Developing discussion skills for efl second year students luận án thạc sĩ

UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE HO CHI MINH CITY DEVELOPING DISCUSSION SKILLS FOR EFL SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS M.A in TESOL THESIS Student: Truong Thi Mai Hanh Supervisor: Nguyen Van Muoi, Ph.D 2007 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY OF MASTERS' THESIS I certify my authorship of the Masters' Thesis submitted today entitled DEVELOPING DISCUSSION SKILLS FOR EFL SECOND-YEAR STUDENT In terms of the Statement of requirements for Theses in Masters' programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Department of English Linguistics and Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University of Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City, June, 2007 TRUONG THI MAI HANH RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, TRUONG THI MAI HANH, being a candidate for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL) accepted the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Masters' Thesis deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Masters' Thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan and reproduction for theses Ho Chi Minh City, June, 2007 Signature…………………………………………………………………………………… TRUONG THI MAI HANH ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Senior Lecturer Nguyen Van Muoi, Ph.D, who gave thoughtful and insightful comments and provided valuable support in the preparation and completion of this thesis I would have not finished my thesis without his guidance and constructive critical questions which helped me think through the problems I am also grateful to the teachers and the students who were very responsive to the survey questionnaires The thesis would have never been possible without their help Last, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my husband for his love, understanding, sympathy and support, without which I would hardly have been able to overcome difficulties to complete it LISTS OF FIGURES AND TABLES List of figure Figure 2.1 Abilities underlying speaking proficiency 16 Table 3.1 Background information about the learner subjects 30 Table 3.2 Background information about Interview Informants 31 List of tables Table 4.1.1.1 Students’ background information and studying English 36 Table 4.1.1.2 Students’ current problems, practices, needs, and suggestions on the learning of English discussion inside the classroom 38 Table 4.1.1.3 Students’ frequency, habit as well as problems when discussing in English outside the classroom 39 Table 4.1.1.4 Students’ ideas about the course book 40 Table 4.1.2.1 Common problems the learners have when they carry out discussion in classroom 41 Table 4.1.2.2 Factors influencing the learners’ speaking proficiency in English 42 Table 4.1.2.3 Effective ways to develop the Vietnamese learners’ discussion skills 43 Table 4.1.2.4 Difficulties in conducting discussion class 44 TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of originality i Retention and use of the thesis ii Acknowledgements iii Abbreviations iv List of tables & figures v Table of contents .vi Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 GENERAL BACKGROUND .1 1.2 RATIONALE 1.3 AIM OF THE STUDY .3 1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 1.5 OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 THE CONCEPT OF DISCUSSION AND SOME ASPECTS INVOLVED 2.1.1 The definition of discussion 2.1.2 The aim of discussion 2.1.3 The recognition of a successful discussion 2.1.4 The factors in a good discussion 2.1.4.1 Topic .8 2.1.4.2 Group work 10 2.1.4.3 Role play 12 2.1.4.4 Task 13 2.1.4.5 The organization of a discussion 14 2.2 THE COMPONENTS UNDERLYING SPEAKING PROFICIENCY 15 2.3 THE FACTORS AFFECTING EFL LEARNERS’ SPEAKING 17 PROFICIENCY 2.3.1 Pre-existing personality 17 2.3.1.1 Self-esteem .18 2.3.1.2 Anxiety 18 2.3.1.3 Inhibition 19 2.3.1.4 Motivation 19 2.3.2 Classroom settings 20 2.3.2.1 The role of the teacher 20 2.3.2.2 The influence of co-operative learning principle .21 2.4 THE TEACHING METHODS OFTEN USED IN VIETNAM 22 2.4.1 The grammar-translation method .22 2.4.2 The communicative approach 22 2.5 THE TASK OF TEACHERS AND LEARNERS 23 2.5.1 The teachers’ .23 2.5.2 The learners’ .25 Summary 26 Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 27 3.