Aims of the research
- find out the tenth- grade students’ attitudes towards the use of Project-Based Learning in their optional English lessons
- discover how the use of Project-Based Learning in teaching English helps develop students’ English speaking skill.
Scope of the research
The research focused on using Project-Based Learning in teaching English in optional English lessons to the tenth-grade students at AnLao High School in the second term of the school-year of 2013-2014.
Methodology
Definition
Action research, according to Parsons and Brown (2002) is a form of investigation designed for use by teachers to attempt to solve problems and improve professional practices in their own classrooms It involves systematic observations and data collection which can be then used by the practitioner-researcher in reflection, decision-making and the development of more effective classroom strategies.
Reason for the use of action research
It is necessary to do research into what is actually happening in classrooms to improve teaching and learning practices Knowing what exactly is happening in classes can help teachers focus on aspects of teaching which are beneficial to their students
This research addressed my own problems in my teaching English speaking skill, and therefore it provided my students with better opportunities to develop their English speaking skill.
Action research design
There are four key stages in the action research including Planning, Acting, Observing and Evaluation
- Problems and causes of the students’ low English proficiency in speaking skill were explored through a pre-test and a questionnaire The students at AnLao High School were faced with some problems when speaking English including bad pronunciation, lack of vocabulary, fear of mistakes and fear of speaking in public
These problems were mostly due to ineffective methods and techniques employed by the teachers of English of AnLao High School
- Strategies for improvement were mapped out through lesson plans applied PBL in English teaching to develop the students' English speaking skill
- PBL was adopted to improve their English speaking skill in 16 optional lessons of an English intensive class 10C9 in the second term of the school-year of 2013-2014 with 4 themes based on English 10
- Two volunteer teachers were asked to observe those lessons and evaluate the changes in AnLao tenth-grade students’ English speaking skill
- Class observations were made carefully by the teacher and the success of the action research on using PBL to develop student's English speaking skill lay in the outcomes of the class observations
- A post-test was given to the students to evaluate their improvement in speaking skill
- An interview and a questionnaire were carried out to get information from teachers and students on the efficiency of the use of PBL in developing English speaking skill
- From the results of the post-test, the interview and the questionnaire, some conclusions were made.
Participants
The research was conducted with the participation of 40 tenth - grade students of the English intensive class and 2 teachers of AnLao High School during the second term of the academic year 2013-2014 at AnLao High School.
Procedures
- At the end of the first term of the academic year 2013-2014, an evaluation of the students’ English speaking ability, a pre-test was administered The criteria for evaluating each student’s speaking ability in the pre-test include fluency and coherence, lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, pronunciation, and interactive communication
- The researcher planned 4 lessons with 4 themes applied the use of PBL in English teaching to motivate the students to learn English and to develop their speaking skill
- PBL was carried out in accordance with the lesson plans within 16 weeks and what happened in the class with 40 students was recorded in the teacher’s journals
- Two teachers were asked to observe those lessons and evaluate the changes in the students’ English speaking skill
- The results of class observation were used to evaluate the success of the action research on using PBL to develop student's English speaking skill
- A speaking post-test was conducted to find out the efficiency of the use of PBL in developing English speaking for the students
- An interview and a questionnaire were carried out to get information from teachers and students on the efficiency of the use of PBL in developing tenth graders’ English speaking skill
- Based on data from student questionnaires, teacher interview, class observations, teacher journals, and the results of a pre-test and post-test, the researcher made an in-depth quantitative and qualitative analysis towards the two themes stated in the two research questions
- Then the research was put down in writing.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Speaking skill
“Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information Its form and meaning are depending on the context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving However, speech is not always unpredictable Speaking requires that learners not only know how to produce specific points of language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary ("linguistic competence"), but also that they understand when, why, and in what ways to produce language ("sociolinguistic competence").” (Nunan, 1999:216)
According to Jack C Richards (2008:21), in order to achieve a communicative goal through speaking, there are three functions of speaking to be considered – talk as interaction, talk as transaction, and talk as performance Each of these speech activities is quite distinct in terms of form and function and requires different teaching approaches
• “Talk as interaction refers to what we normally mean by “conversation” and describes interaction that serves a primarily social function.”
• “Talk as transaction refers to situations where the focus is on what is said or done The message and making oneself understood clearly and accurately is the central focus, rather than the participants and how they interact socially with each other.”
• “Talk as performance refers to public talk, that is, talk that transmits information before an audience, such as class room presentations, public announcement, and speeches.”
Three core issues need to be addressed in planning speaking activities for an English class, and the researcher found that PBL was really an opportunity for students to acquire all kinds of talk
1.1.3 The importance of teaching speaking skill
Teaching speaking is a very important part of second language learning The ability to communicate in a second language clearly and efficiently contributes to the success of students in school and success later in every phase of life Therefore, it is essential that language teachers pay great attention to teaching speaking Rather than leading students to pure memorization, providing a rich environment where meaningful communication takes place is desired With this aim, PBL can contribute a great deal to students in terms of acquiring the three functions of speaking Besides, PBL helps develop basic skills necessary for life Those activities at PBL make students more active in the learning process and at the same time make their learning more meaningful and fun.
Communicative Language Teaching
The history of language learning and teaching methods has experienced many changes with many approaches such as Grammar - Translation Method, Audio lingual Method, the Total Physical Response, the Natural Approach, and, etc
CLT is the latest influence on teaching methodology which has been put forth around the world as an innovative approach to teach English as a second or foreign language
“CLT views language as a system for the expression of meaning Activities involve oral communication, carrying out meaningful tasks and using language that is meaningful to learners Objectives reflect the need of the learners: they include functional skills as well as linguistic objectives The learners’ role is as a negotiator and integrator The teachers’ role is as a facilitator of the communication process Materials promote communicative language use; they are task – based and authentic.” (Nunan, D, 1989:194)
Nunan, D (1991:279) offered five characteristic features of CLT:
• The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation
• An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language
• The provision of opportunities for learners to focus not only on language but also on the learning process itself
• An enhancement of the learners‟ own experience as important contributing elements to classroom learning
• An attempt to link classroom language with language activation outside the classroom
The English text book for grade 10 follows this dominating approach It was designed with a view to developing students’ communicative skills at basic level: speaking, listening, reading and writing as well as providing students with appropriate, systematic and basic knowledge of English With this approach, the need for communicative proficiency is focused on rather than mere mastery of structures However, those activities in English 10 did not meet the demand of communicative proficiency Then, the researcher used PBL, and found that it was really a good teaching practice to help students develop their communicative competence.
Project – Based Learning
Haines (1989:1) defines PBL in the following quote:
“… [Projects are] multi-skill activities focusing on topics or themes rather than on specific language targets Of crucial importance is the part which the students themselves play in the initial choice of subject matter and in the decisions related to appropriate working methods, the project timetable and the eventual “end product” Because specific language aims are not prescribed, and because students concentrate their efforts and attention on reaching an agreed goal, project work provides students with opportunities to recycle known language and skills in a relatively natural context Projects can be intensive activities which take place over a short period of time, or extended studies which may take up one or two hours a week for several weeks”
Skehan (1998:273) characterizes PBL in the following quote:
“Project work enables the gradual development of autonomy with progressively greater responsibility being taken by the learners… [Project work] is an excellent structure for preparing learners to approach learning in their own way, suitable to their own abilities, styles and preferences”
Another quote that summarizes PBL is from Fried-Booth (2002:6),
“Project work is student-centered and driven by the need to create an end- product However, it is the route to achieving this end-product that makes project work so worthwhile The route to the end-product brings opportunities for students to develop their confidence and independence and to work together in a real-world environment by collaborating on a task”
A clearer picture of PBL from the above definitions is that Project-Based Learning is engaging learning experiences that involve students in complex, real-world projects through which they develop and apply skills and knowledge The outcomes can be identified up front but sometimes are only experiences to allocate resources such as time or materials
1.3.2 Key features of Project-Based Learning
There are 6 key features of Project-Based Learning offered by Stoller’s (2007:4-5)
1 Project work focuses on content learning rather than on specific language targets Real-world subject matter and topics of interest to students can become central to projects
2 Project work is student-centered, though the teacher plays a major role in offering support and guidance throughout the process
3 Project work is cooperative rather than competitive Students can work on their own, in small groups, or as a class to complete a project, sharing resources, ideas, and expertise along the way
4 Project work leads to the authentic integration of skills and processing of information from varied sources, mirroring real-life tasks
5 Project work culminates in an end product (e.g., an oral presentation, a poster session, a bulletin board display, a report, or a stage performance) that can be shared with others, giving the project a real purpose The value of the project, however, lies not just in the final product but in the process of working towards the end point Thus, project work has both a process and product orientation, and provides students with opportunities to focus on fluency and accuracy at different project-work stages
6 Project work is potentially motivating, stimulating, empowering, and challenging It usually results in building student confidence, self-esteem, and autonomy as well as improving students’ language skills, content learning, and cognitive abilities
From the features of PBL, a wide range of benefits to both students and teachers are further clarified A growing body of academic research supports the use of project- based learning in school to engage students, cut absenteeism, boost cooperative learning skills, and improve academic performance (George Lucas Educational Foundation, 2001)
For many students, the appeal of this learning style comes from the authenticity of the experience Students take on the role and behavior of those working in a particular discipline Whether they are making a documentary video about an environmental concern, designing a travel brochure to highlight sites of historical significance in their community, or developing a multimedia presentation about their interests, students are engaged in real-world activities that have significance beyond the classroom
For teachers, additional benefits include enhanced professionalism and collaboration among colleagues, and opportunities to build relationships with students (Thomas, 2000) Additionally, many teachers are pleased to find a model that accommodates diverse learners by introducing a wider range of learning opportunities into the classroom
1.3.3 Teacher's role in Project-Based learning
Effective Project-Based Learning requires the teacher to assume a different role (Levy,1997) The teacher’s role is not dominant, but he/she acts as a guide, advisor, coordinator (Papandreou, 1994), and facilitator In other words, in implementing the project method, the focal point of the learning process moves from the teacher to the learners, from working alone to working in groups
1.3.4 Stages in project work 1.3.4.1 Stage 1: Speculation
This stage includes choice of project topic and sensitisation about it, aiming at arousing interest and developing a climate conducive to speculation and investigation that will lead smoothly to the research process Topic is chosen after a dialogue among all members of the group, and the teacher (Brinia, 2006)
1.3.4.2 Stage 2: Designing the project activities
This stage includes formation of groups and assigning of roles, decisions concerning methodology, sources of information, activities that will take place, and places outside the classroom that students will visit The better organised and more analytical the structuring of the activities, the easier and faster the research will be conducted (Fragoulis, 2008)
1.3.4.3 Stage 3: Conducting the project activities
At this stage the groups implement the activities designed in the previous stage Students gather information, process and categorize it If deemed necessary, there may be intervals of information and feedback, in which students discuss issues related with cooperation among group members, problems of personal relations, and possible changes in group composition
The next phase is synthesis and processing of information gathered The final products are displayed in the class and become a stimulus for thought and action for other students (Fragoulis, 2008)
Evaluation refers to the assessment of the activities from participants and discussion about whether the initial aims and goals have been achieved, implementation of the process, and final products (Brinia, 2006) Evaluation also entails assessment of errors and problems in the presentations of the final products
THE STUDY
Research questions and design
The research was conducted to find answers to the two following questions:
1 What are the attitudes of AnLao tenth-grade students towards the use of Project Based Learning in their optional English lessons?
2 How can the use of Project Based Learning in teaching English help develop AnLao tenth-grade students’ English speaking skill?
The action research went through four stages which are described in detail as follows.
Planning stage
In English speaking lessons, the researcher found that the students were quite passive in their learning In other words, they did not contribute actively to the speaking lessons and they often kept quite Most of the students are lacking in contents and confidence when speaking English As a result, the students’ speaking ability was not good
2.2.2 Evaluation of the students' speaking skill through a pre-test
According to Vietnam’s National Foreign Language 2020 Project, tenth- grade students are supposed to achieve CEFR level A2, so a pre-test was conducted to evaluate the students’ speaking skill The pre-test took place in pairs among students and met the CEFR's demands at A2 level
The pre-test (WBT) consists of three parts:
Part 1: Getting to know each other
- Can you tell me something about yourself? (name, age, languages, hobbies, )
- The teacher will ask you one or two more questions about yourself
- Talk to your partner about two or three of the following topics Ask questions
You and your partner want to spend next Saturday together
- What would you like to do?
- Agree on one activity When do you want to do them?
(go to the country, go to the zoo, go shopping, go to a concert, go jogging ) The speaking test is also marked out of 10 according to the following criteria:
* Grammatical range and accuracy (2 points)
* Interactive communication (2 points) Table 1: How is the grade calculated?
The author observed and graded, but these criteria do not meet expectations
The following table below will show the results of 40 students
Table 2: The results of the pre-test
Grade Very good Good Satisfactory Pass Not pass
The table shows the students' English speaking ability No students achieved grade "very good" or "good" There were only 4 students (made up 10%) who achieved grade "satisfactory", 30% achieved grade "pass" and 60% do not meet expectations
It can be seen from the results of the pre-test that the students' English speaking ability was not good Almost these criteria did not meet expectations
Therefore, in the next step, the author conducted a questionnaire to find out the causes of the students’ low speaking ability
STEP 2: IDENTIFYING CAUSES OF THE PROBLEMS
2.2.3 Conducting a questionnaire to get information from students
40 students were asked to give their answers to 5 questions in English prepared by the researcher and then handed their papers to the researcher for analysis (see APPENDIX 1)
Table 3: The results of the questionnaire concerning causes of the students’ low English proficiency
Questions Responses Number of students (%) a Are you afraid of speaking English in front of the class?
No 4 (10%) b What are the reasons why you are afraid of speaking English in front of the class? bad pronunciation 31 (77.5%) lack of vocabulary 27 (67.5%) fear of mistakes 29 (72.5%) fear of other people's opinions 17 (42.5%) fear of speaking in public 36 (90%) c What do you think of the speaking activities in English speaking lessons? boring 27 (67.5%) interesting 13 (32.5%) d Do you work in groups actively in the English speaking lessons?
No 29 (72.5%) e How often do you practice speaking English in front of the class? usually 12 (30%) sometimes 23 (57.5%) rarely 5 (12.5%)
It can have four conclusions drawn from the results of the questionnaire
1 Almost students are afraid of speaking English in front of the class because of bad pronunciation, for fear of lack of vocabulary, mistakes and speaking in public
2 The speaking activities in the English speaking lessons are not really interesting to motivate students to practice speaking English
3 Students do not work in groups actively in the English speaking lessons
4 Students do not have many chances to practice English in front of the class
Most of the problems leading to the low English proficiency of the students in speaking skill belong to the teacher’s responsibilities Thus, it is necessary that the teacher design strategies for the students’ improvement in speaking skill
STEP 3: MAPPING OUT STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
2.2.4 Drawing a plan of action to solve the problems
To solve the problems, I worked out several alternative ways which could be applied in this context to improve the students’ speaking skill and gave them opportunity to work independently and responsibly They were role-play activity, discussion activity, information-gap activities, project-based learning Finally, I decided to choose Project-Based Learning as an appropriate learning activity to help me solve all the problems
I designed the following strategies to improve the problems:
1 Students chose the group members at the end of the first term
2 The teacher provided a list of topics based on the themes of English 10 from Unit
8 to Unit 16 (The Story Of My Village, Undersea World, Conservation, National Parks, Music, Film And Cinema, The World Cup, Cities, Historical Places)
3 Students chose four most interesting themes to conduct projects including Conservation, Music, Cities and Historical Places which were carried out in 16 optional periods (four weeks for one theme)
3 Forty students were divided into 8 groups Every four weeks, each group carried out their project with four stages of Project-Based Learning
4 Each group made a presentation on their project in about 15 minutes There were
2 groups presenting each week and 15 minutes rest of each period were spent on asking and answering questions and discussion Students were also given a chance to make comments on their friends’ projects and presentations During the presentations, they acted as audience, observers and assessors Finally, teacher’s constructive feedback on the presentations and the projects played a very important role so that students could improve their speaking skill.
Acting stage
STEP 4: IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES AND TEACHER’S JOURNALS
ON WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CLASS
The strategies were adopted in sixteen optional periods All of the improvements after each lesson were noted down by the teacher in the journal
* AIMS : By the end of the four lessons, the students will be able to obtain:
- General knowledge: some information about environmental issues
- Vocabulary: words related to environmental issues
- Skills: speaking skill - presenting on one environmental issue that needs to be conserved
* MATERIALS: projector, laptop, a documentary video about an environmental concern
- The students may have difficulty in making a documentary video and processing information
- They may less confident in presenting information in front of the class
T introduces eight environmental issues that need to be conserved: Energy, Water,
Wildlife, Soil, Habitat, Forest, Marine Creatures, and Air Each group will choose an issue among these to carry out a project The project consists of four stages: a Speculation
- Choose the project topic b Designing the project activities
- List some problems of each environmental issue
- Find consequences of those problems
- Suggest some solutions to those problems
- Make a documentary video about an environmental concern Make sure to include the problems, consequences and some solutions c Conducting the project activities
- Gather and process information then display the final product in front of the class with presentation in PowerPoint d Evaluation
- Evaluate the project including activities, aims, achieved goals, implementation of the process and the final product
Among these stages, displaying the final products and the evaluations of the projects were carried out in front of the class in the first four optional periods
EVALUATION: Students were interested in their own project although they had some difficulty in processing information and making a documentary video This was the first time they presented in power point in front of the class, so they are not really confident However, they learnt a lot from the authenticity of the experience They are aware of environmental issues and know how to conserve them Above all, they developed speaking skill through their presentations as well as the teacher's evaluations of them
* AIMS : By the end of the four lessons, the students will be able to obtain:
- General knowledge: some information about different kinds of music
- Vocabulary: words related to different kinds of music
- Skills: speaking skill - presenting on one kind of music
* MATERIALS: projector, laptop, poster, pictures
* ANTICIPATED PROBLEMS: the students may have difficulty in designing a poster
T introduces eight types of music: Pop Music, Rock Music, Classical Music, Country Music, Jazz Music, Rap Music, Folk Music, Blues Music Each group will choose a type of music among these to carry out a project The project consists of four stages: a Speculation
- Choose the project topic b Designing the project activities
- List types of the music
- Describe its history and definition
- List 3 famous artists of each type
- Make a poster about that type of music Make sure to include its definition, history,
3 famous artists and their most popular songs c Conducting the project activities
- Gather and process information then display the final product in front of the class with presentation in PowerPoint d Evaluation
- Evaluate the project including activities, aims, achieved goals, implementation of the process and the final product
Among these stages, displaying the final products and the evaluations of the projects were carried out in front of the class in the next four optional periods
EVALUATION: Students were really eager to carry out this project because music is their main form of entertainment They had chance to know different types of music and enjoyed different songs Above all, they gained confidence in presenting information in front of the class Their speaking skill has been improved by degrees
* AIMS : By the end of the four lessons, the students will be able to obtain:
- General knowledge: some facts in 8 big cities in the world
- Vocabulary: words related to some facts in some big cities
- Skills: speaking skill - presenting on 5 interesting facts about a big city in the world
* MATERIALS: projector, laptop, poster, pictures
* ANTICIPATED PROBLEMS: the students may have difficulty in finding 5 facts about the city
T introduces eight journeys to eight big cities around the world: London, Sydney, Paris, Tokyo, Moscow, Los Angeles, Seoul, BomBay Each group will choose a big city among these to carry out a project The project consists of four stages: a Speculation
- Choose the project topic b Designing the project activities
- Find the location of the city on the world map
- Find 5 interesting facts about the city
- Design a poster Make sure to include the facts about the city and some pictures c Conducting the project activities
- Gather and process information then display the final product in front of the class with a presentation in PowerPoint d Evaluation
- Evaluate the project including activities, aims, achieved goals, implementation of the process and the final product
Among these stages, displaying the final products and the evaluations of the projects were carried out in front of the class in the next four optional periods
EVALUATION: Students were interested in designing a poster including facts about a city in the world They made such beautiful posters and impressive presentations that all listeners wanted to make a journey to all the cities They have obviously made progress in their presentations
* AIMS : By the end of the four lessons, the students will be able to obtain:
- General knowledge: some information about 8 historical places in Vietnam in order to love Vietnam more
- Vocabulary: words related to some historical places in Vietnam
- Skills: speaking skill - giving a short introduction to a famous Historical Place in
* MATERIALS: projector, laptop, brochure, pictures
* ANTICIPATED PROBLEMS: the students may have difficulty in designing a travel brochure
T introduces eight journeys to eight historical places in Vietnam: Van Mieu - Quoc
Tu Giam, Kings Hung Temple, Hue Imperial City, Dien Bien Phu, Hoi An, My Son Sanctuary, Cu Chi Tunnel, Thong Nhat Conference Hall Each group will choose a historical place among these to carry out a project The project consists of four stages: a Speculation
- Choose the project topic b Designing the project activities
- Find the location of the historical place on the map of Vietnam
- Find the main information about the historical place
- Design a travel brochure Make sure to include the main information about the historical place and some pictures c Conducting the project activities
- Gather and process information then display the final product in front of the class with presentation in PowerPoint d Evaluation
- Evaluate the project including activities, aims, achieved goals, implementation of the process and the final product
Among these stages, displaying the final products and the evaluations of the projects were carried out in front of the class in the last four optional periods
EVALUATION: Students were fond of designing a travel brochure to highlight sites of historical significance in Vietnam Their travel brochures contained the top features that appealed to the target audience and were listed in bullet points
They have gained some experience in presenting, so they gave interesting introductions to famous Historical Places in Vietnam as tourist guides.
Observing stage
- Two volunteer teachers were asked to observe the lessons to see the student's improvements in speaking skill
- The results of class observation were used to reflect on the reasons for those improvements
- Comments and conclusion were made
* CLASS OBSERVATION AT THE LESSONS
2.4.1 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRST LESSON WITH THEME
STAGES TEACHER’S ACTIVITIES SS’ ACTIVITIES COMMENTS
- T asks Ss about people's most concern nowadays
-T asks Ss to list some environmental issues that need to be conserved
ANSWER KEY: Energy, Water, Wildlife, Soil, Habitat, Forest, Marine Creatures, and Air
- T introduces 8 projects about these issues and their purposes
- T asks students in groups to present their projects including their documentary videos about their environment concerns
- T asks the audience to raise questions to the presenting groups
- T evaluates the projects as well as presentations
- Group 1 presents their project related to Energy Conservation
-Group 2 presents their project related to Water Conservation
- Discuss and answer the questions
- The students were interested in listing some environmental issues that need to be conserved and cared for the purposes of their projects
- Most students were not confident in their presentations They were confused when starting and closing their presentations They did not look at the audience when presenting
- Only a student raised a question It seemed that they were very shy, so they did not want to take part in the discussion
* Not good presentations (ways to start and close a presentation, pronunciation, intonation, interaction, fluency and accuracy)
- T introduces some steps for an effective presentation
* Good morning ladies and gentlemen
►Introducing the theme of the presentation
* I am going to talk to day about
*The purpose of my presentation is
* Our presentation is in three parts
* Our presentation is divided into main sections
- To start with/ then/next/finally
* I would be grateful if you could ask any questions about our presentation
- T asks all Ss to practice the next pronunciation mistakes, grammatical errors
- There must be better presentations next time thanks to this positive attitude towards the lesson
2.4.2 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRST LESSON WITH THEME "MUSIC"
STAGES TEACHER’S ACTIVITIES SS’ ACTIVITIES COMMENTS
- T asks Ss some questions about music
* Why do you listen to music?
* What kind of music do you like?
* How many types of music do you know well?
- T introduces 8 projects about different types of music
- T asks students in groups to present their projects about 2 types of music including their posters
- Group 1 presents their project about Pop Music
-Group 2 presents their project about Rock Music
- The students were eager to answer questions about music and to learn about different types of music
- Most students had prepared their projects very carefully, so they were confident in their presentations
- T evaluates the projects as well as presentations
* Good and well-prepared projects
* Good presentations except some pronunciation mistakes and grammatical errors
- T asks Ss to check pronunciation and practice the next presentation more
Discuss and answer the questions
- Note down very interested in theme "music" All the students took part in the discussion
- All students noted down the teacher's evaluations of some pronunciation mistakes and grammatical errors
2.4.3 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRST LESSON WITH THEME " CITIES"
STAGES TEACHER’S ACTIVITIES SS’ ACTIVITIES COMMENTS
- T asks Ss bout cities in the world that they want to visit
- T introduces a journey around the world and asks Ss to join through 8 projects about
8 big cities in the world
- T asks students in groups to present their projects about 2 big cities in the world including their posters
- T asks the audience to raise questions to the presenting groups
- Group 1 presents their project about London
-Group 2 presents their project about Sydney
Discuss and answer the questions
- The students were eager to join the journey around the world
- Most students had prepared their projects very carefully, so they were confident in their presentations They found out 5 interesting facts about each city
- They made beautiful posters and impressive presentations
- The atmosphere was noisy They seemed very interested in the journey and wanted to know more about these cities
- T evaluates the projects as well as presentations
* Good and well-prepared projects
* Good presentations except some pronunciation mistakes and grammatical errors
- Note down - All students noted down the teacher's evaluations of some pronunciation mistakes and grammatical errors
2.4.4 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRST LESSON WITH THEME "HISTORICAL PLACES"
STAGES TEACHER’S ACTIVITIES SS’ ACTIVITIES COMMENTS
- T asks Ss bout some famous historical places in Vietnam
- T introduces a journey around Vietnam and asks Ss to join through 8 projects about
8 famous historical places in Vietnam
- T asks students in groups to present their projects about 2 famous historical places in Vietnam including their travel brochures
- T asks the audience to raise questions to
- Group 1 presents their project about Van Mieu- Quoc Tu Giam
-Group 2 presents their project about Kings Hung Temple
- The students were eager to join the journey around Vietnam
- All students were interested in their projects, so they made impressive travel brochures to highlight sites of historical significance in Vietnam
They gave interesting introductions to famous Historical Places in Vietnam as tourist guides
- Their presentations were so good that the audience listened attentively
- The atmosphere was noisy They were very
- T evaluates the projects as well as presentations
* Good and well-prepared projects
* Good presentations except some pronunciation mistakes and grammatical errors
- Note down more about historical places in Vietnam
- All students noted down the teacher's evaluations of some pronunciation mistakes and grammatical errors
* Some more comments about the improvement of the students' speaking skill
- The student's speaking skill has changed considerably from low speaking ability to better speaking ability
- All criteria such as communication, interaction, fluency, accuracy, pronunciation, vocabulary have been improved
- Students have gained confidence in speaking English.
Evaluation stage
After trying out Project Based Learning in 16 optional periods, a post-test was also conducted to evaluate the students’ speaking skill The post-test took place in pairs among students and met the CEFR's demands at A2 level
The post-test (WBT) consists of three parts:
Part 1: Getting to know each other
- Can you tell me something about yourself? (name, age, languages, hobbies, )
- The teacher will ask you one or two more questions about yourself
- Talk to your partner about two or three of the following topics Ask questions
* Your favorite channel on National TV
You and your partner want to go to the cinema
- Why do you want to go?
- Where do you want to go?
- What do you want to see?
- When do you want to go?
- Agree on one film at a cinema
The speaking test is also marked out of 10 according to the following criteria:
* Grammatical range and accuracy (2 points)
* Interactive communication (2 points) The grade is calculated according to the following table:
The author observed and graded The following table below showed the results of
Table 4: The results of the post-test
The table shows the students' English speaking ability No students achieved grade
"very good" However, there were 4 students (made up 10%) who achieved grade
"good", 27.5% achieved grade "satisfactory", 42.5 % achieved grade "pass" and only 20% do not meet expectations
Comparing the results of the post-test and the pre-test, it is obvious that the students' English speaking ability has been improved dramatically Almost these criteria met expectations Thus, it could be said that Project Based Learning was really effective in developing student's speaking skill
Grade Very good Good Satisfactory Pass Not pass
2.5.2 Evaluation of the students' speaking skill through the results of the interview with two teachers
The two volunteer teachers were interviewed to give their opinions of the effectiveness of Project Based Learning in developing students' speaking skill (see APPENDIX 2) These were the results of the interview a Do you usually use Project Based Learning in teaching English to your students?
Both of the teachers did not usually use Project -Based Learning in teaching English to their students The reasons they gave are shown as follows:
- It took up a lot of time
- They did not know Project Based Learning well
- They did not know how to design a project for students b Are you satisfied with the students' performance in their presentations?
- Both of them were satisfied with the students' performance in their presentations
They saw that the students had made much progress in speaking skill through their different projects c Do you think using Project Based Learning can develop students’ speaking skill?
- Both of them thought that Project-Based Learning could develop students' speaking skill d Do you think about whether to apply Project-Based Learning to your English teaching?
- Both of them wanted to apply PBL to their teaching when having time
The results of the interview demonstrated that there was agreement on the effectiveness of PBL between the two teachers Although this method consumed a lot of time, it was considered as an appropriate strategy to develop students' speaking skill Project-Based Learning really offered a wide range of benefits to students
2.5.3 Evaluation of the students' speaking skill through the results of the questionnaire with students
The 40 students were given a post-trying out-questionnaire with 5 questions for evaluation(see APPENDIX 3)
Question 1: What do you think about using Project Based Learning in the optional lessons? a too difficult b challenging but interesting c normal d too easy
Table 5: Students’ opinion of the optional lessons using Project Based Learning
What do you think about using Project Based Learning in the optional lessons?
As can be seen from Table 5, 75% of the students found using Project Based Learning in the optional lessons interesting because the projects posed big challenge to them However, 20% of the students had difficulty in using PBL There were only a small number of the students (5%) who had no idea of it These facts might be concluded that the try – out stage of conducting the optional lessons using PBL had certain good influence on the students' learning attitude so that they could achieve their goals and gain confidence in English speaking skill
Question 2: Do you think using Project Based Learning in the lessons has helped develop your English speaking skill?
80.00% strongly agree agree I don't know disagree extremely disagree
Chart 1:Using PBL has helped develop your English speaking skill
This chart represents 90% of the students believed that Project Based Learning had developed their English speaking skill The number of students who had no ideas of the effectiveness of PBL made up a small percentage (10%) This could be seen as the success of the action research
Question 3: Which criteria of speaking skill have you improved? a fluency b vocabulary c grammatical accuracy d pronunciation e interactive communication f all of a, b, c, d and e
Table 6: The criteria of speaking skill have been improved by the students
Which criteria of speaking skill have you improved?
The data in the table 6 shows most of the students (90%) have made much progress in their English speaking skill thanks to the lessons using Project Based Learning All criteria of English speaking skill including fluency, vocabulary, grammatical accuracy, pronunciation, interactive communication met expectations
It was the results of the post-test that provided convincing evidence of their improvements There were only a small percentage of students (10%) who did not give any information
Question 4: What are your opinions of your own changes after taking part in the lessons using Project Based Learning? a strongly agree b agree c I don't know d disagree e extremely disagree
Table 7: Ss’ changes after taking part in the lessons using PBL
1 I have made progress in speaking English
2 I am motivated to take part in the lessons
3 I have taken greater responsibility for my own learning
5 I have gained confidence in speaking in front of the audience
As can be seen from the table 7, taking part in the lessons using PBL has made some changes to students
First, when being asked to evaluate their own English speaking competence, 90% of the students believed that they had improved their English speaking skill
It can be inferred from the second change that the students' interest in the lessons increased considerably In other words, PBL was superior to other methods in terms of ways to motivate students to learn English
The percentage (90%) of the students said that they took greater responsibility for their own learning could be considered a big success marking new steps forward of the students' attitude towards learning
Besides, collaboration is increasingly important in today's working environments as well as for the majority of prestigious occupations of the future
Thus, it was with great pleasure that PBL made students team players (92.5%)
Students gained cooperation while participating in a group
Finally, public speaking skill is valuable both in students' personal life and career PBL engaged students in public speaking through their presentations This increased their confidence in speaking English (87.5%) It may also help to reduce anxiety about situations in which they can be called to speak in public in the future
To sum up, these findings provide us evidence of the fact that teachers can change the situations if they know how to use Project Based Learning in teaching English effectively
Question 5: Which difficulties did you encounter when carrying out your projects? You can choose more than one answer a I was not familiar with group work b The duration of a project is too long c I had difficulty accepting the new role of the teacher as a facilitator
Table 8: The difficulties students encountered when carrying out their projects
Which difficulties did you encounter when carrying out your projects?
The data from table shows that most of the students encountered some difficulties when carrying out their projects for the first time The most serious problem related to the fact that 42.5 % of the students were not familiar with group work At the beginning, although clear roles for group members were assigned, some students dominated the work, while others did little work Another difficulty concerned the long duration of the projects Some students (20%) seemed to have lost interest and motivation by the end of the project Finally, some students (15%) had difficulty accepting the new role of the teacher as a facilitator At the beginning of project work some students felt apprehensive of project work
Recapitulation
The previous chapters show that using Project Based Learning in English speaking lessons consumed a lot of time Most of teachers did not have opportunities to practice PBL or they even did not know how to use it However, from the author's experience in teaching English with PBL, two lessons can be drawn First, PBL can be used effectively to develop student's English speaking skill Second, it offers a good solution to English teaching and learning in optional lessons
The thesis has described a research in which the author made effort to solve problems in terms of the low English proficiency of the students in speaking skill by applying Project Based Learning The results of the research represented that students had positive attitude towards the use of Project Based Learning in English lessons As a result, most of students had the greatest improvement in speaking skill
In addition, their collaborative skill improved dramatically After the project work, students knew that being a team member; they had to learn to be responsible for their roles assigned to them Most importantly, most of the students, regardless of language performance, or motivational intensity seemed to have developed their cooperative skill Also, their computer skills improved, mainly, the ability to use the internet to search for information To sum up, PBL provides students with not only good English speaking skill but also some necessary skills for integration and development in the 21 st century
The data analysis of the research also interpreted that the students had to cope with some difficulties as mentioned above The teacher remedied these problems by providing procedures for task completion and engaging students in different projects in the hope that they can overcome the difficulties
According to the study on developing students’ speaking through PBL for tenth- grade students, the researcher comes to the conclusion that PBL could improve the students’ speaking very well
The researcher explained to the students what PBL was before giving them the projects to complete based on the themes in the text book The students in group of 5 carried out their projects then performed them in front of the class As demonstrated by the results of the study, the students gave positive response towards the implementation of PBL They gradually enjoyed the discussion and the performance based on what they had made There was also improvement in the students’ speaking skill Clearly, the study has given the answers to all research questions and achieved its aims
Being aware of the fact that education is not offered with individual teaching methods, the author is willing to experiment with non-traditional teaching practices (PBL) as powerful tools for the achievement of teaching aims such as increased motivation, interest, and English speaking performance in the context of teaching English as a foreign language
The study is also carried out in the hope that it would be beneficial for teachers of English who want to apply PBL in their language teaching
In short, PBL is considered an appropriate strategy which is superior to other methods to develop students’ English speaking skill It should be an innovative aspect in English teaching and learning thanks to its benefits to students and teachers.
Limitations and suggestions for further research
The study still has some limitations To begin with, the modest scale of the study only takes place in optional periods with a small number of students (40 students) Meanwhile, there is only one class for each grade at the author’s school which has one optional period per week If I meet the school’s curriculum, I cannot carry out the lessons with PBL for other classes due to the time limitation Besides, the researcher’s practical experience and knowledge of PBL is limited because this method is still very new to teachers Hopefully, these problems will be solved in the future researches to see how effectively PBL works in language learning and teaching.
Implications for developing speaking skill through Project Based Learning
Project Based Learning that was implemented towards small group discussion increased the student’s participation in the learning process Students interacted well in a small group before they performed in a big discussion In their small groups, the students managed to prepare their speech before they appeared in front of the class They were actively involved in the discussions, so their speaking skill improved
Besides, as evidenced from the teacher’s journals and the results of the post- test, the students’ performance in their presentations was significantly improved through each project All criteria of English speaking ability met expectations This indicated that the implementation of Project Based Learning was successful
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APPENDICES Appendix 1: PRE-TRYING-OUT QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS
The following questionnaire is conducted to find the causes of low English proficiency of the students in speaking skill
Please circle the most appropriate options according to you
Question 1: Are you afraid of speaking in front of the class? a Yes b No
Questions 2: What are the reasons why you are afraid of speaking English in front of the class? You can choose more than one answer a bad pronunciation b lack of vocabulary c fear of mistakes d fear of other people's opinions e fear of speaking in public
Question 3: What do you think of the speaking activities in English speaking lessons? a boring b interesting
Question 4: Do you work in groups actively in the English speaking lessons? a Yes b No
Question 5: How often do you practice speaking English in front of the class? a usually b sometimes c rarely
Appendix 2: AN INTERVIEW WITH TWO TEACHERS
The following interview is carried out to get the teachers’ opinions of the effectiveness of Project Based Learning in developing students' speaking skill
Question 1: Do you usually use Project Based Learning in teaching English to your students? Why or Why not?
Question 2: Are you satisfied with the students' performance in their presentations?
Question 3: Do you think using Project Based Learning can develop students’ speaking skill?
Question 4: Do you think about whether to apply Project Based Learning to your English teaching?
Appendix 3: POST-TRYING-OUT QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS
The following questionnaire is conducted to get students’ opinions of the effectiveness of Project Based Learning in developing students' speaking skill
Please circle the most appropriate options according to you
Question 1: What do you think about the optional lessons using Project Based Learning? a too difficult b challenging but interesting c normal d too easy
Question 2: Do you think using Project Based Learning in the lessons have developed your English speaking skill? a strongly agree b agree c I don't know d disagree e extremely disagree
Question 3: Which criteria of speaking skill have you improved? a fluency b vocabulary c grammatical accuracy d pronunciation e interactive communication f all of a, b, c, d and e
Question 4: What are your opinions of your own changes after taking part in the lessons using Project Based Learning? a strongly agree