The effectiveness of using skyde to improve speaking skills for the first year english education students at Ha Noi Pedagogical University 2

HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2 FOREIGN LANGUAGES FACULTY --- TỐNG HUỆ PHƯƠNG THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING SKYPE TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILLS FOR THE FIRST YEAR ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDENTS A

HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2 FOREIGN LANGUAGES FACULTY

-

TỐNG HUỆ PHƯƠNG

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING SKYPE TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILLS FOR THE FIRST YEAR ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDENTS AT HANOI PEDAGOGICAL

UNIVERSITY 2

(SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS OF ENGLISH)

BA THESIS IN ENGLISH

HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2 FOREIGN LANGUAGES FACULTY

-

TỐNG HUỆ PHƯƠNG

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING SKYPE TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILLS FOR THE FIRST YEAR ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDENTS AT HANOI PEDAGOGICAL

UNIVERSITY 2

(SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS OF ENGLISH)

BA THESIS IN ENGLISH

SUPERVISOR: NGUYỄN THỊ HÀ ANH, MA

HANOI, 2017

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express the deepest appreciation and my sincere thanks to

my supervisor: Ms Nguyen Thi Ha Anh, M.A., for her guidance as well as encouragement, indispensable suggestions and advice

I want to express my sincere gratitude to the committee members for their time, advice and valuable feedback that were invaluable

In addition, I like to thank the first year students of English Education for their support and enthusiasm with my research A special thank goes to the students who were participating in my survey, a crucial component of my research

ABSTRACT

As a result from the practical issue that students‟ English speaking skills are quite poor and their attitudes towards learning speaking English outside class are passive, the researcher was inspired to use Skype computer program to help them In general, the English language speaking sub-skills focused are comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar

This study aims at investigating the effectiveness of using Skype on a group of three first year students of English Education at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2 (HPU2) in English speaking skills The results collected from two tools: the speaking test interview to measure the students' speaking skills achievements and the survey questionnaire to determine the changes towards the improvement of speaking skills outside class due to the implementation of Skype

Based on the results of the pre-speaking test interview and the pre survey questionnaire, the researcher had concluded that not only students‟ English speaking was low, but their errors in English speaking sub-skills were numerous, consequently the application of Skype outside class was scheduled with a number of topics for practice discussion

Resulting from the post-speaking test interview and the post survey questionnaire, the employment of Skype was demonstrated that it was effective

in improving students‟ speaking ability and their attitudes towards practicing speaking outside class

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I state that the thesis is truly my original work The thesis does not contain any material which has been written or published by another person except where referenced within the text

Date submitted: May 2017

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

INTRODUCTION

I RATIONALE 1

II RESEARCH QUESTIONS 2

III RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 3

IV RESEARCH SCOPE 3

V RESEARCH TASKS 4

VI RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4

VII SIGNIFICANCE 5

VIII RESEARCH DESIGN 5

PART II DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW I.1 English speaking skills 7

I.1.1 Definitions of speaking 7

I.1.2.English language speaking skills 9

I.1.3 English language speaking sub-skills 9

I.1.3.1 Accuracy 9

I.1.3.2 Fluency 10

I.1.3.3 Pronunciation 11

I.1.3.4 Grammar 12

I.1.3.5 Vocabulary 12

I.1.3.6 Comprehension 13

I.2 The employment of technology in English speaking classroom 13

I.2.1 Technology and Language 13

I.2.2 History of using technology in language classrooms 14

I.2.3 Online discussion 16

I.2.4 Communication software 17

I.3 Skype 17

I.3.1 Concepts of Skype 17

I.3.2 Benefits of using Skype in learning languages 18

I.3.3 Challenges of using Skype in learning language ……… … ……….18

I.4 The previous studies 19

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY II.1 Research methods 23

II.1.1 Rationales behind the case study 23

II.1.2 Case study research procedure 25

II.1.2.1 Describing background 25

II.1.2.2 Identifying problems 26

II.1.2.3 Producing vision/objectives 26

II.1.2.3 Proposing solutions 26

II.1.2.4 Implementing case study 26

II.1.2.5 Results and evaluation 27

II.2 Data collection instruments 27

II.2.1 Speaking test interview 27

II.2.1.1 Pre-speaking test interview 27

II.2.1.2 Post- speaking test interview 28

II.2.1.3 Checklist 28

II.2.2 Survey questionnaire 29

II.2.2.1 The pre-survey questionnaire 29

II.2.2.2 The post-survey questionnaire 29

II.3 Research setting 30

II.4 Participants 30

II.5 Research procedure 31

II.5.1 Describing the background 31

II.5.2 Identifying problems 31

II.5.3 Producing vision/objectives 32

II.5.4 Proposing solution 32

II.5.5 Implementing case study 33

II.5.6 Results and evaluation 34

II.6 Data analysis 34

II.6.1 Test interview 34

III.6.1.1 Oral test interview 34

II.6.1.2 Interview’s checklist 34

II.6.2 Survey questionnaire 35

CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS III.1 Description of procedure and the outcome 36

