A study on effects of storytelling on speaking performance among student s of englishat the university of transport and communications campus 2 a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment o

The author wondered if storytelling could be successfully applied to teach speaking skills for the elementary students, was it likely to be used to improve the first-year English non-maj

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I, Bui Thi Nga hereby certify that this thesis, entitled “A study on effects of storytelling on speaking performance among students of English at the University

of Transport and communications – campus 2”, is my own work

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contain material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma

No other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any

other tertiary institution

Ho Chi Minh, 2016

BUI THI NGA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deep gratitude to all those concerned in my thesis

The deepest gratitude I would like to send is to my supervisor, Le Hoang Dung, PhD, who gave me great care, thoughtful and insightful comments in the thesis He also provided me with invaluable support in the preparation and completion this thesis as well as a wholehearted supervisor Without his enthusiastic guidance and constructive critical questions, I could not have finished my study

I specially thank my colleagues at the UTC2 for helping me with the assessment as well as sharing the happiness and difficulties with me during the study

I am also grateful to my TESOL7 classmates, who helped and supported me with the willingness and encouragement

Last but not least, my special thanks go to my family and my husband, Nguyen The Hung I could never overcome the difficulties facing my life without their endless love

ABSTRACT

Recently, English has been recognized as a bridge to enhance mutual understanding and relationships among countries Hence, there have been great efforts of schools as well as universities so as to enforce speaking English of students As mentioned, storytelling has been considered as a teaching method that has the capacity to contribute to the enhancement of English speaking performance Therefore, the 6-week quasi experimental study on storytelling was conducted to 38 students at the University of Transport and Communications – Campus 2 in order to investigate the effects of storytelling in learning speaking English Subsequent to this, learners‟ attitudes toward learning English with storytelling was found out In this study, the majority of the students supported the use of storytelling as the best way of learning English performance as well as showed their positive attitude after the treatment, as detected by the tests, questionnaire and interview From the research findings, several further studies as well as suggestions for teachers were made in the hope of improving the teaching and learning English performance quality in Vietnam University

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Statement of authorship i

Acknowledgements ii

Abstract iii

Table of contents iv

List of tables and diagrams viii

List of abbreviations x

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Statement of problem 4

1.2.1 Aims of the study 4

1.2.2 Research questions 4

1.2.3 Research hypotheses 4

1.3 Significance of the study 5

1.4 Scope of the study 5

1.5 Organization of the thesis 5

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 The nature of speaking 7

2.1.1 Definition of speaking 7

2.1.2 Components of speaking 8

2.2 Effective ways of teaching speaking 8

2.2.1 Considerable factors in teaching speaking 8

2.2.1.1 Fluency 9

2.2.1.2 Knowledge of language 9

2.2.1.3 Self-confidence 11

2.2.1.4 Motivation 11

2.2.2 Principles of teaching speaking 12

2.2.3 Criteria of assessment for speaking performance 14

2.3 Storytelling 17

2.3.1 Definition 17

2.3.2 Characteristics of storytelling in teaching speaking 17

2.3.3 Types of story 18

2.3.4 Related studies to using storytelling in learning speaking English 19

2.3.4.1 Benefits of using storytelling in learning speaking English 19

2.3.4.2 Drawbacks of using storytelling learning speaking English 22

2.3.5 Hypotheses of the study 25

2.4 Lesson plans design 27

2.5 Chapter summary 30

Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY 31

3.1 Research setting 31

3.2 Research design 31

3.3 Research participants 32

3.3.1 Students 32

3.3.2 Teachers 34

3.4 Research tools 34

3.4.1 Stories 34

3.4.2 Lesson plan samples 35

3.4.3 Tests 37

3.4.3.1 Pre test 37

3.4.3.2 Post test 38

3.4.4 Questionnaire 41

3.4.5.1 Questionnaire structure for piloting 41

3.4.5.2 Actual questionnaire 42

3.4.6 Interview 47

3.5 Data collection procedure 48

3.6 Chapter summary 50

Chapter 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 51

4.1 Non-parametric analysis of Experimental Group in Pre test and Post test 51

4.2 Questionnaire data analysis 56

4.2.1 Students‟ background information 56

4.2.2 Students‟ interest towards using storytelling in learning oral performance 57

4.2.3 Students‟ stimulation of imagination of storytelling 59

4.2.4 Students‟ encouragement of emotional development 60

4.2.5 Students‟ enrichment of linguistic knowledge 61

4.2.6 Students‟ motivation and confidence 63

4.2.7 Students‟ reflection upon stories‟ meanings 65

4.2.8 Students‟ improvement of memory 66

4.2.9 Balance between English and Vietnamese 67

4.3.0 Suitability of story 68

4.3.1 Students‟ suggestions of using storytelling in the class 68

4.3 Analysis of interview answers 70

4.4 Discussion of results 71

4.4.1 Students‟ speaking performance improvement 71

4.4.2 Students‟ attitudes towards learning speaking English with storytelling 72

4.5 Summary of findings 74

4.6 Conclusion 80

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION 81

5.1 Main conclusions of the study 81

5.2 Suggestions for teachers 83

5.5 Conclusion 86

BIBLIOGRAPHY 87

APPENDICES 91

APPENDIX 1 PRE-ORAL TEST 91

APPENDIX 2 QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH VERSION) 93

APPENDIX 3 QUESTIONNAIRE (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 97

