Luận văn challenges in teaching and learning speaking skill with the new english textbook for grade 10 basic stream at xuan hoa high school vinh phuc province and some solutions

Vielsam callonal anlversily, nanoi University sf lancuages and international studics Faculty of Post-graduate studies TRAN THI LAN ANH CHALLENGES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING SPEAKING SKIL

Vielsam callonal anlversily, nanoi

University sf lancuages and international studics

Faculty of Post-graduate studies

TRAN THI LAN ANH

CHALLENGES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING SPEAKING

SKILL WITH THE NEW ENGLISH TEXTBOOK FOR GRADE 10

(BASIC STREAM) AT XUAN HOA HIGH SCHOOL, VINH PHUC

PROVINCE AND SOME SOLUTIONS

(Những Khó Khăn Trong Việc Dạy Và Học Kỹ Năng Nói

Thco Sách Giáo KhoaTiêng Anh Lớp 19 Mới Tại Trường THPT Xuân Hỏa, Tỉnh Vĩnh PhúcVà Một Số Giải Pháp)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Supervisor: Do Ba Quy, MEd

Hanai, 2010

Vielsam callonal anlversily, nanoi

University sf lancuages and international studics

Faculty of Post-graduate studies

TRAN THI LAN ANH

CHALLENGES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING SPEAKING

SKILL WITI] THE NEW ENGLISII TEXTBOOK FOR GRADE 10 (BASIC STREAM) AT XUAN HOA HIGH SCHOOL, VINH PHUC

PROVINCE AND SOME SOLUTIONS

(Nhimg Khé Khan Trong Việc Dạy Và Học Kỹ Năng Nói

Theo Sách Giáo Khoa Tiếng Anh Lớp 10 Mới Tại Trường THPT Xuân Hòa, Tỉnh Vĩnh Phúc Và Một Số Giải Pháp)

M.A MINOR TIIESIS

Field: English Teaching Mcthodology

Code: 6 14 19

Hanoi, 2010

‘Students’ solutions to improve their speaking skill Students’ suggested solutions to improve their speaking skill Students’ background

Students’ time for English at home Students’ opinions towards speaking skill

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1 CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

2 U.S: United States

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration

1, Rationale of the study

2 Aims of the study

3 Method and procedure of the researeh

4 Scope of the study

5 Organization vf the paper

PART II: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 Theoretical background of speaking

1.1.1 Defimtions of spaaking

1.1.2 The nature of speaking 1.1.3 Aspeots of Speaking

1.2 Theoretical background of learning and teaching speaking skill

1.2.1 Definition of teaching and learning

1.2.2 Communicative Language Teaching, Approach

1.2.3, Communicative Competence The desired goal of CLT

vũ

speaking skill ina communicative class

2.2.2 The general features of the new fextbook óc sec sec Ld 2.2.3 Description of the Speaking Section cccccccecccce TÃ

3.1.1.2 Questionnaire for students:

Teachers’ msufficient communicative competence 30

3.2.1.2 DifEcullies fram Students: 31

Learners’ traditional features 31

Limited exposure to the target language 32 3.2.2 Objective difficulties 32

3.2.2.1 Large class 32

3.2.2.2 Time pressure:

3.2.2.3 The constraints brought by the innovations 3

on the curriculum and teaching method,

3.2.2.4, The testing system

3.2.2.5 Lack of English teachers 4

3.2.2.6 Lack of teaching and learning facilities see dS

3.2.3 Teachers’ and students’ solutions " een

3.2.3.1, Teachers’ solutions

Testing students’ vonvnunicative compeience 35

3.2.3.2 SLudcnls` solulions KH Hy se BE

in

Practising speaking ta friends 36 Participating in Finglish speaking clubs 36

4.1 Pedagogical suggestions for subj cctive problertls 37

4.1.3, The teacher’s self-rmprovemment oŸ speaking skl 38

4.2 Pedagogical suggestions for objective probletri 4U PART IT: CONCLUSION 200 0.2.0 ces ccc cscs cee cesses eee teeeee Al

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

Language education, especially foreign language teaching, and learning, is a compulsory part in every country With the development of the market economy and the globalization trend, Icaming forcign languages has become not only an interest but also a great demand for most people in Vietnam,

Since 2006, the Ministry of Tiducation and training prescribed a new series of English textbooks for all grades and school types fiom grade 6 through to grade 10, According to the authors, the new textbooks are theme-based and skill-based, with the adoption of the two curently popular teaching approaches, ie the leamer-centered approach and the communicative approach A focus is on task-bascd teaching as the leading methodology Within the task-based framework of the new textbook series, students are expected to engage wilh gach other in meaningful interaction and negotiation of meaning within a specific context The curriculum innovations have brought a total change to the reality of teachmg and learning foreign language in Vietnam, In fact, most high-school students have at least four years of Isarning with the new eurienlum al sceondary school which has been put in lo nse since 2002,

so they do not find the new textbook unfamiliar Before the approval and institutionalization of the new textbooks, the teachers have been prepared for the new methods of teaching and learning Therefore, they have thorough undarsianding abont the mature of the new textbooks However, both the teachers and learners face a lot of challenges m the process of working with the new English textbooks It seems that they do not fulfill the requirements of the new textbooks at all

