An investigation into the teaching of english speaking skills to students at dong khoi vocational college in ben tre province

Chapter INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND Richards and Renandya (2002, p.201) assert that "A large percentage of the world's language learners study English in order to develop proficiency in speaking" The mastery of speaking skills is a priority for many second or foreign language learners Learners consequently often evaluate their success in language learning as well as the effectiveness of their English course on the basis of how well they feel they have improved in their spoken language proficiency Realizing the great importance of speaking skills in EFL programs, I find that using appropriate methods, materials, activities and media will help students improve speaking skills However, in reality at Dong Khoi Vocational College, the speaking skill is very difficult to master In relation to this, Hinkel (2005, p.485) states that speaking is the most complex and difficult skill to master As we know, speaking not only requires the correct pronunciation, accurate grammar and vocabulary, but learners to know how to practice it fluently and smoothly as well In other words, studying English without practice speaking is useless (Fauziati, 2005, p.126) Most students often encounter the difficulties in practicing speaking with different intonations, reduced forms as well as blending or ending sounds According to Luoma‟s viewpoint, pronunciation or the sound of speech can refer to many features of speech such as pitch, volume, speed, pausing, stress and intonation (Luoma, 2004, p.11) Besides, the big-size class is also a problem faced by teachers At Dong Khoi Vocational College, the number of the students in a class is very big (about 40 to 55 students per class) Howarth (2006) points out the fact that it is difficult to monitor large classes who are doing pair or group work There are also the associated risks of noise, bad behaviors and the use of the mother tongue He also identifies two further factors that apply to the classroom: lack of motivation and insufficient language, so it will be difficult for students to interact As a result, students not have more opportunities to communicate in English in learning environment and it is difficult for teachers to control the class because of different levels For these reasons, teachers should apply appropriate techniques to motivate students to speak English in the classroom and decide on what strategies to improve their students‟ speaking abilities 1.2 RATIONALE Today English has played an essential role in global communication and economic integration since Vietnam joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), participated in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), and became the 150th member of the WTO (from http://www.aseansec.org/pdf/afta) Hence, teaching English has to satisfy both the communicative needs and professional goals of each person So, how can the students achieve communicative competence and how can specialized demands in their fields be mastered? Can the students speak English with foreigners or find a good job in the companies or industrial zones after graduation? This depends on the ability of using English in real life According to recent investigations show the fact of the matter is the majority of students after graduation cannot speak English (from http://huc.edu.vn/chi-tiet/617/.html) In addition to this, Ha (2007) states that a large number of students after graduating have not been employed by foreign enterprises because of their poor English listening and speaking skills (p 9) Moreover, the needs of learning ESP in Vietnam have become one of the most prominent areas of EFL teaching ESP plays a very important role because it can lay the solid foundation of knowledge for students to get competent enough for their future career and adapt to competitive society today At Dong Khoi Vocational College in Ben Tre, ESP is taught in the second and third school years (after finishing Basic English) as a compulsory subject, for example, English for tourism lasts 600 periods (140 periods for theory, 430 periods for practice and 30 periods for test) All the tests mainly focus on both writing and speaking (from http://www.hvct.edu.vn/upload/doc/2011/09/13) Therefore, I find that improving speaking skill for students here is extremely important In spite of being aware of the high importance of speaking skills, both teachers and students have faced a lot of challenges and difficulties in the practice of speaking such as different intonations, pronunciation, the big-size class, low level of English proficiency or low motivation, etc From the reasons and the difficulties mentioned above, I find that the teaching of speaking English at Dong Khoi Vocational College is really an issue to be considered Therefore, I would like to carry out the topic “An investigation into the teaching of English speaking skills to students at Dong Khoi Vocational College in Ben Tre province” with the hope that the information obtained from this study will contribute to the improvement of speaking skills to students at Dong Khoi Vocational College