APPENDIX 4 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 101

APPENDIX 5 A SAMPLE OF LESSON PLAN 1 103

APPENDIX 6 A SAMPLE OF LESSON PLAN 2 105

APPENDIX 7 A SAMPLE OF LESSON PLAN 3 106

APPENDIX 8 A SAMPLE OF LESSON PLAN 4 108

APPENDIX 9 GUIDE FOR LESSON PLANS TO A2 – LEVEL PARTICIPANTS 110

APPENDIX 10 MATERIALS FOR LESSON PLANS 112

APPENDIX 11 PRE TEST AND POST TEST RESULTS 115

APPENDIX 12 INTERVIEW REPORT 116

LIST OF TABLES AND DIAGRAMS

Table 1 The Criteria for the oral tests (1) 14

Table 2 The Criteria for oral tests (2) 16

Table 3 Benefits and drawbacks of storytelling 24

Table 4 The distribution of the EG 33

Table 5 Summary of adaptable lesson plans 36

Table 6 The Criteria for the oral tests 40

(Adapted by Cambridge English Language Assessment (2011)) 40

Table 7 Questionnaire items 44

Table 8 The brief summary of study procedure 48

Table 9 Descriptive statistics for Experimental Group in Pre test and Post test 51

Table 10 Descriptive statistics of aspects in Pre test and Post test 52

Table 11 Pre test and Post test of Normality 52

Table 12 Means of Paired Samples Statistics 52

Table 13 Paired Samples Correlations 53

Table 14 Paired Difference 53

Table 15 Pre test and Post test aspects of Normality 54

Table 16 Ranks of Pre test and Post test aspects 54

Table 17 Test Statisticsa 55

Table 18 Participants‟ gender 57

Table 19 Participants‟ age 57

Table 20 Participants‟ English learning time 57

Table 21 Students‟ interest towards using storytelling in learning oral performance 58

Table 22 Students‟ response to the stimulation of imagination of storytelling 59

Table 23 Students‟ response to the encouragement of emotional development 60

Table 24 Students‟ response to the enrichment of linguistic knowledge 61

Table 25 Students‟ response to the motivation and confidence 64

Table 27 Students‟ improvement of memory 66

Table 28 Balance between English and Vietnamese 67

Table 29 Suitability of story 68

Table 30 Students‟ response to their suggestions 69

Table 31 General and comprehensive view of findings 75

Table 32 Summary of agreement on questions H31 to J40 83

Diagram 1 Overview of storytelling 25

Diagram 2 The procedure of study 50

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ASR: Absolute Sound Recorder

CEFR: Common European Framework of Reference

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

EG: Experimental Group

ESP: English for Specific Purpose

ESL: English as a Second Language

KET: Key English Test

SD: Standard Deviation

SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

UTC2: University of Transport and Communications – Campus 2

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study

Nowadays, with the tendency of globalization and world integration, nations all over the world have many opportunities to co-operate with one another in many fields In this context, an international language is required Therefore, the role of English becomes more and more important, as it is a bridge to enhance mutual understandings and relationships among countries In Vietnam, English has become

a compulsory subject in all schools and universities to “provide students with a new tool of communication to absorb scientific knowledge, advanced technology and diversified cultures in the world for the world facilitation of the globalization” (Le, 2008) In the case, it is really essential for learners to develop four skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing However, in Vietnamese educational context, the reality of teaching and learning English is problematic According to Tran (2005) in the article “Factors affecting teaching and learning English in Vietnamese universities” published by Vietnam National University – Hanoi, she defined several problems affecting English language teaching and learning in Vietnam in terms of too large class size, lack of authentic context for language study, traditional form-focused instruction rather than interactive teaching approaches and low English levels of the majority students when entering university Because of such reasons, the ability of communicating in English of students is very low, even in simple English sentences According to Nunan et al (2003) (cited in the article in Tran 2005), the proficiency of English of the majority

of university students is currently disappointing although there have been great efforts of universities in terms of increasing the qualifications of teachers of English, applying new teaching methods as well as supporting from foreigners

The fact leading to students‟ difficulty in learning to speak English is that English is rarely used outside the classroom In addition, in Vietnam, teaching English communicatively has been ignored mostly in their real-world classrooms Instead, they spend most of their lesson time explaining abstract grammar rules and

guiding their students in choral readings (Le, 2002) In the article by Anh (2012), she mentioned one of the causes of the problem was teaching and learning English

in Vietnam which emphasized traditional pedagogy, the acquisition of grammar, vocabulary rather than communicative competence” Apart from the positive factors affecting teaching quality, in the article by Hong et all (2015), they admitted the factors negatively affect quality of teaching in terms of insufficient time for English subjects; lack of speaking component in tests and examinations; unequal students‟ English abilities; large class sizes; limited support from university leaders; and students‟ limited efforts and motivation The students, therefore, receive limited target language input as well as limited language learning time Some students showed that they did not like the teaching method used by their teachers during their speaking classes, which is a factor leading to their reluctance or refusal from joining to speak English in class

Based on the problems mentioned above, in teaching English as a foreign language, the English teachers are required to apply the effective teaching techniques that have more progressive and dynamic approaches in teaching and learning process to bring the students‟ motivation in learning to speak English That

is, the teacher is strongly expected to provide meaningful input, appropriate communicative teaching methods, and authentic materials to develop learners‟ communicative competence in the target language in specific contexts These techniques also help the English teachers in achieving the goals for language teaching, especially teaching speaking Also, the author read numerous studies about using storytelling to improve students‟ speaking performance and she discovered that storytelling techniques were used very effectively in helping students improve their speaking performance As proved by Rachmawaty & Hermagustiana (2010), it is clearly seen that telling stories is one of the recommended techniques which can help language learners in improving his

that storytelling did not help too much in improving students‟ English speaking In addition, the author has not applied storytelling technique in her teaching before Hopefully, she decided to explore effects of storytelling in enhancing students‟ speaking in order to fullfill her aims as well as her hypothesis which will be set up

as follows

Moreover, teaching English non-majored students for the second semester for two different classes for the academic year 2015 at the University of Transport and Communications – Campus 2 (UTC2) as well as the observations in other teachers‟ classes, the author recognized that almost all teachers spent most of their time explaining about the language, translating word by word in the textbook, giving written tasks, and asking the students to look for the meaning of new words Most teachers used the traditional methods in teaching the students how to speak English at UTC2 in general In addition, midterm test which connects to grammar use and vocabulary has been essential so far The material in use named “General English” was compiled by experienced teachers of English at UTC2 The students had one year for general English and one semester for English for Specific Purpose (ESP) The students, however, could not speak English well as they expressed that they did not like the teaching method that the teachers used to teach them how to speak English