Of the four language skills, speaking is becoming the primary skill given to the students, Introducing this vital skill the teachers of Vietnamese schools in general and in Xuan Iloa high school in paticular have encountered plenty of difficultics, The first-ycar high school students are also confused when Iearnmg this language skill Hence, the author wishes to understand more about this situation by conducting the study entitled “Challenges in teaching and learning speaking skill with the new texthook for grade 10 at Xuan Hoa high school, Vinh Phue province and some solutions” With this study, the writer looks into the problems for both the teachers and the students and suggests some solutions to those problems

2 Aims of the study

This roscsrch mainly aims at clarifying the challenges in teaching and learning speaking skill with the new textbook for grade 10 at Xuan Hoa high school, Vinh Phuc province The author investigates the teachers’ and learners’ attitudes towards speaking skill and then put the focus on the current difficulties in the application of the new textbook The causes of their difficulties are also examined so that the solutions to those problems can be given

3 Methed and procedure of the research

The data of this papor was collected through the survey questionnaires and interviews First, the author carried out the survey questionnarres to find out the attitudes towards the teaching and learning of speaking skill with the new textbook and the difficulties of the teachers and students in using the new textbook, Then the interviews with teachers and students were conducted to clarify aspects which were inadequate and vague in the survey questionnaires

4 Scope of the study

This research minty covers the problems with the speaking skill thal teachers and leamers have in the process of using the new textbook for grade 10, These problems were discussed thoroughly in order to discover the causes and to offer the best solutions The subjects of the study arc limited to the teachers and students at Kuan Hoa High School ~ Vinh Phuc province

5 Organization of the paper

The study includes 5 paris

Part i- Introduction presents the rationale, aims, method, scope and organization of the study

Chapter 1- Literattere review gives the theorctical background of speaking skill

Chapter 2 - Methodology includes the description of Xuan Hoa high school context, the new Rigfish textbook and the study (the instruments, the participants and the research questions) Chapter 3- Data analysis and findings describes the data of the questionnaires and interviews, then gives some findings through the data analysis

Chapter 4— Pedagogical Recommendations suggesis some solutions to the current problems Part Hil - Conclusion focuscs on the conclusions of the thesis, some limitations and recommendations for further study

PART IT: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Speaking is the vital skill of everyday communication Speaking skill and teaching speaking skill have received much attention from linguists all over the world This chapter will clarify the nature of speaking skill and popular ideas about teaching and learning this important skill

1.1 Theoretical background af speaking

LAL Definition of speaking,

Speaking is the productive skill in oral mode It is, liks the other skills, more complicated than i seems at frst and involves more (han jus pronoumcing the words

1.1.2 The nature of speaking

Itis obvions that speaking is the key to communication and seems to be the vital skill in comparison with roading, listening and writing Everywhere poople speak to cach offer lo exchange attitudes, cultural values, etc, Without if communication will become difficult to proceed and our world will become as silent as a grave Therefore, classroom activities aiming

at developing learners’ abitily 1a express themselves through speech are considered an important component in a language course Thus oral English becomes an essential part of the senior — secondary school curricnlum

There have been many scholars discussing the nature of speaking To Brown (1994),

Bum and Joyce, (1997), Speaking is an inferactive process of constructing meaning that

involves producing, receiving and procsssing information, Its form and meaning are dependent

on the context in which it occurs, including the purlicipants themselves, their collective experience, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking; It is often spontaneous, open ended and evolving Ilowever, speaking is not always unpredictable Language fimctions

that tend to recur in certain discourse situations (decliawng an mvitation, requesting time) can be

identified and charted For example, when a salesman asks, “May { help you?”, the expected

discourse sequence inchide @ statement of need , response to the need, offer af appreciation

leamers not only know how to produce specific points of language, such as grammar,

pronunciation or vocabulary (linguistic competence), but also that they understand when, why, and in what ways lo produce language (sociolinguistic competence)

According to Byme (1976: 8), speaking is a two - way process between the speakers and the hearers involving the productive skill of speaking and the receptive skill of understanding Both the listener and the speaker lave a positive fumotion lo perform The speaker has to encode the message to be conveyed in appropriate language, while the listener has to decode the message ‘I'he message itself in normal speech usually contains a great deal of information that the listener needs

