The impact of teachers quality on RUS students in terms of speaking skill

Vietnam national university, HanoiUniversity of Languages and international studiesfaculty of Post-graduate Studies ĐÀO XUÂN HÙNG The impact of teachers’ quality On rus students in terms

Vietnam national university, HanoiUniversity of Languages and international studies

faculty of Post-graduate Studies

ĐÀO XUÂN HÙNG

The impact of teachers’ quality

On rus students in terms of speaking skill

(Tác động của chất lượng giáo viên đối với việc học nói của học

sinh trung học ở vùng nông thôn)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code:

Hanoi, 2010

Vietnam national university, HanoiUniversity of Languages and international studies

faculty of Post-graduate Studies

ĐÀO XUÂN HÙNG

The impact of teachers’ quality

On rus students in terms of speaking skill

(Tác động của chất lượng giáo viên đối với việc học nói của học

sinh trung học ở vùng nông thôn)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code:

Cohort:

Supervisor:

Hanoi, 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Headings Acknowledgment

Abstract

Table of contents

List of Abbreviations

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale for the study

1.2 Aims of the study

1.3 Significance of the study

1.4 Scope of the study

1.5 Methodology

1.6 Organization of the study

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 An overview of speaking skill.

2.1.1 Speaking definitions.

2.1.2 Characteristics of beginning level learners

2.1.3 The MOET principles of teaching speaking skill

2.1.4 Principles for teaching speaking to beginning learners 2.1.5 Elements needed for speaking skill development.

2.2 Language Teaching Methods

2.2.1 The Grammar Translation Method

2.2.2 The Direct Method and Audiolingualism

2.2.3.Communication in language teaching

2.2.4 Principles of the communicative approach

2.3 The language of the EFL teacher

2.3.1 Introduction

2.3.2 The main characteristics of the language used by the EFL teachers

2.3.3 The language for opening/closing the lesson

2.3.4 The language for instructions

2.4 Issues of teacher development in Vietnam.

CHAPTER THREE: THE STUDY

3.1 Research question

3.2 Design of the study

3.2.1 Data Collection Instruments

3.2.2 Participants

3.2.3 Data Collection Procedure

3.3 Analytical framework

3.3.1 The language for the opening of the lessons.

3.3.2 The language for the closing of the lessons.

3.3.3 The language for instructions

3.3.4 Principles for teaching speaking to beginners.

3.3.5 Principles of the communicative approach.

3.3.6 Elements needed for speaking skill development.

3.4 Data analysis and discussion

3.4.1 The language for opening and closing of the lessons.

3.4.2 The language for instructions.

3.4.3 Principles for teaching speaking to beginners

3.4.4 Principles of communicative approach

3.4.5 Elements needed for speaking skill development

CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION

4.1 Major findings

4.2 Implications

4.3 Limitations of the study

4.4 Suggestions for further study

Teacher developmentTeaching English as a foreign languageThe University Entrance Exam

The upper-secondary final exam

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationales

English has undergone many changes in teaching and learning in Vietnam over thelast few decades Demand for learning English even becomes stronger when Vietnamapplies its open door policy English turns out to be the leading factor in a smaller andsmaller world Learners want to be able to master English to a high level of accuracy andfluency Employers too insist that their employees have good English language skills,fluency in English is a prerequisite for success and advancement in many fields ofemployment in today‟s world

However, in rural upper-secondary schools (RUSs), though English is a compulsorysubject, it fails to equip students with enough knowledge and skills, especially speakingskill Even, The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has developed new textbooks,equipped more facilities to better the teaching and learning English, the fact is not changed.This is because:

First, the goals of learning English and foreign language in general are set by theMOET It can be translated as follows: To provide some basic knowledge about foreignlanguages in order to help school students to communicate and to use them as a key toscience and technology These goals are too general and vague to be easily put intopractice

Second, Hubbard (1987, p.24, Burn, 1981, p.2, as cited in Thuoc, 1988, p.48) statedthat “the teacher is a means to an end: An instrument to see that learning takes place As ahuman being, he is of course a subtle and sensitive instrument who cannot be satisfactorilyreplaced by a mechanical aid…” However, teachers‟ qualifications haven‟t been strictlyconsidered and developed That is the reason why teachers have failed to meet the demand

of teaching English in general and teaching speaking in particular

In fact, teachers are the people who know the languages, select the new material to

be learnt, and present it as clearly and memorably as possible Also, teachers work asconductors who give students opportunities to participate, to practise In addition, teachersact as guides in organising and motivating students‟ language activities The question ishow teachers do those without being equipped with proper knowledge and skills I thinkthat it is essential to do research on teachers‟ qualifications so I decided on choosing thetopic “the impact of teachers‟ qualifications on RUS students in terms of speaking skill”

