How to improve the teaching and learning of spoken english to preintermediate english learners at afu foreign language centre

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES HOW TO IMPROVE THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF SPOKEN ENGLISH TO PREINTERMEDIATE ENGLISH LEARNERS AT AFU FOREIGN LANGUAGE CENTRE A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL) Supervisor : ĐẶNG THỊ HƯỞNG, EdD Student : VÕ THỊ PHƯƠNG OANH Ho Chi Minh, 2005 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled “How to improve the teaching and learning of spoken English to pre-intermediate English learners at AFU foreign language centre” is my own work This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution Ho Chi Minh City, September 10, 2005 Vo Thi Phuong Oanh i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to express my deep gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr Dang Thi Huong, who provided valuable comments and support in the preparation and completion of this thesis Without her encouragement and constant guidance, I could not have finished it She was always there to meet and talk about my ideas, and to ask me good questions to help me think through my problems I am greatly indebted to all my teachers for their dedication and helpful instruction during the course I would take this opportunity to send my special thanks to all those who helped in the study, in particular, Ms Do Chau Cuc Phuong, Ms Vo Thi Nu Anh, Ms Le Thi Ngan Vang and Mr Le Hoang Dung for their help with the data collection for the study; all the learners participating in the study for their cooperation; and all my colleagues and my friends for their unfailing support, friendship and enjoyable company Last, but not least, thanks go to my family; to my parents who continue to give of themselves so that their children will prosper; to my brother and sister for their love, understanding and support ii ABSTRACT This thesis aims 1) to investigate the EFL speaking problems and activities of the pre-intermediate learners at one of the foreign language centres, Agriculture and Forestry University in Ho Chi Minh City; 2) to examine factors affecting their communicative competence in the target language; and 3) to suggest a way in which speaking may be more effectively taught and learnt Both quantitive and qualitive research methods were employed in this study 114 questionnaires were delivered to the learners at one of the foreign language centres to get their ideas about learning spoken English Interviews were also conducted with eight teachers working at AFU foreign language centre so that their experiences as well as recommendations in conducting oral English class can be obtained to improve the learners’ English speaking ability The results of the study revealed that (1) the learners’ previous language learning experience and affective factors such as anxiety, shyness, self-esteem; their fear of making mistakes; and their shortage of vocabulary prevent them from taking part in speaking activities in the classroom; (2) the learners lack learning environment to practise spoken English, and (3) the learners are still unfamiliar with communication skills or strategies in the target language The study also emphasizes the importance of communicative approach in teaching speaking skill iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Certificate of originality i Acknowledgement ii Abstract iii Table of contents iv List of tables vi List of figures vii Abbreviations viii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 The aims of the study 1.3 Overview of the study Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The role of speaking in the four language skills 2.2 The differences between spoken language and written language10 2.3 Communicative competence 15 2.4 Factors influencing EFL learners’ oral communication 20 2.4.1 Personality factors 20 2.4.2 Sociocultural factors 26 2.4.3 Language environment 27 2.5 Teaching methods often used in Vietnam 28 2.4.1 The Grammar-translation method 28 2.4.2 The Communicative Approach 29 2.6 The roles of teachers and learners 30 iv 2.7 The important roles of teaching materials 32 2.8 Summary 34 Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 35 3.1 Research questions 35 3.2 Research design 36 