It is pertzctly true that speaking is active, or productive, and makes use of aural medium, An act of speaking is commonly performed in face - to - face interaction The act of speaking involves not only the production of sounds but also the usc of gestures, the movements of the muscles and the face Spoken language consists of short, often fiagmentary utterances, in a range of pronunciations ‘Lhere is often a great deal of repetition and overlap between one speaking and another Speakers frequently usc non - specific references,

Some of the micra-skills involved in speaking, The speaker has to:

“Pronounce the distinctive sounds of a language clearly enough so that people can distinguish them This includes making tonal distinctions

“Use stress and rhythmic patterns and intonation patterns of the language clearly cnough so thal people can understand what is said

“Use the correc! forms of wards, This may sean, for example, changes in the tens

case or gender

*Put words together in correct word order

*Use vocabulary appropriately

*Use the register or language variety that is appropriate to the situation and the relationship to the conversation partner

*Make clear to the listener the mam sentence consttuents, such as subject, verb, object,

by whatever means the language uses

Make the twain ideas sland ont [ror supporting idcas or information

*Make the discourse hang together so that people can follow what you are saying

1.1.3 Aspects of Speaking

According ta Bygate (1987: 3), in order to achieve a communicative goal through

speaking, There are Iwo aspecls to be considered — fnowledge of the language, and shal! inusing this knowledge It is not enough to possess a certain amount of knowledge, but

a speaker of the language should be able to use this knowledge in different situations: “We do

not merely know how to assemble sentences in the abstract: we have to produce them and adopt

1o the cirewnstances, This means making decisions rapidly, implementing them smoothly, and adjusting our conversation as unexpected problems appear in our path.” (Bygate, 1987: 3)

Being able to decide what to say on the spol, saying il clearly and being flexible during

a conversation as different situations come out is the ability to use the knowledge ‘in action’,

which creates the second aspect of speaking - the skill Bygate views the skill as comprising

ills and interaction skills, both of which can be affected by

two conditions: firstly, processing conditions, taking into consideration the fact that ‘a

two components: production

speech takes place under the pressure of time”, secondly, reciprocity conditions connected wilh a mutual relationship betwasn the interlocutors,

Production skills:

The processing conditions (time pressure) in certain ways limit or modify the oral production; it means the use of production skills For that reason, speakers arc forced to use devices which help them make the oral production possible or easier through “ficilitation’,

or omible thom to change words they usc in order to avoid or replace the difficult ones by

imicans of ‘compensation’ (Bygals, 1987-14)

There are four elementary ways of facilitating that Bygate distinguishes: simplifying structures, ellipsis, formulaic expressions, and using fillers and hesitation devices

On the other hand, when a speaker needs to alter, comect ox change what he or she has said, they will need to make use of compensation devices ‘These include tools such

as substitution, replwasing, relormulating, self-correction, false starts, and repetition and

lear to speak, these features may also help learners to sound normal in their use of the foreign

language." (Bygale 1987: 20-21)

Interaction skills

According to Bygate (1987-22), both speakers and listeners, besides being good at processing spoken words should be ‘good communicators’, which moans “good al saying what they want to say ina way which the listener finds understandable’ This means being able to possess interaction skills Communication of meaning then depends on two kinds of skill: routines, and negotiation skills,

Routines are the typical patterns in which speakers organize what they have to communicate, There are two kinds of routines: information routines, and interaction routines The information routines include frequently recuning types of information structures involved

in, for example, stories, descriptions, comparisons, or anstructions, Bygate further divides

information routines according to their fimetion into evaluative routines (explanations,

prodiclions, justifications, preferences, decisions), and oqposilory routines (marralion, descriptions, instructions) The interaction routines, on the other hand, present the characteristic ways, in which interactions are organized dealing with the logical organization and order of the parts of conveisation, Interaction routines can typically be observed in, for example, telephone conversations, interviews, or conversations at the party

White routines prosenl the Lypicel pallomns of conversalion, negotiation skills, on the olher hand, solve communication prohloms and enable the speaker and listener to make themselves clearly understood In fact, according to Bygate, negotation skills get routines through by the management of interaction and negotiation of meaning The first aspect

of negotiation skills ‘management of interaction’ refers to ‘the business of agrccing who is going to speak next, and what he or she is going to talk about’ These are two aspects of Inanagement of interaction: agenda of management and tun-laking On one hand, patlicipants* choice of the topic, how it is developed, its length, the begumning or the end is controlled by the agenda of management On the other hand, effective turn-taking requires five abilities: how to signal that enc wants to speak, recogrizing the righl moment lo get a tum, how to use appropriate tum structure inorder to take one’s tum properly and not to lose it before finishing what one has to say, recognizing other people’s signals of their desire to sp

and, finally, knowing how to let someone else have a tum ‘The second aspect of negotiation skills - ‘the skill of communicating ideas clearly and signaling understanding or misunderstanding during a conversation’ - is referred to as negotiation of meamng

