04051001801 tomtat Ứng dụng phương pháp dạy học dự Án trong tiết “project” nhằm nâng cao kĩ năng nói của học sinh theo chương trình tiếng anh thí Điểm lớp 6 của bộ giáo dục và Đào tạo

04051001801 tomtat Ứng dụng phương pháp dạy học dự Án trong tiết “project” nhằm nâng cao kĩ năng nói của học sinh theo chương trình tiếng anh thí Điểm lớp 6 của bộ giáo dục và Đào tạo

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

****************

PHAM LE VAN

APPLYING PROJECT-BASED LEARNING TO TEACHING PROJECT LESSONS TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS IN THE

PILOT TEXTBOOK TIẾNG ANH 6 (ENGLISH 6) UNDER THE

NATIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGES 2020 PROJECT

Ứng dụng phương pháp dạy học dự án trong tiết “Project” nhằm nâng cao kĩ năng nói của học sinh theo chương trình tiếng anh thí điểm lớp 6 của Bộ Giáo

Abstract: With the aim of developing English speaking skill for sixth-grade students at Tay

Tuu Secondary School by using Project-based Learning (PBL) in project lessons, this research addressed two issues: (1) the influences of using PBL on students’ speaking skills;

(2) the attitudes of students in English project lessons of the piloted English textbook Tiếng Anh 6 following PBL The instruments employed for data collection and analysis of the study

included two tests and two questionnaires for the students, an interview with two teachers and the teacher’s journals Research findings showed that the students had positive improvements

in speaking ability after following PBL In addition, students also learned how to take control and responsibility for their own learning Based on the findings, some implications would be given for both the teacher and the students With all the information, this study is expected to

be beneficial to both teachers and students in teaching and learning English speaking skill

Key words: project based learning, speaking skills, learning attitude

Tóm tắt: Với mục tiêu phát triển kĩ năng nói tiếng Anh cho học sinh lớp 6 tại trường trung

học cơ sở Tây Tựu thông qua phương pháp dạy học dự án trong các tiết học Project, nghiên cứu này đã giải quyết hai vấn đề: (1) ảnh hưởng của việc sử dụng PBL đối với kỹ năng nói

của học sinh; (2) thái độ của học sinh trong các tiết dự án của sách thí điểm Tiếng Anh 6 Các

công cụ được sử dụng để thu thập dữ liệu và phân tích nghiên cứu bao gồm hai bài kiểm tra

và hai bảng câu hỏi cho học sinh, một cuộc phỏng vấn với hai giáo viên cùng với những ghi chép của họ Kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy các sinh viên đã có những cải thiện tích cực về khả năng nói Ngoài ra, sinh viên cũng học cách kiểm soát và chịu trách nhiệm cho việc học của mình Dựa trên những phát hiện, một số hàm ý sẽ được đưa ra cho cả giáo viên và học sinh Với tất cả thông tin này, nghiên cứu này dự kiến sẽ có lợi cho cả giáo viên và học sinh trong việc dạy và học kỹ năng nói tiếng Anh

Từ khóa: dạy học dự án, kĩ năng nói, thái độ học

1 INTRODUCTION

The school year 2014-2015 was the first year of Education and Training to implement the resolution on fundamental renewal, comprehensive education Ministry of Education and Training implemented National Foreign Language 2020 project The use of Project-based learning to evaluate students is one of the positive methods have been applied in many countries around the world effectively In Vietnam, the use of Project-based learning to evaluate students in English has been carried out, welcomed by teachers and students, and achieved positive initial results Therefore, ―Project-based learning to teaching project lessons

to enhance students’ speaking skills in the pilot English textbook Tiếng Anh 6 under National

Foreign Language 2020 project‖ is researched to further improve the quality of English language instruction in secondary schools, especially for Grade 6 English learners using pilot program

2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Speaking skills

According to experts, speaking can be define in many ways While Quianthy (1990) illustrates speaking as the process of transmitting ideas and information orally in variety of situations, Nunan (1999) considers speaking as ―an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information‖ Its 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 according to Florez (1999)

Speaking plays a pivotal role in second language teaching and learning Nevertheless, with the global integration today the goal of teaching speaking should improve students' communicative skills because only in that way, students can express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules appropriately in each communicative circumstance Therefore, recent pedagogical research on teaching students’ conversation has provided some parameters for developing objectives and techniques

We cannot communicate with others, to express our ideas, and to know others’ ideas

as well without language Communication takes place, where there is speech Without speech

we cannot communicate with one another The importance of speaking skills, hence is enormous for the learners of any language Without speech, a language is reduced to a mere script The use of language is an activity which takes place within the confines of our community

