An investigation into teaching english speaking skill to the 6th grade students with current pilot textbook tieng anh 6 at nguyen tri phuong and tran cao van lower secondary schools in hue

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES --- NGUYEN THI AI QUYEN AN INVESIGATION INTO TEACHING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL TO THE 6TH GRADE STUDENTS WI

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

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NGUYEN THI AI QUYEN

AN INVESIGATION INTO TEACHING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL TO THE 6TH GRADE STUDENTS WITH CURRENT PILOT TEXTBOOK TIENG ANH 6

AT NGUYEN TRI PHUONG AND TRAN CAO VAN LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN HUE

MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH

LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60140111

SUPERVISOR: Assoc Prof Dr LUU QUY KHUONG

HUE, 2013

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

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NGU N TH ÁI QU N

ĐIỀU TRA VỀ VIỆC DẠ KỸ NĂNG NÓI CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 6 DỰA THEO SÁCH TIẾNG ANH 6 THÍ ĐIỂM

TẠI TRƯỜNG THCS NGU N TRI PHƯƠNG

VÀ THCS TRẦN CAO VÂN Ở THÀNH PHỐ HUẾ

STATEMENT OF AUTHOSHIP

I hereby acknowledge that the information reported in this paper is the result of my own work, except where due reference is made The data and findings are true and with permission from associates

The thesis has not been submitted for any other degree or diploma or appreared in any other media

Author NGUYEN THI AI QUYEN

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the reality of teaching speaking skill for students of grade 6 based on the new pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 at two lower secondary schools (Nguyen Tri Phuong Lower Secondary School and Tran Cao Van Lower Secondary School) in Hue city The study aims to find out the attitudes of teachers and learners toward the pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6, the advantages and disadvantages they encounter when using this textbook to teaching and learning speaking skill as well as some suggestions for better using it in teaching and learning process

The research paper consists of five chapters and each chapter serves its own purpose to fulfill the thesis Chapter I generally introduces the background information as well as the aims of the research and then states three research questions In chapter II, the relevant theories and documents of previous studies on the same field are carefully reviewed and appropriately cited in order to have a deeper insight into the topic Chapter III discusses the methodology to carry out the study Three dominant instruments which were employed to collect the data included questionnaires, class observations and interviews The survey was conducted with the participations of four English teachers and one hundred students

of grade 6 at Nguyen Tri Phuong and Tran Cao Van lower secondary schools in Hue city In chapter IV, the data and opinions collected from questionnaires, interviews and observations were thoroughly synthesized and analyzed by means of tables and charts under three main sections The first section focused on examining teachers' and students‟ perceptions of teaching and learning speaking skill with current pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 The second section aimed to investigate the reality of teaching speaking skill based on the pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 In the final section, some suggestions were recommended to overcome the difficulties in using the pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 to develop students‟ speaking skill Finally, the study was concluded in chapter V with a brief summary and some valuable implications for teachers, students as well as administrators In additionally, the limitations of the research were also indicated for welcoming the comments and suggestions from the readers Moreover, some further researches in the same field were recommended for those who are interested in this topic

First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Luu Quy Khuong, for his whole-hearted instruction and precious comments in each stage of the development of this thesis Without his assistance, it will be hard for me to fulfill the research paper successfully

My sincere thanks will also be sent to the English teachers and grade 6 students from Nguyen Tri Phuong Lower Secondary School and Tran Cao Van Lower Secondary School for their enthusiastic participation

in answering my questionnaires and offering me a chance to observe their English classes Thanks to their cooperation, I have collected the accurate and valuable data to serve the purpose of my paper

Last but not least, many thanks will be conveyed to my loved family and friends who are always by my side during the time I conducted my research Their encouragement and support strengthen me a lot to overcome the difficulties and determine to complete the thesis.

Hue, October 20 th

Nguyen Thi Ai Quyen

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Content Pages

SUB COVER PAGE 1 i

SUB COVER PAGE 2 ii

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP iii

ABSTRACT iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vi

LIST OF CHARTS ix

LIST OF TABLES x

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale for the Study 1

1.2 Reasons for Doing the Study 3

1.3 Aims of the study 4

1.4 Research questions 4

1.5 Significance of the study 5

1.6 Scope of the study 5

1.7 Organization of the study 5

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 7

2.1 Previous Studies Related to the Research 7

2.2 Teaching Speaking Skill 9

2.2.1 Definition of Speaking 9

2.2.2 Definition of Teaching Speaking 9

2.2.3 Individual Aspects of Teaching Speaking Skills 10

2.2.3.1 Fluency and Accuracy 10

2.2.4 The Relationship Between Fluency and Accuracy in Teaching Speaking Skill 11

2.2.5 Corrective Feedback 12

2.2.5.1 Definitions of Corrective Feedback 12

2.2.5.2 Types of Corrective Feedback 13

2.2.5.3 Roles of Feedback in Language Classrooms 14

2.3 Stages of a Speaking Lesson 14

2.4 An Introduction to the Current Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6 18

2.4.1 The Objectives and Design Viewpoint of the Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6 18

2.4.2 The Content of the Current Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6 18

2.4.3 The Structure of the Current Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6 19

2.4.4 The Speaking Activities in the Current Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6 21

2.5 Activities for Teaching Speaking Skill 21

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 25

3.1 Approach of the Study 25

3.2 Participants 25

3.3 Data Collection Instruments 25

3.3.1 Questionnaires 25

3.3.2 Interviews 26

3.3.3 Observations 26

3.4 Procedures for Data Collection and Analysis 27

3.4.1 Procedure for Data Collection 27

3.4.2 Procedure for Data Analysis 28

3.4.2.1 Grouping the data 28

3.4.2.2 Analyzing the Data and Discussing 28

3.5 Summary 29

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 31

4.1 Teachers' and students‟ perceptions of teaching and learning speaking skill with current pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 31

4.1.1 The role of speaking skill in English learning 31

4.1.2 Attitude of Teachers and Students toward the Current Pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 and Its Speaking Activities 32

4.2 The Reality of Teaching Speaking Skill Based on the Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6 37

4.2.1 Use of Activities Based on the Current Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6 to Teach Speaking Skill 37

4.2.2 Difficulties in Using the Current Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6 to Develop Students‟ Speaking Skill 51

4.3 Suggestions to Overcome the Difficulties in Using the Current Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6 to Develop Students‟ Speaking Skill 53

