An investigation into the use of rubrics in efl speaking classrooms a case study at bau bang hight school

BINH DUONG PROVINCIAL PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY HO VAN NGHIA AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE OF RUBRICS IN EFL SPEAKING CLASSROOMS: A CASE STUDY AT BAU BANG HIGH SCHOOL

BINH DUONG PROVINCIAL PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE

THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY

HO VAN NGHIA

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE

OF RUBRICS IN EFL SPEAKING CLASSROOMS:

A CASE STUDY AT BAU BANG HIGH SCHOOL

MAJOR: ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAJOR CODE: 8 22 02 01

MASTER THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

BINH DUONG PROVINCE, 2022

BINH DUONG PROVINCIAL PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE

THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY

HO VAN NGHIA

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE

OF RUBRICS IN EFL SPEAKING CLASSROOMS:

A CASE STUDY AT BAU BANG HIGH SCHOOL

MAJOR: ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAJOR CODE: 8 22 02 01

MASTER THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

SUPERVISED BY TRAN THANH DU, Ph.D

BINH DUONG PROVINCE, 2022

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To complete this thesis, I received substantial assistance and support from

my supervisors, faculty, colleagues, students, and family

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Tran Thanh Du, Ph.D, for his tremendous knowledge, guidance, advice and patience, which constantly inspired me throughout the research

My special thanks for my lecturers at Thu Dau Mot University for their endless enthusiasm and undeniable helpful lectures I would be very grateful to the staff of the Post-Graduate Department for their support during the time of studying

Next, I would like to extend my special thanks to the participants (including eighty eleventh graders at Bau Bang High School) for their willingness to be parts

of the study and provide me valuable data for my thesis

In addition, I would like to thank all my lecturers who gave me insightful knowledge, motivation and recommendations during my studies at Thu Dau Mot University

I would also like to express heartfelt thanks to my colleagues and friends whose support and encouragement helped me accomplish this thesis Finally, I would like to embrace huge thanks to my family for their infinite love, support and encouragement which motivated me to successfully carry out this thesis

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

This is to certify that I myself write this thesis entitled “An investigation into the use of rubrics in EFL speaking classrooms: A case

study at Bau Bang high school” It is not a plagiarism or made by others

Anything related to others’ works is written in quotation, the sources of which are listed on the list of references

Binh Duong, August 2022

Signature

Ho Van Nghia

RETENTION OF USE

I hereby state that I, Ho Van Nghia, being a candidate for the degree of Master of English Language accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library In this regard, I agree that the original of my Master’s thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research

TABLE OF CONTENT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ii

RETENTION OF USE iii

TABLE OF CONTENT iv

LIST OF APPENDICES viii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii

LIST OF TABLES ix

LIST OF FIGURES x

ABSTRACT xi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background to the study 1

1.2 Statement of the problem 2

1.3 Aims of the study 3

1.4 Research questions 4

1.5 Scope of the study 4

1.6 Significance of the study 4

1.7 Organization of the study 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Overview of speaking 6

2.1.1 Definitions of speaking 6

2.1.2 The importance of speaking 7

2.1.3 Characteristics of successful speaking 7

2.1.4 Assessing speaking skills 9

2.2 Overview of rubrics 11

2.2.1 Definitions of rubrics 11

2.2.2 Types of rubrics 12

2.2.3 Features of rubrics: Validity and Reliability 13

2.2.4 Advantages of rubrics 14

2.2.5 Limitations of rubrics: 17

2.2.6 Teaching speaking with rubrics 17

2.3 The roles of teachers and learners in speaking classes 23

2.4 Motivation in learning speaking 24

2.5 Previous studies 26

2.6 Conceptual framework 29

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 31

3.1 Research setting 31

3.2 Research design 32

3.3 Sampling method 32

3.3.1 The researcher 33

3.3.2 The teachers from English falcuty 33

3.3.3 The students 33

3.4 Research instruments 34

3.4.1 Questionnaires 34

3.4.2 English speaking tests 35

3.4.3 Students’ interview 36

3.4.4 Teachers’ interview 37

3.5 Data analysis 37

3.5.1 Mean 38

3.5.2 Standard deviation 38

3.5.3 T-test 38

3.5.4 Percentage 38

3.6 Research procedure 39

3.7 Reliability and validity 39

CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 41

4.1 Analysis of the speaking tests 41

4.2 Results from questionnaire 43

4.3 Results from students’ interview 48

4.4 Results from teachers’ interview 50

4.5 Discussion 52

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 57

5.1 Conclusions 57

5.2 Implications 59

5.3 Suggestions 60

REFERENCES 63

LIST OF

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1 - PRE-TEST 69

APPENDIX 2 - POST-TEST 70

APPENDIX 3 - QUESTIONNAIRE 71

APPENDIX 4 - INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS 74

APPENDIX 5 - INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS 75

APPENDIX 6 - A SAMPLE LESSON PLAN 76

APPENDIX 7 - RUBRICS FOR PRE AND POST TESTS 80

APPENDIX 8 - RUBRICS FOR SPEAKING ASSIGNMENTS 83

APPENDIX 9 – POST TEST RESUTLS OF CONTROL CLASS 85

APPENDIX 10 – POST TEST RESUTLS OF EXPERIMENTAL CLASS 87

APPENDIX 11 - SPEAKING RUBRICS 89

APPENDIX 12 - BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF RUBRICS 93

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL English as a Foreign Language

ESL English as a Second Language

IELTS International English Language Testing System SPSS Statistics Package for the Social Sciences

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Students' oral evaluation criteria (Ur 1996) 10

Table 2.2 Speaking rubrics (OMalley and Pierce, 1990) 20

Table 4.1 Paired samples Test after the impact 40

Table 4.2 The score criteria of the questionnaire result 44

Table 4.3 Descriptive statistics of Bau Bang high school students’ attitude toward the use of rubrics 44

Table 4.4 Students’ evaluation of their achievement of speaking skills 46

Table 4.5 Students’ evaluation of their achievement on their other English skills 47

