An analysis of advantages and disavanteges of learning speaking online through role play activities among english majored sophomores at ffl iuh graduation thesis faculty of foreign languages

Meanwhile, role play which is considered as an effective technique is applied by English-majored students in learning speaking online.. 21 Chart4.8 The percent of students who agree that

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Supervivor Name: Nguyen Thi Thuy Loan, M.A

Student’s declaration: I declare that this graduation report is entirely my own work and does not involve in plagiarism or collusion It also has not been accepted as part of a submission to another purpose else where I accept heavy penalty for any cheating or plagiarism

Date submitted: December 10th 2021

Signed:

Word count: 8231 words

AN ANALYSIS OF ADVANTAGES AND DISAVANTEGES OF LEARNING SPEAKING ONLINE THROUGH ROLE-PLAY ACTIVITIES AMONG ENGLISH-MAJORED SOPHOMORES

AT FFL-IUH

ABSTRACT

At the present, online learning has been organized among courses of Industrial University in

Ho Chi Minh City, especially in the Faculty of Foreign Languages Meanwhile, role play which

is considered as an effective technique is applied by English-majored students in learning speaking online It is vital to analyze different aspects of role-playing to give students a comprehensive understanding This research focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of the role-play technique in learning speaking online among English-majored sophomores at FFL-IUH Due to the influence of COVID quarantine, data collected from the online questionnaires with nearly two hundred second-year students (of FFL-IUH) have experienced role-play in the online speaking class The results indicate that the role-play technique is appropriate for all different levels of students whose speaking abilities are advanced in various aspects, however, its drawbacks (caused by objectivity and subjectivity) are sometimes faced

by speakers Therefore, the research also offers suggested solutions for students and teachers in using role-play activities more effectively

Keywords: Advantages and disadvantages of role-play, speaking skills, role-play

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To have a successful thesis, I would like to thank the supporters who helped me to make this research possiblethe support Especially those who guided me to overcome all difficulties in this meaningful time so i have had such amazing moments of all my University life

First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the School Board of Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City and the Faculty of Foreign Languages for creating many valuable opportunities to finish my thesis in the best

Secondly, I would like to give my warmest thanks to my supervivor, Ms Nguyen Thi Thuy Loan, who energetically directed and gave me a chance of doing a thesis Without her advice and aids, I can not complete successfully this report

Furthermore, I would like to thank my group member Vo Thi Kim Le, Nguyen Thi Thao Duyen, Phan Thi Nhu Phuong, who always supported me during the thesis process

Finally, I am grateful to all of the lovely students, who positively participated in the survey

In short, I really want to thank all the people who helped and supported me so that I can complete this thesis report This was a great memory

Table of Contents

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 2

1.2 Research Objectives 2

1.3 Research Questions 2

1.4 Scope of the study 3

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1.Definition of key terms 5

2.1.1.Speaking skills 5

2.1.2.Online learning 6

2.1.3.Role-play technique 7

2.2.Result of previous studies 9

2.2.1.Advantage of role-play activities in learning speaking online 9

2.2.2.Limitations of role-playing in learning speaking online 10

2.2.3.Summary of previous studies 11

CHAPTER III: RESEARCH DESIGN 12

3.1 Research site: 13

3.2 Participants: 13

3.3.Research methodology and research methods 13

3.3.1.Research methodology: 13

3.3.2.Research methods: 14

3.4 Procedures 14

3.5.Data analysis 14

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 15

4.1 Findings 16

4.1.1 The general information of the second year English-majored students 16

4.1.2 The standpoint of 2nd year English-majored students toward role-play techniques 22

4.2 Discussion 29

4.2.1 The general information about the second-year English-majored students at

FFL-IUH 29

4.2.2 Students’ perspectives toward the benefits of role-play activities in learning speaking online 30

4.2.3 The opinion of 2nd English-majored students of the role-play limitations in learning speaking online 31

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 32

5.1 Conclusion 33

5.2 Recommendation 33

5.2.1 Recommendation for the English-majored sophomores at FFL-IUH 33

5.2.1 Recommendation for the English teachers at FFL-IUH 34

5.3 The limitation of the study 34

REFERENCES 35

APPENDICES 38

Table of Figures

Chart 4.1 The percentage of students who have learned speaking online 16

Chart 4.2 The figures of the frequency of students learning speaking online 17

Chart 4.3 The learning software which students tend to join in the online lessons 18

