Developing a system of exercises to improve public speaking skill in interpreting for the 4th year students of english at vinh university

VINH UNIVERSITYDEPARTMENT of FOREIGN LANGUAGEs ==== ==== NGUYÔN THÞ THANH Hµ DEVELOPING A SYSTEM OF EXERCISES TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILL IN INTERPRETING FOR THE 4TH YEAR STUDE

VINH UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT of FOREIGN LANGUAGEs

==== ====

NGUYÔN THÞ THANH Hµ

DEVELOPING A SYSTEM OF EXERCISES TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILL IN INTERPRETING FOR THE 4TH YEAR STUDENTS OF ENGLISH AT VINH UNIVERSITY

(PHÁT TRIỂN HỆ THỐNG BÀI TẬP NÂNG CAO KỸ NĂNG NÓI TRƯỚC CÔNG CHÚNG TRONG PHIÊN DỊCH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ 4

NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC VINH)

GRADUATION THESIS Field: Interpreting

Vinh, 2011

(PHÁT TRIỂN HỆ THỐNG BÀI TẬP NÂNG CAO KỸ NĂNG NÓI TRƯỚC CÔNG CHÚNG TRONG PHIÊN DỊCH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ 4

NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC VINH)

GRADUATION THESIS Field: Interpreting

Student: Nguyễn Thị Thanh Hà Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Lan Phương, M.A

Vinh, 2011

In addition, I am greatly indebted to Foreign Language Department of offering me agreat opportunity to carry out my study.

I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to the students from class 48 B Englishfor their enthusiasm when participating in my survey and their contributive ideas to mywork

My warmest thanks are due to my loving family for their unconditional love andsupport

Finally, I am all too aware that despite all the advice and assistance, I feel that thestudy is far from perfect; it is, therefore, my sole responsibility for any shortcomings thatthe study may be considered to have

Vinh, May 16, 2011Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha

When the need of mutual communication between countries increases, theinterpreting plays more important role Interpreting is a complex job The interpreter mustpossess many skills, such as listening, note-taking, memorizing, and public speaking.Among these skills, public speaking has especial importance It is the skill that decides thesuccess of the interpreting process The audience can receive the information or notdepends on public speaking skill of the interpreter Realizing the necessary of publicspeaking, the author has carried out the study with a small survey to investigate thedifficulties of the forth year students of English at Vinh university After discovering theweakness in public speaking of students, a system of suggested exercises is proposed withthe hope to help them improve their public speaking in interpreting

ABSTRACT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF FIGURES vi

ABBREVIATIONS vii

part a introduction 1

1 Rationale of the Study 1

2 Aims and Objects of the Study 1

3 Scope of the Study 2

4 Methods of the Study 2

5 Format of the Study 2

PART B DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER I THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 4

