English speaking skills by rural 9th graders versus urban ones in binh dinh province = kỹ năng nói tiếng anh của học sinh lớp 9 thành thị so với nông thôn ở tỉnh bình định

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY HO THI DIEM ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS BY RURAL 9th GRADERS VERSUS URBAN ONES IN BINH DINH PROVINCE Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching Code: 8140111 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr NGUYEN QUANG NGOAN GI O g h: h V g h OT O d y h c môn i g h 8140111 g ih gd : PGS.TS NGUYỄN QUANG NGO N i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I confirm that the work presented in this research report has been carried out by myself Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, no other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the thesis I confirm that this work is submitted in partial fulfillment for the M.A thesis in English at Quy Nhon University and has not been submitted elsewhere in any other form for the fulfillment of any other degree or qualification Quy Nhon, July 2022 h i ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Without the support, encouragement, and contributions from my Assoc Prof Doctors, Doctors, colleagues, friends and family, the successful completion of this thesis work would not have been possible I take this chance to appreciate them for their expert advice and wise invaluable comments, and generous time They have enriched my knowledge and made my graduate journey a memorable chapter in my life First and foremost, I am grateful to my thesis supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Quang Ngoan, for his amazing supervision His outstanding knowledge and profession teaching-related expertise inspired me greatly during my academic life at Quy Nhon University, and he opened new horizons for me in the field I appreciate his accommodating guidelines and suggestions, great patience, and strong management skills in helping me resolve the obstacles during the time I carried out my thesis I feel fortunate to have had him support for my work I was also thankful to my colleagues for their fascinating assistance, support and management during the pilot phase They not only encouraged me when I met obstacles during my thesis, but also gave me valuable insights into my thesis I am very lucky to know all of them Last, but not least, I am grateful to all the support and encouragement I received from my beloved family throughout my thesis education iii ABSTRACT This research was conducted with the aim to investigate similarities and differences in speaking English between rural 9th graders and urban ones in Binh Dinh Province, how well rural 9th graders in Binh Dinh Province speak English, compared to urban 9th graders in Binh Dinh Province In this study, quantitative and qualitative approaches were applied for comparative analysis The population of the study was 69 rural 9th graders, 61 urban ones and English teachers in charge of teaching those 9th graders of the secondary schools chosen to investigate in Binh Dinh Province consisting of secondary schools in an urban area and ones in a rural area The instruments were Test and Interview The data for analysis selected from the first test (Test 1), the second test (Test 2) and the interviews were analyzed by means of SPSS The findings showed that there was significant difference about English speaking skills among the urban group and the rural group However, there was improvement between the first test and the second test among the two groups iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF CHARTS x CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Research aim and objectives 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Structure of the thesis CHAPTER 2.LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Oral communication and the Speaking skill in a Foreign Language 2.1.1 Definitions of Oral communication and the Speaking skill 2.1.2 Oral proficiency 12 2.1.3 Necessity of Speaking Assessment 14 2.1.4 Test specifications 15 2.1.5 Speaking Component Assessment using the Components of English Language Development Assessment (ELDA) 15 2.2 Speaking skills of the 9th graders in Vietnam 19 2.3 External factors and speaking in English 20 2.3.1 Family factor 21 v 2.3.2 Socio-economic factor 21 2.3.3 Facilities and resources 21 2.3.4 Teacher‟s qualification 22 2.4 Related studies 22 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURE 29 3.1 Research design 29 3.2 Participants 30 3.3 Instruments 31 3.3.1 Tests 32 3.3.2 Interviews 33 3.4 Procedure 33 3.4.1 Data collection 33 3.4.2 Data analysis 35 CHAPTER RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 36 4.1 Students‟ English speaking test results 36 4.1.1 Participants‟ English speaking test results within the two