Exploring classroom techniques for teaching speaking in some english for hospitality service classes at hue vocational training secondary school

The teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions toward classroom techniques for teaching speaking in some hospitality service classes .... ABSTRACT This thesis aims to explore classroom techniqu

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS

LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 2

1.1 Background of the research 2

1.2 Rationale 3

1.3 Aims of the research 5

1.4 Research questions 6

1.5 Scope of the study 6

1.6 Significance of the research 6

1.7 Structure of the research 7

CHAPTER 2: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 8

2.1 The nature of speaking 8

2.1.1 What is speaking? 8

2.1.2 Functions of speaking 9

2.1.3 Aims of teaching speaking 9

2.1.4 Basic principles in developing speaking skill 10

2.1.4.1 Linguistic competence 10

2.1.4.2 Communicative competence 10

2.2 Principles for teaching speaking skill 11

2.2.1 Focus on both fluency and accuracy depending on your objective 11

2.2.2 Provide intrinsically motivating techniques 11

2.2.3 Encourage the use of authentic language in meaningful contexts 12

2.2.4 Provide appropriate feedback and correction 12

2.2.5 Capitalize on the natural link between speaking and listening 12

2.2.6 Give students opportunities to initiate oral communication 13

2.2.7 Encourage the development of speaking strategies 13

2.3 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity 14

2.4 Characteristics of English for hospitality service class: 14

2.5 Techniques in teaching speaking 16

2.5.1 Discussions 16

2.5.2 Brainstorming 16

2.5.3 Story completion 17

2.5.4 Role Play 17

2.5.5 Simulation 17

2.5.6 Elicitation techniques 18

2.5.7 Interviews 18

2.6 Previous studies on teaching speaking skill 18

2.7 General Pedagogical Context 20

2.7.1 Hue Vocational Training Secondary School (Hue VTSS) 20

2.7.2 The learners of Hospitality Service classes at Hue VTSS 20

2.7.3 The English teaching staff at Hue VTSS 21

2.8 Summary 21

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 22

3.1 Research approach 22

3.2 Data Collection Method 22

3.2.1 Participants 22

3.2.2 Instruments for data collection 22

3.2.2.1 Questionnaires 23

3.2.2.2 Interview 23

3.2.2.3 Class observation 24

3.3 Data analysis 25

3.4 Procedure 25

3.5 Summary 26

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 27

4.1 The teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions toward classroom techniques for teaching speaking in some hospitality service classes 27

4.1.1 The Necessity of English for hospitality service in the work-site 27

4.1.2 The view on the need of language skills in the current job 29

4.1.3 The teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions toward classroom techniques for teaching speaking 32

4.2 The reality of teaching and learning speaking in some hospitality service classes at Hue VTSS 34

4.2.1 The frequency of using speaking activities 34

4.2.2 Learning activity preference 38

4.2.3 Teachers‟ preparation for a speaking class 39

4.2.4 Students‟ preparation for a speaking class 40

4.2.5 Teachers‟ performance in a speaking class 41

4.2.6 The frequency of using pair-work and group work 42

4.2.7 The atmosphere of a speaking class 43

4.2.8 Students‟ feeling on teachers‟ activity 44

4.2.9 The real difficulties in learning speaking skill 45

4.2.10 Teachers‟ difficulties in using techniques for teaching speaking skill 47

4.2.11 Students‟ difficulties in applying techniques to practice speaking skill 48

4.2.12 Techniques causing difficulty in applying to teach and learn speaking 49

4.3 Assessment of students‟ proficiency 51

4.4 Solutions to partly reduce or eliminate the difficulties in teaching and learning speaking skill 53

4.4.1 Ways to reduce or eliminate the difficulties in teaching and learning speaking skill 53

4.4.2 Learners‟ expectation after speaking course 54

4.4.3 The favorable conditions for teaching spoken English classes 55

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION 56

5.1 Overview 56

5.2 Conclusion 56

5.3 Implications 60

5.3.1 For the teachers 60

5.3.2 For the learners: 62

5.3.3 For the Director Board of Hue VTSS ………

5.4 Limitations 63

5.5 Suggested Further Research 63

5.6 Summary 63

REFERENCES 64

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from associates, and have not been published elsewhere

Author

Tran Thi Kim Cuc

Next I am also grateful to the waiters, waitress and housekeepers working in some hotels and restaurants in Hue and some teachers and students who helped me

to answer the questionnaire as well as interview questions enthusiastically

Additionally, I would like to express my gratefulness to my Director, my colleagues at Hue Vocational Training Secondary School who supplied me with convenient condition of time to finish the study

Last, I would like to devote my special thanks to my dear family, my dear husband‟s family, my dear child for their love and encouragement during the process of the study

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1 View on the need of English Skills 30

Table 4.2 Techniques for teaching speaking in some English for hospitality service classes 32

Table 4.3.The frequency of using speaking activity 36

Table 4.4 Learning activity preference 38

Table 4.5 Teachers‟ preparation for a speaking class 40

Table 4.6 Students‟ preparation for a speaking class 40

Table 4.7 Teachers‟ performance in a speaking class 42

Table 4.8 The frequency of using pair-work and group-work 42

Table 4.9 The atmosphere of a speaking class 44

Table 4.10 Students‟ feeling on teachers‟ activity 45

Table 4.11 The real difficulties in learning speaking skill 46

Table 4.12 Some difficulties in using techniques for teaching speaking skill 48

Table 4.13 Some difficulties in applying techniques to practice speaking skill 49