2.2 Project-based learning

As we know that project-based learning is an instructional and dynamic classroom approach designed to give students the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills through engaging projects set around challenges and problems they may face in the real world

When involved in project-based learning, students will typically be assigned a project

or series of projects that request them to use various skills—such as collaborating, researching, writing, interviewing, or public speaking—to create diverse work products, such

as public-policy proposals, research papers, multimedia presentations, video documentaries, scientific studies art installations, or musical and theatrical performances, for example It can take several weeks or months or even over the course of a semester or year to accomplish a

project, which is different from other traditional forms of academic coursework such as tests, homework assignments Closely related to the concept of authentic learning, project-based-learning experiences are often designed to address real-world problems and issues, which requires students to investigate and analyze their complexities, interconnections, and ambiguities (i.e., there may be no ―right‖ or ―wrong‖ answers in a project-based-learning assignment)

Stage 1: Speculation

This stage includes choice of project topic and sensitisation about it, aiming at arousing interest and developing a climate conducive to speculation and investigation that will lead smoothly to the research process Topic is chosen after a dialogue among all members of the group, and the teacher (Brinia, 2006)

Stage 2: Designing the project activities

This stage includes formation of groups and assigning of roles, decisions concerning methodology, sources of information, activities that will take place, and places outside the classroom that students will visit The better organised and more analytical the structuring of the activities, the easier and faster the research will be conducted (Fragoulis, 2008)

Stage 3: Conducting the project activities

At this stage the groups implement the activities designed in the previous stage Students gather information, process and categorize it If deemed necessary, there may be intervals of information and feedback, in which students discuss issues related with cooperation among group members, problems of personal relations, and possible changes in group composition The next phase is synthesis and processing of information gathered The final products are displayed in the class and become a stimulus for thought and action for other students (Fragoulis, 2008)

Stage 4: Evaluation

Evaluation refers to the assessment of the activities from participants and discussion about whether the initial aims and goals have been achieved, implementation of the process, and final products (Brinia, 2006) Evaluation also entails assessment of errors and problems in the presentations of the final products

Although there are many studies focusing on theories for Project-Based Learning in foreign language teaching, there are relatively few empirical studies linking theory with practice, evaluating the impact of project work in the context of foreign language instruction In this context, the purpose of my research is to study the practical aspects of implementing project work in Secondary School settings, reporting difficulties encountered, benefits from project work, and pedagogical implications

3 METHODOLOGY

The study employs action research approach It follows the cycle as proposed by Parson and Brown (2002) and uses a mixed method for data collection which consists of a questionnaire for students, an interview with teachers, a pre-test, a post-test, class observation and teachers’ journals

Procedures

At the end of the first term of the academic year 2018-2019, an evaluation of the students’ English speaking competency, a pre-test was administered The criteria for evaluating each student’s speaking ability in the pre-test include fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, pronunciation, and interactive communication

The researcher planned 4 lessons with 4 themes applied the use of PBL in English teaching to motivate the students to learn English and to develop their speaking skill

PBL was carried out in accordance with the lesson plans within 12 weeks and what happened in the class with 48 students was recorded in the teacher’s journals

 Students are divided into groups at the end of the first term There are 8 groups in total

 The teacher assigned different speaking projects based on the units of Tiếng Anh 6

from Unit 8 to Unit 11 with four themes (Sports and games, Cities of the world, Our houses in the future, Our greener world)

 Students picked the projects randomly and carried out them with four stages of Project-based Learning Every two weeks there were two project lessons for four groups to present their products to the class The teacher will provide a scoring rubric for oral presentation so students can understand your standard and expectations (APPENDIX 2)

 Each group made a presentation on their projects in 15 minutes and 15-minute rest of each period was spent on asking and answering questions and discussion Students were given a chance to make comments on their friends’ projects and presentations During the presentation, they took the responsibility of listening, observing and assessing Finally, teacher’s constructive feedbacks on the presentations and projects played a very important role so that students could improve their speaking skill

Two teachers were asked to observe those lessons and evaluate the development in the students’ English speaking skill

The results of class observation were used to evaluate the success of the action research on using PBL to develop student's English speaking skill

A speaking post-test was conducted to find out the efficiency of the use of PBL in developing English speaking for the students

An interview and a questionnaire were carried out to get information from teachers and students on the efficiency of the use of PBL in developing English speaking skill

Based on data from student questionnaires, teacher interview, class observations, teacher journals, and the results of a pre-test and post-test, the researcher made an in-depth quantitative and qualitative analysis towards the two themes stated in the two research questions

4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Before applying project-based learning method, a pre-test and a questionnaire were carried out to identify the problems which students were facing up with while learning speaking skills The results from the pre-test showed that the English speaking ability of students were not good Almost these criteria did not meet expectations Therefore, in the next step, the author conducted a questionnaire to find out the cause of this problem Students answered 5 questions in English prepared by the researcher and then handed their papers for analysis (see APPENDIX 1)