1.2 The aims of the study

- The aims of this study are as follows:

a) to examine the impact of teachers‟ instructions on RUS students in terms of speaking skill

b) to suggest a possible basis for RUS teachers‟ ELT effectiveness

1.3 The significance of the study.

The study helps point out some impacts of teachers‟ instructions on RUS students interms of speaking skill It would enable teachers to be aware of the necessity of theirinstructions to the students‟ speaking skill development It is also hoped that the studywould make some suggestions for teachers‟ effectiveness which is considered by manylinguists, educators and researchers as one of the most crucial ways to develop students‟speaking skill

1.4 The scope of the study

- Firstly, The impacts on students‟ development in terms of speaking skill is a verycomplicated problem, it composes of many factors Therefore, my thesis will focus mainly

on rural Teachers‟ qualifications-those are teachers‟ instructions; the effectiveness ofteachers‟ method practice The effectiveness here can be understood as the comparisonbetween goal setting and goal achievement If the goal setting matches with the goalachievement, the teaching will be considered effective and vice versa

- Secondly, more attention will be paid to the theory and description, which will makeRUS teachers be aware of their problems and have directions to improve and develop inorder to better the teaching

- Thirdly, with the limitation of time and references, I shall only venture to suggestsome theoretical solutions for RUS teachers‟ effectiveness in terms of CL and methodpractice

1.5 Method of the study

- Classroom observation: Teachers‟ instructions

- Guided interview

1.6 Organization of the study

The study consists of four chapters:

- Chapter one: Introduction which contains rationale, scope, aims, significance, methodology and organization of the study.

- Chapter two: Literature review establishes the basic theoretical ground from theliterature on speaking skills, principles of teaching speaking skills for beginning learners,the MOET principles of teaching speaking skill, principles in teaching using CLT, commonmethods and teachers‟ language instructions, and teacher development (TD) are clearly described

- Chapter three: The study describes the overall picture of how the research wascarried out from choosing the research question, the participants, the data collectioninstrument to gather data and analysis, results and discussion to make it morecomprehensible

- Chapter four: Conclusion reviews the main findings of the study, suggests some solutions, and ends with some suggestions for further research

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter discusses the theory and research into which this study bases on Thechapter is divided into four sections The first section provides an overview of speakingskill The second section presents language teaching methods The third section is about thelanguage of the English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher And the last section givesIssues of teacher development in Vietnam

2.1 An overview of speaking skill

Bailey (2003, p.2) also pointed out that speaking is such a basic human behavior that

we don‟t stop to analyze if there is not anything noticeable about it What we ignore is anumber of physical, mental, psychological, social, and cultural factors that must allcombine together when we speak People will have a great influence when they hear a lucidspeaker in a second or foreign language

2.1.2 Characteristics of beginning level learners

What does it mean to be a “beginning” or a “lower-level” language learner?According to the American council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (as cited inBailey, 2005, p.30), beginning level students can be characterized as follows:

- Oral production consists of isolated words and learned phrases within very predictable areas of need

- Vocabulary is sufficient only for handling simple, elementary needs and

expressing basic courtesies

- Utterances rarely consist of more than two or three words and show frequent long

pauses and repetition of interlocutor‟s words

- Speakers may have some difficulty producing even the simplest utterances

This means that at this level speakers will be understood only with great difficulty.Given these limitations, what can teachers do to help beginning students develop theirEnglish speaking skill? In addition, if you are teaching EFL in your home culture, you are

probably already aware of the challenges that learners face when their exposure to Englishoutside the classroom is limited Likewise, if you are teaching EFL, you will need to beparticularly creative in designing a syllabus and planning lessons that develop speakingskill For beginning learners in an EFL context, they have difficulties in finding chances tolisten to and speak English Therefore, the classroom is of great importance in providinginput and practice opportunities for the learners Classroom lessons are very safe andfriendly havens where low-level learners can make mistakes and take risks in a supportiveenvironment with a helpful teacher and classmates who are at approximately the sameproficiency level and who may have similar concerns.

2.1.3 The MOET principles of teaching speaking skill

Minh (2007, p.19) stated the methods used in the new curriculum to teach speakingskill must follow the guiding principles:

1 Communication skills (CSs) be the goal of the teaching and learning process; linguistic knowledge be the means by which CSs are formed and developed

2 Students play an active role in the teaching and learning process and teachers be only organizers and guides

3 Teaching contents be selected and organized according to themes to guarantee ahigh level of communicativeness while catering to the accuracy of the modern languagesystem

(MOET, 2006, p.6)

General objectives to achieve in grade 10-grade 12.