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .27 3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 28 3.2.1 Characteristics of subjects 29 3.2.2 Instruments 31 3.2.3 Data collection procedures 34 Summary 35 Chapter 4: RESULTS, DISCUSSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 36 4.1 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS .36 4.1.1 The results and discussions 36 of the survey questionnaire for students 4.1.1.1 The results and discussions for part 36 of the survey questionnaire for students 4.1.1.2 The results and discussions for part 37 of the survey questionnaire for students 4.1.1.3 The results and discussions for part 39 of the survey questionnaire for students 4.1.1.4 The results and discussions for part 40 of the survey questionnaire for students 4.1.2 The results and discussions 41 for the interview questionnaire for teachers Summary of the results 45 4.2 SUGGESTIONS 46 4.2.1 Building up students’ self-confidence 46 4.2.1.1 Projecting students’ self-esteem 47 and removing students’ language anxiety 4.2.1.2 Removing barrier between teacher and students .49 4.2.1.3 Building up students’ motivation 50 4.2.2 Choosing the topics .51 4.2.3 Varying discussion activities .52 4.2.3.1 Role play 53 4.2.3.2 Group discussion 55 4.2.3.3 Presentation 56 4.2.3.4 Games 58 4.2.4 Classroom management .58 4.2.4.1 Students’ roles .59 4.2.4.2 Teacher’s role 59 Summary 60 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 61 References 63 Appendix Questionnaire to students 65 Appendix Questionnaire to teachers 69 Appendix An example of discussion material 70 CHAPTER I: 1.1 INTRODUCTION GENERAL BACKGROUND A large percentage of the world’s learners study English in order to develop proficiency in speaking Speaking proficiency, in other words, is the goal of teaching and learning English as a foreign language According to Scarcella and Oxford (1992), speaking proficiency is determined by communicative skills and abilities underlying speaking proficiency: grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic competence Communicative competence involves being able to use the target language appropriate to a given social context It means that the learners need knowledge of the linguistic forms, meanings and functions As there is a great difference between knowledge of language forms and knowledge that enables the learners to communicate functionally and interactively, the learners need to know that many different forms can be used to perform a function They must be able to choose from among these the most appropriate form for communication and manage the process of negotiating meaning with whom they are interested “Communicative competence is the aspect of our competence that enables us to convey and interpret messages and negotiate meanings interpersonally within specific context… it is a dynamic, interpersonal construct that can only be examined by means of the overt performance of two or more individuals in the process of negotiating meaning” (Brown, 1994, p.227) It’s due to the complex nature of speaking proficiency, discussion skills are suggested as a vehicle to induce the learners to talk in the classrooms, to use the language creatively, purposefully and individually (Ur, 1981, p.1) 10 It has been analyzed in the previous chapters about the passive roles that our students performed during teacher-dominated class during their high schools It has also been discussed about the importance of students' responsible attitudes and active roles in discussion learning Here are some further features of teacher's and students' roles applied in the so-call student-centered classroom 4.2.4.1 Students' roles In student-centered classrooms, students are asked to give their opinion on what to learn and how they to learn it During oral practice, students act as initiators who commence the talk with their friend and as interactors who follow it up and as negotiators who negotiate to maintain mutual understanding and co-operation among all participants in the talk Students may feel a bit awkward with this new role at first but later on they will find it beneficial and enjoyable However, to help students get used to this new role (instead of the passive role of the grammar translation method), the teacher should bring some activities which are relevant to them 4.2.4.2 Teacher's role The role of the teacher is