Cải thiện kỹ năng nói tiếng anh cho học sinh người dân tộc thiểu số tại trường phổ thông dân tộc nội trú tỉnh thừa thiên huế

TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Pages SUB COVER PAGE i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ii ACKNOWLEDGMENT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF APPENDICES ABSTRACT CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.1.1 Background of the study 1.1.2 Reasons for doing the research 1.2 Research aims 11 1.3 Scope of the research 12 1.4 Research questions 12 1.5 Structure of the thesis 12 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 13 2.1 The nature of speaking and teaching speaking 13 2.1.1 What is “Speaking”? 13 2.1.2 What is “Teaching speaking”? 14 2.1.3 Goals and techniques for teaching speaking 14 2.2 Factors affecting English speaking abilities 19 2.2.1 Language learning motivation 19 2.2.2 Language learning attitudes 19 2.2.3 Language learning strategies 20 2.2.4 Surrounding environment of the learning 20 2.3 What a successful speaking learner should 21 2.4 Vietnamese learners and English speaking 22 2.4.1 Background of Vietnamese learners and English speaking 22 2.4.2 Spoken English learning outcomes 23 2.4.3 Vietnamese ethnic minority learners of English – Background and speaking outcomes 23 2.5 Summary 24 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOG Y 26 3.1 Research questions 26 3.2 Research design 26 3.2.1 Participants 27 3.2.2 Research instruments 27 3.2.2.1 Questionnaires 27 3.2.2.2 Classroom observations 30 3.2.2.3 Interviews 30 3.3 Data collection procedures 32 3.4 Data analysis methods 32 3.5 Summary 32 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 33 4.1 Personal ideas of students and teachers about learning and teaching English speaking skills 34 4.1.1 Motivation towards the English language 34 4.1.2 Attitudes towards the learning and teaching of the English language 36 4.2 Reality and difficulties in learning and teaching English speaking skills 40 4.2.1 Reality in English speaking classes 40 4.2.2 Difficulties in the learning and teaching of speaking skills 45 4.2.2.1 Students’ difficulties 45 4.2.2.2 Teachers’ difficulties 47 4.2.3 Students’ and teachers’ expectations in learning and teaching English speaking skills 50 4.2.3.1 Expectations of the teachers/learners 50 4.2.3.2 Expectations of the syllabus 53 4.3 Summary 55 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 57 5.1 Summary of the findings 57 5.2 Implications 58 5.2.1 For the teachers 58 5.2.2 For the students 60 5.2.3 For the educational administrators 60 5.3 Limitations 61 5.4 Recommendations 61 REFERENCES 63 APPENDICES LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: Students’ motivation towards the English language Table 4.2: Students’ attitudes towards the learning and teaching of the English language Table 4.3: Subjective factors related to the usage of spoken English outside and inside classes Table 4.4: Objective factors related to the usage of spoken English outside and inside classes Table 4.5: Students’ difficulties in the learning of speaking skills Table 4.6: Teachers’ difficulties in the teaching of speaking skills Table 4.7: Students’ expectations when learning speaking skills Table 4.8: Students’ expectations of the syllabus LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1: Questionnaire (Vietnamese version) Appendix 2: Questionnaire (English version) Appendix 3: Questionnaire (Vietnamese version) Appendix 4: Questionnaire (English version) Appendix 5: Interviews with teachers Appendix 6: The classroom observation sheet Appendix 7: The first term and second term examination paper (2009 – 2010) Appendix 8: The GCSE paper (2009 – 2010) ABSTRACT This thesis was conducted with the aim of addressing ways to improve English speaking skills for ethnic minority students in The Upper Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minority Students in Thua Thien Hue To a chieve that aim, the thesis searched answers to the questions on the difficulties that students and teachers face when learning or teaching speaking skills by way of presenting the reality in learning and teaching speaking Also, the study investigated the expectations of the teachers and students in teaching and learning the skill, from which proposals were made to improve the quality of teaching and learning The participation included two groups: three teachers and ninety 11 th grade students at the Upper Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minority Students in Thua Thien Hue Three types of research instruments used: (1) two sets of questionnaires designed to gather opinions of teachers and students, (2) interviews for teachers, and (3) classroom observations Findings from the survey showed that most learners experience difficulties because of the lack of basic knowledge such as vocabulary and structures, which potentially lead to other obstacles such as fear of making mistakes or poorly expressing their ideas in speaking activities The findings also showed that most of the obstacles faced by the teachers were similar to the findings from the students’ results Simultaneously, they also said that the pressure of written exams contributed to limiting the teaching and learning of speaking skills The survey also showed some expectations from teachers and students to the current ways of teaching and learning speaking skills As a result, some implications are made with the hope to improve the speaking skills for ethnic minority students at the Upper Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minority Students in Thua Thien Hue CHAPTER INTRODUCTION This chapter describes (1) the background and setting of the research, (2) the rationale for conducting the research, (3) the scope of the research, (4) the research questions and (5) the structure of