Using visual aids to motivate second year english non majors in speaking at vietnamese american vocational traning college (vatc) a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requ

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES ********* USING VISUAL AIDS TO MOTIVATE SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH NON-MAJORS IN SPEAKING AT VIETNAMESE AMERICAN VOCATIONAL TRAINING COLLEGE (VATC) A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MASTER’S DEGREE IN TESOL By PHAM NGOC DIEM Supervisor LE THI THANH, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, DECEMBER 2012 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I declare this thesis entitled “USING VISUAL AIDS TO MOTIVATE SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH NON-MAJORS IN SPEAKING AT VIETNAMESE AMERICAN VOCATIONAL TRAINING COLLEGE (VATC)” is the result of my own work except as cited in the references The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and it is not currently submitted in candidature of any other degree Ho Chi Minh City, December 2012 Phạm Ngọc Diễm i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have received great assistance and support to complete this thesis I would like to express my deepest and sincerest gratitude to Ms Le Thi Thanh, Ph.D, my supervisor, for the opportunity to fulfill my thesis Without her precious support and invaluable suggestions and guidance, this work would never have been done I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all my lecturers at the Department of Post-graduate Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, whose support and considerations have enabled me to pursue the course I take this opportunity to send thanks to my colleagues and my students at VATC who were very responsive to the survey questionnaires I would like to thank my classmates, TESOL 2008 class, for their friendship, suggestions and invaluable supports during the study Finally, my heart-felt gratitude goes to my husband, and my parents for their endless love, great encouragement and support to me They are the strongest motivation for me to pursue my degree Without the supports from my family members, I would not have finished my study at University of Social Sciences and Humanities ii ABSTRACT The thesis was conducted with the purpose of examining some obstacles faced by teachers of English and second-year English non-majored students in teaching and learning speaking skill The study was mainly based on informal talks, questionnaires for teachers of English as well as the questionnaires for students 10 teachers of English and 50 students were the subjects for the questionnaire survey Informal talks were conducted to get their opinions on their interest and barriers when they learn English as a foreign language A questionnaire for teachers was designed find out their attitudes towards speaking English, some problems in teaching speaking skill and the efficiency of teaching English speaking through using visual aids Besides, a pre-questionnaire for students was designed on the base of the information collected from informal talks with students and teachers’ questionnaire to explore the reality of students’ low participation in learning English, especially speaking skill In addition, to test the efficiency of visual aids in teaching and learning process, a post-questionnaire was also delivered to students after conducting the experimental teaching in the study The data from the questionnaire survey helped the researcher to identify the reasons for students’ low involment in speaking activities in the classes When problems have been identified, suggestions for teachers to improve teaching and learning speaking English to the second-year English non-majored students would be made Besides, this study reports the result of a pilot teaching which was conducted to test the effectiveness of visual aids on students’ involvement in speaking lessons LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT: Communicative Language Teaching EFL: English as Foreign Language ELT: English Language Teaching L2: Second Language VATC: Vietnamese American Vocational Training College GDVT: General Department of Vocational Training MOLISA: Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs MOSMB: Management of Small and Medium Business TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Statement of authorship i Acknowledgement ii Abstract iii List of abbreviations iv Table of content v List of tables ix List of charts x CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study 1.2 Vietnamese American Vocational Training College 1.3 Teaching material 1.4 Aims of the study 1.5 Research questions 1.6 The significance of the study 1.7 Limitations and delimitations 1.8 The organization of the study CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1 Speaking skill 10 2.1.1 Definition of speaking 10 2.1.2 The role of speaking in the classroom 11 2.2 Teaching speaking 13 2.3 Factors affecting EFL learners’oral commnunication 14 2.3.1 Age 14 2.3.2 Listening ability 15 2.3.3 Sociocultural factors 15 2.3.4 Affective factors 16 2.4 Motivation 16 2.4.1 Definition of motivation 16 2.4.2 Kind of motivation for learning English 17 2.5 Visual aids in teaching English 19 2.5.1 Definition of visual aids 19 2.5.2 Types of visual aids 19 2.5.2.1 Objects 20 2.5.2.2 Powerpoint 21 2.5.2.3 Handouts 21 2.5.2.4 Gestures 22 2.5.2.5 Newsprint 20 2.5.2.6 Pictures 23 2.5.2.7 Flipcharts 24 2.5.2.8 Flannelgraphs 25 2.5.2.9 Projected aids 26 2.5.3 Roles of visual aids in the classroom 26 2.5.4 Using visual aids in the classroom 27 2.5.4.1 Why to use visual aids in teaching 27 2.5.4.2 How to use visual aids in teaching 29 2.6 Review of related studies 30 2.6.1 Previous studies conducted in worldwide context 30 2.6.2 Previous studies in Vietnam 31 2.7 Summary 32 CHAPTER THE METHODOLOGY 34 3.1 Research design 34 3.2 Research questions 36 3.3 Participants 37 3.3.1 The teacher subject 37 3.3.2 The student subject 38 3.4 Data collection instruments 39 3.4.1 Informal talks 39 3.4.2 Questionnaire 40 3.4.2.1 Questionnaire for teachers 41 3.4.2.2 Questionnaire for students (Pre-experiment) 42 3.4.2.3 Questionnaire for students (Post-experiment) 43 3.5 Experimental teaching 44 3.6 Data collection procedures 45 CHAPTER DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 47 4.1 Students’ opinions from informal talks 47 4.2 Teachers’ responses to perceptions of speaking skill 50 4.3 Students’ opinions from students’questionnaire (Pre-experiment) 59 4.4 Procedures of experimental teaching 62 4.5 Students’ opinion from students’ questionnaire (Post-Experiment) 64 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 73 5.1 Major findings 73 5.1.1 Findings from research question 73 5.1.1 Findings from research question 74 5.2 Recommendations 76 5.2.1 Recommendations for administrators 76 5.2.2 Recommendations for teachers 77 5.2.3 Recommendations for students 79 5.3 Conclusion 80 5.4 Suggestions for further researches 80 REFERENCES 82 APPENDICES 88 APPENDIX A Interview Questions (English version) 88 APPENDIX B Interview Questions (Vietname version) 89 APPENDIX C Teachers’ Questionnaire (English version) 90 APPENDIX D Teachers’ Questionnaire (Vietnamese version) 92 APPENDIX E Students’ Questionnaire 1- Pre- experiment (English version)94 APPENDIX F Students’ Questionnaire 1-Pre- experiment (Vietnamese version) 95 APPENDIX G Students’ Questionnaire 2- Post- experiment (English version) 96 vii APPENDIX H Students’ Questionnaire - Post- experiment (Vietnamese version) 97 APPENDIX I Lesson plans with visual aids 98 APPENDIX J BOOK MAP OF INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS 114 APPENDIX K SYLLABUS OF ENGLISH 3,4 118 LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 The steps of the research methodology 35 Table 3.2 Demographic data of teacher subjects 37 Table 3.3 Demographic data of student subjects 38 Table 4.1 Students’ perception about speaking English 48 Table 4.2 The attitudes of the teachers towards the importance of speaking skill in teaching and learning English 50 Table 4.3 Teachers’ obstacles in teaching speaking in classrooms 51 Table 4.4 Teachers’ frequency of using visual aids in teaching speaking in classrooms 