A study on the use of New English File Elementary to teach speaking skills to first-year students at the Military Technical Academy

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES --- LƯƠNG THỊ LAN HƯƠNG A STUDY ON THE USE OF NEW ENGLISH FILE E

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

-

LƯƠNG THỊ LAN HƯƠNG

A STUDY ON THE USE OF NEW ENGLISH FILE ELEMENTARY TO TEACH SPEAKING SKILLS TO FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT THE MILITARY

TECHNICAL ACADEMY Nghiên cứu về việc sử dụng giáo trình New English File sơ cấp để dạy

kỹ năng nói cho sinh viên năm thứ nhất tại Học viện kỹ thuật quân sự

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

-

LƯƠNG THỊ LAN HƯƠNG

A STUDY ON THE USE OF NEW ENGLISH FILE ELEMENTARY TO TEACH SPEAKING SKILLS TO FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT THE MILITARY

TECHNICAL ACADEMY Nghiên cứu về việc sử dụng giáo trình New English File sơ cấp để dạy

kỹ năng nói cho sinh viên năm thứ nhất tại Học viện kỹ thuật quân sự

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

Supervisor: Đỗ Tuấn Minh, Ph.D

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY OF THE THESIS

I certify my authorship of the thesis entitled:

A STUDY ON THE USE OF NEW ENGLISH FILE ELEMENTARY TO TEACH SPEAKING SKILLS TO FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT THE

MILITARY TECHNICAL ACADEMY

in terms of Statement of Requirements for Theses and Field Study Reports in Masters’ Programs, and this thesis has not, wholly or partially, been submitted for any degree to any other universities or institutions

HANOI, 2015

LƯƠNG THỊ LAN HƯƠNG

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Dr Đỗ Tuấn Minh, who has given me a lot of valuable advice, timely encouragement and constructive comments during the completion of my thesis If not for his support, this thesis would have never come into existence

I would also like to give my special thanks to all teachers at Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University for their interesting lectures, which inspired me to do this research

Post-My gratitude also extends to all my colleagues and students at the Military Technical Academy for their enthusiastic participation and constructive suggestions

Finally, my sincere thanks go to my family members, who have given me a great deal of energy and support to accomplish this study

ABSTRACT

It has been widely accepted that coursebooks play an important role in the EFL context Coursebook evaluation, therefore, is of great importance so that its pedagogical contribution to the teaching and learning process can be assured In the context of the Military Technical Academy (MTA), the coursebook New English File Elementary (NEFE) first published in 2004 by Clive Oxenden, Christina Latham-Koenig and Paul Seligson has been in use for 3 years without any real evaluation This study investigated the suitability of this coursebook in teaching and developing speaking skills for first-year students, thereby improving English language teaching and learning in this educational environment The study was conducted with a combination of document analysis, survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews The findings revealed a number of such strengths as course objectives obtained, integrated speaking skills, communication-orientedness, adequate supply of speaking activities and support for speaking, attractive layout, motivating speaking tasks, etc which far outweighed its weaknesses Once problems have been identified, suggestions for better use involving coursebook adaptation and the implementation of the book in the classroom would be made

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Certificate of originality of the thesis……… i

Acknowledgements ………ii

Abstract……… iii

Table of contents……… iv

List of abbreviations……… vi

List of tables, charts and figures……… vii

PART A: INTRODUCTION……… 1

1 Rationale for the study……… 1

2 Aims of the study………1

3 Research questions……… 1

4 Scope of the study……… ………2

5 Methods of the study……… 2

6 Design of the study……….2

PART B: DEVELOPMENT………3

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW………3

1.1 Materials in Language Teaching and Learning……… 3

1.1.1 The role of teaching materials……….3

1.1.2 Types of teaching materials……….4

1.1.3 Description of New English File Elementary ………5

1.2 Materials Evaluation………6

1.2.1 Definition……….………6

1.2.2 Types of materials evaluation……… 7

1.2.3 Models for materials evaluation……… 8

1.2.4 Criteria for materials evaluation……… …… 10

1.2.5 Materials Adaptation……….12

1.3 Speaking Skills……… …13

1.3.1 Definition and importance of speaking skills……… ….14

1.3.2 Approaches to teaching speaking skills……….14

1.3.3 Types of classroom speaking activities……….16

1.3.4 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity……… 17

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY……… 19

2.1 Description of the context……… 19

2.1.1 The setting……… …19

2.1.2 Course objectives………19

2.1.3 Course assessment……… 20

2.2 Research Method………20

2.2.1 Participants……….20

2.2 2 Data collection instruments……… 21

2.2.3 Data analysis procedure……… 22

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION……… 23

3.1 Document analysis……….23

3.2 Teacher Survey……… 28

3.3 Student Survey……… 31

3.3 Major Findings……… 34

3.3.1 Strengths of the coursebook……… 34

3.3.2 Weaknesses of the coursebook………36

3.3.3 Suggestions for better use of the book……….…36

PART C: CONCLUSION……… 39

1 Conclusion of the study……… 39

2 Limitations of the study……… 40

3 Suggestions for further research……… 40

REFERENCES……….42 APPENDIX 1………I APPENDIX 2………III APPENDIX 3………IV APPENDIX 4……… VII APPENDIX 5………X

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ESP English for Specific Purpose

