Application of project based learning approach in teaching speaking to 11th form students an action research project at a high school in thai binh

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ---oOo--- BÙI THỊ HUỆ APPLICATION OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING APPR

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

-oOo -

BÙI THỊ HUỆ

APPLICATION OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING APPROACH

IN TEACHING SPEAKING TO 11TH FORM STUDENTS:

AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT A HIGH SCHOOL

IN THAI BINH

(ÁP DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP HỌC THEO DỰ ÁN TRONG VIỆC DẠY

KỸ NĂNG NÓI CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 11: NGHIÊN CỨU

CẢI TIẾN SƯ PHẠM TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG THPT Ở THÁI BÌNH)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 8140231.01

Hanoi - 2018

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

-oOo -

BÙI THỊ HUỆ

APPLICATION OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING APPROACH

IN TEACHING SPEAKING TO 11TH FORM STUDENTS:

AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT A HIGH SCHOOL

IN THAI BINH

(ÁP DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP HỌC THEO DỰ ÁN TRONG VIỆC DẠY

KỸ NĂNG NÓI CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 11: NGHIÊN CỨU

CẢI TIẾN SƯ PHẠM TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG THPT Ở THÁI BÌNH)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 8140231.01 Supervisor: Dr Nguyễn Thị Hương

Hanoi - 2018

DECLARATION

I certify that no part of the thesis entitled “Application of Project-Based Learning Approach in teaching speaking to 11th form students: An action research project at

a High School in Thai Binh.” has been copied or reproduced by me from any other

works without acknowledgement and that the thesis is originally written by me under strict guidance of my supervisor

Hanoi, 2018 Student‘s signature

Bùi Thị Huệ

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor,

Dr Nguyen Thi Huong for her enthusiastic support, helpful guidance and considerable encouragement Without her instruction, I could not complete the study

Secondly, I would also like to thank my beloved students for their enthusiastic participation in the PBL lessons, the questionnaire as well as the interviews Without their passionate participation, the study could not have been successfully implemented

Also, I want to send my sincere thanks to the headmaster of Dong Thuy Anh High School for permitting me to carry out the study in our school In addition, I am grateful to my colleagues who helped me in implementing the study in the school

Finally, I must express my very profound gratitude to my husband and my family for their support and encouragement Without their help, I could not complete my master program or implement the study

ABSTRACT

This study is carried out to examine how Project-Based Learning affects students‘ speaking skills as well as students‘ opinions on Project-Based Learning implementation The study adopts action research with the use of both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, including pre- and post – tests, questionnaire, teaching journals and interviews The findings report that the students in the study made some significant improvement in their speaking scores More specifically, the average-level students are likely to benefit the most from this activity because their speaking scores are raisen the most In term of the speaking test criteria including grammar and vocabulary, pronunciation, discourse management and interactive communication, the students also made a lot of progress However, each level group of students did not make improvement equally; even there is a group which did not make any progress Apart from that, the results from the interviews and questionnaire with the students as well as the teaching journals reveal that a majority of students are in favor of PBL Despite the positive outcome of the research, there is still a need for further studies to assess more PBL‘s effects and the best way to apply PBL in official school curricula

