Đánh giá hiệu quả của chương trình trao đổi ảo đối với kỹ năng nói tiếng anh của sinh viên không chuyên anh tại trường đại học công nghiệp thành phố hồ chí minh

BỘ CÔNG THƯƠNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH BÁO CÁO ĐỀ TÀI NGHIÊN CỨU KHOA HỌC CẤP TRƯỜNG ĐỀ TÀI: ĐÁNH GIÁ HIỆU QUẢ CỦA CHƯƠNG TRÌNH TRAO ĐỔI ẢO ĐỐI VỚI KỸ NĂNG NĨI TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CƠNG NGHIỆP THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH Mã số đề tài: 22/1NN01 Chủ nhiệm đề tài: TS Phan Thị Tuyết Nga Thành viên đề tài: ThS Hồ Thị Hiền CN Đỗ Ngọc Cẩm Tú CN Hồ Văn Thái Đơn vị thực hiện: Khoa Ngoại ngữ Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, 2023 LỜI CÁM ƠN Đề tài thực tài trợ Đại học Công nghiệp Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh với mã số 22/1NN01 i TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iii LIST OF TABLES iv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Research objectives 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Significance of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definitions of Terms 2.2 Using Technology in Teaching English Speaking Skills in EFL contexts 2.3 Virtual Exchange and Second/Foreign language education CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 11 3.1 Participants and Context of the study 11 3.2 Project Description 13 3.3 Methodology and Methods 14 3.4 Procedures 16 3.5 Data analysis 16 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS 18 4.1 RQ1: Do the perceived benefits of VE outweigh the challenges in developing students' speaking skills? 18 4.2 RQ2: What specific elements of speaking skills are reported to have improved through VE? 22 4.3 RQ3: Is there evidence of actual progress in students' speaking skills as a result of participating in VE? 24 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 32 5.1 RQ1: Do the perceived benefits of VE outweigh the challenges in developing students' speaking skills? 32 5.2 RQ2: What specific elements of speaking skills are reported to have improved through VE? 33 5.3 RQ3: Is there evidence of actual progress in students' speaking skills as a result of participating in VE? 33 5.4 Implications 34 5.5 Limitations and directions for future studies 37 REFERENCES 39 APPENDICES 44 ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CEFR: Common European Framework of Reference for Languages EFL: English as a Foreign Language FFL: Faculty of Foreign Languages IUH: Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City Q&A: Questions and Answers RQ: Research Question VE: Virtual Exchange VSTEP: Vietnamese Standardised Test of English Proficiency iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Program Schedule……………………………………………………………11 Table 2: Students’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of the VE program… 20 Table 3: Teachers’ perceptions of the benefits and challenges of the VE program….21 Table 4: Students’ perceptions of improved elements of speaking skills…………….24 Table 5: Teachers’ perceptions of students’ improved elements of speaking skills 24 Table 6: Examples of intonation produced by students ………………………… … 28 Table 7: Examples of pronunciation errors………………………………………… 29 iv ABSTRACT Most scholars have recognized the significant role and potential of virtual exchange (VE) in improving the oral communication skills of learners in second/foreign language learning contexts While various research methodologies have been employed by VE researchers, the most common type is qualitative or descriptive case studies This research is one of the first studies exploring the effectiveness of VE on non-English majors’ speaking skills in the Vietnamese context It used a mixed-methods research design Data tools included questionnaires and semi-structured individual interviews The material consisted of recordings of language production samples Thirty-five students and six teachers completed the online survey Fifteen students agreed to join the interviews, and language production samples were collected from six of the students The data gathered from semi-structured interviews corroborated the survey findings on the perceived advantages and obstacles of the VE program in enhancing students’ speaking proficiency As perceived by participants, VE provided more benefits than drawbacks in the Vietnamese context The students also perceived that five elements of speaking skills were strengthened during their participation in VE Grammar showed the least improvement while Discourse Management showed the most The linguistic gains from recordings of language production samples were observed when participants engaged in activities or answered questions that are common across cultures, tangible, or directly linked with their personal experiences The students displayed limited progress when learning situations which are abstract, or unique and specific to certain contexts or their own interests Implications based on findings are suggested for educators, teachers, and researchers Keywords: virtual exchange, speaking skills, Vietnamese context v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This introduction chapter serves as the foundation for the research, establishing the context, purpose, and objectives of