An investigation into group work activities in the 10th graders' english speaking classes at quy hop II high school in nghe an province

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIPI hereby certify that the thesis entitled “An investigation into group work activities in the 10 th graders’ English speaking classes at Quy Hop II High School in

Ministry of education and training

VINH UNIVERSITY

- -NGUYỄN THỊ VÂN THÚY

AN INVESTIGATION INTO GROUP WORK ACTIVITIES IN THE 10TH GRADERS’ ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES AT QUY

HOP II HIGH SCHOOL IN NGHE AN PROVINCE.

( Nghiên cứu về các hoạt động nhóm ở các giờ học nói Tiếng Anh

lớp10 tại trường THPT Quỳ Hợp II –Tỉnh Nghệ An)

Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching

Code: 60.14.10

Master thesis in Education

Vinh - 2011

Ministry of education and training

VINH UNIVERSITY

- -NGUYEN THI VAN THUY

AN INVESTIGATION INTO GROUP WORK ACTIVITIES

AT QUY HOP II HIGH SCHOOL IN NGHE AN PROVINCE.

( Nghiên cứu về các hoạt động nhóm ở các giờ học nói Tiếng Anh

lớp10 tại trường THPT Quỳ Hợp II –Tỉnh Nghệ An)

Master thesis in Education

Vinh - 2011

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “An investigation into group work activities

in the 10 th graders’ English speaking classes at Quy Hop II High School in Nghe

An province” is the result of my own research for teachers of English and students

at this school and this thesis has not been submitted for any degree to any otheruniversity or tertiary institute

In the processing of accomplishing the thesis, I am fortunate to receivevaluable help and support of many people I, therefore, wish to express my greatappreciation to all of them

Firstly, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor,Assoc.Prof.Dr Ngô Đình Phương for his precious comment, instruction andsuggestion, especially, his encouragement and correction during the time I tried

to complete this thesis

I am grateful to my all lecturers of the Post Graduate Studies Department,College of Foreign Languages – Vinh University and Hanoi National Universityfor their useful and interesting lectures

My special thanks also go to my colleagues and students at Quy Hop II HighSchool for their excellent assistance and cooperation in completing the surveyquestionnaire as well as their willingness to share their ideas on this study

I am greatly indebted to my all friends who were willing to share mematerials, ideas and proof reading that helped me much in completing my work.Last but not least, I am appreciative of my family whose spiritualencouragement contributes a significant part to the completion of the research

This thesis aims at finding out the difficulties of using group work activities

in the 10th graders’ English speaking classes encountered by teachers of English andstudents at Quy Hop II High School and offered some practical solutions and somesuggested group work activities as a key to create more successful speaking classes

The research approach carried out both quantitative and qualitative data.Data elicited through survey questionnaires, structured interview and classobservation Findings from the research show the real situation of teaching andlearning English as well as the problems of using group work activities in speakingclasses These problems relate both teachers and students not only includingobjective ones such as the teachers’ misunderstanding of the CLT; lack ofmotivation; lack of time; large size classes and classroom physical condition butalso consisting of subjective ones, for examples, the teachers’ lack of creativeness,the students’ low English proficiency; mixed-ability level; passive participation andoveruse of Vietnamese

On the basis of the findings, some suggested group work activities arepresented with appropriate samples with the hope that their teaching and learningEnglish skill will be improved significantly

At the end of the thesis, some recommendations for conducting group workactivities are also given with a view that these will be of some use for both Englishteachers and students

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CLT Communicative Language Teaching

TBI Task- Based Instruction

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figures:

Figure 1 Students’ perceived importance of group work activities in Englishspeaking classes

Figure 2 Students’ attitudes about teachers’ frequency of using group workactivities

Figure 3 Students’ formed group work

Figure 4 Students’ opinions about group work activities

Figure 5 Factors preventing students’ speaking skill in group work activities

Figure 6 Students’ difficulties in group work activities

Figure 7 The students’ discouragements in participating group works activities.Figure 8 Students’ opinions about group work activities in the stages of Englishspeaking lesson

Figure 9 Ways to improve the effectiveness of group work activities in Englishspeaking classes

Figure 10 Teachers’ current method

Figure 11 Teachers’ attitudes towards Communicative Language Teaching

Figure 12 Teachers’ perceived importance of group work activities in Englishspeaking classes

Figure 13 Teachers’ frequency of using group activities in English speaking lessonsFigure 14 Number of students in each class

Figure 15 Factors preventing students’ group work activities participation

Figure 16 Teachers’ opinions about group work activities in the stages of Englishspeaking lesson

Figure 17 Teachers’ opinions on the effectiveness of group work activities

Figure 18 Students’ attitude toward group work activities

Figure 19 Students’ attitudes about teachers’ frequency of using group workactivities

Figure 20 Students’ opinions about group work activities

Figure 21 Factors preventing students’ speaking skill in group work activitiesFigure 22 Students’ difficulties in using group work activities

Figure 23 The students’ discouragements in participating group work activities.Figure 24 Students’ opinions about group work activities in the stages of Englishspeaking lesson

Tables:

Table 1 Students’ opinions on the benefits of using group work activities in learningEnglish speaking

Table 2 Group work activities often used in English speaking classes

Table 3 The teachers’ experience of teaching

Table 4 Teachers’ group work activities in English speaking classes

Table 5 Students’ opinions on the benefits of using group work activities inlearning English speaking

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Introduction 4

1.1 Rationale of the study 4

1.2 Aims of the study 6

1.3 Research questions 7

1.4 Scope of the study 7

1.5 Significance of study 7

1.6 Methods of the study 8

1.7 Organization of the study 8

Chapter 2 Theoretical background 10 2.1 Speaking Skill 10

2.1.1 The nature of speaking 10

2.1.2 The role of speaking 12

2.1.3 The characteristics of a successful speaking activity 13

2.1.4 Problems with speaking activity 14

2.2 Teaching English Speaking Communicatively 14

2.2.1 Communicative Language Teaching 14

2.2.2 Task- Based Instruction 17

2.2.3 Principles for Teaching English Speaking 19

2.2.4 Communicative Activities for Teaching Speaking 20

2.2.4.1 Group work 20

2.2.4.2 Games 21

2.2.4.3 Role play 21

2.2.4.4 Stimulation 22

2.2.4.5 Discussion 22

2.2.4.6 Problem- Solving 23

2.2.4.7 Brainstorming 23

2.2.4.8 Planning activities 24

2.3 Group work in teaching speaking 25

2.3.1 Definition of group work 25

2.3.2 Benefits and Drawbacks of Group Work 26

2.3.3 The types of group work 28

2.3.4 The role of the teacher in group work 29

Chapter 3 Research methodology 31 3.1 Setting of the study 31

3.1.1 Teachers of English in Quy Hop II high School 31

3.1.2 Students in Quy Hop II school 32

3.1.3 Speaking material 33

3.2 Subjects of the study 34

3.2.1 Participants 34

3.2.2 Data collection instruments 34

3.2.2.1 Questionnaire for students 35

3.2.2.2 Questionnaire for teachers 35

3.2.2.3 Interviews 36

3.2.2.4 Class observations 36

Chapter 4 Findings and Discussion 37 4.1 Result from students’ pre-task questionnaire, interview and class observation 37

