(SKKN HAY NHẤT) using mind mapping to help students improve english communication skills at nhu thanh secondary 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

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 the society 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 facilitate the 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 improve English communication skills at Nhu Thanh secondary & High School ”

1.2 AIMS OF THE STUDY

When writing this initiative, I just wish to offer some ideas to find the best teaching 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 11C5,12B1,12B2,12B3 at Nhu Thanh Secondary & High School

2 To improve the creativity of the students at class 11C5, 12B1,12B2,12B3 at Nhu Thanh Secondary & 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 activities and

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 teaching communication skills Before coming to the classroom, the researcher did the following 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 out experiences

c Acting

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

d Observing

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

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

e Reflecting

In this last phase, the researcher discussed and interpreted the data with the observer There were two kinds of data: quantitative (speaking test) and qualitative data (observation) The researcher and observer analyzed both data and make the conclusion Finally,the researcher and observer reflected and interpreted the result and discussed the weakness of the process to make an improvement cycle

1.5 NEW POINTS OF INNOVATION

Using mind-mapping to help students improve English communication skills at Nhu Thanh secondary & High School

Using mind-mapping to help students improve English communication skills through Reading, Speaking, Listening,and Writing lessons

2 CONTENT 2.1 Theoretical and practical basis 2.1.1 Theoretical basis:

The aim of teaching a foreign language is not only to give students the knowledge of the language, but also the ultimate aim of teaching a foreign language is to teach students to have the ability to communicate in that language The ability of students to communicate through skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing Students' communication skills are formed through a process of academic training in English language environment In addition to learning in the classroom, students have to learn and practice communicating through different forms and methods

Novi says (in Ismiati, 2011:45) that speaking is a complex process because 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 topic being talked with the listener Thus, it may be concluded that people as social creatures 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 are speaking 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 by using non-verbal language, such as: gesture, body language, stress and intonation

2.1.2 Practical basis:

After many years teaching English in high school , I have noticed the fact 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 when the teacher give some topics to communicate, the students don’t know how to speak So what must we do to make students have a real enthusiasm about learning a foreign language, namely English subject and make students motivate and hope for this subject without feeling bored ? How can they hear and speak simple English sentences in a natural way ? Those are some of my concerns in the teaching process, so I'm always trying to find out the most effective solutions to make my lectures attract students’attention, and is also aimed at improving the quality of this subject on the purpose of renovating teaching methods is that : “learner –centered”.So I decide to choose this

research subject“ Using mind-mapping to help students improve English communication skills at Nhu Thanh secondary & 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 keeps the main topic or idea central stand together with all its major sub-topics neighboringit Similarly, sub-subsub-topics stay close to their sub-topics This arrangement keeps the big picture in focus and makes relationships and connections easier to notice

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

be encouraged Memory storage is enhanced as mind mapping allows displaying all related topics on the same mind map, with keywords and connections indicated by images, symbols, and colors Mind map is not only enhancing students’ creativity, but also attracting students’ attention The

benefits of mind mapping include providing the students with a more attractive and 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 increases productivity that distinguished learning styles in EFL classrooms can also be accommodated Mind-maps are especially helpful for strong visual learners who absorb information better when it is presented via diagrams and similar visual aids than through written text

To sum up, it can be concluded that mind mapping is an effective strategy to use the power of both sides of the human brain to encourage studying, 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 as stated above, we also need to admit the disadvantages mind-mapping brings about in the EFL classroom (Hofland, 2007)

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

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

to use mind-mapping technique (Hofland, 2007) As the students need to use coloured pencils or crayons, they might feel uncomfortable to know that there are students out there are writing in their notebook.Moreover, not all students are good at drawing and colouring It appears to be awkward to force all students to draw images and symbols and colour them when making a mind-map

2.2.3 Specific survey in classes 11C5, 12B1, 12B2,and 12B3

I have conducted a survey among classes I am teaching at Nhu Thanh Secondary&High School to determine their attitudes toward communicating in English by asking them the following questions

Do you like speaking activities in English lessons?