Table 4.14 Difficult techniques for applying to teach and learn speaking 50

Table 4.15 Ways to reduce or eliminate the difficulties in teaching and learning speaking skill 53

Table 4.16 The favorable conditions for teaching spoken English classes 55

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.1 View on the necessity of English for hospitality service in the work – site 27 Figure 4.2 (a) Learners‟ self- assessment 51 Figure 4.2 (b) Teachers‟ assessment on learners‟ language skill and knowledge 51 Figure 4.3 Learners‟ expectations after speaking course 54

LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS

1 ESP : English for Specific Purposes

2 Hue VTSS : Hue Vocational Training Secondary School

ABSTRACT

This thesis aims to explore classroom techniques currently used in teaching speaking in some hospitality service classes; discover teachers and students‟ attitudes towards these techniques; investigate favorable conditions and challenges teachers have in teaching speaking; and suggest some more effective techniques to

enhance the teaching and learning of speaking skills

The data were collected by means of questionnaires and interviews One hundred copies of a well-prepared questionnaire were delivered to students and collected, and three interviews were conducted with three teachers of English

The findings showed that most teachers and students at Hue Vocational Training Secondary School in Thua Thien Hue province were aware of the necessary of English at the work place and learn speaking skill However, teachers and students had some difficulties in teaching and learning speaking The result from findings revealed that there were different techniques and activities which had been applied into the teaching of spoken English to improve students‟ speaking skill

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the research

English is considered as an international language or lingua franca As stated by Pham (2001) “everyone in the world, regardless of their cultural and linguistic differences, can use English as a neutral and transparent medium of communication”, it

is widely used to communicate everyday in many different countries with different cultures In fact, developing a good communication skill is an important part in learning and teaching English especially in teaching English for Specific Purposes

According to Vietnam Tourism Statistics, the number of international tourists has been increasing year by year That led to the construction of many hotels and restaurants in Viet Nam This has created more and more opportunities for students, especially technical students in hospitality service, to work in hotels and restaurants after graduating But the enterprises offer job vacancies to those applicants who are capable in spoken English It is clear that communication is a must if graduated students want to have good positions and better prospects However, most of ESP students lack opportunities to expose themselves to the target language This leads

to the fact that many students can not communicate verbally in English, they are not able to initiate a conversation in English outside the classroom The reality shown above probably indicates that there is no relationship between language classroom and the outside world Therefore, when they go to work, they have encountered many difficulties in communication They do not know how to communicate effectively with the customers

Moreover, from my teaching experiences and observations at my school, I notice that there is a gap between language classroom and the outside world In fact,

in the context of teaching and learning English at Hue VTSS, learning occurred in arranged situations in which memorization is mainly used Students at Hue VTSS

are often taught by being provided with the model conversations in the English textbooks They are required to listen to them and then practice repetitions so that they can get accustomed to vocabulary, grammatical points supplied Besides, boring activities with inappropriate techniques lead students to have few opportunities to communicate in English in learning environment As a result, skills and knowledge of graduates have not been relevant to the needs of the labor market These factors affect students‟ engagement Several studies indicate that engagement rates are significantly related to students‟ achievements (Anderson, 1975; Fisher, et al., 1978) and prepare them for functional roles in society as well as employability Nowadays, the Government is deeply aware of the importance of human resources development and makes great efforts to develop education and training With the purpose of training the human resource for the tourism industry of Thua Thien Hue province, Hue VTSS are responsible for producing students meeting the needs of the labor market It is clear that together with work skills, teachers should focus on spoken English so that their students can communicate and work effectively in the work - site

1.2 Rationale

Today, English has become the language for communication in over the world and in most fields, such as in science, technology, tourism, and so on As a tourist city, Hue has been attracting a number of tourists coming from all over the world This requires that ESP students in hospitality service need to have English speaking skill in general and communicative competence in particular to satisfy foreign tourists However, in reality, many students even teachers spend much time developing reading and writing skills to get good results in final exams They pay little attention to speaking and listening skills

The writer of this research chooses the topic “Exploring classroom techniques for teaching speaking in some English for hospitality service classes

at Hue Vocational Training Secondary School” for the three following reasons:

Firstly, speaking is perhaps the most demanding and challenging skill to teach According to Nguyen (2008, p.40 cited from Tran and Ho, 2000, p.77) listening comprehension and speaking skills are not tested in high school graduation exams

or in university entrance exams Students are assessed based on a written test of reading and writing skills only In fact, many students even teachers focus on reading and writing skills to get good results in final exams They pay little attention

to speaking and listening skills Teaching speaking has been undervalued and teachers have continued to teach speaking just as a repetition of drills or memorization of dialogues Classroom speaking practice often takes the form of drills in which one person asks a question and another gives an answer The question and the answer are structured and predictable, and there is only one correct, predetermined answer These techniques are easy to apply but not effective

to enhance the teaching and learning of speaking English In real communication, participants must manage uncertainty about what the other person will say In addition, to achieve their purpose, participants may have to clarify their meaning or ask for confirmation of their own understanding However, in reality, students are shy

to speak English in front of their classmates since they are afraid of making mistakes and losing face In addition, in classes where all or a number of the learners share the same mother tongue, they are likely to use it It is easier and it feels unnatural to speak to one another in a foreign language This may make English for both teachers and students encounter difficulties when it comes to teaching, learning and, especially speaking skill Understanding this, the researcher thinks that teachers should use effective techniques to help students improve their speaking