minimized to as a facilitator during the process of discussion among all participants in the classroom and between these participants and the various activities and texts To fulfill this task, teacher has to be a guide and counselor within classroom procedures and activities and to be a reliable resource that always available for students' use To this it is required a lot for the teacher to be aware what students need and what problems they may cope with as well as how to facilitate students’ speaking proficiency Most of teachers may feel a bit "uprooted" when being removed from the old job of giving lectures and supplying correct answer to every task that students It is 68 good to note that to learn the language, the students themselves must go through the process of learning; the teacher's job is only to provide the conditions for this process, set it going, observe it, try to understand it, help it along, analyze and evaluate it The rest of the job of doing it and making it a success is at students' own account Summary This chapter has presented results, discussions and suggestions for developing discussion skills for students The suggestions based on the results collected from the study are expected to help students learn discussion better and improve their speaking proficiency 69 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION Speaking proficiency is an aspect of the process of teaching and learning speaking and is a goal of EFL learners To improve the learners speaking proficiency, discussion is considered as an effective vehicle in terms of both the learners and the teachers Discussion skills facilitate the students to express their ideas, convey their thoughts purposefully, creatively and individually To have a good discussion, topic, group-work, role-play, task and the organization of a discussion are important factors which the teachers should be carefully focus on before teaching The selection of appropriate topic enables the students to have more opportunities to contribute their knowledge, experience purposefully instead of contributing ideas to “unreal situations” Group-work and role-play are among the activities which both ensure the maximum students’ talking time and bring real-world English into classroom The organization of a discussion including different stages of the discussion process also plays an important role in keeping discussions going on smoothly Discussion activities which are provided the EFL learners must be considered on the ground of the components underlying speaking proficiency and the factor influencing EFL learner’s speaking proficiency Pre-existing personality and classroom settings affect discussion much So the role of the teacher, the role of the learners, the materials and the approaches adopted in the process of teaching and learning The role of the teacher is to minimize the students’ difficulties and maximize their contribution to discussion It is desirable for the teacher to advocate the communicative approach in teaching That is, the teacher should let the students choose the topics that they want to discuss or at least, the topics that are relevant 70 to the students’ knowledge and experiences, the teachers should play the role of a consultant instead of a controller in speaking classes Moreover, there should be a wide variety of activities and tasks to make discussion enjoyable The role of the learners also virtually enhances their speaking proficiency because they are the center of the process of teaching and learning It is obvious that the learners must have their goal in learning This enables them to have motivation, interest and strategies and enables them to reduce inhibition or anxiety which is barrier to speaking competence The role of materials is also as important as the factors above The selection of materials including extra exercises and games should be recommended The results of the survey questionnaire for the teachers show the common problems which the students have when learning discussion and the factors in which influence the EFL learners’ speaking proficiency These practical finding helps the teachers in choosing and applying more appropriate strategies and skills to develop discussion skills These practical findings also give some suggestions concerning with dealing with the students problems The results can also be instrumental in