An investigation into factors affecting students english speaking performance at tran cao van high school in tam ky quang nam province

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from associates and have not been published elsewhere Author Le Kieu Lan Phuong i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been completed without the help of many people First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Ngu Thien Hung, for his professional guidance and excellent support at the very beginning of the research Second, I would like to save my deep gratefulness to Dr Le Pham Hoai Huong for her suggestion about my thesis’s title Third, my warm thanks also go to my cousin, Ms Huynh Ngoc Mai Kha for all her kind help she gave me during the time I conducted my study I would like to send my special thanks to English teachers and grade 10 students at Tran Cao Van High School who took part in my research as samples ii In addition, I would like to express my deep thanks to Ms Tran Thi Thu Suong for making helpful comments on my thesis Finally, I want to show my profound gratitude to my parents, my younger brother, my husband and my daughter for their understanding, support and love during the implementation of this project iii ABSTRACT Developing students’ English speaking performance is one of the challenges facing teachers of English It is not only concerned with the nature of language teaching and learning from linguistic perspectives, but also influenced by other factors So, this study has been conducted with the aims to find out factors affecting students’ English speaking performance to help English teachers understand the difficulties of students in their English speaking performance and to draw better solutions to improve English speaking performance of students at Tran Cao Van High School Three instruments (1) questionnaires for students and teachers, (2) students and teachers interviews and (3) class observations were used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data The participants of the study are 100 grade ten students and twelve teachers teaching English at Tran Cao Van High School in Tam Ky CityQuang Nam Province in the school year of 2010-2011 Basing on the analysis of the statistical data from the interviews and questionnaires, this paper focuses on the discussion of the impacts of the factors, especially the factors relating to students themselves on their speaking in English at high schools The findings reveal that students at Tran Cao Van High School have many problems in their speaking class, including having difficulty in speaking and expressing their ideas in English, taking little participation in the speaking activities, being teacher and peer pressure and having no chance to practice speaking English Also, there are also many factors leading to problems students at Tran Cao Van High School have in their English speaking class and affecting their English speaking performance They consist of external factors and factors relating to students themselves Additionally, many suggestions made by both teachers and students for the sake of helping students overcome the factors affecting students’ English speaking performance, especially the ones relating to themselves to improve their English speaking performance better and better have also been given iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .ii ABSTRACT iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF TABLES LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the research 1.2 Aims and objectives of the research 1.2.1 Aims of the research 1.2.2 Objectives of the research 10 1.2.3 Research questions 10 1.3 Scope of the research 10 1.4 Significance of the research 11 1.5 Organization of the research 11 CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 13 2.1 English speaking performance 13 2.1.1 Definition of speaking skill 13 2.1.2 Definition of speaking performance 14 2.1.3 Linguistic aspects contributing to the evaluation of English speaking performance 15 2.2 Factors affecting students’ English speaking performance 17 2.2.1 Internal factors of language users 18 2.2.2 External factors 24 2.3 Previous studies related to English speaking performance 29 2.3.1 Studies proposing activities used to improve students’ English speaking performance 29 2.3.2 Studies proposing how to organize teaching activities to improve students’ English speaking performance 32 2.3.3 Other related studies 33 2.4 Summary 35 CHAPTER RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 36 3.1 Research design 36 3.2 Hypotheses 37 3.3 Participants 37 3.4 Data collection methods 38 3.4.1 Questionnaires 38 3.4.2 Interviews 40 3.4.3 Class observations 41 3.5 Data analysis 42 3.6 Summary 42 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 43 4.1 Problems encountered by students in their speaking classrooms 43 4.1.1 Students’ opinions about speaking in English 43 4.1.2 Problems students have in their speaking classrooms 45 4.2 Factors leading to problems encountered by students at Tran Cao Van High School in their English speaking class and affecting their English speaking performance 48 4.2.1 Reality of students’ English speaking performance 49 4.2.2 Factors leading to problems students have in their English speaking class and affecting their English speaking performance 49 4.2.2.1 External factors 52 4.2.2.2 Factors relating to students themselves 53 4.3 Suggestions for the improvement of students’ English speaking performance 65 4.3.1 Students’ suggestions 65 4.3.2 Teachers’ suggestions 67 4.4 Summary 68 CHAPTER CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 69 5.1 Summary of Findings 69 5.2 Implications 72 5.2.1 For teachers 72 5.2.1.1 Class management 72 5.2.1.2 Adapting tasks 73 5.2.1.3 Assessment 74 5.2.2 For school administrators 74 5.3 Limitations of the study 75 5.4 Suggestions for further research 75 5.5 Conclusion 76 REFERENCES 77 APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONS FOR STUDENT INTERVIEW APPENDIX 4: QUESTIONS FOR TEACHER INTERVIEW LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1: Students’ feelings of learning speaking in English (Data collected from interviews and questionnaire for students) 43 Figure 4.2: Students’ expressions of the interests in speaking in English (Data collected from interviews and questionnaire for students) 44 Figure 4.3: Student’s opinions about the importance of speaking in English (Data collected from interviews and