A survey on the use of smartphone in learning english speaking skills of english majors at the vietnam national university of agriculture

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES BA THESIS A SURVEY ON THE USE OF SMARTPHONE IN LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS OF ENGLISH MAJOR

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES

BA THESIS

A SURVEY ON THE USE OF SMARTPHONE IN

LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS OF ENGLISH MAJORS AT THE VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

OF AGRICULTURE

KHẢO SÁT VIỆC SỬ DỤNG ĐIỆN THOẠI THÔNG MINH TRONG VIỆC HỌC KỸ NĂNG NÓI TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN CHUYÊN NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH TẠI HỌC

VIỆN NÔNG NGHIỆP VIỆT NAM

Student: VU THI MO Major: ENGLISH Supervisor: TRAN THANH PHUONG, MA

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify that the work in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree nor has it been submitted as part of requirements for a degree except as fully acknowledged within the text

I also certify that the thesis has been written by me Any help that I have received in my research work and the preparation of the thesis itself has been acknowledged In

addition, I certify that all information sources and literature used are indicated in the thesis

Hanoi, 2021

Vu Thi Mo

Approved by SUPERVISOR

(Signature and full name)

Date:………

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Throughout the process of writing this research paper, I have received a great deal of assistance, guidance, and encouragement from many teachers, friends, and family members

First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Ms Tran Thanh Phuong, one of my supervisors, for her consistent and unwavering support throughout this study

Next, I want to thank Ms Nguyen Thu Thuy for her helpful advice and ideas

My heartfelt gratitude also goes to the other teachers in the Foreign Language Department for their lectures and instructions over the past four years, which have greatly aided me in completing this study

Thank you to the 120 English majors from K63 who assisted me in completing the questionnaires and interviews

Finally, I'd like to thank everyone who gave me advice and helped me find sources while I was writing this thesis

Thank you very much

Sincerely

TABLE OF CONTENT

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

TABLE OF CONTENT iii

TABLE OF CHARTS v

ABSTRACT vi

PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale for the study 1

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 2

1.2.1 Aims of the study .2

1.2.2 Objectives of the study .2

1.3 Research questions 2

1.4 Scope of the study 3

1.5 Significance of the study 3

1.6 Design of the study 3

PART II: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER 1: LITURATURE REVIEW 5

1.1 Review of the previous studies (at home & abroad) 5

1.1.1 Related to the previous studies (At home) 5

1.1.2 Related to the previous studies (Abroad) 5

1.2 Review of theoretical background (depends on what the study is about) 6

1.2.1 What is speaking skills? 6

1.2.2 The importance of speaking skills 7

1.2.3 Types of speaking skills .8

1.2.4 Characteristics of speaking 10

1.2.5 Smartphones in learning English speaking skills 11

CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 13

2.1 Research methodology 13

2.2 Research setting/context 13

2.3 Data collecting procedures 13

2.4 The data analysis 14

CHAPTER III FINDING AND DISCUSSION 15

3.1 Smartphones and activities aimed to learn english speaking skills 15

3.2 Summary 22

3.3 Suggest some effective methods of learning english speaking skills through smartphone 23

3.3.1 Learn English speaking skills through Youtube 23

3.3.2 Learn English speaking skills through websites 25

3.3.3 Learning English speaking skills through applications 26

3.3.4 Leaning English speaking skills through social networks 27

PART III: CONCLUSION 28

1 Recapitulation 28

2 Limitation of the current research 29

3 Recommendations/implications/suggestions for further research 29

REFERENCES 31

SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE 32

TABLE OF CHARTS

Chart 1: Using smartphones in students' English speaking skills learning 15

Chart 2: Students' time using smartphones to study English every day 16

Chart 3: Methods of using smartphones to learn English speaking skills 17

Chart 4: Apps/websites to learn english speaking skills on smartphones 18

Chart 5: Effective methods when using smartphones for learning English speaking skills? 19

