School students perceptions of role play in speaking learning

Trang 1 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY VO NGOC THIEN TIEN SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ROLE-PLAY IN SPEAKING LEARNING MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL Tra

INTRODUCTION

The rationale of the study

The world is rapidly shrinking into a global language because so many people can communicate effectively It is undeniable that English is a language spoken all over the world English has been known as the most crucial language and is gaining more and more prominence In the field of international relations, being fluent in English is of the utmost importance This is because being fluent in English is fundamentally required for any of us to become global citizens; this is something that cannot be avoided in the modern world It is now widely acknowledged that English is the world's most significant language It is utilized for communication by people from a wide variety of countries all around the world It can be explained that two or more people coming from different countries chose English to connect with each other In addition, English has been a compulsory foreign language taught in formal education programs from primary to tertiary levels since Vietnam became open to globalization and internalization People learned English to peruse their various purposes of education, work, business, travelling abroad, and other demands In this notion, Crystal (2012) asserts that the English language is spoken in contexts in which it works as a first a mother tongue or first language; circumstances in which it functions as one of two official languages; and situations in which it functions as a foreign language English is not only used as a tool for communication in English-speaking countries but also among speakers of different languages all over the world Across various disciplines and forms of distributing information, such as books, newspapers, airports, transactions on a global level, associations on a global scale, fields of research, technology, and medicine, as well as sports, popular music, and advertisements

Vietnamese students are to acquire and master four English skills: writing, reading, listening and speaking Recently, associated with the increasing role of English as an international communication for global communication, the important goal of English teaching and learning is to develop students’ communicative competence in English Having said that, more attention should be paid to oral skills, including Listening and Speaking However, in the EFL language education in Vietnam, particularly the provincial schools, the practice of teaching and learning English may be problematic, and speaking skill is neglected According to Tran

(2013), many problems affecting English teaching and learning were identified, including the class size, the lack of authentic materials for language learning, traditional instruction rather than student-center approaches, and the low English levels of students Among the four English language skills taught in high schools, speaking seems to be the most difficult skill in foreign language classrooms, whereas, as Thornbury (2005) highlighted, speaking is part of daily life that students take for granted Moreover, speaking is very essential because it is the most frequently used skill while communicating and exchanging information As a result, students typically measure their success in learning a language as well as the value of an English class based on how proficient they are in their spoken language ability

Most high school students still show low motivation to speak English although they have learned English for a long Their English language ability may be influenced by their native language Also, students frequently struggle with issues in terms of inadequate vocabulary, grammatical mistakes, and incorrect pronunciation

As a result, students have difficulties achieving fluency despite a lot of practice in the classroom Given the importance of speaking abilities for high school students, the researcher aims to examine how to help high school students enhance their speaking abilities

One of the reasons why students face difficulties speaking English is the passive learning environment associated with the same activities and boring lessons without innovations Besides, students often fall into confusion because they lack vocabulary, confidence, and an appropriate learning method as well In addition, English is rarely used outside the classroom, even in real-world English classrooms Kieu (2012) said that one of the problems was that teaching and learning English in Viet Nam put too much emphasis on traditional methods, such as learning grammar and vocabulary, and not enough on being able to communicate Similarly, Le (2002) stated that teachers spent almost all of their time teaching grammar rules and guiding students through choral reading instead of giving students a chance to succeed at speaking In the article by Nguyen et al (2015), the authors talk about how insufficient time for English classes and the lack of speaking parts on regular tests and the final exam hurt the effectiveness of teaching As a result, students refused to join in speaking activities because they did not receive sufficient target language input as well as limited language learning time The problem frequently found was that students get difficulties pronouncing some words Mispronunciation may cause misunderstandings and make students less confident In addition, students usually fear being laughed at by their friends if they do not prepare themselves well to speak or present in English in class

For the aforementioned reasons, teachers were required to apply effective teaching methods with appropriate procedures in which students could be actively engaged The objective of teaching speaking skills in Viet Nam is extremely crucial to attaining communication proficiency In light of the significance of speaking skills in language learning, Richards (2008) claimed that teaching speaking was also crucial and required special attention Moreover, teaching speaking aims to improve the communicative skills of students from time to time When the learning atmosphere is more exciting, the students are able to improve their speaking abilities more effectively Therefore, English teachers should not give up trying to find innovative and effective methods to engage their students in speaking activities

There are many various traditional activities in teaching speaking skills such as debates, games, conducting a dialogue, describing pictures, questions, responses, and so on (Richards, 2008) An English educator can apply a wide range of methods to make her teaching more interesting While it was being put into practice in the classroom, these activities may not have helped learners speak up; students often feel lost and bored when learning Therefore, English teachers seem to be expected to give meaningful input, appropriate communicative language teaching methods, fill information gaps, and provide authentic materials to develop students’ communicative competence in the target language in different situations

It is possible to meet this expectation through the application of various pedagogical approaches However, because each student has his or her own unique approach to learning that matches the student's levels, it is not always simple for teachers to devise effective methods of teaching For instance, certain techniques are considered appropriate for adults, while others are preferable for younger learners Another example would be that certain methods might be more appropriate for those who are just starting out with language study, but they would not be appropriate for those who are already at an intermediate or advanced level Some people believe that English speaking is quite challenging since speakers need to focus on the vocabulary, the pattern, and how to pronounce the words at the same time In the context of the classroom, role-playing is useful for English-speaking teaching and learning that may help students be involved in interaction with friends Students prepare well before speaking English in real-life contexts (Nunan, 2003)

In other words, role play can help students practice conversations in a simulated real-life situation

Perception affects behaviour, attitudes, and learning motivation (Szilagyi & Wallace, 1980) Positive attitudes and actions toward learning activities motivate students Thus, students' attitudes toward learning activities depend on their perceptions The researcher wanted to understand the application of role-play in an English-speaking class and how learners perceive it

Students are not only taught how to develop their self-confidence but also how to learn how to cooperate with another person through role-play In this localized context, students will be given an opportunity to speak through a variety of classroom activities The researcher wants to investigate the high school students' perceptions of role-play in the speaking class.

Research focus

The main purpose is to investigate high school teachers and students’ perceptions of role-play on EFL speaking skills in their education program

The research focuses on how school students perceive role-play in EFL speaking, teaching, and learning in a Vietnamese EFL classroom context It aims to address the following research questions:

1 How is the practice of role-play in EFL speaking skill learning perceived by both teachers and students?

2 What challenges are faced by high school students during the implementation of role-play in EFL speaking skill learning?

Research significance

The study is expected to contribute to both theoretical and practical underpinnings in EFL teaching and learning of EFL speaking skills in the context of Vietnamese upper secondary education, as well as in similar contexts The results of the present research are expected to have a significant impact on both English teachers and their students.

Theoretically, the results of this study have the potential to make a contribution to the body of previous research that has been done on the subject of advances in English language classroom practice

Practically, the results of the current study are expected to indicate the responsibilities of teachers and their students in English-language skill learning This research enables English teachers to perceive the effectiveness of using role- play in developing English speaking and promote role-play in drawing out students' satisfaction towards speaking English Additionally, this research enables teachers to promote role-play in drawing out students' satisfaction towards speaking English

In addition, if it can be demonstrated that role-play encourages favorable attitudes toward the use of English by students, then including role-play into communicative language instruction may prove to be highly useful for the students.

Overview of the research

The thesis has five chapters, which are set up in the following way:

In Chapter 1, the study's history, importance, statement of purpose, and research questions are explained

As its name suggests, chapter 2 is a review of the literature, the theoretical background of speaking, role-play as a way to teach, how students feel about using role-play, and the problems they had when using role-play to learn EFL speaking skills The most important part of the chapter is where it talks about the gaps in empirical research and study

In Chapter 3, the “Methodology” section talks about the design of the research and how the data will be collected This chapter will talk about the environment and population, how the data were collected, how they were made, and how they were used, as well as other methodological issues like reliability and validity In particular, this section will talk about the situation and the people involved It also explains how the data were collected and what tools were used to analyze them Chapter 4: The results in this chapter are based on an analysis of data from a survey and an interview This chapter discusses how data are used to answer the research questions that came before it, as well as the outcomes of data analysis

In the last chapter, “Discussion, Limitations, and Recommendations”, the main findings of the study will be discussed in detail In this chapter, some of the things that have been done to help with this effort are shown Also, the last part of this paper talks about what can't be done and gives ideas for more research.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Teaching speaking skill

First of all, it is essential to have a look at several different definitions of the term “speaking” This will offer an understanding of what speaking actually is, as well as how other authors see it and what they include in that term Definitions of speaking that were proposed by well-known authors were discovered in this section, and it was made evident that they were aware of the impacts of using role-play in the process of teaching and learning speaking

Cameron (2001) argued that the spoken word is the most powerful tool a human being has for making his or her thoughts and feelings known to others Moreover, Fulcher (2014) described that speaking is the use of language in a verbal manner for the purpose of communicating with other people When people speak, they communicate with their listeners with several intentions, including transmitting ideas, opinions, perceptions, and feelings This builds the foundation for communication Torky (2006) defines speaking as the ability to express one's ideas verbally in a clear, coherent, and fluent manner, using appropriate syntax, vocabulary, and pronunciation in the context in which they are intended Yet, Arif and Indriyanti (2019) found that oral communication is an important ability since it allows people to share ideas and information with one another In addition, Neupane

(2019) argued that the act of speaking itself is a sort of communication that reveals details about the sender and the receiver of a message The process of producing and communicating meaning through the utilization of a wide variety of verbal and nonverbal cues is referred to as fluency in speech

According to Dewi et al (2016), speaking is a method of communicating in which conveying what is being said in an effective manner to the audience is of the utmost importance Hence, in order for speakers to effectively convey their message, they must also be able to demonstrate what it is they intend to say In line with this definition, Burns and Joyce (1997) say that the act of producing, receiving, and processing information are all components of the act of speaking The setting in which the speaking takes place, the people who are participating, and the objectives of the speaking all have an impact on the shape and meaning of the speaking talent Likewise, Wulandari (2011) highlighted that speaking is considered an important skill, which is one of the keys to communicating effectively Students are required to have a high level of fluency and accuracy in order to have a meaningful conversation in the target language These findings demonstrated that it is really difficult and challenging to speak English well Moreover, in the research conducted by Harmer (2007), speaking is a skill that needs to be trained apart from grammar rather than making use of linguistic knowledge such as speech act knowledge, discourse knowledge, and an understanding of grammar, vocabulary, and phonology In addition, interaction competence, as defined by Bygate (2009), entails making decisions regarding communication while simultaneously maintaining desirable relations with other people

