Luận văn enhancing input to improve hanoi college of electronics and electro refrigeratory technics non english major students' speaking performance

tà 1.5 Research into enhancing input through giving extensive readings and enriching vocabulary to improve speaking performance 12 3.1 Pre — input enhancement questionnaire 20 3.1.1 T

YEN HONG HANH

ENHANCING INPUT TO IMPROVE HANOI COLLEGE OF

ELECTRONICS AND KELECTRO-REFRI

NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ SPEAKING PERFORMANCE

'Tăng cường kiến thức đầu vào dé cải thiện kỹ năng nói cho sinh viên

không chuyên tiếng Anh tại trường Cao đẳng Điện tử - Điện lạnh Hà Nội

M.A Minor Thesis

FIELD > ENGLISH TEACHING ME’ LHODOLOGY CODE: 601410

HANOI - 2010

YEN HONG HANH

ENHANCING [NPL O IMPROVE HANOI! COLLEGE OF

ELECTRONICS AND ELECTRO-REFRIGERATORY TECHNICS

NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS’ SPEAKING PERFORMANCE

'Tăng cường kiến thức đầu vào dé cải thiện kỹ năng nói cho sinh viên

không chuyên tiếng Anh tại trường Cao đẳng Điện tử - Điện lạnh Hà Nội

M.A Minor Thesis

FIELD : ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 601410 -

SUPERVISOR : BO BA QUY, MEd

HANOI - 2010

kỳ Aims of the study

3 Scope of the study

4 Research questions

5 Methods of the study

6 Design of the study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter1: Literature Review

1.1 Communicative competence and oral communication

1.1.1 Popular views of communicative competence

1.1.2 Oral communication

1.2 The nature of speaking

1.2.1 Definiion of speaking

1.2.2 ‘The importance of speaking skill in the classroom

1.3 Some problems in speaking performance

tà

1.5 Research into enhancing input through giving extensive readings and

enriching vocabulary to improve speaking performance 12

3.1 Pre — input enhancement questionnaire 20

3.1.1 The students’ opinion on speaking skill 20

3.1.2 The students’ difficulties in speaking performance 22

3.1.3 ‘The students’ desires to improve their speaking skill 24

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Students’ opinion about speaking skill

Table 2: Students’ diflicultics in spcaking performance

‘Table 3: Students’ expectation for what to he done ta improve their speaking skill

Table 4: Students’ opinions about the activities intented to improve their

vocabulary

Table §: Students’ opinions about extensive readings

Table 6: Students’ assessment of the activities and extensive readings’

effectiveness

Figure 1: Krashen’s combined model of acquisition and production

PART A: INTRODUCTION

This part presents the rationale, aims, scope, methods, research questions and design

of the study

1 Rationale of the study

It is undeniable that English is considered as a means of international communication, People with good English proficiency are extremely needed in many various fields such as economics, potilics, science, tourism amd so on, Moreover, English is, also a Key to access the last achievement of science and technology which are very important and necessary for a developing country like Vietnam As a result, there has been increasing demand for English language teaching and Icarning across the country People learn English with many different purposes as meeting the growing requirements for communication in the society, finding a good job, achieving betler position at work, or serving, desire of studying or working aboard

It is widely accepted that one of the main purposes of studying English is to use it for

communications According ta Don Xiao Hong (1994:31) speaking is “one of the most

necessary language skills for displaying their language proficicney” Be an English tcacher,

| think that speaking should be paid attention to in the process of teaching and leaming However, il is a common issue al my college thal Ihe siudents rarely speak English, even in English classes, although they have been learning English since they started at the lower secondary school They offen stand up without speaking any words or they have to think for a long lime about whal they intend lo say when they requtrcd lo talk in English The main causes of the Hanoi College of Electronics and Elcctro-Reftigeratory Technics students’ low speaking performance in particular and the non-English major students’ low speaking performance in background knowledge

With the main causes above, as a teacher at a college of technics, within my mmnor thesis, | would like to investigate enhancing input that are enriching their vocabulary and giving extensive readings for broadening background knowledge lo improve speaking performance I hope that enhancing input will help the students overcome their difficulties

in the process of speaking This has given me the impetus to carry out the study of

“Enhancing Inpul to Improve Hanoi College of Electronies and Eleoo-Roifigoratory

Techies Nor-English Major Students’ Speaking Performance”