Chart 4.4 The frequency of practicing role-play technique among English-majored sophomores in the online speaking class 19

Chart 4.5 The percentage of students who enjoy learning speaking online by role-play techniques 20

Chart 4.6 The types of role-play techniques 20

Chart4.7 The favorite topics in learning speaking online via role-play activities 21

Chart4.8 The percent of students who agree that role-play activities can improve your speaking ability when learning online 22

Chart 4.9 The benefits of role-play activities in learning speaking online 23

Chart 4.10 The benefits of role-play activities in learning speaking online 24

Chart 4.11 The frequency of role-playing problems are faced by FFL sophomores 25

Chart 4.12 The limitations of role-play activities in learning speaking online 26

Chart 4.13 The limitations of role-play activities in learning speaking online 26

Chart 4.14 The figures of students who desire to continue joining in role-play activities in online speaking class 28

Table 4.1 The type of role-play activities that students like most when learning speaking online 28 Table 4.2 The types of platform that students want to join in role-play activities when learning speaking online 29

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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

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1.1 Rationale

To acquire a new language, especially an international language - English, whose speaking skill

is one of the hardest aspects for students because learners are obligated to combine appropriate vocabulary and grammar structures during the speaking process So what is the best method to gain speaking proficiency? It is said that learners need to practice as much as possible to be master the English language In the traditional class, learners are hardly good at speaking rather than reading, writing, or listening skills because of a lack of speaking activities And to resolve this drawback, the role-play technique, which offers attractive activities to help learners more actively involve in speaking skills by taking the role of someone In reality, during the Covid

19 quarantine, it seems to be quite difficult for learners to sit in the traditional classroom and engage in lessons Online learning is considered as the best alternative learning method for learners who can keep on with their learning process without any discontinuations And to produce one effective online speaking activity for learners, applying the role-play technique is

an ideal way

Although role-play activities are quite popular in traditional classrooms, it is considered as a new technique in E-learning for some learners Therefore, the study is conducted to investigate the benefits of online role-play as well as its limitations, which helps speakers understand more about it and resolve drawbacks that language speakers have faced

1.2 Research Objectives

The purpose of this study is to focus on the advantages and disadvantages of role-play activities

in learning speaking online among IUH English-majored sophomores Through analyzing the advantages of the online role-play activities, the research helps students to understand more about role-play and take benefits of this activity to develop their speaking skills Furthermore, the study also points out the limitations of the role play that learners have faced during the online speaking lessons

1.3 Research Questions

Through the study, two following research questions will be answered:

1 What are advantages of role-play activities in learning speaking online reported by FFL English-majored sophomores at IUH?

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2 What disadvantages do FFL English-majored sophomores of IUH face in learning speaking online through role-play activities?

1.4 Scope of the study

In this study, the Faculty of Foreign Languages at IUH is chosen as the main curriculum location for this research Due to the COVID quarantine, the English-majored students are participating

in the online classes, which is why the scope is completely suitable for the aim of this research The scope of the study is to research nearly 200 English- majored sophomores at FFL-IUH who have experienced role-play activities in online speaking classes Therefore, the study focalizes

on the 2nd English-majored students (IUH) to confine the research period

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

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2.1.Definition of key terms

2.1.1.Speaking skills

Among four basic skills of English, speaking skill is one of the most important and familiar with people in daily activities According to Zyoud (2016), " speaking is a productive skill" (p.1) because it is to product conversations based on speakers' purposes Speaking is a standard for living, customers speak to buy food, and the sellers speak to ask for customers' needs, etc Together with its importance, more and more researchers have deeply researched this key skill