According to Bygate (1987:29), there are two factors that ensure understanding during

oral conmumications, they ars: the level of oxplicitness and procedures of negotiation The level of explicitness refers to the choice of expressions with regard to interlocutors’ knowledge

As regards the procedures of negotiation, ie how specific speakers are in what they say, this aspoel of negotiation of meaning involves the usc of paraphrases, metaphors, on the use of vocabulary varying the degree of precisions with which we communicate

To sum up, there are two basic aspects that Bygate distinguishes when considsring the skill of spcaking, These includs the knowledge of the language and the skill in using, this knowledge, The knowledge of producing the language has to be used m different circumstances as they appear during a conversation by means of the skill The ability to use

is, and

the knowledge requires two kinds of skills, according to Bygale — production s

interaction skills Production skills involve two aspects facilitation and compensation, brought about by processing conditions Both devices help students, besides making the oral production casicr or possible, sound more naturally, Interaction skills, om the other hand,

involve routines and negotiation skills Routines present the typical patterns of conversation

indluding interaction and information roulings, Negoliation skills serve as a mcans far cabling the spoaker and listener to make themsclves clearly understood This is achieved by two aspects: management of interaetion and tum-taking

1.2 Theoretical background of learning and teaching speaking skill

1.2.1 Definition of teaching and learning

In contemporary dictionaries, learning is defined as acquiring or getting of knowledge

of a subject or a skill by sludy, experiance or instruction A more specialized definilion states that learning is a relatively permanent change in the behavioral tendency and is the result of reinforced practice (Kimble and Garmezy, 1963:133) Language leaming is a long and complex undertiking: “Your whole person is affected as you sirugple to reach beyond the confines of your first language and into u new language, a new culture, a new way of thinking, feeliny and

acting Total commitnent, total involvement, a total physical, intellectual and emotional

response are necessary to successfully send and receive messages in a second language Many

variables are involved in the acquisition process.” (Brown, HT) 2010: 1)

Similarly, teaching, which is implied in the first detinition of learning, may be defined

as “showing ot helping someone to learn how to do something, giving instructions, guiding in the study of something, providing with knowledge, causing to know or understand.” Teaching

is also defined as one of the means by which education is achieved (if it is) and education is a

common purpose of teaching Teaching is the process of carrying out those activities that

exporionee has shown ta be clfeetive in gelling students to learn, A teacher is defined as a person whose proféssional activities involve the transmission of knowledge, attitudes and skills that are stimulated in a formal curriculum to students enrolled in an educational programme

Teaching and learning have a close relationship, We cannot define teaching apart from learning Teaching is guiding and facilitating learning, enabling the learners to leam, setting the conditions for learning Your understanding of how the learners leam will determine your Philosophy of cducalion, your teaching style, your approach, methods and classroom techniques If you look at leaming as a process of operant conditioning, through a carefully paced program of reinforcement, you will teach accordingly If you view second language Icarning as a deductive rather than an inductive process, you will probably choose to present copious rules and paradigms to your students rather than let them “discover” those rules industively

1.2.2 Communicative Language Teaching Approach

The Instory of language learning and teaching methods has experienced many changes with many approaches, such as Grammar - Translation Method Reading Method, Audiolingualism, and Affective - Humanistic Approach and, cte CLT is the latest influcnee on teaching methodology which has been put forth around the world as a new or innovative approach to leach Tinglish as a second or foreign language CLT appeared in the late 1960s due

to the changes in the Britsh language teaching tradition Until then, situational language teaching remained the major approach in British approach to teaching The need for communicative proficiency rather than mers mastery of structures mads scholars advocate this, view of language teaching

“David Nunan’s definition of CLT:

CLI views language as a system for the expression of meaning Activities involve oral

communication, carrying oul meaningful tasks and using language Ut is meaningful to

learners Objectives reflect the need of the leamers: they include functional skills as well as

linguistic objectives ‘The learners’ role is as a negotiator and integrator ‘I'he teachers’ role is as

2 facilitator of the commmmication process Materials promots communicative language use;

they are task based and authentic (David Nunan, 1989:194)

*Characteristies of CLT:

CLT has six fentures for most modern approaches and methods, whieh are learner —

content — centered education and task — based learning Besides, Littlewood (1981:1) states’

“one of ihe most characteristic features of commumicative language teaching is thai it pays @

systematic attention to femclional as well as sructural aspects of language” For other theorists,

communicative language teaching means using procedures where learners work in paits or

groups cmploying available language Tesourc

David Nunan (1991:279) offers five characteristic features of CLT:

in problem solving tasks

-An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language

~The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation

<The provision of opportunities for learners to focus not only on language but also on the Iearning process itselL

-An crihancement of the Iserners’ own experince as imporlant contributing

classroom learning

-An attempt to link classroom language with language activation outside the classroom