and help them learn English more effectively and efficiently 1.3 RESEARCH PURPOSES The goal of this research is to investigate the teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes towards teaching English speaking skills It also aims to find out the subjective and objective difficulties faced by teachers in designing speaking activities and applying the techniques of teaching speaking skills to practical lessons The specific purposes of the study are to find out: - How speaking skills are being taught at Dong Khoi Vocational College - The activities that enable the learners to develop their skills, confidence, activeness and interest in learning English - The difficulties that teachers encounter in teaching speaking English - Some techniques and strategies in improving learners‟ speaking abilities 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS The study aims at answering the following questions: What is the present situation of teaching English speaking skills at Dong Khoi Vocational College like? What methods and techniques the teachers use to teach English speaking skills? What problems the teachers and students encounter in teaching speaking skills? What solutions the teachers employ to solve these problems? 1.5 RESEARCH SCOPE The study focuses on the situation of teaching English speaking at Dong Khoi Vocational College in Ben Tre The subjects of this study are the English teachers and the students at Dong Khoi Vocational College from such departments as Economics, Tourism, Foreign languages and Informatics The investigation will attempt to clarify the teacher‟s viewpoints on the necessary to improve the speaking skill and how to teach it effectively 1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The study plays a crucial role in enhancing teaching methods of speaking to students at Dong Khoi Vocational College It is not only useful for the teachers and students who teach and learn English speaking skills, but also helpful for those who are interested in this field of study 1.7 RESEARCH STRUCTURE This research consists of five main chapters as follow: Chapter 1: Introduction It consists of background, rationale, the purposes, the scope, significance and the organization of the research Chapter 2: Literature review It starts with the overview of the literature that serves as the theoretical foundation for the research and some characteristics of successful speaking The next is the problems that teachers often encounter in speaking and the teacher‟s roles in teaching speaking at Dong Khoi Vocational College The final is the review of some previous studies related to teaching English speaking skills Chapter 3: Methodology It presents the research approach and methodology; participants; data collection and data analysis Chapter 4: Findings and discussion It shows the results of the investigation Chapter 5: Conclusion and implications It is the conclusion and implications, together with the limitations of the study and further studies that will be pointed out in the final part Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter provides a brief review of the literature Specifically, it presents the definitions of some key terms and some typical issues related to the study such as the characteristics of successful speaking, the difficulties teachers often encounter and the roles of the teachers in teaching speaking Finally, a number of previous studies and the summary of the chapter will be reviewed 2.2 DEFINITIONS OF SOME KEY TERMS 2.2.1 Definitions of speaking Speaking is the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts (Chaney, 1998, p.13) Moreover, speaking is one of the skills that have to be mastered by students in learning English (Grognet, 1997, p.136) From these definitions, speaking is a crucial part of second language learning and teaching The goal is to improve students‟ communicative competence because they can express themselves and learn how to use language as well as follow the social and cultural rules appropriate in each communicative circumstance Al Mashharawi (2006, p 4) also notes that speaking is fundamental to human communication If the goal of teaching language is to enable students to communicate in English, then the speaking skill should be taught and practiced in the language classroom Hence, the speaking skill is the ability to perform the linguistic knowledge in actual communication The ability functions to express our ideas, feeling, thoughts, and needs orally (Hornby, 1995, p.826) That is the reason why many language learners regard speaking as the most important skill they can acquire For the teachers of English, speaking should have responsibility to pay attention to some instructions related to their teaching materials with the real experience 2.2.2 Functions of speaking According to Brown and Yule (1983), the functions of speaking in human interaction are classified into two types (1) the transactional functions which focus on the exchange of information and (2) the interactional functions in which it serves to establish and maintain social reactions Besides, they also suggest that most language teaching is concerned with developing skills, interactional exchanges in which