Table 4.1: The results of the questionnaire concerning causes of the students’ low English proficiency

a Are you afraid of speaking

English in front of the class?

b What are the reasons why you

are afraid of speaking English in

front of the class?

bad pronunciation 37 (77.1%) lack of vocabulary

inadequate grammatical structures

34 (70.8%)

fear of mistakes 31 (64.6%) fear of other’s opinions 26 (54.2%) fear of speaking in public 41 (85.4%)

c What do you think of the

speaking activities in English

speaking lessons?

d Do you work in groups

actively in the English speaking

lessons?

e How often do you practice

speaking English in front of the

speaking English Seventy-three percent of the class find speaking tasks boring Especially, group work activities are carried out without the incorporation of team members so the effectiveness of speaking lessons is limited Furthermore, students do not have many chances

to practice English in front of class For details, nearly two-third of the students (58.3%) sometimes has oral presentation and nine out of the student barely practice speaking English Most of the problems leading to the low English proficiency of the students in speaking skill belong to the teacher’s responsibilities Thus, the teachers will take the major role in designing strategies for the students’ improvement in speaking skill

With the application of Project-based Learning during 12 weeks, a post-test was also conducted to evaluate the students’ speaking skill The post-test followed the form of Vietnamese Standardized Test of English Proficiency (VSTEP) level 1

The author designed 5 different tests based on this format and the speaking test is conducted

by the author and two more teachers at Tay Tuu school All speaking topics were related to

topics in the textbook Tieng Anh 5 of General Education Program of Ministry of Education and Training The post-test consists of three parts and lasts for 11 minutes in total

(APPENDIX 3)

The author observed and graded (APPENDIX 4) The following table below will show the results of 48 students

Table 4.2: The results of the post-test

Grade Outstanding Excellent Good Fair Average Unsatisfactory Number of

students

The results above show that no students achieved grade ―outstanding‖ Nevertheless, there were 5 students (made up about 10.5%) who got grade ―excellent‖, 14.6% achieved grade ―good‖ and 12 ―fair‖ students made up for 25% Besides, the number of students who did not meet the expectations reduced from 56% to 23%

Comparing the result of the post-test and the pre-test, it is obvious that the students’ English speaking competency has been improved remarkably All most these criteria met expectations Thus, it could be said that Project-based Learning was really sufficient in building up students’ speaking skills

4.5.2 Evaluation of the students’ speaking skill through the results of the interview with two teachers

The volunteer teachers were interviewed to give their opinions of the effectiveness of Project-based Learning in improving students’ speaking skill These were the result of the interview

a Do you usually use Project-based Learning in teaching English to your students?

Why or Why not?

Both of the teachers do not often assign English projects in the textbook for students

as well as applying the Project-based Learning to teaching It can be explained that they did not have enough time to instruct students step by step At class, they only have 3 periods every week to teach following the textbook The knowledge in the new textbook is quite advanced compared to the old version including vocabulary, grammar as well as the focus on promoting students’ four skills: reading, speaking, listening, writing Another reason is that they did not have knowledge of Project-based Learning Although Project-based Learning is not a new method of teaching, adapting this approach to real classrooms is not really popular and still meets few challenges from teachers

b Are you satisfied with the students’ performance in their presentations?

Both of them were satisfied with students’ performance in their presentations They were impressed by their achievement and the students’ progress in speaking skills could be realized through different projects Moreover, they also found that many important skills such

as group work, autonomous learning, self-assessment skills, time planning, project work were promoted

c Do you think using Project-based Learning can develop students’ speaking skills?

They all admit the efficiency of applying this method to teaching English

d Do you think about whether to apply Project-based Learning to your teaching English?

Both of them agreed that they would try this method in class if they learn how to use it The result of the interview indicated that there was an approval for the effectiveness of PBL between two teachers Although this approach took time, it was considered as an appropriate strategy to develop students’ speaking skills Project-based Learning brought considerable benefits to students

4.5.3 Evaluation of the students’ speaking skills through the results of the questionnaire with students

A post-trying out-questionnaire with 5 questions was given to students for evaluation

Question 1: What do you think about learning Project lessons in the end of every unit?

a challenging but interesting

b easy and boring

What do you think about learning

Project lessons in the end of every

unit?