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 57

5.1 Summary of the Study 57

5.2 Implications of the Study 60

5.2.1 For Teachers 60

5.2.2 For Students 61

5.2.3 For Textbook Designers and Administrators 62

5.3 Limitations of the study 62

5.4 Recommendations for Future Studies 63

REFERENCES 65

APPENDICES……… 67

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 4.1: Students‟ perception on the Importance of Four Skills 31 Chart 4.2: Students‟ evaluation of the current pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 33

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1: Advantages of speaking activities designed in the current pilot

textbook Tieng Anh 6 34 Table 4.2: Pre-speaking activities used in English class using the current pilot

textbook Tieng Anh 6 39 Table 4.3: Common While-speaking Activities Used in English Class with the

Current Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6 44 Table 4.4: Examples of Speaking Activities Taken from the Current Pilot

Textbook Tieng Anh 6 46 Table 4.5: Post-speaking Activities Used in English Class with the Current

Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6 50 Table 4.6: Difficulties in Using the Current Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6 to

Develop Students‟ Speaking Skill 52 Table 4.7: Students‟ Expectation from Their Teachers 54

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the Study

So far, English has always been considered as an international bridge to connect people around the world in a common community Thus, most people think

of English as a mainly necessary language after their mother tongue to master One

of the main concerns of most English teachers is how to help learners develop satisfactory language proficiency In this regard, speaking proficiency has received the greatest attention from both the language teachers and language learners This is because speaking is a crucial part of the language learning process The importance

of speaking skill for students is that they can speak English forthrightly and confidently with their classmates They also get used to rehearsing English conversations so that they can improve their speaking skill gradually The major goal of teaching speaking skill is communicative proficiency To help students develop communicative proficiency, teachers can use activities that combine language input and communicative output According to Nunan (1991), a success in language learning is measured in terms of the ability to carry out a conversation in the target language Hence, if the English learners fail to learn to how to speak in language classrooms, they may soon get de-motivated and lose interest in learning the language In this case, teachers need to motivate students by creating a new atmosphere that makes students more interested in improving their speaking ability and more enjoyable to practice speaking with certain techniques For an effective speaking lesson, teachers need to be aware of, knowledgeable about, and familiar with the teaching stages of a speaking activity as well as the teaching techniques used for fostering speaking in class Also, the teacher role is crucial to the effectiveness of the activities

In ELT teaching, it is apparent that textbooks play an essential role John (1992: 84), in his study of some widely-used primary/lower secondary

textbooks, concludes that „the precise instructions which the materials give reduce the teacher’s role to one of the managing or overseeing preplanned classroom events.‟ This concern about the merits of textbooks is not restricted

to ELT The textbooks are generally considered as providers of input to classroom lessons in the form of texts, activities, explanations and so on Allright (1981), however, provides a model of the lesson which adds a further dimension to the role

of the textbooks Allright characterizes the lessons as an interaction among three elements: teachers, learners and materials In most of the textbooks for teaching English, teachers are provided with the contents and structures in order to determine how their lessons go in the classroom As for speaking English skill, there will be available sample conversations to practice, pictures to discuss and activities to do so that English learners can effectively and easily carry out the speaking tasks With the help of textbooks, teachers can reduce a great burden of designing materials and activities for their lessons However, much dependence on textbooks will make teachers passive and uncreative in teaching Thus, the teachers need to be wise and creative users of textbooks in teaching, especially teaching English

In Vietnam, English has been integrated into the curriculum of most schools from primary to high school levels However, the reality shows that most Vietnamese students have many difficulties in using English to communicate effectively in real-life situations Although they have to spend a long time learning English, their English competence remains modest in comparison with those in other countries With the aim to review and improve the quality of teachers and students in using English as an international language, Ministry of Education and Training under the approval of the Prime Minister has launched the National Foreign Language Project 2020 since 2008 The Project has proposed to consider

The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) built

by Association of Language Testers in Europe as criteria to assess English competence of both teachers and students The CEFR includes six levels (from A1

to C2), among which A1 is the lowest and C2 is the highest This framework provides a clear explanation about the required competence of four skills for each

level According to the requirement of the Project, when students finish the primary

school level, they have to achieve A1 certificate in English Secondary school students have to gain A2 certificate and high school students B1 certificate after they complete their study curriculum at school Therefore, the efficiency of English

teaching and learning process is considered very important Being aware of the need

to change and innovate teaching methods as well as materials in order to increase the quality of teaching and learning English, Ministry of Education and Training plans to teach the pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 since the school year 2012-2013 This textbook follows the series of Tieng Anh 3, Tieng Anh 4 and Tieng Anh 5 textbooks that have been effectively used to teach English at many primary schools This is a product of the cooperation between Vietnam Ministry of Education and Training and Pearson Education (Australia) As required by the Project, students who are chosen to pilot this new textbook must achieve the A1 level when they finish their primary school level The textbook Tieng Anh 6 is designed based on communicative approach to help students develop four skills, especially listening and speaking skills Using this new textbook to develop students‟ speaking skill will

be a challenge as well as an opportunity for English teachers because this is the first time of piloting With the aim to study the reality of using pilot textbook Tieng Anh

6 in teaching speaking skill for 6th grade students in two lower secondary schools

where it is currently piloted, the researcher choose the topic “An Investigation into Teaching English Speaking Skill to the 6th Grade Students with Current Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6 at Nguyen Tri Phuong and Tran Cao Van Lower Secondary School in Hue” for her thesis

1.2 Reasons for Doing the Study

This study is carried out for the following reasons:

Firstly, this is the first time the textbook Tieng Anh 6 has been piloted, so the

difficulties during the teaching and learning process are certainly unavoidable It is necessary to have a deep insight into the way it is put in use and what advantages and disadvantages it has It is also important to know what teachers of English and students of grade 6 think about this new book so that there will be appropriate adaptations and further improvements to meet their needs These questions demand

an investigation into the reality of use of the pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 in some lower secondary schools where it is currently piloted

Secondly, speaking skill is one of the most essential skills that a language

learner has to master Unfortunately, this is also a skill on which many Vietnamese

students have still had a lot of limitations The teachers of English have a crucial role to encourage their students to speak English as frequently and naturally as possible in class through some speaking activities With the very first use of the pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6, how do teachers explore and apply the designed speaking activities in the textbook to their classes in order to help their students improve speaking skill and be more interested in learning English? Therefore, the researcher would like to seek an answer to this question via her study

