Luận văn factors affecting oral presentations of the second year english major students at hanoi university of industry

NGUYÊN THỊ PHƯƠNG NHUNG FACTORS AFFECTING ORAL PRESENTATIONS OF THE SECOND- YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY NHUNG YEU T6 ANH Hil ONG KY NANG THUYET TRINH C

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDI!

DEPARTMENT OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

— `

NGUYÊN THỊ PHƯƠNG NHUNG

FACTORS AFFECTING ORAL PRESENTATIONS OF THE SECOND- YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF

INDUSTRY

NHUNG YEU T6 ANH Hil ONG KY NANG THUYET TRINH CUA

SINH VIEN CHUYEN ANH NAM THU HAI TRO ONG DAI HOC

CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI

¥LET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY TIANOI LNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Department of Postgraduate Studics

NGUYEN THỊ PHUONG NHUNG

FACTORS AFFECTING ORAL PRESENTATIONS OF TIE SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH MA.IOR STUDENTS AT HANOT

UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY

NHỮNG YẾU TỔ ANH HO ONG KY NANG THUY ET TRINH CUA SINH VIEN

CHUYEN ANH NAM THU HAITRIONG DAI HOC CONG NGHIEP HÀ NỘI

'Tabla of contfeTils con

2 Aims of the study

3 Scape and significance of the study

4 Methods of the study 2

5 Design of the study 2

PART B: DEVELOPMERT wed

CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Knowledge and skills

1.3.4 Characteristics of a good presentation - - " 1.3.5 Tenoting Oral Presentation skills in the language classroom

1.3.6 Factors affecting oral presentation skills

1.3.6.1 Students” language proficiency - - 14

1.3.6.2 Students” personality 15

CHAPLER II: RESEARCH MELHODOLOCY -17

2.1.1 The teachers

2.2.3 Data collection insiraments lọ

CHAPTER III: MAJOR FINDINGS AND DICUSSIONS e- 2

3.1 Results of the survey questionnaire and interviews - - 2L

3.1.1 Stuđpnls" nUiluẩos Iowards oral prescntation skills 2I

3.1.3 Factors affcting the students’ oral presentations - 22

3.1.3.1 Students" language proficiency - - 22 3.1.3.2 Studenls’ personality characteristics 25 3.1.3.3 Teacher faetor co 2 3.2 Results from Class Observation - - - 29 3.3 Students’ suggestions -.32 CHAPTER LV: HECOMMIENDATIONS ecăccoeeoeeooeeoeeoouo 34 4.1 Recommendations for students 3

4.1.1, Having thorough preparation -.34 4.1.2, Taking part in self-evaluation and peer evaluation activities -.35 4.2 Recommendations for teachers - - - 35

4.2.1 Improving students’ onil profieicney 35 4.2.2, Irmproving stuđents° nonverbal sklls „35 4.2.3 Building tp studenfs" eonfiđenee - - 36

PART II: CONCLUSION

1 Summary of the study - - - 38

2 Limitations and suggestions for further study 38 REFERENCES

APPENDIXES

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

‘Today, it is intemationally acknowledged that English has become the world’s most imporlanl language thal is used as a modium for international communication, especially in trade and business Therefore, the demand for studying English is great, Many students choose to study this language as their major at university in the hope that they will be able

Making oral presentations brings students a lot of benefits which are bridging the gap between language study and Janguage use, using the four language skills in a naturally integrated way, helping students to collect, inquire, organize and construct information, enhancing team work, and helping sludents beoome active and aulonomous leamers, As a matter of thet, a language learner's ability to present in the target language is dependent on

a number of factors which are not solely related to their knowledge of the language systems (grarmuar, vocabulary and pronunciation) bul personality factors such as timnidity

or self-contidence also play an important part To get the best result for the presentations, students need to master a wide range of skills and techniques such as the use of language, the way to organize all ideas, the use of gestures, posture and eye-contact, and the ability to speak clearly and confidently

Being a teacher of English, the researcher realizes that many second-year English majors at Ianoi University of Industry fail to deliver a presentation successfiilly and making cfective presentations is always their desire, Some sctious students who invest time and effort into an oral presentation do not always get the intended outcomes Other students try

lo gel through the ordeat as quickly as possible, bul do not imprave their speaking skills

undor such stross{ut situations They have a lol of ideas for their presentations, but they do

not perform well in the class to attract the audience's attention These problems are the motivation for the researcher to carry out a study on factors affecting oral presentations of the Secomd-Year English major students at Hanoi University of Industry