Arif and Indriyanti (2019) came to the conclusion that speaking is an efficient talent that makes use of language to pass on information from one person to another In addition, Neupane (2019) noted that speaking is a form of oral communication that delivers information linked to two aspects, namely the speaker who gives the message and the listener who receives the message This information is tied to the speaker who gives the message In addition, having the ability to communicate involves the act of generating meaning and transmitting that meaning to others through the use of spoken and non-verbal indicators in a variety of contexts This can be done in a number of different ways

In summary, speaking is the ability to communicate by sharing information and expressing ideas fluently and accurately, including appropriate choices and the use of vocabulary and structure It is possible to conclude that the activity of giving a speech and talking to others to express ideas, thoughts, perceptions, and feelings to other people is part of what is meant by the term “speaking” However, in order to achieve high levels of success in speaking, both teachers and students need to have a clear understanding of the elements constituting speaking

According to Ur (1996), the nature of speaking, which includes fluency and accuracy, should be emphasized by the components of the speaking activity It means that fluency conveys meaning smoothly in every situation, and accuracy involves the exact use of grammar, words, and pronunciation

Grammar can be explained that it is the way how to arrange to right sentences in conversation The purpose of studying grammar is to become proficient in both the spoken and written forms of a language by learning the proper way to do it Furthermore, Chin (2000) explained that language’s sound, structure, and meaning are all contained inside its grammatical system The author went on to say that almost all languages have grammatical rules, and each language has its own grammar Besides, people who share a common language are able to communicate with one another because they have an innate understanding of the grammar system of that language, which can be defined as the rules of making meaning Grammar is an essential part of any language, and each language has its own grammar Therefore, “vocabulary” means the appropriate diction used in every situation Speakers cannot communicate without having enough vocabulary When speaking a foreign language, people need to notice how to pronounce a word, which is an important component relating to students’ ways to utter English well, and it deals with phonology

According to Aulia (2019), verbal communication is one of the four most important linguistic abilities that people develop The three pillars of effective oral communication are grammatical understanding, phonetic precision, and an extensive vocabulary When this is happening, Ur (2006) demonstrates that the components of the speaking activity should place an emphasis on the nature of speaking, which includes fluency and correctness Accuracy refers to the precise application of syntax, vocabulary, and pronunciation, whereas fluency ensures a seamless transmission of meaning across all contexts Ur (2006) argues that the elements of the speaking activity should emphasize the character of speaking, which includes fluency and precision Accuracy refers to the precise use of syntax, vocabulary, and pronunciation, while fluency ensures that the meaning is conveyed without hiccups in any setting

In conclusion, considering the components of speaking is really vital because of the teaching methodology and effective ways of teaching speaking

Speaking is incredibly crucial, particularly in terms of the communication we do every day The way in which a person speaks, as well as the content of the statements that they make, can give away whether or not they have had formal education When a person speaks, he needs to be aware of what to say and comprehend the ideas that the other person is discussing

Harmer (2001) says that if students talk to each other, they will be able to understand the ideas, opinions, and facts that other people share Besides, Richards

(2008) drew an important distinction between the functional purposes of speaking, which center just on the communication of information, and the interpersonal communication functions of speaking, which serve to develop and maintain social interactions Richards (2008) cites this distinction as one of the most important aspects of their work.

According to Richards (2008), in the event that educators participate in any workshops and create their own content, they will utilize an expanded three-part edition of Brown and Yule's model (Burns, 1998; Jones, 1996): talks as an interaction; talks as a transaction; talks as a performance Each of these speaking actions has a particular role and necessitates separate instructional approaches

Talk as an interaction refers to what we typically understand to be

“conversation” and entails interaction that primarily serves a social purpose This is what we ordinarily mean when we use the term “conversation” When two individuals meet for the first time, they shake hands, have small chats, discuss recent events, and engage in other similar activities out of a desire to be cordial with one another and to create an environment in which it is easy to communicate with others The speakers and the ways in which they seek to exhibit themselves to one another take up a greater amount of attention than the topic being discussed

“Talk as a transaction” is a term that describes scenarios in which the emphasis is placed on the words or actions that are exchanged between the parties The message, as well as making oneself known in a way that is both clear and correct, is the primary focus of attention rather than the participants themselves and how they socially engage with one another

Burns (1998) makes a distinction between two distinct sorts of discourse that might be categorized as “transactions” The first category includes scenarios in which the emphasis is placed on passing along and receiving information and in which the players are primarily focused on the content of what is communicated or accomplished The second kind of transaction involves the acquisition of goods or services, such as checking into a hotel or placing an order at a restaurant Examples of this kind of transaction include checking in or ordering meals

Role-play as a method of teaching speaking skill

According to Ladousse (1987), the activities that involve role-playing can range from highly regulated guided discussions to simple rehearsed dialogue presentations to highly complicated simulated scenarios It is necessary for students to act out the part of a different person in order to overcome their phobia of public speaking

In another aspect, Ladousse (1995) pointed out that when participants take on a “role” they act out a part (either their own or someone else's) inside a certain scenario “Play” is defined as students being joyful and playful as possible in a safe environment In consonance, Brown and Abeywickrama (2004) state that students are given the opportunity to express their creativity and use their language skills through the engaging educational activity of role play, which is a popular form of a classroom exercise According to Nunan (2003), the instruction of speaking skills should include the use of role-play activities since these give students the chance to practice talking in a variety of social settings and target languages According to Thornbury (2005), role-playing activities get students out of the classroom and offer a helpful platform for authentic language use in a variety of scenarios that students are likely to face when they use English in a real-world setting

Meanwhile, Kuśnierek (2015) supposed that there is no accurate definition of

“role-play” since several authors have different ideas about this activity Lo (2001) states that role-play is a technique of communication that provides idiomatic statements that are useful and regularly used as conversation starters and that allow students to act out a tale on their own without having to memorize a script or read from a storybook According to Nguyen (2011), role-play is an activity in which students play a role that is quite similar to real-life situations This activity requires students to use their fantasy or imagination in order to complete a role in a particular situation for a brief period of time, building a real-world through improvised language and action Students might increase their enthusiasm for studying a foreign language by participating in role-playing activities

The use of role-play in English language lessons is widely regarded as one of the most productive educational strategies of the twenty-first century (Pinatih,

2021) Role-play has a wide variety of definitions and explanations within the realm of education According to Suryani (2015), role-play is a method that might encourage students to participate in class discussions Students are required to act and speak in accordance with the roles they are assigned as part of a teaching strategy known as role-play Role-playing, as defined by Wulandari et al (2019), is an activity of speaking in which one assumes the role of another person in an authentic or fictitious situation It is a proven method for improving students' communication abilities because it gives them practice assuming the personae of a variety of characters in a variety of settings This method is crucial in the speaking lesson as it provides students with meaningful opportunities to improve their communication skills

In the context of this study, “role play” refers to a communication exercise in which the students are instructed to assume the personas of several characters In most cases, the students themselves will act as their own characters in this role-play, and they are given the opportunity to investigate the roles of the characters and create their dialogue based on their own unique inventiveness

2.2.2 The types of role-play

In case of role-play activities, role-play can be divided into various types of role-play According to Harper-Whalen and Morris (2005), there are essentially three primary forms of distinct styles of role play: fully scripted, semi-scripted, and unscripted Every object is supplied for a role-play that is totally scripted, and each student is responsible for learning and committing his or her lines to memory (Cho,

2015) Similar to the previous point, Fan (2020) demonstrated that there are three distinct forms of role-play that can be utilized in classes dedicated to the instruction of a second language for students of varying proficiency levels

The first type is the fully scripted role-play, in which the participants are given an extensive script that specifies what it is that they are supposed to say during the game The linguistic information can be comprehended by novice students and easily committed to memory using this method (Krebt, 2017) This type requires either providing an interpretation of the conversation found in the textbook or reading text presented in the form of speech After all is said and done, the primary purpose of the text is to explain the meaning of various linguistic elements in a way that is easily memorable

In the second type of role-play, known as semi-scripted role-play, intermediate learners, are given directions regarding the role they are to play and what they should say This provides them with support in addition to the requirement for further knowledge and skills, and as a result, they are able to attempt to advance to a higher level (Cho, 2015)

The third style is called non-scripted role-play, and it simply gives high-level students knowledge about the background of the situation This forces them to come up with their own discussion, which allows them to thoroughly practice the target language (Krebt, 2017) In contrast of scripted role-play, unscripted role plays involve events that are not based on any particular textbook Improvisation, often known as a free role-play, is another name for this activity The students themselves are responsible for determining the appropriate level of language to use and how the flow of the conversation should proceed For the teacher and the pupils to successfully complete this task, thorough preparation is absolutely important

In conclusion, each variety of role-play has its own set of advantages, which vary depending on the requirements of the students and the flexibility of the instructor If teachers in classes where students are studying English as their foreign language or second language want to employ role play in the classroom, there are some considerations they should take They need to take into account the student’s level of cognitive ability so that they can select the type of role play that is best suited to meet the requirements of their students When it comes to its use in the classroom, role-play can have a variety of positive and negative effects on students Yet, the preparation for role-play and the anticipation of any turmoil that may accompany it is something that a number of specialists have given some thought to One of the things that have to be taken into consideration is the context, which has tight ties to both culture and social life Students are prepared to converse in English in a setting that more closely resembles real life by participating in role-play activities

2.2.3 Categories of role in role-play

According to Revell (2014) there are five distinct types of roles in role-play: inherent roles, ascribed roles, acquired roles, actional roles and functional roles Learners will find the most benefit from taking on functional and actional roles There is a fundamental set of actionable responsibilities that all students must be able to fulfil in their own unique way, such as requesting directions or purchasing a newspaper Learners, on the other hand, are exposed to a wide variety of circumstances when they take on functional roles; hence, a considerable amount of time ought to be spent on the learners' practice