Thirdly, it is also necessary to have a deep investigation into the English

teaching and learning methods in reality so that the advantages and disadvantages can be found out Hence, the more suitable pedagogical methods will be suggested

in order to increase the quality of English learning process

1.3 Aims of the study

This study is conducted to have a deep insight into the reality of teaching speaking skill for lower secondary school students, especially students of grade 6 based on the new textbook Tieng Anh 6 which is currently piloted in some schools

in Hue city The author aims at investigating the perceptions of both teachers and students about teaching and learning speaking in English class In addition, she also desires to know how speaking skill is taught via the new textbook Tieng Anh 6 and what difficulties that teachers encounter when teaching speaking skill to students From these findings, the author hopes to suggest several pedagogical implications to improve the situations and help teachers better their teaching

1.4 Research questions

This study aims at seeking the answers to the following research questions:

1 What are teachers' and students’ perceptions of teaching and learning speaking skill to grade 6th students with current pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 at Nguyen Tri Phuong and Tran Cao Van lower secondary schools?

2 What are the realities of teaching and learning speaking skill with current pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 at Nguyen Tri Phuong and Tran Cao Van lower secondary schools?

3 What suggestions and implication can be drawn?

1.5 Significance of the study

This study is expected to provide teachers of English, especially who are in charge of teaching students of grade 6, with an overall view on the reality of using the new textbook Tieng Anh 6 at present From the experience shared by teachers who currently use the book, the other teachers can draw their own experience in order to overcome the possible difficulties they may encounter in their teaching, especially teaching speaking skill to students of grade 6 with the new pilot textbook Additionally, they can get many interesting and creative ideas to enhance their speaking lessons Moreover, teachers can also better their job through understanding students‟ opinions and expectations about learning English in general and learning speaking skill in particular

1.6 Scope of the study

The study focused on the reality of teaching speaking skill to grade 6 students who are currently using pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 in two lower secondary schools in Hue which are Nguyen Tri Phuong and Tran Cao Van The main focus of this study is put on investigating the perceptions of teachers and students about teaching and learning speaking In addition, the author would also like to have an overview on the reality of teaching speaking skill with the help of pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 through investigating the stages and activities which are currently applied in English class to improve students‟ speaking skill

1.7 Organization of the study

The study consists of five chapters as follows

Chapter 1 raised the problems related to the research issue and the necessity

to conduct the thesis The aims, scope research questions and the organization of the

study were also mentioned in this section

Chapter 2 reviewed the previous studies related to the research and

discusses the theoretical background of teaching speaking skill The pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 was briefly examined in this part of the study

Chapter 3 mentioned the methodology of this research The researcher

employed three dominant instruments including questionnaires, interviews and

observations as the research tools to collect the data In addition, the data collection and data analysis procedure were also briefly presented in this chapter

Chapter 4 is the most important part of the study In this chapter, the data

and opinions collected from questionnaires, interviews and observations were thoroughly synthesized and analyzed by means of tables and charts Basing on the analysis, the discussion of the research questions was conducted

Chapter 5 presented a brief summary of the thesis and some practical

implications

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1 Previous Studies Related to the Research

Up to present, there have been a variety of studies conducted on the field of teaching English at the secondary school level Many previous researchers have showed their interest in teaching English based on the currently used materials in lower and upper secondary schools nationwide

Phan (2004) conducted “An Investigation of how The New English Grade 6 Textbook Is Used in Hue Lower Secondary Schools” in order to have a deep insight

into the reality of using this new textbook after its two years of being put in use She pointed out that both teachers and students encountered a lot of difficulties and constraints at their first time of using it Through her study, there were also some implications to improve the disadvantages of the new textbook

In 2011, Uong also carried out a similar research which was “An Investigation into the Common Difficulties Faced by Teachers and Students in Using the English 7 Textbook at Quang Binh Lower Secondary Schools” Unlike

Phan, Uong focused her study on the textbook for students of grade 7 and tried to find out the difficulties of using this book in teaching and learning process She revealed that the common difficulties that both teachers and students encountered when using the English 7 Textbook came from the lack of various activities and exercises for students to practice English effectively She also indicated that teachers needed to adapt the activities in the textbook properly to suit their multilevel students

With the same purpose, Vo (2008) examined the textbook English 8 in her

graduation research paper named “An Investigation into the Common Difficulties Faced by Teachers and Students in using the English 8 textbook at Lower Secondary Schools in Hue” The findings and results of the research indicated that

teachers had a variety of problems in using English 8 textbook Particularly, in terms of speaking part of the book, most teachers responded that some speaking topics were too difficult and the requirements of the topics were not suitable for students‟ age, so students did not know how to speak Moreover, students did not

like to learn speaking English skill because they felt using English to discuss in class was quite difficult to them

Unlike these above researchers, Nguyen (2008) seemed to be more interested

in the reality of using English textbook at upper secondary schools Therefore, he

conducted his thesis on the topic “An Investigation into What Difficulties Learners Encounters in Learning the Speaking Skills at Some High Schools with Tieng Anh

11 in Quang Tri Province” He paid more attention to speaking skill than the other

skills, so to some extent, he shared the same purpose as the researcher of this study

He came to a conclusion that in terms of teaching materials, although Tieng Anh 11

is a renewed textbook designed in the light of learners-centered and communicative approach, it is recommended that the teachers should not follow rigidly all the tasks designed in the textbook in his/her teaching class Based on the understandings of the learners‟ level of English proficiency, learners‟ awareness and attitudes, the teachers could make any possible changes even omitting a task if necessary

Also interested in Tieng Anh 11 textbook, but Phung (2007) focused on other

skill that is listening through “A Study of Difficulties Faced by ELF Teachers in Teaching Listening at High Schools in Nghe An Province, Vietnam (A Case Study with Currently Used Textbook "Tieng Anh 11”)” In her study, Phung indicated

some most popular difficulties in using the textbook to teach listening skill to students For example, she pointed out that listening tasks dissatisfy students‟ needs and levels and the time for curriculum is also limited In additionally, the researcher suggested some recommendations for teachers to overcome these difficulties such as providing more supplementary references to improve listening skill beside the listening tasks in the textbook and adapting listening activities more suitable to students‟ levels

