Common errors in english speaking lessons of english freshmen at tay do university

TAY DO UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE RESEARCH PROPOSAL COMMON ERRORS IN ENGLISH SPEAKING LESSONS OF ENGLISH FRESHMEN AT TAY DO UNIVERSITY Supervisor: PHAN THI MINH UYEN, M A Student’s name: LE THI THANH TUYEN Student’s code: 1652220201065 Class: Bachelor of English 11B May, 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii ABSTRACT iv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 The significance of study 1.3 The organization of the study CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definition of speaking and its importance 2.1.1 Definition of speaking 2.1.2 The importance of speaking 2.2 Problems in speaking skill 2.2.1 Linguistic cause 2.2.1.1 Vocabulary 2.2.1.2 Pronunciation 2.2.1.3 Grammar structure 2.2.1.4 Background knowledge 2.2.1.5 Learning enviroment CHAPTER III RESEARCH AIM- RESEARCH QUESTION-HYPOTHESIS 3.1 Research aims 3.2 Research questions 3.3 Hypothesis CHAPTER IV 10 RESEARCH METHODLOGY 10 4.1 Design 10 i 4.2 Participants 10 4.3 Instruments 10 4.5 Procedure 11 CHAPTER V 12 EXPECTED OUTCOMES 12 REFERENCES 13 THE QUESTIONAIRE FOR STUDENTS 15 ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In the process of doing this proposal research “Common errors in Englishspeaking lessons of first-year English students at Tay Do University” I have received the help and enthusiastic advice from many teachers at Tay Do University so that I can finish this research Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Ms Phan Thi Minh Uyen, whom I wish to send my great gratitude to, I really love her enthusiasm for teaching Next, I am really grateful to give my deep gratitude to all lectures in the Faculty of Linguistics and Literature at Tay Do University during the past four years Last but not least, I would like to say thank you from my deeply heart to my family and my friends, they helped me overcome difficulties to complete my research iii ABSTRACT The research “Common errors in English speaking lessons of English freshmen at Tay Do University” Speaking is considered to be one of the most important skills of language learners This study aims at finding out their errors in speaking process To achieve the goals of this study, the participants are freshmen majoring in English at Tay Do University (2019-2020) The research’s tools include questionnaire The expected outcome will show some difficulties in speaking of English majored freshmen at Tay Do University that related to linguistics like vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar structure, background knowledge, learning environment The freshmen at Tay Do University will improve their speaking skill through this study iv CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Today, English is one of the languages most people learn and speak, when a good English speaker will be very confident in communicating and achieving many successes in work and daily life English is a way for us to gain more knowledge By watching movies from other countries in English, we can learn a bit about their culture; and by reading more books in English, we can learn about many aspects of life such as history, science, literature, etc and when we got to know more things became more interesting in life Acccording to AJ Hoge (2011) “English is very important because it can help you get real results in studying English, such as connecting with the native speaker easily as well as making friends, participating in business meeting, talking to customer, understanding movies, and getting better jobs” In addition, Grognet A.G( 136:1997) also stated that “speaking is one of the skills that should be mastered by student in learing English” So they learn harder to make progress because Speaking skills help the English language work communication function by yourself Moreover, speaking skills also contributes to strengthening the listening skills of the person, help improve vocabulary Therefore, many Vietnamese students want to learn and practice a lot to improve their speaking skills, which helps them to study and work in the future However, Vietnamese students in general, English freshmen at Tay Do University in particular; still have a lot of difficulties learning English, especially speaking skills in English communication Communicating in English is always a great challenge for some students Students may have good vocabulary and a good grammar, but you cannot speak to foreigners, the only reason is not being able to hear what they are saying Communication is the process of listening - understanding and speaking, but if you cannot hear, then how to understand and continue to talk with people 1.2 The significance of study The researcher proposal hopes to help the first-year English major students of Tay Do School to find common mistakes in the learning process to come up with the corrective solutions mentioned in the study aims to improve your speaking skills for you better 1.3 The organization of the study This research includes five chapters consisting of: Chapter I: Introduction Chapter II: Literature review Chapter III: Research aims- Research question-Hypothesis Chapter IV: Research methodology Chapter V: Expected outcome CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definition of speaking and its importance 2.1.1 Definition of speaking Speaking skill is the form of oral communication Speaking, we make sounds using many parts of the body, including the lungs, airways, chords, tongues, teeth and lips Speaking is the activity of exchanging information to identify and interact with one another in a person-to-person relationship to achieve a certain purpose Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information (Brown, 1994; Burns & Joyce, 1997) Speaking depends on the context of the incident, including the thoughts and perceptions of the speaker they want to convey to the listener This sentence means that the speaker must understand the ideas and content in the most appropriate way that he wants to convey to the listener in order to help the communication effectively In short, there are many concepts about speaking through the explanations outlined above We can understand that speaking is a tool of communication through words to convey ideas and feelings between people 2.1.2 The importance of speaking Speaking skills are one of the most important skills in learning foreign languages Communication is the condition of human existence Without communication, people cannot develop their mind and they feel lonely Through communication we can identify the needs, ideals, emotions, living capital, experience of the communicating object, whereby the communicating subject responds promptly and appropriately purpose and communication mission Almost all conversations in life are through words to express We use the language of communication in a variety of everyday situations around us: in the workplace, school, play area, family, friends, hospital, etc Good speaking skills will help to improve the life of an individual and it brings comprehensive development such as finding good jobs, earning a lot of money, having more social relationships, and understanding, more knowledge, etc Rasyid (1991) exemplified that “most job after for private companies require the applicants to be conversant with English, but certainly not limited to one’s professional aspirations” English will help you have more job opportunities and pursue your dreams of success Because today’s world is globalized, the job market always requires employees to communicate well in English, which is mandatory in all industries today English will be a tool to help students find good jobs in the future When a student speaks English well, they will be very confident in many fields such as translation, negotiation, business, commerce, etc and it is considered as an essential element in the success of learning English To summarize, speaking is a key life-skill in everyone’s life It is not only the top skill of acquiring a new language but also the skill that helps us communicate effectively as well as creates better relationships Therefore, English learners should pay attention to speaking skill to be more successful 2.2 Problems in speaking skill Currently, due to the globalization of the world, English has become the most popular language, but learning English has many difficulties, for example, speaking skills This is a problem for first-year students majoring in English at Tay Do University In this study, I will analyze the factors that affect my ability to speak Nunan (1991) wrote, “success is measured in terms of the ability to carry out a conversation in the (target) language” Therefore, if a student is unable to conduct a conversation in a language classroom, students will lose motivation and interest in learning, and of course,if students have good speaking skills in front of everyone in the class, they will easily acquire knowledge quickly and enjoy 2.2.1 Linguistic cause In this part, the researcher will concern with the linguistic causes It consist of lots elements such as vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, structure, listening skill, background knowledge These are some factors that cause difficulties in the process of learning speaking English 2.2.1.1 Vocabulary Vocabulary is an important factor in the process of learning a foreign language Students may learn a lot of vocabulary at school, but when students are out, students cannot understand a simple everyday sentence of a foreigner That’s one of the problems every student encounters So students need to supplement with the words closest to them in everyday life When English learners have enough vocabulary, your speaking ability will improve better in all communication contexts Speakers can communicate information easily through vocabulary, so students know more vocabulary will express ideas and views more accurately Vocabulary can be considered the heart of learning a new language According to D.A Wilkins, “without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed” With the same point of view, Luppescu and Day (1993) also mentioned that “vocabulary building is pre-requisite when learners are learning a second language” Therefore, students need to learn vocabulary first and understand the meaning of each word, it is an important tool of language learning Knowledge of vocabulary will make students a success for communication In short, vocabulary seems to be a main cause that student feel inconvenient to express their ideas, thought, and emotion in speaking English 2.2.1.2 Pronunciation Pronunciation is the first thing students notice when students speak English Foreigners or people with good English skills can fully assess students’ English skills with just a few words students speak If students pronounce correctly, foreigners will still be able to understand what students are saying, whether their vocabulary is limited or their grammar is incorrect But they will immediately recognize whether your pronunciation is good or not, which will negatively affect your impression Hughes (2002,p.67) claimed that “the aim of pronounciation improvement is not to achieve a perfect imitation of native account,but simply to get the learners to pronounce accurately enough to be easily and comfortably comprehensible to other” Students often make mistakes with consonant systems, vowels and syllables In addition, the most remarkable thing is that the last pronunciation is the important rule for the listener to know which