2 Aims of the study

The study is aimed at

- _ Identifying the factors afftcting the non-English major students’ speaking performance;

- Investigating how input enhanced in terms of vocabulary and knowledge of the world affects Ihe students” speaking perlornemce;,

- Making some suggestions for the teachers at Hanoi College of Electronics and Electro Reftigeratory ‘Technics to help the students improve their speaking performance

3 Scope of the study

Conecining the scope of the study, the following arc to be taken into consideration

First, the subjects of the study are the first-year students at Hanoi College of Hlectronics

and Flectro-Refrigeralory Tecturics They all have basic English knowledge and skills, Second, the study only focuses on enhancing input to improve the students’ speaking performance Einaly, as the time allowed for the study is limited, it concentrates only on

idenlifying the effet

world through collaborative activities and extensive reading on the students’ speaking

= of input cntunecd in terms of vocabulary and knowledge of the

performance

4 Research questions of the study

The two main researeh questions corresponding to the two major aims are

(1) What are the factors affecting the students’ speaking performance?

) How does the enkanced input improve the studenils’ speaking performance?

5 Methods of the study

The study was carried out on the basis of relevant document analysis, material collection and survey questionnaire The data collected for the study came from the first

year non-English major students at Hanoi College of Electronics and Electro-

Reftigeratory ‘lechnies Kor the practical basis, survey research is chosen with questiormaire and interview with the first year non-English major sludenls at the college All comments, remarks, conclusions and recommendations provided in the study were based on the data analysis

6 Design of the study

onsisis of three parts

The minor the:

The first part is an introduetion to the thesis which presents the factors as plan of

the study such as ths rationale, aims, scope, methods, research questions and design of the study

‘The second part presents a theoretical background, research methods, presentation

of the data, dala analysis and discussions

The final part focuses on the conclusions of the study, its limitations,

recommendations and suggestions for farther study.

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTERI: LITERATURE REVIEW

As any study should be based on certain theories, the following is a review of

Televant-Lo-(he-aims-oF-the-sludy hileralure to form the theoretical basis for the study

1.1 Comnranicative conypetence and oral communication

Popular views of communicative competence

It is well-known that communicative competence underlies language performance;

therefore the ultimate goal of language teaching is to build and develop the leamer’s

as interaction in the target language as definitions of Savignon, 1983 However, others

who work in EST tend to be in favor af Hymes’ theory of communicative compslones In Hymes’ theory, comnmnicative competence includes not only the linguistic forms of the language but also its social rulers, the knowledge of when, how and to whom it is appropriate lo use Uhese forrns, ILincans that the social — cultural rules for language use are also included in the teaching process Besides, Canale and Swain (1980) consider communicative competence 2s he combinalion of five areas’ competence: rule of grammar (grammatical competence), rules of discourse (discowse competence), sociocultural rules of use, and probability rules of occurrence and communication

strategies

Grammatical competence

Savignon (1983:37) states “Grammatical competence is the mastery of the linguistic code, the ability to recognize the lexical, morphological, syntactic and phonological features ofa language and to manipulate these features to forms, words and sentences”,

Discourse competence

The real world, knowledge of the Tinguislic code, knowledge of the discourse structures and knowledge of sacial selting,

Sociolinguistic competence:

It is the ability to interpret and express fimetional and social meaning of language, depending on degzces of formality, setting, topic, channel and purpose of communication Itis also an understanding of the social context in which language is used

Probability rules of occurences

It is the ability to recognize what conmmunication functions are likely to be expressed

ina given context and what are not As Canale and Swain (1980), a learner can not have a

satisfactory conmumicative competence if not any of his knowledge of probability of occuzrence of grammatical forms and commmnicative functions are developed

Strategic Competence

According lo Richard (1983), strategic compelence includes:

Speaker’s repertoire of verbal and visual gestures which signal interest in which the

partner is saying

Speaker's slock of topics and formulaic uilerances which arc produced al relevant point in discourse such as a small talk which is required to make brief encounters with acquaintances comfortable and positive,

Awareness when to Lalk aud what fo tlk in an appropriate use of tim — laking conversations

Communicative strategies also includs the ability to adapt when one’s message is not laken and lo sustain communialion by paraphrases, circumlocution, aveidance and shift in

register and style

In summary the above-named competencies are almost entirely language knowledge- ound ones In EFL teaching and learning context, these are insufficient for the learner to learn effectively In practice, Quy (2009) claimed that to be a competent speaker in a language, the learner needs not only sufficient knowledge of the target language but also

nee

ry knawledge of the world thal is relevant lo the communicative lasks the learner is

to pertorm in the target situation, Thus, alongside with knowledge of the target language, the leamer should also be provided with appropriate knowledge of the topics at hand

