Using situational role – play to improve efl vocational students’ speaking ability

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY DƯƠNG THẢO NGUYÊN M.A THESIS IN EDUCATION USING SITUATIONAL ROLE – PLAY TO IMPROVE EFL VOCATIONAL STUDENTS’ SPEAKING ABILITY Field:

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

DƯƠNG THẢO NGUYÊN

USING SITUATIONAL ROLE – PLAY

TO IMPROVE EFL VOCATIONAL STUDENTS’ SPEAKING ABILITY

MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

DƯƠNG THẢO NGUYÊN

M.A THESIS IN EDUCATION

USING SITUATIONAL ROLE – PLAY TO IMPROVE EFL VOCATIONAL STUDENTS’

SPEAKING ABILITY

Field: Theory and Methodology of English Teaching

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Ph.D Ngo Dinh Phuong

Code: 8140111

Nghe An, August, 2018

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby certify that my thesis entitles: “USING SITUATIONAL

ROLE – PLAY TO IMPROVE EFL VOCATIONAL

STUDENTS’ SPEAKING ABILITY” is the result of my own

research, in fulfillment of the requirement for the M.A degree at Vinh

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I honestly thanks to my supervisor, Ngo Dinh Phuong who always help me to carry out this study I highly appreciate his comment and support because this advices also gave me a chance to learn how to do the study In addition, I would like to thank to all teachers in Vinh University that give me more advice for my study well, I would like to send thanks to all colleagues of

Nam Saigon Vocational & Technical College who help me much during the time I study this subject They also support me to do this assignment Last but not least, my deepest gratitude is for my family, my friends and so many others Their love, encouragement and support give me motivation to overcome the difficulties I have faced especially the stressful time working

on the thesis I would like to thank to all teachers in Vinh University that give

me more advice for my study well

ABSTRACT

Vietnamese students‟ low English proficiency may be due to their lack of motivation, and loss of motivation to speak English Moreover, the vocational students lack interesting activities in English class, thus they feel boring that negative impact on their learning Since motivation is one of the most critical factors contributing to students‟ success Therefore, it is imperative to investigate students‟ motivation to learn English in Vietnam Furthermore, given above mentioned differences between theories and practice in Vietnamese schools, it is postulated that EFL vocational students can make differentiation in their knowledge of English and their motivation to learn English by role-play

As such, it is important to investigate whether there are motivation of role-play for Vocational students to improve their speaking ability in classroom throughout playing role in real situations, as uncovering what the role-play allows the teachers and students for consideration of strategies to enhance motivation in learning and studying process to promote learners‟ speaking skills

It is said that Role-play is learning strategies that plays an important role in learning and teaching English for students in vocational schools and it is necessary However, there are some problems when students work on role-play

It means that the teachers have to face with difficulties to deploy in the classroom As the result, the perception of students in role-play is quite limited

Therefore, I decide on choosing the title “Using Situational Role – Play to

improve EFL Vocational Students’ speaking ability” to investigate the status

of implementation of the activity in vocational schools in Vietnam

There are five main parts in the study in which the introduction presents the main purpose of the study, as well as discussing previous studies Moreover, the study applies two research methods including qualitative and quantitative

methods in which the qualitative method based on previous studies, papers, journals,… while quantitative method depended on collecting data by questionnaires, interview and observation Then, the findings show that role- play enhances vocational students‟ motivation in learning English Conclusion is summary of the main findings of the study At last, the limitation and suggestion for further studies are also presented

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Rationale

Aims of the Study

Research Questions

Scope of the Study

Significance of the Study

Previous Related Studies

Communication

Oral Fluency

Confidence in Speaking

Perception of English Language

Organization of the Study

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Teaching and Learning English Speaking Skills

2.1.1 Communicative Language Teaching Approach – An Effective Language Teaching Method

2.1.1.1 Definition of Communicative Language Teaching Approach (CLT) 2.1.1.2 The Goal of Communicative Language Teaching Approach

2.1.2 The way of learning English speaking effectively in vocational school

2.2 Situational Role-play in Teaching Speaking

2.2.1 Definition of Situational Role-play

2.2.2 The Advantages of Situational Role- play

2.2.3 The Disadvantages of Situational Role –play

2.2.4 Organize Situational Role-play Activity

2.2.4.1 Preparation

2.2.4.2 Steps of Organizing Situational Role –play

2.2.5 The Significance of Situational Role-play in Teaching Speaking

2.2.5.1 Give Students Quick Reflexes in English

2.2.5.2 Practice Pronunciation for Students

2.2.5.3 For Students to Use Intonation when Speaking

The teachers‟ role in this activity

Roles of Students

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design

3.1.1 Research Method

3.1.2 Research Procedure

3.2 Data Gathering Instruments

3.2.1 Survey Questionnaires

3.2.2 Interview

3.2.3 Classroom Observation

3.3 Procedures of Data Collection

3.4 Data analysis

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Findings from Questionnaires and Interview Survey

4.1.1 Frequency of Role-play in Classroom

4.1.2 Benefits of Role-play in Classroom

4.1.3 Ease and Difficulties of Role-play in Classroom

4.1.4 Development of Soft Skills from Role-play in Classroom

4.1.5 Development of English knowledge from Role-play in Classroom

4.1.6 Perception of Context Meanings

4.2 Classroom Observation in Namsaigon Vocational & Technical College

4.2.1 Observation of Whole Class

4.2.2 Findings

4 3 Discussion

4.3.1 Significance of Situational Role-play

4.3.2 The Deployment of Effectiveness Role-play

The Difficulties of Applying Role-play

The Advices for the Teachers

The Advices for the Students

CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION

5.1 Overview of the Thesis

5.2 Limitations of the Thesis

5.3 Suggestions for Further Research

REFERENCES

APPENDIX

Appendix 1

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3 1: Research procedure

Chart 4 1: Benefits of Role-play in Classroom

Table 4 1: Development of English knowledge

Table 4 2: Descriptors of students’ feelings during the role-play

LIST OF FIGURES Picture 4 1: Role-play activities in textbook

Picture 4 2: Role-play activity in Namsaigon Vocational & Technical College

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

The world is gradually forming a global network of links, expanding the door of economic cooperation and promoting the freedom of trade between countries As a common means of communication in the world, foreign language is an important tool, has a strong impact on learning as well as life, which facilitates the opportunity

to connect with the fastest, most convenient trend With that in mind, it is extremely urgent and important to train and learn foreign languages, (THE ENGLISH EFFECT: The impact of English, what it’s worth to the UK and why it matters to the world, 2013)

