Luận văn a study on using groupwork activities to improve speaking skill for the members of an english club at vung ca

The study has been conducted for the purpose of clarifying how groupwork are used in speaking lessons of the students in the English club at VCVBHS and investigating the difficultics of

VIETNAM NATIONAT, UNIVERSITY, HANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES,

PHUNG THI THU HANG

A STUDY ON USING GROUPWORK ACTIVITES TO LMPROVE

SPEAKING SKILL FOR THE MEMBERS OF AN ENGLISH CLUB

AT VUNG CAO VIET BAC HIGH SCHOOL

Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng các hoạt động nhóm để nâng cao kỹ năng nói cho các

thành viên của Câu lạc bệ Tiếng Anh ở trường PT Vũng Cao Việt Bac

MA MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY

CODE: 60140111

HANOI — 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAT, UNIVERSITY, HANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES,

PHUNG THI THU HANG

A STUDY ON USING GROUPWORK ACTIVITES TO LMPROVE

SPEAKING SKILL FOR THE MEMBERS OF AN ENGLISI CLUB

AT VUNG CAO VIET BAC HIGH SCHOOL

Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng các hoạt động nhóm để nâng cao kỹ năng nói cho các

thành viên của Câu lạc bệ Tiếng Anh ở trường PT Vũng Cao Việt Bac

MA MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY

CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: HOANG TRT XUAN HOA, PhD

HANOI — 2014

DECLARATION

1 certity that this thesis is the result of my own research and the substance of this thesis has not been submitted for a degree to any other university or institution,

Phùng Thị Thu Hằng

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I wish to express my deepest gratitude tomy supervisor Ms Hoang Thi Xuân Hoa for her constant encouragement, precious advice and especially for her valuable correciions toughoul this study There is-no donbl that without her help, this thesis wontd

‘be impossible to be accomplished,

My sincere thanks are also sent to the lecturers of the Faculty of Post Graduate Studi < of University of Langages and Trlematioral Stustios for their useful lessons and whole-hearted advices

I would like to acknowledge my thanks to all the authors of the books, magazines, and other ralcrials listed im the toference part for the ideas thal have been reflected and developed in the study

1 am indebted to my family and friends who have encouraged and supported me very mich in the completion of this paper If there had not been great help from the above people, the study could not have boon fulfilled,

Last but not least, I would like to thank the students who willingly took part in the survey of this paper

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ABSTRACT

This research generally attempts to investigate using groupwork activities to

improve speaking skill for students in the English club at Vung Cao Viet Bac High School

(VCVBITS)

The study has been conducted for the purpose of clarifying how groupwork are used in speaking lessons of the students in the English club at VCVBHS and investigating the difficultics of using groupwork activitiss in teaching and loaning speaking skill for students of the English chub at VCVBHS The data wate obtained through the analysis of students’ questionnaire, interviews with four English teachers who are controlling directly the English club The findings of the rescarch revealed that groupwork activitics wers frequently used to improve the speaking, skill The use of groupwork activities were also

*eneBoial for both teachers and leamers However, the study also found out some students” difficulties such as low proficiency, their passive way of learning styles, using Viemamese when working in groups and some teachers’ difficultics in using groupwork activities in such as lack of time, large and multilevel classes, fhe author also gave some recommendations 10 make groupwork activities effective and successfal in speaking Jessons and to help students in the English club at Vung Cao Viet Bac High Schoot to improve their speaking skill

Lis hoped thal this thesis will help other English leachers he aware of the benefits

of groupwork activities and apply thom in teaching English speaking mors successfully and effectively

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

VCVBHS: Vung Cao Viet Bac High School E§L :EnglishasaSecond Language

LIST OF TABLES

TABLES

Table 1: Students’ opinions on learning English speaking skill

Table 2: The teachers’ frequent use of groupwork activities

‘table 3: ‘he students and teachers’ opinions on benefits of groupwork activities

Table 4: Organization of groupwork activities in speaking aelivily

Table 5: Kinds of groupwork activities that students want to participate in

‘Table 6: ‘The difficulties students had when working in group work

Table

effective

The students! suggzstions lo make group work activitics in speaking lesson

1.2.4 The imporlanee of speaking skill in language Ioaching and loaring corllcxt.7 1.2 Group work ina speaking lesson 8

1.2.2 How to organize group work nctivitics effectively 9 1.2.2.1, Forming students in groups 2D 1.2.2.2 Preparing for students to work in group - cee LO