3.2.1 Characteristics of subjects 37 3.2.2 Instruments 39 3.2.3 Data collection procedures 43 3.3 Summary 43 Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 45 4.1 Data analysis 45 4.1.1 Learners’ responses to the questionnaire 45 4.1.2 Teachers’ responses to interviews 56 4.2 Summary 67 Chapter 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 68 5.1 Conclusions 68 5.2 Recommendations 71 5.3 Summary 74 BIBLIOGRAPHY 75 APPENDIX Questionnaire (in Vietnamese) 80 APPENDIX Interview with Vietnamese teachers of English at AFU foreign language centers 84 APPENDIX Role plays 85 APPENDIX Games 87 v LIST OF TABLES Page 2.1: Classification of Communication Strategies 19 3.1: Summary of the questionnaire informants’ characteristics 38 3.2: Summary of the interview informants’ characteristics 39 4.1: Learners’ frequency of practising English skills in classroom 46 4.2: Learners’ frequency of practising spoken English outside classroom48 4.3: Learners’ difficulties in English-speaking class 50 4.4: Learners’ difficulties in speaking with foreigners 51 4.5: Learners’ obstacles in managing conversations with foreigners 52 4.6: Learners’ favourite classroom activities 55 vi LIST OF FIGURES Page 4.1: Learners’ enjoyment of English speaking 46 4.2: Learners’ feeling about English speaking 49 4.3: Learners’ favourite group activities 54 vii ABBREVIATIONS CUP: Cambridge University Press OUP: Oxford University Press EFL: English as a Second Language AFU: Agriculture and Forestry University L2: Second Language CSs: Communication Strategies TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language CLT: Communicative Language Teaching Viii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION This study investigates the speaking problems and activities of Vietnamese learners of English at one of the foreign language centres at Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU), Ho Chi Minh City and examines factors influencing their communicative competence It is hoped that the findings will help to improve the learners’ speaking ability in the target language This chapter presents the background to the study, the aims and the overview of the thesis 1.1 Background to the study Vietnamese economy system has changed dramatically after the “opendoor” policy was implemented in 1986 These changes have not only invited many foreign investors and visitors to Vietnam but also provided Vietnamese with opportunities to go abroad As a result, the number of Vietnamese who needs English for employment, education, and especially for international communication has sharply increased That’s why in recent years, English has been taught not only in schools, universities, but also in most foreign language centres “English has undergone explosive growth, hundreds of language centres have been established all over the country with an overwhelming majority of Vietnamese learners studying English” (Nguyen Ngoc Quang, cited in Do Huy Thinh, 1996: 4) 10 As I mentioned above, Vietnamese learners have difficulties in listening to and producing spoken English Their poor listening ability can affect their speaking proficiency So, I would like to recommend that the teacher should use English, not only to teach, but also to communicate with the learners to help them get familiar with spoken English Listening and speaking skills should always be integrated In addition, teachers ought to point out the differences between written and spoken language to the learners in order to guide them to know how to use correct, short and simple syntactic structures and vocabulary when speaking instead of employing long and complicated ones which are usually found in written English The last part of this section focuses on techniques which should be used in English-speaking classes First, Vietnamese learners need to improve their vocabulary source and their ability of using language orally Therefore, the teacher need to pay more attention to how to teach vocabulary effectively and communicatively Apart from lexical meaning, language use must be explained and illustrated clearly to make sure that the learners can understand and use the new word correctly Second, in the light of discourse analysis and competences in language teaching and learning with a focus on communicative competence, we should make use