Table 4.6 Students’ self-evaluation on their unexpected development in learning 47

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.8 Conceptual framework 30 Figure 4.1 A comparison of mean scores on the pre-test and the post-test 41 Figure 4.2 The mean score of Bau Bang high school students’ feelings about

rubrics 45

ABSTRACT

“An investigation into the use of rubrics in EFL speaking classrooms: A case study at Bau Bang high school” is an experimental study on the eleventh grade students of Bau Bang high school in the academic year 2021-2022

The primary objectives of the research are to determine (1) whether rubrics can improve the speaking skill of the students in teaching speaking for Bau Bang high school students in the academic year 2021-2022; and (2) what the attitude of students towards rubrics is

The research method was experimental The subject of the research is the students of two eleventh grades Each of them consists of 40 students 11A4 is as

an experimental class taught with rubrics and 11A1 is as a control class taught with

a modeling technique The data were in the form of quantitative data and they were taken from a test They are the scores of students’ speaking test after having nine times treatment for each class

Based on the result of data analysis, the research findings are: (1) Rubrics can improve students’ speaking performance; and (2) Students have a positive outlook and highly appreciate being shared rubrics before doing the speaking Based on these research findings, it can be concluded that using rubrics is an effective technique to improve the speaking skill of the Bau Bang high school students

Keywords: Speaking skills, rubrics, motivation, assessment

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

The current chapter presents the introduction, which introduces the background to the study, the statement of the problem, the research questions, aims and objectives of the study, the significance of the study, the scope of the study, and the organization of the thesis

1.1 Background to the study

For centuries, English has served as an international language Several researchers, including Dewi (2015), Mukminin, Ali, and Ashari (2015), and Jackson & Stockwell (1996), acknowledge that English is used in a variety of fields worldwide by people of various cultures, nationalities, and social traditions Because of the widespread and global use of English, it has created doors and broadened horizons for career opportunities; thus, learning language has become

a universal trend

English proficiency is obviously crucial for everybody who wishes to further their education both in the country and abroad, or to obtain a good position in a multinational corporation A world of opportunities is available to people who are competent in speaking English; however, speaking English clearly enough to understand during communication between speakers and foreigners is all English learners strive for, but find it difficult to achieve due to their own problems

To students, the most significant aspect of learning a foreign language is the ability to communicate in that language In the market economy in Vietnam, communication between employees and foreign investors has become more and more necessary Kayi (2006) states that speaking skills are so beneficial for students to flourish their strength to communicate precisely and proficiently

In reality, there are four basic English skills: Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking; and Speaking is deservedly paid attention because of its effectiveness

in communicating with people who speak the same language Goh (2007) claims that the ability to communicate is one of the important skills that learners must achieve Thus, strengthen speaking skills is necessary because it is an effective tool

that learners can interact with other people Speaking ability is heavily emphasized

in all school education systems in Vietnam, from elementary school to university

1.2 Statement of the problem

In the current social trend, English is considered a popular language and one

of the main subjects in school; both public and private school systems provide English classes for students, and language centers have been springing up in many cities in Vietnam, especially in big cities Honestly, teaching and learning English are necessary for the Vietnamese educational system English, especially the speaking skill, requires students to practice more and more because it can help them in any field of their lives and work After being a teacher for ten years, the researcher has found that learners cannot access speaking effectively They tend to ignore the speaking skill and do not make progress in this skill for a number of specific reasons, such as a lack of visual teaching aids, a lack of parental attention, and a lack of practice time These are obstacles that cause the score of speaking skill to tend to be slow, or sometimes this part is left empty because they do not know how to speak and use their own vocabulary to produce complete sentences

As a result, the goal of the test cannot be met

Speaking is the best way to fall in line with the world However, it is a

complicated process that involves a number of cognitive and metacognitive activities such as brainstorming, planning, outlining, organizing, drafting, and

revising Learning to speak is difficult, especially for those speaking a second or a

foreign language in academic contexts, since they do not know how to express their ideas effectively As effective speaking is considered a problem for EFL learners, a need is felt to find some ways of teaching that can help learners improve their speaking performance Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of using rubrics on EFL learners’ speaking improvement

As an English teacher, the researcher has been aware of these difficulties Therefore, he tries to apply some techniques to help students overcome the problems they encounter when deploying ideas in their speaking Quinlan (2012,

p 2) states that human beings, whether they do it consciously or unconsciously,

“create rubrics - guidelines for decisions for evaluation and assessment - in their minds every day.” The rubrics that people create in their minds help them make decisions based on their knowledge and current objectives The researcher uses rubrics with clear academic league tables along with a list of specific requirements

in the speaking to achieve that score and thinks that he can help students identify goals and requirements Rubrics also help them select the right ideas that are reasonable for expressing their thoughts and feelings in speaking More importantly, they know how to organize ideas logically As a result, students have more passion for learning how to speak English more confidently in communicative activities and examinations

In the educational environment, rubrics often play an integral role as a powerful, objective, and valuable assessment tool; also because of their usefulness for formative (for learning) and summative (for learning) assessment purposes Rubrics’ central objective is to support students in the learning process, which is possible by constructing students’ activities and helping them clearly understand their own learning process and progress Rubrics are indicators of the attainment

of learning targets; therefore, they are essential for the alignment of learning outcomes and assessment This promted the writer to conduct the study to find out the effectiveness of rubrics and the attitude of the students toward rubrics in learning speaking skills, which is titled “An investigation into the use of rubrics in EFL speaking classrooms: A case study at Bau Bang High School.”

1.3 Aims of the study

The research seeks beneficial ways to enhance the speaking efficiency of students at Bau Bang High School To accomplish this aim, the researcher attempts:

(i) To check if using rubrics can help improve students’ speaking skills in EFL speaking classrooms

(ii) To investigate students’ attitudes toward the use of rubrics in speaking classrooms

1.4 Research questions

The researcher carried out this study with the asked issue that whether using rubrics in EFL speaking classroom can develop high school students’ speaking performances in Bau Bang high school or not He makes an attempt to deal with the two following research questions:

Question 1: How does using rubrics help improve students’ speaking performance?