1.2.2.4 Ending groupwork activities "w ÔÐ 1.2.3 Benefits of using groupwork activities in language teaching u

1.2.4 The tole of the leacher and the tole of cach student im groupwork aclivilics 12 1.2.4.1 The role of the teacher wld

1.3.4.2 The role of each student in groupwork activities - - 13

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3.1 The students’ and teachers’ opinions on leaning and teaching English speaking

4.2.2, Taachers" diienlties 232

4.3 Some recommendations to make groupwork activities effective and successfull in

2 Limitations of the sEuđy ccc sec 36

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationales of the study

English has become one of the most important languages and powerful languages

in the world In Vielnam, Ministry of Rdneation and Training has pul more emphasis on teaching and learning foreign languages, especially English than ever before, In recent

‘years, English has been considered one of some important subjects and a compulsory one for Victhamese students, "Roller English, better caraors" was the answer given by many of them when they told about theix purpose of leaming this language It can not be denied that this international language may help Vietnamese students prepare better for their career in the fulure becausa it dass not only equip lcamers wilh a nowessary souree of information of social and culture knowledge but also gives them up-to-date information conceming a different issues in our society nowadays Especially, our country's recent regional and global participation has been increasing the demand for English speaking people, who are wanted to communicate with the outside world and access up-to-date technology

in response, the teaching and learning English has been paid much attention to, which is shown by remarkable changes in curriculum, studies

teaching methods which are all applied for the four English skills As a matter of fact, speaking skill “the most important aspect of learning a second language” (Nunan, 1989) is

companied as well as

stil! a challenge for Vietnamese learners who still show a tow molivation irr speaking English Therefore, togathor wilh this trond, spoaking skis have also hccome the focus of Janguage teaching, as far as the objectives of English cowse at schools and universities are concemed As their major subject is Linglish, each of the students at English olub, Vung Cao Viel Bac High School is always awasa of how important spoaking skill to them However, most students at Vung Cao Viet Bac high school are trom different mountainous areas in the northern of Vietnam Maybe they were good at grammar but they have a lot of difficultics in speaking English, They feel shy when they speak and they do not have a loi

of chances to practice English in communication or for interaction in their daily life that is why speaking this language has not had the best result ‘Therefore, it is necessary to help the sludents of English club at Vung Cao Viel Bac high school to have more chancus to communicate with each other as well as to speak to each other in a so-called close-to-real English speaking condition One of the strategies that reflects the principle of leamer -

centeredness is groupwork activity According to Nunan and Lamb (1996 : 142) group

ssroom activily in which

work is designed as any ol ucrs perforin collaborative tasks with one or more speakers It has been considered one of the main changes to the dynamics

of classroom interaction wrought by students-centered teaching ‘They hope that by using this teaching method, they can help their fearners improve their English and use it effectively and finently in communication

‘The effort of this thesis is trying to determine effective methods in teaching spouking skill for learners and 1o hstp studonts lo improve speaking skills, Having students work in groups not only makes them more involved in leaming but also give them opportunities to practice foreign language ‘there are many reasons for choosing the sindy

‘but the above reasons are tho main onus thal encourage the rescarcher to choose the thosis:

“4 study on using groupwork activities fa improve speaking skill for the members of an English club at Vang Cao Viet Bac high schoat”

2 Aims of the study

This study is aimed at investigating the reality of the usc of groupwork activities in speaking activities of the members in the English club at VCVBHS, To be specific, the ainns of the slucty ars

+ To clarify how groupwork activities are used in speaking lessons of the students in

the English club at VCVBHS

| To investigate the difficulties of using groupwork activities lo improve speaking skill for students of the English club al VCVBHS,

3 Significance of the study

‘This study helps to determine how groupwork activities are used to improve English speaking skill It provides language teachers with the ralionale lo carry ouf proupwork activities in class to improve students” speaking skills This study also gives suggestion to ESL teachers tơ develop successful groupwork activities as they can identify the major problems faccd by themsclyes and by their students, Thus, tcachers arc conscious with the advantages of group work in teaching and learning process

In addition, the students will appreciate and work wilh the strengths of others This will increase learning, planning and discussion skills and eventually improve their speaking

capabililies The students will be involved as participants and decision-makers in oral

groupwork aclivitiss Resides, the value of group work in FSI classroom will be

determined [lence, this study is helpful to provide Imowledge on ways to develop natural ways in speaking activities

4, Research questions

The above uims of the sludy are Lo answer the two following rescarch questions

1 How groupwork sclivitics are uscd in speaking lessons of the students in the English club at VCVBHS?

2 What are the difficulties the teachers and the students in the English club at VCVBHS face when using groupwork activities?