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION 1

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS 2

ABSTRACT 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

LIST OF FIGURES 7

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 8

1.1 Rationale of the study 8

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 9

1.3 Significance of the study 9

1.4 Methods of the study 10

1.5 Structure of the study 10

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 12

2.1 Speaking in foreign language learning 12

2.1.1 Definition of speaking 12

2.1.2 Speaking skills 12

2.1.3 Principles of speaking teaching 13

2.2 Project-Based Learning 13

2.2.1 Definition of Project-Based Learning 13

2.2.2 Characteristics of Project-Based Learning 15

2.2.3 Benefits of Project-Based Learning 16

2.2.4 Theoretical framework: PBL approach to teaching speaking 17

2.3 Related studies 19

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 21

3.1 Research methodology 21

3.2 Setting of the study 23

3.3 Participants 23

3.4 Research design 23

3.5 Data collection procedure 24

3.6 Data analysis 27

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 29

4.1 Research question 1 29

4.1.1 Classification of the students‘ levels based on the pretest results 29

4.1.2 Effects of PBL on the students‘ overall speaking skills 30

4.1.3 Effects of PBL on the students‘ grammar and vocabulary 33

4.1.4 Effects of PBL on the students‘ discourse management 35

4.1.5 Effects of PBL on the student‘s pronunciation 38

4.1.6 Effects of PBL on the students‘ interactive communication 39

4.2 Research question 2 41

4.2.1 Students‘ opinions on PBL 42

4.2.2 Student‘s perception of the PBL speaking lessons 44

4.2.2.1 Lesson topics 45

4.2.2.2 Teacher‘s instruction 48

4.2.2.3 Learning activities 50

4.2.2.4 Language resources 53

4.2.3 Conclusion 54

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 56

5.1 Major findings of the study 56

5.1.1 The effects of PBL on students‘ speaking skills 56

5.1.2 Students‘ opinions on PBL implementation in class 57

5.2 Reflection 58

5.3 Pedagogical suggestions 60

5.4 Suggestions for further studies 60

5.5 Limitations of the study 61 REFERENCES I APPENDICES IV APENDIX A: PRE AND POST SPEAKING TEST IV

1 PRE-SPEAKING TEST IV

2 POST SPEAKING TEST V

3 SPEAKING TEST CRITERIA VII

APENDIX B: LESSON PLANS VIII

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: The number of students in each group arranged by their pretest speaking scores29 Figure 2: Mean comparison of overal pretest and posttest scores 30 Figure 3: Students' perception on their speaking skill improvement after PBL lessons 31 Figure 4: Students' perception on PBL's boosting their confidence 32 Figure 5: Mean comparison of grammar and vocabulary scores of the pretest and posttest 34 Figure 6: Students' perception on their improvement in grammar and vocabulary after PBL lessons 34 Figure 7: Mean comparison of discourse management scores of the pretest and posttest 36 Figure 8: Students' perceptions on their fluency and coherence improvements after PBL lessons 37 Figure 9: Mean comparison of pronunciation scores of the pretest and posttest 38 Figure 10: Students' perception on their pronunciation improvements after PBL lessons 38 Figure 11:Mean comparison of interactive communication scores of the pretest and posttest 40 Figure 12: Students' opinions on their improvement in interactive communication after PBL lessons 40 Figure 13: Students' opinions on their involvement in PBL class 42 Figure 14: Students' opinions on the unncessity of PBL in English speaking classroom 43 Figure 14: Students' opinions on carrying out more PBL activities in the future 44 Figure 15: Students' opinions on the appropriateness of PBL in English speaking classroom 44 Figure 16: Students' opinions on the appropriateness of the project topics 45 Figure 17: Students' opinions on the appropriateness of the teacher's instruction 49 Figure 18: Students' opinions on the appropriateness of time allocation for each project 50 Figure 19: Students' opinions on the stimulation and engagement of PBL in comparison with other speaking activities 51

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the rationale, aims and objectives, significance of the study are presented Also, the research questions, chosen research methods and structure

of the researcher are put forward

1.1 Rationale of the study

The need for acquiring good communicative skills in English has been increasing in everyday and work situations So speaking has played an increasingly essential role in second language learning settings It is also the reason why Dong Thuy Anh High School, a prestigious state high school in Thai Binh province, has been paying more attention in teaching speaking skills for students recently However, being orally competent in English has still been a far-fetched dream among most of students

In the researcher‘s real teaching context, it is noticed that the majority of the researcher‘s students really want or need to be fluent in speaking English In spite of their desires, many of them cannot perform the speaking tasks successfully Surprisingly, they actually have good ideas since they can express their opinions cogently on the papers but when being asked to speak, they become nerve-racking, hesistant and disorganized Some even do not feel elated and enthusiastic when participating in oral activities and tend to work independently in pair or group work This is due to such possible reasons as tension, shyness and/ or lack of confidence, and effective communication skills in English Besides, the teaching strategies used, the uninteresting activities in the text book or lack of opportunities to communicate orally also make students stay passive in speaking lessons

This problem urges the researcher to find suitable methods in order to help students take part in communicative tasks actively and gregariously The researcher thinks that authentic learning experience can be a solution Bringing the real world problems into the classroom can encourage students‘ engagement, curiosity, inquiry, which could motivate them to participate actively in speaking lessons Project-Based Learning (PBL), which has been strongly promoted in recent years,

meets the above requirements because according to George Lucas Educational Foundation (2001), through PBL, students explore real-world problems and challenges, simultaneously developing cross-curriculum skills while working in small collaborative groups

Considering the benefits of PBL that can bring to the students, the researcher conducts a study on the implementation of PBL to develop the English speaking skill for eleventh - grade students at Dong Thuy Anh High School

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study

To begin with, the study is carried out in Dong Thuy Anh High School in order to find out whether PBL activities can help the 11th form students improve their speaking skills or not Their speaking competence development is measured via two tests: one before PBL and the other after PBL Afterward, the paper investigates the students‘ attitude on the use of PBL in the class in term of the effectiveness of PBL, their perceptions on PBL implementation in the class and so

2 What are the students‘ opinions on the PBL in learning speaking?

1.3 Significance of the study

Once the study is completed, it will serve as one of the first to investigate the use of PBL in Dong Thuy Anh High School Thus, it may be of considerable use for other teachers of English in Dong Thuy Anh High School or researchers who want

to investigate more in applying PBL to high school students

Furthermore, the study is an action research, i.e PBL is applied on the class the researcher is teaching This helps to enhance the validity of the feasibility of PBL in schools So, the recommendations and conclusions from the study could be

useful to the policymakers in Dong Thuy Anh High School as well as in other schools nationwide if PBL is consider to be applied into school curricula