questionnaire for students) 44 Figure 4.4: Reality of students’ English speaking performance (Data collected from interviews and questionnaire for students) 49 Figure 4.5: Students’ opinions about the role of ELP on students’ ESP 53 Figure 4.6: Teachers’ opinions about the role of ELP on students’ ESP 54 Figure 4.7: Grades for Students’ English Speaking Performance 57 Figure 4.8: Students’ difficulties in ESP with low ELP (Data collected from questionnaire for students) 58 Figure 4.9: Students’ difficulties in ESP with low ELP (Data collected from questionnaire for teachers) 58 Figure 4.10: Students’ perspectives of influence of shyness to their ESP 60 Figure 4.11: Students’ perspectives of influence of topical knowledge on their ESP 63 Figure 4.12: Percentage of students agreeing the effect of topical knowledge on ESP 64 LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: Problems students have in the speaking class (Data collected from interviews and questionnaire for students) 46 Table 4.2: Problems students have in the speaking class (Data collected from interviews and questionnaire for teachers) 47 Table 4.3: Factors affecting students’ English speaking performance (Data collected from questionnaire for students) 50 Table 4.4: Factors affecting students’ English speaking performance (Data collected from questionnaire for teachers) 51 Table 4.5: Students’ perspectives of necessary aspects of ELP for ESP 55 Table 4.6: Teachers’ perspectives of necessary aspects of ELP for ESP 56 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation EFL: English as a Foreign Language ELP: English language 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Making Engineering Students Speak: MAP Formula and Commutainment Activities Internet Source: http://www.esp-world.info/Articles_18/Speak.htm (Last accessed June 10, 2010) 81 APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect information for my research paper on the topic “An investigation into factors affecting students’ English speaking performance at Tran Cao Van High School in Tam Ky City- Quang Nam Province”" Your responses are very important to the success of the research The data collected will be used for this study only, not for any purposes Your cooperation will be the most appreciated Please supply some personal information Student’s full name:………………………… (Optional) Sex: male □ female □ Age:………… Class………… School……………… According to you, speaking in English is a Interesting: _: _: _: _: _: _: _: boring b easy: : : : : : : _:difficult c important: _: _: _: _: _: _: _:unimportant The problems you have in your English speaking class (You may tick more than one)  I have no motivation to learn English speaking skill □  I have no chance to practice speaking English because my class is crowded □  I have no time to practice speaking in English □  I am under my teacher and peer pressure □  I have little participation in speaking activities □  - I have difficulty in expressing my ideas in English □  Others (Specify………………………………………………………………… …………… .) How you feel about your English speaking performance? Very good □ Good □ Not very good □ Not good □ Do you agree that there are many factors affecting your English speaking performance? (Please tick one box only) Yes □ No □ If you choose “No, jump to next question If you choose “Yes”, please choose the following sentences The factors affecting your English speaking performance are (You may tick more than one) - There is no motivation for you to learn speaking skill □ - Your levels of English language proficiency is limited □ - Your shyness affects much their English speaking performance □ - Your topical knowledge is limited □ - You have few opportunities to practice speaking English outside the class □ - You are afraid of teachers’ feedbacks □ - You are afraid of your peer’s responses □ - The class is too large for you to speak □ - The seating management is not suitable for your speaking performance□ - There is not enough time for you to practice speaking in English □ - The speaking topics in the textbook are not enough interesting □ - Others □ (specify ) “The factor that has the most impact on your English speaking performance is English language proficiency.” Strongly agree□ Agree□ Disagree□ Strongly disagree□ Undecided □ Which of the following difficulties you often meet in speaking performance when your English language proficiency is limited? Rank them in order Having difficulty in producing continuous speech Having difficulty in expressing ideas Lacking words and ideas Using words and grammar incorrectly Pronunciation According to you, to be successful in their ESP, you must attain the following linguistic aspects: (You may tick more than one) Fluency □ Lexical sources □ Accuracy □ Contents □ Others □ (specify ) Read the following statements concerning students’ shyness For each statement, tick () one scale that best applies to you Items My shyness is the main obstacle to my speaking in English I am afraid of interacting with the teachers and classmates because I am unfamiliar with them A fear of making a mistake and losing face makes me hesitate in speaking English I rarely initiate discussion as well as avoid raising new topics I seldom make the questions to my teachers or classmates I am reluctant to volunteer answers Always Often true of true me of me Usually Sometimes true of true of me me Never true of me And concerning the topical knowledge For each statement, tick () one scale that best applies to you Items Always Often Usually Sometime true of true of true of s true of me me me me Never true of me I think that it is necessary to have a relevant topical knowledge in learning English in general and speaking in English in particular I feel most comfortable in speaking English when I talk about familiar topics I am sure of my topical knowledge 10 I find it difficult to talk about the topics in English 10 because of my poor knowledge of those topics 11 I feel unselfconfident in speaking in English when I have little knowledge about the topic 12.My poor topical knowledge makes me have difficulty understanding what other say 13.I am afraid of giving irrelevant responses because of my inadequate topical knowledge 14.I have difficulty in generating pertinent ideas quickly in the allotted time for preparation 10 What else you want your teacher to help you improve your English speaking performance? …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your