How to motivate grade 11 students at Le Loi upper-Secondary school in speaking lessons

How to motivate grade 11 students at Le Loi upper Secondary school in speaking lessons How to motivate grade 11 students at Le Loi upper secondary school in speaking lessons 0 CONTENTS Page A INTRODUC[.]

CONTENTS Page

5 De-motivating Factors in English Language Learning 4

II WAYS OF MOTIVATING STUDENTS IN SPEAKING LESSONS 4

1 Ways of motivating students in speaking lessons. 4

2 Demonstration of activities usually used in teaching English 11 at

III APPLYING THE RESEARCH IN TEACHING ENGLISH 10 13

IV RESULT AFTER APPLYING THE RESEARCH IN TEACHING 22

A INTRODUCTION

Speaking is "the process of building and sharing meaning through the use

of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts" (Chaney, 1998, p 13) Speaking is a crucial part of second language learning and teaching Despite its importance, for many years, teaching speaking has been undervalued and English language teachers have continued to teach speaking just as a repetition

of drills or memorization of dialogues However, today's world requires that the goal of teaching speaking should improve students' communicative skills, because, only in that way, students can express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules appropriate in each communicative circumstance In order to teach second language learners how to speak in the best way possible, some speaking activities are provided below, that can be applied to ESL and EFL classroom settings, together with suggestions for

I REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE RESEARCH

Many learners have found difficulties in learning English There are multiple reasons that hinder their learning process Students may not be aware of the significance of English itself; others may learn English just to achieve good grades in the exams However, most of those learners are actually not motivated Without motivation, they are less interested in learning English as subject though this category of students knows how English is important in the modern world Therefore, motivation has an effect on learning English Consequently, this study is about the role that motivation has while learning EFL

The current stuudy aims to make students and teachers aware of the role that motivation plays in acquiring a foreign language Moreover, learners need

to know the factors that lead them to be motivated to speak during classes and the other ones that hinder them from improving themselves The study is widely going to deal with the significance of teachers in motivating the learners

in EFL classrooms Importantly, teaching strategies are what the teachers need

to know to help their students to sustain their self-confidence All mentioned above, I have decided to suggest activities I have ever taught my grade 10 students at my school

II AIMS OF THE RESEARCH

- To introduce how to teach speaking skills

- To show ways of motivating students to speaking in English

- To show how activities can be designed to arouse students’ speaking English in grade 10 at Le Loi upper-secondary school

- To build up students’ confidence

III SCOPE, OBJECT AND RESEARCHING METHOD

- Scope : Researching in the process of teaching English 11 at Le Loi upper-secondary school

- Object: This subject is concerned with ways of designing activities in the class

- Researching method: Teaching speaking reference books , discussing with other teachers, applying in teaching, observing and drawing out experiences

B DISCUSSION

I MOTIVATION

1 Definition of motivation

Motivation as a term is derived from the Latin word ‘moveo-movere’ which means ‘to move’ in English In his research, Walker (2011) states that motivation is the element that moves humans to decide taking certain choices to

be engaged and to be able to continue a behaviour (Ushioda, 2011, p 3) Actually, it is often used to describe certain sorts of behaviour A student who studies hard and tries for top grades may be described as being "highly motivated", while his/her friend may say that he is "finding it hard to get motivated" Such statements imply that motivation has a major influence on our behaviour

Motivation can be defined as a concept used to describe the factors within

an individual which arouse, maintain and channel behaviour towards a goal Another way to say this is that motivation is goal-directed behaviour

2 Motivation and Language Learning

Second language refers to a language an individual learns that is not his/her mother tongue, but is of use in the area of the individual It is not the same as a foreign language, which is a language learned that is not generally spoken in the individual’s area In research on motivation, it is considered to be

an internal process that gives behavior energy, direction and persistence in research (in other words, it gives behavior strength, purpose, and sustainability) Learning a new language takes time and dedication Once you

do, being fluent in a second language offers numerous benefits and opportunities Learning a second language is exciting and beneficial at all ages

It offers practical, intellectual and many aspirational benefits In learning a language, there can be one or more goals – such as mastery of the language or communicative competence – that vary person to person There are a number

of language learner motivation models that were developed and postulated in fields such as linguistics and sociolinguistics, with relations to second-language acquisition in a classroom setting The different perspectives on second language motivation can be divided into three distinct phases: the social psychological period, the cognitive-situated period and the process-oriented period