1.1 Interpreting 4

1.1.1 Definition of Interpreting 4

1.1.2 Modes of Interpreting 5

1.1.2.1 Consecutive Interpreting 5

1.1.2.2 Simultaneous Interpreting 5

1.1.3 Skills Needed in Consecutive Interpreting 6

1.1.3.1 Listening Skill 6

1.1.3.2 Memorizing Skill 6

1.1.3.3 Note-taking Skill 7

1.1.3.4 Public Speaking Skill 7

1.2 Public Speaking Skill in Interpreting 8

1.2.1 Definition of Public Speaking 8

1.2.2 Role of Public Speaking in Interpreting 9

1.2.3 Elements of Public Speaking Skill in Interpreting 9

1.2.3.1 Voice 9

1.2.3.2 Body Language 10

1.2.3.3 Attitude of the Interpreter 10

1.2.3.4 Appearance 11

1.3 Public Speaking Exercise 11

1.3.1 Role of Public Speaking Exercise 11

1.3.2 Characteristics of Public Speaking Exercise 12

1.3.3 Types of Public Speaking Exercise 12

1.3.3.1 Reading Aloud 13

1.3.3.2 Tongue Twister 13

1.3.3.3 Mirror Image 13

1.3.3.4 Standing in the Conner 13

1.3.3.5 Tape Recording 14

1.3.3.6 Speaking in front of the Audience 14

CHAPTER II METHODOLOGY 15

2.1 Participants 15

2.2 Instruments 15

2.3 Procedure 16

2.4 Findings and Discussion 16

2.4.1 Results and Discussion 16

2.4.1.1 Students’ Understanding about Public Speaking Skill in Interpreting 17

2.4.1.2 The Factual State of Students in Public Speaking in Interpreting 18

2.4.1.2.1 Attitude 19

2.4.1.2.2 Voice 20

2.4.1.2.3 Body Language 21

2.4.1.2.4 Appearance 23

2.4.1.3 Students’ Practice of Public Speaking Skill in Interpreting 24

2.4.2 Major Findings of the Research 27

CHAPTERIII SOME SUGGESTED EXERCISES FOR IMPROVING PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILL 29

3.1 Exercises to Improve Voice 29

3.1.1 Tongue Twisters 29

3.1.2 Reading Aloud 30

3.1.3 Voice Recording 31

3.2 Exercises to Improve Voice and Body Language 31

3.2.1 Mirror Image 31

3.2.2 Performance Camera 32

3.2.3 Observing to Get Experience 33

3.3 Exercises to Improve Speaking on Stage 33

3.3.1 Exercises with Cards of Topics 33

3.3.2 Exercises with Cards of Picture 35

3.3.3 Exercises with Cards of a Group of Words 37

3.3.4 Exercises with Home Preparation 39

PART C CONCLUSION 46

1 Recapitulation and Implications 46

2 Suggestions for Further Studies 46

REFERENCES 48 QUESTIONNAIRE

APPENDIX

LIST OF FIGURES

Table 1: Students’ thought about the role of public speaking skill in interpreting 17

Table 2: Students’ arrangement of public speaking elements in order of importance 18

Table 3: Students’ biggest problem in public speaking 19

Table 4: Level of Students’ confidence 19

Table 5: Level of clearness in voice 20

Table 6: Speed of students’ speech 21

Table 7: Students’ using of facial expression in interpreting 22

Table 8: Students’ keeping eye-contact with audience in interpreting 22

Table 9: Students’ care about appearance before going to stage 23

Table 10: Students’ practice of speaking in class 24

Table 11: Students’ practice of speaking outside class 25

Table 12: Types of public speaking exercise 26

ABBREVIATIONS

TL: Target language SL: Source language

part a: introduction

1 Rationale of the Study

In the age of global integration, mutual communication between countries in theworld is increasing However, language is the barrier which makes the communicationmore difficult Interpreting appears to resolve this problem Being considered as a bridge

of human communication interaction, the duty of interpreter is very important to break thisbarrier

Interpreting is a demanding and challenging job The interpreter is a person whopossesses many skills such as listening, note-taking, memorizing, and public speaking.These skills are all necessary with interpreter If lacking one of these skills, the interpreterwill not do his job successfully Among these skills, public speaking has an important rolebecause it is considered the key to bring out the output of the interpreting process

When studying interpreting course at Vinh University, students of English are taughtpublic speaking skill and the strategies to improve it However, because of the limit of timeand the difficulties in practicing at home, the public speaking skill of students at VinhUniversity still meets many problems Realizing the current issue, the author does the

research on the topic “Developing a system of exercises to improve public speaking skill

in interpreting for the 4 th year students of English at Vinh University” to meet the

requirements of students

2 Aims and Objects of the Study

This graduation thesis aims at investigating difficulties that students of English, the

would-be interpreters at Vinh University facing in public speaking in interpreting and

developing exercises to improve students’ public speaking skill

In order to achieve those aims, the research focuses on the following issues:

1, Students’ understandings about public speaking skill in interpreting

2, The factual states of students in public speaking in interpreting

3, Students’ practice of public speaking skill in interpreting

3 Scope of the Study

The thesis mentions on the theoretical base relating to public speaking skill ininterpreting and largely concentrates on developing some exercises to improve publicspeaking skill

Within the scope of an graduation thesis and the constrains of time and resource, theresearcher only focuses on the public speaking skill in interpreting for the forth-yearstudents of English at Vinh university with the total of sixty The data obtained might bedifferent when applied to different sample

4 Methods of the Study

The research employs the quantitative method using the survey questionnaire asresearch tool Survey questionnaire includes both close-ended and open-ended questions inorder to collect the information about difficulties of students in public speaking ininterpreting Besides, the qualitative approach is used for getting the in-depth knowledge todiscover the students’ opinion about developing a system of exercises to improve publicspeaking skill in interpreting

Regarding to the study process, firstly the author searches and reviews materialsrelate to the subject Then, through the questionnaire the author investigates the difficulties

of the fourth year students of English department at Vinh University in public speaking ininterpreting From received results, a system of suggested exercises is proposed to improvepublic speaking skill

5 Format of the Study

The study is composed of three main parts: the introduction, the development and theconclusion

The introduction introduces an overview of the study including the rationale, aimsand objectives, methods, scope, and format of the study

The development consists of three chapters Chapter 1, theoretical background,provides the literature review of the study, including definition of key concepts and review

of related studies Chapter II, methodology, describes the participants and instruments ofthe study, as well as the procedure of the research The results of the investigation, thefindings and the discussions are also presented in this chapter Chapter III gives some

suggested exercises to improve public speaking skill in order to help the would-beinterpreter more and more professional.