developing further insights for ourselves through experimenting with the students’ choice of topics The study, thus, is expected to contribute to EFL teaching in terms of speaking skills in general and in terms of discussion skills in particular 71 REFERENCES * Bright, J.A and G.P Mc Gregor 1970 Teaching Language as a second Language London: Longman * Brown, H.D 1987 Principles of Language Learning and Teaching Prentice Hall Regents * Bygate, M 1987 Speaking Oxford: OUP * Carter, R and Nunan, D 2001 The Cambridge Guide to Teaching English to Speakers of other Language CUP * Cohen, L A Guide to Teaching Practice * Doff, A 1995 Teach English Cambridge: CUP * Gardner, R and W.E Lambert 1972 Attitudes and Motivation in 2nd Language Learning Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House * Harmer, J 1987 The practice of Language Teaching New York: Longman * Hedge, T 2000 Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom Oxford: OUP * Krahnke, K 1994 Teaching English as a Foreign/Second Language * Lynch, T 1996 Communication in the Language classroom Oxford: OUP * Mathews, C 1994 Speaking Solutions Prentice Hall Regents * Nunan, D 1991 Language Teaching Methodology Prentice Hall International 72 * Richards, J.C and Renandya, W.A 2002 Methodology in Language Teaching CUP * Ur, P 1981 Discussion that Work CUP * Ur, P 1998 A Course in Language Teaching Practice and Theory CUP * Widdowson, H.G 1993 Aspects of Language Teaching OUP * Willis, J 1986 Teaching English through English Longman 73 APPENDIX PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT (DÀNHCHO SINH VIÊN) Môn học : Môn nói Lớp : KS4A1, KS4A2 Du lịch Trường ĐH : Học viện Hành Quốc gia Đại học Văn hóa Tp HCM Bảng câu hỏi nhằm thu thập liệu cho đề tài nghiên cứu” Phát triển kỹ thảo luận tiếng Anh cho sinh viên năm thứ hai” sinh viên không chuyên Xin anh/ chị vui lòng dành chút thời gian quý báu trả lời câu hỏi sau Câu trả lời anh/ chị quan trọng thành công đề tài sử dụng vào mục đích nghiên cứu không nhằm mục đích khác Chúng xin chân thành cảm ơn cộng tác anh/ chị Phần 1: Những câu hỏi sau dành để tìm hiểu thông tin thân bạn trình học Tiếng Anh bạn Mong bạn vui lòng đọc kỹ câu hỏi chọn câu trả lời phù hợp với bạn Bạn từ đâu tới? a Tp HCM Độ tuổi bạn? a Từ 18 ÷ 20 tuổi b Hơn 20 tuổi Thời gian bạn học tiếng Anh? a năm b Tỉnh/thành khác b Ít năm Bạn học kỹ thảo luận trường TPTH chưa? a Có b Chưa 74 Phần 2: Những câu hỏi sau dành để khảo sát khó khăn bạn gặp học thảo luận tiếng Anh, việc bạn thực hành thảo luận, yêu cầu bạn việc học kỹ thảo luận lớp học Mong bạn vui lòng đọc kỹ câu hỏi chọn câu trả lời phù hợp với bạn Có phải hoạt động thảo luận thực hữu ích việc nâng cao khả nói bạn không? a Đúng Sai Bạn có thường thực hành kỹ thảo luận tiếng Anh với bạn lớp không? a Có b b Không Bạn có hứng thú đóng góp ý kiến hoạt đông thảo luận theo nhóm lớp không? a Có b Không Khó khăn bạn việc tham gia thảo luận điểm sau đây? a Kiến thức ngôn ngữ: a Đúng b Sai b Kỹ thảo luận: a Đúng b Sai c Cảm thấy xấu hổ mắc lỗi: a Đúng b Sai Những đề tài thảo luận phù hợp với vốn sống kinh nghiệm bạn có thực hấp dẫn bạn không? a Có 10 Bạn có biết cách tiến hành thảo luận không? a Có 11 b Không b Không Bạn có cho làm việc theo nhóm cách tốt để tăng thời gian thực hành tiếng Anh không? a Có 12 Không Bạn có cho áp dụng trò chơi cách học tiếng Anh thú vị không? a Có 13 b b Không Theo bạn giáo viên có nên ngắt lời bạn bạn nói chừng không? 75 a Nên Phần 3: b Không nên Những câu hỏi sau nhằm điều tra tần suất, thói quen, khó khăn thảo luận tiếng Anh phạm vi lớp học Mong bạn vui lòng đọc kỹ câu hỏi chọn câu trả lời phù hợp với bạn 14 Bạn có thường thực hành thảo luận câu lạc tiếng Anh không? a Có 15 b Không Bạn có cảm thấy lo lắng hay xấu hổ thảo luận trực tiếp với người nước không? a Có 16 Không Bạn có thấy sợ mắc lỗi thảo luận với người nước không? a Có 17 b b Không Bạn có thường hiểu người nước nói mà cách trả lời họ không? a Có 18 b Không i Bạn thường nói “yes” hay “no” hay cười nói chuyện với ngước nước không? a Có Phần 4: b Không Những câu hỏi sau nhằm điều tra ý kiến bạn sách/tài liệu học The following questions are for your ideas about the course book Mong bạn vui lòng đọc kỹ câu hỏi chọn câu trả lời phù hợp với bạn 19 Bạn có cho sách/tài liệu bạn học thực hữu ích cho họat động thảo luận tiếng Anh không? a Có 20 b Không Bạn có cho hoạt động đóng vai (role play) phù hợp với