Luận văn thạc sĩ áp DỤNG các HOẠT ĐỘNG GIẢI QUYẾT vấn đề TRONG dạy nói CHO SINH VIÊN năm THỨ HAI CHUYÊN ANH tại đại học THƯƠNG mại

The current study entitled “Applying ProblemSolving Activities in Teaching Speaking Skills for the Secondyear EnglishMajor Students at Vietnam University of Commerce” was carried out to find out the effectiveness of problemsolving activities in improving students’ speaking competence as well as investigate the students’ motivation towards the use of problemsolving activities in speaking lessons at Vietnam University of Commerce (VUC), and then give some pedagogical implications for teachers. An action research was implemented with 40 students of English Department at VUC during four weeks. Data were collected by observations, oral tests, questionnaires, and student’s journals. To answer two research questions (1) To what extent does the application of problemsolving activities improve students’ speaking skills? and (2) What are the effects of problemsolving activities on students’ motivation?, four speaking lessons were conducted in the form of problemsolving activities. The main findings highlighted the students’ improvement in speaking skills after the treatment. This was shown by the students’ journals and comparisons of results of oral pretest and posttest, which have the same format and criteria for assessing. The analyses of the postintervention questionnaire and observation sheet also indicated that the students are more interested and involved in speaking lessons. Thus, it is expected that the results of this study could benefit English teachers in general and English teachers in VUC in particular to enhance their speaking lessons.

I would love to express my deep indebtedness to a number of people whoseinvaluable support and encouragement were of great help in the completion of thisstudy

First and foremost, I would like to advance my special gratitude and respect to

my minor thesis advisor, Assoc Prof Dr Tran Xuan Diep for his invaluablesuggestions, continuous support, great encouragement, motivating attitude as well

as critical comments from the beginning of my study I could never have achievedthis without his support

I am also thankful to all my teachers at the English department, University ofLanguages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

My special thanks to 40 second-year students at Vietnam University ofCommerce for their invaluable support and cooperation to start and complete mythesis

Lastly, my special words of thanks are extent to my family for their endless help,patience and support

The current study entitled “Applying Problem-Solving Activities in Teaching Speaking Skills for the Second-year English-Major Students at Vietnam University

of Commerce” was carried out to find out the effectiveness of problem-solving

activities in improving students’ speaking competence as well as investigate thestudents’ motivation towards the use of problem-solving activities in speakinglessons at Vietnam University of Commerce (VUC), and then give somepedagogical implications for teachers An action research was implemented with 40students of English Department at VUC during four weeks Data were collected byobservations, oral tests, questionnaires, and student’s journals To answer tworesearch questions (1) To what extent does the application of problem-solvingactivities improve students’ speaking skills? and (2) What are the effects ofproblem-solving activities on students’ motivation?, four speaking lessons wereconducted in the form of problem-solving activities The main findings highlightedthe students’ improvement in speaking skills after the treatment This was shown bythe students’ journals and comparisons of results of oral pre-test and post-test,which have the same format and criteria for assessing The analyses of the post-intervention questionnaire and observation sheet also indicated that the students aremore interested and involved in speaking lessons Thus, it is expected that theresults of this study could benefit English teachers in general and English teachers

in VUC in particular to enhance their speaking lessons

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1: Procedures of the Study 25

Table 2: Results of Question 1 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 27

Table 3: Results of Question 2 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 3

Table 4: Results of Question 3 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 3

Table 5: Results of Question 4 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 3

Table 6: Results of Question 5 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 3

Table 7: Means and Standard Deviations of the Scores of the Pre-test and Post-test 3