Since Vietnam joined the WTO, more and more large corporations and foreign companies have invested in Vietnam to expand their market With these opportunities, English becomes a powerful tool for workers to assert their competence, (Acs, 2009) The reality is that young people are having a lot of opportunities in international environments because of their ability to grasp quickly and their minds are sharp, yet more than half of the graduates are still swimming in front of the beach looking for work without being able to grab the muscle, (Investing

in ASEAN, 2016) The ability to learn English is limited even when learning foreign

language from the school

In fact, learning a foreign language is like a child learning the mother tongue, learning begins by listening - imitation and speaking, then learning to write and read However, the learning process of young people is the opposite, too focuses on grammar, lack of practice, so the ability to communicate is limited Many students after graduation have very good reading skills, can answer emails and write materials proficiently, but when meeting with foreigners, they are unable to communicate fluently This is the general situation of the majority of young people and this contributes significantly to the miss the opportunity to work in the

international environment

It can be said that the purpose of education in general and foreign language teaching

in particular is to transform education into self-education so that learners can learn for themselves The effectiveness of education, therefore, depends very much on how actively and positively learners engage in that process, which is one of the most

important sources of positiveness, (Henard, 2008)

The excitement stimulates human activity, making people fascinated, bringing about high efficiency in their activities Any activity that is more interesting, which performs it easily and effectively, produces a strong positive emotion for the person conducting the activity They will find joy in that activity, the activity will become gentler, less effort, more focused, (Prensky, 2001) In contrast, when people feel constrained, tired the activity becomes heavy, difficult the quality of activities decreased markedly Interest in learning is of great significance to students'

academic achievement

Situational role – play is one of the effective teaching techniques that help learners enhance speaking ability Situational role – play gives students real situations to communicate in a specific context in which they act and speak as real characters Moreover, this is good environment for learners acting and speaking English that refers to their role in the future (Barbara and Thorntum, 2008) Situational role – play is very crucial in teaching speaking ability which learners have more chance to use English for their communication in real situation It is said that situational is the great technique suitable for vocational students that urge much direct learning for their careers Nowadays, vocational students are face trouble when studying English

by writing, reading with passive materials and theories, thus they also become passive learners but they become active learners since there are various activities that put them in an active process

It is reasonable to study the topic "Using situational role – play to improve EFL

vocational students‟ speaking ability”

1.2 Aims of the Study

The study aims to discover how situational role – play impacting on vocational students‟ speaking ability Then, the discussions and suggestions are the good ways for vocational students to improve their speaking ability (1) Explore how situational role – play impacts on vocational students‟ communication, based on making practical and applicable strategies by teachers for students while speaking most of the time in English

(2) Explore how situational role – play impacts on vocational students‟ oral

fluency based on drilling speaking by role-play

(3) Explore how situational role – play impacts on vocational students‟ confidence in speaking, as well as developing boldness and confidence in students for asking questions from their teachers

(4) Explore how situational role – play impacts on vocational students‟ perception of English language that give the students opportunities to

improve the language competency

1.3 Research Questions

Based on clear aim of the study, the research question is

(1) How does situational role – play impact on vocational students‟ speaking

skills and promote their motivation and feelings in learning English?

1.4 Scope of the Study

The survey was done in Ho Chi Minh City in June, 2018 Researcher chooses target respondents who are students who study English in vocational schools and the

teachers who teach English there In addition, the study took place in district 1 and

9, and Tan Phu, Phu Nhuan and Go Vap districts They had situational role-play in their English classes

Mistakes could be the type of error to occur when an inappropriate population is selected And sampling error also appears when a probability sampling method is used to select target respondents, thus the resulting samples are not representative of the population concern

1.5 Significance of the Study

Theoretically, the study presents previous material of English researchers, papers, articles By the way, the study also shows the methods to improve speaking skill by using situational role-play at classroom Practically, the outcomes from this study are also new findings to EFL vocational students making solutions for their study They can apply these practical results to improve English ability

1.6 Previous Related Studies

1.6.1 Communication

Doan Hoang (2011) in Sao Do University found out in his study that there are about 70% of learners who aim to learn English for the purpose of communicating with foreigners Moreover, there are 70.14% of learners accomplishing the questionnaire the author also showed that they are interested in culture from the countries that people speak English, (Doan, 2011)

Ments (1999) states that situational role-play is sued most in vocational schools that deal mainly with aspects of communication The goal is to know how the vocational students communicate through English in speaking classroom Since role-playing is

a media-based technique, they deploy these activities to see how they affect through different situations in a controlled environment

Situational Role-play is effective activity that helps students practice interacting with others in specific roles and in relation to role play in real situations, "their goal

is to feel, react and behave as closely as possible in which students and teachers put their specific situation into action" Since the transaction plays a major role in the classroom, Ments says, "So ideally suited to people with language skills, namely language, literacy and training of social function"

According to Wongsothron, (1999) (cited in Songsiri, 2007), The Ministry of University Affairs creates the policy and implementation framework for English teaching and learning by “Encouraging every student to study English and to be able

to effectively communicate in English by role-play”