Basing on the research questions and the result of the study, the writer gives recommendations to make groupwork activities more effective and successful in speaking lessons and to help students in the Unglish club at VCVBILS to improve their speaking skill

5 Scope of the study

Within the scope of a graduation paper and due to the limita

ion of time, the researcher just hopes to coneentmte on investigation how groupwork activities arc used in speaking, activities of the Enghsh club, some difficulties the teachers and the students face when using groupwork , and then suggesting some recommendations to make groupwork activities more effective and successful in speaking activities as well as help students in the English club at VCVBHS to improve their speaking skill, In addition, the data for the study are collected among fifty students in English ofnb and four teachers of English who are responsible for controlling the English club at VCVBHS

6 Methods of the study

‘between the researcher and the four teachers who are directly controlling the English ciub

For the purpose of data collection, a set of questionnaize was designed to gather the students’ opinion on the group work activities to improve their speaking skills By using questionnaire, the privacy of the respondents was protected and the students were able to provide an hones! response to facilitate the slutty Also, time w:

rranged efficiently when questionnaire was used as the respondents intended for the study could be reached without difficulty The questionnaire was prepared in Vietnamese language so that the sindents

could respond based on their understanding of the statements Most of the time, the

researcher had fo repeal the instructions in Vielnarnese tanguage so thal every student can

understand before starting their aclivifics Thus, the reliability of the insirumen! was

jnercased as the students conld provide feedbacks or responses as accwalely as possible

Interviews were condueted with four English teachcrs afler the groupwork activilics

were catried out in class The interviews were semi-structured, whereby twelve questions

were prepared before the interview and some additional questions were asked on the spot

‘The researcher prepared twelve relevant questions to gather information and support the zesults obtained from the questionnaires According to Moser and Kalton (1971), interview

is described as a means of eliciting relevant information and personal opinion from the respondents The advantages of inlerviews include the abiliiy to examine the teachers? responses, take notes of their ideas and investigate their feelings aout teaching speaking skill using groupwork aclivities

7 Design of the study

The thesis has three main parts as follows:

Part A; Introduction

This part presents the rationale, the aims, the scope and the design of the study

Part B: Development

‘This part consists of four chapters:

Chapter 1: Literature review

Chapter 2: Research methodology

Chapler 3: Data analy

Chapler 4: Findings and recommendations

PART B; DEVELOPMENT

CIIAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

To begin with the study, in this chapter, the researcher will present some theoretical background based on which the study will be carried out

4.1 Speaking skill

LLL2 Nature of speaking skill

Speaking skift is a productive skill which requires & lol of back-up factors Tike knowledge, confidence, self esteem and enthusiasm (Me Cathy, 1993) Speaking a second janguags, particnlarly, brings about its own prerequisites: exposure, consolidation, inotivation as well as acknowledgment, Whathor wa realize il or nol, those determinant factors can be made to exist in a supportive leaming environment ESL classroom

To beginners, speaking activities can appear more demanding and even threatening than plain writing Compared to writing as an academic skill, you can expect a bigger audience for speaking The audionce may also be encouraging or vice versa Well-bchaved and attentive audience may be supportive of learners attempt to speak, nevertheless, distracting members will erly dampen their spirit to try and speak up

‘As much as learners may dread speaking in a group or in front of the class, speaking as a skill is essential for acquisition and participation purposes Nowadays, every profession requires some extent of communicative compelence and inlsrporaonal skills The nature af speaking al the workplaca prescnls ilsclf im various forms: discussions, presentations, negotiation, and even debates Professions like medical doctors and IT specialists also require comemnication with clients, not to mention teaching, journalism, politics, and public relations In other words, ESI speaking class in Ihis competitive era will have to do more than pair work speaking practice by the middle of the semester

