000072527 IMPROVING STUDENTS' SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH ROLE-PLAY (A CLASSROOM ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT IN ENGLISH 2 K7 CLASS AT THANH DO UNIVERSITY) CẢI THIỆN KỸ NĂNG NÓI CỦA HỌC SINH THÔNG QUA HOẠT ĐỘNG NHẬP VAI (DỰ ÁN NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG TRONG LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH 2 K7 TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC THÀNH ĐÔ)
Statement o f the p r o b le m
Since adopting the open-door policy, our country has expanded its interactions with foreign nations, elevating the importance of foreign languages—especially English As a result, English is now a compulsory subject in full-time schools and universities, and it features in college and university entrance exams as well as in many job and promotion assessments Consequently, English language education is receiving unprecedented attention.
English Language Teaching (ELT) in Vietnam remains far from satisfactory and does not meet the needs of the country’s political and economic development Even university graduates—who spend extensive time in English classes and consistently achieve high marks on English exams—often struggle to communicate in even simple English English education in Vietnam is generally treated as a foreign language learning context rather than a true second-language situation; outside the classroom, English use is rare and classroom instruction is typically the primary input for language learning As a result, learners receive limited target-language input and have little time to develop language skills, especially in listening and speaking Hammerly (1991) observes that classroom instruction is artificial and time in teaching and learning is very limited Consequently, teachers are urged to provide meaningful input, adopt communicative teaching methods, and employ authentic materials to develop learners’ communicative competence in the target language.
Huda (1999, p 156) argues that the goal of English language teaching is to develop a working knowledge of English, evidenced by four core abilities: effective reading, understanding spoken English, writing, and speaking Consequently, speaking is one of the four essential skills that must be developed.
In Vietnam, English serves as a key tool for communication, making communicative competence a central aim of classroom teaching English is a compulsory subject in junior high schools, and in many regions English has already been introduced in primary schools for several years Since most daily interactions rely on spoken language, developing speaking skills for learners is essential.
According to O'Malley and Pierce (1996), among the four language skills, speaking is a crucial skill that learners should acquire because teachers of English language learners are responsible for enabling effective oral communication Burns and Joyce (1997) note that the rise of communicative approaches has shifted the focus of language teaching toward spoken language Ur (1999) adds that, as one of the productive skills, speaking should be developed through instructional activities Additionally, those who know a language are generally regarded as speakers, and speaking encompasses all kinds of knowing, with most foreign language learners primarily interested in learning to speak.
Research indicates that mastering speaking is the most significant aspect of learning a second or foreign language, with success defined by the ability to carry on a conversation in the target language Speaking is the basic language competence and a key tool for conveying messages in communication Therefore, speaking should be taught effectively so learners can express information, knowledge, or experiences to others both inside and outside the classroom In English learning, achieving strong oral proficiency is a primary goal, and proficiency in speaking not only brings personal satisfaction but also enhances qualifications for broader interests and career opportunities.
The fact shows that students’ English speaking ability or performance was low
Many students still struggle to speak English orally despite years of study Ur (1999, p 121) notes that common speaking problems include inhibition, having nothing to say, low participation, and mother tongue interference Several factors contribute to these difficulties: learners often feel passive and reluctant to speak because they lack ideas on how to express themselves and do not feel confident about the topic, and they become nervous when placed in situations that require English conversation Others fear making grammar and pronunciation mistakes and worry that peers will laugh at them, which leads to embarrassment In addition, the teaching of speaking can be boring when traditional methods are used, such as presenting sample dialogues for students to perform in front of the class, a practice that fails to provide real and natural speaking contexts where students interact with others in the real world As students internalize these teaching patterns, they become passive and accustomed to being spoon-fed, which can fuel frustration and diminish motivation The attitudes and behaviors described above illustrate several cases of passivity in English communication.
• Students' low motivation in learning English
• Monotonous teaching style o f the teacher
• Students’ low ability in speaking
• Students’ lack o f confidence to communicate in English
Similar problems were observed in a class within Thanh Do University’s English Department (TDU) Based on teachers' analyses, discussions at special seminars conducted by the English department, researchers' observations, and the results of the speaking test for the English 2K7 class, the issue was identified as inappropriate speaking activities Students did not find the teacher's instructions, activities, or even materials engaging enough to speak during speaking sessions The problem intensified as students were not active or confident, and lacked motivation to practice speaking in every class They were mostly passive and found it difficult to participate in conversations or discussions during English speaking lessons Moreover, teachers paid insufficient attention to teaching speaking and seldom used a variety of teaching techniques for speaking As a result, students became bored and unmotivated in speaking lessons.
Evidence shows that designing learning situations with diverse teaching techniques enhances language learning A well-prepared teacher should know what motivates students and craft detailed plans to maximize classroom effectiveness, creating an enjoyable learning environment with ample practice time to improve speaking skills and boost motivation to learn English Language learning can be dull if learners don’t perceive a real need to learn, so the challenge is to capture and sustain attention, with the teacher’s personality and enthusiasm playing a critical role in enlivening lessons while keeping the process engaging When the learning situation is interesting, students become more motivated to study Numerous studies, including Ur, reveal a strong link between motivation and achievement in language learning, underscoring the teacher’s essential role in managing and creating an enjoyable, stimulating class that sustains student motivation.
Recent studies indicate that English teaching, especially in speaking, focuses on models such as Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) and Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) Based on these models, this study selects role-play as a technique to improve students' English speaking skills, a choice grounded in considerations aligned with enhancing communicative competence.
Adopting role-play in language learning offers three main benefits: it is inherently challenging, as learners demonstrate practical knowledge and linguistic competence during interactive performance (Kasbolah, 1993, p.46); it is engaging and motivating—Harmer (1998, p.37) argues that role-play makes language learning enjoyable, helps quieter students express themselves more freely, and bridges the classroom with the outside world to expand language opportunities; and it represents a time-tested activity in conversation classes, with the present study intending to examine its effects on learners’ oral abilities.