2.2.4 The benefits of role-play

In this part, the benefits of employing role-play activities in an English classroom will be discussed It will be necessary to provide logical, compelling arguments that have the backing of education scientists in order to justify the choice of the activity as such (both for this particular thesis and generally) It is possible that this will act as a source of motivation for teachers who are still unsure about the efficacy of this strategy

Learners can develop their communication abilities, such as argumentation, the structure of ideas, group comprehension, interpretation, and inference, through the use of role-playing exercises (Zhang, 2010) In addition, according to Lee and Smagorinsky (2000), when compared to other types of educational activities, role- playing provides students with the greatest number of possibilities to practice a foreign language Also, it helps students increase their self-assurance in their ability to use English as a Foreign Language in a variety of settings (Duxbury & Tsai,

The researchers, (Yen et al., 2015), examined an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructional course that combined Facebook and Skype as platforms through which students participated in role-playing activities and observed the impact that the course had on the learner's communication skills The findings indicate that the students improved their speaking abilities as a result of using the learning tools and participating in the role-play activities Hence, role-play is an important method that focuses on the students' capacity to speak and communicate by taking on a variety of roles while acting out a scenario that is based on real life

Learning English speaking skill

To effectively promote language teaching, it must be considered about how people learn Chayanuvat (2003)presented a summary of five learning assumptions First, learning is the interaction of multiple factors, including the learners, the teacher, the curriculum, their classmates, and their prior experiences Everyone involved in the interaction of language acquisition should understand their specific role In the second premise, learners play a crucial part in the learning process They should take charge of their learning processes and continue to develop as self- directed students Then, for the third assumption, learners should be aware of and reflect on their goals, beliefs, and learning style when suggesting a selection of learning tactics and approaches The affective domain, which includes motivation, attitudes, and anxiety, has an effect on their learning The final premise relates to culture, specifically classroom and general culture

Learning styles are helpful shorthand for talking about patterns of what an individual is likely to favor as a learner, according to Leaver et al., (2005), definition of the term “learning styles” Every student has to have the chance to choose their own methods of learning a language at their own speed, and they should be able to do so In addition, Watson Todd (2000) suggested that there is no one method that is superior to any other for learning English and that there is also no method that is worse Zacharias came to the conclusion that the most effective method for teaching and learning would be to take into account and cater to a variety of learning styles within the classroom

2.3.3 The core of successful English speaking learners

For many years, English has been widely spoken and used all over the world Because of this, English has become an essential component of the curriculum in schools and colleges across the globe (Zhiping & Paramasivam, 2013) This is so that non-native speakers can overcome difficulties in communication and become future experts and professionals in a variety of fields In addition to their other skills, those learning a language should make it a priority to improve their oral communication talents Speaking is a difficult ability to acquire, and someone who is proficient in the English language is considered to be a competent speaker of the language The capacity to communicate orally is without a doubt one of the most coveted traits among speakers of the English language While speaking English, in contrast to other skills, one must think quickly, answer immediately, and do it with as little worry and hesitation as possible

2.3.4 Learners’ challenges in speaking English

Speaking English can be difficult for English language learners, especially if they lack a strong command of the language Lack of confidence in the English language is the greatest obstacle for language learners Participation in English- speaking events requires a certain level of zeal from students In general, intrinsic and extrinsic factors are characterized as intrinsic and extrinsic components if they motivate students to be consistently engaged and devoted to learning and engaging in English activities (Azlan et al., 2019)

In addition, the students fear making errors when speaking English They would rather avoid using the target language and instead express themselves in their native tongue when it is difficult for them to convey their ideas in English Also, their low vocabulary makes it challenging for them to communicate in English A learner would benefit from having a working grasp of the top 1,500 most common terms in English, while the top 200 words will provide a great deal of conversational mileage As a result, when language learners lack the vocabulary to engage in even basic classroom interactions, they prefer to avoid speaking foreign language

According to Mohtar et al (2015), the interruption of a learner's native language is an additional barrier to speaking English Students who have showed an interest in studying English have been identified However, outside of the classroom, the environment did not encourage the use of English At recess, students spoke in their own tongues It is believed that more participatory activities in the classroom will help students speak in English with one another According to Suliman (2014), learners continue to produce speech in their native tongue.

Students’ perceptions of role-play

Stern et al (1983) go further by saying that learning is the process by which an individual evolves in a favorably appreciated way as an outcome of experience or practice and under the impact of environmental factors such as education To put it another way, learning is defined here as the method by which a person undergoes a change that is both desirable and consequential

According to Robbins and Judge (2001), perception is the process by which individuals organize and interpret the experiences they receive from their numerous senses in order to provide meaning to the world around them This meaning is provided by the individual to the world around them According to the author, Ruslan (2020), perception can be divided into two independent components, which are behavior and judgment The evaluation of perception is an example of an empirical process This is due to the fact that, in order to perceive anything, one must already have experienced that item In addition, the comprehension of fundamental concepts is not necessary for making a judgment on perception; all that is required is a logical knowledge of how concepts are related to one another Although behavior encompasses a wide variety of acts and mannerisms performed by individuals in response to either themselves or their surroundings (Critcher & Gilovich, 2010) Therefore, in this particular instance, the researcher utilized both role play and perception to obtain an understanding of the students’ judgment and behavior in relation to the role play that they participated in while they were in the classroom

According to Biggs (1989), perspectives on learning deal with beliefs about knowledge, which influence the approaches that students use to learning Biggs also stated that beliefs about knowledge are related to learning It means that a person’s view of learning is always concerned with their beliefs and concepts about knowledge, which play a role as stimuli from their environments To be more explicit, Campbell et al (2001) outlined five components of language teaching- learning activities that may be implemented to build students' perceptions The first is how the teacher instructs the students, the second is what the instructor hopes the students will learn, the third is how the students learn in class, the fourth is what the students learn, and the fifth is what the reasons are for learning the language

According to Huang and Hu (2016), role-play is an activity that is utilized in the classroom on a regular basis with the aim of instructing students on how to communicate Students and teachers frequently hold extremely divergent points of view in relation to the use of role-play exercises in educational settings The instructors place a high value on the viewpoints of the students since doing so enables them to better prepare future activities that are tailored to the needs of the students Students will engage in face-to-face interaction with the members of their pairs during the role-play activities that are part of the lesson It is vitally crucial for them to communicate their ideas and opinions According to the findings of the research that was written by Hidayati and Pardjono (2018), the overwhelming majority of students agreed with the assertion that activities involving role-play may be introduced into the teaching and learning process The students have come to an agreement that during their public speaking class, they will participate in a variety of activities These activities include role-play, short plays, debates, mini-lectures in which they retell a story, presentations, pair work, discussions, and even mock job interviews This often makes children aware of the activities they are doing for themselves To put it another way, teachers should take an active role in the process of determining appropriate activities that students love, such as humorous exercises that might motivate students to participate in class discussions

In this study, the word “perception” refers to how the answers people give during role-playing exercises reveal important information about how people learn

If the students were to try out the role-playing technique for themselves, their perspectives on its utility as a method for improving one’s public speaking skills would be strengthened Whether they act as performers or people in the audience, the students take an active part in the activity On the other hand, if they got their perspective from hearing someone else’s take on the value of role-playing in improving one's public speaking skills, it would be less convincing If the students have a pleasant experience, they are more likely to create a positive perception towards the employment of role-play activities in the learning process of how to speak It will be more challenging to change the student’s impression of the technique if they construct their picture of the methodology based on their own experiences and perceptions of the technique.

Previous studies and research gap

Because role-play has become an integral method used in communicative language teaching nowadays, in this section of the chapter, some previous studies on role-play have been conducted in different countries and reviewed by the researcher.

Umam (2011) conducted collaborative action research to develop the students’ speaking competence through role-playing techniques There were 24 students in eleventh grade in Indonesia in the research In this study, the role-play activity was implemented in the speaking class The findings show that students’ ability to communicate orally as well as their level of self-assurance improved significantly after they were taught speaking through role-playing The findings also stressed the importance of the application of appropriate procedures in using role-play in speaking

Another case study was conducted in Taiwan by Yen et al (2015) to investigate the effect of employing a role-play technique to boost the writing and speaking skills of 42 participants in EFL courses that included Facebook and Skype as platforms According to the findings, students were able to improve their speaking skills by using various learning tools and participating in role-play activities According to the findings of the content analysis, role-playing provided traits that enabled students to actively produce language, as opposed to doing so passively It had a beneficial influence on their levels of motivation as well as anxiety, and it reduced both levels

In the same manner, Mardiningrum (2016) uses a qualitative approach to investigate students’ perceptions of the implementation of role-play Four participants joined the interview Data analysis showcased the significance of thorough preparation for role-play performances, the potential of role-play in enabling learners to develop the ability to learn about themselves and others, the vital role of teachers in students’ performances, and the choice of topics as well as their relevance to students’ real lives In this regard, Hasibuan (2018) also examined how students perceived the use of role-play techniques among twelfth graders at SMU 93 Jakarta Using a questionnaire with both closed-ended and open-ended questions, the study found that students showed interest, and enthusiasm when using role-play in speaking tasks

Meanwhile, Castro and Larenas (2019) looked at how willing students were to use role-plays with scripts in speaking tasks As participants in the study, 38 students from the 7th grade expressed their support for this technique and admitted that role-play can create a safe and engaging environment for them to work collaboratively with their peers The fact that role-play can also help to enhance learners’ speaking improvement is also proven by Neupane (2019) with his experimental design with 40 secondary-level students

Similarly, Bencic and Rosenkvist (2020) conducted a study to understand how students perceived role-play in EFL / ESL classrooms with regard to their level of language proficiency 8 students' experiences with a role-play activity, and 111 students, ranging from 7th to 9th grade, filled out the questionnaire Again, the study confirmed the possibility of using role-play as a tool to develop confidence in speaking ability

Recently, a study by Hoofd and Liangpanit (2022) was carried out in Thailand to identify Thai high school students’ reflections on role-play activities The questionnaire was distributed to 75 tenth-grade students at a Thai public school, and some of them were interviewed The benefit of using role-play was specified in three aspects: the ability to help learners develop language competence, stimulate learners’ motivation and boost their confidence and interest in speaking and learning English