Table 8: Correlations of the Pre-test and Post-test 3

Table 9: Paired Sample T-Tests 3

Table 10: Students’ Level of Involvement 3

Table 11: Students’ Interest and Benefits 3

Figure 1: Action Research Model ( Kemmis, 1988) 19

Figure 2: Comparison of Results of Pre-test and Post-test 30

Figure 3 Students’ Level Motivation 34

Abbreviation

VCU: Vietnam University of Commerce

TABLES OF CONTENTS

PART A: INTRODUCTION 3

1.1 Rationale of the Study 3

1.2 Aims of the Study 3

1.3 Objectives of the Study 3

1.4 Research Questions 3

1.5 Scope of the Study 3

1.6 Significance of the Study 3

1.7 Methodology 3

1.8 Design of the Study 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 3

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW 3

1.1 Theoretical Background 3

1.1.1 An Overview of Speaking 3

1.1.1.1 Some Concepts of Speaking 3

1.1.1.2 The Roles of Speaking Skills in Language Teaching 3

1.1.1.3 Principles of Teaching Speaking 3

1.1.1.4 Classroom Speaking Activities 3

1.1.2 Problem-Solving Activities 3

1.1.2.1 Definitions of Problem Solving 3

1.1.2.2 Kinds of Problem-Solving activities 3

1.1.2.3 Advantages of the Application of Problem-Solving Activities in Teaching Speaking 3

1.2 Review of Related Works 3

1.3 Justification for the Study 3

1.4 Summary 3

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODS 3

2.1 The Setting 3

2.2 Subjects 3

2.3 Research Approach 3

2.4 Data Collection Instruments 3

2.4.1 Speaking Pre-test and Post-test 3

2.4.2 Questionnaires 3

2.4.3 Observation Sheet 3

2.4.4 Students’Journals 3

2.5 Intervention: The Application of Problem-Solving Activities 3

2.6 Data Collection Procedures 3

2.7 Data Analysis 3

2.8 Summary 3

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 3

3.1 Preliminary Investigation 3

3.1.1 Findings 3

3.1.2 Discussion 3

3.2 Evaluation 3

3.2.1 Research Question 1 3

3.2.1.1 Results from Pre-test and Post-test 3

3.2.1.2 Discussion 3

3.2.1.3 Results from Students’ Journals 3

3.2.2 Research Question 2 3

3.2.2.1 Results from Observation Sheet 3

3.2.2.2 Discussion 3

3.2.2.3 Results from Questionnaire 2 3

3.2.2.4 Discussion 3

3.3 Summary 3

PART C: CONCLUSIONS 3

4.1 Recapitulation of Main Ideas 3

4.2 Limitations of the Study 3

4.3 Suggestions for Further Studies 3

REFERENCES 3

APPENDICES………I

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the Study

Among four skills, speaking plays the most essential part in communication Infact, Vietnamese students realize the necessity as well as importance of enhancinglanguage skills in order to meet future job’s needs and communicate in socialconversations However, it is hard for most of them to use English in the realsituations In the real context of Vietnam University of Commerce, lecture-orientedmethod is still applied at present although there have been a large number ofchanges about teaching materials and supplementary activities Students do not feelelated and enthusiastic when participating in speaking lessons Their lack ofconfidence as well as uninteresting speaking activities leads to demotivate them tojoin in In addition, other problems such as lack of vocabulary, involvement orenjoyment have great impacts on their participation in speaking lessons

To solve these problems, more effective speaking activities need to be exploited

so as to enhance learners’ communicative competence and help them get moreinvolved in speaking lessons, so current teachers need to actively engage students inspeaking activities that are enjoyable and are based on a more communicativeapproach One of them is problem-solving activities, which received many supportsfrom scholars and teachers Using problem-solving activities is regarded as aneffective way to practise communication skills in which students work with eachother to find out appropriate solutions to a specific problem Therefore, this is agood chance for them to interact with teachers or other students, which encouragethem to be more cheerful and inspired Moreover, their discussion will help themshare information, create new ideas and boost their self-confidence Thus, theirspeaking skill will also be improved Students use target language as a means tosolve a problem, which also increases their motivation, participation and criticalthinking

The above mentioned situation has urged the researcher to conduct a study of

“Applying Problem-solving Activities in Teaching Speaking Skills to the year English-Major Students at Vietnam University of Commerce” This study is

Second-intended to make a contribution to helping students at Vietnam University ofCommerce improve their speaking skills

1.2 Aims of the Study

The study aimed at finding out whether the application of problem-solving

activities has a positive impact on the speaking skills of the Second-year Major Students at Vietnam University of Commerce Then, suggestions on how touse problem-solving activities effectively to enhance students’ speakingcompetence are given

English-1.3 Objectives of the Study

The specific objectives of the study were as follows:

 To investigate the extent to which the application of problem-solving activitieshas improved the speaking competence of the Second-year English-MajorStudents at Vietnam University of Commerce

 To exploit the effects of problem-solving activities on students’ motivation inspeaking skills

1.4 Research Questions

In this investigation, the following research questions were addressed:

1 To what extent does the application of problem-solving activities improve students’ speaking skills?

2 What are the effects of problem-solving activities on students’ motivation?

1.5 Scope of the Study

The study was conducted on 40 Second-year English-Major Students at VietnamUniversity of Commerce in the first semester of 2014-2015 via the application ofproblem-solving activities in teaching speaking skills

1.6 Significance of the Study

The foremost significance of this study is that it will contribute to a moreeffective use of problem-solving activities in order to enhance speaking skills forthe Second-year English-Major Students at Vietnam University of Commerce The findings of the study will provide an insightful understanding of the currentsituation of exploiting problem-solving activities in teaching speaking skills to theSecond-year English-Major Students at Vietnam University of Commerce In otherwords, the study also helps revisit the features and principles of problem solving ineducation Moreover, English teachers may find the recommended problem-solvingactivities a useful reference to make their speaking lessons more communicative,meaningful and practical

