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Tiêu đề An Investigation into the Impacts of Adapted Speaking Activities in the English 11 Textbook on Students’ Motivation. A Study at Binh Luc B High School
Tác giả Phạm Thị Hồng Loan
Người hướng dẫn Prof. Dr. Nguyễn Hòa
Trường học Vietnam National University, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies
Chuyên ngành English Teaching Methodology
Thể loại Thesis
Năm xuất bản 2016
Thành phố Hanoi
Định dạng
Số trang 97
Dung lượng 2,35 MB

Cấu trúc

  • PART I: INTRODUCTION (11)
    • 1. Rationale for the study (0)
    • 2. Research aims of the study (12)
    • 3. Research questions of the study (12)
    • 4. Significance of the study (13)
    • 5. Research scope of the study (13)
    • 6. Research methods of the study (13)
    • 7. Design of the study (14)
  • PART II: DEVELOPMENT (16)
    • CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW (16)
      • 1. Theoretical background of motivation in language learning (16)
        • 1.1. Definition of motivation (16)
        • 1.2. Types of motivation (16)
        • 1.3. Factors affecting motivation (17)
        • 1.4. Role of motivation in language learning (18)
        • 1.5. Motivating students in classroom activities (19)
      • 2. Theoretical background of speaking skill (19)
        • 2.1. Speaking as a skill in language learning (19)
        • 2.2. Teaching speaking (19)
          • 2.2.1. The speaking needs of students (20)
          • 2.2.2. Communicative Language Teaching (20)
          • 2.2.3. Principles for teaching speaking (21)
        • 2.3. Speaking activities (21)
          • 2.3.1. Features of speaking activities (21)
      • 3. Theoretical background of material adaption (22)
        • 3.1. Definition of material adaption (22)
        • 3.2. Reasons for material adaption (23)
        • 3.3. Principles for material adaption (23)
        • 3.4. Techniques for material adaption (24)
    • CHAPTER 2. THE METHODOLOGY (26)
      • 1. The case of the study (26)
        • 1.1. Context of the study (26)
        • 1.2. Participants (26)
          • 1.2.1. The teacher/researcher (26)
          • 1.2.2. The non-participant observer (27)
          • 1.2.3. The students (27)
        • 1.3. Speaking materials_English Textbook (27)
      • 2. Research method of the study (28)
        • 2.1. An overview of action research (28)
        • 2.2. Action research models (29)
        • 2.3. Procedure for this study (29)
      • 3. Data collection instruments (33)
        • 3.1. Survey questionnaire (Appendix 1 and 2) (33)
          • 3.1.1. Rationale of the use of questionnaire survey (33)
          • 3.1.2. Description of survey questionnaire 1 (Appendix 1) (34)
          • 3.1.3. Description of survey questionnaire 2 (Appendix 2) (34)
        • 3.2. Classroom observation (Appendixes 3, 4) (35)
          • 3.2.1. Rationale of the use of classroom observation (35)
          • 3.2.2. Description of the observation sheets (Appendixes 3, 4) (36)
        • 3.3. Textbook analysis (37)
          • 3.3.1. The rationale of the use of textbook analysis (37)
          • 3.3.2. Description of textbook analysis (37)
      • 4. Summary (38)
    • CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION (39)
      • 1. Results of initial data (39)
        • 1.1 The result of overall class motivation (observation sheet 1) (39)
        • 1.2. The result of survey questionnaire 1 (40)
          • 1.2.1. Students‟ opinions about speaking lessons and activities in English 11 1.2.2. Students‟ preferences for speaking activities (40)
        • 1.3. The result of document analysis (42)
      • 2. Planning action steps (48)
        • 2.1. Adding (48)
        • 2.2. Omitting (52)
        • 2.3. Simplifying (53)
        • 2.4. Replacing (54)
      • 3. Results of data collection in the action stage (54)
        • 3.1. The results of overall class motivation (observation sheet 2) (55)
        • 3.2. The results of survey questionnaire 2 (Students’ self-reported motivation)46 4. Action research evaluation (56)
        • 4.1. Overall class motivation before and after the action plan (57)
        • 4.2. Summary of major findings and discussion (58)
  • PART III: CONCLUSION (60)
    • 1. Conclusion (60)
    • 2. Recommendations (61)
    • 3. Limitations and suggestions for further study (62)

Nội dung

INTRODUCTION

Research aims of the study

The main aim of this study is to improve students‟ motivation in speaking lessons at BLBHS by adapting speaking activities in speaking sections of the English 11

Furthermore, this study aims to help the students learn speaking skill in particular and learn English in general much more motivated.