Question 2: What are students’ attitudes towards the use of rubrics in speaking classes?

1.5 Scope of the study

This study was conducted with two eleventh-grade classes randomly selected

at Bau Bang High School One class is the experimental class that uses rubrics during speaking periods The other is the control class taught by conventional methods The students in the experimental classes are the subjects of research to find out the problems that students and English teachers must face in speaking class, and then the teacher uses rubrics to determine whether rubrics can improve the students’ speaking performance or not, as well as assess the students’ attitudes towards rubrics

1.6 Significance of the study

Evaluating student speaking can be difficult, and ensuring consistent grading from one assignment to the next and among different graders can be especially difficult Many factors contribute to the difficulties that teachers face when assessing student speaking Because each teacher listens to students’ work differently, they each have different expectations of what a good speaking performance looks like, they frequently have other listeners (e.g., co-assigned faculty grading assignments), and they also have limited time to listen and provide feedback

The study theoretically helps verify the significance of using rubric theories when they are used to improve English capability, particularly speaking skills

Practically, to improve teaching and learning practices, it is essential to discover what is truly occurring in the classrooms Fully understanding what is occurring in classes can help teachers concentrate on aspects of teaching English speaking skills and further offered greater chances for their students to improve their English speaking skills Meanwhile, it also benefits not only teachers and students, but also school administrators in any school in Vietnam

1.7 Organization of the study

The study consists of five chapters:

Chapter 1, Introduction, provides a preliminary review of the information

related to the topic Besides, the purpose, research questions, significance, scope and outline of the study have been stated

Chapter 2, Literature review, provides the definition of the key terms in this

study This chapter also reviews some previous studies to discover theoretical foundation involving rubrics, speaking rubrics, teaching and learning with rubrics,

and assessing speaking using rubrics

Chapter 3, Research methodology, explains the methodology employed in

the research This chapter clarifies the research participants, subjects, instruments, and describes how data are collected and analyzed

Chapter 4, Findings and discussion, present the description and

interpretation of the collected data in light of research questions

Chapter 5, Conclusions present the summary of results and then offers some

suggestions and implications

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter discusses the appropriate research literature, including an overview of speaking, rubrics, and the uses of rubrics in teaching and assessing students' learning The researcher also notes the literature gap and demonstrates why the current research should be conducted to bridge the gap

2.1 Overview of speaking

2.1.1 Definitions of speaking

Speaking is a process of interaction between two or more people that results

in good mutual understanding According to Byrne (1986), oral communication necessitates efficient speech and receptive understanding skills between speakers and listeners Both the speakers and the listeners serve a useful purpose The speakers have encoded the message to be conveyed and the appropriate language, while the listeners (who are equally active in decoding or interpreting) must decode the message

There are certain definitions given by linguists regarding the concept of oral skills, which are reviewed in this section as follows:

Rahman (2007) stated that speaking is a form of oral communication that involves two parties: the speaker, who conveys the message, and the listener, who hears it Accordingly, oral communication requires both productive and receptive speaking abilities

Burns (2006) highlighted that speaking is a way to convey ideas, information, and emotions to other people orally The ability to communicate oneself through a language is crucial for the speaker

Learning to talk necessitates mastering a variety of sophisticated skills as well as understanding various communication contexts In other words, speaking

is how one interacts with others From the preceding idea, the researcher may conclude that speech is the sound and symbol created by the speaker in order to interact with the listener and convey meaning

2.1.2 The importance of speaking

Speaking is one of four English skills (speaking, listening, writing, and reading) that play an important role in helping learners learn a language effectively According to Patton (2012), when people believe they know or are learning a language, they mean they can speak the language Likewise, Flohr and Paesler (2010, p 10) agreed that “speaking is the most important skill to master when learning a foreign language” “The goal of learning a foreign language is to become a fluent speaker by focusing on communication activities and expressive abilities.” “It is questioned whether teaching and learning speaking skills merit as much or more attention than the others.”

2.1.3 Characteristics of successful speaking

To facilitate the teaching and learning process of speaking skills, teachers must be aware of the characteristics of students as well as the characteristics of successful speaking activity If the teacher is aware of the characteristics of each student, he or she can easily provide learning material to the students

Underhill (1987, p 120) defines successful speaking activity as having the following characteristics:

(1) Students talk a lot: Allocate as much time as possible to the occupied talking activity This is obvious, but most of the time the teacher speaks

student-or pauses, it is taken up This means that students must engage in as much conversation with their peers as possible The students are obviously busy, but they rarely spend time talking to their teacher

(2) Participation is equitable: Class discussions are not dominated by talkative students; everyone has an equal opportunity to speak and contribute their ideas It means that the classroom discussion is not dominated by a single speaker, but that all participants have an equal opportunity to participate

(3) Motivation is high: Students are excited to speak because they are interested in the topic and have something new to say about it, or because they want to contribute to an objective task being achieved It means students are highly motivated to speak English Being highly motivated, students are especially

interested in learning English They often strive to be confident in delivering their own ideas

(4) Language is of an acceptable level: Learners express themselves in easily understandable and relevant utterances, and their language accuracy is of an acceptable level

Meanwhile, according to Brown (2004, p.141-142), one can be considered to have speaking competence if he or she can:

(1) Imitate a word, phrase, or even a sentence (imitative)

(2) Produce short stretches of oral language designed to demonstrate competence in a specific grammatical, phrasal, lexical, or phonological relationship, such as prosodic elements-intonation, stress, rhythm, juncture, intensive ability (intensive)

(3) Respond to a brief conversation, standard greetings and small talk, simple requests and comments, and similar situations (responsive)

(4) Consider the two types of language: transactional language, which is used

to exchange specific information, and interpersonal exchanges, which are used to maintain social relationships (interactive)