cooperation! APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect information for my research paper on the topic “An investigation into factors affecting students’ English speaking performance at Tran Cao Van High School in Tam Ky City- Quang Nam Province”" Your responses are very important to the success of the research The data collected will be used for this study only, not for any purposes Your cooperation will be the most appreciated Please supply some personal information Teacher’s full name :……………………………………………( optional) Sex: male □ female □ Qualification: BA Degree □ Age: ……… MA Degree □ Ph.D □ …………years How long have you been teaching English? _ Please read and answer the following questions carefully According to you, are your students interested in speaking in English? (Please tick one box only) Yes □ No □ According to you, the problems your students have in their English speaking class are … (You may tick more than one) - I have no motivation to learn English speaking skill □ - I have no chance to practice speaking in English because my class is crowded □ - I have no time to practice speaking in English □ - I am under my teacher and peer pressure □ - I have little participation into speaking activities □ - I have difficulty in expressing my ideas in English □ - Others (Specify ) How you feel about students’ English speaking performance? Very good □ Good □ Not very good □ Not good □ Do you agree that there are many factors affecting students’ English speaking performance? (Please tick one box only) Yes □ No □ If you choose “No, jump to next question If you choose “Yes”, please choose the following sentences The factors affecting students’ English speaking performance are (You may tick more than one) - Students have poor attitudes and low motivation in learning speaking skill □ - Students' level of English language proficiency is limited □ - Students’ topical knowledge is limited - Students are passive and unenthusiastic in English speaking □ - Students have few opportunities to practice speaking English outside the □ class □ - Students are afraid of teachers’ feedbacks □ - Students are afraid of peers’ responses □ - The seating management is not suitable for them to perform their speaking □ - The class is too large for them to speak confidently □ - The speaking topics in the textbook are not enough interesting □ - Others □ (Specify…………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ) “The factor that has the most impact on students’ English speaking performance is English language proficiency.” Strongly agree□ Agree□ Disagree□ Strongly disagree□ Undecided □ Which of the following difficulties you think that students often meet in speaking performance with their low English language proficiency? Rank them in order Having difficulty in producing continuous speech Having difficulty in expressing ideas Lacking words and ideas Using words and grammar incorrectly Pronunciation According to you, to be successful in their ESP, students must attain the following fields of English language proficiency (You may tick more than one) Fluency □ Accuracy □ Lexical sources □ Contents □ Others □ (Specify…………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………) How would you grade your students in terms of English speaking performance? (Please circle one number only) Fluency Lack of hesitation Length Independence Accuracy Grammar Vocabulary Pronunciation Lexical resources Contents/ Ideas 9 In order to improve students’ English speaking performance, what should you do? (Please circle one number for each line) No Yes Creating a warm and happy environment for students to learn speaking skill Redesigning the tasks suitable to students’ level Supplying them with necessary words for their speaking performance Organizing various and suitable activities for students’ interests Giving students opportunities to interact with peers in pairs and small group activities Showing willingness to be a facilitator to help students be confident in their English performance Praising after their speaking performance Being supportive in error correction Providing indirect, rather direct correction 10 What else should be suggested to improve students’ English speaking performance? Thank you for your cooperation! APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONS FOR STUDENT INTERVIEW Do you have any problems in learning speaking skill? What are they? How you think about your English speaking performance? Do you think it is necessary to improve the ability in English speaking performance? Why (not)? In your opinion, what factors cause the problems you have in your English speaking class and affect your English speaking performance? Which one of the following factors has the most impact on your English speaking performance? Why?  No motivation  Low English language proficiency  Your shyness  Lack of topical knowledge  Few opportunities to practice speaking English outside the class  Teachers’ feedbacks  Peers’ response  The class size  The speaking topics in the textbook  Lack of topical knowledge  Others How those factors affect your English speaking performance? In your opinion, what criteria are used to assess your English speaking performance? What aspects of language proficiency you need for your English speaking performance? What you want your teacher to to help you improve your English speaking performance? APPENDIX 4: QUESTIONS FOR TEACHER INTERVIEW Do you think students are interested in learning speaking in English? Why (not)? What problems you think your students always have in their English speaking class? Do you think it is necessary to develop the ability in English speaking performance for students? Why (not)? In your opinion, what factors cause the problems students have in their English speaking class and affect their English speaking performance? Which one of the following factors has the most impact on students’ English speaking performance? Why?  Low motivation  Low English language proficiency  Students’ being anxious about what they say  Few opportunities to practice speaking English outside the class  Teachers’ feedbacks  Peers’ response  The class size  The speaking topics in the textbook  Lack of topical knowledge  Others What linguistic aspects you use to access students’ English speaking performance? What linguistic aspects you think your students need to improve to better their English speaking performance? In your opinion, what else should we to improve students’ English speaking performance?