Skill

SpeakingClass

Ask and answer about the topics covered Performs some basic language

10 functions such as giving instruction, expressing opinions, asking direction,asking and giving information…

Ask about the topics covered Perform some basic language functions such as

11 expressing likes and dislikes, agreement and disagreement, distinguishing facts and opinions

Ask and answer about the topic covered, perform some basic language

12 functions such as expressing opinions and viewpoints, talking about needs and likes, explaining

2.1.4 Principles for teaching speaking to beginners

Bailey (2005, pp.36-40) stated three principles as we teach speaking to beginners,such as:

i) Provide something for learners to talk about

As we know when people speak, it is usually about something People talk tocommunicate-that is, to express themselves, to get goods and services, to influence people,

to convey meanings and messages, and to enjoy the company of others Although these arechallenging goals to beginning learners, they need to talk about something Thus, one keyprinciple in teaching speaking is that teacher should provide something for learners to talkabout (Bailey, 2005, p.37) For example:

- Neighbourhoods, Cities and Towns

Speaking tasks: talking about days and dates, saying dates, talking abouttransportation, role-playing personal information

- Friends and family

Speaking tasks: discussion appearance, leaving voicemail messages, describingpeople, interviewing peers about keeping in touch with friends and family, interviewingpeers about conversation topics, role-playing greetings

(Bailey, 2005,p.34, adapted from Thrush, Blass and Baldwin, 2002, pp.viii-ix) ii) Create opportunities for students to interact by using group work or pair work.

Lower levels students can be anxious about speaking out in class One way toovercome their reticence and increase their opportunities to speak is to use pair work andgroup work, (Bailey, 2005, p.38) According to Pennington (1995, p.x, as cited in Bailey,

2005, p.38), using pair work and group work can improve learners‟ motivation andpromote choice, independence, creativity, and realism Pair work and group work alsoprovide feedback to the learner from sources other than the teacher (i.e., from their peers)However, the problem is that pair work and group work can be noisy Bailey (2005, p.39)suggested some tips that you can control the activity

a) Set the task clearly first Either provide written instructions on slips of paper for the students or post them on the chalkboard or overhead transparency.

b) Start with pair interaction, and then when the students are used to pairing upquickly and quietly, move to group of three, and then later use larger groups if you want to

c) At first give instructions about how to get into groups

d) Set specific time limits for how long students will be working in pairs or groups

e) Give clear guidance as to what is expected at the end of the pair work or group

work For example, you might say, “In five minutes, each group sends one person to thechalkboard to write down your list of favourite foods All the group members help thatperson spell the words correctly.” I think that these are very crucial for your effectiveteaching Teachers may fail to gain their goals if they cannot control their situations

iii) Manipulate physical arrangement to promote speaking practice.

Bailey (2005, p.39) stated that it can be difficult to get student with one another in anew language, but that difficulty is often exacerbated by the traditional classroomarrangement of desks facing forward toward the teacher‟s zone Speaking activities can beencouraged by changing the physical environment The author also suggested some ways towork with the seating and other aspects of the environment to encourage speaking, such as:The inside-outside circle- that is a technique for giving students the chance to repeat aconversation or interview with several new people, so as to form fluency and confidence;Tango seating-that is a simple seating arrangement designed to force people to use oralcommunication during information gap tasks that including drawing pictures, followingmaps, creating designs or structures from verbal descriptions; and the cocktail partytechnique-that is a quick way to get students talking to new partners and to break up theroutine of sitting during language lessons

Moreover, Bailey (1997, p.41) listed some tasks and exercises that can be used toteach speaking to beginning learners: Conversations, controlled (or guided) conversations,and interviews; information gap and jigsaw activities; scripted dialogues, drama, and role-playing; logic puzzles; picture-based activities; and physical actions in speaking lessons.Besides, Bailey (1997, P.65) also focused on teaching pronunciation as one part of teachingspeaking According to the author, one key to success in teaching and learning a foreignlanguage is having good pronunciation It is not because of sounding like native speakers,but because of being comprehensible

2.1.5 Elements needed for speaking skill development.

For many years, linguistic competence was considered as the key for learners Itwas thought that by being equipped with a wide range of language items, students couldput them together and communicate in the end, (Bailey, 2005, p.3) In fact, Lier (1995,p.15, as cited in Bailey, 2005, p.8) created a pyramid of the components of spokenlanguage (Figure 1) The left column lists four traditional areas of linguistic analysis(which teachers must understand), and the center column labels the units of spokenlanguage (which learners must master) Bailey (2005) also stated that these units oftenreferred to as the “levels” of language When learners speaking English that units mustwork together simultaneously So teachers must understand so as to help their learners

In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a significant change in focus Internationaldevelopments in linguistics, curricula, and pedagogy, as well as by sociolinguistic researchhad affected linguists and teachers strongly Much research statistics proved that linguisticcompetence alone was not enough for learners to master English and get on well in society.(Bailey, 2005, p.3).