Research questions of the study

In order to improve students‟ motivation in speaking lessons at BLBHS, the research question is raised: “ To what extent can the adapted speaking activities help increase the students’ motivation in the speaking lessons?”

Significance of the study

It is hoped that the investigation into adapted speaking activities of the textbook English 11 could be made to help students improve their motivation in speaking lessons and provide the teacher with practical experiences in enhancing student‟s motivation in learning to speak English The study will at the same time contribute to development of teaching English in general and speaking in particular at BLBHS.

Research scope of the study

Motivation is a complex phenomenon and not easy to control it An action research was carried out investigate how adapted speaking activities can help students improve their motivation in speaking lessons Due to limited knowledge, energy and time, this study was only carried out for 14 weeks with the eight speaking lessons and in the context of 40 eleventh-grade students at BLBHS in the school year 2015-2016

Therefore, the generality of the results is only limited to the above teaching context and participants.

Research methods of the study

This study is an action research (AR) Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were applied in this survey research in order to get a more detailed and comprehensive picture about what is investigated

Survey questionnaire administered to 40 grade 11 students in researcher‟s class – class

11 A2at BLBHS in the school year 2015-2016 consists of survey questionnaire 1and survey questionnaire 2.The survey questionnaire 1 was designed to collect students‟ opinions on the speaking activities in English 11 and the causes of their low motivation in speaking lessons before an action plan The survey questionnaire 2 adapted from Mathew Peacock (1997) is a structured and anonymous self-report to evaluate the students‟ self-reported motivation during weeks in applying adapted speaking activities after each speaking lesson

Survey questionnaire was chosen as a data collection instrument because it is an inexpensive way to gather data from a potentially large number of respondents, reaches a large number of people in a very short time and especially gives the students an opportunity to express their options and needs without fear either to be embarrassed or to be punished

Besides, classroom observation chosen as a data collection instrument of this study is divided into two overall class observation stages before and after the action plan The observation sheet 1was used to observe students‟ motivation with original speaking activities before the action plan and the observation sheet 2 was used to observe students‟ motivation with adapted speaking activities during weeks in applying them

Both observation sheet 1 and 2 were adapted from Peacock (1997) who conducted the study about the effects of authentic materials on the motivation of EFL learners

Classroom observation is chosen as a data collection instrument of this study because it is often used in studying language use and classroom events, is the easiest instrument to collect needed data if the focus of the observation is the students or some aspects of the teaching context

In addition, textbook analysis based on the criteria of “ good task/activity ” from Nunan (1998) was also investigated to determine whether the speaking activities were appropriate to the researcher‟s students at BLBHS as well as to identify the causes of the students‟ low motivation in speaking lessons Textbook analysis was chosen as a data collection instrument of this research because it is one of the factors affecting students‟ motivation in classroom and the speaking activity analysis helps evaluate whether the speaking activities in speaking sections of the textbook could meet the requirements of the students.

Design of the study

The thesis is organized into three following main parts: introduction, development and conclusion as follows:

Part I: Introduction includes the background and rationale, the aims, the research questions, the significance, the scope, the research methods and the design of the study

Part II: Development is organized around three chapters as follows:

Chapter 1: Literature Review deals with theories of motivation, theoretical background of speaking, material adaptation

Chapter 2: Methodology presents the case of the study including the context, the participants and the speaking materials, the research method - an action research, action research steps and procedure for this study, and presents how the study was implemented with the detailed description about the data collection instruments

Chapter 3: Results and Discussion provides the readers from the analysis of the initial data to a summary and discussion of the major findings of the research

Part III: Conclusion summarizes the research Then, recommendations are followed

Finally, some limitations of the study are pointed out and some suggestions for the further research are also given out.

DEVELOPMENT

LITERATURE REVIEW

This part would provide the theoretical background related to motivation, speaking skill, and material adaption

1 Theoretical background of motivation in language learning 1.1 Definition of motivation

Up to now, there have been a lot of different views about the word “motivation”

Therefore, it is not easy for experts or theorists to give an exact definition of

“motivation” In general, motivation can be considered as a psychological factor which is very important to generate or take action

It cannot be denied that motivation is a very familiar term which directs students in learning Bomia et al (1997) describes that students‟ motivation refers to their willingness, need, desire and compulsion to participate in and students‟ motivation can be a successful factor in their learning process Skinner and Belmont (1991) develop the definition further noting that students who are motivated to engage in school when

“they show generally positive emotions during ongoing action, including enthusiasm, optimism, curiosity, and interest”

Besides, Crookes and Schmitd (1991) share that “motivation is interest in and enthusiasm , persistence with the learning task, as indicated by levels of attention or action for extended duration; and level of concentration and enjoyment ” Students‟ motivation in this study refers to their interest, enthusiastic participation, learning persistence, high concentration and enjoyment in class activities This definition is chosen for this study because it covers all aspects of motivation in classroom and is very useful for this kind of research, a study into classroom motivation