III.1.1 Week 1 36

III.1.2 Week 2 38

III.1.3 Week 3 39

III.1.4 Week 4 40

III.1.5 Week 5 41

III.1.6 Week 6 43

III.1.7 Week 7 43

III.2 The results from the speaking test interview 45

III.2.1 Result from the pre-speaking test interview 46

III.2.1.1 Comprehension 47

III.2.1.2 Fluency 48

III.2.1.2.1 Non-lexical words repetition 48

III.2.1.2.2 Lexical words pronunciation repetition 49

III.2.1.3 Vocabulary 50

III.2.1.3.1 Words‟ pronunciation 50

III.2.1.3.2 Limited vocabulary also causes words usage reiteration 51

III.2.1.4 Pronunciation 51

III.2.1.4.1 Stress and Intonation 51

III.2.1.4.2 English consonants 52

III.2.1.5 Grammar 53

III.2.1.5.1 Wrong verb tense 53

III.2.1.5.2 Subject-verb disagreement 54

III.2.1.5.3 Clipped sentences 54

III.2.2 Result from the post-speaking test interview 56

III.2.2.1 Comprehension 57

III.2.2.2 Fluency 57

III.2.2.2.1 Non-lexical words repetition 57

III.2.2.2.2 Lexical words pronunciation repetition 57

III.2.2.3 Vocabulary 58

III.2.2.3.1 Words‟ pronunciation 58

III.2.2.3.2 Words‟ reiteration 58

III.2.2.4 Pronunciation 59

III.2.2.4.1 Stress and Intonation 59

III.2.2.4.2 English consonants 59

III.2.2.5 Grammar 60

III.2.2.5.1 Wrong verbs tense 60

III.2.2.5.2 Subject verb disagreement 60

III.2.2.5.3 Clipped sentences 61

III.2.3 Comparison and evaluation 61

III.3 Results from survey questionnaire 63

III.3.1 Students’ attitudes toward English speaking skills 63

III.3.2 Students’ attitudes toward using Skype to practice speaking 65

III.3.3 Challenges facing the students in using Skype to practice speaking 67

PART III CONCLUSION I Summary of the study 68

II Limitations 69

III Recommendations ……… …70

REFERENCES 73

APPENDIX A 81

APPENDIX D 86

APPENDIX E 93

APPENDIX F 94

APPENDIX G 103

PART I INTRODUCTION

I RATIONALES

Human beings can never live in isolation; they share the planet so they need to exchange messages with their partners for specific purposes They need to share messages about their needs, passions, pains, anger, favorites, dreams, plans, and discoveries They also need to find different means to exchange messages about these different purposes

English as an international language is used by the wider communities rather than its native speakers (Mckay, 2002: 5) It is spoken, learnt and understood even in those countries where it is not a native language It plays

an important role in everyday situations all over the world and deals with all aspects of life It is the language of science, information, technology, politics, economics and education (Hamdona, 2007)

Speaking is one of the four language skills It is a productive and active Speaking helps students produce those units of meaning in phrases and clauses, not just word by word (Gruber-Miller, 2006: 12) Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information (Brown; 1994; Burns & Joyce, 1997) However, English is a language that has a number of differences in pronunciation, word formation, grammar, spoken expressions… from others that make so many barriers for learners from other countries to imply it fluently as a second language

A student has learned English for 9 years, even 12 years cannot introduce themselves well and correctly in English, because they only focus

on traditional books which are full of grammar structures and words They

lack of English practice environment to improve and motivate them to use English in daily communication in real life That is the reason why many first year English major students reported that they have to deal with a large number of difficulties in speaking skills study

Due to this problem, the development of IT in the recent modern century solves this problem in the quickest and most effective way There has been an invented software which connects users all over the world, allows them to make a call, chat and watch their face like real talk, send files also, without any cost whenever their computers or phones are connected to the Internet called Skype In addition, because of the long geographical distance, each student has been equipped by own laptop and cell phone which are connected to the Internet and comfortably installed Skype that have opportunities of English speaking practice Today there are more than 630 million users of Skype This number rises sharply every day and every time

With the purpose of helping first-year students of English Education at HPU2 enhance their English speaking skills, this study focuses on the training

of English conversation whereby some native speakers of English and native but advanced English speakers function as Conversation Facilitators (CFs) using audio conferencing- Skype to talk with a small group of students

non-or converse one-to-one This process focuses on the speaking sub-skills such

as comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar practice

II RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Speaking is one of the most important skill of language learners so that

it is vital for first year students to have a proper method of improvement, particularly they would need this skill almost all the years at university life, but also in reality Students can learn better at home than in class with good learning materials, effective networks, and proper support Many students are

drawn to online courses because they both want and need to determine the time and place of their learning (Lynch, 2004: 16) From this case, Skype was discovering and applied in this thesis and the following questions form the basis of this study:

1 How effective is the employment of Skype in English speaking skills practice among the first year students of English Education at HPU2?

2 What are attitudes of the first year students of English Education towards using Skype to practice English speaking outside class?

III RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

This research focuses on the speaking skills of first year students of English Education at HPU2 The study is aimed at the following objectives:

1 To help the first year students of English Education at HPU2 be better at speaking skills

2 To point out which sub-speaking skill can be most improved after the application of Skype?

3 To find out whether the first year students of English Education at HPU2 are interested in using Skype as English speaking practice tool outside class

IV RESEARCH SCOPE

The main subject of the research is using Skype to improve English speaking skills of the first year students of English Education at HPU2 in outside class

The participants involved in the study are a group of three first year students at Pre- Intermediate level of Course 42 of English Education Class in the Foreign Languages Faculty at HPU2 The research intended to discover Skype as a new application tool to enhance students‟ speaking skills outside class English speaking class are clarified specifically into five sub-skills focused on Comprehension, Fluency, Vocabulary, Pronunciation and

Grammar This thesis can be also be beneficial not only English major students, but other languages and even for people who are not major in English and who have intention to learn it as a second language

V RESEARCH TASKS

The study involves fulfilling the following tasks:

1 Describe a general view of both the speaking definitions; speaking skills, English speaking inside/outside class and Skype application such as the definitions of Skype, benefits of using Skype

sub-2 Describe Skype applying process, by what way Skype is carried out among students

3 Conduct a pre- speaking test interview to find out which level students are belonging to sub- speaking skills such as comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar

4 Conduct a post- speaking test interview to find out how English speaking skills of first year students of English Education effective by applying Skype as a tool improvement outside class

VI RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A case study approach was taken in this study With the purpose of enhancing students‟ speaking competence through Skype application, the thing, which the researcher completed, was to review some relevant publications Then the researcher consults with supervisors and friends to produce pre- interview A number of topics and evaluated criteria as below were presented During seven weeks applying Skype speaking skills practice the researcher would participate in the conversation discussion, observe the participants‟ improvement Based on the topics‟ questions and situations prepared, the learners discuss and express their thoughts Finally, the post-interview was produced to evaluate students‟ progress in speaking skills

Then the researcher would collect data from the post-interview‟s result and analyze them to determine how effective in English speaking skills they improve by applying Skype computer program and which sub-speaking skill they tend to be practiced the best

VII SIGNIFICANCE

After the research, it is hoped that the results will be helpful with not only students in improving English speaking skills outside class, but also teachers as a vital materials of their instruction in teaching methodology to increase students‟ English speaking competence

Otherwise, the thesis is significant for students who are non- professional linguistic learners and teachers as well as anyone who takes an interest in speaking skills improvement

VIII RESEARCH DESIGN

This research work has three parts, namely: the Introduction, Development, and Conclusion

objectives, the questions, the scope, the method, the significance and the design of the study

- Chapter 1 is entitled “Literature Review” The chapter reviews the previous studies, the definition and English language speaking skills, English speaking sub-skills, English speaking learning inside and outside class, technology and language, Skype‟s definitions and its benefits

- Chapter 2 is named “Methodology” It includes the rationales behind using the research method is this research It is composed of the description of the subjects and the procedures of making research

- Chapter 3 named “Results” shows the results in detail

 Part 3 is the “Conclusion” provides the summary, limitations of the study and suggested some ideas for further studies

PART II DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

I.1 English speaking skills

I.1.1 Definitions of speaking

Speaking is defined as an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information Its form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs, the participants, and the purposes of speaking (Burns & Joyce, 1997) In addition, speaking is the form of oral correspondence between the speaker and the hearer in transforming ideas for reaching the goal of communication (Taufiqulloh,

2009 )

Moreover, according to Nunan, he states that: “Speaking is the ability

in using oral language to explore ideas, intentions, thoughts, and feeling to other people as the way to make the message clearly delivered and well understood by the hearer” (1995) Together with this idea, Merrian, the author of “Webster Online Dictionary” (2002), mentions speaking definition:

“Speaking is uttering words or articulating sound with ordinary voice Speaking is the way to convey thought, opinion, emotion orally, or to express oneself.” This means speaking is performing thoughts, feelings, attitudes and

so forth understandably through using words

Meanwhile, speaking is the productive skill in which students utter words and sentences for specific purposes to convey certain messages using the appropriate grammatical rules, vocabulary and score of formality with the atmosphere of confidence and comfort Continuing with that concept, Brown also comments that: “Speaking is an interactive process of constructing

meaning that involved producing information Its form and meaning are dependent on the context, in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experience, the physical environment and the purpose of speaking.” (1983:17) This means that when speaking, we need to take notices of factors affecting successful communication such as: the content we are talking about, the person we are talking to, the context of the communication, the reason why we are taking part in this communication, the way we express ideas in our minds and so on

However, Bygates emphasizes, “speaking is not only knowledge about language, it is a skill which cannot be developed without adequate training and practice.” (Bygate, 1987:3) As peaking is the most effective tool to communicate with each other, in daily life, we have to face with many complicated situations that require us to solve cleverly Moreover, speaking also shows speaker‟s level Therefore, a successful speaker is a person who must be good at choosing the reasonable form of speaking and knows how to express opinions In short, it is impossible for learners to be successful in speaking with the basic knowledge of the language such as: vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation…without any practice

Although not only English- majored students in the first year at HPU2, but non English-major others have improved this subject for more ten years, their speaking skills are limited, due to studying habits at high school such as grammar focus, examinations focus and their passivity in learning a language According to Widdowson (1994), speaking is the active production skill and use of oral production It is the capability of someone to communicate orally with others Thus, it is vital to map out the new way to motivate and encourage students‟ study as new method to make different in learning English communication