As an English teacher at TDU, the researcher is concerned about students' low performance in communicating in English The study rests on the belief that the role-play technique can positively impact speaking ability, addressing grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency, and content for second-year students in the English 2K7 class at TDU Notably, there has been no prior study at TDU examining the use of role-play to improve English speaking skills Accordingly, the study employs a Classroom Action Research (CAR) design, implementing role-play as a teaching strategy with the aim of enhancing students’ English speaking skill Through this approach, the researcher hopes to strengthen the English speaking abilities of the English 2K7 class at TDU during the 2011-2012 academic year.
A cadem ic year are able to improve their English speaking ability and achieve the hig h e r scores o f their English speaking skill in comparison with their scores o f the previous semesters.
Aims o f the s t u d y
There are two main aims o f the study First, the researcher aims to investigate w hether the use o f role-play can improve the students’ motivation in their English speaking Second, the study examines whether role-play can improve the students' English speaking competence.
Research q u estio n s
In order to obtain the aims o f the study, the researcher uses two following research questions
1 To what extent can role-play motivate the students to speak English in class?
2 To what extent can role-play improve the students’ English speaking skill?
Scope of the s t u d y
Due to the limit o f the researcher’s time and other conditions, this study cannot cover all the problems that the teachers and students at TDU faced in implementing role-play activities in English lessons Therefore, the researcher can only mention the very com m on problems related to the organization o f role-play activities in English for the second year students o f English2K7 class at TDU and recom m end some suggestions to solve the problems in using role-play activities at TDU.
Significance o f the stu d y
By employing action research, this study seeks to determine whether and to what extent role-play improves students’ speaking ability in the classroom, provide convincing evidence of role-play’s value in boosting motivation in English speaking lessons, and propose practical techniques for organizing successful role-play activities that English teachers can implement The researchers anticipate that university students will benefit substantially from these findings.
Structure o f the s t u d y
This five-chapter study begins with Chapter 1, which presents the problem statement, aims, and research questions Chapter 2 reviews key theoretical issues in speaking, teaching speaking, and speaking competence, and explores role-play and its significance in language pedagogy Chapter 3 provides a detailed description and rationale of the research design Chapter 4 reports the findings and offers a discussion that links results to theory Chapter 5 outlines pedagogical implications, notes study limitations, and provides recommendations for future research.
This chapter covers the following main sections, namely: speaking skill, teaching speaking through role-play, and speaking competence.
Speaking skill
Definition o f sp e a k in g
In our everyday life, outside the classroom, listening is used twice as often as speaking, which in turn is used twice as much as reading and writing (Rivers, 1981, p
20) Inside the classroom, speaking and listening are the most often used skills (Brown
1994, p 14), and therefore, need to be paid much attention to by both FL teachers and learners.
Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning through producing, receiving, and processing information, with its form and meaning shaped by context—the participants, their shared experiences, the physical setting, and the purposes of speaking It tends to be spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving, serving as the primary means of daily communication The presence of both speaker and listener is essential for mutual understanding, making speaking inseparable from communication itself, which enables individuals to express feelings, share thoughts, ask questions and seek help, argue or persuade, explain ideas, and issue directions.
Speaking is a skill that deserves attention in language learning as much as literacy, in both first and second languages Bygate (1987) argues that mastering speaking is central to learning a language, and Nunan (1991) states that the single most important aspect of acquiring a second or foreign language is speaking Tupan (1995) emphasizes that language is first spoken, making speaking the basic competence and the most important skill Weir (1993) notes that speaking involves the reciprocal use of receptive and productive skills in a continual encoding and decoding of developing messages, and Magiono (2007) defines speaking as oral expression that requires not only the right rhythm and intonation but also the correct order to convey the intended meaning.
Speaking is an oral language expression that integrates grammar, rhythm, and intonation to convey messages, making it a fundamental language competence that relies on both receptive and productive skills As both an art and a skill to be developed for success in language learning, speaking comprises essential components—pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, and content—that together drive effective oral communication.
Types o f classroom speaking p e rfo rm a n ce
There are six types o f speaking performance that students are expected to carry out in the classroom (Brown, 2001, p 2 7 1) The six types o f speaking performances in the classroom are presented as follows:
In this language-learning exercise, students are asked to repeat or imitate the teacher’s speech or a recording This imitation is not aimed at meaningful interaction; rather, it concentrates on specific elements of language form, such as pronunciation, intonation, and grammatical patterns, to reinforce accurate language use.
Drills are classroom activities that emphasize form over meaning and are often called “drilling.” They give learners the chance to listen and orally repeat language chunks that can be phonological or grammatical challenges, though the practice tends to be repetitive and with limited scope According to Brown (2001, p 272), drills can help establish psychomotor patterns that loosen the tongue and connect specific grammatical forms to their appropriate contexts.
Drilling plays a valuable role in teaching speaking, especially for pronunciation and intonation, provided it is used in moderation and learners understand why they are doing it When used judiciously, drill activities help learners automate accurate sound production and natural prosody, supporting speaking fluency without sacrificing variety or meaningful interaction Clear justification for each drill keeps students engaged and ensures that practice translates into better real-time communication.
Intensive speaking tasks target learners' linguistic difficulties, focusing on phonological and grammatical aspects of language Brown (2001, p 273) defines intensive speaking as moving beyond imitation to include any speaking activity designed to practice particular phonological or grammatical features This type of speaking may be self-initiated or integrated into pair-work activities, where learners repeatedly go over selected language forms.
In this performance mode, students often provide brief replies to the teacher or take the initiative to ask questions and offer comments While student responses are typically concise and do not develop into extended dialogues, these succinct exchanges can still be meaningful and authentic.
