The effects of conversation recording on improving english speaking performance of non english majored freshmen at thu dau mot university m a

ABSTRACT Conversation recording activities have long been adopted by teachers to improve students’ speaking skills and many researchers have examined the effects of this treatment in lan

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY –HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE

THE EFFECTS OF CONVERSATION RECORDING

ON IMPROVING ENGLISH SPEAKING

PERFORMANCE OF NON-ENGLISH MAJORED FRESHMEN AT THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature

in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL

By

NGUYEN THI MY DUYEN

Instructed by

TRAN THI THANH DIEU, Ph.D

HO CHI MINH, MAY 2019

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY –HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE

THE EFFECTS OF CONVERSATION RECORDING

ON IMPROVING ENGLISH SPEAKING

PERFORMANCE OF NON-ENGLISH MAJORED FRESHMEN AT THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature

in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL

By

NGUYEN THI MY DUYEN

Instructed by

TRAN THI THANH DIEU, Ph.D

HO CHI MINH, MAY 2019

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis entitled: “The effects of

conversation recording on improving English speaking performance of non-English

majored freshmen at Thu Dau Mot University” in terms of the statement of

Requirement for the Thesis in Master’s Program issued by Higher Degree Committee

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution

Ho Chi Minh, July 11, 2019

Nguyen Thi My Duyen

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that, I, Nguyen Thi My Duyen, being a candidate for the Degree

of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or production

of theses

Ho Chi Minh, July 11, 2019

Nguyen Thi My Duyen

I extend heartfelt thanks to all my lecturers of the postgraduate program for their instruction and dedication I am also deeply grateful to Mr Nguyen Van Hung- Director of the English Center at Thu Dau Mot University, who has created favorable conditions for me to pursue the Master’s program and finish my thesis

I would like to thank my close friends, Ms Phan Thi Kieu Mi, Ms Huynh Thi Thuy Dung and Ms Luong Thi Kim Phung who have been inspiring and motivating

my doing research With their constant encouragement, this thesis would still be far from finished

Last but not least, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my beloved mother and father who have always stayed beside me and supported me in any possible ways they can With their love, care and kindness, I have been confident to proceed my study

ABSTRACT

Conversation recording activities have long been adopted by teachers to improve students’ speaking skills and many researchers have examined the effects of this treatment in language teaching Still, few studies have been carried out to closely examine the extent to which conversation recording affects students’ speaking performance Therefore, the current research was conducted to fulfill this gap The present quasi-experimental study investigated (1) the extent to which this treatment impacted students’ speaking performance and (2) students’ attitudes towards the use

of this treatment in studying English speaking skill

Sixty-one first year non-English majors joining a twelve-week course participated in this study All the participants of both groups held detailed discussions about given topics and spent time practicing their English conversations in class One different thing is that those in the experimental group were requested to record their conversations and submit them to the teacher with feedback on their recordings whilst students in the control group did not experience this treatment Quantitative data were gathered from students’ pre-test, post-test and their responses to the questionnaire Qualitative data were collected from the teacher and students’ feedback forms as well

as their replies to the structured interviews After the training course, the research shows that students in both control and experimental groups improved their English speaking performance However, the experimental group produced more positive effects on their speaking performance than the control group did Also, data from both

of the questionnaire and the structured interviews indicated that students in the experimental group took positive attitudes towards the treatment Eventually, the present study offers insights to those who consider adopting this treatment to their classrooms