These five features are claimed by practitioners of CLT to show that they are very interested in the needs and desires of their leamers as well as the connection between the Janguage as il is (aught in their class and as il used outside the classroom, Under this broad umbrella definition, any teaching practice that helps students develop their communicative competence in an authentic context is deemed an acceptable and beneficial form of instruction Thus, in the classroom CLT offen takes the form of pair and group work tequiting negotiation and cooperation between learners, flucney-based activitics that cncourage Icamers to develop

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their confidence, role-plays in which students practice and develop language functions, as well

as judicious usz of grammar and pronunciation focused activities

1.2.3 Communicative Competence — The desired goal of CLT

When teaching a language, the most important goal is to help the pupils to obtain the

abilily to commurticate Therefore, as an cflective approach in language leaching, CLT puts

communicative competence on the top of its objectives

‘The concept of communicative competence was introduced in 1964 and since then it has

caught much attention from linguists all over tho world Communicative language teaching is

an approach that aims to make communicative competence the goal of language teaching That

is to help studems uss language appropriately in real communication Rivers (1981:15) and

those who work with forcign language teaching in U.S tend to define communicative

competence as simply linguistic interaction in the target language: “The ability to function ina

truly communicative setting; that is in a spontaneous transaction involving one or more other

persons”, People who work in ESL, on the olher hand, tend 19 use communicative compelonee

in Hymes’sense In his view, a person who acquires communicative competence acquires both

knowledge and ability for language use with respect to

*Whether (and to what degrec) something is formally possible

*Whether (and to what degree) something is feasible in virtue of the means of implementation

competence, Sociolinguistic competence, Discourse competence and Stiategic competence

‘To sum up, communicative competence is the ability to use the language correctly

appropriately in amy particular circumstances of communication Tis the goal of language teaching and it makes CLT different in scope and status from any other approaches.

LL

1.2.4, The necessity of Teaching and Learning Speaking Skill in a Communicative Class

Speaking is fundarnental Lo bmonan comumeation Just think of all the different

conversations we have in one day and compare that with how much wntten communication we

do in one day Which do we do more of? In our daily lives most of us speak more than we write Therefore, if the goal of the language course is truly 1a cnable the students to

communicate in English, then speaking skill should be taught and practised in the language

classroom Speaking is a skill which deserves attention in both first and second languages ‘The learners fen need to be able Lo speak with confidence in order lo earty oul many of their most

basic transactions It is the skill by which they are most frequently judged It is the vehicle par

excellence of social solidarity, of social ranking, of proféssional advancement and of business

It is also a medium through which much language is learnt, and which for many is particularly

conductive for learning Therefore, the teaching of speaking merits more thought

Many language learners regard speaking ability as the measure of knowing a language These learners define (luency as Ihe ability to converse wilh others, much 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 accomplishments in spoken

communication The necessity of learning and teaching speaking skill was cmphasized by

Nunan (1991): "suecess is measured in terms of the ability to carry out a conversation in the

(target) language." Therefore, if students do not barn how to spcak or do nol got any opporlurity to speak in the language classroom they may soon get de-molivaled and lose

interest in learning On the other hand, if the right activities are taught in the right way,

speaking in class can be a lot of fun, raising general learner motivation and making the English

language classroom a fun and dynamic place to be

In the commmnicative model of language teaching, instructors help their students develop this body of knowledge by providing aulhenlic practice thal prepares sudents for real-

lif commmnication situations They help their students develop the ability to produce

grammatically correct, logically connected sentences that are appropriate to specific contexds, and to do so using acceptable (that is, comprehensible) pronunciation The goal of teaching

speaking skills is communicative cfficiency Learners should be able to make themsclves

understood, using their current proficiency to the fullest They should try to avoid confusion in

the message due to faulty pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, and to observe the social and cultural rules thal apply in cach communication situation

1.2.5 Problems in teaching and learning speaking skill

If the aim of the English course is to enable the students to communicate in English, then speaking slalts should be laught and practised in the Janguage classroom However, it is true that when teaching speaking skill, the teachers can encounter many problems, The most popular ones can be listed as follows: First, the class size is one of the major concerns Teaching the target language for a class of 40 or 45 sluderts is quile a hard job and not effective, The teachers have to deal with many problems of large class, so the results of teaching and learning speaking skill are unsatisfactory Second, students’ lack of motivation also prevents the success of the speaking activitics in class They almost have no interest in Ieamning the foreipn language, They just take part in the conmmmicative activities because of the teachers’ presence, the requirements of the exams, etc Another difficulty in teaching and Isarning speaking skill is mother-Longue use Tn classes where all learners share the sare

mother-tongue, they tend to use it because: it is easier, it is unnatural to communicate in a

foreign language and they feel less exposed in their mother-tongue If the students wark in small groups, it can be quite challenging to gọt them - cspocially the Jess disciplined and motivated ones- to speak the target language Many other problems in the process of teaching and tearning speaking skill will be discussed carefully in lator part of this study

Tn conclusion, this chapter has mentioned popular ideas aboul the nature af speaking, the newly approved teaching approach - CLT, and the necessity of teaching and learning speaking skill in a communicative class These concepts and ideas will serve as the theoretical background for all the analysis and discussions of the data in the following chapter.