1.7 Methodology

An action research was applied in this minor thesis to improve students’speaking skills and teaching speaking in the researcher’s own class In order tocollect sufficient and relevant data for the study, four instruments were employed:

- Pre-test and post-test to assess student’s speaking ability

- Observation sheet to find out students’ motivation during the intervention

- Survey questionnaires to investigate students’ achievement and motivation beforeand after the intervention

- Student’s journals to investigate students’ improvement towards this application

1.8 Design of the Study

The study consists of three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion

The Introduction presents the rationale, aim, objectives, scope, significance and

methodology

The Development includes three chapters which are as follows:

Chapter One covers an in-depth review of the literature in which a relevant

theoretical background and a review of related studies concerning applyingproblem-solving activities in teaching speaking skills

Chapter Two features the research methods including the background information

of the context, the subjects of the study, the instruments used to collect data, and theprocedures of data collection and data analysis Moreover, a detailed description ofdata analysis is provided

Chapter Three shows the findings and discussions, the results of the study are

shown

The Conclusions ends the report with the recapitulation of main ideas, the

limitations of the study and the suggestions for further studies

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Theoretical Background

1.1.1 An Overview of Speaking

1.1.1.1 Some Concepts of Speaking

Speaking skill plays an essential role in teaching and learning a foreignlanguage There are a variety of views on the term “speaking” given by differentlinguists

According to Chaney (1998), “Speaking is the process of building and sharingmeaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contexts”(p 13) While Byrne (1986, p 8) defined that speaking is “a two-way processbetween speaker and listener, involving the productive skill of speaking and thereceptive skill of understanding” The speaker plays the role of encoding themessage to be conveyed in an appropriate language, while the listener has to decodethe message A similar view of “speaking” given by Scott, R (1981) was thatspeaking is “an activity involving two (or more) people in which the participants areboth hearers and speakers having to react to what they hear and make theircontributions at high speed” Through the interaction, each participant will try toachieve his communicative goals and fulfill his ability of interpreting what is said tohim Expressing message or sharing information through verbal and non-verbalsymbols is actually effective ways in real-life situations which will help peopleunderstand each other without words Theodore Huebner stated that “language isessentially speech, and speech is basically communication by sounds” According tohim, speaking is a skill used by someone in daily life communication whether atschool or outside The skill is acquired by much repetition; it primarily a

neuromuscular and not an intellectual process It consists of competence insending and receiving messages.

To sum up, it is obvious that speaking is one of the most important skills forlearners The ability to speak fluently, appropriately and understandably every time,everywhere and in every situation is the goal as well as the desire of languagelearners It is not easy for them to master immediately because speaking skillsrequire learners to practice regularly and patiently From these reasons, Bygate(1987, p 2) considered speaking skills as “a skill which deserves attention every bit

as much as literary skills in both first and second language”

1.1.1.2 The Roles of Speaking Skills in Language Teaching

Speaking creates motivation in language learning According to Crook andSchmidt (1991), motivation is defined as the learner’s orientation with regard to thegoal of learning a second language Learning a language is to know to learn how touse it, as Nunan (1991) stated “success is measured in terms of the ability to carryout a conversation in the (target) language” Mastering a language is that learnerscan use it flexibly in every situation If students cannot speak or they do not have achance to speak, they will get bored and lose their interest in learning a language.Therefore, the right activities need using in a right way, which makes speaking inclass be cheerful and raises learners’ motivation as well as creates a dynamicEnglish language classroom

Speaking also helps other language skills be improved It is obvious that

speaking and listening are the two inter-dependent macro skills A student who isgood at speaking is more likely to be good at listening than the others A studentwho speaks English well also has a higher chance of reading and writing Englishbetter than the others (Nation, 1990, p.21)

Speaking is fundamental to human communication In fact, we speak more than

we write, whereas many English teachers still spend the majority of class time onreading and writing Speaking and listening skills are not really esteemed

Therefore, this creates an unbalance among these skills If the goals of the languagecourse are to help students communicate English, speaking skill should be regularlytaught and practiced in a language classroom.

