A study on listening and speaking teaching methods for secondary school students at bright smile academy

Trang 1 Student: Doan Thi Huong GiangGroup: CQ57/51.04Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thanh ThanhEmail address and contact phone number:Mail: doanhuonggiang.work@gmail.comPhone number: 0335855352

Student: Doan Thi Huong Giang Group: CQ57/51.04 Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Thanh Thanh Email address and contact phone number: Mail: doanhuonggiang.work@gmail.com Phone number: 0335855352 RESEARCH PROPOSAL A study on listening and speaking teaching methods for secondary school students at Bright Smile Academy ( Nghiên cứu phương pháp dạy kỹ nghe-nói cho học sinh Trung học sở Trung tâm Anh ngữ Bright Smile Academy) INTRODUCTION RATIONALE OF THE STUDY A "world language" or a "global lingua franca" - English is the first choice of foreign language in most other countries of the world, and it is that status that has given it the position of a global lingua franca It is the world's most widely-used language in international business and telecommunications, newspaper and book publishing, scientific publishing, mass entertainment and diplomacy Worldwide, there are over 400 million native speakers of English, and over one billion more people speak it as a second language English is probably the third language in terms of number of native speakers (after Mandarin and Spanish); and probably the most widely spoken language on the planet taking into account native and non-native speakers According to Patel: “To have a complete language skill requires learners to go through four steps of listening, speaking, listening and speaking If one of these four skills is ignored, it is not possible to provide learners with an accurate language” Of the four skills above, listening and speaking are classified as receptive skills; listening and speaking are classified as communicative skills These skills are interrelated with each other In particular, listening and speaking are an effective and essential means for students to master and consolidate language knowledge, expand vocabulary as well as understand more about the style and usage of the language they are learning Understanding the importance of these two skills in learning English, in Vietnam, many parents have invested in their children learning English very early Not only they study at school, but they also participate in extra classes at English centres Learning English at the centres brings many benefits to students, they help them to reinforce class lessons as well as allow them to deepen their knowledge To help students learn this skill well, centres and teachers need to have appropriate teaching methods, which are not easy to create That has made English listening and speaking more difficult and will gradually lead to the fear of learning English in students To develop appropriate teaching methods, it is necessary to first understand who the students are Especially for secondary school age, when students begin to have changes in personality as well as perception Every teacher is both a transmitter of knowledge and a companion for children From there, it can help students and teachers understand each other better, teaching and learning from there will also become easier Aware of the essential role of building methods of teaching listening and speaking skill in consolidating knowledge and learning English, as well as basing on the knowledge had learned in school and the practical experience gained from the internship, the researcher has chosen the topic: “A study on listening and speaking teaching methods for secondary school students at Bright Smile Academy” AIM OF THE STUDY Firstly, the thesis provides knowledge and information about teaching methods of English listening and speaking skill as well as the importance of teaching methods for students’ acquisition knowledge Secondly, the thesis provides information about the changes in the personality of children in the age of 11 to 15, thereby summarizing the problems that are likely to be encountered when learning these two skills of children in this age group Thirdly, the thesis analyses and evaluating the teaching methods of listening and speaking skill at Bright Smile Academy Finally, the thesis proposes solutions to improve and enhance the quality of teaching this skill at Bright Smile Academy SCOPE OF THE STUDY This study was conducted at Bright Smile English Center at 74 Ke Ve Street, Dong Ngac Ward, Bac Tu Liem District, Hanoi City, Vietnam The thesis is based on data provided by the Academy in the 2022-2023 school year The objective of the study is Methods of teaching English listening and speaking skills for secondary school students at Bright Smile Academy and some solutions to improve them METHODS OF THE STUDY In the thesis, the writer used the data obtained from the survey for secondary school students at Bright Smile Academy The collected data includes the level of interest in learning the listening and speaking skills, the level of understanding, the level of self- review, the ability to apply the two skills In this thesis, data will be provided by the academy for the 2022-2023 school year ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY Besides the Declaration, Abstract, Acknowledgements, List of abbreviations, List of figures and tables, Table of contents, Introduction, Conclusion, References, and Appendix, the study will consist of chapters: Chapter Literature Review Information about teaching methods of English listening and speaking skills Overview about changes in the psychology of students from the age of 11 to 15 Chapter The Study Analyzing and evaluating the ways of teaching these two skills at Bright Smile Academy Chapter Recommendations Proposing solutions to improve the quality of teaching