In this section, more details on integrative and instrumental motivation are introduced as the first well-known theory in L2 motivation

According to Falk (1978), integrative motivation can be considered when students who like the people speaking the language, admire the culture, really want to be familiar with or even integrate themselves into the society using the language In fact, integrative motivation is a necessary factor for successful learners, this can help learners improve and develop their proficiency In language teaching and learning environment, especially in Vietnam, it is really important to consider this term

Benson (1991) suggests that a more appropriate approach to “integrative motivation” in the EFL context would be the idea that it represents the desire of the individual to become bilingual, while at the same time becoming bicultural This occurs through the addition of another language and culture to the learner‟s own cultural identity As in Vietnam as well as in high schools learners have few opportunities to use the target (L2) language in daily verbal exchanges are relatively restricted There is also limited potential for integrating into the target language community

The second form of motivation is instrumental motivation which may be in contrast to integrative motivation Hudson (2000) describes that instrumental motivation is the desire to gain something which is practical and specific from second language learning In comparision with integrative motivation, the purpose of learners who have instrumental motivation is more realistic For example, learners attend school or university in order to have graduate degree; learners study the second language in order to apply for a good job and request higher pay or higher social status and so on

In this study, students‟ motivation to be examined are more related to both kinds of motivation as students want to gain success in communicating with foreigners, passing the tests and exams, in their job and communicative purposes in the future

There are different views given by many experts Each person shares his or her own list of factors which affect student‟s motivation Students‟ motivation depends on a variety of factors such as teaching methodology, the target language environment and the learners‟ demotivation (Mukkatask, 1993 and Zughoul, 1987)

Dorneyei (2001) finds out nine factors: (1) Teachers_personality, commitment, competence, teaching method; (2) School facilities_ group size, frequence change of teachers; (3) Students‟ self-confidence_experience of failure or lack of success; (4) Students‟ attitude towards the second language; compulsory nature of second language study; (5) Interference of another foreign being studied; (7) Attitude towards second language community; (8) Attitude of group members; (9) Course books

Oxford and Shearin (1996) identified six factors that affect motivation language learning: (1) Attitudes; (2) Belief about self, (3) Goals, (4) Involvement, (5) Environmental support, (6) Personal attributes

In general, most previous studies find out that the teachers’ personality, teaching methodology, learning context, teaching material, and students’ attitude toward the second language can play a major role in students‟ motivation or demotivation

In this study, reviewing the factors affecting motivation is very important for the researcher to know the main causes for students‟ low motivation in speaking lessons to search for the most effective solutions to improve the problem

1.4 Role of motivation in language learning

There have been many studies on the role of motivation in second language learning so far Most studies show that motivation and language learning has a mutual relation and motivation can help teacher maintain students‟ “intrinsic interest” (Lepper, 1999)

Motivation is a key factor in successful language teaching (Gardner, 1990; Masgoret

& Gardner, 2003) It is clear that every teacher can realize the importance of students‟ motivation in language learning Moreover, Dornyei (2001) affirms that motivation needs to be generated, maintained actively, protected and retrospectively evaluated

In conclusion, nobody can deny that motivation plays an important role in the success of L2 learners as it helps learners to find out the reasons for their study and to maintain their interest in learning process It is essential to promote motivation among students in high level, which makes language teaching and learning more effective

1.5 Motivating students in classroom activities

Ames (1992); Anderman & Midgley (1998) imply that teachers who are most successful in engaging students develop activities with students‟ basic psychological and intellectual needs in mind One of suggestions for designing more engaging in- class activities and increasing the amount of time students spending on task is the class management to design projects that allow students to share new knowledge with others given out by Strong Silver & Robinson (1995)

It is the fact that the ways the teacher behaves in different kinds of activities will change according to the nature of activities Student grouping, especially pair-work and group-work needs to be used more often in order to create cooperative learning environment in classrooms and maximize students‟ talking time

THE METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the case of the study, the research methods and data collection instruments are described

1 The case of the study

Binh Luc B High School is not a big one, located in Binh Luc district, Ha Nam province It was established 45 years ago with 27 classes of three different graders (10,

11 and 12) and over 70 teachers Each class has around 40 students All students come from different parts of Binh Luc and nearby districts English is one of the three compulsory core subjects in the national final examination at BLBHS for GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) Although all of them have learnt English at secondary school for four years, their level of English is very limited, especially speaking skill