our study It helps readers understand the research background, rationale, and the significance of the research questions being investigated 1.1 Rationale The widespread use of the Internet, computers, and recent advancements in technology have made online learning a new form of language teaching methods in recent years (Dooly & Vinagre, 2021; Luo & Yang, 2021) Virtual exchange (VE) refers to a form of online education that connects students from different geographical locations for collaborative learning and intercultural exchange (O'Dowd, 2021) It involves the use of technology, such as video conferencing, online discussion platforms, and multimedia resources, to facilitate communication and collaboration between students (Dooly & Vinagre, 2021) Teaching a foreign language through VE is recommended as an innovative way to provide more learning opportunities to language students with limited financial resources VE helps students connect and interact with teachers and peers worldwide as if they were in a physical class (Lee et al., 2022; Machwate et al., 2021) The recent challenges to physical mobility caused by global pandemics have led to increased interest and support for VE in many countries (O'Dowd, 2021) In EFL settings, more VE programs have been organized to improve students’ English communicative competence and other knowledge and skills due to their potential economic and environmental benefits (Dooly & Vinagre, 2021) Numerous studies on VE have shown its positive impacts on students' language competence, cultural awareness, cultural competences (Cunningham & Akiyama, 2018), learning performance, and persistence (Lee et al., 2022) Regarding language education, most scholars have recognized the significant role and potential of VE in improving the oral communication skills of learners in second/foreign language learning contexts (Cappellini, 2019) Specifically, VE enhances overall language skills and core linguistic developments, including the acquisition of vocabulary and grammar (Cunningham & Akiyama, 2018), socio-pragmatic competence, vocabulary, and pronunciation (Rienties et al., 2022) While various research methodologies have been employed by VE researchers, the most common type is qualitative or descriptive case studies, as noted by Rienties et al (2022) and Lee et al (2022) However, it should be noted that results obtained from anecdotal evidence, i.e evidence that is based on personal experiences or observations, should be interpreted with caution since the validity of data depends on participants' memory and preferences Baroni et al (2019) have highlighted the need for more evidence-based research to test whether VE does indeed benefit foreign language learning Despite the arrival of VE, the expansion of VE projects for on-demand language practices and intercultural exchanges in mainstream foreign language education, and the growing number of research studies into VE worldwide, the potential of VE has not been recognized in Vietnam Some scholars have examined various aspects of online learning, including factors that affect learners' interaction in online classes (Pham, 2020), teachers' and learners' perceptions of online learning (Dinh & Vo, 2020), learners' readiness (Khoa & Nguyen, 2021), the effectiveness of English online learning, and solutions to improve the quality of online education (Tran et al., 2021) However, there has been a lack of research exploring the impact of VE on English language learning in the country For this study, the effects of VE on non-English majors' speaking skills were selected for investigation The reason behind the selection of this macro skill is its critical role inside and outside the Vietnamese language classrooms Speaking is considered the most important aspect of communication for many second/foreign language learners, since success in language learning is often judged by spoken language proficiency (Rao, 2019) In addition, poor English-speaking skills can be a hindrance for job applicants during interviews and at work However, despite its importance, speaking is often regarded as the weakest language skill among Vietnamese learners (Pham et al., 2021) 1.2 Research objectives The overarching aim that guided the entire present research and provided the foundation for the research questions and methodology was to explore the effectiveness of VE on non-English majors’ speaking skills To achieve this aim, three research objectives were articulated The first objective was to understand teachers and students' perceptions of whether VE provided more advantages than challenges in developing the speaking skills of non-English majors Additionally, the study aimed to identify which elements of speaking skills were reported to have developed by the participants and whether students actually made progress in their speaking performance during their participation in the VE program 1.3 Research questions The research questions that the present study addressed are: Do the perceived benefits of VE outweigh the drawbacks in developing students' speaking skills? What specific elements of speaking skills are reported to have improved through VE? Is there evidence of actual progress in students' speaking skills as a result of participating in VE? 1.4 