In the mid-970s, According to Savignon (1991, p.264, as cited in Bailey, 2005, p.3),the notion of linguistic competence must be understood as a component of the broader idea

of communicative competence “the ability of language learners to interact with otherspeakers, to make meaning, as distinct from their ability to perform on discrete-point tests

of grammatical knowledge” Being communicatively competent requires an understanding

of sociocultural contexts of language use

According to Bachman (1990), Canale and Swain (1980, as cited in Bailey, 2005,p.3) sociolinguistic competence (the ability to use language appropriately in variouscontexts is included Sociolinguistic competence consists of register (degrees of formalityand informality), appropriate word choice, style shifting, and politeness strategies Second,strategic competence is of great importance In terms of speaking, it will enable learners tocompensate for gaps in skills and knowledge In addition, discourse competence “howsentence elements are tied together” is indispensable Lazaraton (2001, p.104, as cited inBailey, 2003, p.3) stated that discourse competence involves both cohesion and coherence.Cohesion is “the grammatical and /or lexical relationship between the different parts of asentence” (Richards, Platt, and Weber, 1985, p.45, as cited in Bailey, p.3) Cohesionincludes reference, repetition, synonyms, and so on In contrast, coherence involves “howtexts are constructed” (Lazaraton, 2001, p.104; Bachman, 1990, pp.84-102, and Douglas,

2000, pp.25-29, as cited in Bailey, p.3) As communicative competence is a multifacetedconstruct, teachers should be aware of the challenges learners face when they speakEnglish

2.2 Language Teaching Methods.

Judging from the teaching history, the teaching of speaking skills has been concerned

up to now, an overview of ELT methods will be discussed in this chapter with reference totheir uses in Vietnam I will look briefly at some of the methodological approaches and thelinguistic theories underlying them to make it clear how different methods handle theproblem of teaching speaking skills

2.2.1 The Grammar Translation Method

The Grammar Translation Method is a way of teaching and learning a foreignlanguage on the basis of detailed analysis of grammar rules and application of these rules tothe translation of sentences texts into and out the target language The main characteristics

of this method are as follows:

The goal of foreign language study is to read its literature Study is through detailedanalysis of grammar rules and translation of sentences and texts into and out of the targetlanguage Reading and writing are the major focus; little or no systematic attention is paid

to speaking and listening Vocabulary is taught through bilingual lists and memorization.The sentence is the basic unit of teaching Accuracy is emphasized Mother tongue is themedium of instruction

The Grammar Translation Method focus on teaching the form rather than the use ofthe target language Bong (1988, p.3) stated that the Grammar Translation method waspopular in Vietnam in the 1960s After 3-7 years of study, students had a fairly goodknowledge of grammar and translating skills, but could hardly communicate At that time,assessment of student performance used to be through translation, reciting grammaticalrules, making sentences and free composition

2.2.2 The Direct Method and Audiolingualism

Richards and Rodgers (1986, p.9 as cited in Bailey, 2003, p.17) figured out that theDirect Method stressed on “everyday vocabulary and sentences”, and lessons werepresented wholly in the target language - the language the students are trying to learn TheDirect Method focused speaking on that “new teaching points were introduced orally”,rather than in writing Also, lessons emphasized speaking and listening, which werepracticed “in a carefully graded progression organized around question-and-answerexchanges between teachers and students” (Richards and Rodgers, 1986, p.10, as cited inBailey, 2003, p.17)

The Direct Method remarkably influenced the development of the AudiolingualMethod In audiolingualism, teachers develop students‟ speaking skill by getting themrepeat sentences and recite memorized dialogues from the textbook There are three stages

in each lesson, called presentation, practice and production (Nunan, 2003, as cited inBailey, 2003, p.17) The underlying goal of the Audiolingual Method is to enable students

to practice speaking through using grammatical structure until producing those structures

has become automatic It is believed that the learners can go on with conversations Bygate(2001, p.15, as cited in Bailey, 2003, p.17) proved that “teaching oral language was thought

to require no more than engineering the repeated oral production of structures…concentrating on the development of grammatical and phonological accuracy combinedwith fluency”

Lazaraton, (2001, p.103, as cited in Bailey, 2005, p.18) proved that TheAudiolingual Method stressed oral skills but “speech production was tightly controlled inorder to reinforce correct habit formation of linguistic rules” This sort of rigidly controlledpractice does not necessarily prepare learners for the spontaneous, fluid interaction thatoccurs outside the English classroom In addition, Ellis (1990, p.29, as cited in Bailey,

2005, p.18) also pointed out that the pattern practice and audio-lingual drills are not onlyboring, but they do not also lead to fluent and effective communication in real-lifesituations

2.2.3.Communication in language teaching

Firstly, It is necessary to consider the idea that “language teaching and learning isnot simply a mechanical process of habit formation” (Allen and Widdowson in Byrne (ed)

1980, p.192, as cited in Phuc, 1986, p.17), but is concerned with communication,i.e theability to communicate spontaneous and appropriately in any context Some theoristssupport this view

Brumfit and Roberts (1983, p.85, as cited in Phuc,1986, p.17) pointed out:

“Learning to use language appropriately, and learning to engage not simply in speech actsmeans, then; mastering more than just the structures of a language, and indeed, more thanthe language itself.” Littlewood (1981, pp.x-xi, as cited in Phuc, 1986, p.17) shares thesame view As for him: “It is not enough to teach learners how to manipulate the structure

of the foreign language They must also develop strategies for relating these structures totheir communicative functions in real situations and real time”

Therefore, the ultimate concern of ELT is to develop learners‟ ability to take part inthe process of communicating through language, rather than with their perfect mastery ofindividual structures Johnson (1982, p.12, as cited in Phuc, 1986, p.17) also stated:

“… there is more to the business of communicating than the ability to producegrammatically correct utterances.”

