luận văn an investigation into oral presentation skills among english majored students at thu dau mot university

BINH DUONG PROVINCIAL PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI NGOC LINH AN INVESTIGATION INTO ORAL PRESENTATION SKILLS AMONG ENGLISH - MAJORED STUDENTS AT THU DAU MOT UNIVER

INTRODUCTION

Background to the study

Language is an essential tool and instrumental means for people to communicate with others, so mastering communicative competence is considered the most critical aspect of learning a second language or foreign language According to Richards and Renandya (2008), most language learners learn to speak English to cultivate communication skills Therefore, it is evident that the primary goal of learning a second language is to speak fluently In addition, according to Thornbury in Burns & Richards (2012), speaking a language usually means knowing the language Verbal ability is hence identified as a priority for most non-native speakers

Presentations are pre-planned, prepared, and structured lessons for small or large groups on formal or informal occasions (Ellis and Johnson in Bereczky, 2015) Tkachenko (2014) conveyed that a presentation is a speech that points to the audience to show and explain new products, ideas, or works Mandel (2000) highlighted presentations are usually aimed at more specific listeners According to Levin and Topping in Al-Nouh, Abdul-Kareem & Taqil (2015), oral speeches are prepared and rehearsed in advance, not memorized or read from notes, but introduced to the audience by the presenter

One of the critical factors to help us succeed in today's global, competitive, and rapidly changing world is the ability to communicate effectively in a speech Practical oral presentation skills can be a prerequisite for students' academic, personal and professional success (Miles, 2013; Tkachenko, 2014; Živković, 2014; Al-Nouh, Abdul- Kareem & Taqil, 2015) Students, especially those in higher education, must use relevant oral communication means to make comprehensive statements on various topics In addition, speech skills can help students announce their research results more effectively in public forums The necessity of being able to make a speech is not limited to class This skill is beneficial in other aspects of work and life Zivkovi (2015) pointed out that learning speech skills enable learners to participate in learning thoroughly, demonstrate their communication competencies, and help them develop their abilities in ways that may benefit their future workplace According to Kenkel (2011) and Tkachenko (2014),

2 the practice public speaking and speaking skills are central to success in business, sales, training, teaching, and speaking Additionally, Singh (2012) asserts that to obtain a position in a company with a high salary, attractive privileges, and career prospects, one needs to possess outstanding communication skills, especially the ability to give a great speech It is, therefore, evident that employers in business, education, or government departments must emphasize oral communication skills as the essential criterion for potential recruitment

Through observation in schools, universities, and seminar activities, most of them feel anxious when non-native students have to speak in class Quite a few of them may become incredibly nervous and even get sick due to their imaginary hardships that may occur during the presentation This inevitably impacts the performance of their oral statements and often leads to unsatisfactory results Moreover, in the seminar activities and demonstration classes, some speakers still need help to reflect the main points of their thoughts in an organized way In other words, they must combine and order their thoughts logically to achieve formal cohesion and ideological consistency in delivering the speech As a result, their presentation may need to be more varied and challenging for the audience to follow and fully grasp the key messages Some speakers still speak from scripts rather than notes

Correspondingly, lecturing subject is an intrinsic part of the academic curriculum for all students at Thu Dau Mot University Despite this, many students need more confidence in public speaking and encounter challenges in improving their presentation skills

Recognizing the importance of oral presentation skills and the remaining obstacles for the students in enhancing these skills, the author has decided to carry out the Master thesis with the topic: "An investigation into oral presentation skills among English- majored students at Thu Dau Mot University." This thesis begins with a detailed assessment of English-majored students' current oral presentations performance at Thu Dau Mot University Correspondingly, the author provides a deeper insight into students' difficulties in classroom oral presentations It is then followed by proposing the solutions for advancing these skills of the students in general and the English-majored students of

