English majored students’ reluctance to participate in speaking activities at Namdinh College of Education . M.A Thesis Linguisitcs: 60 14 01

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** PHẠM THỊ HUẾ ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS’ RELUCTANCE

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

*****************

PHẠM THỊ HUẾ

ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS’ RELUCTANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN SPEAKING ACTIVITIES AT NAMDINH COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

(Sự do dự khi tham gia các hoạt động trong giờ học nói của sinh viên

chuyên Anh trường Cao đẳng Sư phạm Nam Định)

M.A.MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.140.111

HANOI-2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

*****************

PHẠM THỊ HUẾ

ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS’ RELUCTANCE TO PARTICIPATE IN SPEAKING ACTIVITIES AT NAMDINH COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

(Sự do dự khi tham gia các hoạt động trong giờ học nói của sinh viên

chuyên Anh trường Cao đẳng Sư phạm Nam Định)

M.A.MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.140.111

Supervisor: Nguyễn Đức Hoạt, Ph.D

HANOI-2014

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DECLARATION

I, Pham Thi Hue, hereby certify that my M.A thesis entitled “English

Majored Students’ Reluctance to Participate in Speaking Activities at Nam Dinh College of Education” is the result of my own research in the fulfillment of the

requirement for Degree of Master of Arts at the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies – University of Languages and International Studies, Hanoi I commit that this thesis has not been submitted anywhere for any degree

Hanoi, 2014

Signature

Phạm Thị Huế

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my

supervisor, Nguyen Duc Hoat, PhD, for his invaluable inspiration, assistance,

guidance and encouragement during the time I have tried to complete this thesis He has been willing to give help and advice whenever I expect

I wish to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all lecturers and the staff of Department of Post Graduate Studies at University of Languages

and International Studies, Hanoi for their interesting and helpful lectures and

suggestions for the topic of my study

I am in debt of many authors’ works and ideas, which enhance me to

complete my study with sharp evidences

My appreciation and gratitude are also extended for the teachers and

students at English Department, Nam Dinh College of Education, who

participated in doing the survey and responding to my interviews

Last but not least, I wish to express special thanks to my husband and my beloveds for their everlasting, care and encouragement

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ABSTRACT

Though importance of speaking in English learning has been acknowledged

by researchers all over the world, many students at Nam Dinh College of Education were found to be reluctant to participate in speaking activities This study was carried out to investigate the potential sources leading to this problem and propose some suggestions to encourage students’ participation in speaking lessons

The participants involved in this research were 35 second year English majored students at Nam Dinh College of Education and four teachers of English agreed to join the study to support the researcher better her research

The instruments, including a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with students and teachers, were employed to achieve the purposes of the study The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively

It was induced in the research that most second year English majors were unwilling to participate in speaking activities, which resulted from factors related to learners, teachers, speaking topics and peers

Based on the findings, some suggestions were made with the hope that students will be more encouraged to take part in speaking activities

Figure 3.3: Students’ frequency of speaking English in class

Figure 3.4: Students’ frequency of volunteering to speak in class

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Factors associated with learners’ low level of English proficiency

Table 3.2: Factors associated with fear of making mistakes and being laughed at

Table 3.3: Factors associated with learners’ personality

Table 3.4: Factors associated with teachers’ personality

Table 3.5: Factors associated with teachers’ teaching methods

Table 3.6: Factors associated with speaking topics

Table 3.7: Factors associated with peers

Table 3.8: Students’ preference of speaking activities

Table 3.9: Students’ perception on necessity of the ways to encourage language learners to participate in speaking activities

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims of the study 1

3 Research questions 2

4 Methods of the study 2

5 Significance of the study 2

6 Scope of this study 2

7 Structure of the Thesis 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

1.1 Speaking skills in second/ foreign language learning 4

1.1.1 Definition of speaking 4

1.1.2 Nature of speaking 4

1.1.3 Factors contributing to a successful speaking activity 5

1.2 Attitudes in language learning 6

1.3 The concept of reluctance and students’ reluctance in EFL classrooms 7

1.4 Reluctance and willingness / unwillingness to communicate 8

1.5 Factors making learners reluctant to participate in EFL classrooms 9

1.5.1 Learners’ factors 9

1.5.2 Teachers’ factors 10

1.5 3 Factors associated with speaking topics 11

1.5.4 Factors associated with peers 11

1.5.5 Factors associated with culture 11 1.6 Review of previous studies related to learners’ reluctance in EFL classrooms 12