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

This study was carried out al Xuan Hoa high school in Vinh Phục provinec Tn this chapter, the context and the participants of the study, the new English textbook for grade 10, the instruments to collect data and the research questions will be described

2.1 The Teaching and Learning Situation in Xuan Hoa High School

Xuan [loa high school is in Phue Yen town, Vinh Phuc province, which is 30 kilometers far fiom centre Hanoi, The school has good classrooms for students, a big library with many books and a language LAB with not very good equipment

This school has 26 classes (each has 45 students) and 7 teacheis of English aged from

25 to 39 with at least 1 year of teaching Of these teaching staff members, three graduated from University of Languages and International Studies; the others followed continuing education or took part in short- term English courses Among 7 teachers, one is taking the post-graduate course at Vietnam National University and currently isn’t teaching Most of the lessons are usually conducted in Vielmamose because the skndonds cannol understand everything in Engtish and the teachers have got used to teaching in their mother - tongue

‘There are 9 elasses of grade 10 students (with the total number of 405 students) Most students come fiom nearby districts and villages of Phuc Yen town and only few come from

elhmic tuineritics All of the

exporiơnesd aL loasl 4 yoars of learning English al lower - secondary school However, their English command is not good in tems of grammar, vocabulary and the four skills

2.2 The New Engllsh Texthook for Grade 10

2.2.1 The overall design of the textbook

Like the textbooks written for the other grades, the English textbook for grade 10 is

wrilcn basing an themes, such as School Tatks, People's background, Special Fducation, Technology, Excursion, ete, Each lesson includes 5 parts: Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing, Language focus (with two smaller parts: Prommctation and Grammar), each of which

is introduced within 1 period The content of cach part closcly relates to the topic of the lesson.

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‘The Reading part is chosen to begin each lesson with a view to developing skimming and scarming skills The sluderts have to read a Lext of fiom 190 1o 230 words on average which provides them with new words and knowledge related to the topic There are three steps Before you read introduces the topic and the vocabulary of the reading part to students, While you read aims al developing reading skill and usually includes 3 or 4 lasks which holp students

to understand the reading content and widen their vocabulary; Afler you read consolidates

students’ reading skill through various activities such as summarizing the text or discussing the

topic

In Speaking part, students have to work in group, work in pair and work individually to

improve their communicative skill This part has three or four tasks: task J and 2 usually

provides some language input or specific communicative structures such as expressing

preferences, lallang about the use of the computer, ete The olher tasks then ask students to

make a conversation or a speech from the previous ones and to practise speaking in front of the

whole class within some minulcs

The Listening part focuses on developing such listening skills as intensive listening,

extensive listening, listening for specific information, listening for gist, etc The Listening part

follows three stcps: Before you listen, While you listen, and After you hsten

‘The Writing part usually begins with a given piece of writing such a3 a Jeter, a narrative ov a description of people, statistics, etc Shudculs are asked to cornplele some tasks

related tn the available writing so thal they can understand (he structures and vocabulary used in

the writing Then students practise writing with such suggestions as vocabulary or questions

The final part - Language focus - has two smaller parts: The Pronunciation part helps

students with English vowels, diphthongs and consonants; the Granmnar and vocabulary part

helps students to practise with grammar exercises

Together with the lextbooks are the workbooks for students to practise al borne and the

CDs which record the content of the reading and listening parts

2.2.2 The general features of the new textbook

The new English textbook for grads 10 is designed with a view to:

*developing students’ communicative skills at basic level: listening speaking, reading and writing

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*providing students with appropriate, systematic and basic knowledge of inglish

+giving gencral knowledge about the pcople, cultures and geagraphy of Fngtish speaking countries and help students form positive attitudes towards the language that they are learning

‘The new English textbook for grade 10 follows the two approaches dominating the forcign language cducalion and methodology all over the world - the learner - centered approach and the comnumicative approach, The teaching, method chosen for this book is task - based teaching ‘Ihe reason for this choice is that these two approaches consider students the

centre pf cducation and aim at developing their crcalivily In tradilional (caching approaches, teachers are the centre of the teaching and learning process - the teachers speak and the students just listen, In the learner - centered approach, the teacher is not only the provider of knowledge but also the organizer, advisor and facilitator, the studcnts not only listen passively to the teacher but also actively take part in the learning activities through pair work and group work

‘The traditional approaches consider such linguistie competence as pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar structures their final aims while the communicative competence with listening, speaking, reading and writing skills is the biggest concer of communicative approach; the linguistic competence is just the means for students to obtain their communicative competence