52 Table 4.5 Students’ interest in speaking English in the class 59 Table 4.6 Students’ participation in speaking English 60 Table 4.7 The students’obstacles in speaking English 61 Table 4.8 Students’ attitude towards the efficiency of teaching speaking by using visual aids 65 111 Teachers can present the new words by showing the real objects For example, the new words related to computers used in the classroom To focus on the value of different techniques, teachers should use two different ways of presenting a new word The first one involves direct translation followed by drilling and the second one involves giving an example in English and asking students to guess what the word means 112 FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES SYLLABUS ENGLISH FOR I.T AND BUS ADMIN STUDENTS (NATIONAL PROGRAM) Applied from September 2010 I Overall Program Description: 113 Learners Adult learners majoring in IT or business management Upon completing the course, Ss are capable of: Learning outcomes - mastering common everyday English conversational topics (See also Speaking Supplementary Materials) - achieving basic Integrated skills necessary for the TOEIC Tests Prerequisite English Length Ss successfully passed English Of the six-level college English program, English is the third level for students majoring in Business Management and Information Technology This course is aimed at helping Ss develop their English language skills and building skills for the TOEIC Tests 120 periods - periods per session, sessions per week International Express (Pre-Intermediate) Pack A Core Textbooks (Student’s Book, Workbook, CDs) By Liz Taylor et al OUP, 2007 Starter Toeic (First Half = Unit - Unit 6) By Anne Taylor & Casey Malarcher, Third Editions - NXB Tre Tp HCM, 2009 Supplementary Materials - Source from Teacher’s Book - Handouts supplied by the Faculty: + Audio conversational topics - Handouts compiled by teachers in charge Assessment Two On-going Tests: No Time Duration 10th week 30 - 45 minutes 14th week 60 - 120 minutes 114 Source Admin By teacher in Teacher in charge charge By teacher in Teacher in charge charge The teacher-in-charge grades the on-going tests and records the results in the Teacher’s Handbook which will be submitted to the Faculty of Foreign Languages ONE week prior to the end of the course One End-of-term Test: 2.1 Prerequisite: - The average score of the two on-going tests: 50% or better - Participation: Please read the participation regulation issued by the Academic Affairs Department 2.2 Source: Faculty of Foreign Languages 2.3 Format: Full length TOEIC Test II Suggested Course Outline SB: Student’s Book WB: Workbook TB: Teacher’s Book Please note that the course outline is only a frame of reference If the workload happens to be too heavy in any sessions, teachers are encouraged to choose the most important activities to in class The rest can be assigned as homework Teachers may wish to select relevant workbook exercises for correction, depending on students’ needs and class time It’s not always necessary to correct them all Teaching content 1ST DAY OF WEEK 2ND DAY OF WEEK Week STATER TOEIC INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS Unit 1: First Meeting (page 6-9) - Language Focus (SB + WB) CHAPTER GRAMMAR PRACTICE CHAPTER LISTENING AND READING PRACTICE Unit 1: Unit 1: Auxiliary Verbs (page 49-52) Auxiliary Verbs (page - Part I: Picture Description 20-21) - Part II: Questions and Responses - Part III: Short Conversations - Part IV: Short Talks Unit 1: Auxiliary Verbs (page 53-63) - Part V: Incomplete Sentences - Part VI: Incomplete Texts - Part VII: Reading Comprehension Unit 1: First Meeting (page 10-13) - Wordpower - Skills focus - Focus on Functions 115 Speaking Supplementary Materials (SSM): Topic Unit 2: The World of Work (page 14-17) - Language Focus (SB +WB) Unit 2: Unit 2: Tenses (page 65-71) Tenses (page 22-23) - Part I: Picture Description Part II: Questions and Responses Part III: Short Conversations - Part IV: Short Talks Listening Revision Unit Unit 2: The World of Work (page 18-21) Unit 2: Tenses (page 72-79) - Part V: Incomplete