(5) Maintain social relationships by communicating facts and information (interpersonal)

(6) Develop (monologue) oral productions, such as speeches, oral presentations, and storytelling, in which the opportunity for oral interaction from the listener is either severely limited or completely eliminated (extensive)

From the above-description, it can be inferred that successful speaking basically depends on students’ ability It means that students must be positive and confident in communicative activities Beside having knowledge of language structures, they must regularly communicate in English, usually sharing ideas, thoughts, and opinions in different contexts The definition of Brown (2004) is considered to be more suitable for the study It clearly identifies elements of successful speaking that are taught in high schools Therefore, it is more convenient to use this definition in this study

2.1.4 Assessing speaking skills

2.1.4.1 Oral test

The teacher is concerned about how to assess students' speaking ability in a foreign language In some ways, testing speaking is more difficult than testing vocabulary or grammar According to Sárosdy (2006, p 146), “testing speaking ability is an important aspect of language testing, but it is very difficult to test because it is a complex skill, and speaking skills cannot be separated from listening skills in many oral production tests” “Because speaking and listening skills are interdependent, it is difficult to analyze precisely and reliably what is tested at any given time.”

According to Nakamura (2001), there are three types of oral tests: monologue speaking, dialog speaking, and multilogue speaking

A monolog (monolog) is performed when the speaker expresses his or her thoughts aloud, either directly to another person or to the audience, particularly the former

The author also mentions that dialog speaking is the most common type of oral test used to assess students' ability to produce dialog material In this type of speaking, hearing the recitation of memorized dialogs was most commonly used The final type of oral test is multilogue speaking Any topic in this category should have a visual description or discussion

2.1.4.2 Speaking proficiency testing criteria

The criteria for the students' level of performance could be considered in order to test their oral proficiency The researcher would mention the scale of the oral test criteria written by some other researchers in this study According to Ur (1996), students’ oral speaking abilities should be evaluated using two criteria: fluency and accuracy

Table 2.1 Students' oral evaluation criteria (Ur, 1996)

Little or no language produced 1 Little or no communication 1 Poor vocabulary, mistakes in

basic grammar, may have very

strong foreign accent

2

Very hesitant and brief utterances, sometimes difficult to understand

2

Adequate but not rich vocabulary,

mistaking obvious grammar

mistakes, slight foreign accent

3 Gets ideas across, but hesitantly and briefly 3

Good range of vocabulary,

occasional grammar slips, slight

foreign accent

4 Effective communication in

Wide vocabulary appropriately

used, virtually no grammar

mistakes, native-like or slight

foreign accent

5

Easy and effective communication, using long turns

5

Kent (2001) also emphasized the importance of oral evaluation criteria such

as fluency of speech, grammar use, listening comprehension, pronunciation, and vocabulary appropriateness and complexity He also stated that students are graded

on a Likert scale for each assessment level (1: being poor, 2: below average, 3: average, 4: above average, and 5: excellent) Students’ English speaking proficiency should be assessed using four criteria in the IELTS speaking band descriptors (published version): fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation

In short, there are many criteria to evaluate students’ speaking proficiency Nonetheless, one of the issues is the selection of an effective technique for assessing speaking proficiency Students are evaluated using IELTS speaking band descriptors (public versions), but they have been modified to be suitable for teaching and learning English speaking It has four criteria in particular: fluency

and coherence, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation Each criterion is worth 2.5 points In accordance with the school’s marking scale, the maximum score for the test is thus 10.0 points

2 2 Overview of rubrics

2.2.1 Definition of rubrics

The term “rubric” is derived from the Latin word for red According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, the first definition of “rubric” is “an authoritative rule,” and the fourth definition is “a guide listing specific criteria for grading or scoring academic papers, projects, or tests.” How did a color's name come to mean a rule or guideline? The rules for the conduct of liturgical services,

as opposed to the actual spoken words of the liturgy, were often printed in red in the Middle Ages, so the rules were “the red things” on the page

Rubrics are brilliant because they are descriptive rather than evaluative Rubrics can, of course, be used to evaluate, but the operating principle is to match the performance to the description rather than “judge” it As a result, rubrics are only as good as the criteria chosen and the descriptions of the levels of performance under each Effective rubrics include appropriate criteria and well-written performance descriptions

A rubric can be used to evaluate student products and performance in a variety of ways The term on the other hand, is used in a variety of contexts: perhaps no term is more ambiguous than “rubric.” The term “rubric” is generally understood in the educational literature and among teaching and learning practitioners to mean a simple assessment tool that defines levels of performance

on a specific task and is used to assess outcomes in a variety of performance-based contexts (Hafner & Hafner, 2003) Many experts believe that rubrics improve students’ final products and, as a result, their learning Rubrics will provide the framework needed to develop the quality of their work and expand their knowledge

There are two kinds of rubrics: Analytic and holistic rubrics and general and task-specific rubrics

2.2.2 Types of rubrics

2.2.1.1 Analytic and holistic rubrics

Analytic rubrics separate work on each criterion Holistic rubrics describe the work by applying all of the criteria at the same time, allowing for an overall assessment of the work's quality Appendix 12 defines analytic and holistic rubrics and lists their benefits and drawbacks

Analytic rubrics are the best for most classroom purposes Concentrating on the criteria one at a time is better for instruction and formative assessment because students can see which aspects of their work require what kind of attention Focusing on the criteria one at a time is beneficial for any summative assessment (grading) that will also be used to make future decisions, such as how to follow up

on a unit or how to teach something next year

One situation in which holistic rubrics outperform analytic rubrics in the classroom is when students will not see the results of a final summative assessment and you will not use the information for anything other than a grade This category includes some high school final exams Grading with rubrics is more efficient when there is only one decision to make rather than one for each criterion