Speaking is defined operationally in this study as the secondary stage students' ability to express themselves orally, coherently, fluently and appropriately in a given meaningful context to serve both transactional and interactional purposed using correct pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary and adopting the pragmatic and discourse rules of the spoken language In other words, they are required to show mastery of the following sub competencies/ skills

I.1.2 English language speaking skills

Speaking is a skill, which deserves attention every bit as much as literary skills, in both first and second language Learners of a language need

to be able to speak with confidence (Bygate, 2003)

Speaking is the productive skill in which students utter words and sentences for specific purposes to convey certain messages using the appropriate grammatical rules, vocabulary and score of formality with the atmosphere of confidence and comfort

Learning to speak English confidently is nowadays a need It is no more an issue of status however it is of supreme necessity for a good quality job and to flourish in one‟s career Even in the management jobs the high profile people also require a fluency in English Yet again, it is not just to leave an impression of stylishness however it is necessary to converse your important points in a smart way Usually people are able to easily make their point work in their own goodwill, if they are able to intermingle appropriately and present their points in an open platter

I.1.3 English language speaking sub-skills

I.1.3.1 Accuracy

Accuracy in speaking is the use of correct forms of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation (Spratt, Pulverness & Williams, 2005:34)

Speakers express themselves with the correct sociolinguistic competence (Ano, 2001)

Arndt, Harvey, & Nuttall (2000: 149) claims that fluency and appropriacy are the main criteria for successful language use Appropriacy is the process of selecting the content of the communication and formulation of the message based on the speaker's intention (Kaplan, 2010: 64) and cultural backgrounds (Arndt, Harvey & Nuttall, 2000:150)

We are considered to be proper users of a language if we use all words

in the correct conduct; correct grammar system, correct sentences in a correct situation A speaker needs to explain how and why they adapt their systemic knowledge of language to real world use, involving judgments of appropriacy

at all levels; discourse, lexico-grammatical, or articulatory (Kaplan, 2010: 64) levels

Appropriacy is an important sub-skill in the productive skills; speaking and writing However, it is a must in spoken language It can be shown in three types; sociolinguistic, socio-cultural and social appropriacy (Ek,1992: 71)

I.1.3.2 Fluency

Thornbury (2005) defines fluency as the ability to converse or to express a sequence of ideas fluently, but what is fluently or fluency? Fluency can be defined as the features of a second language oral performance that serve as reliable indicators of how efficiently the speaker is able to mobilize and temporally integrate, in a nearly simultaneous way, the underlying processes of planning and assembling an utterance in order to perform a communicatively acceptable speech act It is the ability to describe and report actions or situations in precise words (Segalowitz, 2010: 47)

According to Wikipedia 2013, Harrell (2007) defines fluency as a speech language pathology term which means the smoothness or flow with which sounds, syllable, words and phrases are joined together when speaking quickly

People can be said as fluent speakers if their speaking includes the pauses management by, fit timing, correctness fill, meaningful transition points and words between pauses Foster and Skehan in Nunan (2004) propose a model in assessing speaking fluency by considering the total number of seconds of silence and time spent saying „um‟ and „ah‟ by subjects

as they complete a task

People can be said as fluent speakers if their speaking includes the pauses management by, fit timing, correctness fill, meaningful transition points and words between pauses Foster and Skehan in Nunan (2004) propose a model in assessing speaking fluency by considering the total number of seconds of silence and time spent saying „um‟ and „ah‟ by subjects

as they complete a task With the same idea, Tumova (2002) states that fluency means speaking the language freely to express ideas in real-life situations regardless of making mistakes Castaneda, & Roderquez-Gonzalez (2011) add that fluency means to speak smoothly and continually without

stopping to think of selecting the correct word

I.1.3.3 Pronunciation

Students will always be confident if they are not afraid of making mistakes while producing the language Thornbury (2005) defines pronunciation as the student‟s ability to produce comprehensible utterances to fulfill the task requirements In a wider meaning, Dalton (1994) defines pronunciation as the production of significant sounds in terms of pure sounds and meaningful sounds in contexts

Harmer (2001) provides pitch, intonation, minimal pairs, spelling, rhythm, and stress, as issues related to pronunciation Kenworthy (1987) lists stress and pitch as various components of sounds and learners need to understand the function of such components as well as their form

Pronunciation is of important significance as a part of any language code in which we can distinguish English, Arabic, or Russian As well as, pronunciation is important to achieve meanings being conveyed within a context Here, codes are combined with other factors to make communication possible Therefore, pronunciation is the act of speaking

I.1.3.4 Grammar

Salazar (2006) notes that children have to learn linguistic grammar at school They don't need grammar to be able to speak, or to understand those who speak in a particular language, but they need to know grammar in order

to be able to speak and write properly

Besides, grammar is a system of rules governing the structure and arrangement of language (Parsons, 2004:8) It is true that languages have rules, but people put these rules to their spoken words Languages started by people making sounds which evolved into words, phrases and sentences (Alvarez, 2010: 14).The fact is that all languages change over time for a variety of reasons (Barry, 2002: 84) Grammar is simply a reflection of a language at a particular time (Alvarez, 2010:14)