to give an oral definition of it Anita Jati Laksana ( 2016) defined more clearly about speaking

as a skill to give and get information from other communicators through expressing ideas, opinions, and feelings From this definition, Laksana said that communicators can use appropriate words and sentences to exchange their meanings to each other during oral communication Contrary to writing skill, speaking skill will help receptionists to limit their misunderstanding about someone meaning, for instance, when someone desire to send a praise message to their friends, people who receive it may not ensure and feel exactly what you meant

as well as direct expression Furthermore, Chaney and Burk(1998) explained more clearly about speaking skills which is the exchange of meaning by using words or gestures Their perspective

is analyzed in two aspects including actions and feelings Depending on each situation, aside from using the mouth to speak, language speakers also use body language such as gestures, eyes-contact, behaviors, and so on at the same time

Speaking skills, in general, is a necessary and sufficient condition for human existence in life According to Rao (2019) " speaking skill is the most important skill to acquire foreign or second language learning"(p.8) As a baby, mother language is seen as a new one, they will firstly practice speaking to communicate with their families before reading and writing They mimic basic sounds and then say " ppaa ppb baa" until it's perfect For language beginners, teachers always say " listen and repeat", and learners mimic what she said Speaking is the first signal in learning a new language, when speaking regularly, they can acquire knowledge, vocabulary, tongue, and then build an automatic reflex in using language Overall, speaking

is an essential life skill, many researchers have found out the components of speaking skills

The components of speaking skill

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Vanderkevent (1990) carried out that there are three components in speaking skills such as the speakers, the listeners, and the utterances Speakers are people who express their thought through speeches From that, listeners are people who receive or get the speaker's information The utterances are words or sentences, which spoken by the speakers However, Vanderkevent's concept is not popular, readers find it difficult to understand speaking skills Furthermore, Syakur(1999) confirmed that speaking skills is comprised of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency and comprehension According to Wilcox(2004), grammar can be seen

as "the rules and relationships through which we construct meaningful sounds, words, and sentences" (p.14) Grammar is a base for speakers to conduct oral meaningful sentences which connect words correctly Next, vocabulary is one of the important elements of speaking Wamnebo et al.(2018) "Without having a sufficient vocabulary, one cannot communicate effectively or express their ideas both oral and written form" (p.3) Speaking can become quite hard if speakers have limited vocabulary, because as we intend to address policy terms, but we have not found out suitable words to express so the speaking process can be disrupted or never happen Thornbury stated that "without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed" (as cited in Almunawaroh, 2016, p.27) So, based on his explanation, the researcher confirmes that without having enough vocabulary in English, learners will not be able to speak English fluently Together with vocabulary, pronunciation is the way for students to speak, learners sometimes measure their speaking skills by pronunciation ability A conversation can be successful if the speakers express the words correctly In speaking, pronunciation plays a vital role to make the process of communication easy to understand Furthermore, Mulasari (2015) wrote that “comprehension can be defined as the ability to understand spoken English” (p.6), the aim of speaking process is understanding

so comprehension is seen as one of the most important aspects of speaking skills Finally, fluency, which is a needed ability in speaking skills Many types of research are published to make clear about it, in general, fluency is considered as speaking fluently without being interrupted by saying " uhmm" or "ers" To master fluency, learners need to pay more attention

to practice speaking every day

2.1.2.Online learning

According to Dana (2015), online learning "is education that takes place over the Internet" (p.3) because all activities such as learning, assessment, teaching, and so on are done over the Internet Assignments are submitted online, discussions are in the chatbox, and examinations are done in the learning management system In contrast to the traditional classrooms, learning

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online takes place across distance and worldwide learners can join in the lesson at the same time During the course, all the materials are available on the computer, and lessons are completed without leaving home or being canceled by the Covid pandemic Meanwhile, Shivangi Dhawan (2020) defined learning online as "learning experiences in synchronous or asynchronous environments using different devices (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, etc.) with internet access"(p.7) Synchronous learning offers live video lectures, during class time, learners can request clearer instructions from their lecturers or can interact with other learners

in real-time discussions Whereas, the asynchronous environment in which forms of learning, and instructions occur at different times Lectures are available on the forums, and web page, therefore learners are flexible in-class time and can skip what they have already known