ESL English as a second language

EFL English as a foreign language

MTA Military Technical Academy

NEFE New English File Elementary

CEFR Common European Framework of Reference

LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS AND FIGURES

Figure 1: The materials evaluation model by Hutchinson and Waters (2001) 9

Table 1: Comparison of the objectives of speaking activities in NEFE and the

course objectives 26

Table 2: Characteristics of speaking tasks 27

Table 3: Teachers’ evaluation on the course objectives 28

Table 4: Teachers’ evaluation on the speaking content of the book 29

Table 5: Students’ evaluation on the course objectives 31

Table 6: Students’ evaluation on the speaking content of the book 32

Table 7: Students’ evaluation on classroom speaking practice 34

Chart 1: Sections of skills throughout the book 27

Chart 2: Teachers’ evaluation on speaking topics 30

Chart 3: Teachers’ and students’ evaluation on speaking topics 33

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the study

Nowadays, it is undeniable that English has become an international language and English teaching and learning is hectically taking place everywhere At the Military Technical Academy (MTA) in particular and Vietnamese universities in general, teaching English tends to focus on teaching four skills, among which, speaking seems to receive the most attention as Vietnamese students are often said to be bad

at speaking English or communicating in English even though they have spent many years at school learning it Moreover, it is obvious that successful English language teaching depends on many factors, among which, the coursebook plays a significant role At MTA, the coursebook ‘New English File Elementary’ (NEFE) first published in 2004 by Clive Oxenden, Christina Latham-Koenig and Paul Seligson has been employed to teach General English for first-year students for 3 years However, so far there have been no evaluations conducted to identify the strengths and weaknesses of this coursebook as well as to measure its suitability in

this educational environment From that real situation, I chose “A study on the use

of New English File Elementary to teach speaking skills to first-year students at the Military Technical Academy” as the subject of my M.A thesis in the hope that

the findings will partially contribute to improving the quality of English language teaching and learning

2 Aims of the study

The ultimate aim of the study is to improve English language teaching and learning

at MTA by means of evaluating the suitability of the coursebook: NEFE in teaching and developing speaking skills for first-year students in this educational setting The specific objectives of the study are as follows:

- To identify the strengths and weaknesses of the coursebook in terms of teaching and developing speaking skills for first-year students at MTA

- To make some recommendations for better use of the book

3 Research questions

Question 1: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the coursebook: New

English File Elementary in teaching and developing speaking skills for first-year students at the Military Technical Academy?

Question 2: What suggestions should be made for better use of the book?

4 Scope of the study

Coursebook evaluation involves a variety of aspects and different types (pre-use, use and post-use evaluation); however, due to the limit of a minor thesis, this paper only focuses on a post-use evaluation of NEFE in teaching speaking skills to first-year students at MTA

in-5 Methods of the study

To best answer the above-mentioned two research questions, the researcher combined both qualitative and quantitative methods More specifically, the following data collection instruments have been employed:

- Document analysis: The researcher as the evaluator analyzes the speaking

sections of the coursebook: NEFE

- Survey - questionnaires: Two sets of questionnaires are designed for students

who have finished the coursebook NEFE and English teachers who have been used the book

- Semi-structured interviews: Informal interviews are conducted with students and

English teachers to clarify issues in the survey

6 Design of the study

Apart from Introduction, Conclusion, References and Appendices, the paper consists of three chapters

Chapter 1 is Literature Review, which aims at providing some basic terminologies and concepts related to the studied matter

Chapter 2 entitled Research Methodology deals with the setting and the subjects of the study, as well as the method of data collection and analysis

Chapter 3 named Data Analysis and Discussion will present data analysis results, major findings and recommendations for better use of the book in the future

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter provides the related theoretical bases for the study There are three main issues which will be addressed: material in language teaching and learning, material evaluation and speaking skills

