, as well as the requirements of EFL students and teachers. Their perspectives on the TBA-based classroom's utility for EFL students, on the other hand, did not differ.