An action research on methods to improve students’ confidence in speaking English at Nguyen Ba Ngoc lower secondary school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ TUYẾT ANH AN ACTION RESEARCH ON METHODS TO IMPROVE STUD

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ TUYẾT ANH

AN ACTION RESEARCH ON METHODS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ CONFIDENCE IN SPEAKING ENGLISH AT NGUYEN BA NGOC

LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL

Nghiên cứu hành đô ̣ng nhằm nâng cao khả năng tự tin

trong tiếng anh của ho ̣c sinh lớp 9 tại trường

Trung ho ̣c cơ sở Nguyễn Bá Ngo ̣c M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY

CODE: 60140111

HA NOI 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ TUYẾT ANH

AN ACTION RESEARCH ON METHODS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ CONFIDENCE IN SPEAKING ENGLISH AT NGUYEN BA NGOC

LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL

Nghiên cứu hành đô ̣ng nhằm nâng cao khả năng tự tin

trong tiếng anh của ho ̣c sinh lớp 9 tại trường

Trung ho ̣c cơ sở Nguyễn Bá Ngo ̣c M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111

SUPERVISOR: PROF.DR HOÀNG VĂN VÂN

HA NOI 2014

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that this thesis is the results of my own research and that the substance of the thesis has not, wholly or part, been submitted for a degree to any other university or institution

Hanoi, June, 2014 Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Anh

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In completing my thesis, I have received warmly help from my supervisor, teachers and students of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School, family and friends First and for most, I would like to show my deep gratitude to Prof Dr Hoàng Văn Vân who directly guides me Thanks to his useful advice and detailed comments in the preparation as well as the correction Besides he always supported and created favorable conditions for me to complete this thesis

Secondly, I would also like to express my deep thanks to the staff of the Faculty of Post- graduate Studies ULIS for their help and for their interesting lectures and support, which are really useful for this research

Thirdly, I would like to send my sincere thanks to the headmaster of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School for giving a chance to talk and exchange ideas with the teachers and students

Fourthly, I also would like to send my special thanks to all English teachers at my school who take part in my talks and share their experience

Finally, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my family and my friends for their supports and encouragement Without them I might not have been able to complete the research

ABSTRACT

This research is conducted with the purpose to improving students‟ confidence in speaking skill at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School The subjects of the study are 65 ninth graders of Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School The data are collected through talks with colleagues, students‟ pre- questionnaire and post- questionnaires and analysis of the textbook The research was conducted during the first semester of the school year

The study shows that most students at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School experience many difficulties in speaking English They are not confident when they speak

or talk with their teachers and their friends To make situation better, an action plan was made which focus on using warm up activities, group work and project - based activities to help students to improve speaking skill

I hope that the study will be helpful to English teachers who share the same aspiration to help students to solve their problems in improving their students‟ confidence in speaking English

Nguyễn Thị Tuyết Anh

LISTS OF CHARTS CHARTS

Chart 1: Students‟ evaluation on their confidence

Chart 2: Factors making students lack of self confidence

Chart 3: Teaching method‟s affection

Chart 4: Students‟ impression on the textbook and English speaking lessons Chart 5: Students‟ frequency of speaking English in class

