Using the project based learning method to stimulate the 10th form students’ thought, confidence and collaboration in speaking lesson of unit 13 in english 10 textbook

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAININGNGHI SON LOWER AND UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL ---INNOVATION USING THE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING METHOD TO CONFIDENCE AND COLLABORATION IN SPEAKING

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

NGHI SON LOWER AND UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL

-INNOVATION

USING THE PROJECT-BASED LEARNING METHOD TO

CONFIDENCE AND COLLABORATION IN SPEAKING LESSON OF UNIT 13 IN ENGLISH 10 TEXT BOOK

Written by: Mai Thi Thuy

Function: Teacher

Subject: English

THANH HOA, 2021

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2.1.7 Examples of project-based learning method activities

2.1.7.1 Using student-produced power points

2.1.7.2 Using oral presentations

7772.2 Reality

2.2.1 To the teachers

2.2.2 To the students

888

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Reasons for choosing the study

In the current integration trend, it is very important and necessary to equipyourself with knowledge of foreign languages, especially English For eachindividual from those who are working, have a career position in society mustnecessarily know at least one foreign language to serve their professional work It

is very important for students to know the importance and the need to understandnew languages, especially English, while still in school With the current trend anddevelopment needs of society, English is considered a universal language, so everystudent must now equip themselves with the knowledge and skills appropriate tothe conditions, levels, ages and levels of education to lay the foundations for futuredevelopment

In addition, in language learning, learners have to master four skills,among which speaking skill is one of the difficult skills However, in many years

of learning and teaching English, the author has realized the fact that, in highschool, the teachers and the students seem to pay more attention to the grammarand reading skill than to speaking skill On the other hand, many students have notmastered teamwork skills, presentation skills, and skills in applying informationtechnology to their speeches As a result, the students study the speaking class withless interest

Furthermore, motivation is perhaps the key that leads to consecutive success

in the learning process, especially in second language acquisition Therefore,maintaining the students’ interest during the lesson is very important If thestudents do not have motivation, they cannot get the best result from learning As aforeign language teacher, the greatest desire is to help students absorb the content’slesson through the appealing and effective communication In order to do this well,besides coordinating teaching methods, we must also know how to motivatestudents by creative activities and innovating teaching methods with motto

“student-centered” Instead of imposing spoken content on students, teachers letstudents create their own, as long as they have the opportunity to speak Englishabout their favorite topics This will make a good impression on students andattract students during the lesson and encourage all students to participate inspeaking activities, suggest weak students to use simple words, appropriate to theirlevel, thereby breaking down feelings of fear and inferiority of these students whenspeaking English

Speaking topic of unit 13: “Films and Cinema” is an interesting topic.However, most of the time when developing skills to talk about this topic, teachersoften uses traditional methods; students are not really active and creative As aresult, the lesson will be less interesting; students will not be stimulated inthinking, confidence and teamwork skills

All of the above reasons and factors have inspired the author to choose the studyentitled: "Using the project-based learning method to stimulate the 10 th form students’ thought, confidence and collaboration in speaking lesson of unit 13 in English 10 textbook With the hope of providing teachers of English in general and

teachers at Nghi Son lower and upper secondary school in particular a betterunderstanding about using the project-based learning method in learning andteaching English, especially in speaking period In addition, the innovation wasimplemented with the hope to make a little contribution to the quality of teachingand learning speaking at Nghi Son lower and upper secondary school

1.2 Aims of the Study

The innovation aims at both students and teachers at Nghi Son lower andupper secondary school First, the implementation of the new method is to designproject-based learning activities in order to motivate the 10th form students’thought, confidence and collaboration in speaking period in general, and speakingperiod of unit 13 in particular Then build up learning strategies and improve theirspeaking skills Secondly, this study would like to focus to the importance ofapplying new teaching methods and raise the awareness of the teaching innovationamong the schoolteachers

1.3 Scope of the Study

The research was conducted among 10th graders The project-based learningactivities were designed for the topic in Unit 13: Films and Cinema in English 10textbook The implementation actually took place in different school years and wasdeterminedly observed, reviewed and evaluated by the teacher researchers

1.4 Methods of the study

To carry out the study, the following methods and procedures were employed:

- Investigating methods

- Analytic and synthetic methods

- Descriptive methods

- Comparative and contrastive methods

Firstly, the author reviewed the theories related to the matter in concern inorder to shade up a framework for the analysis and then collected informationassociated with the project-based learning activities in speaking period fromdifferent sources: references, books, and internet Secondly, a survey wasconducted on the real situation at high school by using questionnaires for studentsthere Thirdly, the selected information and data were analyzed, and then theresults were arranged into categories for comparison Finally, the information anddata obtained were dealt with and analyzed so as to come to conclusion, andaccordingly, to provide some recommendations to improve the situation

