MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY LÂM THỊ HƯƠNG IMPROVING SPEAKING SKILL FOR 10TH GRADE STUDENTS AT DO LUONG HIGH SCHOOL THROUGH COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION Nghe An - 2014 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY LÂM THỊ HƯƠNG IMPROVING SPEAKING SKILL FOR 10TH GRADE STUDENTS AT DO LUONG HIGH SCHOOL THROUGH COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Code: 60.140.111 MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: TRẦN BÁ TIẾN, Ph.D Nghe An – 2014 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from associates, and have not been published elsewhere Author Lam Thi Huong AcknowleDgementS Firstly, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor Dr Tran Ba Tien who has helped me with his precious knowledge, assistance, and support during the process of writing i Secondly, I truly wish to thank the teachers at Do Luong High School where my investigation was carried out for their useful materials, valuable advice and great cooperation In addition, I also like to send my special thanks to all students at Do Luong for their willingness to answer my questionnaires Last but not least, my sincere thanks are due to my dear family and my friends who always stand for me with their consideration and encouragements ABSTRACT This research is concerned about the difficulties encountered in teaching English and some communicative activities are suggested to improve speaking skill for the 10th grader students at Do Luong Survey questionnaires, interview and class ii observation for teachers and students are employed to find the answers to the questions From the results of the study, the researcher gets a view on specific situation of using communicative activities to improve speaking skill for 10th graders at Do Luong high school The study has found out some difficulties that the teachers and students are facing in their speaking lessons In addition to, the researcher also suggest some recommendations in applying communicative activities to develop speaking skill successfully for their 10 th graders The author hopes that the study will help teachers to overcome the difficulties in teaching and learning English speaking skill at Do Luong high school as well as a reference for those who are interested in this matter TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Objectives of the study iii 1.3 Research questions 1.5 The design of the study 2.4.1 Aims of communicative activities 2.4.4 Roles of communicative activities in language teaching and learning 2.4.5 Requirements of communicative activities 3.2.1 Methods Limitations of the study Suggestions for further studies 59 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Objectives of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.5 The design of the study 2.4.1 Aims of communicative activities 2.4.4 Roles of communicative activities in language teaching and learning 2.4.5 Requirements of communicative activities 3.2.1 Methods Limitations of the study iv Suggestions for further studies 59 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CAs: Communicative Activities CLT: Communicative Language Teaching v Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale English has become an international communicative language in the world It has been used widely in many different fields such as economics, politics, culture, science, technology, education and tourism It can not be denied that English is one of the most important means of communication Therefore, teaching and learning English is more and more essential In Vietnam, English has become a compulsory subject in the syllabus of many schools, colleges and universities It has been taught and learned throughout the country However, the fact is that the teaching and learning of English has not been effective yet, especially speaking skill At Do Luong1 high school, many students are not interested in speaking lessons as well as they can not speak English well after leaving school even though they have learnt English for a long time Moreover, the teachers of English find it difficult to encourage their students to speak English naturally in the process of teaching speaking skill To meet the demand of learners of English, teachers of English at Do Luong have been trying to find out the most suitable and effective method of teaching English They have always tried to catch up with the world’s latest frameworks of English Language Teaching As in other schools, teachers of English at Do Luong are now using Communicative Approach to teach English to students They hope to provide students with a means of communication, namely English that is vital for them to be successful in their job and to fulfill their social demands in the time of globalization Therefore, it is really essential to know whether the communicative activities have the good effects on teaching speaking skill to the 10th graders at Do Luong high school With the aim to access the method on teaching speaking skill through the communicative activities, the writer would like to choose the topic “ Improving speaking skill through communicative activities” to find out the answer, and further, to help improve the teaching of speaking skill at her school 1.2 Objectives of the study According to the importance of the participation of the students in speaking lessons, this study aims at studying on communicative activities in the 10th graders’ English speaking classes at Do Luong high school These are the objectives of the study : - To investigate the real situation of applying communicative activities in teaching speaking skill for 10th graders at Do Luong high School, Do Luong District, Nghe An Province - To give some recommendations to improve the students’ speaking skill through communicative activities 1.3 Research questions 1.3.1 What is the real situation of teaching and learning speaking skill of the 10 th graders at Do Luong high School, Do Luong District, Nghe An Province ? 1.3.2 How are communicative activities applied in speaking lessons for the 10th graders at Do Luong high school? 1.3.3 What are suggested class communicative activities to improve for the 10th graders’ speaking skill in Do Luong high school? 