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 14

2.1 Research questions 14

2.2 Research Setting 14

2.2.1 Introduction to English Department, Nam Dinh College of Education 14

2.2.2 Syllabus and Materials for Speaking 15

2.3 The participants 15

2.4 Data collection instruments 15

2.4.1 Students survey questionnaire 16

2.4.2 Interviews 17

2.5 Data collection procedures 17

2.6 Techniques of data analysis 18

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 19

3.1 Students’ attitudes towards learning speaking skills 19

3.1.1 Students’ perception on the importance of learning speaking skills 19

3.1.2 Students’ interest in speaking English in class 19

3.1.3 Students’ frequency of speaking English in class 20

3.1.4 Students’ frequency of volunteering to speak in class 21

3.2 Factors making second-year English majored students reluctant to participate in speaking activities 22

3.2.1 Factors associated with learners 22

3.2.2 Factors associated with teachers 26

3.2.3 Factors associated with speaking topics 29

3.2.4 Factors associated with peers 31

3.3 Students’ expectation to encourage learners to participate in speaking lessons 32

3.3.1 Students’ preference of activities in speaking lessons 32

3.3.2 Students’ perception of necessity of the ways to encourage language learners to participate in speaking activities 34

PART C: CONCLUSION 37

1 Conclusions 37

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2 Recommendations for teachers to encourage students to participate in speaking

classes 37

2.1 Reduce the level of task difficulty 37

2.2 Build a supportive learning environment 38

2.3 Vary speaking activities 39

2.4 Promote positive attitudes among students 39

3 Limitations of the study 40

4 Suggestions for further studies 40

REFERENCES 41 APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS I APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS V APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS VI APPENDIX 4: SUMMARY OF INTERVIEW FOR STUDENTS RESULTS VIII APPENDIX 5: TRANSCRIPTS OF INTERVIEW FOR TEACHERS X

However, engaging in English classroom activities is considered to be one of the most problematic areas Many students in Vietnamese colleges or universities are reported to be passive and unwilling to participate in those activities The students of English Department at Nam Dinh College of Education are no exceptions They are found not to respond to teachers’ questions in speaking classes unless they are called on It is very common to see that only a few students are confident to answer questions The attempt to create a student-centered learning atmosphere in English by teachers is usually unsuccessful In fact, the outcome of oral English speaking is not satisfactory Therefore, it is valuable to think about the causes of their reluctance to participate in speaking activities and at the same time the ways to minimize the harmful effects, so that the teaching and learning can be more effective for those reluctant learners This is my motivation in conducting the

research on the topic: “English Majored Students’ Reluctance to Participate in

Speaking Activities at Nam Dinh College of Education”

2 Aims of the study

The main aim of the research is to find out the reasons why the second year English major students at Nam Dinh College of Education are reluctant to participate in speaking activities The second most important aim of this study is to find out what students expect to encourage them to participate actively in speaking lessons

4 Methods of the study

This is a survey research This study was conducted using quantitative and qualitative methods with questionnaires for informants of one class of about 35 second-year English majored students at the Department of Foreign Languages, Nam Dinh College of Education In addition to the questionnaires, semi-structured interviews with the students and teachers were also employed

5 Significance of the study

Firstly, the study will help the researcher as well as teachers be aware of causes of students’ reluctance

Secondly, the study will hopefully better the researcher and her colleagues’ teaching, help raise students’ awareness of their problems in foreign language lessons and solve these problems The researcher also hopes that this study will benefit both the teaching and learning of English speaking

Finally, it is hoped that this study can be used as a reference for other researchers who want to conduct the study related to teaching and learning speaking skills

6 Scope of this study

The study was conducted at Nam Dinh College of Education Because of limited time, it only focused on investigating students’ perception on their reluctance to take part in speaking activities, and factors affecting such attitudes

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Furthermore, the subjects chosen for the study are the second year English majored students

7 Structure of the Thesis

The study consists of three parts:

Part A, Introduction, presents the rationale, the aims, the research questions,

the scope and the methods, and the design of the study

Part B, Development, consists of three chapters

+ Chapter 1: Literature Review – provides the basic theoretical background

from literature on speaking skills, atttudes towards language learning, the concept of reluctance and some studies about students’ reluctance in EFL classrooms

+ Chapter 2: Research Methodology – provides an analysis on the current

situation of teaching and learning speaking skill and reports the results of the survey research which was carried out in the middle of the second term of the 2013-2014 academic year at the department of Foreign Languages, Nam Dinh College of Education The report includes the following information:

- Research setting

- Participants

- Data collecting instruments

- Data collection procedures

- Techniques of data analysis

+ Chapter 3: Findings and Discussions

Part C, Conclusion, summarizes all key issues as well as limitations of the

study and suggestions for further study

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Speaking skills in second/ foreign language learning

1.1.1 Definition of speaking

It is known that language has been divided into four interrelated skills, in which listening and speaking are called oral skills because of the manners by which they are formed (they are related to articulator organs); reading and writing are called the literacy skills as they connect with manual script Of all four language skills, speaking seems the most important (Ur, 1997: 120) By speaking, people can express needs, opinions and feelings, then understand each other

Speaking, according to McDonough and Shaw (1993), “enables us to produce utterances” to “achieve a particular end” He also emphasizes speaking

“involves expressing ideas and opinions; expressing a wish or desire to do something; negotiating and/or solving particular problems, or establishing and maintaining social relationships”

According to Florez (1999) (cited in Balley, 2005: 2), speaking is “an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information.” It can be inferred that the roles of speakers and hearers are very important in keeping the talk going

For Mackey (1965), “Oral expressions involves not only the use of the right sounds in the patterns of rhythm and intonation, but also the choice of words and inflections in the right order to convey the right meaning.” (cited in Bygate, 1997:5) That is, a speaker has to choose the right forms, put them in correct order, sound it like native speaker and even produce the right meanings In this way, speaking skills generally have to be learnt carefully

1.1.2 Nature of speaking

The nature of speaking has been discussed by many researchers Byrne (1976:8) clarifies, “speaking is a two-way process between speakers and listeners

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involving the productive skills of understanding” Byrne (1995: 10) introduces a diagram to show what happens in a speech production and incidentally, therefore, what is involved in oral activity

Listen Bygate (1987) shows that in order to be able to speak a foreign language, learners not only need to understand some grammar, vocabulary but also know how

to use knowledge as well as language to decide what to say and how to say

One more concerning about the ability to speak is fluency and accuracy Nunan (2003) confirms “accuracy is the extent to which students’ speech matches what people actually say when they use the target language; fluency is the extent to which speakers use the language quickly and confidently”

1.1.3 Factors contributing to a successful speaking activity

Speaking activities in the classroom are an important part of teaching English

as they help students to develop their language and fluency when talking Ur (1996) argues that the speaking skill is the most important one since foreign language learners are most of all interested in becoming actual speakers of a language Therefore, activities that develop learners’ speaking skills are an important part of a language course

According to Ur (1996: 120), there are four characteristics for a successful speaking activity

First, learners talk a lot As much as possible of the period of time allocated

to the activity is in fact occupied by learners talk One common problem in speaking activities is that students often produce one or two simple utterances in the foreign language and spend the rest of the time chatting in their native language

Secondly, participation is even Whether the task takes place among the whole class or in small groups, a successful task should encourage speaking from as many participants of different levels as possible; all gets a chance to speak, and their

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contribution is evenly distributed It’s necessary for a teacher to engage students by giving a good question to pique their interest, make them wonder why, and motivate them to make connection with the topic This benefit is magnified when she repeats

it, write it on blackboard, and do not call on the first hand she sees

Thirdly, motivation is high Motivation is one of the most important variables in successful language learning Teachers can do a lot to increase and maintain the motivation of students by the types of tasks that they organize in class Students are eager to speak when the topic is interesting or there is a clear objective

to be reached Also, it’s important to make sure the task is in line with the students’ ability to deal with the task If the task is too easy, students may become demotivated

Finally, language is of an acceptable level A speaking task must be designed

in a way that students can complete it successfully with language that they have If the students lack too much vocabulary they are likely to give up or revert back to the native language

To sum up, speaking activities can be successful with these characteristics above, and it is an essential tool for communicating in speaking skill To do that, the activities should be more interesting and have something new to say about it, and make them want to achieve a task objective

1.2 Attitudes in language learning

Baker (1992) describes attitudes as “a hypothetical construct used to explain the direction and persistence of human behavior” (p 10) MacIntyre, Baker, Clément, and Conrad (2001) referred to attitudes as an individual’s positive behavior and desire to experience consequences Gardner (1985) stated that unlike other school subjects, learning a second language requires learners to familiarize themselves with the characteristics of other cultures and the success of the learner depends on the attitude held toward these other cultures

So, attitude is the individual’s feelings about or evaluation and reaction to an object, a situation It is the inner mood or emotion, the cognition of that person