In this type of performance-based language task, learners actively exchange specific information with their conversational partners to convey precise details, making information exchange central to practical communication This approach focuses on conveying targeted content and often involves negotiation and clarification, not just simple responsive reactions Brown (2001, p 273) notes that transactional language is an extended form of responsive language and typically carries a negotiating tone rather than merely responsive speech.
In this performance model, learners actively participate in the authentic give-and-take of communicative interaction, engaging primarily to maintain social relationships rather than simply transmit information Klippel (1994, p 12) argues that foreign language teaching should help students develop genuine communicative skills in the target language, so every situation where real communication occurs naturally should be exploited, and many more suitable opportunities should be created to foster communicative competence.
Within this performance format, students are asked to deliver extended monologues in the form of oral reports, summaries, or short speeches The goal is to develop global oral ability by producing spoken language that is more formal, deliberate, and well-structured This type of activity helps students organize ideas, articulate arguments clearly, and communicate with greater confidence and audience awareness.
Assessing speaking p e r fo r m a n ce
General com ponents of oral p e r fo r m a n c e
The aim of English teaching is to equip students with a working knowledge of English; accordingly, the purpose of the oral testing in this study is to measure students’ progress in their oral performance and to determine how successfully individual students or groups of students have achieved the objective Oral performance encompasses pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency, and content, and descriptions of these five components along with the range of scores are provided in Appendix 1—the Scoring Rubric.
To align with the aims of oral testing, this study employed a progress achievement test consisting of a baseline (pre‑intervention) assessment of students’ prior speaking ability and a follow‑up (post‑intervention) assessment to gauge their current speaking ability after the implementation.
Unan (1992, pp 16–19) outlines four core characteristics of communicative competence: (1) knowledge of the language’s grammar and vocabulary; (2) knowledge of speaking rules, including how to start and finish a conversation, which topics are appropriate for different speech events, and which forms of address to use with various interlocutors in different situations; (3) knowledge of how to use and respond to different speech acts such as requests, apologies, thanks, and invitations; and (4) knowledge of how to use language appropriately.
Spoken language is the most familiar form of communication that people use to build relationships, and it inherently operates within a specific social context In many settings, it remains the dominant mode of interaction, even when written language holds higher status, such as in educational contexts, where spoken language is still essential for effective communication and understanding.
Brown (2001, pp 141–142) defines speaking competence as a set of related abilities: imitative ability—the capacity to imitate a word, phrase, or even a sentence; intensive ability—the ability to produce short stretches that demonstrate control of grammar, lexicon, and phonology, including features such as intonation, stress, rhythm, and juncture; responsive ability—the capacity to engage in very short conversations, greetings and small talk, and to handle simple requests and comments; interactive ability—the ability to manage transactional language for exchanging specific information and interpersonal exchanges for maintaining social relationships; and extensive ability—the capacity to develop oral production through speeches, presentations, and storytelling, where opportunities for listener interaction are highly limited or absent.
Teaching oral com m unication sk ills
Teaching sp ea k in g
The objective of teaching spoken language is to enable learners to interact successfully in the target language, a goal that requires both comprehension and production (Hughes, 2003, p 113) Consequently, teaching speaking focuses on developing students’ oral-productive skills so they can understand and actively produce speech in real communication Building on this foundation, the research discusses principles for designing effective speaking techniques that support authentic interaction in the target language.
Principles for designing speaking techniques
According to Brown (2001, p.275) there are some principles in designing teaching speaking techniques:
• Techniques should cover the spectrum o f learner needs, from language based on accuracy to message- based on interaction, meaning, and fluency.
Using the jigsaw group technique, along with games or discussions about solving the environmental crisis, the task should actively help students perceive and use the building blocks of language In speaking classes, teachers should focus not only on what to say but also on how to say it, integrating grammar knowledge, vocabulary development, and correct pronunciation They should avoid dull, lifeless, repetitive drills; when drill activities are necessary to build fluency, they should be framed as meaningful and purposeful tasks that connect with real communication goals.
• Techniques should be intrinsically motivating.
During fieldwork, students often perform activities without understanding their purpose or the benefits they provide, simply following instructions This disconnect can lead to passive learning and low motivation Effective teachers boost engagement by clearly articulating how each task builds relevant skills, knowledge, and future opportunities, helping students see the value of their work and stay motivated to participate.
• Techniques should encourage the use o f authentic language in meaning context.
Maintaining meaningful classroom interaction in language teaching is challenging, and teachers often resort to fragmented grammar drills where students are called on one by one to choose the correct answer It takes energy and creativity to design authentic contexts and meaningful interaction, but with a robust store of teacher resources it can be done, and even drills can be structured to provide a sense of authenticity.
• Techniques should provide appropriate feedback and correction.
In most EFL settings, learners depend almost entirely on the teacher for useful linguistic feedback By drawing on the teacher’s knowledge of English, educators can deliver corrective feedback that is timely and context-appropriate for the moment, enhancing learner progress.
Language instruction should capitalize on the natural link between speaking and listening, because many interactive speaking activities inherently involve listening as well Brown (2001, p 275) notes that teachers should seize opportunities to integrate these two skills rather than treating them separately He also suggests that when teachers focus on speaking goals, listening goals may naturally coincide, and the two skills tend to reinforce each other Ultimately, the ability to produce language is often initiated through comprehension, so integrated speaking and listening practice can drive effective language development.
• Techniques should give students opportunities to initiate oral communication.
Much classroom interaction is dominated by teacher initiation, with teachers asking questions, giving directions, and supplying information, while students have been conditioned to speak only when spoken to However, true oral communication competence includes the ability to initiate conversations, nominate topics, ask questions, control the flow of dialogue, and change the subject as needed Brown argues that when teachers design and implement speaking activities, they should consider whether their methods allow students to initiate language, not just respond to prompts.
• Techniques should encourage the development o f speaking strategies.