3 Motivation in the ESL/EFL Classroom

Motivation has long been a major problem for most teachers of English as

a Second Language (ESL) or as a foreign language not only in the Arab World but also elsewhere

Motivation in the ESL/EFL classroom is easily one of the most important factors

as I'm sure most teachers would agree with me The main reason I'm coming to this point of view is that most of our students have low motivation to learn English In addition to that, while most of them have a vague sense that whether

"English will be useful for my future" or not, they don't have a clear idea of what that means, nor is that a very strong motivator; it's too vague and too far off

4 Types of Motivation

Many scholars acknowledge the importance of motivation in learning as “it can influence what, when, and how we learn” (Pintrich & Schunk, 2002, p 6) Whereas motivated students tend to engage in activities that they believe will help them learn, unmotivated students are not able to be systematic in making

an effort in learning, as are motivated students The importance of motivation is often emphasised in the field of language and linguistics According to Cook (2000), three main factors explain the speed of learners’ learning in second language acquisition (SLA): age, personality, and motivation He also stated that motivation is the most important among these three elements Masgoret and Gardener (2003) supported this point and claimed that motivation is responsible for achievement in a second language In addition, many reserachers have noted that 99% of language learners who show strong motivation were able to achieve a reasonable working knowledge regardless of their language aptitude

Intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation is a motivation to learn that comes from an internal force such as interest in language learning or the desire for further personal

development in general It compares with extrinsic motivation, which is

motivation from external pressures such as the need to speak English for work

or because a parent has sent a learner to class

Example:

Often high level learners show a high degree of intrinsic motivation as they continue to study a language beyond any practical need

Extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation is a motivation to learn caused by external pressures such

as work, because a parent has sent a learner to class, or the need to gain a qualification in the language It contrasts with intrinsic motivation, which is an internal force such as interest in learning a language to communicate with other people or for further personal development in general

Example:

Exams preparation classes often have a high degree of extrinsic motivation as learners are attending class to pass an exam, often for work purposes

5 De-motivating Factors in English Language Learning

Problem statement: Demotivation is a relatively new issue in the field of

second/foreign Language learning motivation Recognizing and removing barriers can have a marked effect on motivation and attention to learning in general and ESL/EFL learning in particular Demotivating factors are essential factors which negatively influence the learner’s attitudes and behaviors and hence lead to undesired learning outcomes The purpose of the present study was to analyze the effective factors on demotivation for English language learning among a group of Iranian university students

De-motivating Factors in English Language Learning

5.1 Lack of perceived individual competence

5.2 Lack of intrinsic motivation

5.3 Inappropriate characteristics of teachers’ teaching methods and course contents

5.5 Inadequate university facilities

5.6 Focus on difficult grammar

II WAYS OF MOTIVATING STUDENTS IN SPEAKING LESSONS

1 Ways of motivating students in speaking lessons.

While they excel in the other skills, they find it difficult to speak, not because they do not know how to, but because they are afraid to do so This is even more problematic when it comes to older learners and adults as there is the common fear of making a fool of themselves in front of their peers There are, of course those more unique learners who will try to dominate the ESL classroom when it comes to speaking, however, more often than not this is not the case and when it does happen it also limits the less confident learners What they need more than instruction is confidence and the motivation to speak out in class and not be afraid to do so

As ESL teachers it not only our duty to teach, but it is also our duty to motivate our learners to speak out and participate We need to help reduce their fears and provide a comfortable environment for them to learn and to make them feel more at ease Speaking is by far the most important skill needed when it comes

to ESL learning Speaking is everywhere in real life and even though the learners may be able to avoid skills such as reading and writing English in real life, it is not the case with speaking So how can we motivate our learners to really love speaking English? What can we do to help reduce fear and give them the confidence they really need? Those students who have more of a positive attitude when it comes to language learning will be less likely to suffer from performance and learning anxiety thus making them participate more Here are a couple of useful tips and techniques that you as an ESL teacher could implement

in the classroom to help those more reluctant to speak out

1.1) - “Pair work” or “Group work”

One of the successful ways, if the teacher is resourceful and skilful enough, to motivate his/her students to participate in speaking lessons is to use

“pair work” or “Group work” appropriately.Language is best learned through the close collaboration and communication among students This type of collaboration results in benefits for all or both learners In fact, learners can help each other while working on different types of tasks such as using dialogue speaking, interviews, drawing pictures and making comments about them, play roles, etc…

