A STUDY ON DIFFICULTIES OF AND HOW TO ENHANCE COMMUNICATION SKILLS OF STAFF AT THE CONSULTATIVE INSTITUTE FOR SOCIO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL AND MOUNTAINOUS AREAS (CISDOMA)

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY ---————–---GRADUATION PAPER A STUDY ON DIFFICULTIES OF AND HOW TO ENHANCE COMMUNICATION SKILLS OF STAFF AT THE CONSULTATIVE INSTITUTE FOR SOCIO- ECON

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY

-————– -GRADUATION PAPER

A STUDY ON DIFFICULTIES OF AND HOW TO ENHANCE COMMUNICATION SKILLS OF STAFF AT THE CONSULTATIVE INSTITUTE FOR SOCIO- ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL AND MOUNTAINOUS AREAS (CISDOMA)

Supervisor:Luong Thi Minh Phuong, M.A.Student: Pham Thuy Luong Thi Minh Phuong, M.A.Student:Luong Thi Minh Phuong, M.A.Student: Pham Thuy Pham Thuy

DungClass:Luong Thi Minh Phuong, M.A.Student: Pham Thuy K51N4Student code:14D170218Student code:Luong Thi Minh Phuong, M.A.Student: Pham Thuy 14Student code:14D170218D170218

Hanoi - 2019

We have come to the age of globalization People communicate with each otherworldwide, companies in different places do business with each other, and Non-Governmental Organizations overcome physical borders to collaborate In order tomake this communication process smoother and less complex, many people try tospeak in a mutual language, and that language is English

Verbal and nonverbal communications have become more and more important forthe above reasons Unfortunately, even the ones who need to acquire high level ofcommunication skills do not necessarily own that capability Staff at theConsultative Institute for Socio-Economic Development of Rural and MountainousAreas (CISDOMA) are one example The majority of them have goodcommunication skills but some do not This is a disadvantage of the institute Theyhave to work with foreign sponsors and partners all the time and the staff at thisplace should enhance their language ability

Therefore, this research paper will study further on factors that affect thecommunication skills of staff at CISDOMA and how to enhance those skills forthem

This thesis cannot be finished without the support, guidance, and recommendationfrom many others For that reason, I would like to pay my utmost gratitude to thefollowing people

First of all, I would like to express my great appreciation to my supervisor, Ms.Luong Thi Minh Phuong, M.A Ms Luong gave me a lot of precious fundamentalpieces of advice that closely relating to the process of conducting this research andwriting this research paper Without Ms Luong, this thesis would not exist from thevery beginning

Second of all, I would like pay gratefulness to the Consultative Institute of Economic Development for Rural and Mountainous Areas (CISDOMA) for thewonderful opportunity of being their Program Intern I have learnt valuable lessons,technical knowledge, and working skills at this place

Socio-Third of all, I am indebted to the English Faculty of Thuongmai University for thisrare opportunity of writing this research paper

Last but not least, I would like to wish my supervisor as well as all teachers atThuongmai University great health, great happiness, and great career prosperity

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS vi

1 CHAPTER 1:Luong Thi Minh Phuong, M.A.Student: Pham Thuy OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Previous studies 3

