An investigation into the influences of psychological factors on grade 10 students participation in group activities in english speaking classes at ha trung high school thua thien hue province

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES HOANG THI KIM OANH AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE INFLUENCES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS ON GRADE 10 STUDENTS‟ PARTICIPATION IN GROUP ACTIVITIES IN ENGLISH SPEAKING CLASSES AT HA TRUNG HIGH SCHOOL, THUA THIEN HUE PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: Assoc.Prof.Dr PHAN VAN HOA HUE, 2013 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ HOÀNG THỊ KIM OANH SỰ ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA CÁC YẾU TỐ TÂM LÝ ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC THAM GIA HOẠT ĐỘNG NHÓM TRONG TIẾT HỌC NÓI CỦA HỌC SINH LỚP 10 Ở TRƯỜNG THPT HÀ TRUNG, TỈNH THỪA THIÊN HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: PGS.TS PHAN VĂN HÕA HUẾ, 2013 ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true and have not been published elsewhere Author Hoang Thi Kim Oanh iii ABSTRACT This study generally attempted to look at some psychological factors which influence group activities in English speaking classes Both positive influences and negative influences will be investigated carefully To achieve these objectives, 100 students in two classes from Ha Trung high school were involved The data were obtained through the analysis of students‟ questionnaire, interviews with five language teachers The findings showed that there were a significant correlation between the psychological factors and the students‟ English language attainment Some of them are positively correlated, and some are negatively correlated The findings also suggest that understanding a student‟s individual needs and problems in English language learning, and providing a more interesting and appropriate English language learning process are particularly necessary for those who have been suffering from failure and frustrations Benefited from these measures, they could probably regain the confidence and interest in learning English as a second language iv Acknowledgement I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to all those who helped me in completing my research My appreciation is due, of course, to my supervisors: Assoc Prof Dr Phan Van Hoa for his insightful remarks and meticulous revision of the first draft of this thesis My deep appreciation is due to Hue College of Foreign Language for shaping and widening my knowledge of theory and methodology of English language teaching v TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages SUB COVER PAGE i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP iii ABSTRACT iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ix CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Previous Researches 1.2 Objectives of the Study 1.3 Research Questions CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Speaking Skill and Teaching Speaking Skill 2.2 Group Work in English Speaking Classes 2.2.1 Definition of Group Work 2.2.2 Types of Group Work 2.2.3 The Benefits of Group Work 2.2.4 Problem When Doing Group Work 2.2.5 Organizing Group Work 2.2.5.1 Presentation 2.2.5.2 Process 2.2.5.3 Ending 2.2.5.4 Feedback 2.3 Psychological Factors Influence Group Work in English Speaking Classes 10 2.3.1 Motivation 11 2.3.1.1 Definition of Motivation 11 2.3.1.2 Causes of Lack of Motivation 13 2.3.2 Attitudes 15 2.3.2.1 Definition of Attitudes 15 vi 2.3.2.2 Developing Attitudes 16 2.3.3 Emotion 17 2.3.4 Anxiety 18 2.3.4.1 Definition of Anxiety 18 2.3.4.2 Type of Anxiety 18 2.3.5 Self-esteem 19 2.3.6 Empathy 20 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 23 3.1 Research Methods 23 3.2 Participants 23 3.3 Procedures 23 3.4 Data analysis methods 24 CHAPTER PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA 25 4.1 The Reality of Learning and Teaching English at Ha Trung High School 25 4.1.1 Teachers and Students 25 4.1.3 Course Book 26 4.2 Data Analysis 28 CHAPTER FINDING AND DISCUSSION 40 5.1 Motivation and Attitude of Students at Ha Trung High School toward Learning Speaking Skill and the Use of Group Work in Speaking Classes 40 5.2 Participation in Group Work in English Speaking Classes of Students at Ha Trung High School 41 5.3 Psychological Factors Affect Students‟ Participation in Group Work in English Speaking Classes at Ha Trung High School 41 5.4 Suggestions to Improve Group Work in English Speaking Classes 43 5.4.1 Teachers Should Create a Low-anxiety Atmosphere in English Speaking Classes 43 5.4.2 Teachers and Students Should Be Empathic 45 5.4.3 Teachers Should Not Harm Students‟ Self-esteem 45 5.4.4 Teachers Should Vary Group Activities to Motivate Students‟ Participation 46 vii 5.4.5 Suggested Group Activities 46 5.4.5.1 Roll the Dice and Students Participate 47 5.4.5.2 Describe the Picture 47 5.4.5.4 Storyline 47 5.4.5.5 Telephone 48 5.4.5.6 Pre-Written Dialogues 48 5.4.5.7 Complete the map 48 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 49 REFERENCES 51 APPENDICES