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TABLE OF CONTENT2.1 Theoretical background of English speaking skill and its importance 4 2.3 What are obstacles when students speak... As an English teacher, I am always wishing to find

TABLE OF CONTENT

2.1 Theoretical background of English speaking

skill and its importance

4

2.3 What are obstacles when students speak

ABBREVIATION YD2SS: Yen Dinh II secondary school

Sts: students

T: Teacher

I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

In our modern society, English plays an integral part in many sectorsincluding medicine, engineering, education, advanced studies, business,technology, banking, computing, tourism, etc Never before has learning Englishbecome so important As a result, English is being taught and learned around theworld as a second language today Children start to learn at the early age.Teenagers learn English at school as a compulsory subject Besides, a lot ofpeople are attending different high quality English centers so that they canmaster this language

However, there is a worrying problem is that most of English learners arenot confident to communicate in English, even they are afraid of doing speakingtasks in their classes whereas they are really good at vocabulary andgrammatical structures As an English teacher, I am always wishing to find out

my students’ obstacles in speaking English and how to help them overcomethese barriers That’s why I chose the issue: “Obstacles in speaking English andhow to motivate sts in grade 10 at YD2SS to speak English during their optionalperiods:” I hope after these speaking lessons, they can improve their Englishspeaking ability effectively and efficiently

1.2 Purpose of the study

The main purpose of the study is to find out obstacles which make the 10thform sts at Yen Dinh II secondary school (YD2SS) afraid of speaking English.This also offers some appropriate strategies to better the current context

Research questions:

1 What are obstacles of the 10th form ss at YD2 StS’ in speaking English?

2 How to motivate them to speak English actively.

1.3 Scope of the study

This study was conducted among the 10A1, 10A2 and 10A9 Sts atYD2SS during the school year 2018-2019

1.4 Methodology of the study

Both qualitative and quantitative methods are used

First of all, for the theoretical basis, a lot of reference materials on Englishspeaking skill have been collected, analyzed and synthesized carefully with thedue consideration for the ss’ learning situations

Secondly, class observation has been carried out with ss to find outbarriers among sts while they are speaking English Based on what I havecollected, I would like to give some ways to improve this problem

II DEVELOPMENT 2.1 Theoretical background of English speaking skill and its importance

This second chapter provides readers with the relevant literature of thestudy by introducing some key concepts necessary for the best understanding ofthis research, as well as the review of previous studies related to the topic Thereare some most crucial concepts chosen to be clarified in this part such as Englishspeaking skill, its importance in communication,

2.1.1 What is speaking skill ?

Speaking is an act of making vocal sounds We can say that speakingmeans to converse, or expressing one's thoughts and feelings in spokenlanguage To speak often implies conveying information It may be from aninformal remark to a scholarly presentation to a formal address Speaking skills:Speaking skills are the skills that give us the ability to communicate effectively.These skills allow the speaker, to convey his message in a passionate,thoughtful, and convincing manner Speaking skills also help to assure that onewon't be misunderstood by those who are listening

2.1.2 Importance of English speaking skill for EFL learners

2.1.2.1 Language is a tool for communication We communicate with others, to

express our ideas, and to know others’ ideas as well Communication takes place, where there is speech Without speech we cannot communicate with one another The importance of speaking skills, hence is enormous for the learners ofany language Without speech, a language is reduced to a mere script The use oflanguage is an activity which takes place within the confines of our community

We use language in a variety of situations People at their work places, i.e researchers working either in a medical laboratory or in a language laboratory, are supposed to speak correctly and effectively in-order to communicate well with one another Any gap in commutation results in misunderstandings and problems

2.1.2.2 For a smooth running of any system, the speakers of a language need to

be especially and purposefully trained in the skill of speaking

2.1.2.3 In-order to become a well rounded communicator one needs to be

proficient in each of the four language skills viz., listening , speaking, reading and writing, but the ability to speak skillfully, provides the speaker with several distinct advantages The capacity to express one’s thoughts, opinions and

feelings, in the form of words put together in a meaningful way, provides the speaker with these advantages The joy of sharing one’s ideas with others is immense When we speak to others we come to have a better understanding of our own selves, as Robert Frost once said: ‘‘I am a writer of books in retrospect,

I talk in order to understand, I teach in order to learn.’’ Undoubtedly, the clarity

in speech reflects clear thinking.