1.4 Materials in Language Teaching and Learning

According to Tomlinson (1998), materials are anything which is used to help to teach language learners Materials can be in the form of a textbook, a workbook, a cassette, a CD-Rom, a video, a photocopied handout, a paragraph written on a whiteboard: anything which presents or informs about the language being learned Dudley-Evan and St John (1998) also say that materials are used in all language teaching and their role is of great importance in the process of language teaching and learning In the following parts, the role of teaching materials, types of teaching materials and the description of one type of teaching materials: New English File Elementary will be, in turn, presented

1.4.1 The role of teaching materials

The role of teaching materials has been discussed by many different authors Richards and Rogers (cited in Nunan, 1991) view instructional materials as detailed specifications of content, and guidance to teachers on both the intensity of coverage and the amount of attention demanded by particular content or pedagogical tasks Richards and Rogers’ perspective is supported and clarified by Richards (2001, 251)

“… instructional materials generally serve as the basis for much of the language input learners receive and the language practice that occurs in the classroom”

He further explains that materials provide the basis for the content of the lesson, the kind of language practice students can take part in and the balance of skills taught

In addition, good teaching materials are of great help to inexperienced teachers or

poorly-trained teachers They can serve as “a form of teacher training” (Richards (2001, 251)) It means that teachers can get ideas on how to plan and teach lessons

as well as formats from those materials Cunningsworth (1995) also summarizes the roles of teaching materials (particularly coursebooks) in language teaching as: a resource for presentation materials (spoken and written); a source of activities for learner practice and communicative interaction; a reference source for learners on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and so on; a source of stimulation and ideas for classroom activities; a syllabus and a support for less experienced teachers who have yet to gain in confidence

It is obvious that teaching materials play a key and crucial role in language teaching and learning Language teachers need to take account of the roles as well as the requirements of materials when designing or selecting teaching materials in their own context towards the effective teaching and learning

1.4.2 Types of teaching materials

According to Richards (2001), teaching materials consist of printed materials (books, workbooks, worksheets, readers, etc.), nonprint materials (cassettes, videos,

computer-based materials), materials that comprise both print and nonprint sources (self-access materials, materials on the internet) and materials not designed for instructional use (magazines, newspaper, TV materials) However, Robinson (1991)

divides teaching materials two types: published materials and in-house materials

In-house materials refer to institutionally prepared materials or teacher-prepared materials whereas published materials in the classroom usually refer to coursebooks

or textbooks which often comprise a set of materials: student’s or pupil’s books, workbooks, teacher’s books, cassettes, CD-Roms and sometimes even videos

Gower et al (2005) indicate a number of advantages of using a good coursebook Firstly, it takes some of the preparation load off teachers because it is less time-consuming than designing a syllabus and creating materials from scratch Secondly,

Thirdly, it normally provides variety and a balanced diet of language work: grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, skills work, and it contains study skills and learner development activities Next, a ready-made source of tried and tested activities is provided Lastly, it is professionally produced with visuals, cassettes, etc They also raise the awareness of pitfalls when using a coursebook First, it is not always easy to find a coursebook that will suit the needs and interests of all the students in a class Second, it may stop teachers from being creative in their search for texts and activities that will motivate students Additionally, as for inexperienced teachers, following a coursebook may prevent them from exploring

in depth the language they teaching; they may find themselves ‘going through the motions’ without really understanding what they are doing and why Finally, a coursebook is nearly always a compromise as there are too many things to be fitted into a small pot

1.4.3 Description of New English File Elementary

New English File Elementary is the focus of this study, so it is necessary to give some general information about this coursebook

NEFE designed by Clive Oxenden, Christina Latham-Koenig and Paul Seligson is a complete package for both teachers and students It was developed from two original books: English File 1 (1996) and English File 2 (1997) It consists of a Student’s book, a workbook, a teacher’s book, a test booklet with keys, a class audio (CDs or cassettes), a video, a MultiROM and especially a website with interactive exercises and games It is in a series of the 7-level adult books for today’s leaners of English with a slogan ‘the course that gets students talking’ It covers A1 level on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and leads into A2 This coursebook was first internationally published in 2004 by Oxford University Press, so it belongs to “published materials” (Robinson, 1991)

In NEFE Student’s book, there are nine units, each of which is divided into 4 lessons except for the last unit At the end of each unit, there is a ‘Practical English’

section, a writing section and two pages of ‘Revise and Check’ Each lesson covers

a grammatical point, items of vocabulary in one or two topics, and one or two aspects of pronunciation Unlike other popular coursebooks at the same level, NEFE places a strong emphasis on pronunciation (vowel sounds, consonant sounds, word stress, sentence stress, consonant groups, silent letters, etc.) besides clearly-presented grammar and vocabulary, which is supposed to help students gain confidence in speaking English At the back of the book, Grammar Bank, Vocabulary Bank, extra communication activities, tapescripts, a list of irregular verbs and Sound Bank are included