1.4 Scope of the study Although there are many different ways to motivate students to learn English, all these issues can not be fully covered in this paper Due to the limited time and the length of a minor thesis, the researcher only focuses on exploiting communicative activities as a way of improving grade 10th students at Do Luong high school Besides, the target that the study investigates and serves is just 105 students from classes of grade 10 at this school 1.5 The design of the study The study contains five chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter presents the rationale, objectives , research questions, scope and organization of the study Chapter 2: Literature review This chapter introduces a historical overview of the literature The first is about CLT method The next is about speaking skill The final is about the review of communicative activities Chapter 3: Methodology To realize the aims of the study, quantitative and qualitative methods have been used The data collected for the study came from two sources: the 10 th graders respondents and the teacher-respondents at Do Luong high school, Nghe An province Two questionnaires, one for students and the other for teachers, and an interview of teachers was used to collect information and evidence for the study All the comments, remarks, recommendations and conclusions provided in the study are based on the data analysis The data takes from the survey questionnaires for students and teachers is analyzed and categorized The findings are used as the cornerstone for the recommendations The researcher gave out some communicative activities adapted from the tasks in Tieng Anh 10 textbook as samples for the secondary teachers to consider Additionally, this chapter will present the author’s suggestions on mentioned problems and summarize all the main points raised in the paper, the limitations of the study and some suggestions for further studies Chapter : Findings and discussions- shows major findings and discussions Chapter 5: Implications and recommendations - offers recommendations for motivating students to speak English through communicative activities Conclusion - is a summary of the study in which limitations of the study and suggestions for further research are presented 18 Nunan, D (1995) Atlas: Learning-centered communication Student’s book 1, Boston: Heinle & Heinle 19 Richard, J C (2006) “Developing Classroom Activities: From Theory to Practice”, Vol 28; No 2, pp 3-8 20 Richard, J C (1990) Conversationally Speaking: approaches to the teaching of conversation In Jack C Richards, The Language Teaching Matrix, New York: Cambridge University Press, pp 67-85 21 Richards, J C., & Jogers, T S (2001) Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press 22 Thornbury, S (2005) How to teach speaking, Perason Education Limited, Longman 23 Ur, P (1996) A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory, Cambridge University Press 62 APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (for students) This survey questionnaire is designed for my study “Improving speaking skill for 10th grade students through communicative activities” Your assistance in filling the following items is greatly appreciated You can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Background information: - Your gender: Male Female Your age: …………………………………………………………………… Your name: ………………………………………………………………… Your years of learning English: ……………………………………………… Please tick (√) where appropriate or write in brief where necessary (You can choose more than one answer to some questions) Student’s attitudes towards the role of English speaking skill Why you learn English? (Please tick more than one option) a To be a compulsory subject in curriculum b.To get a good job in the future c.To pass the examinations d.To communicate with foreigners e.To entertain yourself (listen to songs, read books and magazines in English) Others: (Please specify): ……………………………………………… How interested you feel in speaking English classes? (Please tick only one) a Very interested b Rather interested c Little interested d Not interested at all How often you speak English in class? a Very often b Sometimes When you often speak English at school? a When I talk with your friends 63 c Rarely d hardly b.When my teacher asks you c When I am interested in the topic and activities Do you have any difficulties in English speaking lessons? Yes No If yes, tick one or more than one options for the causes of your difficulties in English speaking lessons? a Being afraid of losing face b Not enough time for preparation c Too much teachers’ talking time d Not getting used to speaking English e Low level of English language proficiency f Unable to find words or structures g Unable to find ideas h Introversion (shy, timid, and reserved) i Not paying much attention to speaking skill Others (Please specify): …………………………………………… Student’s attitudes towards communicative activities What kinds of communicative activities you like to participate in your class? (more than one option is possible) a Discussion b Interviews c Using songs d Discourse chain e Role play f Communicative games g Question and answer h Others: …………………………………………………………………… What you think about of the tasks in the textbook English 10? a Very difficult 64 b Quite difficult c Not so difficult d Quite easy What forms of the activity you like to take part in? a The whole class work b Groups work c Pairs work d Individual work What is the effectiveness of practicing the activities for you? a You can speak more fluently b You feel more confident c You have chance to practice English d You are more interested in learning English e Your English is much improved f Others: 10 What are your difficulties in practicing the activities? (more than one option is possible) a You lack vocabulary to express your opinion b You are afraid of making mistakes c You fear for being criticized or losing face d You feel shy while speaking in front of the class e You have nothing to say f Others: ……………………………………………………………………………… Thank you very much for your cooperation! 