Secondly, teaching speaking is a very important part of second language learning especially in ESP classes According to Khamkhien A (2010), speaking, as

a productive skill, seems intuitively the most important of all the four language skills because it can distinctly show the correctness and language errors that a language learner makes Moreover, Kayi H (2006) states that “The ability to communicate in a second language clearly and efficiently contributes to the success

of the learner in school and success later in every phase of life.” In addition, Kayi

H (2006) also confirms that today‟s world requires that the goal of teaching speaking should improve students‟ communicative skills, because, only in that way, students can express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules appropriate in each communicative circumstance Therefore, it is essential that language teachers pay great attention to teaching speaking The aim of ESP teaching

is to help students use English effectively that they will meet in real situations in their future professions or need for their further education Teaching speaking in ESP classes is different from teaching speaking in other classes because ESP students are adults who already have some familiarity with English and are learning language in order to communicate a set of professional skills and to perform particular job-related functions English is not taught as a subject separated from the students' real world; instead, it is integrated into a subject matter area important to the learners Most of ESP students hope that they can use what they learn from ESP classroom right away in their work and studies, and they can communicate well with others Hence, practicing speaking in the classroom is the only prerequisite condition for students to succeed outside the classroom

Last but not least, as a teacher of English who is interested in teaching speaking, the writer of this research believes that exploring classroom techniques currently used in teaching speaking in some ESP classes can be a significant basis for the development of more effective techniques which then contribute to the improvement of teaching and learning speaking

1.3 Aims of the research

With the reasons mentioned above, the specific aims of the study are:

 To explore classroom techniques currently used in teaching speaking in some hospitality service classes

 To discover teachers and students‟ attitudes towards these techniques

 To investigate favorable conditions and challenges teachers have in teaching speaking

 To suggest some more effective techniques to enhance the teaching and

learning of speaking skills

1.5 Scope of the study

This study attempts to explore classroom techniques currently used for teaching speaking in some hospitality service classes Besides, the research also aims at clarifying the effectiveness of these techniques and finding out favorable conditions and challenges the teachers have in teaching speaking The subject of the study is limited to 10 teachers of English, 2 classes (one Food and Beverage class and one Housekeeping class) and 30 graduated students of Hue VTSS in Thua Thien Hue province

1.6 Significance of the research:

The study helps gain information about what techniques were currently used for teaching speaking and how effective these techniques were in view of teachers and students Furthermore, the writer hopes that on the results of findings, some suggestions will be given to develop more effective techniques to improve the

ability of speaking in English classes for ESP students Besides, in finding out favorable conditions and challenges the teacher have in teaching speaking, the study will help the teachers have helpful changes in their teaching in the future

1.7 Structure of the research:

This research comprises five chapters

Chapter 1: Introduction - This chapter has provided the introduction, the

rationale of the problem tackling with the topic, the background and the aim of the study, the scope and the research questions

Chapter 2: Literature Review - This chapter includes literature relevant to

the research topic reviewed to establish the foundation of the current research The review relates to the nature of speaking and learning speaking, principles for teaching speaking skills and characteristics of a successful speaking activity

Chapter 3: Research Methodology - This chapter introduces research

methodology

Chapter 4: Findings - This chapter shows the research results of the

experiment and revealed

Chapter 5: Discussion - This chapter presents some discussion, the

conclusions, the implications and the limitations of the study as well as suggestions for further research

CHAPTER 2

A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

2.1 The nature of speaking

2.1.1 What is speaking?

Bygate (1987 cited in Metcalf, 2006, p.1) defines "Speaking is the skill by which learners are most frequently judged and through which they make and lose friends It is the vehicle par excellence of social solidarity, social ranking, of professional advancement and of business It is also the medium through which much language is learnt” Based on this definition, one of the most important features of speaking is that it is a skill, which needs practice and "is largely different from knowledge" (Bygate, 1987, p.3) Nguyen (2008, p.16) adds more in

his paper research that speaking is “a medium, which in the classroom setting is the main means of instructions, of interactions; and is also the content of learning and

teaching materials, which is used to deal with language tasks such as problem solving, information gap, and is quite different from a goal or end of learning a speaking skill” Actually, speaking is an essential skill at a language class room It

is closely interrelated with listening skill in oral communication, which is "a

two-way process between speaker and listener" and "involves the productive skill of

speaking and the receptive skill of listening" (Byrne, 1989, p.8) Admittedly,

listening helps us obtain information from the others and we can convey our messages through speaking According to Chaney (1998, p.13, cited from Kayi.A, 2006), speaking is “ the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts” From this definition, speaking is considered as a skill used to convey meaning Hedge (2000, p.261) defines speaking as “a skill by which they [people] are judged while first impressions are being formed.” That means speaking is an important skill to reflect people‟s thoughts and personalities