Since the aim of the book indicated by the authors is to get students talking, every lesson in NEFE has at least a speaking activity which activates grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation Moreover, the Communication section at the back of the student’s book provides ‘information gap’ activities to give students a reason to communicate What is more, teachers can make use of photocopiable communication activities which can be found in the teacher’s book These include pairwork activities, mingle activities and games

1.5 Materials Evaluation

1.5.1 Definition

Different authors have different views on materials evaluation Tomlinson (1998) defines materials evaluation as “the systematic appraisal of the value of materials in relation to their objectives and to the objectives of the learners using them” He further explains that valuable materials are those in which the learning points should

be potentially useful to the learners and the learning procedures should maximize the likelihood of the learners’ actually learning what they want and need to learn

Nunan (1988) suggests that materials evaluation should be “a process not a final product” It means that evaluation takes place at any time during the material designing process He also emphasizes that evaluation is to determine whether the

According to Hutchinson and Waters (2001, 96), materials evaluation is a matter of judging its fitness for a particular purpose “Given a certain need, and in the light of the resources available, which out of number of possibilities can represent the best solution? There is no absolute good or bad- only degrees of fitness for the required purpose”

However, the following definition by Brown (1995, 218), in my opinion, seems to

be a comprehensive one It highlights the importance of relevant information gathering from the curriculum, the syllabus, the material and the participants

“Evaluation is the systematic collection and analysis of all relevant information necessary to promote the improvement of a curriculum, and assess its effectiveness and efficiency, as well as the participants’ attitude within the context of the particular institution involved”

1.5.2 Types of materials evaluation

Generally, there are three types of materials evaluation though they are named differently by different authors Robinson (1991, 59) classifies materials evaluation into three types: preliminary evaluation, formative evaluation and summative evaluation while Tomlinson (1998) calls them pre-use, whilst-use and post-use evaluation respectively

Preliminary or pre-use evaluation takes place before a course starts with the aim of choosing the material that will be relevant and appropriate for a particular group of learners This can be done by “identifying a set of criteria which are used to reach a decision regarding which book to adopt and how it needs to be adapted” (Tomlinson, 1998, 220)

Formative or whilst-use evaluation occurs while the course is ongoing, and the findings are used to make modifications to the materials

Summative or post-use evaluation is referred to as retrospective evaluation by Ellis (1997) According to Ellis, such an evaluation provides the teacher with information

to determine whether it is worthwhile using the material again, which tasks and activities are suitable and which are not, and how to modify the materials to make them more effective for future use In other words, a summative evaluation is carried out to determine the value of teaching materials after they have been used

In short, whatever type of evaluation is used, Robinson (1991) says it is very important that the evaluator needs to identify clearly the reasons for their evaluation

so that it can be beneficial for the use of the materials Since NEFE has been employed for 3 years at MTA, I decided to choose summative or post-use evaluation to measure the appropriateness of this material in teaching speaking skills and make some recommendations for better use of the book

1.5.3 Models for materials evaluation

The following three models proposed by Ellis (1997), Hutchinson and Waters (2001), and McDonough and Shaw (2003) are the most commonly used ones

1.5.3.1 Evaluation Model by Ellis

Ellis (1997) proposes an empirical evaluation by means of micro-evaluation A micro-evaluation is the evaluation of one particular teaching task in which the evaluator has a special interest with reference to its actual teaching and learning context The steps are as follows:

1 Choosing a task to evaluate;

2 Describing the task with specifications of input, procedures, language activities and outcomes;

3 Planning the evaluation with reference to the dimensions above;

4 Collecting the information for the evaluation;

5 Analyzing the information;

6 Reaching conclusions and making recommendations;

7 Writing the report

1.5.3.2 Evaluation Model by Hutchinson and Waters

Hutchinson and Waters (2001) propose an evaluation model which consists of 4 steps: defining criteria, subjective analysis, objective analysis and matching (see Figure 1)

As can be seen in Figure 1, this model shows a logical procedure for materials evaluation In the very first step, the evaluator must identify the important criteria which the materials evaluation is based on The next step is subjective analysis, i.e analysis of your course in terms of materials requirements In the third step, the evaluator analyzes the material being evaluated Finally, it is a matching process that answers the question how far the material meets the course requirements

1.5.3.3 Evaluation Model by McDonough and Shaw

McDonough and Shaw (2003) suggest a flexible two-stage model for the comprehensive evaluation of coursebooks, namely external evaluation and internal evaluation

Figure 1: The materials evaluation process

What realizations of the

criteria do you want in

your course?