65 APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (for teachers) This survey questionnaire is designed for my study ““Improving speaking skill for 10th grade students through communicative activities” Your assistance in filling the following items is greatly appreciated You can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Background information: Your gender: Male Female - Your age: …………………………………………………………………… - Your name: ………………………………………………………………… - Your years of teaching English: …………………………………………… Please tick (√) where appropriate or write in brief where necessary (You can choose more than one answer to some questions) Teachers’ attitudes towards the role of English speaking skill What you think about the importance of speaking? a very important b important c unimportant What you think about your students’ speaking ability? a very good b good c acceptable d bad Do you teach speaking in the integration with other skills? a Yes b No In your experience, what makes students afraid of speaking? (more than one option is possible) a poor background knowledge b poor vocabulary and grammatical knowledge c low accuracy and fluency 66 d others: ………………………………………………………………… Teachers’ attitudes towards communicative activities What you think about the communicative activities for speaking practice in the textbook 10? (more than one option is possible) a various d interesting b enough e boring c poor f helpful When you usually use communicative activities? a at the beginning of the lesson b.during the lesson c at the end of the lesson d out of the class time What kinds of communicative activities you usually use in your English teaching process? a Discussion b Interviews c Using songs d Discourse chain e Role play f Communicative games g Question and answer h Others: …………………………………………………………………… What forms of the activity you usually organize? a the whole class work c pairs work b groups work d individual work Why you think communicative activities should be used in speaking lesson? a To encourage students to speak the target language b To stimulate the students’ motivation 67 c To have the students get out of shyness d To meet the demand of students’ communicative purposes e All the above mentioned reasons Others reasons…………………………………………………… 10 How successful will your speaking lesson for 10 th graders be if no communicative activities are made use of? a Less successful b As successful as periods used communicative activities c More successful d No idea 11 During a communicative activity, you should a Not to interfere b Interfere whenever you find your students make mistake c Collect students’ common mistakes without interfering them d Join the activities with students as a participant e Encourage all students to participate in the activities 12 Which of the following things you think teachers should make to get effectiveness of communicative activities? a Make good preparation b Encourage students c Discuss and share the experience with colleagues d Organize the class work appropriately Other things………………………………………………………………… 13 What you think the benefits of the use of communicative activities in teaching speaking to 10th graders at Do Luong 1? a Increasing students’ motivation in learning b Providing communicative contexts for students c Creating natural learning 68 d Helping students develop their language skill totally Other benefits:…………………………………………………………… Difficulties in using communicative activities to teach speaking skill What difficulties you meet when carrying out the communicative activities? 14 In terms of students’ side a they often keep quiet and only speak when they are asked b learners are too shy to speak in front of the class c they are not interested in the topic 15 In terms of your own side a it’s difficult to organize b it takes too much time to make a lesson plan 16 In terms of objective factors a lack of materials b size of class c time allocation d atmosphere in class Other difficulties that you face: …………………… Thank you very much for your cooperation! Appendix Questions for Teachers Interview 69 The interview is composed of open-ended questions addressing the use of CLT at Do Luong high school Other questions may be added based on subjects’ answers to the questionnaire 1st question: How you evaluate the current “Tieng Anh 10” in terms of CLT? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this teaching material? 2nd question: What you think about using CLT in English speaking classrooms? 3rd question: In your opinion, how students like CAs? And how your students in English speaking classes benefit from them? 4th question: What is your dominant role in CAs? 5th question: What are some of the difficulties you have faced personally when attempting CAs in your English speaking classroom? Were you able to overcome those difficulties? How? APPENDIX CLASSROOM OBSERVATION CHECKLIST 70 Speaking Skills Teacher's Name: Theme: Date/ Week: Note: 1: Very bad 2: Bad 3: Fair (Average) A Preparation/ Organization 4: Good 5: Very good Comments Organization of lesson Appropriateness of lesson within framework of general syllabus Use of class time Lesson plan (realistic/lesson links/ teachers' sensitivity to the lesson plan/ timing) Lesson's impacts on learning B Classroom Procedure Pace Instructions, Explanations Feedback to students Degree of Difficulty Confidence Adaptability Physical Presence and Movement A variety of Activities (fluency or accuracy Comments oriented) Students' involvement in the classroom process 10 Flows of the class C Interaction and Class Atmosphere Interaction between Ts and Ss Interaction among students Comments General Class atmosphere T's provision of safe and supportive context for practice D Materials and Resources Comments 71 Choice of Materials Class handouts (quality, format, attractiveness) Whole-learner Materials (blackboard use, visual aid, etc) Use of materials (approaches/ exploitation/ interest to learners/ affective sides) E Teaching Strategies and Skills Teacher's decision making the classroom Achievement of the lesson aims/objectives Motivation for learners Classroom management F Teacher's Qualities Teacher's roles in action (manager/ Comments Comments facilitator/ social worker/ monitor/ model/ counselor/ facilitator/ friend/ informant, etc) Students' Care Teacher's Knowledge Teachers' Pronunciation Teacher's Confidence (non-verbal language) Teacher's Adaptability Teacher's Professionalism G Learners Learners' motivation Learners' cooperation with teachers Learners' willingness to ask when uncertain Learners' tolerance of other students Learners' behavior Comments Summary of strengths and areas needing improvement: Strengths: Weaknesses: 72 Professional recommendations: 73 ...MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY LÂM THỊ HƯƠNG IMPROVING SPEAKING SKILL FOR 10 TH GRADE STUDENTS AT DO LUONG HIGH SCHOOL THROUGH COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES Major: Teaching English... activities in teaching speaking skill for 10 th graders at Do Luong high School, Do Luong District, Nghe An Province - To give some recommendations to improve the students? ?? speaking skill through communicative. .. ? 1. 3.2 How are communicative activities applied in speaking lessons for the 10 th graders at Do Luong high school? 1. 3.3 What are suggested class communicative activities to improve for the 10 th