SKKN APPLYING PROJECT BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS FOR THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS AT NHU XUAN II HIGH SCHOOL

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAININGNHU XUAN II HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENTAL INITIATIVE APPLYING PROJECT - BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS FOR THE TENTH GRADE STUD

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

NHU XUAN II HIGH SCHOOL

EXPERIENTAL INITIATIVE

APPLYING PROJECT - BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS FOR THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS AT NHU XUAN II HIGH

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

3.The method “Applying Project – Based Learning to improve

English speaking skills for the tenth grade students at Nhu Xuan II

high school”

3

3.2 Steps for effective implementation of PBL 4

3.4 Some examples about applying PBL in teaching speaking skills

for the tenth grade students with English textbook, Education

Publishing House

8

3.4.1 Unit 5: Technology and you – Part B: Speaking 83.4.2 Unit 7: The mass media – Part B: Speaking 12

3.4.4 Unit 5: Historical places – Part B: Speaking 14

PART III CONCLUSION, SUGGESTIONS. 17

LIST OF RECOGNIZED EXPERENTIAL INITIATIVES

REFERENCES

Appendix 1: Some videos in Speaking Lesson of Unit 5

Appendix 2: One group’s presentation in Speaking Lesson of Unit 12

PART I INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale.

In today’s trend of international integration, English is considered as ameans for learners to have fastest access to the world’s cultures and knowledge.The teaching and learning of English need to be renewed in accordance withpositive learning methods to be more suitable and meet the needs of society The core content of English teaching and learning helps students build anddevelop communication skills through practicing listening, speaking, reading,writing and linguistic skills It is clear that to communicate effectively in onelanguage, English speaking skills should be developed along with the otherskills so that these integrated skills will enhance communication achievement.Methodology used in teaching second language has experienced manychangesfor decades; however there is no single best method, and no one method that isbest for a particular classroom Among the numerous methods based oncommunicative language teaching, Project-Based Learning (PBL) has beenconsidered to be an effective teaching method in enhancing learners’ motivation.This method lets students explore actively, creates authentic language and useslanguage in real life situations The method also encourages student-centeredclasses that focus on developing skills for lifelong learning and collaborationamong students working on their small groups or a class

At Nhu Xuan II high school – a small school in a low living standardmountainous commune, the teaching and learning English meet remarkabledifficulties, such as: no integration of the four skills in teaching and learning,insufficient pratice time allowes, students’ poor pratice skills and lowconfidence or inadequate teaching equipment and facilities, and ect Hence, it isvital to apply a new and effective technique to improve students’ Englishlearning, particularly enhance their speaking skills

Based on the explanation above, I have made a great effort to conduct an

experimental research entitled: “Applying Project – Based Learning to improve English speaking skills for the tenth grade students at Nhu Xuan II high school.” With the thesis I hope that I will contribute my little experience

to help my students be more confident and improve their speaking skills in thenext courses

2 Aims of the study.

The aim of the research is to help improve English speaking skills for thetenth grade students at Nhu Xuan II high school by applying Project-BasedLearning

To achieve the above aim, the present research attempts to set thefollowing objectives:

- To learn about the tenth grade students’attitudes and interest towardsthe application of Project-Based Learning in their English speaking lessons

- To find out the effectiveness of applying PBL in teaching speaking skillsfor the tenth grade students

3 Objects of the study.

This study mainly focuses on the influence of PBL on speaking skillsforthe tenth grade students and some typical skills used in PBL which could helpimprove the students’ speaking ability and help them feel confident incommunication within the context of teaching and learning at Nhu Xuan II highschool.

This research is carried out in English-specialized class with 36 tenthgrade sutudents in class 10A at Nhu Xuan II high school in the two terms of theschool year 2020-2021

4 Methods of the study.

The method employed in the study is action research, in which Based Learning would be used directly in the classes that I am teaching so that Ican have the clearest class observation Besides, both comparison and analysismethods are applied into this research

Project-These methods are cooperative to each other to see students’ generalattitudes towards PBL, their perception on the effectiveness of PBL on theirspeaking levels as well as speaking skills and the effects of PBL on theirspeaking scores

PART II CONTENTS

1 Theoretical background.

PBL is a pedagogic framework to teach and learn through a project

Thomas (2000) stated that PBL is a kind of a student-centered pedagogy

in which students learn about the target language through the experience ofprolem-solving and then, produce the outcomes that might be in form ofpresentation, exhibition, publication, etc

The implementation of PBL in the foreign language classroom bringsstudents alot of benefits