Chart 6: Advantages of learning English on smartphone 20

Chart 7: The effect of using smartphones to learn English speaking skills 21

ABSTRACT

It is a fact that speaking is a necessary skill in any language However, in practice, learning English speaking skills are still far from satisfactory The research focuses on the use of smartphones by English majors at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture to improve their English speaking skills The thesis is divided into three sections: the introduction, the development, and the conclusion The introduction explains the rationale for the study and establishes the study's goals, scope, and methods The development - which is considered the most important part

of the study - consists of three chapters with distinct functions The first chapter covers all of the theoretical groundwork for speaking skills The second chapter investigates the current learning English speaking to the English majored students at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture This chapter also deals with the research methodology which includes participants, the settings of the study, the data collection methods, the data analysis Chapter 3 is the findings and discussions Chapter 3 also provides some possible suggestions for improving English speaking

learning for English majors at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture Part

three, the conclusion, summarizes the issues discussed and suggests some key points for future research

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY

Language enables us to interact with people The importance of the English language cannot be ignored, due to its role in social, political-economic, and environmental development English language functions as a vehicle of interaction and an instrument of communication According to Muhammad, Sani Ya’u, Aliya, Hassan (2018) English is the lingua franca for most parts of the world The need to

communicate effectively in the modern world is inarguable and in this context, the

demand for learning English as an international language among the non-native speakers of English is growing daily (Richards, 2006 as quoted in Rahman, Singh, & Pandian, 2018)

English is considered an international language, the need for mastery and use is greater and greater Understanding its importance, Vietnam - a country in the stage of development, opening the door to the outside world, since then learning and using English is more and more necessary than ever, especially speaking skills

English is the most commonly used common language for communication Specially, speaking skills are important for career success, it can be said that nowadays, when applying for a job, good English is an important factor in getting a good job In interviews, we must use our speaking skills fluently; the better our speaking skills, the better the results Speaking skills can enhance one’s personal life and thereby bring about the well-rounded growth that we should all seek

Smartphones are now not only used for the basic purpose of communication but also as an effective learning tool as they have all the features of computers inbuilt in them This study explores students’ perspective about learning English via smartphone at the university level as perception reflect people’s attitude and acceptability towards something and affects their decisions too Smartphones are very effective tools for students to learn English speaking skills because they have many features that can help us improve this skill We will achieve high learning efficiency if we know how

to use smartphones to learn English speaking skills Studies are already conducted to investigate smartphone features for learning English speaking skills of English majors at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture

1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1.2.1 Aims of the study

When writing this research paper, I set a primary goal of assisting students understand the current state of students' learning English speaking skills through the use

of smartphones, thereby introducing students to some effective methods of learning English speaking skills through smartphones

1.2.2 Objectives of the study

I have divided my study into 2 main objectives:

The first one was investigating the impact of smartphones in learning English speaking skills of English majors at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture I conducted a survey to better understand the status of students' English speaking skills and how they use their smartphones to learn this skill in order to determine the impact

of smartphones on their English speaking skills

And the second one was suggesting English majors at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture how to use smartphones to learn English effectively Following the completion of the survey data analysis I would like to offer tips on how

to effectively learn English speaking skills on smartphones

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Two research questions were posed base on the study's purpose:

1 What were the impact of smartphones in learning English speaking skills of English majors at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture

2 What were suggestions for the effective use of smartphone to learn English speaking skills of English majors at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture?

In turn, the research paper's content would provide answers to the research

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study was about a survey on the use of smartphone in learning English speaking skills of English majors at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture

The study was focus on English speaking skills

The scope of the study included 120 English majors (Random 120 students of K63 at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture, 25 students from K63ENGA,

25 students from K63ENGB, 25 students from K63ENGC, 20 students from K63ENGD and 25 students from K63ENGE) The study began on 01/03/2021 and finished on 30/06/2021

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Research was carried out to help English majors at the Vietnam National

University of Agriculture know how to use smartphones to improve speaking skills

Perhaps students did not know how to use smartphones to improve their English speaking skills previously This research was carried out in order for all students to be aware of this method and to be able to apply it to the learning process 1.6 DESIGN OF THE STUDY

Except for the acknowledgement, abstract, references, and appendices, this

research was conducted in three main parts: the introduction, the development and the discussion