2, Aims of the study

‘The main aim of the study is to investigate the factors affecting oral presentations of the Sccond-Ycar English Major Studenls al Hanoi University of Industry The specific objectives of the study are

- ‘To identity the students” attitudes towards aral presentation skills

+ To get Lo know their valuations of their presentations

+ Toinvestigate the factors affecting thoir oral presentations

- Togive some suggestions to improve their presentation skills

3 Scope and significance of the study

‘The study focuses on oral presentation skills in English in the classroom context of 82 second-ysar English majors al Hanoi Universily of Industry Mopefilly, the findings and recommendations of this study will be of some help for both teachers and students of English in the process of teaching and learning oral presentation skills ‘Ihe results of this study may also be useful for those who are interested in this field

4 Methods of the study

‘To fulfill the above aims, the study was cared out with different methods of data collection:

- A questionnaire was delivered to $2 second-year majors

- Informal interviews with students were also employed

- Class observation was carticd out to have deeper look at students’ presentations in

the classroom

5 Design of the sludy

The study is divided into three parts

Part one, INTRODUCTION, presents reasons for choosing the topic, the aims, seope, significance, methods as well as design of the study

Pat two, DEVELOPMENT, has four following chapters:

Chapter one is the Literature Review which deals with theories and concepts related to speaking skills and oral presentations in English

Chapter two is Methodology in which the current situation of teaching and learning English in general and speaking in particular at Hanoi University of Industry is described

‘The research methods which cover research questions, the participants, and data collection instruments are also mentioned in this chapter

Chapter three presents some major findings and discussions based on the results of the questionnaire, interviews, and class observation

Chaplor four, namely ommendations, offer ne suggestions for students and teachers

al Hanoi University of Industry to improve students’ oral presentation skills

Part three, CONCLUSION, summarizes what are addressed in the study The limitations of the study and suggestions for further stady are also included in this part

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW,

In the attempt to investigate factors affecting students’ oral presemations in English

Forcign Language classrooms, il is thought thal the study nesds to point out the retation

between knowledge and skills, particularly speaking skills Then the nature of speaking, types of classroom speaking and some aspects of oral presentations are to be explored

‘These issues are the focus of this chapter

1.1 Knowledge and skills

TLis not sasy for forcign language teachers to help learners become proficient! in using the language Being a proficient user of a language means having both good knowledge and

skills of using the language From that point of view, Bygate (1987) indicates that foreign

language le must nnd nd the intarrclalion between knowledge and skills

Right from the start, he points out that one of the basic problems in foreign language teaching is to prepare leamers to be able to use the language For instance, in order to speak a foreign language, it is necessary to know a certain amount of grammar and vocabulary However, the knowledge of the language is never sufficient He emphasizes the importance of skill; it is skill that is “the most realizable” in a speaking class and in an oral exam: “To test whether learners can spank, il is necessary lo gel them to actually say something, To do this they must act on knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, By giving, leamers “speaking practice” and “oral exams” we recognize there is a difference between knowledge about a language and skill in using if” To illustrate his viowpoinl, he gives an example of a car driver as follows

“An analogy with the driver ofa car may be helpful What knowledge a car driver needs? Clearly he or she needs to know the names of the controls; where they are; what they do and how they are operated Howover, the driver also needs the skill to be able fo use the controls to guide the car along a road without hitting the various objects that tend to get in the way; you have to be able to do this at a normal speed , you have to drive smoothly and without getting too close to any dangcrous obstacles, And it is not enough to drive ina straight line; the driver also has to be able to manage the variations in road conditions safety.”

He also gives anofhior cxample in language: when a.loarnr of English loaves “s” sound al the end of English words in his flow of talk, In this situation we are not convinced that he does not know the rule In fact, he knows it ut as he speaks, he fails to follow that rule Knowledge is defined by Bygate as “what they conceive and memorize” Bul whal make the above student exclude “s” sound? Bygate points out that the answer to this question is a skill, which is a special ability to do something well ’his is acquired only when much imitation and practice are offered It seems that Bygate’s opinion of knowledge and skill is

tre with students’ oral presentations Many of them have knowledge of grammar, knowledge of the topic and content bul they still can nol produce 4 good presentation