Oral communication

It is known that language communication involves some skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing That 15 the reason why learners of English are required to have an adequate mastery of the four skills Nevertheless, the degree of fluency of each skill, which is a learner requires, depend on the course purpose

Among four skills, Byme said that listening and reading are considered as the Teceplive skills, speaking and writing are the productive skills As we know, each skill has particular importance Of the four skills, speaking plays a very important role since it is the step to identify who knows or does not know a language Pattison (1992) confirms that when a person speaks of knowing or learning a language they mean being able to speak

that language

It is the view from Byme opinion (1991:9), with regard to the relation between speaking and listening Il las seen thal speaking and listening skills in commumicalion are complementary From a commmnication, pragmatic view of the language classroom, speaking and listening skills are closely intertwined ‘The interaction between these two

modes of performance applies

pecially strongly to conversation, the most popular discourse category in the profession Speaking always necessities at least two participants speaker(s) and listener(s) When the speaker starts the message, the listener decodes, and

responds Lo the message in turn, Therefore, nature of oral communication is comprehended

as a two-way process between the speaker and listeners, Oral comnmmeation is etteetive only when the learners are supplied with oral skill

Martine Bygatc divided oral skills inlo negotiation skitls and production skills in which the former are divided interaction management and negotiation of meaning with two sub skills

Agenda managcment refer to the right of participants, choice of the topics and how they are developed and of how much time the conversation should be prolonged,

‘Turn taking (McC!athy, 1993) means that the speaker has to discern (Perceive clear

whon to take the Door and when to leave al another the speaker take tui)

Production skills takes that the speakers are always overwhelmed by time pressure

from the moment they decide what to say, how to stats to the time they say it out This

excuse help thorn protect themselves hy using instrument so as to expedite production and componsale for difficulties

These which stated above, provide conditions to enable learners’ speaking ability However, to obtain a good speaking ability, learners are required to have background relevant to the on-going communication, They necd to understand what they are going to talk and also to master some particular grammar points and language skills

1.2 ‘The nature of speaking

to the listener(s) ‘he function of the listener(s) is decoding the message ‘he message

ers) needs, And at the same time, the listener(s) is helped by the speaker(s)’ prosodic features

important feature of speaking, [hal is a two way process betw:

listener(s)

the speaker(s) and

1.2.2 The importance of speaking skill in the classroom

Among four Bnglish skills, speaking is very important, TLis considered as a bridge lo reach other skills, It helps the leamers to read better, to listen more efifzctively and write more accurately

‘Nunan (1991) points out “success is measured in terms of ability to camry out a

conversation in the (target) language” So that, speaking plays an important part If the

spsaking is pracliced successfully, the other skills can zlso be improved Morsover, nowadays, in the epoch of great intemational exchange and globalization, the demand for communication among people in many other countries in the world is very necessary, Without if, the life doesn’t exist Speaking is considered as survival skill in real life (Lr,

1996, p134) For this reasons above, focusing on speaking in Icarning and teaching language is very necessary

1.3

ome problems in speaking performance

There are some problems in speaking performance as follows:

Inhibition’ Learners are often inhibition about trying to say things in foreign language However, in the class, they are worried abont making mistakes, fearful of

criticism, or losing face, or simply shy of the attention that their speech attracts

Nothing to say: they can not think of anything to say Besides, they can not express their ideas in target lane

Basing ơn these views, my tescarch inlcnd 1o investigate how ouhancing inpul improves Hanoi College of Electric and Flectro-Reftigeralory Technics’ non-English major students’ speaking performance

in the part of your brain responsible for language

1.4.2 The role of input

According to ‘Tomasz P Szynalski, the brain produces sentences based on the sentences il has seen or heard (inpul) So the way to improve is to feed your brain with a lot

of imput — comect and understandable sentences (wntten or spoken) Before you can start speaking and writing in a foreign language, your brain must get enough correct sentences in that language So, it is: very

y lo reakize thal input is very important in learning and

acqusition language As the undeniable result, your speaking skill want to improve, enhancing input is very necessary