4.1.1 The attitude of the students towards working in group activities 37

4.1.2 The students’ difficulties in using group work activities 41

4.1.3 Students’ opinions about techniques for group work activities in English speaking classes 45

4.2 Results from teachers’ survey questionnaire, interview and class observation 48

4.2.1 Teachers’ experience 48

4.2.2 Teachers’ opinions about Communicative Language Teaching 49

4.2.3 Teachers’ attitudes towards group work activities in English speaking classes 50

4.2.4 Teachers’ difficulties in group work activities in English speaking classes 52

4.2.5 Teachers’ techniques in group work activities in English speaking classes 54

4.4 Discussion 56

4.4.1 Teachers’ problems 56

4.4.2 Students’ problem 57

4.4.2.1 Low English proficiency 57

4.4.2.2 Mixed- ability level 58

4.4.2.3 Lack of motivation 58

4.4.2.4 Passive participation 58

4.4.2.5 Overuse of Vietnamese 59

4.4.3 Other problems 59

4.4.3.1 Limited time 59

4.4.3.2 Large sized classes 60

4.4.3.3 Classroom physical conditions 60

4.5 Data analysis of students’ post- task questionnaire 61

4.5.1 The changes of the students’ attitude towards working in group activities 61

4.6.2 The changes of students’ difficulties in using group work activities 62

4.6.3 The changes of students’ opinions about techniques for group work activities in English speaking classes 65

Chapter 5 Conclusion 67 5.1 Summary of the study 67

5.2 Conclusion 68

5.3 Some suggested group work activities in the 10 th graders’ English speaking classes 69

5.3.1 Brainstorming 69

5.3.2 Games 70

5.3.3 Role- play 71

5.3.4 Discussion 73

5.3.5 Problem solving activities 74

5.3.6 Planning activities 75

5.4 Recommendation on how to use group work activities in class 76

5.4.1 For students 76

5.4.2 For teachers 77

5.5 Limitation of the study 78

5.6 Suggestions for further study 78

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 Rationale of the study

As we embark on the new millennium of integration and development, theneed for communication among countries is rapidly increasing for the expansion ininternational trade, diplomacy, education, cultural exchanges, and developments inscience and technology Thus, English nowadays has become an internationallanguage which is used in every field of life As the open policy has been carriedout in Vietnam, English is a useful and indispensable means for the integration ofour country into the world community Learning English becomes a necessity forVietnamese people, especially, learning speaking gains a great importance as theneed of communication is paid much attention According to Genc and Bada(2005), having English skills encourage learners to communicate with foreignerscomfortably, understand differences in culture and hold positive attitudes towardusing English Furthermore, Bailey and Savage (1994) hold that to communicate on

a daily basis, speaking is a necessary and basic skill that also helps an Englishlearner become a good reader and writer spontaneously In addition, Ellis(2003)shows that the main purpose of learner studying English as a Second language(SEL)

is to reach a personal goal to achieve success English has therefore been mostwidely taught at every age from pre-school to higher education English has become

a compulsory subject in schools In general, learning English in Vietnam has gained

a considerable achievement, however, learning speaking skill in Vietnam is notreally efficient as expected

Problems in teaching and learning English relate both teachers and learners.This problem is partly affected by teaching method On Thanh Nien OnlineNewspaper from http://www1.thanhnien.com.vn/Giaoduc/2005/4/4/79767.tno,Quang Sum (2004) comments that although some learners study English for 10years, they still cannot apply it in real life

Over many years, the Ministry of Education in Vietnam has made efforts inthe improvement carried out by the reform of education Central Resolution IV(Course VII) identified that to encourage self- learning the modern method must be

applied for fostering students to have creative thinking capacity and problem solving capability Besides, Central Resolution II (Course VIII) asserted that theteachers should innovate teaching methods, overcome a one way passivecommunication style and train learners’ creative thinking Moreover, the teachersgradually apply the advanced methods and modern means of teaching to ensureconditions for self- study (time and self- study for students) (from Law Library online) Especially, English Workshops, Training Courses for whole English teachersare often held annually in the country such as teaching methods, teaching Englishskills, ect.

-Organizing group work activities, therefore, seems to be believed that it isthe most optimal method in teaching English in general as well as teaching speakingEnglish lesson in particular Especially, group work is an active approach in whichenables us implement “Teaching through learners’ activities” Students can reallylearn and improve their knowledge and language skills well if they have chances to

do such activities In addition, group discussion can create a positive and favorablelearning environment in which the students can help each other in their learning,strengthen solidarity cooperation and the sense of collectiveness

Organizing group work activities has previously been applied in teachingEnglish speaking at schools in Vietnam in general , at schools in Nghe An inparticular, as well but not much to its importance Especially, since theimplementation of innovative education programs through Central Resolution 40adopted by the Tenth Vietnamese Party Congress, not is teaching method byorganizing group work only encouraged, but also mobilize to apply it as a criteriafor assessing the teachers’ teaching ability (fromhttp://vietbao.vn/vi/Giao-duc/Toan-van-bao-cao-tinh-hinh-giao-duc-Viet-Nam/40055788/202/ )

In fact, however, over some years, the application of this method is not reallyeffective at my Quy Hop II High School Teachers and learners have been facingmany different challenges Firstly, Quy Hop II high school is a mountainous HighSchool located in the West of Nghe An and about over 100 kilometers far from

Vinh city Addition to this, the large class size prevents interaction and involvementfrom being effective It is obvious that a class often involves about from 45 students

to 50 students with mix-ability levels meanwhile the number of weak students islarger than good ones The teacher has to monitor at the same time lots of groups