English listening and speaking skills at Bright Smile Academy DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter provides an overview of teaching methods, the definitions and importance of listening and speaking skills in learning English, methods of teaching listening and speaking, difficulties in teaching these skills, and previous studies related to listening and speaking teaching methods for secondary students these skills 1.1 Teaching methods According to Author: B F Skinner in “Education in 1984” "Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten." Teaching is one of the main components in educational planning which is a key factor in conducting educational plans Despite the importance of good teaching, the outcomes are far from ideal To be able to fully convey knowledge, teachers need to stimulate students' interest in learning, and teaching methods play a vital role in helping teachers convey their knowledge to students The term teaching method refers to the general principles, pedagogy and management strategies used for classroom instruction There might be several ways a teacher can orient his/her teaching depending on the nature of the subject matter and the characteristics of the learners According to Dr Ismail Al-Rawi (2013) in “Teaching Methodology and its Effects on Quality Learning”, teaching methods are described as the mechanism that is used by the teacher to organize and implement several educational means and activities to achieve certain goals Teaching techniques are the means that reflect the success of the learning process and the competencies of the teacher Being a teacher, the author always needs to look for new ways to deliver knowledge to the learners, and on many occasions, the author found that traditional teaching methods become not effective as they used to be due to the current advancement in technology Teaching becomes more effective when it is performed in a quicker response to the needs of the learner so that blending various techniques to deliver knowledge and ideas become necessary For a particular teaching method to be appropriate and efficient, it has to be about the characteristic of the learners and the type of learning it is supposed to bring about Suggestions are used to be designed and selected for teaching methods must take into account not only the nature of the subject matter but also how students learn In today's school, the trend is that it encourages much creativity It is a known fact that human advancement comes through reasoning 1.2 Elements effect on teaching methods 1.2.1 Objective elements 1.2.1.1 Instability in family The term "instability" is often used in social science research to reflect change or discontinuity in one’s experience; however, operational definitions of instability vary by field and are often determined by the data and measures available for research Whereas some literature looks at the effects of change measured broadly, change itself can have both positive and negative implications depending on the context, including whether the change is voluntary, planned in advance, and moving the individual or family to better circumstances For education purposes, instability is best conceptualized as the experience of change in individual or family circumstances where the change is abrupt, involuntary, and/or in a negative direction, and thus is more likely to have adverse implications for child development Children thrive in stable and nurturing environments where they have a routine and know what to expect Although some change in children’s lives is normal and anticipated, sudden and dramatic family disruptions can be extremely stressful and affect children’s feeling of security Family instability refers to changes in parents’ residential and romantic partnerships, such as marriage, divorce, and romantic partners moving in or out of the home As rates of cohabitation, nonmarital births, and divorce have increased over the past 60 years, more children have experienced some degree of family instability This increase in family instability can have a negative influence on children’s and adolescents’ functioning and behavior In education, a lack of security at home can have a detrimental influence on teaching methods On average, children who live with both parents better in school than children who not Academic achievement can be harmed by family disputes and disturbance Divorce, the death of one or both parents, not living with or having contact with the biological father or mother, often relocating from one house to another, and being or having been engaged with Child Protective Services are just some instances For example, changes in family relationships include divorcing parents or blending two families together Both instances can confuse or upset a child and lead to their acting out or withdrawing at school Often, single parents are forced to work longer hours to make financial ends meet, which means less time at home with their kids this can cause a child to feel neglected or unloved resulting in their misbehavior or withdrawal at school Similarly, if two families merge together, a child might feel neglected or left out as his or her parents navigate new relationships with the new members 1.2.1.2 Peer relationships Peer relationships are thought to play an important role in children’s development They offer unique opportunities for getting acquainted with the social norms and processes involved in interpersonal relationships, and for learning new social skills They also provide contexts in which capacities for self-control may be tested and refined Childhood peer relations are also multi-faceted: children experience peer interactions through their participation in group activities, as well as through their dyadic (i.e one-on- one) associations with friends These different