2.1.2 Functions of speaking

With respect to functions of spoken language, Brown and Yule (1983) remark that language can be seen as having two functions: transferring information (transactional function) and establishing/maintaining social relationships (interactional function)

According to Jack C Richards (n.d.), talk as interaction refers to what we normally mean by “conversation” and describes interaction which serves a primarily social function When people meet, they exchange greetings, engage in small talk and chit chat, recount recent experiences and so on because they wish to

be friendly and to establish a comfortable zone of interaction with others

According to Jones (1996), in transactions, language students and teachers usually focus on meaning or on talking their way to understanding (cited from Jack

C Richards)

To sum up, interactional and transactional are two basic functions of language Therefore both of the two functions of speaking have to be taught to students so that they can open and close a conversation, make a small talk, etc as well as obtaining information, making suggestions or justifying opinions in real communication

2.1.3 Aims of teaching speaking

According to Kayi.H (2006), teaching speaking is to teach ESL 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 thoughts 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 as fluency (Nunan, 2003)

In conclusion, speaking is a necessary skill that needs teaching for ESP students Therefore, teachers of English should pay more attention to the teaching of speaking to help their students promote their speaking ability To obtain this goal,

they have to master principles for developing teaching skill which will be discussed

in the following section

2.1.4 Basic principles in developing speaking skill:

Moreover, to speak English accurately and fluently, learners know not only what to say but also how to say appropriately in a social situation To get this, it is better for teachers of English to supply their learners with linguistic and communicative competence

2.1.4.1 Linguistic competence

Chomsky (1965) defines that linguistic competence is the system of rules that governs an individual‟s tacit understanding of what is acceptable and what is not in the language they speak This includes the distinct sounds used in the language, the combination of these sounds, the creation of sentences and the interpretation of a sentence Therefore, if a speaker masters this set of rules, he or she can use grammar to produce new phrases that will be understood by all speakers of the same language

To sum up, in language classroom the knowledge of vocabulary, structures, pronunciation, etc should be focused so that learners have their preparation and confidence in practicing speaking skill

2.1.4.2 Communicative competence

According to Hymes (1971), communicative competence focuses on situated performance and is also sometimes referred to as pragmatic or sociolinguistic competence, especially when the emphasis is on how to interpret the speaker's intended meaning in a particular utterance, apart from the literal meaning

socially-In fact, many students have the knowledge of vocabulary, structures but they do not know how to use it appropriately They are very passive in learning In addition,

Widdowson (1975) said that communicative competence includes the ability to use

the linguistic forms to perform communicative acts and to understand the communicative functions of sentences and their relationships to other sentences Hence communicative competence is necessary in a language classroom

In conclusion, it is necessary to make a distinction between linguistic competence and communicative competence Knowing deeply about linguistic and communicative competence helps teachers and learners a lot in their teaching and learning process, especially speaking skill

2.2 Principles for teaching speaking skill

To get success in teaching learners to speak well, teachers have to follow the

principles for teaching speaking skills

2.2.1 Focus on both fluency and accuracy depending on your objective

According to Brown H.D (1994), to give students practice with both fluency and accuracy the teachers have to make sure their tasks have a linguistic (language-based) objective, and seize the opportunity to help students to perceive and use the building blocks of language

Bailey and Nunan (2005) defined that “Accuracy is the extent to which students‟ speech matches what people actually say when they use the target language Fluency is the extent to which speakers use the language quickly and confidently, with few hesitations, unnatural pauses, false starts, words searches, etc.” (p 55) Speaking naturally like native speakers is the crucial thing which most learners desire Therefore, students should be given opportunities to develop both their fluency and their accuracy

2.2.2 Provide intrinsically motivating techniques

Intrinsic motivation is a motivation to learn that comes from an internal force such as interest in language learning or the desire for further personal development

in general (adapted from http// www.teachingenglish.org.uk) Rini.E (2007) defines

“Intrinsic motivation will spring not from interest in the structure of the language but in what is being communicated in language.” Thus, the teacher should help the learners in any way that motivate them to work with the language

2.2.3 Encourage the use of authentic language in meaningful contexts

Brown H.D (1994) states that “It takes energy and creativity to devise authentic contexts and meaningful interaction, but with the help of a storehouse of teacher resource materials, it can be done.” Therefore it is a challenge for Vietnamese students in general and students at Hue VTSS in particular to learn English speaking skill “To help students overcome this challenge, the teachers of English should create more opportunities for the learners to practice speaking English at the classroom since they have few chances to use the target language in real life” (Duong, 2011, p 24)

2.2.4 Provide appropriate feedback and correction

Brown H.D (1994) states that it is important that you take advantage of your knowledge of English to inject the kinds of corrective feedback that are appropriate for the moment However, in reality, in communication classrooms students are often interrupted to correct oral errors, which prevents them from practicing speaking fluently Hence, according to Bailey and Nunan (2005, p 55) students should be known that making mistakes is a natural part of learning a new language

So teachers are better to provide appropriate feedback and correction when necessary Teachers should not correct students‟ pronunciation when they are speaking, this will distract students from their speech

2.2.5 Capitalize on the natural link between speaking and listening

Speaking process is defined in accordance with listening process that is "the speaker has to encode the message he wishes to convey in appropriate language, while the listeners (no less actively) has to decode (or interpret) the message" (ibid,

p.8) Thus, speaking skill is closely interrelated with listening skill, the two skills can reinforce each other

2.2.6 Give students opportunities to initiate oral communication

According to Brown H.D (1994), the part of oral communication competence

is the ability to initiate conversations, to nominate topics, to ask questions, to control conversations, and to change subject Thus it is important for teachers to design speaking tasks that give students opportunities to initiate oral communication, to share what they think with their friends, to confirm whether their partners have understood their meaning or not

2.2.7 Encourage the development of speaking strategies

Brown H.D (1994) lists the speaking strategies as follows:

- asking for clarification (what?)