1.4.3 What is comprehensible input?

The Comprehensible Input Hypothesis is the most important one of Krashen’s theories of second language acquisition ‘I'he comprehensible input hypothesis attempts to explain how learners acquire a second language

According to Krashen’s (1982), one acquires language 1s only one way by exposure

to Comprehensible input IIs claims that exposure to comprehensible input in the target

language will [cad to the simmultancous occurrence of comprehensible and acquisition The theory can be illustrated as the following figure (adapted from Krashen, 1982:16-32)

Leamt knowledge (Monitoring)

— Acquired —3 Onpul

RevicesL AD) kouwtedge

Comprebenstble ingut = 41

Figure J: Krashen’s combined model of acquisition and production

The Input Typothesis is only concerned with “acquisition”, not “leaming” More gencrally, how do acquirers move from slage “i, where “I represenis currant competence, to “it1”, the next level? The Input Hypothesis makes the following claim:

a necessary (but not sufficient) condition to move from stage “i” to stage “i! 1” is that

acquirers understanding input that contains “i 1”, where “understanding” means that aoquirers focus on the meaning but not the form of the message According to this hypothesis, acquirers improve and progress along the “natural order” when they receive sccoml language “input” thal is one step beyond thsir current stage of linguistic competence How is this possible? Thus is done with the help of context or extra-linguistic information

Furthermore, the Input Hypolhe:

s says (hal inpul must contain “41° lo be uscfah for language acquisition, but it necd not contain only “iH+1" If aequircrs understand the input, and there is enough of it, “i+1” will be provided While the teaching syllabi try to deliberately cover “41™, Usually both teachers and learners facl the aim of the lesson is to

teach or practice a specific grammatical item or structure, Once the structure is mastered,

the syllabi proceed to the next one On the basis of the Input Llypothesis such a deliberate

nltetrgpl to provide “+17 is nol necessary

The Input Hypothesis also states that acquirers must not be foreed to produce early

‘Their production is not taught directly, ‘that is, a certain amount of comprehensible inpul must be buill up before acqniters start io produce their own structures Acquisition will come when acquizars feel “ready” For example, if an acquirer is at a stage “I”, then acquisition takes place when he/she is exposed to enough comprehensible input that

bolongs to level “1+1”

Krashon beticves that by moans of corlext and other oxtra-lingnistic ones language acquisition is caused by acquirers’ understanding input “i-1” which is slightly beyond their current stage of knowledge “i” Krashen defines “i 1” as comprehensible input which means that Icamners should be able to understand the cssenec of what is being said or presented to them Comprehensible input is particularly beneficial in acquisition and production Tk is crucial that acquirers receive the input that is comprehensible and challenging enough to lead to improve in linguistic competence, The main task of a teacher is to provide comprehensible input to the students as much as possible, When an acquirer is provided with comprehensible input, hisher LAD is activated and he/she acquires Comprehensible input has four characteristics: (1) comprchensible, (2) interesting and relevant; (3) not grammatically sequenced; (4) sufficient ‘i+1”

of classroom tsaching, teacher talk is one of major sources of

on students’ language proficiency, teaching content and atmosphere of class, teachers should try to modify their language to meet the need of classroom teaching ‘Teachers

can use simple vocabulary and less complex syntaclic structures, slower sp p vale with the aim to make their speeches easier to be understood and provide comprehensible input for students

At first, teachors have to explain cithor in native language or simple English, and bilingual teaching or pure English can be used for explanation appropriately Teachers can modify their language by using more frequent, neutral and concrete vocabulary and grammatically wolk formed sonlenecs Io facilitate the student? comprehension It is casy lo notice that students can understand better when teachers fiequently use the same words instead of different words Irequent stimulations to students can help them remember the knowledge they learnt and give them opportunitics to comprehend,

In addition, the rate of teacher talk is another very important factor, which can influence students’ comprehension on second language acquisition And a number

of stuttics provide svidence lo suggost thal appropriaie rate of teacher talk can aid students to understand the language input If the rate of teacher” talk is nol appropriate, the input will be rather difficult and it will become a “noise” tor students, even it can increase their anxiety, which is a negative fhetor to language Isaming Therefore, according to the language proficiency of students teachers can modify the rate of their speech to aid comprehension,

1.5 Research into enhancing input through giving extensive readings and enti

vocabulary to improve speaking performance

1.5.1 Definition of extensive reading (ER)

The term “extensive reading” was onginally coined by Palmer (1968) In “Handout

from the Extensive reading Forum" Omiya (1998) introduces a definition as follow:

Extensive Reading usually means reading a lot of self-selected easy, interesting texts, and

doing few or no exercises afterwards

Extensive Reading is a way ta teach a foreign language

These definitions show the rele of extensive reading in language sequisilion and social

knowledge

As Susser and Robb’s (1990) point of view extensive reading is reading of large

Quantities of materials or long texls; for global or general understanding; with the intention

of obtaining pleasure fiom the text

Our students are advised to read as much as possible because the mors they read, the greater they benefit fram seading From Day and Bamford’s point oul “the quantity of reading is noi

an absolute number of hours or pages but depends on teacher and student perceptions of how

extensive reading differs from other readings, this will vary according to type of program,

level, and other variables” (Day and Bamford, 2002) The level of global understanding

required varies with the student’s language proficiency, the nature of texts and other factors

Students can read with pleasure within their own comfort zone both in the students’ own

time when and where the students chooses, or inside the classroom From extensive readings, the students can have much more vocabulary, and enhancing knowledge of the world They will make them more confident to speak in the elass However, choosing suitable extensive

20

Toađings is very importanL bocauss thơ Ìssmers can slop Teading when they find lo be too difficult, or thet turns out not ter be of inlcres! So, as Nnttal (1996; 173) “most of the

materials must be collected by the teachers”

1.5.2 Role of extensive reading (ER)

Extensive readings are very important in language teaching, if we only teach students

grammar and individual words, students can wot use them in practice, bul we show them in real context, they will know how to modify and extend in their utterance as well as the knowledge of the world What is more, ER enlarges vocabulary rapidly and is the best way

to improve language skills in general and speaking skill in particular for the students ERs not only cnrich readcr’s vocabulary but also broaden reader’s awarcness of the world It is advisable to use as many ERs as we can in our teaching — learning process

Nullal (1996; 128) si

ss that “ihe best way lo improve your language ofa foreign language is to go and live among its speakers The next best way is to read extensively in it” Extensive readings have many bensfits such as motivational, literary, cultural and higher —

folk tale

order thinking bonefils, Exlonsive readings can be traditional fairy stories,

collections, newspapers, literary short stories, etc They are effective as educational tools because they are believable, rememberable, and entertaining (Neuhauser, 1993, cited in

Rossister, Marsha, 2003-2004) Fispecially, i

the students think and speak better Moreover, they help the students become more contident

in their use of Linglish, or example, in ths study implementing on children of grade three or

s bensfil for learning speaking skill, They help

twelve (Us grad toval) the rescarchers (1987) found out thal the children Tearned up lo 3000 words a year and that only a small percentage of such learning was due to direct vocabulary instruction, the remainder being due to acquisition of words from reading Grabe (1991 391) also states that extensive reading “can erihanee Icamers’ general language competence”,

As Krashen (1982), the extensive reading may provide “comprehensive input” They not

only provide the learners language knowledge but also social knowledge With interesting roadlings, they will arcals a relaxed, tonsion-free environment for the Iearners TL is the most effzctive way to reach the success in speaking performance Indeed, extensive readings contribute greatly to improve leamers’ speaking skill

21

However, these materials arc nol designed for all English learners and they are Tol

graded for level

obviously a little bit difficult for beginners to understand So, to avoid boredom, repeated activities or unrelated knowledge to students’ course book they are learning, teachers should

s, especially poems, songs, TV or radio programs, stories, ole, and some are

selcot, supply cxtra matcrials and use various activitics in teaching — learning process suit with students’ needs, interests and level

‘A Imguists states that vocabulary “., may be individual word or full sentences institutionalized utterances — that convey fixed social or pragmatic meaning witnin a given

arrange together ta make senteni

In short, vocabulary can be defined as the words we need to teach in the foreign language

1.5.4 The place of vocabulary in foreign language teaching and learning

It is undeniable that vocabulary plays an important role in teaching and learning language Nowadays, pcople aware that besides their mother — tongue they nocd to require

other foreign language As a researcher states, “vocabulary is the most important for

understanding and knowing names for things action and concepts” Moreover vocabulary Knowledge can help Janguage users perform and develop langnage skill since “substantial vocabulary knowledge is always a prerequisite to the performance of language skills

Vocabutary omables language usc, Jarguage usc cnables the incrcasc of voeabulary knowles

and language use so on” (Nation and Waring, 2004: 6-19)