• Focuses on content learning rather than on specific language patterns

• Is student-centered so the teacher becomes a facilitator or coach

• Encourage collaboration among students

• Leads to the authentic integration of language skills and processing informationfrom multiple sources

• Allows learners to demonstrate their understanding of content knowledge through

an end product (e.g., an oral presentation, a poster session, a bulletin board display,

or a stage performance)

2.1.2 Types of projects

According to structure and size, project can be into the following suggestedcategories:

Individual and Social projects: In individual project every students solve problem

in their own according interest, capacity, attitude and needs Group projects theproblem is solved by the group of pupil in the class Here the social, citizenshipqualities and synergism are develops

Simple and Complex project: In the simple projects, the students are completing

only one work at a time It gives the deep information about the project in a oneangle The students get deeper and broader knowledge about the problem In thecomplex project, the students carry out more than one work at a time They focus

on the work in various subject and angles Here the students get the knowledgeabout the work in various activities and dimensions

According to Kilpatrick there are four types of projects:

Constructive project: Practical or physical tasks such as construction of article,

making a model, digging the well and playing drama are done in this type ofprojects

Aesthetic project: Appreciation powers of the students are developed in this type

of project through the musical programmers, beautification of something,appreciation of poems and so on

Problematic project: In this type of project develops the problem solving capacity

of the students through their experiences It is based on the cognitive domain

Drill project: It is for the mastery of the skill and knowledge of the students It

increases the work efficacy and capacity of the students

2.1.3 Steps of project method

Whether students work individually, in pairs, or in groups, having themdesign something from scratch taps their creative abilities When using the project-based learning strategy, it is almost guaranteed that the endeavor will beinterdisciplinary The teacher's role is to serve as coach, guiding students to use avariety of resources, employ a strategy that is fun and motivating, and uncovercontent with depth and breadth The process of conducting the learning project inthe most general way can follow these steps

Step 1 Creating Situation: In the first step teacher creates the proper situation to

the students in the class He puts up the knowledge about the project methodprocedure, steps, and uses to the students A project should arise out of a need felt

by students and it should never be forced on them It should be purposeful andsignificant

Step 2 Selection of the problem: The teacher helps the students to select the

problem and guide them Students are having freedom to choose the topic orproblem based on their interest and ability Before choosing the topic, theprinciples should be taken in to an account Such as school tasks are to be as realand as purposeful and they are of such a nature that the student is genuinely eager

to carry them out in order to achieve a desirable and clearly realized aim Teachershould only tempt the students for a particular project by providing a situation butthe proposal for the project should finally come from students

Step 3 Planning: The teacher discuss with the students about the problem in

various angles and points After the free expression of the students’ opinion aboutthe problem, the teacher writes down the whole program of action stepwise on theblackboard In the process of planning teacher has to act only as a guide and shouldgive suggestions at times but actual planning be left to the students

Step 4 Execution: The students are stating their work in this step They are

collecting the relevant information and materials at first The teacher should givethe time and right to the students according to their own speed, interest and ability.During this step the teacher should carefully supervise the pupils in manipulativeskills to prevent waste of materials and to guard accidents Teacher shouldconstantly checkup the relation between the chalked out plans and the developingproject

Step 5 Evaluation: Evaluation of the project should be done both by the pupils

and the teachers Here the students evaluate their task They determine whether theobjects are achieved or not After that they criticize and express their feeling about

the task freely The evaluation of the project has to be done in the light of plans,difficulties in the execution and achieved results.

Step 6 Reporting and Recording: It is the last step of the project method in

which each and every step of the work are reported The reported things arerecorded in a certain order in a book form It should include the proposal, plan andits discussion, duties allotted to different students and how far they carried out theprojects It should also include the details of places visited and surveyed guidancefor future and all other possible details The book-formatted report is submitted tothe teacher at the end

More specifically, if we examine project-based learning, we can break itdown into the following nine steps (of course, teacher-coaches should modify thesteps accordingly to suit the task and the students):

The Nine Steps of Project-Based Learning

1 The teacher-coach sets the stage for students with real-life samples of the

projects they will be doing

2 Students take on the role of project designers, possibly establishing a forum

for display or competition

3 Students discuss and accumulate the background information needed for

their designs

4 The teacher-coach and students negotiate the criteria for evaluating the

projects.

