04051001853 tóm tắt một nghiên cứu khám phá về Điều chỉnh hoạt Động nói trong sách giáo khoa tiếng anh 11 chương trình mới Để nâng cao kỹ năng nói học sinh khối 11 tại một trường thpt Ở tỉnh vĩnh phúc

04051001853 tóm tắt một nghiên cứu khám phá về Điều chỉnh hoạt Động nói trong sách giáo khoa tiếng anh 11 chương trình mới Để nâng cao kỹ năng nói học sinh khối 11 tại một trường thpt Ở tỉnh vĩnh phúc

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY- HA NOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

ĐẶNG THỊ THU THẢO

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE ADAPTATION OF SPEAKING ACTIVITIES IN THE NEW ENGLISH TEXTBOOK TO

ENHANCE GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL AT

A HIGH SCHOOL IN VINH PHUC PROVINCE

MỘT NGHIÊN CỨU KHÁM PHÁ VỀ ĐIỀU CHỈNH HOẠT ĐỘNG NÓI TRONG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA TIẾNG ANH 11 CHƯƠNG TRÌNH MỚI ĐỂ

NÂNG CAO KỸ NĂNG NÓI HỌC SINH KHỐI 11 TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG THPT Ở TỈNH VĨNH PHÚC

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Thuy Nga

Hanoi – 2022

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the study:

In the process of teaching English in a high school in Vinh Phuc Province, the teachers have realized the challenges that the students meet using the learning material Firstly, the students believe that some activities in the learning materials are too challenging for them to perform; secondly, the amount of time allocated for each speaking lesson is not sufficient for the students to practice speaking Thus, since 2019, the teachers have adapted the materials by simplifying/abridging and expanding some activities to facilitate the students’ learning process To be specific, some activities that require students to work individually are excluded, and more activities promoting the interactions between students – teachers and students – students are added The goal of this adaptation is to enhance students’ communicative competence

2 Aims and objectives of the study

The aim of this exploratory study is to investigate how the adaptation of speaking activities in the new English textbook at a high school in Vinh Phuc Province, particularly the material adaptation helped students improve their speaking skills To achieve the goal, the study objectives is to answer the two following questions:

- To what extent is the adaptation of learning materials effective in helping students improve speaking skill?

- What are students and teachers’ attitudes towards the adapted materials?

3 Research questions

- To what extent is the adaptation of learning materials effective in helping students improve speaking skill?

- What are students’ and teachers’ attitude towards the adapted materials?

4 Methodology of the study:

Exploratory research was employed in this study The study’s primary tools were questionnaires, and personal interviews with teachers The study participants were students

in grade 11 in a high school and 4 teachers in a high school in Vinh Phuc Province The students were required to complete questionnaires regarding their perspective on the

adaptation of speaking activities and the teachers participated in personal interviews to share their viewpoints

5 Scope of the study

The study is to determine if the act of material adaptations at a high school in the province of Vinh Phuc benefits students' speaking skills As a result, this study is limited to the output of students' speaking ability rather than their academic achievement following the study's implementation Second, this is a small-scale study limited to grade 11 students in a high school in Vinh Phuc Province, implying that the study's findings may not be applicable

to other groups of students in the country

Finally, although the general aim is to examine the adaptation of speaking activities, this study mainly focuses on material adaptation which is the primary component of adapting speaking activities in the investigated school Thus, the scope of this thesis only centers on the learning material adaptation

6 Significance of the study

The results of the study confer benefits to the practice of English-speaking teaching

in Vinh Phuc Province The study makes a contribution to the goal of improving communicative competence and provide rationale for the adaptation of teaching and learning materials to teachers and learners

The study also makes a contribution to the concept of material adaptation for future study Its results will serve as a source of citation for further research into materials adaptation Furthermore, it provides fundamentals for the study regarding the effectiveness

of material adaptation and how the materials should be adapted

7 Design of the thesis

This thesis is divided into 5 chapters:

In the first chapter, the rationale for the study, the aims and objectives of the study, the scope of the study, the research methodology, the significance of the study and design of the study are provided

The second chapter is literature review Specifically, a review of relevant literature is addressed After that, it will address the previous studies regarding the same study subject

The third chapter deals with the research methodology of the study In this chapter, the type

of research, the context of the research, participants, data collecting instruments and data analysis procedures are informed

The fourth chapter presents the data analysis and findings of the study based on the analysis

In this chapter, the researcher addresses and answers the research questions by providing the data analysed and its implication

The final chapter concludes the research by doing a brief summary of the study, providing the limitations of the study, pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Theoretical background

2.1.1 Definition of teaching-learning materials (TLM)

There are a variety of definition regarding learning-teaching materials Learning Materials (TLMs) are the resources that teachers and instructors use in schools to aid students in learning and comprehending ideas These are the instructional resources that are utilized in the classroom to facilitate the achievement of the learning goals outlined in the lesson plans (Kapur, 2019) Materials are anything that teachers or students use to facilitate language learning (Tomlinson, 2011) Resources in a language lesson provide opportunities for pupils to practice and help the instructor be more successful (Sarıçoban, 2006) Materials are assisting resources that every learner need throughout the learning process (Ocak et al., 2010)

