Adapting speaking tasks in the textbook “Tieng Anh 10” to improve the effectiveness of speaking lessons at Thuong Cat High School: A case study

Table 4: The students‟ general evaluation of their current speaking lessons.. Table 5: The students‟ participation in speaking lessons.[r]

VIETNAM NA T IONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIV ERSITY OF LANGUA GES AND INT ERNATIONAL ST UDIES

FA CULTY OF POST-GRA DUATE ST UDIES



NGUYỄN THỊ NHUNG

ADAPTING SPEAKING TASKS IN THE TEXTBOOK “TIENG

ANH 10” TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SPEAKING

LESSONS AT THUONG CAT HIGH SCHOOL: A CASE STUDY

Điều chỉnh các nhiệm vụ nói trong sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh 10

nhằm tăng hiệu quả các giờ dạy nói tại trường THPT Thượng Cát :

Một nghiên cứu điển hình

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60140111

HA NOI, 2016

VIETNAM NA T IONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIV ERSITY OF LANGUA GES AND INT ERNATIONAL ST UDIES

FA CULTY OF POST-GRA DUATE ST UDIES



NGUYỄN THỊ NHUNG

ADAPTING SPEAKING TASKS IN THE TEXTBOOK “TIENG

ANH 10” TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF SPEAKING

LESSONS AT THUONG CAT HIGH SCHOOL: A CASE STUDY

Điều chỉnh các nhiệm vụ nói trong sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh 10

nhằm tăng hiệu quả các giờ dạy nói tại trường THPT Thượng Cát :

Một nghiên cứu điển hình

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Prof Nguyễn Hòa

HA NOI, 2016

i

DECLARATION

I hereby certify the thesis entitled “Adapting speaking tasks in the textbook Tieng Anh 10 to improve the effectiveness of speaking lessons at Thuong Cat High School: A case study.” as my own study in the fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts at the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

Signature

Nguyễn Thị Nhung

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I have benefited a great deal of support from a number of people during the time carrying out this thesis

I would like first and foremost to express my profound gratitude and appreciation to

my supervisor, Prof Nguyễn Hòa for his invaluable and insightful comments, his deliberate guidance and wholehearted supervision without which the thesis would not have been possible

My thanks are also offered to all my respected lecturers in the M.A course, Assoc Prof Lê Hùng Tiến, Prof Nguyễn Quang, Assoc Dr Lê Văn Canh, Assoc Dr Lâm Quang Đông, Dr Huỳnh Anh Tuấn…., for their informative and valuable lectures that have enlightened my research path of the study

Special acknowledgement is also given to my students from class 10D1 Thuong Cat High School for their participation in the lessons My appreciation is also extended

to my colleagues in the English Division of Thuong Cat High School for their assistance and work sharing

Last but not least, my heartfelt thanks go to my family and my close friends for their understanding, love, and support

iii

ABSTRACT

In the teaching context of Thuong Cat High School in Bac Tu Liem, Ha Noi, the adaptation of speaking tasks in the textbook „Tieng Anh 10‟ is necessary because teaching and learning speaking is not usually efficient The students c an hardly take part in speaking tasks seriously though they have the desire to speak English This mini action research is conducted in order to investigate how adapted tasks help students of low level to get more involved in speaking, as well as improve their language accuracy and fluency Oral tests together with survey questionnaire and observations are the main instruments of data collection They are delivered to 40 grade-10 students to collect individual scores, their opinions about speaking tasks in the textbook and their behaviors while doing speaking tasks Based on the data, together with advantages in methodology, the speaking tasks are adapted and speaking activities are implemented as pilot teaching is employed to realize the objectives of the action research The results indicate that most of the adapted tasks bring about some clear improvement in the students‟ participation and their language proficiency without omitting available textbook tasks Finally, some limitations of the study are discussed

v

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

Table 1: The students‟ motivation in learning English speaking

Table 2+3: The students‟ opinions about English speaking skills in the textbook Tieng Anh 10

Table 4: The students‟ general evaluation of their current speaking lessons

Table 5: The students‟ participation in speaking lessons

Table 6: Factors prevent the students from participating in speaking in the class Table 7: The students‟ opinion about the way their teacher taught English speaking Table 8: The students‟ evaluation of their teacher‟s task adaptation

Table 9: The students‟ scores in the Pre-test

Table 10: The students‟ opinions about the vocabulary relating to the topics in the speaking tasks

Table 11+12: The students‟ opinions about the topics of speaking tasks

Table 13+14: The students‟ opinions about the speaking tasks

Table 15: The students‟ response to the adapted tasks for Unit 14

Table 16: The students‟ response to the adapted tasks for Unit 16

Table 17: The students‟ scores in Post-test after Unit 12

Table 18: The students‟ scores in Post-test after Unit 16

Figure 1: The students‟ motivation in learning English speaking

Figure 2: The students‟ opinions about the textbook‟s topics in the textbook Tieng Anh 10

