Developing learner autonomy in learning speaking skill for the first year english major students at the university of commerce

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ----***---- PHẠM THỊ PHƯỢNG DEVELOPING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN LEARNING SPEAKING SKILL FOR THE FIRST YEAR

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

***

PHẠM THỊ PHƯỢNG

DEVELOPING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN LEARNING SPEAKING SKILL FOR THE FIRST YEAR ENGLISH- MAJOR STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF

COMMERCE: AN ACTION RESEARCH

(Phát huy tính tự chủ đối với kỹ năng nói cho sinh viên chuyên ngữ năm thứ nhất tại trường Đại học Thương mại: Nghiên cứu áp dụng)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field : English Methodology Code : 60 14 10

Hanoi, 2010

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

***

PHẠM THỊ PHƯỢNG

DEVELOPING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN LEARNING SPEAKING SKILL FOR THE FIRST YEAR ENGLISH- MAJOR STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF COMMERCE: AN ACTION RESEARCH

(Phát huy tính tự chủ đối với kỹ năng nói cho sinh viên chuyên ngành

tiếng Anh năm thứ nhất tại trường Đại học Thương mại:

Nghiên cứu áp dụng)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field : English Methodology Code : 60 14 10

Supervisor : Đỗ Bá Qu ý, M.Ed Hanoi, 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vi

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale for the study 1

2 Aims of the study 2

4 Scope of the study 3

5 Structure of the study 3

PART B DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

1.1 Learner autonomy 4

1.1.1 Definition of autonomy 4

1.1.2 Roles of autonomy 5

1.1.3 Characteristics of learner autonomy 7

1.1.4 Teacher‟s roles in learner autonomy 9

1.1.5 Ways to develop autonomy 10

1.2 Speaking skill 13

1.2.1 The nature of speaking and characteristics of an effective speaking lesson 13

1.2.2 Autonomy in speaking skill 14

CHAPTER 2 AN OVERVIEW OF TEACHING AND LEARNING SITUATION AT ENGLISH DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF COMMERCE (VUC) 17

2.1 English department at VUC 17

2.2 The teaching syllabus for speaking skill 17

2.3 The opportunities and constraints of the context 19

2.3.1 The opportunities of the context 19

2.3.2 The constraints of the context 19

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 20

3.1 Research question 20

3.2 Subjects of the study 20

3.3 Research design 20

3.3.1 Description of data collection instruments 23

3.3.2 Detailed description of module 1 24

3.3.3 Detailed description of module 2 25

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 27

4.1 Students‟ performance and attitudes towards the project 27

4.2 Student‟s speaking proficiency 31

4.3 Students‟ attitudes towards learning process 33

PART C CONCLUSION 36

1 Conclusions 36

2 Recommendations 36

3 Limitations 38

4 Suggestions for further study 38

REFERENCES 39 APPENDIX 1 I APPENDIX 2 V APPENDIX 3 VI APPENDIX 4 VII APPENDIX 5 X APPENDIX 6 XIII APPENDIX 7 XVI APPENDIX 8 XVII APPENDIX 9 XVIII

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1: Characteristics of independent learning 8

Table 2: Students‟ attitudes and performance during the project 27

Table 3: The benefits of the projects to the students 29

Table 4: Students‟ self-evaluation of their speaking skill 32

Figure 1: The Learner Independence Continuum 8

Figure 2: Students‟ opinions on the continuity of a similar project 30

Figure 3: Level of students‟ involvement during the project 31

Figure 4: Students‟ changes in their perception of learner autonomy 34

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the study

Over the last three decades, learner autonomy in language learning has been a “buzz-word” in the field of second language education In fact, few teachers will disagree with the importance

of helping language learners become more self-directed It is so robust that there are numerous books and articles (Holec, 1981; Dickinson 1987; Riley 1988; Little, 1991; Little, 1999; Littlewood, 1999; Tudor, 1996, etc.) and the proliferation of researches on the theme (Kavaliauskiene, 2003; Ali, 2000; Coombe, 2001; Barrett & Daborn, 2001; Malcolm, 2001; Luchini & Rosello, 2007, etc.)

Despite the concerted effort made to implant learner autonomy, it is still at a low level in the university setting in Vietnam The students in University of Commerce are of no exception Even the students who major in English exhibit low responsibility in their English - learning process The students are lukewarm and lack of determination and self-discipline to learn independently Observations in the classrooms reveal the lack of the cooperative learning The general atmosphere in the class seems to be very formal Students only raise their voices once they are called upon When asked to work in pairs and groups in speaking lessons, they start

to write down their own ideas as a long presentation or some key points and revise their own work individually, and ready to communicate only when they are perfectly sure of their part and their ideas Furthermore, they are generally reluctant to question the teacher or give their opinions

An open discussion in Vietnamese with the students explicates that their low autonomy has resulted from psychological, social and personal grounds Their misleading beliefs, minute confidence, restricted knowledge as well as the previous learning experience are agreed upon

as the primary causes of their passive learning style The beliefs and attitudes learners hold have a profound influence on their learning behaviors It is, therefore, essential to assist students in moving towards greater autonomy, especially in learning speaking Teachers should validate the importance of autonomy to the students as an ancient proverb going “Give

a man a fish, feed him for a day Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.”

This situation compels the conduction of this research to aid students in their second language learning and life-long learning This is genuinely no easy task since autonomy does not flourish automatically Due to the highly complex nature of language and language learning,

augmenting autonomy in language learners often proves to be a doubly difficult objective Although few researches have been done in Vietnam to boost student‟s active engagement in speaking, a large number of studies in other countries have reported favorable results in developing their students‟ autonomy Experimental practice has been exploited to empower teachers by bringing a research perspective into their classrooms, where ordinary classroom activities are modified for their investigative potential Most of them use awareness-raising activities, portfolio, self-assessment, homework and assignment in their studies Inaugurated from these practices, the present paper is an attempt to search the current researches then devise a pertinent project of actions for the students in English Department, University of Commerce (VUC), who have mediocre level of learning autonomy The expectation is to help learners generate a sense of autonomy in language learning, elevate the students‟ speaking skill as well as render effective speaking lessons

2 Aims of the study

This research aims at

- identifying the current VUC English – major freshmen‟s autonomy in speaking skill

- working out the appropriate scheme of actions to improve the situation

- finding out the effectiveness of the selected activities in the action plan

- reflecting the results of the study

From the outcomes, some implications will be suggested for handling and applying classroom activities to promote the students‟ autonomy in learning speaking

In particular, it is conducted to ascertain the answer to the following question:

Can raising students' awareness of the importance of learner autonomy and application of selected activities help improve autonomy in learning speaking skill for first year English- major students at the University of Commerce ?

