USING TASKBASED APPROACH TO IMPROVE THE 9th GRADERS’ SPEAKING SKILLS AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HO CHI MINH CITY.

USING TASKBASED APPROACH TO IMPROVE THE 9th GRADERS’ SPEAKING SKILLS AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HO CHI MINH CITY. USING TASKBASED APPROACH TO IMPROVE THE 9th GRADERS’ SPEAKING SKILLS AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HO CHI MINH CITY. USING TASKBASED APPROACH TO IMPROVE THE 9th GRADERS’ SPEAKING SKILLS AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HO CHI MINH CITY. USING TASKBASED APPROACH TO IMPROVE THE 9th GRADERS’ SPEAKING SKILLS AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL IN HO CHI MINH CITY.

HO CHI MINH CITY, 2021

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Phạm Nguyễn Bảo Ngọc

USING TASK-BASED APPROACH

SKILLS AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL

IN HO CHI MINH CITY

MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Phạm Nguyễn Bảo Ngọc

USING TASK-BASED APPROACH

SKILLS AT A SECONDARY SCHOOL

IN HO CHI MINH CITY

Field: English Language

Code: 8.22.02.01

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Hồ Ngọc Trung

DECLARATION BY AUTHOR

I hereby declare that this thesis entitled “Using Task- Based Approach to

Improve the 9 th Graders’ Speaking Skills at a Secondary School in Ho Chi Minh City” has not been submitted to any other universities or institutions in

application for admission to degrees or other qualifications This thesis, which isthe product of my own original research, and to the best of my knowledge andunderstanding, does not contain any material previously published or written byanother author, except where reference has been cited in the text The studyreported in this thesis was approved by Graduate Academy of Social Sciences

Author’s Signature

Phạm Nguyễn Bảo Ngọc

Approved bySUPERVISOR

Assoc Prof Dr Hồ Ngọc Trung

Date: ………

Although only one name appears as the author of this work, writing a thesis is indeed a collaborative effort I would like to express my sincere thanks

to the many people who made it possible.

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Hồ Ngọc Trung, for his tremendous knowledge, guidance, advice and patience, which constantly inspired me throughout the research Assoc Prof Dr Hồ Ngọc Trung, for his helpful and warm encouragement as well as his insightful comments on my work from the beginning to the end of the study.

Next, the completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the cooperation from the respondents (one hundred and ten 9 th graders at Viet Anh Secondary School) who have been willing to take part in the study I am very grateful to all of them for providing detailed information for the analysis of the study.

In addition, I would like to thank all of the lecturers who gave me interesting lessons, dedication and advice during my study at Graduate Academy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION BY AUTHOR i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT vii

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF FIGURES ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATION x