- asking someone to repeat something (pardon me?)

- using fillers (uh, I mean) to get time to process

- using conversation maintenance cues (uh-huh, right, yeah, OK, Hmm)

- getting someone‟s attention (hey, say, so)

- paraphrasing for structures one can‟t produce

- appealing for assistance from the interlocutor

- using formulaic expressions

- using mime and non-verbal expressions

In conclusion, we understand that teaching and learning speaking is never separated from other language skills Howe,(2003, p.12) emphasizes that "speaking is extremely important: it's a voice into pupils' writing, it helps them to develop and make sense of their reading, and it is also does wonders for their self esteem, building confidence for the outside world" Therefore, to increase learners‟ interests

in learning speaking skill, teachers have to pay attention to the purpose, functions,

principles when designing speaking activities The next section is a discussion on the characteristics of a successful speaking activity

2.3 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity

Ur (1996, p 120) lists the characteristics of a successful speaking activity:

Learners talk a lot The learners talk as much as possible during the period of

time allotted to the activity

Participation is even Classroom discussion is not dominated by a minority of

talkative participants: all get a chance to speak, and contributions are fairly evenly distributed

Motivation is high Learners are eager to speak: because they are interested in

the topic and have something new to say about it, or because they want to contribute

to achieving a task objective

Language is of an acceptable level Learners express themselves in utterances

that are relevant, easily comprehensible to each other, and of an acceptable level of language accuracy

A successful speaking activity needs to meet the above characteristics However, to organize a successful speaking activity, teachers should understand about their students Hence, some of characteristics of English for hospitality service class will be presented

2.4 Characteristics of English for hospitality service class

According to Vu and Nguyen (2004), the English background of Vietnamese students is lower than that of the world Some of these students are even “afraid to

speak English” (Source: Tienphong/VNN, 2011) Pham (2000:22) states “Asian

learners are shy and quiet by nature, so it is hard to spur to them to talk in class” I

agree with these authors that communicating in English is a big obstacle to

Vietnamese students in general and to tourism students in particular Indeed, most

of the students feel unconfident enough to initiate in speaking activities in the

classrooms They feel too insecure and shy in expressing their ideas in front of other students to participate in speaking activities actively because most of them are afraid of making mistakes and they find incapable of expressing their thoughts in English Therefore, teachers have a lot of difficulties in having students work in pairs or in groups As a consequence, it is likely that students tend to avoid arguments and refuse to participate in discussion during their learning process Besides, according to Tran et al (2006), labourers working in the tourism field are required to be knowledgeable, skillful and professional It is, therefore, necessary for staffs at hotels to improve their English, especially English speaking skill If they know how to combine knowledge of English and their professional skills, they must become good employees and are always appreciated by guests

Hue is one of the most pleasant and beautiful cities for visitors in Viet Nam There are a large number of foreign visitors from all parts in the world come to hotels in Hue every year In order to meet foreign guests‟ needs, hotel and restaurant staffs have to understand what they need Therefore, their English speaking proficiency is always appreciated It is crucial for students to improve their English speaking skills as soon as possible because English is used frequently at hotels and restaurants, most of hotel guests come from other countries An employee who has huge knowledge but can not use English well will fail in his/her job

In Hue VTSS, English for Hospitality service focuses on developing students‟ English speaking and listening skills English for technical students is very different from general English Most of students hope that they will be able to communicate with hotel guests effectively in English in different situations from guest arrival until guest departure For this reason, English for hospitality classes are often taught with topics relating to hotel and restaurant services such as Accommodation, Places, Food and Drink, Travel, Leisure Entertainment, etc In terms of Restaurant English, we show students how to take reservations, welcome and receive the guests, take food and drink orders, handle complaints, explain menus and present

bills To the part of Hotel English, students are trained to know how to welcome the guests, know about bedroom and bathroom amenities and facilities, offer help to the guests, asking politely for something and handle complaints

The focus of English for hospitality service is on listening and speaking to help learners effectively provide great service in English Therefore, the facilitators usually design many useful and practical activities for students to encourage their students to speak as much as possible In order to be good at speaking English, it is necessary for learners to practice speaking not only inside but outside class

2.5 Techniques in teaching speaking:

A technique is an implementation – that actually takes place in a classroom

It is a particular trick, stratagem, or contrivance used to accomplish an immediate objective Techniques must be consistent with methods, and therefore in harmony with approaches as well (Doan, 2011)