Figure 3: The students‟ opinions about the textbook‟s speaking activities in the textbook Tieng Anh 10

Figure 4: The students‟ general evaluation of their current speaking lessons

Figure 5: The students‟ participation in speaking lessons

Figure 6: : Factors prevented the students from participating in speaking in the class

Figure 7: The students‟ opinion about the way their teachers taught speaking

Figure 8: The students‟ evaluation of their teacher‟s adaptation

Figure 9: The students‟ scores in the Pre-test

Figure 10: The students‟ opinions about the vocabulary relating to the topics in the speaking tasks

Figure 11: The students‟ opinions about the topic‟s familiarity of the speaking tasks Figure 13: The students‟ opinions about the speaking tasks‟ ease

Figure 14: The students‟ opinions about the speaking tasks‟ interesting organization Figure 15: The students‟ response to the adapted tasks for Unit 14

Figure 16: The students‟ response to the adapted tasks for Unit 16

Figure 17: The students‟ scores in the Post-test after Unit 12

Figure 18: The students‟ scores in the Post-test after Unit 16

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

AB STRACT iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv

LIST OF F IGURES AND TAB LES v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii PART I: INTRODUCTION III

1 Rationale for the study III

2 Aims of the study IV

3 Research questions IV

4 Scope of the study IV

5 Methods of the study V

6 Design of the study V PART II: DEVELOPMENT VII CHAP TER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW VII 1.1 The teaching of speaking .VII

b Talk as transaction X

1.1.2 Related factors affecting students’ speaking XI

1.1.2.2 Teachers XII

1.2 Tasks and task adaptation Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2.1 Tasks in FL/SL learning and teaching Error! Bookmark not defined 1.2.2 Task adaptation in FL/SL learning and teaching Error! Bookmark not defined

1.3 Summary Error! Bookmark not defined CHAP TER 2 RESEARCH METHODS Error! Bookmark not defined 2.1 The case of the study Error! Bookmark not defined

2.1.1 Setting of the study Error! Bookmark not defined 2.1.2 The learners Error! Bookmark not defined 2.1.3 Speaking materials Error! Bookmark not defined

2.2 An action research Error! Bookmark not defined

2.2.1 Applied steps Error! Bookmark not defined 2.2.2 The adaptation of speaking tasks in Tieng Anh 10 Error! Bookmark not

defined

2.3 Instrumentation and Procedures Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.1 Instrument 1: Preliminary Survey Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.2 Instrument 2: Oral tests Error! Bookmark not defi ned

ix

2.3.3 Instrument 3: Survey Questionnaire Error! Bookmark not defined 2.3.4 Instrument 4: Survey for Response to Adaptation Error! Bookmark not defined

2.3.5 Instrument 5: Class Observation Sheets Error! Bookmark not defined CHAP TER 3: DATA ANALYSIS Error! Bookmark not defined 3.1 Data analysis of Preliminary Survey (See Appendix 1) Error! Bookmark not defined

3.1.1 Personal information of the students’ taking part in the survey Error! Bookmark not defined

3.1.2 The students’ awareness of studying English in general Error! Bookmark not defined

3.1.3 The students’ opinions about English speaking skills in the textbook Tieng Anh 10 Error! Bookmark not defined 3.1.4 The students’ evaluation of their current speaking lessons .Error! Bookmark not defined

3.1.4.1 The students’ general evaluation of their current speaking lessons

Error! Bookmark not defined

3.1.4.2 The students’ participation in speaking lessons and the reasons .Error! Bookmark not defined

3.1.4.3 The students’ opinions about the way their teachers taught English speaking Error! Bookmark not defined 3.2 Data analysis from initial observations (see appendix 5) Error! Bookmark not defined

3.3 Data analysis of Pre-tests (see Appendix 2) Error! Bookmark not defined 3.4 Data analysis of Survey Questionnaire (see Appendix 3) Error! Bookmark not defined

3.4.1 In terms of language (vocabulary) Error! Bookmark not defined 3.4.2 In terms of topic Error! Bookmark not defined 3.4.3 In terms of speaking tasks Error! Bookmark not defined 3.4.4 The students’ suggestions for the teacher’s adaptation of speaking tasks

Error! Bookmark not defined

3.5 Data analysis of Survey for response to adaptation (see Appendix 4) Error! Bookmark not defined

3.5.1 Data analysis of response to task adaptation of Unit 14, delivered on April 17 th , 2015 (Number of participants: 40) Error! Bookmark not defined 3.5.2 Data analysis of response to task adaptation of Unit 16, delivered on May