1.3 Aims of the study 5

1.4Student code:14D170218 Research questions 5

1.5 Research subjects 6

1.6 Scope of the study 6

1.7 Research methodology 6

1.8 Organization of the study 6

2 CHAPTER 2:Luong Thi Minh Phuong, M.A.Student: Pham Thuy THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 8

2.1 Overview of verbal communication skills 8

2.1.1 Definitions of verbal communication skills 8

2.1.2 Characteristics of verbal communication skills 9

2.1.3 Types of verbal communication skills 11

2.2 The importance of verbal communication skills 13

2.3 Potential problems in acquiring verbal communication skills 15

3 CHAPTER 3:Luong Thi Minh Phuong, M.A.Student: Pham Thuy RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 17

3.1 Procedure for conducting questionnaires and interviews 17

3.1.1 Procedure for conducting questionnaires 17

3.1.2 Procedure for conducting interviews 17

3.2 Data analysis 18

3.2.1 Years of learning English of staff at CISDOMA 18

3.2.2 Level of English proficiency of staff at CISDOMA 19

3.2.3 Emotions of the staff at CISDOMA when they use English verbal communication 20

3.2.4 The frequency of using verbal communication in English of staff at

CISODMA 21

3.2.5 The attitude of staff at CISDOMA toward verbal communication in English 22

3.2.6 Influential factors relating verbal communication skills in English of staff at CISDOMA 23

3.2.7 Difficulties of staff at CISDOMA when they use verbal communication in English 24

3.2.8 Motivation of staff at CISDOMA to enhance English verbal communication skills 25

3.3 Findings and discussion 25

3.3.1 Findings 25

3.3.2 Discussion 29

4Student code:14D170218 CHAPTER 4Student code:14D170218:Luong Thi Minh Phuong, M.A.Student: Pham Thuy RECOMMENDATIONS 32

4Student code:14D170218.1 Train staff to acquire good verbal communication skills in English 32

4.1.1 Hire international and/or local trainers to provide trainings on verbal communication skills in English 32

4.1.2 Obtain materials relating to verbal communication skills in English 33

4.1.3 Encourage staff to practice verbal communication skills in English 33

4Student code:14D170218.2 Organize periodic sessions for staff to practice verbal communication skills in English 34

4Student code:14D170218.3 Limitation of the study 35

4Student code:14D170218.4Student code:14D170218 Suggestion for further study 35

CONCLUSION 36 REFERENCES

APPENDIXES

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1 % Percent

2 & And

3 AOP Action on Poverty

4 BftW Bread for the World

5 CECP Communication Enhances Community Participation

6 CISDOMA The Consultative Institute for Socio-Economic

Development of Rural and Mountainous Areas

7 FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

8 HRM Human Resource Management

9 iNGO international Non-Governmental Organization

10 NGO Non-Governmental Organization

11 NLP Neuro Linguistic Programming

12 No Number

13 NPO Non-Profit Organization

14 OALD Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

15 ODF Organizational Development Facilitator

16 USAID United States Agency for International Development

LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS

1 Chart 3.2.1 Years of learning English of staff at CISDOMA 18

2 Table 3.2.2 Level of English proficiency and listening skills 19

3 Chart 3.2.3 Emotions of the staff when they communicate in English 20

4 Chart 3.2.4 The frequency of using English verbal communication of

staff at CISDOMA

21

5 Table 3.2.5 The attitude of staff at CISDOMA toward English verbal

communication in their professional and private life

22

6 Chart 3.2.6 Influential factors relating to verbal communication

skills of staff at CISODMA

23

7 Chart 3.2.7 Staff’s problems with using verbal communication in

English

24

8 Chart 3.2.8 Motivation of staff a CISDOMA to enhance English

verbal communication skills

25

1 CHAPTER 1:Luong Thi Minh Phuong, M.A.Student: Pham Thuy OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

Tens of years later, employers from both profit and non-profit sectors expect jobcandidates and potential staff to have thorough technical knowledge, necessarytransferable skills, and good English communication capability They want toemploy workers who can communicate with foreign sponsors, investors, andcounterparts Unfortunately, the true ability of job candidates many times does notlive up to the expectation Even though many Vietnamese job seekers spend years

of studying English, they still struggle with English communication Learning English

in primary, secondary and high schools is primarily about grammar and vocabularywith an infrequent opportunity of practicing conversational skills Consequently, manyEnglish learners although achieve quite high score results, they do not have thesufficient capability to communicate in English well in the real world

In recent years, many people choose to work in the Non-GovernmentalOrganization (NGO) environment as this environment allows people who work inthis specific sector to have an exceptional chance to obtain and acquire numerousup-to-date information, knowledge, methodology, and ways of working approach.Local NGOs learn these things mainly from international NGOs (iNGOs) and/orfollow the requests from their project donors Certain phrases such as ‘cost norms’,

‘code of conduct’, ‘sets of tool’, and ‘proposals’ are also technical terms that localNGOs learn and apply from iNGOs

This nonprofit sector requires its staff to have a good command of English,especially English communication They have to obtain, process, and interchange alarge amount of information, ideas, forms, documents and other crucial materialsboth in English and in Vietnamese almost every day Communication skills,particularly verbal communication skills, become the utmost vital and essentialskills because of this reason