2.1.3.Role-play technique

To advance speaking skills, learners now find out effective techniques for themselves Feng Liu & Yun Ding( 2009) defined role-play as one of the effective activities to highlight the learning atmosphere with fun, increase the interests of learners, and make the language acquisition impressive From this definition, role-play is learner-centered learning where they can practice communication by acting as someone's role in real-life situations, given stories, or famous movies Depending on learners' needs and hobbies, scenarios are selected to stimulate among classroom atmosphere In contrast to traditional learning, learners are obliged to speak

to develop conflicts in the script, learners have to reckon, add more interesting details and develop possible situations Once there are dramatic situations, the play becomes much more interesting Doing role-play activities means that learners are practicing daily communication, they are required to remember, use suitable vocabulary, and express feelings during the role-play process

Moreover, Ladousse (1987) described role play as a technique "where students are put in situations and required to use and develop those plastic forms of language" (p.6) He means that role-play is the exercise of speaking skills through which the speaker puts themselves in someone else's place, or still in their place but puts themselves in an imaginary situation During the role-play process, learners will become an actor or actress who plays a major role in the plot

to express a new person's characteristic Roleplay is also supported by context, space, and script So that the "role-playing" person can act like the destined character For example, to recreate the love story of the Titanic movie, the learner incarnates the models of Jack and Rose, Rose is a swanky and Jack is a sanguine man,

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It is considered role-play is very important in learning speaking skills Alabsi (2016) argued that "role-play is a well-known strategy that helps students to familiarize themselves with new social environments" Through the use of role-playing, learners develop independence, problem-solving skills and have the opportunity to use their target language

Types of role-playing

Fully scripted role-plays

Chotirat (2011) indicated fully scripted role-plays in which the students "are allowed to prepare a script in advance and to rehearse it before performing them" (p.7) This can help students present a perfect performance on stage because they have practiced it many times However, full-scripted role-play is also understood that students can use available scripts of famous stories such as Titanic, Romeo and Juliet, and so on Thanks to this type, the script is given in detail, and students tend to memorize and display it in their performance Still, it is sometimes considered as a barrier for students, during the performance, some speakers may forget the scenario and become passive in their role because they try to recall their memory of dialogue On the other hand, role-playing a full script can develop beginners who first participate in role-play activities can understand how to build comprehensive role-play content

Semi-scripted role plays

Livingstone explained semi-scripted role-play that "a model conversation with some missing words and students should know how to fill in the blanks in suitable words of these contexts" (as cited in Krebt, 2017, p.865) From his perspective, students can use the second type to create scenarios themselves based on an existing outline Because each speaker has their creativity, student A can create " the tortoise and the hare" story, in which the tortoise won the prize thanks for his efforts and his patience Meanwhile, student B can create another story of two leading characters, in which the hare triumphed over the enemy due to his natural running skills Throughout the two above examples, semi-scripted role-plays are suitable for learners who are getting used to producing role-play content in speaking activities

None scripted role-plays

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In contrast to fully scripted role-plays, students are not given any script when participating

in non-scripted role-playing Without depending on the script, speakers have to decide what to say and how to develop the story by themselves It is considered that role-players join in speaking activities naturally, and independently In unscripted role-play activities, students are freely creative in their role which can be influenced by real situations, personal stories, and famous models Still, it seems to steal confidence from some lower proficient speakers who are firstly involved in none scripted role-plays In general, intending to display perfectly on stage, speakers need to be master in English communication or have a good preparation before