The conclusion summarizes the main issues discussed in the study, states thelimitation and contribution of the research, as well as some suggested directions for furtherstudy

PART B DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

This chapter will provide a brief overview of the literature on the research topic tolay the theoretical basis for the whole study Firstly, key concepts about interpreting andpublic speaking skill are introduced And then the knowledge of public speaking exercises

is presented to make the basis for the study

Pochhaker (2004:12) states that interpreting is “an activity consisting (mainly) in

the production of utterances which are presumed to have a similar meaning and /or effect

as previously existing utterances in another language and culture” In this definition,

Pochhaker mentions about the similarities in meaning and effect of the SL and the TL Theinterpretations must transfer both the meaning and the cultural meaning of the SL, and theinterpreter is a person who is good at language and culture to give the best interpretation tothe audience

Another definition of interpreting was provided by Gentile Gentile (1996: 5)

defined that interpreting is “the oral transfer of message between speakers of different

language is thus one of the oldest human activities, and the role of an interpreter is arguably one of the oldest of professions” He finds out the way of interpreting is orally

and emphasizes the position of interpreting and the interpreter in society

There are many definitions of interpreting but in general interpreting is understood

as a process in which interpreters transfer a language to another language orally

Consecutive interpretation is suitable for small business meetings with fewerlanguages or for formal occasions such as factory visit, business dinner, where it is notpossible to install interpretation equipment.

The benefit of consecutive interpretation is that it is cheaper than full-pledgedsimultaneous interpretation It reduces the need for interpretation equipment and typicallyonly requires one interpreter per language However, it is often annoying for the audience

to hear the interpreter after the speaker

Simultaneous interpretation is usually ideal for events with a large number ofparticipants broadcasting in different languages, for example conference, seminar, awardceremony, etc

The benefit of simultaneous interpretation is that this is the best and most efficientway to communicate to audiences that speak many languages However, simultaneousinterpretation can be expensive

1.1.3 Skills Needed in Consecutive Interpreting

Interpreting is a complex job; it requires the interpreter to possess many skills Inthis part, the author introduces the necessary skills that an interpreter should have whendoing this demanding and challenging job

1.1.3.1 Listening Skill

Gentile et al (1996:44) confirms that “effective interpreting requires effective

listening skills” Listening skill plays an important role in interpreting It is the first phase

to do in consecutive interpreting Listening is an activity of paying attention to whatspeaker say and trying to work out what they mean Listening requires full focus,engagement, involvement and comprehension If comprehension is incomplete,interpreting will not be complete either; it will not be a success interpreting ascomprehension of the entire meaning is the first condition of interpreting

Underwood defines that “Listening is the activity of paying attention to what

speaker say and trying to work out what they mean” (1989:144) Listening is the

combination of two phases: hearing (listening enough to catch what speaker saying) andunderstanding Interpreters need a good hearing skill to receive the information from thespeaker and understanding to identify the problem

Listening is a hard work It requires full attention to the speaker, and the interpretermust understand the entire message

mentioned that “The interpreter needs a good short-term memory to retain what he or she

has just heard and a good long-term memory to put the information into the context Ability to concentrate is a factor as is the ability to analyze and process what is heard”

(2001:4-5)

1.1.3.3 Note-taking Skill

To support memorizing information, the interpreter can take notes the main ideas torecall the message Note-taking is a very necessary skill especially for the new-interpreterbecause they are un-experienced, the note will be a tool which helps them to recall theinformation that they have just heard

Jones (2002, p.39) states that “note-taking is part of the whole process of

consecutive interpreting including: understanding, analysis and re-expression” In this

case, the interpreter may only write down individual words which are put together forming

a meaningless chunk of information And if note-taking is separated from the activity ofanalyzing the speech, the interpreter may be lost in the information overload Theinterpreter cannot identify what are the main ideas, what are the secondary elements, andwhat are the connections between them in order to decide what should be noted andwhat should not Inevitably the notes become nothing more than a mess, which willdefinitely push the interpreter in a very difficult situation later When looking back notes,the interpreter cannot have a clear review of the speech content And this obviously goesagainst one of the basic functions of notes

To write a good note, the interpreter must have good note-taking skill Interpretershould not write so much, only takes notes the main ideas, key words, numbers, propernames, list of things To have a good note-taking skill, every interpreter builds for them asystem of signs and symbols In consecutive interpreting, note is considered as an effectivetool of interpreter in recalling messages If an interpreter has a good note-taking skill, hewill have better interpretation

1.1.3.4 Public Speaking Skill

If listening skill is considered as a tool to receive the input of interpreting process,public speaking is used to bring out the output of it Public speaking plays an importantrole in interpreting The importance of this final phase of interpreting resides in thefact that it leads directly to the final product of the process, i.e the target speech It

reflects the outcome of interpreting process Good public speaking skill of the interpreterwill make the audience listen and understand the message of the speaker easily

Public speaking is “the process of speaking to a few or many people with the

purpose of informing, motivating, persuading, educating or entertaining the listeners”

(Speechmastery,2011) Public speaking involves many aspects: voice, body language,attitude, appearance and content