1.1.2 Concepts of speaking (spoken language)

Speaking is of the most fundamental of human communication, and because we do

it constantly Different linguists have different concepts of speaking but they all agree with this ide

According to the Oxford Dictionary of Curent English (2009), speaking is “the action of conveying information or expressing one’s thoughts and feelings in spoken

Janguages” While Brown (1994) defines speaking as an interactive process of constructing

micaning thal involves producing, receiving and processing information

Speaking is, however, a skill, which deserves attention as much as literary skills Our leamers often need to speak with confidence so as to carry out many of their most

‘basic transactions, Tn language leaching and learning, speaking is considered a skill ta

practice and master Speech has its own skills, structures and convention, which are

different from written language that is characterized by well-formed sentences and intorrelalsd into highly structed paregraphs

In short, there are different concepts of speaking due to different approaches, namely, an action, a process and a skill in this study, the term “speaking” will be used to refer lo a skitl in the contox! of language touching and learnings

1.1.3 Characteristics of speaking

Speaking has the following characteristics

First of all, its form and meaning arc dependent on the context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking This offen sponlaneous, open ended, and evolving, However, speech is not always unpredictable

Secondly, speaking requires that leamers not only know how to produce specific points of language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary, bul also thal they undorstand when, why, and in what ways lo prodtice language owing how to use the linguistic components of English is part of a learner’s communicative competence It is recognized by Ur (1996) and other linguists that speaking skills includes two elements that complement cach other namely: accuracy and Mucney Accuracy is onc of the most important criteria to measure one’s linguistic ability and to shelter language users from communication breakdowns, Specifically, speaking English accurately means doing without or with few sIrors on not only grammar but vocabulary and pronunciation, as well Besides, fluency is also used as a criterion to measure one’s speaking competence

‘Speaking fluently means being able to comnmunicate one’s ideas without having to stop and think Loo much about what is saying

With a view to teaching and learning speaking skill effectively, both teachers and leaners have to pay mmich attention to those features of speaking Teachers, therefore, can

uuse appropriate activities for practice and suitable approaches to teach speaking Moreover,

students themselves gel benefits from those activitics

Lastly, speech has its own skills, structures, and conventions different from written languages A good speaker synthesizes this array of skills and knowledge to succeed in a given speech act

{na nutshell, it is mdeniable that speaking is the key to communication Speaking skill owns particular characteristics which differentiate it from other skills By considering

whal good speakers do, whal speaking tasks can be used in class, and what specific needs learners report, teachers can help leamers improve their speaking and overall oral competency

1.2.4, The importance of speaking skill in language teaching and learning context

Speaking, along with the other three skills including listening, reading and writing, hetp leamers learn a language most effectively Good speaking skills help people communicate the fastest and the most cffectively,

Many language leamers consider speaking ability the measure of knowing a language As for them, (uemcy is the abilily to converse wilh others mich more than the ability to read, write or comprehend oral language They regard speaking as the most important skill they can acquire and they assess their progress in terms of their accomptishmenls on spoken communication, Therefore, if learners do nol lean how to spauk or do nol got any opportimities to speak in the language classraom, they tray soon pet de-motivated and lose interest in leaming, On the contrary, if the right activities are taught in the nght way, speaking in class can be a lot of fin, raising general learners” anotivation and making the English tanguage classroom an cnjoyabls and dynamic place to

be Penny Ur (1996) points out four features of a successfull speaking activity They are Jeamers’ attendance, learners’ participation, motivation and appropriate language level

With the ctiterion “lcamer-contcred learning”, in a speaking practice lesson, teachens only play the role of facilitators and supervisors while students are encouraged to talk most of the time allotted to speaking activities Secondly, learners' even participation also decides

the success of a speaking activity Tho Iosson should nol be dominated by only some students but all get chances to talk Besides, by using motivated tasks, teachers involve students in communicating and then acheving task objectives After an activity, the

phonological attained by students such as pronunciation, stress, intonation, ete must be at a

certain ten and an acceplable degree of fluency is also required

Obviously, the teaching way of speaking skill will directly affect much the Jeamers’ language leaming, It is the task of a language teacher to create the best conditions for learning Byrne (1986) shows thal the development of oral abilily is a goed source of motivation for most leamers According to him, teachers have to try to finds ways of demonstrating to the learners that they are making progress in the language all the time; cnsurc thal controlled practice, when you will monitor and want to correct the Isarncrs’ performance, is matched by opportunities for free expression; and finally also show the Jeamners how to make the best use of the little they know