2.2.Result of previous studies

2.2.1.Advantage of role-play activities in learning speaking online

Learning’s attitude improvement

According to a study by Nair ( 2019), nearly 91.67% of faculty agreed or completely agreed that role play is effective in learning online communication skills with more objectivity, and 83.33% of faculty assumed that the learner's attitude toward online speaking skills has improved Furthermore, Zhang stated that role-play allows learners "to improve their communication skills such as argumentation, the organization of ideas, group understanding, interpretation and inferring"(as cited in Rojas and Villafuerte, 2018, p.727) This technique puts learners in particular situations where they are obligated to speak English to solve conflicts during dialogue,

or students freely choose a suitable role in online speaking so that students can speak with ease Additionally, Benabadji (2007) supposed role play is the most technique to improve learners' fluency in speaking In the traditional classroom, few students are enough confident to address

in front of other eyes However by practicing the exercises, it strengthens learners' reflection and confidence in interacting among others through a screen with less shyness and embarrassment, and then students more actively engage in online speaking activities Like the above researchers, Altul (2015) also agreed that role play is suitable for enhancing students' speaking skills, he carried out some software that is suitable for online role-play activities Specifically, he believed that role-playing via Skype would be a wonderful means to interact with other real humans throughout the distance

E nhancing students’ motivation

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In distance learning, students' learning can be under teachers' control Luckily, with many attractive and funny activities, role-play exercises can limit the lack of concentration from students during online lessons By design activities with more than one person ( in pairs, group work of 3 or 4, e.g), to decrease stress and boredom among learners, because learners mostly are involved in the discussion, practice activities, so they have less free time to do other things Jones and Bartlett ( 2017) added Therefore, learners are more engaged in speaking lessons with comfort and interest (Norazmie Yusof, Yabit Alas, 2021) concluded that "role-play help learners ethnic language in a fun and entertaining environment", the authors conducted a survey and found that about 96% of total participants agreed role play is interesting and they could understand the lesson with ease Additionally, Krebt (2017) firmly stated that role-play activities provide learners a space that stimulates them in learning a foreign language online and can directly promote learning attitude by rising attention and engagement

Speaking competence improvement

For those who do often practice speaking, imagination is vital Role-play requires students

to broaden their concepts to develop situations so it seems to be difficult for students when learning in the classroom Sunardi et al.(2013) believe that learners tend to be more creative in imagination and thinking when learning speaking online With many available resources on the Internet, students can make their role-play content more interesting with wonderful ideas When their creativity is rich, they always speak more fluently Connet (1999) confirmed that thanks

to the role play technique, learners' fluency can increase effectively Because it requires learners

to speak, speak to express opinions, to react to someone's messenger, to show attitude According to the study by Krebt (2017), the research found that role-play improved the performance of students in the online speaking test Roleplay can be completed individually, in pairs, or in group work where they are supported by each other It is beneficial for those who sometimes lose their short-term memory, still, it is nothing as the candidates tend to participate

in the test online with their partners instead of presenting a speech individually

2.2.2.Limitations of role-playing in learning speaking online

Bender (2005) has pointed out that " role-playing can work well in a traditional classroom

of higher education, but it seems exceptionally well suited to an online environment"(p.2) Together with many benefits, learners still face some limitations when practicing speaking online through role-play techniques First of all, James (2002) identified that low techniques

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can limit learning's assessment such as low internet connection, and out-of-dated technology can disrupt the learning process Some computers are not equipped with microphones, so learners can not speak Moreover, Nation and Newton (2009) indicated that learners might be shy, and lack encouragement In the classroom, learners will practice speaking skills with others

by the face-to-face method so they can support each other, on the other hand, they may feel alone and timid when looking at someone through a screen without any assistance Additionally, role play also took a lot of time, Islam (2012), means the preparation for role play can take learners more than the allocated time when they are separated into small group works Because the assignment just begins when somebody begins to discuss, and vice versa In general, these drawbacks are simple and can be ameliorated by the teachers in English courses As a result, role play is also considered as one of the appropriate methods in proficiency in speaking skills, Westerville (1958)

