(SKKN 2022) Using mind-mapping to help students develop English communication skills at Trieu Son II High School

To do this better, Teachers at schools especially at high schools and Universities have to use many skills and activities to promote positive, proactive students and create optimal condi

TRIEU SON II HIGH SCHOOL

THANH HOA 2022

TABLE OF CONTENT PAGE

2.1 Theoretical and practical basis 5

2.2.1 The advantages of teaching speaking skill: 6

2.2.2 The disadvantages of teaching speaking skill: 7

2.3 Some solutions to the research subject: 8

1 : INTRODUCTION

1.1 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY:

As we know English has now become one of the most popular languages

in the world In the tendency of integration of the global economy, English is one of the most effective communicative tools for everybody The role of

English is considered to be very important in the fields of economics, politics, science, culture and education Being aware of the importance of English so thesociety is becoming more and more interested in teaching and learning English

at schools, the curriculums and the methods of teaching English are innovated

to better the needs of learners

Therefore, today in Viet nam, everyone from the children to the adult tends to learn English and many English centers are opened to satisfy the

leaners They are fully aware that knowing English will allow people to access

an incredible amount of information which may not be otherwise available So communication skills are essential for a successful career, satisfying

relationships and a personal sense of accomplishment Communication is seen every day through TV commercials, interaction with the person opening a door for people and listening to the manangers of their company speaking Effective communication empowers people, provides clear direction and increases

productivity Without it, people lose motivation and the inability to make a decision, and they become angry because their messages are not understood

In fact, many students in Viet nam who have good command of English, but can’t use English well don’t get good jobs So, English is the first and the most important standard for workers who want to work not only for foreign

companies but also for domestic ones

To do this better, Teachers at schools especially at high schools and Universities have to use many skills and activities to promote positive,

proactive students and create optimal conditions for students to train, develop and enhance skills to use language for purposes of communication So we have

to create the environment for students to communicate in the classroom,

especially, in English lessons and this raises for teachers is to organize various activities to improve the efficiency of communication skills and make students feel easily with the subject However, students have limited time to learn English in class, and they still do not have enough encouragement to practice English outside the class in order to get familiar with English This case brings

a problem that make high school students have difficulties to communicate in English and the majority of students are still feeling embarrassed and shy when speaking in front of the class By using the mind mapping, it is

believed that what is written in the picture with is able to improve the

students’ ability in communication skills Through mind mapping, the

students can communicate easier and better Enjoyable and challenging

teaching aids should be prepared well, so that the students’ can develop their ideas of what and how to speak better,orderly and systematically

Mind mapping is one of many strategies in teaching and learning English Many teachers use this teaching strategy to teach writing, reading, and speaking.Buzan (2005) defined that mind mapping is an effective way for students to remember what they have read and recall it easily when they need it They will

be able to organize ideas on paper structurally This strategy will facilitatethe students to speak or present their thought in front of class easily Buzan (2005) also mentioned that mind mapping is a good tool to improve students‟ ability in recording information and enhancing creative thinking

Therefore, in this study I boldly give the subject “ Using mind-mapping

to help students develop English communication skills at Trieu Son II High School ”

1.2 AIMS OF THE STUDY

When writing this initiative, I just wish to offer some ideas to find the bestteaching methods to generate excitement for students and bring optimal

efficiency

- To find out whether mind mapping strategy improve students’

communication skills or not

- To find out how mind mapping strategy improve students’communication skills

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of this action research are:

1 To explain whether mind mapping better enhances communication skills

at class 10B5,11A2,11A5,12C2at Trieu Son II High School

2 To improve the creativity of the students at class 10B5, 11A2,11A5,12C2 atTrieu Son II High School

1.4 METHODS OF THE STUDY

In this research, I use some research methods to collect and analyze the

needed data Recording is used to record the process of giving some activitiesand surveying through the answer sheets is used to know the practical situation

of teaching and learning English communication skills

a Planning

The researcher planned the activities on applying mind mapping in teachingcommunication skills Before coming to the classroom, the researcher did thefollowing things:

- Preparing the lesson plan of teaching communication skills by mind mapping

- Preparing mind mapping teaching communication skills

- Preparing a research instrument (observation sheets,and field note)

- Arranging the research schedule

b Exchange method, discussion:

Discussing with other colleagues after visiting their classes to draw outexperiences.

c Acting

In this phase, the researcher did the action by applying the scenarios ofteaching that had been designed in planning phase The researcher alsocollected the data while the process of action was going on The researcher alsogave final test at the end of cycle of action

d Observing

While doing the action, the researcher and the observer observed theteaching and learning process, the activities done by the students and theteacher herself

The researcher took field note for each step in teaching and learning processand the observer filled out the observation checklist Taking photographs andvideo are also done by the researcher with other data resources This was to seethe classroom events and interactions

e Reflecting

In this last phase, the researcher discussed and interpreted the data withthe observer There were two kinds of data: quantitative (speaking test) andqualitative data (observation) The researcher and observer analyzed bothdata and make the conclusion Finally,the researcher and observer reflectedand interpreted the result and discussed the weakness of the process to make animprovement cycle

1.5 NEW POINTS OF INNOVATION

Using mind-mapping to help students develop English communicationskills at Trieu Son II High School

Using mind-mapping to help students develop English communicationskills through Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing, and Grammar lessons

Novi says (in Ismiati, 2011:45) that speaking is a complex processbecause it involves thinking, language and social skills It means that there are

at least one speaker and one listener in this activity When the speaker speaks,

she/he expresses her/his attitudes, feelings and interests towards the topicbeing talked with the listener Thus, it may be concluded that people as socialcreatures tend to interact each other in order to share information,ideas/opinion, and express feelings through communication skills.

Further, Nelasco (1987: 42) explains what people actually do when they arespeaking They are as follows:

a) They share meaningful information

b) They take turn

c) They use body language and gesture to emphasize

d) They use stress and intonation

In other words, people try hard to convey their feeling, ideas and arguments byusing non-verbal language, such as: gesture, body language, stress andintonation

2.1.2 Practical basis:

After many years teaching English in high school , I have noticed thefact that the majority of students in high school are afraid of learning English,and they often have a heavy feeling in the English lessons and especially whenthe teacher give some topics to communicate, the students don’t know how tospeak So what must we do to make students have a real enthusiasm aboutlearning a foreign language, namely English subject and make studentsmotivate and hope for this subject without feeling bored ? How can they hearand speak simple English sentences in a natural way ? Those are some of myconcerns in the teaching process, so I'm always trying to find out the mosteffective solutions to make my lectures attract students’attention, and is alsoaimed at improving the quality of this subject on the purpose of renovatingteaching methods is that : “learner –centered”

To meet the above demand, the Ministry of Education and Training hasbeen implementing a number of active teaching methods such as:

 Suggestive teaching - question and answer

 Teaching to detect and solve problems

 Teaching cooperative groups

 Visual teaching

 Teaching practice and practice

 Teaching games

 Project-based learning

 and Teaching by Mind Map (Mindmap)

So I decide to choose this research subject“ Using mind-mapping to

help students develop English communication skills at Trieu Son II High School ”.

2.2 The status of the research subject:

2.2.1 The advantages of using mind-map in teaching communication skills:

Murley (2007) explained that the radiating design of a mind-map keepsthe main topic or idea central stand together with all its major sub-topics neighboringit Similarly, sub-subtopics stay close to their topics Thisarrangement keeps the big picture in focus and makes relationships andconnections easier to notice

Furthermore, mind mapping is more flexible that students’ creativity will

be encouraged Memory storage is enhanced as mind mapping allowsdisplaying all related topics on the same mind map, with keywords andconnections indicated by images, symbols, and colors Mind map is not onlyenhancing students’ creativity, but also attracting students’ attention Thebenefits of mind mapping include providing the students with a more attractiveand enjoyable format for their eye and brain

In addition, Murley (2007) noted that it is easy to understand the “maps”drawn on mind-maps This benefits the students as it saves time and increasesproductivity that distinguished learning styles in EFL classrooms can also beaccommodated Mind-maps are especially helpful for strong visual learnerswho absorb information better when it is presented via diagrams and similarvisual aids than through written text