As a result, he or she will not be able to equally give help and advice to everygroup Moreover, teachers’ ways of teaching are effected by traditional custom,which is revealed in an article “Chúng ta đang học anh văn như thế nào?” (2006)that for many years, we have been continuously paying too much attention toteaching grammar and too little to teaching other communicative skills such asspeaking or listening

With the above reasons, I decided to do the research work with the titled: “

An investigation into group work activities in the 10 th graders’ English speaking classes at Quy Hop II High School in Nghe An” to find out the better

ways to apply group work activities for better speaking skill development amongstudents of the grade 10 at Quy Hop High School with a hope that the research willallow me to suggest more realistic and effective techniques for teachers inorganizing group work activities to develop English speaking skills for theirstudents

1.2 Aims of the study

The study is carried out with the purposes:

- To identify students’ abilities to communicative in the target language forgroup work in learning speaking skill

- To find out the perceptions of using group work for teaching and learningspeaking among students and teachers at Quy Hop II High School

- To give an insight into the group work strategies/ activities being used atQuy Hop II High School

- To work out the difficulties that the teachers of English at Quy Hop II HighSchool have been facing when using group work for speaking teaching

- To suggest some realistic and appropriate pedagogical implications toimprove students’ group work in learning speaking skill

1.3 Research questions

In this study, we will try to provide information in order to answer thefollowing questions:

(1) What are students and teachers’ attitudes toward group working?

(2) What obstacles do the teachers and students cope with using group workactivities in English speaking classes?

(What challenges have teachers and students been faced in using group workactivities in English speaking classes at Quy Hop II High School?)

(3) What suggested techniques of group work activities can be applied for effectivespeaking lessons?

1.4 Scope of the study

Dealing with organizing group work activities, the study only focuses on theinvestigation of organizing group work activities in speaking English classes of the

10 th graders students at Quy Hop II high school In this research, the researcherintends to make a brief view of the current situation of teaching and learningEnglish speaking skill of the grade 10 at Quy Hop II High School; identify theimportance of group work in English speaking lesson in the light of currentcommunicative language teaching approach and cooperative learning In a word, it

is an attempt to examine techniques and activities used by teachers and students'preferences and demand, and then suggest some recommendations for teachers toencourage students to work in group effectively and overcome difficulties inteaching speaking

1.5 Significance of study

Group work activities have been often utilized to teach English speakingskills but not much to its importance in a particular setting The information aboutorganizing group work activities implemented by the 10th graders’ English speakingclass in this research is believed to be useful for English teachers in general andEnglish teachers at Quy Hop II High School in particular Next, the perceptions ofusing group work for teaching and learning speaking among students and teachers

at Quy Hop 2 High School identified and the group work strategies/ activities used

by teachers at this school are believed to be helpful for all teachers to be aware oftheir teaching In addition, the study would hopefully give some realistic andappropriate pedagogical implications for teachers to improve students’ group workactivities in learning speaking skill and overcome some challenges in teachingspeaking English.

1.6 Methods of the study

Due to the aims and scope of the study, the combination of quantitative andqualitative methods is intended for the study:

 The quantitative method has been obtained by survey questionnaires thatwere given to both teachers and students at the high school mentioned in the study.Those questionnaires are designed with variety of response options and thus areeasy to answer

 In order to gain the most successful result, data will be collected throughquestionnaire (for teachers and students at High School) Collected data will beprocessed and analyzed

 The study employed qualitative approach Data were collected via interviewsand classroom observations:

- Interviewing teachers of English to clarify challenges raised in Englishspeaking class to Quy Hop II High school students

- Having classroom observations to get information about both teachers’ways of teaching and students’ ways of learning in class as well as to ascertain theprevalent problems forwarded by the teachers during the interviews

1.7 Organization of the study

This study consists of five chapters:

Chapter one Introduction - presents the rationale, the aims, the significance,the scope, the methodology, and the organization of the study

Chapter two Literature Review - provides a theoretical basis for the study

Chapter three Methodology - includes the methods and procedures used inthe study, which consist of survey questionnaires, follow- up interview andclassroom observation

.Chapter four Findings and Discussion- deal with the findings drawn outfrom the analysis of data The findings and discussion are based on describingEnglish speaking classes in using group work activities among students and teachers

at Quy Hop II High School

Chapter five Conclusion- draws some the conclusions of major findings,recommendations, limitations for the study, and suggestions for further studies

Chapter 2 Theoretical background2.1 Speaking Skill

2.1.1 The nature of speaking

It is obviously that speaking is the key to human communication The ability

to speak and communicate is the only difference between Animals and Humanbeings It’s due to effective communications skills that humans interact with oneanother as a social being For a person to progress well in society, only merits arenot enough, only qualifications don’t work, the person have powerfulcommunication skills so that he can put across to others what he wants them to do.It’s all fine about communication skills but the question is how to improve theseskills http://neoenglishsystem.blogspot.com/search/label/English%20Speaking

%20Skills

The meaning of communicative speaking is defined in various ways According toValette (1977), speaking as social skill With communication being the goal ofsecond language acquisition, emphasis is on the development correct speech habit.Speaking involves more than pronunciation and intonation At the functional level,speaking means making oneself understood At more refined level, speakingrequires correct and idiomatic use of target language A new comer in a foreigncountry learns to communicate to obtain the essential of life Speaking requires thatlearners not only know how to produce specific points of language, such asgrammar, pronunciation or vocabulary (linguistic competence), but also that theyunderstand when, why, and in what ways to produce language (communicativecompetence)

Byrne (1986:8) shows that “speaking is a two-way process between aspeaker and a listener (or listeners), involving the productive skill of speaking andthe receptive skill of understanding (or listening with understanding)” He meansthat there is a close relationship between the speaking skills and listening skills innormal, authentic oral communication He also made a clear distinction between

written and spoken language: “… in contrast to the written language, where

sentences are carefully structured and linked together, speed is characterized by

incomplete and sometimes ungrammatical utterance and by frequent false and repetitions”

According to Chaney (1998:13) speaking is “the process of building and

sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non verbal symbols, in a variety context” Bailey (2005:2) shares the same view that “speaking is the productive,

oral skill It consists of producing systematic verbal utterances to convey meaning”.Similarly, Burn and Joyce (1997) state that speaking is an interactive process ofconstructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processinginformation; Its form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs,including the participants themselves, their collective experience, the physicalenvironment, and the purposes for speaking; It is often spontaneous, open endedand evolving