In conelusion, “knowledge itself is not enough; knowledge has to be used in action” That

is the reason why we need skills, which can be gained with practice But what skills does a learner of a forcign language need in order Io obtain good oral communication? To answer

this question, i118 nec

1.2 Speaking skills

1.2.1 Nature of speaking

sary lo have a look al speaking skills

Language skills involve four-macro skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing, which are inter-related According to Byme (1986), the supportive relationship among these skills is clearly revealed when we look af oral communication which is a two-way process between speaker and listener (or listeners) and involves the productive skill of speaking and the receptive skill of listening He states that “the speaker has to encode the

perception skills and interaction skills Motcr-perception skills involve perceiving,

recalling and articulating in the correct order sounds and structures of language Tleraction skills involve making decisions about communication, such as what to say, how to say it and whether to develop it in accordance with one’s intentions, while maintaining the desired relations with others ‘To be more specific, Bygate discusses another term in speaking called “Toutir

which are conventional ways of presenting information He

provides two kinds of routines: iformation routines and interactional routines

Information routines may be described to involve two sub-routines: expository and

evaluation The former includes description, comparison, and instruction The latter

consists of explanation, prediction, justification, preference and decision Interactional

routines are telephone conversations, interview conversations, conversations at parties,

lessons, radio or television interviews, which are structured in characteristic ways

Other authors examining the nature of speaking are Brown and Yule (1983) In “leaching

the spoken language”, they propose the distinction belween two basic language ñmelions

These are the transactional function, which is primarily concerned with the transfer of

information, and the interactional function, in which the primary purpose of speech is the maintenance of social relationships They also focus on another distinction wher considering the development of speaking skills They are dialogue and monologue They

state that the ability to give an uninterrupted oral presentation (monologue) is rather

different from interacting with one or more other native speakers for transactional and

interactional purposes Therefore, presentation skills have to be lcarned and practiced

carefully

To sum up, speaking is a process of transferring information and taintaininys relalionship and learning to speak a foreign language is never an easy task

1.2.2 Types of classroom Speaking Performance

Brown (1994) gives six categories of oral production that students are expected to carry out

in the classroom They arc wuitutive, intensive, responsive, transactional (dialogue),

interpersonal (dialogue) and extensive (monologue)

The first typs of speaking performance is imitative which is carried out in the form of

drilling Imitation of this kind is not for the purpose of meaningful interaction, but for

focusing on some particular element of language form As stated by Brown, drilling is a Jegitimate part of the cormmumicalive language classroom “Drills offer students ar

opportmily Lo lislen and to orally repeal eerlain strings of language thal may pose some

linguistic difficulty either phonological or grammatical They allow one to focus on

one element of language in a controlled activity ‘They can help to establish certain psychomotor patleris and lo associate scleeted grammatical forms with their

appropriate context.”

‘The second typs is intensive which goes one step beyond imitative to include any speaking

performance thal is designed lo prachee some phonological or grammatical aspect of

language It can form parts of some pair work activity, where leamers are “going over” certain forms of language

The next type is responsive performance: short replies Io leacher or student inilialed

questions or comments For example, the teacher’s questions: “How are you today?” is

replied “Pretty good, thanks, and you?” by the students “These replies are usually

sufficiont and do nơi cxiond into dialoguos

‘The fourth type is transactional (dialogue) which is camied out for the purpose of conveying or exchanging specific information, is an oxtonded form of responsive language Conversations may have more of a negotiative nature than merely responsive speech

‘The fifth type, inferpersanal is carried out more for the purpose of maintaining social

relationships thant for the transmission of facls and information

The final speaking performance is extensive (monologue) Studcnis al intermediate to advanced levels are called on to give extended monologues in the form of oral reports, summaries, or perhaps short speeches which can be planned or impromptu

1.3 Oral Presentations

1.3.1 Definition and Structure

Oval presentations are defined as “brief discussions of a focused topic delivered lo a group

of listeners in order to impart mowledge or to stimulate discussion They are similar to short papers with an introduction, main body and conclusion” (Ohio Wesleyan Liniversity)

students give a speech on a topic of their own choice or given by the teacher Such talks

are subject matter oriented, they are prepared and “writing like”

An oral presentation has three main parts: iraduction, bady, and conclusion The

introduction aims to state the topic and get the audicncc’s attention It gives the audicnec

the preview of the presentation The body must inform or persuade the audience including main points and sub-points The last main part is the conclusion which summaries the

information presented in the body

1.3.2 Types of Oral Presentations

Oral presentations aro classifiad into different Lypas duc io their modes of delivery and

purposes, In terms of delivering modes, Dwyzr (2000) gives five forms of presontations or speeches which are: imprompts speech, manuscript speech, memorized speech, briefing, and team briefing

