Trang 1 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN THI THUIMPROVING ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS FOR STUDENTS OF GRADE 6 AT A LOWER SECONDARY SCHOOL THROUGH ENGLISH EXTRACURRIC
INTRODUCTION
Rationale
It can no longer be ignored that English is becoming the universal language of our global world English is the passport to success and greater knowledge of our rapidly changing world, whether you live and work in an English-speaking nation or require it for travel and leisure As a result, teaching and learning English is extremely vital and required since understanding English provides us with the greatest and quickest path to achieving life success From elementary school children to university students, from workers to government bosses, English is studied with zest and zeal
With the trend of globalization, there has been a growing demand for teaching and learning English in Vietnam However, Vietnamese students have several challenges in acquiring and practicing their English language skills, specially speaking skills They frequently become perplexed when speaking English due to a lack of professional expertise, confidence, and an effective learning strategy Aside from that, the passive learning environment, which consists of the same monotonous courses with no intriguing extracurricular activities, prevents children from practicing and developing their English That is the primary reason why individuals do not get the desired results in learning English, particularly in terms of speaking ability
Besides, there is a part of components of talking influencing the capacity to talk fluidly such as dialect highlights (associated discourse, expressive gadget, lexis and language structure, arrangement dialect) and the capacity to handle data and dialect “on the spot” such as dialect handling, interacting with others… Be that as it may, in a period of 45minutes, it appears to be outlandish for both instructors and learners to control them
Having taught English for many years, the researcher discovered that the majority of her students are reluctant to participate in oral activities Most of them sit passively and take notes, rarely contribute to the lesson, and never seek the teacher's assistance when they have a problem Large classes, psychological or cultural differences, teaching grammatical structures or vocabulary, are some of the reasons for this Whatever the reasons, the primary goal of the researcher as a teacher is to encourage her students to speak up in class and thus improve their communication skills
During the teaching process, the researcher also found that extracurricular activities in English are considered as one of the effective tools to create a positive English practice environment for students, increase interaction between lecturers and students, between students or encourage students to acquire language and cultural knowledge
Therefore, based on the afore-mentioned reasons, the researcher determines to carry out a research on “Improving English speaking skills for students of grade 6 at a lower secondary school through English extracurricular activities”
Aims of the study
The current study is about to help the grades 6th students at Doc Lap Lower secondary school improve their speaking skills through extracurricular activities and to provide them with the basic knowledge of speaking skill of higher requirement for the next graders In a nutshell, this study is aimed at investigating how extracurricular activities could help improve the English speaking skills of 6th graders at Doc Lap Lower secondary school.
Research questions
In order to achieve the aims stated above, the research is conducted to address the two following questions:
1 To what extent does English extracurricular activities enhance English speaking skills of the grade-6 students at a lower secondary school in Thai Nguyen?
2 What are these students’ attitudes towards the employment of English extracurricular activities to improve English speaking skills?
Scope of the study
There are so many different material resources and researchers that require a lot of time and effect while the researcher’s personal experience is limited Therefore, this study can only focus on studying the effectiveness of studying English speaking skills through the extracurricular activities for the grades 6th students at Doc lap Lower Secondary School in Thai Nguyen in the second term of the academic year 2020-2021.
Significance of the study
By conducting this study, the researcher expect that the result will have some significant contributions to teaching English, especially in improving speaking skill for students in grade 6
The researcher hopes that the result of this research will have several significance as follows:
Practically, the researcher hopes that this result can give motivation for teachers to be more creative and innovative in using alternative strategies to teach English, especially in teaching speaking for school students
Theoretically, the researcher hopes that this result can be useful as a reference for those who have interest in the same topic
Pedagogically, the researcher hopes that this result can become a way to improve the English teaching and learning process for school students, typically to increase the students’ motivation and engagement in English lessons, including speaking ones.
Methods of the study
Action research was adopted in this study by the researcher and also the teacher; therefore, extracurricular activities would be applied directly into the class where the researcher was teaching Also, both qualitative and quantitative data collection were applied in this study Questionnaire and interview with students were used to gather the students’ opinions about the use of extracurricular activities in speaking classes The data analysis from tests would help to understand more the students’ improvement in speaking skill All of the methods were triangulated to get the validity and reliability of the research, therefore, the results from students’ tests would be compared with the data collected in the interview and questionnaire.
Structure of the thesis
Apart from declaration, acknowledgement, abstract, table of contents and appendices, this thesis is structured in three main parts namely: Introduction, Development, and Conclusion
Chapter 1, INTRODUCTION, presents the rationale, the aims of the study, research questions, scope of the study and structure of the thesis
Chapter 2, LITERATURE REVIEW, begins with the literature on extracurricular activities, its importance, its different types and priors studies related on extracurricular activities,
Chapter 3, RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, provides the English teaching and learning situation in Doc Lap Lower Secondary School, the research methods that involve information about the participants, procedures and instruments
Chapter 4, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION, presents major findings and discussion, and analyses the collected data to answer the research questions
Chapter 5, CONCLUSION, addresses the key issues in the study, summarizes some shortcomings revealed during the process of this study and the recommendations for more effective application of extracurricular activities in improving students’ speaking skills.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Overview of speaking skill
Speaking skill is an intuitive preparation of developing meaning that includes creating and accepting and handling data (Brown, 1994; Burns & Joyce, 1997) Its frame and meaning are subordinate to the setting in which it happens, counting the members themselves, their collective encounters, the physical environment, and the purposes for talking It is frequently unconstrained, open-ended, and advancing Be that as it may, talking is not continuously erratic Language capacities (or designs) that tend to repeat in certain talk circumstances (e.g., declining a welcome or asking time off from work), can be recognized and charted (Burns & Joyce, 1997)
Agreeing to Chaney (1998), speaking skill is the method of making and sharing meaning by utilizing verbal and non-verbal images in completely different settings Brown (1994) and Burns and Joyce (1997) characterized talking as an intuitive preparation of making meaning that incorporates creating, accepting, and handling data
