Luận văn strategies for increasing students' participation in oral activities a case of dong do high school hanoi

~ LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Lists of Figures Figure 1: Degrees of students' participation in oral activities Figure 2; Current methods applied to teaching speaking Figure 3; students'

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

JOSE USE ORR RIO

ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

NGUYEN THUY DUONG

STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING STUDENTS’

PARTICIPATION IN ORAL ACTIVITIES: A CASE OF

DONG DO HIGH SCHOOL, HA NOI

((Vhững chiến lược tăng cường sự tham gia của học sinh trong các giờ

học kỹ năng nói: trường hợp Trường THPT Đông Đô, Hà Nội)

M.A Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Methodology

Code: 601410

Hanoi — 2010

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST —- GRADUATE STUDIES

ARRRRARE RARER ERE

NGUYEN THUY DUONG

STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING STUDENTS’

PARTICIPATION IN ORAL ACTIVITIES: A CASE OF

DONG DO HIGH SCHOOL, HA NOI

(Vhững chiến lược tăng cường sự tham gia của học sinh trong các giờ

học kỹ năng nói: trường hợp Trường THPT Đông Đô, Hà Nội)

M.A Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Methodology Code: 601410

Supervisor: NGUYEN THI VUQNG, M.A

Hanoi — 2010

Chapter I- LITERATURE REVIEW .cecscccsssesissistinineietieteentnne need

1.3 Nature of speaking ski and principles of teaching speaking 7

13.1.2, Characteristics of speaking sosuusessnenensiniatstnneneen nen

1.3.2.2.Internediate level

14 Student#' participation ín oral activifies "_ l2

1.42 Faclars affEcling stuđents" pariicipalion in oral activities we AB 14.2.1, Studants’ style beens " seeuitsesetsene beens 13

1.4.2.3 Toachor’s toadhing toulmiqucs and ruethods l4 1.4.2.4 Teachar’s personal qualities cccc "¬— -

TL Current situation of teaching and Icarning speaking at DDHS 16

ILS Data colicetion proecdis "¬— "_ "— Chapter 1H - SEATISTICS AND ANALYSIS 0# DATA "_ "_ TILA Statistical results of questionnaires for students 18 IIL.1.1 Students" attitude towards speaking skill 18 111.2 Students degree of participation in classroom speaking activities 19

TTỊ.1.3 Reasons that make students hesitant Lo participale in oral activities, 20

TỊL1.4 Current methods applied to teach spzaking seeeeeereu21 IILLS Students’ desires beens "¬— "_ 21 JIL2 Statistical results of questionnaires for teachers 23

11.2.2 Teachers’ attitude towards unwilling speakers and mustake makers

11.2.3 Difficulties that teachers have confronted in teaching speaking 26 11.2.4 Techniques and activities applicd in teaching English speaking eis 26 JIL3 Classroom Observations

IV.L.1 Levels of students’ participation in speaking lessons

1V.L.2 Learners’ reasons affecting participation in oral activities 30

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IV122 IV.1.2.3 Lack of motivation

IV.1.3 Teachers’ difficulliss in teaching speaking in speaking 3

1V.2, Recommendations for teachers to improve students’ talking time 33

IV.2.2 Recommendation for the teachers ccc ee esterase

1V.2.2.1 Suggested teaching speaking strategies - 34

1V.2.2.2 Suggested activities lo morcase sludents’ participation in oral

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

cLY refers to Commmnicative Language ‘Teaching

DDIIS refers to Dong Do Ligh School

~

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

Lists of Figures

Figure 1: Degrees of students' participation in oral activities

Figure 2; Current methods applied to teaching speaking

Figure 3; students' expectant activities tiom teachers

Figure 4: Teaching methods currently used in teaching speaking

Figure 5; Difficulties that teacher have encountered when teaching speaking,

List of Tables

Table]: Students’ attitde towards speaking skill

Table 2: Factors thal make students hesitant to participate in orl aetivitics

Table 3: Students’ desires for speaking activities

Table 4: Teachers’ opinion of CLT

Table 5: Teacher’s attitude towards unwilling speakers and mistake makers Table 6: Techniques to make students iors interested im speaking lessons