1.4 Methods of the study

The study uses the approach of an action research, i.e PBL would be applied directly into the class that the researcher is teaching Also, both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods are applied into this research In term of qualitative method, interviews are used to gather student‘s opinions toward PBL activities in class In term of quantitative method, questionnaires and tests are applied The results from the questionnaire and interviews will be regarded to the students‘ general attitude toward PBL, their perception on the effectiveness of PBL

on their speaking levels and speaking skills Means of pretest and posttest scores would be calculated to determine the effects of PBL on the students‘ speaking scores Both the methods are cooperative to each other The results from the speaking scores would be compared with the data collected in the interviews and questionnaire

1.5 Structure of the study

The paper consists of five chapters as follows:

Chapter 1 serves as the general guideline for the whole paper The rationale, aims and objectives, significance and methods of the study are presented clearly

Chapter 2 provides the theoretical base for the study Specifically, key terms such as speaking and PBL are adequately explained Also, the related studies are also discussed

Chapter 3 illustrates the methodology to carry out the study Also, the participants and instrument of data collection are mentioned The choice of participants and data collection methods is justified in this chapter Furthermore, the procedure to carry out the research is mentioned

Chapter 4 discusses the findings from the pretest and posttest, questionnaire and interviews These data are analysed thoroughly to answer the research questions Chapter 5 summarizes the findings of the study and the suggestions for other researchers, colleagues and policymakers Besides, the limitations of the study are discussed

The last parts are Appendices and Bibliography

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

In this chapter, all the key concepts such as “speaking anxiety” and “causes

of speaking anxiety” are defined as the frame for the study Also, a brief overview

of the related studies discloses the research gap and justifies the aims and objectives of this research paper

2.1 Speaking in foreign language learning

2.1.1 Definition of speaking

Nunan (1999:216) states that speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information Its form and meaning are depending on the context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving However, speech is not always unpredictable Speaking requires that learners not only know how to produce specific points of language such as grammar, pronunciation or vocabulary (―linguistic competence‖) but also that they understand when, why, and what ways to produce language (―sociolinguistic competence‖)

2.1.2 Speaking skills

Nunan (2003:3) defines teaching speaking skills is to teach learners to: (1) produce the English speech sounds and sound patterns; (2) use word and sentence stress, intonation patterns and the rhythm of the second language; (3) select appropriate words and sentences according to the proper social setting, audience, situation and subject matter; (4) organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence; (5) use language as a means of expressing values and judgments; (6) use the language quickly and confidently with few unnatural pauses, which is called as fluency

Today's world requires that the goal of teaching speaking should improve students' communicative skills, because, only in that way, students can express

themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules appropriate in each communicative circumstance Burkart ( 1998:13) states that the goal of teaching spoken language for communication is to enable students to produce spoken messages as they carry out a range of tasks in a variety of contexts outside classroom They should be able to use the language to interpret, express and negotiate meaning

In brief, to achieve the goal of teaching speaking, EFL teachers should create

a classroom environment where students have real-life communication, authentic activities and meaningful tasks that promote oral language

2.1.3 Principles of speaking teaching

To make students able to communicate in the target language, the English teacher should be aware of implementing classroom-speaking process that is rested

on the underlying principles suggested by Brown ( 2007) :

1 Provide intrinsically motivating techniques

2 Encourage the use of authentic language in meaningful contexts

3 Provide appropriate feedback and correction

4 Capitalize on the natural link between speaking and listening

5 Give students opportunities to initiate oral communication

6 Encourage the development of speaking strategies

2.2 Project-Based Learning

2.2.1 Definition of Project-Based Learning

Like other scientific concepts that raise many researchers‘ interest, Based Learning has a variety of definitions Each definition is the reflection of the underlying theories or perspectives that the authors assume

Project-Project-Based Learning hails from a tradition of pedagogy which asserts that students learn best by experiencing and solving real-world problems According to researchers (Barron & Darling-Hammond, 2008; Thomas, 2000), Project-Based Learning essentially involves the following:

 students learning knowledge to tackle realistic problems as they would be

solved in the real world

 increased student control over his or her learning

 teachers serving as coaches and facilitators of inquiry and reflection

 students (usually, but not always) working in pairs or groups

John Thomas (2000) explains that project-based learning requires ―complex tasks, based on challenging questions or problems, that involve students in design, problem-solving, decision making, or investigative activities; give students the opportunity to work relatively autonomously over extended periods of time; and culminate in realistic products or presentations.‖

Another view of Project-Based Learning is from The Buck Institute for Education (BIE) (2012) Project-Based Learning is defined as ―a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning knowledge and skills through an extended inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks.‖ This process can last for varying time periods and can extend over multiple content areas

Furthermore, Patton (2012:13) remarks that Project- Based Learning refers

to a methods allowing students to design, plan, and carry out an extended project that produces a publicly exhibited output such as a product, publication or presentation Through PBL, the learners are engaged in purposeful communication

to complete authentic activities (project-work), so that they have the opportunity to use the language in a relatively natural context (Haines, 1989, as cited in Fragoulis,