2.2.1.2 General and task-specific rubrics

General rubrics employ performance criteria and descriptions that generalize across (hence the name “general rubrics”) or can be applied to a variety of tasks The tasks must all be instances of the same learning outcome, such as writing or solving math problem The criteria refer to aspects of the learning outcome rather than specific tasks (for example, the criteria list characteristics of good problem solving and not features of the solution to a specific problem) Because the performance descriptions are general, students learn general qualities rather than isolated, task-specific features (for example, the description might say all relevant information was used to handle the problem, not that the numbers of knives, forks, spoons, and guests were used to solve the problem) Task-specific rubrics are exactly what their name implies: they are rubrics that are tailored to the performance task for which they are used Task-specific rubrics contain the

solutions to a problem; explain the reasoning students should use, or list facts and concepts students should mention

2.2.3 Features of rubrics: Validity and reliability

A rubric should be simple to understand for both instructors and students Both should be able to use the rubric for instruction, assessment, and evaluation Rubrics must be valid and reliable A valid rubric measures key aspects of performance quality A trustworthy rubric produces consistent results for different users The use of rich, descriptive language improves reliability A rubric should also be equitable in terms of reading level, language, and examples for all students Emperical evidence in rubric studies shows that using rubrics can make assessments more reliable (Jonsson & Svingby, 2007; Penny, Johnson, & Gordon, 2000; Silvestri & Oescher, 2006; Wolf & Stevens, 2007) as cited in Jeong (2015) There is also concern that simply having a rubric does not automatically increase

an assessment's reliability and validity

How do teachers determine whether a student's speaking performance merits

a “A” or a “B”? Rubrics are commonly used by teachers to grade student work, but many authors argue that they can also serve other purposes It is true that it is consistent with the understanding that students can become more actively engaged

in their own learning if they better understand the criteria used to assess them Teachers must focus on the criteria by which learning will be assessed when speaking or selecting rubrics This concentrates on what teachers want students to learn The common approach of “teaching things”, as in “the researcher taught how

to introduce oneself” or “he taught how to give an opinion” is clear on content but not on outcomes It's difficult to know how much of each aspect of the content to teach without clear outcomes Rubrics aid in the clarification of both content and outcomes

Really good rubrics assist teachers in avoiding conflating the task or activity with the learning goal, thus conflating task completion with learning Rubrics assist teachers in focusing on criteria rather than tasks This was already covered

in the section on selecting criteria The most important concept in this book is that

rubrics should be focused on learning rather than tasks The researcher will come back to it over and over It appears to be a difficult concept—or, perhaps more accurately, focusing on tasks is so easy and seductive that it becomes the path that many busy teachers take Penny-wise and pound-foolish, such an approach saves time in the short run by sacrificing learning in the long run

2.2.4 Advantages of rubrics

Rubric criteria and performance-level descriptions assist students in understanding what the desired performance is and how to achieve it Effective rubrics demonstrate to students how they will know to what extent their performance meets each criterion of importance, and if rubrics are used effectively, they can also demonstrate to students what next steps should be taken to improve the quality of their performance This claim is supported by research from all grade levels and disciplines

Hafner and Hafner (2003) investigated the use of rubrics for peer and teacher evaluation of a collaborative oral presentation by college biology students Organization and research, persuasiveness and logic of argument, collaboration, delivery and grammar, and creativity and originality were the five criteria The rubric was initially created, then modified with student input and discussion A similar rubric was used for a required course assignment three years in a row for the study Most rubrics should be created for repeated use on multiple tasks over time (Lumley, 2002) At the start of a unit of instruction or an episode of work, students are given a rubric They tackle the work, pick up feedback, practice, revise

or do another task, continue to practice, and eventually receive a grade—all while using the same rubric to describe the criteria and quality levels that will demonstrate learning This learning path is much more cohesive than a series of assignments with related but distinct criteria Rubrics assist in the coordination of instruction and assessment

2.2.4.1 The advantages and disadvantages of different types of rubrics Rubrics are typically classified based on two distinct aspects of their construction The first is whether the rubric treats the criteria individually or

collectively Another consideration is whether the rubric is general and applicable

to a family of similar tasks or task-specific and only applicable to one assessment Appendix 12 depicts the various types of rubrics and their benefits and drawbacks 2.2.4.2 Advantages and disadvantages of general and task-specific rubrics General rubrics have several advantages over task-specific rubrics As description below, general rubrics:

 can be shared with students at the beginning of an assignment, to help them plan and monitor their own work.

 can be used with many different tasks, focusing the students on the knowledge and skills they are developing over time.

 describe student performance in terms that allow for many different paths

to success.

 focus the teacher on developing students' learning of skills instead of task completion.

 do not need to be rewritten for every assignment.

General rubrics can be shared with students at the beginning of an assignment General rubrics do not “give away answers” to questions They do not contain any information that the students are supposed to be developing themselves Instead, they contain descriptions like “Explanation of reasoning is clear and supported with appropriate details.” Descriptions like this focus students

on what their learning target is supposed to be (for example, explaining reasoning clearly with appropriate supporting details) They clarify for students how to approach the assignment (for example, in solving the problem posed, I should make sure to explicitly focus on why I made the choices I did and be able to explain that) Therefore, over time, general rubrics help students build up a concept of what it means to perform a skill well (for example, effective problem solving requires clear reasoning that I can explain and support) (Susan and Anthony, 2008: 201)

General rubrics can be used for many different tasks Because general rubrics focus students on the knowledge and skills they are learning rather than the

particular task they are completing, they offer the best method I know for preventing the problem of “empty rubrics” Good general rubrics will, by definition, not be task directions in disguise, counts of surface features, or evaluative rating scales

Because general rubrics direct students’ attention to the knowledge and skills they are supposed to be acquiring, they can and should be used with any task that falls under domain of learning for those learning outcomes These sets of tasks all indicate important knowledge and skills, however, they develop over time and with practice Speaking presentations, problem solving, experimental design, and the analysis of political systems are each important skills in their respective disciplines If the rubrics are the same each time a student does the same kind of work, the student will learn general qualities of good speaking performance, problem solving, task-organization and so on If the rubrics are various and different each time the student does the same kind of work, the student will not have an opportunity to see past the specific performance or problem The general approach encourages students to think about building up general knowledge and skills rather than thinking about school learning in terms of getting individual assignments done