‘Table 7: Activities to motivate students to participate more in oral activities

‘Table 8: ‘Time on-task, off-task for students in speaking activities

Since 1971, the teaching and learning of English has become of a great concern in

Vietnam It is because that English is also seen as a means to promote mutual

understanding and cooperation between Vietnam and other countries As a result, there are more and more people desizing to know and master English with the hope of keeping, up to date with the latest development in tecmology in the world, Therefore, English in Vietnam has become part of the general education It is a compulsory subject not only in tertiary institutions but also in most secondary schools,

Tn learning Trgtish al high schools, Dnglish speaking skill is one of the four skills thal sluclenis must be taught as scparatcty and equally as the others However, dus to some differently objective and subjective reasons, tsaching and learning of this skill is ofton

It Icads to the cause

integrated with other skills such as listening skill, or is even negle

that students do nol aflen cnjoy speaking period as welt as find il difficult to participate in speaking activities

Furthermore, there are a lot of elements of speaking affecting the ability to speak fluently such as language feattwes (connected speech, expressive device, lexis and grammar, negotiation language) and the ability to process information and language “on the spot” such as language processing, interacting with others However, in a period of 4Smimutes,

it scems to be impossitle for both teachers and students to control them Therefore, if teaching and learning oral communication skill takes place within 45 minutes every week and only in classroom settings, its effect is limited

In terms of my experiences of tcaching English and teaching speaking skill at Dong Do high school (DDHS) ! found that most of my students are unwilling $0 participate in oral

activities Most of them arly passively sit and lake notes, rarely contribute the lesson und even do not ask for the teacher’s help when they have any problems, Reasons or this are

isachers to help their learners gel oul of the always silent moment in class, and thercby,

improve their speaking skills

For such reasons | choose “Strategies for Increasing Students’ Participation in Oral

Activities: A case of Dong Do High School, Hanoi” as there fort ry th

LU Aims of the study

‘This research is designed to break a new ground in looking for nsw strategies to enhance the participation of the students at DDHS in speaking activities

In order to obtain this aim, some purposes are as follows:

+ To investigate theories conecrning loaching and learning English as a forcign language

in general and English oral communication skill in particular

+ To review some teal situations about teaching and learning English and English speaking skill al DDHS

= To search for some factors that affeel Ure sluderts’ participation in oval uetivitics at

DDHS,

- To suggest some realistic and appropriate class teaching strategies with the hope they can thaximize their Icarnar’s involvament in oral avlivitivs

LLL Research questions

‘To reach the aims of the study, the three research question addressed

| What is the reality of teaching and leaming Tnglish speaking skill at DDHS?

2 What atz reasons for students’ hesitation of taking part in speaking activities at Dong

Do high school?

3 What should teachers do to increase students’ participation in oral activities at Dong Do high sthool?

13

TV Scope of the study

A study on the ways to enhance the involvement of all students in learning oral skill is quite broad, therefore the author would like to pay much attention to a brief of current situation of teaching and learning speaking at DDIIS and to identify the reasons why the

students are not ready to speak and suggest some possible strategies to increase them to

speak more This is also the limitation of the thesis

V Significance of the study

Inthe past time, the students feared English with the main focus on grammatical issues: however, four English skills in general and English speaking skill in particular are concenlraled as much as grammar Despile thal, most of Ihe leachers al high schoots do not realize the importance of oral communication skill in the full development of the four English skills, Tn the textbouk, English spoaking skill is dasigned scparatcly, and cach oral skill lesson is taught within 45 minutes every week Towever, practicing Finglish activities does not still end after speaking lessons, It is because that both reading lessons and listening anes offen conlain some post-eading and post-listening activities relating to speaking skill Therefore, the enhancement of students’ contribution in English oral activities is very important ‘There is much hope that this would be usefial and practical for both the teachers and learners of Rgtish

‘VL Methods of the study

To obtain the aims of the study both quantitative and qualitative methods are used

‘The data serving the research analysis and discussion were collected by means of

+ Questionnaires for students

| Questionmaires for teachers + Classroom observation

VIL Design of the study

This minor thesis is divided into three main parts

Part one, INTRODUCTION, presents the rationale, the aims, scape, significance, methods, design of the study, The research questions are also mentioned in this part

Parl bvo, DEVELOPMENT, consists of three following chapters:

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> Chapter onc, Literature Review, prosents varions concepts most relevant lo the rescarch topic such as definition of strategies, leaching stralegies; concepts of communicative language teaching (CLT), nature of speaking skill and principles of tcaching speaking Furthermore, the following are also inelndod in this chapler: definition of students? participation, and" factors affecting students” participation as well

> Chapter two, namely “Zhe Study” desoribes the overall picture of the research was camed out fiom the first step of determining the research design to the last step of gathering the results Moreover, presentation of statistical results are describes in this chapter

> Chapter three, “Statistics and Analysis of data” analyscs the collected data to answer

the three research questions

> Chapter four, namncly “Findings and Recommendations” yrescnis tho findings with conclusion and comment after the experiment was finished and suggests what teachers of

English at DDHS should do to enlarge the students’ participation in speaking activities

> Part three, CONCLUSION, addresses the key issues in the study, summaries some shortcomings revealed during the process of the completing this study

of speaking and principles af leaching speaking which covers many mallers such as the definition of speaking, characteristics of speaking, principles of teaching speaking for all levels as well a3 teachers” roles of teaching speaking ‘Ihe last section, section four presents

some concepls relaled to students’ participation and some factors affecting sindemls" participation in oral activities

1.1 Teaching strategics

L119 Definition of strategy

‘To understand teaching strategies, let me begin with the definition of strategy According

to Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman (1995:1244), strategy means a “well planned series of action for achieving an aim” Another definition of strategy is that

“Strategy are specific methods of approaching a problem or task, modes of operation for achieving a particular end, planned designs for controlling and manipulating certain information” (Brown, 1994) Sharing this point of view, in terms of language teaching, Chamot (2005, p.112) defines strategy as “procedures that facilitate a learning task Strategies

most often conscious and goal driven”

1.1.2 What is teaching strategy?

Basing on the definitions of strategy discussed above, we can view teaching strategies as a well-prepared plan or a conscious plan that consisis of various sclocted skills, Lechriques,

approaches which tgachers lake in order lo facilitale their teaching in the classroom, Also, teaching strategies may be ways of presenting instructional materials or conducting instructional aclivitics, Because of this rcason, we ean assume thal an appropriats teaching stralegy play an irmportant role in improving learning as well as itr encouraging students o

activate their own learning style (Dunn & Griggs, 1990)

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1.2 Cammunicative language teaching (CLT)

According Mackey (1965) most teaching methods still exist both advantages and disadvantages, and it is difficult to say which method is the most appropriate without considering the background in which it is applied Because of the limitation in my thesis, 1 only spotlight on CLT which is considered as one of the most effective method to teach speaking skill in second language

124 Definition of CLT

Perhaps the majority of language teachers today, when asked to identify the methodology

They employ in the classroom, identify “communicative” as the methodology of choice However, when pressed to give a detailed account of what they mean by “comnnmicative”,

explanations vary widely Does communicative language teaching (or CLT) mean teaching

conversations, an absence of grammar in a couse, or an emphasis on open-ended

discussion activities as the main features of'a couse?

There are many dslinilions of CLT by different methodolngists, According Richards (1998) CLT can be understood as a sct of principles about the goal of language tcaching, how Icamers learn Tanguage, the kind of classroom activilics that Lest facilitate learning,

and the roles of teachers and learners in the classroorn

Also, Nunan (1989; 194) defines CLI as “a system for the expression of meaning Activities involve oral communication, cary out meaning tasks and using language, which

is meaningfil to the learners Lhe learnerˆs rolz is as a negotiator and integrator ‘The teachers’ role is a facilitator of the communication process

12.2, Communicative activities

CLT is usually characterized as a broad approach to teaching, rather than as teaching method with a clearly defined set of classroom practices As snch, it is most often defined

as a list of general principles of features thal Numan (1991) remarked:

- 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 bat also on

the Learning Management process

~ An onhanearnont of the learner's own porsonal exporionccs as important contributing elements to classroom learning

- An attempt to link classroom language leaming with language activities outside the classroom