2.5.1 Discussions

Discussions are helpful when the teachers set the purpose of the discussion activity According to Kayi.H (2006), in this way, the discussion points are relevant to this purpose, so that the students do not spend their time chatting with each other about irrelevant things In fact, it is essential that speaking should be equally divided among group members For efficient group discussions, it is always better not to form large groups, because quiet students may avoid contributing in large groups Therefore, in group discussions, the students should always be encouraged to ask questions, paraphrase ideas, express support, check for clarification, and so on

2.5.2 Brainstorming

On a given topic, students can produce ideas and generate ideas quickly and

freely Typically, the teacher does not participate in this activity, except to observe,

serve as the recorder, or help the group discuss the ideas presented in a methodical fashion The teacher avoids giving his or her opinion on the ideas presented or otherwise influencing the outcomes of group discussion The good characteristics of

brainstorming is that students are not critized for their ideas so students will be open

to share new ideas

2.5.3 Story completion

A teacher starts to tell a story, but after a few sentences he or she stops narrating Then, each student starts to narrate from the point where the previous one stopped Students can add new characters, events, descriptions and so on This is a very enjoyable, whole-class, free-speaking activity for students

In role play method, students are highly involved in the learning process They receive almost immediate direct feedback from the teacher and the other students Also, students have little or no time to analyze their behavior while the role play is

in progress as they must focus on acting out their respective parts As a result, situations created by the role players often are highly realistic simulations of event which occurs at work

2.5.5 Simulation

Simulations are more elaborate than role-plays Simulation clearly promotes effective interpersonal relations and social transactions among participants In order for a simulation to occur the participants must accept the duties and responsibilities

of their roles and functions, and do the best they can in the situation in which they find themselves (Jones, 1982:113) In fact, simulations simulate real life situations

In simulations, 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 Moreover, simulation encourages thinking and creativity, let students develop and practice new language and behavioral skills in a relatively nonthreatening setting, and create the motivation and involvement necessary for

learning to occur

2.5.6 Elicitation techniques

Elicitation is an important technique for various reasons Elicitation is vitally important for the students' speaking skill and actively involves their learning abilities It helps develop a learner-centred dynamic, it makes learning memorable

as learners can link new and old information, and it can help produce a dynamic and

stimulating environment (adapted from http://www.teaching English.org.uk) To

achieve this, the teacher will ask questions for their ideas and suggestions, get them

to contribute what they know already, and encourage them to guess new words and new expressions This is called "eliciting" (Doan, 2011)

2.5.7 Interviews

Students can conduct interviews on selected topics with various people After interviews, each student can present his or her study to the class Moreover, students can interview each other and "introduce" his or her partner to the class It is a good idea that the teacher provides a rubric to students so that they know what type of questions they can ask or what path to follow, but students should prepare their own interview questions Kayi.H (2006) sates that ” Conducting interviews with people gives students a chance to practice their speaking ability not only in class but also outside and helps them becoming socialized”

2.6 Previous studies on teaching speaking skill

There is no doubt that the objective of teaching and learning any foreign language is to help the learners use the language to communicate effectively in real world In reality, learners are not always successful in communication, partly due to the lack of vocabulary and ideas, lack of confidence or ways to express To help students improve their speaking skill, it is required that teachers should use classroom techniques for teaching speaking When the teachers use these techniques

in teaching speaking, they just orientate students in solving problems, let their students work independently with the topic given and make students think creatively

Nguyen (2008) did a case study to investigate on learners‟ difficulties in learning speaking skills with Tieng Anh 11 at Quang Tri high school He found that there may exist some difficulties concerning teaching and learning speaking skills The study aims to help the teachers deal with major difficulties learners encounter

in learning speaking skills and help learners find out appropriate ways to deal with their own when using Tieng Anh 11 as a main course

Doan (2011) did a case study to investigate the teaching English speaking to children from 8 to 10 years old Her research aims to discover children‟s attitudes towards their teacher‟s methods of teaching speaking and too gain more insights into the ways Speaking skill is taught in English classes for children in English classes at some centers in Hue city

Do (2011) carried out an investigation into communication strategies used by students of Front Office and Restaurant Service at Hue tourism college during their internship She found that communicating in English is one of the most important skill for the students of Hue Tourism College, especially for Front Office and Restaurant Service However, students had many difficulties in communication Some of the tools they use to compensate for the shortcomings in communication are communication strategies Communication strategies help the speaker deal with communication problems

Duong (2011) did a case study to investigate how to use the conversations in

the English textbooks to teach speaking at Quang Trung high school in Gia Lai province This study aims to investigate the reality of teaching and learning speaking through conversations at QTHS and to provide some implications for teachers to adapt the conversations and the speaking tasks in the English textbooks

to teach speaking at QTHS

In summary, many studies concerning teaching and learning speaking have been done However, these studies mentioned the difficulties in teaching and learning English, some tools to overcome communication problems and the use of conversations in teaching speaking My research in contrast has been done to explore classroom techniques for teaching speaking in some English for hospitality service class and the effectiveness of these techniques in teaching and learning speaking skill

