Luận văn factors affecting the participation in speaking activities of the first year non english major students at haiduong medical technical university and some possible solutions

ABSTRACT ‘The study was carried out in the hope of investigating some faetors affecting the first year non-English major students” participation in speaking aptivitios al Haiduong Medica

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNTVERSITY, IANOT KRSITY OF LANGUAGES ANTE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYEN THANH THUY

FACTORS AFFECTING TIIE PARTICIPATION IN SPFAKING

ACTIVITIES OF THE FIRST YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR

STUDENTS AT HAIDUONG MEDICAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY AND SOME POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

(NGHIÊN CỨU NHỮNG NHAN T6 ANH HUONG TOI VIEC THAM GIA

VÀO HOẠT ĐỘNG NÓI CỦA SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN NGÀNH TIÉNG ANH NAM THU NHÁT TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KỸ THUẬT Y TẾ HÃI

DUONG VA MOT SỐ GIẢI PHÁP KHẢ THỊ)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS:

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY

CODE: 6U 14 1111

Hanoi, 2015

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNTVERSITY, IANOT KRSITY OF LANGUAGES ANTE INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYEN THANH THUY

FACTORS AFFECTING TIIE PARTICIPATION IN SPFAKING

ACTIVITIES OF THE FIRST YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR

STUDENTS AT HAIDUONG MEDICAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY AND SOME POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

(NGHIÊN CỨU NHỮNG NHAN T6 ANH HUONG TOI VIEC THAM GIA

VÀO HOẠT ĐỘNG NÓI CỦA SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN NGÀNH TIÉNG ANH NAM THU NHÁT TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KỸ THUẬT Y TẾ HÃI

DUONG VA MOT SỐ GIẢI PHÁP KHẢ THỊ)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS:

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 6U 140111

SUPERVISOR: IDr LRẢN THỊ THỦ HIỀN

DECLARATION

| certify that this thesis is entirely my own work | have provided fully documented

references 10 the work of ofhers The material in this thesis has not been submitied for

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Tn completion of this thesis, firs| of all T would like to expross my sincere and deup gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Tran Thi Thu Hiến for her experienced guidance, invaluable advice, and encouragement since the very beginning until the completion of the thesis

I am indebted to all the lectures of Vietnam National University, Hanoi Faculty of post-graduate studies for their valuable lectures which help me to orient the topic

1 also wish to acknowledge the great support and precious help with the data collection and analysis of my colleagues and students at Llaiduong Medical ‘echnical University Without them, I could not have completed my thesis

Finally, T would like to thark my family, my doar friends from the master course whe

pport and encouragement during the time the sludy was carried oul

ABSTRACT

‘The study was carried out in the hope of investigating some faetors affecting the first year non-English major students” participation in speaking aptivitios al Haiduong Medical Technical University, The respondents were 12 English teachers and 165 first year non-English major students In this paper, the researcher used two data collection instruments: questionnaires and interviews for both teachers and students, The findings showed that tactors atfecting students’ involvement originated from students, teachers, classroom and materials’ sides On the basis of the findings, the study lso provides some possible solutions for the teaching and learning process

of Linglish conceming the effective factors to maximize the students’ involvement in speaking activities

‘TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION

Rationale of the suởy

Aims of the siudy

Research questions

Scope of the study ssenenennne

5, Methods of the study

Signiflcance of the stuủy

Structure of the study

1.1.3 "The roles of speaking in language teaching and learning

1.2 Approaches to the teaching of speaking « seitnenssensnnene

13 CLT and teaching speaking

1.3 Student’s participation i in oral activities

13.1 Concept of students’ participation

1.3.2 Factors affecting students’ participation in speaking activities

3.1.1.1 Stunts? assessment of their speaking ability

3.1.1.2, Students’ attitudes towards speaking skill

3.1.1.3 Stunts” level of participation in speakir

3.1.1.4 Students’ assessment of speaking activities in the class

3.1.1.5 Students’ evaluation on leaming speaking English

3.1.1.6 Students’ assessment of the topics in the textbook

3.1.1.7, Students’ evaluation ơn the leachiers + seo

3.1.1.8 Factcrs affecting students” participation

3.1.1.9 Stunts” suggested solutions to increase their participation

3.1.2 Results fiom teachers’ questionnaire and interview,

3.1.2.1 Teachers’ attitude towards speaking skal _ -

3.1.2.2 ‘Teachers’ assessment about students” speaking ability

3.1.2.3 Teachers’ method and activitiss _

3.1.2.4 Eactcrs affecting students’ participation in speaking 2 activities

3.1.2.4, Teachers” suggestions to increase students’ patticipaton in oral activities