Significance of the study This research is one of the first studies exploring the effectiveness of VE in the Vietnamese context In addition, it employed a new source of data: students' language samples, in the exploration of linguistic gains It is expected that suggestions of the study will contribute to the amendment of the VE program currently being organized at the Faculty of Foreign Languages (FFL) In addition, the recommendations may help to design, improve, and develop similar VE projects at the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City (IUH) and other universities in Vietnam in the future Chapter Summary: This introduction chapter sets out the specific objectives and research questions that the study seeks to answer In the following chapters of this report, we start with a brief review of the literature on VE We continue with a description of the methods used to collect data and how we conducted the study at FFL Next, the results of the study are presented The paper ends with a discussion of the research findings and suggestions for future studies CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter begins by defining the terms used in the research It then provides a review of selected previous work, discussing the significance of Virtual Exchange (VE) in different areas of second/foreign language education, both globally and in Vietnam Based on a critical evaluation of the existing research's strengths, weaknesses, and gaps, the chapter highlights the research objectives and questions that the current study aims to address 2.1 Definitions of Terms Virtual Exchange (VE): Virtual Exchange (VE) is a term used in various ways, such as “Telecollaboration," "eTandem," or "Teletandem," depending on the context and epistemologies (for an elaborative review of VE terms, see O’Dowd (2018)) In our study, we adopt the definitions suggested by Dooly and Vinagre (2021) and Rienties et al (2022) VE refers to "the process of communicating and collaboratively learning with peers from different locations through the use of technology" (Dooly & Vinagre, 2021, p 393) and is organized under "the guidance of teachers or trained facilitators" (Rienties et al., 2022, p 3) VE is highly appreciated as a teaching and learning resource that is useful for language teachers and learners in various pedagogical contexts It is dynamic and can be used in physical or hybrid learning environments as "a stand-alone classroom activity" or "a course component" (Giralt et al., 2022, p 116) Machwate et al (2021, p 3) made it clear that VE distinguishes itself from online learning due to its key features It is not a self-guided learning process but a guided learning process supported by teachers or a group of educators/facilitators (Dooly & Vinagre, 2021) It emphasizes participants' constructive interaction and dialogue, the achievement of soft skills such as group work, co-constructed knowledge and skills, and the recognition of participants' differences The active role of teachers and learners in different geographical locations and their mutual collaboration are essential for the success of VE (Dooly & Vinagre, 2021, p 394) Virtual Exchange (VE) is a web-based program that participants can access via computers or cell phones Most VE programs use video conferencing for real-time communication Synchronous features such as audio, video, chat, break-out rooms, interactive whiteboard, feedback, and application sharing make VE like a real classroom challenging topics and tasks can impede students' progress in learning speaking skills To develop effective, relevant, and suitable learning materials for EFL students, future VE teachers may consider creating, validating, and revising speaking materials based on the revised Bloom's taxonomy (Rampeng, Atmowardoyo, & Noni, 2021) which consists of six categories: Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating Aligning learning activities with the six levels of thinking, spanning from simple to challenging, can provide a systematic approach to lesson planning which enhances learning outcomes This enables students to be equipped and acquainted with diverse learning encounters that range in complexity Here are some ideas for developing English speaking materials based on the revised Bloom's Taxonomy for students at the B1 (VSTEP) level: - Remembering: Create activities that focus on memorizing and practicing common vocabulary and phrases For example, students can practice using phrasal verbs, idioms, and expressions that are commonly used in everyday conversations - Understanding: Develop activities that require students to demonstrate their comprehension of the material For example, students can explain simple concepts or ideas in their own words, summarize a text or a video, or answer comprehension questions - Applying: Create activities that require students to apply their knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems For example, students can role-play a job interview, debate a current issue, or create a proposal for a simple business idea - Analyzing: Develop activities that require students to break down ideas into smaller parts and analyze their meaning For example, students can compare and contrast two different talks or short stories, or