I.1.3.5 Vocabulary

Vocabulary is one of the most important objectives of teaching and learning a second/foreign language, because it is the basis of the speech Semantic development continues from early childhood through adulthood As children grow, they continue to develop vocabulary through further practice (Angell, 2008: 99)

Vocabulary learning serves communication (Kim, 2008: 1) and acquiring new knowledge The goal of vocabulary development is to help students become independent learners to infer or learn meanings of unknown words (Cooper, Kiger, Robinson & Slansky, 2011: 228)

I.1.3.6 Comprehension

Comprehension is not considered as an sub-speaking skill; however, because of students‟ limited comprehensive competence when they communicate not only with non-native speakers but native ones, the researcher would like to find out after using Skype as a language practice tool

if students‟ competence in communicative comprehension advanced

According to Merrian, the author of “Webster Online Dictionary”, comprehension is defined as the ability to understand It means that in a conversation, the speaker and the hearer are able to exchange information with each other All these information focus on topics, and if they change topic there still have smooth connection between them in cohesion or coherence, depending on participants‟ different purposes

To sum up, any sub-speaking skills are always essential for learners to get the target that is to be fluent and more native in English speaking In this thesis, the author intends to research about how a group of students using Skype at HPU2 can enhance English speaking skills involved these small aspects: comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar

I.2 The employment of technology in English speaking classroom

I.2.1 Technology and Language

Language is considered as systems of representation with which we communicate our ideas to our listeners/readers On the other hand, technology

is defined as culturally deep ways of watching the World According to this logic comes the idea of "technology as language" because access to a certain

type of technology opens new possibilities for us to do things and "these options function rather like words in a language you (we) must use what tools and techniques are available in any attempt to carry out a particular action" (Benston, 1988, p.18)

One strand of studies connecting technology and language looked at the shifts in language uses across communities formed by different types of technology (Benston, 1988; Cohn, 1996; Crystal, 2001; Danet & Herring, 2003; Kramarae, 1988; Spender, 1995; Zamierowski, 1994), focusing their attention on the social and cultural effects of such technologies on the choice

of words, discourse styles, or patterns of interactions

Another implication of the relationship between technology and language is that my topic is the issue of non-native speakers of English in cyberspace because the people in my research need to cross the border of two different languages, from Vietnamese to English

In Vietnam in the 60s of the last century, some electric computers appeared and the Western still called them Science Computer Until the early years of 1980, Western conducted the concept “Informatics” and widely extended in Vietnam in 1985 Next, Informatics Organization was established there in 1988 which marked the important and rapid development for every subject in this country

English being its language, the Internet is regarded either as providing new possibilities for non-native speakers (Warschauer, 2000a, 2000b) or as another form of linguistic imperialism in the age of electronic communication (Joe Lockard, 2000; Murray, 2000b)

I.2.2 History of using technology in language classrooms

The history of educational technology reveals the endeavors that educators made to introduce various types of technology into classrooms

Kern & Warschauer, (2000) provides that historical reviews of some pedagogical claims of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in relation to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research These studies suggest that the perspectives on language teaching and learning have been shaped by the prevailing learning theories of the time

When there was a prevailing learning theory in a certain period of time, that theory became an interest of many SLA researchers of that time; the findings of studies by those researchers have subsequently informed the teaching practices of language teachers Followed by the popularity of certain instruction methods, there has been a development of corresponding CALL applications, within the scope of available technology of the time

Salaberry (1996) states that from the 1920s through 1950s, behavioristic approaches to teaching in general education informed people in the field of language education to view language as an autonomous structural system This viewpoint subsequently gave birth to teaching methods drawing upon that theory of language learning to propose methods like Grammar-Translation Method or Audio-lingual Method by researchers in the field of SLA People in the field of CALL then adapted this trend in their designing practices to produce some of the earliest CALL programs (the computer-as-tutor model), which were designed to provide immediate positive or negative feedback to learners based upon the formal accuracy of their responses In addition, these programs were designed to run on mainframe computers, the level of technology in the 1960s and 1970s

Beginning in the late 1970s, the advent of micro computing, of hypermedia technology, and of telecommunications (Internet and World Wide Web) made the implementation of sociocultural approaches to language learning possible through computer mediated communication (CMC) An

interesting point to note here is that the length of time between the emergence

of SLA theories and the development of CALL application programs seems to

be shortened by the rapid development of technology While the development

of drill- and-practice type CALL programs in the 1960s emerged about 10 to

20 years after the advent of structural perspective on language learning and teaching of the 1940s and 1950s, the discussion of the effects of CMC on language learning seems to be happening about the same time as the sociocultural perspectives on language learning and teaching is getting popular Several studies that revealed their focus on sociocultural theory in reporting the effects of computer use include: Kumpulainen & Mutanen (1998), Ortega (1997), and Warschauer (1998), and more recently, Chen (2003), and Freiermuth (2001)

The researcher views this phenomenon to be very positive because the balanced development between SLA theories and CALL applications could provide helpful practical information for language teachers in a timely manner

In return, language teachers could provide valuable feedbacks for the researchers in the field of both SLA and CALL