In conclusion, the tcaching and lsarning sposking skill plays a very important rola

in developing the leamers’ ability to use the language for a vatiety of communicative purpose Both teachers and leamers need to see the importance and relevance demonstrated above It is through activities of various kinds, both those designed to develop accuracy and those designed to promote flucney that the Icamers arc not only able to loam language but also able to perceive that they are learning it because they are able to use it,

1.2 Group work ina speaking lesson

1.2.2 Definitions of group work

Group work is considered one af the important factors to improve Teamers! communivation, Different individuals have developed many approaches to group work over the last time Group work is defined by Johnson, Johnson and Smith (1991, p15) as

“group work, in language class, is @ co- operative activity during which students share aims and responsibilities to complete a 1ask assigned hy the teacher in groups ar in pair"

It is said that, in group work, students leam to listen to different ideas, learn to discuss and

to negotiate They take part in equally and sometimes they feel comfortable to experiment and speak the language Every member has more opportunities for indcpondenec and they can have some learning decisions David (1993) shows that groupwork activity consists of three general types The first one is informal learning group The second one is formal learning group The Jast one is the sindy teams, From these definitions of group type, tha first one is more suitable for the term “groupwork activities" described in this study This

means that leamers are reqnired to have small groups from 3 or more members to work on

a speaking lask

It can be clearly seen that group work is a cooperative activity in which the students work at the same time, sharing ideas and responsibility and independently have their own ideas which contribats lo the group work’s success withoul svery minule observation from

the teacher and other students

1.2.2, How to organize group work activities effectively

1.2.2.1 Forming students in groups

According to Byme in Longman Handbook for Language ‘Teachers, the group size should be worked oul in the relation to the tolal umber of students in class, Usunlly, a group of 3 to 5 is approptiate in speaking lessons Teachers can farm groups themselves, normally on the basis of the mixed class ability (i.e good and weak students together), since as a rude learners do help one another, Sometimes, teachers want the students to work together on tasks which have beon selccted to suit their abilitics It means that tcachers form students of more or less equal ability, so that they will be free to give their attention

to those who most need help, Byrne also suggests thal cach group should have an identifying label (2 name or number) and set position in the classroom to work in so that when students are asked to work m groups, they can do so with the minimum fuss and delay Usually group work will involve some rearrangement of the classroarn fumiture When concerning the allocation of merbers into groups, Hurd (2000) states that most selection methods fall into four categories

Although there are a set of way forming group, it can be reported that there is no fixed rule

to form students in group ‘Teachers had better try different ways at different occasion in order Lo find oul the ost suitsble one whieh helps his students to work tost effectively in

such groups.

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1.2.2.2 Preparing for students to work in group

When working in groups, many students ofen cxporicnee the fecting of having nothing to say on the subject, which will certainly be an obstacle for communication process and make them feel inhibited or less confident to speak in group work, ‘Therefore, preparing students well for the group work mus! involve the pre-teacking of the relevanl language Teachers also explain to students why they are doing activities of this kind One thing important is that teachers should assist their students to generate some ideas through aiini discussion or through brainstorming

1.2.2.3 Monitoring groupwork activities

When discussing monitoring group work, Jaques (1984) says that it is essential that tonchors should monitor the groups bul nol to haver, Sharing the same idea, Cohen (1986) emphasizes on the supportive supervision of the teachers for the students in groupwork activities This type includes the following of the teachers' roles

© giving feedback

© redirecting group with questions

© cncouzaging group to solve its own problem

1.2.2.4, Ending groupwork activities

To sustain students’ motivation to involve in the groupwork activities, it is necessary that teachcrs should know how to cnd groupwork cfiectively Therefore, after students have finished their task, teachers should ensure that groups’ performance is accessed and thal the groups know their members are domg who needs more assistance in completing the task and lazy students need to know they cannot let others do all the work while they sit silently Giving groups an opportunity to evaluate other groups’ performance