Strategic competence is a concept unfamiliar to many beginning language learners, who have not yet considered developing their own personal strategies for achieving effective oral communication (Brown, 2001, p 276).
Characteristics o f a successful classroom speaking a c t iv it y
Ur (1999, p 120) assumes that speaking is the most important o f the four skills
A person who knows a language is referred to as a speaker o f that language and most
FL learners are primarily interested in learning to speak He lists the characteristics o f an effective speaking activity as follows:
• Learners talk a lot As much as possible o f the period o f time allotted to the activity is in fact occupied by learner talk.
• Participation is even Classroom discussion is not dominated by a minority o f talkative students: all get a chance to speak, and contributions are fairly evenly distributed.
Learners demonstrate high motivation and are eager to speak, driven by genuine interest in the topic and a desire to share new insights, or by a commitment to contribute to achieving the task objective.
• Language is o f an acceptable level Learners express themselves in utterances that are relevant, easily comprehensible to each other, and o f an acceptable level o f language accuracy.
C om m unicative activ ities
According to Harmer (1991, p 49), communicative activities should always have clear communicative objectives that students strive to achieve, because the core of any communication lies in the desire to communicate and the purpose to achieve.
Communicative activities aim to foster purposeful and meaningful interaction among students Designed as communicative tasks, they give learners a clear reason to speak, prompting them to bridge information and opinion gaps, ask for or discover their peers’ viewpoints, and share the information that is needed.
Communicative activities in the classroom are highly motivating and present real-life interaction challenges When these tasks revolve around authentic events and genuine opinions, students practice language in meaningful, transferable contexts Even traditional, controlled activities can become communicative if students discuss real-world topics and share their own experiences and viewpoints.
Effective communicative speaking activities require careful, structured design Even advanced learners benefit from prompts such as a picture or a short film to spark discussion As students grow comfortable with controlled and guided practice, their confidence increases, they become more adventurous, and they are ready to tackle freer speaking activities.
However, freer activities still need careful planning so that they do not fall flat.
As Brown (1994, p.23) reminds us, a language learner’s belief in their own ability to complete a task partly determines their eventual success Therefore, in language teaching, communicative activities should be sequenced from easy to hard, and a broad range of tasks should be included to provide ample opportunities to practice and develop communicative competence, provided learners successfully complete easier tasks before advancing to more difficult ones.
Carefully set up tasks such as role-play provides the reasons, purposes and guidelines within which students can speak more freely.
R o le -p la y
Definition o f role-play
T here have been a lot o f ways to define role-play up to now.
Harmer (1999, p 274) defines role-play as learners simulating real-life encounters—such as a business meeting, an aeroplane cabin exchange, or a job interview—as if they were in the actual situation, either portraying themselves or adopting a role different from their own In language learning, role-play actively engages students in the teaching–learning process by creating a rich communicative environment where learners practice authentic language use and participate in a real-world system.
Role-play is a method for maximizing student talking time and ensuring an optimal amount of speaking practice within limited class time (Matthews, Spratt, & Dangerfield, 1991, p 34) It offers a variety of activities and interactions while shifting the class focus away from the teacher, giving educators a practical opportunity to work with individuals and monitor performance Shy students often benefit, participating more readily in small groups than when facing an audience, because role-play involves assigning roles and an objective for participants to accomplish (Brown, 2001, p 183) It can be conducted with a single learner, in pairs, or in groups, with each participant taking on a role to achieve the objective.
Role-play is an instructional method that helps students imagine themselves in someone else’s shoes and perform that role By engaging in role‑play activities, they practice and rehearse real‑life situations, building practical language skills for authentic communication (Gu, 1998, p 89) Consequently, role‑play is the most commonly used approach to ensure learners can effectively apply what they have learned in real communication.
Role-play is the act of imitating a person or behavior that differs from the learner's own, either deliberately as a training exercise or unconsciously, bringing real-world situations into the classroom As a guided-conversation technique in language learning, it provides a framework in which students build their own sentences and decide for themselves what to say, supporting the development of speaking skills.
Role-playing in language teaching is a valuable strategy for developing speaking skills In a senior high school study, Huang (2008) found that role-play provides a worthwhile learning experience for both students and teachers It gives learners more opportunities to act and interact with classmates in English, which leads to improvements in speaking, listening, and comprehension Role-play also refreshes the classroom atmosphere and adds liveliness to lessons Students become more aware of the usefulness and practicality of English, making role-play a practical and engaging teaching technique ESL/EFL teachers should experiment with and integrate role-play more often in ESL/EFL classrooms.
Teachers often have students write their own dialogues, a method that appeals to learners because it lets them address their own interactive needs and engage with authentic language use When these dialogues are acted out, they become skits that give students valuable practice before performing in front of the class Role-play activities are similar to skits in that students are expected to act, but unlike skits, role-plays do not provide prewritten lines; instead, learners are given a realistic situation and assigned roles to improvise (Gebhard, 2000, p 176).
Reasons for choosing r o le -p la y
According to Matthews, Spratt, and Dangerfield (1991), the advantages of role-play largely mirror those of other interactive classroom activities such as games and various types of discussions Students’ spoken performance during role-play provides teachers with essential feedback on how well they have learned the new language and whether they can use it appropriately in a given context As a result, after implementing role-play, teachers can offer targeted feedback on the quality of the students’ performance, identify weaknesses or mistakes, and provide valuable input to support learner progress.
Role-play is selected as an effective teaching strategy to create authentic situations that encourage learners to actively interact in the target language, making language learning more meaningful Through these activities, students are introduced to a range of language skills, including listening, remembering, discussing, writing, and presenting, which helps build a comprehensive communicative competence By engaging in regular role-play exercises, learners can improve and enhance their speaking ability for daily life communication, gaining confidence and fluency in real-world conversations.