- First, while working in a project, students engage in purposefulcommunication to complete authentic activities, they have the opportunity to uselanguage in a relatively natural context and participate in meaningful activitieswhich require practical language use

- Second, students develop metacognitive skills because a project is anactivity that “involves a variety of individual or cooperative tasks such asdeveloping a research plan and questions, and implementing the plan throughempirical or document research that includes collecting, analyzing, andreporting data orally and/or writing” (Beckett, 2002, p.54)

- Third, as students work together to achieve their end product theydevelop confidence and independence (Fried-Booth, 2002) Project workincorporates collaborative team work, problem solving, negotiating and otherinterpersonal skills, which have been identified by learners as important forliving successful life

It is clear that PBL enables students to achieve the three factors which areinteraction, transaction and performance when taking part in speaking activities.Furthermore, students are well equipped with the essential basic life skills andbecome more interested as well as energetic in their learning This results in theenjoyment and purposefulness in their learning

2 Practical background.

During the two terms of the academic year 2020-2021, I was in charge ofteaching English for 36 students in class 10A After several weeks of teachingspeaking lessons, I found the students were relatively passive and showed lowmotivation in learning They just did the things they were told to do Theyseemed to be unable to manage their own learning

For the purpose of enhancing my students’ engagement and motivation, Ithought of PBL and implemented this medthod in my English teaching pratice,especially in teaching English speaking lessons I tried to make speakingactivities various and moderate which are not too difficult or too easy andrealistic so that my students will be excited and eager to do them And it is moreimportant that through these activities, they feel more interested in speakinglessons and they can improve their English speaking skills day by day

3 The method “Applying PBL to improve English speaking skills for the tenth grade students at Nhu Xuan II high school”.

3.1 PBL in teaching speaking skills.

Project – Based Learning is a learning model that provides an opportunityfor students to participate actively in making a project with the group orindividual work to improve English language skills, particularly in speakingskill.

The main aim of project learning is an active connection of pupils toeducational process This process is characteristic of their openess Problemsituations and questions are created by lecturers These situations and questionscaused thinking at pupils about topic

PBL helps students develop skills for living in a knowledge-based andhighly technological society Solving highly complex problems requires students

to have both fundamental skills and digital age skills With this combination ofskills, students become directors and mangers of their learning, guided andmentored by a skilled lecturer Therefore, PBL is important and effective tospeaking skills for several reasons, they are:

- PBL and the use of technology bring a new relevance to the learning athand

- PBL lends itself to authentic assessment

- PBL promotes lifelong learning

- PBL accommodates students with varying learning styles anddifferences

There are four major characteristics of PBL namely:

- Self-responsibility for thinking and learning;

- Awareness of social responsibility;

- Thinking and acting from the scientific perspective but in a pratice.Likewise, John Thomas highlights five important criteria of PBL:

- PBL projects are central, not perpheral to the curriculum;

- PBL projects are focused on questions or problems that drive students toencounter and struggle with the central concepts and principles of a discipline;

- Projects involve students in a constructivist investigation;

- Projects are students-driven to some significant degree; and

- Projects are realistic, not school-like

3.2 Steps for effective implementation of PBL.

The process of PBL can be varied, depending on the real situation interms of students’ ability and the content of each lesson According to the majorcharacteristics and important criteria of PBL, if we examine PBL in the mostgeneral way, we can break it down into the following nine steps (Of course,teachers should modify the steps accordingly to suit the task and the students)

- Step 1: The teacher-coach sets the stage for students with real-life

samples of the projects they will be doing.

- Step 2: Students take on the role of project designers, possibly establishing

a forum for display or competition

- Step 3: Students discuss and accumulate the background information

needed for their designs

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

evaluating the projects.

- Step 5: Students accumulate the materials necessary for the project.

- Step 6: Students create their projects.

- Step 7: Students prepare to present their projects.

- Step 8: Students present their projects.

- Step 9: Students reflect on the process and evaluate the projects based on

the criteria established in Step 4

By my own experience in learning and teaching English, instead ofteaching speaking lessons traditionally, I have forcefully and successfullyapplied PBL in teaching speaking skills for the tenth grade students with Englishtextbook, Education Publishing House at Nhu Xuan II high school in thefollowing stages:

Stage 1: Discovering real situation related to the content of the lesson

Many students find schoolwork meaningless because they do not perceive

“a need to know” what they are being taught They are unmotivated when toldthey will need it later in life or simply beacause “it’s going to be on the test”.With a compelling student project, the reason for learning relevant materialbecomes clear: I need to know this to meet the challenge I have accepted