However, those studies on storytelling were mostly applied for the young learners at primary or secondary schools The author wondered if storytelling could

be successfully applied to teach speaking skills for the elementary students, was it likely to be used to improve the first-year English non-majored students‟ English speaking performance at university level or not? This is the reason why she chose storytelling as a technique to be used to improve the speaking performance of the first-year English non-majored students at UTC2

1.2 Statement of problem

1.2.1 Aims of the study

Helping students develop their speaking effectively is still a challenge to many Vietnamese teachers of English in general and teachers of English at the University of Transport and Communications – Campus 2 in detail Therefore, the study is conducted to:

- Find out the effects of storytelling on speaking performance among students of English at the University of Transport and Communications – Campus 2

Also, in order for the author to define the effects of storytelling techniques, another main objective of the study reported in the thesis is:

- Explore students‟ attitudes towards using storytelling technique in class

What are UTC2 students’ attitudes after the use of storytelling technique?

1.2.3 Research hypotheses

The study is conducted with an attempt to work out the answer to the following main hypotheses:

- H1: The experimental group will significantly improve their English

speaking performance when compared the pre test with the post test

- H2: The students of the experimental group will express positive attitudes towards using storytelling technique in class

the study, the author tried to reject that using storytelling does not help students in learning speaking English by giving true evidence through an experiment in class

1.3 Significance of the study

Realizing that speaking English well in the world integration is absolutely important, especially for civil engineering and economic majoring students Doing the experiment on storytelling is to compare its effectiveness to the previous teaching techniques of speaking English If the study can be conducted successfully,

it would emphasize the roles of storytelling in learning speaking of UTC2 students

as well as students‟ positive attitudes expressed after the use of storytelling in class With its significance as mentioned, teachers of English at UTC2 could apply such technique to improve students‟ speaking performance more effectively

1.4 Scope of the study

The University of Transport and Communications – Campus 2 established in

1990 is the one of the biggest universities in District 9, Ho Chi Minh City The university is in charge of educating and training students majoring in civil engineering and economics All students are expected to learn English as a compulsory subject During the study, one class was assigned to the author who is responsible for teaching Hence, the class of 38 students accidentally chosen in the experimental research is first – year students majoring in economics mostly

1.5 Organization of the thesis

This thesis consists of five chapters, namely (1) Introduction, (2) Literature

review, (3) Research methodology, (4) Data analysis and discussion, and (5) Conclusion Chapter 1 focuses on the object of the study which deals with the six

parts of background, research aims, research questions, research hypothesis, significance of the study, and organization of the thesis In chapter 2, it is really important to review the literature relevant to speaking and storytelling Chapter 3 describes the research design and methodology used for data collection including the research questions, the research design, the participants, the materials, the research instruments, and the procedure of the study Chapter 4 analyzes and

interprets the data collected Chapter 5 withdraws the conclusions from the findings analyzed in chapter 4, gives some suggestions and implications from the study as well as reflects on weaknesses of the study, and finally put forward recommendations for further study

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

In order to explore how the storytelling technique affects students‟ speaking performance, the chapter aims to build up a theoretical framework on which the students‟ speaking performance will be grounded Hence, this chapter focuses on the nature of speaking, principles and effective ways of teaching speaking as well as related studies of using a storytelling technique

2.1 The nature of speaking

2.1.1 Definition of speaking

In order to be aware of the effects of using storytelling in teaching and learning speaking, it is very important to fully acquire the definition of speaking which is defined by many educators

According to Wulandari (2009), speaking is considered as an important skill which is one of the keys to communicate effectively As stated by this author, in order to carry out conversation on the language, the students are expected to be good at fluency and accuracy Through his study, it can be shown that it is not easy

to speak English well Moreover, in the research conducted by Harmer (2007), speaking is a skill, and such need to be developed, practiced independently of the grammar curriculum and then use linguistic knowledge such as speech act knowledge, discourse knowledge, and knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, and phonology Also, Bygate (1991) says that interaction skills involve making decisions about communication while maintaining desired relations with others Furthermore, according to Cohen (1994) defines that speakers have fluency in the language and can use vocabulary and structure in suitable situations

In short, speaking is an ability to communicate by sharing information fluently and accurately, including appropriate selections and use of vocabulary and structures However, to be successful in speaking, teachers and students should have

a clear understanding of the various components of speaking

2.1.2 Components of speaking

Syakur (1987) reveals that speaking is a complex skill because at least it is concerned with components of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and fluency as detailed

Grammar concerns with how to arrange to correct sentences in conversation The utility of grammar is to learn the correct way to gain expertise in a language both in oral and written form In the article by Chin (2000), she determined that

“Grammar is the sound, structure, and meaning system of language All languages have grammar, and each language has its own grammar” (p.1) As can be seen that grammar is really connected with vocabulary in order to a sentence can be formed

So, vocabulary means the appropriate diction which is used in conversation Without having a sufficient vocabulary, one cannot communicate effectively When speaking a language, a learner needs to notice how to pronounce a word which is an important component relating to the students‟ way to utter English well and it deals with phonology As required in speaking good English, a learner is expected to be fluent and accurate during a talk which can be defined as the ability to speak fluently and accurately suited with professional necessity Basically, being fluent means being able to keep the language coming