The impromptn speech is unexpected and thus delivered with very little or no preparation Some impromptu speeches are special occasion such as welcomes, introductions ot acknowledgements As this occasion for a speech usually takes the speaker by surprise, il

is important to think clearly, analyze the situation quickly and speak briefly and to the point A successfidl foumuia used by many speakers for an impromptu speech is the PREP

formula, in which P stands for the main point, R stands for the reason for the speech; E

stands for the example to illustrals the main point; P stands forraslating the main point

The manuscript speech, which is researched and structed, involves writing a

presentation word-for-word and reading the presentation to the audience It is suited to

1 and dificult business presentations al mecting or conforen 1s

fonger, more techni

also suitable for logal presentation, a parliamentary address, a press release or a speoch thal

will be reported or quoted, It is used when the speaker needs to be precise in what he/ she says Even though the speaker is reading the manuscript, it is important to look at the audience as often as possible to maintain cye contact and usc facial cxprcssions and

gestures

The memorized speech is suited lo short talks Tl involves writing a presentation word-for- word and reciting the presentation from memory To sound relax and confident, the presenter should try to memorize the introduction carefully — this applies to any speech

the briefing speech is a short oral summary or report of a plan Its aim might be to inform,

propose or justify solutions, or persuade the audience Au oral bricfing thal invites the

audience to participate is usually more effzctive than a long speech For this type of speech, it is important for the presenter to:

+ prepare the briefing

- concentrate on its main purpose

- present background information

- discuss altcmatives

- analyze their advantages and disadvantages

- encourage audience participation, questions and suggestions

- show interes! in audience response

Team briefings are becoming more common All members in the team take part in the presentation Hirst, they consider the purpose of their presentation and the audience nature

Then the team designs the structure of the presentation and organizes il inlo scchons A

particular section is then allocated to each speaker However, the team aims for a unitied

and coherent message rather than a series of individual presentations, so it is important to

decide who will:

+ present the introduction

- develop the main body and provide supporting ideas

+ reinforce the ideas outlined in the main body arid present the conclusion

In business communication, briefings and oral reports are most often used for staff

mectings, customer contacts, and reperis 19 supervisors and managers an progress, resulis

or problems

In terms of purposes, oral presentations in college courses generally fall into two

calegorics

informative and persuasive presentation

Informative prexentation bas audicnce leaning as is primary goal An informative speech

may explain a concept, instruct the audience, demonstrate a process, or describe an event

In an academic setting, the informative speech may take many different forms such as

individual or group report; oral briefing The presenter must keep a presentation bricf

and relevant, stick to the acts and avoid complicated information

Persuasive presentation is used to influence whl the audience thinks or does Four goals

of persuasive speaking are:

-_ to reinforoe the attitudes, beliefs, and values the audience already holds

- to inoculate the audience against counter persuasion

- to change alliind:

- ta motivate the audience to act

Persuasion is a very complex process that combines three essential elements: ethos, the credibility of the speaker; logos, the logical proof and reasoning presented in the word of

speech; and pathos, the use of emotional appeals to influence the audience Therefore, to

succeed with a persuasive presentation, the presenter must present sufficient logic,

cvidencc, and emotion te sway the audicnee to lus’ her viewpoint

In second language classroom, the teacher will assign the students a particular type of presentation and’ or a topic to investigate In other times, the students may be given

freedom to choose both the topic and the type of presentation thal they wish to give

1.3.3 Presenting techniques

Tn fact, many studenis are very good al English in terms of granumar or pronunciation or they can produce short utterances to exchange information rather well but they may fal to give an effective oral presentation ‘I'his is dus to characteristics of presentations; therefore, students need to he prepared some necessary presenting techniques besides the language factor for presentation Emden & Becker (2004) indicate that “The ability to speak well enough to interest, influence or persuade other people is a major asset, whatever you choose to do in the future” They place great weight on the importance of body language in oral prescntations including cye contact, facial expression, hand movement, and posture

In addition, voice quality during the presentation is also extremely important: “People’s vdioes have qualilies that may be altractive or unaltractive: @ low voice is usually easier Lo listen to than a high-pitched voice, a harsh quality of voice can sound aggressive even when its owner feels at ease, a very soft voice may be pleasant at first, but becomes

imitating if we, the listeners, have Lo concentrale hard to catch the words”

Besides, using good visual aids also has good effects on oral presentations According to Lmden and Becker (2004), listening is not easy and “it helps a great deal if you have something lo look al” Andicnecs are grateful for the reinforcement of a good visual aid because human beings tend to remember what they see mote steadily than what they hear

