Skkn enhancing the english speaking reflex of phan dang luu high schools 11th graders through the combination of hot seating strategy and ielts speaking part 1 and 3 questions

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO NGHỆ AN TRƯỜNG THPT PHAN ĐĂNG LƯU  SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ENHANCING THE ENGLISH SPEAKING REFLEX OF PHAN DANG LUU HIGH SCHOOL’S 11TH GRADERS THROUGH THE COMBINATION OF HOT SEATING STRATEGY AND IELTS SPEAKING PART AND QUESTIONS MÔN: Tiếng Anh Tác giả: Triệu Thị Nghĩa Tổ chuyên môn: Văn – Ngoại ngữ NĂM HỌC: 2020-2021 skkn Page PART 1: INTRODUCTION ………………………………………… PART 2: CONTENT…………………………………………………… I LITERATURE REVIEW…….…………………………………… Speaking Skill and Importance of the English speaking reflex 1.1 Speaking Skill …………… … ………………………… 1.2 Importance of the English Speaking Reflex… ….……… Hot Seating Strategy…….………………….………………… IELTS Speaking Part and ……….……….……………… II THE REALITY…………………………………………………… III THE OBJECTIVES AND THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY……… The Objectives of the Study…………………………………… The Scope of the Study…… ….……………………………… IV SOLUTIONS…………………………………………………… Process of Applying the Initiative ….………………………… 1.1 Interaction ………………………………………………… 1.2 Assignment ………… … ………………………………… 1.3 Performance ….… ……………………………………… 1.4 Assessment…….……… ….……………………………… Detailed Solutions ……… …………………………………… PART 3: CONCLUSION……………………………………………… 41 I FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONS…………………… …………… 41 Some Findings………….……………………………………… 41 Limitations…… … ………………………………………… 41 II SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY……………………… 42 REFERENCES …………………………………………… 43 APPENDICES ……….…………………………………… 44 Appendix Class Observation Checklist…………… 44 Appendix Pre-treatment Questionnaire …………… 45 Appendix Post-treatment Questionnaire ………… 49 TABLE OF CONTENTS skkn skkn PART 1: INTRODUCTION In the era of the globalization and international integration, English has become a ‘lingua franca’, which, according to Jeremy Harmer (2001:1), can be defined as a language widely adopted for communication between two speakers whose native languages are different from each other’s, and one or both speakers are using it as a second language It has been used almost all over the world in many different fields such as diplomacy, science, technology, business, culture, tourism, etc There is no doubt that English is one of the most important means of communication and access to information In this context, the ability to use English properly is more and more highly appreciated In Vietnam, in recent years, English as a foreign language has gained considerable attention It has become a compulsory subject in the syllabus of most schools, colleges and universities It has been taught throughout the country, both urban and rural areas Even in the countryside, children now start learning English when they are or years old However, the teaching and learning of English, especially in the countryside, has not been really effective yet There are still many people who cannot use English well after English courses It is clear that keeping speaking and giving answers to others’ questions as fast as possible is the key to a successful conversation However, as a rural high school teacher of English, the writer finds that most of her students, including the ones with a good knowledge of English grammar and vocabulary, have great difficulty in speaking English They even cannot open their mouths to answer very simple questions in this language Therefore, it is important that there be a stimulus to enable students to express their ideas orally After investigating the real situation and reviewing the related literature, the teacher discovers that the students’ low level of motivation for speaking skill partly results from their bad speaking reflex, which makes them unconfident about their spoken English Meanwhile, they not have a favorable environment for practicing and fostering this On the other hand, some students whose English is good are studying or have intention to study it for IELTS tests If the teacher continues to deliver her lessons in the conventional way and mainly focus on the goal of her students’ passing the national exam, these students will feel bored and ignore the lessons in class Consequently, the learning atmosphere will become dull and students will not know the real value of mastering an international language like English In the light of research, the teacher has realized that Question and Answer activity with IELTS Speaking Part and questions is the approach that could work in tackling her students’ problems The International English Language Test System skkn C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4 22.Tai lieu Luan 66.55.77.99 van Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22 Do an.Tai lieu Luan van Luan an Do an.Tai lieu Luan van Luan an Do an (IELTS) is undeniably one of the most reputable and popular English tests in the world, which could be a kind of motivation to stimulate students to speak English