Sentences - - Wordpower (SB + WB) Skills focus Part VI: Incomplete Texts Part VII: Reading Comprehension SSM: Topic Unit 2: The World of Work (page 22-23) - Focus on Functions (SB + WB) Unit 3: Challenges (page 24-25) - Language Focus - first half (SB + WB) PRACTICE TOEIC TEST: - Time allotted: 60 - 120 minutes - Source: Teacher in charge The test must be corrected and returned to students as a further practice Listening Revision Unit Unit 3: Challenges (page 26-28) - Language Focus - second half (SB + WB) - Wordpower Unit 3: Infinitives and Gerunds (page 24-25) Unit 3: Infinitives and Gerunds (page 81-87) - Part I: Picture Description - Part II: Questions and Responses - Part III: Short Conversations - Part IV: Short Talks SSM: Topic Unit 3: Challenges (page 29-31) Unit 3: Infinitives and Gerunds (page 88-95) - - Part V: Incomplete Sentences Part VI: Incomplete Texts - Part VII: Reading Comprehension Skills focus Focus on functions (SB +WB) Listening Revision Unit Unit 4: Plans and Arrangements (page 32-35) - Language Focus 1+2 (SB +WB) Unit 4: Participles and Participle Clauses (page 26-27) Unit 4: Participles and Participle Clauses (page 97-103) - Part I: Picture Description - Part II: Questions and Responses - Part III: Short Conversations - Part IV: Short Talks SSM: Topic Unit 4: Participles and Participle 116 - Skills focus Focus on Functions (SB +WB) - Part VI: Incomplete Texts Part VII: Reading Comprehension SSM: Topic On-Going Test 1: INTEGRATED SKILLS TEST 10 Unit 4: Plans and Arrangements (40-41) - Focus on functions (SB +WB) Review unit A - International Express: Unit - - Conversational Topics: Topic - (Optional) - Time allotted: 30 - 45 minutes - Source: Teacher in charge The test must be marked and returned to students Instructors record students’ scores on the Teacher’s Handbook Listening Revision Unit 11 Unit 5: How Healthy is your Lifestyle? (page 46-50) - Language Focus (SB + WB) Unit 5: Unit 5: Negation and Parallel Negation and Parallel Structure (page 113—119) Structure (page 28-29) - Part I: Picture Description - Part II: Questions and Responses - Part III: Short Conversations - Part IV: Short Talks SSM: Topic 12 Unit 5: Negation and Parallel Structure (page 120-127) - Part V: Incomplete Sentences - Part VI: Incomplete Texts - Part VII: Reading Comprehension Unit 5: How Healthy is your Lifestyle? (page 51-53) - Wordpower - Skills Focus (SB +WB) SSM Topic 13 Unit 5: How Healthy is your Lifestyle? (page 54-55) - Focus on Functions (SB +WB) Unit 6: Flying gets Cheaper (page 56-57) - Language Focus - first half (theory) (SB +WB) Unit 6: Comparisons (page 30-31) Unit 6: Comparisons (page 129-135) - Part I: Picture Description - Part II: Questions and Responses - Part III: Short Conversations - Part IV: Short Talks Listening Revision Unit 14 Unit 6: Flying gets Cheaper (page 57-59) - Language Focus - second half (practice) - Wordpower On-Going Test 2: TOEIC TEST (Full-length or Simplified) - Time allotted: 60 - 120 minutes - Source: Teacher in charge The test must be marked and returned to students Instructors record students’ scores on the Teacher’s Handbook NOTE: For Full-length TOEIC Test: The test must be graded and converted to the 10- grade scale (supplied by FFL) 117 FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES SUGGESTED COURSE OUTLINE ENGLISH FOR I.T AND BUS ADMIN STUDENTS (NATIONAL PROGRAM) Overall Program Description: Learners Entry Requirement Learning Outcomes  Adult learners majoring in IT or business management  Expected TOEIC score: TOEIC 250 Successfully finished English TOEIC 300 The total course length is 120 periods – periods per session, sessions / week Course Length International Express (Pre-Intermediate) Pack B = Second Half (Student’s Book – SB + Workbook – WB, CDs) Textbooks By Liz Taylor et al OUP, 2004 118 TNT TOEIC (LC + RC), New TOEIC edition Volume TWO By Lori, NXB Tong Hop Tp HCM, 2009 World Link Video Course – Workbook, Book Susan Stempleski, Thomson, 2006 Supplementary Photocopiable Resource Bank from Teacher’s Book (TB) and of teacher’s choice Materials Assessment  4-6 quizzes / Mini-Tests will be used as on-going