Teaching-Based on these definitions provided by experts, materials are anything that helps students in learning and practicing language use, or instructors in improving the efficacy of the teaching and learning process

2.1.2 Definition of speaking

Regarding speaking, there are several put forward by scholars Speaking is described

as an interactive process of meaning construction that includes the production, receipt, and processing of data (Burns & Joyce, 1997) Its shape and meaning are context-dependent, depending on the participants, and dependent on the goals of speaking Speaking is a person's ability to make sounds that have meaning and are understandable by other people,

in order to facilitate effective communication (Siahaan, 2008) Since the purpose of

speaking is to interact with one another, the process requires at least two individuals to participate in the discussion as speakers and listeners (Fulcher, 2014)

To summarize, speaking is a process of oral communication in which at least two individuals participate in order to transmit and receive information

2.1.3 Component of speaking

To assess speaking skill, there are five components of speaking to be taken into consideration, which are pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension (Kusumaningtyas & Setyawati, 2015)

Pronunciation: Understanding the characteristics of pronunciation aids learners in

comprehending the language when they listen to it Additionally, it assists students in producing the language more correctly, but learners do not need to pronounce English exactly; they just need to do so well that others can understand them This information is divided into three categories: sounds, stress, and intonation

Grammar: Grammar is a description of the language system; it demonstrates how

humans arrange words in sentences, combine them, and alter the structure of words to alter their meaning Grammar's unity also teaches the proper method to acquire competence in a language in both oral and written form Thus, grammar is one of the components necessary for the creation of effective sentences

Vocabulary: Vocabulary is important for both the speaker and listener When a

speaker has a large vocabulary, he or she can communicate fluently Additionally, the listener can grasp what the speaker says when the speaker uses a variety of languages to convey information to the listener The audience will also appreciate the speaker if he or she

is able to expand the speaker's vocabulary

Fluency: Fluency may be described as the capacity to communicate effectively In

other words, fluency is the ability to communicate a message

Comprehension: Throughout the teaching and learning process, the instructor must

communicate clearly in order for the pupils to understand As stated before, the instructor needs thorough knowledge of the nature and process of comprehension Comprehension is a necessary component of speaking in order to prevent miscommunication between speakers and listeners

2.1.4 Definition of teaching speaking

The teaching speaking is the process of instructing and providing guidance to learners to: (1) Produce English speech sounds and patterns; (2) Employ the stress, intonation, and rhythm of the second language in words and sentences; (3) Choose appropriate words and sentences in accordance with the appropriate social setting, audience, situation, and subject matter; (4) Arrange their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence; (5) Employ language as a means of expressing values and judgments; (6) Communicate swiftly and confidently in the target language with minimal artificial pauses, a skill referred to as fluency (Kayi, 2006) (Anderson & Nunan, 2003)

2.1.5 Material adaptation

The term "material adaptation" refers to the process of adding various strategies into the textbook in order to increase its effectiveness and adaptability The act of modifying or altering different components of a course book is inextricably linked to the reality of working with learners in a dynamic classroom setting

2.1.6 Rationale for adapting materials

The teaching materials plays determining role in the teaching and learning process However, applying the same teaching materials – textbooks in different classroom contexts and learners with different characteristics may yield varying results The majority of materials, whether produced for a worldwide market, an institution, or simply a class, are written with the intention of satisfying the requirements and desires of an idealized set of target learners who share comparable needs and levels of competence Regardless of how well-designed the resources are, they will fall short of meeting the unique requirements, desires, learning styles, attitudes, cultural norms, and experiences of individual learners Therefore, the needs for material adaptation rise as an inevitable consequence (Tomlinson, 2011)

2.1.7 Approaches to material adaptation

Two approaches based on accuracy and fluency are able to produce effective adaptation (Hán, 2015):

Making accuracy-based practice meaningful

In communicative classrooms, learners must be exposed to information that they can pay attention to and provide chances to create output via more controlled activities Controlled activities may concentrate on "a grammatical structure, a phonological

characteristic, a conventional gambit, a communicative function, or the time sequencers necessary for presenting a narrative," all of which have a conscious language emphasis (Hedge, 2001)

Adapting fluency-based activities

Three types of activities for adaptation of fluency-based activities are (Hedge, 2001): Free discussion: An activity which enables students to cover a wide range of

topics and to practice strategies of interpersonal communication However, students with higher motivation tend to dominate over those who are anxious Hedge emphasized that to overcome this difficulty, teachers should support students with material that can focus on the discussion, provide content and linguistics resource and set goals and group rules to ensure the equality of all group members

Role-play: An activity that can be an effective fluency activity if it is performed in

pairs or groups rather than individually

Gap-activities: an activity involving each learner in pairs or groups having

information that the others do not The information must be shared to achieve the

set goals

2.1.8 Techniques for material adaptation

There are mentioned five techniques that could be applied in the process of adapting materials (Islam & Mares, 2003):

Adding: The technique refers to supplanting current materials and supplying

more materials “Adding” includes “extending”, which means making quantitative changes by providing more of the same type materials and

“expanding”, which refers to adding something different to the materials, bringing qualitative changes

Deleting: The technique refers to removing parts or sections of existing materials

It involves “subtracting”, which means extracting part of the available materials, making quantitative changes and “abridging”, which means excluding certain parts of the materials and focusing attention on the others, making qualitative changes

Simplifying: Rewriting a text to make it more understandable to students or

reducing an activity to make it more manageable

Reordering: Reordering an activity in a more pedagogical manner

Replacing:The substitution of portions or sections of current materials with new

materials with differing functions (to cater for culture specific interests, etc.)

