TEACHING SPEAKING ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE SPEAKING

At the advanced level, especially in free production , allow only speech in the target language English...6 CHAPTER 2: THE CURRENT SITUATIONS...7 IN TEACHING ENGLISH SPEAKING AT YEN DINH

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TEACHING SPEAKING: ACTIVITIES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS I

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims of the study 2

3 Scope of the study 2

4 Methods of the study 2

PART B: CONTENT 3

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 3

1.1 Review of Language Skills 3

1.2 What is speaking and Why teach speaking skill? 3

1.2.1 What is speaking? 3

1.2.2 Why Teach Speaking Skill? 3

1.3 Elements of successful speaking 4

1.3.1 Inputs: 4

1.3.2 Skills: 4

1.3.3 Knowledge: 4

1.4 Principles in teaching speaking 4

1.4.1 Beginning Levels 4

1.4.1.1 Limit the objectives to avoid overwhelming the learners 4

1.4.1.2 Mix the speaking activities with comprehension work 5

1.4.1.3 Provide activities which involve dialogues and functional use of the language 5

1.4.1.4 Do not emphasize the significance of mistakes 5

1.4.1.5 State the purpose/ goal of the activity to the student 6

1.4.2 Intermediate and Advanced Levels 6

1.4.2.1 Focus on and work toward real spontaneous speech: 6

1.4.2.2 Design activities which encourage natural interaction between speakers 6

1.4.2.3 Place students in pairs , triads or small groups 6

1.4.2.4 Provide topics of interest to the students 6

1.4.2.5 At the advanced level, especially in free production , allow only speech in the target language (English) 6

CHAPTER 2: THE CURRENT SITUATIONS 7

IN TEACHING ENGLISH SPEAKING AT YEN DINH 1 HIGH SCHOOL 7

2.1 An overview of the current situation of teaching and learning English at

Yen Dinh 1 High school 7

2.2 Findings from the current situations 7

2.2.1 Results from asking questions 7

2.2.2 Results from observation 7

2.3 Solution 8

CHAPTER 3: ACTIVITIES THAT PROMOTE SPEAKING 8

3.1 Always present yourself as an English speaker, right from the start 8

3.2 Interrupting story 9

3.3 Interviews 9

3.4 Role play 10

3.5 Find someone who 10

3.6 Twenty questions 11

3.7 Brainstorming 12

3.8 Providing a dialogue 12

CHAPTER 4: EXPERIMENT AND RESULT 13

4.1 Participants 13

4.2 Data collection instruments 13

4.3 Results 13

4.3.1 Results from the test 13

4.3.2 Results from the questionnaires 14

4.3.3 Results from observation 15

4.4 Findings 15

PART C: CONCLUSION 16

1 Suggestions for further study 16

2 Conclusion of the study 16

REFERENCES 17 APPENDIXES I APPENDIX 1: SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS IN TEACHING SPEAKING I APPENDIX 2: SOME MORE OTHER ACTIVITIES CAN BE USED TO TEACH SPEAKING SKILL I APPENDIX 3: TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER IN ENGLISH III APPENDIX 4: TALKING ABOUT YOUR FREE TIME AND HOBBIES IN ENGLISH IV

APPENDIX 5: HOW TO DESCRIBE A PERSON IN ENGLISH V

There are many things to teach in teaching English Beside three aspects:pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary, there are four skills: listening,speaking, reading and writing All these things are very important in teachingand learning English Among these, speaking is the most distinguishing feature

of human beings from the other living creatures because it is the natural state oflanguage that all human beings are born to speak their native language Inlearning a second or foreign language, most of the learners find speaking themost difficult skill to have a success because it needs oral communication thatconsists of both speaking and listening

In the part speaking was not considered much in language learning andteaching Primarily, learning structures, rote memorization of sentence patternsand vocabulary, and using literary language were of great importance GrammarTranslation Method defends this However, in the mid-nineteenth century, by thetravelling, the trade and interpersonal connections of Europeans, the primacy ofgrammatical and literacy language decreased, and the use of conversationalskills increased Nowadays, with the rapid development of economy andtechnology which makes people in the world closer and closer, more and morepeople recognize the importance of speaking skill

I have been teaching English in a Upper Secondary School for a fewyears As far as I observed, most of the language teachers’ lessons are taken upwith grammar We teach grammar and we think that our students have learnt it

In examinations we test what we taught in written English so the results becomevery well The students can answer all the written questions about the grammartopic However, when you ask a simple question orally, they have difficulty inanswering it They cannot use their knowledge of grammar for their verbalcommunication

Generally speaking, language is a tool of communication If you cannotspeak, all your effort is in vain Thus we have to give importance to seeking in

our English lessons right from the beginning because there is no use ofknowledge about of a language without having the skill of using it.