facets of peer experiences are seen as providing age-related developmental opportunities for the construction of the self, with peer group experiences progressively gaining in importance and culminating in middle childhood, before giving way to friendships as the most central feature in late childhood and adolescence As children become older, the impact of their friends grows as well Although school is given to students to receive an education, it can also be a place where they can develop relationships with many different people, activities, and participate in a variety of different sports This can make four years as a secondary school student filled with many different emotions, including happiness, anger, sadness, jealousy, isolation, stress, and a numerous amount more This is also a time where peer pressure is most commonly put upon a vast majority of them Peer pressure is something that causes conflict in an individual's life The feeling of not fitting in, not being good enough, and not being a part of the “group” overwhelms and takes over the mindset of a regular teen High stress and hurtful experiences seem to always be the result to giving to peer pressure because of the endless amount of negative aspects that can come with it Statistics say between 20% – 30% of adolescents report symptoms of depression because of peer pressure According to Joan Saslow & Allen Ascher in Teen teen (2014) “For teens who have low self esteem, challenges can become sources of major anxiety and frustration Teens who think poorly about themselves have a hard time finding solutions to problems Teens who think poorly about themselves are more inclined to engage in high risk behaviors, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, and using illicit drugs.” Despite the fact that peer pressure is most commonly seen as a very negative issue, it can be seen positively in some situations This can involve pressuring your peers to be honest, avoid drugs, avoid alcohol, respect others, work hard, exercise, be kind, be responsible, and more In “How Positive Peer Pressure Works” by SecureTeen website (2013) “Positive peer pressure can help you reflect on your actions and amend your ways to become a better individual Observing others working hard to achieve their goals will definitely encourage you to step up your game and strive towards something positive.” 1.2.1.3 Learning environment In “A Study of Students’ Perception of The Learning Environment: Case Study of Department of Architecture, Covenant University, Ota Ogun State Learning” by Eziyi Ibem, Oluwole Alagbe and Abraham Owoseni (2017), learning environment refers to the diverse physical locations, contexts, and cultures in which students learn Since students may learn in a wide variety of settings, such as outside-of-school locations and outdoor environments, the term is often used as a more accurate or preferred alternative to classroom, which has more limited and traditional connotations a room with rows of desks and a chalkboard The term also encompasses the culture of a school or class it is presiding ethos and characteristics, including how individuals interact with and treat one another as well as the ways in which teachers may organize an educational setting to facilitate learning, by conducting classes in relevant natural ecosystems, grouping desks in specific ways, decorating the walls with learning materials, or utilizing audio, visual, and digital technologies And because the qualities and characteristics of a learning environment are determined by a wide variety of factors, school policies, governance structures, and other features may also be considered elements of a “learning environment" In an engaged learning environment, classrooms become communities wherein learning happens This sense of community allows students to feel connected to one another and their teachers and to engage in collaborative, active learning Students not just learn through logical thinking but get to explore learning in a way that engages their relevant feelings and interests It also allows for more individualized learning, with each student being working at a developmentally appropriate pace 1.2.1.4 Facilities There are many factors that determine the success of students at school Parents often measure their child’s success based on grades, but the quality of a school’s teaching and learning environment and its facilities have a vital influence on a child’s overall development Many subjects and specialities are dependent on facilities, and if a school cannot provide the right environment, there may be little to no opportunity for a student to pursue that subject A school that can provide a range of high-quality facilities can offer opportunities students may not be able to find at another school For example, a student looking to pursue their interests in the performing arts would benefit from a studio and a theatre to perform in This is the same for sports; state-of-the-art facilities can present students with the opportunity to take their talents to a level they may not reach elsewhere Facilities should be an important consideration for students looking to study a specialist subject or who have real ambitions of pursuing a career in sports or the performing arts The quality of facilities a school provides impacts class sizes, which are proven to influence student learning According to an article by Penn State University, overcrowded classrooms have been consistently linked to increased levels of aggression and decreased levels of learning Alternatively, classrooms with ample space provide a learning environment that increases student engagement and learning Spacious classrooms allow for seating arrangements that best suit the individual needs of each student and can create the option of private study areas where students