2009) and participate in meaningful activities which require authentic language use (Fragoulis, 2009)

2.2.2 Characteristics of Project-Based Learning

In a review of the research on project-based learning, Thomas (2000) identified five distinguishing features of project-based learning:

 The use of projects that focus on content that is central to the curriculum These projects become the primary vehicle for content learning, and often, assessment

 Projects are based on questions of importance or driving questions

(Blumenfeld et al., 1991) Driving questions must be germane to the content, and crafted both to engender optimal student engagement and foster active intellectual pursuit of solutions

 Projects involve students in ways that require them to identify problems, develop and design solutions, and create an end product such as a presentation, report, invention, or model

 Projects are student-centered to the greatest extent possible Teachers serve

as resources, facilitators and guides, but it is the students who define, choose and carry out their projects

 Projects are developed from reality-based ideas and problems rather than on academic exercises and pursuits The projects represent authentic efforts in solving or investigating real-world dilemmas

In brief, PBL is a style of active learning and inquiry-based learning It contrasts with paper-based, rote memorization, or teacher-led instruction that simply presents established fact or portrays a smooth path to knowledge by instead posing questions, problems or scenarios

2.2.3 Benefits of Project-Based Learning

Project-based learning offers a wide range of benefits to both students and teachers A growing body of academic research supports the use of project-based learning in school to engage students, cut absenteeism, boost cooperative learning skills, and improve academic performance (George Lucas Educational Foundation, 2001)

For students, benefits of project-based learning include:

 Increased attendance, growth in self-reliance, and improved attitudes toward learning (Thomas, 2000)

 Academic gains equal to or better than those generated by other models, with students involved in projects taking greater responsibility for their own learning than during more traditional classroom activities (Boaler, 1997; SRI,

For teachers, PBL also helps them to enhance their professionalism, stimulate collaboration among colleagues and provide more opportunities to build relationships with students (Thomas, 2000)

In the context of English teaching and learning, PBL has been suggested as

an appropriate approach of teaching English as a second or as foreign language According to Thomson and Beak (2007), PBL deals with real-life problems which ESL learners may find more engaging than the traditional lecture format In addition,

Ke (2010) remarks that the primary aim of using project in EFL classroom is to build an effective teaching environment in which learners use their English and develop their oral skills, and the secondary goals are to develop abilities for

independent thinking, problem solving and decision making, the use of practical research skills and the practicing the planning activities in general

To sum, project work is potentially motivating, stimulating, empowering and challenging It helps to build students‘ confidence, self- esteem and autonomy as well as improving students‘ language skills, content learning and cognitive abilities

2.2.4 Theoretical framework: PBL approach to teaching speaking

According to Kriwas (1999, as cited in Bell, 2010) there are four stages in implementing Project-Based Learning:

 Stage 1 : Speculation

At this stage, teachers provide the choice of project topics initially based on curriculum and discuss them with the students Teachers and students speculate possibilities that will lead to the projects smoothly (Bell, 2010)

 Stage 2: Designing the project activities

This stage refers to organizing the structure of a project activity that includes group formation, role assigning, concerning methodology decision, information source, etc (Bell,2010)

 Stage 3: Conducting the project activities

At this stage, the groups implement activities planned and designed in the previous stage The students gather information, discuss it with their group members, consult problems encountered in their work with the teachers, and exhibit their final products that might be in form of presentation, performance, product, publication…in the class, in the school or the wider community

 Stage 4: Evaluation

Evaluation refers to ―the assessment of activities from the participants and discussion about whether the initial aims and goals have been achieved, implementation of the process and final products‖ (Brinia, 2006, as cited in

Fragoulis, 2009: 115) Bell (2010) also says that the evaluation, towards the project organization, problems encountered during the process of working it, students‘ attitudes toward it… also includes evaluation from others and self-evaluation

In applying the PBL technique in the classroom, Marx (1997) set out problems teachers may have with enactment during the class as below:

 Time: projects often take longer than anticipated

 Classroom management: classrooms sometimes feel loud and disorderly

 Control: teachers often feel the need to control the flow of information while

at the same time believing that students' understanding requires that they build their own understanding;

 Support of student learning: teachers find it difficult in finding a balance between helping a student and given them independence and control of their learning

 Technology use: teachers may have difficulty incorporating technology into the classroom, especially as a cognitive tool

 Assessment: teachers may have difficulty designing assessments that require students to demonstrate their understanding

To overcome the above barriers, Liu, Wivagg, Geurtz, Lee, and Chang (2012) suggest multiple strategies to effectively implement PBL They recommend that teachers should choose a PBL program that explicitly meets their curricular needs, be proactive with technology access and availability, consider diverse scaffolding techniques, accept that students will need to adjust to the unfamiliar nature of PBL, and realize that implementation takes time The authors concluded that for PBL to be successful, teachers, administrators, instructional materials, and technology must all be aligned