Key words: conversation recording, English speaking performance

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 2

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 2

1.1.1 The importance of teaching and learning English speaking skill in the context of this study 2

1.1.2 ELF non-English majored freshmen’s speaking problems at TDMU 3

1.1.3 Speaking teachers’ problems at TDMU 4

1.1.4 Recording technique in English speaking teaching and learning 5

1.2 AIMS OF THE STUDY 7

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 8

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 8

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 9

1.6 ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS 9

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 11

2.1 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS 11

2.1.1 Conversation recording 11

2.1.2 Speaking performance 12

2.2 PEDAGOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF ENGLISH SPEAKING PERFORMANCE 13

2.2.1 Aspects of speaking performance 13

2.2.2 Types of speaking performance 16

2.2.3 Factors affecting speaking performance 19

2.2.3.1 External factors 19

2.2.3.2 Internal factors 20

2.3 THE APPLICATION OF RECORDING ACTIVITIES IN EFL SPEAKING CLASSES 21

2.3.1 Pedagogical rationale for utilizing recording activities in an EFL speaking class 21

2.3.2 Learners’ attitudes towards the treatment 25

2.3.3 Previous research about the application of recording activities in EFL speaking classes 26

2.4 RESEARCH GAPS 29

2.5 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY 30

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 32

3.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES 32

3.2 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY 33

3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN 35

3.3.1 Mixed methods 35

3.3.2 The use of mixed methods in this study 38

3.3.2.1 In research question 1 38

3.3.2.2 In research question 2 41

3.3.3 Research materials 42

3.3.4 The recording’s content 43

3.3.5 Variables 43

3.4 PARTICIPANTS 44

3.4.1 Sampling method 44

3.4.2 Selection of participants 45

3.4.2.1 Sample size and reasons for selecting participants 45

3.4.2.2 The control group and the experimental group 46

3.4.2.3 The teacher and the raters 49

3.6 RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS 53

3.6.1 Tests 54

3.6.1.1 Pre-test 55

3.6.1.2 Post-test 56

3.6.2 Scoring Rubric 57

3.6.3 Inter-rating students’ speaking 58

3.6.4 Feedback forms for students’ speaking performance 60

3.6.5 Questionnaire for the experimental group 62

3.6.5.1 Rationale for questionnaire 62

3.6.5.2 Detailed description of the questionnaire 63

3.6.6 Structured interview 67

3.6.6.1 Rationale for interview 67

3.6.6.2 Detailed description of the interview 69

3.7 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE 69

3.7.1 Pre-test administration 70

3.7.2 Students’ recordings and feedback forms collection 70

3.7.3 Post-test administration 71

3.7.4 Questionnaire administration 71

3.7.5 Structured interviews administration 71

3.8 DATA ANALYSIS PROCEDURE 72

3.8.1 Research question 1 72

3.8.2 Research question 2 75

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 77

4.1 RESEARCH QUESTION 1 77

4.1.1 Analysis of data 77

4.1.2 Discussion of results 92

4.2 RESEARCH QUESTION 2 93

4.2.1 Analysis of data 93

4.2.2 Discussion of results 105

4.3 SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS 108

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 109

5.1 CONCLUSION 109

5.2 PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR EFL SPEAKING INTRUCTION 110 5.3 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 114

5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 115

REFERENCES 116

APPENDICES 122

APPENDIX A: SPEAKING TASKS FOR PRACTICE 122

APPENDIX B: SPEAKING TASKS FOR PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST 125

APPENDIX C: SCORING RUBRIC 127

APPENDIX D.1: BẢNG KHẢO SÁT 129

APPENDIX D.2: QUESTIONNAIRE 133

APPENDIX E.1: CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN 138

APPENDIX E.2: QUESTIONS OF STRUCTURED INTERVIEW 142

APPENDIX F.1: STUDENT’S INTERVIEW 1 146

APPENDIX F.2: STUDENT’S INTERVIEW 2 148 APPENDIX F.3: STUDENT’S INTERVIEW 3 150 APPENDIX F.4: STUDENT’S INTERVIEW 4 152

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: Types of speaking performance 16

Table 3.1: The description of training programs for the general English course at FLC 34

Table 3.2: The level of criteria for assessing students’ speaking performance 34

Table 3.3: “Life” speaking skill section from chapter 7 to chapter 11 42

Table 3.4: The contents of 5 recordings 43

Table 3.5: Descriptive statistics- Demographical information of students in this study 48

Table 3.6: The connection between research questions, instruments, data source and analysis 54

Table 3.7: Speaking tasks (Adapted from Cambridge English Language Assessment) 55

Table 3.8: Interraters’ Pearson Correlation coefficient 59

Table 3.9: The example of a feedback form on an English conversation recording 62

Table 3.10: The implied purposes of each item in the questionnaire 64

Table 3.11: Description of the questionnaire content 64

Table 3.12: Reliability Statistics 67

Table 4.1: Independent Samples T-test 77

Table 4.2: Paired Samples T-test 78

Table 4.3: Paired Samples T-test 79

Table 4.4: Independent Samples T-test 81

Table 4.5: Independent Samples T-test 84

Table 4.6: Comparing mistake volumes of the experimental group in 5 recordings 87

Table 4.7: Comparing the number of students in the experimental group recognizing their own and partners’ mistakes in 5 recordings 90 Table 4.8: Reference table of questionnaire results 93 Table 4.9: Descriptive statistics- Students’ attitudes towards conversation recording activities 94 Table 4.10: Descriptive Statistics- Questionnaire for students’ attitudes toward English conversation recording activities 96

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: Aspects of speaking performance 16

Figure 2.2: Factors affecting speaking performance 21

Figure 2.3: Stages of CLL in the classroom (Excerpted from “British Council” (2004)) 23

Figure 2.4: The conceptual framework of the study 31

Figure 3.1: Exploratory Design 36

Figure 3.2: Explanatory Design 37

Figure 3.3: Triangulation Design 37

Figure 3.4: Research Design (Adapted from Creswell, 2009) 40

Figure 3.5: The summary of the use of methods in this study 41

Figure 3.6: Procedures of recording activities (16/03/2017- 15/05/2017) 50

Figure 3.7: The process of students’ practicing speaking 53

Figure 3.8: An overview of the data collection procedure 70

Figure 4.1: Mean scores of both groups in the pre-test and post-test 82

Figure 4.2: Post-test speaking elements’ scores for both groups 86

Figure 4.3: Mistakes volumes of the experimental group in 5 recordings 88

Figure 4.4: Percentages of students in the experimental group recognizing mistakes in 5 recordings 91