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1. Rationale 1

1.2. Aims of the study 2

1.3. Research questions 3

1.4. Scope of the study 3

1.5. Significance of the study 4

1.6. Research methods 4

1.7. Structure of the study 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1. An overview of Task-Based Learning 6

2.2. Task-Based Learning point of view 9

2.3. Learners 11

2.3.1. Characteristics 11

2.3.2. Cognitive Development 14

2.4. Teaching speaking skill for secondary students 16

2.4.1. The role of speaking skills in language teaching and learning 16

2.4.2. Teaching speaking skills effectively 17

2.5. Summary of literature review 26

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLODY 27

3.1. The context of study 27

3.2. Participants 28

3.3. Data collection instruments 28

3.3.1. Questionnaires 30

3.3.2. Semi-structured interview 31

3.3.3. English speaking test 32

3.3.4. Class observation 33

3.4. Research Design 34

3.4.1. Pre-task phase options 35

3.4.2. Main task phase options 37

3.4.3. Post-task phase options 40

3.5. Research procedure 40

3.5.1. Phase 1: Diagnosing 40

3.5.2. Phase 2: Action planning 41

3.5.3. Phase 3: Evaluating 43

3.5.4. Phase 4: Reflecting 45

3.6. Methods of data analysis 47

3.6.1. Data analysis procedure 47

3.6.2. Data analysis methods 47

3.7. Summary of research methodology 49

CHAPTER 4 - FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 50

4.1. Data analysis from the speaking pre-test and post-test 50

4.2. Analysis of speaking tests 53

4.3. Analysis of questionnaire 55

4.4. Analysis of interviews 63

4.5. Analysis of classroom observation 73

4.6. Summary of findings and discussions 75

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 76

5.1. Recapitulation 76

5.2. Concluding remarks 76

5.3. Implications 78

5.4. Limitations of the study 79

5.5. Suggestions for Further Studies 79

REFERENCES 81

APPENDIX 1 - PRE-TEST OF SPEAKING I APPENDIX 2 - QUESTIONNAIRE III APPENDIX 3 - POST-TEST OF SPEAKING VII

APPENDIX 4A - INTERVIEW QUESTIONS IXAPPENDIX 4B – ANSWER FOR THE INTERVIEW XAPPENDIX 5 - SPEAKING BAND DESCRIPTORS XIVAPPENDIX 6 - OBSERVATION SHEET XIXAPPENDIX 7 - A SAMPLE LESSON PLAN XXIAPPENDIX 8 - RESULTS OF PRE-TEST XXVIIAPPENDIX 9 - RESULTS OF POST-TEST XXXIIIAPPENDIX 10 - T-TEST ANALYSIS XXXIX

This research seeks to identify the effectiveness of Task-Based Approach onspeaking ability as well as the attitudes of the students towards theimplementation During the study, the researcher carried out action researchdesign at class 9A1, 9A2 and 9A3 with the participation of one hundred and tenstudents and the assistance of two teachers as examiners and observers at VietAnh Secondary School This research used an integrated mixed-method design inwhich quantitative data were collected from a speaking test and qualitative datawere collected from interview, observation checklist and questionnaire Theresults of the study showed a significant impact of Task-Based Approach onstudents' speaking skills; additionally, in speaking lessons, students were found

to have a higher level of motivation, interest, confidence, creativity andcollaborative learning skills Based on the findings, this study recommends thatTask-Based Approach be applied to the teaching of English as a foreignlanguage

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 The phases in a Task-Based lesson 34

Table 3.2 The functional roles for the teacher 39

Table 3.3 Scope and Sequence for speaking lesson 43

Table 3.4 Procedure of the research 46

Table 4.1 Descriptive Statistics of pre-test and post-test 52

Table 4.2 The paired-samples t-test of pre-test and post-test 55

Table 4.3 The score criteria of the questionnaire result 57

Table 4.4 Descriptive Statistics of senior high school students’ feelings about Task-Based Language Teaching Approach 58

Table 4.5 Students' evaluation of their achievement on speaking skills 60

Table 4.6 Students' self- evaluation on their achievement on their other English skills 61

Table 4.7 Students’ self-evaluation on their unexpected development in learning English 62

Table 4.8: The students’ opinions about the TBLT 66

Table 4.9 Positive attitudes of the students toward TBLT 67

Table 4.10 Overall class motivation scores for all students 74

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.1 Classification of test results in pre-test and post-test 51Figure 4.2 A comparison of mean scores on pre-test and post-test 54Figure 4.3 Mean score of senior high school students’ feelings about Task-BasedLanguage Teaching Approach 59Figure 4.4 Students are interested to learn speaking lesson with Task-Based Language Teaching Approach 68Figure 4.5 Students’ opinions on pleasure when learning with Task-Based Language Teaching Approach 69Figure 4.6 The activities in Task-Based Language Teaching Approach applied tolearn speaking lesson are creative 69Figure 4.7: Task-Based Language Teaching Approach helped students to

remember new words easier in learning English 70Figure 4.8 Task-Based Language Teaching Approach helped the students

develop complex skills 71(problem solving skill, collaborating skill…) 71Figure 4.9 The summary of student’s situation after learning by Task-Based Language Teaching Approach 72

LIST OF ABBREVIATION

Abbreviation Definition

TBLT Task Based Language Teaching ApproachPPP Presentation – Practice – Production

As the consequence of its importance as an international languagementioned above, it is always necessary for Vietnamese people to use iteffectively As we can see that, the education department has realized this issueabout the importance of English in Vietnam in the future Therefore, English is asubject that has been applied in all national schools for more than 20 However,there are still many limitations that prevent students from using English fluently.