3 Methods of study

As mentioned above, this is an action research to solve the problem of low level of learner autonomy at English Department, VUC To reach the goal, a project is launched into the classroom environment It is divided into two modules, the former consists of selected awareness-raising activities, learner contract signing, and essential speaking-strategies training activities to raise students‟ awareness of the problem as well as equip them with necessary skills to acquire more confidence in speaking skill The latter pertains to the

practice of such skills in doing their home assignments and in-class activities to habituate their speaking practice and active engagement Besides, public appearance is deferred to the final stage, when students have become more experienced Specifically, students practice working in pairs before having public speaking to amplify their self-reliance progressively After the action, questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations are conducted to get the feedback The data aims at getting the students evaluation on the activities and more remarkably, to examine whether they become more autonomous

4 Scope of the study

Learner autonomy is undoubted to be the vast issue in the second language learning It encompasses different aspects and areas Therefore, this study touches upon only one researchable aspect of autonomy, i.e., developing autonomy in speaking skill In the literature, there is a range of actions to ensure students self-directed learning; however, several pertinent activities are adopted in consideration of the context of University of Commerce and the small scale of this research for the sake of limited time and students‟ low level Furthermore, the subjects of this study are the first year students who major in English as these freshmen often exhibit the least autonomy in learning and implore a good start for their students‟ life

5 Structure of the study

This paper is organized into three main parts as follows:

Part C: Conclusion

This last part of the study recaps the main content of the study and deals with some suggestions for improving student‟s autonomy in studying speaking skill In addition, it also poses several directions for future research

PART B DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter serves as the theoretical background for the study The definitions and roles of autonomy and speaking skill were given to clarify the subject matters investigated and the significance of the matters Moreover, the characteristics of autonomy, roles of teachers and ways to develop learner autonomy receive more details and attention as to find out an efficient learner autonomy enhancing process

1.1 Learner autonomy

1.1.1 Definition of autonomy

Nowadays, the language teaching has become more and more communication-oriented, pushing the traditional classroom teaching to a situation of big challenge The learner-centered ones are replacing the traditional classrooms where teachers play the role of knowledge transmission This learner-centered approach in EFL has brought out the notion of leaner autonomy in learning EFL

Among the scholars in this field, Holec, one of the earliest advocates of autonomy in language teaching Holec began by defining learner autonomy as the “ability to take charge of one‟s own learning” (1981, p 3) He endorses that this ability “is not inborn but must be acquired either by “natural” means or by formal learning, i.e in a systematic, deliberate way”, and stresses the idea of man as “producer of his society” but not “product of his society” (Holec

1981, p.1) His definition remains the basis for many researchers Nevertheless, there is no consensus as to what the term “autonomy” really is For Little (1999), autonomy is “a capacity for a certain range of highly explicit behavior that embraces both the process and the content of learning” (p 11) Littlewood (1999, p 73) regards autonomy in educational terms

as “involving students‟ capacity to use their learning independently of teachers.” Scharle and Szabo (2000, p 4) holds that autonomy means “the freedom and ability to manage one‟s own affairs, which entails the right to make decisions as well.”

Although definitions of learner autonomy have varied, they all agree that students should take responsibility for their own learning Taking responsibility involves learners in taking ownership (partial or total) of processes which have traditionally belonged to the teacher, such

as deciding on learning objectives, selecting learning methods and assessing progress

Since it is acknowledged that none of us can escape entirely from the cultural assumptions and practices that have shaped us, the concept of learner autonomy has shifted from individual

to situational view As Riley (1988, p 17) and Tudor (1996, pp 141-142) suggest, the ideas and practice of autonomy and learner-centeredness are ethnocentric Little (1999) remarks that “we must always pay careful attention to the cultural setting in which learning takes place” as “all learning is socially situated and culturally constrained” (pp 15-16) In other words, the concept of autonomy certainly incorporates aspects of learners' national or regional cultures Thus, we should match aspects of autonomy with the characteristics and needs of our learners in relation to our specific contexts

Although autonomy has been interpreted differently, it is essential to point out what autonomy

is not Little (1991, p.3) indicates five misconceptions about autonomy: 1) autonomy is synonymous with self-instruction, 2) autonomous learners make the teacher redundant, 3) autonomy is a new methodology, 4) autonomy is a single easily described behavior, and 5) autonomy is a steady state achieved by certain learners What needs to be highlighted is that autonomy is a universal human capacity that cannot be nurtured overnight Teachers should create an autonomous leaning environment in relation to a specific context to cultivate a kind

of learner who can continue their life-long learning independently

1.1.2 Roles of autonomy

Developing learner autonomy has sound theoretical, practical and experiential grounds It is rooted on the theory of constructivism and learner-centered, which are reckoned as the current profitable trends in second language learning and a great number of proven researches in the field

Constructivists assert that different men construe the universe in different way and their perception of the world can only achieved by means of successive own discoveries and investigations (Kelly, 1963) Consequently, to learn a second language successfully, students must “take proactive roles to build up and construct the knowledge” (Candy, 1991, p.270) rather than being taught by others

In addition, autonomy is closely related with and deemed to be borne out of learner-centered approach The learner-centered theory posits that learners must be the focus and the initiators

as well as the responsible actor assuring the success of learning a language but not the teachers It embraces improving the student‟s awareness of himself or herself as a learner, the

process of language learning and use, the nature of the target language and language use strategies (Dickinson, 1987; Holec, 1981; Wenden & Rubin, 1987) Hence, this novel approach underpins the individualization of instruction, the focus on the process of learning, not on the product itself

In reality, there is an overriding need to take more responsibilities in studying a foreign language The current syllabus and program evince the reduction in classroom time and the current Vietnamese context cannot offer many opportunities to use a language outside class It

is misleading to assume that reducing the number of class meetings means reducing students‟ workload Instead, the shift to credit program in university curricula necessitates more students‟ control and responsibility over their own learning They must continue learning on their own after leaving the language course This self-study evidently helps enrich the input and skills (Deci, 1995)

The situation current reinforces the need to cultivate and foster learner autonomy Evidently, there are a great number of researches in the field which have proved the values of learner autonomy development, showing the intertwined relationship between autonomy and motivation When learners are proactively committed to their learning, the problem of motivation is testified to be solved In Deci‟s words, “autonomy is nourished by, but in turn nourishes our intrinsic motivation, our proactive interest in the world around us” (1995, p 2) This relationship works in both directions with different phases in a learner‟s learning progress Although we cannot assume that the relationship between autonomy and motivation

is always one in which autonomy leads to motivation, we can conclude undoubtedly that developing autonomy helps students get better results (Deci, 1995)