Part 1: INTRODUCTION: It explains why this thesis' topic was chosen, as well as the study's aims, scope, methods, research questions, and design

Part 2: DEVELOPMENT: which consists of three chapters:

Chapter 1: Literature Review - presents the theoretical background related to the definition of listening, the importance of listening skills and types of listening

Chapter 2: Methodology – gives the research methods, research setting/ context, data collection, and data analysis

Chapter 3: Findings and Discussion - presents the survey's complete results as well as

a detailed analysis of the data collected

Part 3: CONCLUSION - which presents the review of the study, suggestions for further research and limitations of the study

PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITURATURE REVIEW

1.1 REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS STUDIES (AT HOME & ABROAD)

1.1.1 Related to the previous studies (At home)

A study on how to improve English skills for the first year English majors in Hai Phong private university by Luong Thi Huyen in 2019 The study has proposed some effective methods to learn English speaking skills like teaching methods to improve speaking skills, the language game, work group and pair group, telephone conversations, and applicability of internet in studying, watching TV and video,

speaking English to yourself, taking part in the English club, watching your favorite

English videos, watching English movies and TV shows, checking grammar with online English tests, reading e-books, articles, magazines every day and so on

In “How to improve students’ English speaking skills” by Ho Minh Thu (2011) There are no specific methods to improve English speaking skills for students

In conclusion issues that would be dealt with in my thesis: provide effective

methods of learning English speaking skills, especially the method of using smartphones

1.1.2 Related to the previous studies (Abroad)

According to Effortless English teaching English since 1996, ways to improve English speaking skills are as follows: find an English-speaking conversation partner, make sure to listen as well as speak, record your conversation practice, surround yourself with the English language, practice with music and movies, read aloud, talk to yourself… There are many suggested ways to help students improve their speaking skills

And in another study “the impact of smartphones on student’s learning in Ghanaian universities, a case study on college of technology education, Kumasi” by E.F Morgan and Bismark Mante (2020) Research has shown features of smartphones

and the impact of smartphones among university students In addition, the study has given suggestions for using smartphones for learning

And so, the preceding studies demonstrated methods for using smartphones to learn English in general, but did not provide methods for learning specific skills, particularly speaking skills As a result, in my research, I will provide methods for learning to speak fluently by using smartphones

1.2 REVIEW OF THEORETICAL BACKGROUND (DEPENDS ON WHAT THE STUDY IS ABOUT)

1.2.1 What is speaking skills?

According to the Oxford Pocket dictionary of Current English 2009 “Speaking

is the action of conveying information or expressing one thoughts and feelings in spoken language And speaking used to indicate the degree of accuracy intended in a statement or the point of view from which it is made.”

In the book “Developing speaking skills” of David Scheter, published in 1999, there is a definition that: “Speaking is to outer words or articulate sounds, as human beings to express thoughts by words, as the organs may be so obstructed that a man may not be able to speak”

Meanwhile in the book “Collins Cobuild English for advanced learner 4th edition’, published in 2007 definite that “Speaking is the activity of giving speech and talks, to indicate the opinion you are giving”

“Speaking is also understood is the productive skill in the oral mode It, like the oral skills, is more complicated than it seems at first and involves more than just pronouncing words” (In the website Lingua Link Library, Version 3.5, published on CD.ROM by SIL International 1998)

In a nutshell, speaking skills is the process by which a speaker conveys information to one or more people Oral communication is used to convey information

1.2.2 The importance of speaking skills

In the present global world, communication plays a vital role in getting success

in all fields Language is used as a tool for communication Perfect communication is not possible for people without using a language Moreover, people cannot achieve their aims, objectives, and goals without using proper language to communicate Therefore, there is a need for a language to communicate with others those who live

all around the globe As English is considered the international language and is

spoken all over the world, it serves the purpose of communicating with the people who live in different regions, states, countries, and continents of the world Speaking skills is the most important skill to acquire foreign or second language learning Among the four key language skills, speaking is deemed to be the most important skill in learning a foreign or second language Brown and Yuke (1983) say,

“Speaking is the skill that the students will be judged upon most in real-life situations”