As I stated I have been teaching English for a few years and during thistime period I have observed that many of the students have difficulty in speakingEnglish although they are very successful in grammar Most of the students aresilent and do not want to say anything or cannot say anything Participation may

be dominated by certain students Therefore, the question came to my mind.Why? Why are the students successful in grammar but not in speaking Then Iwanted to have a research on this topic with the hope to build up the habit ofspeaking for students and design activities to motivate their students to learn inthe most efficient ways

2 Aims of the study.

The specific aims of this study are as follows:

- Give out the principles for teaching speaking skill

- Put forward some activities that promote speaking

- Apply these techniques in some specific lessons to do my bit ininnovation English Teaching methodology and raise the quality of Englishteaching and learning

3 Scope of the study

This study aims to examine the effective techniques on the development

of learner’s communicative skills in speaking English in Yen Dinh 1 school,which is located in the countryside where teaching and learning conditions arelimited My students pay much attention to other subjects, but not English So Ionly choose some methods that I think can apply to the students in theSecondary Schools in the countryside as my school

4 Methods of the study

To gain effectiveness of the aims the researcher has just mentioned

above, the following methods were used:

- Survey questionnaire for students in class 10A3 and 10A5 at Yen Dinh 1High School to collect information about their views of the current situationsand their feelings about lessons which are used motivated activities

- The results of tests to check the speaking ability of the students in class10A3 and 10A5 at Yen Dinh 1 High School

-Beside these instruments, classroom observation is used to record moreinformation from teachers and students during lessons

- Constant discussions with the supervisor and colleagues are of greatsignificance

PART B: CONTENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL

BACKGROUND1.1 Review of Language Skills

For the purpose of analysis and instruction, language has been dividedinto different skill areas These can be discussed in the framework of how welearned our first language A child first learns to practice language through theskill of listening Later, a child uses language by speaking, combined withlistening Then, when school begins, children learn the skills of reading andwriting The first two skills, listening and speaking, are called the oral skills.The last two, reading and writing, are called the literacy skills

As learners grow in their language ability and use, the different skills areoften integrated with each other so that they are being used in coordination witheach other In conversation, when one person is speaking another is listening.After listening and understanding, the hearer respond by speaking In anacademic setting, while students are listening, they may also be writing notes orreading a handout

However, for the purpose of teaching language, we may divide languageinto the various skill areas and concentrate on one at a time This study focuses

on teaching the skill of speaking I begin with speaking because second (foreign)language learners often neglect or have difficulty with oral production(speaking) Some learners have memorized hundreds of words and manygrammar rules, but they still cannot speak well Many learners can read betterthan they speak This is very much unlike a child who learns to listen and speaklong before learning to read and write

After learning to speak, it is easier to develop reading and writing skills inthe foreign language classroom However, language teachers have found itdifficult to develop their student’s speaking skill

1.2 What is speaking and Why teach speaking skill?

1.2.1 What is speaking?

Speaking is “the process of building and sharing meaning through the use

of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts” (Chaney, 1998, p.13)

1.2.2 Why Teach Speaking Skill?

In today’s teaching climate, it is easy to forget the importance of orallanguage, or speaking and listening skills With all the focus on reading andwriting to prepare for students to take part in GCSE examination, sometimesteachers neglect this more basic aspect of language! Yet students need to learnspeaking skill and have opportunities to practice making their voices heard in asafe and constructive environment Speaking skill is important because:

- Skilled speakers can effectively present their own points of view

- Skilled speakers are often better readers and writers

- Skilled speakers are more confident participants in a variety of both in and out of school

contexts Skilled speakers are able to advocate for themselves and get theiracademic and emotional needs meet.