It can be seen that the use of current textbooks in teaching and learning English in secondary schools received a lot of attention from many researchers Some researchers investigated the reality of using the textbooks with a very general overview; the others seemed to focus on a particular skill in the textbooks only However, there has been no study related to the newest pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 This may be because this book has just been published in August 2012 and first

piloted in the school year 2012-2013 This new Tieng Anh 6 still remains unfamiliar with many teachers and students, so an investigation into the reality of using it is necessary

2.2 Teaching Speaking Skill

2.2.1 Definition of Speaking

Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information (Brown, 1994; Burns & Joyce, 1997) The context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking decides its form and meaning

Chaney‟s definition describes speaking in a similar way that speaking is “the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts” (Chaney cited in Kayi, 2006)

Speaking, as for Florez (1999), is not just producing specific points of language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary, but also understanding when, why, and in what ways to produce language It is to say that in order to be a good speaker of a language, the language learner is required to have not just linguistic but sociolinguistic competence

There are different concepts of speaking, i.e speaking as an action, a process and a skill In this research, the researcher approaches the concept of speaking as a skill which is acquired and gradually improved during the learning process Speaking is the productive skill in the oral mode It, like the other skills, is more complicated than it seems at first and involves more than just pronouncing words Speaking skill also requires some other micro skills such as pronouncing the distinctive sounds of a language clearly; using stress, rhythm, and intonation patterns of the language; using the correct forms of words; putting words together in correct word order; using vocabulary appropriately and so on

By considering what speakers of a language need and what specific needs learners report, teachers can decide what speaking tasks can be used in class and help learners improve their speaking skill as well as overall oral competency

2.2.2 Definition of Teaching Speaking

Kayi (2006) defines teaching speaking is to teach learners to:

- Produce the English speech sounds and sound patterns

- Use word and sentence stress, intonation patterns and the rhythm of the second language

- Select appropriate words and sentences according to the proper social setting, audience, situation and subject matter

- Organize their thought in a meaningful and logical sequence

- Use language as a means of expressing values and judgments

- Use the language quickly and confidently with few unnatural pauses, which is called fluency (Nunan, 2003, cited in Kayi, 2006)

With this definition, teaching speaking skill should create a classroom environment where students have real-life communication, authentic activities, and meaningful tasks that promote oral language

Hughes (2011) pointed out that people need to distinguish between “teaching the spoken form of a language” and “teaching a language through speaking” She

also stresses the fact that unfortunately, when compared to writing, the spoken form

is under-researched and that this may be one of the reasons why teachers may feel

more confident when using “stable written forms and genres” in their lessons

2.2.3 Individual Aspects of Teaching Speaking Skills

2.2.3.1 Fluency and Accuracy

aspects: speed of delivery and regularity, which means a natural amount and distribution of pauses (Bygate 2009)

More specifically, Thornbury (2000) suggested the criteria for assessing fluency as follows

+ Lack of hesitation: Students speak smoothly at a natural speed They do not hesitate long and it is easy to follow what they are saying

+ Length: Students can put ideas together to form a message or an argument They can make not only the simplest sentence patterns but also complex ones to complete the task

+ Independence: Students are able to express their ideas in a number of ways such as keeping talking and asking questions and to keep the conversation going

b) Accuracy:

According to Richards (1992), accuracy concerns “the ability to produce grammatically correct sentences.” (p.31) In other words, accuracy in language

means grammatical accuracy only Nevertheless, in Thornbury (2000), the terms

“accuracy” seems to cover more than that Specifically, speaking English accurately means doing without or with few errors on not only grammar but vocabulary and pronunciation, as well He also set the clear scale for assessment of accuracy

+ Grammar: Students use correct word order, tenses, tense agreement and so

on Students do not leave out articles, prepositions, or difficult tenses

+ Vocabulary: Students have a range of vocabulary that corresponds to the syllabus and use words you have taught

+ Pronunciation: Students speak and most people understand Even broader

than that, Lim (1994) defined accuracy as “the ability to use correct forms in which utterances do not contain errors affecting phonological, syntactic, semantic and discourse features of the language.”(p.23)

2.2.4 The Relationship Between Fluency and Accuracy in Teaching Speaking Skill

Even though it has been said that fluency and accuracy are closely linked together, for the purposes of language teaching, activities to practice speaking are sometimes identified as fluency or accuracy focused This does not exclude one of the two concepts from teaching but rather to point out what the main purpose of the activity is, i.e to concentrate mainly on using language accurately or the ability to

“get the message across” Whether an activity is accuracy or fluency focused depends on a particular task learners are asked to complete For example, role plays can be accuracy focused if learners are asked to use particular language or phrases

which have been introduced earlier in a lesson However, the same task type can be also fluency focused if learners are to act out roles that require a broader range of knowledge and skills and the task is freer

When conducting accuracy-focused tasks, it is important that learners understand that a particular activity is accuracy focused Otherwise a task can easily miss its aim If learners do not strive for accuracy but rather treat accuracy-focused tasks as a fluency practice, their language skills will hardly develop further This is mainly because accuracy-focused tasks are designed to practice language in a very limited way Therefore, it is crucial for teachers to make sure that learners understand the real objective of an activity, albeit not stated explicitly at all times

In addition, because of their limited language practice, accuracy-focused activities should not be employed at the expense of fluency practice

Unlike accuracy-focused activities, tasks focusing on fluency aim to reflect natural language use, promote communication, require meaningful use of language and produce language that may not be predictable Thanks to their lower level of predictability, they better reflect the requirements which are placed on learners when producing spoken texts outside the classroom On the other hand, fluency-focused activities can be a real challenge for learners, especially if their overall proficiency is too low The key to success in this case is to introduce free tasks into tuition gradually, to choose tasks which learners are likely to accomplish, to pre-teach necessary language and strategies and possibly to demonstrate how a task can

be successfully completed by giving learners a brief example

In conclusion, it is necessary to utilize both accuracy and fluency focused tasks in the classroom Accuracy-focused activities are likely to help learners use language correctly, while fluency-focused activities will help them produce fluent stretches of language

2.2.5 Corrective Feedback

2.2.5.1 Definitions of Corrective Feedback

Researchers have used various definitions of corrective feedback, and they used different terms to refer to the similar practice For example, Schegloff et al

(1977) defined the term correction as “the replacement of error or mistake by what

is correct” (p 363) Chaudron (1977: 31) defined correction as “any reaction of the teacher which clearly transforms, disapprovingly refers to or demands improvement

of the learner’s utterance”, which was the most common conception employed by

researchers Lightbown and Spada (1999, p.171) defined corrective feedback as

“any indication to the learners that their use of the target language is incorrect”