Speaking skill is the students’ capacity in communicating their thoughts orally, which is spoken to by the scores of talking Talking is as it were n verbal path of capacities that it got from structure and lexicon, Freeman (in Risnadedi, 19 2001) expressed that talking capacity is more complex and troublesome than individuals accept, and talking consider like consider other cases in pondering of dialect, naturalize numerous cases to dialect instructors
In conclusion, speaking skill is continuously considered as a space of dialect and phonetic legitimacy In this manner, Clark and Clark (in Nunan, 1991, p.23) pushed, “speaking is on a very basic level an instrument act” Speakers' conversations in arrange to have a few impacts on their audience members It is the result of instructing learning handle Students’ ability in discussion is primarily pointed at in terms of educating talking expertise, it gets to be fundamentally viewpoint in dialect educating and learning victory on the off chance that dialect capacities as a framework for passing on meaning, as Nunan (1991, p.39) states that the fruitful in talking is measured through someone’s capacity to carry out a discussion within the dialect
There are three kinds of speaking situations in which we find ourselves:
Interactive speaking situations include face-to-face conversations and telephone calls, in which we are alternately listening and speaking, and in which we have a chance to ask for clarification, repetition, or slower speech from our conversation partner Some speaking situations are partially interactive, such as when giving a speech to a live audience, where the convention is that the audience does not interrupt the speech The speaker nevertheless can see the audience and judge from the expressions on their faces and body language whether or not he or she is being understood
Some few speaking situations may be totally non-interactive, such as when recording a speech for a radio broadcast
Here are some of the micro-skills involved in speaking The speaker has to:
• Pronounce the distinctive sounds of a language clearly enough so that people can distinguish them This includes making tonal distinctions
• Use stress and rhythmic patterns, and intonation patterns of the language clearly enough so that people can understand what is said
• Use the correct forms of words This may mean, for example, changes in the tense, case, or gender
• Put words together in correct word order
• Use the register or language variety that is appropriate to the situation and the relationship to the conversation partner
• Make clear to the listener the main sentence constituents, such as subject, verb, object, by whatever means the language uses
• Make the main ideas stand out from supporting ideas or information
• Make the discourse hang together so that people can follow what you are saying
2.1.2 Relationship between speaking and three other skills
According to Forseth R and Carol H (1994, p.43), speaking related to the following skills:
2.1.2.1 Relationship between speaking and listening
When learning English as a distant dialect, the learner cannot develop talking abilities unless he develops tuning in abilities; in order to have a fruitful discussion, he must understand what is said to him Following that, the ability to hear the local speaker in coordinated chats, on the radio, or on tape may be quite important for him to progress think about the dialect, and converse in it
Aside from that, listening to spoken English is an important technique of acquiring the dialect of "picking up" structures and vocabulary In the Vietnamese context, where students do not have the opportunity to hear English spoken around them every day and cannot easily obtain it, the teacher should provide them as much time as possible to listen to spoken English on tape
The speaker ordinarily coordinates his discourse at the audience, taking the audience member's character, deliberate, state of mind, etc under consideration when talking and regularly reacts specifically to her responses, whether verbal or non- verbal, by changing or adjusting this talk
2.1.2.2 Relationship between speaking and reading
Like listening, an open ability, perusing moreover has a few relations with talking in terms of creating each other Ordinarily, a talking lesson starts with content which understudies students understudies ought to discover a few data for their talking exercises It may be a section, a magazine, a report, and a book…this appears perusing underpins talking by giving fundamental data Understudies must have sufficient data, at that point, they can utilize it in talking generation In this manner, understudies ought to be empowered to study for not as it were having more data, information but too making strides lexicon
2.1.2.3 Relationship between speaking and writing
The relationship between speaking and writing, firstly, will see at components influencing the choice between talking or composing and how these variables influence the fashion and dialect utilized The components incorporate being face-to- face, sparing confront, lastingness, interactivity in for amativeness, and setting reliance in which both talking and composting can be found, instead of happening as polar alternate extremes A talked and composed on the same theme will diverse in dialect utilize relating to linguistic use, lexis, and fashion
2.1.3 The purpose of speaking skills
It is difficult to portray a thing without discourse, if we do not utilize dialect to specific our cruel or purpose to do something, it may be mutilated or troublesome to induce In this way, talking is continuously considered the foremost vital activity of human beings There can be no other compelling way to communicate than talking The four fundamental aptitudes of tuning in, talking, perusing, and writing are all associated It is basic to be capable in all of these abilities to be a competent communicator Be that as it may, it is worth saying that talking ability tends to assist the learners' advantage more with a few particular points of interest The capacity to specific considerations, feelings, and so on can give a learner with these taking after focal points:
Capacity to hold the administration Commerce supervisors, teachers, military pioneers, attorneys, and numerous other pioneers ought to create their talking abilities so that they are competent in acing open talking Talking clearly and certainly can offer assistance to them get the consideration of a gathering of people, giving them a valuable opportunity for those speakers to exchange their messages and make them well-known by their speech Wise and effective speakers are who can pick up and after that hold the considerations of their audiences Also how well-chosen the speakers select the lexicon, organized and communicated things can decide the level of effect made after the discourse
The capacity to be extraordinary When it comes to talking abilities, everybody tends to think of it as a common aptitude Be that as it may, the capacity to exceed expectations and to talk English viably and unquestionably isn't a conventional capacity Numerous individuals are greatly perplexed by open talking As a investigate appears that more than a half of all populace within the world is appallingly anxious about open speaking while others are not so competent to create thoughts into sentences and make those words persuading More eminently is that within the world there are not so numerous ability speakers but in the event that a speaker whose abilities are great and created with steady conclusions and much exertion can stand out
Capacity to be prevalent A well-developed speaker can fortify his arrangement aptitudes That speaker can sign numerous vital contracts and bring around benefits not as it were for his company but moreover himself Also, his self- assurance is moved forward as well as a developing sense of comfort, which comes from talking before a huge bunch of groups of onlookers The popularity of amazing discourse in talking can gather day by day, subsequently making a certain belief of the speaker “Speaking skills can enhance one’s personal life; thereby bringing about the well-rounded growth we should all seek” (Gerald Gillis,2013, p.2).