3.2 Findings and discussion

3.2.1 Students’ level of participation in class speuking avtivilies

1 Rummnary of the study

2 Limitations of the study

3 Suggestions for further research

REFERENCES s2

APPENDICES

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CLT: Conmounivative Language Teaching

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

HMTU: Haiduong Medical Technical University

M.A.: Master of Arts

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARIS Chart 1: Students’ assessment of their speaking ability 21

Chart 2; Students’ attitudes towards speaking skill „ai Chart 3: Students’ level of participation in speaking avtivities 2 Chart 4: Students’ assessment of speaking activities in the class 33 Chart 5: Students’ assessment of the topics im the textbook New ITsadway prea

Table 1: Students’ leammg styl@s neneinennnnnnnineenenneninnennennnenn DS

‘Table 4: Students” opinion about teachers’ method and characterisli 26 Table 5: Teachers’ techniques to encourage stUJEMES iueseiennnennnennneennnenn ST Table 6: Favlors alfoeling students’ participation 28

‘Table 7: Students’ suggested solutions to increase their participation 28

Table 8: Teachers’ attitude towards speaking skill

Table 9: Teachers’ assessment of students’ speaking ability

Table 10: Teachers’ method and activities

‘Table 11: Factors affecting students” participation in speaking activities 31 Table 12: Teachers’ suggestions to increase students’ participation in speaking activities, 32

vil

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1, Rationale of the study

The:

of communication and it is widely used in different fields of the society such as

days, English is very popular in Victmam, English lis bovome a erucial mss

international commerce, seience & technology, education, medicine and sơ on, That is why, English teaching and lcaming have become a grcat necessity for Victnamesc people specially, leaning speaking gains a grea stature as the eed of

communication is paid much more attention

However, in some places in Vietnam, English teaching has been strongly influenced

by buaditionsl methods Teachers as well as students pay foo umch altention lo the grammar items Teachers mainly focus on explaining the grammatical rules and structures to students who are considered as passive recipients As a result, those

students are often reluctant in speaking activities

Tn recent yours, English icachors lave changed their teaching methods and focused on teaching speaking to the students, One top concern of most teachers is students’

ineffective participation in spcaking lessons The reasons for that arc various Tsui

(1996), afler canying a research im Tong Keng, lists five principle faclors affecting the reluctance of students’ participation in classroom speaking lessons: students” perceived low proficiency in English, studem’s fear of making mistakes and dezision, teachers’ intolerance of silence, uncven allocation of tunis, and incomprehensible input (as cited in Numan, 1999:234)

Having been teaching English at Haiduong Medical ‘Yechnical University (MIU) for seven years, the author of this paper has realized that most of the students do not often enjoy speaking puriods, and they do nol a vely contribute the spzaking Jessons They always keep quiet, passively take note, some listen to better students speaking but do nothing while some other students even discuss in Vietnamese That is the reason why

the topic “Factors affecting the participation in speaking activities for the first year

possible solutions.” was chosen as an attempt to find out the reasons for the above

problems, and propose some suggestions to increase students’ participation in

speuking activi

2 Aims of the study

‘The study investigates current teaching and leaming of speaking skill for and of the first year non-Rnglish major sludents st HMTU to identify Factors affecting the first year nton-Lnglish major students’ participation in speaking activities and from that gives some possible solutions to increase students’ participation m speaking activities

3 Research questions

To achieve the aims which are mentioned above, the following research questions were Taised for exploration:

1 What are the factors affecting the students” participation in speaking activities?

2 What are the possible solutions to increasing these students’ participation in speaking activities?

4 Scope of the study

‘The current research concentrates on investigating facters affecting the first year non-nglish inajor students’ participation in oval activities and trom that gives some possible suggestions

students” participation in ond activities al HMTU All of the allermpis working with other types of students, other sails at other institutions are out of the scope of the study

5 Methods of the study

To conduct the study, both quantitative and qualitative methods are used The data were collevied by means of questionnaires and inlerviows Survey questionnaires, ons

6 Sig

The information of the factors affecting the yurtivipation in speaking activities is

jcance of the study

helpfidl for students and teachers of English in general and teachers at Haiduong

Medical Technical University in particular Suggestions to increase students’

participation may help the teachers overcome the challenges and find ways to have successful lessons