Corrective feedback includes both explicit and implicit feedback Teachers can provide corrective feedback either without interrupting the flow of conversation (implicit feedback) or overtly with an emphasis on the ill-formed utterance (explicit feedback) Long and Robinson (1998) made a distinction between negative and positive feedback: negative feedback pointed out to the learners that their utterances are faulty in some way, and all feedback that was not negative was positive Long

(1996: 429) defined negative feedback as “implicit correction immediately following an ungrammatical learner utterance” Long claimed that negative

feedback was generally facilitative of second language acquisition because negative feedback, such as recasts, contained positive evidence, which provided the correct form

2.2.5.2 Types of Corrective Feedback

Lyster and Ranta (1997) developed six types of corrective feedback used by teachers in response to learner errors:

a) Explicit correction refers to the explicit provision of the correct form As

the teacher provides the correct form, he or she clearly indicates that what the student said is incorrect (e.g., “Oh, you mean,” “You should say”)

b) Recasts involve the teacher‟s reformulation of all or part of a student‟s

utterance, minus the error

c) Clarification requests indicate to students either that their utterance has

not been understood by the teacher or that the utterance is ill-formed in some way and that a repetition or a reformulation is required A clarification request includes phrases such as “Pardon me?”

d) Metalinguistic feedback contains comments, information, or questions

related to the well-formedness of the student‟s utterance, without explicitly providing the correct form (e.g., “Can you find your error?”)

e) Elicitation refers to a technique that teachers use to directly elicit the

correct form from the student Teachers elicit completion of their own utterance by strategically pausing to allow students to “fill in the blank.”

f) Repetition refers to the teacher‟s repetition, in isolation, of the student‟s

erroneous utterance In most cases, teachers adjust their intonation so as to highlight the error

2.2.5.3 Roles of Feedback in Language Classrooms

Hattie and Kimberley (2007: 3) asserted in their review that “feedback is one

of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement” Friermuth (1998: 7) supported that teachers‟ feedback helps “improve learners’ accuracy and language acquisition” To the researcher, the indispensable role of teachers‟ feedback can be

shown in the fact that teachers‟ feedback reflects what and how students performed their tasks, shows them their strong points to strengthen as well as the weak points

to improve Noticeably, when teachers leave mistakes untreated, the defective language might serve as an input model and be acquired by other students in the class In addition, Moss (2002) proposed that teachers‟ feedback could speed up the process of language learning by providing information about rules and the limits of language use, which would otherwise takes students a long time to deduce on their

own In brief, teachers‟ feedback is considered “a prime requirement for progress in learning”, as proposed in Tunstall and Gipps (1996: 9) Therefore, “giving feedback

is one of the key roles that teacher play in classroom.”

2.3 Stages of a Speaking Lesson

A speaking lesson is a kind of bridge for learners between the classroom and the world outside However, there are many different stages in a speaking lesson

Generally, a speaking lesson often includes three stages which are pre-speaking,

while-speaking, and post-speaking

•At pre-speaking stage, teacher will set a scene to lead in the topic of the

lesson Teacher also provide vocabulary and structures if necessary so that students can use them during speaking tasks It is also important for teacher to help students develop their guessing skill at this stage

•At while-speaking stage, teacher will give clear instructions so that students

can understand what they have to do Then, teacher will leave time for students to perform speaking tasks in pairs, in groups or individually according to the requirements of the tasks

•At post- speaking stage, it is time for teacher to give some feedback to

students‟ speaking performance as well as correct the mistakes if necessary The teacher will also consolidate the main points of the lesson and help students develop speaking skill by asking them to report what they have discussed or to write about what they have said

Website of TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Association) in Algeria offered a framework for designing lessons The stages of a speaking lesson organized in this way are:

Stage Rationale Sample activities

Presentation

Students need to

be exposed to new language and skills

in an authentic way by the teacher, their peers, or a listening or reading text

•Brainstorming/eliciting vocabulary

•Analyzing/noticing language in a text

•Using people and things in the classroom

•Learning a dialogue

•Watch and follow a model

•Elicitation from students of vocabulary they already know

Practice

Students need time and practice to remember the new language or skill and to explore the limits of its form, meaning, and use

•Gap-fill

•Matching

•Cloze

•Selecting the correct answer

•Substitution or transformation drills

•Listening/Reading and repeating/saying

•Finding and correcting errors

•Question and Answer (Q&A)

•Completing a sentence or question starter

to do something they are likely to

do outside class;

fluency tasks also help students remember the language or skill, and give the teacher a chance to assess students‟

•Sharing Personal Information

•Sharing General Information

Terry (2008) offered her own way to conduct a speaking lesson which includes three stages: pre-communicative stage, practice stage, communicative interaction or production stage During the pre-communicative stage, the teachers will introduce the communicative functions, point out the target structures, and

provide students with the necessary vocabulary At the next stage, the practice one, the teachers will do activities such as correcting or prompting students if necessary During the communicative interaction, teachers should take note of any aspects that may hinder communication (pronunciation, vocabularies, and grammar) The major drawback of Terry‟s theory in this method is quite teacher-centered It can be ambiguous as students' activities during the three stages are not mentioned In summary, in order to help create a lesson which is organized, coherent, and lead to a clear lesson objective, a speaking lesson can include three main stages:

Stage 1: Firstly, student can be motivated and attracted to the lesson by a

small warm-up or lead-in part, then the teacher will explain the new language patterns to help students understand necessary vocabulary and structures

Stage 2: During this phase, the main speaking tasks of the lesson will be

performed by the students while teachers can correct or prompt students of necessary

Stage 3: Teachers can help students consolidate and remember the language

or skill they acquired during the lesson by correcting some mistakes that might happen at the earlier stages

In this research, speaking lessons are supposed to include three stages: speaking stage, while-speaking stage and post-speaking stage

pre-2.4 An Introduction to the Current Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6

2.4.1 The Objectives and Design Viewpoint of the Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6

The current pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6, consisting of 2 volumes, was designed on the base of the Lower Secondary School English Programs issued by Ministry of Education and Training under the Decision No 01/QĐ-BGDĐT on January 3, 2012 This book is the continuation of the series: Tieng Anh 3, Tieng Anh 4 and Tieng Anh 5 published by Vietnam Education Publisher The textbook Tieng Anh 6 is based on the communicative approach in order to help students

develop communicative competence through four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing In this current pilot textbook, students are considered as the

center of the teaching and learning process Accordingly, students‟ psychology, cultural features of Vietnam and other countries around the world, especially English-speaking countries, are very important