When producing the target text, the interpreter must display the utmost fluency as if

he were expressing his own ideas naturally and spontaneously in the TL Over and abovethis knowledge of TL words, expressions and formulaic transfers, the interpreter mustpossess textual competence in this language, he must be able to produce texts.Incomplete sentences which do not make sense, and likewise complete sentences which aretotally disconnected and isolated from one another, do not serve the purpose ofinterpreting

To be good at public speaking skill, the would-be interpreter must practice so muchbecause confident public speaking can definitely be taught

1.2 Public Speaking Skill in Interpreting

As mentioned above, public speaking is a skill that can not be omitted ininterpreting In this chapter the definition, importance and the elements of public speakingskill are introduced

1.2.1 Definition of Public Speaking

Public speaking is a common term and it is defined by many authors Here aresome typical definitions of public speaking:

Public speaking is “the process of speaking to a few or many people with the

purpose of informing, motivating, persuading, educating or entertaining the listeners”

(speechmastery,2011) In this definition, the purposes of speeches are mentioned Publicspeaking is the method to express the intent of speech to the audience

Another definition of public speaking is “the art or practice of making speeches to

large audiences” (Thefreedictionary, 2011) This definition focuses on the art of giving

speeches to audience Public speaking includes all the tips to give a successful speech tothe audiences It depends on the public speaking skill of the speaker

In general, public speaking can be understood that it is the process of makingspeeches in front of a crowd.

1.2.2 Role of Public Speaking in Interpreting

As mentioned above, public speaking is a skill needed to bring out the output ofinterpreting The audience can receive the message from the speaker in TL or not depends

on public speaking skill of the interpreter Public speaking decides the result and thesuccess of the interesting process

Good public speaking skill of the interpreters will make the audiences hear andunderstand the interpretation easily We can say that interpreter’s duty is to bring toaudiences the interpretation so audiences only care about the delivery phase of theinterpreting If the interpreter is not good at public speaking, the audiences can notunderstand what he says and the message of the speaker

In conclusion, public speaking is an unomited skill in interpreting It contributes thesuccess of interpreting Without it the interpreter can not do his job

1.2.3 Elements of Public Speaking Skill in Interpreting.

Public speaking is a complex process It is the combination of many aspects such asvoice, body language, attitude, and appearance

1.2.3.1 Voice

While some people are excellent with their translation they arenot still able to do a good job at interpreting because they fail to givenotice to other important issues such as tone of voice, pronunciationand intonation Therefore, voice plays an important role in public speaking skill ofthe interpreter He uses his voice to make the audience understand his message A goodvoice is clear, loud enough, at suitable speed and with right intonation

The tone of voice plays an important role in interpretations It isbest to carry out interpretations in a calm neutral voice although someinterpreters may even try to replicate the passion of the speaker’svoice This reproduction of emotions of the speaker can be permissible if

it is kept without going to any extremes which may then sound

disrespectful Also, speaking with great emphasis could leave theinterpreter drained and lose vigor quickly

Correct pronunciation is also important in public speaking Theaudience can avoid misunderstandings in getting message when thespeaker pronounces correctly

Another factor is the right intonation Accent is a huge problemwhile learning other languages because of the influence from the nativelanguage Try to develop good enunciation skills while learning the otherlanguage without much influence from the native language This needspracticing and training to achieve and may not be very easy

Voice is a quite difficult element in pubic speaking but we can improve it bypracticing Working hard and practicing on aspects above will make a good interpretingvoice

1.2.3.2 Body Language

In public speaking, body language includes many aspects such as eye contact, facialexpression, gesture To make the audience listen and understand the message, the publicspeaker does not use only voice but also the body language Body language is an effectivetool to connect the speaker and audiences

In interpreting, body language is less used than in other fields Different fromsingers or actors who always use body language to attract the audience, the interpreter’sbody language is only to build a connection with audiences To be the third person, theinterpreter uses body language to make the audience understand more about the speaker’smessage Body language is a useful tool but the matter of interpreters is how to use itsuitably

1.2.3.3 Attitude of the Interpreter

When standing on the stage, the attitude of speaker is very important It decides thesuccess of the speech Being confident, sincere, and polite will make the speaker successful

in every situation

As for an interpreter, to be the third person, he should be polite, sincere andfriendly with both the speaker and the audience Interpreting job needs the high

concentration so the interpreter should not be nervous He should be confident and keepcalm in every emotional problem Besides, good attitude with the speaker and listeners willhelp the interpreter make good impression with them This can be considered as a difficultwork but we can improve by practicing Practice will help speaker have a good attitudewhen standing on the stage.