identify and explain the causes and effects of an event - Evaluating: Create activities that require students to make judgments or evaluate the effectiveness of something For example, students can give comments on their friends’ pieces of writing or presentations based on criteria or rubrics provided by the teachers Teachers can model the feedback process by giving feedback on a sample piece of writing or presentation in front of the 35 class, and explaining why certain feedback is given This can help students understand what they should be looking for when evaluating their peers' work - Creating: Develop activities that require students to use their creativity and imagination to create something new For example, students can write and perform a short play, make a short video, or design a poster or brochure In our study, data showed that students demonstrated certain improvements in language skills when participating in activities or answering questions that are universally shared, tangible, or directly connected to their personal encounters However, their progress is limited when it comes to learning situations that are abstract or highly specific to particular contexts or their individual interests This finding is not surprising, given the current proficiency levels of students in the virtual environment, which range from A2 to B1 Research shows for learners who not have high levels of English proficiency, the frequency of English study plays a crucial role in effectively advancing to the next level of proficiency (Kartal & Sarigul, 2017) Since English language skills are developed gradually over time, it is recommended that the duration of VE be extended to more than four months, or conducted every semester to give students more opportunities to practice and improve their oral communication skills Additionally, in order to obtain gradual improvements in the five elements of speaking skills (Grammar, Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Fluency, and Discourse Management), recordings of each meeting should be reviewed by both students and teachers for further analysis of language production Constructive feedback from the teachers can provide students with clear instructions on the areas they need to focus on in order to improve their language production Furthermore, through receiving feedback on their language use, students can gain a greater awareness of how they are communicating with others Constructive feedback can aid learners in monitoring their progress over time, resulting in improved communication skills and more effective speaking abilities To help students improve their speaking proficiency in a positive and encouraging manner, researchers (e.g Omer & Abdularhim (2017), Whitney & Ackerman (2020)) suggest the following elements of effective constructive feedback: 36 - Specificity: Feedback should be specific and focus on particular aspects of the student's language proficiency, such as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, or fluency - Clarity: Feedback should be clear and easy to understand, avoiding jargon or overly technical language - Positivity: Feedback should be positive and emphasize the student's strengths, as well as providing suggestions for areas of improvement - Actionable: Feedback should be actionable, meaning that it provides specific suggestions for how the student can improve their language proficiency - Timeliness: Feedback should be provided in a timely manner, ideally soon after the student has completed a task or assignment 5.5 Limitations and directions for future studies The present study has some limitations The sample size was relatively small, and it would be important to conduct replication studies with larger samples to validate the findings Moreover, language production samples of some participants were not collected throughout the data collection period because some of them skipped meetings, which calls for a cautious interpretation of the findings Additionally, our study was conducted over four months Research shows that learners will vary in the amount of time it takes them to improve their English learning, depending on many factors (Kartal & Sarigul, 2017) In addition, it takes longer to progress a level as learners move up the scale The guided learning hours for learners to move from A2 to B1 are approximately from 150-200 hours (CUP, 2013) Therefore, to detect developments or changes in the students’ learning progress at the group and individual levels, future evidence-based research should be longitudinal It would also be of great interest to compare students’ linguistic competence before and after the VE program (pre- and post-test scores), along with a fine-grained corpus analysis of data (Rienties et al., 2022), often with the use of computational tools and techniques in future studies Future researchers can compare the pre- and post-test scores using statistical analysis techniques such as t-tests or ANOVA, to determine if there is a significant difference in students' linguistic competence before and after the VE program The researchers can also look at individual students' scores to identify areas of strength 37 and weakness, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the VE program for different