viii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 4.1 Speaking activities and topics/drills in the course book „English 10‟ 26 Table 4.2 Students‟ attitude toward learning speaking English and its importance 28 Table 4.3 Students‟ purposes of learning speaking English 28 Table 4.4 The frequency of group activities organized in English speaking classes 33 Table 4.5 Activities normally used in group works of speaking lessons 34 Table 4.6 Things students when participating in group works 35 Table 4.7 Factors affect students to participate in group work 36 Table 4.8 Problems students usually face when working in groups 38 Figure 4.1 Students‟ opinion of the effectiveness of group activities in English speaking classes 30 Figure 4.2 Students‟ self-evaluating their abilities of speaking English 31 Figure 4.3 From “Motivation-Where Does It Come From?” (Littlejohn, 2001) 32 Figure 4.4 The frequency of teachers giving praise when students work in group 32 ix CHAPTER INTRODUCTION Nowadays, English has become internationally popular English dominants many areas of our life “including business, finance and banking, science and technology, culture, media and international relations Fluency in the English language is a key to success in life” (Hall, 2012) The ever-growing need for good communication skills in English has created a huge demand for English teaching around the world In Vietnam, English has become a compulsory subject at primary school, secondary school and high school In recent years, with the application of the communicative approach to language teaching, teaching and learning styles have changed a lot from teacher-dominant to learner-centered Therefore, group work activities have been used widely in almost language classrooms In the new textbook, English 10, most of the activities in speaking lessons are encouraged to be organized in group work activities It has been reported by a number of the studies Group work activities make it possible for the teacher to devote more time to the students' oral production, which perhaps before had not been a priority in the foreign language classroom Thanks to group work activities, less confident students get the chances to put their knowledge of the new language into practice in a non-threatening environment, away from the critical eye and ear of the teacher Through group work activities, the teachers try to develop cooperation and skills in doing group works No one can deny the benefits of group work in speaking classes However, not many teachers use this strategy They seem to believe that “group work is difficult to carry out” (Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2012, p 3) During group activities, each group has its own way to solve one problem and even each member in each group has his/her own way, too Some groups are successful and all members seem to be eager to participate in the activities but some others are not A number of students prefer to listen, observe, or daydream rather than engage in the class discussion Others are shy, unprepared, or simply reluctant to share their current environment is different and by helping them maintain positive predictions for themselves Clearly, many Vietnamese teachers and learners are burdened by a fear of errors This fear of failure is a psychological barrier which prevents students from participating in group work in speaking classes Therefore, teachers shall create comfortable and harmonious classroom environment, in order to achieve the purpose of overcoming anxiety Whenever students use Vietnamese to exchange their ideas in group work, teacher can remind the students to use English without punishing them Or when students make any mistake teachers should not punish them immediately and directly because this can harm students‟ self-esteem 5.4.2 Teachers and Students Should Be Empathic Teachers should let students practice their empathic feeling by activities such as story telling, role play, etc During group activities teacher can also notice every member of the groups to see who is dominant other members or who doesn‟t speak any word in the speaking tasks and have the right solution When teachers design group activities for students, they should bear in mind that group activities should be appropriate to students‟ level and could interest them to participate Also, Teachers had better find out what students think Find out if students think they need more practice, if they have suggestions of their own, if they find things easy or difficult, boring or interesting A „suggestion box‟ should be placed in class for students to share ideas, or devise (Littlejohn, 2001) 5.4.3 Teachers Should Not Harm Students‟ Self-esteem In smaller groups, students learn to ask and receive help from the members When one student gives an idea and that idea helps the whole group solve the task, he or she will be very confident and happy to give ideas the next time If the teacher can identify students who are beginning to sink, try to praise and encourage instead of just giving a low grade, explain to the students what they could to improve it