I.2.3 Online discussion

It is a way that appears nowadays as a result from the rapid development in all fields especially education It is a new way in teaching and learning as many educational institutions, schools and universities used it widely nowadays

Few authors made statistical comparison between online and classroom discussion or to argue that online discussion was inherently better than classroom discussion The majority of those authors concluded that online discussion was very vital as a support for teaching and opportunity for interaction between learners

In addition to this, online discussion creates students' critical thinking

as mentioned before and as Biesenbach- Lucas (2003) proves that learners tended to summarize rather than analyze in their online contributions, and suggested that assessment of participation could offer students with the critical motivation Parker and Gemino (2001) state that online discussion provided better offering for conceptual learning than acquisition of skills or techniques

I.2.4 Communication software

It is used to provide remote access to systems and exchange files and messages in text, audio and/or video formats between different computers or user IDs This includes terminal emulators, file transfer programs, chat and instant messaging MUDs programs (From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia) According to this, we can use communication software in education as a new way in learning and to be in contact with the students especially in learning the language

I.3 Skype

I.3.1 Concepts of Skype

First released in August 2003, Skype was created by Dane Janus Friis and Swede Niklas Zennström in cooperation with Estonians Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu, and Jaan Tallinn (2006) Skype is a software application that uses voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) technology “which converts voice signals into data streams that are sent over the Internet and converted back to audio

by the recipient‟s computer” (Educause, 2007, p.2) Also, Skype is a free, downloadable communication tool that turns a personal computer, smart phone or tablet into a telephone However, Skype is more than just a telephone

Skype provides both synchronous and asynchronous communication services With a webcam and a headset, Skype users can have person-to-person or person-to-group online chats or conferences, which enables communication without the limitations of time or space It is this feature that makes Skype a potential tool for language teaching and learning language

According to Elia (2006), Skype facilitates language tandem exchange

in which “two people of different mother tongues collaborate in the learning

of each other‟s language” (p.271) It allows language learners to start language exchanges wherever they can connect to the Internet Via Skype, users can share files or screen shots as needed

To sum up, the above writers and authors agree that Skype is a convenient computer program for connecting people of different mother tongues all over the world to exchange languages over time and places as long

as they are linked to the Internet It also allows them to make a call, chat and watch their face like real talk, sometimes they can send files also, without any cost Today there are more than 630 million users of Skype This number rises sharply every day and every time

I.3.2 Benefits of using Skype in learning languages

Sheppard (2006) reminds us that Skype™ is a free computer program you can use to make telephone calls over the Internet and that you can also use it to make conference calls and video calls, to chat, and to transfer files Furthermore, Abdulezer, Abdulezer, and Dammond (2007) affirm that

“Skype™ can dramatically alter how you exchange information, how you meet new people, and how you interact with friends, family, and colleagues” (p.9) Chen and Cordier (2008) maintain that Skype™ offers one of the most popular voice-over Internet protocol services and with a computer, an internet connection, and a few simple steps, foreign language speakers and learners

can connect with and call one another across time zones Chen and Cordier also point out that with Skype™ you can dial a contact (provided the person you are calling has also downloaded Skype™) and talk to and from any country, using a headset and microphone plugged into your computer

Though there are many different things that can be done through Skype™ nowadays, for the purpose of this study, the main Skype™ features used during its development and implementation were the calls

The use of Skype is very easy so that students can operate it by themselves They can communicate with native speakers from other countries easily Besides, students are not bored in learning speaking skills at home because Skype is very interesting Therefore, it can help students to increase their speaking either used in their campus or in their society Students are able

to find the other users of Skype from English speaking countries Indirectly, native speakers can help them to speak English fluently Based on those phenomena, the researcher is interested in discussing the use of virtual Skype

to increase students‟ speaking ability

I.3.3 Challenges of using Skype in learning languages

Although Skype provides an intriguing option for language teaching and learning, there are some limitations as well First, there are minimum download/upload speeds required for using Skype For example, video calling and screen sharing require 128kbps/ 128kbps as the minimum download/upload speed; group video calling requires 4Mbps/128kbps as the minimum download/upload speed Therefore, Skype users need to check whether their Internet connection meets such requirements to avoid video and audio lag during Skype lessons In addition, when teachers and students from different countries around the world try to use Skype and/or Skype in the classroom, setting up meeting times can be an issue

I.4 Previous studies

Many previous studies investigated the effect of implementing technology in instruction, teaching languages, teaching English language skills and teaching speaking On the other hand, many other studies investigated the effect of implementing Skype as a study videoconferencing tool in improving English speaking skills

Lidia Taillefer (2014) in the paper Developing Oral Skills Through

Skype: A Language Project Analysis analyzed the second language usage in

the oral interaction between university students from Hong Kong and Spain with purpose to enhance oral communication skills and cultural awareness of students learning English and Spanish as second languages They presented many second language learning benefits such as solving the problem of target language practice, giving students opportunities to develop their communicative competences, especially oral skills

