using project – based learning method in speaking lessons english 12 to enhance students speaking skill at ethnic boarding high school

In teaching English, this method is considered effective because through the implementation of a project, students grasp language skills and use foreign languages in communication activi

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1 The reason for choosing the topic

Project-based teaching is a student-centered teaching model that, through open tasks, encourages students to explore knowledge during implementing and creating our own products In teaching English, this method is considered effective because through the implementation of a project, students grasp language skills and use foreign languages in communication activities by their own competencies In the pilot English textbook, the Project part is included in the program as the main content accompanying the main grammar and skills of a lesson However, for the old English textbooks that are still being applied in most high schools in rural and mountainous areas of Nghe An province, this Project part does not exist For 12th graders, they focus on learning grammar to focus on graduation exams, but almost ignore learning skills such as listening and speaking Without experience in using the language, students may tend to be nervous about trying to say things Especially in our school, the teacher’s duty is twice as hard as others because my students always have to learn under difficult conditions and very little opportunity

to meet native English speakers and not access to modern up-to- date materials In fact, my school’s students come from mountainous areas where their learning condition and facilities are remarkably limited and they lack English basic knowledge from lower grades This makes students have more obstacles in studying and mastering it To overcome these difficulties, it is high time for me and colleagues to join hands to create a language environment and innovate teaching methods that develop English students’ competence so that their English skills, especially speaking skill will be better and better in the future Via having taught English at high school for years and having applied new methodologies in

my numerous classes recently, I boldly gave the initiative "USING PROJECT –

BASED LEARNING METHOD IN SPEAKING LESSONS - ENGLISH 12

TO ENHANCE STUDENTS' SPEAKING SKILL AT ETHNIC BOARDING HIGH SCHOOL" With the analysis of the benefits of the Project-based teaching

method as well as experimenting with the method in some speaking lessons for 12th grade students, I hope to give students more excitement

2 The new point of the topic

The topic revolves around analyzing the benefits of the Project-based learning method studied by educational experts and using this teaching method in some specific speaking periods of the grade 12 English textbook The project-based learning approach can, at its maximum, stimulate a student's active participation in the learning process; develop students' learning skills, problem solving, assessment skills, communication skills such as listening, speaking, presenting as well as group work skills Also, it increases students’ ability to think independently, creatively and adjust students' perceptions, behaviors, and skills Thus, this pedagogical method can promote democracy and dynamism to achieve the goal of teaching foreign languages In recent times, there have been many research topics

on innovative teaching methods The project-based learning method is a fairly new

project In fact, there are a number of teachers who research on project-based learning method, but mainly apply it to the pilot textbook or selected class’s students with high proficiency, not yet broadly applied to students with low English proficiency as in my Ethnic boarding high school More specifically, the method of asking students to carry out a project to fulfill the requirements of a lesson is a relatively new method and this is a part that has not been officially applied in the old program English textbook Using project-based learning method that attracts excitement, the student's initiative in speaking lessons for 12th graders

is the teaching method that I have used the most effectively in the school year

3 The aim of the study

This study is carried out to meet the following aims:

1 To experiment the applicability of project- based learning in developing grade 12 students’ speaking skills

2 To measure the impact of project- based learning on grade 12 students’ speaking skills

4 The methods of the study

This section presents the research design as well as research method, data collection and data analysis The research context with an overview of ethnic boarding high school, the syllabus, the current teaching and learning situation are mentioned The research approach and method of data analysis are presented later

on to provide how to deal with the research questions and reach the solutions

5 The scope of the study

Although there are many different ways to motivate students to learn English, all these issues cannot be fully covered in this paper Due to the limited time and the length of the thesis, I focus on exploiting students’ attitudes toward the use of PBL and its effectiveness in teaching the oral presentation skill The subjects of the study include thirty three 12th graders at ethnic boarding high school

6 Questionnaires for students

6.1 Pre-task questionnaire

This pre - task questionnaire was designed with three parts with 6 questions

Part 1 was about the students’ personal information

Part 2 was designed to elicit the students’ opinions of their motivation and attitude

in learning speaking English

Part 3 collected some information relating to factors affecting their working time

in English speaking class

6.2 Post-task questionnaire

The post-task questionnaire consists of 5 questions which are divided into 2 parts:

Part 1 was about the students’ personal information

Part 2 was about the students’ motivation changes after applying new project- based learning in speaking English

PART II: MAIN CONTENT

1 Theoretical and practical background methods

is discussed in J.W Thomas, a review of Research on Project- Based Learning, is a model that organizes learning around the projects which are complex tasks, based

on challenging questions or problems, involving students in design, solving, decision making, or investigative activities, giving students the opportunity to work relatively autonomously over extended period of time and culminating in realistic products or presentations According to W.H Kilpatrick, “

problem-A project is a whole-hearted purposeful activity proceeding in a social environment” According to Ballord, “ A project is a bit of real life that have been imparted into school” According to Thomas and Long, “ It is a voluntary undertaking which involves constructive effort or thought and eventuates into objective results”