1.1.1.3 Principles of Teaching Speaking

Speaking plays a significant role in developing communicative competence, andteachers’ responsibility is to equip students with knowledge and skills to be able touse English for communication in the real world Thus, Harmer (2001: 102)suggested some principles in teaching speaking First of all, speaking helps studentsovercome their initial reluctance, which helps them be more motivated Secondly,students are asked to talk about what they want to talk about Next, teachingspeaking requires appropriate feedback to be provided The last one is that speaking

is also combined with listening and reading

1.1.1.4 Classroom Speaking Activities

Speaking is regarded as a means of effective communication The question ofhow to increase communicative competence is the most crucial one Many speakingactivities suggested by researchers and educators are useful for teachers inimproving the quality of speaking lessons and promoting students’ attitudes andparticipation in learning a language

Harmer (2001, p.271-274) proposed some speaking activities The first one is

acting from a script In this section, teachers ask students to perform the play based

on the dialogue in the script Thus, the teacher as a director and the students performthe dialogue Communication games are the second one which can make studentsrelaxed in learning a language This technique is particularly suitable for thechildren in mastering the language It is designed to provoke communicationbetween students in order for them to solve a puzzle, draw a picture, put the things

in a right order, and find differences between pictures Lastly, it is Role Play that is

a stimulated activity in which students pretend that they are in a different situation,

either as themselves or playing the role of someone is quite different We could askthem to be a guest at some parties and go there as different characters They could,

as themselves, pretend to be at an airport trying to check luggage, or either asthemselves or another character take part in a television program The students in allthese cases are using language in order to participate in the activity rather than otherway round Some students find it very comfortable to use language in a simulatedenvironment, and playing the role of someone else which allows them to experimentfreely to be another people

1.1.2 Problem-Solving Activities

1.1.2.1 Definitions of Problem Solving

Problem solving is a popular way to stimulate students’ interest and motivation.Students work in pairs or groups to share their opinions and feelings about aspecific problem They work together to discuss, analyze and evaluate the problem,then reach proper solutions

A problem is a situation which is experienced by an agent as different from thesituation which the agent ideally would like to be in A problem is solved by asequence of actions that reduce the difference between the initial situation and thegoal (F.Heylighen, 1998)

According to Ormond (2006: 111), “problem solving is using existingknowledge and skills to address an unanswered question or a troublingsituation”

Mayer and Wittrock (2006, p 287) defined problem solving as “a cognitiveprocess directed at achieving a goal when no solution method is obvious to theproblem solver” This definition consists of four parts:

Problem solving is cognitive, that is, problem solving occurs within theproblem solver's cognitive system and can only be inferred from theproblem solver's behavior

Problem solving is a process, that is, problem solving involves applyingcognitive processes to cognitive representations in the problem solver'scognitive system

Problem solving is directed, that is, problem solving is guided by theproblem solver's goals

Problem solving is personal, that is, problem solving depends on theknowledge and skill of the problem solver

In Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics(Richards, J C., Platt, J., & Platt, H 1997), problem-solving activities are defined

as simple tasks, often involving word puzzles or simple drawings, used to stimulatepair work and oral discussion among small groups of second language learners Theuse of such tasks is characteristic of some phases of lessons in the communicativeapproach

In the book “Keeping Talk” (1984), Klippel presented that in problem-solvingactivities, learners have to find solutions to various types of problem They mustwork together to discuss several ways of solving the problems in pairs or groups.There are many kinds of problem-solving activities shown in this book which areuseful for learners to practise speaking skills such as making suggestions, givingreasons and modifying

In problem-solving activities, learners have to share their feelings and opinions,analyze and evaluate the problems to reach a decision together Shumin (1997)stated that “problem solving is directed towards the solving of a specific problemthat involves both the formation of responses and the selection among possibleresponses”

Problem solving is one of many communicative interactive techniques forlanguage teaching that received many attentions from researchers and educators.Littlewood (1990) proposed that “problem-solving activity is a type ofcommunicative activities that have been designed to provide opportunities for

learners to produce a language that they have recently learnt” The application ofproblem-solving activities encourages students to think carefully and talk together

to seek solutions to tasks or problems Moreover, these activities increase students

‘participation and motivation towards speaking skills In other words, they alsocreate a fascinating and eventful learning environment to help learners understandmore about the importance and necessity of speaking skills

1.1.2.2 Kinds of Problem-Solving Activities

A number of kinds of problem-solving activities have been used for teachinglanguage in EFL classrooms These activities are organized in different ways inwhich their main aim is to enhance speaking skills

Byrne (1986, p 94) proposed different some problem solving activities whichare as follows:

Linking activities:

Finding connections: Students have to establish connections between two items (presented to them verbally or in the form of pictures) Two such

items might be horse and book Some possible connections are:

(1) The horse is famous because it has won lots of races, so its owner hasdecided to write a book about it

(2) The horse belongs to a man who likes reading and riding When hegoes for a ride on his horse, he often takes a book with him to read

Finding differences and similarities: Students may be asked to finddifferences and similarities as two separate activities or as part of the sameactivity For example, Students can be asked to find differences (either a setnumber or as many as possible) between two pictures Or students can beasked to list both similarities and differences (for office and classroom) Categorising activities:

Putting items in categories: Students are given a list of items and asked tolocate these under headings according to different features For example:Everyday objects can be divided into essential/ non-essential;cheap/expensive; imported/home-produced.