the learner is only required to make one or two utterances at a time (p.3) Nunan (1992, p.48) also mentions another basic distinction when considering the development of speaking skills: distinguishing between dialogue and monologue The ability to give an uninterrupted oral presentation is quite distinct from interacting with one or more other speakers for transactional and interactional purposes The interactional nature of language is examined by Bygate (1996, p.5) He distinguishes between motor-perceptive skills, which are concerned with correctly using the sounds and structures of the language, and interactional skills, which involve using motor-perceptive skills for the purposes of communication Motorperceptive skills are developed in the language classroom through activities such as model dialogues, pattern practice, and oral drills and so on He also suggests that, in particular, learners need to develop skills in the management of interaction as well as in the negotiation of meaning The management of the interaction involves such things as when to introduce a topic or change the subject, how to invite someone else to speak, how to keep a conversation going and so on Nunan (1996, p.27-28) adds that one can apply the bottom-up/top-down distinction to speaking The bottom up approach to speaking suggests that speakers start with the smallest unit of language, i.e individual sounds, and move through mastery of words and sentences to discourse The top down view, on the other hand, suggests that speakers start with the larger chunks of language, which are embedded in meaningful contexts, and use their knowledge of these contexts to comprehend and use correctly the smaller elements of language In short, interactional and transactional functions are the two basic ones of speaking in human interaction Therefore, both of them need to be classified in order to help students recognize the different purposes in daily communication, e.g., opening and closing conversations, making a small talk, reacting to others, making suggestions or comparisons, etc 2.2.3 Speaking skills Speaking, along with other three skills including reading, listening and writing help learners learn a language most effectively Good speaking skills help people communicate the fastest and the most effectively According to Flohr and Paesler (2006, p.6), speaking skills are the most important ones in learning a foreign language They also emphasize that "the focus in learning a foreign language is on communication activities and expressive abilities, and the goal is to become a fluent speaker" According to the Advanced Oxford Dictionary, speaking helps us “express or communicate opinions, feelings, ideas, etc, by or as talking and it involves the activities in the part of the speaker as psychological, physiological (articulator) and physical (acoustic) stages” (p.129) Speaking is also the way for students to express their emotions, communicative needs and interact with other persons in any situation According to Tarigan (1990, p.3-4), the goal of teaching speaking skills is communicating efficiently The process of speaking skill has happened or proceeded by listening skill Increasing listening skill is very beneficial for speaking ability Learners should be able to make themselves understood, using their current proficiency to the fullest With regard to the relation between speaking and listening, it has seen that speaking and listening skills in communication are complementary From a communicative, pragmatic view of the language classroom, speaking and listening skills are closely intertwined The interaction between these two modes of performance applies especially strongly to conversation, the most popular discourse category in the profession Speaking always requires at least two participants Therefore, nature of oral communication is comprehended as a two-way process between the speaker and listener Speaking is considered one of the language arts that is most frequently used by people all over the world The art of speaking is very complex It requires the simultaneous use of the number of abilities which often develop at different rates According to Syakur (1987, p.3), there are at least five components of speaking skill concerned with comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and fluency And Brown (1997, p.4) defined the five components of testing speaking skills as follows: Comprehension Oral communication certainly requires a subject to respond to speech as well as to initiate it Grammar It is needed for students to arrange a correct sentence in conversation The utility of grammar is also to learn the correct way to gain expertise in a language in both oral and written forms Vocabulary One cannot communicate effectively or express their ideas in both oral and written forms if they not have sufficient vocabulary Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed (Wilkins in Thornbury 2002, p.13) In other words, vocabulary means the appropriate diction which is used in communication Pronunciation Pronunciation is the way for students to produce clearer language when they speak It deals with the phonological process that determine how sounds vary and pattern in a