Currently, English is not officially used in Vietnam, except in working orinternational environment Therefore, Vietnamese people do not have favorableenvironments to practice or use English as other South East Asia countries likeSingapore, Malaysia, the Philippine… For the English education in Vietnam,although students are supposed to learn English in primary school, their ability ofusing English as a Vietnamese is not highly appreciated Clearly, Vietnamesestudents always attach importance to grammatical structures, but most of themhave not spoken or communicated in English since primary school Manyresearches show that Vietnamese students are taught grammar more thanspeaking and just focus on exam, scoring more than using English in common

Obviously, Vietnamese students are good at grammar and vocabulary tohelp them communicate well However, less of speaking practice causes them to

be unable to communicate in English Most students always know the meaning

of English words but they cannot speak or remember how to pronounce thewords And the fact that they are afraid to communicate is one of the bigobstacles to improve students’ speaking skills Looking back at Englisheducation in Vietnam, speaking has more hours in primary school than secondaryschool and high school For secondary students, they have given time on learningand practicing grammar Therefore, doing exercise helps them to have a goodknowledge about reading and vocabulary but cannot help them to improvespeaking skills

Therefore, English teaching in secondary school is better combinedbetween grammars and speaking to help students improve all skills fully In order

to create a good environment to help students to improve speaking skills,teachers should give students a chance to practice and build the lessons bythemselves with the help of the teacher It could help them to grow and expandtheir ability and also motivate them in studying English

From the above reasons, we have decided to do an M.A research on

“Using Task-Based Learning Approach to improve the 9th grade students’ speaking skills a Secondary School in Ho Chi Minh City” We hope that this

research can give a small suggestion for English teachers at secondary school

1.2. Aims of the study

In this study, we would like to examine the effectiveness of using Task Based Learning (TBL) approach to improve the 9th grade students’ speaking

-skills.

To achieve the above aim, the research is set to fulfill the following objectives:

i) Exploring the effects of Task-Based Learning activities on the students’

speaking skills;

ii) Investigating the students' attitudes towards learning speaking skills through Task - Based Learning activities

1.3. Research questions

The research is intended to answer the following questions:

(i) What effects do Task-Based Learning activities have on the students’

speaking skills?

(ii) What are the students’ attitudes towards learning speaking skills through Task- Based Learning activities?

1.4. Scope of the study

The research will focus on using Task-Based Learning to teach speaking insecondary school, especially to the 9th Graders at Viet Anh Secondary School,where the students will experience Task Based Language Teaching Approach intheir English learning lesson

The students at Viet Anh Secondary School are learning the intensiveprogram They use the textbook with three periods and the intensive book(ACCESS – Express Publishing) with five periods for each week The intensivebook helps students to develop their English skills Most of the students haveachieved level 3 or 4 language ability

When the students learn the intensive book, they can practice theinternational tests with level B2 (Common European Framework for Reference)such as IELTS, TOEFL, PTE.

1.5. Significance of the study

In this study, the teacher expects that students can improve their speakingskills after experiencing the TBLT Besides that, this study hopes Englishteachers can use this method to help their students develop their skills throughthis way Additionally, the readers are expected to obtain more information toexpand their knowledge by reading this thesis

In this action research, both qualitative and quantitative methods are used

to address the two research questions The data is collected through surveyquestionnaires, interviews and tests Besides, the researcher used the speakingband descriptors ( Published Version and the frame of Harris’oral English ratingscale) to check the students’ speaking skill

1.7. Structure of the study

The study is intended to consist of five chapters:

Chapter 1 – Introduction: give a brief and reasons for choosing the thesis,scope and aims of the study with the research method and the structure of thestudy.

