Difficulties in learning english speaking skill of english majored freshmen at tay do university

TAY DO UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE RESEARCH PROPOSAL ON DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILL OF ENGLISH MAJORED FRESHMEN AT TAY DO UNIVERSITY Supervisor: Dang Thi Hanh, MA Student’s name: Phan Y Nhi Student’s code: 13D220201076 Class: Bachelor of English 8B April 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My research could not be finished without the help of a lot of people Hence, I would like to express our deep gratitude to many following people who helped and supported me to complete this research First of all, I would like to send my sincere thanks to Tay Do University, especially, the lecturers of Faculty of Linguistics and Literature, for giving me a chance to conduct the study Secondly, I would like to express my deep greatfulness to my supervisor, MA Dang Thi Hanh for her enthusiastic guidance and important comments during the process of conducting this research This paper could not be finished without her critical comment and valuable contribution In addition, I am grateful to all my friends in this English 8B, who have encouraged me a lot to finish the research and shared me with useful infomation Finally, I would like to give wholehearted thankful word to my family for supporting me the best condition and encouraging me during my studying process This is the motivation that helps me accomplish this research i COMMENTS ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i COMMENTS ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii ABSTRACT v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 The significance of study 1.3 The organization of study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The definitions of the speaking 2.2 The importance of speaking 2.3 Difficulties in English speaking 2.3.1 Difficulties related to linguistics 2.3.1.1 Pronunciation, intonation and accent difficulties 2.3.1.2 Vocabulary difficulties 2.3.1.3 Grammar difficulties 2.3.2 Difficulties related to background knowledge 2.3.3 Difficulties related to psychological obstacles 10 2.3.4 Difficulties related to listening comprehension 11 2.4 Previous studies 12 2.4.1 Students’ Strategies in Overcoming Speaking Problems 12 iii 2.4.2 L2 Learners’ Anxiety, Self-Confidence and Oral Performance 13 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH AIMS-RESEARCH QUESTION- HYPOTHESIS 3.1 Research aims 14 3.2 Research question 14 3.3 Hypothesis 14 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHOLOGY 15 4.1 Design 15 4.2 Participants 15 4.3 Instruments 15 4.3.1 Questionnaire 16 4.3.2 Interview 16 4.4 Procedure 16 CHAPTER 5: EXPECTED OUTCOMES 18 REFERENCES 19 APPENDIX A 22 APPENDIX B 29 iv ABSTRACT This survey research presents the process of the study about: “Difficulties in learning English speaking skill of English majored freshmen at Tay Do University” This research was conducted to figure out common difficulties in English speaking of students majoring in English In the study process, questionnaire and interview are used as the two main instruments of the research to collect data from English majored freshmen course XI at Tay Do University The results of this research will point out the students’ difficulties in linguistics (pronunciation, intonation, accent; vocabulary; grammar); background knowledge; psychological obstacles; listening comprehension Therefore, this research can help students recognize and improve their difficulties in speaking ability v CHAPTER INTRODUCTION Chapter presents rationale, significance and organization of the research 1.1 Rationale In today’s modern world, the English language has become an international language In learning English, students usually concentrate on four basic skills, they are speaking, listening, writing, reading Among these skills, speaking skill is an important skill in communicating It is used popularly to communicate in several areas such as business, technology, education, tourism, communication and so on Certainly, speaking skill in English is one of the necessary requirements for those who want to find a suitable job at big company with high salary, easily promote in their work or continue to study in higher education However, speaking skill is not easy for students who learn a new language as English Madrid and McLaren (2006) said that “speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face” It is also central to all activities As Bailey and Savage (1994) also said that speaking is an “activity requiring the integration of many subsystems…all these factors combine to make speaking a second or foreign language a formidable task for language learners…yet for many people, speaking is seen as the central skill” They have accustomed to traditional methods which focus on theory than practice Therefore, they often face many matters in expressing information with listeners such as not having enough words to express ideas and thoughts, feeling ashamed when mispronouncing and mistaking in the grammar, or lacking background knowledge For those reasons, the research “Difficulties in learning English speaking skill of English majored freshmen at Tay Do University” is conducted to find out difficulties that students