English speaking ability among high school sdtudents in vietnam challenges, obstacles and recomendations

Certificate of Originality of Study Project Report I certify my authorship of the Study Project Report submitted which is entitled: ENGLISH SPEAKING ABILITY AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN VIETNAM: CHALLENGES, OBSTACLES, AND RECOMMENDATIONS in terms of the Statement of Requirements for Theses and Field Study Reports in Master of Art Programmes (TESOL) December, 2005 Author’s Signature Nguyễn Thị Thanh Tâm ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am greatly indebted to my supervisor, Dr Dennis Berg, Professor of California State University Fullerton, for his precious assistance, instructions and encouragement during the time this study was being done I must say thanks to the Staff of The Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, especially Ms Vu Thi Phuong Anh, Ph.D and Mr Nguyen Hoang Linh, M.A., for their help and suggestions I am also grateful to my colleagues and students for their participation in my research work ABTRACT In Vietnam, English is considered the key to opening doors to higher education and promotion Those who want to be successful in learning and working try their best to learn English Almost all high school students are aware of the importance of learning English due to the fact that English is one of the required subjects in their annual and final examinations However, high school students generally not acquire the English language in the common way (among native learners) that language develops; i.e., listening, speaking, reading and writing Instead, they have a tendency to be good at reading skills and grammar because both the English textbooks designed for high school students and the English tests and examinations that high school students take focus on reading and grammar Anyone who spends time to learn a foreign language desires to acquire it not only to pass a test or an examination but also to use the target language to communicate Many high school students are good at rules of grammar but they have difficulty expressing themselves orally in English This study (thesis) investigates the situations in which high school students practice and develop their English speaking skills in an effort to identify the challenges and obstacles faced by high school students It is hoped that the results of this study will allow for the development of recommendations which may be helpful to teachers and students in teaching and learning English speaking skills This thesis consists of five chapters: Chapter introduces the study including the rationale, the background of the study, the aim and the significance of the study, along with the limitations and delimitations Chapter presents a review of the literature relevant to the study It introduces the research on the developing of speaking skills and the points of view of several authors about the nature of speaking, the factors that affect speaking skills in communication and teaching and learning of speaking skills at high schools Chapter describes the methodology that has been employed in this study It also includes the research questions and the research design Quantitative is the main method of the study The cross-sectional survey was conducted using two questionnaires: one for teachers and one for students in an effort to investigate the attitudes and pedagogy concerning the central questions of this research Some interviews and class observations were completed as companion results to the survey Chapter contains the data analysis, the interviews and the class observation reports It also shows the findings which have been drawn from the results of the survey, the interviews, and the class observations The results of the study have showed that the situations and conditions in which many high school students are learning English may not help them develop their speaking skills properly Chapter provides summary, conclusions, and recommendations The results of the study lay the foundations on which conclusions are drawn and recommendations are submitted The study has shown that the importance and development of speaking skills are not highly appreciated at high schools compared with grammar, reading and writing It is necessary to make some changes to help high school students to learn English for the sake of the language – to communicate in both spoken language and written language, not solely to cope with tests and examinations TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements iii Abstract iv Table of contents vii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Background to the study 1.3 Aim of the study 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Limitations and Delimitations 10 Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 12 2.1 What is speaking? 