Moreover, according to Ur (2006), the components of an oral English activity should emphasize the nature of speaking in terms of fluency and accuracy Meanwhile, fluency conveys the meaning smoothly in each situation and accuracy consists of correct use of structures, grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation

To sum up, considering the components of speaking is really important because it relates to teachers‟ teaching methodologies as well as effective ways of teaching speaking

2.2 Effective ways of teaching speaking

2.2.1 Considerable factors in teaching speaking

2.2.1.1 Fluency

In order to use a story effectively in teaching speaking, it is really necessary

to consider students‟ fluency in speaking Speaking fluently is students‟ ability to express their ideas without having to stop and think too much about what to say Hence, it is required the students to speak smoothly, at a natural speed According

to Brown (2001), “fluency does not have to apply only to long utterances The

“flow” of language is important to establish, from the beginning, in reasonably short segments” In addition, Thornbury (2005) shows that fluency can be pauses but not frequent, pauses occur at meaningful transition points In his study, pausing is understood as “stopping from time to time to allow the formulation of an utterance

to catch up with its conceptualization” and “the appropriate placement of pauses”

In the case, the students do not stop trying when they communicate and do not let the conversation break down while communicating with their partners in English However, it is required for students to understand components of linguistic knowledge of English and master them so that they are able to be fluent in speaking

2.2.1.2 Knowledge of language

2.2.1.2.1 Grammar

Grammar is an important part which cannot be ignored in learning English because it specifies how meanings created in English “Grammar is the system of rules governing the conventional arrangement and relationship of words in a sentence” Brown (2001) Grammar according to Harmer & Jeremy (2001) is the description of the ways in which words can change their forms and can be combined into sentences in that language

From the above definitions, it can be seen that grammar is a rule of the arrangement of words, clauses, phrases in a particular language Based on such findings, it is necessary to define the importance of grammar in speaking Brown (2009) assures that grammar has a big fluence in learning language skills in terms of listening, writing, speaking and reading In mastering speaking skill, we need to know how to use grammatical words classes, system, word order, patterns and rules

Therefore, students learn grammar in order to enable to create infinity of sentences When students understand the grammar or system of a language, they can understand many things themselves in communicating with people In addition, in order to produce a correct sentence, it is important for students to be aware of the grammatical system which regularly shape its nuances of meaning So, without knowledge about English grammar, students finds how to speak difficult and boring

2.2.1.3 Self-confidence

As can be seen in the article written by Clement (1986) (cited in Molberg, 2010), “linguistic self-confidence is defined in terms of self- perception of second language competence and a low level of anxiety” In order to speak English successfully, the students should be confident and believe in their own abilities Approving of the statement, Eldred et al (2004) agree “development of confidence seems to be one of the keys to the successful development of literacy, language and numeracy skills” In particular, students are not able to speak out any words without confidence because of being afraid of making mistakes as well as losing their face

in front of other students Therefore, as a teacher of English, helping students to get enough language competence and develop their confidence is the best way to arouse their speaking skill However, being a confident speaker requires herself to get motivation in learning speaking

2.2.1.4 Motivation

According to Lai (2011) motivation which consists of the two kinds of intrinsic and extrinsic one is defined as a constellation of closely related beliefs, perceptions, values, interests and actions Similar to Lai, Harmer (1991) & Vallerand (1997) stated that motivation connects closely to students‟ effort, desire

as well as their positive attitudes towards learning As Deci et al (1999) observe,

“Intrinsic motivation energizes and sustains activities through the spontaneous satisfactions inherent in effective volitional action It is manifest in behaviors such

as play, exploration, and challenge seeking that people often do for external rewards” (p 658) Therefore, in teaching and learning English, especially in speaking, it is really important to raise students‟ motivation as well as help them be aware of necessity of their best efforts Making students be interested in learning speaking English is not easy and a teacher must have a good teaching technique by giving students activities which both are used to play and learn To sum up, as a teacher of English, she must consider many factors affecting on speaking Besides,

it is important for her to master the numerous principles of teaching speaking as follows

2.2.2 Principles of teaching speaking

As stated by Bailey (2005), three main principles for teaching speaking should be acquired by teachers are:

Firstly, the most important principle in teaching speaking is that the teacher should provide students with something to participate in speaking This means that the teacher should give students some topics which can be connected into lessons as possible In the case, the teachers are as instructors who facilitate the topics for their students Furthermore, the teachers offer the students some helps with the hints and more opportunities for them to practice as much as possible However, choosing boring or meaningless topics is the bad way to make students not be interested in doing the activity

Secondly, creating more opportunities for students to interact by using work or group-work is one of the most necessary principles in teaching speaking Working in groups or in pairs is a good chance for students to discuss and feel free

pair-to take part in speaking activities In the environment, the students can get their friends‟ help and cross out their nervousness Especially, the students can automatically get the motivation through working in group or pair because they want to win themselves and show their ability in class Therefore, it is considered as

a very important factor that the students should obtain in doing the oral tasks in classroom

The last principle mentioned by Bailey is that the teacher should arrange the physical environment The students feel comfortable and interested in speaking activities when they are in the suitable learning environment As a result, they are willing to do the speaking activities

In addition, according to Brown (2001), this author means that there are

The first one is that language-based and message-based should be focused in speaking on purpose so that the teacher can cover the range of learners‟ need In designing speaking activities, the teacher facilitates students with many activities which make students get accuracy, interaction, meaning and fluency in speaking