In fact, some Vietnamese students today tend to use IELTS scores to be admitted to universities Especially, many IELTS speaking questions are of the same topics as the textbook’s units In addition, a strategy like Hot Seating could help to put students in the lifelike situations, where students play roles relating to the lesson topics so that they could use their English naturally All of these things are the reasons why the teacher has studied and worked on the initiative: ‘Enhancing the English speaking reflex of Phan Dang Luu high school’s 11th graders through the combination of Hot Seating Strategy and IELTS Speaking Part and questions’ skkn Stt.010.Mssv.BKD002ac.email.ninhd 77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77t@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn.Stt.010.Mssv.BKD002ac.email.ninhddtt@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4 22.Tai lieu Luan 66.55.77.99 van Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22 Do an.Tai lieu Luan van Luan an Do an.Tai lieu Luan van Luan an Do an PART 2: CONTENT I LITERATURE REVIEW Speaking skill and Importance of the English speaking reflex 1.1 Speaking skill Of all the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), speaking seems to be considered the most important Penny Ur (1996:120) says that people who know a language are referred to as ‘speakers’ of that language, as if speaking includes all other kinds of knowing and many if not most foreign language learners are primarily interested in learning to speak In terms of the importance of speaking skill, Victoria Fromkin, Robert Rodman, Peter Collins, and David Blair (1984: 103) also argue: ‘We live in a world of language We talk to our friends, our associates, our wives and husbands, our lovers, our teachers, our parents and in-law We talk to bus drivers and total strangers We talk face to face and over the telephone, and everyone respond with more talk Television and radio further swell this torrent of words Hardly a moment of our waking lives is free from words, and even in our dreams we talk and are talked to We talk to pets and sometimes to ourselves.’ In brief, the speaking skill is very important It is a way of expressing ourselves and exchanging information in whatever language we use Besides, the fact is that a man can learn to speak his first language naturally in his language environment in everyday life before learning to read and write, which can need a lot of guidance 1.2 Importance of the English speaking reflex Biologically, a reflex is an automatic reaction involving nerve cells that is not controlled by the brain, and, therefore, does not involve choice, for example, sneezing or vomiting According to Cambridge Dictionary, a reflex is a physical reaction to something that you cannot control or it is the ability to react quickly In other words, as cited in Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, it is an action or a movement of your body that happens naturally in response to something or is something you without thinking With reference to languages, the reflex could be understood to be the way of your thinking and expressing your ideas in those languages as soon as possible This makes your communication with your counterparts better and more effectively In regard to the importance of language reflexes, Zhanli Yang Department of Pre-school Education Hebei Vocational College of Foreign Languages Qinhuangdao, China email: yzl200519751001@126.com argues in ‘Strategies of Improving Spoken English for Learners’ that building up reflexes right from the beginning will help people later when their skills are good enough to participate in a conversation skkn Stt.010.Mssv.BKD002ac.email.ninhd 77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77t@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn.Stt.010.Mssv.BKD002ac.email.ninhddtt@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4 22.Tai lieu Luan 66.55.77.99 van Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22 Do an.Tai lieu Luan van Luan an Do an.Tai lieu Luan van Luan an Do an However, unlike some natural reflexes, which people are born with, it takes time and practice to form and foster foreign language reflexes Therefore, to have good reflexes in spoken English, practice is considered to be one of the most effective methods Hot Seating Strategy Hot Seating is a strategy in which a character or characters, played by the teacher or a student, are interviewed by the rest of the group about their background, behaviour, motivation and multiple perspectives/ experiences related to a theme, event, or idea Characters may be hot-seated individually, in pairs or small groups The technique is additionally useful for developing questioning skills with the rest of the group The traditional approach is for the pupil playing the character to sit on a chair in front of the group (arranged in a semi-circle), although characters may be hot-seated in pairs or groups It is helpful if the teacher takes on the role of facilitator to guide the questioning in constructive