In this stage, I could powerfully activate my students’ need to knowcontent by launching a unit in a way that engages interest and initiatesquestioning This could take the form of a lively discussion

Stage 2: Negotiating the Criteria for Evaluation

I and my students decided that the projects should be assessed by fullfiingthe questions in rubrics including seft assessment rubric and checklist

Once the criteria were clearly defined, the students realized that they might have

to be modified in the future

Stage 3: Deploying the projects

- Explaining the project

I explained the project to students apparently It deals with the purpose of theproject, the preparation that the students should make, the material and mediaused and the assessment for each project

- Deviding groups

Most of the activities in speaking class are in the form of group work Idecided my class into groups and appointed the leader of each group Thenumber of group members belongs to the content and the topic of the lesson

- Assigning tasks

The group’s leaders assigned the task for each member In term of making aproject feel more meaningful to students, the more voive and choice, the better.The leaders should assign the tasks depending on each member’s ability On oneend of the scale, groups’ members should also discuss on how to design, create,and present products In the middle, I might provide a limited menu of optionsfor creative products to prevent students from becoming overwhemed bychoices On the other end of the scale, students could decide what products theywill create, what resources they will use, and how they will structure their time

Stage 4: Conducting the project

A project should give students opportunities to build such 21st centuryskills as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and the use oftechnology, which will serve them well in the workplace and life

Being given the Guidelines for poster layout, the students in each groupworked on preliminary sketches until they decided on the final design Besides,students gathered information from many resourses such as websites,newspapers and their real lives They then compiled information, deciding onwhat pictures and information to paste on the posters Finally, they decided onhow and where to put information and pictures on the posters

Stage 5: Presenting the project

In this stage, students became aware of the ways their presentations meetthe criteria of assessment The teacher-coach using teacher’s assessment,observed how engaged they were in presenting their projects Each group in my

class showcased its poster to the class and presented the content, the core value

of the project

Stage 6: Reflecting on the Process and Evaluating the Process

In this simulation, the students discussed what they enjoyed aboutworking in their groups They discussed what they liked about the materials andwhat they found to be frustrating Students shares their reflections to note whatthey had in common and what was special to each group or to teach individualpersonality They reviewed the criteria of assessment and discussed how wellthey met them

The teacher assessed students’ posters basing on the criteria dicussedbefore I used my assessment rubric, combining with students’ self assessmentrubric and peer assessment rubric to evaluate students’ work, gave themcomments as well as compliment

3.3 Teacher’s and students’ roles in PBL.

To maximize the benefits of PBL in foreign language classrooms ingeneral and in English speaking lessons in particular, both the teacher and thestudents should do certain things

+ The teacher’s role in PBL:

The teacher has the essential role during the implantation of PBL Theteacher identifies the project that is interesting enough to excite students toinquire about it, do research on it and draw reasonable multiple solution on theproject The project should be linked to cource content and relevant to potentialfuture use in work environment

- Identify a project that is appropriate for the course and student population Theproject should help students new skills they will use for a project that would betoo difficult for them to complete on their own State the project in a narrativeformat that includes details about its background but do not provide too much information that the students could find on their own as they search for a

solution

- Organize students in groups that represent different skill levels and diversity in

an effort to achieve more successful team dynamics and outcomes

Find ways to engage students collaboratively in teams This can be achieved byhaving students identify their strengths and weaknesses which will assist them

as they assume different roles during the PBL

- Provide instructional support to assist the students in building theirunderstanding of new content and the project-solving process Support should beprovided from the time you present the project to when the teams present theirsolutions Key here is support your role will be facilitator, coach and mentor toguide and move students from what they already know to a deep understanding

of new material

+ Students’ role in the implementation of PBL:

During PBL, students collaborate in small teams to explore the presentedproblem situation What follows is a method that summarizes the steps studentstake to solve the problem situation

- Explore the issues related to the problem.

Read, dicuss and analyze the problem and identify its significant parts

- List what the team knows about the problem.

The students should discuss in their team members’ current knowledgeand experiences that relate to the problem Identify the strengs and capabilitieseach team member can offer as they explore solutions to the problem.Brainstorm possible solutions and accept everyone’s contributions

- Develop and write out the problem statement in their own words.

This description should be based on what they know about the problemand what they need to know to solve the problem do the following:

Get consensus from the team on the new written statement

Write the problem statement

Get feedback from the teacher (for confirmation that you are on the right track)

Be willing to change/ modify the problem statement as they gather

- List all possible solutions to the problem.