A Very like B Like

C Normal D Dislike Class Students Very like Like normal Dislike

11C5 100% 10% 25% 35% 40%

From the survey above, we can see that communication skills are rarely improved at Nhu Thanh Secondary& High School, this may not make it attractive to learners as a classroom activity The students often see communication as hard work, boring, unrewarding Moreover, students don’t know how to learn English and improve communication skills effectively

2.3 Some solutions to the research subject:

2.3.1 General requirements:

We know that communication skill plays a very important role in mastering a foreign language According to David Nunan (1991) the author of language teaching methodology book: "Success is measured by the ability to conduct 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 communication process

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

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

Through research process and practice in different classrooms I offer some 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 of language learning, but speaking is also a crucial part of the language learning process To guide students to develop communication skills in English, teachers can teach students speaking strategies such as providing a dialogue, spoken word actions, using minimal respones, practising grammar structures and applying 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 should master it well The aim of speaking lesson is to make the students be able to communicate with other people using English Based on the interviews with English teacher, the researcher founds the problem

Based on the problems above, the writer conducts a research by using Mind Mapping technique to improve English communication skills at Nhu Thanh Secondary & High School

2.3.2.1: Providing a dialogue:

Thanks to the guidance of teachers, students themselves can create the dialogues and then practice, practice instead This activity is quite simple and will 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 or dialogues so that students have communicative opportunities

In classroom, teachers can give some exercises to students to explain or talk on the themes and afterwards, teachers and the whole class will remark by asking questions or assessing and this will help students make faster progress because:

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

- Teachers must create a routine for your own classroom - where speaking English in the classroom can turn into daily conversation, even compulsory for students

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

- Teachers should create situations, contexts, themes for students to practise 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, their home, and their friends, and so on

2.3.2.3: Using minimal responses:

- Language learners who lack confidence in their ability to participate successfully 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 of exchanges Such responses can be especially useful for beginners

- Minimal responses are predictable, often idiomatic phrases that conversation participants use to indicate understanding, agreement, doubt, and other responses to what another speaker is saying Having a stock of such responses 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 in practising speaking English is not simple Therefore, when communicating in English, try to use the grammar structures that you have been learned and

mastered If you just master the structures and simple sentences , you should only use them until you can be sure of the correct use of more complex structures

2.3.2.5: Applying groupwork or pairwork in communication skills:

This is the basic and efficiency activity to practise speaking Teachers need 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 it and have regular working partners, it can be organized quickly and easily

After that group chief may give topic to say and members discuss Some activities such as paintings, plays, telling story should be applied

2.3.2.6: Games:

Games is a very popular activity that teachers frequently used any activity is also considered games when we want students to do and want to find out 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: Preparing for speaking – Controlled practice – Free practice/Production This learning process not only helps students understand the material but also understand their speaking skills used in practical communication But the prerequisite problem is that teachers need to clearly define the purpose of each speaking lesson 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 the students 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 in monolingual classes, you may find it cost-effective to explain some or all in the students’mother tongue

- Teachers encourage students to contribute to the general ideas for speaking 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 Teachers should give different types of exercises such as Substitution drills, using Prompts or picture cues or language games for students to form structure they have just studied

- Teacher goes from group to group, pair to pair, monitor, and either contribute 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 your mere presence will ensure this!)

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

- Correcting mistakes and language problems that students have such as pronunciation or grammar Teachers should provide some new words that relate to the subject However, teachers shouldn’t correct unimportant mistakes and 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 general requirement and shouldn’t limit students’ideas as well as language so that students 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 the topics that is close to students such as describe their school, house or their friends how to ensure the requirements of the lesson effectively, and how to stimulate student’s enthusiasm

2.3.4 Demonstration:

Example of Controlled practice.

- Teacher goes from group to group, pair to pair, monitor, and either contribute 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 your mere presence will ensure this!)

(Unit 8 Part B Speaking task 2 English 12) Talking about predictions that are likely/unlikely to happen

Through this mindmap, students can know how to prevent, treat, transmit virus corona

Example of Free practice

( Unit 1 Part B: Speaking English 11) Talking about your best friend

Everyone of us has at least one best friend to share happiness and sadness So

do I My best friend's name is An I can say she is my closest friend since we were small We have grown up in the same town , went to same school and even studied in the same class An is quite good-looking She is tall and thin

She has an oval face, black eyes and thin lips She is a kind and honest girl

She has talent in Maths so sometimes when I get troubles , she always explains comlex Maths theories in simple ways to help me understand I like spending time with her because we have common things together That's why she understands me including my hobbies and dislikes The best thing I like about her is sense of humor She always has useful ways to make me laugh whenever I'm sad or angry I really treasure our friendship and hope that it will last forever