The exploitation of authentic tasks in speaking classes for english non major freshmen at hanoi university of industry

It is conducted in an attempt to address the gap in the literature and to offer an insight of the reality of teachingspeaking with the exploitation of authentic tasks to English Non-majo

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST –

GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ HOA

THE EXPLOITATION OF AUTHENTIC TASKS IN SPEAKING CLASSES FOR ENGLISH NON-MAJOR FRESHMEN AT

HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY

(NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC KHAI THÁC CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG THỰC

TIỄN TRONG LỚP HỌC NÓI CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT KHỐIKHÔNG CHUYÊN ANH Ở TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI)

M.A Minor thesis

Field: English teaching methodology Code: 601410

Hanoi, 2011

NGUYỄN THỊ HOA

THE EXPLOITATION OF AUTHENTIC TASKS IN SPEAKING CLASSES FOR ENGLISH NON-MAJOR FRESHMEN AT

HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY

(NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC KHAI THÁC CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG THỰC

TIỄN TRONG LỚP HỌC NÓI CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT KHỐIKHÔNG CHUYÊN ANH Ở TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI)

M.A Minor thesis

Field: English teaching methodology Code: 601410

Supervisor: Phạm Minh Tâm, M.A.

Hanoi, 2011

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Declaration ……… i

Acknowledgements ……… ii

Abstract ……… iii

Table of contents ……… iv

List of abbreviations ……… vi

List of figures, tables and charts ……… vii

PART A: INTRODUCTION ……… 1

1 Rationale for the Study………

1 2 Research Aims and Research Questions………

2 3 Significance of the Study………

2 4 Scope of the Study………

3 5 Methodology of the Study ………

3 6 Organization of the Study………

3 PART B: DEVELOPMENT ……… 4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ……… 4

1.1 Communicative Language Teaching………

1.1.1 Concepts of CLT………

1.1.2 Main characteristics of CLT ………

1.2 An overview of Task-based Language Teaching………

1.2.1 Definitions of a task ………

1.2.2 Components of a task ………

1.2.3 Types of tasks………

1.2.3.1 General types of tasks……….

1.2.3.2 Authentic tasks versus pedagogical tasks………

1.2.4 Definitions of TBLT………

1.2.5 Task-based Learning Framework………

1.2.6 Benefits of Task-based Language Teaching to learners…………

1.2.7 Challenges of implementing TBLT ………

1.4 Authentic tasks in speaking classes ………

1.4.1 Common types of authentic tasks……… 15

1.4.2 Criteria to identify authentic tasks……… 16

1.5 Related studies ……… 17

1.6 Conclusive remarks ………

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ……….

2.1 Research Context………

2.1.1 Teachers ……… 19

2.1.2 Students ………

2.1.3 Teaching and learning facilities ………

2.1.4 English Course book for Non-major Freshmen………

2.2 Research Questions ………

2.3 Selection of the Participants……….

2.4 Research instruments……….

2.4.1 Survey Questionnaire………

2.4.2 Informal Interviews………

2.4.3 Classroom Observation………

2.5 Procedure of data collection ………

2.6 Procedure of data analysis ……….

2.7 Conclusive remarks………

CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ……… 25

3.1 Research question 1………

3.2 Research question 2 ……….

3.3 Research question 3 ………

3.4 Conclusive remarks ………

PART C: CONCLUSION ……… 38

1 Summary of the study ………. 38

2 Pedagogical implications……… 38

3 Limitations and suggestions for further research………

40 REFERENCES ……… 42

APPENDICES ……… I

Appendix 1: Survey Questionnaire for teachers……… I

Appendix 2: Informal Interviews for teachers……… V

Appendix 3: Sample of Task-based Speaking Lesson ……… VI

Appendix 4: Classroom Observation sheets……… IX

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

HaUI: Hanoi University of Industry

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

TBLT: Task-based Language Teaching

LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS

Figure 1: A framework for analyzing communicative tasks………

Figure 2: Task-based Learning Framework………

Table 1: Common types of authentic tasks ………

Table 2: Teachers’ profiles………

Table 3: Teachers’ perceptions of speaking skill and the exploitation of authentic tasks in speaking classes………

Chart 1: Teachers' perceptions of tasks & TBLT………

Chart 2: Teachers' perceptions of authentic tasks………

Chart 3: Teachers' perceptions of benefits of authentic tasks………

Chart 4: Teachers’ ways of dealing with speaking activities in the text book………

Chart 5: Teachers' favorite techniques embedded in exploiting authentic tasks………

Chart 6: Students’ response to the tasks as perceived by the teachers………… Chart 7: Teachers' difficulties in exploiting authentic tasks to teach speaking…

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the Study

Speaking is regarded as one of the key outputs for English learners Of all the fourskills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), speaking seems the most important one.Classroom activities that develop learners‟ ability to express themselves through speechwould therefore seem an important component in any language courses People are not able

to communicate in English if they cannot deliver their messages and make themselvesunderstood Many Vietnamese university students, especially at HaUI, learn English as theirforeign language without their motivation since they have few opportunities to practicecommunicating in the target language

It is understandable that they have hardly learnt English as a tool of communicationbut a university subject In many universities as well as in HaUI, English is normally taughtfor students to help them deal with tests, exams rather than for communication Grammar-oriented teaching methods seem to be prevalent in most language classes Therefore, Englishskills though scheduled in the textbooks, are not paid much attention to Students aresupposed to learn English by exercise completion, but not gaining much for using English as

a tool of communication

In recent years, the communicative approach in language teaching has become moreand more predominant However, the real outcomes prove to be a matter of concern of alllanguage teachers and learners The fact is that a lot of learners‟ linguistic performance isquite good in class learning, but when they engage in real-life communication in which thetarget language is used, they seem to be hindered by many factors such as lack ofcommunication skills, inappropriate responses and so on They really find it difficult toexpress with a “real” situation Such matters may rest with many reasons including classroommethodology, teaching materials, teacher‟s proficiency as well as speaking activities Amongwhich, speaking activities play the crucial role in motivating and getting students involved inthe lesson, then in helping them achieve the goal of using the target language in real-lifecommunication Things considered, EFL teachers share an agreement that it is essential toexploit communicative speaking activities which are close to real life situations with hope toovercome these current situations In an attempt to grapple with the problem, the use of Task-based method has been recommended in teaching speaking at HaUI In the literature, therewere few studies related to exploitation of authentic tasks in teaching speaking despitenumerous studies were implemented on TBLT What‟s more, no previous

studies have been conducted about the exploitation of authentic tasks in English speakingclasses at the university where the author is teaching