This pilot textbook is designed for students of grade 6 who have just finished Tieng Anh 5 at primary school and passed the entrance test of level A1 in order to

be qualified enough to study English with the new textbook at lower secondary school

2.4.2 The Content of the Current Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6

Both volumes of the textbook Tieng Anh 6 are compiled around the themes which are familiar with lower secondary school students These two textbooks are respectively used in two semesters of a school year Totally, there are twelve units equally divided into two volumes

In volume 1 which is used in the first semester, the content is designed

based on two main themes that are Our Communities and Our Heritage Each theme

is divided into three units with three different topics Particularly, the theme Our Communities consists of three units with three topics: My New School (Unit 1), My Home (Unit 2) and My Friends (Unit 3) The theme Our Heritage includes three topics: My Neighborhood (Unit 4), Natural Wonders in the World (Unit 5) and Our Tet Holiday (Unit 6) Following the first volume of the textbook Tieng Anh 6, the volume 2 includes two other themes, Our World and Visions of the Future, corresponding to six units The theme Our World is organized into three units (Unit

7, Unit 8 and Unit 9) with three narrower topics: Television (Unit 7), Sports and Games (Unit 8), Cities of the World (Unit 9) The other three units belong to the theme Visions of the Future covering three topics: Our House in the Future (Unit 10), Our Greener World (Unit 11) and Robots (Unit 12) The objectives of each unit

are clearly stated in the book map Accordingly, in addition to developing the four English skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), the pilot textbook also emphasizes the role of grammar during the teaching and learning process In the Close Look 2, pupils will be provided some key grammatical points necessary for them to master Also, pupils are helped to distinguish the similar sounds through the pronunciation section

After each theme, there is a Review section which focuses students on the

language knowledge and language skills that they learned and practiced

2.4.3 The Structure of the Current Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6

The pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6, Volume 1 and Volume 2, includes twelve

units organized under four main themes: Our Communities, Our Heritage, Our World and Visions of the Future Each unit in the textbook is divided into seven

sections including Getting Started, A Closer Look 1, A Closer Look 2, Culture

& Communication, Skills 1, Skills 2 and Looking Back & Project The activities

to develop speaking skills mainly appear in Skill 1 section

At the beginning of each unit, Getting Started provides students with a

general overview of the topic they are going to learn in the unit It begins with a conversation followed by the activities introducing the topic of the unit; it then presents the vocabulary and the grammar items to be learned and practiced through the skills and activities of the unit

A Closer Look 1 mainly focuses on providing students with some

vocabulary and expressions necessary for them to use in the unit The active vocabulary of the unit is given in an interesting and illustrated way so that it is easy for students to memorize Two or three sounds that appear frequently in the unit are given and practiced in isolation and in context There are different exercises of vocabulary and pronunciation

Meanwhile, A Closer Look 2 is the part for grammatical points that students

need to master The new language point is presented in a short text or a talk There are clearly explicit grammar tables and exercises that are well illustrated to help students to remember and use the grammar items effectively

In Culture and Communication, students are supplied with some social

knowledge and some communicative activities to practice using English in the real life It also gives students opportunities to learn and apply the cultural aspects of the language learnt to their lives and provides information about Vietnam and other countries in the world

Skills 1 and Skills 2 mainly focus on helping students develop four essential

skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing In Skills 1, reading and speaking

skill are covered The reading text is based on the vocabulary and structures that students have previously acquired to make the activity more achievable It is always interesting and relevant to the students and links with the topic of the unit The reading also provides input for the speaking that follows The speaking activities in this section aims to provide further practice supporting students in their production

of English freely In Skills 2, the focus is on listening and writing skill The

listening activity follows the oral practice in Speaking to provide students an opportunity to listen to the language that they have practiced orally and train them

to listen for general and specific information In this section, students‟ writing skill

is also developed There is a writing tip or a guideline which is useful for students to write effectively

In each unit, there is also Looking Back part that helps students revise what

they have learned in that unit This is a very useful part because it helps students consolidate their knowledge as well as improve their English proficiency

At the end of each unit, there is a Project for students to work by using

English to do some meaningful and communicative tasks This part is quite new and interesting in comparison with the previous textbook Tieng Anh 6 published in

2002 Students can develop their creativity and improve their English through taking part in these activities

Along with Students‟ Book, there are also Teachers‟ Book and Workbook These books serve as references for both teachers and students during teaching and learning process

2.4.4 The Speaking Activities in the Current Pilot Textbook Tieng Anh 6

The activities in Skills 1 and Communication of each unit in the textbook aim

to provide practice which supports students in their oral production of English freely, using recently practiced language in combination with previously learnt one in new contexts Students are expected to use English as a tool to carry out communicative functions such as talking to their friends and describing the familiar topics, asking for and giving advice and directions, talking about their favorite things and talking about different things around them The speaking activities in Tieng Anh 6 are variously designed such as discussion (Unit 1, Unit 6, Unit 7, Unit 9, Unit 11, Unit 12 and Review 4), picture description (Unit 2), survey (Unit 3, Unit 8), interview (Review 1, Review 3), role play (Unit 4 and Unit 5), brainstorming (Review 2), Information-gap (Unit 10) Depending on the requirements of each activity as well as the number of pupils in the class, the teachers can arrange work in pairs or in groups However, while teaching the other skills, teacher can also flexibly integrate many activities in order to help students improve their speaking skill This integrative approach will promote the development of four skills at the same time

Beside the available speaking activities given in each unit of the current pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6, teachers can also apply many other activities during their lessons in order to attract students and encourage their participation in classroom activities The following part is devoted to the review of some common activities that are usually used in a speaking lesson

2.5 Activities for Teaching Speaking Skill

Providing students with a variety of situations and frequent speaking tasks plays a significant role in the improvement of students‟ fluency when speaking (Tam, 1997) In one of their studies, Gairns and Redman (2002) developed some criteria for speaking activities which seem to be very useful to form a basis for the evaluation and adaptation in this research