12 2.2 Research in developing speaking skills 14 2.3 The characteristics of speaking 17 2.3.1 Speaking – a complex process 17 2.3.2 The importance of speaking skills in language learning 20 2.3.3 Affecting factors 21 2.3.4 Integration of speaking skills and others 25 2.4 Developing of speaking skills in classroom 28 Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 43 3.1 Research questions 43 3.2 Research design 44 3.2.1 Research method 44 3.2.2 Instrumentation 45 3.2.3 Sample 47 3.2.4 Data collection 48 Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 4.1 Analyzing data 50 50 4.1.1 The characteristics of the participants 50 4.1.2 The participants’ points of view on speaking skills in language teaching and learning 58 4.1.3 The classroom conditions 66 4.1.4 Teaching and practicing speaking skills 71 4.1.5 Students’ interest in speaking skills and application of Further Practice Section 79 4.1.6 Teachers’ remarks on Further Practice Section, practicing the dialogues in the textbooks, and factors affecting developing high school students’ speaking skills 87 4.1.7 The participants’ ideas and recommendations on improving oral ability 91 4.2 Interviews 93 4.2.1 Objective factors 93 4.2.2 Subjective factors 95 4.3 Class observations 97 4.4 Findings 101 Chapter 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 102 5.1 Summary 102 5.2 Conclusions 104 5.3 Recommendations 105 Bibliography 109 Appendix 114 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION Interest in the teaching of speaking to high school students must begin with an interest in and understanding of the syllabus used in high school English courses and the current methods used at high schools to teach speaking skills The aim and the significance of this study are to provide information that might be used to modify both syllabus and pedagogy to bring about more effective teaching of speaking skills This Chapter will provide an introduction to this study, along with limitations and delimitations applying to this study 1.1 Rationale Almost all teachers of English who work in a high school have experienced that English speaking periods make them embarrassed and annoyed because their students not seem to be willing to take part in the speaking activities They just say nothing, keep silent, look at each other and appear to become tongue-tied when teachers ask them to answer some questions in English or to practice speaking the target language Sometimes teachers feel the sense of failure and have to talk all the time while students listen to them passively Actually, English speaking periods are also a difficult time for high school students As Brown (1994) writes, one of the major obstacles students have to overcome in learning to speak is the anxiety which generates over the risks of blurting things out that are wrong, stupid or incomprehensible; many of them have claimed that they feel nervous and worried when they have to express something in English and they feel hard to put their feelings and ideas into oral language Even those students who usually get good marks in tests and examinations have the difficulty when speaking English in front of their classmates “Nothing to say” is also a common problem of high school students They not seem to have the need to communicate in English in spite of the fact that their teacher tries to elicit them to say something They cannot think of anything to say, they have no motive to express themselves beyond the guilty feeling that they should speak (Ur, 1996) It is their anxiety and inhibition that prevent them from using English orally Another problem is that high school students often practice speaking in written English In fact, spoken English is different from written English in many ways (Sesnan, 1997) Many high school students cannot distinguish the difference partly because of their lack of exposure to spoken language and partly because of the fact that the English syllabus is designed mainly to develop written language They have profound knowledge of English vocabulary and grammar but not have enough opportunities to use English to communicate Meanwhile, various studies have shown that people spend about 70 percent of their waking hours engaged in communication activities, with about 10 percent of this communication time spent in writing, 15 percent in reading, 30 percent in speaking, and 45 percent in listening (Brooks and Heath, 1993) Therefore, it is worth spending time practicing speaking skills 10 Learning a foreign language opens up another world to an individual and thus changes them and their lives forever Seeing another world allows one to gain a perspective on their own lives and world In Vietnam, English has become very important since it is one of the mechanisms allowing the country to begin to integrate into the global world Leaning English without the ability to communicate effectively and fluently reduces a person’s overall ability to benefit from this precious gift of a foreign language What is presented above