All of the mentioned conditions, henceforward, have paved the way for the author to

carry out a research on “The Exploitation of Authentic Tasks in Speaking Classes for

English Non-major Freshmen at Hanoi University of Industry” It is conducted in an

attempt to address the gap in the literature and to offer an insight of the reality of teachingspeaking with the exploitation of authentic tasks to English Non-major Freshmen at HaUI.Additionally, some suggestions of exploiting authentic tasks effectively to teach speakingskills will be given with the hope of providing useful source and reference for teachers atHaUI in particular and for all teachers of English in general to motivate their dear students inEnglish speaking lessons Last but not least, it is expected that the research would make acertain contribution to the improvement of teaching speaking skills for the first-year Englishnon-major students at HaUI

This study is carried out with the wish of achieving following aims:

- To investigate the teachers‟ perceptions of the exploitation of authentic tasks in Englishspeaking classes

- To find out the extent to which authentic tasks are exploited in TBL framework in English speaking lessons

- To explore the difficulties as perceived by the teachers when they exploit authentic tasks in English speaking lessons

In order to achieve the above-mentioned aims, the following research questions wereraised:

2 What are the teachers‟ perceptions of the exploitation of authentic tasks in

teaching speaking?

3 To what extent are authentic tasks exploited in TBL framework in English

speaking classes by the teachers?

4 What are the challenges as perceived by the teachers when authentic tasks are exploited in speaking classes?

This study helps point out the teachers‟ perceptions towards authentic tasks and itsexploitation in teaching speaking skills Particularly, this study is carried out with the hope toprovide an insight into current teaching situation in English speaking lessons to teachEnglish Non-major Freshmen at HaUI Hopefully, the findings and recommendations of thisstudy will be of some help for both teachers and students of English in the process of

teaching and learning speaking skills The results of this study may also be useful for thosewho are interested in this field.

4 Scope of the Study

Due to time constraint as well as the author‟s ability and working conditions, thestudy is restricted to mention the exploitation of authentic tasks in teaching speaking.Furthermore, perceptions and exploitation of authentic tasks are revealed on the part ofteachers who have been teaching English non-major freshmen at HaUI in the school year2010-2011

5 Methodology of the Study

To reach the aims of this study, both qualitative and quantitative approaches are madeused of Data are collected from questionnaire, informal interviews and classroomobservation The quantitative data collected from survey questionnaire were then analyzedstatistically, while qualitative data were obtained from informal interviews and classobservation Informal interviews were carried out to supplement the survey questionnaire.Class observation is employed to get better insight of the reality of exploiting authentic tasks

in speaking lessons The validity of the study is ensured with the main instrument classroomobservations Hopefully, with the combination of the three methods, the study would yieldreliable and valid findings

6 Organization of the Study

The thesis consists of three main parts: the Introduction which provides an overview

of the study, the Development which is the main part and consists of 3 chapters, and the Conclusion which includes summary of the study, implications, limitations and suggestions

for further study

Three chapters in the main part are as follows:

- Chapter 1: Literature review sets up theoretical background that is relevant to the purpose of the study.

- Chapter 2: Methodology gives detailed presentation about the methods and

procedures of the study such as participant selection, data collection methods, data analysismethods and so on

- Chapter 3: Findings and discussions show the data collected from the survey

questionnaires, the interviews and observation Also, the data will be discussed in thischapter to find out the answer to the research questions

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter will briefly present a theoretical background of the study with thereexamination of the concepts most relevant to the thesis‟s topic Firstly, a generalintroduction of CLT will be given Secondly, the overall perspectives of TBLT will bediscussed Thirdly, an account of teaching speaking skills in Task-based Approach will bementioned Finally, common authentic task types and criteria to identify authentic tasks will

be referred to in speaking classes

1.1 Communicative language teaching (CLT)

1.1.1 Concepts of CLT

CLT appearing in the 1960s and 1970s is an outcome of more attention to learners‟effective and appropriate use of language learnt It is a prominent theoretical model inEnglish language teaching (ELT) and is widely accepted nowadays as one of the effectiveapproaches

According to Nunan (1989) “CLT views language as a system for the expression of meaning Activities involve oral communication, carrying meaningful tasks, and using language, which is meaningful to the learners Objectives reflect the needs of the learners; they include functional skills as well as linguistic objectives The learner‟s role is as a negotiator and integrator The teacher‟s role is as a facilitator of the communication process Materials promote communicative language use; they are task based and authentic”

Larsen-Freeman asserts that the most obvious characteristic of CLT is “almost everything that is done is done with a communicative intent” (p.132) Accordingly, CLT aims

at making CC the goal of language teaching and developing procedures for the teaching

of the four language skills that acknowledge the independence of language andcommunication (Le Van Canh, 2004) The CA does a lot to expand on the primary goal of

building up “communicative competence” Understanding the concept of CC is the core to

apply CLT in a given social context The concept was first introduced by Hymes (1972) as

“what a speaker needs to know in order to be communicatively competent in a speech community”.