Learner autonomy can be regarded as an offspring of learner-centered approach, which is an innovative and effective one in the literature of second language learning The benefits of cultivating autonomy in learners have been disclosed by a variety of researchers and practitioners Learner autonomy can lead to increase in motivation and cooperation as well as responsibilities in their studying process, which means more effective learning Furthermore, the concept of autonomy is not restricted in school aspect Once students acquire autonomy in learning in the school curriculum, they slip easily into autonomy for other activities outside class In other words, autonomous learners evolve life-long learning and hereby they are capable of authoring the world in which they live

1.1.3 Characteristics of learner autonomy

As regards characteristics of learner autonomy, scholars all centre on the hypothesis that learner autonomy entails reflective involvement in planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating learning However, different scholars may contribute additional attributes of learner autonomy to these core features

Scharle and Szabo (2000) proclaim that an autonomous student must have built four blocks, i.e., 1) motivation and self-confidence, 2) monitoring and evaluation, 3) learning strategies, and 4) cooperation and group cohesion While motivation and self-confidence refer to the intrinsic motivation and willingness to take responsibility in learning, cooperation and group cohesion indicates that learners should liaise with each other in the learning process The second and third factors cover the same notion as the core features Monitoring skills emphasize the need to focus on the process of learning rather than the product This step is followed by self-evaluation, which means learners judge their own works as objectively as they can, acknowledging their level of proficiency, their strong and weak points

In the same line, Deci (1995) has defended three “pedagogical principles” of autonomy The concept of “learner involvement” in his work equates with motivation and self-confidence proposed by Scharle and Szabo (2000); and his definition of “learner reflection” associates with learners‟ monitoring and self-evaluation He further adds “appropriate langue use” implying that autonomy in language learning and autonomy in language use are two side of the same coin (communicative dimension) Consequently, in formal language learning, the scope of learner autonomy is always constrained by what the learner can do in the target language In other words, language learning depends principally on language use For instance,

we can learn to speak only by speaking

The above-mentioned attributes of learner autonomy are, however, too broad and need to be further broken down into specific possible features for the sake of researching Table 1 below shows the characteristics of dependent learners and independent learners compiled from a number of sources (Omaggio, 1978, cited in Wenden, 1998, pp 41-42; Holec, 1981; Dickinson, 1987; Little, 1991; Broady & Kenning, 1996; Barnett, 1993)

1 do not set learning goals

2 only work when extrinsic motivators such

1 plan their learning and set goals

2 are intrinsically motivated by making

as grades or rewards are offered

3 do not reflect on how well they are learning

and stick to the fixed hypotheses

4 cannot make decisions about their learning

5 do not know their own strengths and

weaknesses

6 do not know their learning styles and

different strategies for learning

7 make mistakes or not knowing is shameful

8 rely heavily on teachers and think teachers

is wholly responsible for their learning

9 study, translate and memorize knowledge

10 do not connect classroom learning with the

real world

progress in learning

3 often reflect on the learning process and progress, reject hypotheses that do not apply

4 can make well-informed learning decisions

5 are aware of their strengths and weaknesses

6 have insights into their learning styles and strategies

7 learn from mistakes or making

question-8 are self-reliant for own learning

9 use and practice skills, analyze a little

10 connect classroom learning with the real world

Table 1: Characteristics of independent learning

It is noteworthy that learner autonomy is viewed as “a continuum” rather than the separation

of only two concepts of dependent and independent learning (Candy, 1991) Independence (autonomy) ranges across a continuum (Figure 1) with one end as dependent learners who have little opportunity to mellow independent learning skills; and at the other end as learners who are self-directed, self-motivated and capable of learning without a teacher Whilst most learners would be somewhere in between the two extremes, good learners are bound to move along the continuum toward to the right-hand-side end

Dependent Learners _ Independent Learners

Figure 1: The Learner Independence Continuum

Independent learning means that a student need to work alone However, it does not mean that developing learner autonomy requires no teachers‟ assistance In fact, teachers play a significant part in making adjustments to their teaching practice which will contribute purposefully to facilitating this development Therefore, the next part will present fundamental roles of teachers in learner autonomy upholding

1.1.4 Teacher’s roles in learner autonomy

Autonomous learning is not leaving students to fend for themselves or sitting students in front

of computers and hoping they will learn It must be the characteristic expected to nurture in students with the aids from teachers Teachers take responsibility for managing and consulting during the process

First and foremost, teachers become less of a knowledge transmitter and more of a facilitator Relinquishing teacher‟s control is parallel with providing sufficient guidance to smooth learners‟ way into autonomous learning, and into developing purposefulness and creativity in doing so (Dickinson, 1995) Teachers supervise students in their own learning-preference discovery and create opportunities for their experience

Autonomous learning magnitude necessarily entails difficulties in many aspects, and different students may have problems in different ways To that end, teachers are also the counselors helping students with individual obstacles Both facilitators and counselors provide psychology-social and technical supports, the difference between the two is that while the former mainly works with groups, the latter in one-to-one situations (Voller, 1997) According to Riley (1988), counseling involves a great deal of work such as eliciting information about aims, needs and wishes, helping with planning, suggesting materials and sources, taking part in interaction, offering alternatives, listening and responding, interpreting information, giving feedback on self-assessment, and being positive and supportive, etc Facilitating and counseling learners is not just a matter of pointing them in the right direction

- it is also to do with motivation, behaviors, and practical and emotional support Teachers, therefore, should motivate students in acquiring learning independence as well as language skills Beside stimulating factors, autonomy requires a conscious awareness of the learning process, strategies and styles Learner strategies are a key to and “prerequisite” for learner autonomy (Weden, 1998) Learners can take care of their own learning only when he has become more mature and made use of the pertinent strategies Thus, teachers have to expedite learners to know what learning strategy is and how imperative it is in enhancing autonomous learning

To recap, the teacher‟s function should become less dominant, but not less important Instead

of absolving themselves of all responsibility teachers, they play more roles than before as facilitators, counselors, motivators, awareness raisers as well as resources in this development

This implies the “reappraisal of teachers and learners‟ roles” (Lynch 2001, p 394) Autonomy inevitably involves a change in power relationships and in both teachers‟ attitudes

However, this change cannot occur effortlessly It is a process and it should be characterized

as “a continuum” (Voller, 1997, p 100) In accordance with this viewpoint, Sharle and Szabo (2000) illustrate a continuum of teacher attitudes ranging from traditional to learner autonomy attitude and suggest that teachers should move toward the right hand side of the continuum (teacher autonomy attitude) They further denote that this transition should be gradual rather than abrupt and dramatic to allow time for the involved parties to adapt themselves to the new practices It is worth noticing that however difficult and time-consuming the transformation will be, it is the first priority for the teachers to modify themselves first if they expect to change their students‟ attitudes

