The effects of conversation recording on improving english speaking performance of non english majored freshmen at thu dau mot university m a

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY –HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE THE EFFECTS OF CONVERSATION RECORDING ON IMPROVING ENGLISH SPEAKING PERFORMANCE OF NON-ENGLISH MAJORED FRESHMEN AT THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By NGUYEN THI MY DUYEN Instructed by TRAN THI THANH DIEU, Ph.D HO CHI MINH, MAY 2019 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY –HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE THE EFFECTS OF CONVERSATION RECORDING ON IMPROVING ENGLISH SPEAKING PERFORMANCE OF NON-ENGLISH MAJORED FRESHMEN AT THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By NGUYEN THI MY DUYEN Instructed by TRAN THI THANH DIEU, Ph.D HO CHI MINH, MAY 2019 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis entitled: “The effects of conversation recording on improving English speaking performance of non-English majored freshmen at Thu Dau Mot University” in terms of the statement of Requirement for the Thesis in Master’s Program issued by Higher Degree Committee This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution Ho Chi Minh, July 11, 2019 Nguyen Thi My Duyen i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that, I, Nguyen Thi My Duyen, being a candidate for the Degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or production of theses Ho Chi Minh, July 11, 2019 Nguyen Thi My Duyen ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to many individuals who supported me during the implementation of this thesis First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor- Dr Tran Thi Thanh Dieu for her helpful advice and endless patience reading my drafts over and over again with valuable feedback Without her assistance, this thesis would have been impossible I extend heartfelt thanks to all my lecturers of the postgraduate program for their instruction and dedication I am also deeply grateful to Mr Nguyen Van HungDirector of the English Center at Thu Dau Mot University, who has created favorable conditions for me to pursue the Master’s program and finish my thesis I would like to thank my close friends, Ms Phan Thi Kieu Mi, Ms Huynh Thi Thuy Dung and Ms Luong Thi Kim Phung who have been inspiring and motivating my doing research With their constant encouragement, this thesis would still be far from finished Last but not least, I would like to dedicate this thesis to my beloved mother and father who have always stayed beside me and supported me in any possible ways they can With their love, care and kindness, I have been confident to proceed my study iii ABSTRACT Conversation recording activities have long been adopted by teachers to improve students’ speaking skills and many researchers have examined the effects of this treatment in language teaching Still, few studies have been carried out to closely examine the extent to which conversation recording affects students’ speaking performance Therefore, the current research was conducted to fulfill this gap The present quasi-experimental study investigated (1) the extent to which this treatment impacted students’ speaking performance and (2) students’ attitudes towards the use of this treatment in studying English speaking skill Sixty-one first year non-English majors joining a twelve-week course participated in this study All the participants of both groups held detailed discussions about given topics and spent time practicing their English conversations in class One different thing is that those in the experimental group were requested to record their conversations and submit them to the teacher with feedback on their recordings whilst students in the control group did not experience this treatment Quantitative data were gathered from students’ pre-test, post-test and their responses to the questionnaire Qualitative data were collected from the teacher and students’ feedback forms as well as their replies to the structured interviews After the training course, the research shows that students in both control and experimental groups improved their English speaking performance However, the experimental group produced more positive effects on their speaking performance than the control group did Also, data from both of the questionnaire and the structured interviews indicated that students in the experimental group took positive attitudes towards the treatment Eventually, the present study offers insights to those who consider adopting this treatment to their classrooms Key words: conversation recording, English speaking performance iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1.1.1 The importance of teaching and learning English speaking skill in the context of this study 1.1.2 ELF non-English majored freshmen’s speaking problems at TDMU 1.1.3 Speaking teachers’ problems at TDMU 1.1.4 Recording technique in English speaking teaching and learning 1.2 AIMS OF THE STUDY 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 1.6 ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 11 2.1 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS 11 2.1.1 Conversation recording 11 2.1.2 Speaking performance 12 2.2 PEDAGOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS OF ENGLISH SPEAKING PERFORMANCE 13 2.2.1 Aspects of speaking performance 13 2.2.2 Types of speaking performance 16 2.2.3 Factors affecting speaking performance 19 2.2.3.1 External factors 19 vi 2.2.3.2 Internal factors 20 2.3 THE APPLICATION OF RECORDING ACTIVITIES IN EFL SPEAKING CLASSES 21 2.3.1 Pedagogical rationale for utilizing recording activities in an EFL speaking class 21 2.3.2 Learners’ attitudes towards the treatment 25 2.3.3 Previous research about the application of recording activities in EFL speaking classes 26 2.4 RESEARCH GAPS 29 2.5 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY 30 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 32 3.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES 32 3.2 CONTEXT OF THE STUDY 33 3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN 35 3.3.1 Mixed methods 35 3.3.2 The use of mixed methods in this study 38 3.3.2.1 In research question 38 3.3.2.2 In research question 41 3.3.3 Research materials 42 3.3.4 The recording’s content 43 3.3.5 Variables 43 3.4 PARTICIPANTS 44 3.4.1 Sampling method 44 3.4.2 Selection of participants 45 vii 3.4.2.1 Sample size and reasons for selecting participants 45 3.4.2.2 The control group and the experimental group 46 3.4.2.3 The teacher and the raters 49 3.6 RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS 53 3.6.1 Tests 54 3.6.1.1 Pre-test 55 3.6.1.2 Post-test 56 3.6.2 Scoring Rubric 57 3.6.3 Inter-rating students’ speaking 58 3.6.4 Feedback forms for students’ speaking performance 60 3.6.5 Questionnaire for the experimental group 62 3.6.5.1 Rationale for questionnaire 62 3.6.5.2 Detailed description of the questionnaire 63 3.6.6 Structured interview 67 3.6.6.1 Rationale for interview 67 3.6.6.2 Detailed description of the interview 69 3.7 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE 69 3.7.1 Pre-test administration 70 3.7.2 Students’ recordings and feedback forms collection 70 3.7.3 Post-test administration 71 3.7.4 Questionnaire administration 71 3.7.5 Structured interviews administration 71 3.8 DATA ANALYSIS PROCEDURE 72 3.8.1 Research question 72 viii 3.8.2 Research question 75 CHAPTER RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 77 4.1 RESEARCH QUESTION 77 4.1.1 Analysis of data 77 4.1.2 Discussion of results 92 4.2 RESEARCH QUESTION 93 4.2.1 Analysis of data 93 4.2.2 Discussion of results 105 4.3 SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS 108 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 109 5.1 CONCLUSION 109 5.2 PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR EFL SPEAKING INTRUCTION 110 5.3 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 114 5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 115 REFERENCES 116 APPENDICES 122 APPENDIX A: SPEAKING TASKS FOR PRACTICE 122 APPENDIX B: SPEAKING TASKS FOR PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST 125 APPENDIX C: SCORING RUBRIC 127 APPENDIX D.1: BẢNG KHẢO SÁT 129 APPENDIX D.2: QUESTIONNAIRE 133 APPENDIX E.1: CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN 138 APPENDIX E.2: QUESTIONS OF STRUCTURED INTERVIEW 142 APPENDIX F.1: STUDENT’S INTERVIEW 146 ix Việc ghi âm lại đoạn hội thoại để bạn giáo viên nghe nhận xét có khiến em phải quan tâm nhiếu chất lượng nói khơng? Tại sao? 139 Em có nghĩ việc ghi âm lại đoạn hội thoại để bạn giáo viên nghe nhận xét giúp nâng cao chất lượng nói em khơng?  Nếu có, kĩ nói em cải thiện nào? Em cho ví dụ cụ thể khơng?  Nếu khơng, em giải thích sao? 140 Em có gặp vấn đề tham gia hoạt động ghi âm đưa phản hồi cho ghi âm khơng? Nếu có vấn đề gì? Em có phương hướng để khắc phục vấn đề đó? - 141 APPENDIX E.2: QUESTIONS OF STRUCTURED INTERVIEW Good morning, I will ask you some questions about conversation recording activities in this course In addition to replying those questions below, you can also supply me with more information as well as express your own opinion of these activities Hopefully, you will sincerely respond to my questions Thank you very much for your contribution! Were you interested in conversation recording activities? Why or Why not? - Do you think that conversation recording activities were helpful to you? 142 If so, why were they helpful to you? If not, why not? - Did the fact that you had to make an English conversation recording and send it to your partner and teacher for their feedback make you pay more attention to the quality of your speaking? Why or Why not? 143 - Do you think that English conversation recording activities helped you improve your