Overview of English extracurricular activities
2.2.1 Concepts of English extracurricular activities
Extracurricular activities are activities performed by students that fall outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school or university education Extracurricular activities exist at all levels of education Such activities are generally voluntary as opposed to mandatory, non-paying, tend to be social or philanthropic as opposed to scholastic, and involve others of the same age Extracurricular activities are the activities that we undertake are not a part of our school or work obligations (Holloway, 1999)
Extracurricular exercises are the portion of casual instruction, which comprises of learning exercises that are deliberate and self-directed, life-long, and propelled primarily by the natural interface, interest, investigation, control, daydream, errand completion, and social interaction Casual learning happens in an out-of-school setting and can be direct or non-linear and frequently is self-paced and visual or object-oriented It gives an experiential base and inspiration for assist action and learning
Out of school hours learning looks to amplify and improve the educational programs, to tie such learning more closely to tutoring destinations They point at complementing the work carried out amid the typical school day Extracurricular exercises are a fundamental portion of life Each child can discover one or more exercises to broaden their instruction past the classroom They improve the learning and advancement of students Whereas the instructed educational modules offer a wide extend of involvement and learning openings we solidly feel that learning will be upgraded by advertising the students the opportunity to take an interest in an assortment of exercises after school An awesome accentuation is set on guaranteeing that students take up side interests and interface exterior the instructed educational programs This empowers students to create as completely as conceivable while giving them the chance to test a wide assortment of distinctive encounters
2.2.2 The importance of English extracurricular activities
Do extracurricular activities help students succeed in school? John H Holloway, a consultant for the teaching and learning division of the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, New Jersey, examined some of the research into the potential benefits of extracurricular activities in a 1999 column, Extracurricular Activities: The Path to Academic Success for Educational Leadership According to Holloway, much of the research on extracurricular activities shows that they have favorable benefits on children who engage These consequences can be especially significant for students from ethnic minorities, students with impairments, and students at risk of dropping out Holloway told Education World that research indicates "participation in school activities, especially athletics, leads to higher self- esteem and an enhanced status among peers." Some have argued that positive self- esteem is a deterrent to antisocial behavior Steve Duncan of Montana State University sees value in extracurricular activities too "Recent research confirms that involvement in extracurricular activities is more than just a child's play," Duncan wrote in Family Matters: What is the Role of "Extracurricular" Activities? "School extracurricular activities and involvement in community clubs and organizations are important in fostering the strengths of youth, strengths that help young people steer away from undesirable behavior."
Extracurricular activity assists young people in discovering and sharing abilities, developing character and competence, and frequently gives the added benefit of intimate connections with loving, moral adults beyond the family
There are distinct advantages to participating in extracurricular activities Youth who participate in groups are more likely to demonstrate leadership qualities and to become leaders than non-participants According to one study, extracurricular activity participants were more eager to work on a challenging assignment without adult supervision and were more likely to express their thoughts whether others agreed with them or not According to one poll, participation in extracurricular activities improves life skills compared to nonmembers.Involvement in such activities had a positive influence on self-esteem and community service (Andrei, L The importance of extracurricular activities, Retrieved May 4th, 2014 from www.armyacademy.ro/biblioteca/anuare/2004/a27.pdf)
The primary arguments that will be addressed in this factual claim are that students who participate in extracurricular activities obtain higher marks than those who do not participate in extracurricular activities Furthermore, activities help students grow As a result, they help children get higher grades by teaching them character-building lessons and life-long skills, saving some at-risk students who may drop out, and assisting them in developing social skills
There are 3 types of extracurricular work with foreign languages: individual work, group work and mass work These 3 types of work are loosely connected with one another (Andrei, 2014)
Individual work frequently marks the beginning point of mass work The educator delegates an understudy to form a brief report on a creator or a literary work in English, to memorize a sonnet or a composition entry by heart, to interpret a scholarly section into the mother tongue, to plan a few visual fabric for the English classes (pictures, charts, tables) It is imperative to incorporate in this kind of work students of medium and indeed moo level, and not as it were the most excellent students, as instructors ordinarily do
Group work incorporates changeless circles as well as brief bunches created for an uncommon errand Such extraordinary errands may be:
- The creation of an outside dialect library or its completion with additional books
- The organization of a scholarly program
- The organization of perusing competitions
- The organization of a remote dialect corner
If the school conditions allow it, an extraordinary room would, of course, serve the reason much superior to an outside dialect corner This room would contain reference fabric for instructors and students: syllabuses, course readings, lexicons, scholarly and educational works, and in this way it would be gotten to be a working environment for instructors and students, at the same time reflecting the comes about that has been accomplished The instructor and the youth organizations ought to attempt to pull in the members in gather works into mass exercises and hence change the brief exercises into lasting circles Remote dialect circles are the most frame of extracurricular exercises We recognize between specialized and combined circles
The specialized circles concentrate their activity upon a definite task Thus there might be:
- Circles for making strides articulation This circle features a clear preparing character The students prepare themselves with inaccurate articulation and sound A Mechanical bit of help is crucial for this kind of work Such help may be a phonograph with a set of records of English lessons, sound designs, perusing of verse, and students’ elocution
- Reading circles where the students are prepared in expressive perusing, broad perusing and the use of lexicons, for junior students we suggest filmstrips go with my writings, for senior students the perusing of scholarly parts
- Discussion circles serve the prerequisites of advanced dialect education, the improvement of the students‟ talking capacity The work in this circle may comprise of discussion on ordinary subjects, the portrayal of pictures, the relating of a film, or dialog of a filmstrip that has been already displayed As they can appear within the half-light, the students can take down notes whereas the instructor is depicting the occasions taking put, and in this way the dialogs that take after are encouraged
- The circle of literary translations contributes to the students’ aesthetic education and the development of their creative abilities
- The circle of planning audio-video fabric offers numerous conceivable outcomes for changed exercises Hence junior shape may collect pictures from magazines or postcards which they give with English captions Senior students may plan syntactic charts, drawings for a given subject or subject, recordings of broadcast fabric
- The pastime circle is recommended for junior forms Its activity is most varied: riddles, puzzles, tongue-twisters, in- and outdoor games, songs, English correspondence with students of other countries