1.1.5 Ways to develop autonomy

As learner autonomy is so pivotal in second language acquisition, scholars, researchers and teachers have long been searching for methods to magnify this character in learners It is suggested that this transition must be taken through raising awareness, changing attitudes, and transferring roles (Scharle & Szabo, 2000)

The starting stage in cultivating autonomy in learners is raising awareness of pedagogical goals, contents and strategies (Nunan, 1997) This phase functions as an impetus to initiate learning the second language and “opening the learner‟s eyes to new ways of thinking about their learning” (Scharle & Szabo, 2000, p 15) It is grounded in the belief that even when teachers provide all the necessary circumstances and input, learning cannot happen if learner

is not willing to contribute Thus, teachers must initially present new perspective and new experience to learners and encourage them to think consciously in their inner learning processes This is a tightly-teacher-controlled stage on the consumption that learner are not yet responsible in their learning

However, only raising students‟ awareness cannot guarantee students‟ self-directed learning Once they take on new viewpoints in learning purposes, processes and the nature of language learning, they should accustom these attitudes and strategies introduced in the first phase This can be done by a series of activities in which students “consciously practice learning strategies” which requiring more learner initiative and higher level of responsibility (Scharle

& Szabo, 2000, p 50) Additionally, group work and pair work are encouraged to heighten

cooperation, which reduces the dominance of learner-teacher interaction, encourages students

to rely on each other and on themselves, and spreads responsibility for the achievement of a task more evenly among students To achieve the openness (allowing more room for learner imitativeness), negotiation activities are often the best options However, it takes time to change someone‟s belief and habit, especially when it is the deeply-rooted one Accordingly, repeatability in doing these activities are momentous to shape and consolidate new beliefs and habits

The last and simultaneously effort-intensive phase is transferring roles as the result of a considerable change in classroom management Transferring roles is decisive in that “For one, learners can only assume responsibility for their learning if they have some control over the learning process For the other, increasing independence may evoke and reinforce responsibility and autonomous attitudes” (Scharle & Szabo, 2000, p 80) Teachers handle over roles that are traditionally held by themselves However, these loosely structured activities do not entail teacher‟s freedom of charge It is crucial for the teacher to establish a good relationship providing a harmonious supportive environment, facilitating the process of reorientation and personal discovery (Kelly, 1996, cited in Lee, 1998) Furthermore, peer support in this environment is weightier pushing learners in acquiring “a capacity and willingness to act independently and in cooperation with others, as a socially responsible person.” (Dam, 1995, p 1, cited in Lee, 1998)

Sharle and Szabo (2000) hold that this three-phase process should be seen as a smooth process where one stage develops into the next The activities they provide in their book should be considered as suggestive ones since “autonomy has to be adapted to different cultural contexts” (Holec, 1981) and accordance with students‟ level of autonomy at different stages Different classroom cultures may entail different teachers‟ responsibilities and students‟ roles, which means the borderline between the suggested activities in changing awareness and transferring attitudes are vague In other words, to cultivate learner autonomy, learners should first have the right attitude towards learning and knowledge of strategies in second language learning Secondly, they must involve in the learning process themselves as “language learning depends vitally on language use” (Deci, 1995) Practitioners, researchers have suggested a number of activities for learners‟ involvement They have reported on the effectiveness of using motivating activities (Barrett & Daborn, 2001; Kavaliauskiene, 2003; Luchini & Rosello, 2007); portfolios, assignments, projects and homework (Coombe, 2001;

Ali, 2000; Malcolm, 2001; Nakayama, 2000; Kavaliauskiene, 2003), self evaluation and peer assessment, diary and journal keeping on strengthening their responsibility and nourish this activities

In short, there are three phases in culminating learner autonomy, namely raising awareness, changing attitudes and transferring roles The activities in each part should be adapted in line with students‟ level of self-direction and educational milieu During the transition, motivation

is crucial as learning is usually most efficient and rapid when the learner is motivated and attentive A range of current perspectives has now put motivation on a different footing, integrating psychological considerations with social conditions The question is how to make students like what is required The answer lies in the students‟ investment in studying Even when students like the subject, learning will not happen if they do not invest enough time, money and energy “Required motivation” is now said to be “more important to acknowledge the diversity of motivations and reorient them in a more holistic and richer framework of SLA” (Zuengler & Miller, 2006) Bony Norton Peirce (1995) used the term „investment‟ to emphasis on the commitment to target language study students‟

Whereas other researchers often focus on one of these three steps to promote students‟ learning responsibility (only raising students‟ awareness of the matter, or asking students to keep portfolio and assignment, or letting them to self-assess, the researcher decided to take the first and the second stage, bearing in mind the low level of autonomy and little speaking lesson experience of her students as well as the time constraint of the study As there is not enough time and the students are not mature enough to reach the other end of the autonomy continuum, the final stage is left to maybe the next terms

Consequently, the author of this research decided to adopt selective activities in the first two stages suggested by Scharle and Szabo (2000) and her tailored assignment setting for the students to make ensure that they invest adequate time, effort and money in their learning Also, students‟ signing a learner contract is used to ascertain their commitment to what they are required to do Like other researchers investigating the realm of learner autonomy, the researcher also uses assignments to boost learner responsibility, but in other forms to suit her own teaching lieu As they have never learn speaking before, they must be well-equipped by having chances to practice functional language and speaking techniques Thus, the intervention starts first with raising matter awareness and subject awareness then and regular assignment to implant the independent learning style in the students

1.2 Speaking skill

1.2.1 The nature of speaking and characteristics of an effective speaking lesson

Speaking skill has been placed more weight in comparison with other skills as it is the first step to identify language ability Knowing a language means being able to speak the language (Pattison, 1987) It is the vehicle to establish and maintain social relationships as well as achieve professional advancement In particular, speaking has two principal functions: transactional function and interactional function While the former is primarily concerned with the transfer of information, the latter involves the maintenance of social relationships Moreover, only by speaking a language can we ever hope to learn it In order to acquire the skills, communicative activities must be applied in class to aid students to obtain not only accuracy but also fluency in their speech

Pertaining to characteristics of an effective speaking lesson, Penny Ur (1996) has a comprehensive look at the issue In her viewpoint, there are four characteristics to determine whether the speaking lesson is fruitful or not as follows:

 Learners keep talking in most of the time allowed for the activity in which the learners are the centre of the activity and the interference by the teacher is little

 Participation is evenly distributed among learners

 All group members are motivated in the activities thanks to an interesting topic or their desire to achieve the task objective