Ments has mentioned many fields where role playing can be used To test English ability, he presents that it is able to do "by creating scenes of everyday life, especially those using situational role-plays are for vocational students to learn, students may be encouraged to use English freely and interestingly Ments also found that 'a person is using English and other communication methods' and for that learning reason has become an inseparable part of duty, help students to sympathize with others and understand their motives " Other elements encompass a common interaction technique to learning and teaching of role-play, the use of communication strategies, the promotion of positive attitudes, and a positive atmosphere At last, the process of action has helped students and teachers reflect on their successes and failures in teaching and learning, (Songsiri, 2007)

Ments said that situational role-play is "motivating and effective as it relates to activity" While testing using situational role-play on vocational students, it is also found that it was really motivating for the students to communicate together because

it was different from normal lecture-based tasks that were uninteresting for vocational students Moreover, they are observed to gain a various experience regarding to their lives and other social situations thanks to this activity, proving

them with more open-minded increase from their inflexible communication Ments also presents few drawbacks of situational role-play According to the author, real situations that are assigned usually make conflicts among team members because other people's emotions are able to be hurt

(Qing, 2011) surveys the role-play at the intermediate level and found that these activities can raise student cultural recognition and grow wholly communication capacity Qing also says, "Applying the role of another person's culture freely for the survey while it also makes an important learning situation for the vocational students

Moreover, Qing said that content-based role-play creates effective chances for vocational students to discover communication in detail from a variety of perspectives English speakers can show accurately and understand the grammatical, strategic, and sociological elements of any situation based on greater communication capacity In addition, the same communicative imrovement is observed but when our learners were indigenous, they face troubles to express themselves correctly using English

1.6.2 Oral Fluency

Al-Senaidi (2009) surveyed the productiveness of using situational role-play to enhance fluency for students The author deploys a variety of role-playing of real situations for the day before and videos are recorded to check their performance These activities have improved fluency of learners improved in the course of role-play' and the students also create more English chunks by role-play‟s taking-turn In the study, the same approach was applied to vocational college-level students to investigate their ability to speak and achieve results The author provides vocational students with feedback about achievement recorded which they are processing on to consolidate development of oral fluency

Ding, ( deploy role-play activities to survey how students interact in teams when they are assigned a same situation to do role-play together In addition, the authors explore their English ability and how to correct errors as well as how to provide students with feedback of oral fluency for further improvement They observe how teachers become familiar with the results they will be positive and instead of giving immediate feedback, they will be shown taped videos with oral feedback relating to self-correcting or peer-to-peer correcting The authors survey the same mold for feedback and found that students performed well when they acted

in a familiar situation and when they see the performance recorded by oral feedback, they improved corresponding as well as oral fluency

1.6.3 Confidence in Speaking

In the case of Zahee's study of flexibility in playing roles, there are some advantages when situations can be "familiar or exotic", "simple or complex" that may "persist in one day or minutes" in 2015 For example, situational role-play can be done 'personally or in group activities', thus, cultural competence, self-confidence and self-efficacy are improved

Montha Songsiri (2007) presents that situational role-play enhance students‟ confidence in speaking English influenced by teaching learning strategies In these activities, teachers guide their students to work pairs and groups that aim to develop their cooperative learning, as well as providing them with better chances to practice Moreover, the student will have great time to be trained and achieve positive attitudes towards English learning of role-play contributed to improve their outcomes and confidence in speaking, (Songsiri, 2007) The survey aims to evaluate

a range of activities, which may contribute to vocational students‟ confidence and competence in speaking

In addition, the results support English teachers in improving their English instruction Using action research procedures such as plan, action, observation,

reflection and revision not only develop the students' confidence in learning English but also improve teachers‟ teaching approach Brown ( states that research results can apply for the teachers‟ experience and classroom practice strategies Action of role-play can help both students and teachers achieve in that situation Dohaney, Brogt, Wilson and Kennedy, (2017) have identified and measured students‟ confidence by deploying a mixed-method research design to see whether role-play impacts on improving their confidence in speaking The outcomes present crucial improvement in both confidence and awareness of scientific communication They carry out situational role-play called Volcanic Hazards Simulation, as an instance of teaching resources designed to fit professional competence Role-playing attracts students in the concept of volcanic crisis while simultaneously enhancing their confidence and awareness of scientific communication

1.6.4 Perception of English Language

Significantly, emotions and feedbacks sent to the students can adversely affect them

Ur (1996) shows that those people who know a language are called 'speakers' of that language in which speaking includes all the necessary knowledge for English However, for many reasons, it is ignored in traditional methods such as the Grammar Translation (GTM) method with the expense of mastering English structure, vocabulary and literary (Richards and Rodgers, 1986; Larsen-Freeman, ) Considering the above discussion, Larsen-Freeman, (200 ) say that a well-targeted course is able to harness the inherent potential of learners to develop and activate their background knowledge while they approach using real language Various types of activities can be found in situational role-play However, it seems

to be a challenge to put them together in a single investigation Thus, role-playing is one of the activities selected to be practiced and tested At first, in role-play, vocational students show instantly social pragmatic knowledge in interaction (Tateyama, 1998) Moreover, Harmer ( ) argues that role-play is enjoyment and

stimuli It gives vocational students opportunities to show themselves in a more outspoken way, even though they used to be silent, and the environment in the class

is spreading to encompass the outside world, thus offering a much wider range of language opportunities that the vocational students can perceive English skills and knowledge Finally, it is an activity that researchers have been taken part in conversation classes for years Therefore, this study aims to test its impact on the oral ability of the students All activities help EFL vocational students perceive English language clearly and deeply