Chapter 2 – Literature Review: This chapter focuses on the knowledgeabout Task-Based Learning in teaching English language, analyzed Task-BasedLearning method that applied by the theory, characteristics and cognitivedevelopment of young learners and teaching English at secondary school

Chapter 3 - Methodology: This chapter reports the context, researchhypothesis, participants, instruments and the procedure of conducting Task-Based Learning for the study The detailed results of the surveys and a criticalcomprehensive analysis on the data collected are presented

Chapter 4- Findings and Discussion: The part gives the data analysis fromthe Action Research results to make the foundation for giving the suggestion inChapter 5

Chapter 5 – Conclusion: summarizes the study, suggestions some typicalactivities and practical tips for secondary teacher to improve 9th-grade students’English speaking and examples for illustration, limitations of the study andsuggestions for the study in further

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. An overview of Task-Based Learning

Task-Based Learning offers an alternative for language teachers andstudents is an approach to second langue situation In a Task-Based lesson theteacher does not pre-determine what language will be studied, the lesson is basedaround the completion of a central Task and the language studied is determined

by what happened as the students complete it Willis (1996) suggested threebasic stages:

● Schema building

● Controlled practice embedded in a context

● Authentic receptive skills work

● A focus on form

● A free practice

● The communicative task

In Long (2005)’s teaching method that Task-Based Learning presented theimportance of form which involves meaning, structure and the context ofcommunication To focus on the form, Long (2005)’s model has the followingstages:

● Needs analysis to identify target tasks

● Classification into target task types

● Derivation of pedagogic tasks

● Sequencing to form a task-based syllabus

● Implementation with appropriate methodology and pedagogy

● Assessment with task-based, criterion-referenced, performance tests

● Evaluation of the program

With this method, learners can improve their grammar and speaking when theycan generate the useful forms while having a conversation However, Willis’steaching method is applied in many countries in teaching English because it canhelp learners practice in speaking more than the other ways In Willis (1994)’swords about Task-Based Learning he describes it as “like a sort of PPP1 upsidedown”

The lesson follows certain stages Task-Based Learning includes Pre-tasks,Task-Cycle (Task, Planning and Report) and the last one is Language Focus

As the researcher, the teacher will provide a teaching learning activity tosolve the problems found in the previous teaching learning process Thestudents’ problems were usually afraid of making mistakes, reluctance toparticipate and

1 The PPP acronym stands for Presentation, Practice and Production.

incorrect pronunciation which made it difficult for them to speak fluently andthey also had problems in correcting their grammar while speaking In order toinvestigate those problems, teachers will prepare things before coming to theclassroom, including the completed lesson plan, audio recorder, observationsheet, field notes, student’s scoring sheet and interview sheet.

Pre-task

The teacher introduces the topic and gives the students clear instructions

on what they will have to do at the task stage and might help the students torecall some language that may be useful for the task The pre-task stage can alsooften include playing a recording of people doing the task This gives thestudents a clear model of what will be expected of them The students can takenotes and spend time preparing for the task by using images, posters anddescription

Teachers explore the topic with the class and highlight useful words andphrases

Task

The students complete a task in pairs or groups using the language

resources that they have as the teacher monitors and offers encouragement

Planning

Students prepare a short oral or written report to speak in front of the classabout what happened during their task They then practice what they are going tosay in their groups Meanwhile the teacher is available for the students to ask foradvice to clear up any language questions they may have

Students then report in front of the class orally or read the written report.The teacher chooses the order of when students will present their reports andmay give the students some quick feedback on the content At this stage theteacher may also play a recording of others doing the same task for the students

to compare

Besides that, the teacher can provide the discussion and guide the students

in analyzing their works in groups After the lesson, students can do an exerciseabout the topic and that they have to report their work by reading it aloud in front

2.2. Task-Based Learning point of view

Task-Based Learning is an application in teaching second languageinformed using the most recent research findings on second language acquisition

TBL usually provides the learner with an active role in participating and creatingthe activities and consequently increases their motivation for learning A Task-Based lesson offers more opportunities for the students to display their thinkingthrough their actions Teachers can also be more open to the needs of students.TBL allows students to use the knowledge they have learned and apply itproductively in the task context This practical experience helps learners torealize the importance of grammar and new words to complete their idea inspeaking.