Secondly, providing students with motivating techniques is an important way

in designing speaking activities In order to do this, it is necessary to choose the suitable methods for students in terms of students‟ level, learning environment, and even different lessons

Thirdly, authentic language in meaningful contexts should be encouraged in use It means that the teacher should offer students the tasks relating to real-life situations In speaking, being familiar with authentic language is not only helpful for students in specific contexts but raises them motivation

Fourthly, the teacher should provide appropriate feedback and correction The teachers should pay attention to how to correct students‟ mistakes when they speak If the teacher is not good at this factor, it may harm and de-motivate students

in doing oral tasks

Fifthly, the teacher should capitalize on the natural link between speaking and listening The speaking and listening skills should be cooperated at the same time when the teacher asks students to do speaking activities

Sixthly, giving students opportunities to initiate oral communication is an important way in speaking Before performing the tasks, it is necessary for students

to deal with the task in pre speaking stage They are likely to discuss and prepare the speaking activities so that they are willing to tackle the tasks successfully

Last but not at least, the teacher should encourage the development of speaking strategies In the case, the teachers as facilitators who help students get more vocabularies and know the grammar rules as well as the steps to improve students‟ speaking performance

In conclusion, in order to help students succeed in speaking performance, it

is important for the teacher to master the above mentioned principles on purpose so

that she can be aware of what to teach and how to teach appropriately Moreover, combining all above mentioned principles orderly and properly while speaking is the best way to teach and help students overcome their difficulties in performing speaking activities According to Dujmovic & Pula (2006) in the article

“Storytelling as a method of EFL teaching”, they determined storytelling does not only enrich students‟ vocabulary and help them acquire new language structures but provide a motivating and low anxiety context for language learning In addition, supporting the use of story in speaking class, McDargh (2006) emphasizes

"storytelling is a good activity to motivate participants to speech and to develop their communication skill" Therefore, it can be clearly seen that stories are related

to real life and easy to make students actively participate in storytelling activities Based on the affective benefits, in the study, the author would like to know whether storytelling technique is equivalent to such principles of teaching speaking for UTC2 students or not It is, however, essential to summarize some criteria for assessing students‟ English speaking in advance

2.2.3 Criteria of assessment for speaking performance

In order for assessors to evaluate students‟ speaking performance at A2 level, there have been many criteria mentioned so far Council of Europe (2009) in the book of “Examples of speaking performance at CEFR levels A2 to C2”, they mentioned how to assess students‟ speaking performance as the following criteria in terms of range, accuracy, fluency, interaction and coherence

Table 1 The Criteria for the oral tests (1)

Uses basic sentences

patterns with memorised

phrases, groups of a few

words and formulae in

Can make him/herself understood in very short utterances, even though pauses, false starts and

reformulation are very evident

Can answer questions and respond to simple statements Can indicate when he/she is following but is rarely able to understand enough to keep conversation going

Can link groups

of words with simple connectors like

“and”, “but” and “because”

Considering some factors relating to the research context, research participants as well as KET test, this criteria will not be chosen for evaluating because of the following reasons The first reason is that storytelling is assumed as a tool to maily help students improve their accuracy and fluency Hence, the aspects

of range, interaction and coherence will be ignored The test which will be used to evaluate students after the treatment is KET In the book “Cambridge Key English Test 1” by the publisher “Cambridge University Press”, the criteria for KET is also designed but it is still in general The marks given for the whole test are awarded on the basis of the following criteria It is just required to be successful in limited resources of grammar and vocabulary to communicate messages rather than range and accuracy In addition, the intelligibility of the candidates speech is compusary

in assessing pronunciation Students at the level A2 are only excepted to have limited linguistic resources, so the assessor should pay attention to how much students can act out in their language

To fullfill all of the requirements as above, the author decided to use the criteria standardised by Cambridge English Language Assessment at CEFR Such criteria gives scores for two parts which are equivelent to KET In addition, the gaps between five bands are clearly designed and easy to mark

Table 2 The Criteria for oral tests (2)

Is mostly intelligible, and has some control of phonological features at both utterance and word levels

- Maintains simple exchanges

- Requires very little prompting and support

As compared the two criteria to each other, it is apparent that the second one really meets the author‟s needs in terms of test scores, clear bands and assessed factors Meanwhile, the first one is generally considered and may lead to several confusables for the assessors As a result, the author will select the second as a suitable one in the assessment of tests

2.3 Storytelling

2.3.1 Definition

To be aware of the power of using a story in teaching and learning speaking English, it is really necessary to consider the numerous of storytelling definitions Hinchman (1997) defines “stories are as discourses with a clear sequential order that connects events in a meaningful way for a definite audience and thus offer insights about the world and/or people‟s experiences of it” Because of sequences of events and experience sharing, stories definitely attract students in learning their language based on storytelling As Cameron (2001) “story telling is an oral activity, and stories have the shape they do because they are designed to be listened to and in many situations, participated in” Another definition given by Buurman (2007), he states “storytelling is the art of using language, vocalization and/or physical movement and gesture to reveal the elements of a story to a special, live audience"

In the study conducted at a school in Pula, Croatia by Dujmovic (2006), it is performed that storytelling is also a living art at which a relaxing and happy relationship between a storyteller and listener is established The children as participants in the study show their interests a lot towards storytelling Through such definitions, telling a story is not easy because it belongs to the art in terms of choosing a story, ways of telling a story as well as enhancing students‟ interests in learning how to speak English

2.3.2 Characteristics of storytelling in teaching speaking

As using a story in teaching speaking, selecting a good story plays an absolutely crucial role Hence, as a teacher of English, considering and making a decision whether it is a good story or not is based on the three principles stated by

Cermák & Ivo (2004) According to this author, continuity, coherence and universality should be considered flexibly in any choice Such characteristics certainly depend on what kind of story used is Therefore, the next part as below may give several suggestions of how to choose a right story