2.7 General Pedagogical Context

2.7.1 Hue Vocational Training Secondary School (Hue VTSS)

Hue VTSS has been upgraded from Hue Vocational Training Center since

2008 Hue VTSS has been variously training in various levels and many courses: Electricity, Mechanical Engineering, Information Technology, Tourism Management and Hospitality Service The training program has been built with the purpose of practical training development, orienting learners to be skillful and knowledgeable in job hunting Training programs are highly associative and favorable for learners to better level in many colleges

2.7.2 The learners of Hospitality Service classes at Hue VTSS

The learners of hospitality service classes are from 17-25 years old All of them are going to become waiters, waitress and housekeepers in the future Their working environment is in the hotel or restaurant Thus, they have to contact to the guests to identify customers‟ needs and to build a good rapport with them For this reason, speaking skill is very important to students of hospitality service At Hue

VTSS, students have been trained spoken English to help them communicate effectively at the work place and provide information and service with the guests

2.7.3 The English teaching staff at Hue VTSS

There are all 5 permanent English teachers and 3 visiting English teachers at school, aged from 24 to 35 All of the teachers had B.A Two teachers are MA Three teachers are teaching ESP The rest of teachers are teaching GE

2.8 Summary

From all of the above-mentioned reviews, we see that developing speaking skill is a real challenge for many teachers In fact, the teaching English speaking is more demanding on the teachers than the teaching of any other skills, because of this reason, the teacher give up on their efforts to teach and concentrate According

to Duong (2011), to help students with the ability to communicate in a second language efficiently requires teachers to pay more attention to the environment whether meaningful communication takes place or not To meet this requirement, teachers need to have the knowledge of essential elements relating to the teaching speaking skill such as principles of teaching speaking, techniques in teaching speaking, characteristics of a successful speaking activity The next chapter will present the methodology of the research

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

This chapter will be dedicated to the description of the research methodology,

participants and procedures done to obtain the data and how they will be analysed

3.1 Research approach

In the study, the researcher will carry out both quantitative and qualitative

approaches to obtain and deal with the data

3.2 Data Collection Method

3.2.1 Participants

The participants of the study consist of three selected groups

The first group comprises ten teachers of English at Hue VTSS, (3 males and 7 females), teaching spoken English to Food and Beverage students and Housekeeping students Their ages are about 23 to 40 with experiences in teaching English as a foreign language from 3 to 10 years

The second group consists of 60 students (males and females) of Food and Beverage students and Housekeeping students at the above school Their ages were from 17- 25 They have learnt English for more than 4 years They were chosen randomly and asked to fill in the questionnaires

The third group includes 30 graduated students (males and females) of Food and Beverage class and Housekeeping class They are working in many different restaurants and hotels in Hue city

3.2.2 Instruments for data collection

This research will make use of the classroom environment to conduct the investigation Data for this research will be mainly collected from the following types of techniques: questionnaires, interview, class observation

3.2.2.1 Questionnaires

One of the primary advantages of using questionnaire is to be more economical and practical, it is easy to complete and check Questionnaires allow researcher to gather information that learners report about themselves, such as their beliefs and motivation regarding learning or their reaction to learning and classroom activities (Mackey & Gass, 2005) (cited in Le, 2008).In addition, Bell (1993:76) stated that the use of questionnaire is considered as a good way of collecting certain types of information quickly and relative cheaply For these reasons, it seemed appropriate to use questionnaires as a method of data collection in this research project Moreover, the researcher chose questionnaire for learners because of its efficiency, considering the large number of participants involved in the study In fact, this type of data collection method could help learners avoid fear and embarrassment resulting from direct contact

The questionnaires aim to investigate the students‟ perceptions towards the classroom techniques for teaching speaking, students‟ interest activities in the ESP classroom; students‟ difficulties in learning speaking, students‟ expectation after a speaking course

The survey for the teachers of English aims to get their opinions on teachers‟ perceptions towards the classroom techniques for teaching speaking, the frequency

of speaking activities used in class, the difficulties teachers may encounter in using these techniques, suggestions to reduce the difficulties in teaching

One hundred copies of questionnaires were delivered to 100 participants The questionnaire includes fifteen questions And they were compiled in Vietnamese because of the fact that Vietnamese would give student participants freedom of expression and it would assure that everyone understand the statements

3.2.2.2 Interview

Interviews can allow researchers to gather valuable data that could not be obtained by any other approaches, such as learners‟ self-reported perceptions or

attitudes According to James H McMillan and Sally Schumacher (1993, p.250), interview technique is flexible and adaptable to many different problems, types of people and the responses can be probed, followed up, clarified and elaborated to achieve specific accurate responses In addition, the researcher can take nonverbal cues from the respondents to guess their real feeling

or reaction to the issue of the survey and has an opportunity to motivate them

Nevertheless, the disadvantages of interview are „its potential for subjectivity‟

as McMillan and Sally Schumacher mentioned It is not good to interfere in interviewees‟ answers or to give cues because by this way the researchers can influence the data The best way is to listen carefully when interviewees are talking until they stop Therefore, interview is time consuming and is not used for a large number of people The cost for training a good interviewer to minimize bias is high therefore the researchers try to self-train and prepare well before the interview Interviews were done informally with three teachers of English The purpose

of these interviews is to confirm the answers given had been done in the questionnaires In order to carry out the process effectively, the researcher gave the interviewees some questions (see Appendix c) in advance and arranged a suitable time for the interview All of the interviews were made in Vietnamese in order to help the respondents understand the questions and give reliable answers Moreover, the interviews were also recorded with the researcher‟s cell phone