1.3 Elements of successful speaking

To speak English well, a learner must know (knowledge) and know how

to do (skills) many things

1.3.1 Inputs:

- interesting topic

- ideas and questions to respond to

- teacher’s and students’ enthusiasm

- being able to pronounce clearly

- being able to organize and develop ideas in real time

- being able to produce chunks (phrases)

- being able to ask for clarification

- being able to check understanding

1.3.3 Knowledge:

- knowledge of grammar systems

- knowledge of appropriate language

- knowledge of suitable exchange patterns

- knowledge of phonology

- knowledge of topic

- awareness of what the listener knows and is interested in

1.4 Principles in teaching speaking.

The following principles are divided into two groups: Beginning Levels,

and Intermediate and Advanced Levels It is important to remember that thegoal in language use is natural communication and the principles for thebeginning levels point to and prepare for the principles given for theintermediate and advanced levels It is all too easy to be satisfied with unnatural

or repetitive speech But the goal is natural communication in which realinformation is transferred through speech

1.4.1 Beginning Levels.

1.4.1.1 Limit the objectives to avoid overwhelming the learners

- Provide the students with enough structured practice so they can begininteracting at a basic level

- This will reduce students fear and encourage more speaking

- Later, more free conduction can come after structured practice.

Example of structured practice for a beginner:

Teacher asks: What is he wearing?

Student answers: He is wearing _

Example of a non-structured assignment:

Teacher asks: Please describe what he is wearing

Student: ???

(Such an open-ended question can overwhelm a student if they have notfirst been prepared through adequate practice)

1.4.1.2 Mix the speaking activities with comprehension work

- When the students listen before they speak, it leads to more naturalspeech

- Comprehension work fosters an interaction between speaking andlistening

- Remember, we listened first before we began speaking, so speakingshould involve listening as well

Example using comprehension work:

Teacher has students first listen to or read a dialogue The class candiscuss the meaning of difficult words After understanding the text, they canpractice the dialogue (Speaking, or rather reading aloud, without understandinghas very little benefit There is often no comprehension involved in readingaloud.)

1.4.1.3 Provide activities which involve dialogues and functional use of the

language.

- Focus on language use rather than knowledge about language

- Functions involve a focus on meaning

- Dialogues are more concrete and controlled than less structured drills.Example of knowledge about a language:

A student can describe the structures and parts of speech in a language.Example of knowing how to use a language:

A student can introduce himself or herself, great others, request information,apologize, etc

1.4.1.4 Do not emphasize the significance of mistakes.

- This encourage students to speak without fear of correction

- This increases focus on meaning and communication rather thangrammatical correctness (though such structural errors can also hindercommunication.)

- Corrections should especially focus on problems affecting clearcommunication or language already taught to the students

1.4.1.5 State the purpose/ goal of the activity to the student.

- This provide a context or focus to help comprehension

- It also allows the learners to concentrate on the task and understand whythey are doing it

Examples of purposes in speaking

“Now we will practice describing our friends”

“ In this exercise we will learn to talk about clothing.”

“ In this activity we will practice asking for information.”

1.4.2 Intermediate and Advanced Levels.

1.4.2.1 Focus on and work toward real spontaneous speech:

- Avoid form-bases drills (repetitious or grammar- based exercises)

- Remember real speech is most often unrehearsed or unpracticed

Examples of questions leading to real spontaneous speech:

What did you do last night?

What did you eat for breakfast this morning?

What do you think about the new television program?

1.4.2.2 Design activities which encourage natural interaction between

speakers.

- Human speech most often involves interaction (Monologues are rarelyused)

- Interaction integrates speaking and listening

1.4.2.3 Place students in pairs , triads or small groups.

- Smaller groups, and pairs are student-centered

- This increases the quantity of speech spoken by students

- This decreases the vulnerability of the students and lowers their anxietylevel

1.4.2.4 Provide topics of interest to the students.

- Interesting topics increase student motivation

- This also fosters a focus on meaning (and their personal feelings andthoughts)

- It is good to ask students what they are most interested in

1.4.2.5 At the advanced level, especially in free production , allow only

speech in the target language (English).