2.2.3.Summary of previous studies

In general, the role-play technique is useful in practicing speaking skills Based on previous studies, role-play activities have a big positive influence on learners speaking competence such as fluency improvement, and shyness decrease On the other hand, there have been many disadvantages

of role-playing which are on the internet such as poor lesson assessment, time-wasting, lack of devices, and encouragement Learning speaking via role-play technique has been available for a long time, nevertheless, applying role-playing to online speaking has been new recently It seems to be obvious as a few researchers investigate this topic Especially, most studies focus on the limitations

of role-playing rather than its benefits This can be a big barrier for new language learners who are self-conscious to involve in such active activities, and teachers who are concerned about which benefits or drawbacks of role-playing are more overweight After considering these elements, this study is designed to make good such shortcomings This mainly focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of learning speaking skills via role-play activities, and then learners can understand how effective role-play is

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CHAPTER III: RESEARCH DESIGN

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At the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City, the Faculty of Foreign Languages has successfully been training students with specialized foreign language qualifications and soft skills through diversified training programs Besides, this is one of the faculties which is equipped with lots of high-technology to advance the quality of teaching and learning

3.2 Participants:

The participants are FFL students in IUH, mainly focusing on FFL second-year students of IUH who have learned speaking online through role-play activities, or those who are engaging

in role-play activities of online speaking classes Those who both have learned basic knowledge

in speaking 1 and who are joining in the online speaking 2 with more advanced skills Therefore, this object can present their experiences of role-play activities which are organized online

3.3.Research methodology and research methods

3.3.1.Research methodology:

The quantitative methodology is highly accurate to the research aim According to Mohajan (2020) "quantitative research methods deal with numbers and anything those are measurable in a systematic way of investigation of phenomenon and their relationships" (p.3) Therefore, it allows the research to know how many students belong to each category of the point (voted by students) Furthermore, this method provides clear data (presented by figures and percent) which is convenient to compare opinions of English-majored sophomores and indicate significant differences between options Additionally, to get enough responses, the quantitative research can be created as a link and then surveyed on a large scale within the allocated time (time-saving) After examining the above elements, the quantitative methodology has been applied in the thesis

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3.3.2.Research methods:

The research method is conducted as a questionnaire separated into four parts (with 14 multiple-choice questions) The beginning section is to explore general information of students toward the role-play activities ( questions one to seven) The 2nd part is presented in questions eight and nine, whose aim is to determine how advantageous role-play activities are in the online speaking process Together with benefits, the 3rd part is written with two questions ( questions ten and eleven) to point out barriers to online role play Then, the survey is comprised of a further information part to collect other opinions of students after practicing role-play activities in learning speaking online This technique is chosen because this method

is one of the most affordable ways to gather quantitative data

Forms Before analyzing data, the dataset of the "others section" was checked to record different answers, moreover, checking for missing data is to ensure the reliability of the research Finally, the dataset is presented by various charts (pie chart, bar chart, and table)

to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of role-playing activities in the online speaking class

3.5.Data analysis

The data collected from Google Forms was analyzed on MS Excel software With the support

of the Ms Excel tool, the quantitative result has been visibly presented by charts ( pie chart, bar chart, and table) These charts help presenting the final result objectively, and obviously in the chapter “ findings and discussion”

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CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

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4.1 Findings

Within two weeks, 200 responses were sent to the dataset The purpose of chapter 4 is to analyze the data gathering about students’ perspectives of the importance of the online role-play technique To present an adequate result, this section will be separated into two parts

4.1.1 The general information of the second year English-majored students

Question 1 and 2: Have you ever studied speaking online? How many periods do you study speaking online per week?

Chart 4.1 The percentage of students who have learned speaking online

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Chart 4.2 The figures of the frequency of students learning speaking online According to the collected result of 200 English-majored students of questions 1 and 2, 3%

of participants affirmed that they have never learned speaking online and 97% of participants responded that they have engaged in the online speaking class, in which the number of students who study speaking online 2 periods per week, which accounted for 62% In the contrast, only 8,5% of students are learning speaking online 4 periods per week Additionally, the percent of students who join in online speaking class 3 periods per week and 1 period per week is 14,5% and 15% respectively In reality, based on the schedule of the Faculty of Foreign Languages in IUH, the 2nd English-majored are learning speaking 3 online (2 times per week) Still, there are 6 left students because they do not learn speaking skills this semester Besides, there is a disparity between the answers in chart 4.2, this is explained that some of them also join in an external speaking course to improve their speaking skills Through these two charts, which highlight most of the English-majored sophomores at FFL-IUH assessed to the E-learning, especially in the online speaking course

Question 3: What apps do you use to learn speaking skills online in class?