Those five features arc claitned by praclitioners of CLT to show that they ars very interested in the needs and desires of their learners as well as the connection between the language as it is taught in their class and as it is uscd 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 often takes the form of pair and group work requiting negotiation and cooperation between learners, fiuency-based activities that cneotrage leaners to devclop their confidence, rolc-plays in which students practice and develop Tanguage functions, as well as judicious use of grammar and

pronunciation focused activities

1.3 Nature of speaking skill and principles in teaching speaking

13.1 Nature of speaking skill

It is known that language skills consist of four macro inter-related skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing In those four skills, listening and reading relate together in the aspect of receptive skill, whereas speaking and writing are considered to be productive

skills (Byrne, 1991)

However, Byrne (1991: 8) also proves that the nature of oral communication is “a two way process between speaker and listener From a communicative, pragmatic view of the language classroom, listening and speaking skill are closely intertwined because “speaking always necessitates at Icast two participants: spcaker(s) and Listener(s) When the speaker starts message, the listener decodes, and responds to the message in turns Hence, that is

why teaching listening is always associated with teaching speaking

meaning” (cited in Mackey, 1965:266)

Speaking consists of producing systcmatic verbal utterances to convey meaning According to Brown and Yule (1983), spoken language consists of short, Stagmentary utterances in a range of pronunciation, Therefore, speaking is “an inter-active process of constructing meaning that involves produeing and reeciving and process information (Florez, 1999 as cited in Bailey, Kathleen M, (2005) It is “oiten spontaneous, open-ended, and cvolving” but it is not completely unpredictable,

Furthermore, speaking is known with two main types of conversation called dialogue and monologue Brown ad Yule (1983) indicates there is a difference between them In monologue, you give unintsrrupied oral presentation while in dialogue you inleract with one or more other speakers for transactional and intemational purposes

tion can be analyzed in terns of routines which arc

ling information bsvauss they are conventional, they are predictable and help cnsure clarity, There arc two main kinds of routines; information

routines and interaction routines,

With regards to information routines, we mean frequently recurring types of information structures, including stories, descriptions of places and people; presentation of facts, comparison, and instruction Broadly speaking, information routines can be defined as

“expository and evaluative” Expository routines involve factual information hinging on questions of sequencing or identity of the subject Brown and Yule (1983) suggest that the principal types of expository routines are narration, description, and instruction Meanwhile, evaluative routines involve the drawing of conclusion, usually requiring the

expression of reasoning

Conccrning inieraction roxtines, they arc routines based not so much on sequcnecs of kinds

of terms occurring in typical kinds of interactions Thus, these routines can be characterized

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in broad terns including the kinds of tums lypically occurring in given situations and the order in which the components ave likely to occur So telephone conversations, interview

conversations, casual cneountsrs, conversations al parties, conversalions around a table at 4

dinner parly, lessons, radio or telzvision inlorviows, all tend lo be organized in characteristic

a way (Bygale, 1987)

‘The learners can be much more confident in speaking with clear understanding and governing these skills Moreover, the oral skill depends much on knowledge of langnage they can leatn such as grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary parallel with language environment, To be better at teaching speaking, teachers need understand and exploit the principles of teaching speaking fluently ‘/his is the topic to be considered next

£3.2 Principles of teaching speaking

‘The single most important

ain for leaching spcaking is to dovclop oral fluency, that is, the ability to express oneself intelligibly, reasonably accurately and without 1méne hesitation, Byrne (1976) argues that to meet this objective learners will have to be brought from the stags

where they merely imilale a model ar respond to cues Lo [he point where they can use the language to express their own ideas and feelings (processes that must to 4 large extent be in simultaneous operation) Vor oral dluency to be attained learners will need complementary levels of training in which teachers also need to have certain principles of teaching speaking According to Bailey, Kathleen M (2005), those principles are divided inlo Ubres groups: Beginning levels, Intermediate levels, and Advanced levels 13.2.1 Beginning levels

This is the frst stop for the learners who slirl golúng to know a forcign language Mimy

factors will influence their goal of development of language skills Therefore, the leacher

go into their speaking lessons prepared with interesting topics or ideas to stimulate conversations and discussions

+ Create opporlunities for students to inlcract by using groupwork or pairwork: Sometime students — perhaps especially those al the lower levels — can be atesious about speaking in

provide fecdback to tho laarner from sourecs other than (he teacher

- Manipulate phrysical arrangements to promote speaking practice: It can be difficult to get

students to talk with one another in a new language but that difiiculty is often exacerbated

by the traditional classroom amangement of desks facing forward toward the teacher's zone, Changing physical environment can encourage speaking activities, partly because it partially alters the power structure of the traditional Linglish classroom