language A speaker who constantly mispronounces a range of phonemes can be extremely difficult for a speaker from another language community to understand (Gerard, 2000, p.11) Fluency Fluency can be defined as the ability to speak fluently and accurately Fluency in speaking is the aim of many language learners Signs of fluency include a reasonably fast speed of speaking and only a small number of pauses and “ums” or “ers” These signs indicate that the speaker does not have spent a lot of time searching for the language items needed to express the message (Brown, 1997, p.4) In short, the speaking skill is the ability to perform the linguistic knowledge in actual communication The ability functions to express our ideas, feeling, thoughts, and need orally (Hornby, 1995, p.826) Speaking is making use of words in an ordinary voice, uttering words, knowing and being able to use language; expressing something in words; making speech That is the reason why many language learners consider speaking ability the measure of knowing a language and they regard speaking as the most important skill they can acquire 2.3 FACTORS OF SUCCESSFUL SPEAKING As we know, speaking depends on various factors, for example, the context in which it occurs, including the participants, the collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking Speaking requires that learners not only know how to produce specific points of language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary, but also understand when, why, and in what ways to produce language Sometimes spoken language is easy to perform, but in some cases it is difficult (Brown, 2001, p.270) Hence, in order to carry out the successful speaking, teachers have to fulfill some characteristics of speaking activities as follows 2.3.1 Speaking activities As English teachers, we find that one of the factors of successful speaking activities is choosing appropriate activities to promote students‟ speaking 10 29 Johnson, K (2002) An Introduction to Foreign Language Learning and Teaching Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research 30 Kayi Hayriye, “Teaching Speaking: Activities to Promote Speaking in a Second Language” The Internet TESL Journal, Vol XII, No 11, November 2006 http://iteslj.org/Articles/Kayi-TeachingSpeaking.html p.1-2 31 Kenedy, C and J Kennedy (1996) Teacher Attitudes and Change Implementation System, 24 (3), 351-360 Elsevier Science Ltd 32 Klancar Natasa, “Developing Speaking Skills in the Young Learners Classroom” The Internet TESL Journal, Vol XII, No 11, November 2006 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http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol43/no4/p2.htm 51 Pham, H.H (2005) University English classrooms in Vietnam ELT Journal, Vol 59, No 4, pp 336-339 52 Podo and Sulaiman (1995) Bahasa Sebagai Ketrampilan Suatu Bahasa Bandung: Angkasa 53 Richards, J., & Rodgers, T (2001) Approaches and methods in language teaching (2nd ed) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 54 Richards, J., C., Lockhart, C (1999) Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classroom Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 55 Richards, J.C and Renandya, W.A (Eds) (2002) Methodology in language teaching Cambridge University Press 56 Robson, C (2002) Real World Research (2nd ed) UK: Blackwell Publishing 57 S Flohr, P Paesler (2006) Methodology in Language Teaching: The Roles of Fluency and Accuracy Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 98 58 Shumin, K (1997) Factors to Consider: Developing Adult EFL Students‟ speaking Abilities English teaching Forum 35(3) 59 Stern, H H (1983) Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching Oxford Oxford University Press 60 Swain, M (1985) “Three functions of output in second language learning” in Cook and Seidlhofer (eds) 61 Syakur (1987) Language Testing and Evaluation Surakarta: Sebelas Maret University Press 62 Tarigan, H Guntur (1990) Teaching speaking in a classroom Bandung: Penerbit Angkasa 63 Ur, P (1991) Discussion that Work Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 64 Ur, P (1996) A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 65 Widdowson, H.G (1984) Teaching Language as Communication Oxford: Oxford University Press 66 Wilkins, D.A (1972) Linguistics in Language Teaching London; Amold 67 Willid, D (1990) The Lexical Syllabus Collins CO BUILD 68 Willis, D and Willis, J (1996) Challenge and Change in Language Teaching Oxford: Heinemann 69 Willis, J (1996) A Framework for Task-Based Learning Harlow: Longman 70 Young, D.J (1991) “Creating a low – anxiety classroom environment: What does language anxiety research suggest?” Modern Language Journal, 75, 426-439 *Websites: http://www.aseansec.org/pdf/afta http://huc.edu.vn/chi-tiet/617/.html http://www.hvct.edu.vn/upload/doc/2011/09/13 99 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS This survey is designed to collect information for the study entitled “An investigation into the teaching of English speaking skills to students at Dong Khoi Vocational College” Your responses are very important to the success of the survey The data collected will be used for the study only and NO other purposes Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated Please put a tick () on the answers you choose Part 1: Personal details Gender:  Male  Female Your age: Teaching experiences:  1-3 years  5-10 years Qualifications:  4-5 years  more than 10 years  Bachelor‟s Degree  Master‟s Degree Part 2: Facts and opinions on teaching speaking skills Please read the following questions carefully, then put a tick () in the box that best represents your opinion For some questions you may choose more than one option How you evaluate your students’ speaking abilities currently?  