7 Structure of the study

The study is divided into three parts

Part A (iuiroduction) presents the rationals, aims, rcscarch questions, scope, methods,

significance and structure of the sindy

Part B (evelopment) includes three chapters

Chapter 1 (Literature review) gives some theoretical background about speaking skill and factors affecting students? participation in speaking activities

Chapter 2 (Methodology) presents the context of the study, participants, data

collection instrument, data collection procedures

PARI B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Speaking in second language learning and teaching

contexts”

In addition, Brown (1994) defines speaking as a process of constructing meaning that involves producing, Teciving and processing information In Brown and Yulo’s opinions (1983), spoken language sof shot, fragmentary ullorances in ata

of pronunciation, Usually, there is a grcat deal of repctition and overlap between one speaker and another Speaker usually uses non-specific references They also add that spoken language is made by using the loosely organized syntax, and non-specific words, phrases and filters such as of, well, rdesh, and so on

From the above definitions, speaking is making use words, knowing and being able to use language, expressing in words and making spucch Therefore, we can infer thal spouking is the ability to make usc of words or a language Lo express oneself in actual

communication,

1.1.2, Characteristics of speaking

As for Bygate (1987:12), in most speaking the person to whom we are speakang is in front of us and able to put right if we make mistakes, He/She can also generally show agreement and understanding — or incomprehension and disagreement Unlike readers

or writers, speakers may need patience and imagination, too While talking, speakers

need to fake notice of the other end allows listeners ehanee to speak il TL me thai

we take tums to speak Brown (1983) and her colleagues point out that a listener gives

a leamer models to utilize when acting as a speaker In addition, being a hearer first helps the leamer appreciate the difficulties inherent in the task It is clear that giving speakers experience in hearer’s role is more helpful than simple practice in task in

which a speaker is having real difficulties in appreciating what a particular task required

Speaking has the following charaeteristies:

Ils form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and

the purposes for speaking It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving However, speech is not always unpredictable Language functions ( or pattems) that

tend to recur in certain discourse situations can be identified and charted

Speaking requires that leaners 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 to produce language

language A good speaker synthesizes this amay of skills and knowledge to suceced in

a given speech act

Bygate (1987) considers speaking as an undervalued skill in many ways The reason is that almost all people can speak, and so take speaking skill too much for granted Le also asserts lltal speaking skilt deserves attention every bit as nmch as literacy skifled, Taamers offen need 19 be able to speuk with confidence in order to camry out thany of their most basic Lransaclions, Bygale also highly appreciates speaking by stating thal speaking is the medium through which much language is Lcamt

To sum up, it is undeniable that speaking is key to communication By considering what good speakers do, what speaking tasks can be used in class, and what specific needs leamers report, teachers can help leamers improve their speaking and overall oral competency

12 the rales of speaking in language teaching and learning

Tt ean not be denied thal in our daily tives, people spend more time speaking rather than writing or reading According to Larscon-Frecman (1986) “The goal of language teaching is to develop communicative competence” That means people Team a language to communicate well in that language Bygate (1987) considers speaking as

an undervalued skill in many ways ‘he reason is that almost all people can speak, and

so take speaking skill too much for granted He also asserts that speaking skill

deserves attention every bit as much as literacy skilled, Leamers often need to be able

to speak with confidence in order to carry out many of their most basic transactions In the study of Ur (1996:120), speaking cerns intuitively the most important of all four skills Speaking is regarded as the first step lo confi who knows or docs net know a language Pattison (1992) shared the same opinion that when people mention knowing

or eaming a language, they actually mean that they are able to speak the language

From the above reasons, teaching and learning speaking skill is vital and should be paid much attention to

1.2 Approaches to the teaching of speaking

- The Grammar — Translation Method

For many decades the predominant method of language instruction was the grammar-

translation method This method is rooted in the leaching of the nineteenth century and

was widely used for the first hal Cof the

(Richards and Rodgers (2001) In the Grammar ~ translation Method, students are taught to analyze grammar and to translate (usually in writing} fiom one language to another ‘I'he main goal of this method has been for students to read the literature of a

st century to teach modern forcign languages

particular culture ‘This method does not really prepare students to speak English, therefore, il is nol entirely appropriate for students to improve the peaking skills, Tn

conelusion, the Grammar — translation Method is not consistent with the goals of inervasing English learners’ [lueney, oral production or conmmuticative competence

- The Direct Method and Audio — Linguatism

The Direct Method focused on “everyday vocabulary and sentences” (Richards and Rodgers (2001:9) and lessons were conducted entirely in the target language More importantly, the lesson presented new teaching points in speaking rather than in writing and it was practiced “ in @ carefidly graded progression organized around

question and answer exchanges between teachers and students.”