Each definition points to an aspect that the author wants to address However, project-based teaching can also be considered as a complex form of teaching or teaching method in which, under the guidance of teachers, learners acquire knowledge and develop skills through solving a case study, following the curriculum, combining theory with practice and creating specific products Each scholar has a different definition of project-based teaching, but they all draw the common features of this direction as follows: Project-based teaching must be part

of the curriculum; Project-based teaching must focus on the questions and problems raised in order to be in the knowledge and skills of the subject; Project-based teaching enables students to see their own progress in implementing and completing projects; Project-based teaching must be done by students; Project-based teaching must be practical, not just book-based theory

To implement this empirical initiative, I myself have based on the theoretical framework that the above scholars give because these are theories that have been proven through research and have been recognized at prestigious seminars in the world At the same time, I have also selected highly practical theoretical frameworks that can be best applied in 12th grade speaking lessons

1.1.1.2 Characteristics of Project-Based Learning

A project - based lesson is based on project-based learning, an approach where learners carry out project such as solving a problem or planning an activity The language learnt comes out of the linguistic demands of the activity Kolb (Kolb, 1984, cited in Tsiplakides, 2009) provided that a project - based lesson is structured around the need that arises during the performance of a given project In the classroom, various elements of the project -based approach are applicable to activities in other methodologies For example, learners can see a model of the activity they are to do first, prepare a report on how they complete a project, and the teacher can record this report and analyze it for further work The followings are the characteristics of project- based lesson that are emphasized by Tsiplakides (2009)

1 Project-based learning is potentially powerful and widely applicable

2 Suitable for learners of all ages and backgrounds

3 Addressing the crucial problem-directly by using active and real project as learning activities

4 Ability to perform the instructional project is equivalent to the ability to use the language, so a functional ability should be a natural outcome of the instructional experience

5 Project-based learning can be very effective when the learners are engaged

in relatively similar out-of-class activities (social or academic)

6 Project-based learning can be especially useful for learners who are not accustomed to a more traditional type of classroom learning or who need to learn cognitive, cultural, and life skills along with the language

1.1.1.3 Main Principles of the Project Method

a The Principle of Purpose

Purpose motivates learning The Interest cannot be aroused by aimless and meaningless activities The child must have an ideal "Why is he doing certain things?"

b The Principle of Activity

Activity is a significant feature of this method Children select, plan, execute and evaluate their project themselves

c The Principle of Experience

Experience is the best teacher What is real must be experienced The children learn new facts and information through experience

The project is selected from social life situations and every project should be a social experience for the children

d The Principle of Reality

The project cannot be motivating and interesting for the learners unless it is natural and real from the learner’s point of view

e The Principle of Freedom

The desire for an activity must be spontaneous and not forced by the teacher The child should be free from imposition, restrictions or obstruction so that he may express himself fully and freely

He must be given freedom to choose an activity, to do an activity according to his interests, needs and capacities

f The principle of motivation

The selected project should be purposeful and therefore motivating for the learners Purpose and goal make the project meaningful and significant

g The Principle of Utility

Knowledge will be worthwhile when it is useful and practical the project method develops various attitudes and values which are of great significance from the practical point of view

h Principle of Democratic Procedures

In project method each member of the group has equal rights, duties and responsibilities The procedures adopted for carrying out the project are democratic

1.1.1.4 Project-based learning in foreign language education

Learning a language requires a student to communicate with the other people using the same language Thus, they take part in various real situations such as designing investigations, making explanations, modeling, and presenting their ideas to others when they conduct a project One of the benefits of project-based learning is that students can more easily see the value and the meaning of the tasks and activities they perform

Either way, it’s hard for them to see the meaning in what they are doing But when they are involved in a investigation designed to answer a question that is important to them because they have a chance to practise language naturally, they can see how a language can be spoken to solve important problems Clearly, Project-Based learning can meet this need when it is applied to a speaking lesson (Krajcik, 1998)

1.1.1.5 The structure of project-based teaching

Learner

The learner is the center of project teaching, learners do not work independently but work in groups, act as people from different fields, tasked to fulfill their roles according to the set objectives out When performing the assigned task, learners decide for themselves how to approach the problem and the activities to be taken to solve the problem In project-based teaching, learners need to complete projects with specific products that have certain meanings and values for themselves and the society

Teacher

During the teaching process, the teacher's role is to direct, organize, advise, supervise, help, and facilitate learners to implement the project and thereby develop the competencies of yourself Teachers create conditions for learners to choose and demonstrate roles in accordance with the learning topics; assist the learner in fulfilling that role