According to Bueno, Madrid, and Mclaren (2006: 321), “Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face Speaking is considered the most important of the four language skills of English Even the learners learn the language for so many years they find it difficult to speak in real-time situations when it is demanded

In the modern world, it has become quite common to prove the candidates’ talents at the time of their job interviews and many of the selections are based on the performance of the interview The job aspirants have to participate and prove themselves in debates and group discussions where the performance or oral communication skills of the candidates are primarily measured Besides, the professionals have to give oral presentations as they have to promote the products or their companies or give training to the other colleagues Furthermore, an effective speaker can inspire the audience a lot and gain the complete attention of the audience and maintain the same tempo until the end of his/her speech So the audience

involves completely in the speaker’s speech and they sometimes forget the real world and put their complete concentration on the speech So, speaking skills play a vital role as everything depends on the way how people communicate their messages with others

Speaking skills are the most essential skills for all the learners who wish to learn English to enhance their career, improve business, build confidence levels, get better job opportunities, make public speeches, attend interviews, participate in debates and group discussions, give presentations and so on In the present modern world, everything is linked with speaking skills One who has good talent in speaking can conquer the whole world Having good communication is the passport

to get better employment opportunities In modern interviews, the real talent of the job aspirants is tested through their performance in group discussions, debates, presentation skills and so on Therefore, job seekers have to acquire good oral communication skills in order to grab better opportunities

Altogether, speaking skills are critical If you have good speaking skills, you will be able to convey your thoughts and desires to others in the most understandable manner It has excellent public speaking skills as well as a high level of persuasiveness A person with good communication skills will benefit greatly in life and will have more opportunities to advance in their career

1.2.3 Types of speaking skills

According to the article “what are basic types of speaking” of https://www.xsoftskills.com The article shows us that there are the following types

of speaking skills:

Formal Speaking: Formal speaking is a type of speaking which does not involve in any way personal matter Formal speaking is a type of speaking in which the speaker has to follow some norms and principles at the time whenever conveying the message in the formerly and structured manner for the firm

Informal Speaking: It takes place in an unstructured manner and outside of the formal one Informal speaking is a type of speaking which involves the personal things that mean whenever people communicate informally, they never bound by their organizational positions Everybody free to tell anything to anybody Informal speaking just like speaking at home, among friends, neighbors, relatives, colleagues, co- workers, etc

Task-oriented speaking: This is the form of a formal speaking this type of speaking is concerned with conversion among officers, employees, colleagues and related to the organization is used for any problem within the firm or an organization

or to the organization

Semi-Formal Speaking: This is the type of speaking which combines formal and informal speaking That means it is a type of speaking which is not fully formal

or fully informal

Interpersonal Speaking: It is talking between two persons This type of

speaking may be either formal or informal It described informal speaking as what we speak at home among friends, colleagues or relatives It is a really most natural way

of speaking where is speaker has freedom from the artificial tone, accent and voice modulation Sometimes it depends on the nature and the mood of the person according to that only the speaker started speaking in that way This speaking takes place mainly in offices between the person nearly in the same post

Overall, there are five different types of speaking They are Formal Speaking, Informal Speaking, Task-oriented speaking, Semi-Formal Speaking, Interpersonal Speaking Depending on different contexts, we use different types of speaking skills Therefore, we should use different types of speaking skills for different purposes in life

1.2.4 Characteristics of speaking

As for Martin Bygate (1997:12), in most speaking, the person to whom we are speaking is in front of us and able to put us right if we make mistakes He or she can also generally show agreement and understanding, or incomprehension and disagreement Unlike readers or writers, speakers may need patience and imagination, too While talking, speakers need to take notice of the other and allow listeners chance to speak

it It means that we take turns to speak Brown, G (1983) and her colleagues point out that a listener helps a speaker improve his performance as a speaker because being a listener gives learners models to utilize when acting a speaker In addition, being a hearer first helps the learner appreciate the difficulties inherent in the task It is clear that giving a speaker experience in a hearer's role is more helpful than simple practice

in tasks in which a speaker is having real difficulties in appreciating what a particular task required Martin Bygate (1997:24,25) suggested that conversation can be analyzed in term of routines, which are conventional ways of presenting information