According to Romaña Correa, Y (2015), the Skype™ conference calls helped participants practice their language skills and at the same time expand their social relationships, not only with their classmates but also with other people they knew from diverse contexts Additionally, it was evidenced that the Skype™ conference calls helped learners in the reinforcement of both their fluency in the target language and increased their English practice from out-of-class learning environments since learners acknowledged that through the Skype™ conference calls they tended to have much more time to practice their spoken language skills than during their face-to-face sessions

In the study The effectiveness of Online and Classroom Discussion on

(2012), Skype was used to apply “online discussion” on an online discussion group because “It is available and easy to be used by the teacher and the

students” (p 48) He carried out Skype to exchange videos, listening exercises with his students and some enrichment materials as a supplement to the textbook to enhance students‟ communication

Romiyanto (2013) demonstrated that the technique of teaching learning

by using Skype was easy for everyone in the study The Application of Skype

in Teaching Speaking of Eleventh Grade Students of SMK Muhamadiyah Pekalongan in Academic Year 2012-2013 It helped students to communicate

with English speakers over the world They considered practicing English language speaking skills using Skype is very effective It also helped students

to solve the problems through memorizing vocabularies and practicing more speaking tasks

The research The Effects of Skype-Based Video Chats with Volunteer

Filipino English Teacher by Ryobe (2008) examined how video chat activity

between 55 Japanese university students and online Filipino English teachers through Skype improved students‟ oral communication skills and motivation toward autonomous learning The results revealed better performances for the participants more than the control group Japanese students, who were typically shy, could speak better in prearranged one-on-one conversations with real-time video images that allowed them to view their partners and use non-verbal language The students also perceived that communicating in English was fun and they were highly motivated to speak English fluently What was surprising that 100% of the video chat students' free comments were positive!

In addition, Coburn (2010) investigated the effect of Skype used by volunteer conversation facilitators, who live in different countries and either native English language speakers or live in a country where English is the mother-tongue, to teach English speaking to university undergraduates in Iran

for a month in 2007 The study results confirmed that Skype conversations improved students‟ English speaking and changed their attitudes towards English learning in general and English speaking skills in particular

(Teaching Oral English Online – Through Skype)

All previous studies confirmed that implementing Skype in teaching English language skills had different effects on the students' language skills improvement However, there has been no studies of learning English speaking skills via Skype as a learning practice tool outside class to be carried out without teacher‟s observation First- year students in Foreign Language Faculty and majoring in English pedagogy at HPU2, who have just graduated from high school could not adapt new learning methodology at university immediately to be challenged in an English communication environment Therefore, it is essential to have a full study of using Skype as a self-study method to improve English speaking skills for them

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the applied method for research is described Type of the research conducted by the writer is case study Yin (2003) distinguishes four types of case study designs based on the number of cases, contexts, and units of analysis This study described here uses a single-case (holistic) design because it focuses on a group of students in one class, which represents its unit of analysis, within the context of one language program Since each case needs to be a bounded, integrated system (Merriam, 2002), the boundaries of the case are defined as the beginning and end of the 7-week period over which the case was studied The components of the case include participants (the instructors, students and Skype users), contexts (Foreign Languages Faculty

at HPU2), and Skype- computer program

II.1 Research methods

This study was conducted with the employment of case study research

II.1.1 Rationales behind the case study

For a starting the Skype meeting introduction, the first year students were so excited and interested in Skype functions to Speaking skills practice

of 28 students in the first year of English Education The thesis author first had instituted her Skype research project with the title: Using Skype as a self-study tool to improve English speaking skills outside class, the definition of Skype, its function information and also her experience, then invited them to feel free to participate in her project 20 students accepted to take part in the research with satisfaction and enjoyment They also agreed to be tested in English sub-speaking skills by the test interview and to be observed with Student Oral Language Observation Matrix (SOLOM) scales and marked

After students had been tested by examinations of nine subjects, the author kept in touch with them via a social network and let them create their own Skype register accounts She got so many positive feedbacks not only from the research subjects but also from foreign friends learning English a the second language

After the first year students of English Education had finished their first

with family to have holiday of New Year celebration according to Lunar Calendar or called Tet holiday in Vietnam With students from HPU2, they

event was one of difficulties for the author to carry out the research because students were too busy to have time for Skype discussion as they had to do housework, help parents and other personal works these days Furthermore, some students complained that they had not installed the Internet at home so that they were not able to connect to Skype and talk The researcher seemed

to be frustrated due to the infrequent participation of all the 20 students until she found out there were three outstanding and motivated students who have been always willing to take part in Skype whenever the Skype topic discussion was raised They were Ms Dang Mai Anh (Student 1), Ms Dinh Phan Nhu Ngoc (Student 2) and Ms Nguyen Phuong Anh (Student 3)

In addition, after finishing Tet holiday the author had to deal with the internship at high school which lasted for 7 weeks from December 10 to

able to meet students directly and help them Otherwise, she also had to handle school tasks given and managed by her supervisor; therefore, she chose case study research method with a small number of students due to their interest and motivation indeed in Skype practice discussion

A case study reveals an in-depth understanding of a “case” or bounded system, which involves understanding an event, activity, process, or one or more individuals (Creswell, 2002: 61) This type of research method was chosen due to three reasons below

Firstly, case study is believed that it is the most comfortable and the least stressful for the novice researcher With non-experienced and start- up to learn, the author can use case study with a small number of participants and focus on them