Lee and Vanpatten (2003, p.53) stated that in real context, people communicate for

anumber of reasons All things considered, psycho-social and informational-cognitive arethe two most usual purposes of communication The psycho-social purpose of languageincludes getting on well with someone or some group socially or psychologically or joiningsocial behavior in some ways For example, asking someone „How is it going?‟ might beless a desire to be aware of someone‟s life rather than a medium of exchanging jokes ormaking someone understand that “you care” So that for people, pausing and askingsomeone “Do you have the time?” when you are in a hurry is an informative activity ratherthan a psycho-social behavior This conclusion is of great importance Teachers should bewell aware of this to focus on the informational-cognitive use of language

Savignon (1983), Breen and Candlin (1980), and Canale and Swain (1980) statedthat CLT comprises the notions of negotiation, interpretation and expression CLT iscreated through the productive, unpredictable and intentional use of language in classroombasing mainly on information and meaning exchange This is both applied incommunication and reading and writing or so It means the most typical features of CLT isnot only the linguistic structures and interactional ones but also the integration of skills

Canale and Swain (1980) revisited Hymes‟ concept of communicative competenceand proposed their own notion about the concept According to them, there are threeelements in communicative competence: grammatical competence, sociolinguisticcompetence, and strategic competence Canale (1983) later added one more element bydistinguishing discourse competence from sociolinguistic competence This is a broaddefinition of communicative competence which is not only concerned about the linguisticgrammatical perspective but also social and functional ones I chose this definition because

it makes clear that communicative competence is more complex than many teachers andadministrators expect Moreover, from this definition, we should have proper time andeffort for applying it successfully in demanding conditions

2.2.4 Principles of the communicative approach.

Johnson and Morrow (1981, as cited in Bong, 1988, p.34) proposed a set of fiveprinciples of communicative methodology as criteria to be taken into consideration indeveloping teaching procedures

Principle one: Know what you are doing

In real life, people communicate with each other not only because they really want

to talk, but also they have something to exchange Therefore, need and purpose constitutethe nature of communication So “when organizing communicative activities we will try toensure that these activities share the characteristics of communication” (Harmer, 1986,p.43, as cited in Bong, 1988, p.34) In classroom, what is taught should be closely related

to what the learner is most likely to perform in real life communication

Principle two: The whole is more than the sum of the parts

Littlewood (1981, p.17, as cited in Bong, 1988, p.35) stated that in LT,communication should provide students with practice in total skills rather than only in part-skills If they are only involved in drill or repetition, their objective will be the accuracy ofutterance rather than its content in a meaningful context Students should have theopportunity to cope with a wide range of language rather than just a number ofgrammatical structures

Principles three: The processes are as important as the forms

It is crucial to bear in mind that the way students do an activity will decide it to becommunicative or mechanical A genuine communicative exercise is really applied byfilling the information gap between the speaker and the hearer; making choice from hisrepertoire of language of what to say and how to say it; and evaluating feedback from what

he has done Information gap in a communicative activity means that one student must be

in a position to tell another something that the second student does not know

Communicative activities also require the student to decide from himself what ideas

he wants to express and how to express them appropriately in a certain situation under thepressure of time during the conversation Exercises such as drills, repetition, substitution orguided exercises in which students are controlled in the use of language do not practise thisaspect of communication

Another process involved in communication is feedback which tells the studentwhether his utterance has been understood as he intended or not, and what criteria arenecessary during a particular procedure

Principle four: To learn it, do it

Widdowson (1978, p.144, as cited in Bong, 1988, p.39) said:

“What the learner needs to know how to do is to compose in the act of writing,comprehending in the act of reading, and learn techniques of reading by writing and

techniques of writing by reading” It means that students can only learn to communicate bycommunicating and develop skills by using skills.