 Language use is appropriate, easy to understand and quite accurate

The focal point in assessing a speaking lesson is students‟ active participation It cannot be a speaking lesson if the students do not speak the target language, let alone managing effective lesson Deci (1995) is correct in claiming that autonomy must include language use Using language or speaking the language is the prerequisite to attain the objective Students‟ involvement is significant but must be equal amongst the participants While working in pairs

or groups, one student dominating the situation and speaking most of the time may give rise to the breakdown of the communication and it cannot be an efficacious lesson Hence, all of the students should be motivated to contribute to the activities

Furthermore, Ur (1996) does have a good balance between accuracy and fluency This set of characters reveals that fluency and meaning should be a focal point of the speaking lesson; however, accuracy should not be disregarded Accuracy is the means to ensure the act of

getting the message right Without appropriate correction and adequate attention to accuracy, students may run the risk of fossilizing the mistakes, which hinders the process of reaching an advanced level in the target skill

Grounded in the literature, the hereinafter characteristics of an efficient speaking lesson are drawn out, serving as the criteria for the assessments of my experimental speaking lessons

 Active and equal participation

 Learner-centeredness

 Message oriented communication

 Motivation

 Cooperation

 Acceptable level of accuracy

1.2.2 Autonomy in speaking skill

The principle issues relating learner autonomy and speaking skill have so far been touched upon It is vital to investigate how autonomy is revealed and manifested in speaking skill To put it another way, this part deals with the characteristics of learner autonomy in speaking and the practice to foster their autonomy in this skill

Thornbury (2006, pp 87-92) puts forward five characteristics of an autonomous speaker:

 Speed: working fast, spontaneously and coping with unpredictability

 Economy: ignoring inessentials and knowing how to carry out tasks with minimal means

 Accuracy: being quick at detecting and rejecting errors

 Anticipation: thinking and planning ahead

 Reliability: being versatile, i.e performing a range of different speaking tasks range of different topic, and being reliable even adverse conditions

This autonomy is partly due to the increased automaticity of his language production, what he experienced as “feeling fluent” As we have seen, the ability to automatize the more mechanical elements of a task so as to free attention for higher-level activities The autonomy

in speaking increases in proportion to the automaticity of his language production This is the ability to automatize the more mechanical elements to situational and functional elements of a task Besides, learners need to be able to “marshal their newly acquired skills and deploy them unassisted and under what are called real operating conditions” (Thornbury, 2006, p 89)

Along similar line, Rubin and Thompson (1994, p 75) gives several techniques which autonomous students often use in speaking skill:

 Rehearsal: rehearsing the situation in their heads to make sure they can do it or rehearsing with another students

 Automatic use: imagining what they would say in the foreign language in different situations (when they are in a store or restaurant, etc.)

 Paraphrasing: trying to say something in another way

 Topic changing: switching to the topic they know to maintain interaction in the target language

In socio-cultural perspective, autonomy is defined as the capacity to self-regulate performance

as a result of gaining control over skills that were formerly other-regulated In classroom one, this is learners need to be given opportunities to talk freely about subjects of their own choice Like autonomy development in other skills, autonomy development in speaking includes three previously mentioned phases Specifically, it commences with awareness-raising activities in which learners learn features of spoken language This is followed by appropriate activities to aid them to gain control of these features, before reaping full autonomy as independent speakers in a range of different spoken genres

These activities can be selected from the repertoire of learner autonomy raising techniques mentioned in the preceding sections with preference for activities requiring more speaking practices For instance, it is beneficial to utilize homework assignments, tape diaries (learners keep a taped diary by recording themselves regularly at home on audiotape and submitting this to the teacher for feedback), audio and video conferencing (these are virtual meetings, in which two or more people communicate via a live audio or video link over the Internet.), human-computer interaction (Students use computer program called “chatterbot” to practice speaking with the computer instead of a person) and oral portfolios (learners reflect on their out-of-class speaking experiences in oral form.)

To sum up, learner autonomy improving process encompasses three phrases (raising awareness, changing roles and transferring roles) In any event, it requires students‟ investment in internalizing the target language, and it correlates with students‟ achievement in learning the language skill Besides, teachers‟ roles are crucial in this process as awareness raisers, facilitators, counselors, motivators and resources Rooted in this literature, it is

pertinent to carry out the action research as a project which encompasses two different modules The first one deals with raising student‟s awareness of autonomy and nature of second language acquisition This is succeeded by assignment to form the habit of learning autonomously for the students

CHAPTER 2 AN OVERVIEW OF TEACHING AND LEARNING SITUATION AT ENGLISH DEPARTMENT, UNIVERSITY OF COMMERCE (VUC)

This part describes the teaching context at Vietnam University of Commerce (VUC) with the analysis of the opportunities and constraints it brings about Although English is taught to both English-major and non-English-major students, my discussion is focused on English major ones who are the target population of this study

2.1 English department at VUC

With the increasing demand of English-competent workforce, English Department was established at VUC in 2007 The objective of this institution is to provide students with a command of English to use it fruitfully in their future workplace, particularly in enterprises The English major students aged 18-20 come from various regions in Vietnam They must take examinations in English, literature and math to get entrance to VUC The model of English examination is multiple-choice questions (MCQ) with the focus on grammar and reading proficiency Each year, over 200 students enroll in the department

There are thirty- five teachers aged 25-57 at the English Department of VUC Young teachers take large percentage (80%) and the number is always on the rise The majority of young teachers possess a bachelor degree in English language teaching and the rest are taking an MA

or MBA courses A small percentage of the senior teachers (aged 40-57) were trained in service program In general, the teaching staff is always eager for knowledge, energetic and willing to apply better ways to fortify their teaching quality

in-2.2 The teaching syllabus for speaking skill

The English major students enjoy a whole language approach and integrated activities The program consists of 141 credits for all the Business English subjects in the six semesters (macro skills, micro skills and others related to business) Of the total 141 credits, 72 are allotted to the development of 4 language skills and 36 credits for other English courses (phonetics, semantics, literature, business, translation, etc.) The rest are rationed to the general subjects applied for all of the VUC students (taught in Vietnamese)

The textbook used for developing students‟ four skills is “The business” series intermediate, Intermediate, and Upper-intermediate) by Karen Richardson, Marie Kavangh, John Sydes and Paul Emmerson They adhere to communicative approach Each unit

(Pre-comprises six sections: Reading and listening, speaking, writing and a case study The four skills are taught integratedly throughout the syllabus

With reference to assessment, 10% of the total mark goes for participation and attendance, 30% for mid-term tests and presentation, and 60% for final test The target for the first-year English students is the Pre-intermediate level, which is “the ability to use English to communicate effectively in social situations … and a command of fundamental business terminology” (quoted from VUC‟s speaking syllabus for 1st year English majors -2007)