To be more specific, Bygate (1987) assumes that interaction skills involvemaking decision about communication while maintaining desired relations withothers Moreover, Nunan (1999) suggests that in functional terms, most interaction

can be divided into interpersonal dialogues that promote social relationships and the second aims to convey factual information call transactional dialogues In

addition, Patrison (1987) states that oral communication must include speaking andlistening It means that there at least two participants: speakers and listeners in aconversation

From the aforementioned nature of spoken language, it is clear that the majorpurpose of teaching and learning speaking is to train learners for oral fluency, theability to express them reasonably and accurately in every oral communication.Therefore, understanding the nature of the spoken language helps learners feel moreconfident in communicating with others, thus they can participate successfully incommunication For language teachers, taking the nature of spoken language intoaccount will help them find out the suitable methods and techniques to motivate andimprove their students’ language competence for authentic communicativepurposes

In conclusion, in order to give a precise definition of what speaking is noteasy; however, many linguists have defined it basing on the emphasis, on thedifferences between spoken and written language Being aware of the nature ofspoken language, we understand that what is produced in speaking activities issomewhat spontaneous and comprehensible.

2.1.2 The role of speaking

In language, teaching and learning speaking play one of the most importantroles for teachers and learners.In social contexts, social roles are likely to be taken

by those who learn and know how to speak, but not by those who do not have thisskill In language learning, speaking plays an utmost important role among the fourlanguage skills (listening, reading, speaking and writing) since it helps to identifywho knows or does not know a language Pattison (1992) points out that whenpeople mention knowing or learning a language, they mean being able to speak thelanguage

It is a medium through which much language is learnt and which isparticularly useful for learning The ability to communicate in a second languageclearly and efficiently contributes to the success of the learner in school and successlater in every phrase of life (Kayi, 2006) Many students equate being able to speak

a language as knowing the language and therefore view learning the language aslearning how to speak the language, or according to Nunan (1991): "success ismeasured in terms of the ability to carry out a conversation in the (target)language." Therefore, if students do not learn how to speak or do not get anyopportunity to speak in the language classroom they may soon get de-motivated andlose interest in learning The skill of speaking has been recently considered by manymethodologists a priority in language teaching In Nunan’s theory, the ability tooperate in a second language can be actually equated to the ability to speak thatlanguage

Many language learners consider speaking ability the measure of knowing alanguage As for them, fluency is ability to converse with others much more thanthe ability to read or write They regard speaking as the most important skill they

can acquire and they assess their progress in terms of their accomplishments onspoken communication

Therefore, if learners do not learn how to speak or do not get anyopportunities to speak in the language classroom, they may soon get de-motivatedand lose interest in learning On the contrary, if the right activities are taught in theright way, speaking in lass can be a lot of fun, raising general learner motivationand making the English language classroom a fun and dynamic place to be.

2.1.3 The characteristics of a successful speaking activity

Speaking is the skill that students will be evaluated in real- life situations.Their speaking activities those are successful or not based on their fluent andcomprehensible speech

According to Van Duzer (1997), a speaker’s skills and speech habits have animpact on the success of any exchange Thus, developing students’ speakingactivity is focused on fluency and communication in many materials and activities.However, learners’ successful speaking activity based on many various factors.There are some different overviews about successful speaking ability

Pattison (1992: 7-8) shows some criteria to develop speaking ability:

 Learners choose what they want to say by giving them a list of differentsituations or topics (with one or some grammar points for elementarylevel)

 Type of drills in which learners respond mechanically without thinkingabout what they are saying is left out

 Teachers should pay more attention to fluency than accuracy and do notinterrupt to correct mistakes or errors

 Pair or group work is employed

According to Ur (1986), a successful speaking activity refers to four followingfactors:

 High learners’ talking time get them an opportunity to create anddetermine what they want to express

 High motivation help learners desire to communicate.

 Even participation creates every learner to have a chance to raise theirvoices equally

 An acceptable level of language may raise learners present themselves inrelevant and comprehensible ways with acceptable accuracy

2.1.4 Problems with speaking activity

Ur (1996) claims that a successful speaking ability should achieve a maximalstudent taking time, even participation among students, student strong motivation tospeak and comprehensibility of students’ language She points out some commonproblems existing in practicing speaking activities:

 Inhibition: learners often have a shy a nervous feeling while speaking,especially in front of class or other people; they worried about makingmistake, fearful of losing face, criticism

 Nothing-to-say situations: when learners do not have anything to say due

to the lack of knowledge and low language proficiency or no motive toexpress themselves beyond the guilty feeling

 Low or uneven participation: when only a few participants dominatediscussion at a time in a large group meanwhile others speak little or not

at all In some cases, some students have not any chance, intentionally orunintentionally, to speak for a long time

 Mother-tongue use: learners often share the same mother tongue andabuse it in second language learning class because they feel the nativelanguage is easier to use and it is not natural to speak to other in a foreignlanguage

2.2 Teaching English Speaking Communicatively

2.2.1 Communicative Language Teaching

The origins of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) were found in thechanges in the British language teaching tradition dating from the late 1960s(Richards & Rodgers, 1996) It is an outcome of more attention to learners’

effective and appropriate use of language learnt Communicative LanguageTeaching marks the beginning of a major innovation within language teachingbecause of its superior principles which are widely accepted nowadays.

Meaningful communicative activities aim at real communication and the

development of communicative competence Savignon ( 1983: 9) noted that “

Communicative competence is relative, not absolute and depends on the cooperation of all participants involved” CLT appeared from 1960s, its scope,

however, has expanded since the mid-1970s It is also referred to as

“Communicative approach to the teaching of foreign language” or simply the

“Communicative Approach"

As for Richard and Rodgers (1986), CLT means little more than an interaction ofgrammatical and functional teaching CLT, for others, means using procedureswhere learners work in pair or groups employing available language resources inproblem- solving tasks

Nunan (1989) acknowledges that Communicative Language Teaching viewslanguage as a system for the expression of meaning Activities involve oralcommunication, carrying out meaning tasks and using language, which ismeaningful to the learners Objectives reflect the needs of the learners; they includefunctional skills as well as linguistic objectives The learner’s role is as a negotiatorand integrator The teacher’s role is as a facilitator of the communication process.Materials promote communicative language use; they are task-based and authentic

It is thought that the definition contains aspects that are common to manyother definitions The definitions above, as with any definitions of the languageteaching method (Penny Cook, 1989), represents a particular view of understandingand explaining language acquisition It is socially constructed and must be seen as aproduct of social, cultural, economic, and political forces

In his book, Understanding Foreign Language Teaching Methodology, Le Van

Canh (2004) claims that the changes in the second language teaching in general and

the changes in English language teaching in particular are not the changes in theway we teach These are the changes in the aims of language teaching and learning.