- This greatly increases the amount of English spoken

- Having a clear guideline reduces the temptation of students to “hide” intheir native language

- Students may dislike this but should be discouraged from using their ownlanguage without the teacher’s permission

CHAPTER 2: THE CURRENT SITUATIONS

IN TEACHING ENGLISH SPEAKING AT YEN DINH 1 HIGH

SCHOOL2.1 An overview of the current situation of teaching and learning English at Yen Dinh 1 High school.

The study was conducted with students in grade 10 at Yen Dinh 1 highschool Most of them have been learning English for at least 4 years atsecondary schools

2.2 Findings from the current situations.

To find out some current situations in teaching and learning Englishspeaking at Yen Dinh 1 high school, the researcher surveys the current situations

by asking questions and observation The researcher found out some followingresults

2.2.1 Results from asking questions

Most of the students did not know what to say They could not get theideas Besides, they had so few words to express their opinion Some studentswere always silent in class and did not want to say anything In speaking lesson,many students might be inhabited by fear of making a language mistake Some

of them complained that they did not understand what to do in speakingactivities They also had difficulty in pronouncing, they were afraid ofmispronunciation Sometimes, they got trouble in grammar, they could not putthe verbs in the correct tenses Besides a small number of the students believedthat they were very bad at English when they were at lower high school Andthey thought that they cannot put the words in correct order In addition, anumber of the students could not remember all structures ,students could notapply all structures correctly Besides, having a small number of the studentssaid that the lack of teaching aids at school is other difficult of them

The researcher asked students about the main causes of these difficulties Most of the students said the method that teacher used is not suitable Inaddition, they don’t know the good way to learn English structure, Englishvocabulary, pronunciation Meanwhile some them were bad at Englishspeaking when they studied at lower school and they also thought that the lack

of learning aids at school is other main reason that they have difficulties instudying English speaking

2.2.2 Results from observation

 Results from the teacher

Most of the teachers think that speaking is not very important They onlyteach grammar and the meaning of words to prepare the students to take part inGCSE in which speaking skill is not tested Almost the teacher applied thetraditional methods such as: translation, audio-lingual or using PPP model

Besides, the teacher used extra-board or handout However, the applying ofthese traditional method hasn’t been done effectively yet.

About classroom management The teacher asked the students to workindividually most of the time Sometimes, the teacher asked them to work inpairs Sometimes they had to work in groups There were no leader of groups, as

a result, every member in the group was not appointed particular requires

 Results from the students

In my observation, I realized that most of the students never raised theirhands in lessons They were not willing to practice They only practiced whenbeing asked They sat in silence and the teacher usually took notices of betterstudents

Moreover, most of the students felt unconfident when being asked topractice They showed their worry Nobody wanted the teacher to call his/hername in practice speaking

In summary, from the results of asking questions and observation, theresearcher found out some problems in teaching and learning English speaking atYen Dinh 1 High School

Firstly, almost the teachers do not pay great attention to teach speakingskill so they use traditional method in teaching English speaking

Secondly, most of the students do not feel interested in learning speaking.They think they need to be good at grammar They do not pay attention tostudying because they do not have opportunities and motivation to study Theclassroom’s atmosphere makes them feel uninterested in the lessons According

to the classroom observation, very few students contribute to the lessons Theyonly practice when the teacher asks When being asked, all students want theteacher to change the teaching method by applying variety of activities to makethe lesson become more interesting

2.3 Solution

In this part, the researcher provided some activities to help students studyEnglish speaking more effectively Because of limited time, I only give someactivities that I have used during my teaching and I see that these activities arevery useful They help my students become more active in speaking lesson

CHAPTER 3: ACTIVITIES THAT PROMOTE SPEAKING.3.1 Always present yourself as an English speaker, right from the start.

Teachers have to present themselves as an English speaker right from thestart because firstly students have taped new teachers from the first meeting.Teachers should not give up to speak in English anyway, even if students did notunderstand the teacher, teachers have to use pictures, gestures, facial expressionsand etc to get their message across, to wit to make incomprehensible thingsclear to students, but in English

Teacher can ask students some questions before starting any Englishlessons For example:

- Who is in duty today? (if students cannot understand the question, teachercan explain in another way or use some gestures to make studentsunderstand)

- Who is absent today?

- What’s the weather like today? What activity do you like doing most inthis hot/cold/warm/nice weather?