have faced when learning speaking skill Moreover, students can choose the apposite methods to improve their speaking skill and they should try to study and practice regularly 1.2 The significance of research This research was expected to help students realize their difficulties in learning English speaking skill, particularly the English majored freshmen at Tay Do University Furthermore, basing on the difficulties mentioned in this research, it could help them find out an appropriate way to improve their speaking skill 1.3 The organization of research The research consists of five chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Literature review Chapter3: Research aims - Research question-Hypothesis Chapter 4: Research methodology Chapter 5: Expected outcomes CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW Chapter presents the definitions of speaking, its importance and problems in English Speaking (linguistics (pronunciation, intonation, accent; vocabulary; grammar); background knowledge; psychological obstacles; listening comprehension) 2.1 The definitions of speaking Speaking is one of important skills in learning English People can express what they are thinking, show their emotions as well as communicate and interact with each other Therefore, “speaking is also a multi-sensory activity because it involves paralinguistic features such as eye-contact, facial expressions, body language, tempo, pauses, voice quality changes, and pitch variation which affect conversational flow” (Thornbury, 2005, p.9) Furthermore, Donough and Shaw (1993) also believed that “speaking is a skill which enables people to produce utterances to make conversation in communicating to achieve a particular end The utterances may involve expressing ideas, wishes or opinions negotiating or solving problems, establishing or maintaining social relationships” Besides, the term of speaking can be defined by several ways According to Brown (1994) and Burn & Joyce (1997), “speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information” In addition, “speaking is the action of conveying information or expressing one's thoughts and feeling in spoken language Based on its function, “speaking is defined as a way to verbally communicate for mostly interpersonal and somewhat transactional purposes” (Nunan, 1999, p 228) According to Gumperz (1999, p.101), “speaking is cooperatively constructed which is based on contributions, assumptions, expectations, and interpretations of the participants’ utterances” In fact, speaking is the delivery of language through the mouth To speak, we create sounds using many parts of our body, including the lungs, vocal tract, vocal chords, tongue, teeth and lips However, speaking is not only the producing of the utterances but also the combining non-verbal language in specific contexts It also requires speakers to know both linguistic including and sociolinguistic aspect of including the participants’ background knowledge, the environment and the purpose of speaking In short, speaking is a multifaceted construct According to Thornbury and Slade (2006, p.5), “this complexity derives from speaking being so ubiquitous in our daily language usage” Besides, speaking could be defined as a social, multi-sensory speech event, whose topic is unpredictable As Thornbury and Slade (2006, p.17) expressed that “speaking is social, in the sense that it establishes rapport and mutual agreement, maintains and modifies social identity, and involves interpersonal skills” This social element is expressed through wishes, feelings, attitudes, opinions and judgments, which can clash with the formal nature of the classroom when teaching speaking Through the expressions and actions when speaking, listeners can understand what the speaker is referring to and they can easily share information together To speak English well, learners also need to pay attention to choosing appropriate vocabulary, using accurate grammar, making correct sounds, stressing exact patterns, rhythm and intonation Therefore, they can improve their speaking skill easily and be able to become an excellent speaker 2.2 The importance of speaking In today’s global world, the importance of English cannot be denied and ignored since English is the most common language spoken in the world Listening, speaking, reading and writing are four main skills of learning English However, speaking skill is generally thought to be the most important of the four skills and it is one of the main skills in communication which is really essential in all aspects of life According to the viewpoint of Gerald Gillis (2013), “the four language skills consisting of listening, speaking, reading, and writing are all interconnected Proficiency in each skill is necessary to become a well-rounded communicator, but 4.3.1 Questionnaire The questionnaire includes questions and 23 statements and it is classified into the following groups: Group Summary of the content of question group a 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 b 8, c From 10 to 30 Students’ background Students’ attitude toward speaking The problems students have faced in speaking 4.3.2 Interview The paper interview is designed to get the specific information from the freshmen about speaking skill It consists of