next time Teacher should indicate positive signs when commenting on a student's response Eliciting questions such as "What you mean? How did you reach that conclusion?" should be used in order to prompt students to speak more Feedback 45 should be like this: "Your presentation was really great It was a good job I really appreciated your efforts in preparing the materials and efficient use of your voice" Correction should not distract student from his or her speech Circulate around classroom to ensure that students are on the right track and see whether they need your help while they work in groups According to Meng (2009), the major problem with cooperating arrangement is encouraging each learner to play an active part in group Various strategies have been used to deal with non- participation One way is to give each learner in the group a different job to Another is to have a reward structure A third way is to change group size or people in the group to provide optimum climate in each group for participation to occur (p 221) 5.4.4 Teachers Should Vary Group Activities to Motivate Students‟ Participation A successful group activity requires learners‟ interest and participation Frequent changing group activities and topics can make students feel more eager in to speak Students, especially grade 10 students, always like the new things English teacher should try to implicate some things new to motivate students See what different students respond to best For example, try short stories, films, classroom drama, songs, projects, grammar exercises, dictations, etc Teachers can try to vary the speaking activities to attract students‟ participation such as using open-ended tasks so that different people can respond to in different ways, where the absence of a „single right answer‟ means that everybody‟s work can be valued For example: making posters, writing poems, creating designs and describing them Teachers can provide student with various choices If people are involved in deciding what to do, they are usually more committed to it Instead of saying „do this‟, say „you can choose exercise 3, or Or if you‟d like to something else, ask me.‟ 5.4.5 Suggested Group Activities Here are some suggested group activities which can stimulate students‟ participating in speaking classes 46 5.4.5.1 Roll the Dice and Students Participate According to Kurtis (as cited in Weimer, n.d), “Using the dice rolls frequently to elicit student responses in various contexts has several important advantages” (p 6) It help the teacher to control the overeager students who participates too frequently; It help the intentionally calling on inattentive students; It creates a sense of anticipation and attention because any student can be called upon at any time; It also provides a convenient method of calling on somebody when nobody seems willing to volunteer an answer; and it generates greater variety in student responses Students seem very receptive and good- humored toward random selection I am certain that it improves student attention, which is often the greatest challenge 5.4.5.2 Describe the Picture Show a picture and have learners work in groups to describe thing about it Lower level students can make simple observations like "three cats" while advanced students can make up a story to go with the picture They are not allowed to repeat what someone else said, so they need to pay attention when each person speaks 5.4.5.3 Show & Tell A student brings an item from home and talks about it in front of the group Give students enough advance notice to prepare and remind them again before their turn Have a back up plan in case the learner forgets to bring an item Students of lower level may only be able to share the name of an item and where they got it Be sure to give them specific instructions about what information they are wanted to tell 5.4.5.4 Storyline Divide into groups of 4-6 people Give everyone a sheet of paper and ask them to write the first sentence of a story at the top of the page It may begin "Once upon a time " if they like Then they pass the page along to the next person in the group That person reads the first sentence and adds one more to it to continue the story Then that person folds the top of the page backwards so only his or her own single sentence is visible and passes the page to the next person That person writes one more sentence, folds the paper back to hide the previous sentence, and passes it along again When the pages have passed through the entire group one or two rounds, everyone unfolds the 47 pages and reads the stories They are often hilarious, and this game usually generates contagious laughter 5.4.5.5 Telephone Divide the class into two teams and have them stand in single file lines Whisper a somewhat complex sentence into the ear of the first person in each line Make sure no one else hears Give the same sentence to each line Then each person must whisper it into the ear of the next person until the end of the line The last person must either say the sentence or write it on a whiteboard The team whose final sentence most resembles the original