In Viet Nam, The Ministry of Education and Training has recently put into practice

a new series of English textbooks, which focus on the Communicative LanguageTeaching (CLT) The use of group work in teaching English language skills isemphasized in the teacher’s guide books in order to apply this method moreeffectively

Characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching:

Little Wood’ s theory shows that one of the most characteristic features ofcommunicative language teaching is that it pays systematic attention to functional

as well as structural aspects of language

CLT is usually characterized as a broad approach to teaching, rather than as ateaching method H Douglas Brown offers the following four interconnectedcharacteristics as a definition of CLT:

 Classroom goals are focused on all the components of communicativecompetence and not restrict to grammatical or linguistic competence

 Language techniques are designed to engage learners in the pragmatic,authentic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes.Organizational language forms are not the central focus but rather aspect oflanguage that enable the learner to accomplish those purposes

 Fluency and accuracy are seen as complementary principles underlyingcommunicative techniques At times fluency may have to take on moreimportance than accuracy in order to keep learners meaningful engaged inlanguage use

 In the communicative classroom, students ultimately have to use thelanguage, productively, and receptively in unrehearsed contexts

Meanwhile, David Nunan ( 1991: 279) presents five characteristics of CLT:

 An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the targetlanguage

 The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation

 The provision of opportunities to focus , not only on language but also on thelearning process itself

 An enhancement of the learners’ own personal experiences as importantcontributing elements to classroom learning

 An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activationoutside the classroom

These five features are claimed by practitioners of CLT to show that theyare very interested in the needs and desires of their learners as well as theconnection between the language as it is taught in their classroom and as it is usedoutside the classroom Under this broad umbrella definition, any teaching practicethat helps students develop their communicative competence in an authentic context

is deemed an acceptable and beneficial form of instruction Thus, in the classroomCLT often takes the form of group work requiring negotiation and cooperationamong learners to develop their confidence, role-plays in which students practiceand develop language functions as well as judicious use of grammar andpronunciation focused activities

Littlewood (1994) points out that learners should learn how to use thelanguage spontaneously and flexibly in order to express their intended message andthey should be placed in situations where they must use language as aninstrument for satisfying communicative needs and where the criterion forsuccess is functional effectiveness rather than structural accuracy Thus

“communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitatecommunication The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter

in real life.”(www.monografias.com)

2.2.2 Task- Based Instruction

Task- based instruction is different from other more traditional methods oflanguage teaching In task –based instruction,students participate in communicativetasks in English Task- based instruction promotes learners’ communication,interaction and negotiation In addition, the task fosters active participation,involvement and scaffolding Students’ interaction during the tasks facilitates the

transfer of information they have previously learned and incorporates it with newinformation they will receive as they perform the task Connecting task to real-lifesituations contextualizes language in a meaningful way and provide large amounts

of input and feedback ( Krahnke 1987)

Tasks are defined as activities that can stand alone as fundamental units and thatrequire comprehending, producing, manipulating, or interacting in authenticlanguage while attention is principally paid to meaning rather than form (Nunan,1989)

According to Bourker 2006, TBI is suitable for all ages and backgrounds,especially younger learner All children have learned their L1 in a contextualizedsetting Besides, Krahnke, 1987 emphasizes TBI can be used to teach content aswell as traditional teaching method, can provide motivation due to tasks beingrelevant and immediate, and can be a useful method for students who don’t do well

in more traditional types of classroom learning and where teachers have a littleautonomy over their lesson planning

In task- based instruction, group work is often used to increase studentinteraction and collaboration For example, learners work together to discuss atopic, enact scenes from a play or take part in other joint tasks More structuredcooperative learning formats can also be used in task-based instruction TBI isrelevant to all levels of language proficiency, but the nature of the task varies fromone level to the other Tasks become increasingly complex at higher proficiencylevels For instance, beginners might be asked to introduce each other and share oneitem of information about each other More advanced students might do moreintricate and demanding tasks, such as taking a public opinion poll at school, theuniversity, or a shopping mall

Nunan (1991) gives out five characteristics of a task-based approach tolanguage teaching as follows:

 An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in thetarget language

 The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation

 The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only onlanguage but also on the learning process itself.

 An enhancement of the learners’ own personal experience asimportant contributing elements to classroom learning

 An attempt to link classroom language learning with languageactivation outside classroom

2.2.3 Principles for Teaching English Speaking

Nunan (2003) considered “teaching speaking” as a way to teach ESL learners

to produce the English speech sounds and sound patterns It can help learners useword and sentence stress, intonation patterns and the rhythm of the secondlanguage; select appropriate words and sentences according to the proper socialsetting, audience, situation and subject matter It is important that teachers helpstudent be aware ofthe differences between second language and foreign languagelearning In addition, they give their students practice with both fluency andaccuracy Accuracy in language teaching involves the correct use of vocabulary,grammar and pronunciation In controlled and guided activities, accuracy is usuallythe focus and the teacher makes it clear form feedback that accuracy is important.Ongoing correction is often appropriate during accuracy activities In freeractivities, the teacher’s hopes are the students’ correct use of language and ability tocommunicate as well

Fluency in speaking, on the other hand, is the ability to speak fluently,spontaneously and confidently, and at the rate consistent with the norms of relevantnative speech community When speaking fluently students should be able to get themessage across with whatever resources and abilities they have, regardless ofgrammatical and other mistakes Teachers also provide opportunities for student totalk by using group work or pair work in their English speaking teaching Pair workand group work activities can be used to increase the amount of time that learnersget to speak in the target language during lessons Besides, they are limited to talkwhen they teaching speaking skill One further interesting point is that when theteacher is removed from the conversation, the learners take on diverse speaking

roles that are normally filled by the teacher (such as posing questions or offeringclarification)

Harmer (2001: 102), indicates that principles of teaching speaking are as follows:

 Help students overcome their initial reluctance to speak Beencouraging; provide opportunity; start from something simple;