Wilkins (1972:11) emphasizes that “without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing conveyed” It shows that the first needs vocabulary for non — native speaker to communicate, It is the main objective of language learners To achicve this objective, they have to master enough vocabulary of that language, if not, they will find it impossible to express themselves in most cirenmnstances

1.6 Summary

This chapter has presented the relevant Literature including the nature of speaking, some problems in speaking performance, definition and the role of vocabulary, definition and role of extensive readings fiom the famous linguistics and methodologies However, one may wonder if suhaneing inpul through enriching vocabulary and giving extensive readiugs

to raise social knowledge does have effzcts on leamers’ speaking parformance in the context

of LICLLT ‘The study discussed in the following chapters, Chapter If and Chapter LI, was

conducted to find the answer Lo tis question

23

CHATTER H: METHODS OF THE STUDY

In this Chapter, the methods for carrying out the study will be discussed These include the study research questions, the context of the study, the participants, the syllabus, data collection instruments and data collection procedures

2.1 Research questions

‘The final aim of the research is to investigate how enhancing input for the non major students al Hanoi Colloge of Electronies and Eloclro-Refrigeralory Techies improve their speaking, performance, In order to obtain the goal of the study, we had to follow two stages First, we had to find out their students’ difficulties in speaking performance Second, based onthe difficullics, haw giving some teolmiques lo entrance input as crriching vocabulary and social knowledge through extensive readings improve speaking performance In short, the

‘two research questions corresponding to the stages are

(1) What are the faclors affecting tha stndorls? spoaking performance?

(2) How does the enhanced input improve the students’ speaking performance?

2.2 The context of the study

The study was conducted at HCRET, a tocluicat College with 5 teehnicat fienttics The students at HCEET are non English major students, Here, they have to lear English tor the first two year In the first year, stndants study general English in the texthook New headway Elementary with aim to develop speaking skill In the second year, the students lean English for specific purpose (ESP) It is very important for the firs year students to provide basic grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary In New headway-Elementary, all basic grammar structures arc revised, how Lo pronounes words, sertonec is also introduced carefully and basic numbers of vocabulary are from readings, the situations of speaking, Normally, sach week only has 6 periods of English Moreover, the Finglish proficiency of the students is mixed, The non-English major classes arc always large sizes It is a difficult problem to teach and lear effectively, especially with the aim of the course is to develop spoaking skill

Normally, contexts create classroom activities are mostly based on those mm the textbooks that teacher have at hand, In order for the students to learn a new language meaningfully, teacher gives students activities that personalize language use with details

24

aboul (heir own lives and farnily, in addition lo this, to undersland a foreign culture, tcachars puts thet culture in relation with sindonts’ own, for cxamplo, in unit 9 wilh the reading tox Food around world about meals, usual food, and drinks for each meals, after doing reading comprehension activities available in the textbook, teachsr might organize a discussion on local meals with local food and drink to make comparison,

At HCEET, the students have to learn English in four semesters, normally at the first year, New headway-Mementary is used (similar with 150 periods, equally divided into twe semesters Aiter 150 periods of learning English, students have to have a background of general nglish, they can make short speeches on some topics as health, family career, holiday, life in the city or life in the country, ete with background knowledge of grammar and promaneiation

2.3 The participants

In order ta get the data for the study, 60 first year students (lhe second semester students) fiom three classes have randomly selected to investigate They are both female and male students The numbers of male students are much more than the numbers of female

students, Their ages arc fram 18 to 2S years old and came fiom different provinees in Vietnam (ftom the North to the South) A large number of them have learnt English since primary and secondary school, However, most of them are not good at communication in

Engtish, even with cach other inside the classroom The couse book for the frst year students at HCEET chosen is New headway Elementary, a comnmnicative course book llere, it relatively focuses on revising basic grammar structwes and teaching ways of prommeiation for the loamters to crcale foundation for the students in spcaking skill However, the reality of their 1* year non major students” speaking at HCEET 1s low That is reason why the study is conducted to find out their other difficulties and research how cnhancing input as cnriching vocabulary and raising their social knowledge through extensive readings and many activities effective

2.4 The syllabus

Aolually, the syllabus used for non-English major stndents is a scl af course books New Headway which is a 3-levzl general English course at elementary, pre-intermediate, and intermediate level The course book at elementary level divided into 14 main units In