one wins In case of a tie, the fastest team wins Try giving an easy sentence to start with to build confidence before moving onto a difficult one 5.4.5.6 Pre-Written Dialogues The course book includes sample dialogues, or teachers may make up some They can be useful to break the ice with shy learners, but they are not truly communicative because no original language is produced Use them to practice selfconfidence or to illustrate a grammatical pattern Make them more communicative by selectively choosing words or phrases which can be blanked out and requiring students to substitute their own ideas in the blanks Having learners memorize the dialogues can help them gain the confidence to try role plays 5.4.5.7 Complete the map Each learner has a map of a town However, on one learner‟s map only some of the roads are named On the second learners‟ map the railway station and the airport are shown On the third learner‟s map the shops and factories are indicated On the fourth learner‟s map the park, the school and hospital are given By combining their information, a complete map can be made Activities involving split information like this can help with the learning of content material and language including learning new language items, developing fluency with previously met items and practicing communication strategies Meanwhile, such activities can ensure participation, encourage negotiation and feedback, improve students‟ attitude to learning and suit some learners‟ preferred interaction styles (Meng, 2009, p 221) 48 CHAPTER CONCLUSION This research has brought out a deeper understanding about teaching and learning speaking skill It also shows us the necessity of carrying out group work in English speaking classes The process of organizing group work successfully is also mentioned The research reflects some influences of psychological factors on participating in group activities of students during speaking classes Each psychological factor has made different affects on students‟ learning Both intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation are concerned in the literature review The two types of motivation: Instrumental motivation and integrative motivation are also analyzed carefully Other psychological factors are included motivation, attitude, emotion, anxiety, self esteem and empathy All of them have both positive and negative influences on students‟ participation The survey results show us the reality of teaching and learning English of the teachers and students at Ha Trung high school Although teachers are trying to implement group works in English speaking classes but they have encountered with a lot of difficulties The participation of some students is really poor Therefore, the research also offers some interesting solutions to stimulate the students‟ participation Those solutions can help the English teachers to apply into their own teaching They are: Teacher should create a lowanxiety atmosphere in English speaking classes; Teachers and students should be empathic; Teachers should not harm students‟ self-esteem; Teachers should vary the group activities to motivate students‟ participation The varieties of speaking tasks in group work suggested in this research are directed to the learner-centered teaching approach in large English classes at Ha Trung high school In the next study, other factors beside psychological factors should be considered more thoroughly in order to find practical solutions to help the process of learning speaking skills effectively 49 Thesis limitations: Although the researcher has made great effort towards conducting this thesis, there can be some limits in the thesis Firstly, this study is carried out only in Ha Trung high school; the result collected was only valid for that respective school To make the research findings more reliable, more responses from students of that school should be collected Finally, the researcher carries the study with the hope to find out if those factors affect learners “participation in group work activities in English speaking lessons” only Their effects on other skills should be considered in further studies 50 REFERENCES Ajzen, I (1989) Attitude, structure and behavior Attitude structure and function Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 241 Bashir, M (2011) Factor effecting students‟ English Speaking Skills British Journal of Arts and Social Science 2(1), 38 Retrieved from: http://www.bjournal.co.uk Canadian Center of Science and Education (2012, August) Group Work in the Secondary ESL Classroom, (10), doi:10.5539/ass.v8n10p3 Center for building a culture of empathy (n.d) Definition of empathy Retrieved on July 29, 2013 from http://cultureofempathy.com/ Chen, L (2008, August) The effect of empathy on college English speaking, 4(8), 142 Retrieved from http://ccsenet.org/journal Davis, B.G (1993) Tools for teaching Collaborative learning: Group Work and study teams, University of California, Berkeley Retrieved from: 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(2009) The social neuroscience of empathy (pp 410) USA: MIT Press Doff, A (1988) Teach English A training course for teachers New York: Cambridge University Press (pp.3, 141) Edward, W & Charles, B (2004) The concise corsini encyclopedia of psychology and behavioral science (3rd ed.) New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Gardner, R (1985) Social Psychology and Second Language Learning (p 11) London: Edward Arnold Hall, S (2012, May 2nd) Studies on Attitudes Towards Learning English Retrieved from: http://www.ehow.com Hersen, M (Ed.) 