In Andio-1ingualism, speaking is taught by having stuclents repcat sentences and recite memorized dialogues fiom the textbook Bygate (1987:15) states that “leaching oral language was thought to require no more than engineering the repeated oral production of structures” In this method, the lesson emphasized repetition drills in order to familiarize students with the sounds and structural patterns of the language In

short, memorizing pattems did not lead to fluent and effective communication in real —

life situations

- Communicative Language Teaching

At the end of the 1960s, the Audio — Lingual Method met a drastic atlack from bolt American sociolinguistics and British functional linguistics based on the study of

language ftom a wider prospective Hymes (1972) put forward the tem

“communicative contpetence” to refer to appropriate language performance in contrast

to “ linguistic competence” At the same time, Brumfit and Johnson (1979)

emphasized “the fictional and communicative potential of language They saw the

need to focus on communicative proficiency rather than on mere mastery of

structures” CLT features more interaction- based activities such as tole plays, information gaps, pair work and group work In simmmary, smeng sume approaches of the Tanguage leaching methods, CLT is the most appropriate way for commuriestion

1.3 CLT and teaching speaking

3.1 Concept of CLT

According to Numan (1989:194), “CLT' views language as a systent for the expression

of meaning Activities involve oral communication, carrying out meaning tasks and

is of the

using language which is meaningful to the learners Objectives reflect the nei

learners including functional skills as well as linguistics objectives The learner's role

is a negotiator and integrator The teacher's role is a facilitator of the communication

progress Materials promote communicative language use; they are lask-based und authentic.”

Nunan also asserts that in communication process, learners are negotiators and integrators whereas teachers are facilitators

Richards and Rogers (2001:161) confirms that CLT has a rich theoretical base and some of the characteristics of the communicative view of language are

+ Language is a system for the expression of meaning,

~The primary function of language is to allow interaction and communication,

- The structure of language reflects its functional and communicative use, and

- The primary units of language are not merely its granunatical and structural features but categories of functional and communicative meaning as exemplified in discourse,

Jn Brumnfits’s view (1984:91-93), C:L/T”s characteristics can be summarized as follows:

- ‘Teaching is leaner — centered and responsive to learners’ needs and interests; + The target language is acquired through interactive communicative use that encourages the nogotiation of moaning;

+ Germincly meaningful langusge use

unpredictability, risk-taking and choive-making,

- There is exposure to examples of authentic language fiom the target language

cmplusized , along with

community: and

+ ‘There is a whole language approach in which the four traditional language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) are inisgratedL

In tric, CLT lus served as the dominant approach to language leaching since

the demise of the Audio-1 gual Method

14.3.2 Yeachers

‘Teacher's role is also one of the most important components in applying CLIT in CL class, loachers are not only facilitators of students’ learning but also advisors of the students’ wonderings Sometimes, they can acl as a co-commmunivator ty engage in Lhe conumunicative activities along with students Teachers are the initiators of classroom activities but they do not always interact wath the students They give the students chances to express their individuality by having them share their ideas and opinions

As for Litlewood (1981) this helps learners integrate the target language with their won personality and feel more emotionally secure with it

Vor the ones who never or rarely attend any language courses on CLI, training or retraining in CLT is always necessary because teachers’ competence decides the snecess or failure of applying CLT

1.3 Student’s part ipation in oral activities

1.3.1 Concept of students’ participation

In Howard, Short and Clark's opinion (1996; 8-24), participation is the student’s active

engagement in the classroom to promote effective learning ‘Ihe student’s activities

may inclnde reciting in class, having conversations with the instructor or their

rather than be passive leamers who simply take in knowledge

In order to have a successful lesson, students’ participation must be active and even The author, with nearly ten years ot teaching experience, acknowledges that students”

participation in classroom oral activities can be affected by a variety of factors such as

from students, teachers, classroom and materials

13.2, Factors affecting students’ participation in speaking activittes

7.3.2.1 Students’ factors

a Students’ language proficiency level,

In Vietnam, a common problem of Ianguage learners is a shortage of vocabulary, structures and expressions As a result, they are unwilling to speak In the class, many students just sit in silence and do not participate in the classroom activities

‘Nunan (1999:234) points ont factors affecting the reluctance of students’ participation

in class speaking lesson as follow:

+ studerts” perceived low proficiency in English

- _ students’ fear of mistakes and derision

- teacher’s intolerance of silence

- _ uneven allocation of turns

- imcomprehensible input

Rod (1985) reports that proficiency consists of the leamers’ knowledge of target language; it can be 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