2.2 Review of previous studies

Davud Nhem conducted a qualitative study to investigate the Cambodian teachers’ perspectives and practice of textbook adaptation to realize intercultural awareness His study aimed at investigating Cambodian EFL Teachers’ views and practices of material adaptation and how they adapt textbooks to help students develop intercultural awareness in the ELT There is inconsistency between teachers' perspectives and practices regarding textbook adaptation, as well as their limited ability for interculturally inspired research, which is inextricably linked to the growth of cultural activities in the ELT classroom The teachers in this study believed that it was critical to develop textbooks at the classroom level

in order to maximize the effectiveness of textbook implementation in terms of enriching students' interests and addressing linguistic difficulties (e.g., new words or grammar) in order to accommodate students' abilities From my point of view, the study of Nhem (2020) proposed a promising future for the adaptation of language learning materials as its findings revealed a positive attitude towards adapting learning materials It has proven that adaptation of learning materials is necessary to the teachers and set the fundamentals for the future studies based on the anticipation that learning materials should be adapted to be appropriate for students

In Vietnam, material adaptation has been used to optimize the students’ learning experience and outcome Therefore, studies have been conducted to investigate its effectiveness Pham (2016) employed an action research project to investigate the impacts of adapted speaking activities in the English 11 Textbook on students’ motivation at Binh Luc

B High School It started when the researcher, students, and other colleagues saw the students' poor interest in speaking classes during the first three weeks of the case study The findings indicated that, despite certain limitations, all of the modified speaking activities contributed to increasing students' interest in speaking classes, and that the action plan was effective when comparing post- and initial data

Han Thi Vinh Ha (2015) conducted a mini action research to investigate how adapted activities assisted low-level students in becoming more engaged in speaking and improving their language correctness, fluency, and complexity in Dai Mo upper secondary school The

findings showed that the majority of the modified activities improved students' involvement and language competence without deleting existing textbook tasks or overburdening supplementary materials

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Context of the study

The research was done at Vinh Phuc Province's X high School, which was situated in Vinh Phuc Province's mountainous region The institution has 40 classrooms and around

1500 students specializing in mathematics, literature, and English While they are aware of the value of English, it is not a priority for them Only those who select English as a necessary subject on their national university entrance test have a high level of appreciation for the subject The study's materials include the new set textbook "Tieng Anh 11," which was designed from a theme-based syllabus by Hoang Van Van et al with assistance from David Kaye and has been experimentally taught in X high school since 2013

Grade 11 in X high school involves 12 classes and about 480 students The population of the study consisted of 116 students from 3 different classes of grade 11 of X high School There were 4 teachers being in charge of teaching English and they were also the participants of the study

3.2 Participants of the study

3.2.1 The students

The research involved 116 students from three separate grade 11 classes at X high school in Vinh Phuc Province during the school year 2021–2022 They were seventeen years old and reside in several regions within Vinh Phuc Province The students have been studying English since third grade and were expected to have a pre-intermediate level of competence

3.2.2 The English teachers

This research included four additional English teachers from X high school in Vinh Phuc Province They were all female and had master degrees of English teaching Currently, the teachers are still constantly participating in vocational training to improve their teaching skills Their combined teaching experience is between 15 and 22 years and they have been teaching new English textbooks since 2013 They adapted and gained teaching experience with the new textbook "Tieng Anh 11" Each of them is committed and passionate about their work

3.3 Methodology

This research used an exploratory methodology The author of this study collected data regarding the topic via primary research techniques such as questionnaire surveys and interviews

This exploratory study is based on the following processes for doing exploratory research:

- Step 1: Define the problem: The adaptation of learning materials has been conducted for several years, however, its effectiveness on students’ speaking skills is still unknown

- Step 2: Develop a hypothesis: The researcher expects that the adaptation of learning materials is beneficial for the students’ speaking skills With no study has been conducted before, the researcher decided to carry out an exploratory research

- Step 3: Conduct further research To conduct the study, the researcher had to designe the questionnaires and questions based on the research inquiries of the study The questionnaires were administered to the students and the interviews were conducted separately with the four teachers to gain more insights The results from the questionnaires were analysed using the quantitative method and the ones from interviews with teachers were analysed using the qualitative

Based on the literature provided in the chapter 2 of this paper, the teacher designed Likert-scale questionnaires, including 32 items to evaluate the effectiveness of material adaptations Participants were asked to select one of five possible options assigned with the