DEFINE CRITERIA How does the material being evaluated realize the criteria?

MATCHING How far does the material match your needs?

An external evaluation includes criteria which give an overview of the organizational foundation of the coursebook, as stated explicitly by the authors through the cover, the introduction, and the table of contents The evaluation at this stage helps the evaluator to determine whether the material is potentially appropriate or not If the external evaluation shows that the material is potentially appropriate then the internal stage is carried out If not, the evaluation will stop at the external stage

An internal evaluation is an in-depth investigation into the coursebook, “to see how far the materials in question match up to what the author claims as well as to the aims and objectives of a given teaching program” (McDonough & Shaw 2003, 64)

In summary, although these three models may be different in respect of procedures and scope of evaluation, they all serve to evaluate whether or not the materials are appropriate to a certain group of learners and a particular context In this study, with the research purpose, the amount of time available and the setting in mind, the researcher will adopt the model recommended by McDonough & Shaw (2003) to evaluate the currently-used material at MTA

1.5.4 Criteria for materials evaluation

Criteria are the bases upon which the evaluator depends when making judgments Defining criteria for evaluation is one of the crucial issues evaluators must take into consideration before any evaluation takes place According to Dudley-Evans and St John (1998), criteria for materials evaluation depend on what is being evaluated and why they need to be evaluated Researchers like Sheldon (1988), Williams (1983), Ellis and Johnson (1994), Cunningsworth (1995), Hutchinson and Waters (2001), McDonough & Shaw (2003) have suggested certain sets of criteria However, the following three sets of criteria proposed by Sheldon (1988), Cunningsworth (1995), and McDonough & Shaw (2003) are the most popular

1.5.4.1 Criteria defined by Sheldon (1988)

Sheldon (1988) suggests a wide range of criteria that can be used to evaluate almost all aspects of materials The criteria suggested by Sheldon include rationale, availability, user definition, layout/graphic, accessibility, linkage, selection/ grading, physical characteristics, appropriacy, authenticity, sufficiency, cultural bias, educational validity, stimulus/ practice/ revision, flexibility, guidance, and overall value for money

1.5.4.2 Criteria defined by Cunningsworth (1995)

Cunningsworth (1995) proposes four criteria for evaluating textbooks, particularly coursebooks

First, they should correspond to learners’ needs They should match the aims and

objectives of the language learning program

Second, they should reflect the uses (present or future) that learners will make of the

language Textbooks should be chosen that will help equip students to use language effectively for their own purposes

Third, they should take account of students’ needs as learners and should facilitate

their learning process, without dogmatically imposing a rigid ‘method’

Fourth, they should have a clear role as a support for learning Like teachers, they

mediate between the target language and the learner

He also presents a checklist for textbook evaluation and selection organized under the following categories: aims and approaches, design and organization, language content, skills, topic, methodology, teachers’ book, and practical considerations

1.5.4.3 Criteria defined by McDonough and Shaw (2003)

McDonough & Shaw (2003) suggest a set of criteria for external and internal evaluation For external evaluation, comments on some or all of the following may

be made:

The intended audience: Who the material is written for?

The proficiency level: What level is the material suitable for?

The context in which material is to be used: Whether the material is for teaching GE

or perhaps for teaching ESP?

How the language has been presented and organized into teachable units/ lessons:

whether the material fits into an educational program in relation to time

The author’s views on language and methodology

Is the material used as the main ‘core’ course or to be supplementary to it?

Is a teacher’s book in print and locally available?

Is a vocabulary list/ index included?

Is the layout and presentation clear or clustered?

What visual material does the book contain and is there for cosmetic value or is it integrated into the text?

Is there the inclusion of tests in the teaching materials?

For internal evaluation, McDonough & Shaw suggest that evaluators need to examine the following criteria: the treatment and presentation of the skills, the sequencing and grading of the material, the type of skills contained in the material, appropriacy of tests and exercises, self-study provision and teacher-learner

‘balance’ in the use of the material

Since criteria for evaluation can be flexible depending on the purpose of each study, this study, whose aim is not to evaluate the book as a whole, will employ a new set

of criteria selected from criteria proposed by McDonough & Shaw (2003) and Cunningsworth (1995) under three categories: aim, content and classroom speaking practice

1.5.5 Materials adaptation

Materials adaptation is an essential step after evaluation as no materials are, in fact, perfect Its aim is to make teaching materials the most suitable in a particular context by initiating some changes According to McDonough and Shaw (2003),

there are five adapting techniques: adding, deleting, modifying, simplifying and reordering

Adding is a common adapting technique, by means of which the book is supplemented with more things while practical effects on time allocation is taken into account Adding includes expanding and extending