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A It is important B Quite important C Less important D Does not matter Question 2: What are you learning English for? Purpose I learned to speak English because it helps me to communicate with people who speak English easily I learned to speak English because it will be necessary for my future career I learned to speak English because it is a compulsory subject in schools I learned to speak English because I think it will help me find a good job later I learned to speak English because I think people will respect me more if I can speak two languages I have no purpose in learning speaking English at all I disagree I agree Question 3: Please self-evaluate your ability of speaking English? A Very good B Good C Medium D Poor E Very poor Question 4: Do you enjoy learning speaking skills? A Very much B Rather C Little D Not at all Question 5: How often does your English teacher organize group activities in speaking class? A Regularly B Sometimes C Rarely D Never Question 6: Which group work activities normally used in speaking lessons? (Please tick in the right column) Group activities Your opinions Frequently Discuss Role play Problem solving information gap Brainstorming Game Sometimes Rarely Never Question 7: When working in groups, what you like best? A Practice speaking English better B The other team members to help you when you have difficulties in expressing opinion C Avoid the attention of the teacher, so you can relax, chatting and rely on your team members D There are many opportunities to exchange ideas with others E Solving the task better and faster F Learn more about how to share responsibilities in the group Question 8: How you feel about the group activities were held in the speaking classes? A I love all B I like most of the activities C I like some of these activities D I not like any activity Question 9: What you often most of your time when you work in group? Activities Your opinion Often Contribute good ideas Support and share ideas with other team members Interest and make effort to complete the task of group Being a representative of the Sometimes Rarely Never group to present ideas Have no idea and keep quiet Have no idea and make noise or private talk Use Vietnamese to share ideas Question 10: Please tick the issues you face when participating in group activities in English speaking classes? A You lack the vocabulary and ideas to discuss in groups B You are driven by the other group members C You feel uncomfortable and shy to talk in groups D You are not sure what to in the group E Your classmates make noise when working in groups F The amount of time for each activity group is not enough G You are lazy and don‟t want to contribute to group activities H Responsibilities among the members of a group are not evenly distributed The better classmates often assume everything I You fear that teachers will be angry and yelled at you when you answer incorrectly Question 11: When working in group, what you dislike best? A You not have to take speaking test in the final exam B You feel more effective learning by yourself C The topics of most speaking tasks are hard and boring, you not find interesting to participate D You will be very embarrassed if you make mistakes while speaking English, it is better not to say anything E You feel bored with working with the people in your group because you don‟t like them at all F You think English is very difficult, you can not speak it well even you try your best to practice it G My parents don‟t encourage me to learn English I just need to learn well the subjects that I have to take in the university entrance examination Question 12: How often does your teacher praise you when you work in group? A Often B Sometimes C Rarely D Never Question 13: What you suggest to improve the active participation of students in group work activities? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………… Thanks for your participation! INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Question 1: Do you enjoy teaching speaking English? Question 2: Do you often organize group work activities in your speaking classes? Question 3: Do most of your students participate actively in the group activities in your speaking classes? Question 4: What are the problems that you have to face with when you imply group activities in English speaking classes? Question 5: What factors demotivated your students to participate in group activities? Question 6: Could you please give some suggestions for stimulating students to participate in group activities in English speaking classes more actively?