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is also important ‘his creates competition among groups and each member of the groups

tries their best to wark 2[feelively to become the winner

123, Benefits of using groupwork activities in language teaching

There are many sorts of activihes in speaking lesson, They are discussions, dialogues, etc These activities are often used in group work and have a lot of advantages

Firstly, students’ responsibilty and autonomy are promoted through groupwork activities All students work together, share thoir ideas, amd always wanl to reach the goal

in group activities, In addition, one of their main tasks is being in charge of thair groupwork activities Every leamer is in charge of his own and each others' speaking, so there is a friendly help and high personal interdependence between them, Dol states: Group work and pair wek encourage students to share ideas knowledge In a reading, activity, students can help each other to explore the meammg ofa text, in a discussion activity; students can give each other new ideas” (Doff, 1988)

Sccondly, leamers' participation, talking time and oral fluency arc improved through group As for Ur (1996, p 232), students can have a leaming task during small interaction in group work and it is considered as a kind of their activation and is very valuable for practicing of fluency in speaking There are 3 groups in a class; students can get 5 times as some chance to speak as in a big class

Finally, the students! motivation is improved through groupwork activities

Groupwork activi

can allow participants lo use the language Mercover, il is oe of tha xuost effective ways to motivate participants to become more involved Richards and Loc Khart (1994) point out that, students not only play more active roles in ths learning process

‘but also gel the benefits of sharmg ideas with their team member through taking part in groups, Dotf (1988, pl41) states " students fall less anxiety when they are privately than when they are on shown in front of the whole class Pair work and group work can help shy students, who would never say anything in a whole class activity"

“The source of benefits of group work can be seen in many different fields, consists

of improving students speaking skill In the best groupwork activity in a language classroom, the participants of a Iserning group can benefit in several ways By dividing the class into group, a new social context in created whereby leamrs get the opportunity to

students’ speaking skill

who consider group wok as one of the best ways lo improve

1.2.4, The role af the teacher and the role of each student in groupwork activities

When students work in groups, teachers must assist them These are some of the things they have to do:

1.2.4.4 The role of the teacher

in Communicative Language Teaching, the teacher has the roles of a guide, an

instructor, an organizer, an assessor, a prompter and a participant (Hammer, 1991) When

carTying oul group work, even though the students are more independent, the lgacher still plays an important role in conducting( designing) the tasks, analyzing the need The

teacher will be of great help for the students as the group members interacting with each

other as well as helping them with the difficulties

According to Cross (1992:54), the leacher is the manager of at activily whe Tousl plant il,

organize it, start it, monitor it, time it and in the end conclude it The teacher in the

groupwork activities is not ths free one but the one who is active with assisting, supervising and monitoring the group The teacher 1s nói unly at the begining or the cnd

of the learning process but from beginning to the end of it The teacher is:

- activity selector: This is very important because the teacher has to create activities

that fit the students’ skills and abilitics, assign group tasks that allow a fair division of

energy as well as set up “competitions” among groups

- instructor so that the students will be not misleading

- performance contralier, Whils the students aro working in group, this is the lime for the teacher to help, to assist them with the knowledge and may be tackling the difficulties they have with the group

Whether group wink is successful or noi, it depends much on how and where the leacher

applies these roles

134.2 The role of each student in groupwork activities

According to Ruben (1998) students have to implemant wo kinds of roles in order

to accomplish group goal They are task roles and group building and maintenance roles Task roles: When working in groups, students work together to gather information, make recommendations, solve a problem or complale a sposific task Task soles as a contributor,

a analyzer, a coordinator, a recorder and a encourager are performed by students, As a contributor, each student takes part in organizing the group's work, making all group members understand the task, taking the group's questions, or proposing new ideas or changing way of regarding the group problem goal As an analyzer, he helps solve the problems, move the group rapidly to the core of the problem and examine the reasoning behind cach conbibution to the discussion As a coordinator, he shows or clarifies the relationships among various ideas and suggestions and tries to pull them together As a recorder, he writes down the group's responses, data or collection on a group response shoal ar writes down the produet of discussion As an encourager, he offers support ar

‘the emotional behavior of the group Each member of the group acts as an active listener, a compromiscr and a follower As an active listencr, the student recognizes the contributions

of the others and responds with specifie verbal or non - verbal reinforcement, Kor example,