Thu Dau Mot University in particular

One of the core competencies for higher-educated professionals is the capacity to present effectively Significantly, oral presentation skills is vital for graduates to succeed in different working environments and accelerate the trajectory of their careers Previous studies highlighted the significance and the obstacles to developing presentation skills for students at higher-education institutions in various national contexts Singh and Chua (2012) identified that the employees' poor writing and communication skills negatively impact their performance on current working assignments in Malaysia This situation was reported by manufacturing employers in this country when expressing their desire for necessary skills for fresh graduates Meanwhile, Hamidah Yamat's study reflected that some senior students are still determining whether their language proficiency is sufficient to compete with other better-trained candidates to be recruited from the beginning or undertake a specific task in their professional field

Furthermore, there have been an increasing number of studies determining the reasons behind students’ poor performance in oral presentations (Chuang, Y Y., 2009; Abu El Enein, A.H., 2011; Akindele & Trennepohl, 2014) The common challenges facing students were suggested to be classified into three groups, and the majority of them mainly come from students’ feelings of anxiety It was found that students reported being depressed and nervous when being assigned oral presentations The graduates’ low effectiveness in communication and public speaking in the workplace can be identified as inadequate preparation during tertiary education ThFis practice was confirmed in the study of King (2002)

In the same view, Kakepoto et al (2012) added that the factors thwarting an effective oral presentation of engineering students also comprise inadequate presentation skills, lack of self-confidence, and lack of practice habits Yushoff (2010, p 103) shared that students’ communication competence is the ability to deliver critical messages in their speech in an unambiguous, convincing, and compelling manner that elicits reactions, understanding, appreciation, and consent However, despite understanding oral presentation skills, engineering students do not apply these techniques in their

4 presentations properly and effectively Lack of practice was identified as the explanation for this situation (Habil & Rahman Ab in Rahman, 2010)

In addition, the language barrier also places considerable strain on non-native students whose English is not their first language, particularly in English-involved subjects What usually happens is that the less fluent students are inclined to shift the presentation tasks onto more fluent team members Low-level language proficiency comprising lack of fluency, shortage of vocabulary, and incorrect pronunciation and grammar contributes to communication phobia, which is the main reason for college students’ anxiety in oral presentations (El Enein, 2011; Nguyen Thi Van, 2010; Chen 2009) In addition to insufficient regular practice and limited English proficiency, psychological factors such as poor self-confidence and fear of making mistakes also prevent students from making eloquent and impressive presentations Correspondingly, the problems in the relationship with teachers and other students also heighten students’ hesitation in speaking and exacerbate the limitations of their language ability The result is that those students do not acquire sufficient relevant skills for successful integration into the labor market It is because excellent presentation ability is a wide-ranging combination of different skills that helps fresh graduates break down many barriers (e.g., in job interviews or in meetings with superiors and colleagues) and attract more career opportunities than other candidates

Acknowledging the challenges of the students in this process, many studies emphasized the necessity of developing a proper instructional framework to help students develop life skills and knowledge relevant to the labor market (De Grez, 2009) The oral presentation is one of these skills which should be equipped during tertiary education Correspondingly, students should be provided with the necessary knowledge in preparing, organizing, and delivering presentations and the opportunities to sharpen their skills and increase their stage confidence in front of audiences.

Research objectives, aim of the study and questions

The objective of this research is (1) to assess the oral presentation skills of the students at Thu Dau Mot University, comprising their strengths, weaknesses, and

5 difficulties they are experiencing during this process; thereby (2) to propose solutions to help them develop better presentation skills

The purpose of this research is not only investigate the difficulties encountered by first-year English majored students when making a presentation, but find out some effective solutions to improve their presentation skills Additionally, the aim of this study is also discover some factors which affect the presentation process including from subjective and objective aspects

The expectation is that the first year English majored students at Thu Dau Mot University can overcome their weaknesses, be the best version of themselves and achieve the best goals Moreover, teachers can recognize the student’s troubles and solve these problems together in the creative and successful way

The findings can be useful for teachers to reflect their teaching methods which are appropriate for their students

The set research objectives led the author to form two following research questions:

 Research question 1: How do English - majored students deliver oral presentations in English at Thu Dau Mot University?