- Circles of a combined sort may incorporate any of the above-mentioned exercises The movement of the circles is carried out by agreeing to an arrangement The arrangement is drafted by the students themselves The instructor ought to force either the sort of the circle or the substance of the work We ought to but donate proposals and exhortation as to the choice of the subjects, reasonable book index
The mass students of extracurricular exercises within the field of outside dialects are the result of the union of work carried out totally different circles and brief bunches To mass, exercises have a place school celebrations and competitions
- School festivities require long and careful preparation and include a great number of students Such festivities may be devoted to the anniversary of a great writer or an important event
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methods
The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods with the employment of an action research design and an interview Using classroom action research has been believed by many researchers as an effective way to find out solutions to phenomenal problems Mills (2000, p.88) states that “An action research is any systematic inquiry conducted by teacher researchers to gather information about the ways that their particular school operates, how they teach, and how well their students learn The information is gathered with the goals of gaining insight, developing reflective practice, effecting positive changes in the school environment and on educational practices in general, and improving student” With the aim of exploring the efficacy of extracurricular activities in enhancing English speaking skills, an action research model proposed by Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) was adopted
Figure 3.1 Action research model by Kimmis and McTaggart (1998)
The reflection is at the end of each cycle The analyzed results of implementing the action is evaluated to see whether the next cycle is needed or not The decision to continue the action in the next cycle is made if the criteria of success are not fulfilled
ACTION RESEARCH MODEL by Kemmis and McTaggart (1988)
3.2.1 An overview of Doc Lap Lower Secondary School
Doc Lap Lower Secondary School is located in the south of Thai Nguyen City Established in 1974, Doc Lap Lower Secondary School is one of the great schools in the region Currently, there are 25 classes with over 1,000 students divided into four diverse grades: grades 6, 7, 8, and 9 The instructing staff consists of more than 40 teachers for the 12 obligatory subjects, of whom two-thirds are young, dynamic, and well trained, though the others are experienced and full of teaching passion
There are six English teachers currently working at Doc Lap Lower Secondary School, four of whom have participated in this research for discussion Their ages range from the late twenties to forty years old Three of them are female The years of teaching English are also varied, with a minimum level of eight years and a maximum of nearly fifteen years All of them have a bachelor’s degree, and the others have taken the in-service training courses All the teachers at Doc Lap Lower Secondary School are well-educated, experienced, and enthusiastic about teaching They are willing to help their students overcome their difficulties in learning English generally and in English speaking particularly
The majority of students at Doc Lap Lower Secondary School range in age from 12 to 15 Most of them come from rural areas, and they have learned English since primary school Among them, there are a large number of students who are interested in learning English and want to develop their command of English In contrast, the other part of the students is low in motivation They tend to regard English as less important than other subjects, and they study English only to pass the examinations
3.2.2 The situation of English teaching and learning English in Doc Lap Lower Secondary School
3.2.2.1 The syllabus of teaching and learning English
At Doc Lap Lower Secondary School, English is one of the compulsory subjects in the curriculum The syllabus and the textbooks for English including “Tiếng Anh 6”, “Tiếng Anh 7”, “Tiếng Anh 8”, “Tiếng Anh 9” are prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training The English curriculum for grade 6th students is divided into two semesters with a total of 105 periods, 3 periods per week Each period is 45minutes long
The textbook which is currently used for teaching and learning English for grade 6th at Doc Lap Lower Secondary School is “Tieng Anh 6” which was designed following communicative approach The textbook consists of 12 units with 7 parts in each unit arranging as follows: getting started, a closer look 1, a closer look 2, communication, skills 1, skills 2 and language focus in which a variety of exercises and tasks was compiled for practice Also, there exists a consolidate unit after every 3 units The objective of these units is to examine how well the students have achieved in the previous units
3.2.2.2 The teaching and learning English speaking skills
Like many other schools in Vietnam, the teaching and learning of speaking skills at Doc Lap Lower Secondary School are influenced by many factors such as: heavy curriculum, focus on grammar, students’ English competence, their personalities, etc During a lesson at Doc Lap Lower Secondary School, a few students who have a strong command of English are usually enthusiastic and dynamic, while the majority of those with limited English ability are unusually detached.
Description of the participants
There are two reasons why this study targeted 6th grade students at Doc Lap Lower Secondary School The 6th grade students are new to the new lower secondary school textbooks in which speaking is valued equally with the other three skills Their speaking abilities, however, are limited, and they are sometimes too shy to speak They have difficulty expressing their thoughts Second, the students are at the pre- intermediate level, so the organization of extracurricular activities is extremely beneficial in helping them overcome limitations in their speaking abilities
There are 90 students in these two classes, which were chosen at random They range in age from 12 to 13 years old and have all spent at least three years learning English in primary schools, from grade 3 They do not have the same level of English proficiency Some are very good and active, while others are quite passive and unmotivated to learn English.
Research procedure
The procedure of the research adapted the ideas of action research by Kemmis and McTaggart (1988) The research was developed and carried out during 17 weeks of the first semester of the academic year 2020- 2021 To be more specific, the action research procedure is presented as follows:
The researcher identified the problem by doing observation in the teaching and learning English at this school for several years During the time of teaching speaking skills, the researcher recognized that the students often spent too much time speaking a conversation and answering questions They regularly did not complete all speaking tasks within the time allowance; the results of speaking tests were rather low
To investigate further about the problem and to figure out the actual level of the students’ speaking skills, a pretest was employed The aim of the test was to identify their actual current speaking skills so that the researcher had a proper plan to apply the speaking course through english extracurricular activities
After reviewing the initial data, the researcher came to the assumption that the students would improve their speaking ability if they participated through english extracurricular activities, which then lead to their improved speaking skills
After formulating the speaking problems, the researcher worked a plan of using english extracurricular activities to solve the problems related to the students' speaking skills that were identified in the previous step Detailed lesson plans were developed and several additional speaking activities through english extracurricular activities were also prepared by the researcher to assign to students
The period of employing english extracurricular activities lasted for 16 weeks with one extracurricular activity applied eight week for each class To minimize the effects of external factors on the outcomes of the intervention process, both classes were taught by the researcher with the same english extracurricular activity during the implementation period During the periad, the researcher served as the controller of the class and observed the implementation process using the observation notes Besides, the researcher also offered the cadets some help where needed to facilitate the groups’ discussion.