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

The introduction chapter briefly discusses the background information to the current study, the main aim of this research, 3 prime research questions as well as the significance of the study Also, the scope and organization of this thesis are included

in this chapter

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

1.1.1 The importance of teaching and learning English speaking skill in the context of this study

The exponential increase in the need for communication among people around the world in various aspects of life from economics, education to technology and culture gave birth to a great demand for adopting a shared language Similarly, the latest research has also pointed out the significant part of English as a global communication tool in Vietnam recently As insisted in Phan, T.T.H (2009), English

is considered to be a must that will bring people to an international environment The author maintains that it is English which could afford plenty of opportunity to land a job, transact foreign business as well as be granted a scholarship Therefore, so as to study and work effectively in the today borderless global context, we are supposed to excel at English language skills This leads to the great need of learning English rising more than ever before It is also the main reason why English is widely chosen as a compulsory subject from primary schools to colleges and universities In addition, English language centers are now in full bloom to meet learners’ wishes for learning the world language It indicates that English seems to be an especially important vehicle for communication with the outside world compared to other favored foreign languages in Vietnam

Of four English language skills (reading, listening, speaking and writing) which students are expected to acquire, from communicative view of teaching and learning English, writing along with speaking fully deserves much consideration

because it is a means of interpersonal communication As for English speaking skill, Thornbury (2005a) believes that it is a crucial skill that we should voice common concern about it To language learners, speaking skill is also advisable to be put into practice all over again Thus, the neglect of teaching a productive skill as speaking but only focusing on receptive skills as reading and listening at some universities in Vietnam has committed a series of fatal blunders

In recent years, speaking skill has gradually become an indispensable part in both teaching and assessment At universities, the midterm as well as final exam of English subject have undergone a far-reaching change- requiring candidates’ English speaking skill in particular As a matter of fact, at the majority of universities in Vietnam, with the aim of helping students be able to communicate in English after graduation, the oral test is gradually becoming a vital part Many students contend that it is the most difficult one because they cannot try a stroke of luck as they do the multiple-choice- a popular type of task in reading and listening exams Others also support this viewpoint on the grounds that speaking is less focused at schools and often spells trouble for them For these reasons, it is worth drawing attention to teaching as well as learning English speaking, particularly at Foreign Language Center of Thu Dau Mot university (TDMU) where the researcher was working

1.1.2 ELF non-English majored freshmen’s speaking problems at TDMU

Before undertaking the research, the conductor also required students to complete “get-to-know” forms in Vietnamese This served a primary purpose of grasping the class situation, then helping students surmount learning difficulties Some interesting facts concerning students’ troubles were revealed in the forms

Of the data gathered, among four English skills, nearly half of students had first pick of English speaking as the skill they need a marked improvement Some cogent reasons were set out Firstly, some students argued that they had to take a speaking test in the final exam so they must pay more attention to this skill Others

supported the idea that compared with the two receptive skills (reading and listening), speaking process posed a hazard for students They also admitted that at their high school time, they had not been guided this productive skill carefully as well as had little chance to practice English speaking skill As a result, at the beginning of the first semester at university, they could only make some simple initial greetings in English and unable to carry on an English conversation, even with the very familiar topics Another point worth noting is it seemed that speaking skill seemed difficult for students to practice English speaking by themselves When it comes to reading or listening skill, learners found it much easier for them to do exercises in books and then check the answer keys Based on the number of correct answers, they knew whether or not they secured their improvement However, they could not practice and assess their speaking skill like this Finally, some honest students conceded that they felt lazy and unmotivated when starting to practice English speaking skill Taken from the information collected, in the role of a teacher, the conductor longed for conducting

a research related to English speaking skill with the hope of somehow giving students

a boost to this productive skill

1.1.3 Speaking teachers’ problems at TDMU

In the context of TDMU, this research was limited to merely freshmen who have suffered considerable disturbance from the transition stage between high schools and universities A great number of the students were chiefly pre-intermediate learners, commonly at the age of over 18 It is probable that the majority of them tended to prefer the “teaching to test” method of which curriculum is strongly concentrated on preparing students for a test This method allowed teachers to talk most of the time and give students full explanations and answer keys, strictly following the test types Also, students supposed that this was the only way to help them get high scores in the denseness of forthcoming examination Following this method in teaching English speaking skill, at the beginning of some previous courses, the researcher fully provided speaking samples for learners to notice and imitate the

structures, ideas as well as vocabulary Through the process of teaching students, the researcher could not deny that this practice seemed more or less effective in teaching and learning English speaking skills It partly solved the problems of from lack of ideas and vocabulary that students had to confront in their speaking However, having listened to some students’ oral production after employing this method, the teacher was aware of the fact that this way may serve no useful purpose of sharpening their pronunciation Most of the examiners who score the final oral test often complain that they cannot identify what words students are pronouncing More seriously, hardly can they understand what the students say due to their stresses and pauses in their speech Correspondingly, owing to the fact that learning samples by heart without analyzing structures and learning how to utilize appropriate words in different contexts, students seemed to face difficulties in building their own sentences These weaknesses could not be minimized right away in class Because of the time constraint, students did not have much time to practice speaking and improve their mistakes; the teacher might not know exactly what problems students faced the most to assist them in time Furthermore, even if students received the teacher’s help in correcting mistakes, they quickly forgot about those mistakes and continued to repeat the same mistakes next time Hence, it is also the primary reason why the teacher, also the researcher wants this research to be undertaken in this English course- trying another technique to support students for overcoming these problems