 Ask students to talk about what they want to talk about

 Ask students to talk about what they are able to talk about

 Provide appropriate feedback

 Combine speaking with listening and reading

 Incorporate the teaching of speech acts in teaching speaking

Teaching speaking aims to teach the learners how to organize their thoughts in ameaningful and logical sequence, how to use the language quickly and confidentlywith few unnatural pauses, which is called fluency

2.2.4 Communicative Activities for Teaching Speaking

Communicative activities are considered to be the most useful forms offoreign language practice in the classroom Thanks to them, learners are providedwith many opportunities to practice the language they have learnt in acommunicative way

Communicative activities, defined by Harmer (1991), are those that givestudents who are somehow involved in both the desire to communicate and apurpose involving them in a varied use of language He identifies oralcommunicative activities into eight categories: reaching consensus, discussion,relaying instructions, communication games, problem solving, talking about you,simulation, and role-play

Communicative activities that develop learners’ ability to express themselvesthrough speech are an important component of a language course when CLT isapplied Many researchers have discussed classroom activities and a lot of activitiesare designed based on the theory and characteristics of CLT

2.2.4.1 Group work

Group activity is being able to stimulate and persuade the interest of study

among students Through this activity the involvement of student in class will beincreased, learning in groups is more effective to stimulate and strike the values such

as motivation, confidence, the interest to study, cooperation and others (Jacobs andRatmanida, 1996: 102)

2.2.4.2 Games

Communicative games for speaking skills not only provide learners withopportunities to talk but also encourage their participation and can highly motivatethem in communication Furthermore, by playing these games, students will usetheir limited English more naturally because their concentration will be on solvingthe problems posed by the games and not on the language they use to solve theproblems

According to Carrier (1980:6) “Games stimulate students’ participation andgive them confidence.” This is when students free themselves in order to participate

to get the best score or even to be the best in the class They usually feel much moreconfident with their performance and this makes them learn and practice newstructures, learn from their mistakes, and fulfill the goals of the class, indeed

Using games in group work increase students’ motivation in learningEnglish Games help learners to relax and they stimulate communication

Branders and Ginnis( 1977) and Branders( 1982) find also good ideas for games.They believe that games can provide a structure to learn on; initiate group workskills; defuse tension; build trust and sensitivity; enhance self-esteem; provideopportunity for everyone to participate( or not); enhance academic achievement;breakdown teacher/ student and student/ student barriers; promote goodcommunication; improve group functioning; increase self-disclosure; increaseconcentration and encourage creativity and lateral thinking

2.2.4.3 Role play

This activity plays an important role in an English speaking class because itgives students opportunity to communicate in the target language freely andfluently This activity also helps to satisfy a great variety of communicate needsarising from daily activities outside classroom such as fulfilling roles as a doctor

and a patient at the doctors’; or an interviewer and an interviewee at a job- interview

or a customer making a complaint and a shop manager

Role- play is one of the communicative techniques which develop fluency inlanguage students which promote interaction in the classroom and increasesmotivation Teachers use this activity to refer to a number of different activities,ranging from simple dialogues prompted by specific information on role cards tomore complex simulations which pass through a number of stages.( Tricia Hedge2000:278)

Thanks to role- play activities, teachers have more chance to create thepresence of a real life situation in the classroom and provide learners with theopportunities to develop social skills and creativities This activity is also helpful forquiet and shy learners because they have more opportunities to talk without fear ofbeing corrected

2.2.4.4 Stimulation

Simulations are very similar to role-plays but what makes simulationsdifferent than role plays is that they are more elaborate In simulations, students canbring items to the class to create a realistic environment For instance, if a student isacting as a singer, she brings a microphone to sing and so on In particular, theteacher must keep learners motivated by stimulating their curiosity and keeping thematerial relevant, creating a "tension to learn"

In short, role plays and simulations have many advantages First, since they areentertaining, they motivate the students Second, as Harmer (1984) suggests, theyincrease the self-confidence of hesitant students, because in role play and simulationactivities, they will have a different role and do not have to speak for themselves,which means they do not have to take the same responsibility

about something with their friends in groups Byrne D (1980) defines discussion as

“any exchange of ideas and opinions either on a class basic, with the teacher asmediator, or within the context of the group, with the students talking amongthemselves” In addition, it is very effective in a speaking activity because it givesstudents a practice in negotiating meaning According to Ur (1981), discussion isthe most natural and effective way to talk freely in English by thinking of someproblems or situations then giving answers to these through verbal interchange ofideas However, the teachers may also let students choose one of the given topics orsuggest the topic As a result, they will be motivated and interested in their topic Inaddition, well- managed discussions are interesting, absorbing and active Not onlycan the teachers create a safe environment for their students to examine theiropinions but they also offer a chance for students to use high- order cognitive skillssuch as evaluation and synthesis Importantly, the students have more opportunity toget to know each other which make them feel at ease and become communicative

2.2.4.6 Problem- Solving

This task includes there features of communication: information gap, choiceand feedback so it is very useful for the teacher to use this activity in an Englishspeaking class A problem may be solved by students working in groups or by eachstudent working alone In the latter case, after each student has his solution, thestudents may be divided into several small groups of 4 or 5 Each group negotiateswith each other and then selects a representative to report in front of class afterworking out a solution to that problem

2.2.4.7 Brainstorming

Brainstorming is creative thinking by a group of people designed to generate

a number of ideas to solve a given problem According to Brandes and Ginnis(1986:37):

It is important to get to the group that you are going to take seriously whatever it is that they say We feel that the best way to do this is to write down absolutely everything they say, and censor nothing, even if it is silly…

For him, the fundamental aim of brainstorming is the enhancement of self- concept,which is a very subtle and effective method It is good because every contribution is

appreciated equally and no one feels dominated All is towards a positive feeling inthe group.