Chart 6: Students‟ frequency self- study at home after school

Chart 7: What makes students interested in learning English speaking skill best

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Declaration i

Acknowledgements ii

Abstract iii

List of charts and tables iv

Table of Contents v

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale of the research 1

2 Aims of the research 2

2.1 Aim 2

2.2 Objectives 2

3 Scope of the research 2

4 Research questions 2

5 Methodology 3

6 Design of the study 3

PART II: DEVELOPMENT 4

Chapter I: literature review 4

1.1 Speaking skills 4

1.1.1 Definitions of speaking and speaking skill 4

1.1.1.1 What is speaking? 4

1.1.1.2 What is speaking skill? 5

1.1.2 The difficulties in teaching and learning English speaking 6

1.1.3 Types of speaking 8

1.1.3.1 From-focused speaking 8

1.1.3.2 Meaning-focused speaking 8

1.1.3.3 Fluency-focused speaking 8

1.1.4 Definition of confidence 8

1.5 The importance of students‟ confidence in language learning 9

1.1.6 Main factors affecting students‟ English speaking 10

1.1.6.1 Fear of mistake 10

1.1.6.2 Shyness 10

1.1.6.3 Anxiety 11

1.1.6.4 Lack of confidence 11

1.1.6.5 Lack of motivation 11

1.1.6.6 Vocabulary 12

1.1.6.7 Pronunciation 12

1.1.6.8 Accent 12

CHAPTER II : THE METHODOLOGY 13

2.1.Context of the study 13

2.1.1 An overwiew of teaching and learning English at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School 13

2.2 English teaching staff 13

2.3 The student 13

2.4 English learning and teaching condition 13

2.5 Textbook 14

2.6 Participants 14

2.7 Data collecting instruments 15

2.7.1 Talks with colleagues and personal class observation 15

2.7.1.1 Talks with colleagues 15

2.7.1.2 Personal class observation 15

2.7.2 Pre-Questionnaire table for students 15

2.7.3 Post-trying out questionnaire 15

2.8 Research procedure 16

2.8.1 Phrase 1: Diagnosing 16

2.8.2 Phrase 2: Action planning 17

2.8.3 Phrase 3: Taking action 17

2.8.4 Phrase 4: Evaluating 17

2.8.5 Phrase 5 Specifying learning 18

2.9 Summary 18

CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 19

3.1 Diagnosing data 19

3.1.1 Analysis of the textbook 19

3.1.1.1 English 9 19

3.1.2 Analysis of talks with colleagues 19

3.1.3 Analysis of class observation 20

3.1.4 Analysis of students‟ pre-questionnaires 22

3.1.5 Drawing a plan of action to solve the problem 30

3.1.6 Some suggested solutions 31

3.1.7 Acting stage 32

3.1.7.1 Lesson using the warm up, work group and project – based activities 32

3.1.8 Action research evaluation 37

3.1.8.1 Post-questionnaire evaluation 37

3.1.9 Major findings and discussions 40

PART III: CONCLUSION 41

1 Recapitulation 41

2 Conclusions 41

3 Recommendations 42

4 Limitations and suggestions for further study 42

REFERENCES 43

APPENDICES I

PART I: INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the research

Nowadays, with the increasing development of international relations among countries, learning English, especially learning English speaking is playing a more and more important role People use English for communication and discussion at the world forums and in different aspects of life Learning a foreign language represents one of the essential requirements of today‟s society Besides other skills and knowledge, it is considered as one of the most influencing factors while applying for a job or sustaining in a particular work position under the condition of advancing the language level In Vietnam, English speaking is also very essential for people who want to find a good job Thus, learning English speaking has become more important than ever English teaching and learning in Vietnam has been developing at an unprecedented speed It has become the number one foreign language to be taught both inside and outside the formal educational system of many countries As a lower secondary English teacher, I know that how English has become one of the compulsory subjects in the curriculum and how Vietnamese education system appreciates the importance of English learning nowadays Most language teachers, following a traditional, test-oriented teaching approach, often concentrate on teaching English vocabulary, grammar, and sometimes on pronunciation, all the language elements covered in the textbooks Therefore students do not spend much time on speaking and as a result they lack their confidence when speaking the language

In order to study English as a foreign language and to be successful with it, students must be helped by the teacher to acquire skills in the four language skills, namely: speaking, listening, writing, and reading Of these four skills, speaking is the skill secondary school students need great support In my teaching experience, I have found that one of the aspects that they really need is to build their confidence

in speaking English That is why in this thesis I want to find out the factors that

affect their confidence in speaking, and help them over come it and speak English better That is the reason why I choose this research

2 Aims and objectives of the research

2.1 Aim

The overarching aim of this research is to find out ways to help students at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School gain confidence in speaking English 2.2 Objectives

The above over archiving aim can be broken down into the following objectives:

 finding out in the literature the factors that affect students‟ confidence in speaking a foreign language;

 finding out the factors that affect Nguyen Ba Ngoc School students‟ confidence in speaking English; and

 offering some techniques (activities) for students to gain confidence in speaking English so that they can improve their speaking skill

3 Scope of the research

The present study focuses on improving the ninth graders English majors speaking skill at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School In fact, there are lots

of techniques the teacher can use to teach students to speak English well However, due to the limitation of time, resources and knowledge of mine as well as some

other conditions, this thesis only focused on using “Warm up activities, work

group and project-based activities” in teaching English to ninth graders at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School in the first term of the school-year

3 What should be done to help students at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School gain confidence in speaking English?