1.1.4 Recording technique in English speaking teaching and learning

Accordingly, recording technique of free conversations between students came

to the teacher’s mind; it can be a workable solution to the mentioned-above problems

of students and speaking teachers at TDMU Corresponding to some previous studies, the application of recording possesses some noteworthy features

As explained by Nguyen, N N M (2012), at first, recordings are considered

as tangible evidence to assess learners’ speaking ability In class, the teachers cannot observe all the procedures of speaking practice Therefore, depending on students’

recordings, they can know exactly what happened in students’ practice as well as what problems students encountered during their speaking From that, the teachers can adjust their teaching methods to accord with their students’ ability Also, basing on students’ recordings, the teachers can realize their students’ weaknesses in speaking, then make timely suggestions for helping their learners surmount the difficulties

Moreover, this author emphasizes that the use of valuable recordings regarded

as “permanent-recall basis” can pay a substantial contribution towards students’ identifying, classifying and correcting their speaking mistakes This practice cannot occur in class In reality, the time for students spending on their speaking skill often lasts around tens of minutes per each class meeting Consequently, students do not get enough chances of discovering and rectifying speaking mistakes Thus, students’ making recordings in English at home gives students more time to think about what they were speaking from which they can not only self-practice but also self-correct their speaking This supports them in remembering their mistakes better than when they only practice speaking and receive the teachers’ brief comments in class

Furthermore, it is believed by Nguyen, N N M (2012) that recording can compensate for those who were lazy and irresponsible for practicing speaking English

in class In conformity with this idea, Song, J W (2009) also adds that recording refers to be “an extension of classroom practice”- “a positive way” of affording “more opportunities for students to practice spoken English outside of the classroom” It somehow reimburses lack of time for practicing English speaking in the classroom

As discussed above, it is mirrored in Song, J W (2009) and Nguyen, N N M (2012) that recording can be seen as a speaking assignment outside the class which offsets the limited exposure to the language in class and also viewed as a remedy for students’ laziness and irresponsibility in practice English speaking Likewise, Sachiko, A (2014) also holds the same view that recording and feedback on it are

“student-initiated and student-centered activities” which can “make students more

independent and responsible of their own learning” This author also adds that the implication of recording allows students to self-assess their speaking, letting them be

“more aware of their own performance, including accuracy of linguistic form and pronunciation”

The stated-above issues about the problems encountered by ELF non-English majored freshmen and speaking teachers at TDMU together with the effectiveness of using recording in teaching and learning English speaking inspired the teacher (also the researcher in this study) to undertake this research investigating the effects of free conversation recording on improving students’ English speaking performance

In order to pursue this objective, the current research was fragmented into 2 small parts Firstly, if recording impacts upon the improvement of students’ speaking performance would be investigated If this treatment does exert effects on improving students’ speaking performance, to what extent the intervention influences this improvement? Secondly, students’ preferences for the implication of recording would

be examined Although this second part does not relate directly to the research issue, exploring students’ attitudes is critical of implicating any new teaching method or technique For one thing, understanding students’ attitudes assists teachers in finding out if this new method or technique suits their students or not When students adopt favorable attitudes, teachers get students’ cooperation easily For another thing, realizing the students’ attitudes is also seen as a way for teachers to figure out the limitations of their teaching method or technique so that they can improve them better

1.2 AIMS OF THE STUDY

This research concentrates on one prime purpose: discovering the effects of free conversation recording on improving English speaking skill of non- English majored freshmen at TDMU

Through the procedure of data collection and data analysis, the researcher can acknowledge what problems may be posed during the practicing process as well as assess the extent to which the use of free conversation recording exerts an impact on enhancing the students’ English speaking skill the context of TDMU Thanks to it, some suggestions are made to enhance the quality of teaching English speaking skills

at this research site

2 What are students’ attitudes towards conversation recording?

Two hypotheses are also addressed in this study to support and keep the research on the right track to the achievement of goals above

H1: There is a significant difference in students’ English speaking performance after undergoing the treatment of conversation recording The majority of students discover and correct some common errors of speaking, committing fewer errors in their English speaking performance after applying the intervention

H2: Almost all students adopt favorable attitudes towards the treatment of conversation recording

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

After fulfilling the key aim stated above, the current hopefully assumes significance in 2 aspects

The first one is about the values in reality The researcher hopes that this study can offer a modest contribution to teaching and learning English speaking skill at

TDMU With the quantitative and qualitative data about the effects of free conversation recording on improving English-speaking performance of non-English majored freshmen at TDMU, the study may capture the attention of teachers at TDMU to the implication of recording activities in teaching speaking skill From that,

it may provide them with some useful instructional techniques in applying recording

to the teaching of English speaking at this university

The second one is about the theoretical values The present study may contribute to the literature about utilizing free conversation recording as a tool to boost students’ English speaking performance Also, other teachers can consult this model of integrating recording activities in teaching such a productive skill as speaking and make necessary changes of this model to develop their new model to satisfy their teaching situation