1.3.2.2 Intermediate levels

Vor the Intermediate levels, the teacher could feel more comfortable and confident in

teaching, ITowever, the teacher also tries to remember the followings

Firstly, the teacher should focus on and work toward real, spontaneous speech to avoid form-based drills (repetitious or grarmnar-based exercises) Secondly, the teacher tries to design activities, which encourage natural interaction between speakers because human

speech most offen involves interaction, and interaction integrates speaking and listening

Lastly, like principles for beginning learners, the teacher should place them in pairs, ttiads

or small groups in order to create an exciting speaking environment

1.3.2.3 Advancedl levels

For the advanced learners, especially in ftee production, the teacher allows only speech in the target language

- This greatly increascs the amount of English spoken

+ Having a clear guidehne reduces the temptation of leamers to hide in their native language

- 'The learners may dislike this but should be discouraged ffom using their own language without the teacher’s permission

1.3.3 Teacher's rales in teaching speaking

As with any type of elassroom procedure, teachers need to play a number of different roles during the speaking activities However, all the roles have the same purpose is “to create the best conditions for leaming In a sense, then, teachers are a means to an end: an instrument to see that leaming take place” (Byrne, 1091)

Teachers also have specific roles to play at different stages of the learning process Byrne (1991 2) points out thrce difitrent teachers’ roles at the thrce stages: prescntation, practice, production, that is an informant, a conductor or a monitor, and a manager

respectively

Besides, 28 for Harmer (2001) teachers of English speaking play other roles if they are trying to get students to speak Gusntly:

© Organizer: Organizing students to do various activities in one of the most important

roles of a teacher He/She needs to provide students with information, tell them how to carry out the activities they are given put them in groups and finally end the activities If he/she does not carry out this role in a sensitive way, students will not know what and how to do, and even chaos may happen On the other hand, if the teacher carries out the role well, it will help encourage students’ participation in classroom activities

© Resource: During the proceedings students may ask the teacher the meaning, of the word or phrase, the information about the topic they are given When the teacher responds to their questions, he acts as a resourec The teacher should bear in mind that he should not spoon-feed the students otherwise they will be over-reliant on the teacher

© Feedback provider: When sturlenis arc in tho middle of a speaking activity, over correction may inhibil them and lake the commurricaliveness out of the activity On the olher hand, helpfal and gentle correction my gel student ont of difficult

misunderstanding and hesilations

© Assessor: After performing one kind of activity, students expect their teacher to give his comments on how they perform their work It can be an important factor encouraging their participation in classroom activites if the teacher knows how to assess their work,

As for this issue, Harmer emphasizes teacher’s sensitivity and fairness during his assessment, The teacher should tell the students at what degree they have come up to our

expectation and point out their mistakes so that they can avoid in the next time However,

he should not criticize too much on their mistakes as it can demotivate them ftom

participating in classroom activities

It is clear that leachers’ rales in teaching spcaking have a groat cffect on students’ participation in oral activities However, it is not only factors affecting the involvement of students The next part will describe other factors as well as clarify concepts of students*

participation in classroom activities

1.4, Students’ participation in oral activities

L4.1.Concept of students’ participation

ment in classroom aclivitics

Students’ participalion can be understood as sludenis” invol

and in this casc, oral activitics In teachers’ opinion, students’ participation can be divided

Conecrming the interaction between siudents lo thei teacher,

to maintain a good interaction wilh their teacher always take part in the class discussion as

well as coriacl the teacher by coming to sec himn/her ontsids the classroom They become involved in whal is happening in the classroom by asking information or explanation, sharing personal cxperisnee in relationship Lo the topics, or voluntecring to perform ant activily Therefore, participation lakes place wol only inside the classroom but alsa onlside the dassroom However, the interaction betweon students thomsclves is different from the first kind of inlcraelion, 11 is built when students are working in small groups Wher working in groups, studonis’ parlicipation can be measured by students sense of

responsibilily and cooperation,

1.4.2, Factors affecting students’ participation in oral activities

Students’ participation in elasstoom oral activities can be affected by a variety of factors