Very bad  Bad  Quite good  Good  Really good What is your idea about teaching English speaking to students at vocational schools?  Very essential  Not very essential  Essential  Not essential at all 100 According to you, which component of speaking skills is important? Tick on the scale where appropriate Components Very important Important Not important Comprehension Grammar Vocabulary Pronunciation Fluency Accuracy Other (please specify) …………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… Do you apply CLT in teaching speaking?  Yes  No I use method How often you use the following activities in your speaking lessons? Activities Very often Often Discussion Interview Reporting Dialogue Role-play Simulation Information gap Brainstorming Story-telling Class reporting Picture describing Playing cards 101 Sometimes Seldom Never Others (please specify) …………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………… Which factors are important when designing speaking tasks? Factors Very important Important Not important Talking time Participation Motivation Levels of students Others (please specify) ……………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… How you often organize your class when teaching English speaking?  in rows  in pairs  in groups  “U” shape  Class discussion  Other (please specify): ……………………………………………… What you always before a speaking task?  Do nothing and go straight to the task  Only instruct students how to the task  Give students some background knowledge about the topic  Provide some vocabulary and structures related to the topic  Make students brainstorm the topic  Others (please specify): In your speaking class, you often play your role as a/an……………  Secretary  Facilitator  Manager  Organizer  Other (please specify): …………………………………………… 10 What you while students practice speaking?  Help students with useful vocabulary and structures 102  Go around the class to monitor  Stay at your seat and relax  Take time to other things  Other (please specify): ………………………………………… 11 What you when students show low motivation in speaking activities?  Giving students marks for participation  Let them choose their favorite partners  Give them some more support about vocabulary, structures and ideas  Encourage students to willingly take part in the activities  Ignore them  Others (please specify)……………………………………… 12 What you often after your students finish speaking activities?  Call some pairs to check  Appoint one or two groups to present  Exchange pairs to pairs / groups to groups  Check as the whole class  Don‟t check at all  Other (please specify)………………………………………… 13 Which of the following ways of correcting students’ oral errors you often employ?  Self- correction  Peer-correction  Teacher-correction  Others (please specify): ……………………………………… 14 How you deal with students’ low level of spoken English?  Select and organize simple communicative activities  Translate instructions into Vietnamese  Give students chances in different speaking activities  Give them the English equivalents from their ideas in Vietnamese  Criticize them for their low level 103  Neglect them  Others (please specify): ………………………………… 15 What you to encourage your students to speak?  Suggest interesting topics for discussion  Give students some useful suggestions related to the topic  Let students choose topics themselves to discuss  Use other authentic materials (visual aids, stories, video clips, etc.)  Involve students in the real English speaking environment  Giving students marks for participation  Do nothing  Other (please specify): …………………………………… 16 What you to improve your students’ speaking skills?  Ask students to learn by heart all learnt vocabulary and structures  Advise students to practice speaking with English speakers  Ask students to practice English as much as possible  Ask students to attend English speaking courses in the Foreign Language Center  Others (please specify)……………………………………… 17 What are your difficulties in teaching speaking to students at Dong Khoi Vocational College?  Students‟ low motivation  Large class and multi-level class  Students‟ laziness  Inappropriate materials  Time limitation  Poor teaching equipment  Students‟ low levels of English proficiency  Other (please specify): 18 Do you have any suggestions to improve teaching speaking skills? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your cooperation! 104 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS The purpose of this questionnaire is to survey and find information for the study entitled “An investigation into the teaching of English speaking skills to students at Dong Khoi Vocational College” Your responses are very important to the success of my research The data collected will be used for the study only and NO other purposes Please put a tick () on the answer you choose Part 1: Personal details Gender:  Male Your age: Class: ……………  Female How long have you been learning English?  