2.1.2.4 An effective speaker can gain the attention of the audience and hold it

till the completion of his message Speaking skills are important for career

success, but certainly not limited to one’s professional aspirations Speaking skills can also enhance one’s personal life

2.2 The setting of the study

2.2.1 The setting of the study

The study was conducted at YD2SS in Yen Dinh district, Thanh Hoaprovince Here, English is taught in classrooms with five parts: Listening,Speaking, Reading, Writing and Grammar within 37 weeks and speaking skill istaught for from 40 to 45 students each class for 1 period per week

This year, the number of English periods increases from 3 to 4 periodsevery week, one of them is spent on the piece of knowledge that is thought to benecessary for their students While many of my colleges chose grammaticalstructures, I taught my sts speaking skill because they are learning grammar andvocabulary all the time at school, at home and at extra classes whereas they can’tgain the final vital aim, which is to communicate in English That’s why I chose

my own speaking curriculum for optional English periods It will be clarified inthe next part

2.2.2 The students’ background and their English levels

The 10th form students at YD2SS are aged from 15 to 16 They came fromdifferent places of Yen Dinh district Most of them have learnt English includingthe speaking skill since they were at grade 6 However, the students’ level inEnglish is very low They don’t take part in any English speaking club Besides,most of their families live on agriculture so that they do not have the bestconditions to learn English Moreover, they don’t have the habit of practicingspeaking skill to improve their pronunciation It is grammar that is focused sothat Ss can pass the exams

2.3 What are obstacles when students speak English?

2.3.1 Environment

The environment does not support the students to speak Englishfrequently The environment here means the people outside the class Thosepeople may think that the students just want to show off when they speakEnglish for daily conversation The response that the students get makes themloose their self-confidence to improve their speaking Since the students do notwant to be rejected by the people around them, so they use their native language

in daily conversation That makes the students unable to communicate inEnglish fluently outside the class

2.3.2 Inhibition.

They are scared about committing mistakes while they speak Theycannot also express themselves well or adequately because they lack adequateand appropriate vocabulary

2.3.3 Shyness

Another factor that makes students to hesitate to speak in English is thatthey are shy and nervous They feel fearful to speak English in front of otherpeople because they lack confidence about their own competence in English

2.3.4 Nothing to say: Students have no motivation to express themselves.

2.3.5 Low or uneven participation Only one participant can talk at a time

because of large classes and the tendency of some learners to dominate, whileothers speak very little or not at all

2.3.6 Mother-tongue use Learners who share the same mother tongue tend to

use it because it is easier and because learners feel less exposed if they arespeaking their mother tongue

In addition, a researcher also pointed out that there are many factors thatcause difficulties in speaking English among EFL learners Some of thesefactors are related to the learners themselves, the teaching strategies,thecurriculum, and the environment For example, many learners lack the necessaryvocabulary to get their meaning across, and consequently, they cannot keep theinteraction going Inadequate strategic competence and communicationcompetence can be another reason as well for not being able to keep theinteraction going Some learners also lack the motivation to speak English They

do not see a real need to learn or speak English Actually motivation is thecrucial force which determines whether a learner embarks in a task at all, howmuch energy he devotes to it, and how long he preservers (Littlewood, 1984,p.53) The development of communicative skills can only take place if learnershave the motivation and opportunity to express their own identity and relate withthe people around them (Littlewood, 1981) Teaching strategies also contribute

to this problem as they are inadequate, and they do not put emphasis onspeaking, which results in a meagre development of this skill Besides,vocabulary items are taught in isolation, and listening materials are not used bythe majority of school teachers because of the large number of teacherscompared with the number of cassettes available Teacher-training programswere found to be not very successful in changing the teachers’ methodology.The lack of a target language environment can be considered another problem,which of course results in a lack of involvement in real-life situations

2.4 Suggestions for teachers

2.4.1 Establish your 100% goal from Day 1.

On the first day of class make your expectations clear to your students Iusually have my students make a pact with both me and themselves Thestudents read the promises (see below) and I elaborate on each a bit Next, thestudents sign their names in agreement

My Promises

I promise to try to speak as much as possible.