List ideas, speculations, and hypotheses about the problem-what are itscauses and in what ways might the problem be solved? Order the possiblesolutions from the most likely to the least and choose the one your team feels ismostly to succeed

- List actions to be taken with a timeline.

What do they have to know and do to solve the problem?

How do they rank these actions?

How do these actions relate to their list of possible solutions?

Do they agree on these actions and if not, how do they reach consensus?

- List what the team needs to know to solve the problem.

Discuss possible resources needed to solve the problem such as the internet,textbooks, interviews, the instructor

Assign and schedule research tasks to each team member

Set deadlines for all tasks

- Write the team’s report with the solution to the the problem that includes

supporting documents.

This step can act as a preliminary step that involves a draft report or can

be the final report

- Presenting and defending the conclusions.

An important goal in PBL is to present not only their team’s conclusionsbut also the foundation upon which they are drawn

- Review and reflect on the individual and team’s performance.

This reflection is an important step that will help validate what theylearned and how they could improve on the process The key component of PBL

is the act of reflection in which students are asked to apply what they havelearned in other situations, how they will apply what they have learned in theirpersonal lives and how they will apply what they have learned in anothercourse-related projects

3.4 Some examples about applying PBL in teaching speaking skills for the tenth grade students with English textbook, Education Publishing House at Nhu Xuan II high school.

3.4.1 UNIT 5: TECHNOLOGY AND YOU – PART B: SPEAKING

Activity 1: The drama: “Chi Pheo – Thi No” (See Appendix 1)

Watch the drama “Chi Pheo – Thi No” (performed by two students in the class)then answer the two questions below:

1 How did Pheo and No contact to each other in the drama?

2 What did No want Pheo to buy for her?

The drama: Chi Pheo – Thi No

Music: Prelude music

No: (go around on the stage)

Narrator: Who are you?

No: Lở

Narrator: What is your name?

No: Lở, Nở I am Nở Nguyễn Thị Nở

Narrator: Where do you live?

No: I live in Vu Dai village, Ly Nhan District, Ha Nam Province, Vietnam

Narrator: Who is your father?

No: My father is Nam Cao.

Narrator: Oh, I know you Your lover is Chi Pheo.

No: Yes, my lover is Chi Pheo

Narrator: You are very beautiful.

No: (laugh: Hà hà hà ) Yes, you are right I’m very beautiful (deep voice),

beautiful from feet to head (shake the body while speaking)

Narrator: Where are you going now?

No: I’m going to the supermarket to buy some flowers, some fruits and some

ticky rice to make Banh Chung

Narrator: Oh, where is Chi Pheo?

No: Phèo, Phèo, Phèo (with annoying voice), Phèo bờ lèo tèo.

( The phone is ringing )

No: (laugh) hì hì hì Here is my phone hì hì hì.

Pheo: wow, Thi No My love I’m thinking of you.

No: Whey, Pheo Where are you now? (with sharp voice)

Pheo: I’m here, in Vu Dai village, Ly Nhan District, Ha Nam Province,

Vietnam

No: Ok I’m waiting for you (walk around and sigh to wait) say: Hey When

Pheo comes in, No expresses her miff

Pheo: (walk like a drunker)

Nở, Nở, sorry, sorry, I am sorry

No: Sorry, sorry You’re always sorry You always tell a lie You always let me

alone I don’t believe you Goodbye my love forever ( with loud voice and whirl

away)

Pheo: sing “Unbreak my heart”

No: (laugh) hà há ha then ask: Do you want to show your love to me?

Pheo: Yes, of course.

No: Could you buy me some gifts?

Pheo: Yes, what do you need?

No: (laugh) hì hì hì I need an iphone to selfie with you I need an electric

cooker and a gas to cook good meals for you

Pheo: (Sing Cai Luong)

Do you know I love you and need you so much No No tonight I can not sleep

so well You don’t believe me because of money I know I can not buy thesethings for you I just love you by my heart, my soul I don’t know what to do

No car, no job, no money, no home I will die very soon Why do you saygoodbye to my life

No: You don’t love me any more You only love drinking Goodbye.

Pheo: No no, I love you but I can’t buy everything you’ve said I’m too poor.

You understand?

No: Ha ha ha I understand I love you too.

Music: Pheo and No dance with music to end.

Suggested answers:

1 telephone/ mobile phone/ cell phone

2 a smart phone, an electric cooker and a gas

Activity 2: Look at the pictures about modern inventions that are shown on the computer screen, then:

1 Write the names of these modern inventions on A0 paper in twominutes then hang on the board for checking

2 Answer the question: What do these pictures tell you about?