Data collection instruments
Instrument 1: Pre-test and Post-test
Brown (2004, p.3) states that "a test is a method of measuring a person’s ability, knowledge, or performance in a given domain" A well-constructed test is an instrument that provides an accurate measure of a test-taker's ability within a particular domain Therefore, two tests, namely pre-test and post-test, were administered by the teacher to see the differences in the range of the students’ speaking scores before and after the implementation of English extracurricular activities The tests were designed based on the semester tests of Doc Lap Lower Secondary School
The content of the tests is based on the context of Unit 1 to Unit 12 in the students’ English course book A pre-test was administered before applying English extracurricular activities, whereas a post-test was carried out after the students finished 16 weeks of learning with English extracurricular activities
The pretest and the posttest contained 5 questions which had to be answered by the students Students with scores of 3–4 are considered emerging recipients; students with scores of 5–6 are considered developing recipients; students with scores of 7–8 are proficient recipients; and students with scores of more than 9 are advanced recipients
A survey questionnaire is used to easily collect data on a linguistic scale, and it can assist researchers in obtaining the respondents' perspectives (Brown, 2001) Furthermore, according to Dửrnyei (2003), surveys may be used to evaluate students' viewpoints and difficulties with classroom activities As a result, the researcher used this instrument to study the challenges and difficulties that the students had while learning English, as well as their hopes and expectations
The questionnaire in this study was designed in Vietnamese since students at this level did not know enough English to help with linguistic issues in reading and responding to the questions, or to express their thoughts clearly and thoroughly As a result, it is preferable for students to express themselves completely in their mother tongue, in this case, Vietnamese
The questionnaire was comprised of eight topics designed to gather information on students' perceptions of speaking skills with English extracurricular activities, their attitudes toward English extracurricular activities, and the consequences of English extracurricular activities on students (see Appendix 1) In the closed questions, the Likert scale was utilized so that the students' replies could be easily measured and studied Students were asked to score each item on a three-point scale by circling the response, which was coded for varying levels of agreement or other categories
Interviews are used to gather data in particular categories There is a reciprocal relationship between the interview and the questionnaire (Cohen et al., 2000) In addition, Brown (2001) claims that interviews make the respondents more involved and motivated and are better than questionnaires in handling more difficult and open- ended questions
In this research, the researcher employed individual semi-structured interviews Although individual interviews are considered time-consuming, they are good ways of exploring the data confidentially In this study, they gathered data about students’ opinions and thinking about the use of extracurricular activities in speaking activities Six out of 90 students were invited to participate in interviews (two students with the highest reading scores, two with the lowest, and two with the average) The interviews were (Appendix 2) conducted in Vietnamese so that students could express their opinions and think fully Each interview lasted about four to five minutes
In general, there were three main questions in the interviews: The first one was aimed at exploring whether students were interested in extracurricular activities and speaking activities, and exploring the reasons for their answers The second question investigated students’ thinking about the use of extracurricular activities in speaking activities The third question revealed students’ suggestions or recommendations to improve the use of extracurricular activities in speaking activities The procedure of designing and conducting the interviews is described below
- Designing interview questions and interview sheets
- Inviting six students for individual interviews
- Organizing individual interviews with six students
- Listening intentionally and taking notes carefully
- Categorizing and analyzing the data collection
Data collection and analysis procedures
The research was conducted in the first semester of the academic year 2020–
2021 for 19 weeks The data collection instruments for the study were prepared (tests, questionnaires, interviews)
The first test was given to participants in the second week of the semester; the second test was given to participants right after the action research project finished (meaning 16 weeks after the first test) Besides, before the administration of the study, the students were reminded that participation was voluntary and there would be no extra marks or rewards The questionnaire and interview were carried out one week after the second test to get further details on students’ attitudes and improvement Then all the results were statistically analysed in order to reach a conclusion and suggest implications and possible recommendations
To overcome the problem, the researcher and colleagues in the English group organized two extracurricular activities for the students in the school year in order to improve their speaking skills The researcher planned two extracurricular activities as follows
The data collected from the pre-test and the post-test were analyzed quantitatively to measure the students’ actual speaking and their progress The speaking score was computed by summing up the total number of correct answers for the two speaking tests One point was given for each correct answer The maximum point an individual could score was 10 and the lowest was 0 A paired sample t-test was utilized to find out the differences between pre-test and post-test results
Descriptive data analysis was employed to analyze data from questionnaires It helped to describe or characterize the answers of respondents to numerically coded questions (Brown, 2001) The two main ways of measurement, therefore, in the study used to analyze the data were frequencies and percentages Data from interviews reveals a wide range of specific ideas and opinions; thus, the study requires a method to combine the data from specific to general
This chapter provides details on research design and research methodology, typically describing the research setting and how to collect and analyze data It also mentions how the questionnaire and interviews are tailored and administered to get the most reliable results for the study The major instruments used for data collection are tests, questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews Thus, the process of teaching and learning English speaking by using extracurricular activities at a Doc Lap lower secondary school was described based on the research method above In the following chapter, the data analysis, major findings, and discussion are presented.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Findings and discussion from the test
A pretest (pretest) was given before beginning the action research study The goal of the pretest in this study was to investigate the students' ability to talk
The teacher-researcher graded the students' exam papers using the speaking rubric 0.5 points were awarded for each correct response to a question The best score was 10 points, while the lowest score was 0 points The teacher-researcher analyzed the results mathematically and statistically to determine whether or not the utilization of English extracurricular activities improved the students' speaking ability
The researcher computed the number of students who passed the passing score of 6.0 points as the developing level based on the students' pretest scores (see Table 4.1)
Table 4.1 Number of students with passing scores of the pretest
Criteria Number of students Presentation
Based on the data shown above, six students achieved the proficient level of speaking at the score of 8.5 Unfortunately, twevle childrens with scores of 4.0 and
4.5 were classified as having an emerging level of speaking skills 33.3 percent of the students scored higher than the passing grade of 6.0 The teacher-researcher anticipated that at least half of the students would receive a passing grade
4.1.2 Finding from the pre-elimination investigation
After studying and analyzing the pretest data, the teacher researcher discovered that the 6th grade students from Doc Lap Lower Secondary School in Thai Nguyen City had various issues learning to speak The findings revealed that the students' poor vocabulary and lack of enthusiasm were the main hurdles to their speaking Furthermore, instructional approaches for speaking skills were ineffective and unappealing to students To improve the problem, the teacher researcher proposed employing English extracurricular activities as an effective alternate strategy for training these children's speaking abilities After studying and analyzing the pretest data, the teacher researcher discovered that the 6th grade students from Doc Lap Lower Secondary School in Thai Nguyen City had various issues learning to speak The findings revealed that the students' poor vocabulary and lack of enthusiasm were the main hurdles to their speaking Furthermore, instructional approaches for speaking skills were ineffective and unappealing to students To improve the problem, the teacher researcher proposed employing English extracurricular activities as an effective alternate strategy for training these children's speaking abilities.