Through Task-Based Learning students will learn certain skills like how toask the questions, how to negotiate the meaning and the most importantlyworking in groups Because they can learn how to observe different ideas andproblem solving as well as to learn how others classmates think and makedecisions Because this is not only a skill to improve language, it is also a skill tohelp students to develop themselves in the real life It helps students not onlylearn their language but also enhance their confidence and solving problem skills.The outcome of TBL is learners can present their own idea, evaluate others, andtrain them to reflex to others

Through the Task-Based Learning activities, students can improve theirskills through obtaining information in “information activities” - when theyreceive the tasks and work in a group Next is “reasoning activities” – whenstudents can deliver their ideas to their teammates Finally is “Opinion activities”– Students have to convey their ideas and discuss in a group to choose the mostsuitable idea

2.3. Learners

2.3.1. Characteristics

According to Gardener Murphy (1968) “the term of learning covers everymodification in behavior to meet environmental requirements”, every student canimprove their learning by the current environment Whether the learningenvironment positively changes, the students can improve and develop theirknowledge with the hard-working effort The older a child grows, the moreimportant of learning activities plays in his life and the greater of that role in thechild's development since turned from primary school to secondary school.Learning is a key activity for students, but at the age from eleven to fifteen, theirlearning has fundamentally changed Studying in junior high school is animportant turning point in a child's life In the lower grades, children learnsystems of events and phenomena, and understand the specific and simplerelationships between those events and phenomena In middle school, theirlearning is significantly more complex They move into systematic studies withthe strengths of the sciences, the subject-based learning Each subject consists ofconcepts and rules are arranged into a deep system that requires they need to beself-conscious and highly independent in learning With learning English,students can develop themselves in learning and practice concrete skills by doingresearch and completing a small presentation

During a new learning phase, a learner faces different issues such asdifficulties in memory, fear of tests and the syllabus These problems can betackled through hard work, consistent efforts and more practice With middleschool’ students, teachers can create an English environment which excite themto

discover because they usually have the common characteristics of learners given

as below:

● Learners are curious

Students are very hungry for information and love to learn new things.They are excited to find out a solution and solve the problems Teacher shouldcreate the conditions for students to approach the new information

A learner who has personal quality understands subject matter easily andsolves the problems very fast Different learners have different personal andsocial cognitive power A learner who belongs to the different social structuremay face the problem during the study at other place but a good learner easilyadapts and adjusts the environment of the class

Learner’s characteristics are subject to his mental and intellectual growthand development Education and training are helpful to positive growth anddevelopment A good educationist takes the responsibility to himself ofidentifying the characteristics of the learner and developing skills into him or her

A learner is always willing to learn and open for information He has abroad mental space and accepts the changes consistently Their inquisitive naturedevelops an urge in them for acquiring more and more knowledge from theirparents, siblings, neighbors, relatives, teachers, society and many more.

There is a difference between the interest and the attitude of learners Ateacher always plays an important role to assess the learners for their interest andaptitude so that they can guide according to their aptitude

However, it is not possible for every learner to adjust in every situation as

a different learner has different characteristics of adjustment Some learnerseasily adapt to a classroom environment and some feel uncomfortable in theclass environment So, a good learner should adjust according to the situation

Motivation is an important factor for a learner to achieve their goals.Learners differ in their capacity of motivation Some learners are easilymotivated while some feel hesitation for a long time before they get motivated bytheir instructors

Some learners very quickly understand the questions and solve theproblems If the learners solve the problems easily, it means the understandinglevel of a learner is high as compared to another person who takes the more time

to understand and solve the problems

Nervousness is the natural attribute of learners If the learner feelsnervousness, it means that they have lack of knowledge about the things It can

be removed with the help of the teaching learning process

All Learners have the different approach to their lives Most of the learnersaccept what is taught to them but there are learners who have many creativeabilities They have the ability to explore the things and think innovations.