Role-play in language teaching offers five key advantages: it brings a wide range of experiences, functions, structures, and vocabulary into the classroom beyond other pair or group activities; it trains students’ speaking skills in any situation; it emphasizes social language forms essential for ongoing interaction that many syllabi neglect; it serves as a “dress rehearsal” for real-life roles, helping learners who will work or travel internationally practice the language they will need; it supports shy students by giving them a protective mask that frees them to participate; and it is enjoyable for most learners, a factor teachers often associate with higher engagement and learning, even if direct causal proof is not definitive.
Im plem enting role-play technique in the c la s s r o o m
D off (1990, pp.233-237) gives three types o f the implementing o f role-play They are: improvising dialogues; interviews based on a text; and free role-play The teacher m ay use three o f them or choose one or two o f them in accordance with the level or condition o f his/her own students The followings are the examples o f material and procedures o f implementing o f every type:
In this type, the role-play is based on a dialogue given In this way, the role-play gives students a chance to use the language in a creative way They are given a chance to improvise the dialogue according to their creativity The procedures o f implementing role-play technique through improvising dialogues are as follows: i ) The teacher prepares a kind o f dialogue.
A ngela: G ood morning I w ant to sen d a letter to Singapore.
Clerk: Yes- do y o u w ant to sen d it airm ail or ordinary mail?
A ngela: I think I'll sen d it airmail I w ant it to get there quickly H ow m uch does it c o st?
Clerk: To Singapore? That w ill be 3 0 pence, please.
Angela: (gives the clerk 5 0 pence) H ere yo u are.
Clerk: H ere's yo u r stam p, a n d h ere's 20 pence change.
Angela: Thank you, W here's the p o st box?
Clerk: You want the air m ail box It's over there, by the door.
" Where do you w ant to sen d the letter-to France, to Japan, to the next town?
Then how do yo u w ant to sen d it? By airm ail or by ordinary m ail?
N ext - ask how m uch it costs.
Then ask about the p o st box Where is the p o st box?
A n d at the end o f course y o u m ust thank the clerk - so say 'thank you
Going through the prompts one by one, students are asked to create sentences or questions for each prompt, which builds vocabulary and grammar through prompt-based conversation practice The teacher then invites two strong pairs to the front, with one pair acting as Angela and the other as a post office clerk They improvise a conversation using the prompts as a guide, and afterward the class is divided into pairs to perform similar conversations, reinforcing speaking fluency, listening skills, and collaborative learning.
Create a fresh conversation that mirrors the structure of the original example but with a new setting, different price points, and slightly varied Q&A formats The scene unfolds at a chic riverside cafe in Valencia where a customer asks about location, vibe, and value, and the host responds with concise details on ambiance, signature dishes, and transparent pricing— tapas €6–€12, wines €8–€16 per glass, tasting flights around €25— to highlight affordability and experience Questions and answers can shift in order and tone while still guiding readers to the same core facts: venue, offerings, price range, and what makes this place special The result is an SEO-friendly, coherent paragraph that preserves the article’s meaning while delivering fresh wording and a new context.
The conversation can be shorter than the presentation dialogue It should just cover the main points indicated by the prompts.
Text-based role-play activities allow students to use language more creatively by creating dialogues or interviews anchored in a given text, offering richer speaking practice than improvising dialogues Learners produce conversations that reflect the text’s ideas, details, and language, developing fluency and comprehension through authentic context The procedure starts with the teacher selecting and preparing a specific text, after which students assume roles and craft dialogues or interviews based on that text, guided by prompts and feedback to ensure accuracy and meaningful interaction.
Meet 15-year-old Jane Cole, seemingly an ordinary schoolgirl, yet she is training to compete in the European Table Tennis Championship this summer, making her one of the youngest contestants Those who know her stamina and determination are confident she can excel on the big stage Her main challenge is balancing table tennis with schoolwork For the past month, Jane has been waking up at six every morning to fit in an hour of table tennis practice before school and another hour in the afternoon.
The teacher begins by guiding students to read the text silently to ensure understanding Next, in pairs, students discuss possible role-play activities that could be based on the text, exploring suitable dialogue and scenarios Finally, each pair prepares a conversation, with one student taking the role of Jane and the other as the interviewer, ready to perform the role-play.
[Note: They should a sk not only questions w hich have answ ers in the text
In this language-learning activity, students engage with a text by answering both literal questions and imaginative prompts that go beyond the text, such as What time do you get up?, Do you think you will win the championship?, and Why do you like table tennis? When a student acts as Jane, they do not need to quote the original words verbatim, which encourages paraphrase and personal interpretation while preserving meaning The teacher supports the exercise by prompting discussion with topic suggestions, guiding learners to expand on ideas, practice speaking, and develop critical thinking.
- A sk her about her training.
- A sk her about her friends. vi The teacher asks the students to demonstrate the conversation in front o f the class.
Free role-play is a freer form of role-play that gives students the opportunity to use the language creatively based on supplied situations or role cards Unlike other types, it emphasizes flexible, spontaneous language use within a given scenario To implement free role-play, the teacher prepares a specific situation or sets of role cards for students to enact.
As a Vietnamese teenager on a train in Hanoi, I meet Paula and Laura, two foreign teenagers who are visiting Hanoi on holiday; I greet Paula and ask for her opinion about Hanoi, inviting her to share what she likes about the city and what she dislikes, and I do the same with Laura, listening to her impressions of Hanoi and noting the things she enjoys and the aspects she isn’t fond of.
You are a foreign teenager You are spending yo u r holiday in H a n o i , together with Laura When y o u are on a train, y o u m eet Tuan, a Vietnamese teenager
R espond T uan's greeting, answ er his questions about y o u r opinion o f H anoi a n d what y o u like a n d dislike about Hanoi.