 Research question 2: What are some difficulties that the first year English majored students at Thu Dau Mot University encounter when making a presentation in English?

Subject and scope of research

The main focus of this thesis is to examine the performance of the oral presentation skills among English-majored students

The scope of this research is to investigate the presentation skills of Thu Dau Mot University students, thereby proposing some solutions to improve their oral presentation skills of Thu Dau Mot University students The study subject is a randomized selection

6 of 200 first-year students majoring in English at Thu Dau Mot University By that, the author assesses the practice and identifies the challenges of oral presentation skills facing the English-majored students in this university.

Research method

In order to answer the research questions, a quasi-experimental design was adopted

Quasi-experimental research is a method of research that resembles experimental research but is not actual empirical research It also aimed to determine causal relationships by applying a treatment or condition to one group and comparing the outcome with a control group Sometimes, however, it was not possible to assign test subjects randomly to the treatment and control groups for various reasons Therefore, the quasi-experimental design was more extensive In addition, it allowed the researchers to evaluate the impact of quasi-independent variables under naturally occurring conditions

Regarding quantitative methods, questionnaires are used to collect data The study sample includes English-majored students and lecturers at Thu Dau Mot University

According to Bentler & Chou (1987), the minimum number of observations for one parameter is estimated to be 5 Therefore, when completing the survey questionnaires, based on the number of questions in the survey content, the researcher will calculate the minimum sample number of the study.

Research Hypothesis

Based on mixed-method research designs, the expected findings correspond to answering three set research questions

 Regarding the first research question: This research expects to provide the current picture of training and performing oral presentation competencies of English-majored students at Thu Dau Mot University From that, the study presents a thorough analysis on the positive aspects as well as the remaining aspects that need to be improved

 Regarding the second research question: The research is expected to provide a deeper insight into the challenges that have prevented students from delivering eloquent and good presentations From that, this research will identify the factors influencing students' oral presentation competence from the perspectives of both lecturers and

7 students to see whether there are any differences in the viewpoints between these two groups of the research population

 Regarding the third research question: This study expects to contribute to the existing literature by examining whether the challenging factors identified in this research match the findings of previous studies If not, this Master's thesis will add new valuable results to the practices of training and performing oral presentation skills for students at the higher-education level.

Significance of the research

Although many domestic and foreign research topics are related to this issue, different subjects, scopes, and methods produce different results Currently, in the existing literature, no study has examined this research topic in the context of Thu Dau Mot University Therefore, as mentioned, the research has contributed to developing a model to identify factors influencing students’ performance of oral presentation skills exclusively for English-majored ones at Thu Dau Mot University The study shall contribute to the existing literature by adjusting the research model to suit the context of Vietnamese higher education generally and Thu Dau Mot University specifically

Based on the research results, this research shall propose possible solutions to improve the presentation skills of students in general and Thu Dau Mot University students in particular Thereby, this study shall provide helpful ideas for lecturers and educators to understand their students’ challenges; thereby developing a suitable instructional framework for improving students’ oral presentation skills In addition, research’s findings also help students discover a number of measures to overcome difficulties and improve their own presentation skills.

Structure of the paper

This research includes five chapters consisting of (1) Introduction, (2) Literature review, (3) Research methodology, (4) Research results and discussions, and (5) Conclusion, Implications, Limitations, Recommendations for further researches

Chapter one, Introduction, presents the background to the study, research objectives and questions, overview of previous studies, research method, expected research results, and the structure of paper

Chapter two, Literature review, synthesizes the overview of the other authors of oral presentations, types of presentation, the advantages of oral presentation skills, and factors affecting oral presentations, and the previous research

Chapter three, Research methodology, indicates the research methodology which shows research questions, mentions the hypothesis of the research design and, introduces research participants, introduces and explains the instruments of the study and procedures