groups 37 4.1.2 Participants‟ English speaking test results between the two groups 39 4.2 Students‟ conversation skills and project presentation skills 40 4.2.1 Students‟ conversation skills from Test and Test 40 4.2.2 The students‟ belief in their conversation skills from the interviews 41 4.2.3 Students‟ project presentation skills from the interviews 45 4.3 Students‟ abilities of giving personal opinions and exchanging ideas and information between the two groups 47 4.4 Students‟ English pronunciation 48 4.4.1 Students‟ pronunciation in speaking English in the urban group 49 4.4.2 Students‟ pronunciation in speaking English in the rural group 53 vi 4.4.3 Students‟ opinions about English pronunciation 57 4.4.4 Teachers‟ opinions about English pronunciation 64 4.5 External factors influence the students‟ English speaking skills 66 4.5.1 Results from the students 66 4.5.2 Results from the teachers 68 4.6 Summary 69 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 72 5.1 Summary of the study 72 5.2 Summary of key findings of the study 72 5.3 Implications 73 5.4 Limitations and suggestions for further study 74 REFERENCES 76 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS MOET: Ministry of Education and Training EFL: English as a foreign language L2: Second language L1: First language ELDA: English Language Development Assessment SES: Socio-ecomomic Status Q1: Question Q2: Question Q3: Question Q4: Question ST 1: Student ST 2: Student ST 3: Student ST 4: Student viii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Speaking scoring rubric of the tests 17 Table 4.1: Reliability Statistics for Test 36 Table 4.2: Reliability Statistics for Test 37 Table 4.3: Mean difference of students‟ speaking test results in the rural group 38 Table 4.4: Mean difference of students‟ speaking test results in the urban group 38 Table 4.5: Students‟ English speaking test results between the two groups 39 Table 4.6: Students‟ conversation skills in speaking in English between the two groups 41 Table 4.7: Students‟ abilities of giving personal opinions and exchanging ideas and information between the two groups 48 Table 4.8: Students‟ pronunciation in speaking in English between the two groups 49 Table 4.9: Reliability Statistics of students‟ pronunciation in speaking English in the urban group in Test 50 Table 4.10: Students‟ pronunciation in speaking English in the urban group in Test 50 Table 4.11: Reliability Statistics of students‟ pronunciation in speaking English in the urban group in Test 52 Table 4.12: Students‟ pronunciation in speaking English in the urban group in Test 52 Table 4.13: Reliability Statistics of students‟ pronunciation in speaking English in the rural group in Test 54 Table 4.14: Students‟ pronunciation in speaking English in the urban group in Test 54 76 REFERENCES Akinola, A O (2014) The influence of practical teaching of oral communication International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL) , 2(9), 44-48 Asubiojo, E A., C O Adewusi, & Oyediran, A O (2005) Communication theory and practice Ibadan: Aseda Publishing Bailey, K M (2000) Practical English language teaching: Speaking New York: The McGraw-Hill Basa, I M., Asrida, D., & Fadli, N (2018) Contributing factors to the students‟ speaking ability Langkawi: Journal of The Association for Arabic and English, 3(2), 156-168 Idoli, N B., & Ummanah, P C (2011) The comparative disparity in oral english amongst students of urban and rural areas in 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What things you would like to see and to there Remember to speak in complete sentences and tell me about the city you would like to visit most Question 2: Look at Picture I am going to ask you about it Tell me one or two sentences about what you see in the picture For example, you can talk about what the girls are doing, and why she might be doing that Remember to speak in complete sentences and tell me what you see in the picture Question 3: Picture Now look at Pictures and Say at least two sentences about how the two pictures are similar or different AP-4 For example, you can talk about similarities and differences between the way teenagers entertain themselves nowadays and the past Remember to speak in complete sentences and say at least two sentences about how the two pictures are similar or different Picture2 Picture Question 4: Many features about a city make people prefer to live in the city You and your partner make a short conversation to tell features about a city make people prefer to live in the city Give at least two features and give reasons why you think that For example, you can ask your partner which features some people like cities and your partner can answer about the cities with many parks and open space because people can go there to relax and entertain with their friends or