You are a foreign teenager You are spending yo u r holiday in Hanoi, together with Paula When yo u are on a train, yo u m eet Tuan, a Vietnamese teenager R espond
The lesson begins with Tuan greeting the class and answering questions about his opinions on Hanoi, including what he likes and dislikes, followed by the teacher organizing a collaborative speaking activity The teacher then divides the class into groups of three and distributes role cards, making sure students understand their roles Prompts and key vocabulary are written on the board to guide the role-play and support language use Next, groups discuss what each speaker might say and prepare their dialogues Finally, groups practice the role-play, with one student as Tuan and the others as Paula and Laura, before presenting the dialogue to the class.
To adjust the gender context within each group, the teacher can ask students to change their names to reflect different genders—for example, Tuan to Lan, Paula to Paul, and Laura to Laurel After this naming exercise, the teacher requests every group to demonstrate a role-play in front of the class.
Significance o f role-play in teaching s p e a k in g
Being considered as an important aspect in language teaching and learning, role- play technique has been given a great deal o f attention.
Richard-Amato (2003, p.223) proposed eleven steps for implementing the role-play technique: introducing the topic and stimulating student interest; presenting new vocabulary; reading a story that clearly identifies a problem and stopping at the climax; selecting students to play the roles; preparing the audience to listen and later to offer advice; acting out the rest of the story; discussing alternative ways of dealing with the problem; and replaying the plays using new strategies if necessary.
Magiono (2007, p.59) described a study at SMP 1 Bulukerto with first-year students, using action research to examine the implementation of role-play in teaching English speaking, aiming to determine whether role-play could improve students' speaking mastery and to explore their responses to its use The study involved 30 students and was conducted over two cycles, each cycle comprising two meetings, with four elements: planning, implementing, observing, and reflecting Data were collected through observation, interviews, and documents, including pretests and posttests The results showed that applying role-play in speaking lessons increased students’ active participation and cooperation, boosted their motivation to speak, and improved speaking achievement, as demonstrated by better posttest scores than pretest scores and positive student reports of speaking improvement.
In Tran Trung Dung (2009), role-play has been widely used as a teaching method in the ESL/EFL classroom This re s e a rc h a im e d to in v e stig a te T h u a n C h a u
J u n i o r H ig h S ch o o l E F L s tu d e n ts ' attitudes/motivation towards the role-play course This study was designed to explore how role-play could increase T h uan C hau Junior
H ig h School EF L s tu d e n ts ’ interests in learning English, improve their English speaking proficiency, and overcome their shyness when speaking English on stage
D uring the one -month experiment, thirty-two (32) eighth graders in Thuan Chau Junior
At a high school in Thuan Chau District, students were divided into groups by their roles and engaged in weekly role-play dialogues They first received role-play instructions and then performed in front of their classmates The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods: oral tests measured changes in English speaking proficiency before and after the experiment; pre-course and post-course questionnaires assessed students’ attitudes, motivation toward role-play, and willingness to overcome shyness; and observations and interviews were conducted to gain in-depth insights into how role-play affected the participants.
Shie (2002, p.24) divided the freshmen of Beijing City University into two groups—the Target group and the Control group—for a four-week study The researcher collected data through observation notes, a questionnaire, and interviews Over the four weeks, the study produced evidence that the Target group differed from the Control group, with the Target group showing observable changes in the measured outcomes.
At a Chinese university, students who participated in role-play activities showed greater interest in speaking English than those in the control group The study indicates that teachers can use communicative classroom activities, such as role-play, to boost students’ motivation to speak English and enhance their overall oral proficiency.
Boosting students' confidence can enhance their learning attitude and motivation Role-play activities help learners become familiar with the material, making it feel more manageable and increasing their confidence to engage with the content When learners believe they can tackle new content through their own abilities and see success as the result of controllable performance, their expectations of success rise, further strengthening their learning confidence and creating more effective learning opportunities.
Role-play makes students active, imaginative, and critical by simulating real-life situations and creating a practical classroom setting In role-play, learners bring various items of knowledge to enrich the scene, turning theory into authentic practice For example, a student acting as an announcer may bring a script to read, illustrating how a real speaking task is performed Overall, role-play effectively develops students’ speaking skills by providing hands-on, context-rich practice.
Grounded in theoretical frameworks and prior research on the effectiveness of role-playing, this technique was selected to enhance the speaking ability of English 2K7 students in the English Department at TDU By offering structured practice in using English and encouraging learners to use the language naturally, role-playing directly supports the development of speaking competence.
S u m m a r y
Chapter two surveys theories related to speaking skill, including types of speaking performance; identifies the components of oral performance and indicators of speaking competence; discusses how to teach oral communicative skills and the characteristics of successful speaking activities and communicative tasks; and examines role-play—the reasons for choosing it, how to implement it in class, and its significance for teaching speaking Role-play has long been used by teachers to develop speaking abilities, and its effectiveness has attracted substantial attention from researchers Guided by these insights, I plan an action research project to demonstrate that role-play can effectively enhance the oral competence of our English major students For example, a student acting as an announcer reads from a script, illustrating how role-play can raise speaking skills.
Grounded in theoretical foundations and prior research on the effectiveness of role-playing, this approach is chosen to enhance the speaking skills of English students in the English Department at TDU The technique aims to improve their speaking competence by providing abundant opportunities to practice English and by encouraging natural use of the language.
Chapter two surveys theories of speaking skill and the types of speaking performance, identifies the components of oral performance, and outlines indicators of speaking competence; it also discusses how to teach oral communicative skills, the characteristics of successful speaking activities, and various communicative tasks, with a focus on role-play—its rationale, classroom implementation, and its significance for teaching speaking Teachers have long used role-play in speaking instruction, and researchers have repeatedly examined its effectiveness Guided by these insights, I plan an action research project to show that role-play can effectively improve English major students' oral competence.