Task-specific rubrics function as “scoring directions” for the person who is grading the work (Susan and Anthony, 2008: 201) Because they detail the elements to look for in a student's answer to a particular task, scoring students’ responses with task-specific rubrics is lower-inference work than scoring students' responses with general rubrics For this reason, it is faster to train raters to reach acceptable levels of scoring reliability using task-specific rubrics for large-scale assessment Similarly, it is easier for teachers to apply task-specific rubrics consistently with a minimum of practice General rubrics take longer to learn and apply well

However, the reliability advantage is temporary (one can learn to apply general rubrics well), and it comes with a big downside Obviously, task-specific rubrics are useful only for scoring If students cannot see the rubrics ahead of time,

teachers cannot share them with students, and therefore task-specific rubrics are not useful for formative assessment That in itself is one good reason not to use them except for special purposes Task-specific rubrics do not take advantage of the most powerful aspects of rubrics - their usefulness in helping students to conceptualize their learning targets and to monitor their own progress

2.2.5 Limitations of rubrics

With the increased use of rubrics, many researchers have become interested

in the limitations of rubrics (Popham 1997; Kohn, 2006, cited in Andrade 2000) When students are given rubrics, they may wonder whether the teacher-rater is

assessing them based on the rubric or on the teacher’s overall impression

The rating system is still ambiguous, and teachers have been chastised for basing their evaluation on their overall impression (Lumley, 2002) Although previous research has found that using a rubric increases confidence in a teacher's rating (Silvestri & Oescher, 2006), rubrics themselves have been criticized for inconsistent criteria descriptors and vague language (Lumley, 2002) According to Bolton (2006), not all rubrics are well written, and developing trustworthy and valid rubrics demands expert knowledge

Throughout the review of literature, the researcher discovered that adult students value rubrics more because they reduce uncertainty, clearly articulate the issues that an instructor believes are important, and provide students with a link between the assignment, expected outcome, and learning objective (Bolton, 2006) Finally, the use of rubrics can aid in the emphasis on education as a process Students learn how to improve their own learning skills while also meeting specific standards as they work to move their learning “products” up on a rubric-based scale (Stevens and Levi, 2005)

2.2.6 Teaching speaking with rubrics

Using rubrics can be an alternative in teaching and testing Some aspects of the reasons should be considered They are students’ performance, timing,

standard credibility, and objective and consistent grading

Rubrics aid in the improvement of student performance and the acquisition

of speaking skills They clearly demonstrate how assignments will be evaluated and, the evaluation criteria that are established by language features and assignment expectations Giving the rubrics before the assignment lets the students know which aspects of the assignment they should work on to prepare for the test After completing the assignment, the students will be able to see the results in detail, allowing them to identify which areas they need to improve on

Using rubrics in speaking lessons will shorten the grading time The teacher

is not required to deliberate for a long time in order to assign a score to the students' speaking performance He can prepare what aspects they should score and list those aspects on a sheet of paper When the students perform, they will give the score directly without any confusion Andrade and Du (2005) discovered that teachers can cut grading time by about 50 percent with some preparation

Rubrics can be used to provide proof to parents about a student's work Some students are frequently perplexed as to what is expected of them for a class project Furthermore, they frequently misunderstand or forget assignment instructions Unlike writing or reading, which provide authentic evidence of student improvement, testing speaking skills does not As a result, the parents are unaware

of their children's confusion All of those negative aspects can be eliminated by using rubrics Parents can clearly understand how grading is structured and assignments are evaluated when a rubric is provided with assignments Rubrics are easy for students to understand and apply Both factors contribute to the credibility

of classroom standards

When the grading criteria for a speaking assignment are descriptive and explicit, it helps to reflect the weighted importance of the objectives of the speaking assignment This helps to ensure that the teacher's grading standards do not change over time Grading inconsistency can be caused by factors such as fatigue, a heavy workload, and changing standards based on a teacher's experience However, the use of rubrics helps to eliminate those issues when testing speaking skills, allowing teachers to maintain grading consistency

A rubric can be considered a working guide for students and teachers It is usually given before the assignment begins to get students thinking about the standards that will be used to assess and score their work This study investigates whether EFL teachers at Bau Bang High School use rubrics as a teaching and assessment tool, as well as how they grade students’ spoken performances The findings revealed that the majority of participants agreed with the use of rubrics to assess and improve student performance in speaking, as well as almost all of the benefits of using them as fair and preserving teachers' professional status Based

on the conclusions received from the results, the study importantly implicated the use of rubrics as a tool to develop the students’ speaking performances With rubrics, all activities teachers design are created from them Students do all activities through rubrics

This research paper focuses on the significance of using rubrics to organize and portray ideas in students’ speaking The concentration strategy for this study

is the use of various rubrics in developing student speaking Rubrics are vital for students to study and apply over the course of their schooling These strategies can take on the role of not only arranging student speaking, but also assisting students

in forming ideas, building structures, and developing higher level word choice The rubric experiment involves giving students time and space to arrange their ideas During this process, they have enough time to arrange these ideas and further develop the avenues their speaking performance is going to take

It is critical that students of all ages are exposed to various types of rubrics

to use during the speaking process so that they can produce higher-quality work and have a better chance of succeeding Students who are exposed to a variety of rubrics have the potential to outperform their peers in terms of speaking ability Students who understand rubrics and use them to plan their speaking will achieve greater academic success than those who do not understand or use such strategies Students who have not been taught to use rubrics in various aspects of speaking, particularly in the aspects of organization, idea arrangement, and word choice (Sinatra et al., 1984) It is possible that these students will struggle academically

in the long run Al Hosni (2014) states that struggling speakers may face several problems in their efforts to develop their speaking performance Speakers with higher ability, on the other hand, frequently develop a plan before beginning to speak and are thus more successful