can work uninterrupted, free from distractions 1.2.2 Subjective elements 1.2.2.1 Content of the lesson Because content knowledge is seen as fundamental to what schools do, the standards in every subject area list, sometimes explicitly, what content students should grasp to be considered knowledgeable Words like “understand,” “identify,” “memorize,” and “recognize” are used to describe the content that students should be able to work with The key to content learning is to understand how content is learned, including what skills are needed and how technology can help Content knowledge is essential for students in order to meet student learning goals such as problem-solving and effective communication Teachers should first understand the purposes, importance of content learning and then how it can be learned and supported by technology while students work toward learning goals Next, teachers need to see how ideas connect across fields and to everyday life And this kind of understanding provides It is obvious that no definition can give all the ideas and features of what listening is Each author can have a different definition of listening; we cannot tell which is better because each of them focuses on one important aspect of listening However, what they all share is that they try to find out the nature of listening and listening acts, in which listeners, listening processes, and messages are emphasized We find that there is a close relationship between listening and understanding Therefore, as language teachers, we must thoroughly understand the nature of listening to help our students read effectively Listening comprehension Studies, beginning with Rankin’s famous work (1928) reporting the amount of time adults spent in various forms of communication, have indicated that of the four basic communication skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening) we use the skill of listening most From 42 to 60% (or more) of our communication time is spent listening, depending on whether we are students, managerial trainees, doctors, counselors, lawyers, or nurses Cotton (1986) found that attorneys spent more time listening than any of the other skills, and that listening was especially important in legal interviewing and counseling, and to a lesser degree in oral argument A 1980 study found that college students spend 52.5% of their time listening (Barker, Edwards, Gaines, Gladney, & Holley) Obviously it is important to learn to be more effective listeners, and studies have shown that our listening comprehension may be only about 25%, with little change even if the speaker is an excellent presenter (Nichols & Lewis, 1954, p 4) Hence, listening comprehension plays an important role in teaching and learning listening a foreign language Listening comprehension is a process, a very complex process, and if we want to measure it, we must first understand how that process works There have been different definitions of the term “listening comprehension.” Rost (2002) and Hamouda (2013) defined listening comprehension as an interactive process in which listeners are involved in constructing meaning Listeners comprehend the oral input through sound discrimination, previous knowledge, grammatical structures, stress and intonation, and the other linguistic or non-linguistic clues (as cited in Pourhosein Gilakjani & Sabouri, 2016) Nadig (2013) defined listening comprehension as the various processes of understanding and making sense of spoken language These involve knowing speech sounds, comprehending the meaning of individual words, and understanding the syntax of sentences (as cited in Pourhosein Gilakjani & Sabouri, 2016) Listening comprehension can also involve the prosody with which utterances are spoken (which can, e.g., change intended meaning from a statement to a question), and making relevant inferences based on context, real-world knowledge, and speaker-specific attributes (e.g., to what information the speaker has access and about what he/she is likely to be talking) According to Brown and Yule (1983) and Hamouda (2013), listening comprehension is an individual understanding of what he has heard and it is the listener’s ability to repeat the text despite the fact that the listener may repeat the sound without real comprehension It is important for us to understand what listening comprehension is For the teachers teaching reading, a profound understanding of the nature of listening comprehension may help them find out the students' difficulties in learning listening and help them overcome them Up to now, we have looked at some definitions of listening and listening comprehension that have been seen from different points of view It is more significant to have a more in-depth look at the listening process to bridge the gap to the focus of the study 1.3.1.2 The importance of listening in learning a foreign language Listening is a significant language skill to develop in second language learning Despite its importance, language learners consider listening as the most difficult language skill to learn Since the role of listening comprehension in language teaching has been repeatedly emphasized According to Rost (1994) and Ziane (2011), listening comprehension is very important because it is a process through which we get input and without its comprehension learning does not happen Doff (1995) and Ziane (2011) represented that listening has a significant effect on developing speaking That is, we cannot develop our speaking ability unless we develop our listening skill If a learner has a good listening ability in English language, it would be very easy for him to listen to the radio, to study, watch films, or communicate with foreigners Learners should have a lot of practice and exposure to English in order to develop this ability There is a relationship