sinh viên Việt nam không? a Có b Không 76 21 Liệu làm việc theo nhóm có thực giúp phát triển khả nói tiếng Anh lưu lóat bạn không? a Có 22 b Không Với sách/tài liệu học tiếng này, khả nói tiếng anh bạn có lưu lóat không? a Có 23 b Không Bạn có ý kiến việc cải tiến việc dạy tiếng Anh không? a Chọn chủ đề phù hợp: a Có b Không b Đa dạng hóa họat động thảo luận lớp a Có b Không 77 APPENDIX CÂU HỎI ĐIỀU TRA DÀNH CHO GIÁO VIÊN Môn học : Môn nói Đối tượng sinh viên : sinh viên năm thứ hai Trường ĐH : Học viện Hành Quốc gia Đại học Văn hóa Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh (1) Theo chị/bạn, khó khăn mà học viên thường gặp tiến hành thảo luận tiếng Anh lớp gì? (2) Những nhân tố ảnh hưởng đến khả nói tiếng Anh trôi chảy học viên? (3) Chị/Bạn có cách để phát triển kỹ thảo luận học viên? (4) Khó khăn chị/bạn hướng dẫn học viên thực buổi thảo luận lớp học gì? 78 APPENDIX COMMUNICATION SKILLS Organizing Small Group Activities During this course, you will be participating in many small group activities You can make sure that every member takes an active part in a group activity by giving each person a role: leader, reader, summarizer, reporter, or observer The following instructions explain how to organize a small group discussion with four or five members: Group members sit in a circle One student takes (or is assigned) Role Students then count off in order - 2, 3, 4, - so that #2 takes Role 2, #3 takes Role 3, and so forth In this way, each group member has a specific role to play in the activity If an activity has more than one situation, group members rotate roles after each situation This gives everyone a chance to take on a different role during the activity 79 Here is a list of the different roles with a brief explanation of the responsibilities of each: Role 1: Leader - Starts the activity - Makes sure everyone participates - Keeps everyone on the subject - Keeps the discussion moving - Keeps track of the time Role 2: Reader - Reads aloud the instructions, situation(s), questions, etc Role 3: Summarizer - Explains the situation or problem in his or her own words (without reading) - Makes sure everyone understands the situation Role 4: Reporter - Reports the group's results or ideas to the class Role 5: Observer (when necessary) - Observes the group or an individual - Fills out observation forms During each activity, all group members should participate actively Each person: - Presents ideas - Supports ideas with examples, details, and reasons - Asks other for their ideas 80 Finally, all group members (not only the reporter) should fill in the blanks in each activity as a record of their group's ideas and decisions Activity: Organizing a small group discussion Work in a small group of four or five people Follow the instructions presented in the previous section for organizing small group activities Group members should take the roles of leader, reader, summarizer, and reporter No observer is needed in this activity As a group, consider the following situation and discussion question: Situation An old, homeless man spends every day in the public library For most of the day, he sits quietly reading newspapers, magazines, and books Many people in the library have complained that the man is extremely dirty and smells terrible Also, they say that he sometimes stares at them in a strange way that makes them nervous The homeless man, however, says that he does nothing to bother anybody Discussion What are possible ways that library officials might deal with this situation? A _ B _ C _ D _ E _ Work as a class On the blackboard, list all the different ideas developed by the groups 81 Get back into your original small group Work together to reach agreement on the following question: Group Decision What is the best way for library officials to deal with this situation? _ _ When your group has reached n decision, discussion the following: - Did each group member take his or her role during the discussion? If not, why not? - Did all group members take an active part in reaching the final decision? If not, why not? How can you improve your next discussion? When all the groups have finished, work as a class to compare the decision each group reached Which decision seems to be the best? To conclude this activity, compare your answers to the questions in item (Adapted from Mathews, C 1994 Prentice Hall Regents) 82