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about the referent and then expressed outside by the manner of his behaviors Positive attitude will lead to positive behaviors towards the target objects; positive outcomes will thus be easily obtained On the opposite extreme, failure or disappointment usually results from negative attitude

Concerning language attitude, Lambert (1972) and Padwick (2010) (quoted from Abidin, 2012: 121) both agreed that the ability of students to master a second language is not only influenced by the mental competence, or language skills, but also by the students’ attitudes and perceptions towards the target language They then approved that attitude concept could enhance the language learning process, affect the nature of students’ behaviors and beliefs towards the other language, its culture and community, which will identify the tendency to acquire that language Researches on language attitude have been, therefore, indispensable in the field of language learning If a learner does not have the interest and tendency in acquiring the target language to communicate with others, this learner will possess a negative attitude and will not be motivated and enthusiastic in language learning Correspondingly, learners’ attitudes could incorporate in language learning Language teachers, researchers and students had better acknowledge that students’ positive attitudes facilitate second language learning and strengthen them to achieve

a proper outcome

In brief, language attitude is the attitude towards the target language, which

is considered one of the most important factors intensifying or impairing students’ success in language learning, apart from students’ mental competence Hence, educators are supposed to take into account students’ language attitude, especially positive attitude during their learning process to ensure best accomplishment

1.3 The concept of reluctance and students’ reluctance in EFL

classrooms

Although reluctance has been mentioned by many researchers as one of popular phenomenon in EFL classrooms, it is difficult to find out a full definition for it According to Hashemi et al (2013) “reluctance means resisting and

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unwilling” In the same view, Sacasci (2013) in his research points out when learners are reluctant, they are unwilling or resistant to participate in speaking activities, and they “do not adopt active speech roles” in EFL classrooms

In addition, Hamouda (2013) describes students who are reluctant to speak as those who “do not want to volunteer” to say the answers They “rarely respond to their teachers or actively participate in classroom discussions”

Learners who are reluctant are considered to be disengaged, unmotivated, and unhappy in the traditional environment (Husted & Cavalluzzo, 2001)

The concept of reluctance is closely associated with anxiety According to Ehrman (1996), “one protects one’s emotional equilibrium and self-esteem in a variety of ways, one of which is through what he called defense mechanism” Reluctance to participate, an anxious manifestation, is one of “possible defense mechanisms” that anxious learners use to “balance their emotional equilibrium” 1.4 Reluctance and willingness / unwillingness to communicate

Maclntyre et al (1998) viewed willingness to commmunicate (WTC) as "a situational variable with both transient and enduring influences." WTC was defined

in L2 as "a readiness to enter into discourse at a particular time with a specific person or persons, using a L2 Maclntyre (1994) claims that higher levels of WTC arise from a combination of greater communicative competence and a lower communication apprehension For McCroskey and Richmond (1987), “high willingness is associated with increased frequency and amount of communication, which in turn is associated with a variety of positive communication outcomes Low willingness is associated with decreased frequency and amount of communication, which in turn are associated with a variety of negative communication outcomes” McCroskey and Richmond (1990) also mentioned that though talking is a vital component in interpersonal communication, people differ dramatically from one another in the degree to which they actually talk Many people talk more in some contexts than in others, and most people talk more to some receivers than they do to others

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1.5 Factors making learners reluctant to participate in EFL classrooms

In the past few decades, a few studies in ESL/EFL have been conducted to explore the reasons for students’ reluctance in classrooms Research has shown that learners’ willingness to participate in speaking activities can be affected by various factors coming from students, teachers, speaking topics, peers, and culture

1.5.1 Learners’ factors

Firstly, students’ low English proficiency prevents them from speaking up in the classroom This is in line with Hamouda’s (2013) findings when he found that poor pronunciation, lack of vocabulary or grammar mistakes make Saudi Arabian students so anxious that they are not willing to participate in speaking activities However, Savasci (2013) shows the opposite when four among five participants in the interview stated that they had no problems with their language skills especially speaking skills

Secondly, students are unable to adopt active speech roles for lack of confidence in their language proficiency (Savasci, 2013) When they feel unconfident in their English knowledge, they prefer remaining silent to risking making mistakes

Another factor comes from learners’ personality Introverted learners feel more comfortable when they work individually (Harmer, 2001) In contrast, extroverted learners are more willing to participate, more willing to experiment and take risks Although their language is not good enough, they were not afraid to make mistakes and try to communicate (Hedge, 2000) Barrett and Cornot (1986) added that introverted students are least involved in school activities and have lower academic achievement Hamouda’s study (2013) revealed that less than half of the respondents believed their involvement in classroom discussions was affected by their shyness