5 Students accumulate the materials necessary for the project.

6 Students create their projects.

7 Students prepare to present their projects.

8 Students present their projects.

9 Students reflect on the process and evaluate the projects based on the

criteria established in Step 4

2.1.4 Role of the teacher

In this method of teaching the role of a teacher is that of a guide, friend andphilosopher The teacher is not a dictator or a commander but a friend, guide and aworking partner He encourages his students to work collectively, and co-operatively He also helps his students to avoid mistakes He makes it a point thateach member of the group contributed something to the completion of the project

If the students face failure during execution of some steps of the project, theteacher should not execute any portion of the project but should suggest them somebetter methods of techniques that may be used by them next time for the success ofthe project He should help the students in developing the character and personality

by allowing them to accept the responsibilities and discharge them efficiently He

should provide democratic atmosphere in the class so that the pupils can expressthemselves fully without any fear of the teacher He should be alert and active allthe time to see that the project is running in its right lines He should have athorough knowledge of individual children so as to allot them work accordingly.

He should have initiative, tact and zest for learning Teacher should always remainalert and active during execution step and see that the project goes to completionsuccessfully During execution of the project teacher should maintain a democraticatmosphere Teacher must be well – read and well-informed so that he can help thestudents to the successful completion of the project

2.1.5 Advantages of project-based learning method

- As students get proper freedom to execute the project in accordance with their

interest and abilities, because of which they get their psychological needs satisfied

- Habit of critical thinking gets developed among the students through this method

- With this method, students get the ample chances in which they can developcoordination among their body and mind

- Through this method, teacher can lead a well-balanced development of thestudents

- Through this method, science teaching can be done with considerable success, asscience is a practical subject and this method is also scientific and practical innature

- This method helps in promoting social interaction and co-operation among thestudents, as they have to work in a group and have to interact with various personsfor gathering information

- As students gain knowledge directly through their own efforts, thus, they acquirepermanent kind of information, which is retained by them since a long period oftime

- Mostly the projects are undertaken in classroom as classroom assignments,because of which load of homework from the students get reduced to considerableextent

- It helps to widen the mental horizon of pupils

- It sets up a challenge to solve a problem and this stimulates constructive andcreative thinking

2.1.6 Disadvantages of project-based learning method

- This method takes a lot of time to plan and execute a single project

- It is not possible to design different projects for different topics and it is also notpossible to cover all the topics or content in a single project

- For proper execution of a project, large numbers of financial resources arerequired

- Such method can only be proved successful if the teacher is highlyknowledgeable, alert and exceptionally gifted

- Systematic and adequate learning is not provided by this method, as it is amethod of incidental learning Through this method, students learn only what isrequired by them in relation to the completion of the projects

- Generally, it is found that teachers do not possess much information regarding themanner in which this method should be used as a result of which they hesitate fromusing this method, as a result of which, its utility remains more or less limited tonegligible extent

- Sometimes the projects may be too ambitious and beyond student’s capacity toaccomplish: they are unable to understand a topic easily in three languages at thesame time

2.1.7 Examples of project-based learning method activities

2.1.7.1 Using student-produced power points

For foreign language learners, the mastery of speaking English is essentialnowadays Consequently, speaking ability is regarded as the measure of knowing alanguage for many learners and they define speaking ability as the most importantskill in a language When compared to other skills, speaking can be said to be themost difficult skill to teach and also to evaluate and assess To overcome thosedifficulties, teachers need to come up with novel methods to develop learners’speaking abilities Using student-produced power points might offer numerousopportunities for the development of learners' speaking skills These significantadvantages of using PowerPoint in classes are:

- Facilitating thinking and problem solving

- Assisting with mastery learning

- Inspiring and engaging students

- Authentic learning opportunities

2.1.7.2 Using oral presentations

Oral presentations have been shown to be extremely successful withrespect to improving learners’ second language skills, and increasing theirautonomy The research by Brooks and Wilson (2014) found that using oralpresentations in their classroom lead to greater class interaction and participation,

an increased interest in learning, and noticeable improvements in their students’communication and presentation skills Moreover, oral presentations have beenshown to help bridge the gap between language study and language use; thatpresentations require students to use all four language skills in a naturallyintegrated way; and that presentations have been shown to encourage students

to become active and autonomous learners

For most language teachers the five major benefits to using oralpresentations in the classroom are:

- They are student-centered

- They require the use of all four language skills

- They provide students with realistic language tasks

- They have value outside the language classroom

- They improve students’ motivation

2.2 Reality

2.2.1 To the teachers:

Through the result of survey, the author realizes that the teachers’ attitudesare different among four skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing skill at NghiSon lower and upper secondary school

As can be clearly seen from the chart, a half of the teachers (50%) think thatreading skill is the most important skill among four language skills Speaking skill

is considered the least important skill (37.5%) This shows the fact that theteachers in high school often pay more attention to reading and writing skill than tospeaking skill Due to less consideration on the speaking skill, the teachers do notreally spend much time and preparation on speaking lesson As a result, thestudents will feel bored and uninterested in speaking lesson