Even though working in a NGO requires the staff to have good Englishcommunication skills, many staff at the Consultative Institute for Socio-EconomicDevelopment of Rural and Mountainous Areas (CISDOMA) do not possess suchability CISDOMA gets funds and sponsorships from many different sources andorganizations, such as USAID (United States Agency for InternationalDevelopment), AOP (Action on Poverty), and BftW (Bread for the World) Whilemany staff at this institute speak English fluently and writing emails with foreigncounterparts in English without much of a problem, others still struggle with bothverbal and non-verbal English communication These people need help when theyhave to communicate with foreign sponsors, partners, and trainers Some understandwhen the other talks in English but they do not know how to give their response,some others cannot even afford that English communication level

Being aware of this reality, the author of this thesis hopes that she could studyfurther on factors that affect the communication skills of staff at CISDOMA to helpwork progress of each department runs more smoothly, to avoid any potentialmiscommunication when CISDOMA collaborates with other iNGOs, and to helpCISDOMA follows project sponsors’ requirements more precisely and accurately Because of the above-mentioned reasons, I would like to suggest “A Study onDifficulties of and How to Enhance Communication Skills of Staff at theConsultative Institute for Socio-Economic Development of Rural and MountainousAreas (CISDOMA)” as my research topic This thesis will mainly focus on verbalcommunication skills

1.2 Previous studies

Because of the necessity and importance of communication skills, many scholarshave done researches, written books and journal articles about this topic Thanks tothis, readers may have a better and more thorough understanding of communicationskills, both verbal and nonverbal, and grasp potential solutions with high feasibility

to enhance their communication skills Following are some of them

Recognizing the vital role of communication in social development work, twoscholars conducted a study on this subject Mumtaz Ali (Asia Europe Institute,University of Malaya) and Maya Khemlani David (Faculty of Languages andLinguistics, University of Malaya) worked together and published a study called:

“Communication Enhances Community Participation (CECP): A Testimony of aNGO in Malaysia” in 2013 The study stressed the importance of ‘good governanceand effective communication within the NGOs’ Those are the core factors thatmust be achieved in order to make sure community development projects runsmoothly and successfully The study helps readers learn more about the specialcommunication and relation between NGOs staff and community, especiallycommunity members People may also understand more about communityparticipation and NGO staff’s level of communication adaptation This specificstudy may be even extra valuable to the non-profit sector staff as they may widentheir knowledge of new communication methods to reach their projects’ targetsubjects

Another study called: “Values and the Communication of Change: The ValueFilters of the NLP Communication Model Applied to Aetas in Loob BungaZambales” was published in 2011 This study, however, analyzes communication in

a completely different angle Joana Eunice V Parungao (University of thePhilippines, Diliman, Philippines) sees communication for its values She digsdeeper to find ‘the formation of the mind’s internal representation.’ She thinksmessages we send to each other, attitude we have toward each other, actions wetake toward the surrounding are all affected by our subconscious mind Therefore,

in order to create effective communication strategies that promote positive social

changes, scholars, policy makers, and social workers must consider ‘filters’ or thesubconscious minds as they determine behavior and ways of thinking.

Eileen Scholes, has a new viewpoint on communication within an organization Theeditor of ‘Gower Handbook of Internal Communication’ sees internalcommunication as one of a kind key to open the box of management discipline Thebook helps managers fully comprehend theoretical and technical aspects of internalcommunication and enlarge their management skills and perspectives Goodinternal communication strategies may increase employees’ innovation, flexibility,and motivation This may also develop corporation’s brand and sustain it for a muchlonger time Eileen Scholes and her team also introduce over 45 communicationspecial techniques, present and analyze 16 practical and realistic case studies.Readers may learn new ways of communication with different levels from basic,intermediate to advance

Another research that has a fascinating view on communication is called: “TheGlobal Village: Online Cross-Cultural Communication and HRM” The researchwas conducted by a group of four scholars: Yuka Fujimoto, Nasya Bahfen, JanFermelis, and Charmine E.J Härtel They studied communication not within anorganization but rather online communication via the internet The study describesthe close relation between online communication and cultural diversity Readersmay be amazed to find the paradoxical effects of online communication have on thecultural diversity First, technological progress causes cultural homogeneity.Advances in technology may bring the world closer together but also reduces thebeauty of cultural diversity People become more and more alike, follow trendstogether, and lose their unique features Second, technological progress alsoreinforces cultural fault-lines A fault-line refers to a hypothetical dividing line thatidentifies subgroups within a workforce based on similarities in one or moreattributes (Lau and Murnighan, 1998) Internet websites may look the same in theirdesign but contain cultural specific contents with different languages