- They would have to be achievable, engaging and purposeful

- They would need to be “language rich” in that they push learners into intensive and varied language use, and did not allow them to fall back on a very limited range of expressions

- They should range across different time frames (past, present and future)

- They would need to cover important daily topics, for example work, relationship, education, and entertainment

- They should cover a range of activity types, e.g casual conservation, discussion, service encounters in role plays, problem-solving, and so on

- They should vary in tone: fun, business-like, factual, and so on

Beside these criteria, some specific activities are also suggested to promote a speaking lesson Among activities, considered as appropriate for teaching speaking, Kayi‟s suggestions (2006) seem to be the most adequate and systematic ones

 Discussion: fostering critical thinking and quick decision making Students learn how to express and justify themselves in polite ways while disagreeing with others With this activity, Kayi added, it is important for teacher to assign the number of students in each group, rearrange groups in every discussion activity so that students can work with various people and learn to be open to different ideas, as well as encourage students to ask questions, paraphrase ideas, express support, check for clarification, and so on However, there is still a contrasting idea about group work A research conducted by Singh (2007) pointed out that many students find working in groups difficult because they can never think

of intelligent things to say, they can never contribute ideas to the group

 Role play: helps students to know various social contexts and have a variety of social roles In role-play activities, the teacher gives information to the learners such as who they are and what they think and feel Students, in their turn, put themselves in the situations given and play their parts Thus, the teacher can tell the student that “You are David, you go to the doctor and tell him what happened last night, and…” (Harmer, 1984, as cited in Kayi, 2006)

 Simulation: similar to role play but more elaborate In simulation, students can bring items to the class to create a realistic environment For instance,

if a student is acting as a singer, she brings a microphone to sing and so on

The advantages of role-plays and simulations are: (1) because they are funny and interesting, they motivate the students; and (2) they increase the self-confidence

of hesitant students, because in role-play and simulation activities, they will have a different role and do not have to speak for themselves, which means they do not have to take the same responsibility (Harmer, 1984, cited in Kayi, 2006)

 Information gap: in this activity, students are supposed to be working in pairs One student will have the information that the other partner does not have and they will share the information with each other

Information gap activities serve many purposes such as solving a problem or collecting information Also, these kinds of activity provide equal roles for speakers because the task cannot be completed if the partners do not provide the information the others need Another advantage of information gap activities is that they can integrate all the four skills (Venkateswaren, S., 1995)

 Brainstorming: important for getting ideas about a topic On a given topic, students can produce ideas in limited time Students can do this activity either individually or in group and generate ideas quickly and freely The good aspect of brainstorming is that students are not criticized for their ideas so students will be open to share new ideas

 Storytelling: fosters creative thinking Students can briefly summarize a tale or story they heard from somebody beforehand, or they may create their own stories to tell their classmates Students also can tell riddles or jokes It also helps students express ideas in the format of beginning, development, and ending, including the characters and setting a story has to have

 Interviews: students can conduct interviews in selected topics with various people It is a good idea that a rubric should be provided so that students know what type of questions they can ask or what path to follow, but students should prepare their own interview questions After interviews, each student can present his or her study to the class Conducting interviews with people gives students a chance to practice their asking ability not only in class but also outside and helps them become more socialized

 Story completion: This is a very enjoyable, whole-class and free-speaking activity in which students sit in the circle For this activity, the teacher starts a story, but after a few sentences he or she stops narrating Then, each student is supposed

to add from four to ten sentences Students can add new characters, events, descriptions and so on

 Reporting: This activity requires preparation at home Before coming to class, students are asked to read a newspaper or magazine and, in class, they report

to their friends what they find as the most interesting news Students can also talk about whether they have experienced anything worth telling their friends in their daily lives before class

 Picture narration and picture description: This activity fosters the creativity and imagination of the learners as well as their public speaking skills

 Games: Games can bring excitement in language teaching but should be used considerately Playing games for the sake of it can be as meaningless in terms

of the second language acquisition as teaching grammar for the sake of grammar Playing hangman or word football at the end of lessons just for fun is a bad practice and a waste of precious time Games are a great tool in language teaching if used purposefully Games can involve competitions, quizzes, forming two teams competing against each other, miming, guessing, board games, and so on Suitable games can support teacher a lot in transferring the boring knowledge in an interesting way Thus, teacher can motivate students‟ interest in language learning

In summary, the well-designed classroom activities will provide students more opportunities to use English freely in class Speaking activities, particularly, have to be various and diverse so that they can attract students‟ interest and willing participation In a speaking class, teachers can combine many different activities to apply at different stages of the lesson Depending on the requirement of each speaking activity, teachers can ask students to work on their own, in pairs or in groups The most important thing is that the chosen activities should maximize students‟ chance to speak and develop students‟ speaking skill effectively

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 3.1 Approach of the Study

Both quantitative and qualitative methods including survey questionnaires, interviews and class observations were employed to collect the data Firstly, questionnaires for both teachers and students were appropriately designed and delivered to the participants Secondly, several personal interviews were also conducted to collect more data from the opinions shared by teachers and students Lastly, class observations were carried out with the permission of teachers who are teaching at Nguyen Tri Phuong and Tran Cao Van lower secondary schools

In data analysis, quantitative data for survey questionnaires were calculated in terms of percentage and qualitative data from interviews and class observations were summarized Then, all the data would be presented in the form of tables and charts

3.2 Participants

The survey was conducted with the participation of English teachers and students of grade 6 in Nguyen Tri Phuong and Tran Cao Van lower secondary schools in Hue city Particularly, four teachers who are in charge of piloting the textbook Tieng Anh 6 in these schools take part in the survey and kindly answer the interview questions delivered by the researcher In addition, there are totally 100 pupils of grade 6 who also enthusiastically participating in the survey

3.3 Data Collection Instruments

3.3.1 Questionnaires

As Wilson and Mc Lean (1994, cited in Cohen, Manion and Morrison, 2000:

245) stated, a questionnaire can “provide structured and, numerical data, be able to

be administered without the presence of the researcher, and often straightforward

to be analyzed.” In order to collect the data for the study quickly and accurately,

questionnaires were appropriately designed for two kinds of participants

For teachers, the questionnaire consisted of 18 questions in English These

questions included Yes/No questions, Wh-questions, and open-ended questions so

that the teachers could find it easy and convenient to answer and share their opinions

For students, there were 8 Vietnamese questions in the questionnaire These questions were as short and simple as possible in order for students to feel free and easy to answer