Identifying categories: Students are given a list of items and asked toidentify for themselves the categories into which the items can be arranged.They may be asked to find a set number of categories or as many aspossible For example, for clothes, some categories might be: worn all theyear round/worn only in winter; or with sleeves/ without sleeves

Grading activities:

Grading: This involves putting a list of items in order according to certainagreed criteria For example: Students can be asked to grade the subjectsthey study at school on a scale from most to least difficult (interesting,useful and so on)

Deciding on priorities: Students have to put in order of priority, or they canalso be asked to put in order of importance (such as a school or a socialclub)

Planning activities:

Planning a picnic: Students have to decide: when, where and how to go,what to take and what to do Similarly, students can be asked to plan aparty

Planning a park: Students have to decide what facilities they would liketheir park to have and also where they would like these sited

1.1.2.3 Advantages of the Application of Problem-Solving Activities in

Teaching Speaking

It is essential to provide students with a variety of speaking activities so thatthey will be able to cope with different situations in a real life Speaking activities

make the classroom cheerful and dynamic, and applying problem-solving activities

in teaching speaking brings about some benefits for both teachers and students

First of all, problem-solving activities increase students’ motivation towards learning speaking Concerning the motivation of classroom activities, Littlewood

(1981, p.17) suggested that “Language learners’ ultimate objective is to take part incommunication with others Also, most learners’ prior conception of language is as

a means of communication rather than as a structural system” Thus, the motivation

of most language learners is to gain a capacity to speak in that language

Problem-solving activities in speaking lessons will produce a high level ofmotivation and participation In addition, problem-solving activities are considered

a stimulus to elicit speech Furthermore, problem-solving activities are oftendesigned in the form of games, which is said to stir and maintain students’ interestand motivation Challenge – an essential element of every game will create acompetition among learners and impulse their eagerness in the learning process

Secondly, problem-solving activities encourage students’ equal participation Ur

(1996:128) explained that “participants tend to become personally involved; theybegin to relate to the problem as an emotional issue as well as an intellectual andmoral one” A problem-solving activity requires a good cooperation and fullparticipation from students who share work and contribute to the common task Thismight establish a kind of atmosphere that encourages learners to help one another orask for the help from their peers In other words, no student is too dominant or theothers keep silent during the activity Better students have a chance to help theirweaker partners while the weaker ones can put aside their inhibitions and learnsomething from better friends This is also a way for students to learn from others.Moreover, the encouragement to participate in the activity from the teacher alsomakes a better different impression of closeness on students

Thirdly, problem-solving activities offer students language practice

opportunities In fact, learners in many EFL classrooms do not have enough time to

practise the new language Therefore, they find it difficult to gain communicative

competence Thanks to problem-solving activities, students are provided with theopportunities for individual personal expression (Lawrence, 1972) Furthermore,reaching a decision requires students to interact with each other, so the totalindividual practice time is available to each student; and each student has a chance

to practice language by exchanging ideas with the others It explains why Rivers(1987) stated that the interaction as the key to improve English as a ForeignLanguage (EFL) learners’ speaking ability

In short, problem-solving activities facilitate all students to think, speak and actwhile discussing to solve problems

1.1.3 Procedures of Conducting Problem-Solving Activities in a Group

A problem-solving group suggested by Tuckman (1965) quoted in Wright (1987)which is as follows:

Stage 1 Forming: In the group, there is some anxiety There is a great deal of

dependence on the leader (the teacher) and a great deal of behavior directed towardsfinding out the nature of the situation and also what behavior is acceptable

At the same time, group members attempt to find out what the task is, what the rulesare for carrying out the task and the methods that are appropriate

Stage 2 Storming: There is now a conflict between sub-groups and also rebellion

against the leader Opinions are extreme and there is resistance to group control.Role relations are not agreed upon All of this behavior is a resistance to thedemands of the task

Stage 3 Norming: The group develops cohesion: norms of behavior emerge and

participants begin to accept group control Conflicts are forgotten and membersbegin to support each other At this stage co-operation is the rule and there is openexchange of views and feelings about the task and each other

Stage 4 Performing: All individuals’ problems are resolved and there is a great deal

of interpersonal activity Members’ roles in the group now lose their rigidity and

become more functional At this stage solutions to the problems of the task arefound and all efforts are devoted to completing the task.