3.2.2.3 Class observation

“As a technique for gathering information, the observation method relies

on a researcher‟s seeing and hearing things and recording these observations rather than relying on subjects‟ self-report responses to questions or statements”

as McMillan and Sally Schumacher‟s statement (1993, p 256) Besides, it was also a helpful instrument to check whether the information collected from the questionnaires was similar to that obtained in the classroom observations

Observation allows the researcher to collect direct information about behavior

of individuals and groups; enter into and understand situation/context for identifying unanticipated outcomes Observation is usually flexible and does not need structuring around the issues of the study (Doan, 2011)

Nevertheless, it is time consuming and requires well-qualified, highly trained observers The investigator has little control over the situation and may distort data

by his/her selective perceptions

The researcher made a class observation to see how teachers teach and to observe students‟ attitudes and behaviors in a real context The researcher observed 3 hospitality service classes, 3 periods per class The researcher took notes some activities

in a speaking class

3.3 Data analysis

The researcher attempts to analyze the data basing on quantitative approach The data collected from the questions in the questionnaires for students coded and transferred into summary sheet Then the data were presented in tables and analyzed quantitatively by categorizing and counting in percentage Additionally, the information collected from teachers‟ interviews was also analyzed to provide more valid information about teachers‟ perception on classroom techniques used to teach speaking for some hospitality service classes at Hue VTSS The data collected from class observations contributed to adding qualitative insights to the results presented

in tables

3.4 Procedure

In short, the procedure of the research includes the following steps:

Step 1: Collecting information for a valid background in the theoretical teaching speaking skills

Step 2: Designing questionnaires and questions for interviews and class observation sheets

Step 3: Collecting data through questionnaires and interviews

Step 4: Classifying the data

Step 5: Taking statistical calculation and data description

Step 6: Presenting the collected data in tables and figures

Step 7: Suggesting some more effective techniques to enhance teaching skill

3.5 Summary

In conclusion, this chapter mainly presented the research methodology It showed that by combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches through 100 questionnaires and 5 interviews with the participants at Hue VTSS and using controlled and experimental classroom observations, the researcher planned to collect and analyze the data carefully so that the results of this study could be highly appreciated

CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 The teachers’ and students’ perceptions toward classroom techniques for teaching speaking in some hospitality service classes

4.1.1 The Necessity of English for hospitality service in the work-site

Question 1 in questionnaire A, questionnaire B deal with the teachers and learners‟ opinions and attitudes towards the necessity of English for hospitality

service in the work- site

Very necessary

necessary

Unnecessary

Learners Teachers

Figure 4.1.View on the necessity of English for hospitality service in the work-site

The result of the data analysis in Figure 4.1 reveals a high percentage on the necessity of English for hospitality service in the work-site We can see that 90% of the learners considered that English for hospitality service is very necessary for their jobs 10% of the learners chose “necessary” when they assessed the necessity

of English for hospitality service There were no students answering “less necessary” and “unnecessary” This result indicates students‟ positive towards the necessity of English at the work place Learning English can help them express

their own thoughts and ideas, or to communicate with native speakers of English more effectively In short, this result from the data revealed the learners‟ high motivation in learning the subject, which can lead to a positive effect on the researcher

Similarly, 100% of the teachers also emphasized the necessity of English for hospitality service in the current jobs In fact, in the hospitality industry English is widely for inbound and outbound travel (Huynh, 2011) Hue has been attracting a number of tourists coming from all over the world This requires that the staff at hotels and restaurants need to have communicative competence in general and English speaking skills in particular to satisfy foreign tourists need Meanwhile all teachers who were interviewed revealed that English for hospitality service is important and very important to the current careers of the learners, as expressed by the teachers:

“English plays an important role in hospitality service classes because Hue is

a tourist city, there are a lot of international travellers coming to Hue Thus, when the students go to work at the hotels and restaurants, they have to use English to communicate with the foreign guests.”

(Teacher Interview, June 4, 2012)

“English is really necessary to the hospitality service classes because their jobs in the future are receptionists, housekeepers, waiters/waitresses in the hotels and restaurants Their responsibilities are to introduce and consult hotel and restaurant services to the guests, satisfy the need of the guests, handle guests’ complaint, etc… To have job success, they have to improve their English.”

(Teacher Interview, June 7, 2012)

Above all, the percentage is a relatively positive signal to the fact that both the learners and teachers highly appreciate the significance of English for hospitality service at the work-site The next part will present the findings of the view on the need of language skills in the real job

4.1.2 The view on the need of language skills in the current job

Question 2 in Questionnaire A, Questionnaire B are designed for the evaluation on the need of English skills in the real job

To listen to the simple greetings 27 30% 2 20%

To listen to the foreign guests‟ orders 80 88.9% 10 100%

To listen to the foreign guests‟

Speaking

To make the simple greetings 36 40% 3 30%

To speak about services of the hotel and restaurant to foreign guests 85 94.4% 10 100%

To speak to handle the guest‟s

Reading

To read the instruction of using hotel

and restaurant services 68 75.5% 8 80%

To read the specialized articles 65 72% 7 70%