questions which mentioned The aim of this instrument is to understand the freshmen’s attitude towards speaking English and to confirm difficulties in English speaking of freshmen majoring 4.4 Procedure In this part, the process of implementing the research was presented It will be done within 12 weeks and process is divided into steps All the activities of carrying out the research are listed in the following table 16 Duration (12 weeks) Activities in study process Step1: From the 1st week to 4th week Step 2: From the 5th week to 7th week  To design the framework of the research  To design questionnaire and interview  To ask the teacher for the permission of delivering questionnaire  To deliver the questionnaires to students and interview to teachers and students  To collect the data from questionnaire and interview Step3: From the  To analyze the collected data from questionnaire and interview 8th week to 12th  To complete the paper week 17 CHAPTER EXPECTED OUTCOMES Speaking plays a core role in learning a language Nevertheless, students majoring in English usually face many difficulties when practicing speaking English Actually, from the questionnaires and interviews of the research, the researcher figures out the difficulties of English majored freshmen students at Tay Do University They are pronunciation, intonation, accent; vocabulary; grammar; background knowledge; psychological obstacles and listening comprehension This research will help students recongize their difficulties and find out suitable methods to improve their speaking skill For the teachers, it is expected that they know the difficulties of their students when learning speaking skill Therefore, they will apply appropriate teaching methods to help students develop this skill Moreover, the school will create all great conditions to help students learn good English skills in general, and speaking skill in particular Besides, they will have good plans to accord with current circumtances 18 REFERENCES Ausubel Nathan (1968) Book of Jewish Knowledge Bailey and Savage (1994) New ways in teaching speaking Retrieved from: http://www.worldcat.org/title/new-ways-in-teaching speaking/oclc/31640006 (22 March, 2017) Boyle, Joseph (1984) Factors affecting listening comprehension ELT Journal Vol 38/1 P37 Brazil, D, Coulthard, M,& Johns, C (1980) Discourse, intonation and language teaching London: Longman Brown, H D (1994) and Burn & Joyce (1997) Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents Candlin, C N & Mercer, N (Eds.) English language teaching in its social context London: Routledge Celce Murcia, M (2001) Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language USA: Heinle and Heinle Chen (1983) A Study of Pronunciation Problems of English Learners in China By Fachun Zhang (Vol.5 N.6) Collins Cobuild (2007) English for advanced learner (4th edition) Dalton, C (1994) Pronunciation Oxford: Oxford University Press Donough and Shaw (1993) Materials and Method in ELT (1st edition) Oxford: Black well Gebhard (2000) and Baldwin (2011) Teaching English as a Foreign or Second language USA: The University of Michigan Press Gerald Gillis (2013) The importance of speaking skills Retrieved from: http://www.geraldgillis.com/importance-speaking-skills/ (22 March, 2017) 19 Gumperz, J (1999) The Discourse Reader Oxon:Routledge Hyesook & Adam R Lee Kunsan L2 Learners' Anxiety, Self-Confidence and Oral Performance Retrieved from: http://www.paaljapan.org/resources/proceedings/PAAL10/pdfs/hyesook.pdf (28 March, 2017) Lave & Wenger (1991:98) Communities of Practice Retrieved from: https://sites.psu.edu/ /files/ /ADTED542-Final-Paper-1x2g86m.docx (14 March, 2017) Lightbown, P M & Spada N (2001) Factors affecting second language learning Retrieved from: https://www.uniassignment.com/essay-samples/englishlanguage/define-motivation-in-language-learning-english-language-essay.php (10 February, 2017) Lock, G (1996) Functional English Grammar New York, NY: Cambrige University Press Lukitasari, Nunik (2008) Students’ Strategies in Overcoming Speaking Problems Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/50220554_STUDENTS'_STRATEGIES_ IN_OVERCOMING_SPEAKING_PROBLEMS (13 April, 2017) Madrid & McLaren (2006) The importance of teaching listening and speaking skill- Universidad Complutense de Madrid Retrieved from: https://www.ucm.es/data/cont/docs/ (13 April, 2017) Michael Shelby (1984) Difficulties in Vocabulary Learning Retrieved from: http://www.english-for-students.com/ Difficulties-in-vocabulary-Learning.html (15 March, 2017) Nguyen Thi Phuong (2013) The Difficulties in English Listening of English Majored- Freshmen at Tay Do University Nunan, D (1999) Second Language Teacher and Learning Heinle & Heinle 20 Oxford Pocket dictionary of Current English (2009) Rababah, G (2003) Communication Problems Facing Arab Learners of English: A Personal Perspective TEFL Web Journal, 2(1) Richards, Platt & Platt (1992) Dictionary of language teaching & Applied Linguistics (2nd edition) Longman Sapir,E.T Language: An introduction to the study of speech [M] New York: Harcourt Brace& Company 1921 The American linguist Edward Sapir (1921) Language: An Introduction to the study of speech Thornbury (2005) Students’ Perception on EFL Speaking Skill Development Retrieved from https://jetuki.