Littlewood (1981) states “one of the most characteristic features of communicative language teaching is that it pays systematic attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language, combining these into a more fully communicative view”(p.1) CLT

advocates going beyond teaching grammatical rules of the target language, andrecommending that, by using the target language in a meaningful way, learners will developCC

According to Richards (2001), one of the goals of CLT is to develop fluency inlanguage use Fluency is the natural use of language that occurs when a speaker engages inmeaningful interaction and maintains ongoing communication despite limitations incommunicative competence While using the language, accuracy is important butcommunication precedes it So, it is advocated in CLT that if messages are understood,accuracy may be achieved later

Another characteristic of CLT is its use of authentic materials (Larsen-Freeman,1986; Widowson, 1996) It is desirable to give students opportunities to respond to genuinecommunicative situations so that they can develop strategies for understanding language asactually used by native speakers (Canale & Swain, 1980) Authentic materials in teachingspeaking include articles from magazines or newspapers, video recordings of live televisionprograms

CLT emphasizes on learner-centered teaching It means that learners are negotiatorsand interactors while the teacher functions as a facilitator, needs analyst, counselor, andprocess manager (Nunan, 1989) By this way, it allows learners a greater role in management

of their own learning This can be done by giving opportunities for learner choice in terms ofwhat to learn and how to learn and how to be evaluated (Nunan, 2003) In speaking classes,students must be made to feel secure and unthreatened; so teachers using CLT should avoidadopting a teacher-centered, authoritarian posture (Taylor, 1994)

1.2 An overview of Task-based Language Teaching and Learning

1.2.1 Definitions of a task

In the literature, various definitions have been offered that differ widely in scope andformulation up to a point where almost anything related to educational activity can now be

called a “task” Clearly, in order to prevent the understanding of tasks from being fuzzy andoverwhelming, clear definitions of what author mean when they use the word “task” arenecessary

Within much discussion and varying interpretation as to the definition of tasks, Long

(1985) defines “task” as “ … piece of work undertaken for oneself or for others, freely or for some reward…By “task” is meant the hundred and one things people do in everyday life, at work, at play, an in between” (p.89) Meanwhile, Nunan (1989) asserts tasks as “activities that can stand alone as fundamental units that require comprehending, producing, manipulating, or interacting in authentic language while attention is principally paid to meaning rather than form” Furthermore, tasks are seen as “complex and lengthy activities”

(Breen 1987, p.23)

Skehan (1998) shares his agreement that task is an activity in which:

- meaning is primary

- learners are not given other people‟s meaning to regurgitate

- There is some sort of relationship to comparable real-world activities

- Task completion has some priority

- The assessment of the task is in terms of outcome

Also, these are five key characteristics of a task that he put forward in his definition

language users rather than language learners and thus their communication is more

purposeful and authentic

Noticeably, all the definitions show that tasks are meaning-focused, goal-oriented andoutcome-achieved Accordingly, learners are free to use whatever language they want inorder to convey their intended meaning and to sustain the interaction

1.2.2 Components of a task

A task is viewed as a piece of meaning-focused work, which involves learners incomprehending, manipulating, producing and interacting in the target language Specifically,

task can be analyzed according to the goals, the input data, the activities derived from theinput, the settings and roles implied for teachers and learners Nunan (1989, p.11)graphically depicts a way to analyze components of a task, as shown in Figure 1.

Goals

Inputs

Activities

Figure 1: A framework for analyzing communicative tasks

Briefly, goals refer to the general intentions for the learning task Inputs concern data,verbal or non-verbal, which the individual has to deal with when performing a task Activitiesspecify what the learner will actually perform based on goals and inputs In addition, thereare specific roles for teacher and learner in a given setting Roles refer to the social andinterpersonal relationship between learners and teachers in the task Settings refer to theclassroom arrangement affecting interaction entailed in the task, such as pair work or groupwork When selecting, adapting, modifying and creating communicative tasks, Nunanbelieves that specification of all these components is needed

1.2.3.1 General types of tasks

Actually, task types are numerous Task types can be identified in a number of ways.The classification of tasks can be different depending on the perspectives of the linguists orresearchers Some classifications are general and others are more specific The following is

on the different types of tasks described in the literature

Some key task types can be found in the literature: problem-solving (Nunan, 1989;Willis, 1996a); decision-making (Foster & Skehan, 1996); information gap (Doughty &Pica,1986; Nunan , 1989); sharing personal experiences, attitudes and feelings (Foster& Skehan,1996; Oxford, 1990; Willis, 1996a, 1996b); basic cognitive processes such as comparing ormatching (Nunan, 1989), listing and ordering/sorting (Willis, 1998b); question-and-answer,picture stories, puzzles and games (Nunan, 1989); structured and semi-structured dialogues(Nunan, 1989); and role-plays and simulations (Oxford, 1990; Richard &Rodgers, 2001)

Below are some task types proposed by Willis (1996a), who affects the interpretation

of TBLT the most In her A framework for Task-based Learning, tasks are classified into

different groups namely:

- Listing tasks include brainstorming and fact- finding.

- Ordering and sorting tasks include sequencing, ranking, categorizing, classifying.

- Comparing tasks include matching, finding similarities and differences.

- Problem-solving tasks include analyzing real situations, analyzing hypothetical situations, reasoning and decision-making.

- Sharing personal experiences tasks include narrating, describing, exploring and explaining attitudes, opinions and recreations.

- Creative tasks include brainstorming, fact finding, ordering and sorting, comparing, problem-solving and others.

1.2.3.2 Authentic tasks versus pedagogical tasks

Nunan (1989) suggests two broad categories: real-world tasks (such as usingtelephone) and pedagogical tasks (such as information activities) Target tasks are muchmore specific and more explicitly related to classroom instruction Pedagogical tasksinclude any of a series of techniques designed ultimately to teach students to perform thetarget task He defines authentic tasks as that takes real-world behavior and learner need into

consideration: “tasks which replicate or rehearse the communicative behaviors which will

be required of them in real world” (p.4).

Authentic tasks can be contrasted with pedagogical tasks (e.g controlled grammar

practice activities such as gap-filling or transformation exercises), which focus on thedevelopment of accuracy rather than language learning Nunan (1989) supposes that targettasks or authentic tasks refer to uses of language in the world beyond the classroom;pedagogical tasks are those that occur in the classroom According to Richard (2001), real-

world tasks “are designed to practice or rehearse those activities that are found to be important and useful in the real world” (p.162) The distinction between these two types of

tasks seems so complex and those concerns have inhibited the implantation of TBLT inEnglish teaching

Over the last two decades, the term TBLT that employs communicative task as basicunit has played an important role in current oral English teaching and consequently, hascontinued to draw attention of language teachers and researchers Task-based language

teaching can be regarded as one particular development within the broader “communicative approach” (Littlewood, 2004).

Prabhu (1987) deserves credit for originating the task-based teaching and learning,based on the concept that effective learning occurs when students are fully engaged in alanguage task, rather than just learning about language It is an overall approach to languagelearning that views the tasks that learners do as central to the learning process The learningprocess is seen as a set of communicative tasks that are directly linked to curricular goals

TBLT involves students in performing a task which is an activity “where the target language is used by the learners for a communicative purpose in order to achieve an outcome” (Willis, 1996, p 26), and is a real-world activity “that people do in everyday life and which require language for their accomplishment” (Norris, et al., 1998, p 33).