The students have three 45-minute periods of English a week, that is, 53 periods in term 1 and 52 periods in term 2 However, there are only seven speaking lessons in each term The textbooks are the series of the brand new English textbooks which are developed from a theme-based syllabus by a group of authors: Hoang Van Van, Hoang Thi Xuan Hoa, Do Tuan Minh, Nguyen Thu Phuong and Nguyen Quoc Tuan

This study was conducted in the school year 2015-2016, at BLBHS, where the data was collected, analyzed, and improvement strategies were tried out The people who participated in this research were:

The researcher who is teaching English at this class is a teacher of English at BLBHS

The researcher is 25 years old, has been teaching English for only two years and now is attending a Master Course at ULIS

The non-participant observer who was invited to observe this class is also the teacher of English She got BAs in English from Hanoi University and now is currently working at BLBHS She is 35 years old and had taught for over nine years

The observer was carefully prepared for observing and recording data using the observation sheets in speaking sections The definition of motivation as well as related issues was discussed, for example, how to decide a student is paying attention or not

The subjects of this study are 40 students of class 11A2 ( 26 females and 14 males ) in researcher‟s class at BLBHS in the school year 2015-2016 Their ages are between 15 and 17 They come from different parts of Binh Luc district and some villages nearby

All of them had learnt English since grade 5 and their English proficiency level was pre-intermediate However, most of them had not learnt speaking skill in secondary school Most of them are low-level English speakers During the school-year 2015-

2016, the students had a 45-minute period per each week for the speaking skill They were very helpful and fully encouraged to participate in the study

English 11 is one of the series of new textbooks, an EFL course for Vietnamese high school students This book is developed from a theme-based syllabus which combines relevant and interesting subjects with grammatical structures and functions introduced in meaningful context It follows two current approaches the learner-centered and communicative language teaching English 11 is designed to cover 105 periods of classroom instruction for all grade 11 students in Vietnam It consists of 16 units, each unit consists of four skills (Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing) and Language focus, and a “Test yourself” section appears after every three units to help students consolidate what they have learnt Each part starts with the items: pre-activities, while and post-activities

As stated by the authors, all the activities in this book, especially in the speaking lessons are designed to help students improve their communicative competence relating to the topics of the units, while at the same time allowing them to master all important rules of English grammar The speaking lessons are presented in a range of practical functions and tasks based on real-life situations

A speaking lesson usually includes at least three or four tasks which are communicative activities such as discussions, simulation and role-play, reaching a consensus, or talking about yourself The aim of the first two (activities/tasks 1 and 2) is often to provide students with linguistic elements and develop competences or specific functions The following tasks (activities/tasks 3 and 4) aim to enable students to practice speaking in controlled practice and freer situations to make similar real dialogues or conversations, using the linguistic elements provided in the previous activities/tasks

2 Research method of the study

To carry out this study, an action research (AR) was used

2.1 An overview of action research

AR is an approach to professional development and learning improvement in which teachers systematically reflect on their work and make changes in their practice There are a number of different definitions of AR given

According to Wallace (1998) and Coles & Quirke (2001), AR is the process of systematic collection and analysis of data in order to make changes and improvement or solve problems A brief definition of AR by Richards (1994) as “Implementation of an action plan designed to bring about change in some aspects of the teacher‟s class with subsequent monitoring of the effects of some innovation”

Nunan (1991) says that the classroom could become a laboratory for experimenting with contesting and evaluating the materials and classroom tasks in a teacher‟s own context and situation In addition, Brown suggests that teachers should change behavior in circumstances where there is personal engagement in identifying a practical concern as the focus of the research, designing the study, taking action, collecting evidence, formulating conclusions and feeding these back to practice

The definitions mentioned above from famous experts convinced the researcher that an action research is the most appropriate method for this study because it is a ways of questioning one‟s own practice and improving it Using AR, the researcher hopes to improve students‟ motivation in speaking lessons at Binh Luc B High school by adapting speaking activities in speaking sections of the textbook English 11 in order to the students learn speaking skill better

There are different models of action research given and used in the previous studies on language AR typically involves small-scale investigative projects in the teacher‟s own classroom, and combines planning - action – observation – reflection” in cycles

McBride & Schostak (2002) models action research involving seven steps and activity cycles as follow: 1 Identifying a focus of interest or a problem -> 2 Collecting data ->

3 Analyzing data/ general hypotheses -> 4 Planning action steps -> 5 Implementing action steps -> 6 Collecting data to monitor changes -> 7 Analysis and evaluation -

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In this chapter, the initial data (observation, questionnaire, document analysis and teaching diaries) is analyzed and discussed Besides, it elaborates planning action steps and then presents the techniques for adapting activities and an action research evaluation