Figure 1: The teachers’ attitudes towards four skills

Figure 2: The 10 th form students’ attitudes towards four skills

The chart shows that a large number of the students (59%) consider readingskill the most important Only 12% think that speaking skill is the most important.This causes a lot of difficulties for the teacher in teaching speaking Obviously, thestudents are not well aware of the importance of speaking skill

Due to the less awareness about the importance of speaking skill, thestudents’ interest in speaking lesson is not high The number of the students whoreally like speaking lesson is very low (19%) Most of them (43%) are notinterested in the speaking lesson It means that they lack motivation in learningspeaking As a result, they are not willing or eager to make efforts in speakingactivities That is the current situation of learning speaking skill at high school ingeneral and at Nghi Son lower and upper secondary school in particular

43%

much not very much not at all

Figure 3: The students’ attitudes towards speaking lesson

Especially, in the speaking lesson with the topic: “talk about a film” of unit

13 (Films and Cinema), the 10th graders who were taught by traditional methodsdid not have much interest in the lesson Even students were lack of confidence,

lack of cooperation with their classmates As a result, unit 13's speaking classbecame boring; students' speaking skills did not improve.

2.3 Solution to the problems

Students in classes work in groups to produce PowerPoint and short talks.They have to present in English Firstly, teacher introduces the assignment amongstudents in each class Students have to work in groups and had a week to completethe task During the process of the innovation operation, teacher obeys theprinciples and steps of Project-based learning method as strictly as possible

The table summarizes the main points of my project workload:

time

Preparation duration

The 10th formstudents

Speakinglesson

One week

The following descriptions illustrate the process of using the methods:

Project: Three-minute PowerPoint presentation on topic : “Talk about a film you

have seen” – Speaking Lesson - Unit 13: Films and Cinema

Step 1: The teacher-coach sets the stage for students with real-life samples of the projects they will be doing.

With the help of the multimedia learning room, before beginning speakinglesson of unit 13, teacher shows a PowerPoint presentation about a film as a real-life sample Then teacher declares a similar competition for the class Students willwork in team and prepare the presentation about a film they have seen

Step 2: Students take on the Role of Project Designers

Innovation was carried out in grade 10 at Nghi Son lower and uppersecondary school In each class, teacher divides the students into small groups andexplains that they have to work together in their own team and decides the specificroles of their members by themselves The presentations will be delivered eitherindividually or in-group Teacher consults students with the information whenstudents need help

(Picture 1: Teacher divides the students into small groups)

Step 3: Students Discuss and accumulate necessary background information

- Teacher provides the students with the topic: “Talk about a film you haveseen”

- Students discuss what kind of film they will choose to present:

For example: - Science fiction films

- Students discuss descriptive adjectives about kind of films:

For example: - Interesting

- Moving

(Picture 2: Students Discuss and accumulate necessary background information)

Step 4: The teacher-coach and students negotiate the criteria for evaluating the projects.

Students and teacher decide that the following main points should assess theprojects:

- Time limit – Limit presentations to 2-3 minutes.

- Manner of presenters

- Content organization

- Oral fluency and accuracy

- Visual aids

- Accuracy of using English

Also, teacher shows students an easy-to-mark evaluation sheet:

Step 5: Students accumulate the necessary materials for projects.

In each group, the students decide that they will search information and materials

on the Internet and the knowledge from a film they have seen Students use thesuggestions below:

- Where did you see it?

- What kind of film is it?

- What is it about?

- Where is it made?

- What is it based on?

- Who is/ are the main character(s)?

- How do you feel about it?

- Why do you prefer it to other films?

(Picture 3: Students search information and materials on the Internet and the

knowledge from a film they have seen)

Step 6: Students create their projects

Students in each group work on preliminary sketches and graphic organizersuntil they decide on a final design During this stage, the teacher serves as coach,moving from group to group to guide the students' work Teacher asks students tofollow the following tips:

- Have a clear understanding of the task

- Each student has ownership of her role within the group

- The students work together cooperatively

* For example: Group 3 of class 10A2

Group 3 decides to choose cartoon film: “Aladdin”

- Leader: Nguyen Bao Ngoc – is the person who assigns tasks for each member ofgroup, gathers the ideas of the members and is the main responsible person in thegroup

- Responsibilities of each member:

+ Le Thi Van Anh, Tran Thi Tho, Nguyen Thi Quyen: are responsible forpreparing the content of the following questions:

- What is it about?

- Where is it made?

+ Nguyen Thi Du My, Nguyen Van Dong, Nguyen Thuy Linh: are responsible forpreparing the content of the following questions:

- What is it based on?

- Who is/ are the main character(s)?