Based on the above, the teacher can discuss the end product with students and explain what exactly they have to do and how, what they have to practice or learn, what they can expect and what is expected from them, the choices they have

to make and the rules they have to follow It is very useful from the start to draw a timetable, a plan and a check list of objectives for the project work so that the students can follow the stages of the project

Effective Project-Based Learning requires a teacher to assume a different role (Levy, 1997) The teacher‘s role is not dominant, but she/he acts as a guide, advisor, coordinator (Papandreou, 1994), and facilitator In implementing the project method, the crucial point of learning process moves from the teacher to the learners, from working alone to working in groups

In Vietnam, PBL is considered as a relatively new teaching method It has not been yet applied widely There are only a few researches which were carried ou

to investigate the use of PBL in Vietnamese teaching context Pham (2014), in her

MA thesis concludes that PBL is a great activity to inspire high school students to learn and improve their speaking skills However, in the research conducted by Ngo (2014), it is concluded that Vietnamese teachers encounter difficulties in being a facilitator in PBL activities Apart from that, students got a lot of problems in

―enjoying autonomy‖ and ―accepting a new role of the teacher as a facilitator‖ Also, the research points out that PBL is a totally contradictory to the traditional method

of teaching and learning in Vietnam; therefore, it will take a lot of time for both Vietnamese teachers and students to be familiar with this method

In short, this chapter has provided a theoretical background for the study Also, this chapter gives an overview of PBL in the previous researchers

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter contains a full description of the study which aims to investigate the effects of using project-based learning on 11 th form students at Dong Thuy Anh High School in learning English speaking skills based on the framework presented

in the previous sections by attempting to test the hypotheses

He also believes that ―action research creates new knowledge based on enquiries conducted within specific and often practical contexts‖ Bassey (1998, p.93) highlights that action research is ―an inquiry which is carried out in order to understand, to evaluate and then to change, in order to improve some educational practice‖ There is consensus among researchers since Hopkins (2002, p 42) refers that ―action research combines a substantive act with a research procedure; it is action disciplined by enquiry, a personal attempt at understanding while engaged in

a process of improvement and reform”

The action research approach was chosen due to the following reasons: Firstly, the study is conducted with a view of a teacher rather than a researcher The research is carried out in the real English teaching; therefore, real solutions and evaluation are implemented Secondly, action research can be referred

as a circle; therefore, it can be revised, re-planned and re-done to improve the process Thirdly, it is the collaboration between teachers and students Action research requires the participation of both the teachers and the students in the English-speaking class since the teachers do research by themselves and reflect

from what they teach in the class The students are invited to be parts of the study,

to do the projects and give comments about the research

Action research is one of the best when it comes to project-based learning since it adapts inquiry carried out by the teachers to improve the current state of English teaching Teachers should be the ones who understand their teaching environment, their students and the curriculum the most Therefore, the use of action research will be effective for the teachers to detect the problems and design reasonable solutions to meet their needs to change their current teaching situations and to improve the learners‘ learning

To find out answers for the research questions, both quantitative and qualitative methods are employed The used quantitative method includes pre and post speaking tests The pre-test and post-test that were initially used were adapted from the Cambridge PET speaking test which contained 4 parts to categorise the participants‘ English levels of speaking The scores then were marked by the researcher The criteria for marking the speaking test were classified into 4 categories: grammar and vocabulary, discourse management, pronunciation and interactive communication Regarding qualitative method, interviews and questionnaires are utilized A Likert-scale questionnaire which includes 15 questions would be given to the students in order to find out their opinions on PBL lessons The questionnaire would be classified into two large categories: the students‘ attitudes toward PBL and their perceptions on PBL lessons which specifically comprises of lessons topics, teacher‘s instruction, learning activities and language resources Moreover, some outcomes in term of the students‘ self-perceptions on their improvement in speaking English would be used to compare with the results from the tests Furthermore, two random students from each level-classified group (bad, average and good) would be invited for interviews Therefore, there would be six students who would be interviewed The interviews would provide more in-depth opinions of the students on PBL lessons The results from the

interviews would be utilized to compare and contrast with the ones from the questionnaire

3.2 Setting of the study

Dong Thuy Anh high school is a public high school in Thai Binh province It

is compulsory for the students to pass the entrance exam which consisted of three main subjects, namely: Maths, Literature and English to study at Dong Thuy Anh high school The chosen class was English-specialized class The prerequisite condition to attend this class is that the students had to pass the entrance exam with

a grade of over 8 out of 10 for English This requirement, to some extent, helps to guarantee a selection of good learners of English, hence enhance the effects of using Project-based learning in their English-speaking classroom

Independence English learning is encouraged at Dong Thuy Anh high school Being equipped with a library which contains of radios, computers and books, the students in English-specialized class also have one more optional class in the morning and three afternoon lessons each week The Project-based learning project was carried out in those classes