In the following sections, some of the major fictors will be discussed

14.2.1 Students’ learning styles

Learning style, as Numan (1991) defines, refer to “any individnal’s prefered ways of going about learning, it is generally considered that one’s learning style will result ftom personality variables, including psychological and cognitive make up, socio-cultural background, and educational experience” For Willing (1988), an individual perception of his/her own strength and weaknesses will also have an effect Le also suggests that some aspects of an indivilual’s learning style may be allerable while others may nt

Learners may have their own leaning styles which help classiffy them into certain learner groups Willing (1988; cited in Nunan: 1991) categorizes Jeamers into the following groups based on their preferences:

© Conerete fearners: These learners tond to like games, picts, films, video, using

cassettes, talking in pairs and practicing English outside class

© Analytical fearners: These learners like studying grammar, stedying English books and reading newspapers, studying alone, finding their own mistakes and working on problems set by the teacher

© Conmmunicative learners: These students like to lean by watching, listening to native speakers, talking to fiiends in English and watching television in English, using English out of class, in shops, trains, etc,, learning new words by hearing them, and leaming by

conversation

© Authority-oriented learners: These learners prefer the teacher to explain everything, like to have their own textbook, to wrile overything in a notebook, lo stndy grammar, learn

by reading, and learn new words by seeing thern

‘As can be seen from Willing’s classification, if the majority in one class belong to the two former groups, the degree of participation in oral activities in this class will be low Harmer (2001) suggests that we should balance the interests between individuals and

groups, pay attention to individual traits when putting them into groups.

14.2.2 Studenis’ motivation

Motivation is seen as “a key consideration in determining the preparedness of learners to

communicate, (Gardner, 1985: 10) while Harmer (2001) defines motivation simply as

“some kind of internal drive which pushes someone to da things in order 10 achieve

something” According to Carol (1962), motivation decides the amount of time a learner

will spend on the task of language learning She claims: “She more motivation a learner has, the more time he or she will spend on learning an aspect of a second language”

(Carol, 1962)

Motivation not only plays an important role in earning, it helps the teacher as well Lite (2002) confirms that “Motivation is the backbone of any classroom When the students ure motivated, the leacher ean perform hisiher job the best.”

Teachers are offen fariliar with Iwo basic Lypes of moltivalion: extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation Tarmer (2001) states that extrinsic motivation is cansed by such outside factors as the need to pass an exam, the hope of possibility for fiture travel, etc In contrast, intrinsic motivation is caused hy inside factors like the enjoyment af the leaning process itself or by a desire to make themselves feel better

It can be concluded that motivation is significant in foreign language learning because when learners set the poal of leaming a foreign language, motivation helps them produce effort and have a positive attitude to obtain the goal, ‘Therefore, in order to be successful, language learners really need motivation to continue their learning

1.4.2.3 Teacher’ s teaching techniques and methods:

For each teacher, the good choice of teaching methods as well as techmiques is very

important to increase students’ participation in every lesson When deciding what teaching

method to use, a teacher needs to consider students’ background knowledge, environment, learning goals, learning time and material resources We also know that different teachers exploit différent methods and techniques in their teaching As a result, different degrees of student’s participation are created by different teachers ‘eachsr-centered methods such as the Granumar-translation method or the Direct method always cause teachers to choose the techniques which mostly limit students’ participation and put them in the passive settings

On the contrary, learner-centered methods like CLI’ bring the teacher various techniques that motivate students in participating in the lesson since they are the main characters of all

activities The examples of these tockuriques can be waned as pait-work, group-wark, role

play, or games

1.4.2.4, Teacher personal qualities

Teachers arc important and make a difference The quality of teaching is a crucial factor

in promoting effeetive tearning in schools Flfective teaching requires individuals who are academically able and who care about the well-being of students