the research 1.1 Rationale 1.1.1 Background of the study It is undeniable that English is one of the most widely used languages in Vietnam It has been widely used in many areas such as economics, culture, tourism, telecommunication, science and technology English is not only a means but also a key to approaching the achievements and knowledge in the world In a survey in 2006, Do mentioned that in the past ten years from 1996 to 2006, English had developed at an unprecedented speed A statistic result in his survey showed that around 90% of Vietnamese learners of foreign languages had been studying English This can be seen as clear evidence for considering English as a main subject in the high school curriculum of the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) According to Trinh (2006), English language has been considered one of the main subjects in high schools in Vietnam since 1980 In reality, however, the teaching and learning of English in Vietnamese high schools is not necessarily satisfactory, especially in terms of speaking skills In 2006, a survey was conducted of approximately two hundred 12 th grade students in a high school in Ho Chi Minh City by Kim Lien entitled “Why can’t students speak English after seven years learning at high school?” In this survey, 86.6% of two hundred 12 th grade students believed that they did not have the ability or the self-confidence to communicate in English According to the survey, there were many reasons explaining this but the most important one was the students’ motivations and attitudes More than half of the students (55.5%) in this survey thought that English was a difficult subject although most of them (69.2%) s aid that they liked studying English in order to communicate with foreigners, to find a good job or to access the Internet However, the survey pointed out that textbooks had contributed to the difficulties experienced when learning English At that time, they used the old series of textbooks published in the 1980s A teacher from this high school said, in this survey, that the out-of-date information, for example, in unit 13 (textbook English 10) or unit (textbook English 11), made the teachers themselves and their students feel bored with teaching and learning In addition, the new policy of examinations focusing only on reading skills using the multiple-choice format discouraged students from paying much attention to speaking skills 52.1% of students in the survey said that they had hardly any speaking or listening lessons and 44.4% of students said that they never had those lessons but that they practised grammar exercises and learnt vocabulary instead It is noteworthy that this survey was carried out in 2006, when the new version of English textbooks was not yet applied in high schools That is the finding about Kinh students of English What we can find about the ethnic group is more disappointing In a recent survey of three high schools in Son La Province, where 82% of population is ethnic minorities, Bui (2008) discovered a disappointing fact: less than 5% of students earned good marks, even in the national graduation exams According to this survey, the main problem was that the new textbooks were too difficult for them, in terms of a large amount of new vocabulary In addition, many topics were remote from their daily lives and cultural backgrounds, and were therefore difficult to understand At this time, the new version of textbooks was applied, which might contribute to the low level of competence in English In the academic year 2006 – 2007, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) introduced the use of the new English textbook for high school students throughout the country In general, in my opinion, these new textbooks have achieved the goal of teaching English through a communicative approach It is a harmonious combination of four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing, with various interesting topics, which are related to the age of the students The new textbooks have many advantages, however, they have been challenging to ethnic minority students According to Bui (2008), there were some unfamiliar topics to them, and they wanted a textbook more focused on ethnic students’ daily life There seems to be another restriction as far as I am concerned, that is the conditions for ethnic minority students to learn English are quite limited Compared to Kinh students, outside school these students have to spend almost all their free time doing chores, such as planting maize, cassava, or gathering firewood for their families (Bui, ibid.) These are the general situation of the English teaching and learning in Vietnam at high school level The specific detail concerning why the study is done will be discussed below 1.1.2 Reasons for doing the research As a teacher of English for ethnic minority students in Thua Thien Hue, I also have the same difficulties as those faced by the ethnic students According to the annual statistics on the percentages of graduating students in my school from 2004 to 2009, English had the lowest rate; approximately 30 percent of students achieved the average mark in the final national examination This was a negative result for English teachers as well as the graduating students That result indicated that it is necessary to find a solution for the problems in teaching and learning English at the Upper Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minority Students in Thua Thien Hue Although I find the new textbooks more effective than the old ones that were used years ago, given the updated information and interesting topics, my teaching still seems to encounter a significant problem: the students not pay much attention to the speaking skills, so their speaking skills are poor There are probably three reasons for this, which I have