Tn Burns and Joyce's view (1997), students have difficulties in prommeiation such as

cultural knowledge,

sounds, thyUnms and stress patterns of English, lack of social am

low proficicncy of grammar patterns and problems in transferring from the native language into the target language All of these linguistics factors result in break down in processing language and communication

In fact, if students’ language proficiency is rather low, they will not be confident to participate in speaking lesson Moreover, if students are of different, language prolicicney levels, teachers may cope diffieulties choosing a suilable teaching method,

and aelivitics uscd in ass

b Students’ learning styles

It is undeniable that Iearning style has a great mfuence on students’ participation in speaking lesson Individual‘s learning style in an educational context indicates a

different way he/she approaches new information Brown (2007: 120) defines leaming

style as “cognitive, affective and physiological traits that are relatively stable

indicators of how learners perceive, interact with and respond to the learning

environment”

As can be scen from Willing’s classification, if the majority of students in onc class

belong to concrete and authority oriented groups, the degree of participation im oral

activities of this class will be low

According to Brown (1994) the contrast between reflectivity and impulsivity

dimension is one factor affecting students’ participation in speaking lesson Reflective

leamers are slower, more careful and often weigh all the considerations before speaking out in the class, on the other hand, impulsive leamers are quicker at making decision and make gambles before a solution is øehieved So in speaking lesson, impulsive leamers are faster but less accurate speaker than refleetive ones

‘As claimed by Ellis (1983:120), extroverted leamers are more willing to interact with others than the introverted, and therefore they are more successful in oral

communication,

Sharing the same view with Ellis, Lightbown and Spada list a number of personality characteristics that have a great influence on the success of second language leamers: extroversion, inhibition, self — esteem, empathy, deminance, talkativeness and

responsiveness (1999:54-55)

A stuly conducted by Galvan and Fukada (1998; 29-49) finds thal shudents who ar:

oulgoing participated more than introverts The study also determines Ural participants

who self-reported as having passive personalitics arc least likely to initiate a question

or volunteer an answer to teacher”s question

We can conclude with certainty that if the teacher neglects these differences among students, only some of them can benefit from the classroom activities

c Students’ attitudes and mo

ation

TLis clear that students’ attitudes and motivation plays an important part in the success

of language learning Harmer (1999:51) defines motivation as “some kind of internal

drwe which pushes someone to do things in order to achieve something” Lightbown and Spada (1999) propose that “srofivation in second language learning is a complex phenomenon which can be defined in terms af two factors: learners’ communicative needs and their attitudes towards the second language community” lt can be

understood that if leamers have favorable attitudes and desire to speak the second

language for communication, they will be motivated to acquire the language proficieney

Hamner (1999:51) divides motivation into two types intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation 1s possessed by people having personal interest in doing something On the contrary, extrinsic motivation is caused by such outside factors, not

for their own sake, as the need to pass an exam or the hope of financial reward,

Jf all the students just leam English in order to pass the written exams, they think that participating in speaking activities is not necessary In this case, a big question for the Isnguage teachers is how to inspire students’ personal interests in the speaking

lessons?

In order to do so, we have to understand the sources of motivation as “without knowing:

where the rvuts of motivation lie, huw can teachers water Hivse revis?” (Oxford &

Shearin, 1994:15} Fisher (1990) points to three major sources of motivation in

learning:

- ‘The learners’ natural interests (intrinsic satisfaction)

- ‘The teacher’ employment etc (extrinsic reward)

- Suecess in the task (combining satisfaction and reward)

Harmer (1999:51) also mentions thal the sources of tnotivation are diversified They tay derive from the socicty, significant ofhers like the attitude of parents or otd siblings, the teacher and the method The responsibility of the teachers is to inereasc and direct students’ motivation through setting clear goals, leaming environment and interesting classes, which can directly influence students” participation

According to Sass (1989: 86-88) there are many factors affecting student’s motivation

to work and to learn: interest in the subject matter, perception of its usefulness, general desire lo achieve, selCconfidenee and solFestecr, as well as pationes and persistence However, not all students are motivated by the same values, needs, desires, or wants

Some students will be motivated by the approval of others, some by overcoming

challenges

In conclusion, motrvation and attitude play an important role in teaching and learning

as “positive attitudes and motivation are related to success in second language learning” (Gardner (1975) Whatever factors affecting students’ motivation, it is a

duty for each language teacher to increase students’ motivation in speaking lesson