Diagram 1: Teacher and Student Roles in PBL

Teaching content

Teaching content is absorbed by learners during project implementation Teaching content should follow the curriculum and have a constant range of knowledge When designing projects, it is necessary to choose teaching contents that are related to the environmental life outside the classroom, towards real-world problems

Teaching methods

In project teaching, the organizer can coordinate many different teaching methods: presentations, conversations, research, problem-raising, group work Learning in a project is learning in action Therefore, the learner is not passively absorbing information, but is actively gaining knowledge Thus, each lesson is really attractive to learners because they are real life problems Teaching facilities Teaching facilities in project teaching are textbooks, reference documents, computers, internet, media Students should be facilitated to use information technology when producing a publication, When presenting the problem

Project environment and time

Projects may be confined to class sizes and span in minutes throughout the lesson, or may extend beyond classroom and span throughout the school year

1 1.1.6 Applying techniques and activities of project-based learning

Some techniques for developing speaking skill:

- Encouraging students to work in pairs, groups and work individually

- Combining textbooks with relevant materials

- Giving feedback regularly by marking and giving comments on students’ speaking

- Creating co-operative atmosphere

- Varying communicative activities

- Encouraging the students to speak by suggested questions

1.1.1.7 Advantages and disadvantages of project method of teaching

Connecting academic situations to the real world is one of the largest benefits

of the project-based learning Students with the same approach they will eventually use in their hobbies, passions and careers This increases the possibility of success

in whatever they do once their education has completed

Another benefit of the project-based learning is its affect on students’ interpersonal skills Because projects are often large and complex, students are grouped together to work, which fosters communication skills and encourages even students with diverse and possibly conflicting personalities to find a common ground or at the very least a way to work together without constant tension Adopting the Project-based learning in the classroom helps reinforce social relationships among team members Project-based learning enhances collaboration among learners, between learners and other community members as well Thus the project-based learning provides learners with opportunities to learn collaborative skills, such as relying on the work of peers and providing thoughtful feedback to peers Making students perform concrete tasks in pairs and groups is common for foreign language training; this practice stimulates cooperation and knowledge exchange amongst students and it encourages individual students to talk more Problem-solving and higher order critical thinking skills are formed when students approach this method These skills are very important because they are life-long, transferable skills to settings outside the classroom In this method knowledge and skills are learned by students through practical handling of problem

in their natural setting This method is an ideal way of promoting creativity, arousing curiosity and including the spirit inquiry among students Thus, it provides opportunities for students to develop their confidence and independence The students demonstrate increased self-esteem, and positive attitudes toward learning It also help to enhance students’ autonomy especially when they are

actively engaged in project planning Autonomous learning is promoted when the students become more responsible for their own learning

Overall, the project-based learning encourages students to develop a balanced, diverse approach to solving real-world problems, both on their own and a team Project-based learning prepares students for success in the real world like no other teaching style can Project-Based Learning is very beneficial to students in general and those of English in particular

b Disadvantages

Despite all these advantages, project-based learning has inherent limitations and disadvantages that cannot be overlooked Well-prepared and effective project-based Learning requires significant amount of time and work It requires constant monitoring and noting down the student throughout the process This is a bit time consuming in nature since most of the questions asked are usually open-ended and

it takes time to collect materials and information about it

All not teachers can be a good advisors, for project-based learning they need dedicated, hardworking and trained facilitators The instructors have to change their traditional teaching methodologies in order to incorporate problem-based learning Their task is to question students' knowledge, beliefs, give only hints to correct their mistakes and guide the students in their research All these features of problem-based learning may be foreign to some instructors; hence they find it difficult to alter their past habits

Moreover, good project-based learning trainers are satisfying to work with and are self-motivation for the students and fellow teachers

Assessing a certain student within a team is always tough for the coordinator They have to consider different aspects such as the output obtained as a whole for the team, the level of enthusiasm shown by each individual, the activeness shown

by a certain students A clear assessment criterion or a standard for making students in a group is always important

Project-based learning is also difficult for the institution because they have to change the course depending upon the lecturers Since the whole project-based learning curriculum is an image of their ideals and how they should train the students Project-Based Learning requires more staff and more contact hours for preparation, discussion and comparision of answers Students and advisors supposed to do timely and reasonable meeting once in a while

1.1.1.8 Ability of using Project-Based Learning method in English at high schools

Many benefits of incorporating project work in second and foreign language settings have been suggested First, the process leading to the end-product of project-work provides opportunities for students to develop their confidence and independence In addition, students demonstrate increased self-esteem, and positive attitudes toward learning Students’ autonomy is enhanced, especially

when they are actively engaged in project planning A further frequently mentioned benefit relates to students’ increased social, cooperative skills, and group cohesiveness