Mohammed Al-Hadhrami and Ismail Hussein Amzat conducted a research called:

“Improving the Standard of English Language and Communication amongst SQU

Students in Oman: Challenges and Suggestions.” This research providesinformation on the challenges of learning English and level of using communication

in English of students at Sultan Quaboos University (SQU) Al-Hadhrami andAmzat also give suggestions on how to enhance the frequency of using Englishamong the students and propose methods and techniques to encourage students tolearn verbal English and use English as a second language The research points outthat the lack of practicing English language in daily life is the primary reason whySQU students do not have sufficient English level They also need to improve theirgrammar knowledge and public speaking ability

The author understands that many writers and researchers have done studies andpublished their discovery and knowledge on communication skills, especiallycommunication in English Nonetheless, not many have researched aboutcommunication skills in a Vietnam local NGO in spite of the fact that the skills areutmost crucial and many do not have adequate capability For that reason, the authorconducted a research to study further on verbal communication skills of staff atCISDOMA and methods to enhance their skills

1.3 Aims of the study

The author of this research paper have had a valuable chance to widen herunderstanding of conducting development project-based activities, fund raising, andpost project monitoring and evaluation She learned all of the abovementionedprecious knowledge from CISDOMA’s staff and their partners and sponsors.However, while taking advantage of learning vital lessons and technical work, sherealizes the lack of effective communication between staff within the organizationand between CISDOMA and its partners and sponsors Therefore, she would like topropose the aims of this research is to find factors that are relating to verbalcommunication skills of staff at CISDOMA and possible methods and techniquesthat could enhance CISDOMA’s staff verbal communication skills

1.4Student code:14D170218 Research questions

This research paper will answer the following specific question:

 What are the influential factors that relating to verbal communication skills ofstaff at CISDOMA?

1.5 Research subjects

This research paper focuses mainly on the verbal communication skills of staff atCISDOMA Readers may know more about what internal and external factors thatmight have effects on the staff’s verbal communication skills, what difficulties theyhave to overcome, and what methods and/or solutions they may use to enhance theirverbal communication skills

1.6 Scope of the study

The scope of this study is 30 staff of The Consultative Institute for Socio –Economic Development for Rural and Mountainous Areas (CISDOMA) There is aslight imbalance of the ratio of gender of staff at CISDOMA: 57.5% male and42.5% female The percentage of people who have learned English from three tofive years is 72.5%, the rest have learned English for more than five years All ofthe staff at CISDOMA is non-English native speakers

1.7 Research methodology

The author uses two main methods to collect data for this research: questionnaireand observation By using these methods, she expects to find both quantitative andqualitative data

1.8 Organization of the study

This research is divided into four separate chapters:

Chapter 1: Overview of the study

This chapter explains the reasons why the author conducts this research; givesdetails about other studies that have been conducted and analyzed with the relatingsame topic; aims of the study; scope of the study; and which methods does theauthor use to collect data for the study

Chapter 2: Literature review

This chapter provides readers an overview of communication skills; analyzes theimportance of good verbal communication skills; and potential problems that mightarise when a person try to acquire good verbal communication skills

Chapter 3: Research findings and discussion

This chapter gives details about procedures for conducting questionnaires andinterviews, analyzes data, and discusses the findings

Chapter 4: Recommendations

This chapter gives suggestions and possible solutions so that the staff at CISDOMAcould enhance their verbal communication skills

2 CHAPTER 2:Luong Thi Minh Phuong, M.A.Student: Pham Thuy THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1 Overview of verbal communication skills

2.1.1 Definitions of verbal communication skills

Many people know to the term of ‘verbal communication skills’ in much moresimple words as ‘speaking skills’ Different people have different views on it anddifferent materials give different definitions of it Therefore, the writer of this thesiswould like to give readers some definitions of the skills so that they could have abroader, more diverse, and more multidimensional view

Each scholar gives different definitions of the term They have dissimilar views onverbal communication as they define, analyze, and explore this topic in unalikeways, approaching methods, and circumstances