Mori (2002) has actually broadened the idea of giving the students with „authentic‟

or „real life‟ chances in which the author focuses on distinguishing differences between knowing various grammatical rules and being able to use the efficient principles of communication for students to perceive Role play is part of the teaching method deployed by various approaches to English teaching It is a helpful instrument since through this activity, as Tateyama (1998) shows that there are a lot

of the cognitive needs of the students‟ comprehension and production system realized and their ability to instantiate incorporation of social and pragmatic knowledge in interaction are explored Platt and Brooks (1994) studied the interpretation of role-play by two different groups that the effect of role-play activities helps students perceive English language structures In addition, Najizade ( states that situational role-play is great activity that provides students with real language situations into classroom, thus, it has considerably affect to developing students‟ acquisition of English structures

1.7 Organization of the Study

This study including 5 chapters

In chapter 1, it is introduction The study presents general parts including Background to the study; Problem statement; Review of related literatures; purposes

of the study; Research question; Scope of the study; Methods; Significance and

structure of the study

In chapter 2, the study presents Literature review including concepts and previous studies relating to this topic

In chapter 3, it is research methodology The study presents Research questions, Research participants, Research procedure, Data collection instruments; data collection and analysis process

In chapter 4, the study shows findings and discussion after analyzing data

In chapter 5, the study presents conclusion and recommendation

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW Teaching and Learning English Speaking Skills

Edward Anthony (1963) distinguishes between the two concepts of approach and method as following

The approach is an associative set of hypotheses in relation to the nature of language teaching and learning The approach is axiomatic It describes the nature of the topic being taught The method is a master plan for the introduction of a documentary instructional language that is always based on and does not conflict with the identified approach In other words, the approach is rational, and procedural

In the same approach, there may be many different methods Thus, although there are differences between approaches and methods as above, but between them there

is always a close relationship In particular, methods were developed on the basis of the selected approach

So far, about 10 teaching methods have been developed Some of the typical methods, such as the Grammar Translation Methods, The Direct Method, The Audio-Lingual Method, The Total Method, Physical Response, Communicative Language Teaching In particular, some methods may be called approaches such as Communicative Language Teaching

Communicative Language Teaching Approach – An Effective Language Teaching Method

Definition of Communicative Language Teaching Approach (CLT)

Hymes (1972), an ethno-linguist with Halliday (19 ), considered mainstream language as a communicative function The learning and teaching objective of this approach is to achieve communicative linguistics, which means gaining "the ability not only to apply grammatical law to form the correct sentence but also to use the

right time, place, "(Richards and Platt, 1992: 65), in other words, satisfy three requirements: fluency, accuracy, and appropriacy With such outstanding goals, it is now in a unique position in the history of education in general and language in particular

With this method, students always play the role of mind Teachers often design programs based on the needs analysis of learners Classroom activities are associated with the use of language, through which the learner mastered communication strategies such as: ask questions when unknown, know the requirements repeated, know information negotiation, know "push" when talking naturally etc It also means that teachers know how to maximize their group activities, in pairs, in order to help learners to function actively and not passively Learners are learning by doing, through communication activities, not listening to the teacher in learning about the language, skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing It is interlaced, not separated Language learning is really the process of creating, accepting mistakes Teaching materials are the original language, meaning, taken from life, not written by writers intended for use in the classroom It also means that students have the ability to do specific tasks such as filing, petitioning, apologizing in real situations Teachers are really the organizers, moderators, managers, consultants (see Tran Thi Lan, 2004) Moreover, Halliday (1992) attributed the means to the implementation of the CLT approach through a number

of functions such as propositional, regulatory, interactive, personal, heuristic, imaginative and manifesting

Communicative Language Teaching Approach appears as a challenge since it differs from other approaches in many respects According to Hymes (quoted in Larseen-Freeman, 2000), communication power is "know when and how to say something to someone" As David Nunan's method of communicating language teaching is a cluster of language teaching techniques and methodologies, it is not a unique method

The Goal of Communicative Language Teaching Approach

The basic advantage of this method is that the learner plays an active role in the class, learning what he wants and is considered essential The method itself focuses

on using a learner's foreign language, learning cognitive skills that do not encourage learning by heart, the ability to express fluency, accepting phonetic differences However, this method also has significant shortcomings after more than 30 years of prevalence This problem is mainly related to the problem Due to the emphasis on the meaning and ability to express fluency, teachers often ignore errors, leaving the student likely to fall into a state of fossilization

The discontent caused by the situational and structuralism approach, the teaching of the communicative language was introduced in 1970 and was supported by the European Commission and the linguistics of the United States especially from California "However, in the 1970's, especially in California, a new kind of pedagogy got up and began to become popular in response to the greatly increased number of ESL learners, who outnumbered speak native English in some school areas Many of those who learn grammar rules but cannot use the target language communicatively, and others are much needed immediately vital force in English Human-related approaches were also developed in the late 1970s and 1980s as communication activities designed to provide learners with positive emotions in the process of teaching to acquire English facilitated, according to Blum-Kulka and Snow said in Lawrence Eribaum Associates, NJ, 2002) The focus is on the student's point of view that they know the grammar rules but cannot use them in the target language This has given a new idea of the urgency of Communicative Language teaching approaches Yalden (1987) focuses on the CLT, as a summary of its nature, 'It is based on learner concepts such as communication, blended learning with the ability to learn the language It seeks to provide learners with targeted language systems It is assumed that learners will be prepared to use target language (oral and written) in many predictable and unpredictable behaviors of communication that

arise both in interactions in class and in real situations, whether concurrent with the language training or after it

Some critics say there seems to be a conflict between teaching communication and grammar because their ultimate goal of the results is fluency and accuracy But comments on the contradictions between grammar and communication approaches are inappropriate and finding appropriate ways to teach grammar through communication The language of instruction today has become a clue concerned in many countries It is believed that " more dignitaries learn a master's grammar system of language, more effectively they can use this language to communicate' (Sayeedur Rahman, 2005) The purpose of learning English is to be able to communicate in formal and world trade in changing world views