2

Description of the Speaking Section

As being mentioned above, Speaking is the second part in each lesson and it has from 3

to 4 tasks In lesson 1 and lesson 2, the speaking tasks are suitable for the students because the

lopies arc familiar (4 Day in the life of Muste, Films and Cinema, School talks, etc) and the grammar as well as structures used for speaking (greetings, asking and answering} are simple

and easy for them to remember In most of the ather lessons, students have to remember many

things: a large number of new words, complicated grammar rules (simple past, past perfect,

gerunds and to — wifinitive, passive and active voice, present perfect, relative pronouris, etc)

and unfamiliar topics Tndersea Animals, Conservation, Technology and You, Tistorical Places, etc) The specific description of the speaking sections in the new textbook comes as

Life Of “Talking about daily activities

2 School Talks 4tasks _ -Making questions and giving responses in small talks

~Asking and answenmg questions about people’s People’s

~Asking for and information about the uses of

“Talking about the uscs of modern technology

“Expressing agreements and disagreements

-Giving opinions

~Asking and answering about the uses of media

7 The Mass Media 3 tasks

“Talking about different types of media The Story Of My “Talking about plans and the possible results

Village

“Talking about causes and consequences

9 Undersea World | 3 tasks — -Offering solutions

-Reporting on discussion results

“Talking about the new Kinds of zoos

1U Conservation Atasks

-Reporting on discussion results

-Making plans 1l National Paks | 3tasks -Exprsssingreglets

“Talking about an excursion

~Asking and answering, questions about music

-Talking about fivourite kinds of music

Films And

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~Asking and answering about the World Cups

14 The World Cup | 3 tasks

-Talking about the World Cup winners

-Comparing two cities

-Stating preftrcncos and giving reasons -Asking and answering questions about historical places

16 Historical Places | 3 tasks

Talking about histoncal places fiom given information

(Hoang Van Van, English Textbook for Grade 10, 2008:7)) 2.3 Description of the study

2.3.1 Kind of the research

‘This study was carried out in the form of survey questionnaires and interviews There

were two questionnaires: one for the teachers and one for the students The first questionnaire for the teachers with 9 questions was divided into 3 parts: LTeachers’ background, 2

Yeachers’ training in using the new textbook and their judgement about the training, their own communicative competence and the speaking sections of the new texthook, 3 Teachers’

difficulties in the process of teaching speaking with the new textbook and their solutions to

those problems ‘The teachers were asked to write down their names on the questionnaire so that

the aullwr could choose the appropriate participants for the interview There were 10 questions:

in the second questionnaire for the students and they focused on 3 parts: J Swdents’

background and their learning experience, 2 Students’ attitudes towards speaking skill and the speaking tasks of the new texthook, 3 Students’ difficulties in learning to speak and their

solutions lo improve speaking skill Atter collecting and analyzing the data of the

questionnaires, the author carried out interviews to clarify the survey results ‘Ihe interview for

teachers included 3 questions The number of the subjecis varied in cach quesuions They were

chosen according to their questionnawe answers With question 1 and 2, there were 5 interviewees; with question 3 there were only 3 participants The interview for the students

consisted of 5 questions and its subjects were 20 students

2.3.2 Participants

A total number of 6 teachers and 360 students of grade 10 at Xuan [loa high school

were involved in this project Of the 6 tcachci

than 10 years of teaching They attended short - term English courses The others, aged from 25

, hve were more than 35 years old with more

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to 33, graduated from Vietnam National University, Llanoi - University of Languages and Infermational Studies, from Hanoi IT Pedagogical University and fom Phu Tho Pedagogical College Three of the teachers were working full - time and the rest hired by the school for the lack of English teachers were working part - time Three full-time teachers were responsible for

20 classes and three part - time Icwehers were in charge of 6 é| The full - Lime ones attended many training courses annually organized by Vinh Phue Education and Trammg Department but the part - time ones didn’t have the chance ‘I'he author of this paper - the one who was taking the Post - Graduate course - was nol the participant, 360 students were choscn randomly from 405 grade - 10 - students, All of them had at least 4 years of learning English at secondary school with the new textbook set They came from different parts of Phue Yen town,

2.3.3 The research questions

To find out the challenges of teaching and learning speaking skill wath the naw textbook for grade 10 and the best solutions to the situation, the questions that guided the study mainly

focused on the following issues:

Question I: What are the teachers’ difficulties when teaching

speaking with the new textbook?

Question 2: What can be done by the teachers to overcome the

difficulties and improve students’ speaking skill?

Question 3: What do students think about speaking skill?

Question 4: What are students’ difficulties when learning to speak

with the new textbook for grade 10?

Question 3: What do students think should be done to overcome the

difficulties and improve their speaking competence?