Research findings and discussion from action implementation
4.2.1 Improvement in the students’ speaking
A paired-samples t-test was used to assess if the mean scores of the pre and post-tests for medium proficiency students were substantially higher following the adoption of English extracurricular activities
Following the completion of the posttest by the students, the test papers were collected and graded by the instructor and her colleague to guarantee reliability and subjectivity The results revealed a significant difference between the students' pretest and posttest scores They demonstrated significant growth in the students' speaking outcomes during the learning period The original test scores may be found in Appendix 3 Table 4.2 shows the comparative findings of the test mean scores
Table 4.2 Results of the pretest and posttest mean scores
N Mean Std Deviation Std Error Mean
The findings in Table 4.2 demonstrated that there was a statistically significant difference in the mean speaking skills scores of the study samples in the pretest and posttest, which were 6.10 and 7.46, respectively
Furthermore, Table 4.3 shows that many of the students achieved 60% or above on their posttest, demonstrating that the English extracurricular activities were highly useful to the students In the posttest, up to 78 out of 90 students received marks ranging from 7.0 to 9.0, corresponding to developing to advanced levels, compared to just 30 students who achieved that level in the pretest Furthermore, in the pretest,
36 students had a developing score of 6.0; however, on the posttest, just one student received a developing score of 6 This suggests that while using this method, the students who took part in this study enhanced their comprehension and involvement in conversations
Table 4.3 Distribution of the pretest and posttest scores
As illustrated in Figure 4.1, the study samples indicated more improvement in understanding sentences in the post-test than in the pretest As it can be seen in Tables 4.2 and 4.3 above, the results of posttests showed that the students made progress in learning speaking skills in the treatment lasting for 19 weeks As for this point, using extracurricular activities showed their effectiveness more than other teaching techniques during speaking lessons This result also supported the researcher’s hypothesis that using extracurricular activities in speaking activities had positive effects on the development of speaking for the 6 th grade students at Doc Lap Lower Secondary School
Figure 4.1 shows that the percentages of students' results demonstrate a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest As a result, the posttest results were much better than the pretest values Also, the pretest average was 6.1 out of 10, but the posttest average following English extracurricular activities was 7.5 out of 10 This suggests that between the pretest and posttest scores, the students' speech improved noticeably and clearly As a result, when we look at the percentage gain in students' comprehension between examinations, we see that the general average score of students increased, indicating the success of this method among students
In short, the research shows that adopting English extracurricular activities to boost speaking was responsible for the difference in students' accomplishments Using this method, the test scores throughout the intervention period dramatically improved the speaking ability The teacher-researcher might infer that there was a considerable improvement in the students' speaking after they were taught utilizing English extracurricular activities by comparing the data obtained between the pretest and posttest
4.2.2 The students’ attitudes towards extracurricular activity
Regarding the students’ attitudes towards extracurricular activities and their usefulness, the data from the questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were analyzed below
The data from the questionnaire collected during the research was divided into the following categories: preferences for speaking and the students’ perceptions of extracurricular activities' impact on speaking skills The researcher conducted a questionnaire with the aim of understanding the situations or circumstances under which students preferred doing their speaking, either individually or collectively The researcher understood in the first section that speaking is largely a mental and psychological process Therefore, in the case of a school-aged child, the preference for speaking plays a role in enhancing his or her speaking skills
To illustrate the students’ opinions, charts summarizing the results of the relevant quantitative items in the questionnaire, as well as qualitative data in the form of quotations, which are derived from the semi-structured interviews, are included to support the quantitative results
Statements Disagree Neither disagree nor agree Agree
Statement 1 I like learning with extracurricular activities
The presentation format of the lessons and practice exercises with extracurricular activities are appropriate
When I take part in extracurricular activities, I feel better able to enhance my speaking
When I speak in an extracurricular activity, I can learn and recall more words
After learning through extracurricular activities, I am more interested in speaking English
* Statement 1: I like learning with extracurricular activity
On this issue, the students had highly positive feelings about extracurricular activities The majority of pupils (73 %) said they appreciated learning through extracurricular activities Other students (20%), on the other hand, were unsure whether they appreciated learning through extracurricular activities or not One participant (7%) disagreed with this statement, noting that s/he did not like learning through extracurricular activities
Students' replies to questionnaires suggested that they valued extracurricular activities and liked studying with them The majority of students believed the application had an innovative and user-friendly layout and design They liked extracurricular activities since they were enjoyable and simple to learn about The following quotes from the interviews represent these points of view:
(Student 1): I thought it was good It was kind of fun I mean, when I learn with extracurricular activities, it does not make me serious I can learn sentence by sentence and remember"
During the interview, some students stated that they were unsure whether they appreciated learning through extracurricular activities or not When pushed to elaborate, they just couldn't describe what they thought of the technique They did not, however, report being bored while studying using the application The following quotation expresses this point of view:
(Student 3): "How to say " I err think it is good, but it is something I can do and sometimes I think I cannot do Teaching in a new fashion like this is something interesting"
* Statement 2: The presentation format of the lessons and practice exercises with extracurricular activities are appropriate
In terms of the presenting structure of extracurricular activities and activities within extracurricular activities, students were quite pleased with the usage of extracurricular activities in speaking courses The majority of students (73 %) believed that the manner in which the courses and practice activities were presented was well designed They took a firm stance on this agreement, demonstrating that the extracurricular activities presentation structure was simple and straightforward for them to understand Four students (27%) were unsure about the appropriateness of extracurricular activity presentations utilized in speaking classes and practice exercises
The researcher conducted interviews with the students in order to collect qualitative data to corroborate the findings presented here Overall, the students believed that the manner in which the lessons and practice activities were delivered in this action research project was appropriate The majority of students stated that the time set aside for extracurricular activities and practice exercises was reasonable and appropriate for their skill levels These conclusions are supported by the following quotations:
(Student 4): “It is good that we do not have to open books to know whether our speaking is correct or not I like this."