All of the students have the ability to greatly improve through the use of rubrics in their speaking strategies When using rubrics as a speaking strategy, users have a place where all of their information and ideas are stored in an organized fashion When information is organized consistently, the user can return

to the work several times Because of this organized, structured method, it is possible that rubrics would benefit all speakers, including those who struggle

Table 2.2 Speaking rubrics (OMalley and Pierce, 1990)

Students use different structures and

sentences to express ideas and thoughts 1 2 3 4

Vocabulary

Students uses abundant source of

vocabulary to describe different

speaking topics

To investigate this effect, academic research was conducted based on questionnaires completed by teachers of students in high school through eleventh grade, as well as the actual implementation of rubrics as a speaking process to students in high school grades Prior to using rubrics in the speaking stage with students in a tutoring program, their speaking abilities were assessed Following

the scoring of their speaking performance using the speaking traits rubric, they were introduced to a variety of rubrics to use during the remaining tutoring sessions Rubrics should be brief and straightforward The entire rubric should ideally fit on one sheet of paper Each item on the rubric should emphasize a different skill

The students' speaking will be graded again using the speaking traits rubric The data gathered was then analyzed to determine whether or not the use of these strategies aided students in their speaking processes The study's main question is whether the use of rubrics improves the overall quality of student speaking To assist the researcher in answering this question, a questionnaire was distributed to teachers at a nearby school, student interviews were conducted, and student work samples were evaluated before and after the implementation of speaking strategy instruction The use of rubrics improves the overall quality of student speaking by guiding students through the speaking process, as evidenced by the literature review and data collected in this study Speaking was also discovered to be a social practice, which is closely related to the sociocultural theory, which recognizes that literacy acquisition is based not only on formal teaching but also heavily on the social aspect (Gee, 1989) Despite the fact that speaking is so widely used in society, it was discovered that teachers are the least prepared to teach it The research links this ill-preparation to the education that teachers receive in colleges and teacher certification programs, and it was discovered that many changes must

be made to address this lack of confidence

While the speaking process can be met with enthusiasm, it must also be authentic Teachers lack the knowledge required to assess language skills authentically because they are used to assessing students' achievement using pencil and paper tests The pencil and paper test method is appropriate for assessing grammar, reading skills, and listening skills, but it is not appropriate for assessing speaking and writing skills Furthermore, the 2013 Curriculum encourages students to have interpersonal skills, the ability to think critically (Kurniasih & Sani, 2014), the right attitude, knowledge, and psychomotor skills that are relevant

to the needs of life (Zaim, 2017), which cannot be assessed solely by pencil and paper tests As a result, authentic assessment must be implemented in the classroom

An authentic assessment always permits students to demonstrate their knowledge and skill as well Moon (2005) defines authentic assessment as having the following characteristics: (1) a focus on essential material, big ideas, or skill-specific skills; (2) an in-depth assessment; (3) easy to do in the classroom or in the school environment; (4) an emphasis on product quality or performance of the single answer; (5) the ability to develop students’ strengths and learning mastery; (6) criteria that are known, understood, and negotiated by students and teachers before the assessment begins; and (7) many ways for students to demonstrate that

it has been completed Furthermore, Moon (2005) claims that his research has revealed that the implementation of authentic assessment in schools has received positive feedback from both teachers and students When compared to traditional evaluation techniques, more authentic assessment results can provide information about consistent learning outcomes (paper and pencil tests) Students’ view of their teacher as a speaker, also influence their evaluation of their feelings about the classroom speaking community With all of these opportunities and sources of information, students are able to get the most from the lesson overall

The speaking traits analytical model for assessing and teaching speaking is made up 7 key qualities (Appendix 10) that define strong speaking These are:

 Vocabulary knowledge: the use of appropriate terminology;

 Discourse: the spoken ideas expressed in a range of contexts;

 Grammar and Syntax: the use of language constructs;

 Strategic knowledge: the strategies used to overcome language gaps;

 Fluency: the effort and fluidity of speech

 Pronunciation: the production of speech and speech sounds;

 Pragmatic knowledge: the knowledge of social and cultural factors

2.3 The roles of teachers and learners in speaking classes

To begin with, the teacher appears to be a facilitator in the language classroom The teacher can design a discussion for students based on rubrics given

to them Students may be taught a new language by their teachers This role requires the teacher to act as a walking dictionary, evaluating the class and offering assistance as needed Teachers should keep the task under control and not interfere too much with the activity The second role of the teacher, according to Budden (2004), is that of a spectator It means that the teacher must observe students' activities and provide feedback and advice once they have completed the activity The teacher walks around the classroom, listening to students speak and correcting errors Following the discussion, the educator can correct student forms by writing them on the board or assigning a remedial task that he or she predicted would be necessary The third role of the teacher is that of a participant It is sometimes appropriate to participate in the discussion in order to encourage shy performers

or provoke contradictions

It is obvious that discussing technique in the classroom may reduce the teacher’s hard work It relieves the teacher’s burden of having to talk or explain a lot When students work in pairs or groups, they can discuss and share the teacher’s attention; the teacher may feel that someone is assisting her in meeting the study requirements To speak or select rubrics, teachers need to focus on the criteria by which learning will be assessed This concentrates on what teachers intend students

to learn The common technique is not only clear on content but also clear on outcomes Without clarity on outcomes, it is hard to know how much of various aspects of the content to teach Rubrics help with the clarity of both content and outcomes

On the other hand, a better model for learners in the discussion has been that learners must be active and closely controlled in their own learning In other words, students’ input into the selection of themes and tasks should be valued Furthermore, the relationship between learners by learner interaction may support language development in the language classroom through the planning of

interactive target language activities that allow learners to express and use written language more effectively If students do not participate in other communicative activities in class, they will not achieve any classroom achievement goals