Principles five: Mistakes are not always a mistake

Trying to express something they are not sure of, students may make mistakes But

“errors are regarded as a completely normal phenomenon in the development ofcommunicative skills” (Littlewood, 1998, p.94, as cited in Bong, 1988, p.39) In fact, thecommunicative approach does emphasize on the development of the forms and the uses oflanguage It may be more appropriate and effective to teach the forms through the uses, or

to attach the uses to the forms, or to integrate them for communicative purposes Perhaps, it

is the teachers „responsibility to judge and decide which priority is relevant in his owncondition

2.3 The language of the EFL teacher

2.3.1 Introduction

The language used by teachers inside the classroom is crucial to students‟effectiveness That is due to a variety of teachers‟ roles in classrooms Teachers can beorganizers, facilitators, actors, syllabus consumers, attributors, resources, managers… Inclassrooms, teachers explain, participate, instruct activities, show signals to transitionalstages and give feedback… teachers use the classroom language to conduct these tasksfrom the beginning to the end of the lessons That enables lessons to happen not onlysmoothly but also effectively

2.3.2 The main characteristics of the language used by the EFL teachers

An EFL teacher‟s language reveals many characteristics However, the mainfeatures which will be presented in this part relate to the input aspect of the language

Firstly, it is evident that teacher talk in classroom is dominant in comparison withstudent talk Cook (1992, p.91, as cited in Tien, 1997, p.15) stated that teacher talk takes up77% of the time in bilingual classrooms in Canada, 69% in immersion classes and 61% inforeign language classrooms, Werner Hullen (1989) found 75% of the utterances inGerman classrooms came from the teachers Ellis, (1992, p.74, as cited in Tien, 1997, p.15)reported that teachers keep talking in India, Belgium, Irag, South America and NewZealand Tien (1997, p.15) figured out that although no official figure about EFL teachertalking time in Vietnam was available, it is likely that the same thing could be said aboutthe teacher talking time in EFL classrooms in Vietnam, and perhaps in Britain He also

stressed that teacher talk is advantageous for students It creates a good chance for students

to be exposed to the language not only in a pedagogic context, but also in a naturalenvironment

Secondly, the teacher‟s language in EFL classes is not just the medium but also thecontent of the lesson As the medium, English is used for the organization and control ofthe classroom As the content, English is the actual subject being taught For example, in alesson, an EFL teacher sometimes slows down his/her speech, corrects student languageerrors, simplifies the vocabulary… so that students can learn the language from the teacher.Ellis, (1992, p.58, as cited in Tien, 1997, p.16) considered this as the way teachers utiliseEnglish so as to make input comprehensible to a non-native speaker, which, of course, is ofgreat important for language learning

Thirdly, in RUSs of Vietnam, the teachers‟ language in EFL classes is the onlyauthentic language providing comprehensible input for the students to acquire In fact, thestudents only have 3 English classes (135 minutes) every week They have little or even noaccess to English outside the classroom Besides, the phenomenon of code switching in theteachers‟ explanation is commonplace in Vietnam Code switching is found in anunfinished sentence: when the teachers sense that something is new in the sentence, theyjust switches it into Vietnamese, and then carries on to the end of it in English

2.3.3 The language for opening/closing the lesson.

The discourse organisation at the level of lesson is usually made up of three phases:The opening phase, the instructional phase and the closing phase Each phase often consists

of different activities Between phases or activities, there are transitional stages

For the first phase of the lesson, the opening, the English used by the teacher is tocreate a good initial atmosphere or to launch a good start for the students to study Inaddition, it can serve to link the previous lesson with the present one or even theforthcoming one However, the main purpose is to define the aims of the lesson, to statewhat the main work is and how it is expected to be done within class time

In the instructional phase, often considered the most important one in a lesson,English is used to serve the process of imparting knowledge to the students Therefore, it isutilised mainly for the purpose of giving instruction for different activities, explanations ofnew things or information exchanged Besides, it can be used for transition from oneactivity to another or from this phase to the closing one

Furthermore, in the closing phase, the teacher‟s English is mainly for the ending ofthe lesson or signaling the transitional stage to ease an activity in progress into closure.Finally, it is also for the review of the aims and contents of the lesson, linking with thecoming lesson and the reminding students of their homework or reading.

2.3.4 The language for instructions

Spratt (1994, p.3, as cited in Tien, 1997, p.26) stated that classroom instructionsform a major part of teacher talking time in a classroom and it is very important for theteacher to enable the lesson to flow smoothly and effectively, especially in the transitionperiod between one activity to another So it is necessary to consider some aspects ofinstruction-giving: Definitions and kinds of instructions, some linguistic features forinstructions

Firstly, What is an instruction? and what kind of classroom instruction are there? Aninstruction is defined in the Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary (1987, p.757, ascited in Tien, 1997, p.26) as something that someone tells you to do or orders you to do orclear and detailed information on how to do something Likewise, „if someone givesinstructions they tell other people exactly what they must do‟ or instructions are „statementtelling someone what they should do and how they should do‟ (Longman EssentialActivator, 1997, p.765, as cited in Tien, 1997, p.26)

Let us now examine the second question, the kinds of classroom instructions Thereare two types: Managerial instructions and content instructions (Wajnryb, 1992, as cited inTien, 1997, p.27) The former refers to the instructions for the classroom organisationalwork such as organizing seating or group The latter concerns the content side of the lessonlike giving instructions for the students to do oral work or for homework