Littlewood (2004) holds that TBLT is a development within communicative approach Brown (1994) claims “TBL is a perspective that can be taken within a CLT framework”

(p.83) The aim of task-based teaching is to develop students‟ ability to communicate andcommunication takes place through using the grammatical system of the language Nunan(1991) outlines five characteristics of Task-based Approach to language learning

- An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target

language.

- The introduction of authentic texts (teaching materials) into the learning situation.

- The provision of opportunities for learners to focus not only on language, but also

on the learning process itself.

- An enhancement of the learner‟s own personal experiences as important

contributing elements to classroom learning.

- An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the classroom.

Methodologically, task-based language teaching represents a realization of thephilosophy of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) The researcher has been strongly

influenced by Nunan (1999, p.41) when he asserts that the role of task-based language teaching is to stimulate a natural desire in learners to improve their language competence

by challenging them to complete meaningful tasks.

1.2.5 Task-based Learning Framework

Jane Willis (1996) designed precisely the framework for TBLT, which was thensupported by Richards Frost (2006) including three-phases: pre-task, task cycle (task,

planning and report); and language focus (analysis & practice), as shown in Figure 2.

Pre-task (including topic & task)

The teacher

 Introduces & defines the topic

 Uses activities to help students recall/learn useful words & phrases

 May play a recording of others doing the same or similar task

The students

 Note down useful words & phrases from pre-task activities and/or the recording

 May spend a few minutes preparing for the task individuals

Task

The students

 Do the task in pairs/small groups It may

be based on a reading/listening text

 Rehearse what they will say or draft

a written vision for the class to read

The teacher

 Ensure the purpose of the report is clear

 Act as language adviser

 Helps students rehearse oral reports

or organize written ones

Report

The students

 Present their spoken reports to the class or circulate/display their written reports

The teacher

 Acts as chairperson, selecting who will speak next, or ensuring all students read most of the written reports

 May give brief feedback on content & form

May play a recording of others doing the same or a similar task

Language focus

Analysis

The students

 Do consciousness-raising activities to identify &

process specific language features from the task text

 practise other features occurring

in the task text or report stage

 enter useful language items in their language notebook

Figure 2: Task-based Learning Framework

It is a useful framework for designing task-based lesson and below is the thoroughdiscussion of the phases

Pre-task phase is usually the shortest stage in the framework It can last betweenthree to fifteen minutes, depending on the learners‟ degree of familiarity with the topic andthe type of task At pre-task phase, the teacher explore the topic with the class (by using apicture, watching a video clip, or reading a text to lead into the topic), perhaps highlightsuseful words and phrases but doesn‟t pre-teach vocabulary The teacher helps students tounderstand the task instruction The student may hear recordings of others performing thesame task

The task cycle phase is to offer learners chance to use whatever language theyalready know to carry out the task, and then, to improve the language, under teacherguidance, while planning their report of the task During the task cycle, students are asked to

do the task in pairs or small groups while the teacher walks around and monitor their workfrom a distance, encourage in supportive way everyone‟s attempt at communication in thetarget language The teacher formulates what they want to say, but not intervene to correcterrors of form In the planning stage, students plan how they will report their work to theclass They draft, rehearse the task while the teacher goes round to help students polish andcorrect language or suggest phrases as well This stage, in Willis‟s view, attaches teacher asthe role of linguistic adviser, who is in charge of giving feedback and helping studentscorrect, rephrase, and rehearse so as for them to draft the written report When students areready, they come to the third stage – report stage The teacher calls some pairs to reportbriefly to the class orally or in writing so that everyone can compare findings In themeantime, the teacher chairs comments on the content of the report or may rephrase ifnecessary

The last phase is language focus, which allows students to have close study of some

of the specific features naturally occurring in the language used during the task cycle By thispoint, the students examine and discuss specific features of any texts they have used orproduced and the teacher may conduct some forms of practice By this point, the learnerswill have already worked with the language and processed it for meaning, so they are ready

to focus on specific language forms that carry the meaning Thus, the study of these forms isclearly contextualized through the task itself

Learners who are not used to TBLT may not at first realize the advantages of it, andthey should take some time to understand what is required of them and be persuaded of thebenefit

Bowen (2000) states that the main advantages of TBL are that language is used forgenuine purpose, meaning that communication should take place and that when preparingthe report for the class, students should consider language form in general rather thanconcentration on a single form (as in traditional Presentation, Practice, Produce approach)

Some advantages have been summarized by Richard Frost (British Council, Turkey).Unlike a PPP approach, the students are free of language control In all three stages, theymust use all their language resources rather than just practicing one pre-selected item Anatural context is developed from students‟ experiences with the language that is relevant tothem It is hard to find a natural context in PPP approach when it is required to create context

to present the language It cannot be denied that the students will have many more chances

to expose authentic materials, the use of target language, motivation to learn, which all areconsidered essential conditions for language learning (Willis, 1996) Moss also reports thatTBLT help ESL learners develop various skills because it creates situations where learnersneed to communicate to get the job done (Moss & Van Duzer, 1998)

It is a strong communicative approach where students spend a lot of timecommunicating It is enjoyable and motivating It makes specific lesson goals more evidentthrough movement towards success of task completion Nunan (2006) states that task-basedteaching provides a flexible, functionally compatible and contextually sensitive approach formany teachers as well as learners

1.2.7 Challenges of implementing Task-based Language Teaching

Research into TBLT has indicated that there are problems associated with itsimplementation When teachers look at the focus on meaning as the main priority,researchers are concerned with the patterns of interaction that may foster learning It waseventually found that there are some shortcomings of TBLT

First of all, the approach may lead to the use of non-linguistic strategies in studentinteractions They may not pay attention to form or vocabulary as long as they can expresstheir meanings using chunks of words or body language or relying on backgroundknowledge

Another issue is the importance of lexical elements in real life communication - that

is people use “lexicalized modes of processing” in their interactions Therefore, language course should then try to realize the flexibility factor of authentic language in terms of “the lexical elements, time constraint, structural elements as well as creativity” (Skehan, 1996).