represents the results of one’s effort to understand the challenges facing teaching English fluency and to develop some insight into the possibilities available to surmount those challenges _ 118 BIBLIOGRAPHY Arnold, J 2003 Speak easy Humanising Language Teaching University of Seville, Spain Year 5; Issue 2; March 03 Beebe, S A and Beebe, S J 1994 Public Speaking Prentice Hall Regents Brooks, W D and Heath, R W 1993 Speech Communication Brown and Benchmark Publishers Brown, G and Yule, G 1983a Discourse Analysis Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Brown, G and Yule, G 1983b Teaching the Spoken Language Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Brown, H D 1994 “Teaching by Principles: an Interactive Approach to Language pedagogy” Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice Halls Regents Burkart, S.G 1998 Spoken Language: What it is and how to teach it Modules for the Personal Preparation of Teaching Assistants in Foreign Language DC: Center for Applied Linguistics Burns, A and Joyce, H 1997 Focus on Speaking Sydney: National Center for English Language Teaching and Research Bygate, M 1987 Speaking Oxford: Oxford University Press Byrne, D 1991 Teaching Oral English Longman Group U.K Ltd Byrns, J.H 1994 Speak for Yourself – An Introduction to Public Speaking McGraw-Hill, Inc Canale, M and Swain, M 1980 Theoretical bases of Communicative Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing Applied Linguistics, I 119 Carrasquillo, A.L 1994 Teaching English as a Second Language: A Resource Guide New York: Garland Publishing Carter, R and McCarthy, M 1995 Grammar and Spoken Language “Applied Linguistics, 16” Chastain, K 1988 Developing Second-Language Skills San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Chomsky, N 1988 Language and Problems of Knowledge Cambridge, MA: MIT Press Creswell, J W 1994 Research Design Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches Sage Publication, Inc Cunningsworth, A 1995 Choosing your Coursebook The Bath Press Dickinson, L 1987 Self-instruction in Language Learning Cambridge : Cambridge University Press Dobson, J M 1974 Effective Techniques for English Conversation Groups Newbury House Publishers Doff, A 1988 Teach English Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow Flozer, M C 1999 Improving Adult English Language Learners’ Speaking skill ERIC Digest Fowler, F.J 1988 Survey Research Methods Newbury Park, CA: Sage Harmer, J 1991 The Practice of English Language Teaching Longman Group UK Ltd Hawkins, E 1984 Awareness of Language: An Introduction Cambridge University Press 120 Hughes, A 1989 Testing for Language Teachers Cambridge University Press Hunt, G T 1987 Public Speaking Prentice Hall Hutchinson, T and Waters, A 1987 English for Specific Purposes – A learning-centered Approach Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Krahnke, Karl 1994 Teaching English as a Foreign/Second Language E526 Krashen, S D 1982 Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition Pergamon Press Lewis, G and Slade, C 1994 Critical Communication Prentice Hall Lightbown, P M 1993 How Languages Are Learned Oxford: OUP Lofty, John S 1996 More than lip service: Oracy's coming of age in Britain's national curriculum TESOL Quarterly, (28)1, 4-35 Long, M.h and Porter, P 1985 Group work, Inter-language talk and Second Language Acquisition TESOL Quarterly, 19 (2), 207 -228 Lynch, T 1996 Communication in the Language Classroom Oxford: Oxford University Press MacIntyre, P and Gardner R.C 1991 Investigating Language Class Anxiety Using The Focused Essay Technique Modern Language Journal, 75 (3), 296-304 Madsen, H S 1983 Techniques in Testing New York: Oxford University Press Markova, I and Foppa, K 1990 The Dynamics of Dialogues BPCC Wheatons Ltd, Exeter 121 Maslow, A H 1970 Motivation and Personality Second edition Harper and Row Matthews, Candace 1994 Speaking Solutions: Interactions, Presentations, Listening, and Pronunciation Skills Prentice Hall Regents McDonough, S H 1981 Psychology in Foreign Language Teaching London: George Allen & Unwin Mendelsohn, D J and Rubin, J 1995 A Guide for the Teaching of Second Language Listening San Diego: Dominie Press Nunan, D 1991 Language Teaching Methodology Prentice Hall International (UK) Ltd Nunan, D 1999 Second language Teaching & Learning Heinle & Heinle Publishers Richard, R and Rayner, S 1998 Cognitive Styles and Learning Strategies David Fulton Publishers Stevick, E 1980 Teaching Languages: A Way and Ways Rowley, MA: Newbury House Teaching and Research, Macquarie University, Sydney Stevick, E.1982 Teaching and Learning Languages Cambridge : CUP Swan, M and Smith, B Learner English 1987 Cambridge : CUP Tannen, D 1989 Talking Voices: Repetition, Dialogue and Imagery in Conversational Discourse Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Ur, Penny A Course in Language Teaching 1996 Cambridge : CUP 122 APPENDIX SURVEY of HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS The survey is about high school students’ practicing English speaking skills Please take a few minutes to answer the following questions Thank you in advance for your cooperation, help and consideration in this matter I Personal Information Name of School: _ Class Level: … 10 … 11 …12 Gender: … Female … Male Age (last birthday): How long have you been studying English? years months Do you take private English lessons outside of school? … No … Yes II Studying English Rank the following four skill areas in terms of their importance to you, giving the most important area a rank of “1” and the other areas other rank scores of 2, and with “4” being the least important area to you: _ Reading _ Writing _Speaking _Grammar Rank the following four skill areas in terms of their difficulty to learn, giving the most difficult area a rank of “1” and the other areas other rank scores of 2, and with “4” being the easiest area to learn: _ Reading _ Writing _Speaking How many students are there in your English classes? … 20 or less … 21 – 30 … 31 – 40 … 41 – 50 10 Is your school well-equipped for learning English? … Yes, good equipment and it is used effectively 123 _Grammar … It has good equipment but the equipment is not used effectively … No, it does not have good equipment for learning English 11 In your English classes, which language is used for explaining? … English Only … Both Languages but English is used more often than Vietnamese … Both Languages but Vietnamese is used more often than English … Vietnamese Only 12 How often you participate in group work and pair work? … every lesson … once or twice a week … once or twice a month … once or twice a semester … never 13.a Which of the following describes your English classes? … Teacher’s talking time is more than students’ talking time … Teacher’s talking time is equal to students’ talking time … Students’ talking time is more than teacher’s talking time 13.b How often you speak English in class? … every lesson … once or twice a week … once or twice a month … once or twice a semester … never 14 Have you ever taken part in an English oral test at school? … No … Yes 15 How would you rate your interest in practicing the dialogues in Further Practice section of the textbook? … very interested … somewhat interested … mostly bored … very bored 16 Do you think you can apply the language material in Further Practice (dialogues) in the textbooks to speaking English more confidently? 124 … Yes, the material helps me to speak English better … Yes, I can apply the material, but it does not seem to help me speak better …No, I have difficulty applying the material to English speaking 17 Compared with your classmates, how would you rate your English speaking skills? … better than most … about the same as others … below others … nonexistent 18 I think my English speaking skills are: … Excellent … Good … Just OK … Poor …Terrible 19 Which of the following is the most important problem for you when trying to learn to speak English? (Check Only One) … shyness … lack of language material … having no opportunities to speak English … others* * If you give other reasons, please specify 20 Do you have some recommendations on improving the teaching of English that would help you learn better; in all areas but especially in the area of speaking skills? Thank you so much for your time 125 KHẢO SÁT HỌC SINH TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG Chúng khảo sát việc luyện tập kỹ nói tiếng Anh học sinh trung học phổ thông Xin bạn dành chút thời gian trả lời câu hỏi sau Cám ơn bạn hợp tác, giúp đỡ,và quan tâm đến đề tài I Thông tin cá nhân Tên trường: _ Lớp: … lớp 10 Giới tính: … Nam … lớp 11 … lớp 12 … Nữ Tuổi: Bạn học tiếng Anh khoảng bao lâu? năm tháng Bạn có học tiếng Anh học trường không? … Không … Có II Thông tin việc học tiếng Anh Xếp theo thứ tự, viết số kỹ mà bạn cho quan trọng nhất, số 3, số kỹ quan trọng việc học tiếng Anh bạn _ Đọc _ Viết _ Nói _ Ngữ pháp Xếp theo thứ tự, viết số kỹ mà bạn cho khó học nhất, số 3, số kỹ dễ học việc học tiếng Anh bạn _ Đọc _ Viết _ Nói _ Ngữ pháp Có học sinh lớp bạn? … từ 20 trở xuống … 21 – 30 … 31 – 40 … 41 – 50 10 Trường bạn có trang bị tốt cho việc học tiếng Anh không? (Lớp học, phòng vi tính nghe nhìn, sách tham khảo, dụng cụ trực quan …) … Trường bạn có thiết bị tốt sử dụng hiệu … Trường bạn có thiết bị tốt khôngø sử dụng hiệu qua.û 126 … Trường bạn trang thiết bị cần thiết cho việc học tiếng Anh 11 Trong lớp tiếng Anh bạn, học giảng … Bằng tiếng Anh … Bằng tiếng Anh nhiều tiếng Việt … Bằng tiếng Việt nhiều tiếng Anh … Bằng tiếng Việt 12 Bạn có thường xuyên tham gia thảo luận theo tổ, theo nhóm giờø học tiếng Anh không? … tiết học có tham gia … hai lần tuần … hai lần tháng … hai lần học kỳ … không 13a Trong học tiếng Anh lớp bạn … Thầy nói nhiều trò (thầy giảng, øtrò nghe phát biểu) … Thầy trò tham gia học … Trò nói nhiều thầy (trả lời câu hỏi ù, đóng góp ý kiến vào học) 13b Bạn có thường nói tiếng Anh lớp không? … tiết học có tham gia … hai lần tuần … hai lần tháng … hai lần học kỳ … không 14 Bạn có dự kỳ thi nói tiếng Anh chưa?