- Did you watch a very exciting football match on television last night? (ifstudent answer “yes”, teacher can ask: please tell your friends somethingabout that football match (teacher can ask questions and student answerthe questions about the football match)

- (After Tet holiday, teacher can ask students ) How was your Tet holiday?What did you do during Tet holiday? What is your most favoriteactivity?

- Teacher can ask students some questions about the events happening inthe school, the neighborhood, in their country, or in the world, ……

3.2 Interrupting story.

This is very a very interesting activity in this students have a chance topractice speaking, listening, and other skills In this activity, teacher or a studenttell a story that students know When telling the story the story- teller includessome wrong information Other students listen to the story When they hear it ifthey recognize the wrong information, they will stop the story and correct it

I use this activity in Task 2- Speaking lesson of Unit 1- Tieng Anh 10

Choose a good student to present before class This student pretends togive the wrong information or wrong order from the pictures The others willstop him and correct or give the correct order

Example: Quan often gets up at 2p.m At 2.15p.m., he watches TV correct) At 5p.m., Quan goes to the stadium by bus(wrong- correct) After that

(wrong-he plays football with his friends At 6.30p.m., (wrong-he goes home At 6.45p.m., (wrong-hedoes his homework (wrong- correct)……

- What time do you have a physics lesson on Monday?

- What lesson do you have at …… on…….?

- What do you often do at 8p.m every day?

- What time do you often watch TV?

- How often do you go swimming?

- Do you often go shopping? When do you go shopping and who do youoften go with?

- Do you like studying chemistry?

- When do you play sports?

- Do you often help your mother with the housework? What kind ofhousework do you often do?

- ………

3.4 Role play.

In this activity, students pretend they are in various social contexts and have

a variety of social roles In role-play activity, t6he teacher gives information tothe learners such as who they are and what they think or feel Thus, the teachercan tell the student that “You are David, you do to the doctor and tell him whathappened last night, and ……”

I use role-play activity in teaching Task 2- Speaking lesson of Unit Tieng Anh 10.

3-Imagine you are a journalist, use the cues give to interview a classmate about his

or her background or that of a person you know well Change the roles whenyou have finished

Example:

A: Good morning, I am working for Thanh nien Newspaper I’d like to ask yousome questions Is it O.K?

B: Good morning That’s fine

A: When were you born?

B: ………

A: Where were you born?

B:………

3.5 Find someone who

Students will give information or ask information from friends and thenpresent it before class After that teacher or a student will ask: Who? And otherstudents will answer who that is

I can use this activity when I teach Speaking lesson of Unit1- Tieng Anh talking about someone’s daily routine.

10- Step 1: Students prepare a table.

Likes English

Has a historylesson onFriday

Watches TVevery night

Help motherwithhousework

 Step 2: Students go around, ask their friends and fill/ tick in the table

 Step 3: The teacher will call some students to report

Example:

- Nam likes English

- Hoa often has a history lesson on Friday

- Nam often watches TV every night

- Nam often helps his mother with housework

- …………

 Step 4: The teacher will ask students:

- Teacher: Find someone who likes English

- Student: Nam likes English

- Teacher: Find someone who has a history lesson on Friday

- Student: Hoa and Mai often have a history lesson on Friday

- Teacher: Find someone who often watches T.V every night

- Student: Nam and Hoa watch T.V every night

- Teacher: Find someone who helps mother with the housework

- Student: Nam and Mai often help mother with the housework

………

I also use this activity when teaching Speaking lesson of Unit 3, Unit 6, Unit 12- Tieng Anh 10.

3.6 Twenty questions.

This activity is carried out as follow:

 step 1: Teacher gives a word or a phrase about a something/ event/someone/ … (e.g a name of a city/ a name of an organization/…….)

 step 2: Students have to find out what it is by giving Yes/No questions.Teacher can set a limit about the number of the questions which depends

on the difficulty of the topic

When teaching Speaking lesson of Unit 7- Tieng Anh 10, I use this activity as

follow:

 Step 1: The teacher writes one of the kind of media on a piece of paper

 Step 2: Students in groups (2 groups) will ask Yes/No questions untilthey find out what the kind of media is (Only in 5 questions)

Example:

- Does it provide information and entertainment orally?

- Do we receive information from it through eyes?

- Does it have beautiful pictures?

- Do we use it for entertainment?

- ………