He also pointed out that TBL is often criticized for encouraging fluency at theexpense of accuracy However, it was suggested that a balance of fluency and accuracy ismost preferred, for example, focus on form can be achieved during the planning time beforethe report stage However, it was questioned how inter-language development is promoted

by focus on form

It is problematic to adopt a task-based approach if students are unwilling to interact

in the classroom using the target language as they are unable to „negotiate for meaning‟ due

to task complexity Thus, the ability of teachers to adjust the difficulty of tasks may be able

to reduce reluctant students to speak more Students with low levels of proficiency in thetarget language may find it difficult to participate in oral communicative activities and, if theexams used by an institution are grammar based, communicative fluency may not beappropriate

In the final place, teachers‟ misconceptions of theories and methodology of based teaching also result in failure in teaching speaking communicatively.

task-1.3 Speaking skill

Many language learners consider speaking ability the measure of knowing alanguage As for them, fluency is the ability to converse with others much more than theability to read, write or comprehend oral language They regard speaking as the mostimportant skill they can acquire and they can assess their progress in terms of theiraccomplishments on spoken communication Accordingly, if learners do not learn how tospeak or do not get opportunities to speak in the language classroom, they may soon get de-motivated and lose interest in learning

The popularity of speaking tends to make us forget the concept that speaking inforeign language acquisition is viewed as a skill rather than the speaking itself Therefore, inthis study, the author would like to have discussion on speaking skill definitions instead ofonly speaking itself

1.3.1 Definitions of speaking skill

Speaking skill is man‟s ability in using language as a means of communication

Bygate (2002) stated that: “we do not merely know how to assemble sentences in the abstract: we have to produce them and adapt them in the circumstances This means making decisions rapidly, implementing them smoothly and adjusting our conversation as unexpected problems appeared in our path.” (p.3) He highly appreciated speaking skill by

stating that speaking is the medium through which much language is learnt

Clearly those learners do not learn by heart every word, sentence and then gatherthem in the abstract but they learn how to speak in a particular situation This meansspeaking skill helps learners learn language as a means of communication in a real life Itcan develop learners‟ ability to speak fluently, correctly and clearly so that they can speakout in every situation By considering what good speakers do, what speaking tasks can beused in class, and what specific needs learners report, teachers can help learners improvetheir speaking and overall oral competency

The notion of speaking skill should be reviewed in different methods of secondlanguage teaching under a variety of theories and viewpoints In Grammar-translation

method, the concept of speaking skill seems to be absent, for the theory is “students acquire

a foreign language by learning and explaining grammar rules” and the method is on the

basis of language study and written exercises rather than real life communication and speech(To, 2009) Meanwhile, in Audio-lingual method, speaking concept tends to have a so-calledimportant change when the communicative competence and focus on oral skills are at top

priority of overall goal However, speaking skill in this method is formed by a process ofhabit formation and over learning, not naturally In CLT, there has witnessed a dramaticchange in the concept and importance of speaking skill It is said that the foreign-language

teaching is to “prepare learners to be able to use the language” (Bygate, 1987) As a result,

speaking skill is said to receive consideration as adequate as other skills due to the fact that itserves for the communicative purpose to achieve an outcome

Briefly speaking, it can be said that speaking skill is vital in learning one language It

is formed in the long time, with basic ability condition of learners and should be used forcommunication rather than study In this research, speaking skill is viewed from thecommunicative approach‟s viewpoints for task- based learning is a part of CLT

1.3.2 Teaching speaking skill in TBLT

In the last two decades or so, the tenets of CLT with their strong emphasis onstudents‟ ability to use language in real-life situations have taken hold in foreign languageclassrooms Accordingly, TBLT employs communicative tasks as the basic unit of analysisfor foreign language classrooms, especially for English speaking classes In order to havesuccessful speaking lessons, it is a need for teachers to set the right goals and designeffective communicative activities

authenticity, as tasks attempt to simulate, in a way that is as authentic as possible, whathappens when students attempt real-world activities Accordingly, communicative efficiencybecomes the goals of teaching speaking skills In other words, it is very essential for learners

to achieve CC in speaking classes Students must improve their abilities to communicatefreely and easily in the real life in a particular situation It is consistent to the goals ofteaching speaking in CA Roger Scott (1981, p.67) emphasized the important role of

speaking in CLT that “the communicative approach makes sure that the interactions which take place in the classroom replications of or necessary prerequisites for, in communication

is more important than learning the rules of language above the level of the sentence.”

Traditional classroom speaking practice often takes the form of drills in which oneperson asks a question and another gives an answer The questions and answers arestructured and predictable The purpose of asking and answering the question is todemonstrate the ability to ask and answer the question In contrast, the purpose of realcommunication was achieved just by accomplishing a task, such as conveying a message orexpressing an opinion In real communication, participants must manage uncertainty aboutwhat the person will say

 Oral communicative activities: Rather than implementing activities and exercises,

which focus on accuracy, many teachers have concentrated on promoting communicative

communication in language learners by using “communicative activities”, which rely more

on students‟ ability to understand and communicate real information With these activities,communication in classroom should mirror the authentic communication that occurs in thereal world Teacher can promote some kinds of activities: role play, information gap, games,discussion, comparing, jig saw and so on

According to Penny‟s view (2000, p.120), an effective speaking activity includes four aspects as the following:

 Learners talk a lot: As much as possible of the period of time allotted to the

activity is in fact occupied by learner talk This may seem obvious, but often most time taken

up with teacher talk or pauses

 Participation is even: Classroom discussion is not dominated by a minority of

talkative participants: all get a chance to speak, and contributions one fairly evenlydistributed

 Motivation is high: Learners are eager to speak: because they are interested in the topic and have something new to say about it, or because they want to contribute to

achieving a task objective

 Language is of an acceptable level: Learners express themselves in utterances

that are relevant, easily comprehensible to each other, and of an acceptable level of languageaccuracy

1.4 Authentic tasks in speaking classes

1.4.1 Common types of authentic tasks

Below are some common task types proposed by Willis (1996a), who affects the interpretation of TBLT the most