Now headway —clomontary, students’ book eantains a detailed Grammar reference section, a

roflceting on learning scetion, lypeseripl, a wordlist and an TPA chart and irregular verb

table The workbook contains further practice of the language and vocabulary presented in the students’ hook In New Ileadway — Elementary, text types used are everyday texts, mass

-nkdia texts, and literary texts

2.5 The data collection instruments

In the sludy, the survey questionnaire is one of the most effective instruments for

collecting data It was designed to investigate the students’ opinion at HCEET Clear

instructions were given when the questionnaire was administered ‘I'he questionnaire for the students includes 13 questions written both English and Vietnamese The questionnaire was

divided into 2 parts:

Part 1: Pre-input enhancement questionnaire focuses on:

- Students’ opinion on speaking skill (Questions 1, 2, 3, 4)

- The difficulties which the students encounter in speaking performance (Questions 5, 6, 7) Part 2: Post-input enhancement questionnaire focuses on:

= The students" opinion about the offeels of enhanced input on their speaking por formance

The data collected from the questionnaire were then analyzed statistically and descriptively in detail in the following seetions ‘Ihe result of the questionnaire would help the researcher draw oul supplementary statements on the issue discussed

Ten students among the questionnaire respondents were chosen randomly for a follow-up interview for more in depth data Lach of the interviewees was asked 5 questions

(seo appendixes 5 for details)

2.6 Data collection procedures

In order to obtain data for the research, two written questionnaires were administered

to the subjects Onc was designed to find out the factors affecting the students’ spcaking

performance One was designed to collect the students’ opinions of the improvement of their speaking performance after six weeks of input enhancement through enriching vocabulary and expanding social knowledge from extensive readings as well as commumicalive

activities All the questions in the questionnaires were simple and not long, and written in

both English and Vietnamese

As pre-speaking stage is the time when input is provided and made comprehensible, some activities as combine words with structures, multiple choices, matching, describe the pictures, name the picture, games as well as some extensive readings related the topics in the conrse book were carried out (see Appendix 6, 7 for datails) Especially, to make clearly for two questionnaires, | selected 10 students randomly to interview (see appendix 5 for details) 2.7 Summary

In this part, the rescarch questions, participants, mstrumerts, and proecdur

collection and analysis procedures are presented, In a best attempt to build a scientific methodology, the researcher hopes to achieve a reliable and valid data or the study

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CHAPTERTII: DATA, DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

In this chapter, data, data analysis and discussion of the findings will be presented

3.1 Pre-input enhancement questionnaire:

3.1.1 The students’ opinion about speaking skill:

‘The questions 1, 2, and 3 are designed to discover students’ attitude towards speaking

skill The specific questions and students’ responses are shown in Table |

Question } ” How important is speaking skill to you? so7 |163 |18

a, very unportant b rather important

¢ little important d not important at alll

¢.Hillle interested in

d not interested at all

Question 3 Why do you learn to speak English? You can 36 I8 100

Hick more than ane answer,

a English speaking is compulsory at your college

b You just want to pass the oral cxam

©, It is nescessary for your future job

d You are inlerested in speaking skill

e No, I like speaking English very much

Table I: Students’ opinion about speaking skill

Bemg asked about the importance of English speaking skill, most of students find the speaking is very important to them It takes 80.7% while 16.3% students asked to say that English speaking skill is mather important The percentage defying il is very small, which takes 3.0%, However, when being asked about their interest in speaking English classes, there is only 21.9% of students says it is very interesting, 35.1% is rather interested while the percentage that is not interested makes bigger, which takes 43% In question 3, bases on the statistics in ‘Table 1, it can clearly be seen that all the students asked (100%) say that speaking skill isn

skill to pass the oral test Moreover, 26 percent offen feel unwilling to speak Linglish in the

class while 51.1% of students is respondent sometimes Only 22.9% docs not feel unwilling

to speak English in the class

Tn order Lo explore more clearly the students’ opinion, I interviewed 10 students The question 1s “Do you find the speaking topics represented in class, based on “New Headway

Elementary baring?” (Em có cảm thấy các chủ để trong giáo linh New Headway —

Llementary tẻ nhạt khỏng?) Eight sttdents said that they are very interesting Only 2

students said (hal (he topics are all righl, So Ul, it is easy lo sec thal the number of studenls that have negative assessment is minimal The result revealed that speaking topics in the

conrse — book are mol Íaclor thai causs the resull of only 21.9% is interesed in speaking