Moreover, application of mind is necessary to remain ahead In societydifferent persons have different professions, such as doctors, scientists,innovators and discovers These are from the categories of learners who arecreative

2.3.2. Cognitive Development

Speaking is a process interaction between two or more people that producegood mutual understanding As Byrne (1986) posits that, oral communicationrequires efficient speech and receptive understanding skill between speakers andlisteners The speakers, as well as the listeners, have a positive function toperform The speakers have encoded the message to be conveyed and theappropriate language while the listeners (no less active in decoding orinterpreting) have to decode the message

Characteristics of cognitive development of student’ age at secondaryschool It could easily see that they have changed about thinking, mindset andlogic:

Perception: secondary students have the ability to analyze and synthesizethings, more complicated phenomena when perceiving things and phenomena.The volume of perception has been increased and become accomplished

Memory: The basic feature of memory at this age is the enhancement ofthe characteristic, the ability to intentionally remember has significantlyincreased, the way of memory is improved and memory performance is also

improved Students

have made much progress in memorizing abstract documents and words Theyhave the skills to organize thinking activities, know how to conduct operationssuch as comparison, identical systematization and classification to memorizedocuments Their skills in memorizing are highly developed, and they start to usespecial methods to memorize and recall The speed of memorization and theamount of memorized documents are increased Therefore, teachers need to helptheir students in memorizing the new knowledge by:

- Teaching students logical methods

- Explaining to children clearly the need to remember exactly the definitionsand the rules It is important to show here that if the student misses a word,its meaning is no longer correct

- Training students to have the skills to present lessons correctly in theirwording

- Guiding their students to apply both ways of machinery memorizing andmemorizing by their ways appropriately

- It is necessary for students to merge the new knowledge and oldknowledge to help them increase their knowledge

Burns (2006) mentioned speaking is a means of expressing thoughts, knowledgeand feelings for others through oral communication It is the most important wayfor the speaker to be able to express themselves through a language

Thinking activities of students at secondary school have some changes:

- Thinking in general and abstract thinking in particular, thriving inparticular, is a basic feature of adolescent thinking But the component offigurative

thinking - specifically, continues to develop, it still plays an important role

in the structure of thinking They understand the nature signs of the object,but they are not always distinguishable and that effected in any case Whengrasping concepts, they sometimes narrow or expand concepts which arenot properly

- At this age, their thinking is also developed and they know how to solvethe problems reasonably at this age They have learned how to applyreasoning to practice to get their own observations and experiences toillustrate their knowledge Above characteristics, teachers should showstudents how to practice critical and independent thinking skills

2.4. Teaching speaking skill for secondary students

2.4.1. The role of speaking skills in language teaching and learning

Speaking is among the four skills in English (speaking, listening, writing,and reading) that plays a key role in helping learners learn a language effectively.Patton (2012) pointed out that when people believe they know or they learn alanguage, they mean they can speak the language

Speaking skill is considered to be the most important skill by languagelearners Learners often measure their success in language learning by the extent

to which they can use their spoken English However, this skill is one of the mostneglected skills in language instruction Most students do not have theopportunity to speak in the classroom or outside it Moreover, speaking is not apart of the examination in most language courses As it has been discovered bymany researchers, foreign language learning best occurs through interaction,teachers should provide learners with the opportunities to communicate inEnglish by

learning the lesson in class Since many learners' goal in language learning is to

be able to communicate fluently in formal and informal interaction, classroomactivities should be designed to promote oral fluency However, the ability ofspeaking is a complex process in its nature; many of the learners feel anxious tospeak in the classroom or outside due to different social or psychologicalreasons, so they keep silent and afraid to speak in front of the crowd Therefore,

it is necessary for language teachers to implement some natural strategies suchas: role plays, group work, tasks, etc to avoid shyness and unwillingness tospeak English Thus, the primary job of a language teacher is to encouragelearners to use English not only in the classroom but also in their dailyinteraction with their classmates, with teachers or any other English speakingpeople, if possible The present study aims at exploring the role of teachers indeveloping students' speaking skill So, using Task-Based Learning is a methodthat helps students become more proactive in class while learning English.Besides that, they can improve their speaking skill and be more confident whileusing English