1.2.3.4 Appearance

Appearance gives the first impression of the speaker when he stands on the stage Itinvolves many aspects such as suits, hair style, tie, glasses, smell… Suitable appearance inevery situation will make a good effect on the speech

In interpreting the speaker is actually the center, the interpreter is only theassistance so he should never more fascinate than the speaker Good appearance of aninterpreter does not mean fashionable but formal, and polite in every situation Dressingsuitably and politely is always the best way the interpreter choose when he stands beforecrowd

Besides, the interpreters should pay attention about his position on the stage.Interpreter is only the assistance of the speaker so he can not stand higher than the speaker.The suitable position of him is a little bit lower or behind the speaker

1.3 Public Speaking Exercise

As people often say that “Good speaker are made, not born”, a person can become

a great speaker with the proper training One of the methods to practicing public speaking

skill is doing public speaking exercises “Public speaking exercises simply refer to

whatever approach you need to practice speaking in public” (life123, 2011) Theseexercises are useful in improving public speaking skill In this part, the necessaryinformation about public speaking exercises is introduced to help the readers have ageneral look

1.3.1 Role of Public Speaking Exercise

Confident public speaking can definitely be taught and public speaking exercises

are effective tools to improve it Tusitala Tom states that “In public speaking practice

makes perfect” (Hubpages, 2011) Always doing public speaking exercises will help

students get over the difficulties in public speaking easily

Firstly, public speaking exercises help students improve their voice, using of bodylanguage… Through practicing, students will realize what is the strength and weakness intheir voice and from that have their own strategies As for interpreter, practicing voice is animportant work

Secondly, usually doing public speaking exercises will help the new interpreters somuch in improving language Speaking regularly helps students use language flexibly

Finally, practice makes experience Doing public speaking exercises will helpstudents have experience in speaking before crowd The experience helps them get over thedifficulties easily when they speak on the stage

In sum, public speaking exercises are very useful with students, especially who will

do public jobs such as interpreter

1.3.2 Characteristics of Public Speaking Exercise

Public speaking exercises are simple, and easy to practice at home or in class.Because the instruments to do theses exercise are not complex, students can do iteverywhere such as in class, at home …

Public speaking exercises are individual exercises or group exercises so it isconvenient for students to practice The combination of individual and group exercises willmake students more active in doing these exercises Even when they are alone or withfriends they can practice their speaking skill

Although public speaking exercises are simple and easy to practice but they areeffective Regularly doing them will help students much in improving public speakingskill

1.3.3 Types of Public Speaking Exercise

In fact, there are many exercises to improve public speaking skill but in general, wecan divide them into five types of exercise: tongue twisters, exercise practicing alone,mirror imagine, tape recording and speaking in front of the audience (Emeliarahman,2010) Each type of exercise has its advantage The combination of using these types ofexercise will help the new interpreters improve their public speaking so much

1.3.3.1 Reading Aloud

Reading aloud the text is the simplest exercises It is considered the first step inpracticing students’ public speaking skill Reading aloud is very effective to improvestudents’ intonation, pronunciation, and speed

1.3.3.2 Tongue Twister

A tongue twister is a phrase, sentence or rhyme that presents difficulties whenspoken because it contains similar sounds (“Tongue twisters,” nd) A tongue-twister is aphrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly, and can be used as a type ofspoken word game Some tongue-twisters produce results which are humorous when theyare mispronounced, while others simply rely on the confusion and mistakes of the speakerfor their amusement value To get the full effect of tongue twister exercise students shouldtry to repeat it several times, as quickly as possible, without stumbling or mispronouncing

Tongue twisters have long been a popular form of wordplay, particularly forschoolchildren, but they also have a more serious side - being used in elocution teachingand in the treatment of some speech defects

1.3.3.3 Mirror Image

Mirror image is a kind of exercise that students practice with the mirror It meansthat students talk and see your image in the mirror at the same time This is a specialexercise because through this kind of exercise students can see themselves

Most public speaking fears stem from the fact that while on stage, they won’t beable to see themselves Practicing in front of a mirror will condition students’ mind tovisualize how to deliver their speech when the big moment comes This way, students’fears will diminish

Besides, mirror image also helps students practice eye contact with the audience becausespeaking and looking at the mirror at the same time will make students keep eyes contact.Looking at the mirror is considered as the practice keeping the eye contact with the audience

1.3.3.4 Standing in the Conner

An interesting trick is to make a speech while standing in the corner The soundreflects back, and students can get a good idea how to sound when they speak.

Standing in the conner is effective individual exercises Student can do the exercise

by himself Making speech in the conner is a simple exercise but it has enormous effect.Listen to their sound reflect, students will realize what is the strength and weakness in theirvoice to promote or overcome

1.3.3.5 Tape Recording

Another way to practice is using a tape recorder There are two types of taperecorder: recording voice and filming performance

Undoubtedly, recording is the best way to judge students’ public speaking skills It

gives student an opportunity to judge himself When making speech sometimes students donot know some mistakes they have just made, so tape recording is the best solution Fromthe voice and appearance they have recorded or filmed, they will realize their shortcomings

to get over

1.3.3.6 Speaking in front of the Audience

Practicing speaking in front of many people is a necessary exercise if studentswant to improve their public speaking skill Speaking in front of the audiences will bring tostudents the experience and the comments from their listeners