In the first year, the students study four subjects English I.1, I.2, I.3 and I.4, each of which is allotted three credits (45.15.15) It means students will have 42 periods for class meetings, 15 for group presentations, and 15 for self-study (50 minutes a period) The syllabus for the first year students is theme-based as briefed below:

2 Dealing with customers Telephoning-handling complaints

3 Operations Presentations – signposts and stepping stones

6 The organization Interrupting in meetings

7 The stock markets Negotiators – making offers, agreeing deadlines

8 Going global Presentations – handling questions

Every four units will be taught at one semester, and each semester comprises two stages Each stage is taught with two units and three credits Each stage‟s duration is in 6 weeks (12 periods a week) Therefore, this action research is launched when students is on stage two of the syllabus, learning unit 3 and 4 As revealed above, there are limited speaking techniques taught In reality, this problem is exaggerated when the students‟ level of speaking is mostly elementary; more extra materials need to be designed by teachers to ease students‟ hardships

in the learning process

2.3 The opportunities and constraints of the context

2.3.1 The opportunities of the context

The context offers several opportunities for the teaching and learning at the English Department, VUC Firstly, students come from different areas around Vietnam; they bring with them a diversification of background knowledge as well as identities and characters Secondly, most of the teachers in the department are young and active; they are enthusiastic and ready to change for the better However, diverse limitations exist leading to the unfavorable learning and teaching results

2.3.2 The constraints of the context

Constraints come from all people of concern in the program Firstly, although almost students are both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated, their investment appears not to suffice for the subject Their fast satisfaction of their success in winning a position at a university and the deeply-rooted dependent attitudes deprive them of time and efforts for English learning

To put it another way, good result cannot be expected with low commitment to the target language study Secondly, since the students used to strive for the discrete-oriented entrance examination with reading and grammar competency only, their communicative competence are mainly at low level Although they can do MCQ grammar tests well, most of them are incapable of writing correct and comprehensible sentences, i.e the ability to negotiate meaning is not satisfactory To make it worse, the opportunities for them to negotiate with the native speakers are meager Besides, the cultural aspect counteracts the application of new teaching approaches In primary and secondary school, they used to be taught in teacher-centered and teacher-led approach They did not raise their voice if they were not called upon

by the teachers Teachers were the authorities and whatever teachers said was thought to be correct Interruptions or arguments are considered insolent In brief, they are not pro-active enough to negotiate participatory interaction

In summary, young and enthusiastic cohort of teachers and students‟ background diversification have brought advantages for the teaching and learning context However, unfavorable language environment and non-autonomous learning methods have triggered difficulties for the teachers in improving the students‟ English proficiency

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the research question and the method of study to answer this question It therefore provides a description of the subjects of the study and the procedure for carrying out the research with details of the action plan

3.1 Research question

In order to meet the objective of the study, the following research question is generated:

Can raising students' awareness of the importance of learner autonomy and application of selected activities help improve autonomy in learning speaking skill for first year English- major students at the University of Commerce ?

3.2 Subjects of the study

The subjects are 28 students aged 18-20, with 26 female and two males in my own class Their negative attitudes towards state-of-the-art approaches and the unsatisfactory study results compel several actions to renovate the situation In reality, they appear to have experience undue stress when expected to participate actively and become dependent in the learning process This stress is often caused by their extensive teaching culture at primary and secondary schools where students raising their voices without any permission from teachers are considered to be discourteous Furthermore, they are prone to the environments in which the teacher gives them each direction with corresponding available materials to accomplish each step This may account for the fact that students misunderstand or even lose respect for a teacher who expects them to work collaboratively with other students and study independently rather than takes on the traditional role of teacher as the main source of knowledge Thus, giving empowerment to students must be parallel with changing their attitudes towards this process The newcomers making the transition from secondary school to university need help in organizing themselves as autonomous students These freshmen should be properly primed for directing their own learning process, setting as a good foothold for the next coming school years and in the long run for their life-long study

3.3 Research design

Action research involves the researcher in questioning their own practice to find ways to improve that practice (McNiff, 2002) It furnishes the researcher and participants with the opportunity to scrutinize existing practices, and modify them in the search for refinement of

those practices Action research has the potential to bring benefits for all stakeholders involved in the process It not only provides the teacher with a means to better their teaching practice but also trains learners to become more efficient in their learning It can be argued that practitioners already reflect upon their practice, but the difference in using action research

is that it is systematic, and any intervention is informed by theory (O‟Brien, 1998)

The study aims at ameliorating the teaching situation and learner autonomy in speaking skill, which requires voluminous practice to take place Thus, action research is deemed a priority

to satisfy the study intent

Starting with the problem of low level of students‟ autonomy (by observation of the class and discussion with other colleagues), the researcher has been trying to find the solution to the problem She first investigated the reasons for the problems and delved into researches in the light of learner autonomy The lessons learnt from the literature helped her to make an informed choice She decided to apply the students‟ raising awareness and changing attitude activities suggested by Scharle and Szabo (2000) and a series of activities designed by herself, which are all called the project in this research During the intervention, she herself made six observations of the class from the first lesson onwards (for every two lessons) After the intervention, questionnaires and interviews are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the project as a proof of the change in the students‟ level of autonomy

To reach the stated goal, the action plan in the form of an autonomy-raising project is executed during the course The project comprises two modules (12 weeks, second semester 2009-2010) The former, which consists of selected awareness-raising activities and essential speaking-strategies training activities, is to raise students‟ awareness of the problem as well as equip them with necessary skills to acquire more confidence in speaking skill The latter toughens such awareness and strategies in learners by involving them in the speaking practice This stage is of great importance since only raising student‟s awareness cannot ensure the raise in the autonomy level Once they are armed with necessary skills and appropriate knowledge, they are asked to choose from various types of autonomy-fostering activities and commit to do the activities regularly The activities require the students to prepare at home and report their results in the next lesson After the action, questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations are conducted to get the feedback To get more valid data, the interview are taken by another teacher from the English Department The data targets at

getting the students evaluation on the activities, their speaking competence improvement and more importantly, to investigate whether they become more autonomous in speaking or not The procedure of the project is as follows:

- Have students complete a questionnaire

on „What sort of Learner awareness language learner are you?‟ (Activity 3)

- Subject matter awareness

- Learning process awareness and awareness-raising

- Learning strategy awareness

2 - Discuss and practice strategies, and

solutions in peaking English (Activity 5)

- Introduce the learner autonomy-fostering project

- Have students sign a contract of commitment

- Find common mistakes in using English (Activity 4)