31 (64.6%)

1 (2.1%)

3 (6.2%)

13 (27.1%)

As can be seen from Table 5, 64.6% of the students found learning Project lessons in English interesting because the students were offered a chance to engage deeply with the target content Despite the different challenges students had to meet during the process, they have enhanced motivation, social and cooperative skills

However, 27.1% of the students had difficulty in using PBL There were only a small number of the students (6.2%) who had no idea of it and 2.1% of them did not see any positive effects of this method These facts might be concluded that the try-out stage of conducting the optional lessons using PBL had certain good influence on the students' learning attitude so that they could achieve their goals and gain confidence in English speaking skill

Question 2: Do you think using Project-based Learning in the lessons has helped develop your English speaking skill?

Chart 4.1: Using Project Based Learning in the lessons has helped develop your English

of the students strongly agree with the support from Project-based learning The number of students who had no ideas of the effectiveness of PBL accounted for a small percentage (6%) This could be seen as the success of Project-based Learning

Question 3: Which criteria of speaking skill have you improved? (they can choose more than 1 answer)

Which criteria of speaking skill

According to the data in the table 6, most of the students have made much progress in their English speaking skill with the help of Project-based Learning All criteria of English speaking skill including fluency, vocabulary, grammatical accuracy, pronunciation, interactive communication met expectations The number of students who has not achieved any progress was quite small

Question 4: What are your opinions of your own changes after taking part in the lessons using Project-based Learning?

5 (10.4%)

3 (6.3%)

2 (4.1%)

0 (0.0%)

part in the lessons (79.2%) (10.4%) (8.3%) (2.1%) (0.0%)

3 I have taken greater

responsibility for my own

learning

33 (68.8%)

9 (18.8%)

4 (8.3%)

2 (4.1%)

0 (0.0%)

4 I have improved

collaborating skill

35 (72.3%)

8 (17.3%)

3 (6.3%)

2 (4.1%)

0 (0.0%)

5 I have gained confidence

in speaking in front of the

audience

33 (68.8%)

9 (18.8%)

2 (4.1%)

4 (8.3%)

0 (0.0%)

As can be seen from the Table 7, taking part in the project lessons has influenced students dramatically

First, when being asked to evaluate their own English speaking proficiency, nearly 90% of the students believed that their English speaking skill has become better

It can be demonstrated from the next opinion that the students were inspired to learn English during project lessons In other words, compared to other methods of learning and teaching, PBL has made students apply creative thinking skills to innovate new product designs and possibilities for projects As a result, they found their interest in learning through projects

The significant proportion (87.6%) of the students who were considered to be more responsible for their own learning could be regarded as a big success marking new steps forward of the students' attitude towards learning

Furthermore, relationships formed during collaboration is a huge part of PBL Not only do students learn how to work better in groups—providing their own input, listening to others, and resolving conflicts when they arise—they build positive relationships with teachers, which reinforces how great learning is From the survey, students also admitted that they gained cooperation while working as a group

Last but not least, public speaking skill is valuable both in students' personal life and career PBL engaged students in public speaking through their presentations This increased their confidence in speaking English (87.6%) It may also help to reduce anxiety about situations in which they can be called to speak in public in the future

To put it in a nutshell, we can draw some conclusion from these findings related to using PBL in classroom When teachers know how to implement this method, the efficiency

of teaching and learning English can be advanced

Question 5: Which difficulties did you encounter when carrying out your projects? You can choose more than one answer

a I have some obstacles in working with other members

b The duration of a project is too long

c I were not used to active learning

Table 4.6: The difficulties students encountered when carrying out their projects

9 (18.8%)

40 (83.3%)

The data from table shows that most of the students encountered some difficulties when carrying out their projects for the first time The most serious problem related to the fact that 60.4% of the students got a few difficulties in working with their team mates Problems occur when some students do most of the work The team collaborates on not working together Sometimes this happens because one or more students refuse to do the work Other times it happens because one or two members do not want others involved, fearing that their grade will be damaged by the efforts of peers they perceive as having lesser skills At the beginning, although clear roles for group members were assigned, some students dominated the work, while others did little work Another difficulty concerned the long duration of the projects Some students (18.8%) seemed to have lost interest and motivation by the end of the project Finally, many students feel like passive participants in their education—and many education experiences lead them to that At the beginning of project work some students felt apprehensive of project work

5 CONCLUSION

The thesis has described a research in which the author made effort to solve problems

in terms of the low English competence of the students in speaking skill by applying based Learning The author conducted in terms of both theory and practice To gain the theoretical background, relevant literature involving the study was reviewed Then the data for analysis was collected from common instruments, namely questionnaires, tests and interview

Project-Although Project-based learning is new method to both teachers and students in Tay Tuu school, the results of the research showed that students had positive attitude towards the use of Project-based Learning in English lessons Consequently, most of students made real breakthrough in speaking skill In addition, PBL affected on students' interpersonal skills Students were grouped together to work, which fostered communication skills and encouraged even students with diverse and possibly conflicting personalities to find a