3357 METHODS TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILLS FOR FRESHMEN MAJORING IN ENGLISH IN VIETNAM Trần Song Tuấn Phát Khoa Tiếng Anh, Trường Đại học Công Nghệ Tp Hồ Chí Minh (HUTECH) GVHD ThS Vũ Xuân Quang ABSTRAC.
METHODS TO IMPROVE SPEAKING SKILLS FOR FRESHMEN MAJORING IN ENGLISH IN VIETNAM Trần Song Tuấn Phát* Khoa Tiếng Anh, Trường Đại học Cơng Nghệ Tp Hồ Chí Minh (HUTECH) GVHD: ThS Vũ Xuân Quang ABSTRACT This paper aims to investigate the difficulties that many freshmen in Vietnam face during their English speaking courses at university It also aims to provide them with possible solutions or directions to take into account or at the very least mitigate these problems for them in their process of becoming fluent English speakers The primary causes leading to broken speeches in English are the lack of vocabulary, the lack of English grammar, the influence of the mother tongue, and lack of confidence Fortunately, the key to solving this problem is quite simple and could be applied to every freshman at any level to improve their speaking skills Based on the findings, the solutions entail an increased interaction with the language itself and also the improvement of other essential English skills Also, these solutions could be practiced by freshmen themselves in Vietnam or with the help of English instructors and teachers from various educational institutions to improve their speaking skills Keywords: Difficulties, English speakers, freshmen in Vietnam solutions, speaking skills Introduction Nowadays, one cannot deny that the English language is a universal language and one of the extremely important languages Wherever you live and work in an English country or need English for traveling, English is considered a bridge connecting Learning English is the shortest way for us to succeed and have a lot of opportunities in our life In learning English, learners need to learn four main skills which are listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills However, to communicate with other people, learners have to study how to speak fluently as a native person Tarigan (2008) pointed out “Speaking is a tool to communicate ideas that are arranged and developed following listener needs” (p.22) Nevertheless, Vietnamese students, especially first-year English students have a lot of difficulties in learning and practicing English speaking skills Because they lack professional knowledge, confidence as well as the methods to improve their speaking skills The purpose of this study is as follows: (1) to find out the difficulties of English speaking for freshmen, (2) to give out some solutions to the difficulties of English speaking as well as methods to improve speaking skills for freshmen in Vietnam Common difficulties in freshmen's English speaking 3357 2.1 Lack of English vocabulary Vocabulary learning is a significant part of when we learn a new language, as well as the meaning of new words, which are used in every case It is also central to language teaching and is of paramount importance to language learners Berne and Blachowiz (2008) pointed out that coaching vocabulary may be problematic because many teachers are not confident about best practices in vocabulary teaching and instance not realize which to start focusing on word learning Moreover, many first-year students reported that they are confused and unable to choose which forms to use in certain contexts because of so many words with different meanings or words that have similar meanings let alone learn phrasal verbs, idioms, proverbs, etc It is so hard to speak the English language with others, thus 2.2 Lack of English grammar We cannot disregard grammar if we want to achieve fluency in English speaking In general, when we learn a new language, we have to learn the grammar of that language because what we speak is almost based on the grammatical structure and the context of that language Therefore, if the speaker shows a lack of proper grammar, the listener will not understand the ideas that the speaker wants to convey Furthermore, grammar is also important to help freshmen to understand more complex sentences and develop other skills when learning English like writing, reading, and listening However, such a crucial aspect yet easily overshadowed by the importance of other English skills is listening or reading (Cao Minh Ky, Thai Cong Dan, Chau Van Thanh, Thach Chan Da, Le Minh Hieu & Phu Thi Hong Chau, 2021, p.4) 2.3 Influence of mother tongue “Mother tongue” is the term used to refer to the native language of a speaker It is considered the most frequently used primary language of the speaker from birth to their current level of education (Cao Minh Ky et al, p.5) Another problem for freshmen in Vietnam is their mother tongue When the learners were asked why they often use the mother tongue during the learning English process, they explained that they felt more naturally and confidently communicating with their partners or teacher Nevertheless, others think the opposite, they said they could not be themselves and it was too hard to imitate the mother tongue of a native speaker Therefore, they still speak English with their accent, their region 2.4 Lack of confidence According to Grubber (2010) “self-confidence is an attitude that you hold about yourself that allows you to move forward and achieve your goals.” One of the reasons why learners in general and freshmen in Vietnam, in particular, can not speak English resulted from their lack of confidence When speaking, they just worry about the mistake and are fearful of criticism (Taiqin,1995, p.28-29) For example, in Vietnam, it's not hard to see the students often afraid of making mistakes and losing their respect They also refuse to the speaking exercises for fear because they speak weird sounds in front of others Therefore, they are afraid to communicate with others in English, especially foreigners 3358 Methods to improve speaking skills for freshmen majoring in English in Vietnam The above difficulties in English speaking skills make first-year students in Vietnam can not speak English fluently There are appropriate methods that have been built a strategic background for freshmen by researchers to improve and level up freshmen's speaking skills effectively 3.1 Learning about how vocabulary and grammar work If freshmen want to enrich their vocabulary and grammar, they can learn it anywhere through billboards, social media, read English papers, magazines or watch a movie with English subtitles, etc Schmit and McCarthy (1997) propose strategies to learn vocabulary as follows (1) guessing from context, (2) using word parts and mnemonic techniques to remember words, and (3) using the vocabulary card to notice and review Besides that, freshmen should also look at the ways and cases in that vocabulary are used In addition, some English experts in Vietnam showed that if you want to learn more vocabulary, not translate the word into Vietnamese but understand it works under what circumstances From there, freshmen can learn the others like linking verbs, phrasal verbs, or idioms Sometimes, we can meet some grammatical errors in a conversation and it's usually word form Nevertheless, in general, grammar is still an important component that needs to follow the rules like “ S+V+O” when speaking because it provides the speaker's information to the listener and makes the speaker can feel natural These errors remain content and information One of the effective ways freshmen and students in Vietnam usually improve their grammar does exercises 3.2 Pronunciation We also not know how to speak a word if we just study new words without learning how it is pronounced Each word in English has one or more ways of speaking and stressing sounds depending on the case We can research the phonetic transcriptions of the word in many ways like through dictionaries, research on the Internet through websites such as Oxford dictionary or Cambridge dictionary, or listen to someone say it We listen and repeat for familiarity This is very important because when mispronounced, the listener will not understand or misunderstand the information that we want to convey Moreover, it's also related to the mother tongue 3.3 Learn to speak in the voice of a native (the mother tongue) Another aspect that helps freshmen to improve their speaking skills is their mother tongue We all know that each country, each region has its mother tongue For indigenous people, their mother tongue is too normal because they get used to it when they were born but for learners, this is hard Common ways for learners to imitate the voice of a native are (1) watching movies or (2) often speaking English in their mother tongue to a native person To (1), freshmen can change to listen to music Almost everyone learns English and is interested in that way For instance, just paying attention to the lyrics of an English song that we like or in a TV show we enjoy is more effective than just reading and trying to memorize them That 3359 also makes us improve our listening skills and learn a new words We can pause, imitate the mother tongue in that, and repeat if we can not follow The second way makes freshmen improve their speaking skills significantly We can go to places where natives gather and travel to communicate and make a friend In communicating, we can hear them say common terms, or they can find out our mistakes and help us fix them In other ways, we can call people who are halfway across through applications like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc Moreover, freshmen can practice speaking on a specific topic, ask some questions and answer them ourselves 3.4 Be confident As for confidence aspects, according to Jonas (2010), there are several ways of improving self-confidence to overcome the speaking problem: ● Relax not stress yourself too much and go with the flow of your speeches ● Prepare-Focus on building up a set of key phrases and vocabulary ● Practice your confidence will grow as the English you know becomes second nature ● Get an English-speaking conversation partner and regularly meet up Another objective method is that teachers can help their students to overcome their timidity through friendly behaviors to make them feel comfortable when speaking, remind them there is nothing to fear about making mistakes, and encourage them to take part in speaking activities during the learning process Conclusion Speaking is considered as the foundation for learning English In speaking, we have more chances to boost our vocabulary and grammar, even if it helps us have more confidence and looks like a native speaker as well as help us to understand more about the culture of English speaking countries However, the process of improving speaking skills is not like a piece of cake The problems that learners have in speaking can be fixed if they can identify the reason for their difficulties and they have the determination References Bowen, T (2005) Methodology: Shy Students; An Article Offering Suggestions and Advice on Teaching Shy Students (Online) Avalaible:http://www.onestopenglish.com/support/ask-the 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