In terms of language teaching methods, communication methods provide learners with the opportunity to use language for communication purposes without focusing

on accuracy, (Bygate, 2001) The purpose of the communication method is (a) 'to make the communicative target language teaching and (b) develop the procedures for teaching the four language skills that recognize interdependence of each other's language and communication' (Richards and Rodgers, 1986) On Communicative Language Teaching, Howatt (1984) shows the possible combination of grammar and structure with communicative Language teaching approaches " to integrate these activities into a broader program of language teaching The advance states that the language is obtained through communication, so that it is not merely a question of triggering an existing knowledge, but of the language, but stimulating the transmission of development of its own language system Thus, the mix of grammar and communication method of language teaching can be considered an effective method for the desired level

In general, it is easy to accept the statement: there is no optimal method for all cases Each method has its advantages and disadvantages Teachers should be able to

select, synthesize and exploit to use harmonized methods to suit the target audience

The way of learning English speaking effectively in vocational school

A number of modern business textbooks were written on the basis of this method, including Catherine Walter and Michael Swan's The New Cambridge English Course (Lan, 2004), for the first time In the Hanoi University of Civil Engineering

in the 1990s for programs A, B, C in Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, followed by the official curriculum for English language programs for civil servants and officials (also known as Project 422) John & Liz Soars' Headway, New Headway, is now widely used in English language centers, amateur universities, and the main curriculum of undergraduate programs Prof Kathy Gude and Michael Duckworth's Proficiency Masterclass curriculum, used at college of technology II, Tom Hutchinson's Life Lines is widely used The English Files of Clive Oxenden and Christina Latham-Koenig are used as the main curriculums in many foreign-language English-language training projects, Cutting Edge of Jane Cornyns - the main source for English learners at some English language centers run by foreigners

In addition to the core curriculum, including "dry" grammar subjects written in the form of communication such as Leo Jones's Communicative Grammar, language teachers can explore a variety of positive activities on the class In North America there are a number of courses written in the spirit of this approach such as Interchange and New Interchange, Interactive listening, Interactive reading, Listening in and Speaking out, Academic Encounters: Listening, Note-taking, and Discussion

After the introduction of CLT in many countries, many English textbooks have been designed to adapt to the expectations of the communicative curricula When teaching related grammar, the CLT focuses on communicating fluency rather than just mastering the structure (Richards and Rogers, 1986) Communicative language teaching (CLT) refers to both processes and objectives in classroom learning

(savignon, 2002) The central theoretical concepts in communicative language teaching are communicative competence, a term introduced in discussions of language use and second or foreign language learning in the 1970s, (Habermas 70; Hymes 197 ) Competence is defined by the expression, interpretation, and negotiation of meaning and looks both psycholinguistic and social culture in the second study of language acquisition (SLA) to account for the development of it (Savignon 1972, 1997) Identifying learners' communication needs provides a basis for curriculum design (Ek, 1980) Therefore, curriculum design is very important in communicating the method of teaching the language

Therefore, among the most used language skills is listening and speaking in and out

of the classroom Talking is an interactive process that constructs 'meaning' related

to production, reception and processing (Florez, 1999), (Brown, 2005) So it is time

to rethink the choice and use of grammatical terms in the changing needs of the world In fact, linguists and researchers find that students do not learn enough real English Although they know the English grammar rules, they cannot communicate well in social environments using social language in accordance with expressions The teachers seem to be limited in the knowledge of books; Trainees do not receive the benefits of English to communicate in their real life The language ability seems

to be absent The purpose of teaching-learning English is not to achieve the desired goal

Situational Role-play in Teaching Speaking

Definition of Situational Role-play

Situational role plays are the activities of speaking skills through which the speakers places themselves in the position of another person, or in his or her own position but puts themselves in an imaginary situation In other words, role plays are a way for students to practice certain behaviors in a hypothetical situation These situations come from everyday situations, from content in a book, a movie, from cultural

differences to attract and create more excitement for students

Many scholars have different views when defining "role-play" According to Ladousse ( , students will take on a role, they will play it (either themselves or others) in a certain situation and be "acted" in a safe environment which the students perform creatively and comfortably "Role-play" is, in Nunan's view, an activity whereby students are in the position of others and communicate with each other as characters In general, "role-play" can be understood as the exercise of speaking skills through which the speaker places himself or herself in the position of another,

or in his or her place in interaction with the other characters in a social situation Accordingly, it can be divided into two basic types in "role-play" Firstly, the "role-play" activity in which students imagine to paly role as other people With this type

of activity, students can become anyone they like in a short amount of time through role play They may be a celebrity, a rich person, a movie star, a company director, a school principal, etc They can also pretend to be arguing about a person's point of view In this "role-play" form, teachers can divide classes into two factions to argue, give opinions, or object or object to a problem Second, the "role-play" in which students are placed in a situation, an imaginary situation They will then have to use language that is appropriate for the circumstances, such as airport situations, lost baggage, flight registration, or restaurant order, visitors from abroad visit their school, they are studying in these situations, students will have the opportunity to practice, functional language learning to suit each situation

Role plays generally have three types of participants: players, observers, and facilitator(s) They also have three phases, as indicated below:

Briefing phase: This stage provides the warm-up, explanations, and asks participants for input on role play scenario The role play should be somewhat flexible and customizable to the audience Good role descriptions are sufficiently detailed to let the average person assume the role but not so detailed that there are so many things

to remember that it becomes cumbersome After role assignments, let participants chat a bit about the scenarios and their roles and ask questions In assigning roles, consider avoiding having visible minorities playing “bad guy” roles Ensure everyone is comfortable in their role; encourage students to play it up and even overact their role in order to make the point