families in their free time Remember to speak in complete sentences and make a short conversation to tell features about a city make people prefer to live in the city Give at least two features AP-5 APPENDIX C TEST Question 1: There are lots of the necessary life skills for teenagers Some of these skills include social skills, cognitive skills, housekeeping skills, emotion control skills, and self-care skills You might have these skills Tell me about the life skills you think it‟s the most necessary for your life For example, you think about the importance of social skills This is necessary for negotiating, making network and relationships You can cooperate with others and resolve conflicts and have communication skills Remember to speak in complete sentences and tell me about the life skills you think it‟s the most necessary for your life Question 2: Look at Picture I am going to ask you about it Tell me one or two sentences about the wonder you see in the picture For example, you can tell what you know about the wonder such as location, main features of the wonder Remember to speak in complete sentences and tell me about the wonder you see in the picture Question 3: Now look at the two pictures (picture and picture 3) Picture AP-6 Say at least two sentences about the similarities and differences between two pictures For example, you might talk about classrooms in the past and nowadays (school facilities, teachers, students ) Remember to speak in complete sentences and say at least two sentences about the similarities and differences between two pictures Picture Picture Question 4: There are ways Vietnamese teenagers entertain themselves in the past and nowadays You and your partner make a short conversation to tell about the way Vietnamese teenagers entertain you prefer Give at least two reason you like the way For example, you can ask and reply your partner which way he/she prefers, Vietnamese teenagers‟ pastimes in the past or nowadays You can say something makes you enjoy, the place teenagers entertain, who teenagers entertain with, etc Remember to speak in complete sentences and make a short conversation to tell which way you prefer, Vietnamese teenagers‟ pastimes in the past or nowadays Give at least two reason you like the way AP-7 APPENDIX D INTERVIEW FOR STUDENTS How did you feel when pronouncing English? Easy or Difficult? Em c m th y nh th n o ph t m ti ng nh? D hay kh ? How did you feel when you had a conversation about the topics you have learned in this semester? Easy or Difficult? Like or Dislike? Em c m th y nh th n o em di n m tho i v c c ch m em h c h c k n y? D hay kh ? Th ch hay kh ng th ch? How did you feel when you presented the projects your English teacher assigned you to do? Easy or Difficult? Like or Dislike? Did you feel confident after finishing your projects? Were they helpful for you? Em c m th y nh th n o em tr nh b y c c d n m c gi o ti ng nh giao cho em l m? D hay kh ? Th ch hay kh ng th ch? Em c m th y t tin sau ho n th nh c c d n kh ng? c ch g cho em kh ng? Do you join any English club? Do you attend any extra-curricular English classes? If yes, what English skills have you learnt there, speaking skills, listening skills, or reading & writing skills and grammar? Em c tham gia b t k c u l c b ti ng nh n o kh ng? Em c th m ti ng nh kh ng? uc , l p h c th m n ng n o? - k n ng n i, k n ng nghe, k n ng , em ih c c h c nh ng k c, vi t v ng ph p? Do you use materials on the Internet to support your English learning? If yes, you can tell me materials you have used? And which English skills you are interested most in learning by yourself in the Internet? Em c s d ng c c h c li u tr n Internet nh c a em kh ng? u c , em c th cho bi t c c h c li u m em l g ? V k n ng Ti ng nh m em quan t m nh t n ng n o? h tr cho vi c h c Ti ng s d ng t h c qua Internet l k AP-8 APPENDIX E INTERVIEW FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS Theo th y(c ), th y(c ) nh n x t nh th n o v c ch ph t m c a h c tr m nh (T t hay kh ng t t) In your opinion, how you comment on your students’ pronunciation? (Good or Not good)) Theo th y(c ), kh n ng m tho i c a h c tr m nh v c c ch m ch ng h c nh th n o ( T t hay kh ng t t Th ch th hay kh ng th ch th ?) In your opinion, how are your students’ abilities to make conversations about the topics they have learned?( Good or Not good? Excited or not?)) Th y(c ) th y i u ki n h c t p c a c c em h c sinh y nh h ng n kh n ng n i ti ng Anh c a h c sinh nh th n o - c c i u ki n v c s v t ch t y, gia nh c a h c sinh v c c t c nh n kinh t x h i y In your opinion, how the learning conditions here affect the students’ English speaking skills? -condition of facilities, condition of family and socioeconomic factors) Th y(c ) c th cho bi t c trung t m ngo i ng n o g n (Can you tell me if there are any language centers here?) y kh ng