14 th , 2015 (Number of participants: 40) Error! Bookmark not defined 3.6 Data analysis from while-observation: Error! Bookmark not defined 3.6.1 While-observation ( See Appendix 5) Error! Bookmark not defined 3.6.2 Reflection on the adaptation Error! Bookmark not defined 3.7 Data analysis from Post-tests Error! Bookmark not defined 3.7.1 Post-test after Unit12 Error! Bookmark not defined 3.7.2 Post-test after Unit 16 Error! Bookmark not defined PART III: CONCLUSION Error! Bookmark not defined

1 Recapitulation Error! Bookmark not defined

2 Major findings and conclusion Error! Bookmark not defined

3 Limitations of the study: Error! Bookmark not defined REFERENCES XIII APPENDIX 1 Error! Bookmark not defined

III

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the study

In the past ten years, teaching English speaking at school has earned a lot of attention and investment from both experts and teachers as well as learners and their communities The three main reasons must be: first, the key practical role of English speaking has received the social awareness; second, modern information technology has brought learners an easy access to native speakers‟ talks; third, many methodology courses sponsored by the government have helped teachers to approach some new teaching metho ds As a result, students‟ speaking ability has improved much in general

Despite all of the above advantages, I see no much progress in the class I teach at Thuong Cat High School By observing, I notice most of my students hesitate to participate in English speaking tasks Even as the teachers have managed to engage them in, their talks show some problems of using accurate and fluent language Some researchers have been particularly interested in the same situation in teaching English skills and tried to improve it by adaptation (Phùng Thị Hoa Mơ, 2010; Nguyễn Thị Trang, 2012) Ho wever, most of them conclude that poor textbooks and students‟ low motivation are the main reasons Whereas the students in my class of 10D1 confirm that they want to speak English much more than reading, writing, grammar, and they find almost all the topics interesting Moreover, the new set of textbooks do have several strong points, which are available task-based contexts and carefully guided communication practice

Considering their English scores at the beginning of the course, I realize that most

of my students are of low level, some are better but no one is excellent Therefore, I

do a preliminary research, search the Internet and read ESL/EFL studies I find that spoken discourse has its own characteristics and, thus, the teaching must be

distinctive I wonder if I can help them by providing them with more language input together with knowledge background, and by adapting some speaking tasks in the

textbook „Tiếng Anh 10‟ I do hope that these changes will help them to have such

achievements as participating more in speaking activities and producing somewhat more accurate and fluent language

All of these above have inspired me to conduct the study titled “Adapting speaking

tasks in the textbook Tieng Anh 10 to improve the effectiveness of speaking lessons

at Thuong Cat High School: A case study.”

2 Aims of the study

The study is aimed at improving the effectiveness of English speaking lessons for the 10th grade students at Thuong Cat High School by means of the adaptation of

speaking tasks in the textbook „Tieng Anh 10‟

4 Scope of the study

Task adaptation is such a broad topic that it cannot be wholly discussed within the

framework of this paper; therefore, only one specific aspect will be central to the speaking tasks‟ adaptation

The study focuses on only one class of grade-10 students, so the results of the study are not applied to all students at Thuong Cat High School or ones at other high school

V

5 Methods of the study

First, the study titled “Adapting speaking tasks in the textbook Tieng Anh 10 to

improve the effectiveness of speaking lessons at Thuong Cat High School.” is a case study It is conducted in class 10D1 at Thuong Cat High School in Bac Tu Liem, Hanoi City 40 students of class 10D1 are all at the age of 17 All of them have learnt English since they were at grade 3, but most of them are low-level English speakers Though they pay much attention to study English, their English is

not very good in general and their speaking ability is of low level in particular

Second, the study is an action research According to Nunan (1992: 19), an action

research includes seven steps They are: initiation, preliminary investigation,

hypothesis, intervention, evaluation, dissemination and follow-up Details of these

steps will be presented in chapter 2 of Part II

The action research lasts during the second term from Unit 9 to Unit 16 It is about

18 weeks Oral tests together with survey questionnaire and observations are the main instruments of data collection They are delivered to 40 grade-10 students to collect individual scores, their opinions about speaking tasks in the textbook and their behaviors while doing speaking tasks

Based on the data, together with advantages in methodology, the speaking tasks are adapted and speaking activities are implemented as pilot teaching is employed to realize the objectives of the action research Two approaches to adaptation that

guide this research are making accuracy-based practice meaningful and adapting

fluency-based activities, Hedge (2000: 273- 281)

6 Design of the study

The study consists of three main parts namely Introduction, Development and

Conclusion