of dialogues in the textbook to teach spoken English 84 Dialogues can serve very well in training our Vietnamese learners’ pronunciation, word stress, sentence stress and intonation Dialogues can also supply conversational routines and expressions necessary and popular for oral communication in the target language Third, pair-work, group-work, discussion, role-play, game, etc are supposed to develop the learners’ communicative competence Through these interactional activities, together with the teacher’s help, the learners can learn to manage a conversation to achieve their communication purposes Especially, when having these activities, the learners should also be encouraged to use communicative strategies (CSs) Not all CSs are good, however The learners should avoid CSs like language switch, topic avoidance, message abandonment…Other strategies such as approximation, word-coinage, circumlocution, mine should be used Fourth, appropriate teaching materials are a must for successful lessons Even with an ideal textbook, supplemental materials are necessary So, I suggest that we should introduce some more topics and exercises suitable to Vietnamese learners’ situations 5.3 Summary This chapter concludes the study It gives some practical recommendations on how to improve the teaching and learning of spoken language to pre-intermediate students at one of the foreign 85 language centres at Agriculture and Forestry University in Ho Chi Minh City Suitable materials selected have also had some significance to the success of Vietnamese learners of English in the Vietnamese context It is hoped that these suggestions will benefit both teachers and learners in teaching and learning English speaking skill at foreign language centres BIBLIOGRAPHY Amy B M Tsui (1995) English Conversation Hongkong: OUP Asher, R E., and J M Y Simpson (Eds) The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (4): 2028 – 2032 Bogdan, R C., and S K Biklen (1992) Qualitative Research for Education: An introduction to Theory and Methods MA: Allyn and Bacon Bonvillain, N (1993) Language, culture, and communication: the meaning of messages USA: Prentice-Hall, Inc Brown, D H (1994) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc Brown, D H (1994) Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc Brown, G and G Yule (1989) Teaching the Spoken Language Cambridge: CUP Brown, J D (1997) Designing Surveys of Language Programs In D Nunan, and D Griffee (Eds) Classroom 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Có Không 5a Nếu có, xin cho biết sao:…………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 5b Nếu không, xin cho biết sao: …………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Trước bạn luyện tập kỹ tiếng Anh lớp? Không Hiếm Thỉnh thoảng Thường xuyên Rất thường xuyên Đọc Viết Ngữ pháp Nói Nghe Bạn cảm thấy học nói? Tự tin Bình thường E ngại Khó khăn bạn gặp phải nói tiếng Anh lớp: (có thể có nhiều lựa chọn) Mắc cỡ Sợ bị cười Quá lo lắng Tự ti Thiếu vốn từ Ý kiến khác:………………………………………………………………………… Lỗi bạn thường mắc phải nói tiếng Anh (có thể có nhiểu lựa chọn) Phát âm sai Sai ngữ điệu Sai dấu nhấn Dùng sai từ Sai ngữ pháp Bị liú lưỡi Ý kiến khác:………………………………………………………………………… 10 Trong học nói diễn đạt ý tiếng Anh bạn (có thể có nhiều lựa chọn) Hỏi giáo viên Hỏi bạn Chen từ tiếng Việt vào Dùng cử chỉ, điệu thay lời nói Cố dùng tiếng Anh dù không xác 92 Không tiếp tục nói Ý kiến khác:………………………………………………………………………… 11 Bạn cảm thấy tự nhiên, thoải mái nói Một Trong nhóm Với giáo viên 12.Bạn thích luyện tập nhiều Phát âm Ngữ điệu Các mẫu câu thông dụng Bài tập tình Các quy tắc giao tiếp Ý kiến khác:…………………………………………………………………… 13 Bạn thích tham gia hoạt động lớp? Trò chơi Thảo luận theo nhóm Đọc mẩu hội thoại Phân vai đóng kịck theo tình Kề chuyện Hỏi/ trả lời câu hỏi Ý kiến khác:………………………………………………………………………… Phần III NÓI TIẾNG ANH NGOÀI LỚP 14 Bạn thường có hội luyện nói tiếng Anh với: (có thể có nhiều lựa chọn) Không Hiếm Thỉnh Thường Rất thường thoảng xuyên xuyên Người Việt ( bạn, đồng nghiệp, người thân ) Người nước ( bạn, đồng nghiệp, khách du lịch) 15 Bạn cảm thấy nói chuyện tiếng Anh trực tiếp với người nước ngoài? Tự tin Bình thường E ngại 16 Khó khăn bạn gặp phải giao tiếp với người nước ngoài(có thể có nhiều lựa chọn) Khó nghe Hạn chế từ vựng Hạn chế ngữ pháp Không