To conclude, zachers should make siudenis aware of the importance of these prescnling

techniques as their ability to usc body language, visual aids and theix voice properly is onc

of the factors that decide the success of their presentations

1.3.4 Characteristics of a good presentation

In general, the following criteria can be seen as characteristics ofa good oral presentation

in which the presenter

+ stands up straight, looks relaxed and confident

- _ shows a full understanding of the topic

- often uses pitch and conveys emotions appropriately + always listens to, shares with, and supports the effort of others in the group

- uses body language and facial expressions to generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others

- _ speaks clearly and distinctively

- docs not mispronounce words

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- uses vocabulary appropriately for audience, and defines new ones

- takes from Give lo cight minutes to present

To be more detailed, Comfort (1997) identities things that make a presentation effective

are as below:

Over at = awarcness of the autionce

- clear objectives System

- planing — have a clear structure and a sense of timing

- _ organization —have clear connections betwecn the different parts or ideas

- information —make sure that it is interesting and relevant to your audience

+ impact —tnake sure to have a strong introduction and conclusions

Delivery:

- clear, simple, and fluent

- use of natural spoken language

+ use of pauses [or ©rnphi

Body language:

- use of strong, clear gestures for emphasis

+ good cye contact with the audiences

- positive, confident, and relaxed manner

- no distracting gestures

Visual aids

- clear and simple messages

- efficient, professional use of equipment

The above criteria can be used fo evaluate students’ oval presentations,

1.3.5 Teaching Oral Presentation skills in the language classroom

Oral presentations, if properly guided and organized, provide a leaming experience and loạch life long skills thal will be boneficiat to learners in alt school subjects-us wall as later

in the careers, Making oral presentations brings students a lot of advantages which are: bridging the gap between language study and language use; using the four language skills

in a naturally integrated way, helping students to collect, inquire, organize and construct information, cnhancing team work, and helping students become active and autonomous

learners.

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For leamers of English, making a presentation in English can be difficult and demanding because il has content, structs and neoils preparation Making a proscntation is over difficult for native speakers themselves As stated by Brown and Yule (1983), a student who can make good conversations in English may be unsuccessful in delivering a speech:

“A short lum consisis of only one or bwo ullerane:

% formal situation, mini-prescniation may he a

presentation lasting from five to ten minutes to the rest of the class Ile is expected to refer

lo notes; but reading aloud is strongly discouraged The use of simple aids such as an

overhead projector, black board or flipchart diagrams is encouraged if appropriate At the

end of the presentation, the speaker is expected ta deal with any questions related to the

topic When this procedure has been established, the whole activity, from introducing the

speaker at the beginning through the presentation and Questions and Answers session to a

final summary, can be conducted by the learners without the intervention of the teacher

He also alates that choosing the topic wins

Vo (1994) suggests the following procedure for ths teachers to assign aral presentations (students have a certain amount of time to prepare for their presentations at home)

1 At the beginning of the term, announce to the students that they all will have an opporhunily lo speak in front of the group

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2 Put upa large calendar so that students can pick up the date they prefer

3 After the break of every class session, have one student come forward and

speak about the topic he or she chose

4 During the speech, sit in the audience

5 Have each student speak for about five minutes

6 Have the other class members hold their questions and comments until the

speaker has finished

7 After each speech, give the speaker some feedback

Oral presentations can also be carried out as class activity Students work in a small group

to discuss a topic After the discussion, each representative from each group will present

his/ her group’s ideas or each member will take turn to be responsible for each part of the

presentation

To sum up, teaching oral presentations skills is an important task for teachers so as to help learners develop the ability to speak to an audience which is necessary for them in the

future

1.3.6 Factors affecting oral presentation skills

1.3.6.1 Students’ language proficiency

It is obvious that students’ language proficiency is one of the factors contributing to the

success or causing the failure of an oral presentation Language proficiency is the ability of

an individual to speak or perform in an acquired language Rod (1985) defines:

“Proficiency consists of the leamer’s knowledge of the target language, it can be

considered synonymous with “competence” Proficiency can be viewed as linguistic

competence or communicative competence Second Language proficiency is usually measured in relation to native speaker proficiency.” According to Stern (1992), proficiency can be looked at as a goal and thus be defined in terms of objectives or standards These

can then serve as criteria by which to assess proficiency as an empirical fact, that is, the actual performance of given individual leamers or groups of leamers He states that