- Awareness-raising, confidence raising

- Learning process awareness

- Commitment raising

2 3-5 - Home assignment and information

sharing

- changing attitudes

6-9 - Home assignment and report 1 - changing attitudes

- bolster confidence 10-12 - Home assignment and report 2 - changing attitudes

- bolster confidence

13 - Implement Evaluation questionnaires

and interviews

- self evaluation

3.3.1 Description of data collection instruments

The questionnaire

It is undoubted that questionnaires are beneficial for obtaining quantitative information and thanks to their time and energy efficiency for collecting and analyzing Thus, the researcher used questionnaires (see Appendix 4) with the aim of tracking students‟ development in autonomy in learning speaking skill

Unlike other action research which often acquires the results by pre-questionnaires and questionnaires, this study used only one questionnaire at the end of the interventions, in which students reflect their attitude changes The reason lies in the fact that the changes can have both positive and negative, consequently the total of calculation, whether equal or not, will not truly reflect the students‟ progress making For example, if five students become more autonomous and other five become less autonomous, the result will be the same In this case,

post-it is misleading to conclude that the project doesn‟t take any effect Actually, post-it signals that something should be investigated more Thus, by letting the students self-evaluate the level of autonomy, it is possible to see the real impact of the project

The questionnaire comprises four multiple-choice-item parts and a session for free comment Part 1 is designed to find out the students‟ attitudes and performance towards the project by Their commitment to doing the project shows the level of the students‟ autonomy

Part 2 is used to find out whether the project improves the students‟ speaking proficiency It was created by the researcher based on the criteria of speaking autonomy pointed out by Thornbury (2006) and Rubin and Thompson (1994) in the literature review part (part 2.2.3) The data can not only show the level of students‟ proficiency but also operate as an indication

of their improvement of their autonomy in learning speaking skill

Part 3 is an adaptation of Broady (1996) and Chu, Lee, Sakai, and Takagi (2008) It is used to discover the students‟ changes of attitudes towards learning in general

Part 4 is used to reconfirm the conclusions drawn from part I, II, III It is also used to find out

if there are any inconsistencies in answering the questions in the 4 parts

In brief, all of these parts serve to prove whether they became autonomous after all of the intervention Besides, to increase the reliability of the data, this questionnaire was translated into Vietnamese (see Appendix 5)

The interview

The interview questions (see Appendix 7) were also conducted to get insight into each issue, identifying more details and reasons for the issues stated in the questionnaires For this reason, semi-structured interviews seem to be an appropriate tool for exploring the issues Five out of the 28 students were randomly chosen for the interviews to get their opinion of the project used To make it reliable, one of the colleague who has got a MA in TESOL and is interested in the research in high hopes of bettering the situation was asked

to carry out the interview

The observation

The researcher herself made six observations to check the student‟s participation in the speaking lessons and their level of autonomy in speaking This observation sheet (see Appendix 8, an increment to the other data instruments, is an adoption of Nunan‟s observation sheet (1995) with an aim to get more information about the students‟ involvement in the activities It is used for observing the class as a whole, not individual student

3.3.2 Detailed description of module 1

Since most students have been used to teacher-centered methods throughout their learning lives, and the idea of being able to cater for themselves and take active roles in classroom management is often a novel one Time must be given for raising awareness of their learning process as well as students‟ empowerment at university The activities used in the first two meetings are as follows:

 Activity 1: Autonomy discussion

 Activity 2: Nature of speaking skill

 Activity 3: Comparing preferences in learning (adopted from Scharle & Szabo (2000,

pp 16-18))

 Activity 4: Spot the errors (adapted from Scharle & Szabo (2000), pp.53-54)

 Activity 5: Strategies in speaking

(For further information on these activities, see Appendix 1)

The first three activities are mainly in form of a raising-awareness discussion in which

students discuss factors concerning learner autonomy, nature of speaking skill, and their

learning preferences explicitly in both English and Vietnamese The fourth activity aims at getting students to feel more confident once they find out that other people, especially

foreigners, even make language mistakes Activity 5 requires students to come up with

solutions for their problems in learning speaking skill Afterwards, they are equipped with a repertoire of common functional expressions (see Appendix 9) and have chances to practice the suggested techniques they have just devised

As motivation is of primary importance in the project conduction, students are given one bonus point added to their 30% midterm and presentation total mark for every good completion of the tasks (based on their assignment and performance in front of the class)marks assigned to it takes up 20%) As usual, attendance and participation accounts for 10%, midterm tests and presentations 30%, and final test 60% It is argued that motivation entails commitment to the project Accordingly, keeping track of what is being done is a must

To achieve this goal, each student must sign and hand in a contract (see Appendix 3) after the application of awareness raising activities The contract, which is adapted from one described

in Lee (1998), stipulates the completion of the homework assigned

3.3.3 Detailed description of module 2

Module 2 embraces on-lesson-basis information-sharing and reporting tasks to encourage reflection of the use of coping strategies These activities help them to enrich the essential vocabulary, widen their knowledge and especially create more chances to practice speaking skill In an effort to keep students from putting off all work to the last moment, it is beneficial

to stipulate that some product must be handed in and report in class

Description of the homework assignment: Students work in pairs, finding an article or any piece of news of their choice, ranging from 200-500 words The article must satisfy the criteria of having at least five new words The students look up the new words in the dictionary, uncover the appropriate meanings of all the new words as used in the article, and write them down below the article It is compulsory to give their phonemic transcription to ensure they can pronounce the words accurately After the new work section is a summary of the article (3-6 sentences with the main points underlined in the article) It is encouraging to give as much traces of working with the material as possible The students give more uses of the new words or phrases, find out the collocations, practice paraphrasing some sentences, present the phonemic transcription of any words they are uncertain about, etc Finally, the pair discusses and practices reporting the article to each other in their own words

In-class activity: At the beginning of each lesson, students have 15 minutes‟ information exchanging Now that they are at an advantage of being prepared for class, they have to hand

in their assignment during the information-sharing task Students exchange pairs to share the information that they have achieved without reference to the article but the summary The assignments will be given back to students the following lesson During their activity, one student tells the news, and the other must take notes They are encouraged to ask questions and use any appropriate techniques to maintain the conversation and comprehend the information given to take notes These notes must be hand posterior This note taking is to certify that they try to perceive the information from their partners, acquire equal participation, and set room for the use of compensatory techniques Furthermore, the use of these techniques is fostered by applying no-Vietnamese rule

For class meetings numbers 3-5, students take fifteen minutes for their information sharing in pairs In the next four meetings, they spend about ten minutes for pair work activity, the next five minutes is reserved for some pair presentations in front of the class In the consecutive three meetings, they use ten minutes for pair work activity and the next five minutes for individual report in front of the class One or two students make presentations in front of the class, reporting the news that they have just received In doing so, students will feel more secured, and gradually become accustomed to public presentations Holding the rehearsal, they will be more willing to speak up