5 Methodology

Action research

- Personal class observation and talks with colleagues: conducted at the

beginning of the study to find out students‟ problems in speaking skill

- Textbook analysis: the analysis focuses on the speaking tasks in the textbook

to see whether they are suitable and interests the students Then some adjustments could be made

- Pre-questionnaires for students (10 questions): conducted with 65 students

to find out problems and their expectations

- Trying out “warm up activities, work group and project - based

activities”

- Post- questionnaire for evaluation (4 questions)

6 Design of the study

The thesis consists of three parts as follows:

Part I: Introduction – provides the basis information such as rationale for the

study, aims and objects of the study, research questions, scope of the study, methods

of the study and design of the study

Part II: Development – consists of three chapters

Chapter 1 is literature review in which the theoretical background relevant to the purpose of the study is discussed

Chapter 2 is concerned with the methodology of the study in which a detailed description of how the study is conducted is provided

Chapter 3 provides a report on the data of the research

Part III: Conclusion – summarizes what has been studied Then

recommendations are proposed, some limitations of the study are pointed out, and some suggestions for further study are offered

PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REWIEW

The aim of this chapter is to review the literature relevant to the issues under study

Another definition of speaking is that "Speaking" is the delivery of language through the mouth To speak, we create sounds using many parts of our body, including the lungs, vocal tract, vocal chords, tongue, teeth and lips Speaking includes two forms: formal and informal Informal speaking is typically used with family and friends, or people you know well Formal speaking occurs in business or academic situations, or when meeting people for the first time

(http://www.englishclub)Besides, Nunan and Carter (2001) develop the idea that

speaking in a second language involves the developments of a particular type of communication skill It has occupied a special position in the history of language teaching, and only in the last two decades has it begun to emerge as a branch of teaching, learning and testing in its own right, rarely focusing on the production of spoken discourse In the field of action, speaking is the action of: conveying information or expressing one‟s feelings in speech, the activity of delivering speeches, communicating in a specified language, conveying meaning as though in

words ( http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/speaking)

Furthermore, there is also another definition of speaking which states that

“Speaking and the art of communication are a productive skill” Good speaking skill

is the act of generating words that can be understood by listeners (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What is_the_definition_of_speaking_skills)

Brown (1994) also shares the opinions that speaking ability is integrated

closely to writing, reading, and listening So, in language teaching, it is of great importance to emphasize the interrelationship of skill From the above definitions and explanations of speaking in second language or foreign language learning, the definition of speaking in this study is summarized as the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a various context to express ideas, opinions, or feelings to others by using words or sounds of articulation in order to inform, to persuade, and to entertain that can be learnt by

using some teaching learning methodologies

1.1.1.2 What is speaking skill?

Speaking is the productive skill in the oral mode It, like the other skills, is more complicated than it seems at first and involves more than just pronouncing words There are three kinds of speaking situations in which we find ourselves:

Interactive, partially interactive, and Non-interactive Interactive speaking situations include face-to-face conversations and telephone calls, in which we are alternately listening and speaking, and in which we have a chance to ask for clarification, repetition, or slower speech from our conversation partner Some speaking situations are partially interactive, such as when giving a speech to a live audience, where the convention is that the audience does not interrupt the speech The speaker nevertheless can see the audience and judge from the expressions on their faces and body language whether or not he or she is being understood Some few speaking situations may be totally non-interactive, such as when recording a speech for a radio broadcast Here are some of the micro-skills involved in speaking The speaker has to:

- Pronounce the distinctive sounds of a language clearly enough so that people can distinguish them This includes making tonal distinctions

- Use stress and rhythmic patterns, and intonation patterns of the language clearly enough so that people can understand what is said

- Use the correct forms of words This may mean, for example, changes in the tense, case, or gender

- Put words together in correct word order

- Use vocabulary appropriately

- Use the register or language variety that is appropriate to the situation and the relationship to the conversation partner

- Make clear to the listener the main sentence constituents, such as subject, verb, object, by whatever means the language uses

- Make the main ideas stand out from supporting ideas or information

- Make the discourse hang together so that people can follow what you are saying

1.1.2 Difficuties in teaching and learning English speaking

It is a commonly recognized that achieving proficiency in foreign language speaking in classroom conditions is not an easy task Even advanced learners often finish a language course with the conviction that they are not sufficiently prepared for speaking beyond the classroom This difficulty results basically from the character and inadequate frequency of speaking opportunities in the classroom in comparison to the abundance of natural varieties and genres of oral communication

In fact, selecting the most appropriate types of spoken discourse for classroom practice in a particular language course is a very hard decision which, unfortunately, hardly ever reflects the natural occurrence and distribution of communicative situations Other problems that are commonly observed in the language classroom are related to individual learners' personalities and attitudes to the learning process and learning speaking in particular They can be shown as the inhibition which is the fear of making mistakes, losing face, criticism or shyness The second thing is that learners have problems with finding ideas to speak, formulating opinions or relevant comments The third one is the low or uneven participation and this is often caused by the tendency of some learners to dominate in the group The last one is about the mother-tongue use which is particularly common in less disciplined or

less motivated classes, learners find it easier or more natural to express themselves

in their native language (Ur1995: 121)