First of all, Ann L Chaney defines the skills in her book “Teaching OralCommunication” as a process in which the subject uses numerous kinds of verbaland non-verbal symbols to build, share, and transfer his/her ideas, thoughts, andmeanings Verbal communication skills can be used in a variety of contexts, innumerous kinds of forms, and for distinct kinds of purposes

Second of all, H Douglas Brown in the book ‘Teaching by Principles: AnInteractive Approach to Language Pedagogy’ and Anne Burns and Helen Joyce inthe book ‘Focus on Speaking’, however, define the term slightly different from theabovementioned scholar They believe that verbal communication skills mustinvolve people talking with each other and may have their influence on others It is

an interactive process of not only constructing meanings but also producing,receiving and processing pieces of information (Brown, 1994; Burns and Joyce,1997)

On the other hand, dictionaries may give you a much simpler and easier way tounderstand the term Initially, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (OALD)explains the verb ‘speak’ in eight different usages ‘Speak’ is to have aconversation; to use one’s voice; to mention or describe someone and/or something;

to use a language (may or may not to express oneself); to make a speech to theaudience; or to state something officially Longman Dictionary of ContemporaryEnglish dictionary (LDOCE) explains ‘speak’ in a much similar way compared toOALD Readers may be amazed to find that one simple word could have so manydifferent meanings and ways of using To the surprise of many, Merriam – WebsterDictionary has even more definitions of ‘speak’ This dictionary has a total ofeleven definitions of the word Other from the abovementioned definitions, ‘speak’

is also to utter words and/or articulate sounds with an ordinary voice; to engage in aconversation; to express something orally; or to be indicative or suggestive

Analyzing from the history of language development angle, the word ‘speak’ as weknow nowadays does not really comes from English itself but rather a flexiblecombination and adaptation of both English and Germanic languages, which includeDutch and German The actual Old English word of ‘speak’ really is ‘sprecan’ or

‘specan’, which means to ‘utter words’ After many years under the influence ofthe Middle Dutch with the word ‘spreken’ and Old German word “sprechen”,

‘speak’ eventually became the one we know as today

The writer of this thesis believes that ‘verbal communication skills’ or ‘speakingskills’ is to verbally express his/her needs, desires, thoughts, ideas, intentions andeven feelings; to transfer the above mentioned in forms of messages toward others

by engaging in conversations; or simply to utter words, phrases, and sentences Theplain and ancient ‘specan’ was once widely used with the meaning of using yourvoice to deliver words after such a long time of developing, transforming, andadapting gradually becomes the irreplaceable word that we use in a daily basis inthe present day, which is to speak – to spread your ideas to others

2.1.2 Characteristics of verbal communication skills

Salima Mazouzi divides verbal communication into two main characteristics in herresearch ‘Analysis of Some Factors Affecting Learners’ Oral Performance A CaseStudy: 3rd Year Pupils of Menaa’s Middle Schools’ Those two characteristics arefluency and accuracy The author of this thesis is of the same mind about this point

of view Therefore, she would like to analyze the abovementioned characteristics ofverbal communication in this part of the thesis.

First, fluency – the most noticeable feature that plays an extremely important role inverbal communication There are three elements of fluency of verbalcommunication that were pointed out by Torres (1997) They are mechanical skills,language use, and judgment skills First, mechanical skills are the ability within thespeaker This ability shows whether the speaker could use pauses, speed, tone, andcontrol her sentence length This element may help listener focuses on the content,the emotion, and the flow of the speech or story more easily and joyfully Next,language use is the ability that shows if the speaker could talk in a clear, coherent,logical, sensible, and well-reasoned way This is one of the key elements of fluency

It shows the linguistic proficiency of the speaker Last but not least, the element ofjudgment skills This element is the ability to say suitable and relevant words,phrases and/or topics and jokes in a variety of situations for each different particularlistener They are the skills that enable the speaker chooses, shapes, and developsmost appropriate thoughts, ideas, and stories