1.2 Review of Related Works

There are a number of studies on the use of problem-solving activities inlanguage teaching Many researchers pointed out that applying problem-solvingactivities in language classroom is very useful in creating an attractive learningenvironment for learners

Thanyalak Oradee (2012) did a study of comparing English speaking skills usingthree communicative activities: Discussion, Problem solving, and Role playing ofGrade 11 students before and after learning She pointed out the effects of usingthese communicative activities in the language classroom in Thai context In thisstudy, a one group pre-test and post-test design was also employed for 49 students

at a secondary school in Udon Thani, Thailand to assess their English ability Thedesign of the research was mixed method design The quantitative data came fromthe speaking test and the students’ attitude towards teaching English speaking Thequalitative data were drawn from a Learning Log, a semi-structured interview and a Teacher’s Journal The findings were as follows: 1 The students’ English speakingabilities after using the three communicative activities were significantly higherthan before their use (Pretest = 60.80; Posttest = 85.63) 2 The students’ attitudetowards teaching English speaking skills using the three communicative activitieswere rated as good (Χ=4.50) The results revealed a positive role of using thesecommunicative activities in developing English speaking skills

Another study that investigated the effect of applying problem solving inteaching foreign languages to students of pedagogical departments was of NatelaDoghonadze and Gulnara Gorgiladze (2008) An experimental study was conduct.The aim of the study is to review some existing research and to offer somepractical recommendations for methods of teacher training in foreign

languages based on problem solving The researchers gave some typical activitieswhich helped to increase students ‘motivation in learning foreign language

The another one is that a study into teaching speaking skills using solving method at class tenth of Sma Bina Muda Cicalengka by Asep RahmatHidayat (2008) proved that the use of problem-solving activities in learning Englishspeaking is very useful for learners The research used quantitative method with onegroup pretest - posttest design The instrument of this study was the test with thepopulation of 47 of class tenth students of SMA Bina Muda Cicalengka The data ofthis research were collected by using the pretest and posttest to the students’sample The results of the study proved that teaching speaking skills through the use

problem-of problem-solving activities is clearly improved

Chuyen (2011) did an MA thesis about using problem-based strategy in teachingEnglish in a high school This study was carried out with the participation of 45students who are at elementary level The subjects took part in the 10 weekexperimental teaching The study was conducted as a quantitative study, using pre-test and post-test along with questionnaires to collect data After the experimentalteaching, the students showed positive attitudes towards the strategy

From these related works, it would be worth investigating applying solving activities in teaching speaking skills at Vietnam University of Commerce

problem-1.3 Justification for the Study

The mentioned discussion of related studies in the area concerning teachinglanguage by the application of problem-solving activities demonstrates how thecurrent study could be fit into the existing literature

Firstly, a number of studies have just elaborated on the role of communicativeactivities in teaching speaking skills in which problem-solving activities are proved

as a technique to increase students ‘motivation Therefore, the current study couldplay an important role in exploring this issue further to enrich the literature

Additionally, the related studies were simply based on the quantitative method.Accordingly, in those investigations, there might be inevitably potential limitations

of relying on a single approach The current study which used both qualitative andquantitative data attempted to address this gap

In sum, the present study was carried out to motivate students in learning foreignlanguage, especially in speaking skills The study is expected to create a cheerfuland eventful atmosphere for learners as well as to become a useful tool for teachers

to improve their performance of English classes at Vietnam University ofCommerce

1.4 Summary

This chapter has discussed theoretical background with the concepts of the keyterms related to speaking skills Then, an overview of problem-solving activities indeveloping speaking skills has been provided

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODS 2.1 The Setting

The study was carried out at Vietnam University of Commerce (VUC) which has

a reputation in training students in the field of business and commerce With the aim

“Training good entrepreneurs for the country”, VUC focuses on equipping studentswith knowledge related to their own majors as well as improving learners’ Englishskills in order to satisfy the needs of businesses after graduation EnglishDepartment at VUC was established seven years ago with more than 400 students inwhich its mission is not only to teach English to students of different departments inthis university but also to train qualified graduates with both English proficiencyand economic background Students in English non-major classes are required tocomplete four courses of English as a part of their general education requirements.The students of English-major classes follow a curriculum which four receptive andproductive skills (Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing) are focused Inaddition, they also learn other subjects related to English theoretical linguistics

The current teaching material for the Second-year English-Major Students is The Business Intermediate designed by John Allison with Paul Emmerson (Mc Millan