“proficiency ranges from zero to native - like proficiency Complete competence is

hardly ever reached by second language leamers” Bachman (1990) defines language

proficiency as the language ability or ability in language use Maleki and Zangani (see

website www.asian-efl-joural.com/March 07 amé&ez php) suggest that the grading

criteria for assessing speaking proficiency in second language are pronunciation

(intonation, word stress, and sentence stress), fluency, and accuracy (grammar and

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vocatnilary) Regarding to speaking skill in general and presentation skills in particular, aceuraey and lucney are the lwo most concoming aspects

Accuracy is the ability to produce comect sentences using correct grammar and vocabulary

In terms of language knowledge, students need introducing language areas such as the use

of linkers and comcelors, referring lo graphs and charis, cinphasizing and minimizing

information, and the contrast between wntten and spoken language

English Nusney means being able lo use the lmguage with case Fhicney is the abilily 10 read, speak, or write casily, smoothly, and expressively, In other words, the speaker can read, understand and respond in a language clearly and concisely while relating meaning and context Langnage teachers who concentrate on finency help their students th express thomsclves in fluent English They pay morc attention to meaning and context and arc less concemed with grammatical errors

The emphasis on accuracy or fluency has changed a lol About a hnndred years ago, language teaching and learning was almost entirely about accuracy Today, we can say that the mastery of communication is the main objective, in other words, grammar is the support system for communication, nal an end in iIself The fiel is, howsver, that self conscions learners don't like making mistakes and that is tre reason why they have to strike

a careful balance between accuracy and fluency

1.3.6.2, Students’ personality

It is obvious that the presenter plays the most important role in making Ins oral

Presentation successful or not In the classroom, students with different characteristics,

especially different levels of anxicty - an aspect of personality (Scovel, 1978) may result in

different levels of success According to many researchers, feelings of anxiety, apprehension and nervousness are commonly expressed by foreign language learners irr

learning ta speak a foreign language, particularly when they have to make an oral

presentation in that language

General anxiety is defined by Spictherger (1983) as “the subjective fecling of tension,

apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system” According to Lorwitz and Cope (1986) foreign language anxiety belongs to

situational-specific anxiety: “a distinct complex of self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and

behaviors related to classroom language lewming arising from the uniqueness of the

language learning process” Psychologists make a distinction between three categories of

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anxiety: wait aniety, state anxiety, and sitation-specific anxiety ‘lrait anxiety is

velatively slable personality characteristic while stalc anxicly is a iminsicnt amacly, a

response to a particular anxiety-provoking stimulus such as an important test The third

category, situation-specific anxiety, refers to the persistent and multi-faceted nature of some anxictics Tl is aroused by a specific type of situation or event such as public

spouking, oxaminations, or class participation King (2002) considers spocch anxicly is ơng

of the major problem that lead to learners’ oral presentation fhilures This anxiety comes in part ftom a lack of confidence in the general linguistic knowledge, the embarrassment of exposing the language imperfections in front of others, Besides, learners’ personality traits such as shyness, quietness, and reticence are considered to frequently precipitate communication apprehension Tis obvious thal such feelings in the learners may prevent them trom achieving the desired goal

1.3.6.3 Teacher's role

King (2002) emphasizes that working wath students on oral presentations 1s a challenging, job for teachers because it not only involves training in other disciplines such as speech communication and public speaking, but also demands more of teachers in terms of time and offerl in lesson planing and toaching strategies Furthermore, the importance of

creating a supportive learning atmosphere, acquiring interaction skills, incorporating

project work, developing cooperative learning skills and applying computer/technology in crihancing teachers’ facililative skills stiould be emphasized The tcacher is the guide, organizer, consultant, resource person, and supporter The teacher's role in oral presentations not only involves prepating detailed guidelines, organizing groups, helping students lo selecl lopics, guiding their research and helping them lear the use of various visual aids, but also holding of Question & Answer sessions, providing feedback on the sequencing of ideas, and evaluating their performance

Conclusion

‘The chapter so far has presented literature conceming the subject matter of the study ít dealt with the knowledge and skills, ospecially spoaking skill The focal point of the chapter was on oral presentation skills with some aspects related, Furthermore, some factors related to oral presentations of students in the classrooms have been reviewed as well

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CILAPTER II: RESEARCII METHODOLOGY

2.1 Context of the study

Ianoi University of Industry is one of the universities that has a long tradition of training qualified practical cngincers in the ficlds of mechanical cngincering, chemical technology, and electronics However, to meet the demand of the modem society with globalization trend, some new majors have recenlly been laken inte the training programma, one of which is English, The Faculty of Foreign Languages was established in 2006, it is responsible for teaching English to both English majors and non-English majors