These tasks are listed from easy to difficult, and all of them reveal the recognition process of students The tasks in TBLT should be applicable to real life to help students accomplish the tasks and show their communicative competence in classroom teaching and real life situations (Willis, 1996, p.149) Each type of tasks has its own outcome and purpose

ordering and sorting)

1.4.2 Criteria to identify authentic tasks

In many ways authenticity of tasks can be achieved and pedagogic tasks can have

more meanings and be more related to the real world These include making tasks more

authentic though the following means:

a Through genuine task purposes

Willis (1998) asserts that one of the crucial aspects of task authenticity is whether

real communication takes place So the first way to make tasks authentic is to find out a

genuine purpose for the language to be learned, only when there is a purpose will real

meaningful communication take place In this point Willis argues that with a genuine

communicative purpose, students have the chance to interact naturally, in “real time” to

achieve a communicative goal, which will be far more likely to lead to increased fluency andnatural acquisition than controlled exercises that encourage students to get it right from thevery beginning.

b Through real world targets

Working within a needs-analysis framework, Long and Crookes (1992) argue thatpedagogic tasks must be related to real-world target tasks Examples given by them are:buying a train ticket, renting an apartment, reporting a chemistry experiment, taking lecturenotes and so on From this perspective, although classroom-based pedagogic tasks are notthe same as the target tasks, they can be said to be authentic if they have a clear relationshipwith real-world needs

c Through classroom interactions

A classroom is a special society Students and teachers get together for a commonpurpose So, pedagogic tasks can be authentic through classroom interactions Teachersshould have the ability to explore the potential authenticity of the learning situation inclassrooms Breen argues in his book (1985) that all of the everyday procedures, the learningtasks, types of data, and the materials are to be selected and worked on, the actual needs,interests, and all preferred ways of working of all people have gathered in the classroom, allprovide sufficient authentic potentials for communication

d Through learners‟ engagement

Another crucial element of task is whether it is relevant to the learners So in order tomake tasks more authentic, task designers must take learners‟ engagement into consideration.It‟s true that some tasks are authentic to some learners but not at all to others So how to makestudents all engaged in the task is in fact one of the ways to make tasks more authentic

1.5 Related studies

In recent years, TBLT with its theories and implementation has appealed quite a lotscholars and researchers in Asian contexts such as Hong Kong, China and Vietnam It isassumed that TBLT, known as the further development of communicative approach, is agoal-oriented teaching method effective in enhancing student motivation Accordingly,numerous studies have touched upon the benefits as well as challenges in the implementation

of the Task-based Approach to teaching language skills, teacher‟s attitudes orconceptualizations of TBLT and so on

However, it is a matter of fact that very few studies were conducted addressing theexploitation of authentic tasks in English speaking classes It‟s understandable that tasks‟complexity has prevented researchers from moving forward to touch this tough topic In Vietnamuniversities, although most of their BA or MA graduation papers do not have chance

to be published because of subjective or objective reasons, their studies are of great value inpractice especially in the researchers‟ current situation of teaching and to all the people whoconcerns in the research as well as those interested in the discussing matters

In accomplishing this research, the author has also read numerous studies related to

the topic For example, “Designing authentic tasks in the materials development of secretarial English” conducted by N.T.T Phuong (2007) or “University Teacher‟s conceptualization of Task-based Teaching: A case study in Tay Bac University” by N.V Hung (2009) or “The Exploitation of Task-based Learning in Teaching Speaking Skills to

11 th Graders in Hanoi High School, Suburb Area- A case study” by L.T.L Huong (2010).

Most of these graduation papers focus on designing authentic tasks or the exploitation ofTBLT in teaching speaking at high school Therefore, there is a need for a study thatinvestigates teachers‟ exploitation of authentic tasks in English speaking classes This studywas conducted to bridge the gap

1.6 Conclusive remarks

This chapter has highlighted some theoretical background knowledge concerningdefinitions, characteristics of CLT, a brief overview of TBLT, teaching of speaking in TBLTand common types of authentic tasks in speaking lessons Previous studies in Asian contextsrelated to the topic were also covered in the chapter The research methodology employed inthe present study will be presented in the next chapter

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter introduces the context of Hanoi University of Industry where the study isconducted Then the research methodology chosen for achievement of the aims andobjectives will be discussed in details

2.1 Research Context

HaUI was officially established in December 2005 on the basis of Hanoi IndustrialCollege, one of the leading vocational colleges in Vietnam where thousands of skilledworkers and engineers are trained every year

Realizing the importance of English, the university authorities have paid due attention

to the matter of improving the quality of teaching and learning English Accordingly, theFaculty of Foreign Languages was established in 2006, it is responsible for teaching English

to both English majors and non-English majors The ultimate aims are specific with the hope

to enhance the training quality and increase the standard of graduate students with good jobopportunities

2.1.1 Teachers

The English teaching staff in the Department of Foreign Languages consists of 112teachers, whose ages range from 22 to 50 years old Most of the teachers are female All ofthe teachers hold B.A degrees from different universities in Vietnam At present, 2% havePhD degree, 62% have M.A degree or are doing an M.A course

The academic background of the teachers shows that all of them, to some extents, havebeen exposure to different teaching methods such as traditional teaching method,communicative method or learner-centered approach, etc In fact, English classes are usuallyconducted in the form of lectures and most of the time the teachers has to deal with overloadEnglish classes at the same time Consequently, many teachers have classes all day so theyfeel exhausted and have enough time to neither prepare for the lessons before class nor gethigher education However, all of them are energetic, inquisitive and always try to applyeffective methods of teaching to increase teaching and learning quality

2.1.2 Students

In respect of English non-major freshmen, the students here are at the age of 18-23and they come from different provinces all over the country Their level of Englishproficiency are generally various and not high at all with English marks at the universityentrance examination ranging from 3 to 7 Most of students have studied English at highschool; however, the problem is that most of them do not consider English as their major, so

on grammar and vocabulary at High school and hardly did they practice speaking andlistening skills Moreover, coming from rural areas with no favorable chances for learningEnglish, most of the students are shy, not self-confident and learn English in a passive way.During their university time, they are always encouraged to study actively and creatively toachieve better results.