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/3-students-perceptionon-efl-speaking-skill-development-pp-28-43.pdf (15 February, 2017) Thornbury, S and Slade, D (2006).Conversation: from description to pedagogy Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Ur, P (1996) A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory Cambridge University Press Webster’s Dictionary (1993) Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Retrieved from: https://www.amazon.com/WebstersInternational-Dictionary-English-Language/dp/0877792011 (17 March, 2017) 21 APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS Dear friends, My name is Phan Y Nhi and I am a senior of English major I would like to give my thanks to you for spending your precious time helping me with this questionnaire Now I am carrying out a research entitled “Difficulties in learning English speaking skill of English majored freshmen at Tay Do University” This is the questionnaire used to collect the necessary information from you, so please take your time to finish these below questions carefully because your answers are very important and helpful to my research Once again, thank you so much! Students’ full name: Age: Class: Gender:   Male Female Please read the following questions and circle the appropriate answer for each question Give specific: How long have you studied English? .years Where you come from? a Urban area/city b Rural area/ countryside Which subject did you learn when you were in high school? a Listening b Speaking c Reading d Writing 22 Which subject you like best? a Listening b Speaking c Reading d Writing What you think about speaking skill? a Very important b Important c Normal d Not important How is your speaking skill? a Very good b Good c Normal d Bad How much time you spend practicing speaking a day? a hour(s) a day b minute(s) a day 23 This below table is about your difficulties in speaking English Please read and following statements mark (√) in suitable column to express opinion Strong Statement agree (1) Agree No ideas Disagree (2) (3) (4) English speaking is one of important skills Communicating with native speakers is not easy for you 10 Pronunciation is a common problem of English majored students in learning speaking because it directly affects their speaking ability 11 You feel confused about word stress, connected speech, linking words, the final sounds and intonation 12 You will have many obstacles when your pronunciation and intonation are not good 24 Strongly disagree (5) 13 When learning English speaking, intonation usually makes you confused in communication because different intonations can make the same sentence have various meanings 14 Lack of vocabulary make you are not selfconfident when speaking and communicating 15 You forget some words you have learned because you not review old words regularly 16 Vocabulary seems to be a main cause that makes students feel so difficult to express their ideas in English speaking 17 When you not speak fluently because of lack of vocabulary, you can make listeners feel bored and they will 25 not understand what you are trying to express 18 If you have good knowledge of grammar, you will study English well by using different appropriate structures in speaking 19 You usually make grammatical errors in your speaking skill such as tenses, word orders and punctuation 20 The grammatical rules of English language are not the same as Vietnamese grammar 21 Background knowledge is a vital factor in speaking process 22 Background knowledge helps you get enough ideas in other to express their thoughts, feelings and opinions 26 23 You should have good knowledge on many fields to apply their knowledge to speaking in contexts 24 With poor background knowledge, you cannot build good ideas 25 Psychological obstacle is one of factors which make limit your ability 26 Environment is a factor affecting directly to English studying process in general and English speaking in particular 27 You usually feel nervous when you face a new topic 28 You often feel shy and anxious when speaking in front of crowd 29 Listening comprehension plays an important role in 27 learning a new language 30 Speaking cannot exist without listening as well as communication will fail without the existence of listening or speaking The end THANKS FOR YOUR HELP! 28 APPENDIX B INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Dear friends, My name is Phan Y Nhi and I am a senior of English major I would like to give my thanks to you for spending your precious time helping me with this interview questions Now I am carrying out a research entitled “Difficulties in learning English speaking skill of English majored freshmen at Tay Do University” Your information will be very useful and necessary to my research Therefore, please finish all the below questions Once again, thank you so much! Students’ full name: Age: Class: Gender:  Male  Female Please read and answer the questions below carefully Why you choose English as your major? Do you think English speaking is the most difficult one? Why or why not? 29 What are your difficulties when learning speaking English in class? According to you, which factor has become your biggest difficulty in learning speaking English? Why? The end THANKS FOR YOUR HELP! 30