In addition, as many teachers‟ observations indicate, the above situations occur

in language classrooms regardless of the level of proficiency or the number of students in the group Moreover, every learner enters any learning and communicative environment with his or her entire personality additionally shaped

by their prior learning and communicative experiences, both positive and negative This individual dimension is particularly noticeable among older and more advanced learners who often have a good insight into the nature of their individual difficulties, an accurate assessment of the skills they have already developed and, consequently, clearly defined needs

(https://repozytorium.amu.edu.pl/jspui/bitstream/10593/1680/1/Aleksandrzak.pdf )

The fact is that English is used for communication among people in the world As

an international language, it is necessary for us to learn it But we know that studying English as a foreign language is not easy Therefore, the students should be taught English from elementary level English skills are divided into four skills They cannot be separated each other So, in teaching and learning process the four skills must be taught in integration In the process, it is possible that many problems rise in every skill and need the attention to give the solution for it

Finally, the non linguistic problems are limited reference, limited time in practicing English, less frequency in studying English, never have partner in practicing English, never have chance to speak English with native speaker, simply shame and there is no habit in practicing English In coping with the problems there are no significant different ways, these are asking to friend or teacher, opening the dictionary, practicing with partners, reviewing the lesson at home, and trying to always be active in speaking activities

(http://www.researchgate.net)

1.1.3 Types of speaking

In speaking class, according to Brun & Joyce (1997), students must be exposed

to three key items:

1.1.3.1 Form- focused speaking

Form-focused instruction, that is, attention to detail of pronunciation grammar, vocabulary, and so on When learners begin speaking in another language, their speaking will need to be based on some form- focused learning An effective way to start is to base speaking on some useful, simple memorized phrases and sentences These may be greetings, simple personal description, and simple questions and answers As their proficiency and experience in the language develop, most of these sentences and phrases may be re-analyzed and incorporated into the learner‟s system of knowledge of the language; language use based on memorization can be the starting point for more creative use of the language

1.1.3.2 Meaning-focused speaking

Meaning-focused instruction, that is, opportunities to produce meaningful spoken messages with real communicative purposes In addition to form-focused speaking, language learners should be exposed to and given chances to practice and use meaning-focused communication, in which they must both produce and listen to meaningful oral communication

1.1.3.3 Fluency-focused speaking

Fluency in speaking is the aim of many language learners Signs of fluency include a reasonably fast speed of speaking and only a small number of pauses These signs indicate that the speaker does not have to spend a lot of time searching for the language terms needed to express the message

1.1.4 Definition of confidence

Self-confidence is the most significant in language learning It provides learners with the motivation and energy to become positive about their own learning It also creates the drive in them to acquire the targeted language, enjoy the learning process, and experience real communication “At the heart of all learning is a person‟s belief in his or her ability to accomplish the task” (Atsuta, 2003) “In

general, successful language learners appear to have higher self-esteem than those who are unsuccessful” (Richard-Amato, 2003) Lack of belief in one‟s ability hinders him from achieving that task-pursuing a targeted language accomplishment Moreover, it is widely believed that once students gain self-confidence, it progressively expands, in conjunction with experiencing success and satisfaction as

well as good relationships

1.1.5 The Importance of students’ confidence in language learning

In language learning, especially speaking, students‟ confidence is one of the factors to improve their learning (Kelly and Watson, 1986, p 4) Dornyei (2001) suggested the ways to promote students‟ confidence were through providing experience of success, encouraging the learners and reducing anxiety

Gander (2006, pp 13-14) argued that many individuals appear most satisfied and successful when they have gained at least the independent or fluent levels of proficiency, where they feel confident in their work

Keller has developed a model that specifies four kinds of strategy (as cited in Aik & Tway, 2006, p 31) This is called the ARCS model (Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction) and was summarized and discussed by Small (as cited

in Aik & Tway, 2006, p 31)

Confidence strategies help students develop positive expectations for successful achievement of learning objects One confidence strategy is to inform the learner about the learning and performance requirements and assessment criteria A second confidence strategy is to provide challenging and meaningful opportunities for successful learning A third strategy is to link learning success to personal responsibility, for example, providing positive feed back to the learner about his or her efforts to learn