(Student 5): "I think the presentation format in extracurricular activities is
Okay, It made learning convenient for us I think the time for learning is appropriate "Not too much, not too little"
Discussion
Before using English extracurricular activities in speaking sessions, the teacher- researcher wanted to determine the students' speaking skills Then, based on the preliminary investigation data, an action study project was carried out with the use of English extracurricular activities in teaching and developing speaking abilities The treatments addressed students' attitudes toward and talents in public speaking
The current study's findings suggested that students' speaking skills were increased and improved when they participated in English extracurricular activities, and the findings revealed improvement and an increase in their knowledge from the first session to the last class
The research findings also show that implementing English extracurricular activities has a favorable influence on student achievement and facilitates the speaking process among students This technique assisted students in developing their skills, improving their speaking talents, and achieving considerable increases in listening and vocabulary Some speakers were unable to improve their speaking abilities fast and readily since speaking was a complex and challenging procedure for school children They frequently required guidance and support when having uncomfortable talks When speaking with English extracurricular activities, the pupils' speaking abilities increased significantly
According to the findings, there is a high association between the utilization of English extracurricular activities and the improvement of their speaking abilities Furthermore, the research results show that this method is effective in increasing students' speaking abilities and influencing their preference for speaking The assessments assessed students' speaking abilities while taking into consideration the individuals' variances As a consequence, when comparing the students' scores as well as the pretest and posttest, there is considerable growth, indicating that students' comprehension evolved during this study This demonstrates the value of English extracurricular activities in speaking for developing and improving speaking skills
The researcher did action research employing English extracurricular activities in this chapter The study's goal was to see if students' English speaking abilities improved as a result of extracurricular English activities According to the findings of the research, students' English speaking skills have improved This finding indicates that the use of English extracurricular activities in teaching and developing English speaking abilities is extremely successful Furthermore, based on the findings of the students' surveys, this activity received positive replies, and they appreciated speaking courses using role-play activities because they could communicate their thoughts, were daring to talk and could practice English well Furthermore, several students said that they had overcome their fear of speaking since they had spent a significant amount of time just speaking in the target language.
CONCLUSION
Recapitulation
The purpose of this study was to see if English extracurricular activities may help students at Doc Lap Lower Secondary School in Thai Nguyen improve their speaking skills As a result, a variety of topics pertinent to the topic were presented The research questions were addressed based on the study's findings
As for research question 1 “To what extent can English extracurricular activities enhance English speaking skills of the grade-6 students at a lower secondary school in Thai Nguyen?”, the results of the pretest and posttest revealed that not only the students' speaking ability, but also their motivation to speak English, increased during the action research project
Regarding to research question 2 “What are these students’ attitudes towards the employment of English extracurricular activities to improve speaking skills?”, the results demonstrated that the students preferred to talk more They grew more self- assured, driven, and committed to the teaching and learning of public speaking During their speaking exercises, they felt at ease and enjoyed themselves
The findings of a survey questionnaire administered to 90 sixth-grade students revealed that the children frequently struggled with speaking English One of the impediments to the students' speaking ability was their poor vocabulary and lack of drive Furthermore, despite the instructors' use of a variety of tactics in teaching speaking, the instructional methods were not successful or appealing enough to entice students to participate As a result, English extracurricular activities were created with the goal of strengthening the speaking skills of 6th-grade students at Doc Lap lower secondary school
In conclusion, including English extracurricular activities in speaking sessions is a very successful teaching strategy that should be extensively promoted and used in the teaching and development of English speaking abilities.
Implication of the study
Speaking skill is taught in whole-class settings, and the curriculum does not allow for extra time to be spent on individual students' needs at different levels, which might lead to some students despising the speaking classes As a result, instructors play a significant part in their student's growth, as well as their thorough knowledge of the things presented Teachers should deepen their bonds with their students while also utilizing other approaches that the students choose and enjoy Teachers must also plan for the various requirements of all students If necessary, teachers might consider giving additional assistance to help students improve their knowledge and enthusiasm in English study
Teachers, on the other hand, are frequently happy of their students' efforts to learn, and they are trying their best to help their students discover methods to develop and strengthen their speaking abilities through English extracurricular activities To achieve the best quality of teaching, teachers were engaged with their students and utilized a variety of strategies to interest them while also conveying the material Furthermore, teachers must be patient when a student does not improve on speaking skills or does not easily understand because speaking skills can be a complex process and a difficult task to achieve in a short period, and delayed speaking in some cases reflects weaknesses in practicing skills
Teachers should assist their students in speaking using different and new techniques to develop their speaking skills and boost their enthusiasm in speaking accomplishment
The study's findings revealed that the students' weak speaking skills and low motivation were some of the challenges to their speaking abilities The students’ speaking skills and learning motivation were considerably improved through using English extracurricular activities; therefore, the teacher researcher would like to give some implications for the teacher and students as follows:
Teachers should examine the following factors to improve the effectiveness of their English lessons:
To begin, greater focus should be placed on students' motivation, attitudes, and tactics Teachers should assist students in appropriately assessing the value of English in their future career Motives, good learning attitudes, and successful learning practices will be identified by students
Teachers should also avoid putting pressure on weak or indolent students Instead, they encourage students to learn on their own Instead, the instructor should assess each student's strengths and weaknesses in order to make suitable demands
It is critical for the instructor to maintain control over the students' speaking activities and to convey the language in a fun, relaxed, and intelligible manner Last but not least, teachers should motivate students in speaking sessions rather than focusing on the issue of incorrect replies, which embarrasses students Encourage students to attempt to convey their views and say what they want to say instead
The most essential aspect of dealing with students is to make them aware of the advantages of communicative activities in general, and English extracurricular activities in particular Furthermore, the students should understand that it is their responsibility to learn English Instead of being passive in class, the students are expected to participate in all of the activities led by teachers, both voluntarily and actively.