2.1.1 Teachers

In conncetion with the teaching staff, there arc 50 teachers in the Faculty, among whom 11 teachers are regularly in charge of working in the English major Division Their ages range from 23 to 37, all of them graduated from the English Department - Collsge of Foreign Languages or Hanoi University of Forcign Languages and have becn teaching for the

Division at least one year Six people have got an M.A degree, three are doing M.A course

One of their difficulties is that a leacher has lo deal with differen, subjects related lo English at the same time due to the lack of teachers However, all of them are energetic, inquisitive and always try to apply effective methods of teaching to increase teaching and leaming quality

2.1.2 Students

In respect of the English major students, about $0 students are enrolled each year, based on their results of the university entrance examinations Their levels of English proficiency are generally various and not very ugh Firstly, this can be seen fiom their English marks

at the entrance examinations mainly ranging fiom 3 to 6 (the statistics provided by the Vaculty’s assistants) Secondly, many of them still apply a passive way of learning,

especially the first year students For a long time, they were familiar with doing exercises focusing on grammar and vocabulary al High School and hardly did they practice speaking

and listening skills Moreover, most of them come from rural areas with no favorable

chances for learning English, they are shy and not very self-confident During their university timo, thoy are always oncouraged to study actively and crcatively to achiev

belier resulis

2.1.3 Teaching and learning facilities

Conceming the teaching and leaming facilities for English majors, il is obvious that

teachers and leamers are working in a rather good condition The Faculty’s library has a

variety of English books, CD, VCD, cassettes, and computers with Intemet connection

There are 10 rooms for studyiny English; all ars oquipped with had projectors, computers and cassettes, Using moder teehmology effectively is highly cncouraged in English lessons

2.1.4 Speaking syllabus

Right fiom the first semester, students have four skills (veading, listening, speaking, and

writing) taught as isolated subjects using Interactions textbooks published by McGraw-Hill

ESLJEL-T (Interactions 1 and Interactions 2) Durings the third and fourth somestor, sludonts have Mosue 1, 2 also by McGraw-Hill ESL/ELT For speaking skills, the target for second-years students is to achieve the intermediate level; students are supposed to desoribe and express their ideas, opinions, and points of view systematically Also,

necessary to answer the following questions:

} What are the students’ atfitudex towards oral presentations in English?

2, What are the students’ evaluations of their presentation performances?

3 What are the factors affecting their oral presentations?

4 What are the students’ suggestions to help them make better presentations?

2.2.2 Participants

‘This research was caried out with the participation of 82 students of three classes,

DITTAI, DITA2 and DITTA3 (27, 27, and 28 students respectively) This is also the tolat

number of the second-year English majors at Hanoi University of Industry Mest of them are female (8 students are male) at the age ranging from 18 to 20 ‘here are 69 students coming from rural areas and smal towns, 1 are fiom big cilies like Hanoi, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh in which there are favorable English studying conditions The amount of time

they have leamt Enelish is various, ranging from 4 to 8 years More than half of them (60 sludents — 73%) have spent 4 years studying English All siudznts have been studying rsz

terms at the Universily and during this time, few students lad cxecllent results of the English final tem tests Especially, their marks of speaking in the third term were not

very high, varying from $ to 9 1] students (13%) got mark 5, 21 students (26%) got mark

6, 42 students (51%) got mark 7, 7 students (9%) got mark 8 and only 1 student (1%) got

mark 9 (according to the marking system of 1 — 10)

2.2.3 Data collection instruments

Instrument 1: Survey questionnaire

The survey questionnaire (see appendix 1) was delivered to 82 second-year English majors

after being given to some teachers being in charge of working with those students for their

‘The second part was designed to find out the factors affecting their oral presentations in the classroom All questions wore adapted from various sourees (Emden & Becker, 2004,

Reinhart, 2002; Comfort, 1997

.) and based on the researcher's experience

The lasl part included one qnestion asking stndenis (or their suggestions to help them make

covered such aspects as their attitudes, evaluations, problems and suggestions related to

their oral presentations During the interview, the 1cscarcher modified the questions and

took notes of their answers

dnstrument 3: Class observation

The researcher obs

s Iwo proscnlalionis im cl: DHTAI and DHTA3 lo check the

reliability of the data collected The reason that the researcher did not choose DHTA2 was that class 1 and 2 were working with the same teacher ‘ihe observation form (see appendix 3) was adapted from Reinharl, 2002