Researches on Second Language Acquisition have shown that learners have differences in mastering skills While one student is good in drawing, another can be good in expressing ideas verbally; a third other student can be good at role play and imitation Besides, some students find it less stressful, if not much comfortable to learn certain rules or usages of language from their pears and comrades than from their teacher.Finally, communicative language teaching requires a sense of community and anenvironment of trust and mutual confidence which “pair work” or “Group work” can provide

1.2) The seating of the students

The way the students are seated in the classroom will often determine the dynamics of the lesson Indeed, a simple change in the seating pattern can make

an incredible difference to group coherence and student satisfaction, and I’ve seen many other cases where seating has been a crucial element in the success or failure of the lesson.The seating pattern you use may, in some cases, not be fully under your control – if for example the desks are fixed to the ground or the school has strict rules about not moving the furniture Student numbers are also going to be an issue

I’ll talk about average size classes – anything from 35 to 40 Teachers have different preferences for seating arrangements – groups seated round small tables is often one choice This is probably the best option for the larger classes

in this range, but for smaller numbers and with adult or teenage students I think the horseshoe shape, which I find has all of the advantages of groups, and none

of the disadvantages A horseshoe may be desks in a U-shape with a hollow centre, students in a semicircle on chairs with arm-rests and no desks, or students seated around three sides of a large table, with the teacher at one end In any case, whatever seating pattern you choose or is imposed on you, the class is likely to be more successful if you keep the following principles in mind:

a) Try and maximise eye contact

Both teacher to student and student to student In full class phases of the lesson,

if the person who is speaking does not have eye contact with the others, then attention is likely to drop This is the main reason I personally think the horseshoe shape to groups is better

b) Make sure students are seated at a comfortable distance from each other Make sure you don’t have one student sitting alone or outside the groups Besides, try to leave a fair empty, but not so much a space because large

distances between the students will tend to lead to a “muted” atmosphere, low pace, and less active student participation in the lesson

c) Think in advance about how you will organise changing partners or changing groups

This is a stage of the lesson which can potentially descend into chaos if it’s not tightly controlled, with students wandering aimlessly around not knowing where

to go or confidently moving to the wrong place

1.3) The Error Correction

It is always asked whether we should correct all students’ errors, whenever they occur The reasonable answer is that if we stop at every single error and treat it with no room for errors to take place, this will lead to a gap of communication and students will be too much afraid of making mistakes Hence, due to being too much obsessed with making errors, students will be too much reluctant to participate.Thus, Teachers should be aware of when to correct errors and how to

do that without any hurt and humiliation In a learner- centered classroom, it should be better to correct errors, which students make unconsciously, whenever there is a gap of communication or when not treating the error will result in a misunderstanding of the idea expressed

Concerning the ways of how to correct errors, there are several techniques which the teacher, who is seen as the monitor, should choose from them according to the type of the error and task where the incorrect form of language occurs Among these ways of correction we can state: self correction, peer correction and teacher correction

1.4) Role play

This is another technique to vary the pace the lesson and to respond to the fundamental notion of variety in teaching Teachers are advised to use the role- play activity in order to motivate their students and to help the less motivated learners take part in the lesson Besides, certain tasks in the student’s book are followed by a role- play activity where it becomes a necessity to undergo such

an activity As good examples of that we can state: the hide (item) and guessing game, dramatizing an interview of customer and shop assistant, doctor and patient conversation, etc…

1.5) Using realia, flash cards, Stories and songs in teaching

Realia and flash cards are considered as important tools in teaching especially a foreign language, since they play the role of a facilitator in teaching new vocabularies such as fruits, vegetables, clothes items, etc…Besides, they are very helpful in drawing especially beginners’ attention to follow and match new words to items In addition, realia is an authentic material that helps the teacher

to overcome classroom artificiality.Creating stories with the students is another way of developing speaking and writing skills Actually, creating stories is grounded in the students’ ability to create a story from their personal experience

In creating stories some issues are revealed such as: a) fluency, b) whether the students have enough language to create the story, and c) accuracy

Teachers are able to demonstrate techniques of using songs in different ways to teach grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and community building because the students like songs and they motivate the students to learn the English language

in an interesting way Teachers can elicit students’ ideas about the song through activities such as prediction, mind maps, word splashes, etc Students discuss questions such as the feelings in the song, what will happen next, etc and write their responses in an interesting manner Students may write and present how the song makes them feel and then draw a picture of their feelings while listening to the song Teachers respond to this presentation and ask questions Then, feedback is provided from the group

