Project based learning and its impacts on students speaking skill in elementary school nguyen thi mai phuong ; nguyen vu phuong supervisor

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY ∞0∞ NGUYEN THI MAI PHUONG PROJECT-BASED LEARNING AND ITS IMPACTS ON STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL Tai Lieu Chat Luong IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MASTER THESIS MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL HO CHI MINH CITY, 2021 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY ∞0∞ NGUYEN THI MAI PHUONG PROJECT-BASED LEARNING AND ITS IMPACTS ON STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILL IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Major code: 14 01 11 MASTER THESIS MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL Supervisor: Dr NGUYEN VU PHUONG HO CHI MINH CITY, 2021 TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC MỞ CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH KHOA ĐÀO TẠO SAU ĐẠI HỌC Độc lập – Tự – Hạnh phúc GIẤY XÁC NHẬN Tôi tên là: NGUYỄN THỊ MAI PHƯƠNG Ngày sinh: 9/10/1987 Nơi sinh: TP Hồ Chí Minh Chuyên ngành: Lý luận phương pháp dạy học môn Tiếng Anh Mã học viên: 1781401110030 Tôi đồng ý cung cấp tồn văn thơng tin luận án/ luận văn tốt nghiệp hợp lệ quyền cho Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh kết nối tồn văn thơng tin luận án/ luận văn tốt nghiệp vào hệ thống thông tin khoa học Sở Khoa học Công nghệ Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh Ký tên (Ghi rõ họ tên) Nguyễn Thị Mai Phương CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM Độc lập – Tự – Hạnh phúc Ý KIẾN CHO PHÉP BẢO VỆ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ CỦA GIẢNG VIÊN HƯỚNG DẪN Giảng viên hướng dẫn: TS NGUYỄN VŨ PHƯƠNG Học viên thực hiện: NGUYỄN THỊ MAI PHƯƠNG Lớp: MTESOL017A Ngày sinh: 9/10/1987 Nơi sinh: TP Hồ Chí Minh Tên đề tài: Project-based Learning and Its Impacts on Students’ Speaking Skill in Elementary School Ý kiến giáo viên hướng dẫn việc cho phép học viên Nguyễn Thị Mai Phương bảo vệ luận văn trước Hội đồng: Nghiên cứu sử dụng Project-based Learning quy trình giúp học sinh phản ánh cải tiến kỹ nói Kết nghiên cứu mang lại nhiều hàm ý giúp cho giáo viên vận dụng tương tác nhóm thơng qua projects giảng dạy tiếng Anh Phương pháp nghiên cứu phù hợp với mục tiêu nghiên cứu Hình thức luận văn trình bày phù hợp theo quy định trường Có đầy đủ nội dung cần thiết nghiên cứu Luận văn có thảo luận tương đối đầy đủ nghiên cứu trước cho mơ hình nghiên cứu Việc lỷ giải sử dụng Projectbased Learning mơ hình giúp thể nội dung trọng tâm nghiên cứu Điều giúp việc lựa chọn phương pháp phù hợp Việc thu thập liệu thực nhiều công cụ, giúp cung cấp mô tả phong phú nội dung nghiên cứu phát Nghiên cứu giúp đưa hàm ý hữu ích cho giáo viên hoạt động tổ chức giảng dạy thông qua Project-based Learning Giảng viên hướng dẫn đồng ý học viên nộp luận văn để bảo vệ trước hội đồng Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, ngày tháng năm 2021 Người nhận xét Nguyễn Vũ Phương i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled “Project-based Learning and Its Impacts on Students’ Speaking Skill in Elementary School” is my own work Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains any material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution Ho Chi Minh City, September 2021 NGUYEN THI MAI PHUONG ii ABSTRACT This action research study examined the impact of project-based learning on the elementary students’ speaking skill and the challenges the students faced when implementing this intervention The convenience sampling was used with thirty students in an elementary school participated in this study in two semesters Multiple research instruments as pre-test, post-test, observation and think-aloud were employed to collect the data The data were analysed by the paired sample T-test, content analysis and thematic analysis to reveal the findings The findings indicated the project-based learning can improve the speaking skill from the students’ score of speaking tests before and after the intervention Furthermore, data analysis from observation and Think-Aloud indicated the benefits of the intervention, promoting learners’ reflection, developing speaking skill and collaboration skill, encouraging social interaction and enhancing level of engagement Some challenges in implementing the project-based learning were also reported, including the misunderstanding the instructions, using mother tongue, conflicts and time limitation This study gives insights to researchers who contemplate to apply the project-based learning to their speaking classes Regarding to the limitation and the recommendation, further research should be conducted with larger size and focus on other skills with other instruments instead of only speaking skill to have a holistic view of students’ development of language acquisition iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Nguyen Vu Phuong, since