When working in group, brainstorming can be very effective for bringing thefull experience and creativity of all members of the group to bear on an issue.Besides, it can help everyone believe that they’ve contributed creative ideas to theend solution What’s more, group brainstorming can produce ideas in more depththan individual brainstorming Taylor et al 1958 shows that brainstorming is greatfun, but surprisingly, research shows that people can produce almost twice as manyeffective ideas when working alone

2.2.4.8 Planning activities

Planning is another type of group work which involves different activities ofdiscussion, decision making, problem- solving and making a plan This type hasproved its benefits in communication enhancement A variety of opportunities areprovided for students to use their target language to discuss with other teammembers to come to an agreement for their plan Nunan (1991) and Littlewood(1994) share more or less the same idea that asking students to make a plan whenpractising a language means the teacher is generating chances for activeparticipation, coordination, real practice situation and maximizing the sense ofresponsibility among students More than that, confidence and language proficiencywould be gradually improved In fact, quite a good range of activities relating toplanning have been used such as asking students to plan an event (birthday party,school music show, a class excursion, a trip ), a meeting, a festival, andthose activities are widely believed to be the best for group work to developspeaking skills

In conclusion, communicative activities are popularly used in the process offoreign language teaching and learning at High school Thanks to the advantages ofthese kinds of activity, teachers of English have probably exploited them to improvethe speaking ability for their students Furthermore, students are given chances tolearn and practice their English in truly communicative situations

2.3 Group work in teaching speaking

2.3.1 Definition of group work

Group work has been incorporated into language teaching and learning inmost parts of the world since the emergence of the CLT in the early 1970s, and hastaken firm root in many present-day ESL or EFL classrooms This approach cameinto being because of the ever-growing need for the use of language forcommunicative purposes, and because of the fact that a lot of educators andlinguists became more and more dissatisfied with the Audio-Lingual and Grammar-Translation methods of language teaching

Group work refers to tasks, activities and exercises carried out by learnersworking in small, co-operative groups It involves a number of people who interactwith one another, who are psychologically aware of one another, and perceivethemselves to be a group Similarly, Nolasco and Arthur ( 1998) define that groupwork is a number of people assigned a task together and they will work on itcooperatively According to Doff (1998: 137) in group work the teacher divides theclass into small groups to work together (usually four or five students in eachgroup) and all the groups work at the same time In Brumfit’s theory (1984), groupwork is often considered an essential feature of communicate language teaching

In Elizabeth G Cohen’s book (1931) Designing Group Work: Strategies for

the Heterogeneous classroom, he defines group work as students working together

in a group small enough so that everyone can participate on task that has beenclearly assigned Moreover, students are expected to carry out their task withoutdirect and immediate supervision of their teacher Group work is not the same asability grouping in which the teachers divide up the class by academic criteria sothat they can instruct a more homogeneous group

Group work refers to a form of cooperative learning It caters to individualdifferences, develops learners' knowledge, communication skills, collaborativeskills, critical thinking skills and attitudes (Oxford Dictionary, 2009)

In summary, group work includes activities and exercises carried out bylearners working in small, co-operative groups Group work encompasses collectiveperception, needs, shared aims, interdependence, cohesiveness and membership Itcaters to individual differences, develops learners' knowledge, skills and attitudes.Group work can be a means for acknowledging and utilizing an individual learner’sadditional strengths and expertise.

2.3.2 Benefits and Drawbacks of Group Work

Group work has been widely believed to offer various advantages such asenhancing students’ interaction, the quality of students talk, generating a supportiveatmosphere, creating chances to use the target language and promoting learnerautonomy (Long & Porter, 1985; Brown, 2001)

According to Willis (1998), the advantage of group work is that it giveslearner more chance to practice speaking They learn different thing from differentpeople while weaker learner benefit by hearing better learner speaking, meanwhilebetter learner benefit by explaining and paraphrasing

Students in a group can communicate about their task with each other Notonly may interaction include verbal as asking questions, explaining, makingsuggestion, criticizing, listening , agreeing , disagreeing or making joint decisions,but also this may be nonverbal such as pointing, showing how, nodding, frowning,

or smiling Thanks to group work, students will also have opportunities to use

various pattern of interactions, for language practice and problem solving activitieswithin a modified communicative framework Especially, less confident studentsget the chance to put their knowledge of the new language into practice in a non-threatening environment, away from the criticism of the teacher In favor of it,Salmon (1988) adds that GW also helps increase students’ confidence

A second, related, benefit is that group work improves the quality of studenttalk Group work increases the opportunities for all learners to speak the newlanguage, it allows them to learn from each other, and frees the teacher to monitorindividuals and give them feedback Group work may increase each partner’

opportunity to practice speaking and this will reduce to some extent thepsychological burden of public performance.

Long & Porter (1985) hold that group work can promote students’ practice,the quality of their talk, their motivation, and positive classroom atmosphere.According to Zhenhui, (2001) & Brown (2001) cooperative affective classroomatmosphere is likely to be created through group activities Similarly, Zhenhui,(2001) & Luft, (1984), (as cited in Martine, 2003) show that cooperation and unityamong them can be also facilitated Moreover, small group activities enablestudents to take a more active role in their learning as well as to act as an importantresource person for one another (Mc Groarty, 1989) On the other hand, the member

of the group need help each other to complete the task; they cannot do it all bythemselves Students take over some of teaching function by partners’ suggestion,repetition or explanation

In theory’s Davis (1993), students working in small groups tend to learnmore of what is taught and retain it longer than when the same content is presented

in other instructional formats Furthermore, group activities can promote learnerautonomy (Brown, 2001; Bourner et al., 2001, as cited in Yuenfeng, 2005) Becausestudents can make their own decisions without being told what to do by the teacher,they are likely to be more responsible for their learning (Harmer, 2001)

Besides the aforesaid advantages, we must be realistic and assume that theremight be some problems First, group work in class inevitably results in a noisy andchaotic classroom because of groups work at the same time and the teacher has tomonitor a lot of groups In addition, it is obvious that in Vietnam’s languageteaching context, a classroom often houses approximately 50 students As a result,the teacher will not be able to equally give help and advice to every group AsKumar (1992) mentions, large class size might make interaction and involvementdifficult

Another problem that most English teacher may face when using groupactivities is mixed ability students In a mixed-ability group, better learners will

consolidate their own understanding of issues at hand when explaining these toslower learners, while slower ones will benefit from peer tutoring by faster learners.