Second, the characteristic of accuracy – the feature that determines whether aspeaker could be a master of a logical, sensible, and cogent system Thischaracteristic was also divided into three separate elements by Torres (1997) Theyare pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar The first element – pronunciation is aperson’s ability to pronounce sounds of words correctly That person should be able

to use the intonation naturally and still strictly follow stress patterns, both in wordsand sentences, in a comprehensible way Vocabulary, whereas, is the essentialcondition that helps the speaker to produce words in a responsive way It decideswhether one could give a thorough, suitable, and comprehensive response in acertain amount of time and in certain kinds of context The final element is grammar– the ability that shows whether the speaker could produce a speech that strictlyfollows the rule of grammatical structure of a language and the syntactical patterns

of a sentence and/or sentences This element is tremendously vital as it could have astrong effect on not only the intention, the meaning, and the clarity of intendedmessages but also the impression of the other party

Mechanical skills, language use, judgment skills, pronunciation, vocabulary, andgrammar are crucial elements of verbal communication They may help usappreciate more the beauty and attractiveness of verbal communication This kind

of communication involves the special knowledge of not only linguistic competencybut also communicative competency to set up an efficient, suitable, and appropriateoral message transmission While linguistic competence is the ability that one needs

to acquire, manage, and follow the rule of grammatical structure, communicativecompetence is the ability that one needs to have to communicate in at least onelanguage

The author of this research paper strongly believes that it is vital and essential tohave a clear and stable balance between fluency and accuracy A speaker shouldhave the ability to string sounds and words together to communicate and interactsuccessfully with others, Lindsay and Knight (2006) He/She needs to have thecapability of making a suitable, appropriate, and sensible response In some cases,the speaker may also need to own the ability of ‘beating around the bush’ toalleviate the pain and torment from cruel realities or harsh emotions It is evidentthat the speaker must have the ability of mastering a language to give a good fluentresponse in variety and numerous of contexts To acquire such ability, one mustpractice for a long time with high percentage of language and communicationexposure

2.1.3 Types of verbal communication skills

This part of the research paper will give readers the classification of verbalcommunication skills According to Vilagran (2008), this kind of skills can bedivided into three types They are interactive, partially interactive, and non-interactive

Interactive is having a face-to-face conversation or calling someone via a handsetdevice Interactive verbal communication allows people who join in theconversation to talk and listen to each other alternately This type of communicationalso enables people to ask for further clarification, explanation, repetition, and/or

slower the speed of talking from the other person This type of verbalcommunication allows the listeners utmost freedom compared to the other two Thelistener could become the speaker at anytime while joining the conversation thespeaker could quickly turn into the listener Interactive is suitable for dailyconversations, for formal meetings, and for group study environment.

Partially interactive communication is slightly different from the previous one Thistype is used when someone has to give a speech to a live audience This means thatthe audience usually does not have as much chance to speak while the speakercommunicates and delivers his/her ideas and stories to them While interactivecommunication allows listeners to ask the speaker back if they need the other toclarify something, partially interactive communication does not offer the exactfavorable condition In this type of communication, the speaker usually has to lookfor facial expressions and body languages to know whether the audienceunderstands the speaker, which means it is not as easy to receive response from thelisteners fully and completely

The last type of verbal communication is non-interactive People have to use thistype when they record their speeches for a particular purpose, such as a radiobroadcast, a television national news show, or a music video People also use itwhen they practice performing art, namely a play or live singing It is completelyunderstandable that listeners or the audience usually do not give their response inthis type of verbal communication They barely have any chance to express theirthoughts and feelings, let alone give feedbacks to the speakers However, non-interactive is used just as often as the other types as it still has advantages thatcannot be replaced by any other type

Readers can see that with each specific context, in different situation, and for avariety of purposes, people choose the most appropriate and proper type of verbalcommunication to bring out the best advantages of that type and to foster the effects

as ideal as possible Even though when one uses non-interactive communication, thelisteners in this case become the audience can still get the benefits of it Theyusually cannot talk or give feedback to the speaker Yet, this is also the strength of

non-interactive The audience may have a better chance to focus whole-heartedly onthe messages that the speaker wants to deliver or the heart-warming stories thespeaker tries to tell Partially interactive is also important and necessary sometimes.