2.3.3 Types of story

Depending on pedagogical context, selecting a kind of story to be suitable for students needs to be paid attention to As showed by Gabriel (2008), comic, tragic, epic as well as romantic story are the four main kinds of story mentioned in his article with different modes which are relating to protagonist, plot and predicament

On the other hand, according to Rokhayani (2012) in the study in a university of Indonesia, she defines that there are many kinds of stories in terms of fables, parables, myths and legends In addition, according to Adrews, Hull & DeMeester (2010) in the book “Storytelling as an Instructional Method”, four story types are shown in terms of case-based, narrative-based, scenario-based and problem-based story However, in fact, there are five types of stories which named stories that are made up by the teacher, cultural backgrounds, stories told with physical responses, personal experiences and everyday life experiences used commonly in speaking In spite of having such kinds of stories, it must be careful when a teacher of English uses storytelling in speaking class due to the needs of considering students‟ interests, experience as well as language level

In the case of this study, simple stories in terms of folktales and daily events

in life were used for the elementary level students as the following reasons Firstly, the author designed lesson plans which based on the storytelling model by Alterio

& McDrury (2003) and Reinders (2011) In their article, such kind of stories is mostly used so as to motivate students in learning oral performance Moreover, the students feel like learning with folktales and are familiar with individual stories in their life Some of the folktales are short and time-saving in a class Secondly, with

events used are according with Brown‟s teaching speaking principles in terms of authentic language and motivation Furthermore, Hadaway et al (1992) defined

“folktales deal with universal experience, with recurring human problem, they touch our humanness” They decided to use folktales as a good way to enhance students‟ learning Using such kinds of stories in class, the students feel easy and comfortable to participate in a meaningful context Moreover, many designed activities relating to the stories raise the students‟ interaction when working in pairs/groups Through daily life experiences and events, the students themselves actively share their knowledge which will lead to their confidence and it is also a chance for the teacher to correct the students‟ mistakes

2.3.4 Related studies to using storytelling in learning speaking English

2.3.4.1 Benefits of using storytelling in learning speaking English

Having proved by the numerous convincing results of the studies, storytelling is one of the best techniques used in promoting students‟ speaking According to Koki (1998) (cited in Somdee & Suppasetseree, 2013), storytelling is

an effective tool in teaching and learning language which is not only to stimulate students‟ imagination, but develop students‟ language abilities In order for the students to speak a language well, they are expected to master the numerous aspects

of communications In the study, the author carefully considered the effects of storytelling technique to examine if it can help learners comprehend communicative language or not

First of all, using storytelling technique in class is a good way to help the students enhance their linguistic knowledge as well as vocabulary Defined by Heidi

& Kim (1998) in the report “Storytelling in English as a second language (ESL)/English as a foreign language (EFL) Classrooms” presented at the University

of Southern Illinois in Carbondale for students who learn English as a second language, hearing and sharing stories gives students benefits in terms of developing, expanding and increasing liguistic competence when compared to other techniques Storytelling is considered as an effective tool for students to practice their speaking

So, in the journal written for the students of Pangeran Diponegoro Islamic College (STAI) of Nganjuk, East Java, Indonesia where English is as a language of global science, technology and business by Akhyak & Indramawan (2013), the research result stated that when storytelling were implemented in teaching speaking, it could improve the students‟ grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, and content Telling a story is sometimes based on pictures on which many key words are given This helps students to be more speaking up in learning and gradually improve their pronunciation which is proved by the result of the research “Improving students‟ pronunciation using storytelling” of Wulan (2013) By using pictures to tell a story, the increasing amount of vocabularies is an apparent finding when compared the pre test result to post test one Moreover, as stated in the study “storytelling as a strategy to improve oral language of second language learner” conducted by Massa (2001), it can be seen that storytelling can expand the students‟ vocabulary, knowledge base and sentence structure In addition, it is shown by Applebee & Wellhousen (1993) (cited in Somdee & Suppasetseree, 2013), language fluency and vocabulary are increased by using a story in class In short, it is supposed that storytelling would be the best way to enhance students‟ speaking performance under

motivation

Secondly, using a story in teaching speaking is a good way to motivate students in learning Because of more fun, enjoyable learning and alive class atmosphere, students when learning a language with a story, students at TK Islam Terpadu Sabilillah Sukoharjo of Indonesian in the Academic Year of 2012/ 2013 feel like speaking and increasing their motivation, Wulan (2013) As stated in the article “storytelling professional The nuts and bolts of a working performer” written

by Geisler (1997 ), this author shows “even students with low motivation and weak academic skills are more likely to listen, read, write and work hard in the context of storytelling” In addition, storytelling encourages learners‟ motivation in learning

improve and motivate students of young learners because in the storytelling, most

of the children love, some of teachers love too and it doesn‟t require a lot of preparation” In another way, “storytelling is a way to help ESL learners become more self-confident to express themselves spontaneously and creatively” Colon-vila (1997) (cited in Somdee & Suppasetseree, 2013)

Adding to the benefits of storytelling, it can be determined that storytelling can help students stimulate their imagination According to Hines (1995) in the study found stories encourage students create their own interpretation getting them understand the lesson more clearly Wallace (2000) noted that, “The phenomenon of storytelling actually becomes a common language that facilitates meaningful communication; we can hear and understand each other‟s stories because we can usually recognize ourselves in the stories of others- no matter how varied our cultural backgrounds” It is realized that storytelling is an opportunity to reflect us

in life This can make learners express their new ideas and lead to enhanced enforcement of speaking during the lesson