4Ì Students" anxiety

Anaicty is one of several affective factors which can influcnec attention and henes

lead to deterioration in language performance There are different types of anxiety A distinction can be made between trait anxiety, state anxiety, and situational-specific anxiety Scovel (1978) defines trait anxiety as “ a more permanent predisposition to be anxious” It is pethaps best viewed as an aspect of personality State anxiety can be

defined as apprehension that is experienced at a particular moment in time as a response to a definite situation (Spielberger, 1983) It is a combination of trait and

specific anxiuty This latter type consists of the anxivty which is aroused by a

specific type of situation or event such as public speaking, examinations, or class participation

Psychological definitions of anxiety refer to a “iransitory emotional state or condition

characterised by feelings of tension and apprehension and heightened autonomic nervous system activi

and positive effects, and which motivates and facilitates as well as disrupt and inhibits

Spielberger, 1983:24), a state which can have both negative

cognitive actions such as leaning,

There are a lol of reasons for assuming that an anxious leamer will not be a good one Anxiety will distract from the task of attending lo and remombaring new items; it will

đi s that will establish items A number of carlicr studies

In Zhang Xiugin's research (2006), he found out that anxiety was the main negative factor which prevented students ftom participating in classroom speaking activities Iligh anxiety leamners tended to withdraw from voluntary participation and reluctant to tuke risks He identified some main causes of lmguage anxiety

- Less proficient English

- Students’ fear of mistakes and dension

- Large class size

- Unvwilling to take risks

- Low tolerance of ambiguity

- Competitiveness

Jn short, there is sufficient evidence to show that anxiety is an important factor in

sceond language acquisition in general and in students’ participation in speaking

aclivilics in particular “The students’ anxieties, if unacknowledged and unaddressed,

prevent interaction wt the learner group and hinder the acquisition of the second language” (MeCoy, 1979:185) Theretore, language educators should strive to promote a non-threatening learning environment and “user-friendly” oral exams which

students could prepare for well in advance, in order to prevent negative interactions between language ansiety and other personality variables such as learning styles, motivation, and personality types ‘eachers themselves could eventually discover and apply the most effective techniques in controlling anxiety

1.3.2.2 Teacher's factors

a Teacher's characlon

To establish a good relationship, it is vital that teachers should be cordial, acceptant

ties

and tolerant, otherwise it can make students scared and atraid of speaking in the class

‘Tsui (1996) found out that teachers’ intolerance of silence is one of five principal factors affecting students’ reluctance in speaking (cited in Numan, 1999:234) Further tore, in his investigation, Dorysi (2001.146) also slated rat the leacher’s

relationship with the siudents, the teachsr’s attitude or the style conflicts belween thet are major factors de-motivating sludents’ participation

It should be noted that not every teacher can have all the above characteristics, but it

can help improve a good rapport between the teacher and students With such good interaction dunng the lesson, it both creates a positive environment for learning and enhances students’ participation in the activities

Although “the perfect set of personal qualities and characteristics for an effective

teacher has not been found” (Marry, 1993-94), it would be true to say that in order to

involve students im classrooms activities, teacher firstly should be one that students

respect and lay their trust on The teacher’s prestige will make students feel saft in the

lesson and willing to participate in the activities To support this point, Barry (1993)

mentions some characteristics that a teacher should have:

- Being natural: ‘The teacher should present himself as real person such as the

fecling of happiness, sympathy, annoyance or humorous ‘Iherefore, the relationship

between students and teacher will be closer, which helps increase students’ involvement and co-operation in the process of teaching and leaming

+ Being warm: The toachor regards students as his (ellow poople, respacts their personal charactutisties and is happy lo have them around,

- Being pleasant: The teacher’s attitude towards students expresses his relaxation, tiiendliness in the relationship with his students Besides, being pleasant also means being enthusiastic towards the job of teaching

- Being approachable An approachable teacher is the one who makes students feel good about being with him and the one that students can come to see if they have problems

- Being toleren In learning a foreign language, students’ mistakes are inevitable ‘The teacher needs to be tolerant with those mistakes instead of criticizing them tactlessty

To sum up, nol all teachers have all those factors, However, tsachers should try te

of Communicative Language ‘leaching, teacher's technique tum from teacher - centered iethod into learner — centered method The teaching technique consist of role-play, problem solving, games, pair work, group work, interview, discussion, and

30 on Harmer (1991: 12) finds that classes in which the teachers present a variety of activities are far more likely to ensure students’ continuing interest and involvement in learning, whereas classes in which the teachers continmally give the same activities are not likely to engage students’ interest