3.3 Participants

Subjects for the present study were 40 Vietnamese 11th grade learners of English at Dong Thuy Anh public high school The participants were chosen since they were students that the researcher was teaching at that time All of them had been studying English for at least 5 years and had good level of English

3.4 Research design

The chosen research approach for the current study was action research According to MacIsaac (1995), a typical action research cycle includes four steps:

“plan, act, observe and reflect”

 Step 1- Planning: The problem is identified Afterwards, the plan is made in order to make a change and solve the problem

 Step 2- Action: The plan is carried out

 Step 3- Observation: The process of implementation and results are observed

 Step 4- Reflection: The process and the results are analyzed and evaluated after being observed Therefore, some adjustment will be added to the initial plan to make it better

This study follows these four steps; yet some adjustments are made to suit the research questions The detailed plan can be found in 3.5 Data collection procedure

3.5 Data collection procedure

The data collection procedure of this study took place over a period of 15 weeks at Dong Thuy Anh high school from January to the end of April 2018 The data collection procedure followed the action research steps with some adjustments

to suit the research questions

 Step 1- Planning (Week 1)

- Identify a problem: Witnessing the poor performance of students in

communicating in English, the failure of getting students‘ engagements in in-class speaking activities, the researcher decided to teach speaking skills a trial activity in her own class The effects of PBL would be judge to see whether it is suitable to the researcher‘s students and helps students to improve their speaking skills or not

- Develop a plan of action: Three projects were developed to teach PBL in the

class The project topics were carefully chosen based on the current curriculum of

11th graded English Textbook, the researcher‘s observation on what is ―real—world‖, familiar and fascinating problems to students as well as the informal, unofficial discussion with the students Detailed lesson plans were developed; advanced homework is also created so that it would help students to prepare better for the projects

Also, according to the language proficiency framework issued by Ministry of Education and Training, high school graduated students have to obtain B1-level, which equals to Cambridge PET level Therefore, the researcher decided to use an adapted a PET speaking test to evaluate the speaking level of students before and after PBL lessons This would help to judge the PBL‘s effects on the students‘ speaking skills The test would take place in 15 minutes at most English speaking levels of the participants were based on the scores that they achieved ranging from 0

to 5, in which 0 is the lowest score and 5 is the highest The scores were divided into three levels: weak (below 2), average ( from 2 to 3), good (above 3)

Furthermore, the timeline for the projects was made There were three main projects designed and carried out during 12 weeks The allotted time for each main project was 4 weeks Each main project consisted of two mini main-topic-related projects; each mini project has to be completed within two weeks The second week

of each small project was designed for delivering presentation and giving assessment

 Step 2- Action (Week 2 – Week 13)

- PBL implementation: The first project was carried out in the class The chosen

class was divided into 8 small groups of 5 students The handouts were given to the students in advance so that they would grasp some ideas about the topic first In the class, proper instructions and supervision were given to the whole class so that participants could complete their products without falling into frustration Moreover, in the first week and third week of each project, topic-related vocabulary and B1-level discursive expressions were introduced to the students or reviewed in order to facilitate them in the group discussion and the project implementation In the second and fourth week of the project, each group delivered their presentation Also, peers‘ comments and teacher‘s feedback were given to each group‘s presentation

 Step 3- Observation

In this step, the researcher observed the effect of the action and collected the data

- Pre-PBL speaking test: The PET-adapted speaking pretest was carried out to

note down the speaking level of the students before PBL lessons

- Post-PBL speaking test: After the project 3 was completed, a post-speaking

PET-level test was carried out after a few days for the first research question

- Teaching journals: After each project, the researcher wrote a teaching journal to reflect upon the implementation of the project, to identify what had been achieved and what problems students had in order to make adjustment for the next cycle

- Surveys and interviews: Then in order to find out the answer for the second

research question, a self-reported questionnaire which includes 15 Likert-style questions was handed to the students to fill in The questionnaire focuses on the students‘ opinions on the application of PBL in their class and PBL‘s effects All of the difficult terms in the questionnaire were explained clearly by the teacher in order to exterminate misunderstandings The questionnaire was submitted directly

to the teacher after being finished The whole questionnaire was translated into Vietnamese and the learners were asked to fill in the questionnaire either in English

or in Vietnamese in order to allow them to be able to freely and easily express their opinions, therefore make their answers as objective as possible Finally, interviews were carried out with 6 student participants Notably, the students were chosen randomly from 3 levels of pretest speaking scores The interviews were conducted

in Vietnamese since it was possible in the interview to ask for clarity when necessary and to give participants comfortability to be able to further express their

opinions in a more precise way

 Step 4- Reflection

In this step, the collected data from the pre and post tests, questionnaire and interviews were analyzed to find out the effect of PBL as well as the students‘ attitude toward PBL Afterward, the PBL approach would be evaluated Also, some adjustments or modifications would be considered to make PBL lessons suit more the classroom conditions and students

3.6 Data analysis

To analyse the collected data, both quantitative and qualitative methods are utilized