In Vietnam, the potential of applying role-play has also been recognized by a myriad of researchers An investigation by Duong (2014) was carried out to explore the effects of role-play in an EFL speaking course Closed-ended questionnaires were distributed to 10 teachers and 66 first-year English majors at Nong Lam University after role-play activities were used as an intervention for the experimental group In the end, the advantages of role-play were highlighted by teachers It was suggested that role-play can contribute to boosting their confidence and fluency However, some major problems were pointed out by students They had limited vocabulary knowledge during the interaction, fear of pronunciation, and psychological factors such as shyness and anxiety In the same vein, Do and Nguyen (2017) investigated the effects of using role-play activities that focus on the three aspects of speaking performance: correctness, articulation, and interaction, at a university in the Mekong Delta However, their study focused on drama-based role- plays In the control group and the experimental group, there were 15 English major freshmen each The results demonstrated that after the intervention, students showed a higher level of interactive communication Moreover, data from semi- structured interviews unravelled that students had a favorable attitude toward this kind of activity

The fact that learners find role-play activities in speaking fascinating was also underlined by a survey by Minh and Kim (2021) with 120 second- and third-year students at a university in Vietnam Likewise, Phan et al (2022) explored the reasons why students show passion for the use of role-play at another university in the south of Vietnam with 32 students majoring in English studies They used a questionnaire to collect information The responses revealed that the most prevalent reason was the enjoyable and stress-free environment created by using the role-play technique The students stressed that this was an effective activity for improving speaking skills because their activeness was triggered In a similar vein, Tuyen and Phuong (2022) explored students’ perceptions of task-based speaking activities at a secondary school in Vietnam with 134 students from the eleventh grade The majority of the students responded positively to the necessity of utilizing role-play speaking activities, as shown by the results of the questionnaire

To sum up, researchers argued that it can be realized that role-play offers so many benefits in the context of teaching speaking skills not only to university students but also to high school students (Do & Nguyen, 2017; Duong, 2014; Umam, 2011; Yen et al., 2015) Research ranging from descriptive studies to experimental ones showed that implementing role-play in speaking activities could improve students’ speaking abilities due to its huge benefits such as reducing pressure, creating an enjoyable learning atmosphere, and removing psychological problems, to name but a few (Castro & Larenas, 2019; Mardiningrum, 2016; Phan et al., 2022) However, little attention is paid to the gains brought by using role-play in speaking, especially in the context of high schools As a result, the purpose of this study was to learn how high school students perceived the use of role-play in learning speaking skills, as well as to identify challenges during implementation The study contributed to the existing literature on the use of role-play in the pedagogy of speaking effectively and efficiently to promote students’ ability to communicate in English better.

Conceptual framework

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact that using role-play can have on students’ ability to communicate effectively Speaking is a skill that someone uses to communicate orally in daily life, whether at school or outside of the school Speaking can be employed in either setting The vast majority of teachers looked for different methods to pique their students’ interest in the art of public speaking At the very least, they are able to communicate freely in everyday discourse

In point of fact, students who are in the eleventh grade at the high school in the southern region of Vietnam have a hard time with subject speaking It is due to a combination of causes, the first of which is that they lack the self-confidence necessary to overcome their shyness and overcome their fear of speaking in front of the class Second, they lack practice and are not driven to improve themselves Last but not least, students require an engaging method that will encourage them to participate in class discussion

The problem that the students are having and the need to make the students more motivated may be solved by using role-play to allow for the students to develop their oral ability This can also assist the students overcome the difficulty that the students are having In order for students to be able to talk freely and with self-assurance in front of the class, role-play presents a real-life scenario and provides the most helpful and interesting lesson possible Additionally, this method is quite interesting, which helps students learn English more quickly and with less boredom

Based on the statement above, the writer assumed that role-play can be very applicable to be used for teaching-learning English especially in speaking

METHODOLOGY

Research design

According to Creswell and Clark (2017), the mixed method design, this research applied the use of the mixed method research design, which collects and analyzes data using both quantitative and qualitative research methods This style was chosen because it allows for more flexibility Given that one of the goals of this research is to investigate the variety of answers available, the mixed approach is an acceptable choice Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies each have their own set of advantages and disadvantages, which allows them to work together to provide a more complete picture Therefore, the mixed methods study offers a more all-encompassing interpretation of the research findings than either quantitative or qualitative research alone could

The current study aimed to explore the perceptions of high school students about the use of role-play in English-speaking activities An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design (Cresswell et al., 2003) is appropriate to investigate teachers and students’ perceptions of role-play in speaking skill learning in this context, which is used frequently in applied linguistics research According to Cresswell et al (2003), this design is a two-phase quantitative and qualitative research design, and the first phase consists of the quantitative data collection and analysis data The second phase consists of the gathering and analysis of qualitative data Therefore, more emphasis was placed on the quantitative part than the qualitative one The rationale for applying sequential explanatory mix-method research is that the combination of both quantitative and qualitative approaches will demonstrate substantial empirical evidence that can obtain a more comprehensive understanding of participants’ perceptions of role-play in speaking skill learning in the EFL setting In addition, a mixed methods research design is strong enough to tackle weaknesses that may emerge when employing a single approach, either solely quantitative or qualitative

In this study, there were two distinct phase In the first stage, quantitative data was gathered using a questionnaire, and were then analyzed using descriptive statics

A survey containing items investigating students’ perceptions of the use of role-play in English-speaking learning was administered among the students At this point, the researcher has identified significant findings for answering the research questions The result of the analysis were students’ perceptions of role-play in EFL speaking skill learning Then, she pointed out some specific results that needed additional explanations before conducting the second stage, which is collecting and analyzing qualitative data A semi-structured interview was used as a tool to qualitatively get insights into how learners and teachers perceive the implementation of role-play in English-speaking activities Then, the qualitative information was analyzed via inductive thematic analysis Equal emphasis was given to the quantitative data and qualitative data In terms of the mixing element, connection between stages was done In other words, the outcomes of the quantitative data were utilized in the process of selecting participants for the collection of qualitative data during the follow-up phase

For the interpretation of the outcome, qualitative and quantitative data were incorporated to serve the purpose of answering the two research questions for the sake of building a well-structured argument (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003).

Research site

The study was conducted at a small public high school located in southern Vietnam This high school was established in 1990 and provides three years of education at the upper secondary level (from Grades 10–12) The high school was chosen based on the following features: First, from the researcher's studying experience at high school, during the English-speaking class activities, the employment of role-play is not widely applied Second, another reason for the choice was that the researcher could get access to this school

This high school is divided into rooms with different functions Each grade has its own classroom, from grade 10 to grade 12 All classrooms are equipped with projectors, computers with internet connections, and wireless internet connections

A teacher can make use of projectors to make English lessons more attractive and interesting In addition, there is one teacher's room, one headmaster’s room, and one administration room Besides, the school library has been set up with many modern high-speed computers and over 5000 books, which is a big advantage for students learning In order to serve practical purposes, one language laboratory is built, but it seems to be used very rarely There is one computer room and one biology laboratory as well The facilities for teaching and learning in this high school are good enough and convenient for both teachers and students to study English effectively In addition, the students are required to follow the school regulations while studying at school, such as punctuality, regular attendance, and active participation, because their assessments are based on their performance scores and their attitudes

There are 87 teachers at the high school, including five who specialize in teaching English The English teachers graduated from different universities with different forms of training There are about 980 students, and 340 of them are grade

11 students who are assigned to seven classes, and most of the classes have approximately 30 students with mixed abilities These students learn English as a compulsory subject for three periods a week There are two semesters in one school year However, there are not any English useful activities such as language clubs or contests in which students can exchange their knowledge in English.

Research participants

According to the following explanations, grade 11 is the most appropriate grade to apply this new method - role-play First of all, grade 10 students just entered this high school Students get placed into different levels, and neither teachers nor researchers know clearly about their proficiencies, abilities, motivations, or language problems Students in grade 11 will have enough time (about two years) to develop habits and abilities in speaking English before finishing secondary school Moreover, the eleventh graders are at the elementary level At the elementary level, the purpose of learning to talk is to be able to verbally express meaning in a variety of contexts, including social and transactional statements, and formal and informal forms In addition, it is not appropriate to apply the new method in the 12th grade The 12th grade is the final year of high school in Viet Nam, and both teachers and students spend much of their time focusing on the high school graduation examination As a result, participation in role-play exercises is used in this study to help students in the eleventh grade improve their public speaking abilities

All of the participants have been learning English since they were in sixth grade, starting in elementary school As students, those living in the countryside have very few options and poor conditions in which to study English It's a reality that many high school pupils struggle with the English language Possible causes for this include a lack of interest on the part of students in learning the target language or a shortage of opportunities for students and teachers to put their newfound linguistic skills to use in authentic contexts Students may not be provided with suitable techniques, media, materials, etc., so they are not interested in learning speaking skills Furthermore, this skill is usually ignored by teachers in language instruction Speaking is not a part of the examination in most language courses The curriculum focuses on reading and writing skills, namely for paper examinations so that students are not even given the opportunity to communicate with one another in the classroom or outside of it Teachers rarely spend their precious time on oral production Moreover, the students are unable to express their ideas themselves, so they cannot use language in real-life conversations and situations Although many students aspire to learn and master their English, there is no language center for students to improve their foreign language skills or learn more except in English lessons due to the increasing demands from schools, universities, or colleges After graduation, every student expects to find work in multinational corporations or large corporations To seek a good job, students must have both a certificate and a higher level of proficiency in communicating in English

There are about 134 Grade 11 students from three classes who are invited to voluntarily participate in the study The reason for choosing Grade 11 students is because they are familiar with the school setting and are not busy with graduation exams The sampling allowed the selected participants to provide their thorough retrospectives The management of the school was the one who was responsible for forming the mixed-ability group In addition, the fact that the researcher was not a member of the faculty at the institution reduced the possibility of selecting samples at random The researcher worked with the principal and head of the English division to seek their agreement and recruit the current Grade 11 students A total of

140 questionnaires were sent to these Grade 11 students

Students were following the English national curriculum, which was put in place by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) in 2006 and is used to teach high school students This new curriculum plans to use the communicative approach to teaching language, which helps students learn and improve their communication skills In addition, MOET (2006) demonstrated that this new curriculum places an emphasis on the active participation of students in the processes of both teaching and learning In every school academic year, to meet the need for innovation in students’ learning English, the Department of Education and Training (DOET) permitted all high schools in the local province to use the standard textbook “Tieng Anh 11” The English textbooks for grades 10, 11, and 12 were made using this new national curriculum as a guide Each textbook comes with a set of extra materials, such as workbooks for students, a guide for teachers, and cassette tapes There are five parts to every unit in the textbook, it consists of four English skills for each part and a language focus at the end of the unit Eleventh graders have three periods of English per week in their educational program

As a convenience sample, three of five English teachers who are currently teaching Grade 11 were chosen as participants in this study The information that we have about interviewees includes details such as their gender, age, amount of classroom experience, and educational background Two of the three teachers are female, and they have more than five years of service Their ages varied from 30 to above 50 years old Finally, in terms of educational background, it was a positive sign when three English teachers graduated from the HCMC University of Education (HCMUE).