Chapter four, Research results, and discussions introduces the main findings of the study All the information and data collected from the test result, interviews and questionnaires will be analyzed and discussed to provide answers to the two research questions The data collected will be presented in the tables and figures

Chapter five, Conclusion, presents the research's conclusion, implications and limitations and makes suggestions for further study and conclusion

With a mixed-method design, this research is carried out to examine the performance of oral presentation skills of English-majored students at Thu Dau Mot University From there, this research identifies the possible challenges students in the delivery of presentation in class or in public place; thereby making recommendations for overcoming those difficulties

LITERATURE REVIEW

Overview of oral presentations

An oral presentation is an extension of verbal communication ability at which the speakers can show their knowledge of specific topics In classes, participants can choose a particular case or be assigned one by their teacher In order to talk about this matter with their classmates later, the participants have to work in a small study group to get more information about this topic The presenters will deliver their presentation with important information and answer questions from the audience

The oral presentations are like a formal conversation, a natural activity to talking to a group (Baker, 2000) Most people spend hours a day talking to others, but oral statements are formal conversations, which is a difficult task for them Presentation is part of spoken language, and the purpose of practicing it is to communicate It is designed for notification or persuasion Rendering occurs within the organization and has a time limit; Therefore, oral presentations should be carefully structured In addition, speakers can use visual aids to support their speeches Suppose the oral presentations are directed and organized In that case, it will give students a learning experience and teach them an important skill, as analyzed by Melion and Thompson (1980), which will benefit ESL/EFL in all disciplines and future work Presentation is an outstanding learning experience At the end of the speech, the speaker can give the audience the opportunity to ask what they have not known Presenters also have to respond so that they can complete their work (Chivers and Shoolbred, 2007)

Mandal (2000) believes that oral presentations are usually made in a commercial, technical, professional, or scientific environment Therefore, the audience is likely to be more experienced than those who take part in typical speech activities To sum up, oral presentations are a kind of speech that differs from ordinary addresses because the latter is more natural and straightforward

As defined by Chivers & Schoolbred (2007), oral presentation skills are a set of

10 abilities that allow individuals to interact with listeners It includes communicating a message clearly, attracting the audience to the speech, explaining and understanding the audience's thoughts These techniques refine the way presenters deliver information and enhance their persuasion Nowadays, great attention is paid to good presentation skills This is because they play an important role in both academic and non-academic settings Also, management with good expressive ability will be able to better convey the mission and vision of the organization to employees

The majority of the time, presentations are conducted orally An extension of oral communication is oral presentations According to Levin and Topping (2006), an oral presentation is a prepared speech that is delivered in front of an audience rather than being remembered or read from notes

The presentation may appear to be a simple activity involving comprehension of the assigned material, summarization, and presentation to the instructor and classmates Oral presentations, on the other hand, have been shown to require constant negotiation and decision-making for success (Wu, 2008)

Besides, Joughin (2007) added that: oral presentations may be viewed from three different angles: transmission of others' ideas to a passive audience with little anxiety, news of the information learned from which students try to derive their interpretations from others' opinions; and transmission of ideas themselves

Following these definitions, a presentation is a speech given by the presenter to the audience that is time-limited and supported by several visual aids These techniques refine the way presenters deliver information and enhance their persuasion Nowadays, great attention is paid to good presentation skills This is because they play an essential role in academic and non-academic settings Also, management with good expressive ability will better convey the organization's mission and vision to employees

As defined by Chivers & Schoolbred (2007), presentation skills are a set of abilities that allow individuals to interact with listeners Communicate a message, attract the audience to the speech, and explain and understand the audience's thoughts These techniques refine the way presenters deliver information and enhance their persuasion

Nowadays, great attention is paid to good presentation skills

Presentation skills can be defined as a set of abilities that enable individuals to interact with the audience, deliver appropriate information or messages, involve the audience in the present, and comprehend and understand the listeners' perspectives (Emden & Becker, 2016) These abilities clarify the way messages are transmitted and persuade others