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

In the current study, there remain 2 major constraints The first constraint is about the limited generalization of the study because of the selected sample from the population based on convenient sampling technique The second restriction is about the central focus of this study Although recording can be utilized in various areas, this study only centralizes the use of recording in teaching and learning English speaking skill

1.6 ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS

This paper consists of five separate chapters Chapter 1- the introduction chapter concentrates on the background to the current study, the major aim of this research along with the scope of the present study In chapter 2- the Literature chapter, a review of related literature from previous study about recording activities together with the implication of this treatment on the improvement of students’ English speaking performance is fully illustrated The third chapter- the methodology chapter describes in details from the design of study, methodology, research

instruments, participants, together with the procedure of data collection and analysis

In the fourth chapter- the results and discussion chapter, data analysis and brief discussion of results are carefully presented Besides, the researcher also clarifies how the results are in line with those in the previous studies and offers further explanation for them Finally, chapter 5- the conclusion chapter the researcher draws some main conclusions from what are discussed in the previous chapters Additionally, some pedagogical implications for EFL speaking teachers, limitations of the current paper, recommendations for further studies are also mentioned in this part

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

In the second chapter- also the chapter of literature review, some specific terms are couched at first Then, some theories about aspects and types of speaking performance, factors affecting speaking performance and the implication of recording activities on improving speaking are introduced Subsequently, this chapter reviews some previous studies relevant to the research issue From that, some research gaps are pointed out Finally, the researcher draws a conceptual framework to make a synthesis of the literature review and the current study

2.1 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

2.1.1 Conversation recording

As stated in “Oxford learners dictionary” (2017), the term “conversation” implies “an informal talk involving a small group of people or only two” This definition is also expanded by “Cambridge dictionary” (2017) as a talk in which

“thoughts, feelings and ideas are expressed, questions are asked and answered, or news and information is exchanged” In this paper, the researcher uses the word

“conversation” to mention an informal talk between two students including initial greetings, questions and answers about a given topic For example, the requirement of making a conversation about favorite tourist attractions means that the two students take turn to make questions, offer answers and share their opinion about their favorite destinations

The term “recording” holds a considerable interest There are numerous definitions of this key terminology According to “Oxford learners dictionary” (2017),

it refers to “sound or pictures that have been recorded on CD, DVD, video, etc.” It can also have another feature of meaning, defined as “the process or business of storing sounds or moving pictures using electronic equipment so that they can be heard or seen later” (“Cambridge dictionary”, 2017) Similarly, in this paper, this phrase is utilized to convey the meaning of sounds recorded by sound recorders or some voice

recorder applications on cell phones or computers, such as Snipback, Hi-Q Recorder, Google Keep, Ever Note and so.on In this study, the expression “recording” involves

2 mentioned-above features of meaning

All in all, “conversation recording” in this paper not only denotes English conversations recorded by students during the training session but also indicates the process of using technological device to store students’ conversations about given topics in English

2.1.2 Speaking performance

It is undeniable that speaking takes a significant part in knowing a language

As claimed by Nunan (1999), when someone asks “Do you know another language?”, they commonly refer to “Can you speak the language?” In other words, whenever we mention the knowledge of a language, the ability to speak the language is apparently involved Sharing the same idea, several studies (Ur, 1996; Davies & Pearse, 2000) showed that speaking ability seems critically important because it can be seen as “the measure of knowing a language” as well as “the main goal of English language teaching” In short, speaking is used to assess the level of acquiring a language In order to know a language, the speaking ability cannot be ignored

There are various definitions of speaking Tarone (2005) defines speaking as “a process of oral language production” To put it more specifically, Lindsay & Knight (2006) supports the idea with greater detail- a process “constructing a message in a form that other people can understand and delivering the message using the correct pronunciation, stress and intonation” However, according to Comings, Gamers & Smith (2006), apart from producing a message, speaking also involves “receiving” and “processing information” Therefore, even though speaking may be expressed differently in words; in general, speaking can be known as a process which may include both interaction and transactional purposes

As mentioned above, speaking is not only interaction but also transactional Transactional communication mainly fulfills the aim of passing on the information, whereas interaction communication refers to the two-way flow of information, forming and maintaining the social connections (Brown and Yule, 1983a) Thus, learning samples by heart and saying them aloud are not ways of speaking Successful speaking does mean that learners can show their communicative ability- one transmits

a message; the other gets the message, arranges information, responds to the first one and creates a link in the conversation That is the reason why speaking connects closely to interaction and transaction To rephrase it, speaking involves two key purposes: interaction and transaction

As specified by “Cambridge dictionary” (2017), the term “performance” denotes “how well a person does a piece of work or an activity” In language teaching, this terminology is also described as “the production of actual utterances as

a result of certain psychological processes” (De Kort & Leerdam as cited in Hemerka,

2009, p 15) In this study, “speaking performance” is understood as the production of spoken language which can be used to assess how well a student speaks English

2.2 PEDAGOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF ENGLISH SPEAKING PERFORMANCE

2.2.1 Aspects of speaking performance

There are various aspects of speaking performance The following are key aspects:

With respect to pronunciation, it is regarded as a central feature of speaking performance, mispronunciation leads to misunderstanding about some points in the conversation More seriously, it can cause offense to those who involve in that conversation Therefore, in order to assess students’ English speaking performance- how well they speak English, the pronunciation aspect should be taken into account From the viewpoint of Thornbury (2005), pronunciation relates to the ability of

making comprehensive utterance to comply with the requirements of a speaking task Harmer (2001) also adds more issues involved in this aspect: pitch, intonation, individual sounds, sounds and spelling, and stress

Turning to grammar, Brown (2001) found that “Grammar is the system of rules governing the conventional arrangement and relationship of words in a sentence” (p.62) There are some addressed questions that a speaker should pay attention to in the speaking context As for the question of “who”, speakers need to clarify who the speaker is and who the audience is From that, speakers can choose suitable titles for speaking Another case is that depending on the target audience, speakers can opt for proper ways to express ideas (i.e with implied versus literal meaning) Regarding the question of “where”, speakers should note the place where the communication takes place so that speakers can modify the use of grammar to suit the speaking situation For example, basing on the formality of speaking context, speakers can select formal or informal speech to communicate

Concerning vocabulary, Thornbury (2005) claims that there are 3 kinds of words and expressions which are utilized the most The first are words showing speakers’ attitudes towards what is being said (i.e words expressing whether or not they agree with opinions) The second are expressions describing positive or negative appraisal (i.e expressions demonstrating speakers’ likes and dislikes) The last is deictic language such as words of time, place and participants in different context

The next aspects of speaking performance that should be taken into account are accuracy and fluency In terms of the former, Nunan (2015) supposes that it refers to the extent to which speech is produced with intelligible pronunciation, acceptable grammar and appropriate use of vocabulary range For the latter, this author believes that fluency relates to the extent to which speech is delivered at acceptable speed with few hesitations Thornbury (2005) adds pausing as another factor of fluency From this author’s perspective, speakers are considered to speak the language fluently if

they meet those following requirements First, pauses can be long but not frequent and are usually filled Second, pauses take place at meaningful transition points and there may remain some syllables or words between pauses Also, it is assumed that fluency can be assessed by considering the time speakers spent on maintaining silence or inserting some words such as “um” and “ah” during their speaking

When it comes to interactive communication, it is defined as “the ability

of a candidate to interact with the interlocutor and the other candidates by initiating and responding appropriately and at the required speed and rhythm to fulfill the task requirements” (Thornbury, 2005) According to Brown (2001), this aspect is one of the most difficulties students encounter in their speaking It is because of the fact that speakers have to join a complex process to reach a full understanding of each other For instance, whenever speakers cannot catch up with their partners’ speaking, they need to ask for explanation or further clarification, restate their speech with other words or expression and confirm what they understand their partners’ saying

The last two aspects of speaking performance are appropriateness and complexity With regard to appropriateness, Harmer (2001) mentions some factors speakers need to care about namely setting (i.e speaking situations), participants, gender, channel (i.e means of communication such as face-to-face, via phone or other device.) and topics As for complexity, Nunan (2004) makes comparison between the complexity of written language and spoken language and reckons that both of them are complex in their own way This author opines that written language needs to be

“static and dense” with highly organized structure In contrast, spoken language is

“dynamic and intricate” owing to various “types of information”, “the scale of task”

as well as “the interrelationships among different elements” included (p.86)

The following figure is to summarize the theory about aspects of speaking performance

2.2.2 Types of speaking performance

As discussed by Brown (2004), there are 5 types of speaking performance in the classroom from the basic to advanced levels namely imitative, intensive, responsive, interactive and extensive The following table presents the details of different speaking performance types based on Brown’s ideas

Table 2.1: Types of speaking performance

No Type Detailed description Activities in

class Level

-This type is to assess students’

ability to imitate the pronunciation

of words, phrases and sentences

-It does not aim at testing students’

interactive communication

-It concentrates on some specific

-Repeating words, phrases

or sentences

Beginners

Figure 2.1: Aspects of speaking performance

elements of language form, especially on pronunciation

to practice particular aspects of

aspect)

-Dialogue and sentence

completion -Reading aloud -Directed response task -Picture-cued task

Beginners and Pre-

intermediate

-This type is to assess students’

interaction and comprehension but with some controls of language

conversations involving: initial greetings, simple questions and answers)

-Paraphrasing -Giving directions and instruction -Making questions and giving answers

intermediate

Pre-4 Interactive

-This type is quite similar to the

interactive often indicates longer

-Playing roles -Taking part in

discussion

Intermediate

requires students to convey or exchange multiple information

Hence, in the interactive type, students have to make more efforts

in truly understanding what they are communicating as well as

communication

-Playing English quiz shows in class

-This type is usually in the form of monologues There are 2 genres of monologue The first is the informal monologue in which students deliver their speech in

presentation in class, an oral introductory of food recipes) The

monologue which requests the deliberative language style and careful planning Generally, this types often requires fewer listeners’

oral interaction

-Making oral presentations

2.2.3 Factors affecting speaking performance

There are two main kinds of factors which impact learners’ English speaking performance: external and internal factors

-Learning environment:

From the view point of Minghe & Yuan (2013), a good learning environment

is very important to making students more interested and actively engaged in learning

a language, especially learning speaking skill As an example, a learning environment which regards English as a communicative tool in daily life helps students be better at their English speaking performance than the one in which English plays a role as an optional subject at school does

-Feedback during speaking activities:

According to Harmer (1991), the way to give feedback seems more crucial than the feedback itself in improving students’ English speaking This author holds the point of view that giving feedback directly and correcting whenever the problems occur in class can destroy students’ conversation flow, demotivate students as well as induce them to be afraid of speaking English Thus, when offering feedback, teachers need to pay much attention to some factors such as the types of mistakes, students who are making mistakes and stages or activities in their lesson plans Baker and

Westrup (2003) also give a suggestion that teachers should positively correct students’ mistakes and rectify mistakes with encouragement

2.2.3.2 Internal factors

- Psychology:

As said by Oxford (1990), one of the most major internal factors which determine students’ success or failure in learning language is their inside affective factor In various previous studies (Brown, 2002; Schwartz, 2005; Thornbury, 2005) affirmed some psychological factors namely the fear of speaking mistakes, the anxiety about time constraint, the timidity when speaking in front of people, the shortage of confidence and motivation have a close relation to how well learners perform their speaking A case of this is that students with high confidence and great comfort in speaking often deliver better speaking performances than the ones who lack those factors

- Language ability:

Ability is defined as “the skill needed to do something” (“Cambridge dictionary”, 2017) Hence, language ability in this situation can be understood as the skill to use the language well Also, language ability is noted as the factor which significantly exerts effects on learners’ speaking performance In order to test how well students speak English, all of their speaking performance aspects should be carefully assessed

- Topical knowledge:

Topical knowledge refers to students’ knowledge which is relevant to topical information and language with reference to the world they are living Bachman and Palmer (1996) affirmed that students who possess topical knowledge complete some certain tests more easily than those who lack it do In other words, it can be said that this factor somehow affects learners’ speaking performance

In summary, the figure below is to illustrate factors affecting speaking performance

2.3 THE APPLICATION OF RECORDING ACTIVITIES IN EFL SPEAKING CLASSES

2.3.1 Pedagogical rationale for utilizing recording activities in an EFL speaking class

Several previous studies suggest that recording can be considered as a useful tool in teaching and learning English speaking skill

For students:

Figure 2.2: Factors affecting speaking performance

The implication of recording can offer a positive contribution to encouraging students’ class participation as well as enhancing their learning environment In accordance with this opinion, Winter (1969) claims that recording students’ voice makes them feel excited and actively participate in the training program Radosevich and Kahn (2006) also adds the idea that the application of recording can foster the student-centered and dynamic learning atmosphere in which learning by doing is emphasized rather than only listening to lectures and learning by taking notes In short, adopting recording activities can create a better learning environment which can motivate students’ interest in joining class activities

In addition, recordings are used to alleviate students’ anxiety in speaking English in Community Language Learning When it comes to Community Language Learning (also named Counseling Language Learning), some studies have consistently found that it is designed with the aim of relieving the anxiety from learning language In order to fulfill this aim, teachers will not play a role as managers who organize the learning environment and ensure that everything in class runs smoothly In Community Language Learning (CLL), teachers just take a part as

counselors who do not tell students directly what they should do but assist students in

identifying and grappling with problems In CLL, teachers take advantage of recording as necessary equipment for alleviating students’ anxiety in speaking English Following this method, at first, students have time to brainstorm ideas for the given topic Then, with the teacher’s help for translating language chunks that they do not know, students are only asked to record their English conversations whenever being in the ready state of mind Thanks to it, students can speak more comfortably and confidently, allaying their anxiety at errors during their speaking Typically, the application of recorded conversations is emphasized in the CLL process which

includes 5 basic steps as below

Besides, the use of recording can promote students’ involvement in English speaking activities There are some studies discussing the important part of recording

in enhancing students’ responsibility for learning English speaking skill Specifically, when students are not responsible for their speaking tasks in class such as not expending their efforts in speaking English and using their mother tongue too much, recording can play a role as “an extension of classroom practice”- “a positive way” for them to practice spoken English outside the class (Schneider, 1993; Song, J W., 2009) Shortly, recording activities partly compensate for students’ laziness and irresponsibility for practicing speaking English

Figure 2.3: Stages of CLL in the classroom (Excerpted from “British

Council” (2004))

Furthermore, it is believed that recording activities can help students raise more awareness of aspects in their own speaking performance; thereby, they can improve those aspects by themselves Sachiko, A (2014) admits that this treatment allows students to self-assess their speaking and make them be “more aware of their own performance, including accuracy of linguistic form and pronunciation” Nguyen,

N N M (2012) holds the same view when considering students’ recordings as an effective technique for them to assess their own English speaking Especially, this author regards valuable recordings as “permanent-recall basis” which can assist students in identifying, classifying and correcting their speaking mistakes From that, students are more conscious of what they are speaking and learn from their own speaking mistakes