Another aspect of instruction-giving is that it is somewhat similar to giving It means that If the students receive wrong message, they have to ask the teacher toclarify The teacher, therefore, has to re-instruct Also, most of the instructions are realized

explanation-by (1) the imperative, (2) polite requests, and (3) giving an example as a model for students

to follow Furthermore, language structures are not complicated and vocabulary is simplewithout idioms employed Besides, teachers need to adjust their language to suit thestudents‟ language competence

2.4 Issues of teacher development in Vietnam

Iwai (2009, p.92) affirmed that teachers are crucial to improving students‟communication skills, particularly when they attach to tasks, students are really confronted,which leads to development in their English language ability This conclusion is of greatimportance It pointed out that not methods or curricula but teachers are the key factor toimproving teaching and learning communication skills Therefore, Administrators and theMOET have been fallacious to focus more on methods and curricula rather than TD

Strevens (1978, p.189, as cited in Thom, 1992, p.119) defined „the teacher‟ inrelation to instructional materials, stating that “the teacher is the human agency responsiblefor presenting foreign language materials to the learners” It means that teachers takecharge of giving students not only input but also make that input comprehensible to them.Richards and Nunan (2000, as cited in Park, 2006, p.115) defined „teacher training‟

as student teachers and „education teachers‟ as teachers who is applying theories ofteaching And, Lange (2000, as cited in Park, 2006, p.115) stated that „teacherdevelopment‟ is a term used to describe a process of TD This is a narrow definition which

is suitable with my research Through this definition, we can conclude that teacher is adecisive factor to solving the problem of teaching effectiveness as well ascommunicativeness This also points out different functions of teachers in a continualdevelopment stages The misunderstanding of teachers‟ functions is the reason why wecannot develop teachers professionally

Hargreaves and Fullan (1992, as cited in Thom, 1992) also stated that teachers arecrucial to educational betterments and school advancement Therefore, training anddeveloping teachers for the purpose of enhancing English education in Asia are confirmed

by many linguists and educators (Chew, 2007; Choi, 2007; Kaheem, 2004; Kaheem

&Devendra, 2007) Especially, TD ought to be an ongoing process which inquires personalcommitment

Biyaem (1997) reported that the teachers and learners face the following difficulties:

As for the teachers

- Heavy teaching loads

- Too many students in a class (45-60)

- Insufficient English language skills and native speaker cultural knowledge

- Inadequately equipped classrooms and educational technology

- University entrance examination, which demands a tutorial teaching and learningstyle.

As for the learners

- Lack of opportunity to use English in their daily lives

- Unchallenging English lessons

- Being passive learners

- Lack of responsibility for their own learning

As for me, this report is factual not only in Thailand but also in Vietnam These areunsolvable problems to Vietnamese classes, especially to the rural classes on their foreignlanguage teaching and learning process Although it is easy for administrators, educators aswell as researchers to recognize these, it seems to be above their ability to give an effectivesolution

Thuoc (1988, p.88) concluded that the teaching and learning quality has not yet beenimproved much This is due to:

 Failure to exploit available material

 Insufficient equipment and resource material

 Inappropriate syllabus and text books

 Poor language environment

 Inadequately qualified teachers

 Failure to apply communicative approaches in language teaching

The three last items are noticeable to my circumstance In fact, students are givenpoor language environments by RUS teachers This is not only because of theincompetence in teachers „language skills, but also because the inappropriateness ofteachers‟ methodological choice and practice

Moffitt (1963, p.6, as cited in Hong, 1986) suggested that while undergoing initialtraining programs, teachers do not receive proper subject education Regardless of thequantity and quality of academic education received during training, a teacher who is new

to any school system needs in-service education

Burlinegame (1978, p.158, as cited in Hong, 1986) stated four areas which must bemet in any in-service educational programs organized for such participants These are: “(1)enhanced formal training in the area of linking colleges of education to schools; (2)

emphasis on the basic skills of teaching; (3) efforts to provide multiple information sources

to inexperienced teachers; and (4) development of prestige systems to enhance the status ofinexperienced teachers”

Moffitt (1963, p.8 as cited in Hong, 1986) Also pointed out that “… teachers mustbecome sensitive to new and challenging responsibilities.” This is necessary as teachers‟quality goes a long way in determining the quality of learning and therefore the quality ofthe people

In-service education and training thus becomes necessary because of the changesaffecting the learning situation According to Eraut (1972, p.3, as cited in Hong, 1986), “anew era, based on a large conception of what professional development entails, must be anupdated rationale”