2.1.3 Teaching and learning facilities

The class size for an English lesson is about 50 students each, but the classrooms,though being well equipped with a projector, a computer, a cassette player, are designed forabout 80 to 100 students, which are actually too big for an English class of a much smallersize Using modern technology effectively is highly encouraged in English lessons

2.1.4 English Course book for Non-major Freshmen

The textbook in use is New Headway at the level of Elementary published by OxfordUniversity Press There are 14 units lasting 90 periods with various topics familiar to dailylife such as jobs, food, shopping, future plans, hobbies, holidays, etc The book providestudents with general knowledge classified into 4 main parts: grammar, vocabulary &pronunciation, reading & listening and everyday English with developing integratedlanguage skills, focus on speaking skill Most of the teachers follow the sequence of theseparts designed in the text book The students have 6 periods per week and they continuouslylearn in 15 weeks

2.2 Research Questions

With these aims of the study as stated in the Introduction part, three following

questions have been raised:

1.What are the teachers‟ perceptions of the exploitation of authentic tasks in

teaching speaking?

2.To what extent are authentic tasks exploited in TBL framework in English

speaking classes by the teachers?

3.What are the challenges as perceived by the teachers when authentic tasks are exploited in speaking classes?

2.3 Selection of the Participants

In order to achieve the purposes of the study, at the same time, to facilitate data collection and analysis, a sample of 50 teachers who are currently teaching English to all students at non-major English Departments at HaUI are randomly selected from the

population of more than 100 teachers The selection is to ensure the reliability and validity

of the results as they can be representatives for the whole population The result can be generalized from sample to the whole population of teachers

The reasons of her selection are the chosen teachers belong to non-major Englishgroup because they are all dedicated and receptive teachers Thus, the author believes that itwill be easier for her to invite more teachers to participating in completing the surveyquestionnaire, informal interviews Moreover, the selected teachers have not only theknowledge of English but also have much experience in teaching and learning English forthe first non-major English students

The table below reveals the sample‟s personal information in detail Their profiles

are described in terms of age, gender, years of experience and qualification.

Almost all of the teachers are quite young The number of their ages ranging from 22

to 35 accounts for 98% of the teachers The majority of them are female (92%) 76% of themhave less than 10 years of teaching experience and the rest 24% have been teaching Englishmore than 10 years Their qualification is also different Only one out of fifty teachers asked

is PhD 62% of them acquire Master of Art while the rest 36% including those who areattending MA course are bachelor

Table 2: Teachers’ profiles

2.4 Research instruments

In order to obtain in-depth, rich data for the study, three types of research instrumentswere employed: survey questionnaire for the teachers, informal interviews and classroomobservation The qualitative data were obtained from interviews and class observation whilethe quantitative data were collected from survey questionnaire Due to limited time budget,the three methods are hoped to bring in validity and reliability This part is used to presentthe reason why the research tools fit the purpose of the study and the instrumentaldevelopment as well

Wilson and Mc Lean (1994) complemented this tool on its tremendous benefits such

as “providing structured, numerical data, being able to be administered without the presence

of the researcher and often straightforward to be analyzed.” This “vital tool in the collection

of data” (Gajendra, 1999, p.117) seems to be the easiest and most effective method for

collecting data As a result, a set of survey questionnaire was designed for teachers includingboth open-ended and closed-ended questions It is divided into different parts with 14questions as shown in the table:

Question items

Q1,2,3&4 Q5,6&7 Q8&9

randomly chosen 10 questions raised in the interviews addressed main aspects as described

in the table

Question items

Q1&2 Q3&4

Q 5,6,7&8

Q 9

Q 10

2.4.3 Classroom Observation

As Hopkins (cited in Donough, J and Donough, S 1997, p.101) describes

“Observation is a pivotal activity with a crucial role to play in a classroom research.”

Discussing observation, Verma and Miller (2005) assures that “there is no substitute for

direct observation as a way of understanding language learning and teaching in classroom.”

Apart from survey questionnaire and informal interview, classroom observation wasemployed to help researcher validate the findings she got by means of the two above-mentioned instruments through the current teaching practice

For the above reasons, five observations were carried out in five different classeswith different speaking topics in the textbook The observation sheet was designed to assessteacher‟s real performance in actual speaking lessons and the effectiveness of tasksexploitation to teach speaking It was organized in reflective note-taking forms, focusing onteaching procedure to address these matters:

- The extent to which authentic tasks were carried out in speaking classes

- How these tasks were organized following task-based instructions

- How students involved in the tasks

- Interaction modes and learning atmosphere

In short, with the combination of these methods, it was expected that the researcher

would have “deeper understanding” and “broader perspective” of the information (Mertens,

2005, p.21) so as to get more reliable results

2.5 Procedure of data collection

The process of data collection was carried out during the first semester of the school year 2010-2011 The collection of data was carried out through three stages

 Stage 1 : At the beginning of the semester, the selected participants were invited tocooperate in the collection process They were instructed carefully on how to complete the

questionnaires and explanations were given when necessary They took part in completing the questionnaire about the exploitation of authentic tasks in speaking lessons.

 Stage 2 : After the questionnaire was analyzed, ten questions for interviews wereraised to gain in-depth information related to the exploitation of authentic tasks in speakingclasses The author invited 10 teachers and asked for their permission to record the informalinterviews (about 8-12 minutes)

 Stage 3 : Classroom observation was carried out in five different English classes fromthe beginning to the end of the semester The researcher acted as a non-participant observerand made notes of the classroom procedures It was conducted to explore the realexploitation of authentic tasks in English speaking classes Basing on the findings from theclassroom observation, the researcher would come to a conclusion of the exploitation ofauthentic tasks in English speaking classes at HaUI Recommendations to exploit authentictasks effectively were also made to facilitate future study on this topic

2.6 Procedure of data analysis

The data collected was analyzed in different procedures:

 For the questionnaire : Data was processed by means of descriptive statistical analysis.The collected data were firstly calculated, analyzed in percentage term and grouped indifferent categories With a purpose to present the data in a clear and straightforward way,useful tools, namely charts and tables were then employed to compare and contrast figures

 For the interviews : Interviews were recorded and the author proceeded to transcribe the tape in narrative form Item analysis was employed to gain the findings from interviews