speaking quality? If so, how was your speaking improved? Can you give me a concrete example? If not, why not? 144 - Did you face any problems when taking participate in this recording activities? If so, what were the problems? Have you adopted any solutions? - 145 APPENDIX F.1: STUDENT’S INTERVIEW 1 Were you interested in conversation recording activities? Why or Why not? To be honest, at the first time, I did not like it much because it seemed strange to me and I had not done it before I supposed that it might be time-consuming Now, after the course, I think I like it After the procedure of recording, I have an intimate partner who is always ready to speak English with me Do you think that conversation recording activities were helpful to you? If so, why were they helpful to you? If not, why not? To me, it is helpful Normally, I am a kind of lazy student I rarely practice English speaking at home Recording activities forced me to be more hardworking and give me more chances to speak English Did the fact that you had to make an English conversation recording and send it to your partner and teacher for their feedback make you pay more attention to the quality of your speaking? Why or Why not? I care much about what I speak because my teacher and friend will listen to recordings and assess my English speaking Do you think that English conversation recording activities helped you improve your speaking quality? If so, how was your speaking improved? Can you give me a concrete example? If not, why not? 146 Yes, of course I can learn some good phrase from my friends (i.e “to dress up”- dressing in formal clothes) Also, day by day, my English pronunciation is gradually improved Previously, when I spoke English, I had a habit of putting “s” everywhere For example, I pronounced the word “went” (/went/) in the sentence “I went there with my close friend” into /wents/ At present, I try to quit this habit of speaking Besides, I pay more attention to pronounce “ed” in the past simple tense A case of it is that the verb “liked” is not pronounced as /ˈlaɪkɪd/ It pronounced as /ˈlaɪkt/ Did you face any problems when taking participate in this recording activities? If so, what were the problems? Have you adopted any solutions? In some first recordings, due to lacking experience, much ambient sound or parasitic sound was recorded too It partly annoyed me since the speech was sometimes interrupted I had to listen to it many times to give feedback Later on, both of my partner and I agree that library seems to be the best place to record our conversation Moreover, I did see some other friends in class use software to remove background noise I think that in case we not have a quiet place to record conversations, we can try this way 147 APPENDIX F.2: STUDENT’S INTERVIEW Were you interested in conversation recording activities? Why or Why not? Definitely yes I love trying new things Do you think that conversation recording activities were helpful to you? If so, why were they helpful to you? If not, why not? Yes, in some ways We had to record a topic which had been guided in the previous lesson This can be seen as a good way of revision I can remember vocabulary as well as grammatical structures in the old lesson by using them in the conversation Sometimes, I find it more effective rather than trying to learn them by heart Also, English conversation recording can be a good preparation for the upcoming speaking skill end-of-course examination We all have to take the final test in the same form like that Did the fact that you had to make an English conversation recording and send it to your partner and teacher for their feedback make you pay more attention to the quality of your speaking? Why or Why not? I made a great effort in recordings I want my friends and teacher to help me improve my speaking skill Do you think that English conversation recording activities helped you improve your speaking quality? If so, how was your speaking improved? Can you give me a concrete example? 148 If not, why not? I think it did help me in some ways It made me find out some mistakes that I had not realized before For instance, “chances” is pronounced as /tʃænsɪz/, not /tʃæns/; “wear” is pronounced as /wer/, not / wər/ After the process of listening to recordings, giving and receiving feedback, I get into a habit of looking up online dictionary to check pronunciation of some words that I am not sure Did you face any problems when taking participate in this recording activities? If so, what were the problems? Have you adopted any solutions? Honestly, I am a technophobe; thus, at the first sight, I found it hard to make a recording on my computer-the thing I had not done before I had to google a lot of things from how to use “Sound Recorder” device on the computer to how to operate headsets for recordings the voice Now, I feel comfortable when using technology to make recordings 149 APPENDIX F.3: STUDENT’S INTERVIEW Were you interested in conversation recording activities? Why or Why not? Well, it is OK For me, making recordings is a kind of assignment and our duty is to conduct it Do you think that conversation recording activities were helpful to you? If so, why were they helpful to you? If not, why not? In my view point, it is helpful for two reasons Firstly, recordings let me be aware of my mistakes Also, after making recordings, those mistakes make a strong impression on me Maybe, I have remembered them for a long time Did the fact that you had to make an English conversation recording and send it to your partner and teacher for their feedback make you pay more attention to the quality of your speaking? Why or Why not? I care about my task I not want to make a recording with full of mistakes I hope that my English conversation recording will be better after each recording time Do you think that English conversation recording activities helped you improve your speaking quality? If so, how was your speaking improved? Can you give me a concrete example? If not, why not? After this project, I start to pay more attention to details when speaking Carefully understanding the tense used in the topic is an ideal example In the first recording, we were required to talk about my last journey At first, 150 we mentioned all things about our plan for a long trip to Da Lat from means of transportation, weather to food However, in a careless way, we did not focus on the requirement of the topic “Last journey” means that we have to talk about something in the past, not a travel plan in the near future or a graphic description of one place in the present tense Moreover, in class, we did not have enough time to assess the quality of our English conversation Through making recordings, listening to recordings and giving feedback, I can learn from mistakes my mistakes and my partner’s too Did you face any problems when taking participate in this recording activities? If so, what were the problems? Have you adopted any solutions? I believe that time constraint is a trouble for us My partner and I come from two different majors Both of us have different classes to take at school Hence, setting a schedule to make a recording is not that easy Also, many deadlines from other subjects makes us find it difficult to spend a tremendous time to discuss what to speak, prepare a speaking script, make a video and give feedback on it 151 APPENDIX F.4: STUDENT’S INTERVIEW Were you interested in conversation recording activities? Why or Why not? I like it Instead of taking part in English clubs, making an English conversation recording can be supposed as a good way to boost my English speaking skill Do you think that conversation recording activities were helpful to you? If so, why were they helpful to you? If not, why not? I concur that making recordings is more or less useful to me To be clearer, I have more chances to build up English conversation with familiar topics in the student’s book namely tourism, plans, technology, film and so.on Step by step, this let me enjoy confidence of getting in to English conversation about familiar topics with friends Did the fact that you had to make an English conversation recording and send it to your partner and teacher for their feedback make you pay more attention to the quality of your speaking? Why or Why not? Yes I really want to know after the process of making recordings, how much is the quality of my English speaking improved? Do you think that English conversation recording activities helped you improve your speaking quality? If so, how was your speaking improved? Can you give me a concrete example? If not, why not? 152 I think so I can learn the way of using words from my partner who is better at English than I am A clear example is that in the previous time, I often said:” I like animation films more than action films.”; now, I turn it into “I prefer animation films to action films” or just simply, “I would rather watch animation films” Sometimes, I find it helpful In class, the teacher does not have time for giving feedback on our conversation However, when making recordings and submitting them to her, we can receive full feedback Also, listening to recording and have feedback, I can realize my mistakes, indentifying my partner’s mistakes, adjusting my speaking conversation later Did you face any problems when taking participate in this recording activities? If so, what were the problems? Have you adopted any solutions? I not confront any big problems However, at first, seeking a partner to make recordings with is not easy for me I was not good at English and I was quite shy Hence, I was not confident of offering a suggestion of forming a pair with someone Fortunately, my partner came to sit next to me and suggested doing the task together Then, we become friends Until now, we are keeping in touch with each other 153