Conclusion

‘This chapter has presented the methodology used in the research ‘The next chapter will present the results of the study

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CHAPTER III: MAJOR FINDINGS AND DICUSSIONS

3.1 Results of the survey questionnaire and interview

3.1.1 Students’ attitudes towards oral presentation skills

According to the survcy, 100% of students agrced on the importance of oral presentation

skills They wrote “very #portant” or “important?” to answer the question “How anportant

are oral presentation skills?” Yo explain for their answers, they said that oral presentation skills were very important for them lo help them improve their speaking skills, develop

their reading skills for getting main ideas and organize those ideas logically, especially they would need these skills in their future job In the interview, all students said “Yes” to

answer tho question whether thoy thought oral proscntation skills were important The

reasons they gave were various such as: “When Zhave to make an oral presentation, Ihave

to stand in front of a group of people and this helps me to build up my confidence, even my

courage”, “If Ihave to make a presentation about a topic, ï have to read a lat to find out as

much information related as possible, so I con widen my knowledge of both the topic and

the language” Being aware of the importance of oral presentation skills, students really wanted to have as many chances to practice thess skills in the class as possible since it was

their teachers and friends who would listen to their prescntations and had some comments

to help them improve their presentation skills

To conclude, alt participanls were aware of the importance of oral presentation skills, tad

positive attitudes to these skills and wanted to be more skillful through practicing,

3.1.2 Students’ evaluations of their own presentation skills

Results of the survey showed that 100% of the students had made oral presentations in English in the class; however, they seemed to have a negative evaluation of their oral presentation skills, They considered their success and satisfaction so limited as follows:

- 2 students (2%) admitted that they were very unsuccessful

+31 students (37%) claimed that their presentations were success fut

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- Nearly half of them — 40 students (49%) admitted their limited success,

= Only 9 out of 82 participants (11%) thought Ihey wore successful

- No one thought that they had given oral presentations very successfully

Moreover, 8 out of 12 students interviewed expressed their lack of satisfaction with their

presentations Onc sludenL said: “Honestly, 7 have never been satisfied with my

presentation, my hest mark is 7 and I wish I could make it hetier in the fidure” When

asked to evaluate the students’ presentations in the class, some teachers said that most of their students did not make effective presentations

To sum up, all students had made oral presentations and majority of them did not have

positive evaluations of their performance I'he next part will present the factors affecting

their presentations in the classracm,

3.1.3 Factors affecting the students’ oral presentations

3.1.3.1 Students’ language proficiency

All participants passed the university entrance examination including 3 subjects which were mathematics, literature and English However, as mentioned in the previous chapter, their English marks were not high (from 3 to 6) Their speaking marks in the third semester were not satistactory as well (only 1 student got mark 9, 7 students got mark 8 and the others got lower marks) They had a lot of difficulties in terms of language which is

presented below and which was one of the factors that led to their unsucecssful

2 Using signposting language lo orgauive your presentation

(for example, saying “I'll begin by / My next point is ./ | 17% | 33% | 50% | 0%

Now, turning to.)

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6 Having proper pausing while delivering the presentation

(Pausing is defined as slowing down or coming to a complete

slop ala particular point, Example: John is slurlying business // | 10% | 87% | 3% | 0%

at the University of Michigan /#// His area of interest / is

managing nonprofit corporations.)

Table I: Students’ difficulties in terms of language

It can be easily seen fiom the table that a large percentage of students considered items 1-8 difficult or very difficult

To bogin with, sludenis thought thal delivering the presentations fluently was tho most

challenging task (82% claimed it very difficult), The following answer can clarity the

finding:

I find it extremely difficult to present fluently T say “ahi or “unham” many times

becouse I forget what I want to say, and so do other students in my class Sometimes I

speak slowly because I am afraid of making mistakes Liven I make the pronunciation of

certain words indistinguishable because I am not sure how these words should be

pronounced,

Tn addition, sludents often made loo many unnecessary panes as hey lacked confidence or

as they could not remember the right words which would be suitable to their sentences (Only 3% found having proper pauses while delivering the presentation easy) I'his can be explained by their lack of practice As tnentioned earlier, whem they were al high school, they paid much attention to doing grammatical exercises and had very litle tme for speaking English Duzing the first year at university, they spent nach more time practicing, short utterances to maintain a conversation with their fiends than producing long ones ar a spooch

The next most difficult items were pronunciation, words stress and intonation 99% of the students considered delivering the presentation with appropriate stress and intonation very