Another reported benefit is improved language skills Because students engage

in purposeful communication to complete authentic activities, they have the opportunity to use language in a relatively natural context and participate in meaningful activities which require authentic language use Authentic activities refer to activities designed to develop students’ thinking and problem solving skills which are important in out-of-schools contexts, and to foster learning to learn While activities are “anything students are expected to do, beyond getting input through reading or listening, in order to learn, practice, apply, evaluate, or in any

other way respond to curricular content, authentic activities are tasks with real

world relevance and utility” “that integrate across the curriculum, that provide appropriate levels of complexity, and that allow students to select appropriate levels of difficulty or involvement” (as quoted in Herrington et al, 2003) Among other characteristics, authentic activities have real-world relevance, provide the opportunity for students to examine the task from different perspectives, enhance collaboration and reflection, and allow competing solutions and diversity of outcome In addition, project-based learning provides opportunities for “the natural integration of language skills”

A further benefit is that because project work progresses according to the specific context and students’ interests, students have enhanced motivation, engagement and enjoyment From a motivational perspective, projects being authentic tasks, are more meaningful to students, increase interest, motivation to participate and can promote learning Enjoyment and motivation also stem from the fact that classroom language is not predetermined, but depends on the nature of the project

“A foreign language can often seem remote and unreal thing If learners are going

to become real language users, they must learn that English is not only used for talking about things British and American, but we can be used to talk about their own world ” (Huchinson 1992) Project-Based Learning gives students an opportunity to solve problems without any prior knowledge, and they can find the answers through the exploration of several options provided by the questions During the project the students should naturally keep in mind the goal of the project and relate their learning to this final goal Their learning includes new language as well as developing interpersonal skills

According to knowledge standard, English program at high school is divided into

16 units with each relating topic It is easy to use project based learning method to perform teaching tasks And because students are still so shy at speaking in public, using this method can help students express their ideas more confidently Hence, the results in learning and teaching can be better

to design specific instructional activities for projects to gain desired outcomes according to the standards Teachers themselves feel confused in teaching project lessons Many teachers do not know how to guide students to carry out their projects and present their final work in English to meet the requirements Organizing PBL matching a limited period of time in the classroom is also a major challenge for English teachers Many teachers also said that it is too hard for them

to conduct the project , especially in big classes The other problem that affects the application of project-based learning methods is the fact that the target is 12th-grade students These students are mostly interested in learning grammar and vocabulary for the purpose of graduation exam instead of learning communication skills, or other soft skills Some children are still afraid to listen and speak in English, even fear that making mistakes will be laughed at by others Besides, the group homework can affect the time to study other subjects at school as well as some students take advantage of the time doing projects to hang out, or do other jobs In addition, it is not easy to apply a new method to an old program that has been compiled and used for many years

1.2.2 Survey and the results

In the school year 2020-2021, I have carried out the survey containing 10 questions for 33 students from class12C1 The survey was done twice One was at the first semester of the twelfth form (before teaching Project-Based Learning method) and the other was at the end of the mid - second semester (after using this method) Following is the treatment of all data collected from the survey questionnaires The analysis of the data is presented in two parts: The first and the second parts are the results of the pre-treatment and post-treatment questionnaire for students Along with the information via survey questionnaires and information gained through some small talks , class observations were added to these main parts to assist the results

1.2.2.1 Results from students’ pre-task questionnaire

a Students’ motivation and opinions of learning to speak English

Question 1: Why do you want to learn to speak English?

Table 1: Types of motivation

It is a compulsory skill in learning English at high

You think it is necessary for your future job 29/33 87,9%

Table 1 reveals that English is necessary for the students’ future jobs and the main reason for students’ studying English speaking The highest percentage (87,9%) of the students wanted to learn English because they thought that they would need it to find a job and it would help them much in their future jobs To communicate with foreigners was also the thing that most students (73%) are concerned About 54,5% of the respondents answered that it is a compulsory skill

in learning English at high school The others (39%) wanted to learn English because they would like to know more about the world Clearly, most of the students knew the role of English in modern life when foreign language was considered the main means of communication and work in most of the countries in the world The lowest percentage of the students affirmed they wanted to study abroad in the future though so far they had not known whether they could achieve their wishes or not; and that was the reason they tried to learn English

Question 2: How much are you interested in learning to speak English?

The figure 1 reveals that the majority of the students (26%) were quite interested in learning speaking 8 out of 33 students (24,2%) answered that their interest was normal This figure was a little higher than those with the high interested (20%) For them, they learnt English because of the pressure from outside such as requirement of the teachers and parents, the need for the exam not because of their willingness 18% of the students was very interested The lowest percentage of the respondents (12%) affirmed their interest was very low They were the students who had no interest in learning to speak English

Not at all very interested

Figure 1: Students’ interest in learning English

Question 3: How often do you speak English in English class time?