I promise not to be afraid of making mistakes.

I promise not to speak any Vietnamese.

I promise to use English to communicate.

I promise to ask questions when I do not understand.

I promise to try to have fun!

If sometimes my students forget their promises, we will go back to thesepromises from time to time throughout the course

2 4.2 Teach Classroom English

In the second or third lesson students should be taught useful classroomEnglish The students should thoroughly memorize and practice using theseexpressions It is essential that you explain that these expressions are not just foruse with the teacher, but for use with each other as well Some examples ofuseful classroom English are:

Beginning of the lesson:

*Good morning How are you?

*Did you have a nice weekend?

*Have you done your homework?

*Let’s play a game now, shall we?

*Are you ready?

Ask for repetition:

*Would you mind repeating…?

*Could you say it again?

*Pardon?

Asking for clarification:

*What is it? Please tell me again

*What do you mean?

*Could you explain more about ?

Ask for ideas/opinions

*What do you think about that…(name)?

*Do you have any ideas/opinions?

*How about you?

Checking:

*Is that clear?

*Okay so far?

*Have you got it / that?

2.4.3 Start (almost) every class with free conversation

Before starting our lesson, I ask my sts to sit facing a partner and tell them

to talk on a topic for a set time They absolutely must not speak any Vietnameseduring this time! Possible topics are yesterday, TV, movies, sports, etc Thissimple tasks usually last 2-3 minutes at the beginning of the lesson Freeconversation works because it warms the students up, and it gives them thecomfort to speak the whole period

2.4.4 Setting Clear Lesson Goals

It is crucial that teacher be clear about what he wants students to learnduring each lesson If teacher cannot quickly and easily state what he wants thestudents to know and be able to do at the end of a given lesson, the goal of thelesson will be unclear Clear lesson goalshelp teacher (and students) to focusevery other aspect of lesson on what matters most

2.4.5 Showing & Telling

Teacher should normally start lessons with show and tell Put simply,telling involves sharing information or knowledge with the students whileshowing involves modeling how to do something When teacher has clearedabout what he wants students to know and be able to do by the end of the lesson,

a teacher needs to tell them what they need to know and show how to do thetasks

2.4.6 Questioning to Check for Understanding

Research suggests that teachers typically spend a large amount ofteaching time asking questions However, few teachers use questions to checkfor understanding within a lesson However, a teacher should always check forunderstanding before moving onto the next part of their lesson Techniques such

as randomized sampling, student answer-boards and tell-a-friend are helpful

2.4.7 Summarizing New Learning in a Graphical Way: Graphic outlines

include things such as mind maps, flow-charts and Venn diagrams Teacher canuse them to help students to summarize what they have

2.4.8 Pick topics and activities that your students find interesting and useful.

None of the techniques elaborated above will be successful in getting yourstudents to speak English if your students simply don't want to talk about thetopic you've given, or if they don't find the topic useful Motivating and practicalactivities and topics are necessary to get your students talking in English

2.4.9 Plenty of Practice

As said by Killian, practice makes perfect Practice helps students toretain the knowledge and skills that they have learned while also allowinganother opportunity to check for understanding If teacher wants to harness thepotent power of practice, he must ensure that students are practicing the rightthings Finally, research shows that students do better when their teacher hasthem practice the same things over a spaced-out period of time