A compelling presentation is created by connecting oral communication skills, a presentation style, interacting, conducting meetings, and visual communication skills This paper discusses a skill that does not require any special qualifications to deliver a successful presentation but is willing to put in the necessary time and effort Nobody is born knowing how to give a perfect speech; presentation skills are learned through practice They can, however, be learned, just like any other skill (Bradbury, 2006)

Each type of presentation needs a specific organizing strategy to make sure the audience will understand and remember it Establishing the presentation's purpose is the first stage in preparation The two primary types of presentations and their functions are described in the following paragraphs

Informative presentations are among the most often used presentation styles This kind's goal is to present, spread, and communicate to others a novel idea, subject, or piece of information that fosters comprehension In this kind of presentation, presenters utilize language to enlighten the audience and deliver messages

The main objective of this presentation is to let the audience learn something new Speakers use informative speeches in such speeches The purpose of information presentation is to communicate with the audience and provide them with rich information within a limited time As Chivers & Shoolbred (2007) said, the purpose of an informed statement can be to describe a new political event, organize a group of important events, or publish a report on a certain topic in the form of research Moreover, in this kind of presentation, presenters use informative speech to explain a concept, guide the audience, show a process, or describe an event in an academic context In addition, speakers can

12 choose their own topics In many organizations, students or employers are expected to report progress at key stages of the project (Chivers & Shoolbred, 2007) In short, the purpose of the presenters in this presentation is to provide their research results in an informed way Moreover, they answer questions from the audience about their topics

The advantages of oral presentations

Oral presentation skills are one of the necessary skill sets for college students In order to help them improve their presentation skill, students are encouraged to use systematic methods to promote their presentation in class The main purpose of emphasizing presentation skills in higher education is to help develop professionalism in the learning environment In this age of advanced technology, students can improve their display skills through the use of high-tech equipment, thus improving their ability to display information in a professional way

Presentation skills help students develop other potential proficiency in their preparation process, such as creativity, graphics, designs, and color sense Moreover, computer skills and technological tools can be listed in Powerpoint, and slideshows are thriving (Brooks & Wilson, 2014) These skills provide students access to accurate information resources, which is relevant to extending and deepening the knowledge in language learning Alshare and Hindi’s study (2004) state that the students were asked to present in classes for an average of ten minutes or more According to the study's findings, both students and instructors agreed that the most important goals of presentations were to improve oral skills and help people talk in small groups and professional settings Thus, these findings indicate that presentation skills and student presentations in class are important components in acquiring positive learning experiences

Carroll (2006) advocated a holistic approach to assessing a student’s performance based on the content and the delivery of their presentation Kennedy (2007) found that

15 through the organization of debate, teachers can cultivate both critical thinking and oral communication skills Bankowski (2010) found that training students in skills are very important for making oral presentations based on the original research task for using English for Academic Purposes (EAP) course, and after training, students showed an increase in the successful use of research-related skills and a great improvement in their ability to present their findings in English Girard and Trapp (2011) expressed that presentation skills help in greater class interaction and participation, increased interest in learning, new perspectives not covered otherwise, and improvement in communication and presentation skills Živković and Stojković (2013) viewed that the ultimate purpose of a well-balanced presentation is better to communicate professional knowledge to other professionals and non-specialists as well Alwi and Sidhu (2013) studied students’ self-perceived and actual performance in attempting oral presentations The study employed a mixed-method research design and involved an entire class of 40 Business Faculty undergraduates taking an ESL course at a local university in Malaysia The results of the study indicated that there were discrepancies between the actual performance scores and students’ self- evaluation marks for all four skills; hence it is necessary for educators to understand these discrepancies and work towards further understanding their students’ learning needs

Another equally important point, King (2002) revealed that presentations offer an opportunity for developing communication as well as leadership skills Carroll (2005) opinioned that the presentation should include elements that need to be assessed like as knowledge shown, logical appeal, fielding of objections, questions posed, improvisation shown, and conclusion