The frequency of speaking English in class time also shows how much

effort students wanted to master it Figure 2 represents that only 18% of the

respondents spoke English willingly, only 6 out of 33 students were always willing

to speak English and 12% of the participants said that they usually spoke English

in class; whereas 33% rarely spoke it and 15% never spoke English in class except

for the teacher’s requests Also, 21% of the students affirmed they liked speaking

but sometimes, they were not accustomed to speaking in class because of their

shyness or worry about making mistakes In some small talks , some students

stated that they wanted to speak English in class because it was the class time that

they could train themselves and expressed their opinions in English Except that,

no environment was available for them In general, the time to speak English in

class was unequal among the students Therefore, what the teachers should do was

how to use suitable methods to stimulate learners’ interest, how to create a

communicative environment for the students to participate in speaking lesson Never always

18 %

usually

12 % rarely

33 %

15 %

b Factors making students unwilling to speak English in class

Question 4: What factors make you unwilling to speak in class?

Table 2: Factors making students unwilling to speak English in class

Limitation of communicative environment 16/33 48,5%

There are learners’ factors, teachers’ factors, teaching, and learning conditions that make learners unwilling to speak Here I only mention two factors: learners’ factors and teachers’ factors For students in the survey, the most influential factor was the lack of vocabulary and structures 23 out of 33 students (70%) blamed their fear of speaking for lack of vocabulary and structures In the small talk with the researcher, some of the students stated: “I like speaking English But I can’t find words and structures to express my ideas” Another complained: “My English

is not very good That is why I am not willing to speak in class” The second factor was being afraid of losing faces 57,5% of the respondents affirmed that they wanted to speak in class, but they were always afraid of making mistakes and losing faces The next one (54,5%) was boring teaching ways In fact, some of the teaching ways applied by the teachers at high schools were thought to be too boring and less interesting to the students In this case, the role of the teachers is

to modify and bring to the class some other more interesting teaching methods and help bring inspiration to the students These students stated that teacher’s clear instruction, logical teaching steps as well as teacher’s good behaviors with sense of humor; enthusiasm or tolerance in each lesson would encourage them to speak more Moreover, some students claimed teacher’s bad pronunciation and poor background knowledge decreased their desire of speaking English Others put the blame on teacher’s behavior and attitude that decided whether they were willing to speak or not In addition, unfamiliar topics were an important factor 54,5% of the students showed that unfamiliar topics in the text book made it impossible for them to feel interested in taking part in the speaking lessons The smaller number

of the students (48,5%) mentioned had the limitation of communicative environment in the class rooms Clearly, students sometimes did not speak up in class not because they lacked new vocabulary, expressions and structures but they

had the habit of preferring listening to speaking Some others thought they had better master the grammatical rules, remember as many structures as possible and have richer vocabulary Therefore, they could do well in the exam and get good marks

In short, there are a variety of factors that the students had to face These factors came from students as well as teachers In order to be better in English speaking activities in class, the changes need to be done between both teachers and students Teachers change teaching methods and students change the way they learn

c Factors increasing students’ motivation in speaking English

Question 5: Which of the following factors stimulates you in speaking English

in the classroom?

Table 3: Factors stimulating students to speak English

Opportunity for all students to speak out 11/33 33,3

Interesting topics in the textbook 16/33 48,5

Interesting topics could be chosen based on not only the textbook but also the students’ interest Next, 36,2% perceived that various speaking activities highly affected their motivation and related to the inside and outside activities of the class such as pair work, group work, games, interviews, role play and so on Equally important, a good-natured classroom also highly motivated students (36,2%).The class in which classmates helped each other; both weaker and better students shared ideas, vocabulary and structures; both teacher and students together discussed and solved the problems was the best environment for the students to practise speaking

The opportunity for all students to speak out was the influential factor, too The teacher could use new teaching methods to create an environment for all students to feel comfortable and self- confident to speak out their opinions Students were willing to discuss and express their ideas with classmates and their teacher

d Activities used by teachers and students’ preference

Question 6: What do you think the teachers should do to motivate you to take part in speaking activities?

Table 4: What teachers do to motivate students to take part in

speaking activities

(%)

Be enthusiastic, friendly and helpful 14/33 42,4

Encourage you with nice compliments and a good

feedback in class were paid much attention from the students In general, most students hoped the teachers should be more flexible, tolerant, sensitive to make students confident in speaking lessons 48,5% students liked the teacher to give interesting topics, games and activities in speaking skill Games and various activities could help students reduce stress, feel funny and become more active in learning In some small talks with some of the students; one student said: “In fact,

we are often pressured in speaking lesson I think communicative games can help They help us reduce stress and make it easy to speak out” Teachers’ clear instructions were quite important 45,5% of them complained about teachers’ complicated questions; lengthy instructions and unsatisfactory explanations could confuse and sometimes made it impossible for them to understand the lesson 42,4% were concerned with how teachers were in the class The teachers should be enthusiastic, friendly and helpful

In conclusion, what the students wanted the teachers to do for them was to create a communicative environment, guide them clearly, behave in a friendly and helpful way, give nice compliments on their speaking and a useful feedback

1.2.2.2 Results from students’ post-task questionnaire

a The changes of students’ motivation and attitude towards English speaking skill

Question 1: Why do you want to learn to speak English?