The results were collected from observations, questionnaire 1 and the analysis of the speaking section in English 11 The observation of students‟ motivation on overall class motivation focused on students‟ motivation level Students‟ opinion on speaking lessons and activities also represented from the result of questionnaire 1 Besides, the result from the analysis of the speaking sections in English 11 indicates the features of these activities After being collected, the initial data were reported and discussed To increase the reliability, some data were gathered from more than one tool

1.1 The result of overall class motivation ( observation sheet 1)

As stated in 3.2.2.Description of the observation sheets, Chapter 2, observation sheet 1 (Appendix 3) was used to assess overall class motivation generated by the original speaking activities in use, which was manifested by the levels of students‟ interest, enthusiasm, persistence with the learning task, concentration and enjoyment during the speaking lessons Observation sheet 1 included five items, the highest mark for each item was 5 marks and the highest mark of the whole class for each lesson was

25 The observation was carried out during three lessons with total mark of 75

Overall class motivation marks for all students 12 10 11

Percent of overall class motivation for all students 48% 40% 44%

As can be seen from table 1, the students‟ overall class motivation level was also low

In lesson 3, the percentage of overall class motivation was 48% In lesson 4, it decreased at 40%, but the increased slightly at 44% in lesson 5 Therefore, it is easy to see that most of the students were not interested in speaking activities, they spoke English very little, and even some did not speak anything about the topic of the lesson

In brief, during the three observed lessons, the students‟ overall class motivation level was quite low; the average percentage of class was only 44%

1.2 The result of survey questionnaire 1 1.2.1 Students’ opinions about speaking lessons and activities in English 11

In order to confirm the students‟ low motivation, find out the causes for it in speaking lessons as well as probe whether the speaking activities in English 11 are suitable for the students, attempts were made to explore their opinions toward speaking lessons and speaking activities in the textbook that is being used at class To collect the data of this, Questionnaire 1 (Appendix 1) described in section 3.1.2.Description of survey questionnaire 1 was conducted 40 questionnaires were delivered and collected one week later

For the first question, when answering the question how often they participate in speaking lessons, 22.5% of the students said that they always participated in speaking lessons; whereas, 27.5% often participated, 30% sometimes did and even 20% never participated in speaking lessons

The results also indicate that most of the students (80%) did not always complete speaking activities When answering the question how they were interested in speaking activities, only 25% of the students reported that they were very interested and interested; meanwhile 57.5% of the students were not very interested and even 17.5% were uninterested in speaking activities

Explaining the reasons for not speaking or speaking English very little in speaking lessons, a large number of students (82.5%) reported that the speaking activities did not motivate or encourage them to practice speaking Besides, 70% of the students lacked confidence to speak English in front of class Whereas, under half of the students (47.5%) giving other reasons such as the way teachers manage and monitor the activities, not knowing how to organize or arrange ideas or how to speak well, being afraid of making mistakes and lacking necessary facilities for learning Also, some students added that they lacked vocabulary and background knowledge

Regarding the reasons why the speaking activities in English 11 did not motivate students to practice speaking, 67.5% reported that some speaking activities did not provide them with good opportunities to practice speaking in pairs and groups

Besides, 57.5% of the students reported that the topics of speaking activities are unfamiliar

Explaining the reasons for the unsuitability of the activities more clearly, 70% mentioned that level of language in the activities was difficult for students‟ competence of English because the activities did not provide them with enough vocabulary to express their ideas Besides, more than half of the students (60%) revealed that the models and dialogues in some activities were impractical to their daily lives Moreover, the students also added that the activities did not have enough guidance on pronunciation (77.5%) and structures to express their ideas (67.5%), which made them afraid of making mistakes in front of class

In addition, 52.5% of the students reported that some activities in pre-speaking stage were not interesting enough to stimulate them to speak as well as help them to do the while-speaking activities Also, more than half of the students (55%) said that some activities were too long for them to complete in the time allocated to lessons At last, under half of the students (37.5%) added that the instructions in speaking activities are not very clear for you to understand

1.2.2 Students’ preferences for speaking activities

Question 6 was used to gather information about the speaking activity forms that students preferred The results show that 85% of the students preferred working in pairs and groups Most of students thought that working in small groups and in pairs allowed them to have more chance to practice speaking English and exchange ideas with their partners Besides, the students also said that they preferred some dialogue rearrangement, reaching a consensus, role-play, discussion because these activities were interesting and make students speak more and apply what they have learnt in classroom into real situations Specially, some students mentioned that they preferred communicative games having high level of learning because a funny and stimulating atmosphere could be created for them to participate and practice speaking

However, there were only a small number of students (12.5%) choosing to work individually as they do not find it effective to work in groups or in pairs and work in whole class with the hope to share ideas and experiences with many different friends

1.3 The result of document analysis

English 11 is one of the series of new textbooks, an EFL course for Vietnamese high school students It is developed form a theme-based syllabus As stated by the authors, the themes in this book are selected to suit the students‟ age, level, needs, interests and all the tasks and activities in this book, especially in the speaking sections are designed to help students improve their communicative competence relating to the topics of the units, while at the same time allowing them to master all important rules of English grammar The activities in speaking sections focused on speaking skills in a wide range of practical functions based on real-life situations

A speaking lesson usually includes three or four tasks The two first tasks (1 and 2) often provide students with linguistic elements and develop competences or specific functions (pre-speaking) The rest (3 and 4) enables students to practice speaking in freer situations using the linguistic elements suggested in the previous tasks

CONCLUSION

Conclusion

The action research was carried out during ten weeks It began when the students‟ low motivation in speaking lessons was perceived during the first three weeks of the case study by the researcher, students and other colleagues In this initial stage, data collection instruments were the observations, questionnaires, document analysis

It is clear that the students‟ low motivation was caused by many reasons; however, one of the main reasons is the unsuitability of the speaking activities in English 11 for the students The fact that the level of language of some original speaking activities is quite difficult for the students‟ competence; some activities lack necessary vocabulary, structures, and guidance on pronunciation of difficult words; the models in some activities are unfamiliar and impractical to the students‟ daily lives Besides, in some activities, students‟ ability to work in groups is small The instructions of some activities are not very clear, which makes it difficult for students to understand what to do in these tasks Furthermore, the length of each activity and the whole lesson in some speaking lessons is too long to cover the time allocated to lessons, so the students could not complete their task

Therefore, the hypothesis of the study confirms that the adapted speaking activities could help increase the students’ motivation in speaking lessons

To increase students‟ motivation in speaking lesson, an action plan was carried out by adapting original speaking activities in English 11 and then these activities were implemented in the five speaking lessons The adapting of the original speaking activities was based on the principles and techniques for adaptation They includes replacing the inappropriate and impractical activities for the students‟ daily speech in each specified lesson or replacing the activities which do not create many chances for students to work in pairs or groups; adding vocabulary, ideas, structures and guidance on pronunciation; omitting some unnecessary activities or parts of the long activities and simplifying the instructions of some activities to enable students to understand and do their tasks better

During five weeks of action plan implementation, the data were collected by observations, questionnaires The effectiveness of the action plan was evaluated by comparing the post and initial data The result evaluation indicated that despite some shortcomings, all the adapted speaking activities helped increase the students‟ motivation in speaking lessons and the action plan was successful.

Recommendations

Firstly, the issue of reconsidering speaking activities in all series of textbooks written for high school students in Vietnam is raised by the findings from this study It is necessary to see that there are always great distances of levels, background, interests, different teaching, learning conditions among students in different regions Although the textbooks are written by experienced book authors, it does not mean that all activities designed in them are completely suitable for all students Hence, teachers need to be flexible in using suitable activities for their own students‟ circumstances

The second consideration is that teachers should understand their students‟ levels, background, interests, needs, learning styles, to bring what is suitable for them This can help students more motivated to actively take part in the learning process

Thirdly, different groups of students in different regions should use more than one textbook series

Fourtly, basing on the features of a good task suggested by Nunan (1992) and students‟ own opinions on the original activities in textbook, adapted activities are essential for teachers to teach speaking and other skills To design the most suitable activities for the students in teachers‟ own contexts, they need to examine the features of available activities in textbook and probe students‟ opinions on the activities

Moreover, the types of speaking activities considered interesting and enjoyed by many learners do not always suit a number of learners As a result, when using textbooks, it is vital for teachers to make activities more appropriate for their students in each specific context by using suitable techniques and principles for adapting such as adding, omitting, simplifying, replacing

Another important consideration is how to organize group-work in large classes

Students should be allowed to form groups at their own will Besides, with more regularly used activities, a variety of grouping techniques could be made use of

Eventually, teachers should give instructions, explanation and feedback in large classes to facilitate the process once they wish to use the new activities

Hopefully, these recommendations could help the teaching staff in evaluating and suggesting ways to better future use of textbooks.

Limitations and suggestions for further study

The study has attained some remarkable success in increasing students‟ motivation in speaking lessons at BLBHS by adapting speaking activities in the textbook English 11

Besides, it cannot be denied that there are also some inevitable limitations existing

Firstly, the treatment plan lasted for only five weeks with five lessons (6-10) and it was applied for only one class (40 students) Hence, the generality of the results is limited The study would be much more reliable if it were done in a longer period of time Moreover, the researcher did not get enough time and other conditions to continue with another spiral to the next recycle

Secondly, within the scope of the study, the researcher only focused on the influence of adapted t activities on the students‟ motivation Therefore, other factors including students‟ attributes, students‟ attitudes, students‟ belief about themselves, students‟ goals, teaching method have not been dealt with

Thirdly, the class was large and the desks were hard to move This causes some difficulties to organize group-work, so students did not get many chances to speak and form groups at their own will

Lastly, this study has just investigated into the impacts of adapted speaking activities on students‟ motivation in speaking lessons at BLBHS without paying attention to the field of students‟ motivation in learning other skills such as reading, writing, and listening Furthermore, other factors affecting students‟ motivation in speaking and other skills have not been considered and studied yet Hence, further researchers on these fields should be done

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APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY 1 FOR STUDENTS

This questionnaire aims at examining your level of motivation in speaking lessons, as well as your opinions and preference for the speaking activities in speaking sections of English 11

Please answer the following questions as honestly as you can Your assistance in completing the survey is highly appreciated

1 How often do you participate in speaking activities? a always b often c sometimes d never

2 How do you complete speaking activities in speaking lessons? a always b often c sometimes d never

3 How are you interested in speaking activities in the textbook English 11? a very interested b interested c not very interested d uninterested

4 If you choose c,d in questions 1, question 2 OR c, d in question 3 Please indicate the reasons why you do not speak or speak English very little in speaking lessons by ticking (√) the appropriate letter(s) (you can choose more than one option)

□a You lack confidence to speaking English in front of class

□b The speaking activities do not motivate you to practice speaking

□ c You do not know how to speak well

□ d You do not know how to organize your ideas

□ e You are afraid of making mistakes

□ f The class lacks necessary facilities for learning speaking

□ g The ways teachers monitor the activities are not good

5 If you choose letter b in question 4 , please tick (√) the following causes which make the speaking activities in English 11 do not motivate you to practise speaking (you can choose more than one option)

□ a Some speaking activities in pre-speaking stage do not motivate you to do the while- speaking activities

□ b The topics of the speaking activities are unfamiliar

□ c Dialogue models are impractical to daily life

□ d The activities do not provide you with enough vocabulary to express your ideas

□ e The activities do not provide you with enough structures to express your ideas

□ f The activities do not have enough guidance on pronunciation

□ g Some speaking activities are too long to complete in the time allocated to lessons

□ h Some speaking activities do not give you good opportunities to work in pairs or groups

□ i The instructions in speaking activities are not very clear for you to understand

6 Please tick (√) the speaking activity forms you like best

7 Please tick (√) the favorite types of speaking activity you like best

PHỤ LỤC 1: PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT SỐ 1 DÀNH CHO HỌC SINH

Phiếu khảo sát này nhằm khảo sát về mức độ động cơ học tập cũng như ý kiến và sở thích của em về các hoạt động nói trong các bài thực hành nói trong sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh lớp 11

Mong em vui lòng trả lời các câu hỏi môt cách trung thực như có thể Chúng tôi đánh giá cao sự tham gia của em vào nghiên cứu này

1 Em tham gia các hoạt động nói trên lớp như thế nào? a luôn luôn b thường xuyên c thỉnh thoảng d không bao giờ

2 Em hoàn thành các hoạt động nói trong các bài thực hành nói như thế nào? a luôn luôn b thường xuyên c thỉnh thoảng d không bao giờ

3 Em thích các hoạt động nói trong sách giáo khoa mà em đang sử dụng thế nào? a rất thích b thích c không thích lắm d không thích

4 Nếu em chọn c, d trong câu hỏi 1, 2 OR c, d trong câu 3 Mong em vui lòng đưa ra lý do vì sao em không hoặc rất ít nói tiếng Anh trên lớp bằng cách đánh dấu (√) vào những chữ cái phù hợp với ý kiến của em (em có thể chọn nhiều ý)

□a Em cảm thấy thiếu tự tin để nói trước lớp

□b Các hoạt động nói không thúc đẩy em tập luyện nói

□c Em không biết nói như nào cho tốt cả

□d Em không biết sắp xếp các ý như thế nào

□f Lớp học thiếu các trang thiết bị cần thiết phục vụ cho việc học nói

□g Cách mà giáo viên tổ chức và giám sát các hoạt động nói không tốt lắm

□h Những lý do khác, hãy chỉ rõ

5 Nếu em chọn b trong câu hỏi 4 Mong em vui lòng đánh dấu (√) vào những chữ cái phù hợp với ý kiến của em về nguyên nhân làm cho các hoạt động nói trong sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh 11 không thúc đẩy em tập luyện nói

□a Một số hoạt động nói trong phần pre-speaking không khuyến khích em thực hiện các hoạt động trong phần while-speaking