2.4.2. Teaching speaking skills effectively

Flohr and Paesler (2010, p.10) also agreed that, "the most important skill

in learning a foreign language is speaking The focus in learning a foreignlanguage is on communication activities and expressive abilities and the goal is

to become a fluent speaker." It is doubted that teaching and learning speakingskills deserves as much attention as or even more attention than the others

In Vietnam, it could easily be seen that students did not focus on speakingskill while it is a crucial part of the language learning process While we justfocus on grammar and get over the examination, the less of speaking skill’s

importance

is left behind Therefore, to improve that skill, teachers can help students to bemore confident in speaking by using minimal responses, recognizing scripts, andusing language to talk about language and they can use to help themselvesexpand their knowledge of the language and their confidence in using it Theseways can help students to apply in speaking English.

● Using minimal responses

Language learners who lack confidence in their ability to participatesuccessfully in oral interaction often listen in silence while others do the talking.One way to encourage such learners to begin to participate is to help them build

up a stock of minimal responses that they can use in different types of exchanges.Such responses can be especially useful for beginners

In class, teachers can ask small questions and encourage students to respond byusing a minimal response That will help students to join in a lesson and be moreproactive in building a lesson

● Recognizing scripts

Some communication situations are associated with a predictable set ofspoken exchanges - a script Greetings, apologies, compliments, invitations, andother functions that are influenced by social and cultural norms often followpatterns or scripts So do the transactional exchanges involved in activities such

as obtaining information and making a purchase In these scripts, the relationshipbetween a speaker's turn and the one that follows it can often be anticipated.Teachers can help students develop speaking ability by making them aware ofthe scripts for different situations so that they can predict what they will hear and

what

they will need to say in response Through interactive activities, teacher can givestudents practice in managing and varying the language that different scriptscontain.

● Using language to talk about language

Language learners are often too embarrassed or shy to say anything whenthey do not understand another speaker or when they realize that a conversationpartner has not understood them Teachers can help students overcome thisreticence by assuring them that misunderstanding and the need for clarificationcan occur in any type of interaction, whatever the participants' language skilllevels Teachers can also give students strategies and phrases to use forclarification and comprehension check

By encouraging students to use clarification phrases in class whenmisunderstanding occurs, and by responding positively when they do, teacherscan create an authentic practice environment within the classroom itself As theydevelop control of various clarification strategies, students will gain confidence

in their ability to manage the various communication situations that they mayencounter outside the classroom

● Developing Speaking Activities

Traditional classroom speaking practice often takes the form of drills inwhich one person asks a question and another gives an answer The question andthe answer are structured and predictable, and often there is only one correct,predetermined answer The purpose of asking and answering the question is todemonstrate the ability to ask and answer the question

In contrast, the purpose of real communication is to accomplish a task,such as conveying a telephone message, obtaining information, or expressing anopinion In real communication, participants must manage uncertainty aboutwhat the other person will say Authentic communication involves aninformation gap; each participant has information that the other does not have Inaddition, to achieve their purpose, participants may have to clarify their meaning

or ask for confirmation of their own understanding

To create classroom speaking activities that will develop communicativecompetence, teachers need to incorporate a purpose and an information gap andallow for multiple forms of expression

However, quantity alone will not necessarily produce competent speakers.Teachers need to combine structured output activities, which allow for errorcorrection and increased accuracy, with communicative output activities that givestudents opportunities to practice language use more freely