However, no teaching method is the best one as each one has its own advantages and disadvantages In order to apply a suitable teaching method, the teacher should take

some of the following factors inte consideration including Ivar level, itderests and

purposes Applying the appropriate inethod can have positive effects on students? learning and participation in classroom’ activities

In conclusion, students’ participation can be afieeted by teacher's factors including teacher’ role, characteristics and methodology Teaching method may play a decisive part in obtaining teaching goals, and in this case, increasing students’ involvement in oral activities in addition, teacher” characteristics and teacher’s roles in the classroom activities play an important role in students’ participation ‘Therefore, in order to reach, this goal, teachers should improvs themselves in methodology, knowledge and

personality fo motivale students,

1.3.2.3 Classroom factors

a, Classroom size

Large classes cause problems not only tor teachers but also for students and their

learning process In Hayes’ definition (1997), any class with over 40 students can be

considered a large class Teaching large classes is difficult for both teachers and students in many reasows, First, leaching large classes requires more work for the

teacher as there are more Teamers Lo assist Then, itis nol easy for bleachers 1o motivate

all studonls, make all of them concentraled, to have them invelved, and lo gel them promptly responded Moreover, large classes arc often more difficult to control because of the number of Ieamers Noise is greater, and discipline problems are more likely to become uncontrollable Next, many of techmques and materials we use in smaller classes are difficult to use with larger classes because of students’ different learning preferences, different English proficiency level, If there is littler classroom space, for example, arranging seats in groups can be difficult or impossible

Tn short, lange classes cause problems for both teachers and students, Therefore, students should actively participate in the lessons and teacher should choose suitable

method or techniques to umprove the situation

b, Classroom atmosphere

Many teachers do not take classroom atmosphere into consideration when they conduct their classes, but the atmosphere is an essential part of learning ina classroom

According to Underwood (1987-34-44), both students and teachers take the

responsibility for creating a good teaching and leaning environment with the following points:

~ Giving a sense of purpose, All the students are provided opportunities lo talk andl listen to each other and they have clear objectives to achieve in and after the lesson,

- Ensuring that English is spokerr, It is important to use English as the classroom language right from the beginning and make sure that you want to conduct the lesson

in English, Therefore, students will form the habit of speaking English in the class

‘There is no doubt that the teacher’s command of using the target language can have great influence on the students’ willingness to speak By doing so, the teacher can set the best example and provides a good model for his classes

- Balancing fluency and accuracy: The teacher stnild balance the

accuracy, weaker students will be shy and reticent to speak Then, they will losc the

with the need for accuracy TT he fovus

confidence m speaking , and the gap between the weak and other fellow students become bigger

+ Using an appropriate language: Classtcom expressions are highly appreciated

to be used regularly im the class Mowever, the language should be clear, understandabts and if maichss studsnts’ tevel

+ Giving encouragement When students are trying th

best to reach the goals,

the teacher should give an appropriate comment to encourage them A comment like

“Good”, “Well done”, “That's right” can make students feel more confident and

motivated, and more importantly they are eager to speak more otten

- Involving all the students: In large classes, it is very easy to miss some students ont when doing oral practice Underwood suggests some ways of endeavoring to include all the students such as using the class register list, setting speaking rules and

garncs to creourage alt students Lo participate in the activities

and anxious about the exams and tests Thus, the teacher shouldn’t put too nmch weight on giving marks or tests

ontside lesson times can make a significant contribution to maintaining a good

T6

atmosphere in the classroom, If students have more interesting activities, they will take

amore positive attitude towards their studies

Tn conclusion, creating a positive and ongaging classroom atmosphere is one of thơ most powerful tols teachers can use to encourage students’ leaning and prevent problem behaviors ftom occuring Therefore, it is important to make sure the classroom atmosphere comfortable in order to ensure productivity

1.4 Summary

‘This chapter has reviewed the role of speaking in foreign language teaching and learning It is obvious that teaching and learning speaking skill is vital and should be paid much attention to In addition, CLI and other approaches are also revised in order to show that CIT approach is the most effective way to teach speaking skill This chapter also provides issues of students’ participation in speaking activitivs,

ac panied by the rel of the present study The svarch methodology

employed in the present study will be presented in the next chapter,

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 Context of the study

Haiduong Medical Tochnival University is lovated in the cconouie center of Northern Delia, which is 57 kilometers west of Hanoi capital The university belungs to the Ministry of Health with more than 50 years’ experience of training nurses and medical technicians at different levels The students graduating from the unversity are highly appreciated by health services in terms of professional skills The university currently has more than 4,000 students and 300 officials and lecturers