between listening to a language and learning it If we compare two learners; one is living in a country where the target language is the first language and the other is living in a country where English is only spoken in academic places The difference is that the first learner can acquire English more easily, effectively, and rapidly than the second one Consequently, learners need as much exposure to English language as possible According to Hedge (2000), listening has an important role in everyday life and when people are engaged in communication nine percent is spent to writing, 16 percent to reading, 30 percent to speaking, and 45 percent to listening which shows the significance of listening in the communication process Lundsteen (1979) expressed that listening is the first skill to appear He continued that children listen before they speak Hedge (2000) indicated that modern society likes to change from printed media towards sound and its members Therefore, the significance of listening cannot be ignored He emphasized that listening is of great importance in English language classrooms Overall, listening is an important skill for language learners to develop in order to progress in their learning By listening to native speakers, language learners can improve their understanding of the language and start to pick up on the subtleties of the language In addition, listening is also important for developing speaking skills 1.3.2 Definitions of speaking skills 1.3.2.1 What is speaking? Speaking skills are one of the most important skills we learn, as they allow us to communicate with others and express our thoughts and feelings Speaking skills can be separated into formal and informal speaking skills, and we use both types of speaking skills in a variety of contexts throughout life Speaking is "the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts" (Chaney, 1998, p 13) Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information (Brown, 1994; Burns & Joyce, 1997) Speaking is described as an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producingand receiving and processing information Speaking depends on the context or the situation,Context includes the physical environment, the purpose for speaking is more often spontaneous,open ended, and evolving Speaking requires learners to not only know how to produce specific points of language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary but also that they understand when, where, why and in what ways to produce language Speaking is a crucial part of second language learning and teaching Despite its importance, for many years, teaching speaking has been undervalued and English language teachers have continued to teach speaking just as a repetition of drills or memorization of dialogues However, today's world requires that the goal of teaching speaking should improve students' communicative skills, because, only in that way, students can express themselves and learn how to follow the social and cultural rules appropriate in each communicative circumstance,therfor,recent pedagogical research on teaching students’ conversation has provided some parameters for developing objectives and techniques 1.3.2.2 The importance of speaking in learning a foreign language In the present global world, communication plays a vital role in getting success in all fields Language is used as a tool for communication Perfect communication is not possible for people without using a language Moreover, people cannot achieve their aims, objectives, and goals without using proper language to communicate As Speaking skill is the most important skill to acquire foreign or second language learning Among the four key language skills, speaking is deemed to be the most important skill in learning a foreign or second language Brown and Yuke (1983) say, “Speaking is the skill that the students will be judged upon most in real life situations” Speaking is considered to be the mostly sought skill for an individual to be accepted competent in a foreign language Speaking is more than to form grammatically correct sentences; it rather covers broad areas of mechanics, functions, pragmatics and social interaction Therefore, any foreign language teaching methodology used in the classroom throughout the history has always sought to develop ways to improve the competency of learners in these areas In contemporary methodologies the emphasis in speaking is fluency rather than accuracy In a typical classification the speaking activities in a foreign language classroom usually falls into one of these categories: Awareness raising activities, Controlled activities and Autonomous activities There are also some speaking strategies that can be implemented to encourage the unmotivated students to produce speaking As very less priority has been given to the important elements of language such as phonological, morphological, semantic and syntactic aspects, it has become a major impediment for foreign learners to acquire the speaking skills among the learners So far, more concentration has been given to reading and writing skills After realizing the importance of oral communication skills, more emphasis is now laid on developing the speaking skills of the learners to pursue their studies successfully and excel in their fields once they finish their education According to Bueno, Madrid, and Mclaren (2006: 321), “Speaking is one of the most difficult skills language learners have to face Speaking is considered the most important of the four language skills of English Even the learners learn the language for so many years; they find it difficult to speak in real time situations when it is demanded." 1.4 Stages of teaching listening skills and elements of teaching speaking skills 1.4.1 Stages of teaching listening skills 1.4.1.1 Pre-listening stage