Limitations of the study
Though the author made every attempt to perform this study, flaws and deficiencies are unavoidable owing to limitations in knowledge, teaching experience, research abilities, and time To begin with, not all students at Doc lap Lower Secondary School participated in the survey questionnaires to some extent; so, the results may not be generalizable to all students Following that, survey questionnaires and classroom observation criteria were both subjective In other words, they were only perceived by a small group of students and instructors The survey thus did not provide statistically significant results for the most part, and the results were constrained by the case study sample size Finally, the researcher encountered constraints in terms of resources such as time, access to participants, and data collection instruments In particular, better results would be obtained if more time was dedicated to the application of English extracurricular activities in speaking lessons, and different research instruments such as video recording and students' diaries were used
Despite the inherent restrictions, the author considered that this study would be advantageous to the teaching of speaking skills to students at Doc lap Lower Secondary School and that this would result in students' speaking improvement.
Suggestions for further study
English extracurricular activities are a type of English teaching strategy that has been examined for many years by different academics and educators The study only looked at a limited part of this approach As a result, it is hoped that further study on English extracurricular activities will be conducted During the research, the author made certain observations that may be used as ideas for future research It's fun to combine English extracurricular activities with diverse language skills and vocabulary enrichment, for example
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QUESTIONNAIRE Circle A, B, or C which is best applied to you
Statement 1: I like learning through extracurricular activities
Statement 2: The presentation format of the lessons and practice exercises with extracurricular activities are appropriate
Statement 3: When I take part in extracurricular activities, I feel better able to enhance my speaking
Statement 4: When I speak in an extracurricular activity, I can learn and recall more words
Statement 5: After learning through extracurricular activities, I am more interested in speaking English
1 Em có thích học tiếng anh thông qua hoạt động ngoại khóa tiếng anh không?
2 Học nói với hoạt động ngoại khóa tiếng anh giúp em điều gì? (Gợi ý: nói tốt hơn, nhớ từ vựng, hứng thú học hơn…)
3 Em có nghĩ sau khi được tham gia các hoạt động ngoại khóa tiếng anh, em sẽ tích cực nói tiếng anh hơn không?
1 Do you like learning through extracurricular activities ? Why/ Why not?
2 What benefits does learning English through extracurricular activities bring to you? (Prompts: speaking better, longer word retention, more motivated to learn )
3 Do you think after learning through extracurricular activities that you will become more interested in speaking English?
APPENDIX 3 – RESULTS OF THE PRETEST AND POSTTEST
(Used for checking students’ basic speaking skills)
Student Pretest Posttest Student Pretest Posttest
Student Pretest Posttest Student Pretest Posttest
Student Pretest Posttest Student Pretest Posttest
APPENDIX 4 SAMPLE OF EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY
I The first extracurricular activity: English speaking club: Theme: Explore English
- Accelerate the emulation movement in learning and teaching, as well as improve educational quality within the school
- Create a welcoming and dynamic environment with a variety of study options that attract students and piques their interest in learning English
- Improve students' English skills, particularly their speaking ability
- In the first round, three teams compete against each other
- The judge's maximum point is 10 (no decimal points) plus a maximum of 5 for fluency +5 points for impressiveness
- Each team takes turns answering ten questions
- Each question has a time limit of 15 seconds
- Each correct answer receives a score of ten points
- If the timer runs out and there is no response, no score is added or subtracted Part 3: Overcome the Obstacle
- There is a crossword puzzle made up of six rolls
- The six-letter obstacle is hidden behind a vertical line This is a missing part of a phrase
- Before the first roll is opened, the correct answer will receive 120 points
- 30 points have been added for an excellent expression of the saying
- After the first roll, 20 points are deducted
- If the team provides the incorrect answer for the obstacle, it will be forced to halt its turn in this section
- 30 points for each correct answer (for the team that rolls the dice); other teams will have the right to answer (in a circle) and can gain 10 to 20 points
- Three teams respond to six questions at the same time Each question is divided into three smaller parts that cover six different fields and skills, including phonetics, vocabulary, listening, speaking, reading, and writing
- Each question has a time limit of 90 seconds
+ 45 points for a correct answer within the first 30 seconds
+ 30 points for a correct answer within the next 30 seconds
+ 15 points for the correct answer in the final 30 seconds
- Teams that do not respond or respond incorrectly will not be scored
- Teams write down and display their answers, and the judge assigns them scores
- There are three sets of questions: 40, 60, and 80 points
- There are four questions in each package The level of difficulty is equal to the number of points
- Each question has a time limit of 15 seconds
+ Package 40: 4 questions with a maximum of 10 points
+ Package 60: 2 questions with 10 possible answers, 2 questions with 20 possible answers
+ Package 80: 1 question with 10 possible answers, 2 questions with 20 possible answers, and 1 question with 30 possible answers
- The competition's content will be presented on PowerPoint
- There are also audience competitions
- In addition to the competition, there will be English singing performances by the school's team
- A competition is held between three teams Each team consists of five people
- The Board of School Management
- All teachers of English group
- All head teachers of 6th grade
- All students of the school
(The competition's content will be planned and presented on PowerPoint.)
II The second extracurricular activity: English speaking club: Theme: English can be fun
- Accelerate the emulation movement in learning and teaching, as well as improve educational quality within the school
- Create a welcoming and dynamic environment with a variety of study options that attract students and piques their interest in learning English
- Improve students' English skills, particularly their speaking ability
- Three teams participate in the first part, respectively
- Each team participates in the greeting part with short plays lasting 10 to 15 minutes
- The maximum point is 10 awarded by the judge (no decimal points)
- Each team takes turns answering 10 questions from the MC - Time limit: 15 seconds per question
- Each correct answer receives a score of 20
- If the timer runs out and there is no response, no score is added or subtracted Other teams will have the right to respond (in a circle) and can earn up to ten points
- Each team selects a member to compete in the Rhetoric contest, which lasts
10 minutes Scores will be deducted if the time limit is exceeded
- Five topics will be distributed to contestants for pre-planning
- The maximum score is 50, which includes:
- Teams decide on orders and topics 5 minutes to get ready
- There are also audience competitions
- There are also audience competitions
- Aside from the competition, there are English singing performances by the school team
- A competition is held between three teams Each team consists of five people
- The Board of School Management
- All teachers of English group
- All head teachers of 6th grade
- All students of class 6A1 and 6A2
Part 1 (2 minutes): Social Interaction – Answer the following questions
1 How long have you been in the school?
2 Why did you join the school?
3 What do you like most about student’s life?
Talk about a famous school leader in Vietnam’s history
1 What leadership lessons can we learn from famous school leaders?
2 What do you think important factors that made them successful in their career are?