Play phase: The facilitator makes seating arrangements (for players and observers), sets up props, arranges any tech support necessary, and does a short introduction Players play roles, and the facilitator keeps things running smoothly by interjecting directions, descriptions, comments, and encouraging the participation of all roles until players keep things moving without intervention, then withdraws The facilitator provides a conclusion if one does not arise naturally from the interaction Debriefing phase: Role players talk about their experience to the class, facilitated by the instructor or appointee who draws out the main points All players should describe how they felt and receive feedback from students and the instructor If the role play involved heated interaction, the debriefing must reconcile any harsh feelings that may otherwise persist due to the exercise

The Advantages of Situational Role- play

Teaching English through situational role-play helps both teachers and students enjoy the English lessons, students will remember vocabulary and lessons actively, the lesson will be more exciting and wonderful So situational role-play helps teachers get the most effective lecture In the general context, the teaching of English at the school also has many problems from the facilities, teaching methods

of teachers, characteristics of students as timid, shy, not actively involved in learning The quality of English input is uneven, so some students are aware of how important English is for future work but some learn to give, learn for Howver, some students are tired of learning English in the classroom because the lecturer has not elicited the interest in learning When learners are motivated, interested and actively

involved in classroom activities, learning is more effective Situational role-play plays a number of benefits, including (a) fun and motivational activity for students; (b) Students are encouraged to express their thoughts and feelings in a comfortable environment Therefore, the little student will have the opportunity to express themselves in a more bold way; (c) The opportunity to use English more as the classroom environment is extended to the outside world, students are portrayed in real life situations; (d) Students are less likely to make mistakes and make mistakes that do not have serious consequences because they can be practiced outside of society in a safe classroom environment; (e) Develop communication skills, language skills, social skills; (f) Develop students' awareness of themselves and others as well as their imagination and creativity, (Kuśnierek, 2015)

Situational role-play requires students to work together in a role-play, debate, discussion, and use of language in a variety of situations depending on the role of each person held in class This clearly promotes communication opportunities between students This is the purpose of the foreign language teaching process, while promoting cooperation and competition between them Situational role-play helps to correct errors and develop language elements such as pronunciation, spelling for students Situational role-play creates a fun learning environment that increases student interest in learning, making them more willing to attend classes, (Develop Listening & Speaking Skills, 2012) Situational role-play requires students

to work in pairs, in groups, or to involve the whole class together in order to fulfill the requirements of the activity When taking a role-play scenario in the classroom, students are naturally motivated to review their knowledge, to gain new knowledge

in an exciting way When Situational role-play they feel the letter Relaxation, comfort and real learning take place, and learners use the language they have learned and practiced before

The Disadvantages of Situational Role –play

While role playing is a powerful teaching technique, there is often abused by teachers who deploy this activity with misusing that cause disadvantages Here are some things teachers should know about using role plays There are not all people comfortable with role-playing scripts and this can impact on performance Some employees will feel intimidated by the idea of what they view as the theater and may worry about the rehearsal if they know it has a role play This can hinder the confidence and contribution of an individual in such a session, (Chesler M and Fox R.,, 2008)

Situational role-play in the classroom often takes a long time to affect teaching progress This method also has disadvantages It is easy to cause noisy, affecting the next classes Students may make mistakes when working together and teachers cannot control all activities at the same time if teachers let students do, it will be difficult to control the length, content and form Excitement will affect other classes, (Graves, 2008) Situational role-play becomes difficult if the requirements or topics are inappropriate or out of reach for students, such games do not benefit both the instructor and the learner The more qualified students are, the more praiseworthy they are, making the undergraduates less disciplined Some students will not participate in Situational role-play for various reasons, they will feel bored and lost time

Organize Situational Role-play Activity

Preparation

In preparation for Role-Play, it also plays an important role With this activity, lecturer can ask students to volunteer to perform in front of the class, but usually should be assigned to each student before If the class is divided into pairs or groups, the instructor, when deciding on the role assignment, should consider the ability and

personality of each student Choose different qualified students in pairs or groups so that they can learn and help each other In order to save time in class, after assigning roles and instructions, the instructor can assign role-plays as a homework assignment Students can look up words, express phrases, prepare speech and then perform Role plays in the next lesson

Note before and during the Role Play activity Firstly, Lecturers should be able to teach and provide students with the vocabulary and structure needed to pronounce difficult words This makes students easier and more confident in their activities, without worrying about mistakes Moreover, Instructors should be clear, understandable, and concise if necessary, use Vietnamese This combined with encouragement and encouragement of the lecturers will help students still hesitate to speak or lack confidence due to vocabulary will be more reliable In the course of Role plays, whether role-play or not, the role of trainers is still very important Harmer ( has stated that Trainers can have at least 3 tasks: direct participants

in Role plays, Reminders, Evaluators

However, lecturers should be carefully considered before applying the above suggestions With elementary level classes, faculty members may be directly involved in Role plays to model This has the advantage that if something goes wrong, the instructors can adjust it immediately, (Glatter, Deruy and Wong, Teacher modeling is good and useful, but teachers should not be involved in this activity often because students may be reluctant to promote their creativity Teachers may be instructors or facilitators, but should leave students free to conduct Role plays Thus, the teachers have to make preparation for role-play activity

Steps of Organizing Situational Role –play

According to Huang (2008), there are six basic steps in the process of organizing situational role –play

Step 1: Choose teaching materials Teachers must decide which material to use for

the role play Teaching materials can be obtained from student books or outside books such as books, movies, etc or by the teacher himself In general, instructional materials must be selected to suit the level and preferences, teaching purposes and teaching conditions

Step 2: Select the scenario and create the flow chart (diagram showing the order of

the presentation of the role), set the dialogue dialog template

Step 3: Teach sample conversations for use in speaking Teachers need to teach

vocabulary, sentences, functional grammar, and dialogue necessary for role play situations to ensure students know how to use vocabulary and grammar before acting The teacher presents a situation, divides the class into groups of 4 to 5 students per group depending on the number of students in the class, each student plays a role Each group will solve the situation in their own way Teachers prepare groups for a certain time, then groups up to do Role plays; the remaining groups view and evaluate, scoring according to the criteria, the teacher's rating scale