directions To help students begin, the teacher can try hotseating children in pairs (e.g a pair of street urchins) or in groups (e.g environmental protesters, refugees) Also, according to David Farmer (https://dramaresource.com/ hot-seating/), it is important that the rest of the group be primed to ask pertinent questions and not get bogged down in facts during hot seating, but concentrate on personal feelings and observations instead He also adds that characters to hot seat include famous people such as Florence Nightingale, President Kennedy or Tutankhamen as well as ordinary people like a chimney sweeper, a Roman soldier or a Saxon farmer Students can be asked to research historical characters with opposing points of view then be hot-seated by the class as part of a debate IELTS Speaking Part and The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is the world’s most popular English language proficiency test for higher education and global immigration More than 10,000 organizations globally trust IELTS, so when one takes the test, he/she can be confident that it is recognized by educational institutions, employers, governments and professional bodies around the world As one of the pioneers of four- skill (listening, speaking, reading and writing) English language testing 30 years ago, IELTS continues to set the standard for English language testing today Governments in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom use IELTS to process immigration applications IELTS Speaking is a face-to-face, informal discussion with an IELTS examiner, and is the same for both Academic and General Training The test is divided into parts and is designed to test your pronunciation, fluency, grammar and vocabulary skkn Stt.010.Mssv.BKD002ac.email.ninhd 77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77t@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn.Stt.010.Mssv.BKD002ac.email.ninhddtt@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4 22.Tai lieu Luan 66.55.77.99 van Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22 Do an.Tai lieu Luan van Luan an Do an.Tai lieu Luan van Luan an Do an IELTS Speaking Part lasts between 4-5 minutes, includes around 8-10 IELTS Speaking questions, and about 2-3 familiar IELTS Speaking topics such as your job, your studies, your family, your hometown, your accommodation, etc Part questions might best be described as questions that imitate small talk between two strangers or acquaintances They are not very in-depth It is considered to be a warm-up activity to provide examinees with relaxation and comfort to enter the rest parts IELTS Speaking Part is designed to give you the opportunity to talk about more abstract issues and ideas It is a two-way discussion with the examiner, and last 4-5 minutes In this part, the examiner will ask a broader range of questions based on the IELTS Speaking Part He/ She will also expect answers with an explanation and examples in general The time will be strictly controlled in this part II THE REALITY At the beginning of the academic year 2020-2021, I conducted a survey among my students and colleagues, using the questionnaires, interviews and observations, and got some significant findings First, the goal of all of the students (96.6%) is to pass the national examination, which is designed in the format of multiple-choice questions and focuses mainly on vocabulary, pronunciation, reading comprehension and controlled writing, but not listening and speaking skills Many of them (70.5%) consider English to be a compulsory subject and the smaller number of students (43.2%) valued it as a means of communication Consequently, they did not have much motivation to practise speaking English Second, the differences between the objectives of the syllabus and those of the final examination make the teachers waver, not knowing what and how to teach their students in order to gain the best results Therefore, the time and attention to the two important interactive skills (listening, speaking), which help students more selfconfident in communicating in person with others, is little Third, to learn English well, the environment for it, especially spoken English, is very important However, our students hardly have opportunities to use English outside English classes As a result, even the students who are good at English are also afraid of speaking English and have difficulty in using it orally The majority of the students (84.1%) say that they cannot respond immediately when asked and 67% of the sample students say they are not willing to be involved in real conversations Clearly, the shortage of regular practice and the lack of self-confidence have led to our students’ bad English speaking reflex skkn Stt.010.Mssv.BKD002ac.email.ninhd 77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77t@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn.Stt.010.Mssv.BKD002ac.email.ninhddtt@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4 22.Tai lieu Luan 66.55.77.99 van Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22 Do an.Tai