observed during my teaching: the semester and final examinations only focus on reading skills; the students’ lack of background knowledge; and some specific obstacles in the Vietnamese language, which is a means to learning the English language The first reason, which is probably a basic one for every high school student, is the motivation for studying It is undeniable that passing examinations is one of the most important motivations in studying However, according to the policy from MOET (Nguyen, K.H, Vu, T.L, Dang, H.G, 2010, p 6, 8), the semester and final written examinations are in the multiple-choice format (see Appendices and 8) The graduating student often has to pass five other subjects in the examinations, therefore they only pay attention to practising reading skills and grammatical points as well as vocabulary and structures Teachers of English themselves take advantage of the little time they have to provide reading practice and help with solving problems in grammar exercises in order to achieve the short-term goal of passing the final examination Lack of background knowledge is perhaps the second reason for students having poor speaking skills All of the students at my school received their primary and secondary education at Nam Dong and A Luoi These are the two poorest mountainous areas of Thua Thien Hue province, so the learning conditions are very poor and they are deprived of chances to speak English For example, they not have enough facilities for studying English at home such as cassette or CD players, Internet, etc Furthermore, the third reason may be that coming from an ethnic minority group is in itself a big obstacle to students learning English, especially in terms of speaking skills All of my students were born and grew up in one of two mountainous areas - Nam Dong and A Luoi – in Thua Thien Hue and either their fathers, mothers, or both, are from ethnic groups When they were children, they were raised and educated at home by their grandparents, whose fluency in Vietnamese was very limited They started learning how to read and write Vietnamese at the age of six For that reason, communication in Vietnamese 10 “The students often ask me vague questions such as how to learn English well or how to memorise the vocabulary” (Teacher 2, interview 2, topic 8, 12 July 2010) “The students in my classes often show their interest in warm up activities However, when I ask them why they not feel excited in the other speaking activities, they just say that it is difficult to learn” (Teacher 3, interview 3, topic 8, 13 July 2010) It could be seen that although the students recognised their difficulties in studying English, they could not acknowledge where they came from Therefore, setting up a concrete objective for each speaking class is very necessary This stage could help the students follow the stream of a lesson, and then they could specify what their limitations were These findings also revealed that creating a motivation in learning or a learning environment was very necessary However, both teachers and students were heavily dependent on the syllabus set by the MOET They did not have the right to make any changes Therefore, their expectations of the syllabus were worthy of notice 4.2.3.2 Expectations of the syllabus Not only did the teachers have some expectations of the syllabus but the students also had some expectations of the syllabus Table 4.8 below presents their points 53 Table 4.8: Students’ expectations of the syllabus Question 20 If allowed to choose, would you prefer to Frequency Percentage (n=90) Increase the hours spent learning to speak English 72 80.0 Only learn grammar 16 17.8 Total 88 97.8 (missing: 2) Question 24 Do you have any further suggestions for your current English textbook? Frequency (n=90) Percentage Provide more vocabulary 31 34.4 Provide more structures and grammatical points 30 33.3 Provide more pictures or images 6.7 Other suggestions 0.0 67 74.4 Total (missing: 23) As we can see from the above table, most of the students (80%) expressed their wish to spend more time learning to speak English rather than learning only grammar This was a positive point in the learning or teaching of speaking skills However, according to their responses, it seems that the current textbook is rather difficult for the ethnic minority students at the Upper Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minority Students in Thua Thien Hue Province because about one third of the students wanted the current textbook to provide more vocabulary or more structures and grammatical points In addition, the students’ level of language 54 competence was not high enough to meet the requirement of the current textbook These results had some similarities to Bui’s survey (2008) According to her, the new textbooks had many advantages, however, they were rather challenging to ethnic minority students However, at the present time, both teachers and learners did not have any other choice but adapting the textbooks flexibly In a balanced activities approach, Bailey & Savage (1994) suggested that the teacher should use a variety of activities from these different categories of input and output Learners at all proficiency levels, including beginners, benefited from this variety; it was more motivating, and it was also more likely to result in effective language learning To sum up, the findings revealed the students’ expectations in learning and teaching speaking skills These expectations mainly related to the methodology and strategies of the teaching and learning Additionally, they expected to have a renovation of the syllabus and textbooks in order to improve speaking skills Therefore, the students would need help from other resources such as the teachers’ role, extra activities or teaching methodology, which will be mentioned in the next