Chapter three outlines the procedures used to carry out the investigation, including the data collection and data analysis methods employed in the study The chapter is organized into three sections: the first describes the research methods and the rationale for each choice; the second details the action research procedure; and the third provides a thorough description of the study subjects This structure clarifies the methodological approach, explains how data were gathered and analyzed, and identifies the participants involved, supporting transparency and reproducibility in the research.
Research q u estion s
1 To what extent can role-play motivate the students to speak English in class?
2 To what extent can role-play the improve students’ English speaking skill?
Research m e t h o d s
Overview o f action research
According to Kumis and Me Taggart (1998, p 18), education that ignores action is not really education, and an action research (AR) project blends inquiry with practical action aimed at solving problems, promoting social change, or turning insights into concrete steps; therefore, AR should be a sustained practice for teachers at all times, and I chose to undertake an AR project for the same reasons.
Action research (AR) is carried out by practitioners in foreign language teaching—the classroom teachers—and is a collaborative approach aimed at changing teaching practices A problematic feature is that those affected by planned changes bear the primary responsibility for deciding on critically informed actions and for evaluating the results of the strategies implemented in practice AR is a set of activities organized around a four-step cycle: planning, action, observation, and reflection In planning, a problem is identified and a plan is developed to bring about improvements in specific areas of the research context In the action step, the plan is put into action over a period of time; during observation, the effects of the action are observed and data are collected; and in reflection, the effects are evaluated and become the basis for further cycles of the research.
(2001, p.41) consists o f five steps: problem identification, plan o f action, data collection, analysis o f data and plan for future action.
Nunan (1993, p.17) reviews Cohen and Marion (1985) and argues that action research is fundamentally situational, focused on identifying and solving problems within a specific context He highlights collaboration as a central feature of this approach and states that the aim of action research is to improve the current state of affairs in the educational context where the research is carried out.
Nunan (1993, p 18) argues that while collaboration is desirable, it is not the defining feature of action research (AR); a teacher who wants to explore teaching and learning in their own context can carry out AR in their classroom even if collaboration is not possible due to practical or personal reasons He also contends that AR is not solely about change; a descriptive case study of a specific classroom, initiated by a guiding question, supported by data and interpretation, and conducted by a practitioner examining aspects of their own context, qualifies as AR Regarding the action research cycle, Nunan outlines six steps—initiation, preliminary investigation, hypothesis, intervention, evaluation, and dissemination—described in detail in section 3.2.2 on page 25 Although AR processes may vary, this study adopts Nunan’s six-step procedure because it provides manageable steps for an actionable research plan.
This study consists of two stages over twelve weeks Stage 1 (weeks 1–2) introduces the core concepts and includes administering the first questionnaire and pretest to accurately measure students’ abilities and establish baseline motivation before the role‑play intervention in Stage 2 Stage 2 (weeks 3–12) centers on teaching speaking through role‑play activities in every lesson, with the goal of improving students’ speaking ability The two stages follow a structured sequence of steps to guide the instructional approach and assessment.
Action research p r o c e d u r e
As stated in 3.2.1 on page 24, N u n a n ’s model (1993) was applied in this study The description o f the six-step procedure is presented as follows:
At the start of the term, the researcher introduced the new curriculum, explained the course objectives and action plan, outlined the steps for the role-play activity, and showed video clips to familiarize students with role-play Six groups were formed, each with four to five students, and students chose their teammates Each team appointed a leader to facilitate learning during the activity, and together they planned and prepared a role-play aligned with the week’s topic Finally, the researcher distributed a pre-questionnaire to capture students’ motivation for attending lessons in previous terms, and to ensure authentic responses, the questionnaires were collected 30 minutes after distribution.
Step 2: Prelim inary investigation (Week 2)
The researcher carried the pretest in the second week to measure the students’ speaking ability and considered its results as a typical Details o f the data collection instruments are provided in 3.3.
Analysis and discussion of the initial data lead to the core hypothesis: implementing role-playing will improve students’ speaking abilities and boost their motivation in speaking lessons.
Step 4: Plan intervention (From week 3 to week 12)
From weeks 3 to 11, the researcher organized three in-class speaking periods during which students participated in role-play activities The role-plays were designed around the topics of each unit in the North Star textbook, ensuring the activities reinforced unit themes and provided authentic, contextual practice for speaking.
During the same period, the researcher’s colleagues Le Thi Phuong and Pham Thi Nguyet observed the class activities They were briefed on the purposes of the observation and instructed on where to sit in the classroom to observe and complete the observation sheets.
At the end o f the term, the post questionnaire and the posttest were used to seek the inform ation about the students’ motivation and speaking ability.
After data collection, the observation sheet data, posttest results, and post-questionnaires were analyzed and compared with the pretest data and pre-questionnaire responses to assess outcomes within the action plan The resulting comparison served as evidence of the usefulness of the role-play activities in achieving the desired objectives.
The action research procedure and its results were reorganized and presented in the form o f a thesis, which was shared with the researcher’s colleagues, especially younger teachers.
Description o f the data collection in stru m en ts
Q uestionnaires
Questionnaires provide a cost-effective way to collect data from a large number of respondents quickly To investigate teaching and learning oral communication skills, I chose surveys as a primary research method, administering questionnaires to gather insights efficiently This approach supports rigorous data collection on how learners develop oral communication skills and how instructional practices influence outcomes, enabling timely analysis and actionable conclusions for improving teaching strategies.
Richards (1994, p 10) notes that surveys and questionnaires are practical tools for gathering information about the affective dimensions of teaching and learning—including beliefs, attitudes, motivation, and preferences—and they enable educators to collect large amounts of data relatively quickly.
Questionnaires are a key tool in my study, helping me identify the actual needs and interests of students and informing the design of a practical action plan to test in the classroom They are straightforward for researchers to analyze, and for foreign-language (FL) students they are familiar and typically do not induce anxiety, making questionnaires a reliable method for collecting actionable data.