… khôngù 15 Theo bạn học Further Practice sách giáo khoa _ … Rất hứng thú … Tương đối hứng thú … Hầu tẻ nhạt … Rất tẻ nhạt 127 … có 16 Bạn có cho bạn áp dụng ngữ liêu học phần Further Practice giúp bạn nói tiếng Anh cách tự tin không? … Có ngữ liêu phần Further Practice giúp bạn nói tiếng Anh tốt … Có, bạn áp dụng ngữ liêu phần Further Practice không giúp bạn nói tiếng Anh tốt … Không, bạn áp dụng ngữ liêu phần Further 17 Bạn đánh giá khả nói tiếng Anh so với bạn khác lớp … giỏi bạn khác … bạn khác … không bạn khác … 18 Bạn nghó khả nói tiếng Anh bạn … Xuất sắc … Giỏi … Trung bình … Dở … Rất dở 19 Điều làm bạn lo ngại nói tiếng Anh? (Chỉ chọn lý do) … mắc cở … đủ từ vựng cấu trúc câu để diễn đạt ý … dịp để nói tiếng Anh … Lý khác* * Nếu lý khác xin bạn ghi roõ: _ 20 Bạn có đề nghị để cải thiện việc giảng dạy tiếng Anh nhằm giúp bạn học tốt hơn, đặc biệt kỹ nói tiếng Anh? Một lần xin cảm ơn bạn 128 SURVEY of TEACHERS OF ENGLISH The survey is about high school students’ practicing English speaking skills Please take a few minutes to answer the following questions Thank you in advance for your cooperation, help and consideration in this matter I Demographic Information Name of School: Gender: … Female … Male Age (last birthday): How long have you taught at this school? How long have you been teaching English? _ Do you give private English lessons? … No … Yes II Teaching English Rank the importance of each of the following skills for a student graduating from high school READING … not important … important … very important WRITING … not important … important … very important SPEAKING … not important … important … very important GRAMMAR … not important … important … very important Rank the following four skill areas in terms of their difficulty to teach, giving the most difficult area a rank of “1” and the other areas other rank scores of 2, and with “4” being what you think is the easiest to teach: _ Reading _ Writing _Speaking _Grammar 9a How many students should be in an English class? … 20 or less … 21 – 30 … 31 – 40 9b How many students are there in your English classes? 129 … 41 – 50 … 20 or less … 21 – 30 … 31 – 40 … 41 – 50 10 Is your school well-equipped for teaching and learning English? … Yes, good equipment and it is used effectively … It has good equipment but the equipment is not used effectively … No, it does not have good equipment for teaching English 11 In your English classes, which language is used for explaining? … English Only … Both Languages but English is used more often than Vietnamese … Both Languages but Vietnamese is used more often than English … Vietnamese Only 12 How often you use group work and pair work in your classroom? … Frequently … Regularly, but not frequently … Sometimes … Rarely* … Never* * If you rarely or never use group work or pair work, can you tell us the reason? _ 13 Which of the following describes your English classes? … Teacher’s talking time is more than students’ talking time … Teacher’s talking time is equal to students’ talking time … Students’ talking time is more than teacher’s talking time 14 How often you give your students an oral test of their English? … Every month … Every semester … Every school year … Never 15 How would you rate the high school students’ interest in practicing the dialogues in Further Practice section of the textbook? … Very interested … Somewhat interested … Mostly bored … Very bored 130 16 Can high school students apply the language material that they have learnt from Further Practice in the textbooks to speaking in English confidently? … Yes, they can … Yes, they can, but not fluently … No, they can’t 17 How would you rate the Further Practice section in the textbooks currently in use in your high school? … Very useful …Somewhat useful … Rather useless … Very useless 18 How would you rate the practice of the dialogues in the English textbooks currently in use? … Outstanding; more than sufficient for the development of speaking skills … Suitable and enough for students to improve their speaking skills … Not suitable, not enough for students to improve their speaking skills … Totally unsuitable, they nothing to improve a student’s speaking skills 19 Rank the following factors according to how you feel they influence your students’ ability to develop speaking skills in classroom: (Give the factor with the most influence on speaking skills a “1” and rank the other factors 2, 3, 4, and with “5” being the least influence) equipment testing teaching methods textbooks syllabus 20 Do you have some recommendations on improving the teaching of English to high school students in all areas but especially in the area of speaking skills? _ 131 A map of the schools where the surveys were done Tests Three units from the textbooks 132