Saetan (1991, p 8) identified self-confident learners as likely to rely on selective monitoring or none whereas others tend to rely on use of the monitor It means students who are self-confident learners tend to choose ways to self-check their learning whereas others require someone to check their understanding of language learning Sjoberg (2006, p 53) saw that less confident learners, or shy members

may initially be gently encouraged to participate by the facilitator and introduced to

a few of the other more confident members

Students‟ confidence in language learning, especially speaking, is one of the main factors to drive or to inspire students to reach their goals

1.1.6 Main factors affecting students’ English speaking

* Psychological factor

1.1.6.1 Fear of Mistake

According to Robby (2010) the fear of mistake becomes one of the main factors

of students' speaking in English in the classroom With respect to the fear of making mistake issue and this fear is linked to the issue of correction and negative evaluation In addition, this is also much influenced by the students' fear of being laughed at by other students or being criticized by the teacher As a result, students commonly stop participating in the speaking activity Therefore, it is important for teachers to convince their students that making mistakes is not a wrong or bad thing because students can learn from their mistakes

1.1.6.3 Anxiety

(Horwitz et al cited in Nascente, 2001) sees anxiety as a feeling of tension, apprehension and nervousness associated with the situation of learning a foreign language Further Nascente mentions that, among other affective variables, anxiety stands out as one of the main blocking factors for effective language learning

In other words, anxiety influences students in learning language Therefore, paying attention to this factor of learning should also be taken into consideration The fact that anxiety plays an important role in students' learning is also shared by other researchers like Horwitz (1991) He believes that anxiety about speaking a certain language can affect students' performance It can influence the quality of oral language production and make individuals appear less fluent than they really are This explanation suggests that teachers should make an attempt to create a learning atmosphere which gives students more comfortable situations in their learning activity

1.1.6.4 Lack of confidence

It is commonly understood that students' lack of confidence usually occurs when students realize that their conversation partners have not understood them or when they do not understand other speakers In this situation, they would rather keep silent while others do talking showing that the students are lack of confidence

to communicate In response to this, Nunan (1999) says that student who lack of confidence about themselves and their English necessarily suffer from communication apprehension This shows that building students‟ confidence is an important part of teacher‟s focus of attention This means that the teacher should also learn from both theories and practical experience on how to build the students' confidence Therefore, teacher should create a comfortable atmosphere in which learners are encouraged to talk in English and are praised for talking

1.1.6.5 Lack of motivation

Nunan (1999) stresses that motivation is important to notice in that it can affect students' reluctance to speak in English In this sense, motivation is a key consideration in determining the preparedness of learners to communicate Zua

(2008) further adds that motivation is an inner energy She says that no matter what kinds of motivation the learners possess it will enhance their study interest It has been proven in many studies that students with a strong motivation to succeed can persist in learning and gain better scores than those who have weaker motivation of success showing that building students' motivation to learn is urgent for every teacher

1.1.6.6 Vocabulary

Learning vocabulary is very important for the students who learn English as a foreign language That is why everybody who learns English or a certain language should know the words Rich vocabulary can support them in speaking when they are communicating to people can write and translate the meaning of words when they definite English If they do not know the meaning of words, they will not be able to speak, write and translate anything in English

1.1.6.7 Pronunciation

It is quite common for non-native speakers of English to mispronounce English words This can lead to misunderstand or even some more serious consequences What we should do is to try our best to learn more and practice more to improve our pronunciation

1.1.6.8 Accent

Everyone has an accent Accent usually reflects the place where a person comes from Accent is also one of the main reasons why people have a hard time understanding each other, and thus many people strive to change their accent There

is a fact that people hardly can get rid of their accent They just can actually change their accent a bit by studying another accent and imitating it

CHAPTER II THE METHODOLOGY

2.1 Context of the study

The study was carried out at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School where I

have been working for about six years The discription of the study‟context is given

in well- qualified teachers, encourage and give good learning and studying atmostphere for teachers and students anytime

2.3 English teaching staff

English language teaching at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School is undertaken by the English Department‟s of 11 teachers whose age range from 25 to

51 They graduated from Hai Phong University Most of them are enthusiastic and experienced teachers They love both their job and their students Most of teachers have at least five years of teaching experience with great enthusiasm and interest in their work