Speaking in front of the audience will give student a chance to prepare all aspectssuch as voice, body language, appearance… It helps students come to closer with the “realworld” of speaking to a group and help them more confident

Summary

This chapter has provided general overview about the knowledge related to theresearch Key terms and explanation about interpreting and public speaking skill areintroduced to make the theoretical basis The brief review of related studies about publicspeaking exercises is presented to make the foundation to develop

CHAPTER II METHODOLOGY

In the previous chapter, a system of key definitions and relevant knowledge relate

to public speaking are introduced to make the foundation for the research In this chapter,the author will introduce the participants, instruments and procedure of data collection.Then from the collected data, the author uses quantitative method to analyze the statistics.Besides, major findings from the survey are also presented in this chapter

in some fields In other words, they have the basic knowledge of interpreting Andespecially, during four years in university, every student made speeches at least once infront of his classmates so the awareness and experience of students will give valuableinformation for the survey

In summary, the students chosen to make the survey are in interpreting trainingcourse at Vinh University They all have experience in public speaking, especially, publicspeaking in interpreting

In sum, using questionnaire to make this research is the best choice because of thelimited time, financial and a huge amount of information can be collected within a shortperiod of time.

2.3 Procedure

The procedure of data collection consists of three main phases:

Phase 1: In the first phase, the author designed the survey questionnaires basing on

the theory introduced in the previous chapter To avoid the ambiguity andmisunderstandings when conducting the survey, the form was sent to the supervisor to getthe feedback and piloted on five students Thus, the author had chance to make it betterbefore sending for all of students

Phase 2: The second phase was conducting the survey Sixty five students from

two class K48 B1 and K48B2 English at Vinh University were chosen to make the survey.The author introduced about the study, instructions and definitions of key terms forstudents to understand Finally, 59 of 65 questionnaires delivered were returned which hasbeen predicted by the researcher

Phase 3: After the data collection process, the information obtained from the

survey questionnaires was classified according to the research questions For each researchquestion, participants’ responses were calculated and transferred into numerical form, such

as the percentage of participants who shared similar ideas The calculated data were thenillustrated into table to make a clear comparison

2.4 Findings and Discussion

2.4.1 Results and Discussion

In this part, the data obtained from the questionnaires will be classified andanalyzed on the following issues:

- Students’ understanding about public speaking skill in interpreting

- The factual states of students in public speaking in interpreting

- Students’ practice of public speaking skill in interpreting

2.4.1.1 Students’ Understanding about Public Speaking Skill in Interpreting

Two first questions in the questionnaire are designed to investigate students’understanding about public speaking skill in interpreting

According to the result of question 1 in the survey, most students in ForeignLanguage Department at Vinh University realize the role of Public speaking ininterpreting

Question 1: What do you think about the role of public speaking skill in

Table 1: Students’ thought about the role of public speaking skill in interpreting

The table shows students’ point of view about the role of public speaking skill ininterpreting It can be clearly seen that most students understood the importance of publicspeaking skill

As shown in the table, 61.02 % of students affirmed that public speaking skill plays

an important role in interpreting, and 38.98 % thought it is very important, while nobodychose the answer unimportant Thus, we can confirm that the fourth-year students ofEnglish at Vinh University are fully aware of their duty to learn and practice publicspeaking skill in interpreting

The reason why students at Vinh University can understand deeply about theimportance of public speaking skill is that it is well-trained in class Through twosemesters studying theory and practicing, they realize the role of public speaking This isvery necessary because it will affect students’ attitude of practice later

In sum, we can reaffirm that students of English at Vinh University understand theimportance of public speaking clearly It is an indispensable skill in interpreting

Question 2: Put these following elements of public peaking skill in the order of

Order Voice Body Language Appearance Attitude

The above arrangement is only the subjective opinion of students at VinhUniversity In fact, there are many ideas about the order of importance of these elements.Depending on every situation, each arrangement has its rationality With arrangement ofstudents at Vinh University, it will affect their attitude of practicing every sub skills later

2.4.1.2 The Factual State of Students in Public Speaking in Interpreting

To provide appropriate exercises to help students improve public speaking skilleffectively, a system of questions are designed in the questionnaire to investigate thefactual states of students in public speaking in interpreting Through the survey, the mostcommon problems are discovered

The first question in this system is to investigate the most common problem ofstudents in public speaking

Question 3: What is your biggest problem in public speaking in interpreting?

Body language 20 33.9%

Table 3: Students’ biggest problem in public speaking

The table shows the percentage of different elements that students often meet inpublic speaking As an overall trend, it is clearly that voice and body language are the twomost common problems students usually face with

As can be clearly seen from the table, the highest percentage, 42.37% of studentsmeet difficulties in their voice 33.9% of them feel body language is their biggest problemwhen speaking in front of many people Attitude is the third difficulty students often face

in public speaking with 16.95% And finally, only 6.78% of students consider appearance

as their shortcoming

In conclusion, we can see that the fourth year students of English at VinhUniversity meet so many difficulties in public speaking Among them, voice and bodylanguage are two major problems that needed to be improved

2.4.1.2.1 Attitude

The fourth question in the questionnaire is designed to investigate the level ofstudents’ confidence when speaking on the stage

Question 4: How do you feel when speaking in front of many people?

According to the table, only 10.17% of students dare to affirm that they are reallyconfident when speaking in public, while 32.20% feel nervous and 57.63% are sometimes

nervous It means that 89.83% of student at Vinh University are not confident inthemselves when speaking in front of many people.

In sum, from the table, we can see the students’ attitude about public speaking.Most of student at Vinh University still feel unconfident when standing on the large stage.This may be due to the lack frequent practice

2.4.1.2.2 Voice

The following questions are exposed to collect the information reveals to students’factual states of using voice

Question 5: When interpreting in class, how can everybody hear your voice?

Table 5: Level of clearness in voice

The table shows the level of clearness in students’ voice when speaking on thestage As an overall trend, we can see that most audiences do not hear students’ voiceclearly

As shown in the table, the percentage of student who has a good voice is only22.03%, while 62.71% of students self-evaluate that audiences can hear their voicenormally and 15.26% have unclear voices From that, we can see that up to 77.97% ofstudents are not confident in their voices when speaking Voice has a great effect inreceiving messages of audiences If we have a clear voice, the audiences can hear easily

In general, the number of students of English at Vinh University has a good voice isnot high It matches with the statistics of the third question in the survey: most studentsfeel voice is their biggest problem

Question 6: When interpreting, how is the speed of your speech?

Answer Choices Percentage

Table 6: Speed of students’ speech

The table shows the speed of students’ speech in public speaking In this aspect, wecan see that it is better than the level of voice’s clearness but the collected statistics are notstill expected ones

As can be seen clearly from that table, the percentage of students who have anormal speed of speech is 59.32% It is better than the number collected in the fifthquestion but it is not really good In fact, 22.03% of students speak slowly and 18.65%speak too fast It makes the audiences difficult to get the message in students’ speech

In conclusion, the statistics above reaffirms that students of English at VinhUniversity meet so many difficulty in their voices

From the two survey questions, we can see that voice is a difficult sub skill inpublic speaking with student at Vinh University Students often met difficulties in voice’sclearness and speed Among them, clearness of voice is a big problem

2.4.1.2.3 Body Language

To discover the disadvantages of students in using of body language in interpreting,two questions in the questionnaire are exposed to investigate their difficulties

Question 7: How often do you use facial expression when interpreting?

Table 7: Students’ using of facial expression in interpreting

The table shows the frequency of students’ using of facial expression ininterpreting As an overall trend, we can see that not many students at Vinh Universityhave habit of using facial expression in interpreting

As can be seen clearly from the table, only 23.73% of students often interpret withtheir facial expression while the number of students sometimes using it is 32.20%.Especially, up to 40.68% of students rarely express their face when interpreting From that,

we can realize that students at Vinh University did not give wonderful interpretation toaudiences because they ignored effectively supported aspect- facial expression Even,3.39% of students never use their facial expression during the interpreting process

In brief, the statistics prove that the number of students at Vinh University usingfacial expression in interpreting as a habit is not high This is their big problem that needs

The table shows the percentage of students who often keep eyes-contact withaudiences when interpreting We can easily realize that most students at Vinh Universityhave not kept eyes-contact as professional speakers.

As can be seen from the table, 32.20% of students often keep eyes-contact withaudiences It is still better than the percentage of students using facial expression in theprevious question However, in fact the number of students who sometimes keep eyes-contact is very high with 38.98% and 23.73% rarely looks at audiences when speaking.Even 5.09% of students admitted they never look at the listeners because they make themmore nervous Through taking part in the interpreting class, the author realized that moststudents at Vinh University often look around, through the window… when speaking onthe stage

In sum, keeping eyes-contact with audiences is still a big problem with students atVinh University Students should practice this sub skill much more

Through two survey questions to investigate students’ using of body language ininterpreting, we can affirm that students at Vinh University still meet so many difficulties

in using them as professional speakers To give a good interpretation to audiences, studentsshould spend more time to practice this sub skill

Table 9: Students’ care about appearance before going to stage

The table shows the percentage of students caring about their appearance beforegoing to stage As an overall trend, we can see that all of students at Vinh University have

a good preparation of appearance before being a public speaker

As can be seen clearly from the table, 100% of students care about their appearancewhen speaking in front of many people This is understandable because students classifiedappearance the second element in the order of importance in the question two of thequestionnaire Realizing its role, they take time to have a good appearance’s preparationbefore going to stage.

In brief, all of students at Vinh University understand and know the way to improvetheir appearance when being a public speaker It will have a good effect to their speechlater

Through this part, we can realize that attitude and appearance are two quite goodaspects of students However, voice and using body language are two big problems ofstudents at Vinh University This make student feel nervous when standing on the stage

2.4.1.3 Students’ Practice of Public Speaking Skill in Interpreting

To give the suitable exercises for students, the author gives four questions in thesurvey to collect the necessary information to investigate their practice of public speaking

Question 10: How often do you practice speaking in front of your classmates?