Some people tay think {hat iL is quile hard Ww specify the qualities of good Tuglish teachers If we look around, we can see that the teachers loved by the students are of rather different personalities Some are very charismatic, lively, and easy-going Others are quiet, slightly introvert and not very soviable Parker Palmer (1999) also observes thal good teaching isn’t about technique either He has asked students around his country to describe their good Ieachers to him Same of the students describe people who lecture all the lime, some of them describe people who do little other than facilitate group process, and others describe everything in between Llowever, he does notice that despite the different teaching imethods employed by different good teachers, these teachers do share some characteristics Palmer summarizes that good teachers are “people who have some sort of connective

capacity, who connect themselves to their students, their students to each other, and

everyone to the subject being studied" The inlerprelation of this is that good teachers lel the students know that they care for the students ‘They help the students communicate with each other among themselves so thal they find themselves in a nice learning environment

They also motivate the students to learn the subject they’re teaching

We may not think that Palmer’s list of qualities of good teachers is exhaustive, but it does show that the relationship between teachers and students has a great valuz in making his class an interesting place where students can enjoy learning, in other words, the teacher’s personal qualities may have a remarkable effect on his/her students’ participation,

CHAPTER TWO: THE STUDY This chapter gives an absolute description of how the research was carried out, including some stops as follows:

LL1, Current situation of teaching and learning English speaking skill at DDHS

Dong Do Ligh School is situated at 8 Vong ‘Thi, Lac Long Quan Sizset, ay Ho district,

Hanoi city - the suburb of Hanoi, Like other private schools in Hanoi, Dong Do School have three levels of educating and training which are primary school, lower secondary school, and upper secondary school Tlowever, the majority of sindeuls of this schoot are students at high school which consists of 6 classes at grade 10, 7 classes at grade 11, and 7 classes at gradel2, In addition, each class consists of over 35 students, English is the only forcign tanguage taught and learnt at the schoo!

The students at DDH are mostly aged fiom 15 to 18 years old, and they finished lower seemndsry school in the suburb of Hanoi capital Morcover, a large mamber of students al DDIIS are the students who can not enter public schools which demand higher grades

‘Therefore, their English proficiency is not good

The total number of English teachers al DDHS is 9, 6 oul of whom wers trained al Hanoi Foreign language ‘Teacher ‘Training University, two teacher graduated from Hanoi Foreign Language University, and one graduated fiom the department of English - Hanoi University of Education, Most teachers of Euglish al this schoo! are from 27 to 40 years old, and have at least 5 years of teaching Linglish at school 11owever, the teaching method, which is mainly applied at this school, is Grammar-Translation method - a very traditional method Other methods are seldom exploited

‘The main English textbook used in teaching English at this school are Tieng Anh 10, Tieng Anh I, and Tieng Anh 12 (basic streara), The staff of this school is also aware

of the importance of English, so there are fromr 6 to 8 periods of English in each week

It means that teachers of English have so much time to let their students practice and

revise, Speaking skill is one of the five parts designed in each unit: (reading, speaking, Listening, writing, and langnage focus), hence, il is oflen taught, and Iearned within one period - 45 minutes ‘The other periods are spent on teaching and learning other skills, pronunciation and grammatical issues

re} 8

11.2 Methodology

‘To conduct the research, two methods were applied: qualitative methad and quantitative methad All considerations, comments, assumptions, suggestions and conclusions provided in the study arc bascd on the analysis of the statistic data collected fom Questionnaires Survey and Observation

IL3 The subjects of the study

There are two groups of subjects in the study

- The first group conlains 100 students chosen tandoriby fromm over 200 students al the cleventh grade al DDS, They are the subjects for the firs! questionairs, All of then have

lcamcd English for 4 years al lower sccondary schools im the suburb arca in Hanoi capital

+ The second group includes 9 teachers of English: 1 male and 8 famale They were selected to be the subjects of the second questionnaire to help find out what teaching methods and techniques were currently exploited in their teachting

11.4, Data collecting instrument

The instrument used in this study is two questionnaires The first survey questionnaire was used for sludonts lơ clarify their Engtish competence as wall the ways of loarting speaking ski The sscond one was used for teachers Io find out what leaching methods and techniques were curently exploited in their teaching In addition, observation, at the same

time will be also carted out by the researcher al DDHS to make the study more retiabte

IL Data collection procedure

Tho data, for such a rescarch are collected through the procedurs of analyzing and synthesizing theorstical issuss of the nature of language skills and communication, Some principles in leaching speaking are

two questionnaires arc

aimed at finding out the students’ problems in speaking English, the reasons, as well as some activity that teacher often carry ouf in their teaching speaking lessous The result

wilt be analyzed under slalistie method After thal, some solutions to these problems will be suggested,

CHAPTER ‘THREE: STATISTICS AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

ULL Statistical results of questionnaires for students

The firs! susvey questionaire was plarmed for 100 students at DDHS to take sure the

reliability and validity of the data collection It consists of 10 questions which are elated to

the five main issues presented in the following tables and charts

UL1.1 Students’ attitude towards speaking skill

How important is speaking to you?