Data collection methods

This section describes the research instruments utilized for this investigation

It was decided to use questionnaires and interviews as the research instruments because of their potential to provide reasonable evidence to answer the research questions The following provides a condensed assessment of the existing research on the fundamental qualities, along with a discussion of the design and application of each instrument Foremost, the connection between the information gathered from these instruments and the study questions is described as below:

The link between research questions and instruments

1 How is the practice of role-play in high school students’ EFL speaking skill learning perceived?

2 What challenges are faced by high school students during the implementation of role- play in EFL speaking skill learning?

According to the definition of the term “questionnaire”, a questionnaire is any written instrument that presents respondents with a number of inquiries or statements to which they are expected to react by selecting their responses from a predetermined list of options or writing out their responses in their own words (Brown, 1997) Based on the advantages and disadvantages of implementing role- play in speaking lessons, the questionnaire was designed to confirm its impact on high school students learning speaking skills

The questionnaire was used as an instrument to collect data for the following reasons First, it helps the researcher to paint a picture of students’ perception of role-play on a big scale because it is used to collect statistical data the majority of the time, and has evolved into one of the most common research instruments that are utilized in research on second languages (Alnasser, 2013; Grami, 2010) Second, using a questionnaire is cost-effective in terms of distribution and data analysis in the case of this study

The items in the questionnaire were adapted from the study of Kuśnierek

(2015) and Kaddour (2016) The research went through the items, modified the content, and contextualized them to make sure that they served the purpose of the study The questionnaire included two parts in terms of the educational level, motivation for studying English, and students’ responses to role-play in improving English oral performance The first part was to collect some personal information from the participants In the second part of the questionnaire, there were 23 items of the five-point Likert scale designed and ordered in five aspects which related to school students’ general attitudes towards learning English speaking with role-play and level of satisfaction towards speaking English

After the questionnaire was complete, it was translated into Vietnamese before the researcher administered it to the participants The translated version was checked by an expert in the field to make sure that the language used was clear and concise This helped the participants understand the contents and express their opinions in the right way For the English and Vietnamese versions of the question, please see Appendix A

The researcher contacted an acquaintance at her high school for support in the first week of October With the hope of receiving assistance from these teachers and their students, the researcher gave them a presentation on her planned research topic, outlining some of the more broad aspects of the investigation, such as the thesis title, the research objectives, and the data instruments To the researcher's great relief, they all consented to assist in the distribution and collection of copies of the questionnaire Nonetheless, in order to guarantee that ethical concerns were given priority, the researcher also distributed consent forms (see Appendix G) to the Headmaster for his permission The consent form enumerated the thesis title, the research aims, and the research instruments, as well as emphasized confidentiality and voluntary participation After receiving the headmaster’s approval, the researcher in turn delivered copies of questionnaires to three classes The responses were collected in the middle of October The researcher took responsibility for delivering and gathering data from her old teacher in high school Moreover, the researcher distributed 140 copies of questionnaires, but she only got 134 copies back (95.71%) All of the copies of the questionnaire were valid, and no two copies had the same response.

After analyzing the data from the questionnaire, the researcher would like to explore the factors that impact the implementation of role-play in school students’ EFL speaking skill learning by interviewing three teachers and three students from three classes

The final step in the data-gathering process consists of conducting interviews, which are intended to provide a more in-depth account of the information already obtained by the second questionnaire The reason why the interview was used for collecting data is that interview can help the researcher to gain insightful information on what was going through the thoughts of students, what they thought about role-play instruction, and how they felt about it over a set period of time (Fraenkel et al., 2012)

Specifically, a semi-structured interview was utilized because it allowed the researcher to have some predetermined questions and collect clarifications on the issues she wanted to explore When conducting a semi-structured interview, the researcher utilized the same set of questions but sometimes was free to ask extra questions in order to elicit a further response.

In this study, triangulation, which is defined as the process of gathering data from numerous distinct sources or in diverse methods for providing a deeper knowledge of a phenomenon (Richards & Schmidt, 2013), was accounted for by including both the questionnaire and the interview

For the purpose of developing the questions for the interview, these questions were designed based on the research purposes as well as the preliminary findings from the questionnaire After the questions were composed and translated into Vietnamese, they were proofread and validated by an expert in the field for validity and reliability Appendix C (Students and Teachers Interview) contains more information on the interview questions

To guarantee that all of the participants could understand the questions and answers, the interviews were conducted entirely in Vietnamese (three teachers and three students from each class) felt comfortable and could talk exactly about what they meant to say The one-on-one interview was conducive for both students and teachers Three students who filled out the survey were chosen for an interview These questions centred on the perspectives of the participants regarding the various role-play events The students were questioned regarding their prior experiences with acting in the classroom, as well as the advantages that could be gained from doing so The purpose was to gain an understanding of their experience as well as their interpretation of it For teachers, questions were posed to three different teachers about their beliefs concerning the teaching of languages, their own perceptions of role-play exercises, as well as the perspectives of their students, and their thoughts regarding each individual student Teachers’ interview questions conclude items used to examine whether or not teachers use role-play in teaching speaking Additionally, these questions seek to elicit information about the utility of role-playing as well as the challenges that teachers face when using it Findings from students’ and teachers’ interviews would be compared to find out the similarities and differences regarding the use of role-play in English-speaking activities

First, the researcher contacted the participants to make a schedule Before the interview, the researcher asked for a recording of the conversation Each interview lasted about 30 minutes and was conducted in Vietnamese to allow the participants to freely express their thoughts Then, the researcher collected all the recordings and transcribed them for data coding Students and teachers were labelled for anonymity

Demographical Information of the Interviewees

During the interview sessions, the researcher asked semi-structured questions to the interviewees, rephrased those questions when necessary, and provided additional explanations in order to guarantee that the interviewees could comprehend the questions and, as a result, that their responses would be more pertinent Most importantly, whenever the researcher conducted any kind of interview for this investigation, it was made sure to keep in mind that it is important for the person conducting the interview to maintain objectivity, refrain from giving their own ideas, and use caution when expressing their emotions This could mean feigning surprise or stating that they disagree with a statement (Hopkins, 2008, in Alnasser, 2013) In a nutshell, the findings of the questionnaire in conjunction with whatever information the researcher was able to glean from these interviews will be reviewed and described in the parts that follow.

Validity and reliability

It is significant to enhance trustworthiness in research Creswell (2012) stated that the term “reliability” refers to the degree to which the results of an instrument remain constant throughout time When researchers use the same instrument on multiple occasions and at various times, the results ought to be constant The value of Cronbach's Alpha is one method that can be utilized to evaluate the trustworthiness of various instruments When the variation of a scale falls between

700 and 800, this indicates that the scale has a high degree of reliability

With regard to this research, the researcher filled in the participant’s responses to the 35-item questionnaires into an Excel file; then the researcher imported this file into SPSS version 26.0

As can be seen in Table 3.2, the SPSS output generated an alpha coefficient of 675 for the entire set of 23 questions, which proves about the questionnaires’ high level of reliability

Creswell (2012) says that validity is one of the most important ways to judge the credibility and quality of research This is especially true in the field of educational research The validity of the questionnaire has been established through a process known as content validity, which involves expert opinion For the purposes of evaluating and validating this tool, the eligibility guidelines have taken into consideration the congruence of the items, the amplitude of the content, the phrasing of the items, as well as clarity, accuracy, and relevancy.

Data analysis

After all the questionnaire was collected, the researcher started to code the data into the computer tool (excel) Then, the data were run and analyzed by IBM SPSS Statistics 26.0 Descriptive statistics were used for presenting the data

Following the stage of the quantitative analysis from the questionnaires, qualitative data were coded and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis, adapting the date-driven form (Braun & Clarke, 2006), which includes six basic steps First, the researcher read through the transcripts to familiarize herself with the data Second, she generated some initial codes of ideas that are related to the research questions Third, the coding was reevaluated and sorted into themes to identify how they served the purpose of the study After that, themes were refined and put into categories Fifth, themes were defined and described, including students’ attitudes towards role-play, experience in using role-play, application of role-play, and knowledge and skills gained from role-play Before conducting the last step, the researcher met another expert to discuss the themes and reach the final conclusions Finally, she started to produce a report on the findings.

Ethics

This research project was conducted on the condition that some ethical issues were taken into consideration For getting access to the research site, the researcher asked for the permission of the principal and the head of the English division before approaching the students in Grade 11 For the participants, first, regarding the inform consent and voluntary participation The students were informed about the purposes of the study and aware of their right to refuse participation as they wish before joining the study Second, in terms of anonymity and confidentiality, the students were guaranteed that their identity was protected, and all data gathered would be mainly used for the purposes of doing research.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Findings

How is the practice of role-play in high school students’ EFL speaking skill learning perceived?