It gives the speaker full attention of his/her audience It allows the speaker toexpress his thoughts freely with a lot of control Interactive verbal communicationcan simply be seen as normal and daily conversation that one has with another orothers However, it allows everyone who joins in the conversation to be the speakerand gives him/her the utmost freedom and liberty to exchange, discuss, send, andreceive information in an enjoyable way

Interactive, partially interactive, and non-interactive are equally important Eachtype has its own unique features, benefits, and downsides Depends on the purpose

of different speakers, one may choose the most suitable type of verbalcommunication to get the best effects of it Good verbal communication is not onlyabout mastering the fluency and accuracy of the way one speaks but also aboutusing the right type to deliver meaningful messages and ideas

2.2 The importance of verbal communication skills

The grace of verbal communication is that it enables speakers to have a sense ofsharing, expressing, and inspiring others By mastering fluency and accuracy, aspeaker may attract full attention from the audience before delivers a speech.Storytellers may excite listeners, singers may sooth the aches inside broken hearts,and priests may inspire their followers to do good deeds That is the reason whyverbal communication is so vital and crucial

Jehan Mahmoud Ashour (2014) summarizes that there are eight reasons to explainwhy verbal communication is so undoubtedly important The author of this thesiswill not only mention but also give further details about all of them

First, verbal communication is a special tool that allows us to express our emotions,explains our thoughts, ideas, understandings, and discoveries It also enables us todiscuss with each other and to give response and feedback to others This is one ofthe most fundamental usages of speaking

Second, owning excel verbal communication skills with a high level of proficiency

of the language gives the speaker a distinctive advantage to deliver ideas to otherpeople and earn a higher respect from the audience

Third, being a master of verbal communication skills empowers the speaker toattract much more attention and focus from the audience He/She may be the one tocontrol and even own that kind of intense focus until the final of his/her messages.Fourth, these are seemingly simple yet uttermost crucial skills to the ones who want

to have a better chance of achieving great success By making a good impression onother people, especially the very important ones, he/she wins favor of his/hersuperiors and/or partners

Fifth, having the ability of outstanding public verbal communication skills is onevital characteristic of a leader This enables the speaker to persuade, influence, andeven shape minds of other people He may also empower others, run campaigns,and advocate public policies for the benefits of others

Sixth, being an expert of verbal communication skills in a cross-cultural and language environment gives even more advantages comparing to the vice versa.This helps the speaker learns from others and fits in the new environment morequickly, breaks down language barriers, and gets help and support from thesurrounding more easily

multi-Seventh, in an organization or institution, having the skills facilitates and nurtures amore secured and powerful sense of membership between its members, andaccelerates respect and loyalty The organization, therefore, becomes more stablesince it is full of energetic, loyal, and trustworthy people with a close-knitrelationship

Eighth, good verbal communication skills help avoid and alleviate unnecessarymisunderstandings, miscommunication, errors and problems This is extremelyimportant whenever one individual has to work in a team with other teammates toachieve the same goal and target Good verbal communication skills are also crucialwhen an organization has to work with other partners to work on a same project or

to make sure the organization follow its sponsors’ requirements correctly,accurately, and precisely

Verbal communication skills are the utmost vital skills They help us communicate,interact, and stay connected with each other Verbal communication allows us toexpress our inner feelings, desires, and imaginations These skills enable us to makefriends and find the one we love, get crucial help and support whenever we need.Verbal communication is one of many characteristics that make us so special,unique, and different from other species

2.3 Potential problems in acquiring verbal communication skills

There are numerous and variety of problems that might arise at anytime during theprocess of acquiring new verbal communication skills These problems may comefrom external circumstances or internal ability and feeling However, unexpectedproblems come many times from both inside and outside of the learner The author

of this thesis will give further details in the followings

First and foremost, English learners may experience the difficulty of shifting fromone language to another, in this case is from the mother-tongue language to English.The learner is so used to the language he has known and used for his whole life thatusing a completely new language to communicate with others seem to be a

‘Mission: Impossible’ Learning verbal communication skills in a new languagetakes a lot of time to establish a new habit so that the brain could get used to it Thisalso requires a great deal of effort, hard work and determination He also needs tosustain his diligence especially when that person lives in an environment full ofpeople who could only talk in his mother-tongue language