am hiểu đề tài họ nói 93 Ý kiến khác:……………………………………………………………………… 17 Trong giao tiếp với người nước bạn dễ dàng Có Không Bắt chuyện với họ Kết thúc câu chuyện Chuyển đề tài Tiếp lời họ Chọn phong cách nói phù hợp 18 Trong nói chuyện với người nước ngoài, bạn làm diễn đạt ý tiếng Anh? (có thể có nhiều lựa chọn) Dùng tiếng mẹ đẻ, hy vọng người ta hiểu Dùng cử chỉ, điệu giải thích Cố dùng tiếng Anh dù không xác Dừng câu chuyện Ý kiến khác:……………………………………………………………………… Phần IV GIÁO TRÌNH HỌC 19 Giáo trình dạy nói phù hợp Hoàn toàn không đồng ý Hoàn toàn đồng ý 20 Ý kiến bạn mẫu hội thoại giáo trình bạn học (có thể có nhiều lựa chọn) Có chủ đề thích hợp Ngắn gọn, dễ tập nói Có từ để học Có cấu trúc câu giao tiếp thường gặp Không hấp dẫn Ý kiến khác:……………………………………………………………………… 21 Theo bạn học mầu hội thoại hiệu quả? (có thể có nhiều chọn lựa) Lặp lại nhiều lần theo băng Học thuộc lòng Phân vai luyện nói 94 Luyện nói dựa gợi ý mẩu hội thoại 22 Bạn cảm thấy tập nhỏ sách nào? (có thể có nhiều lựa chọn) Khó Dễ Phù hợp Hữu ích Không hấp dẫn Ý kiến khác:…………………………………………………………………… 23 Bạn hy vọng việc học nói theo giáo trình giúp bạn cải thiện điều gì? (có thể có nhiều lựa chọn) Có thêm vốn từ Biết cách phát âm ngữ điệu Biết cách trì đoạn hội thoại Biết cách phát triển đoạn hội thoại Ý kiến khác:……………………………………………………………………… 24 Để nâng cao hiệu dạy học nói tiếng Anh, bạn thấy cần cải thiện gì? 24a.VỀ PHÍA GIÁO TRÌNH:…………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… 24b.VỀ PHÍA GIÁO VIÊN:……………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX INTERVIEW WITH VIETNAMESE TEACHERS OF ENGLISH AT NLU FOREIGN LANGUAEG CENTRE Những câu hỏi nhằm thu thập liệu cho đề tài nghiên cứu Mong thầy cô vui lòng dành chút thời gian trả lời câu hỏi sau Câu trả lời thầy cô quan trọng thành công đề tài sử dụng vào mục đích nghiên cứu không nhằm mục đích khác Xin chân thành cảm ơn Tuổi: Giới tính: 95 Nghề nghiệp: Thâm niên giảng dạy tiếng Anh: Bằng cấp cao nhất: Theo thầy cô học viên gặp khó khăn học nói tiếng Anh lớp? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Theo thầy cô nhân tố ảnh hưởng đến khả giao tiếp tiếng Anh học viên? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Các thầy cô dùng phương pháp để cải thiện tình hình? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Bản thân thầy cô gặp khó khăn dạy nói? ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX 3: Role play Learner A Learner B You meet B in the street You meet A in the street A: Great B A: B: B: Greet A A: ask B where he is goinh A: B: B: say you are walking for a walk A: Suggest somewhere to go together A: B: B: Reject A’ suggestion Make a different Suggestion 96 A: Accept B’s suggestion A: B: B: Express pleasure Role play Learner A: You are staying London It’s the weekend and you’re fed up with the Tower, Buckingham Palace and picture postcards But there’s more to see in Briyan than just London, and you decide to explore the outside world You might go to: The Berkshire Game Park; the Boating Regatta; the Railway Exhibition; the Horse Show Choose one of these Your partner works at the atation information desk Find out from him: How frequent trains are How long the journey takes Train departure times (from London) Train arrival times (at your destination) Whether you have to change LearnerB: Pretend that you work in the information office at Paddington Station in London Give your partner the information he asks for usingthe table below London (Paddington) 09.00 09.20 09.40 10.00 Slough 09.20 09.40 10.00 10.20 Twyford (for The Berkshire Game Park 09.50 09.55 10.30 Reading (for the Boating Regatta) 09.35 10.15 Didcot (for the Railway Exhibition) 10.00 10.40 Oxford (for the Horse Show) 10.15 10.55 10.35 97 APPENDIX 4: VOCABULRY GAME Tme: 5’ Aim: warm up, review vocabulary Preparation: none Each student is required to speak out a word which is related, to some extent, to the given the given word by the previous student: sea – fish – water – river – stream GUESSING GAME Time: 10’ Aim: improvement of mime, paraphrase Preparation: none One volunteer of a group is asked to sit facing the audience, in front of the blackboard on which there is an English word given by the teacher Other members in the group can mime or paraphrase in such a way that the volutary student can speak out the correct word 98