Step 4: Let the students practice the situation, the sample conversation Students can

practice in pairs or small groups After students practice their roles, the teacher may ask the students to change their roles so they have the opportunity to play different roles and practice in different roles

Step 5: Have the students adjust the conversation to suit the situation that the student

was assigned - applying the knowledge learned in their situation When students get used to the initial situation, they can edit and change the original situation and / or dialogue, creating more variations than the original situation

Step 6: Evaluate the effectiveness of role play and check that students understand

the meaning of vocabulary, grammar, and conversation

A corrective approach to attract the attention of all students in the class is: When a

student, a pair or a group of students to play Role plays in front of the class, the teacher should ask all students to Observe, listen and give your comments when the operation is complete; the teacher summarizes, adds the comment Teachers should assess their strengths, weaknesses, mistakes and show them how to fix them In addition, the teacher can also correct the student himself by recording or re-recording student activities, (INTO Consultative Conference on Education, 2007) Above is the general process when performing role-play in teaching speaking skills

In order to be effective in applying basic English teaching

The Significance of Situational Role-play in Teaching Speaking

In our school, vocational students are mainly at elementary level, face many difficulties in speaking skills, from the lack of vocabulary, grammar system, many students are difficult to solve due to many reasons From learning a foreign language other than English from the lower levels, to not being taught how to read during the previous school year but focusing mainly on grammar for the graduation exam, or English Only know a little bit to do not suffer from paralysis, etc, (Aleksandrzak, Therefore, many students find it difficult to express ideas in English when teachers want them to speak English In addition, many vocational students are afraid to speak English for fear of making mistakes So, most students are not confident enough to speak English and engage in interactive English classes, (Unal and Ilhan, In addition, there are also learners who do not like English, do not even want to learn because they find that English is not necessary in their life and work later Some students do not have much time to learn English as they are busy working The amount of knowledge that can be learned in the classroom is very limited, with very little time to study and practice, in which the amount of time spent

on teaching and learning spoken English is minimal In class, students are encouraged to speak English, especially using vocabulary or structure learned, but when the session ends, they have little opportunity to practice the knowledge outside

the classroom As a result, even though some students have achieved a high score, they are unlikely to be able to use it, speak English in their daily lives and even in the future

Situational role-play gives students more proactive and autonomous opportunities for them to master their communication skills In addition, Situational role-play also provides opportunities for students to communicate with each other, even shy and unsure students are attracted to this kind of activity Inferior students are encouraged

by the better students in the group to become more confident and able to express their opinions According to Mania Moayad Mubaslat ( ) language games enhance the learning engine for students to a greater extent than conventional textbooks, or learning materials, as they require and motivate students to engage in their role actively This is also the most important reason why most students become interested and engaged in activities, (Mubaslat, 2012)

Give Students Quick Reflexes in English

Even if students do not have a vocabulary if they have one, it is very limited, although the teacher should still be able to speak English in class with situational role-play In general, the students are initially awkward but gradually through the class they also understand and follow the orders of the teacher Once the students have learned the new vocabulary, teachers should use it regularly in the classroom

so that they have good reflexes Students should not understand the Vietnamese language and then translate into English Teachers need to make them love to learn English Specifically, through beautiful textbooks, animated films, games, advertisements, common items, etc (PRINCIPLES OF LANGUAGE LEARNING AND THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER, 2017), they ask their students to play role with the real situations in film So their language ability develops The teachers are creating an environment that encourages their students to see that learning English is essential During school hours teachers use situational role-play to enhance their

speaking When speaking in English, try to express in all possible ways including gestures For students to remember quickly and understand English, it is essential that they use it The way to copy a copy of a sentence, a new word is no longer useful But when they learn a new word, a new sentence, it must be used in real-life situations Therefore, the practice of sampling is very important They should use English in many places, not just in the classroom Situational role-play is good approach in which the students can interact immediately when communicating On the other hand, English lessons become funny and psychological, (Gardner, 2014)

Practice Pronunciation for Students

During the activity of communication in English, students will need to pronounce words and sentences clearly in order to understand what they are saying So, when introducing the vocabulary, the teacher should read the standard of both phonetics and intonation with a tone to imitate because this is the basic element of teaching speech Of course, it is not possible to speak English as an indigenous language, but

to get the most accurate pronunciation results, (Laurea, 2015) Teachers should persist in pronunciation for students to give them the correct pronunciation and correct pronunciation If they begin to learn English incorrectly, it will be a bad habit to learn and communicate later, (Chen, 2016)

For Students to Use Intonation when Speaking

Intonation is simply understood as the rise and fall of the voice Listeners may misunderstand or misrepresent the meaning of the speaker if the speaker uses the wrong intonation, because intonation is compared as the soul of the sentence Intuitive intonation has a small influence on the acquisition and understanding of information in situational role-play, (Rife, 2010) Especially, intonation not only helps the listener understand what their partners are saying, but also expresses the attitudes and profound thoughts of speech If they understand correctly, practice good speech and intonation, they will speak English well, listen well and understand

the deep meaning of the speaker in communication

The teachers’ role in this activity

Situational role-play makes lectures easier to understand and more dynamic Chesler and Fox, ( consider that situational play-play can dispel the dullness of the classroom Teachers only play the role of facilitator, organizer, controller and informant on vocabulary, new structure, which helps the player to understand the problem better Another positive point is that Situational role-play creates the classroom environment in which the learner is centered

Through classroom activities, teachers can diversify teaching methods and bring about greater efficiency, learn more about what students are interested in, and create

a more intimate atmosphere with them In addition, it is considered a means of controlling the classroom, (Felder, Have time to observe and evaluate students' academic attitudes Teachers can evaluate in a faster way In addition, through their observations, teachers can recognize the strengths and weaknesses of students as well as the gaps that need to be supplemented in the process of acquiring their knowledge Situational role-play helps teachers create contexts in which practical language is useful and understandable to learners