word is being mentioned If students pronounce correctly, the messages students speak will always be transmitted completely and the listener can understand everything students say Conversely, incorrect pronunciation can lead to failure to convey the message and even cause communication problems In short, students need to know where their make mistakes and try to improve them better Good pronunciation will help students confidently communicate and succeed 2.2.1.3 Grammar structure Speaking skill is considered as the face of people in life, which means poor speaking skill will make the first bad impression to the opposites Besides vocabulary, grammar structure holds an important role in speaking skill According to Zakaria Dalil (2013) “grammar structure is an instrumental tool that enables the speakers to create a wide variety of sentences and equip them with the necessary instruction as to how combine these sentences to their best purpose” However, students usually meet grammatical errors Their sentences in conversations are like translating word-by-word from Vietnamese Undoubtedly, grammar is an essential component of a language It is an integral part of language that we use in communication every day To conclude, focusing on learning grammar will not only help learners exercise or write passages but also help them speakers English well 2.2.1.4 Background knowledge Background knowledge is a key component for students to listen English successfully Simon(1996) defined that “background knowledge is all knowledge learners have when entering a learning environment that is potentially relevant knowledge’ Gebhard (2000) affirmed that ‘background knowledge related to our read world experiences and expectations that we have This knowledge is very important when we consider that language processsing problem of students” From these statements, it can be seen that background knowledge is the knowledge that students have gained during their study and lives To sum up, background knowledge is the factors impacting on students’ speaking ability 2.2.1.5 Learning environment Students should use English both inside and outside the classroom so that the knowledge gained will be strengthened and retained In fact, when learners not speak English more, they will not be confident enough to communicate with others In addition, a traditional definition of a learning environment is based on five different contexts: local, social, pedagogical, technological and physical That means that different students from different backgrounds have different learning environments Each of them provides a unique learning environment However, it is important that students choose an effective learning environment To plan and build an effective physical learning environment, you don't just need to build specifications; Qualitative aspects also need to be considered Thus, Bose (2007) pointed out that “in the case of the mother tongue, the child learns it easily, due to the favorable environment and by the great amount of exposure to the language However, learning a second language requires conscious efforts to learn it and the exposure to the second language in most cases is limited” Students should use English both inside and outside the classroom to reinforce and retain knowledge When students not speak English much they will not be confident enough to communicate with others In reality, students should voluntarily facilitate learning in different environments to improve their levels CHAPTER III RESEARCH AIM- RESEARCH QUESTION-HYPOTHESIS 3.1 Research aims The main purpose of this study is to help students identify difficulties and overcome and improve their ability to speak effectively 3.2 Research questions This study is required to answer the following research questions: What are common errors in learning speaking of English freshmen at Tay Do University? What are some suggested ways to improve the speaking skill of English majored freshmen at Tay Do University? 3.3 Hypothesis According to English majored freshmen at Tay Do University, speaking is considered a difficult skill Although they have learned speaking in two terms, they still have some problems with English speaking class Through a review of literature and research questions, the expected outcome will be suggested for students This proposal research helps them to improve their English speaking skills CHAPTER IV RESEARCH METHODLOGY 4.1 Design The research is conducted to answer the research question and to test the hypotheses The researcher also wants to find out the effects of freshmen majoring in English speaking at Tay Do University The instruments consist of a questionnare The participants are the first-year English majors at Tay Do University The collected information of these instruments will be analyzed to show the common errors of freshmen majoring in English speaking at Tay Do University 4.2 Participants The participants in this study are English Freshmen at Tay Do University, (20182022) Vietnamese is their first language and English is considered as their second language They will be given questionnaires in order that the researcher gets information about problems which they have faced in course learning speaking English 4.3 Instruments Information received from participants through questionnaire that share many difficulties in learning speaking English Questionnaire Questions/ statements Summary of question/statement’s content Question to Statement’s background of learning speaking Statement to Statement 10 to 11 Statement 12 to 16 Don’t recognize English sounds, lack of concentration when speaking The influence of vocabulary in speaking Do not keep up the speed of the speaker, it is difficult to grasp the main idea of the article, grammar 10 4.5 Procedure Time: during 16 weeks Step 