‘he can nod his head, smile or say “ good" or “great idea” As a compromiser, he, together with othcr members, makes degisions when a discussion af two prominent positions emerges He also makes attempts to reconcile disagreement or relieves tension in conflict

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situations through jesting As a follower, he accepts the ideas of the others in a passive role

Leader roles: Each group should have its own leader If the student is appointed the leader

of the group by the teacher or his friends or he may volunteer, he will serves as a link

‘between the group and the leacher and among group members TL means thal his fimetion is

not to daminate the group but to coordinate the group members‘ activities

1.3, Summary

In this literate review, the writer presented different basic issues relating to speaking skill and groupwrok activities that set the theoretical background for the current study Some understandings bont speaking skill wơre prosontod first Next the writer has paid attention to concepts of speaking and characteristics of speaking belonging to one of the language learning strategies And then, she presented definition of proupwork, how to organize groupwerk effectively and benefits of using groupwork activities in language teaching, Finally, she gave the role of the teacher and the rol of cach student in groupwork

activities

Also in this chapler, the wriler found that speaking skill and groupwork activities play arr important sole in teaching and leaming English Especially, groupwork activities has been used widely because of its value in improving students’ speaking skill, studenis’crealiveness and autonomy as well as in helping teachers have successful and

effeetive leciures With these mentioned aspeets, the rescarchar scl the basic theorctival

background related directly to the study and research questions she is developing and synthesized the data and results collected curing research tims

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.1, Am overview of the English club at VCVBHS

In our school, English is a compulsory subject and students show their great interest

in learning English, The English club which was formed on 10" October, 2010 with ten original members met the demand of the students in school The English club was directly managed and operated by the leaders of VCVBHS and the teachers of English group In order to help the club work effectively and attract more siudenls, Isaders and mambers of the club chose slogan “Learning English with fun” and held the meeting once per two weeks, In the meetings of the English club, the teachers gave the students controversial topies based on some different units im English textbook (English texthoak 10, Hand 12) and attractive activities for group discussion, debating and presentation, The current members of the club is 50 students

Speaking club is one of the ways to students to improve their ability in speaking English in which as a place for language leamers who moct together regularly to use English in casual practice, in other words, outside of classroom activities Because speaking is one of elements in a language in which someone can express his / her feeling, opinion and thought engaged in talk on conversation,

English club can provide students many opportunities to practice their speaking and Histening skills, Stutlents will iinprove their vocabulary, their pronunciation and their undorstanding of English The main objective of the English club is to Teorcalional and consolidating opportunity for students to learn, practice English through various activities and equip them in speaking, listening and analytical skills, ‘Thus, it tries to enable the slidents to acquire communicative competence, thal is, the abilily to communicate in English in a Hike-real situations; to provide chances and encouraging atmosphere for students to express personal views about whatever they choose and to engage them in

cooperative tasks

In short, ‘The English Club is a place for students to use English in a fun environment, Inthe English Club, the students will have the opportunities to practice many differen! skills basod on real siluations and lo porsomatize the English Famguage they have Jeamt, making full use of theix own knowledge and experiences to express their own ideas

and opinions

is, most of the students have learnt English for at east 4 years al sccondary schoals However, the students often resist to participation in English lessons, they are very lazy taking part in pair or group work, Maybe, they have knowledge of English grammar, but they are not confident 10 prommciate or speak English This means they can do grammatical cxcroiscs quickly and correctly but they camnot speak fluently and most of them do not feel confident in communicating in English ‘They usually use Vietnamese in group work This is maybe due to their low English proficiency

The students participating in the English club are in grade 10, 11 and 12 as well as

in the pre-university system, both males and females but females make up for a majority in the targel population All $0 sludents in the Fnglish club are chosen to take part in the study The group of subjecis for the student quastionaire includcd 32 fomale and 18 mac from different grades (grade 10, 11, 12 and even pre-niversity) The student participants” ages ranged from 16 to 19 years old A large number of them have learnt Linglish since sceuntdary schools

1.2.2, Teacher subjects

One very important factor to make the learning and teaching of English better is teachers ‘There arz 12 English teachers in English group at VCVBHS, but only four teachers direetly control the English club and were selected to take part in the study One spocial pon making the section different fron the others is the young ages of the tcachors About a balf of the teachers are attending the MA courses so they are quite busy teaching