Finally, students’ anxiety contributes to their reluctance in speaking lessons MacIntyre and Gardner (1991) shows that anxious foreign language students are less willing to participate in learning activities, and have lower performance than

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non-anxious ones Horwitz and Cope (1986) indentify three components of foreign language anxiety: communication apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, and test anxiety He also explains that students who exhibit communication apprehension do not feel comfortable communicating in the target language in front

of others Learners who experience fear of negative evaluation do not consider language errors as a natural part of the learning process Consequently, they become silent and withdrawn most of the time and do not participate in classroom activities (Ely, 1986) Hamouda (2013) found that fear of making mistakes and being laughed by their classmates are announced to be factors contributing to passive participation of 50.31 % and 41 % students respectively Students do not respond to the teachers and they do not volunteer to answer questions They are afraid of losing face if they give the wrong answers

1.5.2 Teachers’ factors

Firstly, teachers’ characteristics may have a great influence on students’ participation In his study, Hamouda (2013) emphasized that negative teachers’ traits has an influence on student’s participation at class Most of the students were afraid of teachers’ impatience or criticism Also, 47.16 % of the students were reported to get more anxious by teachers’ strictness or harsh comments

Secondly, students may fear teachers’ correction Tanveer (2007) indicated that “authoritative, embarrassing and humiliating attitude of the teachers towards students, particularly when they make mistakes can have severe consequences on learners’ cognition and their willingness to communicate in the class” Hamouda’s study (2013) pointed out that 55.34 % students were anxious of being corrected while speaking in front of the class and 41.51% found to be reluctant as the teacher corrected their mistakes in a very bad way

Finally, teacher’s role in the class may influence learners’ degree of willingness In his study, Riasati (2012) confirmed that the participants were so scared of the teachers’ dictator-type behavior in the classroom They were not motivated as the teacher created stressful atmosphere in the class

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1.5 3 Factors associated with speaking topics

Another important factor that causes students’ reluctance in EFL classroom

is related to topics of discussion (Savasci, 2013) Participants in the interview say that they tend to speak more if the topic is of their interest and they have some background knowledge about it This is in support of Riasati’s findings (2012) He found out some important features of the topic to the learners are topic familiarity and topic interest Students in the interview agreed that when they benefit from ample knowledge and information concerning a particular topic, they would be more willing to speak about it

1.5.4 Factors associated with peers

Another factor that contributes to students’ unwillingness to take part in classroom discussions comes from peers Hamouda (2013) discovered that 34 % the students feel inferior to others, which make them anxious and hesitate to discuss in English This is in the same direction with the outcome of Jamali Ismail (1991, cited

in Ali 2007)

Riasati (2012) found that the participants did not like to be the sole speaker all the time and more willingness to speak with a person whom they know well and hence they are more comfortable with They had higher sense of motivation to speak when talking with a person whom they are familiar with

1.5.5 Factors associated with culture

Culture may also be one of the causes of reluctance in English classrooms The research has shown that some culture “forbid or strongly discourage individuals from speaking up in classroom settings” (Li and Liu 2011, cited in Sacasci 2013) This finding is somewhat the same as Sacasci’s (2013) He noted that Turkish people often judge people when they make mistakes while speaking in English For this reason Turkish learners feel uncomfortable to talk to each other in English, and prefer to speak English to native speakers like Americans

Conversely, Liu and Little Wood (1997) conducted a study at the University

of Hong Kong and they concluded some factors affecting learners’ unwillingness such as tiredness, fear of being wrong, insufficient knowledge in the class, insufficient knowledge in the subject, shyness, and insufficient time to formulate ideas

Another researcher Gaudart (1992) claimed that some teachers attribute learners’ passiveness in the classroom discussions to lack of motivation He further related this issue to learners’ inability to function in oral communication as they lack opportunities of exposure to the target language every day The classroom is the only place where L2 students could practice the language they are learning

In Vietnam, there have also been some researches into students’ attitudes in speaking lessons Thoan (2009) investigated 10th-form minority students at Gia Phu High School and the study revealed that more than two-thirds of the students remained reluctant to respond to the teacher and keep quiet until they are singled out to answer questions This fact was due to various reasons such as variety in students’ level of language proficiency, lack of interesting topics, prior experience

in learning speaking, and fear of losing face

The same problem happened to non-major MA students at Vietnam National University Huong (2010) confirmed that both subjective and objective factors contributing to students’ unwillingness to speak Some subjective factors mentioned are learners’ level of proficiency, lack of confidence and passive habit of learning

To conclude, this chapter has reviewed a theoretical basis of the speaking skill, the concept of reluctance, willingness to communicate, attitudes, factors affecting learners’ reluctance as well as some prior studies into this problem

This paper attempts to further explore the situation as well as factors that make the learners reluctant to participate in speaking activities, including factors related to learners, teachers, speaking topics and peers In the following chapter, the methodology used in the study will be dealt with

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 Research questions

The research is carried out with an attempt to address the following research questions:

- What are the EFL students’ attitudes towards learning speaking skills at Nam Dinh College of Education?