The final product is a record of all assignments and notes attained during the project Besides, the assessment is also based on students‟ active participation in class, especially while doing the activities

To summarize, the second module reflects students great efforts in using all the materials and the speaking techniques to communicate with their partners in the target language The gradual individual presentation merging helps them to gain fearlessness in speaking Hereby, they can implant not only self-directed leaning attitudes but also take appropriate psychology

in the learning process Concurrently, their speaking skill is upgraded

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

The data for the students‟ activities and attitudes towards the project was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively by identifying and categorizing the references they made in the questionnaires, the interviews as well as the practitioner‟s observations The attitudes are perceived not only in relation to the actions the students reported to have undertaken but also the intention to perform in the future The objective was to describe students‟ profile as autonomous learners Thus, it is subcategorized into three sections as follows:

4.1 Students’ performance and attitudes towards the project

Table 1 reveals the commitment that the students exhibited and their attitudes towards the project The items were intentionally disorganized regarding the content to increase the validity of the outcome (checking the consistency of responses to the items of the same issue) For each item, the first line identifies the number of students who possess the idea (whether disagree or agree), the second line signifies the equivalent percentage with the total of 28 students

(1+2)

Agreement (3+4) 1.1 I find the selected activities interesting 3 (11%) 25 (89%) 1.2 When doing the activities, I spoke English a lot with

my friends

4 (14%) 24 (86%)

1.3 My friends cooperated well to fulfill the task 3 (11%) 25 (89%) 1.4 My partners seemed to be interested in doing the task 3 (11%) 25 (89%) 1.5 I chose the topics which attracted my attention 4 (14%) 24 (86%) 1.6 I used Vietnamese whenever I couldn‟t find the word

1.9 When we finished the task before the other pairs, we

didn‟t do anything else

24 (86%) 4 (14%) 1.10 I kept a record of my assignment for revision 6 (21%) 22 (79%)

Table 2: Students’ attitudes and performance during the project

(Note: 1 Strongly disagree 2 Disagree 3 Agree 4 Strongly agree

Percentages combine the “strongly disagree”+“disagree” for the heading “Disagreement” and “strongly agree” + “agree” responses for the heading “Agreement”)

The project appears to be enjoyable and motivating for most students (89%) (results from questionnaire question 1.1) There are a large number of reasons for their motivation, among which are the flexibility to choose the topics of interest or areas they want to improve; the discovery and integration of new vocabulary or expression into their speech, the apperception of their learning style as well as the pertinent learning process In the 28 questionnaires and the interviews, they claimed:

“I think this project helps me know which field I have learnt, at least having a number of words and expressions for my talk So, it does aid in reflecting my language learning partly, functioning as a kind of plan for my study” (response to the questionnaire)

“I don‟t want to speak under the same title in every week, which is boring Furthermore,

if the topic is limited within the textbook, I am afraid I can‟t manage speaking in a variety of situation in the future job I mean, I really like the way the project free us from limited topics in the course book” (response to the questionnaire)

“It‟s curious What I mean is, I‟m interested in noticing how the structures or words are used in the context, and then try to use them orally I‟m happy that many of my passive words and structures become active” (response to the interview, question 1)

These remarks disclose a strong motivation in doing the project and in learning speaking skill They appear to have an alert attitude towards the language or linguistic curiosity, noticing the features of the input and attempting to internalize them In addition, they attribute the gradual emergence of speaking in front of larger audience to their increase

of self-confidence These serve as a base for deepening their learner responsibility as well as fueling the learning process

In addition, the statistics in Table 1 evince a genuine commitment to the project Approximately 80% of the students endeavored to choose a topic which was not merely interesting but also challenging to them (questionnaires items 1.5, 1.7, 1.8, interview question 2) A large proportion of students (79%) have a purpose in mind when choosing

a topic In the interview, they stated that they strived to find the topic which was motivating and four out of five interviewees articulated to figure out the topics for different week During the task, they were actively engaged in the activities, considerably

employing the target language to communicate with their partner, although six students admitted using Vietnamese when speaking (questionnaire items 1.2, 1.6), which fell into the cases when paraphrasing could not do any help or the terms relating to a technical concept which was hard to be explained in English One of the interviewees stated, “We tried to express everything in English, though, there are cases we can‟t do so Especially, when we talk about fruit or a kind of disease” (interview question 2) Furthermore, 79%

of the students declared that they kept a record of the assignment for reviewing, and consequently adjusting their future study, maybe to plan for topic choice next semesters This fact entails their awareness in self planning and reviewing whether willfull y or unconsciously

As regards cooperation, the students seemed to work well in pairs A large number of the students (25) found their partners cooperative and interested enough to keep the conversation going (questionnaire items 1.3, 1.4) This number is relatively in harmony with the number of students who are interested in the project activities (25 students) (questionnaire item 1.1) To put it another way, the slight difference in wording between items 1.3 and 1.4 did not reveal any change in students‟ responses This consistency does not only boost the validity of the data but also make it possible to conclude that the students do enjoy working with each other along with the assistance of the teacher

Session IV of the questionnaire serves to find out the explicit benefits of the project to the students The results are summarized as follows (see appendix 6 for raw data)

4.2 make and complete a plan to improve my English 7% 93%

4.4 acquire a number of active words, phrases and

expressions on different fields

Table 3: The benefits of the projects to the students

As shown in Table 2, students highly appreciated the effectiveness of the projects in improving their proficiency as well as their learning independence Noticeably, the same percentage of the students (93%) shared the ideas that the projects boosted their speakin g

competence and helped them learn how to gain autonomy in learning the target language All of them agreed on the linguistic enriching benefits of the project

However, there was a relative disparity concerning the continuity of the project in the future as seen in Chart 1 A large proportion of students surveyed reported that they would undertake similar self-directed activities in their future language learning, which may signal a movement toward autonomy Fifty percent of the students enjoyed having the project in the future even if it is not assessed thanks to the fact that they benefited from the experience Fourteen percent of them express strong commitment to the project, signaling a high level of autonomy development

According to the statistics, 36% of the students would not like to take the similar project

if it were not assessed by the teacher This is explainable in the context of Vietnam where qualifications and certificates are the first priority in most recruitment procedures Hence, the study result seems to be a source of motivation to the students Several of them clarified the reason for the discontinuity of a similar project is that they wanted to learn

in their own way They would like to choose their own activities Apparently, this does not mean they do not move toward more autonomy in learning; on the other hand, these students conveyed much more autonomy than the other groups

Figure 2: Students’ opinions on the continuity of a similar project

The result implies that even the tiny group of unmotivated students who thought that project was a waste of time or preferred teacher dominated instruction can become motivated in a given situation It is the spur of high scores to be earned (or deducted) that stimulates