1-3 years  4-5 years  5-10 years Part 2: Facts and opinions on learning speaking skills Please read the following questions carefully, then put a tick () in the box that best represents your opinion For some questions you may choose more than one option How important is the speaking skill to your English learning?  very important  important  little important  not important Why you think so? ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… What you expect your teacher to teach you in speaking classes?  good knowledge of grammar and vocabulary  general knowledge of work 105  an interesting and enjoyable class  the ability to communicate with speakers of English What kinds of class management does your teacher often organize when teaching speaking?  Individual work  Pair work  Group work  Class discussion How are your mistakes in speaking classes corrected?  they are not corrected  they are corrected immediately  they are not corrected sometimes afterwards  Other (please specify): ………………….… Which of the following ways of correcting does your teacher often employ?  Self- correction  Peer-correction  Teacher-correction  Others (please specify): ………… When students constantly make mistakes, what does your teacher do?  Be silent and not encourage students to continue practicing  Encourage students to continue practice speaking  Stop students and correct mistakes immediately  Let students speak, then correct all of them  Be angry and ask students to stop speaking  Other (please specify): …………………………… What does your teacher to encourage students to speak?  Suggest interesting topics for discussion  Give some useful suggestions related to the topic  Use other authentic materials (visual aids, stories, video clips, etc.)  Involve students in the real English speaking environment 106  Giving students marks for participation  Other (please specify): …………………………… What does your teacher before a speaking task?  Do nothing and go straight to the task  Only instruct students how to the task  Give students some background knowledge about the topic  Provide some vocabulary and structures related to the topic  Brainstorm the topic  Other (please specify): What does your teacher while you are practicing speaking?  Help students with useful vocabulary and structures  Go around the class to monitor  Stay at his/her seat and relax  Take time to other things  Other (please specify): ……………………… 10 What does your teacher often after you finish practicing speaking?  Call some pairs to check  Appoint one or two groups to present  Exchange pairs to pairs / groups to groups  Check as the whole class  Don‟t check at all  Other (please specify)……………………… 11 What is your opinion about the activities the teacher designed in speaking lessons?  very interesting and suitable with your level  very interesting but difficult  too difficult with your level  boring  Other (please specify)………………………… 107 12 Is your speaking skill ever assessed?  Yes  No If yes, in what way?  Pair assessment  Group grading  Individual grading  Other (please specify)…………………………… 13 What does your teacher to improve students’ speaking skills?  Ask students to learn by heart all learnt vocabulary and structures  Advise students to practice speaking with English speakers  Ask students to speak English as much as possible  Ask students to attend English speaking courses in the Foreign Language Center  Other (please specify): ………………………… 14 Do you have any suggestions for the teaching of English speaking skills? Thank you for your cooperation! 108 APPENDIX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS What you think about teaching the speaking skills? What speaking activities you often use in your speaking classes? Do you have any difficulties in teaching speaking skills to the students at Dong Khoi Vocational College? If yes, what are they? If no, why not? What strategies you use to improve the students‟ speaking skills? Do you have any suggestions to teach speaking skills at Dong Khoi Vocational College? APPENDIX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS Is the speaking skill important to you? Why and why not? How you think about the speaking activities that your teacher used in classes? What you think about your teacher‟s management of the speaking classes? What does your teacher often to encourage you to speak? How does your teacher organize the classrooms when teaching speaking skills? In your opinion, are the techniques and methods your teachers applied in speaking classes suitable? Why and why not? 109 APPENDIX OBSERVATION SHEET General information: -Date: …………………… -Class: …………………… School: ………………………………………… -Numbers of students: ……………………………………………………… -Title of the lesson: ………………………………………………………… -Observer: …………………………………………………………………… Teaching aids and materials: Teaching procedures: Stages Content Teachers’ Students’ Class activities activities management Warm up Prespeaking Whilespeaking 110 Time Postspeaking Assessment: 111