groups of learners According to Nguyen and Malabarba (2019), Tai (2018), and Zirn et al., (2011), fine-grained analysis may involve segmenting text at the word, phrase, or sentence level and annotating the data with information such as part-of-speech tags (labels assigned to words in a text corpus that indicate their syntactic category or 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Part 1: Background Information Gender: Male Female Nationality: Vietnam Taiwan Egypt Poland Colombia Age: 18 to 20 Above 20 Years of study Freshman Junior Sophomore Senior Other: Perceived English proficiency level (VSTEP) Under A2 A2 44 B1 B2 C1 Part 2: The perceived effectiveness of VE on students’ speaking skills Please choose one suitable answer (5 = Strongly agree; = Agree; = Neutral; = Disagree; = Strongly disagree) QUESTIONNAIRE 1 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 The VE program improved my Grammar Vocabulary Pronunciation Fluency Discourse management BENEFITS It helped me reduce communication anxiety Its activities built up my debate skills gradually It encouraged my exchange of ideas I found my group leader's support beneficial to my learning process The feedback made by the language experts encouraged a sense of improvement and achievement Its activities improved my critical thinking It motivated me to learn speaking skills It helped me recognize my speaking weaknesses It made me feel more confident to participate in my future English speaking classes It enriched the interaction among participants The Padlet helped me develop my speaking ideas CHALLENGES I had technical problems when participating in the virtual class 45 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Ninety minutes was too long for each meeting It was difficult to follow the language experts' speaking speech I could not catch up with my teammates' speech I did not have enough vocabulary to join speaking activities I was not interested in the study topics The activities were not well-organised The class did not provide enough speaking opportunities Participants were not friendly I felt pressure when participating in the class 46 APPENDIX B TEACHER QUESTIONNAIRE: VIRTUAL EXCHANGE AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS ON ENHANCING NON-ENGLISH MAJORS’ SPEAKING SKILLS Thank you all for participating in the survey Your answers will help us understand the effectiveness of the virtual exchange program on non-English majors’ speaking skills Please answer all questions There is no right or wrong answer All personal information in the questionnaire will be kept confidential Thank you for your support! Part 1: Background Information Gender: Male Female Nationality: Vietnam Taiwan Egypt Poland Colombia The USA Age: Under 40 40 to 60 Above 60 Part 2: The perceived effectiveness of VE on students’ speaking skills Please choose one suitable answer (5 = Strongly agree; = Agree; = Neutral; = Disagree; = Strongly disagree) QUESTIONNAIRE 3 The VE program improved students’ Grammar Vocabulary Pronunciation 47 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Fluency Discourse management BENEFITS It helped students reduce communication anxiety Its activities built up students’ debate skills gradually It encouraged students’ exchange of ideas I found group leaders’ support beneficial to students’ learning process The feedback made by the language experts encouraged a sense of improvement and achievement Its activities improved students’ critical thinking It motivated students to learn speaking skills It helped students recognize their speaking weaknesses It made students’ feel more confident to participate in future English speaking classes It enriched the interaction among participants The Padlet helped students develop their speaking ideas CHALLENGES Students had technical problems when participating in the virtual class Ninety minutes was too long for each meeting It was difficult to follow the language experts' speaking speech Students could not catch up with teammates' speech Students did not have enough vocabulary to join speaking activities Students were not interested in the study topics The activities were not well-organised The class did not provide enough speaking opportunities Participants were not friendly Students felt pressure when participating in the class 48 APPENDIX C GUIDELINES FOR SEMI-STRUCTURED INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS Main purposes: To get more insight into participants' perspectives on the advantages and drawbacks of the virtual exchange program in relation to their speaking abilities, as well as the advantages and obstacles they faced during their participation Do you think that the virtual exchange program project brought you some benefits? If yes, what are they? Do you think that the virtual exchange program had some drawbacks? If yes, what are they? What are the interesting parts of the virtual exchange program? What are the differences between studying English at a formal institution and participating in a virtual exchange program? Have you seen any improvements in your speaking skills? If yes, what are they? Do you believe that the virtual exchange program improve your speaking ability? Please give some examples to support your answer 49