2.4.10 Providing Students with Feedback

Feedback is the breakfast of champions, and it is the breakfast served byextraordinary teachers around the world Put simply, giving feedback involvesletting the students know how they have performed on a particular task alongwith ways that they can improve Unlike praise, which focuses on the studentrather than the task, feedback provides students with a tangible understanding ofwhat they did well, of where they are at, and of how they can improve

2.4.11 Getting Students Working Together (in productive ways)

Group work is not new and teachers can see it in every classroom.However, productive group work is rare When working in groups, students tend

to rely on the person who seems most willing and able to the task at hand Toincrease the productivity of the groups, teachers need to be selective about thetasks they assign to students and the individual role that each group memberplays

2.4.12 Teach SS Strategies Not just Content Teachers can increase how well

students do in any subject by explicitly teaching them how to use relevantstrategies When teaching children to read, teacher needs to teach them how toattack unknown words, as well as strategies that will deepen theircomprehension When teaching them Mathematics, you need to teach themproblem-solving strategies And, just as with content, you need to tell studentsabout these strategies, to show them how to use them and to give them guidedpractice before asking them to use them independently

2.4.13 Amp up the competition

There’s nothing like competitions to motivate reluctant speakers Games

or reward-based speaking activities are very useful tools that allow students of all ages to practice valuable skills And you don’t have to teach students to incorporate games into your ESL class; adults love games too! If you really want to up the ante, you can always offer the winner a point on the next test.There are plenty of games to choose from, such as 20 Questions, Catch

phrase or Two Truths and a Lie Look for games that require students to say a lot in order to accomplish the objective, especially games that encourage

students to ask questions or describe things in English Plus, having fun is

motivation in and of itself

2.5 Applying suggestions

I myself have applied these suggestions in teaching speaking skill,especially in independent English periods Firstly, I have my students research atopic of interest because I can choose speaking topics (in optional Englishperiods, you can teach any skill, any aspect of English that is necessary for yourstudents as long as it relates to the lesson in textbook you are teaching them)

For example, Unit 1 in the textbook has the theme In the life of…….” , so we decide to study the speaking topic Daily activities

In particular, my curriculum includes the following subjects (I only teach

17 optional periods for the 1st term We only have 3 English periods each weekduring the second term)

- Topic 1: Daily activities

- Topic 2: Family members and their daily routines

- Topic 3: Small talks about school, subjects, extra classes

- Topic 4: Small talks at home between family members

- Topic 5: Background of the person you love most

- Topic 6: School violence

- Topic 7: How is your ideal teacher?

- Topic 8: Giving opinions about the problem “we should or shouldn’t take extra classes”

- Topic 9: Uses of household appliances ( fans, cookers, TV, …)

- Topic 10: Opinions about advantages and disadvantages of the Internet in your daily life.

- Topic 11: how Facebook overuse affects your life and your study?

- Topic 12: Your knowledge about Ho citadel (our school is near Ho citadel)

- Topic 13: Things you should or shouldn’t do at tourist destinations

- Topic 14: Are children allowed to use telephones at home and at class?

- Topic 15: Do you like living in the countryside?

- Topic 16 : Describe your village when you were a child and then compare with it at present.

- Topic 17: Talk about your plan after the first term exam finishes

Below is one of my lessons in which I have applied some ways tomotivate to my Sts to speak out

Daily activities I/ Preparation

1 Time: 45 minutes

2 Objectives: Using the present simple tense to talk about daily routines and

different times of a day

3 Structures: "I at (8 o'clock in the morning)", "What time do you ?",

"When do you ?"

4 Target Vocab: morning, afternoon, evening, night, wake up, get up, eat

breakfast, eat lunch, eat dinner, go to school, start school, go home, arrive home, watch TV, do homework, go to bed

5 Lesson Materials:

Flashcards: morning, afternoon, evening, night, wake up, get up, eat breakfast,

eat lunch, eat dinner, go to school, start school, go home, arrive home, watch TV,

do homework, go to bed

Supplies :

- 5 cardboard boxes

- Blue-Tack or tape

- a clock with hands that can be moved (either real of a craft clock)

- board with markers / chalk

II Procedure