Table 5: The changes of students’ motivation

It is a compulsory skill in learning

You think it is necessary for your

To know more about the world 13 /33 16 /33 39 48,5

To communicate with foreigners 24/33 26/33 73 78,8

The majority of the students still confirmed that they learnt English speaking because it was necessary for their future job and there was also an increase in the number of students who wanted to communicate with foreigners (78,8% respectively) because of its necessity for their future job The number of the respondents who were quite interested in knowing more about the world increased from 39% to 48,5% They felt like learning English speaking because of their interest in exploring the world The students who wanted to learn to speak English for studying abroad considerably increased with 30,3% This shows that the motivation of the students has changed in a positive trend after the treatment

Question 2: How much are you interested in learning to speak English?

There was no doubt that students’ fascination in learning English speaking was changed considerably They were highly motivated in taking part in speaking activities in class The number of students with very high fascination went up from 18% to 30% Contrary to this, the number of the respondents with no passion was down to 6%, a decrease of a half The students with quite high fascination were of 26% up to 35%, and from 26% down to 17% were of the students who had little fascination The researcher’ observation pointed out that students’ passion in English speaking had been changed Most of the students were more eager to speak

Question 3: How often do you speak English in English class time?

It was clear that the frequency of the participation in speaking English in class was changed much because of the increase in students’ interest The students who were always willing to speak increased from 6 to 15 people, an increase of 28% (from 18% to 46%) The students who never spoke except when being asked

by teachers at that time reduced to 6,6% while the students who usually spoke increased from 12% to 24% The changes also happened to the number of students who rarely spoke in class with a decrease of 26% (from 11 students (33%) down to

7 students (21%) The rest ones (33%) were of the students who sometimes took part in the tasks They seemed to be more frequent in speaking English They became the students who were of quite high interest and more willing to speak English

Question 4: What factors make you unwilling to speak in class?

Table 6: The changes of the factors making students unwilling to speak

task (%)

Post-Limitation of communicative

48,5%

30 %

Being afraid of losing faces 19/33 11/33 57,5% 33,3 %

Lack of vocabulary and

b Factors increasing students’ motivation in English speaking skill

Question 4: What results have you achieved through the recent lessons?

Figure 3: Students’ result after the treatment

A Learning to speak English well is not too difficult

B More self-confident and fascinated in speaking English

C English knowledge has been widened

D English speaking skill has been improved

E Willing to speak English in class

As illustrated in the Figure chart above, the majority of the students (58%) affirmed their English speaking skill improved much after the treatment Clearly, when teacher applied PBL to teaching speaking, teachers created various speaking activities, used many useful techniques and behaved towards students in friendly and co-operative ways, making pleasant class atmosphere, emphasizing on fluency more than accuracy and giving students opportunities to communicate with other students, therefore, If weaker students had more chances to speak up, they would exchange information with the better ones, and the practising time for each student would increase This was why more students felt interested and self-confident to speak English in class (40%) They no longer find English so difficult and boring

to learn (30%) And the figure of 46% of the students stated that their English knowledge was widened a lot That was why 33% of the students always felt willing to express their opinion in English speaking class In fact, most students seemed more eager to learn and less stressed in speaking lessons English final exam was not a burden to most of the students Students, then, learnt English in a more relaxing and pleasant environment

In conclusion, the more properly activities and techniques were applied , the more motivated and active students became in speaking class lessons

2 Finding solutions

2.1 Process to conduct project-based teaching

From the implication to teach speaking skills, we can modify and apply suitably with PBL based on the content of the textbook It is advisable to choose the lesson with familiar and interesting topics, prepare the important factors to conduct the projects This activity is considered a post activity in the lesson Teachers should teach students how to perform their products by presenting in front of the class In the process of preparing and performing, students can improve their sub skills in speaking such as discussing, structuring, conveying main ideas, working in groups, etc

As mentioned in Tsiplakides (2009) cited Kriwas (1999) as finding that conducting projects is involved in many activities following the stages that have been raised in his literature If a project is conveyed in organism and a structuralism, it must be easy to conduct For this reason, the teacher should practise the stages as a guide to plan a better lesson plan following the project based approach:

Stage 1: Speculation (Choosing the topic and sensation about it)

The purpose of this phase is to help students identify the theme of a project and develop an implementation plan Students choose their friends to create groups according to their interests, about 5 students per group.Groups meet and draw on topics and projects to be done.Each group will unify its outline and content according to the selected topic At this stage, the teacher also needs to help students ask specific questions such as:

- What is the problem to be solved in the project, including how many parts?