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Chart 4.3 The learning software which students tend to join in the online lessons

The online lessons are commonly organized among FFL students in IUH so the aim of chart 4.3 is to explore software that English-majored sophomores often join in speaking online classes Most students chose Zoom meeting as the device that they usually use to learn speaking online ( 69,5%) When the E-learning was first organized, the Zoom meeting app was commonly used among students because this app is free and easy to assess, for this reason, the collected result is obvious with 139 votes Similarly, MS Teams is considered as a convenient and useful app to learn speaking online with 115 votes (57,5%) Although MS Teams has been utilized recently, the number of students who enjoy using this app is increasing in numbers because of its overweighted features such as automatic attendance check, personal file storage, recording lesson online, and so on Moreover, Google meeting is one of the favorite apps and free for learning online (14,5%, 29 votes) Together with the three above coursewares, 3,5% of participants affirmed that they have used other apps in learning speaking At the present, some other educational softwares can be used such as Skype, TrueConf, and Vsee

Question 4: In your opinion, how often do you practice speaking skill through role-play activities?

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Chart 4.4 The frequency of practicing role-play technique among English-majored

sophomores in the online speaking class

Based on chart 4.4, there is the largest category of students who sometimes practice speaking skills online, which covered 55% of the total of second-year FFL students Additionally, 33,5 % of students usually practice role-playing as learning online speaking, and 9% of students who seldom engage in role-play activities to practice speaking online Through the chart, the applying role-play activities become more popular in online speaking classes This also demonstrates the role-play techniques is enjoyed by teachers who instruct and organize such activities in developing speaking skills

Question 5, 6: Do you like learning to speak online through role-play activities? What kind of role-play activities do you usually learn?

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Chart 4.5 The percentage of students who enjoy learning speaking online by role-play

techniques Moreover, after experience in role-play activities set by the instructors, most students have the tendency to participate in role-playing again, particularly, nearly 88% of 200 participants have expressed that they enjoy learning speaking online via fully scripted, semi-scripted, and non-scripted role-play activities

Chart 4.6 The types of role-play techniques

According to chart 4.6, the most enjoyable role-play type is the semi-scripted one, which covers 39% At the same result, non-scripted activities are accounted for 38% By doing two types of activities, students always desire to be creative in their performances and make the

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content to be at an appropriate level by changing dialogue structures or adding some contingencies unintentionally Furthermore, the number of students who are interested in available scripted role-playing is 33,5% Sometimes the fully-scripted activities are quite favorable for those who firstly practice role-play activities, and who are at the low level of speaking competency Roleplay is generally effective and suits all different levels of speakers, each type of role-playing has specific functions

However, there are still about 12% of responses (chart 4.5) who said "no" to join in play activities again As mentioned in chapter 3, the lack of high technology, limited body language, and difficulties in the discussion, which are seen as a barrier for students to involve

role-in role-play activities

Question 7: In your view, which topics are you often interested in speaking when participating

in role-play activities?

Chart4.7 The favorite topics in learning speaking online via role-play activities

To understand more about role-play activities in the online speaking class, chart 4.7 describes exciting themes which are chosen by sophomores at FFL-IUH Being able to give more than one option, the result gathering is separated into four groups The first group consists

of sociology (48,5%), nutritional science (43,5%), and marketing (40%) which are such topics with the highest votes These are topics whose issues are getting familiar with speakers in daily life As mentioned about the social topics, a variety of aspects were immediately recollected such as religion, war, family, suicide, parenthood, and so on Or when received nutritional research topic, students can play a role as a doctor and a patient in the hospital environment The group is economic (36%), behavioral science (33,5%), and psychology (27,5%) got the