 Pre and post speaking tests

To measure the improvement of the students participating in PBL lessons, the researcher would compare the mean of the pre-test and post-test Also, the class would be classified into three level groups based on their pretest scores, namely bad, average and good group Each group‘s pretest and posttest mean score would be calculated and compared This helps to clearly represent to what extent each group makes improvement Additionally, the researcher would compare the pre and posttest mean scores of the students in term of grammar and vocabulary, discourse management, pronunciation and interactive communication to see how students make improvement in each criterion

 Questionnaire

The questionnaire would be analyzed using descriptive statistics Specifically, the information is grouped into categories first For example, the researcher would count the number of students who agree/ disagree/ strongly agree/strongly disagree/

no opinion on PBL implementation and so on Afterward, the data would be presented in percentages and the frequency distributions of the percentages would

be depicted in graphs

 Interviews

The result from the interviews would be coded into themes For example, the researcher would categorize the information into the attitudes of the students toward PBL, the students‘ perceptions on PBL lessons, the recommendation of the students

on PBL lessons and so on

In short, triangulation design with the utility of pre-test and post-test and close-ended items in an individual questionnaire was used The explanatory design with the follow-up interviews were valuable to the research objective which aims to compare participant perspectives as to the differing effects of using project-based learning in the English speaking classroom By using a various mixture of methods,

it was possible to compensate for the other method and vice versa thus provide broader and ‗well-validated and substantial findings‘ for the research problems (Creswell, 2013)

This chapter has provided in details the analysis of data and data collection methodology that were utilised in this study

All versions of the data collecting instruments could be found in the

Appendices

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

This chapter offers an in-depth analysis of the data gathered from the chosen research instruments presented in the previous chapter, namely the speaking pretest and posttest, the self-reported questionnaire and the semi-structured interviews Also, this chapter provides a detailed discussion on the results and the research questions

4.1 Research question 1

4.1.1 Classification of the students’ levels based on the pretest results

In order to find the answer for the first research question ―To what degree does the Project-Based Learning help to improve speaking skills for grade 11 students at Dong Thuy Anh High School?‖, PET- adapted speaking pretest and posttest were carried out to measure whether any improvements were made

In the pretest, no student got total scores less than 1 Also, none got total scores more than 4.5 So, in short, students‘ pretest total scores range from 1 to 4.5 According to their total scores in the pretest, students are divided into 3 groups: below 2, 2 to 3 and above 3 ―Below 2‖ is considered ―weak‖; ―from 2 to 3‖ is

―average‖ and ―above 3‖ is ―good‖

 Weak group (pretest total score below 2)

The number of students in this group is 16 The pretest scores of these students are in a set of {1; 1.25; 1.5; 1.75}

 Average group (pretest total score from 2 to 3)

16 students belong to this group The range of this group‘s scores is in {2; 2.25; 2.5 ; 3}

 Good group (pretest total score above 3)

There are only 8 students getting the top scores in the pretest They got the scores in the range of {3.25; 3.5; 4; 4.5} None of the students got the maximum score, i.e 5

This arrangement helps to keep track of how each group made progress in their speaking test after participating in PBL Thus, it could point out which group

of students benefits the most from PBL

In order to get a thorough insight into how PBL helps students to raise their speaking scores, the overall score/ speaking skills are compared first, then each sub-categories of the speaking marking criteria, which include grammar and vocabulary, discourse management, pronunciation and interactive communication, would be compared Also, to understand what students thought about the improvement of their speaking skills after participating in PBL, the researcher had put some questions in the questionnaire and asked the interviewees about their opinions on their own progress

4.1.2 Effects of PBL on the students’ overall speaking skills

To affirm whether PBL helps students to raise their speaking scores or not, the researcher compares the mean of the pretest and posttest scores not only of the whole class but also of each level group

Mean of pretest scores

Mean of posttest scores

It can be seen that the whole class‘s mean of posttest scores increased by 0.325, which shows that the whole class made a lot of positive changes to their speaking scores after PBL lessons Furthermore, the table presents that the difference between the mean scores of posttest and pretest of the average group is the highest, approximately 0.47 points So, it can be inferred that the average group achieved the most changes in their speaking scores after PBL lessons Following is the good group with 0.31 points difference The group to make the least difference

is the weak group Therefore, it can be assumed that the weak group made the least progress after PBL lessons It can be explained from the data collected in the interviews that students from the weak group did not investigate much time on PBL

or still struggled a lot with their speaking skills Therefore, their scores were not improved much in the posttest That is also a reason why there are some students who did not feel their speaking skills are better after PBL Additionally, the good group already achieved the high scores from 3 to 4.5 Even though they enhanced their speaking skills, it would be still difficult for them to boost their scores much higher since the requirements to get higher scores are much harder than to get average scores So, the good group cannot make more improvement than the average group

Also, in the questionnaire, more than three-fourths of the participants supported the opinion that they speak English better after joining in PBL class Only nearly 30% of the students disagree that PBL is useful to them

Figure 3: Students' perception on their speaking skill improvement after PBL lessons

This result agrees with not only the posttest speaking scores but also with the interviews Most of the students stated that they improved their speaking skills to some extent

Secondly, I felt my speaking skills have improved because I practiced a lot I also feel less nervous and trembling when delivering a presentation in front of our class

Figure 4: Students' perception on PBL's boosting their confidence

As Student 2 stated, she felt “less nervous and trembling when delivering a presentation in front of our class.”