Publisher, 2007) It is one of the latest business books which provide students withauthentic materials of spoken language, communicative activities in which pairwork and group work are used to help them practise using the language in theclassroom There are 8 units in this book which contains in such specific parts asabout business, vocabulary, speaking, grammar, writing and case study Studentsare provided with useful and authentic models related to real situations in business.They have a good chance to learn new words in business and improve theirspeaking skills

2.2 Subjects

The subjects of the study comprised 40 Second-year students from EnglishDepartment at Vietnam University of Commerce, which the teacher as a researchertakes charge of The students were from both urban and rural areas including 8 boysand 32 girls They are at pre-intermediate level of English speaking ability

 It leads to change and the improvement of

 practice not just knowledge in itself; and

 It is context-specific

Kemmis (1988) suggested the action research model He proposed the process

of action research as a spiral of steps They are planning, acting, observing, andreflecting (Figure 1)

Figure 1: Action Research Model ( Kemmis, 1988)

2.4 Data Collection Instruments

2.4.1 Speaking Pre-test and Post-test

In this thesis, in order to explore the effects of the application of problem-solvingactivities in teaching speaking skills, the researcher used materials from the

textbook The Business Intermediate to design pre-test and post-test The purpose of

two major tests was to check the participants’ achievement after the intervention It

is the reason why the role of pre-test and post-test is important to this study because

it will determine whether the use of problem-solving activities is effective to

improve students’ speaking skills at VUC In the pre-test and post-test, studentswere asked to work in pair role playing a situation within 8 minutes The results ofboth tests were the key sources of data to assess the impact of applying problem-solving activities on the students’ speaking ability.

Criteria for speaking test assessment were adapted from Harris (1969, p.18)

including five subscales as pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension The marking scales range from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) due to the

proficiency of participants when performing the tests (see Appendix 4)

2.4.2 Questionnaires

Two questionnaires were employed to investigate the participants’ attitudes andthoughts before and after applying problem-solving activities in speaking lessons According to Brown (2001), “Questionnaires are any written instruments thatpresent respondents with a series of questions or statements to which they are toreact, either by writing out their answers or selecting from among existinganswers.”

One questionnaire was administered after the participants completed the test, and the other one was given after they finished the post-test

There are 5 questions (See Appendix 1) designed with either four or five options

in the questionnaire before the intervention These questions related to problems ordifficulties which students encounter when learning speaking

In the questionnaire after the intervention (See Appendix 2), nine questions were

presented which focused on investigating student’s motivation towards theapplication of problem-solving activities in speaking lessons

2.4.3 Observation Sheet

Observation was conducted to know whether problem-solving activities madeany effects on students’ motivation during the teaching and learning process The

observation (See Appendix 3) adapted from Nunan (1989, p.110) was used to assess

overall class motivation generated by the application of problem-solving activities

during the intervention The observation was manifested by levels of learnerinterest, enthusiasm, and persistence with speaking activities, concentration andenjoyment during class Each item was scored on a scale of one (low) to five (high).Observations were made for the whole 4 weeks while the experimental teachingwas carried out.

2.4.4 Students’ Journals

Besides the instruments mentioned above, data were also gathered by means ofthe students’ journals during the implementation of the study Wallace (2001: 62)defined journals as, “”… they have been written to be read as public documents –albeit, possibly, by a restricted readership of collaborator-researcher.” Their purpose

is to help the teacher as the researcher to have a deeper understanding about theinformation

2.5 Intervention: The Application of Problem-Solving Activities

Some suggested problem-solving activities were adapted to help English learners

in general and the Second-year English-Major Students of English Department atVUC in particular promote their speaking competence This section will present theprocedures of the activities which the researcher used for the study

The lesson in the first week is “Corporate Culture” Based on the literaturereview mentioned in chapter 2, the researcher designed some problem-solvingactivities for the lesson in group which were adapted from Byrne The procedures of

conducting problem-solving activities proposed by Tuckman (1965) cited in Wright (1987) for the study was illustrated which are as follows:

Stage 1 Forming: In the group, there is some anxiety There is a great deal of

dependence on the leader (the teacher) and a great deal of behavior directed towardsfinding out the nature of the situation and also what behavior is acceptable

At the same time, group members attempt to find out what the task is, what therules are for carrying out the task and the methods that are appropriate

Stage 2 Storming: There is now conflict between sub-groups and also rebellion

against the leader Opinions are extreme and there is resistance to group control.Role relations are not agreed upon All of this behavior is a resistance to thedemands of the task

Stage 3 Norming: The group develops cohesion: norms of behavior emerge and

participants begin to accept group control Conflicts are forgotten and membersbegin to support each other At this stage co-operation is the rule and there is openexchange of views and feelings about the task and each other

Stage 4 Performing: All individuals’ problems are resolved and there is a great deal

of interpersonal activity Members’ roles in the group now lose their rigidity andbecome more functional At this stage solutions to the problems of the task arefound and all efforts are devoted to completing the task

Activity: Deciding on priorities

The teacher gave the task: “Look at the following words and put them in order

of importance or size Give your specific ideas to explain your answer.