assessment  These quizzes / Mini-tests are designed by the instructor in charge Quizzes/Mini-test must be graded and returned to students after one week Mini-Test scores must be recorded in the TEACHER’S HANDBOOK and submitted to the Faculty of Foreign Languages ONE week prior to the end of the course  Students will not be allowed to sit the final test if their average grade of quizzes/ mini-tests is below 5.0  The final test will be administered by the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Department of Academic Affairs  A full-length TOEIC Test will be used to assess students’ English proficiency in the final test Students must earn TOEIC 300 or higher to pass the English level 119 Course Outline INS: Integrated Skills SB: Student’s Book WB: Workbook TB: Teacher’s Book VCB: Video Course Book  Please note that the course outline is just a frame of reference If too much work is put in any sessions, teachers are encouraged to choose the most important activities to in class The rest can be assigned as homework Teaching content Week Day Skills Integrated Skills Pages Unit 7: Changing Lives 64 - 65 (INS) Language Focus Unit TOEIC Listening 14 - 17 Homework: Unit Unit 7: Changing Lives INS 66 - 67 Practice 2,3,4 TOEIC Reading Units 1+ 96 – 100 Unit 7: Changing Lives INS Practice 5,6,78 68 - 69 Word Power Unit TOEIC Listening 18 - 21 Homework: Unit Unit 7: Changing Lives INS 70 - 71 Skills Focus - The World Link Video Characters Video 1-9 - Unit 1: All About Me INS Unit 7: Changing Lives 120 72 - 73 Focus on Functions Units 3+4 TOEIC Reading 101 - 105 Unit 8: Crossing Cultures INS 74 - 75 Language Focus Video Unit 2: Let’s Eat! 10 – 17 Unit 8: Crossing Cultures INS 76 - 77 Practice 1,2,3,4,5 Unit TOEIC Listening 22 - 25 Homework: Unit Unit 8: Crossing Cultures INS 78 - 79 Word Power Video Unit 3: Unsolved Mysteries 18 – 25 Unit 8: Crossing Cultures INS 80 Skills Focus TOEIC Reading Units 5+6 106-111 Unit 8: Crossing Cultures 10 INS 81 Focus on Functions Video Unit 4: Today’s Trends 26 – 33 INS REVIEW UNIT B 82 – 85 Unit 26 - 29 11 TOEIC Listening Homework: Unit Unit 9: For Over a Century 12 INS 86 - 87 Language Focus Video Unit 5: In the Neighborhood 34 – 41 Unit 9: For Over a Century 13 INS 88 - 89 Practice TOEIC Reading Units 7+8 112-117 Unit 9: For Over a Century 14 INS 90 - 91 Word Power 121 Video Unit 6: Student Life 42 – 49 Unit 9: For Over a Century INS 92 - 93 Skills Focus 15 Unit TOEIC Listening 30 - 33 Homework: Unit 10 Unit 9: For Over a Century INS 94 - 95 Focus on Functions 16 Video Unit 7: Let’s Celebrate! 50 – 57 Unit 10: Will our planet survive? INS 96 - 97 Language Focus 17 Units 9+10 TOEIC Reading 118-122 Unit 10: Will our planet survive? INS 98 - 99 Practice 1,2,3,4 18 Video Unit 8: Fables and Fairy Tales 58 – 65 Unit 10: Will our planet survive? INS Practice 5,6 100 - 101 Word Power 19 Unit 10 TOEIC Listening 10 34 - 37 Homework: Unit 11 Unit 10: Will our planet survive? INS 102 - 103 Skills Focus 87 Video Unit 9: The world of Work (First half) 66 – 71 Unit 10: Will our planet survive? INS 104 - 105 Focus on functions 21 TOEIC Reading 123-130 Units 10+11 11 Unit 11: Getting Around in Cities INS 12 23 106 - 107 Language Focus 22 Video Unit 9: The world of Work (Second Half) INS Unit 11: Getting Around in Cities 122 72 - 73 108 - 109 Practice Word Power Unit 12 TOEIC Listening 58-61 Homework: 13 Unit 11: Getting Around in Cities Skills Focus INS 110 - 111 24 Focus on Functions Unit 10: Telecommunications (First Half) Video 74 - 79 Unit 12: The Story of Cork INS 112 - 113 Language Focus 25 Units 12+13 TOEIC Reading 131-135 13 Unit 12: The Story of Cork INS 114 - 115 Practice 26 Unit 10: Telecommunications (Second Half) Video 80 - 81 Unit 12: The Story of Cork INS Word Power 116 - 117 Skills Focus 27 Unit 14 TOEIC Listening 66 - 69 Homework: Unit 15 14 Unit 12: The Story of Cork INS 28 Skills focus 118 - 119 Focus on Functions Video Unit 11: Technology Today Full-length TOEIC Test 29 (Compiled, Administered and Corrected by the Instructor) 15 Full-length TOEIC Test 30 (Compiled, Administered and Corrected by the Instructor) FINAL TEST 123 82 - 89 124 125