2.4 The student

The school has 1016 students divided into 31 classes, in which 233 are ninth

graders which are enrolled in 7 classes Students are intelligent, dynamic and interested in learning English They are step by step familiar with speaking skill Many students can understand quite well the English accent in the tape Most of them can make sentences easily appropriate with teacher‟s requirement Some students had a skill, high technique in learning process However, many students

have a little opportunity to talk, exchange, and access to public information in order

to practice speaking English Some students feel shy when speaking English because they are afraid of making mistake English speaking is a new subject to students Therefore, they get many confuses in keep up with the speed of understand what foreign says in cassette The number of students in some class is big Besides, the class is so noisy that teachers have to spend much time on controlling the students and cannot have enough time to conduct more speaking activities

2.5 English learning and teaching condition

Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School of Le Chan District Hai Phong City School has five big blocks with many modern techniques Classes are large and clear in which tables and chairs are suitable size with most of the student Each room has decorated a Projector for teaching and learning

Besides, the students always learn hard and have big effort in learning However English is the subject which students do not have to take to the entrance of the high school So students learn this subject with less motivation than Math and Literature

A lot of students spend most of their time studying Math and Literature Some consider English as a sub - subject So most of teachers are trying their best to find out the most suitable methods and techniques in order to teach it well and make students understand the importance of this subject so they will love it and learn it with high motivation

2.6 Official textbook

Tiếng Anh 9 is a textbook which continuously improves English speaking level

of the students by combining it with to listening, reading and writing skill in higher rate In one lessons which has a vivid and various content It includes 10 units for

60 periods Each unit consists of the following parts:

- Getting started and Listen and read

- Speak

- Listen

- Read

2.7.1 Data collecting instruments

2.7.1.1 Talks with colleagues and personal class observation

2.7.1.1 Talks with colleagues

I have conducted some talks with my colleagues at the beginning of the research

in order to identify the difficulties in learning speaking skill In the talks, the topics were also about the students‟ interest in learning English in general and speaking in particular, in perspective of their teachers The difficulties in learning speaking skill

as well as solutions to improve it were also discussed.( For more details, see Appendix 1,2,3)

2.7.1.2 Personal class observation

I spent 45 minutes (one period) on teaching speaking in my class at the

beginning of the first semester I myself wanted to identify the major reasons why

my students aren‟t good at speaking skill

2.7.2 Pre-questionnaire table for students (10 questions)

Questionnaires for students were made and conducted to find out the problems,

difficulties which the students have to cope with in learning English And also understand their hope and expectation Basing on these things teacher makes plan of next step (see Appendix 4)

2.7.3 Post-trying out questionnaire

The Post-trying out questionnaire is designed to find out the students‟ speaking

skill through warm up activities, work group, project- based activities” can be improved or not so teacher can evaluate the result of the student and the research (see Appendix 8)

2.8 The research procedure

Action research

The research is carried out and developed during 9 weeks from week 5 to week

14 of the second semester The subjects of the study were 65 students who took part

in from the beginning to the end Data were collected at both the pre- action and during the action stage The research action was conducted using the action research cycle suggested by Gerald Susman (1983)

The action research consisted of five main stages: diagnosing, action planning, taking action, evaluating, specifying learning

Some difficulties are clear to be seen but there may be some difficulties that

need to investigate deeply That leads me to the second research question: “What

are the factors that affect students’ confidence when speaking a foreign language?”

In order to identify the problem, I conducted some talks with two colleagues and

personal class observation about teaching English especially English speaking skill Some problems are listed:

- Some students were willing to speak any thing that their teacher asked

- Many students were shy to speak

- Some students were shivering and gabbling, they stood up without saying full sentence

- Few students didn‟t pay attention to the lesson, they made noise, did what they like

- In order to consolidate my conclusion, after one week I continued to survey

10 questionnaires for my students to get the certain information for the third

research question, “What are the factors that affect Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower

Secondary School students’ confidence in speaking English?”

- Now I have exactly answers from the students‟ survey questionnaires The most important factors that affecting students‟ confidence in speaking are:

* Afraid of making mistakes

* Do not often practice speaking

* Being corrected mistakes right after they are made

* Being asked to speak without preparation

*Activities of speaking lessons in the text book aren’t interesting and attractive enough

2.8.2 Phrase 2: Action planning

After the problems identification, I realize that some thing should be done to help students learn speaking better The data was collected and analyzed from the Among these certain problems reveal I find out the most common problems faced

by the students are lack of confidence due to teacher‟s wrong way of correcting mistake and do not practice speaking often and boring tasks in the text book I hypothesize that (warm up activities, work group and project- based activities) would be the measures to help students gain confidence and improve their students‟

speaking skill I would find the answer for the fourth research question, “What should be done to help students at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School gain

confidence in speaking English ?”And the answer may be, warm up activities,

group work and project -based activities

2.8.3 Phrase 3: Taking action

After everything has been prepared carefully, the real action take place There are three lessons conducted in this state Each lesson is taught in 45minutes This aim at studying the effect of applying warm up activities, work group and project based on improving the students‟ speaking skill