For the purpose of the first research question on high school students’ perceptions of role-play activities in learning speaking skills, the data analysis revealed high school students’ generally satisfying perceptions of role-play in their English-speaking skill learning through classroom practices Generally, these high school students reported affirmative attitudes towards and useful experiences in English-speaking classroom activities using role-play (M=3.17, M=3.36 respectively) Numerous researches came to the conclusion that the use of role- playing was not only an efficient strategy, but that it was also successful in assisting students in improving their English speaking abilities In addition, the findings of another researcher showed that the usage of role play allowed teachers to inject more life and vitality into their lessons, as well as making their classes more engaging and exciting (Aliakbari & Jamalvandi, 2010)

Students also asserted that they gained useful knowledge and skills (M=3.60) as well as were able to apply the role-play to their English-speaking learning (M=3.55) as illustrated in Table 4.1

High School Students’ General Positive Perceptions of Role-Play in English- speaking Learning

2 Knowledge and skills in role- play English-speaking activities 3.60 0.49 134

Student experience in role-played embedded English-speaking classroom activities

Table 4.2 showed the data on the student experience in role-play English- speaking activities Students contended they participated in a wide range of authentic communication scenarios using role-play tasks (M=3.55) that promoted their critical thinking abilities (M=3.54) They also showed interest in performing role-play English-speaking activities (M=3.37), which resulted in their transformation into better attitudes towards English (M=3.25) In addition, the students admitted that they could express their personal feelings when interacting with their peers (M=3.22) Regarding the teachers’ roles in role-play activities, the students expressed that their teachers gave them sufficient time for preparing the tasks before the demonstration in front of their friends and for receiving feedback from the teachers (M=3.10) Furthermore, the students believed that their level of engagement in learning became higher, which results in an improvement in their ability to articulate themselves directly (M=3.04) This findings is in line with other research by P’Rayan (2007), the students’ creativity could be developed through role-play that allowed them to use their imagination so that they could create a fun play

High School Students’ Experience in Role-Play English-Speaking Tasks

I could experience a wide range of different real-life communication situations in class through role-play activities

Role-playing speaking tasks encouraged me to think more critically about complex topics from different perspectives

I was interested in role-play activities in the speaking class

My attitude towards English has changed better since I engaged in role-play activities

When my teacher used role-play during a speaking period, I could control my personal feelings towards my friends and their circumstances

When learning to speak through role-play activities, I was encouraged to express my opinions

When studying speaking skills through role-play activities, my teacher gave me enough time to prepare for my role in a play and present it in a meaningful way

Role-play made me engage actively in learning

Role-play activity improved my ability to express myself in a more forthright way

Practical application of role-play in English-speaking communicative situations

Concerning the application of role-play English-speaking activities, the data presented in Table 4.3 showed that students agreed these tasks had the potential for removing their psychological roadblocks in communicating in English as well as promote their peer collaboration (M=3.65) In addition, they stressed that role-play activities could strengthen the retention of the lessons (M=3.63) and offer more opportunities for learning and sharing (M=3.58) The students also acknowledged the aid of role-play activities in exposing them to diverse cultural elements (M=3.23) The results are consistent with Graves (2008), the research pointed out that role-play was a successful strategy, and that it may make learning more meaningful to students Other academics have also cited similar outcomes in their studies In addition, Huang (2008) discovered that the usage of role-playing helped teachers inject more energy into the classroom and make lessons more fascinating and engaging for their students

High School Students' Perceptions of Applying Role-Play in Speaking

The role-play activities in English-speaking learning helped me overcome psychological barriers to communicating in English

English-speaking learning through role-play promoted cooperation between my friends and me in the classroom

Role-play made me keep the lesson in mind for a long time after the speaking period

English speaking learning through role-play offered me opportunities to share and learn real- life experiences

English speaking learning through role-play activities helped me be exposed to a variety of cultural aspects

Knowledge and skills gained through role-play-embedded English-speaking classroom activities

Survey responses and interview analysis indicated students valued the significant benefits of role-play in terms of knowledge and skills Specifically,

Table 4.4 showed data on each item concerning knowledge and skills perceived by students It can be seen that the majority of the students believed that their vocabulary could be improved thanks to role-playing activities (M=3.72) These students elaborated that they could enhance their pronunciation (M=3.44) and learn new expressions from their peers (M=3.63) Other gains in role-playing activities noted by students were the potential of improving their accuracy (M=3.61) and fluency (M=3.57) Interestingly, the students observed that their awareness-raising of grammar was promoted when performing role-play in speaking English (M=3.43)

High School Students’ Perceptions of Knowledge and Skills

Participants (n) Participating in English-speaking activities using role-play improved my vocabulary

I could practice pronunciation when I performed role-play

I could learn some new expressions from my friends through role-play activities

I could improve my speaking accuracy through role-play

I could improve my speaking fluency through role-play

Role-play helped me be aware of using grammar properly in English speaking

Affirmative attitudes towards role-play in English-speaking classroom activities

In addition, the analysis highlighted further high school students’ general positive perceptions of role-play in English-speaking learning The interviewed students shared they improved their English language proficiency aspects through various applications of role-play activities in class such as real-life scenarios, debates, and discussions

In my opinion, first, I could learn many topics that were close to daily life so that I can apply them later Second, after participating in role-playing activities, I could review grammar points such as verb tenses and some common sentence patterns In addition, I could improve my vocabulary related to various topics When the teacher gave me a task, I often looked up the vocabulary to prepare my lines in the role-plays I could also learn new expressions from my peers (S1)

The other two students also highlighted the chance of enhancing their grammatical and lexical knowledge These students contended they became more confident in English speaking As one interviewee said: “In my opinion, role- playing activities helped me improve my speaking fluency In addition, I gained more confidence and improved my ability to solve a problem as well as communication skills” (S1)

In the meantime, teachers reported that role-play helped students increase their speaking fluency, as stated

First, role-playing activities can enable students to develop their communication abilities The second benefit is to promote the students' initiative and creativity The third advantage is to make the classroom atmosphere more cheerful and lively for those students who lack learning motivation and often feel bored Finally, role-playing activities can create a theme of cooperation in student learning, helping them achieve fluency in their speaking skills, and creating opportunities for students to use English more Those all are helpful for their English real-life situations (T1)

Two other teachers shared similar perspectives with their students about the beneficial aspects of role-playing activities One teacher said that “I think the good thing is that students can rely on the roles of the sample dialogue, and they can compose their own similar dialogues They can confidently talk to each other based on the sample sentence patterns” (T2) Another teacher commented that the students’ soft skills during interaction could be enhanced thanks to role-play tasks This teacher emphasized the flexibility offered by role-play, which enabled students to change roles and practice many kinds of dialogue with different partners

Overall, students expressed their positive perceptions of the significant benefits of role-play activities and their implementation in English-speaking classes in terms of knowledge and skills

What challenges are faced by high school students during the implementation of role-play in EFL speaking skill learning?

The analysis of the interviews revealed varied challenges regarding the use of role-play activities in English-speaking classrooms While these student and teacher participants shared the most common difficulties in the implementation of role- playing English-speaking activities regarding students’ lack of vocabulary, insufficient grammatical knowledge, and low level of confidence, they also voiced their different challenges about poor pronunciation, lack of preparation for the tasks, students' lack of interest in learning English, and their limited teaching time in class

The analysis revealed shared challenges with regard to students’ limited vocabulary, poor grammatical knowledge, and lack of confidence Most of the interviewed students indicated that they did not have enough vocabulary ability to perform the assigned role-play tasks One student admitted: “My vocabulary bank is not enough for these activities My problem is my limited vocabulary knowledge Not knowing many words in different topics makes my speaking incomplete (S2)” This student’s responses were further explained by one teacher: “The biggest problem is the students’ limited vocabulary They have no basic vocabulary for communication This is the main obstacle for role-play tasks” (T1)

Another barrier identified by these students was their insufficient grammatical knowledge, which is demonstrated by student S1 who said that his grammar was not good enough for expressing what he wanted to say This is also confirmed by teachers who expressed that the students often made grammatical mistakes when speaking because most of them are not good at grammar The students’ low level of confidence in speaking English when they took part in a series of role-playing exercises was also found in the majority of responses as one student admitted: “My speaking is not fluent, so I feel uncomfortable speaking English in public I am not speaking like a native speaker (S1)” Similarly, one teacher comments that “Due to their low level of proficiency, the students have no confidence in speaking English in class (T3)” It can be seen that both teachers and students identified the same problems in implementing role-play in English-speaking activities However, they also expressed different perspectives

Despite the commonalities, teachers and students highlighted different perspectives about the challenges faced during the implementation of role-play Students reported two difficulties with respect to their poor pronunciation and under-preparedness for the assigned classroom tasks These students admitted that they were afraid of pronouncing the words incorrectly and did not have enough time for preparing themselves to fit into the assigned roles

My main problem in role-play activities was mispronunciation I was afraid that I could pronounce the word incorrectly I often had trouble with new topics because I had no preparation for them I think I need to prepare well so that I can cooperate with my partner smoothly (S1)

In the meantime, teachers highlighted two additional impediments to using role-playing activities with attention to students’ lack of interest in learning English and their limited teaching time in class As one teacher demonstrated:

Discussion

4.2.1 Positive perceptions of the importance of role-play for English- speaking teaching and learning

The results of the study indicate that these students had favorable attitudes towards role-play English-speaking tasks, which is in line with the findings of Do and Nguyen (2017) who explored the effect of role-play activities on speaking performance and showed that students positively support this implementation Indeed, the implementation of role-play in speaking tasks has been well-accepted by the students in the context of high school (Tuyen & Phuong, 2022).