Undoubtedly, it is generally the truth that storytelling can stimulate learners‟ emotion and imagination In the article by Hung et all (2012), the writers determined that a person telling a story would be influenced by several factors relating to memory, motivation and context Without such elements, storytelling may hard to be carried out in class In addition, telling a story in itself requires a degree of critical awareness which knows what to leave in and what to omit, selecting information and description that will substantiate the story, judging the audience The skill involves gathering evidence from all senses including verbal and written expression, reflection as well as experience Through returning to and evaluating experience, attending to feelings, education can also intrinsically benefit from storytelling

As shown in part 3.4.1, folktales and personal stories will be used for the research In fact, adding to all of the reasons of applying folktales in class, the author is interested in restating their benefits in this section In the journal “the

development speaking using folktales based on performance activities for early childhood students” written by Ruampol & Wasupokin (2014) for ten students of kindergarten level 2 in Thailand, they determined that playing roles with folktales helped ten students improve their oral performance as well as enhance their interest

of learning foreign language after an 8-week treatment In this case, they assured that young leaners really loved folktales which helped them so much in speaking English As a result, such effectiveness of storytelling has built up a gap which needs examining when applying storytelling in teaching adult learners In addition,

as a summary of the article “Folktales and Philanthropy: Using Folktales as a Bridge to Community Service” by Myrick (2012), folktales are considered as an ideal way for introducing and developing the inferencing skill because of consuming less energy and as a result, more energy is availuable for focusing on

improving academic skills

Moreover, personal stories or experiences which are connected to real life will be a good choice in the research Hence, it can be seen that storytelling is authentic in teaching English speaking Hence, it is easier to meet the principles of teaching speaking as above mentioned

2.3.4.2 Drawbacks of using storytelling learning speaking English

Apart from its benefits as mentioned above, there are also several problems when using storytelling in class In the study conducted by Gafu & Badea (2011) they assume that it is hard to use storytelling often because of students‟ level Storytelling is very useful and effective with students whose level of English is at least intermediate which helps students feel easy to get the meaning while listening

to a story So, the authors suppose that students with elementary levels of English would have some difficulties in learning a story Moreover, defined in the study by Dolzhykova (2014), it can be clearly seen that storytelling is a tool to raise the learners‟ motivation, to introduce new vocabulary or to reinforce acquired

educational storytelling materials, this method requires a lot of good preparation from teachers

Furthermore, as far as the disadvantage of storytelling is concerned, several ones will be explored as follows The drawback of using storytelling is having difficulties in conducting storytelling lessons entirely in English and a teacher has to resort to help from the first language to make the input more comprehensible Another disadvantage of storytelling mentioned in the study conducted by Duveskog & Tedre et all (2012) in a Tanzanian primary school where students have a chance to approach modern teachnology as well as new teaching methods is time-consuming for teachers to prepare the lesson and clear guidances to help students get a story easily In spite of many benefits of storytelling as above-mentioned, being a teacher of English needs to become an excellent one in teaching process when telling a story According to Indramawan (2013 ) in his study defines that a teacher must be well-prepared and good at telling a story which require a teacher to have good knowledge in terms of linguistic competence In general, using

a storytelling technique depends on a teacher‟s role so much, so overcoming some difficulties would have been easy when a teacher is really a good teacher of methodologies as well as her language knowledge Among teaching techniques, there is not the best one which a teacher is expected to consider and apply carefully

in class Therefore, conducting a research with elementary UTC2 students is really important in order to decide whether such technique could be suitable for them or not

It can be clearly seen that storytelling offers students many benefits relating

to linguistic knowledge which is an essential factor to help students gain accuracy and fluency in speaking and motivation as above But in fact, “although using storytelling in ESL classroom is still satisfy nowadays, it is almost used in the kindergarten, elementary, primary school, and higher education respectively” Somdee & Suppasetseree (2013) for 50 Thai undergraduate students who enrolled

in the English compulsory course at Suranaree University of Technology in

Trimester 2/2012 As a result, the study on storytelling in universities and colleges

is rarely conducted Hence, doing a research on storytelling in teaching students‟ speaking at UTC2 is very necessary in order to prove the research hypothesis as well as overcome some problems of storytelling

In the summary, all of the benefits and drawbacks will be listed in the table as

below

Table 3 Benefits and drawbacks of storytelling

1 Stimulate students‟ imagination;

2 Encourage of emotional development;

3 Enhance students‟ linguistic knowledge in terms of

grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and content;

4 Motivate students‟ learning because of being fun,

enjoyable and alive;

5 Become more confident;

6 Improve students‟ memory

1 Be difficult for students to understand the whole story in English

2 Encounter difficulties in learning storytelling

if a story is not suitable for elementary

3 Limited educational storytelling materials

4 Be time-consuming

Based on such the important aspects mentioned above, an overal view of

storytelling will be displayed in the diagram

Diagram 1 Overview of storytelling

According to the diagram, both the benefits and drawbacks of storytelling are apparently shown which really help the author to clarify such hypotheses in the next part

2.3.5 Hypotheses of the study

As mentioned above, it can be clearly realized that storytelling offers so many benefits in the contexts besides its disadvanatges Generally however, such drawbacks come from the problems which a teacher can adjust suitably as using storytelling in class So, the benefits of storytelling offering are a big advantage for the reseacher to apply it in the context of the UTC2 However, approving effectiveness of storytelling as a good teaching method of English needs to be

STORYTELLING

examined during the study Hence, after the treatment with stories, the data analyzed with the aims of its are to determine whether the two main research hypotheses (H1 , H2) will be accepted in the UTC2 context in Vietnam In order for the author to fullfill her aims, seven sub hypotheses are stated as follows

+ H0a :Students are not interested in learning English speaking with storytelling + Ha : Students show their interests with storytelling