At the start of the term at TDU, a pre-questionnaire was conducted to identify the actual problems, their underlying causes, and the students’ motivation for speaking The collected data were analyzed to inform an action plan that was developed and implemented with the aim of improving students’ motivation to speak.
This questionnaire (see Appendix 2) consists o f seven questions The first two questions aim to examine if the students had difficulty in speaking The third and the fourth ones aim to identify the students’ problems and possible causes o f the problems The next is expected to find out the average times each student spoke in English in a forty-five minute period The sixth one aims to investigate the students’ motivation as well as interests in speaking periods Question 7 asks for the students’ opinions about the necessity o f practicing English more to become good speakers o f English.
The post questionnaire was carried out after the implementation o f action plan finished in order to measure the increase in students’ motivation as a result o f the role- play activities.
There are 8 statements in this questionnaire (see A ppendix 3) Each statement has five levels for students’ opinions, ranging from number 1 (strongly disagree) to number 5 (strongly agree) The statements 1, 2, 3 are aimed at investigating students’ learning motivation and statements 6 is used to find out information about students’ comparison towards speaking topics The students indicated their attitude towards the learning tasks and speaking activities that they had just participated in The students' answers would show whether they found the activities used useful, attractive, satisfying, difficult, and appropriate in the statements 4, 5, 7, and 8.
In conclusion, I chose written questionnaires because they are easy to administer and cost-effective, enabling the collection of substantial data and diverse ideas in a relatively short time After implementing the action plan, along with observation and test results, the post-questionnaire further enhances the study's overall success.
O bservations
3.3.2.1 Reasons for choosing observ ation
Alongside questionnaires, classroom observation is used to ensure the validity and reliability of information about role-play in the English classroom, and this approach clarifies how students’ motivation and interest change across lessons while enabling easier data collection on non-verbal communication and facial expressions compared with other methods.
Richards (1994, p 12) positions observation as a method for gathering information about teaching rather than a direct form of evaluating teaching, even though observation is commonly linked to evaluation He identifies two main types of classroom observation: first, student teachers observing a cooperating teacher’s class, and second, peer observation, where a teacher observes a colleague’s class.
McDonough (1997, p 37) describes observation as a pivotal activity with a crucial role to play in classroom research It is interrelated with the aims of increasing knowledge and understanding a phenomenon, and with determining whether that knowledge is intended to be particular or general.
This study employed classroom observations during lessons to verify the assumed problem described in section 1.1 and to investigate whether the implemented role-play activity could boost students’ motivation in speaking lessons Two observation sheets, adapted from Peacock (1997), guided the observations of the class.
Over nine weeks, nine speaking lessons were observed to collect information about students’ participation and overall class motivation during the implementation of role-play activities The observation sheets were provided to the teacher observers, Le Thi Phuong and Pham Thi Nguyet, before each lesson as part of the action plan They were instructed to observe carefully, recording every learner response in the appropriate column and marking whether the student was working or not.
An initial observation sheet (Appendix 7) was designed to quantify students’ on-task behaviors, measuring their enthusiasm and persistence with learning tasks Observers began once students started working in pairs, groups, or individually, and they positioned themselves unobtrusively to notice overall motivation and behavior They assigned a “1” for on-task when students were engaged in pair/group/individual work, and a “2” for off-task when none of the above conditions occurred Students were observed sequentially, clockwise around the room, and each was identified by a number Every five seconds, observers recorded the category that best described the observed behavior, noting whether the students were working or not, before moving to the next student The process continued until all students had been observed twelve times.
They then completed the second observation sheet, which is designed to measure the levels of student motivation generated by performing learning tasks, as evidenced by students’ responses, interest, and enthusiasm with the learning task during class, across ten items (Appendix 8) Each item on the sheet was scored on a simple Yes-to-affirmative scale, providing a straightforward quantitative gauge of motivation in the classroom.
Within the items, Yes scales reflect the strengths, with scores tapering toward No to denote weaknesses Observation sheets were distributed to teacher-observers before each lesson as part of the action plan The observers completed the sheets by ticking a column for each statement on the observation sheet as the activity drew to a close.
Pretest and p o sttest
3.3.3.1 Reasons for choosing pretest and posttest
Although preparing and administering the pretest and posttest can be lengthy, these assessments provide the most reliable evidence for evaluating students' speaking competence over time In this study, the pretest and posttest measured learners' abilities before and after the implementation of role-play activities, enabling an examination of whether and how students improve their speaking skills.
3.3.3.2 Description of pretest and posttest
The pretest (see Appendix 4) was designed to assess learners' English speaking competence before the experiment In the pretest, students worked in pairs and completed two parts: Part one allowed self-introductions as a confidence-building, non-scored activity, and Part two required each pair to randomly select one of six topics (two cards per topic) and spend one minute preparing a dialogue for two speakers on the card Each card set clear roles—one student as A and the other as B—with topic information and prompts that encouraged turn-taking The topics, related to knowledge from the previous term, included phone call making, making an appointment, at the travel agency, on the bus, at a restaurant, and problems at the department.
Posttest (see Appendix 5) was designed to assess learners' English speaking competence after the experiment, serving as an indicator of progress toward the objectives by measuring improvements in speaking ability Like the pretest, the posttest required students to work in pairs and consisted of two parts In Part I, students introduced themselves; this segment helped boost confidence and did not carry a score In Part II, each pair randomly selected one of six topics (two cards per topic) and had one minute to prepare before delivering a dialogue based on the card prompts Each card provided clear directions, with one student designated as A and the other as B, and students were encouraged to take turns speaking The topics for the posttest included asking for directions, hotel check-in, ordering a meal at a restaurant, buying tickets at a travel agency, and interactions at the teacher’s office and at the students’ apartment.
In the Appendix 4- pretest and Appendix 5- posttest, the researcher only presents three o f the six topics the researcher designed to test the students.