 For the classroom observation : The lessons were video-recorded and the author tooknote during the lesson Notes were transcribed and analyzed with the reflective note formsunder the criteria: the extent to which authentic tasks were carried out in speaking classes,how these tasks were organized following task-based instructions, types of task whichteachers used in exploiting the tasks, how students involved in the tasks, interaction modesand learning atmosphere, the difficulties encountered by the teachers in the exploitation ofthe tasks

2.7 Conclusive remarks

To sum up, chapter 2 has provided the most basic information about the study whichhas also been explained and justified properly The background of the study gives impetus tothe researcher‟s decision of carrying out the study The other parts of this chapter helpclarify other aspects of the study such as participants, data collection instruments, procedure

of data collection and data analysis methods In the following chapter, findings anddiscussions are presented

CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

In the previous chapter, the methodology applied in this study was elucidated indetails In particular, the choice of the instruments, participants and the process of datacollection and analysis was described and justified clearly and rationally there In thischapter, the data will be summed up and analyzed, which is needed for the further results‟

discussion It is noted that findings of the study have been revealed from triangular data

through survey questionnaire, informal interviews and classroom observation Discussionswere also integrated at the same time They were aimed at providing the satisfactory answers

to the research questions proposed at the beginning of the study

3.1 Research question 1: “What are the teachers’ perceptions of the exploitation of

authentic tasks in speaking classes?”

To give a satisfactory answer to the first research question, findings from surveyquestionnaire and interviews did help the researcher a great deal It is undeniable thatteachers‟ perceptions of tasks, task-based language teaching as well as authentic tasks haveclose relationship with their perceptions of the exploitation of authentic tasks in speakingclasses Accordingly, to address the teachers‟ perceptions of exploitation of authentic tasks,

it is a need for the researcher to explore the related aspects as mentioned From these twoinstruments, the results have been revealed and analyzed with reference to the above aspects,specifically:

Teachers‟ perceptions of tasks, TBLT and authentic tasks

Chart 1 presents a percentage comparison of teacher responses to each of the seven

items on the key concepts of tasks and TBLT For the convenience of comparison, point simplified scale (disagree, neutral and agree) were employed In response to item 5a,5b and 5c, which asked for some key concepts of task, the vast majority of respondentsunderstood that task has a communicative purpose (72%), a primary focus on meaning(70%), and a clearly defined outcome (68%) Only a very small numbers of the surveyedteacher (10%, 8% and 12% respectively) showed their disagreement towards these 3 abovestatements In response to item 5d, most teachers (60%) considered task as a kind of activity

three-in which the target language is used by the learner This implies that most teachers generallyagree with the definitions and characteristics of tasks as discussed in the literature reviewpart Meanwhile, one-third showed their uncertainties when they neither agree nor disagreewith this statement

In response to item 6a, a clear majority of teachers (72%) reported that they believed

in the relevance between task-based instruction and communicative language teaching This

partially indicates that teachers approving of the communicative approach are likely to adopt

the basic nature of TBLT in their own language classrooms The findings in items 6b and 6c,

related to the instructional philosophy and phases of TBL, suggest that more than half of

teachers recognized three different phases including pre-task, task cycle and language focus

As can be seen from the above chart, very few teachers, which accounts for 10% and 8%

respectively, gave disapproval of these two items

These figures are suitable for the data collected by the first interview question Most

of the teachers shared an agreement that TBLT is a language teaching approach which helps

students learn language by completing different tasks The tasks involve different skills, clear

objectives Another enthusiastically supported that the task-based approach to language

learning places emphasis on learning to communicate through purposeful interaction in the

target language All in all, the role of TBL is to stimulate a natural desire in learners to

improve their language competence by challenging them to complete meaningful tasks.

However, it seems rather difficult for them to give clear-cut concepts of tasks when 7 out of

10 interviewed teachers shared the common idea “tasks are learning activities” They didn‟t

clarify features of a task, such as the goal, the input, the context, the process, and the

outcome Only some of them regards some features of a task in TBLT relate to the goal and

outcome

Concerning the teachers‟ perceptions of authentic tasks, 35 out of the participantsbelieved that role-playing in job interviews are authentic tasks, meanwhile the rest thoughtthat they are pedagogical ones As can be seen from the below chart, forty percent (40%) of

the teachers agreed that finding the differences in two pictures is one kind of authentic tasks.

However, there are still a larger number of teachers, accounting for 60%, decided to choose

“Pedagogical” option For the task 7c, it is noted that more than two-thirds (36) of the

teachers believed that it belongs to authentic tasks “Pedagogical” option is the choice of

very few teachers which accounts for nearly one-third (14 teachers)

Chart 2: Teachers' perception of authentic tasks 100%

Teachers‟ perceptions of authentic tasks have been revealed more clearly through the

second interview question Most of the interviewees found the terms unfamiliar and the

author must clarify the terms to make it easier to understand by giving two equivalents

“real-life tasks”, “classroom tasks” respectively Accordingly, they are quite relaxed to share more

ideas about that One teacher hesitated to share her opinions “authentic tasks … er may be

making job interviews, making a phone call to reserve a room or…” and “pedagogical

tasks…those tasks er like completing the conversation or information-gap” One young

teacher which has 2 year experiences gave a very short idea “authentic means real…”

without any further explanations for her belief Little distinction has been made in their ideas

In short, the findings from survey questionnaire showed that the majority of teachers

had rather high level of understandings of tasks, TBLT despite a minority showed their lack

of perceptions of these matters Furthermore, the interviews uncovered other in-depth fruits

It seemed incompatible to what the researcher gained from survey questionnaire It is a

matter of fact that most of the interviewees could not give clear-cut definitions of authentic

tasks as well as the distinctions between authentic tasks and pedagogical ones It is

understandable because of its complexity Fortunately, they could identify the authentic or

pedagogical tasks through examples without thorough understanding of authentic tasks and

task-based language teaching

Statement 1, 2 (S1, S2) explored the teachers‟ attitudes towards speaking As can beseen from the table, the vast majority of the teachers (S1: 48% + 50% = 98%) thought thatspeaking skill is really important No one thought it is not important at all Nearly all of themconsidered teaching speaking for students is necessary (S2: 58%+38%= 96%) Only 4 % ofthe teachers consider it unimportant at all.

Statements

students is necessary

speaking lessons is useful and

effective

authentic tasks to teach

speaking

when I use authentic tasks in