To sum up, it can be concluded that mind mapping is an effectivestrategy to use the power of both sides of the human brain to encouragestudying, problem solving, critical thinking, and memory recall

2.2.2.The disadvantages of using mind-map in teaching communication skills:

Not being blinded by the powerful advantages mind-mapping offers asstated above, we also need to admit the disadvantages mind-mapping bringsabout in the EFL classroom (Hofland, 2007)

First, mind-mapping is not unfamiliar in the teaching and learningprocess,yet it is not widely used in schools Budd (2003) states that thestudents will probably find it a bit odd to make even one very simple mind-map when first using mind-mapping technique This results into a complicatedexperience as the students may think it is time consuming However, this mustappear to be so only in the beginning There is one solution to cope with it: anystudents who get involved in mind-mapping technique to improve their leaningneed to practice regularly In other words, the more the students use thetechnique,the easier it becomes

Another disadvantage in mind-mapping technique is that it uses manyimages, symbols, and colours This could make it difficult to get some students

to use mind-mapping technique (Hofland, 2007) As the students need to usecoloured pencils or crayons, they might feel uncomfortable to know that there

are students out there are writing in their notebook.Moreover, not all studentsare good at drawing and colouring It appears to be awkward to force allstudents to draw images and symbols and colour them when making a mind-map.

2.2.3 Specific survey in classes 10B5, 11A2, 11A5,and 12C2

I have conducted a survey among classes I am teaching at Trieu Son II HighSchool to determine their attitudes toward communicating in English by askingthem the following questions

Do you like speaking activities in English lessons?

A Very like B Like

2.3 Some solutions to the research subject:

2.3.1 General requirements:

We know that communication skill plays a very important role inmastering a foreign language According to David Nunan (1991) the author oflanguage teaching methodology book: "Success is measured by the ability toconduct a dialogue in the language they are learning." To do this successfully,teachers must make students understand and gain the ability to use the language

as much as possible because the needs of learners are very diverse Besides,teachers shouldn’t create unfortunate misunderstanding in the communicationprocess

Communication skills of students are practised with other skills through alearning process in English language environment In addition to learning inclassroom, students must learn themselves and practise speaking exercisesthrough different forms and methods because the aim of speaking exercises is tohelp learners speak exactly and fluently

The selection of teaching communication skills must be determined on thebasis of the lesson content to build the activities for study

Through research process and practice in different classrooms I offersome solutions to guide students to develop communication skills

2.3.2 The main solutions:

Students often think that the ability to speak a language is the product oflanguage learning, but speaking is also a crucial part of the language learningprocess To guide students to develop communication skills in English, teacherscan teach students speaking strategies such as providing a dialogue, spokenword actions, using minimal respones, practising grammar structures andapplying groupwork or pairwork in speaking skills and games

Mind Mapping technique, Improve, Speaking Ability in learning English,students should master the four- language skills There are listening, speaking,reading, and writing Speaking is important skill which the students shouldmaster it well The aim of speaking lesson is to make the students be able tocommunicate with other people using English Based on the interviews withEnglish teacher, the researcher founds the problem

Based on the problems above, the writer conducts a research by usingMind Mapping technique to improve English communication skills at Trieu Son

II High School

2.3.2.1: Providing a dialogue:

Thanks to the guidance of teachers, students themselves can create thedialogues and then practice, practice instead This activity is quite simple andwill be familiar so students are interested in learning

The main purpose of this activity is to help students use Wh- questions

or Yes-no questions fluently

2.3.2.2: Spoken word actions:

In these actions teachers should let students speak simple sentences ordialogues so that students have communicative opportunities

In classroom, teachers can give some exercises to students to explain ortalk on the themes and afterwards, teachers and the whole class will remark byasking questions or assessing and this will help students make faster progressbecause:

- Assessment helps learners become more confident about assessinglanguage ability used by others

- Teachers must create a routine for your own classroom - wherespeaking English in the classroom can turn into daily conversation, evencompulsory for students

- Teachers can use this activity to help students retell the stories orconversations in front of the whole classroom