After three lessons students are asked to evaluate through 4 post - questionnaires to measure students‟ improvement

2.8.4 Phrase 4: Evaluating

In this state, the data collected and analyzed These data reflect the students‟ speaking skills improvement in speaking lesson using warm up activities, work

group and project- based activities The data is done to find answer to the fourth

research question, “What should be done to help students at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School gain confidence in speaking English ?”

Moreover, it is also to indicate what I have learned and experienced from these questions

2.8.5 Phrase 5: Specifying learning

Basing on the results of the data analysis, some general syntax are identified The effect of using warm up activities, work group and project based is clarified and some recommendations are given for further study

2.9 Summary

This chapter presents the context of the study, its participants, the text book analysis, data collections instruments and methodology and producer of conducting the study In the next chapter 3, I will present the data analysis and findings of the study

CHAPTER III DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 3.1 Diagnosing data

3.1.1 Analysis of the text book

Tiếng Anh 9 is a textbook used for Vietnamese lower secondary schools This

textbook consists of ten units Each unit contains a certain topic Some topics in the textbook are close with students such as: clothing, a trip to the countryside, the media and celebrations.These topics are not only familiar but also interesting So it seems to be that these topics will interest the students so much Besides there are few topics which are difficult and strange for example: The environment, natural disasters or life on other planets And speaking tasks in the textbook is one of the most important factors They must be various, clear and easy to do

3.1.2 Analysis of talks with colleagues

When talking to my colleagues they also show a view that students have lots

of difficulties in speaking skill They agree that there are so many factors affected the students‟ confidence in speaking Firstly students don‟t practice this skill very often, they only focus on grammar, structures…for their exam Secondly, because

of not practicing often so they are afraid of making mistakes This reason depends much on the teacher‟ the way of correcting mistake They don‟t want to be silly before their friends, they don‟t want to be laughed at So they choose the best way

to say nothing

“ Too many factors! Students‟ low level and lack of confidence because of not practice very often, they only focus on grammar and structuers for their tests

( From talks 1 – Appendix 1)

In terms of tasks in the text book, my colleagues also agree that the topics are

so interesting and familiar but to some of extend they are difficult for them to speak

if speaking tasks aren‟t various and easy

“ Make it more interesting or let students prepare carefully at home before speaking because students can‟t speak without preparation.”

(From talks 2, Appendix 2)

Sharing about ideal to help students to improve students‟ speaking ability and make them speaking confidently The colleagues that they can not change the time

of the lesson (45 minutes),the course book, or the syllabus Some thing they can do

to change activities or techniques to make it easy to understand and practice

“ You see, we have 45 minutes in each period, we can‟t change the time , the text book or some thing like that We only change activities, the techniques, make them more atractive”

( From talks 3, Appendix 3) After talking with my colleagues I consolidate my diagnosis I found out students‟ difficulty in speaking and planted to help them

3.1.3 Analysis of class observation

After 45 minutes teaching speaking at the first period of two ninth graders I really understood that my students had some problems of speaking

I came to class early All my students were in the class I introduced about

myself, and asked my students by using the following questions: How was your summer vacation?, Where did you go? What did you learn last semester? What do you think about your speaking English now? Would you like to say anything else? I

planned to ask my students to set their learning goal, focusing on speaking The atmosphere at that time was rather boring and only few students responded my questions

After that I talked to my students “Our topic today is to talk about your working day”

I gave them some questions, some suggestions and even listed things what reminded them After 15 minutes preparation, I was ready to listen to my students Some students talked about their working day very good, they looked so happy to talk with me, but some students did not pay attention to my activities, they made noise, didn‟t care about anything and said nothing Lots of students didn‟t contact eyes with me when I asked them, they looked embarrassed, timid and shy, they couldn‟t say a full sentence, made mistake

Finally, my period finished rather quiet and boring I left my class without any impression

After 45 minutes teaching speaking in my first class, I finally found that almost

my students had problems in speaking, they aren‟t confident enough to speak English before the class