Secondly, case study is a qualitative method which allows the author to elicit the insight problems of an issue, then she analyses these data and maps out the theory needed

Finally, because of the distant limitation in internship at high school which prevents the author to travel back her university to do the research the case study is the most beneficial research method for both the participants and the writer as well

Regarding all the reasons above, case study method is applied to improve and develop the students‟ quality of English speaking study via Skype outside class based on speaking topics resources in speaking subject in the first and the second semester(the book named Speak Out-Pre Intermediate Students‟ Book)

II.1.2 Case study research procedure

The models of case study research have been proposed differently by different authors and this research is adapted along the step raised by Raz Chorev (2014) from University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School, Sydney Australia

II.1.2.1 Describing background

The first step in the process is to identify background This step is defined as the provision of a brief background of the situation and the people involved This part helps readers understand the case study in the right context

II.1.2.2 Identifying problems

In this section, the researcher identifies and clearly articulates the problem or develop research questions which she is trying to solve She provides elaborate description of the issues to get the participants empathize and create an emotional connection

II.1.2.3 Producing vision/objectives

It is important to display where we are going with the case study The researcher presents exactly objectives he would like to achieve, how she see

in the situation and an idea outcome

II.1.2.3 Proposing solutions

A description of the relevant solution in strict accordance to the problem mentioned

II.1.2.4 Implementing case study

The implementation description is one of the most elaborate of the steps In this step, the researcher includes various factors, such as resources, technology, people and processes involved in the implementation, including timelines She provides a good overview, with hard evidences

II.1.2.5 Results and evaluation

The lecturer demonstrates the results by real and authentic numbers in a believable and easy to digest format and convinces the reader that the solution actually solved the problem

II.2 Data collection instruments

In this study, both qualitative and quantitative research methodology were utilized There were three research instruments: speaking test interview and questionnaire

II.2.1 Speaking test interview

This thesis‟s speaking test interviews were carried out with the attendance of two foreign experts at HPU2 (interviewers); a group of students(interviewees) of English Education in English at HPU2 and the author(supporter) The topics for interview was also familiar and usual with students in the first semester of English speaking subject and some from speaking practice books

The type of the speaking test interview chosen was semi-structure that was occurred twice, one before and one after students‟ applying Skype as English speaking skills self- study tool with the aim of checking students‟ speaking competence

II.2.1.1 Pre-speaking test interview

A number of topics were given out for students to answer on December

26, 2016 The content of pre-interview is divided into two main parts

Part 1 is an introduction question The general purpose of this part is to examine students‟ ability in presenting themselves to the interviewer with the basic information, students‟ ways and the habit of speaking It is very essential and practical for students learning a language that they must know how to introduce themselves fluently and correctly in that language with

foreigners Besides, by this way, the interviewers got students‟ attentions, waked students up and made them feel comfortable and open with the interview

Par 2 is the answering question part, which consists of a numerous topics, and combine three different questions This part is aimed to test five main English sub-speaking skills of students such as comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, accuracy, and fluency before they apply Skype to practice English speaking skills

II.2.1.2 Post- speaking test interview

The students were asked do a post-test which was the same as the speaking test interview The post-speaking test interview‟s topics and purpose were administered in the same way as the pre-interview but after Skype implication was applied to practice English speaking skills by the participants

pre-II.2.1.3 Checklist

students were asked a number of questions related to one topic and evaluated

by the expert Their English sub-speaking skills (pronunciation, grammar, comprehension, fluency and vocabulary) were also checked from one to five (low to high)

In addition, during English speaking practice procedure, the author conducted the participant observation in which students were aware that their conversation were recorded and they could be replayed again for them to learn from mistakes they made and be the materials for the research Obviously, the researcher participated in these English speaking practice conversations to observe participants‟ speaking abilities and provided topics for discussion with the positive contributions in each

The checklist which was adapted from Student Oral language Observation Matrix (SOLOM) and used to examine students‟ English speaking skill was a rating scale and originally developed by the San Jose Area Bilingual Consortium and had undergone revisions with leadership from the Bilingual Education Office of the California Department of Education

II.2.2 Survey questionnaire

The researcher relied on different sources to construct the questionnaire; the researcher's experience, previous studies and experts' opinions The researcher believed that the students' learning behaviors, attitudes towards speaking English language skill would be changed and promoted Two different kinds of survey question were built and handed out before and after the application of Skype

II.2.2.1 The pre-survey questionnaire (Appendix A)

The first survey questionnaire was conducted to measure the first year students‟ background and their habit of learning speaking; their attitudes towards speaking skill before implementing Skype (Question 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

II.2.2.2 The post-survey questionnaire (Appendix B)

In the end, the post-survey questionnaire was divided into two different parts within 13 questions This survey was to check the students' attitudes towards the benefits of using Skype to practice speaking skills Three options about the use of Skype were raised as “Yes” (assumed as 100%), “Not sure” (50%) and “No” (0 %)

The first part‟ general purpose is to examine students‟ attitudes after implementing Skype whether it increases students‟ confidence and makes them feel comfortable when speaking English (Question 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) The three other questions are aimed to test the changes in students‟ habit of