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second most favorite kinds of topic Because the same three kinds of topics have a similar connection with each other (within 3 above topics)

Furthermore, the philosophy topic was chosen by 28 respondents Despite online references, this topic seems to be difficult for students to take a role in online speaking because it involves understanding the nature, the existence of humans, and others related to specialist knowledge The final group includes education, new trend, health, and business topics, which received the same vote is 1 (0,5%) If these themes were refused, it was because some of them are boring and some are brand-new

4.1.2 The standpoint of 2 nd year English-majored students toward role-play techniques

Question 8: Do you think that participating in role-play activities can improve your speaking ability when learning online?

Chart4.8 The percent of students who agree that role-play activities can improve your

speaking ability when learning online Through question 8, almost all respondents in the survey confirmed that they have developed their speaking competency by practicing role-play activities in class Chart 4.7 shows that 94,5% of students think role-play is an effective tool, and to distinguish how this technique

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can improve students' communicative skills Question 9 is designed to make clear the benefits

of role-playing techniques among FFL students

Question 9: Advantages of learning speaking skills through role-play activities in an online class

Chart 4.9 The benefits of role-play activities in learning speaking online

As mentioned in chart 4.8, there was a large number of students who agreed speaking skills help students to master speaking English And to know exactly what opinions that students think about role-playing are, researchers have shown some basic benefits and the collected data

is described as the following

At first, over 50% of respondents agreed that role-playing can improve speaking skills in diversified topics And by practicing role-play activities regularly in various topics, 29 people completely agreed with researchers that their vocabulary and speaking reflection has been improved rapidly Additionally, 121 students affirmed that they always have a positive attitude and are willing to collaborate with their partners when practicing role-play activities in class Because role-play activities include a variety of topics such as family, friendship, jobs, and so

on, students, therefore, got new knowledge after every time joining in role-playing Furthermore,

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as being asked about the self-confidence and motivation in speaking online, 125 respondents agreed with this, and 34 students did agree with this opinion For semi-scripted and non-scripted role-play activities, the content of scenario can completely be changed based on speakers' purposes So that their confidence could have risen because the list of used vocabulary and grammar was suitable for their level By participating in role-play activities online, nearly 50%

of students also agreed that their technical ability has developed with age To complete a role perfectly, students also need to search for suitable tools ( such as recording, making animations, adding background) and became expert at these soft skills

Chart 4.10 The benefits of role-play activities in learning speaking online

Besides, when working with non-scripted role-play activities online, over 50% stated that they could increase their reflex in English communication and their nervousness was also decreased In the traditional classrooms, students had to play a role with their partners in the face-to-face method It seemed quite embarrassed to act in a play Moreover, 110 students agreed that applying the role-play technique is an ideal way with more online materials and references that students could reply on to build their content Last but not least, nearly 25% of participants agreed the lesson became easier to understand, and 50 % of people coincided that the role-play technique simplified the communication learning process, by practicing knowledge and skill together in role-play activities, students could take external knowledge into their knowledge Besides 45 students strongly disagreed with this advantage, for those who

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rarely have self-study skills, it seems arduous to get the lesson materials easily because students just practice role-play activities in the allocated time University students need to practice and learn more at home if they want to get the speaking skill lessons Through these conclusions, role play is an effective activity that develops learners' speaking ability in various aspects This

is illustrated clearly by nearly 75% of students who realized the above benefits ( agreement and strong agreement), and only a small group of speakers was still faced with role-play limitations

Question 10: How often do you face problems when learning to speak online with role-play activities?

Chart 4.11 The frequency of role-playing problems are faced by FFL sophomores

According to chart 4.9, we immediately saw that role-playing still was limited in learning speaking online Specifically, 21% of students confirmed that they are usually faced with the drawbacks of role-playing, 8% of respondents said they were rarely faced with these and 68%

of speakers affirmed that they sometimes met problems in playing a role when learning speaking by online

Question 11: Limitations of practicing speaking online through role-play activities?