- Why are the students reluctant to participate in speaking activities in class from students’ perspectives?

- What are expected by students to get involved actively in speaking

For some recent years, students were admitted to this college based on their university entrance exam results In general, many students at the department of Foreign Languages entered this college with low marks - under 5 out of 10 for English subject Most of them come from rural areas with a little chance for speaking English

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2.2.2 Syllabus and Materials for Speaking

At Nam Dinh College of Education, English majors have to study speaking skills in four semesters Speaking 4 syllabus is designed by a lecturer in the department in order to help students develop both accuracy and fluency By the end

of the course, the students must be able to communicative effectively about personal and social issues in English

2.3 The participants

The subjects of this study consist of 39 participants divided into two groups:

In the first group, there are 35 English major students of the second year of the 2013-2014 academic year All of them were in one group, and this was the only group who were in their second year at the department of English Their ages ranged from 19-21 They had total 45 periods of speaking in the semester Although they have learnt English for over 7 years, their English proficiency was low Most

of them cannot speak English fluently Many are not good at grammar, either Almost the students come from the countryside, and they often feel shy in the public

The second group includes 4 lecturers who were in charge of teaching the second year English major students at Nam Dinh College of Education They are experienced and willing to help students overcome the challenges and difficulties in learning English Also, these teachers enthusiastically agreed to take part in the research and answered the interview questions frankly

2.4 Data collection instruments

In order to gain reliable, objective and in – depth data, both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed

Two instruments were applied in this study, including the survey questionnaire for students, and semi-structured interviews with students and teachers

Methodological triangulation (i.e., the combination of methodologies in the study of the same phenomenon) was used to further the assurance of validity

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For triangulation, Jick (1979) states that:

“The process of compiling research material based on multi-methods is

useful whether there is convergence or not Where there is convergence, confidence

in the results grows considerably Findings are no longer attributable to a method artifact However, where divergent results emerge, alternative, and likely more complex, explanations are generated Triangulation allowed for more confident interpretations, for both testing and developing hypotheses, and for more unpredicted and context-related findings.” (p 608)

Therefore, using both questionnaire and interviews allowed the researcher to

be more confident with the results of the study

2.4.1 Students survey questionnaire

The questionnaire used in this research was partly adapted from Hamouda’s study (2013), and many of the items were designed by the researcher in order to suit the purpose of the study

The questionnaire consists of three parts with 41 items First, the students are asked to report about their attitudes towards learning speaking skills Secondly, the subjects were asked to identify the problems that make them reluctant in speaking classes by responding to statements on the basis of five-point scale (never, seldom, sometimes, often, and always) The questionnaire was designed after a review of literature about factors viewed as causing students’ reluctance to participate in speaking activities Thirdly, students reported about what they expected their teacher to do to encourage their active participation in speaking classes

Specifically, the main part of the questionnaire – part II is divided into 4 themes: (1) factors related to learners (questions 5-13), (2) factors related to teachers (questions 14-20), (3) factors associated with speaking topics (questions 21-23), (4) questions associated with peers (questions 24-25)

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2.4.2 Interviews

The interview questions for students:

The interviews with the students were conducted in the form of structured interviews The purpose of this part was to get better insights into research questions and to discuss for further information about the items raised in the questionnaire for students In other words, the interview includes the questions

semi-of two main themes as follows: factors make students reluctant to participate in speaking activities and their expectation of ways to encourage their participation These questions are open enough to allow the interviewees to freely express their own ideas, thoughts, and feelings The interview was carried out between the researcher and 10 students chosen from whom felt reluctant to participate in speaking activities All the interviews were performed in English and lasted for approximately ten minutes each To get the most information from the interviewees, the researcher prepared further questions for each main point

The interview questions for teachers:

The interviews with the teachers were conducted in the form of structured interviews Four teachers agreed to participate in the interview The main contents of the interviews are closely related to those in teacher questionnaire so that the researcher could make some points clearer The participants were asked to respond about the following areas: how reluctant the students are, factors leading to their attitude including ones related to learners, teachers, speaking topics and peers 2.5 Data collection procedures

semi-The data were collected by the researcher during 4 weeks semi-The data collection procedures could be described as follows:

First, the questionnaire was distributed to the students when they were at the middle of the second term of the academic year of 2013-2014 All the respondents were reminded that the questionnaire was used for study purpose only and they were asked to answer it as honestly as possible The entire procedure took about 15 minutes of their class time

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Second, when the information from the survey questionnaires was collected and analyzed, semi-structured interviews with students were carried out In order to make use of the date from interviews, the researcher chose the ten students who showed high level of reluctance The selection of ten students was based on their answers in the questionnaire; specifically, they were the ones who mainly chose number 4, or 5 The interviews were conducted in the classroom

Finally, a semi-structured interview with four teachers of English was carried out Each interview was conducted in the teachers’ room

2.6 Techniques of data analysis

The data obtained from the questionnaire and the interview were transcribed and analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively with comparison and contrast in order

to answer the three research questions as satisfactorily and reliably as possible While the data obtained from the questionnaire were displayed in the form of figures and tables, the data obtained from the interviews were used as quotations The results of the instruments identified the factors making second year English majored students at Nam Dinh College of Education reluctant in speaking lessons, and students’ expectation to encourage them to take part in oral lessons

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONSResearch findings are based on the analysis of the survey questionnaires for students and semi-structured interviews with students and teachers Studentsattitudes are further analyzed according to the factors identified in Chapter 2.

3.1 Students’ attitudes towards

3.1.1 Students’ perception on the importance of learning speaking skills.

Figure 3.1: Students’ perception on

As can be seen from the figure above, most of the respondents (80 %) considered speaking skills quite and very important The result shows that the students are aware of the importance of speaking in learning a f

some students said in the interview, they were oral tests at the final term so they have to learn this skill

3.1.2 Students’ interest in speaking English in class.

Students’ attitudes towards learning speaking skills

3.1.1 Students’ perception on the importance of learning speaking skills.

Students’ perception on the importance of learning speaking skills.

As can be seen from the figure above, most of the respondents (80 %) considered speaking skills quite and very important The result shows that the students are aware of the importance of speaking in learning a foreign language As some students said in the interview, they were oral tests at the final term so they

3.1.2 Students’ interest in speaking English in class

Students’ interest in speaking English in class

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS Research findings are based on the analysis of the survey questionnaires for

structured interviews with students and teachers Students’ attitudes are further analyzed according to the factors identified in Chapter 2

3.1.1 Students’ perception on the importance of learning speaking skills

the importance of learning speaking skills

As can be seen from the figure above, most of the respondents (80 %) considered speaking skills quite and very important The result shows that the

oreign language As some students said in the interview, they were oral tests at the final term so they

not important

at all

very interested quite interested interested little interested not interested at all

The second question was about students’ interest in learning speaking English The statistics from the chart show a surprising fact that only 5.7 % of the respondents felt very interested in speaking English, and 42.9 % were interested The majority of them did not have high interest From these figures, the researcher can come to conclusion that the students with low interest made up higher proportion than those with high interest.

3.1.3 Students’ frequency of speaking English in class

Figure 3.3: Students’ frequency of speaking English in class

As can be seen from the chart above, only 22.9 % of the respondents always

or usually spoke English in class; whereas 43.1% rarely spoke English Also, 34.0

% of them said that they just sometimes spoke it in the class

When answering the researcher’s question, one interviewee said:

“I know English is important for my future job, but I don’t know why I can’t speak English willingly.”

Another student shared the same idea:

“I rarely speak English in class although it’s a good environment for me to practice English with my teachers and classmates I’m not confident in my English

I just spoke English when my teacher asked me to do so.”

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The second question was about students’ interest in learning speaking English The statistics from the chart show a surprising fact that only 5.7 % of the respondents felt very interested in speaking English, and 42.9 % were interested

e majority of them did not have high interest From these figures, the researcher can come to conclusion that the students with low interest made up higher proportion than those with high interest

Students’ frequency of speaking English in class

Figure 3.3: Students’ frequency of speaking English in class

As can be seen from the chart above, only 22.9 % of the respondents always

or usually spoke English in class; whereas 43.1% rarely spoke English Also, 34.0

hey just sometimes spoke it in the class

When answering the researcher’s question, one interviewee said:

“I know English is important for my future job, but I don’t know why I can’t speak English willingly.”