3.3.2 Interviews

In order to obtain more additional and practical information and have an insightful look into the answers in the questionnaires collected, the interviews were designed for the teachers In the interviews, open-ended questions were used to collect the opinions from teachers‟ sharing Mackey and Gass (2005: 173) believed

that “because interviews are interactive, researchers can elicit additional data if initial answers are vague, incomplete, off-topic or not specific enough” This idea

agrees with that of Mackey and Gass (2005: 96), interviews can balance some

“potential problems related to the analysis of questionnaires such as inaccurate

or incomplete responses” The interviews for data collection of this study were in a

semi-structured type This type of interview was supposed to give the interviewees a degree of authority and control and gave the interviewer a greater deal of flexibility Then, finally it helped to work out the satisfactory answers to the research questions There were 5 interview questions for teachers which were designed based

on the questionnaire This gave a reliable support to the process of analyzing data

3.3.3 Observations

Classroom observation was also employed in this research as a data collection instrument to consolidate the result obtained through questionnaires and interviews In many cases, the answers of questionnaires are inaccurate and incomplete whereas interviews may involve “selective recall, self-delusion, perceptual distortions, memory loss from the respondents and subjectivity in the researcher‟s recording and interpreting the data” (Mackey and Grass, 2005: 174) In their book, Mackey and Gass (2005: 176) claimed that the researcher can gain a deeper and more multilayered understanding of the participants and their content with the use of over time and repeated observation Sharing the same viewpoints, Cohen et al (2000: 305) believed that observational data are attractive as they afford the researcher the opportunity to gather „live‟ data from „live‟ situations In the case

of this study, class observations were carried out in some classes of grade 6 in

Nguyen Tri Phuong and Tran Cao Van lower secondary schools The researcher spent time observing six English classes in order to have a deep and lively insight into the reality of teaching speaking skill for students of grade 6 in these schools Hence, she got more valuable and reliable material for her study

3.4 Procedures for Data Collection and Analysis

3.4.1 Procedure for Data Collection

During this stage, after finishing designing the final version of the survey questionnaires, interview questions as well as observation sheets, the researcher prepared for the official administration This phrase is essential because it lays the foundation for the whole process of data collection Moreover the researcher understood that a well- prepared administration situation in advance can help the researcher achieve good results

First and foremost, the researcher came to meet the informants before delivering the survey questionnaire in order to explain the purpose of the study and the importance of their cooperation to the study During the break time, the researcher went to each class and distributed survey questionnaires to the students personally Before asking the students to answer the survey questionnaire, the researcher briefly explained the format, the length of the questionnaire along with emphasizing confidentiality and the significance of the results Beside the written instructions on the handout with the presence of the researcher when respondents were giving the answers, oral Vietnamese instructions and explanations were also available to avoid any misunderstanding and ambiguity After fifteen minutes, the respondents finished completing all questionnaires The researcher collected all the completed questionnaires because there were different classes in two different school, the researcher had to spent several days to finish collecting students‟ questionnaires For teachers, because the number of teachers who were in charge of teaching pilot Tieng Anh 6 textbook was limited, the researcher decided to meet them personally and have them complete the questionnaires

Afterwards, semi-structured interviews were conducted face to face with these teachers Like the questionnaires, two main parts of the interview included the personal information and the core content While interviewing, the researcher tried

the best to take notes and tape-record the content under the interviewees‟ permission All the main questions in the interview question list were covered Besides, the researcher tried to be flexible by asking some extra questions to obtain deeper information related to the research Lastly, the classroom observation was conducted after the questionnaires and interviews had been done

3.4.2 Procedure for Data Analysis

3.4.2.1 Grouping the data

The data collected from questionnaires, interviews, and class observations were grouped under three main clusters:

+ Cluster 1: Teachers' and students‟ perceptions of teaching and learning

speaking skill with current pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6

- Cluster 1.1: Perception of teachers and students about the role of speaking

skill in English learning

- Cluster 1.2: Attitude of teachers and students toward the pilot textbook

Tieng Anh 6 and its speaking activities

+ Cluster 2: The reality of teaching speaking skill based on the pilot

textbook Tieng Anh 6

- Cluster 2.1: Use of activities based on the pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6

to teaching speaking skill

- Cluster 2.2: Difficulties in using the pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 to

develop students‟ speaking skill

+ Cluster 3: Suggestions to overcome the difficulties in using the pilot

textbook Tieng Anh 6 to develop students‟ speaking skill

3.4.2.2 Analyzing the Data and Discussing

Initially, descriptive statistics method was used to process the data gained from the survey questionnaire, interviews and classroom observation Based on the results of returned questionnaires, the researcher began to classify and synthesize data Semi-structured interviews were transcribed, and analyzed Regarding classroom observations, the researcher made a careful analysis on the observation details recorded from the lessons The results then were compared with those of questionnaires and interviews For better illustration, comparison and explanations,

all the data from close-ended questions were presented in bar charts and pie charts

in a reader-friendly way Next, the charts were followed by a detailed explanation For the open-ended questions, the researcher created categories from the statements made by the respondents The categories were grouped together according to research questions Besides, the most typical quotations from the interviews and useful classroom observations were regularly cited when necessary to illustrate the analysis of data That is, all of the data gathered from the survey questionnaire was

to find out the appropriate answers for the research questions

3.5 Research Procedure

The procedure of the research is briefly summarized as follow:

First of all, after the research questions had been determined, the questionnaires for both teachers and students were carefully designed The questions for interviews and observation sheets were also prepared so that it would

be more convenient for the researcher to collect the data

The next step is to carry out the survey at two lower secondary schools where the pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 has been used For students, the researcher met them at the break time and had them complete the questionnaire after giving a clear explanation about what and how to do Because of the large number of participants (100 students of grade 6), the researcher spent three days collecting the questionnaires given to students For teachers, the researcher arranged personal appointments with each teacher to deliver the questionnaires and have interviews with them Then, with the permission of teachers who are in charge of teaching the current pilot textbook Tieng Anh 6 at Nguyen Tri Phuong lower secondary school and Tran Cao Van lower secondary school, class observations were carried out in order to collect more data for the research

After all necessary information was collected, the data were carefully classified and synthesized in order to serve the stage of finding and discussing the results of the survey When all the statistics were ready, the research began writing the rest parts of the research including Chapter IV and Chapter V

3.6 Summary