As a matter of fact, teachers have to work harder First, teachers need to define their roles First and foremost, the teacher is a good facilitator to motivate the student before he or she performs Teachers clearly understand what they are going to do, what the purpose of each student is and what the students need to do In addition, the division of the pair, how to divide the group to match also affects to the purpose of the lesson Teachers divide vocational students into pairs or groups that include good, average, and good ones, (Straková, Teachers assign good students to good roles, and vice versa should not instruct weak students too hard and students are instructed to act as role models The most important thing is to create maximum conditions for all students to have the opportunity to practice and stimulate the

excitement, comfort and confidence of participating Next, while practicing, the teachers cover the class in which they go around the classroom, to pairs, groups to support if needed As a supervisor, the most important thing is that the teacher has to correct the mistake in time for the student to direct the training to achieve the original goal, (Tuan, 2010) However, correcting the problem does not mean that the error is correct but correcting the necessary errors according to vocabulary, grammar, conversation pattern and the progress diagram according to pre-training instructions In addition, the teacher is the evaluator of student performance Teachers can come in groups, pairs and give comments to each student If the time is low, the teacher may call a few pairs, the group plays the role in front of the class and asks the other students to comment, and then make some comments Teachers can judge by many criteria, including naturalness, fluency and accuracy The nature

of students is expressed through confidence, gestures, eye contact, facial expressions that students express emotions with situations like real life outside Fluency can be understood as the ability to speak without interruption, not too fast, not too slow and clear, seamless Accuracy is determined by the student's use of the grammatical structure, the appropriate vocabulary, the correct pronunciation, or the sound With the above criteria, the teacher develops a rating scale from low to high for each criterion, (Streckerová,

The teachers take responsibilities for facilitating their vocational students They will feed the students English that the students need to be good at At that time, the teacher work as the audience and follow the role-play, after that, sharing comments and giving advice to correct their students‟ mistakes In addition, the teachers are participants in the activity In some cases, they need to join in the role-play with their student to make sure that the activity is successful, (Work-Based Learning in Europe, 2013) The teachers are key factors that choose real situations to life in which their students can take on them

In every step of role-play, the teachers always take part in with their students For instance, at the first step, they can rearrange the furniture if needing Moreover, they always keep role-play real and relevant when they try to go on the roles they ask their vocational students to play as real to life as possible It is the hard job for both

of the teachers and the students because of lacking chance to travel to real places, meeting real people and living in western countries, (Practical Tips for Teaching Multigrade Classes, 2015) Thus, they just imagine they are in Students studying in vocational school can find it easy to role-play than ones in universities because they practice more than others If they are working with normal student, try to exploit their experienced ability to play better than the students who study in academic methods Vocational students are used to acting out much when they learning at schools

By the way, the teachers play an important role in feeding English in their students When vocational students practice the role-play the teachers can find that if their students are stuck in difficult words and phrases, then help them get rid of that tough situations In this activity, the teachers have opportunities to 'feed-in' English knowledge to their students by correcting, joining, giving feedback and providing vocabulary It is necessary for the teachers to act as a sort of “walking dictionary”, keeping an eye on the class and offering assistance as much as possible, (TESS,

In case the teachers are not happy assisting students‟ activity and they feel that the process of finding English not easy to offer more students‟ autonomy, the teachers are able to have time-out after the practice of role-play for their students to use dictionaries to look up what they need As the result, the role of the teachers who feeds in English that helps their students build foundation By that way, the students are provided with new words and structures in a natural and memorable environment It's an opportunity to use real and natural language

There are many ways for the teacher to correct mistakes when using role-play One

of these ways is to join in by appropriate time and correct the mistakes straightly However, the students can dislike being corrected in this way after a role-play activity because they can be interrupted and forget their roles, while English is still fresh in their minds Thus, it can be that errors can be written on the board for all students to correct together, (Berčíková,

Firstly, teachers can use self-correction in which they have the devices to record and write down all mistakes by cellphones, then, the teachers will give their students chance to watch their role-play again and reflect on English used The students can find it easy to see their own mistakes and correct themselves

Secondly, the teachers can use peer-correction It means that the teachers let their classmates correct some mistakes made by their peers In which, the teacher ask their students to see and hear from recordings that made, then find out some mistakes they hear and correct them careful with their classmates a positive and profitable experience for all involved, (Tshuma, 2016)

Moreover, the teachers also take note regular mistakes themselves and dealing with them in next classes to make sure that their students have no lose motivation by being corrected on the spot or straight after the role-play, (Jones, 2007) In short, the teacher should ask students‟ advices if the ways they would like to be uses to correct their mistakes

Roles of Students

In the first Step, the students have to recognize their role in team They will be involved the real situations that have students predict what can happen and how can they act on,

In the second step, the student can choose their roles that are suitable for them, better than the teachers‟ choices In this step, the students can choose the characters

love or they think that they can play that role well Thus, the teachers should give them opportunities to give out their suggestion

In the third step, the students will take part in their roles and work with their partners, thus, the students can be easy to lose their motivation incase their partners unsuitable for them, to make sure that the whole group stays involved; the teacher is encouraged to assign them tasks, or can let them choose people they would like to work with As the result, the students can perform comfortable with high productivity

In the fourth step, the students will act on their role, so they are the key people at that time that decide the success or on success with the activity Contrarily, the role-play will be inefficient in case the students have no enjoyment in their roles Thus, the teacher should follow their step and try to help the students overcome their mistakes and troubles

In the fifth step, the students also play an important role in discussing and evaluating their performance In this step, the action of the role playing is reviewed, the students the focus outcomes and drawback to discuss After that, they can correct mistake themselves or with your peers and the teachers