Second, people may feel disheartened if they do not have the linguistic intelligenceability Some may pick up a new language and master it within a few years Theymay learn new words and phrases extremely fast They could also have a widerange of vocabulary, use collocations and phrasal verbs correctly, appropriately oreven charmingly They may mimic the natural sound, stress, intonation, and flow ofnative speakers after just one or two times of trying to practice Many others are not

so fortunate and they could be the exact opposite of what the author has mentioned

before They forget new phrasal verbs and collocations quickly even though theyhave just learnt the day before and/or practice pronouncing the same word tens oftimes and still not making any progress Without the linguistic intelligence ability, it

is hard for many people to stay positive and maintain their strength of will

Third, many people complain that self-study does not give them motivation yet peerlearning is not so effective either People who are not good English speakers tobegin with tend to be shy and timid They are afraid of making mistakes whiletalking even more compared to when they talk in their mother-tongue language.They worry that others learners might mock them or laugh at them when they makemistakes A research of Tuan and Mai (2015) shows that eight out of tenVietnamese students use Vietnamese even when they are in an English class.William Little Wood (2007) also states that peer language learning could causeshyness, embarrassment, and anxiety Some people may be surprised that peerlearning could sometimes turn into peer pressure This is when external factors meetinternal difficulties

Fourth, another problem is that many English syllabuses, curricula, and otherrelating materials have so much in common that they make learners feel bored anddiscouraged Learning something repeatedly so many times makes one lose interest,

if that person has any, and over the time he simply cannot maintain hisdetermination anymore Not to mention when a learner does not have many chances

to practice English verbal communication, he will forget what he has learntgradually and he might not be able to use the skills when he needs it

Finally, many English verbal communication learners are actually incredibly busy.They usually have a fulltime job and many of them also have a family withchildren It is hard for them to find the time to practice and enhance their verbalcommunication skills Even if they do find the time to exercise their verbalcommunication skills, they feel burnt out from working to much or having too manytasks to finish

3 CHAPTER 3:Luong Thi Minh Phuong, M.A.Student: Pham Thuy RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Procedure for conducting questionnaires and interviews

3.1.1 Procedure for conducting questionnaires

A survey was conducted in almost a working week for 30 staff at the ConsultativeInstitute of Socio-Economic Development of Rural and Mountainous Areas(CISDOMA) The author of this thesis chose to conduct this particular survey byusing questionnaires with nine different multiple-choice questions and 24 out of 30staff answered their questionnaire questions Topics of the questionnaire range fromcurrent English level and attitude toward English communication at the workplace

to factors that affect English communication ability Some questions also allow theanswerers to add their own specific answers in case that none of the suggestedchoices is suitable for them Others allow the answerers choose more than onechoice but less than four The average time of finishing a questionnaire is from five

to seven minutes

Questions of the questionnaire serve the purpose of providing vital information ofthe answerers They give various specific details from years of learning English andcurrent English level to factors affecting English speaking performance anddifficulties someone has to face when he/she communicates in verbal English Thequestionnaire also suggests potential solution for the staff to improve their verbalcommunication skills

3.1.2 Procedure for conducting interviews

Aside from using questionnaires, the author also conducted in-depth interviews withthe staff at CISDOMA when she was a Program Intern at this Non-ProfitOrganization (NPO) The author was able to contact 16 people for this activity.Each interview takes from 8 to 10 minutes at the meeting room of CISDOMA Theinterviewer made sure that there were only the interviewer and one interviewee at atime so that her interviewees could feel as comfortable as possible She believes thiswill help interviewees give answers that are more honest She also used a recording

device to fully catch all of the delivered meanings, messages, and emotions of theinterviewers with their acceptance

3.2 Data analysis

The crucial collected data will be shown and analyzed in the following part Thesedata were retrieved and summarized from the questionnaire and interview questionsfor the staff of CISDOMA

3.2.1 Years of learning English of staff at CISDOMA

Chart 3.2.1 Years of learning English of staff at CISDOMA

(Source: Question 1 of the questionnaire)

It is not surprised that most staff at CISDOMA has learnt English for many years:75% of them have learned English for over 7 years; 12.5% have learned from 5 to 7years; and 4.2% have learned English from 3 to 5 years However, readers can alsosee that 8.3% of the staff who have studied English in less than a year

“I have studied English from I was in sixth grade However, during the time I was astudent, English was not anything more than a normal subject I did not study it wellback then so I did not like it I still study English now I read a few pages of books

in English almost every day to my son but I do not think my English is improving”

(Nguyen Thi Thanh Nha, Project Officer) (Source: Question 3 of the interview)