Deleting is clearly the opposite of adding Deletion and addition often go together Some material may be taken out of the book and then replaced by something new

Modifying is another adapting technique which includes rewriting when some linguistic contents need changes or restructuring when classroom management acquires alterations

Simplifying is making materials less complicated and comprehensible for the target leaners It also refers to changes in the way the contents are presented For example, teachers may not make any changes to the original text, but lead learners through it

by means of differently graded stages

Reordering is the procedure of putting parts of the book in a different order This may involve rearranging sections within a lesson/ a unit or among units in the book

1.6 Speaking Skills

1.6.1 Definition and importance of speaking skills

Speaking ability has been regarded as the measure of knowing a language Specifically speaking, it is the first step to confirm who knows or does not know a language and a medium through which a language is learned As for Ur (1996), people who know a language are referred to as ‘speakers’ of that language as if speaking includes all other things

To define speaking, Florez states that speaking is ‘an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving” (Florez, 1999, p1)

It is undeniable that communication is interaction; participants take turns ‘sending’

and ‘receiving’ Its form and meaning depend on the context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking

Speaking is the productive, oral skill In comparison with other skills (writing, listening and reading), speaking seems the most important in language teaching and learning According to Bygate (1987), speaking is a skill that deserves attention every bit as much as literacy skills in both first and second language

1.6.2 Approaches to teaching speaking skills

For many years, language teaching was seen as helping learners develop linguistic competence – that is, helping students master the sounds, words, and grammar patterns of English The idea was that by studying the bits and pieces of a language, students could eventually put them all together and communicate As a consequence, students could only read translations aloud, do grammar exercises orally, or speak with tightly-controlled speech in order to reinforce correct habit formation of linguistic rules This sort of teaching does not prepare students for the spontaneous, fluid interaction that occurs outside the English classroom, and students lose interest in language learning

In the 1970s and 1980s, however, our understanding of language learning experienced a significant shift in focus This shift was influenced by international developments in linguistics, curricula, and pedagogy, as well as by sociolinguistic research (primarily in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the U.S) In addition, the numbers of refugees and immigrants resettling in English-speaking countries made linguists and language teachers realized that developing linguistic competence alone was not enough to be able to speak English well and get along in society

In the mid-1970s, the notion of linguistic competence came to be viewed as a component of the broader idea of communicative competence – the ability to

consists of linguistic competence, sociolinguistic competence, discourse competence and strategic competence is the focus of Communicative Language Teaching Method These four components have several practical implications for EFL and ESL teachers Since communicative competence is a multifaceted construct, it is important for teachers to understand the complexities students face when they are speaking English

One of those complexities is balancing fluency and accuracy It means that a proficient speaker must be both fluent and accurate Accuracy in this context refers

to the ability to speak properly – that is, selecting the correct words and expressions

to convey the intended meaning, as well as using the grammatical patterns of English Fluency, on the other hand, is the capacity to speak fluidly, confidently, and at a rate consistent with the norms of the relevant native speech community

Another complexity for teachers to understand is that while students are at the beginning and intermediate levels of language learning, that is, while they are still developing their proficiency, fluency and accuracy often work against each other Before grammar rules become automatic and while students are still acquiring essential vocabulary items, applying the rules and searching one’s memory for the right words can be laborious mental processes, which slow the students’ speech and make them seem dysfluent Likewise, they can sometimes speak quickly without hesitating to apply the rules they have learned, but doing so may decrease their accuracy or in other words they may make a lot of errors in speaking

Next, in Communicative Language Teaching, teachers also help students develop their communication strategies These are verbal and/ or nonverbal procedures for compensating for gaps in speaking competence For example, when we speak especially in a foreign language, there are times when we wish to say something, but we don’t have the words, so we can ask for the correct term like ‘What is it?’ or

‘What called?’ Since they are so important, teachers and syllabus designers should incorporate the teaching of communication strategies in speaking lessons

1.6.3 Types of classroom speaking activities

When it comes to teaching speaking skills, it is important to provide students with a variety of speaking activities A variety of speaking activities will enable students to cope with different situations in reality Moreover, variety helps keep motivation high Last but not least, variety will suit students of different learning styles In Communicative Language Teaching, speaking activities are interaction-based activities in the classroom in which pairwork and groupwork are typical organizational features The following are some typical interaction-based activities

in Communicative Language Teaching

Information-gap activities

An information gap is where two speakers have different bits of information, and they can only complete the whole picture by sharing that information in the target language – because they have different information, there is a ‘gap’ between them