lieu Luan van Luan an Do an.Tai lieu Luan van Luan an Do an Fourth, because some students (11.4%) want to use these tests’ results to be admitted to some universities, at weekends or on summer holidays some students (11.4%) have to travel a long distance to the city’s centres of English to study for IELTS tests Besides, there are some other students (378.6%) say that they are going to study for IELTS tests when they are at university All of these show the increasing demand for IELTS and the practicality as well as popularity of this form of assessment III THE OBJECTIVES AND THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY The objectives of the study The Question and Answer activity combined with Hot Seating Strategy is expected to foster the students’ English speaking reflex The relevant questions related to the lesson topics are carefully selected from the IELTS Speaking Part and questions and the students are give a certain period of time to prepare for their answers Hot Seating Strategy has long been used in language teaching methodology with various purposes However, in this initiative, the teacher would like to utilize it in order to create a lifelike environment so that students could practice their speaking reflex and use their English language as naturally as possible The scope of the study - The study subject: The participants in the study are 88 students from classes 11A1 and 11A5 of Phan Dang Luu high school in the academic year 2020-2021 They study English rather well (11A1: and 11A5: 69.3% good, 30.7% rather good); however, only 15.9% of the students say that they are confident of their spoken English reflex - Due to the limited time, the teacher only focuses on exploiting and using IELTS Speaking Part and questions related to the lesson topics in the textbook ‘Tieng Anh 11’ by Vietnam Education Publisher The Hot Seating Strategy is used as a game with the questions incorporated in it as a guide to ongoing conversations This activity is intended to be at the beginning of the lesson as a ‘Warm-up’ one or at the end of the lesson as a ‘post-’ one skkn Stt.010.Mssv.BKD002ac.email.ninhd 77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77t@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn.Stt.010.Mssv.BKD002ac.email.ninhddtt@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn C.33.44.55.54.78.65.5.43.22.2.4 22.Tai lieu Luan 66.55.77.99 van Luan an.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.33.44.55.54.78.655.43.22.2.4.55.22 Do an.Tai lieu Luan van Luan an Do an.Tai lieu Luan van Luan an Do an IV SOLUTIONS Process of applying the initiative 1.1 Interaction At the beginning of the school year, the teacher divides the class into groups with assigned leaders The students in each group have to help one another actively because each member’s marks may affect the ones of the rest and vice versa 1.2 Assignment After Lesson A-Reading or lesson C- Listening of each unit, for homework, all students are asked to work in groups to answer all the given questions in the role of a famous or special person These questions are exploited from the question sets of IELTS Speaking Part and and related to the information of the given person as well as the topic they have just learnt 1.3 Performance Each unit has a respective role concerned with its topic for students to play With a view to helping students have a constant practice, the teacher asks the students to perform this task almost every lesson after Lesson A-Reading or Lesson C- Listening The representative of each group is chosen to play the role in many different ways to motivate the students The groups and the students in each group may draw lots to decide who will the task by each taking a piece of paper from a container Also, the teacher may use the game of passing the ball accompanied with the music to choose the performer When the music stops, the person with the ball in his/her hand will have to go to the board and the task The students of the other groups will use some questions on the list to ask him/her The performer is expected to give answers to questions as fast as possible The next person is chosen by the student just finishing his/her performance During the period of time between and 10 minutes, or 3students take turns to answer questions including the ones about name, hometown, job and others from the rest ones 1.4 Assessment The teacher makes observations, records, takes notes and gives marks to students’ performance These marks will be recorded At the end of the term, each member will be given a mark which is an arithmetic mean of the whole group The arithmetic mean is used as a frequent mark for each student in each term of the school year This is motivation for all students to help one another and try as hard as possible Besides, skkn Stt.010.Mssv.BKD002ac.email.ninhd 77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.77.99.44.45.67.22.55.77.C.37.99.44.45.67.22.55.77t@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn.Stt.010.Mssv.BKD002ac.email.ninhddtt@edu.gmail.com.vn.bkc19134.hmu.edu.vn