□b Chủ đề của các hoạt động nói không quen thuộc

□c Các đoạn hội thoại mẫu thiếu tính thực tế với cuộc sống hàng ngày

□d Các hoạt động nói không cung cấp đủ từ vựng cho em để diễn đạt ý kiến của mình

□e Các hoạt động nói không cung cấp đủ cấu trúc cho em để diễn đạt ý kiến của mình

□f Các hoạt động nói không cung cấp đủ hướng dẫn về phát âm

□g Một số hoạt động nói quá dài để hoàn thành trong thời gian quy định của tiết học

□h Một số hoạt động không tạo nhiều cơ hội cho em để làm việc theo cặp, nhóm

□i Sự hướng dẫn của các hoạt động không rõ ràng cho em để hiểu yêu cầu phải làm

□k Những lý do khác, hãy chỉ rõ

6 Em vui lòng đánh dấu (√) vào những hình thức hoạt động nói mà em thích

7 Em vui lòng đánh dấu (√) vào những loại hoạt động nói mà em thích

□ b Đưa ra sự thống nhất

Cảm ơn các em rất nhiều!

Material: Speaking Lessons_English textbook 11 Unit/ Lesson:

Do not write your name on this sheet Fill it out and give it back to your teacher

The purpose of this questionnaire is to assess the value of the above lesson in class today, not to assess the perfoemance of you

This is not a test There are no right or wrong answers; we want your own ideas and impressions

Please circle one number on each scale to show how you rate the following concepts Use the scale as follow:

If the numbers 1 and 5 very strongly describe your ideas and impressions about the concept, you would circle the number as shown below: boring 1 2 3 4 5 interesting boring 1 2 3 4 interesting

If the numbers 2 and 4 describe somewhat your ideas and impressions about the concept (but not strongly so), you would circlethe number as follow: boring 1 2 3 4 5 interesting boring 1 2 3 4 5 interesting

If the number 3 describes your ideas and impressions about the concept are ok, you would circle the number as follow: boring 1 2 3 4 5 interesting boring 1 2 3 4 5 interesting

1 Mark ONE “circle” on each line boring 1 2 3 4 5 interesting unenjoyable 1 2 3 4 5 enjoyable meaningless 1 2 3 4 5 meaningful unsatisfying 1 2 3 4 5 satisfying unappealing 1 2 3 4 5 appealing inappropriate 1 2 3 4 5 appropriate

2 Give your commentson the lesson and your suggestion to make the lesson more interesting

PHỤ LỤC 2: PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA DÀNH CHO HỌC SINH

Các em không phải viết tên vào phiếu điều tra, sau khi điền xong hãy nộp ngay lại cho giáo viên Phiếu điều tra này dùng để đánh giá các hoạt động ngày hôm nay Đây không phải là một bài kiểm tra, không có câu trả lời đúng hay sai nên chúng tôi mong nhận được ý kiến và đánh giá của chính các em Chúng tôi đánh giá cao sự tham gia của các em

Hãy khoanh tròn vào chữ số thể hiện sự đánh giá của em về các khái niệm bên dưới

Nếu các số 1 và 5 mô tả rất mạnh về quan điểm và ý kiến của em về khái niệm thì em hãy khoanh tròn chữ số đó như minh họa dưới đây: nhàm chán 1 2 3 4 5 hay nhàm chán 1 2 3 4 5 hay

Nếu các số 2 và 4 mô tả hơi đúng quan điểm và ý kiến của em về khái niệm (nhưng không mạnh lắm) thì em hãy khoanh tròn vào chữ số đó như minh họa dưới đây: nhàm chán 1 2 3 4 5 hay nhàm chán 1 2 3 4 5 hay

Nếu chữ số 3 mô tả quan điểm và ý kiến của em về khái niệm là bình thường thì em hãy khoanh tròn vào chữ số như minh họa dưới đây: nhàm chán 1 2 3 4 5 hay nhàm chán 1 2 3 4 5 hay

1 Hãy khoanh tròn vào số để cho biết em nhận thấy các hoạt động được sử dụng trong lớp ngày hôm nay như thế nào Chỉ khoanh tròn vào một số trên mỗi hàng nhàm chán 1 2 3 4 5 hay không hứng thú 1 2 3 4 5 hứng thú vô nghĩa 1 2 3 4 5 có ý nghĩa không hài lòng 1 2 3 4 5 hài lòng không lôi cuốn 1 2 3 4 5 lôi cuốn

2 Em hãy đưa ra nhận xét chung của mình về buổi học ngày hôm nay và đưa ra những đề xuất để làm cho bài học thú vị hơn

APPENDIX 3: OBSERVATION SHEET 1_OVERALL CLASS MOTIVATION

Number of students presents: … Level of class:

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