Role-plays and simulations

In simulations, students act as if they were in a real-life situation For example, they are asked to simulate a check-in encounter at the airport Role-plays simulate the real world in the same kind of way, but the students are given particular roles They are told who they are and often what they think about a certain subject They have

to speak and act from their new character’s point of view

do you normally sleep?’, ‘Have you ever walked or talked in your sleep?’, ‘Have you ever fallen out of bed?, etc Then students go round the class asking each other

their questions A variation of this is a popular activity called Find someone who…

Both activities are good to get students to get out of their seats, talking and interacting with others at the same time

Story-telling

Students are asked to retell a story which they have read in their books, in newspapers or on the internet More complicatedly, they can reconstruct a story by having to describe the pictures they have seen, talk about them, work out what order they should be in, etc

Discussions

Students often work in groups and talk about one topic On a more formal basis, one

is an ‘opposing’ group while the other assembles arguments in favour It is challenging for students to give immediate and articulate opinions in the target language, so giving pre-discussion rehearsal time is particularly important This activity has the great advantage of provoking fluent language use

1.6.4 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity

Spoken language is the primary objective in language teaching, so giving speaking classroom activities that develop students’ ability to express themselves through speech is particularly important To evaluate a speaking activity, Ur (1996, 120) proposes the following characteristics of a successful speaking activity

Learners talk a lot

Most of the time allotted for the activity is occupied by learner talk not by teacher talk or pause This means that the amount of learning in a speaking lesson is correlated with the amount of talking by the learners Therefore, the more time learners interact with one another in the course of a lesson, the more language they

can obtain Learners’ talking time primarily decides whether or not a speaking lesson is successful

Motivation is high

Learners are eager to speak because they are very interested in the topic and have something to say about it, or because they want to contribute to achieve the task objectives

Language is of an acceptable level

Learners express themselves in utterances that are easily comprehensible to them, and that are of an acceptable level of language accuracy To help learners gain success in speaking skills, the teacher should choose the appropriate topic for learners, so that they can express their ideas from their own experience and knowledge In addition, the teacher also needs to review and provide relevant vocabulary, structures and essential information related to the topic before the activity starts

In summary, a successful speaking activity encompasses four characteristics as mentioned above It is essential that language teachers pay great attention to teaching speaking skills rather than leading students to pure memorization To do

so, real-life communication, authentic language and meaningful tasks should be provided to promote their learning

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Since the study was conducted at MTA, it is essential for the author firstly to give a brief description of the current situation of English teaching and learning in this setting And then the research method – the heart of this chapter – will be described

It consists of participants, data collection instruments and data analysis procedures

2.1 Description of the context

2.1.1 The setting

The Military Technical Academy has been in operation for 46 years In 1966, it was the second college of the Hanoi Polytechnic University, and then in 1968 it had a new name: The Military Technical Academy Its primary duty is to train military engineers, Masters and Doctors of Science working for the Ministry of Defence in such various fields as: Electronics Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Information Technology, Telecommunications, Material Engineering, and many others

Undergraduates of MTA are of two categories: military students and civilian students They come from different English backgrounds and different regions of Vietnam, from the North to the South For civilian students, they have to study English as a compulsory subject while military students study either English or Russian depending on their majors As for those who study English, English teaching is divided into two stages: the first one is General English (540 periods) and the second one is English for Specific Purposes (45 periods) NEFE is used to teach first-year students within 180 periods during the first two semesters

2.1.2 Course objectives

According to the curriculum for General English of MTA, students have to attain B1 level of CEFR prior to the time of graduation, and by the end of the first year, they are supposed to attain A1 level of CEFR This means that A1 level is a goal to

reach after first-year students have finished the coursebook NEFE More specifically, after this course, students can:

- Recognize familiar words and very basic phrases concerning themselves, their family and immediate concrete surroundings when people speak slowly and clearly

- Understand familiar names, words, and very simple sentences, for example on notices, posters or in catalogues

- Use simple phrases and sentences to describe what they do, where they live and people they know

- Ask and answer simple questions in areas of immediate need or on very familiar topics

- Interact in a simple way provided the other person is prepared to repeat or rephrase things at a slower rate of speech and help them formulate what they are trying to say

- Write a short and simple postcard; fill in the form with personal details

2.1.3 Course assessment

There are three kinds of assessment in the course including attendance and participation accounting for 10%, a midterm test (listening, reading) making up 20% and a final test (listening, reading, writing and speaking) occupying 70%

2.2 Research Method

2.2.1 Participants

The participants in this study are 100 students who have just finished the coursebook NEFE and 10 English teachers who have experienced this book for at least one year

As for the students taking part in the study, they include both male and female, but the male outnumbers the female Their age ranges from 18 to 22 Before university, most of them learned English at high school; however, they were of different