Or Student 3 stated:

Well, I just felt that at least I got familiar with presenting in front of my class even though my talk is still bad As other members in my group, I tried to correct

my pronunciation a lot I think I become more confident when I speak English even

I know I still have to try harder

to Vietnamese in at-home discussions

Well, about difficulties in communicating with my peers, I guess I had a little bit There are many ideas that I feel easier to tell them in Vietnamese but in English, sometimes I felt I do not have enough words I guess it’s the same to my peers So in class, when you were in the class, we discussed in English but when we prepared stuffs at home, we mostly use Vietnamese and sometimes made fun by using English

(Student 6)

I guess at first, it was difficult to discuss with my peers because we have never talked much in English with one another But you walked around the class so we had to use English in in-class discussions So, we gradually get more familiar with using English in discussion But for at-home preparation, we used Vietnamese Sometimes, we got crazy and used English, too I still feel it’s more comfortable to use Vietnamese than English

(Student 2)

In short, the students made improvement in term of speaking skills; yet, they still need to boost their confidence more

4.1.3 Effects of PBL on the students’ grammar and vocabulary

One of the criteria in the speaking test is ―grammar and vocabulary‖ To investigate the changes of the students‘ scores in this criteria, the researcher also compare the mean difference

Mean of grammar and vocabulary pretest scores

Mean of grammar and vocabulary posttest scores

This result is backed up by the data collected in the questionnaire and interviews Answering the 13th question in the questionnaire about whether the students think their grammar knowledge is improved or not, nearly 60% of participants chose ―agree‖ or ―strongly agree‖

Figure 6: Students' perception on their improvement in grammar and vocabulary after PBL lessons

Moreover, students from the average and good group in the interviews stated that they improved their grammar and expand their vocabulary Student 1 from the good group stated that:

Yes, I think the structures and vocabulary are handy and easy to our level so there is no difficulty at all

Student 2 from the good group also said:

Actually, the structures are easy in term of grammar, but at first, when I use them in speaking, I was not fluent It took me for a while to get familiar and say it in

a fluent way Vocabulary is useful and we can use the new words immediately in our discussions or presentations

Another student from the average group said:

I think I learnt more new words in the projects The grammar is easy and not

a big deal Thanks to the ready-to-use structures you provided us in our class, I can use it immediately in the discussion and presentation

(Student 5)

So in short, the students from the good and average groups made some progress in the speaking test in term of grammar and vocabulary; yet the weak group had difficulties and could not make much improvement

4.1.4 Effects of PBL on the students’ discourse management

In PET speaking test, discourse management is the criterion to test the examinees on how well they manage what they say One of the examples of discourse management is the ability to speak coherently and fluently Also, saying

something relevant to the topic is counted as one of the facets of good discourse management

In order to help the students improve their skills in managing their speech, in PBL lessons, the researcher provided some discourse markers such as transition words to list ideas in a logical way or to compare and contrast and so on Furthermore, the research offered discursive words/ phrases so that students could refer to when they were in in-class discussion

To reach a conclusion on whether PBL helps the students improve their discourse management, the researcher continues to compare the mean

Mean of discourse management pretest scores

Mean of discourse management posttest scores

by 0.5 points Following is the good group with approximately 0.313 points The last group to make progress is the weak one with roughly 0.11 points

Also, in the interviews, most of the participants stated that they got more fluent or or better in discussions with their peers after PBL learning:

I learnt some ready-to-use discursive sentences You know, when I came to the English center where I attend extra English courses, I also use those sentences

in my discussion with my peers there

(Student 1)

Or:

Actually, the structures are easy in term of grammar, but at first, when I use them

in speaking, I was not fluent It took me for a while to get familiar and say it in a fluent way

4.1.5 Effects of PBL on the student’s pronunciation

Pronunciation criterion refers to examinees‘ ability to produce comprehensible speech The examinees also can pronounce the words / phrases correctly with stress and intonation

Below is the table presenting the mean scores of the whole class and each level group

Mean of pronunciation pretest scores

Mean of pronunciation posttest scores

Figure 9: Mean comparison of pronunciation scores of the pretest and posttest

So in average, students‘ speaking scores increased by 0.3 points Regarding each group, it can be seen that the average group ranks the first in term of making changes in their scores; following are the good and weak group

In addition, in the questionnaire and the interviews, students also agree that they made a lot of improvements regarding pronunciation More than half of the students agree or strongly agree that they improved their pronunciation

Figure 10: Students' perception on their pronunciation improvements after PBL lessons