Moreover, the study revealed that role-play could give the students an enjoyable experience speaking English The results showed that learners showed interest in role-playing English-speaking tasks, which resulted in their developing better attitudes toward the language This finding corroborates prior work (e.g., Hasibuan, 2018; Minh & Kim, 2021) These studies indicated that role-play reduced pressure and created pleasant, and relaxing learning environments More importantly, students felt interested and attentive when performing role-play speaking tasks Interestingly, the findings added that role-play promoted students’ engagement with real-life communication and critical thinking These findings are at the core of students’ authentic learning and autonomy

Furthermore, the outcome of this study underlies how role-play tasks could increase students’ level of enthusiasm for speaking English as well as change their attitude towards learning English This is congruent with what was obtained by Phan et al (2022) who concluded that rather than passively being involved in performing role-playing, students actively created language to complete their roles Interestingly, the results added that students could actively and clearly exchange ideas with their peers on the condition that they were given sufficient time for preparing scripts and demonstrating their role-playing

This research also found that the students highly evaluated the application of role-play English-speaking activities in terms of many aspects The study found that applying role-play in speaking, learning, and teaching can remove students’ psychological barriers to communicating in English This is consistent with Yen et al (2015), who postulated that when students’ anxiety levels were diminished, they became more dynamic and more creative In addition, the outcome of the study by Bencic and Rosenkvist (2020) revealed that role-play can be an effective tool for developing confidence in communicating in English for high school students in Sweden They argued that students’ psychological barriers to speaking English were removed thanks to role-play activities The students in their study believed that their confidence was enhanced

In addition, the yields in this investigation are in accord with earlier studies indicating that the implementation of role-play in speaking tasks could offer opportunities for promoting collaboration with peers, which is in line with the investigation by Castro and Larenas (2019) Specifically, Castro and Larenas (2019) carried out action research in Chile with the purpose of examining the effect of implementing role-play In the end, they reached the conclusion that the students involved appreciated the chance to collaborate with their friends in a stress-free environment Interestingly, this study added that role-play could help learners strengthen their retention of the lessons, which is an effective way for consolidating their linguistic knowledge

The results also demonstrate that thanks to role-plays, students can confidently exchange ideas with their peers This is similar to what was found in the study by Mardiningrum (2016) Mardiningrum (2016) discovered the potential of role-play in enabling learners to understand themselves and express ideas freely with others He also highlighted the significant role of teachers in giving feedback and the importance of choosing relevant topics for students Interestingly, the findings added that role-play activities enabled students to have exposure to diverse cultures, which is essential for developing their communicative skills

Also, the results showed that role-playing English-speaking activities help students learn and improve their skills This reflects the findings of Hoofd and Liangpanit (2022) In their investigation, the students also admitted that role-play not only boosts their motivation and enthusiasm to learn but also enhances their ability to develop their language competence, particularly their English-speaking skills Contrary to Duong's (2014) finding, vocabulary was found to be the area of greatest perceived gain by participants in the current study, even higher than fluency Duong’s findings (2014) show that the most beneficial aspect was students’ enhancement in fluency This discrepancy can be explained by the distinction among students regarding their proficiency and prior experiences across the studies Interestingly, the findings added that students could improve their pronunciation, promote accuracy, and increase their awareness of grammar by participating in role- playing activities All of the enhancements can boost students' confidence in English speaking as well as their ability to successfully master the language

4.2.2 Challenges faced by high school students about their experience role- play-embedded English-speaking teaching and learning

The major challenges identified in this study were students’ limited vocabulary, poor grammatical knowledge, and lack of confidence

The students’ lack of vocabulary knowledge seems to cause problems in performing role-play tasks This finding supports evidence from a previous observation by Duong (2014) Duong found that in her study, the students also specified the lack of vocabulary knowledge as one of the key impediments to interaction in role-play tasks However, Duong (2014) reported another key component was the fear of pronunciation, which received little attention from the participants in the present study The students in this study perceived their poor pronunciation as the main obstacle A possible explanation is that these barriers seem to be determined by learners’ characteristics, such as their linguistic proficiency and previous experience

Another challenge was poor grammatical knowledge It was discovered that students were afraid of speaking and reluctant to express ideas because they were afraid of making grammatical mistakes A possible explanation is that students were influenced by traditional teaching in class, which tends to emphasize accuracy in grammar

Another major barrier was a lack of confidence The findings added that students felt anxious and worried when performing role-play tasks, mainly due to their low level of confidence This may be explained by the fact that they lack exposure to communicative practices in English and opportunities to interact with people using English

The results of this study also pointed out other challenges during the application of role-play English-speaking tasks, which are insufficient interest in learning English and the limited teaching time in class from teachers’ viewpoint, and a lack of preparation for the tasks from students’ perspectives Based on these specified challenges, teachers could prepare themselves to use role-play more efficiently and effectively in teaching speaking English.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusion

In brief, this study was undertaken to investigate how high school students perceived the use of role-play in learning speaking skills and explore the challenges both students and teachers may encounter during the implementation of role-play in speaking activities in a Vietnamese high school The research collected data from

11 th -grade students via questionnaires The interview was also conducted with students and teachers The results of this investigation show that the students had positive perceptions of using role-play English-speaking tasks The most obvious finding to emerge from this study is that role-play can give students an enjoyable experience in learning to speak, gain students’ favourable support for the application of role-play in speaking learning, and provide learners with essential knowledge and skills for enhancing their speaking skills Overall, it is suggested that role-play can be a useful technique to facilitate learners’ speaking development Moreover, the study has identified three common challenges during the implementation of role-play in speaking: students’ limited vocabulary knowledge, a lack of grammar, and a low level of confidence in speaking As these barriers are acknowledged, it would be of great help for teachers and students to have sufficient preparedness for achieving the best outcomes from the use of role-play in improving speaking skills.

Implications and contribution of the study

The study suggests pedagogical implications for stakeholders

High school students could be helped to reflect on role-play as an effective technique for improving their English speaking skills in class Based on the results, the role-play technique has been proven to provide an enjoyable learning experience for learners, increase their confidence in communication, reinforce peer collaboration, and enhance necessary linguistic aspects such as vocabulary, pronunciation, etc for improving speaking skills Therefore, all of the teachers should ensure that they have completed all of the necessary preparations before joining the lesson The teachers need to put in a significant amount of time to become used to the lesson plans, the environment, the students, and the many ways to organize the activities before they can begin using the platform Specifically, within speaking classes, teachers should design communicative tasks exploiting the use of role-play so that the opportunities for developing the speaking skills of students can be maximized Meanwhile, the current data highlight the huge benefits of applying role-play in speaking English Therefore, students’ awareness of these advantages should be fully raised so that they can have more commitment when being assigned to this speaking task

Second, the findings of this research provide insights into understanding the problems that may arise when teachers apply role-play in teaching speaking The effectiveness of using role-play can only be achieved if these barriers are removed or reduced Having said that, based on learners’ levels and previous experience, teachers should provide adequate instructions as well as supplementary materials before assigning role-play tasks In addition, relevant topics should be selected to trigger learners’ interests Most importantly, teachers should allocate sufficient time for students’ preparation and demonstration so that students have more confidence to express themselves and learn from their peers As for learners, with the acknowledgement of these challenges, they should invest more time in improving their linguistic proficiency outside the classroom, especially their vocabulary knowledge Especially, they should overcome their own fear of speaking English to perform role-play freely to achieve the best outcome in improving their speaking

Third, given the benefits of role-play in English-speaking learning, professional training in teacher development should provide teachers with strategies as well as teaching approaches to exploiting role-play in teaching Workshops and conferences should be held to raise awareness of teachers in acknowledging the advantages of using role-play Moreover, the training and webinars should focus on helping teachers to solve the potential challenges identified in this study in implementing role-play in English-speaking activities more effectively

Last but not least, even though many English students understand how important face-to-face communication is in the language, perceptual and oral skills are still not given enough attention To make this situation better, the people who make decisions at the national level should put more emphasis on developing speaking skills They could do this by adding specialized speaking classes and giving the speaking exam more weight overall Encouragement of English teachers to place an emphasis on auditory and spoken abilities, together with the provision of opportunities for pupils to engage in English-language practice Teachers should be given the chance to get training in the use of role-play and its evaluation, and local policymakers should make this available to them Also, while selecting textbooks, care should be taken to ensure that they have many opportunities for role-play.

Limitations and recommendations for future research

Despite its contributions, the study has some limitations, which also lay the foundation for the recommendations for future studies.

First of all, the research was limited by the absence of classroom observation as a research instrument Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data for this research Even though interviews and questionnaires were helpful enough to find out high school EFL students’ perceptions of role-play English-speaking activities and the challenges during the implementation of role- play, the findings would be more complete with a triangulation between theory and practice As a result, possible ways of exploring high school students’ perceptions towards role-play and the perceived challenges during the implementation of role- play in speaking skill learning can exploit classroom observation or distribute questionnaires among teachers to elicit deeper and more reliable information Moreover, further investigation, using an experimental design, could shed light on the effect of role-play in enhancing speaking skills in different contexts This issue can be addressed in future work

Secondly, the scope of this study was limited in terms of the participants, who were 11th-grade students at a high school in Vietnam The findings from the research indicate these students had positive perceptions towards role-play English- speaking tasks However, generalizing these results to different groups of students in other grades should be cautious Based on this weakness, further studies need to be conducted with different groups of students with a larger sample size for more validation of the perception of applying role-play in teaching speaking skills

Lastly, the study is limited by the lack of information from interviews, as the number of interviewees was quite small Though both students and teachers participated in the interview and revealed significant findings, a larger number of participants would make the data richer and more insightful as to how beneficial role-play is for improving English speaking This issue can be further explored in future work so that more valid data from interviews can be obtained

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Dear students, I am Vo Ngoc Thien Tien I am conducting a study about “School students’ perceptions of role-play in speaking skill learning” the problems related to teaching students’ speaking performance Your voluntary participation in answering this questionnaire will help complete my MA thesis in English language teaching at Ho Chi Minh Open University

The questionnaire is developed to investigate the practices of using role-play and factors impacting on eleventh graders’ engagement in their EFL speaking lessons The questionnaire is anonymous and includes three sections Please kindly complete all items with accurate information Data will be used for the research purpose only Data will be treated as confidential

This questionnaire includes three sections:

Section 2: school students’ general attitudes towards learning English speaking with role-play

Section 3: level of satisfaction toward speaking English

Do you consent to proceed with the questionnaire? ( ) Yes ( ) No

QUESTIONNAIRE Section 1: please put a tick ✓in the brackets ( ) and fill out the blanks accurately to indicate your personal data and English language learning information

2 How long have you been learning English at school? ……….years

3 Why do you study English? (you may choose more than one option) a to gain high scores and pass the exams at school b to communicate English c to be the high school d to pursue tertiary education upon high school graduation e to prepare for studying abroad f to prepare for the future job opportunities others (in detail):………

4 How proficient is your English level? a Very low b Low c Medium d High e Very high

5 Which English skill do you find most difficult? a Listening b Reading c Writing d Speaking

6 How do you assess your English speaking ability? a Very bad b Bad c Average d Good e Very good

7 How often do you speak English in classtime? a Always b Usually c Sometimes d Rarely e Never

8 How often do you practice speaking English outside classroom? a Always b Usually c Sometimes d Rarely e Never

9 Do you face problems while communicating English? a Yes b No

10 When you speak English, you have difficulty in: a Vocabulary b Grammar c Pronunciation d Intonation e Fluency

11 How often does your teacher give you opportunity to practice speaking in class? a Always b Usually c Sometimes d Rarely e Never