As a result, all members may not participate equally in discussions Group activitiescause unbalanced participationamong members (Chen, 2004) This may be becausesome may fall into roles that easily become fossilized; consequently, they turn out

to be passive whereas the others might dominate (Harmer, 2001) For instance, ahigh-level learner may not want to work with a weaker partner and tend to dominateand monopolize most of the time As a result, slow learners have the tendency towithdraw and sit still listening to their dominating partners

Last but not at least, prior passive learning experience is a factor thatprevents learners from taking part in group work activities They still do not getaccustomed to presenting their ideas in front of their class Furthermore, they feelgreatly face-losing when using the target language incorrectly or inappropriately Inaddition, in their mother tongue, learners have a wealth of strategies at their disposal

to avoid a difficult or embarrassing situation, to self-correct, or to seek help in case

of linguistic trouble That can explain why the students are hesitated to participate

in speaking activities

To sum up, it is clear from the literature that group work offers potentialadvantages such as enhancing students’ interaction, the quality of students talk,generating a supportive atmosphere, creating chances to use the target language andpromoting learner autonomy However, there are some drawbacks in working groupactivities such as a noisy and chaotic classroom, mixed-ability and prior passivelearning experience

2.3.3 The types of group work

Rod Killen (2004) indicates that group work occurs when you ask two ormore students to work together

Various types of group work haven been named as cooperative learning,collaborative learning, collective learning, teaching communities, peer teaching,peer learning, reciprocal learning, team learning, study circles, study groups, andwork groups Overall, Johnson and Smith (1991) and Davis (1993) show that there

are three general types of group: Informal learning groups, formal learning groupsand study teams.

“Informal learning groups” are ad hoc temporary clusters of learnersassembled within a single class session Informal learning groups can be initiated,for example, by asking students to turn to a neighbor and spend two minutesdiscussing a question you have posed You can also form groups of three to five tosolve a problem or pose a question You can organize informal groups at any time

in a class of any size to check on students' understanding of the material, to givestudents an opportunity to apply what they are learning, or to provide a change ofpace

“Formal learning groups” are teams established to complete a specific task,such as perform a lab experiment, write a report, carry out a project, or prepare aposition paper These groups may complete their work in a single class session orover several weeks Typically, students work together until the task is finished, andtheir project is graded

The term “study teams” refers to long-term groups with stable membership,whose primary responsibility is to provide members with support, encouragementand assistance in completing course requirements and assignments Study teamsalso inform their members about lectures and assignments when someone hasmissed a session The larger the class and the more complex the subject matter, themore valuable study teams can be

2.3.4 The role of the teacher in group work

The teacher, obviously, is considered as the managers of the activity Groupwork promotes maximum participation from all the students whose teachers mustimplement the steps such as: planning, organizing, starting, monitor, time andconcluding the activity

According to Kyriacou (1991: 58), "the setting up of group work activitiesinvolves a number of decisions about the logistics of their organization First thesize of the group and how groups are to form, second the nature of the task third the

aspect of group work concerns the teacher monitoring, forth the clear timemanagement and the group work activities" The teacher determines the finalgrouping of students, plans tasks with very specific outcomes in mind In addition,the teacher serves as a facilitator, resource, and observer during all group workactivities

Through group work the teacher uses it to help students learn from eachother, build community, and teach cooperation It is expected that the teacher willremain actively involved by circulating among the groups; the atmosphere and pace

of the groups and noting persistent errors for remedial teaching It is the teacherwho signals closure to the group work activities In order to prepare for groupwork, the teacher will need to do the following:

 Select the activity

 Prepare any physical materials for group work ahead of time

 Anticipate the size and the selection of groups

 Anticipate how students will be organized within the groups (tasks and roles)

 Set the time for the group work

 Consider how the small group work will be shared with the entire class and linked with the overall curriculum

( Felisa Tibbitts, Human Rights Education Associates retrieved from

http://www.hrea.org/pubs/smallgroups.html)

Summary

This chapter has presented theoretical background of the study It includes threemain parts: Speaking skill, Teaching English speaking communicatively and groupwork in teaching speaking The research methodology will be introduced in the nextchapter

Chapter 3 Research methodology

This chapter presents two parts: the setting of the study, subjects andmethods of the study In the first part, teachers of English, students in Quy Hop II,text book are mentioned In the second part, participants and data collectioninstruments will be also introduced

3.1 Setting of the study

3.1.1 Teachers of English in Quy Hop II high School

The study was conducted at Quy Hop II high school, which is located inthe West of Nghe An province and about over 100 kilometers far from Vinh city, is

a mountainous High School

The school has 36 classes with over 80 teachers of different subjects;meanwhile, there are 8 teachers of English aged from 24 to 40 Their experience inteaching English varies from 3 to 12 years

In terms of teachers’ qualification, most high school teachers graduated fromForeign Language Teachers' Training Universities These teachers are qualified forthe job Three of them took in - service English courses To some extent, oneteacher is unqualified in terms of the proficiency in English and professionalEnglish A number of teachers have troubles in pronouncing English sounds and inexpressing themselves in the target language However, most of English teachers ofQuy Hop II high school yearly take part in English Workshops, Training Coursesfor English teachers on teaching methodology for different English skills

With regard to teaching methods, as teachers of English in many other Highschools in Nghe An, English teachers in Quy Hop High school are now morecommunication-oriented However, the teachers’ ways of teaching are affected bytraditional custom Some get used to speech dominated education by a teacher-centered, book-centered, Grammar Translation Method and an emphasis on rotememory In addition, as the results of a recent study carried out by the researchershow, the teachers of English at Quy Hop II high school confront of difficulties in

English speaking classes, especially organizing group work activities Therefore, it

is very necessary for English teachers of Quy Hop II high school to find outeffective ways to minimize the difficulties in using group work activities and fromthen, to develop the quality of teaching English speaking lessons

3.1.2 Students in Quy Hop II school.

Students of Quy Hop II high school come from the villages in the district.Some of them are ethnic minorities such as Thai, Tho, ect Currently, there areapproximately 1650 students ranged from grade 10 to grade 12 Although most ofthe students are of the importance of learning English, few students have realinterest in learning English In other words, the majority of the students do not paymuch attention to English As a result, the teaching of English in general and theteaching of English in particular has encountered with many difficulties

First, the students rarely use English to talk to each other because they lack

of vocabulary, background Therefore, they use their mother tongue in Englishspeaking class; except, when they are asked to speak English by their teacher Next,

in classroom interaction, students are enthusiastic when familiar subject matters arepresented in Vietnamese In addition, it is very difficult for teacher to explain a newword, a new concept or a new topic because of mixed- ability students Somestudents are only good at grammar, not speaking They can do grammaticalexercises very quickly and well but they cannot make fluent utterances and most ofthem do not feel confident in communicating English

Last but not least, the school rules also cause difficulties in organizingcommunicative activities to stimulate the students to speak

Thus for practical purposes, the natural use of English in our school isconfined to the artificial classroom context, between four walls, in the Englishlanguage class and under school rules Therefore, the need to practice speaking inclass is the highest