Eraut (1972, p.5, as cited in Hong, 1986) also proved that “a major function of service education is the promotion of innovation in teaching and learning Without thisfunction… in-service education will contribute little to the solution of the practicalproblems of school or to the improvement of the quality of education” So transferring newknowledge and insisting on the progress of professional discussion may be necessaryfunctions of in-service education However, they are not really enough in themselves if thepurpose of in-service education is to improve what is happening in schools

in-In summary, the literature related to the topic of the thesis has been reviewed in thischapter It has discussed the concepts, elements and principles of teaching speaking skill.The analysis revealed that teaching speaking skill is a challenging task to any teachers,especially RUS teachers Therefore, the qualifications are needed to be effective inteaching The qualifications here mean that the understanding and application of the aboveprinciples in equipped students with proper elements for speaking skill development.Ineffectiveness in teaching might have impacts on students‟ speaking skill development.That is the theme of this study which will be made lucid in next chapter

CHAPTER THREE: THE STUDY

Having looked at the complicated problems of teaching speaking skill, we are nowaware that to be effective in teaching speaking skill it is a must for teachers to followstrictly the above principles, equip students with proper elements, and apply flexiblemethod The only way for teachers to be success is professional teacher development Inthis chapter, we will find the answer for whether RUS teachers‟ teaching is effective orineffective through observation of how they instruct their students in classroom.

3.1 Research question

- In order to achieve the aims mentioned above, the study concentrated answering the research questions:

+ How do RUS teachers give instructions in speaking classes ?

3.2 Design of the study

3.2.1 Data Collection Instruments

of teaching experience) Three of them have in-service bachelor‟s degrees in languageeducation and one has a bachelor‟s degree in Russian and a level C certificate in English.Teachers‟ low salary plays an important role in reducing their motivation to spend moretime on lesson preparation or in helping their students after school hours Teacher trainingprograms that tend to focus solely on methods of teaching fail to empower teachers torethink and reevaluate their belief systems Teachers, like other learners, interpret newcontent through their existing understandings and modify and reinterpret new ideas on thebasis of what they already know or believe

Although teachers committed to professional development, they needencouragement, motivation and support; RUS English teachers do not have access to

professional growth opportunities due to financial incapacity Canh (2004) also emphasizedthat “this situation is worsened by the prevailing traditional belief among educationaladministrators and teachers themselves that a short period of undergraduate training isenough for lifelong teaching, and that the longer one teaches, the more competent onebecomes”.

In addition, according to Canh (2004), support should not be separated frompressure Because “pressure without support leads to resistance and alienation; supportwithout pressure leads to drift or waste of resources” (Fullan, 1991, p.91, as cited in Canh,2004) In fact, these two issues have been existing in Vietnam context At secondary schoollevel, teachers have to teach what they are told and ordered and that has led to resistanceand alienation (the hidden syllabus) For example, instead of using communicativemethods, teacher uses grammar-translation method The syllabus focuses on skills, whileteachers stress on grammar…, and support without pressure: The Ministry of Educationorganized conferences, workshops for teacher training, which is very useful However,instead of participating in them actively and effectively, teachers consider these things areextra things included in their teaching Because if there is no pressure on the teachers, theywill go to these places for pleasure

- To collect data the researcher has to design interview questions for teachers and classroom observation sheets to answer the research question

3.2.3 Data Collection Procedure

- The study is the qualitative kinds of research in which the data is collected by means of classroom observation and interview of teachers

- Classroom observations are the main tools to collect the information aboutthe

impact of teachers‟ instructions: The language for the opening and closing the lessons; the language for classroom instructions

- Each observation consisted of three steps: Before the lesson, during the lesson,and after the lesson In before-the-lesson step, the author met the teacher to know his/heraims in teaching the lesson, to read his/her lesson plan In the during-the-lesson step, anobservation sheet was used to record the teachers‟ language for the opening and closing ofthe lessons, the introduction of the lesson activities, and for classroom instructions Theafter-the-lesson step was the guided interview between the observer and the teachers to test

the validity of the information obtained from the observations Three teachers wereinterviewed individually, using 4 given questions.

3.3 Analytical framework

3.3.1 The language for the opening of the lessons.

Willis (1984, pp.6-18) states that the aims of this phase are first to exploitopportunities for communication in English, also to get students to relax and accept English

as a viable means of communication in the classroom In addition, the author points outthat at the start of a different activity or a new stage in the lesson, teachers will need to callall their students to attention and make sure they are listening The language could be used

at this stage, such as: „alright, „fine‟, „now‟, „OK‟, „right‟, „now then‟ and „righteveryone‟ For example:

T: Good afternoon, everybody

T: Well, how are you all, today?

T: Very well, thank you And what about you, Marian? How are you?M: I‟m very well, thank you, Miss White

(Willis, 1984, p.7)

In addition, teachers should use polite requests rather than imperative forms in theclassroom and in general to use in the classroom the kind of English that is acceptable tothe outside world What is more, that is to create an awareness of the importance ofintonation patterns and their significance The language could be used, such as: „please‟,

„tag question‟, „modal verbs‟

T: Good afternoon, everyone Quiet, now, please! It‟s terribly hot in here, isn‟t it?

T: Well, look! Could you two open those windows please, and let some air in?

those windows Yes Could you open them

S: Yes, of course