1.6) Using audio visual material: cassette player, video, computer…

Since our schools are equipped with various audio visual materials such as cassette recorders, videos, computers, projectors, magic boards and many others, teachers should use these materials when teaching Indeed, they should include the appropriate material to use while planning their lessons For instance, we should include a cassette player in a lesson based on listening, while we need to include a computer in any e-lesson or a lesson about designing a website or an internet page about your school Whereas, we can use an overhead projector in presenting writing drafts for classroom correction or to read

1.7) Using the first language (or native language) in the EFL/ ESL classroom

Should we or shouldn’t we use the students’ first language (L1) in the classroom? This is one of the questions which most divides EFL/ESL teachers, whether they are for it or against it.The main argument against the use of the L1

in language teaching is that students will become dependent on it, and not even try to understand meaning from context and explanation, or express what they want to say within their limited command of the target language (L2).But there are other, historical reasons why the use of the students’ mother tongue went out

of favour Initially it was part of a reaction against the Grammar-Translation method, which had dominated late 19th and early 20th century teaching, and which saw language learning as a means towards intellectual development rather than as being for utilitarian, communicative purposes

But, we can say that there are a few cases when we can resort to the student’s mother tongue such as- When there is a gap of communication or total misunderstanding, since it can prevent time being wasted on fruitless explanations and instructions, when it could be better spent on language practice.- It can be used contrastively to point out problem areas of grammar For example, various course books, like Headway, now encourage students to translate model sentences into their own language in order to compare and contrast the grammar

It can be used with beginners, when students are trying to say something but having difficulty, they can say it in their own language and the teacher can reformulate it for them.- When students need to combine the two languages, for

example in those lessons whose focus evolve around translation and interpreting

2 Demonstration of ways of motivating grade students at Le Loi upper-secondary school in speaking lessons.

2.1 Pair work:

Examples : Unit 1 – Friendship - Part B: Speaking

Task 1(controlled practice): Look at the people below and describe their

physical characteristics

Lower students:

Teacher: Aks students to work in pair to ask and answer questions about the people in the pictures

Students: Prepare the questions related to the physical characteristics of the people

Student 1: Can you describe the man/ woman / girl/ boy in the picture?

Student 2: The man/ woman/ girl/ boy is He/ She has got

Good/advanced students:

Teacher: Aks students to work in pair to ask and answer questions about their mother/ father/ brother/ sister/ closest friend

Students: Prepare the questions related to the physical characteristics of their relatives/ closest friend

Student 1: What does your mother/ father/ brother/ sister/ closest friend look like?

Student 2: My mother/ father/ brother/ sister/ closest friend He/ She has got

Unit 6 – Competition – part B: Speaking

Task 2 (controlled practice): Work in pair Ask your partner how he/she feels

about each type of the competitions/ contests given in Task 1 (on page 69

Textbook Tieng Anh 11)

Competitions/ contests:

General Knowledge Quiz

English Competition

Art Competition (Painting, drawing, Sculpture,…)

Poetry reading/ Reciting Competition

Singing Contest

Athletics Meetings

Low students:

- Ask and answer about the Competitions/ contests using the sample below: Student 1: Do you think (that) General Knowledge Quiz is great?

Student 2: Yes, I do./ No, I don’t

Student 1: Why/ Why not?

Student 2: Because I can have a good chance to test my general knowledge

Better students:

- Ask and answer about the Competitions/ contests using different expressions

of how people feel about something

Example:

Student 1: What do you think of General Knowledge Quiz ?

Student 2: Oh, it’s great It’s an opportunity to test my general knowledge

2.2 Group work

Unit 6 – Competition – part B: Speaking

Task 3 (production): Work in groups Talk about a competition or contest you

have recently joined using the suggestions below

- Where and when did you see or take part in it?

- What type of competition or contest was it?

- Who organized it?

- Who participated in it?

- Who won the competition/ contest?

- Did you enjoy it? Why/ Why not?

Teacher: - Ask students to work in groups of 6 (one advanced student, two good students, 3 low students) to talk about a competition or contest

Students: - Use the structures of puposes to talk talk about a competition or contest they have recently enjoyed or seen

Low students: talk about the name, the place and the time of the competition or

contest

2.3 The seating of the students

Here are som suggestions: