Luận văn thạc sĩ using project based learning to improve the students’ speaking skill an action research project at dong nai technology university

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Đinh Công Tính USING PROJECT BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE THE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT DONG NAI TECHN[.]

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Đinh Cơng Tính USING PROJECT-BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE THE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT DONG NAI TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE HANOI, 2019 n VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Đinh Cơng Tính USING PROJECT-BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE THE STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT DONG NAI TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY Field: English Language Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Phạm Hữu Đức, Ph.D HANOI, 2019 n DECLARATION BY AUTHOR I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the thesis entitled “Using Project-Based Learning to Improve The Students’ Speaking Skills: An Action Research Project at Dong Nai Technology University” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Language The substance of the thesis has not, wholly or in part, been submitted for any other degree to any other universities or institutions Except where reference has been made in the text, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person The study reported in this thesis was approved by Graduate Academy of Social Sciences Author’s Signature Đinh Cơng Tính Approved by SUPERVISOR Phạm Hữu Đức, Ph.D Date: ………………………… i n ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS Although only one name appears as the author of this work, writing a thesis is indeed a collaborative effort I would like to express my sincere thanks to the many people who made it possible First and foremost, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my M.A thesis’s supervisor, Phạm Hữu Đức, Ph D for his kind consultation, invaluable encouragement as well as thorough correction in the process of completion But for his helpful guidance, this study would not have been achieved Next, I would like to convey my sincere appreciation and thanks to Mr Đặng Nguyên Giang - Dean of the Department of Foreign Languages and the other staff at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences the Department of Foreign Languages, Graduate Academy of Social Sciences for granting me the honor of writing this thesis as well as their assistance and most valuable comments Especially, millions of my special thanks go to the lecturers and students at Dong Nai Technology University who participated in this study for their kind and patient co-operation and encouragement They helped provide me with valuable data for the study so that I could have a better view of activities in English speaking classes at Dong Nai Technology University in Bien Hoa city, Dong Nai Province Last but not least, I am deeply indebted to my family for their sympathy and support during all the time I was studying for M.A degree at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences Without their unconditional love and sincere contribution, I could not have overcome my difficulties and concentrated on my studies ii n TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DECLARATION BY AUTHOR i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT vi LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES & CHARTS viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the Study 1.3 Research Questions 1.4 Scope of the Study 1.5 Significance of the Study 1.6 Research Methods 1.7 Structure of the Study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Concepts of speaking 2.1.1 Definitions of speaking 2.1.2 Characteristics of speaking 12 2.1.3 Functions of speaking 13 2.1.4 The importance of teaching speaking 13 2.1.5 Principles of teaching speaking 15 2.1.6 Teacher’s roles in teaching speaking 17 2.1.7 Components of teaching speaking 18 2.2 Communicative Language Teaching 21 iii n 2.3 Project-based learning 23 2.3.1 Definitions of project-based learning 23 2.3.2 Types of projects 26 2.3.3 Key features of Project-based learning 26 2.3.4 Advantages and challenges of project-based learning 29 2.3.5 Process of Project-based learning 31 2.4 Previous studies 33 2.5 Summary 36 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 37 3.1 Research Setting 37 3.2 Participants 38 3.3 Data Collection Instruments 40 3.4 Research design 44 3.5 Research Procedures 49 3.5.1 Phase 1: Planning 49 3.5.2 Phase 2: Action 50 3.5.3 Phase 3: Observation 52 3.5.4 Phase 4: Reflection 53 3.6 Data Analysis 55 3.7 Summary 56 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 57 4.1 Data Analysis from Tests 57 4.2 Data Analysis from Questionnaires 60 4.3 Data Analysis from Interviews 73 4.4 Summary 75 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 76 iv n 5.1 Recapitulation 76 5.2 Concluding Remarks 77 5.3 Implications 79 5.4 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies 81 REFERENCES 83 APPENDIX 1: Pre-test for students I APPENDIX 2: Survey questionnaire II APPENDIX 3: Post-test for students IV APPENDIX 4: Scoring Rubric for Speaking test V APPENDIX 5: English Speaking Ability Evaluation VII APPENDIX 6: Interview questions VIII APPENDIX 7: Post-trying out questionnaire IX APPENDIX 8: Sample lesson plan XI v n ABSTRACT Nowadays, English becomes more and more important in almost aspects of life English is a global language, so it is a compulsory subject at schools and universities Communication is one of the most important skills in study, and work Being a lecturer at a university, I recognize that we should help our students find the better way to improve their speaking skills and feel confident when talking or speaking in front of the class or the crowded or making a conversation with foreigners After learning about some methods to help the students improve their speaking skills We chose Project – based Learning to apply for our speaking classes in experiment After doing this experiment, we found out two issues: (1) the students’ attitudes to using Project – based Learning in speaking classes; (2) the result of students in Speaking classes when applying Project – based Learning I randomly chose a Class with class code 0070133 to carry out my action research project with the participants: 30 the first-year students a Dong Nai Technology University We performed this study in 12 weeks and used questionnaires, pre- test, posttest and interviews for collecting data instruments The research findings us that the students has positive attitudes to using Project – based learning in speaking classes and PBL was a good way to help students improve their speaking skills With the result we got in the findings, both the lecturers and the students could find the own way for teaching and learning to achieve the best result in speaking skills in speaking classes vi n LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Assessing Speaking Performance- Level B1 (CEFR) 14 Table 2: Observation checklist 53 Table 3: Procedures of the study 54 Table 4: A comparison of Mean Score on Pre-Test and Post-Test 58 by Three Raters Table 5: Mean score of tests 59 Table 6: Changes after taking part in the lessons using PBL 71 vii n LIST OF FIGURES & CHARTS Page Figure 1: Action Research Cycle 49 Chart 1: Students’ opinions of being afraid of speaking English in 62 class Chart 2: Students’ frequency of speaking English 63 Chart 3: Students’ difficulties of speaking English in class time 64 Chart 4: Frequency of practicing speaking English in class 65 Chart 5: The active activities of students in teamwork in English 66 speaking lessons Chart 6: Students’ interest in English speaking activities 67 Chart 7: Students’ opinion of using project-based learning in 68 optional lessons Chart 8: Students’ opinions about the effectiveness of project- 70 based learning in improving speaking skills Chart 9: Students’ improvement for criteria after applying project- 71 based learning in improving speaking skills Chart 10: The students’ difficulties when carrying out the project for the first time viii n 73 ... English speaking skills at Dong Nai Technology University To gain the aim, the researcher must to reach the following objectives as: - Learning about the students’ attitudes to Project – based learning. .. for speaking skills Then they can improve their English speaking skills with PBL day by day And someday, they will be good at speaking skills and daily conversation The last thing, to Dong Nai Technology. .. Questions To achieve the above aims of the study, the researcher must find out the answers to the following research questions: What is the first-year students’ attitude to project- based learning at Dong