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DECLARATION I certify that all the material in this study which is not my own work has been identified and acknowledged and that no material is included for which a degree has already been conferred u[.]
DECLARATION I certify that all the material in this study which is not my own work has been identified and acknowledged and that no material is included for which a degree has already been conferred upon me Hanoi, April 24, 2018 Pham Thi Thu i Luan van ABSTRACT This study aimed to identify the main difficulties encountering English majors at Thuongmai University while giving presentations To achieve the aim of the study, I applied two tools, a questionnaire and an observation According to the questionnaire, the following results were reached: Most problems are came from the primary element including subjective difficulties and objective difficulties The subjective difficulties are that students not have a good preparation, they not feel confident with their performance or they sometimes make some mistakes And the objective difficulties including time allowed to perform the presentation, pressure to perform well and listener's support So students feel dissatisfied with their presentation Through some observations, I found some difficulties of students The presenter and listeners not have any alignment While the speaker was presenting, audiences can sleep, talk together or even play their phone Moreover, presenters not know how to attract the audience, the voice is too small and there is no interaction with the audience by eye-contacting or some question or telling funny story In addition, from the results of the study, some suggestions and recommendation are offered for students to have a good presentation ii Luan van ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I gratefully acknowledge the encouragement and support of many individuals in assisting me to accomplish this study First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor, Tran Thi Bich Lan for her valuable time, suggestions, guidance, and assistance in this study She always guides me with valuable suggestions, helpful comments and whole-hearted guidance during my implementation of this study Without her help, the thesis would not have been possible In addition, I also wish to express my sincere thanks to all the lecturers of English Faculty at Thuongmai University for their very useful lectures My profound thanks also go to the teachers and the students at English Faculty at Thuongmai University for help and support Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my loving family and my special friends who always encouraged and helped me to complete this study iii Luan van TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vii CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Previous studies 1.2.1 The research of Orsmond, Merry &Reiling, (2000) 1.2.2 The research of Otoshi and Heffernen (2008) 1.2.3 Wu (2008) 1.2.4 Derwing (2003) .4 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Research subject 1.6 Scope of the study 1.7 Research methodology 1.7.1 Questionnaire 1.7.2 Observation 1.8 Organization of the study .6 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .7 2.1 Definition of Presentation 2.2 Role of presentation to students 2.3 Importance of presentation 2.4 Purposes of student presentations 2.4.1- Advocacy/persuasion 2.4.2- Training 2.4.3 Teaching and learning 10 2.4.4 Informing .10 iv Luan van 2.4.5 Assessment 10 2.5 Benefits of student presentations 10 2.6 What Constitutes a Professional Presentation? 12 2.7 Ten Steps for Preparing your Presentation 12 2.8 Classification of difficulties in presentation 13 2.8.1 Not preparing enough 13 2.8.2 Not familiarizing yourself with the venue and equipment 13 2.8.3 Ignoring your audience 13 2.8.4 Using inapproriate body language 13 2.8.5 Using inappropriate content .14 2.8.6 Using ineffective visuals 14 2.8.7 Overcrowding text .14 2.8.8 Showing a lack of dynamism .15 2.8.9 Avoiding eye contact 15 2.8.10 Mispronunciation 15 2.8.11 Using slang or idioms .15 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS 16 3.1 Result from the questionnaire 16 3.1.1 Attitudes of the students towards studying through making presentations 16 3.1.2 Students’ performance before, during and after making a presentation 18 3.1.3 Students’ difficulties when making presentations 23 CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTION .27 4.1 The things we need to before, during and after the presentation 27 4.1.1Before the presentation 27 4.1.2 During the presentation .29 4.1.3 After the presentation 30 4.2 Things to keep in mind when making presentations 30 4.3 Some tips to have a good presentation 32 CONCLUSION 34 REFERENCE APPENDICES v Luan van LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL English as a Foreign Language TESOL Test of English as a Foreign Language TMU Thuongmai University MA The Master of Art vi Luan van LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Chart 1: Students’ attitudes towards making presentation .16 Chart 2: The application of the learning method through making presentation to student 17 Chart 3: What you before presenting? 18 Chart 4: How you feel when presenting in English 19 Chart 5: What you focus on when presenting? 20 Chart 6: Where you see when presenting? 21 Chart 7: Can you evaluate your presentation? .22 Chart 8: What problems you encounter when presenting English? 23 Chart 9: What factors affect your presentation? 24 Chart 10: What listeners when you are presenting? .25 vii Luan van CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale English language is considered the international language and it is the only foreign language that is being taught to all students all over the world Both native and second-language speakers of English are found on every continent and English has become the lingua franca in many fields, including business, politics, science, technology and entertainment It is also the most-used language of the internet, accounting for more than half of all websites For many people, learning English is a way to get access to a broader range of information, connections, and opportunities Keshta states that "English is a universal language, the language of communication among countries in the international world of trade, business, communications, air transportation and technology." Consequently, English as a language has become an essential demand for all levels and fields In fact, learners need to be motivated in learning English, not only to pass the exams, but also to use English in communicating orally with others Many school and university students wrongly believe that English is a difficult language to learn The ultimate purpose for students is to pass the final exams in order to move to the next level To so, students would memorize questions and answers and successfully regurgitate them word by word on the final exam Worse than that, teachers praise, appreciate and encourage their students to so That’s why the majority of the students lose the main aim of the language which is to speak English language and develop themselves to communicate orally with others Moreover, the importance of speaking English language stems from the fact that new trends of the whole institutions and organizations stipulate speaking English language fluently and communicating orally with others as necessary requirements to get high rank jobs in them Studying and teaching English has a difference at universities in Vietnam Nowadays, education always emphasizes the autonomy and self-learning ability of students, especially for the training program of the English Faculty at Luan van TMU The education program always focuses on improving self-learning and good communication skills and the application the presentation skills in the subject of students are conducted very widely However, for the first- year students, this approach is completely different compared to previous programs, so many students get difficulties in presenting in English As a result, I decided to study on the difficulties faced by first-year English students in the process of presenting in English and giving solutions 1.2 Previous studies 1.2.1 The research of Orsmond, Merry &Reiling, (2000) The study shows that the first step is for teachers and learners to establish marking criteria for the presentation Attracting learners in this process will be of great benefit to them in preparing for their own presentations The researchers explain that learners must clearly understand the criteria set out for evaluating presentations The study recommends that teachers need to monitor that learners are using the criteria correctly and applying the tenets of the rubric in an accurate manner The study indicates that students are able to comprehend and critically assess marking criteria that they have a hand in making, and have more difficulty in comprehending marking criteria that are imposed on them by teachers The study explains that teachers can carry out practice sessions with their learners by having them watch and evaluate past presentations on video Then, after the appropriate training has been completed (which may take two to three class periods), students prepare their presentations (individually or in groups) with the criteria they helped create firmly in mind Next, learners evaluate their peer’s presentations with the rubric they helped create Finally, after the presentations are completed, learners receive their evaluation from their peers and reflect on their performance and how to improve on it All of this can serve to be extremely useful not only to the learners in the classes, but also for the teachers 1.2.2 The research of Otoshi and Heffernen (2008) This study outlines and explores what factors EFL learners consider to be important when making presentations A questionnaire was used to discover what components were considered to be important to learners in doing effective English Luan van presentations The results of the study indicate that the participants consider the following three factors as the major criteria for effective English oral presentations: clarity of speech and voice quality; correctness of language; and interaction with the audience The researchers explore which aspects of oral presentations Japanese university students view to be most effective Incorporating students’ ideas while establishing the criteria for presentations is an important factor when considering alearner-centered approach in EFL classes Therefore, this study suggests specific ideas as to how to carry out oral presentation activities using student-established evaluation criteria One aim of the study suggests a set of specific recommendations such as using specific criteria of the presentation to improve peer assessment activities for oral presentations The researchers recommend peer evaluation can be a valuable method in assisting EFL learners in how to properly structure English oral presentations The study shows that learners gain a firm knowledge of the form and process of what makes an effective oral presentation By involving them in the process of actually creating the rubrics to be used in evaluating their peers, the study suggests that teachers should give their learners an opportunity to gain independence while learning more about exactly what makes a successful presentation 1.2.3 Wu (2008) This study is an exploratory study that was conducted on students’ behavior and belief about academic oral presentations The study shows that five Taiwanese TESOL graduate students were studied The study finds that academic oral presentations involved complex and constant decision-makings for the students from the beginning – the preparation stage, to the final stage – the presenting stage The study indicates that based on a student’s account, the presenting stage was likely the most anxiety- provoking stage because much of the decision-making was required immediately Moreover, the study also shows that a discrepancy existed between the instructor and the students about what constitutes an academic oral presentation and its goal This may also contribute to students’ anxiety about oral presentations because students were likely uncertain about the quality of their preparation and performance The researcher explains that Oral presentation is a Luan van ... some elements of teaching and learning as part of the academic life of the students This type is very common in the universities and the majority of the professors and students use the presentations... of the study The study is organized around four chapters: The first chapter consists of rationale previous studies, aims of the study, research subjects, significance of the study, scope of the. .. with Luan van others what they have learned It is also a chance to challenge and expand on their understanding of the topic by having others ask questions And in the world of work, a confident presenter