As far as we have known, there are two kinds of routine: " information routines" and

" interaction routines" Information routines frequently recur information structures, including stories; descriptions of places and people; presentation of facts, comparisons, instructions Interaction routines are the ones based not so much on sequences of kinds of terms occurring in typical kinds of interactions These routines thus can be characterized in broad terms including the kinds of terms typically occurring in given situations, and the order in which the components are likely to occur By and large, the students can be much more confident in speaking English with clear understanding and governing these skills The oral skills, however, are dependent on the knowledge of language they learn such as grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary In addition, students rely on common conventional expressions for communicating specific meanings, particularly on the language environment It is unedited that classroom practice might not be similar to oral communication outside

real life For instance, contents of communication topics in class are decided by teacher, whereas outside classroom speakers can express freely what they want The exact content is unpredictable Regarding the reason for communicating in classroom, learners speak to practice speaking, to get good marks, but in real life speakers have their reasons for their speech

To sum up, the characteristics of speaking skills are virtually limitless It is not limited to the topic of discussion The more knowledgeable a person is, the more valuable his or her words are and the more attention they receive If a person has poor speaking skills, the listener will feel uneasy and depressed; additionally, they will be unable to convey all of their thoughts when speaking Sometimes the speaker is at a loss for words

1.2.5 The use of smartphones in learning English speaking skills

There are some types of learning through Smartphones: learning through sound, learning through short text messages, learning through a chartical display, learning through information obtained from data, learning through internet search and learning through camera and video clips (Sevari, 2012)

Buchegger (2010) gives some suggestions for actively and creatively using Smartphone in class The suggestion encompasses various subjects and areas in which utilize this technology imaginatively The examples for using the Smartphone

as a means of creative learning in class as follow: mobile photo story, the mobile video story, the mobile podcast, mobile application, mobile GPS, mobile inter faces, the SMS language, SMS passage, everyday geometrical forms, Documenting a field trip, the mobile record story, QR Codes, Digital flicker book and SMS poetry

In general, the smartphone is a fantastic invention that can greatly assist us in our daily lives; even more, we cannot deny its effectiveness in assisting us in learning Many students use smartphones to help them improve their English skills It

is a good option for those who want to improve their English speaking skills, especially with the use of smartphones

CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 2.1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In this study, I used the quantitative research method: Data collection and data analysis through questionnaires For data collection purposes, a survey questionnaire was created and distributed to the students I analyzed the data to provide specific numbers for the research

2.2 RESEARCH SETTING/CONTEXT

The research took place at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture There were 120 English majors of K63 (25 students from K63ENGA, 25 students from K63ENGB, 25 students from K63ENGC, 20 students from K63ENGD and 25 students from K63ENGE) completed a survey to collect information about the use of smartphones in learning English speaking skills of English majors at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture from 1/3/2021-30/5/2021 Because of the COVID-19 situation, some surveys were conducted at the school, while the remainder were conducted online Following that, 12 of the 120 students would be invited to participate

in the interview, where they would be asked to answer more specifically about the questions on the survey questionnaire

2.3 DATA COLLECTING PROCEDURES

I used the survey questionnaire in this research

The survey was completed by the contribution of 120 English majors from K63

at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture

The survey questionnaire included 7 questions (in English) and they were numbered from 1 to 1 There were 5 to 10 options in the question The informants might select more than one option Survey questions were questions that I created by myself for

my research and I have the help of my supervisor Miss Tran Thanh Phuong to help

me edit and complete my survey question

Base on the results of this survey, I was able to identify an appropriate method for using smartphone to improve the English speaking skills of English majors at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture

2.4 THE DATA ANALYSIS

The information gathered I process in Excel

To analyzed survey data I used the Countif function in Excel to count numbers

in order to calculate the percentage Charts will be used to display the calculated data Following the implementation of the survey, the statistics were totaled and displayed

in the seventeen charts below Each chart was displayed the number of students who chose the best answer for them in each question This number was expressed in % age units, and the chart types were column chart, bar chart, and pie chart The data was easily visible in the chart, and the explanations were located to the right or the bottom of the chart