Q1 B Rather important 52

How much do you feel interested in speaking in class

© Lilile interested, 3

What do you think about the speaking topics in the texthook?

Tablel: Students’ attitude towards speaking sktlt

Table one presents the information about students” allitude towards spoaking skill As can

be seen 79 % of the students claim thal speaking skill is important to them while 16%

suppose speaking skill is little important and it is not important at all for S% Moreover, the

slalistics from table 1 show a surprising fact tal only 24% of all students {eel interested in speaking lessons whils 51% feel little interested and 25% of them respond that they do not

foct interested at all

‘The responses to questions 3 fiom table 1 seem to explain suitably why a lot of students are not interested in speaking lesson It is because that nearly 77% of informants think that the topic in each speaking lesson is difficult or boring and only 13% of them regard it to be easy The minority (10%) say it is interesting,

It can be concluded that the majority of the students agree that English speaking skill is really significant However, the number of students who feel interested in speaking in class is contrary The reason for it may concern the speaking topic - they may be difficult, easy or boring, The question raised here is how students get involved in speaking activities in a classroom,

IIL1.2 Students’ degrees of participation in classroom speaking activities

5 15%

c 8%

Figure 1: Degrees of students’ participation in oral activities

As can be seen from the chart above, the majority of students (63%) have little

participation in oral activities Next is the number of students who like speaking English when appointed by the teachers (15%) Only 9 % like English when they have already prepared at home for what they want to say The students who like to speak English with

friends next to them or at the same table and who are willing to speak English in any

activities have the lowest rate, 8% and 5%, respectively

From the results shown in the chart, a conclusion can be drawn that levels of students’

participation in oral activities are very different, the most remarkable fact is the number of

students has little their involvement in speaking lessons Hence, the teachers should know what factors affecting student's participation.

30

17.1.3 Reasons that make students hesitant to participate in oral activities

Which factors make vou reluctant to speak English in speaking lessons?

A feeling shy 10

s1 B nol being accustomed to speaking in front of olher people 17

In Table 2 it can also be realized that 33% of students think that nothing to say for the given lopic is one of big trouble preventing them from participating in aral activities; 39%

of them state that limited vocabulary and grammatical structures seem to be an obstacle for them to express their ideas 28% Of them suppose that they cannot speak because they pronounce words badly, and their Leachers talk too much in class, Only 4% of them say

thal i is due to tack of time to prepare

Tn summary, through the data collected from Table | it can be casily conchided that there

is a vanely of reasons thal make students hesilanl lo participate in oral activilres such as inappropriate teaching method, poor language proficiency, prior learning experience

after giving speaking topic

The statistics provided from Figure 2 is about current methods applied in teaching speaking,

consist of two issues

35% of students say that their teacher often provide them with new words and structures relating to given topics after giving speaking topics, and the same number supposes that their teacher only provide with main ideas for given topics 25% think that their teachers encourage them to plan the given topics, and 5% of them said they are made to discuss the topics themselves

According to the statistics 76% revealed that their teacher stop them immediately whenever

they make mistakes to correct them while only a few of learners said that their teacher wait until they finish their speech, point out their mistakes and encourage them to correct themselves These seem to be an inappropriate way of correcting mistakes which may

discourage students from taking part in oral activities

IIL1.5 Students’ desires

In which;

A Not interrupt you when you make mistakes B: Accept a variety of vour answer

C Give you speaking tasks suitable to your ability D Encourage you with grades and gifts

Figure 3: students' expectant activities from teachers

Other students’ desires are presented in the tables as follows:

Table 3: Students’ desires for speaking activities

It can be seen fiom Table 3 that 70% of informants say that they do not like working individually Instead, they are fond of working with other because 85% of them like working with their friends in pairs or in groups Also, the number of students like games for speaking is very high with 99% while only 1% do not mind at all