The criteria and performance-level descriptions in rubrics help students understand what the desired performance is and what it looks like Effective rubrics show students how they will know to what extent their performance passes muster on each criterion of importance, and if rubrics are used effectively, they can also show students what their next steps should be to enhance the quality of their performance This claim is backed by research at all grade levels and in different disciplines Originally, the rubric was developed and then modified with the discussion and involvement of students For the study, the same rubric was used for a required course assignment three years in a row The instructors were interested in finding out whether the information students gained from peer evaluation was accurate, whether it matched teacher input, and whether this accuracy was consistent across different years and classes The short answer is yes Students were able to accurately give feedback to their peers, their information matched that of their instructor, and this was the case for each class

2.4 Motivation in learning speaking

Understanding students’ English learning motivation has a significant role to instruct students success in learning English It is a serious variable that should be considered by the teacher in realizing the students’ problems and designing a conductive environment in the classroom that will cause the students to do more toward learning English By having great motivation, the learners have the ability

to respond to the learning situation, take all opportunities to achieve the English language, make the greatest use of the opportunities afforded to practice the language, own the analytic skill, be flexible in the learning situation, possesses, self-esteem, and take a risk for their learning Thus, assurances the most frequently used catch – all term for explaining the success or failure of virtually any complicated task, motivation is a superstar player in the cast of characters assigned

to learning English scenarios around the world Schunk, Pintrich, & Meece (2008)

identify motivation as a “basis motor” to accomplish some targets Motivation activates a decision to act

Uno (2009) confirms the roles of motivation in learning, such as how motivation can clarify learning reinforcement, how motivation sets the learning objectives more clearly, and how motivation makes learning progress Furthermore, Astuti (2016) announced that motivation is a psychological factor that can affect the process and the outcome of learning If the students have high learning motivation, they will do more learning activities Thus, it is recommended that the teacher should develop students’ English learning motivation As teachers, they do not usually remember that all of their teaching activities are filtered through their students’ motivation In this sense, students manage the flow of the classroom In the case of not having students’ motivation, there is no pulse, there

is no life in the class When teachers know how to combine direct approaches to generating student motivation in their teaching, they will become happier and more successful teachers Thus, motivation contributes to the success of second language acquisition ( Anjomshoa & Sadighi, 2015)

Motivation is considered an element of a number of different kinds of attitudes Brown (2007) divides two different clusters of attitudes into two basic types of motivation orientations: instrumental and integrative Instrumental involves acquiring a language as a way to achieve instrumental targets, such as furthering an occupation, reading technical material, translating and so on Otherwise, integrative refers to learners who wish to integrate themselves into the cultures of the target language group and become involved in social interchange in that group Both types of these motivations influence the success of second language acquisition from different perspectives

According to Brown (2007), he believes that English teachers may be definitely debate that the strongest dimension of the whole motivation build in general is the degree to which learners are intrinsically or extrinsically motivated

to succeed in English tasks Brown defines intrinsically motivated activities as ones for which there is no apparent reward except the activity itself People seem

to be interested in the activities for their own sake and not because they lead to an extrinsic reward Intrinsically motivated behaviors are focused on bringing about certain internally rewarding consequences, namely, a feeling of competence and self-determination Whereas extrinsic motivation is fueled by the anticipation of a reward from outside and beyond the self Both types of motivation have different influences on students’ success in learning a language

Motivation, although a complex and multifaceted construct, is defined as a disposition toward something in educational psychology In the classroom context, motivation plays a main role in controlling and directing an activity or a task Motivation could be distinguished according to the task and learner, that

is, motivation as a state or task motivation to refer to situation-specific motivation, and motivation as a trait or trait motivation with a general orientation in learners

Learners generally deviate into two types of goal orientations connected to the task, such as performance orientation and mastery orientation Performance orientation highlights the accomplishment of the learning task, while mastery orientation emphasizes the mastery of skills and improvement of abilities Given students' divergent attitudes toward rubrics, the complex factors that may influence their practices, and the significance of motivation in controlling effort, it is necessary to gain insights into students' effort patterns and motivational factors in rubric use in the ongoing classroom assessment environment

2.5 Previous studies

Up to now, there have been a lot of studies in the field of English skills They focus on the teaching and learning assessment in order to suggest useful and effective method technique for a better teaching and learning process The results

of these studies have described the speaking assessment as well as suggested suitable techniques to help teachers and students have the best results in language achievement

The literature discusses the advantages of using rubrics for information organization, assessment in learning, comprehension of particularly complex communications, refining literacy frameworks, and successful text comprehension

(Ruddell & Boyle, 1989) As a learning strategy, using rubrics is defined as a visual representation of an individual's knowledge structure on a specific topic as constructed by the individual (Zimmaro & Cawley, 1998) Rubrics are thought to

be an excellent exercise for encouraging creative thinking and discovering new problem-solving techniques

Rubrics, which are primarily used to represent knowledge, have evolved into

a tool that students actively use while learning It is usually given before the assignment begins to get students thinking about the standards that will be used to assess and score their work The information in rubrics not only requires the learner's active participation in the learning process, but it also sheds light on their understanding of a specific learning area Concept rubrics, as stated by Zimmaro and Cawley (1998), foster meaningful learning by teaching connections between concepts Concept rubrics, for example, assist students in engaging in meaningful activities According to Mayer (2003), three processes are required for meaningful learning to occur These are as follows: attend, organize, and integrate Learners must pay attention to relevant and essential content, structure the content, and integrate the content into their existing cognitive structure Strategy teaching can thus be defined as teaching learners how to learn in order for them to become independent and autonomous learners

Luzia Grigoryan (2013) conducted a study on the impact of analytic rubrics

on the teaching and assessment of EFL learners’ speaking skills The study used a quasi-experimental design and divided the participants into two groups: experimental and control The experimental group received treatment; specifically, students prepared oral assignments using rubrics and received feedback based on rubrics The control group did not use rubrics to prepare their assignments and received traditional assessment methods The study’s findings revealed that there was no impact of analytic rubrics on the improvement of Armenian EFL learners’ speaking skills and no significant difference in scores across the four speaking tasks

of the experimental and control groups However, it demonstrated the students' positive attitude toward the use of rubrics throughout the course