12 Which activity does your teacher use the most in speaking lesson? ? (you may choose more than one option) a Discussion b Role-play c Story telling d Games e Question and response

Section 2: school students’ general attitudes towards learning English speaking with role-play

Instructions: please put a tick in the provided spaces to indicate the level of satisfaction

1 = Strongly disagree 2 =Disagree 3 =Neutral 4 =Agree 5=Strongly agree

No Attitudes towards learning English speaking

Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

1 I found mastery of speaking skill essential because it is beneficial for my future job

2 I found English speaking learning necessary to meet the requirements of the exam

3 English speaking learning using role-play was very exciting

Section 3: Satisfaction towards speaking English by using role-plays in class

No Aspect of satisfaction Strongly agree

Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

Experience in English speaking activities using role-play

1 I was interested in the use of role-play in speaking class

2 When my teacher used role-play in a speaking period, I could control my personal feelings towards my friends and their circumstances

3 When studying speaking skill through role- play activity, my teacher gave me enough time to prepare about my role in a play and present it in a meaningful way

4 Role-play made me engage actively in learning

5 When learning speaking through role-play activities, I was encouraged to express my opinions

6 My attitude towards English has changed better since I engaged with role-play activities

7 Role-play activity improved my ability to express myself in a more forthright way

8 I could experience a wide range of different real-life communication situations in class

9 Role playing speaking tasks encouraged me to think more critically about complex topics different perspective

10 Role-play helped me be aware of using grammar properly in English speaking

11 I could learn some new expressions from my friends

12 Participating English speaking activities using role-play improved my vocabulary

13 I could improve my speaking accuracy through role-play

14 I could improve my speaking fluency through role-play

15 I could practise pronunciation when I performed in a role play

16 Role-play made me keep the lesson in mind for a long time after the speaking period

17 English speaking learning through role-play activities helped me be exposed to the variety of cultural aspects

18 English speaking learning through role-play offered me opportunities to share and learn real-life experiences

19 English speaking learning through role-play offered me opportunities to overcome psychological barriers in communicating

20 English speaking learning through role-play promoted cooperation between my friends and I in the classroom

Cô tên là Võ Ngọc Thiên Tiên Hiện Cô đang nghiên cứu đề tài luận văn liên quan tới việc giảng dạy kĩ năng nói cho sinh viên Việc tham gia trả lời câu hỏi của các em sẽ giúp cô hoàn thành luận văn thạc sĩ về giảng dạy ngôn ngữ Anh tại trường Đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

Bảng hỏi thiết kế nhằm khảo sát thái độ của các em với việc sử dụng phương pháp đóng vai trong việc học nói Tiếng anh cho sinh viên lớp 11 tại trường Trung học phổ thông Cô muốn diễn tả sự cảm ơn chân thành của cô tới sự hợp tác hoàn thành bảng hỏi của các em Cô đảm bảo rằng những câu trả lời nghiêm túc của các em chỉ sử dụng cho mục đích học thuật này

Bảng câu hỏi bao gồm ba phần:

Phần 1: thông tin cá nhân chi tiết

Phần 2: thái độ chung của học sinh nhà trường đối với việc học kỹ năng nói

Phần 3: mức độ hài lòng của học sinh với việc học kĩ năng nói Tiếng Anh thông qua hoạt động đóng vai

Em có đồng ý thực hiện bảng câu hỏi hay không? ( ) Có ( ) Không

BẢNG CÂU HỎI Phần 1: các em vui lòng đánh dấu ✓ vào dấu ngoặc ( ) và điền chính xác vào chỗ trống thông tin cá nhân và thông tin việc học tiếng Anh của em

2 Em học Tiếng Anh được bao lâu rồi? ……….năm

3 Tại sao em muốn tham gia học Tiếng Anh ? (em có thể chọn nhiều lựa chọn) a để đạt điểm cao và đậu các kì thi ở trường b để giao tiếp tiếng Anh c tiếp tục bậc đại học sau khi tốt nghiệp bậc trung học d chuẩn bị du học ở nước ngoài e chuẩn bị cho những cơ hội việc làm ở tương lai f những ý kiến khác (liệt kê chi tiết):………

4 Mức độ thành thạo tiếng Anh của em là mức nào? a Rất thấp b Thấp c Trung bình d Cao e Rất cao

5 Theo em, kỹ năng nào là khó nhất trong việc học ngoại ngữ là môn Tiếng Anh? a Nghe b Đọc c Viết d Nói

6 Em đánh giá trình độ nói của mình như thế nào? a Rất yếu b Yếu c Trung bình d Tốt e Rất tốt

7 Em đánh giá sự tham gia hoạt động trong lớp của mình thường xuyên như thế nào? a Luôn luôn b Thường xuyên c Thỉnh thoảng d Hiếm khi e Không bao giờ

8 Em có gặp khó khăn khi giao tiếp tiếng Anh? a Có b Không

9 Khi giao tiếp tiếng Anh, bạn gặp những khó khăn gì? a Từ vựng b Ngữ pháp c Phát âm d Âm điệu e Độ lưu loát

10 Giáo viên tiếng Anh cho em cơ hội được thực hành nói bao lâu một lần? a Luôn luôn b Thường xuyên c Thỉnh thoảng d Hiếm khi e Không bao giờ

11 Hoạt động nào giáo viên đã sử dụng trong giờ học nói tiếng Anh? (có thể chọn nhiều đáp án) a Thảo luận b Đóng vai c Kể chuyện d Trò chơi e Hỏi và trả lời

Phần 2: thái độ chung của học sinh nhà trường đối với việc học kỹ năng nói Hướng dẫn: vui lòng đánh dấu ✓ vào chỗ trống để đánh dấu mức độ hài lòng

1 = Hoàn toàn không đồng ý 2 = Không đồng ý 3 = Bình thường 4 = Đồng ý

Thái độ của học sinh đối với việc hõ kĩ năng nói tiếng Anh

1 Em nhận thấy là cần thiết để học tốt kĩ năng nói vì sẽ giúp ích cho công việc ở tương lai sắp tới

2 Em nhận thấy là cần thiết đối với việc học tốt kĩ năng nói để đạt các kì thi và kiểm tra

3 Học kĩ năng nói thông qua hoạt động đóng vai rất thú vị

Phần 3: mức độ hài lòng của học sinh với việc học kĩ năng nói Tiếng Anh thông qua hoạt động đóng vai

Hướng dẫn: vui lòng đánh dấu ✓ vào chỗ trống để đánh dấu mức độ hài lòng

1 = Hoàn toàn không đồng ý 2 = Không đồng ý 3 = Bình thường 4 = Đồng ý

STT Các khía cạnh của sự hài lòng Hoàn toàn đồng ý Đồng ý

Trải nghiệm của việc học nói Tiếng Anh thông qua hoạt động đóng vai

1 Em rất thích thú khi tham gia hoạt động đóng vai trong lớp học nói

2 Khi giáo viên sử dụng hoạt động đóng vai trong lớp học nói, em có thể điều khiển được cảm xúc cá nhân của mình đối với bạn bè và ngữ cảnh của họ

3 Khi học kĩ năng nói thông qua hoạt động đóng vai, giáo viên cho em một khoảng thời gian nhất định đủ để chuẩn bị và nghĩ sâu hơn về nhân vật và trình diễn một cách hay nhất

4 Hoạt động đóng vai đã giúp em tham gia tích cực hơn trong lớp học

5 Khi học nói thông qua hoạt động đóng vai, em đã có thể tự tin bày tỏ ý kiến của mình

6 Em đã có thái độ tích cực hơn trong giờ học

Tiếng Anh khi tham gia các hoạt động đóng vai

7 Hoạt động đóng vai cải thiện được khả năng thể hiện bản thân một cách thẳng thắn hơn của em

8 Em có thể gặp được nhiều tình huống xảy ra ở cuộc sống thực tế hàng ngày khác nhau có thể xảy ra trong vở kịch

9 Các bài tập đóng vai khuyến khích tôi suy nghĩ chín chắn hơn về các chủ đề phức tạp và gây tranh cãi và nhìn các tình huống từ một góc độ khác

Kiến thức và kĩ năng

10 Hoạt động đóng vai giúp em nhận thức được trong việc sử dụng các thì của động từ hợp lí khi nói

11 Em có thể học được các cách diễn đạt mới được các bạn sử dụng thông qua hoạt động đóng vai

12 Hoạt động đóng vai trong lớp cung cấp cho em nhiều từ vựng theo từng chủ đề

13 Em có thể cải thiện được độ chính xác khi nói tiếng Anh thông qua hoạt động đóng vai

14 Em có thể cải thiện được độ lưu loát khi nói tiếng Anh thông qua hoạt động đóng vai

15 Em có thể luyện phát âm khi tham gia vào hoạt động đóng vai Ứng dụng của hoạt động đóng vai

16 Hoạt động đóng vai trong giờ học nói giúp tôi ghi nhớ bài học lâu hơn sau tiết học

17 Học nói thông qua hoạt động đóng vai đã giúp em tiếp cận một được nhiều khía cạnh văn hóa khác nhau

18 Học nói thông qua hoạt động đóng vai tao cho em cơ hội có thể chia sẻ và học hỏi kĩ năng và kinh nghiệm sống

19 Hoạt động đóng vai tạo cơ hội cho bản thân em có thể vượt qua được rào cản tâm lý, em cảm thấy tự tin hơn khi tham gia nói tiếng

20 Học nói tiếng Anh thông qua hoạt động đóng vai giúp em và các bạn hợp tác nhiều hơn trong học tập

1 How can you experience in role-play activity in speaking lesson? Do you like or dislike role-play activity? Why or why not?

2 How often do you join the role-play activity in the speaking lesson? Do you participate in all activities organized by your teacher, or are you just an audience member?

3 What are your barriers or difficulties in speaking learning using role-play? How do you feel when you are required to do a role in front of the class?

4 What benefits do you get via role-play activity (knowledge, skills, …)?

5 Have you applied role-play outside classroom? (where, which situation, )

1 Bản thân em đã được trải nghiệm hoạt động đóng vai như thế nào trong các giờ học nói? Em thích hoặc không thích? Tại sao thích và tại sao không thích?