 Structured Output Activities

Two common kinds of structured output activities are information gap andjigsaw activities In both these types of activities, students complete a task byobtaining missing information, a feature the activities have in common with realcommunication However, information gap and jigsaw activities also set uppractice on specific items of language In this respect they are more like drillsthan like communication

 Information Gap Activities

Filling the gaps in a schedule or timetable: Partner A holds an airlinetimetable with some of the arrival and departure times missing Partner B has thesame timetable but with different blank spaces The two partners are notpermitted to see each other's timetables and must fill in the blanks by asking eachother appropriate questions The features of language that are practiced wouldinclude questions beginning with "when" or "at what time." Answers would belimited mostly to time expressions like "at 8:15" or "at ten in the evening."

Completing the picture: The two partners have similar pictures, each withdifferent missing details, and they cooperate to find all the missing details Inanother variation, no items are missing, but similar items differ in appearance.For example, in one picture, a man walking along the street may be wearing anovercoat, while in the other the man is wearing a jacket The features of grammarand vocabulary that are practiced are determined by the content of the picturesand the items that are missing or different Differences in the activities depictedlead to practice of different verbs and differences in number, size, and shape lead

to adjective practice Differing locations would probably be described withprepositional phrases

These activities may be set up so that the partners must practice more thanjust grammatical and lexical features For example, the timetable activity gains asocial dimension when one partner assumes the role of a student trying to make

an appointment with a partner who takes the role of a professor Each partner haspages from an appointment book in which certain dates and times are alreadyfilled in and other times are still available for an appointment Of course, the

open times

do not match exactly, so there must be some polite negotiation to arrive at a mutually convenient time for a meeting or a conference.

 Jigsaw Activities

Jigsaw activities are more elaborate information gap activities that can bedone with several partners In a jigsaw activity, each partner has one or a fewpieces of the "puzzle," and the partners must cooperate to fit all the pieces into awhole picture The puzzle piece may take one of several forms It may be onepanel from a comic strip or one photo from a set that tells a story It may be onesentence from a written narrative It may be a tape recording of a conversation, inwhich case no two partners hear exactly the same conversation

In one fairly simple jigsaw activity, students work in groups of four Eachstudent in the group receives one panel from a comic strip Partners may notshow each other their panels Together the four panels present this narrative: aman takes a container of ice cream from the freezer; he serves himself severalscoops of ice cream; he sits in front of the TV eating his ice cream; he returnswith the empty bowl to the kitchen and finds that he left the container of icecream, now melting, on the kitchen counter These pictures have a clear narrativeline and the partners are not likely to disagree about the appropriate sequencing.You can make the task more demanding, however, by using pictures that lendthemselves to alternative sequences, so that the partners have to negotiate amongthemselves to agree on a satisfactory sequence

More elaborate jigsaws may proceed in two stages Students work in inputgroups (groups A, B, C, and D) to receive information Each group receives a

different part of the total information for the task Students then reorganize intogroups of four with one student each from A, B, C, and D, and use theinformation they received to complete the task Such an organization could beused, for example, when the input is given in the form of a tape recording.Groups A, B, C, and D each hear a different recording of a short news bulletin.The four recordings all contain the same general information, but each has one ormore details that the others do not In the second stage, students reconstruct thecomplete story by comparing the four versions.

With information gap and jigsaw activities, Teachers need to be conscious

of the language demands they place on their students If an activity calls forlanguage your students have not already practiced, you can brainstorm with themwhen setting up the activity to preview the language they will need, elicitingwhat they already know and supplementing what they are able to producethemselves

Peter Strutt (1997) structured output activities can form an effective bridgebetween Teacher modeling and communicative output because they are partlyauthentic and partly artificial Like authentic communication, they featureinformation gaps that must be bridged for successful completion of the task.However, where authentic communication allows speakers to use all of thelanguage they know, structured output activities lead students to practice specificfeatures of language and to practice only in brief sentences, not in extendeddiscourse Also, structured output situations are contrived and more like gamesthan real communication, and the participants' social roles are irrelevant to theperformance of the activity This structure controls the number of variables that