1: the first three weeks activities + Correcting the research title + Researching materials to support for the research + Designing questionnaire + Asking the teacher for the permission of delivering questionnaire + Delivering the questionnaire to students Step 2: the fourth to the ninth weeks + Collecting the data from questionnaire + Designing chapter + Writing chapter + Getting the teacher’s guidance + Designing chapter 3,4,5 + Writing chapter 3,4 Step 3: the tenths to the last weeks + Writing chapter 5,1 + Getting the teacher’s guidance + Completing the research 11 CHAPTER V EXPECTED OUTCOMES This research aims to point some difficulties in learning speaking that English Freshmen at Tay Do University usually faced Students can enlarge new words and review the old words by communicating with native English speakers They also learn many idioms, dialects, slang Thus, communicating with native English speakers is a good way to increase vocabulary efficiently in order to support students’ speaking skill and other skill Communicating with native English speakers not only help students get used to with correct form a sentences and translation to express idea but also appear coherent and more logic Students can improve pronunciation, intonation, accent and speech rate by communicating with native English speakers Besides, they can improve their accent then know clearly some differences about native accent Communicating with native English speakers English learners can increase knowledge about many fields such as society, culture, education and health In addition, they not only provide some background knowledge but also improve students’ language learning 12 REFERENCES BOOK REFERENCES 1.Ali a Alsaaw, (I2013) To what extent it can guess the meaning from context, useful in teaching vocabulary ARECLS ,, Episode 10, 130-146 Annisa, A., (2013) Vocabulary presentation technique for EFL learners Journal of English and education, (1), 11-20 International journal of teaching and collective education III, No 31 3/2015 Coady, J., & Huckin, T (edited) (1997), Acquiring a Second Language Vocabulary, Cambridge University Press Carter, R (1987) Vocabulary: An applied linguistic perspective Norwood, N.J ’Ablex Folse, K (2004) Applying second language research to the classroom Ann Arbor University of Michigan Press Gairns, R & Redman, S (1986) Instruction for teaching and learning vocabulary, Cambridge University Press Gu, Y (2003a), Learn vocabulary in a second language: people, tasks, contexts and strategies Electronic magazine TESL-EJ, 7, 2, 1-26 Burns, Anne and Halen Joyce (1997) Focus on speaking Sydney : National Center for English Language Teaching and Research Cohen, A(1996), Developing the ability to perform speech acts Studies in Second Language Acquisition 10.Brown, H(2000) Principles of language learning and teaching New Jersey: Prentice Hall 11 Harmer, Jeremy(2001) The Practice of English Language Teaching England : Longman 12 Wilkins,D(1972) Linguistics in Language teaching.London:Arnold 13.James D,William (2005:2) The Teacher’s Grammar Book Soka University Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 13 14.Rasyid,Abd.(1991) The Effectiveness of Language Grammar in Teaching Speaking Class to the Eight Grade Students of SMPN Maros Unpublished Thesis Makassar :PPs UNM 15 Nunan, D (2003) Practical English language teaching Oxford University Press 16 Gebhard, J (2000) Teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language: A Teacher Self-development and methodology Guide United States of Amercia: The University of Michigan Press 14 THE QUESTIONAIRE FOR STUDENT Dear students, My name is Le Thi Thanh Tuyen and I am a senior of English major I am very grateful to you for spending your valuable time helping me with this questionnaire This questionnaire is one of the instrument for my research about “Common Errors In English Speaking Lessons Of English major freshmen At Tay Do University” Please take your time to finish these below questions carefully because its result is important to my research Thank you very much Student’s full name… … Age … Gender… Male … … Female… Class… Part1 Please read the following question and circle the appropriate answer to your opinion Give the specific answers if needed How long have you studied English? ………………………………………………… What you think about learning Speaking? A Very important B Important C Normal D Boring E Very boring How you evaluate your speaking skill? A Very good B Good C Average D Bad E Very bad 15 How much time you spend on practicing speaking a day? a ……….minute(s) b ……….hour(s) Have you ever made any mistake in speaking English? a Yes b No If yes, how often you make the mistake in speaking English? a Always b Usually c Sometimes d Seldom e Never What mistake you often make in speaking English?(limited vocabulary, not recognizing English sounds, not keep up the speed of the speaker, lack of concentration, it is difficult to grasp the main idea of the article,…) ……………………………………………………………………………… Part This below table is about the difficulties in speaking English Please read these Sentences below and put the tick on the number Statements Strongly agree internal throughts or feelings I cannot easily to get keywords of the speaking text Vocabulary is also No idea Disagree Strongly disagree I am easily distracted by 10 Agree an important issue in speaking skills 11 I think new vocabulary is a problem for in speaking 16 12 I think grammar is a problem for in speaking 13 The linking sounds make you confused when you speak 14 The speaking speed of the person who is communicating with you affects your ability to absorb and react( too fast for you to catch up) 15 I am often distracted about background noise 16 I am afraid of making mistakes in language (intonation, phonetics) 17