‘Yo sum up, this chapter has an overall description of the study: the teaching and learning situation in Xuan Toa Tigh School, the new English textbook, the speaking seclions,

the struments, the participants and the research questions The following chapter will analyse the data collected from the survey questionnaires and interviews with those participants in Xuan

Hou school context.

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CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

Aller the data of survey questionnaires tid been collected and analyzed, the wriler carried out the interviews with teachers and students, The data of the questionnaires will be presented in the forms of tables and charts, Then the findings of the research will be clarified

3.1 Data analysis

3.1.1 Results of the survey questionnaires

3.1.1.1 Questionnaire for teachers:

Part 1: Teachers’ background

Question 1: Teachers’ qualifications (Table 1)

Phu Tho College (Then Continuing Education Course) 1 16.6

The questionnaire for the te showed thal two teachers graduated from Vieinam National University, Hanoi - University of Languages and Intemational Studies, one ftom Department of Linglish - American Language and Culture, and one ftom Department of Continuing Education Two other teachers attended short - texm courses which lasted 6 months, 16.6% graduated trom Hanoi 2 Pedagogical University One teacher graduated fiom Phu Tho college, and then finished a continuing education course

Question 2: Teachers’ experience

One of the two teachers following short-term English courses taught for 16 years and the other taught for 15 years ‘The teacher from Phn ‘rho College spent 11 years teaching English The one from Hanoi Pedagogical Universily worked as a teacher of English for only one year, One teacher from Vietnam National University, Hanoi - University of Languages and International Studies spel 4 years teaching experience and the other had 2 years,

20

Part 2: Teachers’ training in using the new textbook and their judgement about the training, their own speaking skill and the speaking sections of the new textbook

Question 3: Teachers' self- judgement about their speaking skill after graduation

All of the teachers shared the same idea that their speaking skill became worse after

their graduation Mother - tongue was used so olen thal their comtmuricalive competence

changed for worse

Question 4: Teachers’ training in using the new texthook

Three full — time teachers said thal they were trained in using the new Lextboak ones a

year The training was organized by Vinh Phuc Department of Education and Training to help

the teachers deliver the content of the new textbook sffectively The focus of the training was onthe new method of teaching English - CLT approach However, the part - time teachers did

not receive any training in using the new textbook since they finished their course of Enghsh

What they did was to read materials about the new texthook or to ask their fellow teachers who

usually parlicipated in the raining courses

Question 5: Teachers’ opinions about the training in using the new texthook?

Three fiill - time teachers thought that the training organized by the Education and

Training Department was useful Lecturers from Victnam National University, Hanoi -

University of Languages and International Studies came to provide instructions on how to deal

wilh roading, speaking, listening, wriling skills, prommeiation, vocabulary and grammar, They

added that it was the chanoe for them lo meel their colleagues and exchange Their own id

the new textbooks The three part - time teachers believed that the training would be of much use if they had an opportunity to get it

for most of the students

were easy, Loo short, boring or suitable

Part 3: Teachers’ difficulties when teaching speaking skill with the new textbook —

The speaking topics are too difficult or not familiar A 666

Tack of teaching and Icurning facililizs (cassettes, projectors, 6 100

visual aids )

‘Teachers’ lack of training in using the new texibook 3 30

When delivering the speaking tasks of the new textbook, all the Leachers complained about the lack of teaching and learnng facilities, large class, mother tongue use and no tests on speaking skill Moreover, they reported that the speaking tasks were too difficult while their

Lnglish proficiency was low (83.3%) ‘he same number of teachers considered their insufficient communicative competence to be a sorious problem A smaller numiber of teachers said that the topics for speaking were too difficult and were unfamiliar (66.6%) Two other problems which derived ftom the students were regarded as the obstacles to the speaking Jessore their ack of confidence and Ioarning motivation (66.6%) Half of the teachars expressed their worries about not being trained in using the new textbook As being mentioned, these teachers only worked part-time and they did not receive the annual training organized by the Radueation and Training Department They were hired for the tack of English tcachers The smallest number of teachers indicated that they didn’t plan the lesson carefully (16.6 %)

Question 8: Teachers’ solutions to improve the speaking lessons (Table 4)

Solutions Number of teachers | Percenta

ge

Prepare the speaking scetion more carefully (usc visual 5 83.3

aids, change the tasks appropriately )

33.3% of the teachers tried to overcome the difficulties by preparing the speaking section more carefully Half of the teachers improved the speaking lesson by spending more

time testing students’ speaking competence The way that the teachers tested their students’

speaking skill would be found out through the results of the interviews for teachers, Only 16.6 2% solved the problems by organizing spcaking clubs for students,

Question 9: Teachers’ suggested solutions to improve the speaking lesson (Table 3]

teachers

Help students improve their knowledge of the langusge and 6 100

knowledge of the world

Spend more time preparing the speaking lesson more carefully 5 $3.3