In this study, questionnaires are selected as the important data collection

instrument because it provides the data and information about the learning English speaking skill of the first year English majors at Nguyen Ba Ngoc Lower Secondary School Its aim is to do research on students‟ confidence and to help them gain

confidence in speaking English

In studying my on students‟ confidence in speaking I want to confirm that how students feel about themselves and have further understanding about students‟ thought Basing on this understanding, I can get right information and give

appropriate solution to them

Question 1 and 2 were raised to point out students‟ evaluation on their

confidence on speaking skill How they felt and what they thought were also made

Not every student learns speaking English well because of their problem with it

By understanding exactly how they have to cope with the author can have some more methods to enhance them Question 3 get information on how students think about teacher‟s teaching methods I want to know how the teacher methods can affect to students about students‟ confidence

Questions 4 is concerned with study about the content in the textbook and English speaking lesson in the class time These can bring more specific information and help the author have a better look into students‟ ideas on English

speaking lessons as well as their frequency of speaking English

Question 5 is attempting to measure the students‟ frequency of speaking English in class time in order to show that the students are interested in practicing speaking in the class or not

Question 6 is about how students‟ self study at home

Question 7 attempts to find out what can interest students in speaking so that I can understand their thought, and their expectation and finally can find the suitable ways to help them to speak confidently

Question 8 is about some techniques used in teaching and learning speaking English

Question 9 is about the students‟ opinions on the current teaching method and their expectations which can help teachers to satisfy their students‟ requirements and make them love speaking English more as well as enhance students‟ English speaking skill

Question 10 explores how students feel about improving their confidence in speaking English through warm up activities, work group and project- based activities

Talking part in my survey questionnaires is 65 students in two classes of ninth form at Nguyen Ba Ngoc lower secondary school They were asked to give their answer to 10 questions (in Vietnamese) and then handed their papers to the research

for analysis (see Appendix 4) These were the results of the survey:

3.1.4 Analysis of students’ pre-questionnaires

Question 1: Students’ evaluation on their confidence

Criteria Student’s respond Percentage

participants felt very anxious to speak Only 18,5% of them felt quite anxious and

12,3% of them felt a little anxious, and least subjects found they were not anxious (4,6%) This question put forward is that whether or not there were many factors causing this matter This question would be furthermore discussed in sections

below

Very anxious 64,6% Quite anxious 18,5%

A little anxious 12,3% Non 4,6%

Chart 1: Students’ evaluation on their confidence

Question 2 : Factors making students lack of confidence

The results surprised the researcher Two factors d) afraid of making mistake account for (61,5%), e) not speak very often(27,6%), a) lack of vocabulary(6%), b)wrong pronunciation (3%), C) nothing to say(1,5%) This once affirmed that confidence become the most important factor affected deeply to students‟ speaking ability And not practice speaking often help students get much anxiety when speaking

Lack of vocabulary 6% Wrong pronunciation 3% Nothing to say 1.5%

Afraid of making mistake 61.5%

Not speak very often 27.6% Slice 6

Chart 2: Factors making students lack of self confidence

Question 3 : Teaching method’s affection

respond

Percentage

Let you sit down and call another correct it 6 9.2 %

The result is: Four factors a), being corrected mistakes soon as they are made (43%), d) being asked to speak without preparation (41%), c) Criticize you before class (4,6%) Let you sit down and call another correct it (9,2%) This again affirmed that being asked to speak without preparation and being corrected immediately were extremely harmful to students‟ speaking It also was the factor

causing students‟ confidence most

Interrupt and correct immediately 43%

Let you sit down and call another correct it 9.2%

Criticize you before class 4.6% Being asked without preparation 41%

Chart 3: Teaching method’s affection

Question 4: Students’ impression on the textbook and English speaking lessons

Chart 4 reveals that the majority of the students are not interested in learning

speaking in the class 55% of the students had low interest Not many students (0,7

%) thought that the classroom activities were very interesting and a small number of students said that they are interesting or very interesting This result strengthens the researcher‟s assumption that a large number of students felt bored with English lessons because the text book and classroom activities were not very interesting These activities did not really raise interest for students For them, they learnt English because of the pressure from outside such as requirement of the teachers

and parents, the need for the exam… not because of their willingness

Chart 5: Students‟ frequency of speaking English in class

Question 6 Students’ frequency self- study at home after school

Chat 6 is clear that students do not have interest to self study after school

(46.1%), they sometimes study (29.2%), some of them rarely study (15.3%)

Speaking always after school is impossible So do not practise speaking very often

make student lost confidence and always be shy when speaking

Always 6.1%

usually 3%

Sometimes %29.2 Rarely 15.3%

Never 46.1%

Chart 6 Students’ frequency self study at home after school