Table 10: Students’ practice of speaking in class

The table describes students’ practice public speaking in class As an overall trend,

we can see that, the speaking practice of students in class is quite good, but it is notexpected number

According to the table, 15.25% of students often practice speaking in front of theirclassmates It means that they are always the volunteers when the teacher gives themopportunities Besides, 54.24%, the highest percentage of students sometimes goes on theclass stage to make speech And 30.51% rarely practice; they only speak when the teachercalls them Especially, students are well-trained in class so nobody has never spoken infront of his classmates

In conclusion, the students of English at Vinh University have quite good practice

of public speaking in class However, it is not still an expected number; the teacher shouldgive more interesting exercises for students to practice

Question 11: How often do you practice public speaking outside class?

Table 11: Students’ practice of speaking outside class

The table illustrates the frequency of students’ public speaking practice outside theclass As an overall trend, we can see that students’ practice outside the class is not good as

in class

We can see from the table, only 6.78% of students have habits of practicing publicspeaking at home, 28.81% sometimes practice and up to 55.93% of students rarely dopublic speaking exercises outside class Even 8.48% of students never practice at home.The number shows that public speaking practice of students at Vinh University outsideclass is not good This may be due to students’ sense or lack of public speaking exercises

In conclusion, students’ practice of public speaking outside class meets so manydifficulties Students should spend more time to do some types of exercises at home

Question 12: Which types of exercise do you often practice public speaking skill in

interpreting? (You can choose more than one answer)

There are 147 choices bout the given exercises, the percentage of each type ofexercise are calculated in the following table:

Speaking in front of a large crowd 22 14.86%

Table 12: Types of public speaking exerciseThe table presents the information about doing public speaking exercises ofstudents at Vinh University As an overall trend, we can see that reading aloud andspeaking in front of a small group are the most common exercises of students

As shown in the table, 31.76% is the highest number of student who often speaks infront of a small group Reading aloud ranks the second with 27.70% of students choosing.Practice with a mirror and speaking in front of a large crowd ranks the third and the fourthwith 21.62% and 14.86% respectively Because recording your voice and performance isquite complex exercise, only 3.38% of students practice it at home One student oftenchose the answer other exercises with the explanation that she always practices speakingskill through watching the model videos It is very useful method

In brief, the fourth-year students of English at Vinh University often do some types

of public speaking exercise However, they only focus on some simple exercises andignore the others that will be useful in improving their skill if they try to do

Question13: Could you give me some recommendations to build exercises

improving public speaking skill?

This is an open-ended question to find out all students’ suggestions to buildexercises improving public speaking skill

Most of responses want the research give more interesting exercises to helpstudents can do both in class and at home The exercises to improve voice and using bodylanguage should be focused

Besides, most students give precious ideas in building exercises They claim thatthe author should focus on the exercises practicing in group of 5-7 students and in front ofall class Some interesting topics and situations should be given to make students moreexcited to speak The author should give different exercises that students have to make adeep thought before speaking or can speak immediately The system of exercises should bearranged from the easy to difficult to meet students’ requirements

The students also give some suggestions to do these exercises frequently Theexercises in class can be done as the fifteen-minute speaking exercises at the beginning of

the period Especially, speaking club is an interesting place for us to practice theseexercises effectively.

In sum, students gave many previous suggestions in building public speakingexercises The ideas from students are the foundation for the author to give the exercisesimproving public speaking in the next chapter

To conclude, the information collected in the survey shows that the practice òpublic speaking of students at Vinh University is not really good This may be due tostudents’ attitude of practice or lack of interesting exercises Therefore, the results are nothigh

2.4.2 Major Findings of the Research

Data collected from the survey has revealed the implementation of practicingpublic speaking skill in interpreting for the fourth-year students of English at VinhUniversity Major findings can be summarized as follows

Firstly, it was found out that most students at Vinh University are aware of thebasic knowledge of public speaking skill in interpreting Being well-trained in the classhelps students understand the importance of public speaking and duty to practice it

Secondly, students at Vinh University meet so many difficulties in public speaking.Among sub skills in public speaking in interpreting, voice and using body language aretwo big problems that students often face

Thirdly, although students at Vinh University practice speaking in class and athome, the results gained are not high The reason can be lack of interesting and effectiveexercises Students of English at Vinh University really want to have interesting exercises

to improve their public speaking skill

Finally, through the survey, the author realizes what students expect in publicspeaking excises to meet students’ requirement

Summary

In brief, the chapter has presented the methodology used in the study Firstly, themain demographic features of the participants involved in the project were described Thereasons of choosing them as the subjects were also explained The next section justified theuse of questionnaire as the main research instrument Different phases of the data