At HMTU, students have to study four English courses Each course lasts 60 periods (S0 minutes per period) ‘he Lnglish textbooks used at LIMT'U are “New Headway pre-intermediate-the third edition” (John and Liz Soars 2011 j for course 1, 2 and

“New Headway intermediate-the fourth edition” (John and Liz Soars 2012 ) for

course 3, 4 Rach of thase books consist of 12 units inclutling seven parts: Zanguage Jocus, vacaiulary, everyday English, reading, listening, speaking und writing The topics in the material focus especially on friends, lifestyles, entertainment, plans and arrangements, travelling, work, world, fear etc, Each week students have 4 English

periods and they continuously lean in 15 weeks Besides, textbook Mursing If Tony

Grice 2071) is also used in the combination with the textbook above This course

Besides, freshmen of [IMU do not have the same level of Lnglish language

do exercises to pass paper tests consisting of writing and reading skills ‘Therefore, most of them are passive in leaming English, especially in speaking lessons, As a

result, it seems that they often feel reluctant to take part in speaking activities and a lot

of the students can not communicate with their ftiends and teachers in English class

fully

snc

If students are the most important factor in he varning process, teachers are the wost impottant faetor in the teaching process There are 12 English teacher currently working at HMTU Most of them are young with the age ranging tiom 25 to 35 and have at least three years of experience in English teaching Seven of them have acquired an M.A degree and four of them are doing an M.A course at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi ‘They are helpful, enthusiastic, and willing to make renovations in teaching methodology

2.2 Methodology

2.2.1 Participants

The participants of the study ¥ 165 firsl-year non-Fnglish major students and all 12 English teachcrs at HMTU Those students were sclected randomly in classes from Enghsh 1011.1 to English 1101.8 The research was conducted in the second tenn of the school year All the participants took part in the survey questionnaires by

answering all ths given questions In addition te questionnaires, 10 students and 5

teachers were interviewed in order to have inedepth data

2.2.2 Data collection instruments

2.2.2.1, Survay questionnaires

To reach the purposes of the study, survey questionnaires have been choscn as main instrument for data collection for this particular research beeause they help collect large amount of information without consuming too much time ( Nunan, 1992), There are two questionnaires used in this study (one is for the students and the other is for the teachers) ‘Ihe questionnaires consist of close, open-ended, and checklist questions

‘The questionnaire for students consists of two main parts Part | is about the students”

personal information including age and years of English learning Part TT aims to find out the level of students’ involvement, their assessment towards their proficiency, teachers’ methods, the materials, factors affectmg the participation in speaking activities and some suggestions trom students

The qusstionnaire for teachers also consists of two main parts Part | is about the

information of age and years of teaching In part LI , it is about teachers’ attitude

towards teaching speaking skill, their current teaching methods, factors affecting students’ involvement and some suggested strategies

22.2.2 Interviews

Besides survey questionnaires, dhe researcher used semi-struetured interviews for teachers as a supplementary data collection method Semi-structured interviews were employed for reasons that they could bring the interviewer preat flexibility to focus more on remarkable points (Nunan, 1992), Five teachers and ten students were invited

to the interview and kindly requested to answer the interviews questions

2.2.4 Data collection procedares

‘The procedures were divided into two stages:

In the first stage, the respondents were all introduced how to complete the

Tn the second stage, the author starled interviews with five teachers and ten students to

get farther information, Tn the bast attempt to build a scientific methodology, the

questions, the participants, data collection instruments and data collection procedures

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

20

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS

3.1, Data analysis,

3.1.1 Results from students’ survey questionnaire and interview questions

3.1.1.1 Students’ assessment of their speaking ability

verybad very good good - soso 545% 04 3.03% 9.09%

82.43%

Chart 1: Students’ assessment of their speaking ability

‘The result in chart | shows that there were no very good students at speaking skill The number of students with good level at English speaking skill only made up 3.03% while 9.09 % of the participants assumed that their speaking was so so More than three fourth of them admitted that they were bad (82.43%) or very bad (5.45%) at

speaking skill In addition, during the interview 7 out of 10 students revealed that they

desired to speak English but they have difficulty finding words or making correct sentences Whereas, 9 out of 10 students stated that they were not willing to speak

because of their pronunciation From the results, it can be concluded that most of the

students are at low English speaking level

3.1.1.2 Students’ attitudes towards speaking skill