English proficiency levels ranging from beginner to low elementary in terms of speaking skill

As far as 10 English teachers are concerned, all of them are full-time teachers who have experienced this book for at least one year Nine of them have been to an English-speaking country to get a M.A Degree or to have an intensive methodology course Eight of them have been teaching English for more than five years They graduated from either the University of Languages and International Studies or Hanoi University

2.2 2 Data collection instruments

In order to fulfill the objectives of this study, a combination of document analysis,

survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were employed

The first step of data collection is document analysis Document analysis is a very

helpful instrument in this study because it provides a panorama of speaking skills taught in NEFE and forms an essential part of the data for evaluation

Survey questionnaire is one of the instruments often used to collect data in social

sciences Many significant advantages of questionnaire are indicated by Gillham (2000): less pressure on respondents, not under pressure of interview bias, straightforward analysis Therefore, next two sets of questionnaires were designed for both students and teachers to investigate their evaluation on the teaching of speaking skills in the coursebook NEFE Each set of questionnaires consists of 30 questions under three headings: course objectives, content, classroom speaking practice plus suggestions for better use of the book The set for students was randomly delivered to 100 students who have just finished the book, and the set for teachers was sent to 10 English teachers who have experienced the book for at least one year

Semi-structured interviews are extremely useful in evaluation as they can provide

in-depth and valuable information They can be employed to collect participants’

collection is that semi-structured interviews were conducted among 5 students and 4 teachers to clarify some information in the surveys

2.2.3 Data analysis procedure

Firstly, data from document analysis was gathered partially to help design survey questionnaires

Secondly, both sets of questionnaires were analyzed and reported by means of descriptive statistics, namely in percentage

Thirdly, data from semi-structured interviews was transcribed, and then used as quotations in the study

Finally, all analyses were combined to answer the research questions in the study

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter reports and discusses the results from document analysis, teacher survey, and student survey Next, the research major findings will be presented together with suggestions for better use of the book NEFE at MTA

3.1 Document analysis

New English File Elementary by Clive Oxenden, Christina Latham-Koenig and Paul Seligson is an internationally published material with a marketing slogan ‘the course that gets students talking’ Since the aim of the study is to evaluate this material in respect of teaching and developing speaking skills, the document analysis will mainly focus on things associated with speaking in the book

3.1.1 External analysis

This coursebook is said to be intended both for elementary students and real and false beginners On its cover, it is written that the book covers A1 level of CEFR, leads into A2 and it is used as the main ‘core’ course which is suitable for teaching General English

At first glance, the book is quite eye-catching with texts, pictures and tables are intermixed in each lesson After a look at the contents of the book (see Appendix 1),

it could be noticed that the book is divided into nine units, each consisting of four lessons (except for the last unit) followed by Practical English, Writing and two pages of Revise & Check Unlike other popular coursebooks at the same level, NEFE places a strong emphasis on pronunciation (vowel sounds, consonant sounds, word stress, sentence stress, consonant groups, silent letters, etc.) Every lesson has

a Pronunciation section besides clearly-presented grammar and vocabulary sections, which is supposed to help students speak English with confidence At the back of the book, Grammar Bank, Vocabulary Bank, extra communication activities, tapescripts, a list of irregular verbs and Sound Bank are included

The teacher’s book is locally available in photocopies In the teacher’s book, apart from detailed lesson plans for all the lessons, there are extra idea suggestions for optional extra activities, extra challenge suggestions for ways of exploiting the book

if teachers have a stronger class, and extra support for ways of adapting activities What is more, tests of all kinds (quick tests, diagnostic, progress, achievement, end-of-course test) are available in the teacher’s book and the test booklet

3.1.2 Internal analysis

Within the scope of this study, an internal analysis involves an in-depth investigation into the book to see how far the material matches up to the objectives

of the speaking teaching program

According to the allocation of the GE curriculum at MTA, students must attain level of CEFR after the first academic year (see Appendix 2) After the material given in the book has been analyzed in comparison with A1-level speaking descriptors in the context of MTA, the results are shown in the following table

1 I can introduce myself and someone

stating name, origin, age, school, marital

status, address, phone number

Lesson 1A: introducing names Lesson 1B: introducing countries and nationalities

Lesson 1C, 2C: Personal information interview

2 I can briefly describe my family Lesson 2A: A typical family

Lesson 2D: Ask and answer about family members

3 I can briefly describe where I live Lesson 6A: Ask and answer about

your house/ flat Lesson 6B: Describing a room Lesson 6C: Describing neighbours Lesson 6D: Describing your town Lesson 8D: people’s behaviors in your country

4 I can express my basic needs (e.g food, Lesson 7B: How much water do you