- How will the project be conducted?

- Who will take on what responsibility?

- What is the running time for each section?

- What resources will need to be used?

Stage 2: Designing the project activities (formatting of groups, assignment of

roles, methodology, sources of information, activities)

During this stage, students must conduct research and give out specific activities such as: Problem identification, research area, document search, document reading, report writing, drawing, drafting on computers, In this stage, teachers must support them in terms of methodology, language, and experience in team work The prompts in the classroom will be very helpful for students in the project exercises they do on their own

Stage 3: Conducting the project activities (performing the group’s activities

relating to cooperation If necessary, the teacher’s or the others’ assistance will be provided)

This stage takes place when the children have completed the project Your product needs to submit is a report on the results of the project their team worked on in Words, a Power point slide that summarizes the project's progress, a video clip of the group presentations in English The sharing of the results you research can take place in the form of presentations between group members or between groups in a short period of a lesson

Stage 4: Evaluation (assessing the activities from the students includes the

teacher’s evaluation and the student’s self-evaluation)

Mutual evaluation (in addition to that of the teacher) among members, within groups or between groups can be based on criteria such as content, layout, language of expression or presentation This evaluation process can be for the purpose of scoring or exchanging knowledge and evaluating the effectiveness of the project

2.2 Some ideas for Project based learning method in speaking lessons in the textbook Tieng Anh 12

* UNIT 1 HOME LIFE

- Project implementation time: 45 minutes

- Project name: Do a survey on family life of your classmates

- How to conduct the project:

Teacher has students work in 5 groups of 8-9 students and do a survey for about 10 minutes with members of other groups in the class (survey about 10 students / group ) about their home life

The research questions were taken from Task 2 and Task 3 page 15 textbooks or I can design other questions

1 Could you tell me who works in your family?

2 By the way who in your family does the washing up?

3 What about your brother? Does he share the household chores?

4 What’s your responsibility in the family?

5 What exactly do you have to do?

6 How do you share the household chores?

7 What interests do your family members share together?

8 What do your family members often do together in your free time?

9 Who do you often share your secrets with?

10 Who do you often talk to before making an important decision?

Students will walk around the classroom working on their part of the project by asking questions and recording survey data After the survey is finished, the students will return to the group and present the investigated information on the prepared supplementary board or A0 paper within 7 minutes

Partner 1 Partner 2

Who works in the family

Who does the household chores

Your friend’s responsibility in the family

The interest the family members share

closely

The person your friend often shares his/ her

secrets with

The person your friend talks to before

making an important decision

Within 4 minutes each group will present their survey and the remaining groups will give comments The teacher makes final conclusions and scores the groups

* UNIT 2 CULTURAL DIVERSITY

- Project implementation time:

Groups will work on the project at home (1 week) and will have classroom presentation during the Speaking session (45 minutes)

- Project name: Do a research on the similarities and differences between

Vietnamese and American cultures

- How to conduct the project:

Teachers have students work in 5 groups each with 8-9 students

The groups will explore cultural fields including: Wedding ceremony, Holiday, Traditional Food and Drink, Likes and dislikes, table manners then use

support tools such as books, magazines, the Internet to complete the process Product required in this project can be a video, a slide and a presentation time of about 5 minutes The remaining groups will give comments as well as sub-questions to the presentation group The teacher makes final conclusions and scores the groups

* UNIT 3 WAYS OF SOCIALIZING

- Project implementation time:

Groups that will conduct the project at home (1 week) will have a power point presentation or video presentation in the while and post section of the Speaking lesson

- Project name:

Do a research on the similarities and differences of verbal and nonverbal communication among some countries in the world

- How to conduct the project:

Teachers have students work in 4 groups with 10-12 students each Groups will use assistive tools such as books, magazines, the Internet, in addition to the main content already in the text and information that has been included in the textbook exercise part 1 to implement the project Based on the similarities and differences between the educational systems of Vietnam and the UK

Teachers can guide students to follow the similar and different features in communicating in the native language of cultures around the world,… to be able

to complete the project The requested product in this project can be a video, a slide, a poster, or even a play and has a presentation time of about 5 minutes The remaining groups will give comments as well as sub-questions to the presentation group The teacher makes final conclusions and scores the groups

Project video products of groups will be uploaded on youtube.com

* UNIT 4 SCHOOL EDUCATION SYSTEM

- Project implementation time: Groups will work on the project at home as part

of the Reading homework and there will be classroom presentation during the Speaking class

- Project name: Do a research on the similarities and differences between the

school education system in Vietnam and England

- How to conduct the project:

Teachers have students work in 5 groups each with 8-9 students Groups will use assistive tools such as books, magazines, the Internet, in addition to the main content already in the text and information that has been included in the textbook exercise part 1 to implement the project Based on the similarities and differences between the educational systems of Vietnam and the UK

Teachers can guide students to follow the outstanding features in the education systems of two countries such as: semester, grades, main subjects, vacations, exams, student age at all levels of education… to be able to complete the project The requested product in this project can be a video, a slide, a poster, or even a play and has a presentation time of about 5 minutes The remaining groups will give comments as well as sub-questions to the presentation group The teacher makes final conclusions and scores the groups

* UNIT 6 FUTURE JOB

- Project implementation time: one hour and a half (in an afternoon)

- Project name: Do a survey on the job tendency of your class team after

graduating from high school

- How to conduct the project:

Having discussed in the teacher group meeting at the beginning of the academic year, all the teachers in charging of Grade 12 have planned to organise a creative experience for the students with the theme CAREER GUIDANCE FOR GRADE 12 STUDENTS through speaking part of Unit 6 We agreed to choose the project teaching method during the implementation and obtained unexpected results We worked together to make assignments to the students as followed:

The survey questions can be based on the criteria in the textbook

1 What are the most popular jobs now?

2 Among these, which job would you like to do in the future?

3 What are the advantages and disavantages of the job?

Students will work on their part of the project by discuss in their team and collect survey data The product required by students in this part of the project will

be a slide that shows the features of career choice of eachteam The teachers (judges) observes students' performance present and give evaluation

* UNIT 8 LIFE IN THE FUTURE

- Project implementation time: Groups will work on the project at home (1 week)

and will have classroom presentation during the Speaking session (45 minutes)

- Project name: Make a short play about the life in the 2080s based on your own

imagination

- How to conduct the project:

Teachers have students work in 5 groups each with 8-9 students Teachers instruct

students to learn information about their future life in areas such as health, education, technology, tourism, transportation, terrorism, disease, and relationships family and social from the perspective of the optimist and the

pessimist

Groups can use assistive tools such as books, magazines, the Internet, to complete the project The product requested in this project is a play and has a presentation time of approximately 5 minutes The remaining groups will give comments as well as sub-questions to the presentation group The teacher makes final conclusions and scores the groups

Project video products: Make a short play about the life in the 2080s based on

your own imagination of groups I uploaded on youtube.com

* UNIT 10 ENDANGERED SPECIES

- Project implementation time: Groups will work on the project at home (1

week) and will have classroom presentation during the Speaking session (45 minutes)

- Project name: Do a research on the giant panda, tiger, rhino and elephant,

gorilla which are in danger of becoming extinct

- How to conduct the project:

Teachers have students work in 5 groups each with 8-9 students Groups will visit endangered animals including pandas, tigers, rhinoceroses, elephants and gorilla monkeys to conduct their projects Teachers instruct students to learn information about habitat, quantity, height, weight, average life expectancy, causes of extinction, some solutions to protect species animals at high risk of extinction Groups can use assistive tools such as books, magazines, the Internet to complete the project

Product required in this project can be a video, a slide and a presentation time of about 5 minutes The remaining groups will give comments as well as sub-

questions to the presentation group The teacher makes final conclusions and scores the groups

* UNIT 12 WATER SPORT

- Project Time: Groups will conduct the project at home (1 week) and there will

be presentations in class during the Speaking lesson (45 minutes)

- Project name: Do a research on some water sport

- How to conduct the project:

Teachers have students work in 5 groups, each with 8-9 students The groups will visit some water sports… to proceed with your project Teachers guide students to learn information about places, vehicles, participants Groups can use support tools such as books, magazines, the Internet to be able to complete all the project

Product required in this project can be a video, a slide and a presentation time of about 5 minutes The remaining groups will give comments as well as sub-questions to the presentation group The teacher makes final conclusions and scores the groups

* UNIT 14 INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION

- Project implementation time: Groups will work on the project at home (1 week)

and will have classroom presentation during the Speaking session (45 minutes)

- Project name: Do a research on some international organizations

- How to conduct the project:

Teachers have students work in 5 groups each with 8-9 students Groups will visit

a number of organizations around the world including: UNICEF, WHO, WTO, WWF… to proceed with your project

Teachers guide students to learn information about logo, year of establishment, headquarters, goals, basic activities Groups can use assistive tools such as books, magazines press, Internet to be able to complete the project

Product required in this project can be 1 video, 1 slide and presentation time of about 5 minutes The remaining groups will give comments as well as sub-questions to the presentation group The teacher makes final conclusions and scores the groups

* UNIT 16 THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATION

- Project implementation time:

Groups will conduct the project at home (1 week) and there will be presentations in class during the Speaking lesson (45 minutes)

- Project name: Do a research on some of the ASEAN countries