- Teachers should create situations, contexts, themes for students topractise speaking in pairs or groups In this section teachers can use pictures,photos in and out of a textbook or topics close to them as their school, theirhome, and their friends, and so on

2.3.2.3: Using minimal responses:

- Language learners who lack confidence in their ability to participatesuccessfully in oral interaction often listen in silence while others do the talking.One way to encourage such learners to begin to participate is to help them build

up a stock of minimal responses that they can use in different types ofexchanges Such responses can be especially useful for beginners

- Minimal responses are predictable, often idiomatic phrases thatconversation participants use to indicate understanding, agreement, doubt, andother responses to what another speaker is saying Having a stock of suchresponses enables a learner to focus on what the other participant is saying,

without having to simultaneously plan a response

2.3.2.4: Practising grammar structures:

Unlike other languages , English has a word order and grammar rules to

be followed The implementation of the structures and grammar principles inpractising speaking English is not simple Therefore, when communicating inEnglish, try to use the grammar structures that you have been learned andmastered If you just master the structures and simple sentences , you shouldonly use them until you can be sure of the correct use of more complexstructures

2.3.2.5: Applying groupwork or pairwork in communication skills:

This is the basic and efficiency activity to practise speaking Teachersneed to give careful instructions and know exactly how to divide the class.Pair work and group work can become a routine Once students are used to itand have regular working partners, it can be organized quickly and easily.After that group chief may give topic to say and members discuss Someactivities such as paintings, plays, telling story should be applied

2.3.2.6: Games:

Games is a very popular activity that teachers frequently used anyactivity is also considered games when we want students to do and want to findout the winner It is clear that Games are very positive and have a high

motivation Teachers can design the games such as “chain games”, “lucky

number”, “find someone who” and so on to suit each specific class, each

specific object to encourage more students to participate

2.3.3 Organization steps:

For a speaking period, there are often three stages which are: Preparingfor speaking – Controlled practice – Free practice/Production This learningprocess not only helps students understand the material but also understandtheir speaking skills used in practical communication But the prerequisiteproblem is that teachers need to clearly define the purpose of each speakinglesson to orient for the students perform the tasks in the next steps

2.3.3.1:Preparing for speaking:

- The instructions that are given at the beginning are crucial If thestudents do not understand exactly what they have to do, there will be time-wasting, confusion, lack of effective practice, possible loss of control

- Select tasks that are simple enough to describe easily; and inmonolingual classes, you may find it cost-effective to explain some or all in thestudents’mother tongue

- Teachers encourage students to contribute to the general ideas forspeaking lessons ( Brainstorming activity)

- Teachers can ask students some questions to check their understanding

2.3.3.2 Controlled practice:

- Need to comply with the guideline from easy to difficult Teachersshould give different types of exercises such as Substitution drills, usingPrompts or picture cues or language games for students to form structure theyhave just studied

- Teacher goes from group to group, pair to pair, monitor, and eithercontribute or keep out of the way whichever is likely to be more helpful

- Providing general approval and support;

- Helping students who are having difficultly;

- Keeping the students using the target language(in many cases yourmere presence will ensure this!)

- Tactfully regulating participation in a discussion where you find somestudents are over dominant and others silent

- Correcting mistakes and language problems that students have such aspronunciation or grammar Teachers should provide some new words thatrelate to the subject However, teachers shouldn’t correct unimportant mistakesand should encourage other students to find out the mistakes and correct them

2.3.3.3:Free practice/production:

- This is the last activity of the lesson so teachers should give the generalrequirement and shouldn’t limit students’ideas as well as language so thatstudents can speak freely

- Teachers can create the situation, the context and the topic for students

to practise speaking in pairs or group

- Teachers can use pictures and photos in textbook and outside it or thetopics that is close to students such as describe their school, house or theirfriends how to ensure the requirements of the lesson effectively, and how tostimulate student’s enthusiasm

2.3.4 Demonstration:

Example of Practising grammar structures:

(Unit 8 Part E: Language focus English 12) Talking about prepositions.

Through this mindmap, students can speak simple sentences with prepositions according to examples