chapter 4.3 Summary With the findings from the survey, it could be seen that although the students’ awareness and attitudes were quite positive; their level of English proficiency was low Both students and teachers almost totally agreed that English speaking skills were very important in learning English because they were not only necessary in the school but also in the student’s future life In terms of the reality of teaching and learning speaking skills, there were many factors affecting the speaking skills They could be subjective such as the students’ enthusiasm in speaking English inside and outside the classroom, or objective such as the limitation of time for speaking skills or the pressure of writte n examinations These elements were found to cause many difficulties for teachers as well as students in teaching and learning speaking skills These difficulties related to the factors affecting the learning strategies, learning environment or the ways teachers 55 organized the speaking classes, the testing and assessment, the pressure of the written final exam, or the lack of background knowledge of the students The findings also provided some expectations by the teacher and the student in learning and teaching speaking skills in order to make these procedures easier These expectations were mainly related to the methodology and strategies of the teaching and learning Additionally, they expected to have a renovation of the syllabus and textbooks in order to improve speaking skills The findings provided profound information to answer the two research questions about difficulties encountered by teachers and students The next chapter will present a conclusion including the summary of the findings, some implications for pedagogical aspects and recommendations for further studies 56 CHAPTER CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS This chapter provides firstly a brief summary of the major findings of the research Secondly, it offers some implications regarding how to improve the English speaking skills for ethnic minority students in the Upper Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minority Students in Thua Thien Hue Finally, the chapter addresses the possible limitations of the study and offers recommendations for further study 5.1 Summary of the findings The findings aim to answer the two research questions of the study; namely, (1) What are the typical problems that ethnic minority learners have when learning English speaking skills? (2) What are the difficulties that teachers experience when teaching spoken English to ethnic minority students? The findings also address the reality of teaching and learning English speaking skills for ethnic minority students in the Upper Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minority Students in Thua Thien Hue, as well as the expectations of the learners and teachers, in order to offer some recommendations towards how to improve the teaching and learning of English speaking skills in the school The findings indicated that most students (83.3%) agreed that English speaking skills played a vital part of learning English in high school and the majority of students (88.9%) thought that they would still use it after graduating from high school However, in reality, the motivation and their good attitudes towards speaking skills cannot give an optimistic outlook for the learning of spoken English For instance, most of the students find that they have difficulties with pronunciation (76.7%) and vocabulary (63.3%) 57 The teachers, on the other hand, mainly had the obstacles in teaching speaking skills because of the pressure to focus on grammar for exams (2 out of teachers) and the students’ lack of basic knowledge of the language (3 out of teachers) From these main difficulties, both students and teachers had their own expectations of each other in order to get an ideal English speaking class Most of the students (65.6%) preferred their teachers to provide them with as much vocabulary as possible The lack of necessary vocabulary and expressions in the speaking classes made the students lack confidence and feel confused As a result, in a speaking class, 40% of students preferred their teachers to explain the exercises entirely in Vietnamese In addition, the students showed their desires in having an English speaking environment besides the classrooms such as the extra curriculum in English, English speaking clubs or classes of singing English songs All these difficulties and desires will be the main ideas for finding the most effective ways to improve the English speaking skills of the students at the Upper Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minority Students in Thua Thien Hue 5.2 Implications Based on the findings, some implications for the teachers, students and educational administrators may be made as follows: 5.2.1 For the teachers It can be seen clearly that the findings from the questionnaires as well as the interviews of the teachers showed that most of the teachers did not note all the students’ needs except for the obstacles they encountered in the classrooms Therefore, the teachers should make some changes and renovations in their teaching Firstly, the teachers should adapt the textbooks in order to suit the lower standards of general background knowledge prevailing among the ethnic minority students For the fixed tasks of speaking in the textbook, teachers can change, 58 redesign or replace them in order to suit the students’ level They should be presented as a resource for their students in speaking classes More importantly, the teachers should pay attention to teaching vocabulary and structures as well as to finding the best ways of teaching by consulting the most common types of communicative output activity by Schmidt and Frota (1986) as presented in