Finally, hitting upon the same idea, Russell Stannard- a principal teaching fellow at the University of Warwick (“The Guardian”, 2013) also agrees that learners can derive the substantial benefits from their own recordings, not only for students to learn their own speaking mistakes but also for them to learn from their partners’ mistakes More specifically, exchanging recordings with partners and receiving feedback on recorded performances support students in the progress of self-learning

as well as peer- learning By that means, students gradually improve their English speaking performance

For speaking teachers:

As specified by Nguyen, N N M (2012), recording performs an essential role

in keeping the evidence of students’ speaking moments which can support teachers in the process of giving marks To be more precise, students’ recorded English speaking performances in the examinations are utilized for examiners to grade those performances again in case if there is any marked discrepancy in the test scores of the raters Thanks to it, students’ speaking performance will be marked more accurately

Moreover, recording can also be used as a direct reflection on teachers’ teaching Basing on students’ recordings, teachers can investigate how well their teaching methods and techniques suit their students From that, they can adjust their teaching in time Additionally, students’ recordings allow their teachers to know exactly what speaking problems students faced in the progress of practicing English speaking Then, the teachers can support them in identifying, classifying and correcting their speaking mistakes

2.3.2 Learners’ attitudes towards the treatment

In order to assure if a treatment fits learners well, we have to care about leaners’ attitudes towards this treatment In particular, students’ good or poor attitudes can make their learning process easy or difficult

As Gardner (1985) points out, attitudes are “components of motivation” which combine “effort and desire” to reach “the goal of learning” and “favorable attitudes towards learning the language” Brown (2000) adds that attitudes also include both cognitive and affective aspects Particularly, they are relevant to thoughts, feelings and emotions Therefore, they can be affected by many factors inside and outside the classroom, such as parents, peers, interactions with people, culture and environment surrounding

The groundwork for this field began in 1970s and 1980s There are various definitions of learners’ attitudes According to Gardner (2005), learners’ attitudes are the attitudes towards learning situation which involve attitudes towards instructors and their teaching techniques However, Yashima (2009) holds a broader idea that learners’ attitudes are mainly attitudes towards target community More specifically, they indicate openness to other cultures in general and interests in cultures in particular

Normally, learners’ attitudes are divided into 3 small types: positive, neutral and negative Brown (2000) confirms that “positive attitudes towards the self, the

native language group, and the target language group enhanced proficiency” In contrast, negative attitudes towards languages and groups can impede the process of learning languages Hence, so as to investigate if the treatment applied in this research works well on students, we also need to figure out students’ attitudes towards the treatment

2.3.3 Previous research about the application of recording activities in EFL speaking classes

Nowadays, the implication of recording activities is becoming popular in EFL speaking classes Therefore, several researchers conducted many studies about the effects of recording on improving students’ English speaking performance The majority of previous research papers on the application of recording activities were carried out by researchers in Egypt, Korea and Vietnam The following are the studies which were conducted in recent years These studies chiefly concentrate on the effects

of recording on students’ speaking performance, the extent to which recording impacts their performances as well as students’ attitudes towards this treatment

Song, J W (2009) investigated the effects of an oral English diary using a voice bulletin board on English spoken performance Thirty female students from a women's university in Seoul, who spent 2.5 hours each week joining a13-week English course, took part in this study This study lasted for 10 weeks and the participants were required to record their English diary almost every day They were allowed to make their diary recordings as often as they wished without any limitations

to the number of their speaking practice Their oral English dairy practice could be seen as a compulsory part of the course requirement outside the classroom without the teacher’s invigilation

There were two types of methods adopted in the research, namely, the quantitative and qualitative method Concerning the former, data from the pre-test and post- test (before and after following the treatment of recording their diary in English almost every day) were gathered Regarding the latter, data from a questionnaire and

self-reports were collected Song’s study drew 2 main conclusions First, the Sig for the comparison of the average scores of the pre-test and post-test was p= 000 Hence,

it is concluded that the difference in the pre-test and post-test scores was statistically significant In other words, the use of making English diary recordings had a positive effect on improving students’ English speaking performance Second, students’ responses in the questionnaire and self-reports mostly indicated favorable attitudes towards recording activities Song’s research showed that the great number of students highly appreciated this kind of opportunity to practice speaking English Therefore, it is worth adopting this treatment in teaching English speaking However, the limitations of this study were the fairly small sample size and no control group in this study

Nguyen, N N M (2012) explored the possible applications of recording technique in teaching and learning English speaking skill for EFL learners One hundred and thirty eight English majored freshmen from Da Nang College of Foreign Language joined in this 2-month study process The participants first record their English performance After listening their recording again, they were asked to take notes and correct their speaking mistakes Then, the participants would record the same performance for the second time The researcher would base on the total number

of speaking errors to identify which errors were improved and which errors were not improved in the second time

Quantitative data from the analysis of the first and the second recorded speaking performances and qualitative data from the questionnaire were collected The data analysis results illustrated that after the intervention of recording, there were 80% of speaking mistakes improved Among four categories, students achieved much improvement in grammar range, lexical resource along with fluency and coherence with higher than 90% mistakes of total improved Moreover, Nguyen, N N M (2012) also proved that participants did make progress on their pronunciation with