The following respondents will be the answer to the question

3.1.2 The students’ dificulties in speaking performance

Questions $ and 6 attempt to find out the factors what make the students unwilling to speak English in class The respondents can be scen in Table 2 bellow

Question 6 ‘Numaber the following items froma the most te the | 36.9 | 131 | 175

least problematic for you when you speak Bnaiid

a, vocabulary

of them states they can not find structures to express their ideas, Besides, onily 9.8 percent of

the students stated that they were not given enough time for the preparation of their topics

Slatistics provide in Table 2 also show thal 36.9% af the respondents realize thal for them vocabulary is the most difficult problem which affects to their speaking process

Moreover, 32.5 % of them answer that knowledge of the world is also an obstacle of speaking skill, While only 13.1% of the students choose grammar as the most difficult factor which deter their speaking performance and 17.5% state that the most difficult factor is their prowmeiation

In order to explore eloarly, I interviewed 10 students who were chosen randomly The question was asked: “which most difficult deter you in the speaking performance?” (Em cam

iv yéu 16 ndo gdy trở ngại nhiều nhất trong qué tinh ndi cia minh?) Six students of them

answered that it is vocabulary It is difficult for them te find the words in second language to

express what they want to say Other four students said that they can not find many ideals to say because their knowledge of the world is very restricted The nex! question was: “what do

you tink about other factors such as grammar, pronunciation?” (Vay cde vou 16 vé ngit

pháp hay pháp âm có cửn trở em trong quá trình nói bay không?) All of them answered that

grammar and pronunciation do not deter thern or đeter insigniBcant One of†hem said: “ngữ

pháp và pháp âm là hai yêu tổ khả cân tết trong quả trình nói nhưng nó không phải là hat

yếu tả gây ảnh lurỡng nhiều tới quả trình nói của em Ngữ pháp và phát âm cũng đưa vào

phân day wong hai te cic lap dưới và ngay cả bây giỏ lu em dang học gido twink New head

vay này thà vẫn đề ngữ pháp và pháp âm cũng được dạy khá ki”

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In a word, vocabulary and the knowledge of the world are chosen to be two most

difficult factors which deter for the students in speaking From that the next questior is thai

what the students’ desires are to improve their speaking skill The following respondents will

‘be the answer to the question

3.1.3 Students’ expectation for what to be done to improve their speaking skill

Question 7 Thai do you expect your leather lo dot improve | 45 | 428 [725

your speaking skill?

a, Improve your vooalulary through many activities

b Raise your knowledge of the world

¢, Improve your pronunciation

Table 3: Students’ expectation for what to be done to improve their speaking skill From the statistics of Table 3, it was easy to realize that 45% of students state that improving your vocabulary through many activities is whal they wand to expect their leacher

to do to improve their speaking skill While, 42.8% respondents answered that raising ther knowledge of the world is necessary to improve speaking skill ‘The students’ desire to improve their promuncialion is anly 7.2%6 and grammes is 5%

In summary, according to the above results of the pre-input enhancement survey, it is easy to realize both the difficulties and desires of the students at HCEET to improve speaking skill This also shows that, in order to improve the students’ speaking performance, enhancing input of the knowledge of the world and vocabulary for the non-English major students is truly crucial

3.2 Post input enhancement questionnaire`

Based on the difficullics and desires of the non-English majar students, Ï đecidcd to

give many activities and extensive readings related to the topics in the course-book to raise

their vocabulary as well as broaden the knowledge of the world were given After six weeks,

the students werc asked to respond to a questionnaire expressing their cvaluations or

opinions about effects of extensive reading and activities in improving speaking skill

When asked “Affer the six weeks of input enhancement through communicative

activihes and extensive reading, 1 your speaking proficiency improved?” (Question 1) 100%

of the respondents answered “yes” I'rom the result above, we can realize that the activities

and some extensive readings are beneficial to the non-English major students in improving

their speaking proficiency In order to know the activitics and extensive readings help them

overcome their difficulties of poor vocabulary and knowledge of the world, they will be

answered in the next questions

Firstly, it is improving their vocabulary by carrying out some or all of the following

Question 2 Tn your opinion, how effective were the activites

aimed towards improving your vocabulary?

(You can circle more than one answer)

a Not effective at all

b Effective

© Very effective

d Similar activities should be added

‘Question 3 Tn your option, which activity improved your 5 17 47 31

vocabulary the most?