chapter in this study In other words, applying appropriate teaching methods is very necessary Secondly, the teachers should understand the students’ needs not only in the classes but also outside the classrooms In the teaching of speaking skills, in my opinion, the teachers should encourage students to ask questions and participate in the individual or group activities In addition, the teachers should prepare extra documents such as setting real situations for a speaking class in order to create a good atmosphere in the classrooms Most of the ethnic minority students in this survey particularly want to have opportunities to speak English, so the teachers should encourage them to speak as much as possible The teachers should act as role models for them and should not demand a lot from the students Too much focus on the final written exams will reduce the enthusiasm of speaking classes Thirdly, the teachers should enhance testing and assessment of speaking skills because testing and assessment are also a motivation in learning Testing and assessment should be delivered regularly and continuously in various formats This will make the students develop good habits in studying and good attitudes in learning spoken English The last but not least important point is that the teachers should “know” the students “Knowing” the students means understanding the students’ cares and concerns This can be conducted at the beginning of a school year when the teachers have a legal period of presenting the curriculum During this time, to learn about the students’ needs for later analysis, the teachers should collect information regarding the expectations of the course from the students Sometimes, the teachers should 59 respect the students’ opinions and comments on their course materials After gathering the necessary information, the teachers might need to adapt themselves to the appropriate teaching strategies 5.2.2 For the students In general, as shown in the findings in chapter 4, the students at the Upper Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minority Students in Thua Thien Hue have a passive reaction to learning Therefore, the students should understand how important spoken English is to their career in the future and hence become more active, thus establishing a habit of learning speaking and avoiding considering it as a minor skill just because it does not form part of the term exams In addition, the students should not depend solely on the teachers in their learning; rather, they should raise their awareness of the importance of speaking skills in learning a language, in communication and in their future life It is advisable for students to practise English as often as possible 5.2.3 For the educational administrators The indirect role of the educational administrators is an important one in improving teaching and learning Satisfying the expectations of the teachers and students is very necessary Firstly, the administrators should create a favourable learning environment by providing necessary facilities for teachers and students They should help the teachers in organizing the extra-curricular activities after classes such as English speaking clubs, game shows in English or allowing them to have field trips These activities will bring a change in studying, and make students interested in learning English Secondly, the administrators should let the students know about the future development in their local areas; namely, Nam Dong and A Luoi As stated in the decision number 49/2008/QĐ-BGDĐT about the regulation of organization and activities for Upper Secondary Boarding Schools for Ethnic Minority Students, the role of educational administrator in Thua Thien Hue is very important They should 60 supply all information about future needs in order to promote life-long learning for the ethnic minority students When the students have big goals for their futures, their learning surely changes in a positive way Lastly, the educational administrators at the school should petition the upper administrators for a special curriculum for the ethnic minority students The curriculum should be suitable for the students’ levels and perceptions Themes familiar to their lives may bring motivation to the students Some themes related to their life, their cultures and their belief might encourage them to explore the target language Besides this, an easier speaking syllabus should be written for the ethnic minority students As with the expectations for the textbooks mentioned in chapter 4, the speaking lessons should be more detailed in supplying key words and expressions 5.3 Limitations of the study While conducting the study, I also realised an inevitable limitation of the research The study was conducted with only 90 11 th grade students out of a total of about 300 students in the school Furthermore, the 11 th grade students not have the same needs, difficulties and expectations as the 10 th or 12 th grade students As a consequence, the findings of this study might not be generalized to all ethnic students However, the study might act as a probe towards the possible improvement in English teaching and learning among ethnic groups in Vietnam 5.4 Recommendations for further study Teaching and learning speaking in the communicative approach is very challenging for both teachers and students at the Upper Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minority Students in Thua Thien Hue Therefore, in order to find out the best ways to improve the speaking skills, it is very necessary to have a closer look at this issue Further research on this topic should be conducted on a larger scale, for example on all the three grades or on ethnic groups living in remote areas learning English so that the situation of teaching and 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