he has been a guiding light during the process Without his professionalism, patience and guidance to his students, I would not be finishing this thesis Besides, I would like to thank all my professors, for their knowledge and support during my time at Ho Chi Minh City Open University Also, I would like to thank all the staffs in Ho Chi Minh City Open University for their help throughout the course I highly appreciate my lovely students for their enthusiasm, effort and support to me Their smile and their happiness help me overcome the challenges to complete this thesis Last but not least, I would like to send my love and my gratitude to my family, my sisters and my brother, and my friends, for always supporting me in finishing the thesis and not letting me quit iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii LIST OF FIGURES x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xi CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study 1.2 Statement of the problem 1.3 Aim of the study 1.4 Research questions: 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Delimitations and Limitations of the Study CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Speaking skill 2.1.1 Definition of speaking 2.1.2 Characteristics of speaking skill 2.1.3 Strategies for Developing Speaking Skills 2.2 Children’s learning: 2.3 Collaborative learning 10 2.4 Project-based learning 10 v 2.4.1 Definition of project-based learning 10 2.4.2 The theoretical framework of project-based learning 12 2.4.3 The benefit of project-based learning 13 2.4.4 Procedure of project-based learning 16 2.4.5 Project-based learning and doing a project 19 2.4.6 The application of project-based learning on speaking skill 19 2.4.7 Previous studies 21 2.4.8 Challenges in project-based learning 24 2.5 Summary and the research gap: 25 2.5.1 Summary 25 2.5.2 The research gap 26 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 28 3.1 Research objectives and research questions: 28 3.2 Research site: 28 3.3 Participants: 29 3.4 Research design 29 3.5 Theoretical framework of the study: 32 3.6 Research procedure: 34 3.6.1 Teaching materials: 35 3.6.2 Project stages: 38 3.7 Instruments for data collection: 43 3.7.1 Pre-Test 43 vi 3.7.2 Post-Test 45 3.7.3 Rubrics for the pre-test and post-test 45 3.7.4 Observation 46 3.7.5 Think-aloud 49 3.8 Data analysis 51 3.9 The trustworthiness of the study 53 3.10 Ethical considerations 54 3.11 Conclusion 56 CHAPTER FINDINGS 57 4.1 Benefits of the intervention 57 4.1.1 Improving speaking skill 57 4.1.2 Enhancing level of engagement 59 4.1.3 Promoting quality of individual contribution in groupwork 61 4.1.4 Supporting positive behavior in group 64 4.2 Challenges of implementing the intervention 66 4.2.1 Misunderstanding the instructions 66 4.2.2 Using the mother tongue 67 4.2.3 Conflicts 67 4.2.4 Time limitation 68 4.3 Learners’ perceptions of the intervention 69 4.3.1 Promoting reflection 70 4.3.2 Speaking skill development 73 135 Group 2: 136 137 Group 3: 138 139 Project 140 141 APPENDIX 8: Presentations of the projects Project 142 Project 143 APPENDIX 9: Pre-test speaking 144 Adopted from Cambridge English Movers 145 APPENDIX 10: Post-test speaking 146 Adopted from Cambridge English Movers 147 Appendix 11: Project Participation Observation Rubric Student: Date: 2-0 Student proactively contributes to the project by offering ideas/asking questions/answering Student contributes to the project by offering ideas/asking questions/answering Student infrequently offers ideas/asks questions/answers Quality of A substantial contributions majority of the contribution are relevant Most of the contributions are relevant The contributions are limited Behavior Student rarely displays disruptive or inappropriate behavior in group work Student sometimes displays disruptive or inappropriate behavior in group work Level of engagement Student never displays disruptive or inappropriate behavior in group work Score Adapted and used with permission from Karen Franker (2018) Convention on Biological Diversity 148 Appendix 12: Think-Aloud What I think about this project? What I think I learn from this project? Do I understand how to a project? What I need to do? What were the most important points in this project? What new information did I learn? Did I use the old structure and words I learnt? What challenges did I face? The set of questions to support thinking aloud adapted from Octavia Goodwin (2011) 149 Appendix 13: Transcript of Think-Aloud protocol Student N-TA: The project about restaurant is very funny and interesting I learnt the new word: turkey, cappuccino, giant gourami I understood how to the project I needed to help my friends to complete the project The most important point is that we must collaborate to finish the project I learnt how to greet the clients and how to serve the clients I used the words and structures I had learnt Our problem is that the members frequently argued with each other