Another student shared the same idea:

rarely speak English in class although it’s a good environment for me to practice English with my teachers and classmates I’m not confident in my English

I just spoke English when my teacher asked me to do so.”

e majority of them did not have high interest From these figures, the researcher can come to conclusion that the students with low interest made up higher

Figure 3.3: Students’ frequency of speaking English in class

As can be seen from the chart above, only 22.9 % of the respondents always

or usually spoke English in class; whereas 43.1% rarely spoke English Also, 34.0

When answering the researcher’s question, one interviewee said:

“I know English is important for my future job, but I don’t know why I can’t

rarely speak English in class although it’s a good environment for me to practice English with my teachers and classmates I’m not confident in my English

Never 0.00%

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3.1.4 Students’ frequency of volunteering to speak in class

Figure 3.4: Students’ frequency of volunteering to speak in class

The data from figure 3.2 shows that only 9 % of the students (very) often volunteered to speak in speaking classes 17 % of them sometimes did so On the contrary, 74 % rarely and 3% never volunteered to talk in the class in English Some students in the interview said that they just spoke if they were asked to do so This

is in line with Hamouda’s findings (2012) that Saudi students rarely respond to the teachers’ questions or actively participate in discussions

As can be seen from the interview with the teachers, only a few students who were good at English actively participated in the lessons However, the number of students with high proficiency in English was very few, only five or six students The rest rarely volunteered to answer teachers’ questions Some still kept quiet unless the teachers came close and asked them to speak This result proved that students had negative attitudes during the speaking lessons

From the results shown in the tables and figures above, it can be said that most of respondents regarded speaking as an important skill However, the percentage of students who appeared reluctant to speak was bigger than that of students interested in speaking English So the question raised is what makes many students unwilling or passive in speaking classes The following response will be the answer to the question

3.2.1 Factors associated with learners

The next items attempt to find out the causes of the students’ unwillingness associated with the learners themselves There are many factors causing students’ reluctance to participate in classroom activities

 Low level of English proficiency

Sometimes (3)

%

Often (4)

%

Always (5)

Table 3.1: Factors associated with learners’ low English proficiency

The results above show the reasons why students hesitated to speak during English lessons It is clearly indicated that most of the respondents were reluctant

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to speak as their level of English proficiency was low As can be seen in the table, majority of the learners were unable to find ideas to answer teachers’ questions, which accounts for the highest mean value (3.8) This is a serious problem as it often happens to 54.3 % of the respondents

Besides, poor pronunciation and lack of vocabulary or structures are main obstacles to the majority 68.6 % of the learners perceived themselves to be not confidence in their English proficiency

When being asked why they were not willing to speak for lack of background knowledge of the topic, they averred in the interview that:

“If I can’t connect the background knowledge to the topic, it is difficult to express my idea.”

“I am worried because my background knowledge of all fields is so limited.”

Some other students responded more about their pronunciation and grammar:

“Even though it’s the second year since I learned speaking skills, my pronunciation seems terrible, so many mistakes I even cannot pronounce some familiar words correctly.”

“I learned English grammar for 7 years I don’t know I can’t say a full sentence grammar correctly.”

The answers of the teachers confirmed the learners’ proficiency of English greatly influenced their willingness to participate in speaking activities All of them agreed that good students tended to speak more frequently and tried to seek chances In contrast, ones who did not have words or structures often kept silent

 Fear of making mistakes and being laughed at

%

Sometimes (3)

%

Often (4)

%

Always (5)

Table 3.2: Factors associated with fear of making mistakes and being laughed at

Another cause that leads to students’ reluctance is fear of making mistakes Majority (76.2 %) of the learners were scared that they would make noticeable errors Also, 45.7 % of the participants admitted that they (often or sometimes) were afraid of being seen as foolish if they made mistakes Furthermore, some did not want to speak, especially in front of the class as they feared that their classmates would laugh at them if their answers were wrong The mean value for this item is not high (2.6), and this fear was (sometimes and often) problematic for half of the respondents

Explaining for what made them fear of mistakes, some students said their English was not good and they often made mistakes whenever speaking English Another reason as mentioned by a student is that she always considered everything

to be perfect Therefore, she only started to speak when she’s sure about it

Concerning about this problem, four teachers said that when a student made mistakes or gave wrong answers, some others laughed, which made her feel losing face As one teacher said:

“In most of classes, whenever a student said something wrong, some would laugh at them Of course, this will somehow make them feel embarrassed.”