+ H0b : Storytelling does not help students stimulate their imagination any more + Hb : Students‟ imagination can be raised

+ H0c : Development of students‟ emotion is not improved through storytelling + Hc : Storytelling makes students‟ emotion develop after the treatment

+ H0d : Storytelling does not help improve students‟ memory at all

+ Hd : Students‟ memory is improved after the treatment

+H0e: Students‟ linguistic knowledge in terms of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation is not different when the means of the pre test and post test will be compared

+ He : It will be admitted that storytelling helps students enhance their linguistic knowledge in terms of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation

+ H0f : Students are not interested in learning speaking English with storytelling because it is very boring and unenjoyable

+ Hf : The data shows that learning speaking English with storytelling is really interesting and motivating

+H0g : Students still feel shy and are not willing to speak out

+ Hg : Being more confident is one of the most important effects of storytelling on students‟ English speaking performance

To clarify the above mentioned hypotheses, lesson plans which will be strictly designed are the most important role used during treatment as well as the other research tools will be shown as follows

2.4 Lesson plans design

In relation to all of the literature review as above, desinging lesson plans for treatment played an important role in collecting research data and was to meet requirements in the study In detail, lesson plans were considered as a treatment tool during the study, so designing them was the most important duty for the author as well as other teachers in the Department They were based on Alterio & McDrury‟s theory (2003) which was carefully considered and accepted by the dean and teachers of the Department of English Later, the author was in charge of designing lesson plans for her treatment under the dean‟s control before treatment In order to get more detail information, it was absoluletly essential to clarify the Alterio & McDrury‟s theory (2003)

According to Alterio & McDrury (2003) in the book “Learning through Storytelling in Higher Education: Using Reflection and Experience to Improve Learning”, they offered five stages of learning activities through storytelling in terms of story finding, storytelling, story expanding, story processing and story reconstructing which all relate to reflective learning Selecting suitable stages from Alterio & McDrury‟s theory (2003) was a right decision because it really connected with the nature of speaking and principles of teaching speaking (see Part 2.1.1 & 2.2.2) The stages following by Alterio & McDrury‟s theory (2003) contained such activities which related to authentic materials and helped identify the hypotheses because the participants in the activities kept them centered and actively took part in them as well as expressed their interests and feelings comfortably Each stage will

be shown in detail as follows

Stage 1: Story finding (noticing, tuning into): This one is to present a story (via a video, picture) that raises development issues or have students find and present a story on a specified topic or on a social topic that interests them

Stage 2: Story telling (describing, making sense): Helping students to make initial sense of the story is a purpose of such stage by answering some of the questions about meanings of a story, students’ feelings and curiousness

Stage 3: Story expanding (reflecting on, making meaning): In order for students to reflect on deeper meanings of a story, such questions should be answered (how is this similar/ different to how you live, how would you feel in their position, imagine yourself as this person)

Stage 4: Story processing (working with meaning): On purpose so as for students to interrogate the issues relevant to the story, it is required to address facts and figures of a story, investigate and debate causes in a story as well as find out more about people living in a similar situation and what that means for people

Stage 5: Story reconstructing (transformative learning): These is a chance for students to explore how they might be activist and take a stance to change the story

by reflecting on the ways of lifestyle and questioning the assumptions/ implications and the last to do is investigating options for collective social actions

For such above mentioned stages, they also embraced such activities of reflective learning through storytelling which have considerable advantages for the adult learner to offer them a way to reflect on their experience and their life The story used in the book is likely to be one from relevant personal or professional experience Hence, it can be realized that the stories used by Alterio & McDrury (2003) fits this research Moreover, based on the stages designed by Alterio & McDrury (2003), it can be clearly seen that it helps students be more creative and flexible in learning with storytelling In particular, they designed their lesson plans followed the five stages which helped students improve their oral performance

Meanwhile, in the article written by Reinders (2011), he suggested some options when planning for the storytelling activity In order for him to design his lesson plan, three main stages should be followed in terms of preparing students, conducting the activity and concluding the activity

Preparing students: This activity is for helping students to be more self confident

As a teacher in class, she should explain and give a rationale for the activity and

a teacher is expected to get students know what to do as well as what to be a product

Conducting activities: For the stage, working in pairs and in groups is advised to use and then create a storyboard first Finally, sharing stories and asking students

to give feedback on the story is students’ task in the stage

Concluding activities: Students are responsible for performing their work and giving feedbacks is a teacher’s duty in the last stage

As all suggestions above, the format in the lesson plans by Alterio & McDrury‟s theory is rather complicated and it is hard to be used for elementary students because students under this level are expected to be able to give short,

basic descriptions of events and activities as well as describe personal experiences (National foreign language project 2020).In particular, the last stage shown Alterio

& McDrury‟s theory which helps students to change a story by reflecting on their personal life is absolutely unsuitable for the participants in the research On the other hand, some options advised by Reinders (2011) is apparently used simply and suitably for the participants‟ level It was clearly explained in each step which makes the author be easy to follow in her lesson plans According to the format of the study, the author will choose the format (three stages) by Reinders (2011) Considering the content of the lesson plan, the activities in terms of the first four steps by Alterio & McDrury‟s theory are still used in the lesson plans First, such activities are easy to design and make the elementary students be easy to follow up the lessons Second, it is a good chance for the students to share and reflect on their own life and experience Moreover, short folktales without endings will be expanded by the students As a result, it is the best way for them to apply their creation and imagination with different meaningful endings All of the activities relating to storytelling will be applied in four fifty-minute periods It is really important to ensure the participants to be able to join and practise their oral performance under the teacher‟s control

In brief, lesson plan design will be adapted and lesson plan samples will be

shown in the next chapter

is displayed clearly in chapter 3