1 Department division branch office subsidiary company

2 Task assignment project

Time: 15 minutes

Procedure

Stage 1: The researcher divided students into groups Each group has three or four

members The leader who was chosen for each group is quite good at English andgives appropriate solutions for the whole group The researcher realized that at thisstage, group members were quite nervous and excited because they were not clearabout the specific meaning of these words They tried to form ideas in their mind.Time was not much whereas they had to find out a suitable answer and explain it

Stage 2: Members advanced their opinions They discussed and argued with each other For example: some people said that “department, office, branch, unit,

subsidiary, division, company” (by size) and task, job, assignment, project (by importance).However, they could not explain the reason for it Other people did not

think it is a right order There was a conflict between members because people hadtheir own argument It was difficult for the leader to control the group

Stage 3: The researcher told group members to be calm and comfortable The most

important thing is to find a proper solution to the problem Therefore, they need tocooperate and support each other The researcher asked them to exchange theirfeelings as well as views about the activity They asked some questions such aswhy, what, and so on

Stage 4: Interpersonal activity helped group members to find out proper solutions.

The researcher noticed that group members become cooperative and functional All

of them showed their solidarity and efforts to complete this task The leader onbehalf of the group gave the following answer:

1 “ department, office, branch, subsidiary, division, company” (by size)

Department: a section of a large organization such as a government, business,

university (e.g sales department)

Office: a room in which a particular person works, usually at a desk (e.g.: Come into

my office)

Branch: a local office or shop/store belonging to a large company or organization It

might do business in rented quarters, but it would not be incorporated separately(e.g.: the bank has branches all over the country)

Subsidiary: it is a separate legal entity, with a different name, that is partially or

wholly owned by the “parent” firm A firm in one country that wants to open afactory or distributor in another country might be required by that country's laws tohave a “subsidiary”, a separate company with partial local ownership, incorporated

in the second country, but controlled by the “parent” firm because it owns a

majority interest I think that if it owned only a minority interest, it would not be a

2 Task, assignment, project (by importance).

Task: is a single and separate activity that clearly advances a work assignment and

is a logical portion of that assignment It is an assigned piece of work often to befinished within a certain time

Assignment: a task or piece of work that somebody is given to do, usually as part of

their job or studies

Project: a planned piece of work that is designed to find information about

something, to produce something new, or to improve something

2.6 Data Collection Procedures

The procedures of the thesis were described which are as follows:

The 1st week: The pre-test was administered to the subjects The researcher askedthe subjects to work in pair role playing a situation The subjects had 1 minute tonote down some key information, then they were asked to finish their conversationwithin 8 minutes The researcher analyzed their oral test’s scores based on thecriteria adapted from Harris (1969, p.18) Then, she distributed a questionnaire forthe subjects and asked them to fill in it

The 2nd to 5th week: The intervention was carried out in three periods (eachperiod lasts 50 minutes) for four lessons Problem-solving activities were used ineach lesson The researcher would involve them in the practice stages The subjectswere asked to do these activities in groups During the intervention, an observationsheet was used to investigate students’ motivation

The 6th week: After the intervention, a post-test and a questionnaire were given

to the subjects The process of conducting the post-test was the same as for the test The analysis of the post-test results was used to verify the first researchquestion The questionnaire was to investigate the students’ motivation towards theuse of problem-solving activities in speaking lessons

BELOW IS THE SUMMARY OF THE STUDY’S PROCEDURES:

Week 1 A pre-test and a questionnaire (before the

intervention) were given to the subjects

Week 2-5

The intervention was carried out Problem-solvingactivities were used in four lessons

Subjects were asked to practice in groups

The researcher used an observation sheet toinvestigate students’ motivation

Week 6 A post-test and a questionnaire (after the

intervention) were given to the subjects

After week 6

Data were collected, scored and analyzed

Findings and discussions were clarified

Implications and suggestions were developed

Table 1: Procedures of the Study

2.7 Data Analysis

Four sets of data were employed for data collection The first one werequestionnaires before and after the intervention, the second were pre-test and post-test, the next one was observation sheet, and the last were students’ journals

Data obtained in the questionnaires (before and after the intervention) werecondensed, quantified, analyzed and compared in the form of descriptive statistics.The data of subjects’ responses from questionnaires were clearly demonstratedbased on percentages