Liang and Kelsen (2018) investigated the oral performance of EFL students engaged in delivering presentations required as part of inquiry-based group projects and found that: Extraversion, Project Work, and Social Pressure were significant correlates of oral presentation scores According to Businesstopia (2019), developing presentation skills makes communication effective as it nurtures the personality of individuals Miskam, Aminabibi and Saidalvi (2019) explored the effectiveness of using Flipgrid, an

16 online video-mediated communication tool, for teaching oral presentation skills to engineering students By applying this tool, students can record and practice oral presentation skills and give prompt feedback The results indicated that Flipgrid helped the students to practice oral presentation skills

The final advantage of oral presentations is that they are widely used in the workplace Being unable to present well in English is one of the causes of graduate unemployment As a result, it is critical for students to master oral presentation skills because they may be required to use these skills when entering the working world, such as attending a job interview or presenting a paper to a group of colleagues or superiors in a meeting Because many potential future employers value the communication skills that students learn in a presentation class, experience with oral presentations can be beneficial to students' future careers Furthermore, many employers seek candidates who can give formal presentations, and the skills that students learn when presenting in English are transferable to their First Language (Pittenger, 2004) Students with strong English presentation skills will have more opportunities to study abroad and land a good job after graduation

According to an experiment in Malaysia Job Street (2015), employers are not satisfied with the quality of fresh Malaysian graduates Poor rankings are usually not related to their education, but to their poor attitude and communication skills during interviews or work Communication skills must be transferred from class to work Today's business graduates are expected to have strong communication skills Graduates are expected to enter the industry through effective communication (Gray, 2010) Russ (2009) said that in that case, universities must provide students with the communication skills required by employers Students (future professionals) need communication skills whether they plan to speak at conferences, symposiums or other conferences

As analysis, innovator, critical thinker and problem solver of Reich (1991), today's students improve their skills and abilities by improving the means of linking them with the world market Due to the need for these skills, students need guidance and guidance in preparing, organizing and presenting presentations Students' oral presentations are a common part of many courses in colleges and universities, because they are one of the

17 ways to improve the learning of course materials Although there is a positive side to using demonstrations in class, some students may show reluctance to do more work, fear to speak in public, and feel depressed when listening to other people's demonstrations if they do not participate in the experience Therefore, according to Girard & Trap (2011), such students may hold negative beliefs about classroom presentation However, on the other hand, as Meloni & Thompson (1980) explained, if properly guided and organized, students will benefit from oral speeches that provide learning experience and lifelong skills teaching

Imam and Alalyani (2017) showed that students perceived the significance of preparing and delivering oral presentations for successful communication in the future professional surrounding The study also found that through collaboration with their colleagues, students develop skills that prepare them to deal with situations and problems they will encounter in the workplace Živković (2014) said that effective oral presentations have primary goals: enabling students to function successfully in their future professional surroundings and preparing them for their possible further academic careers Kaltenbach and Soetikno (2016) opined that there are many factors that help to develop an effective presentation, such as becoming focused, clear, and visual with the content and providing variance, relevance, and emotion in the delivery

Presentation skills are potentially the most valuable for job seekers, and employees need to upgrade during their undergraduate careers As mentioned by O’Hair et al (2016), oral communication skills are considered the top spots among other requirements that employers are demanding More than ever, these skill sets have become vital life skills in career development when people are called on to give presentations in seminars, job interviews, and the subsequent stage (Emden & Becker, 2016)

Students must be able to present their ideas, projects, strategies, and products in front of an audience as well as venture capitalists Presentation skills are critical for communicating more effectively so that the message is broadcast meaningfully in people's minds Presentation skills are the art of capturing the attention of an audience and enthralling them with ideas or performances One of the competencies that will improve the ability to communicate in public or public speaking is presentation skills If

18 related to the job, public speaking ability is one of the skills to build professional credibility.

Factors affecting the oral presentations

Thornbury and Slade (2007) believe that one of the students’ problems in speaking was transferring L1 into L2 which was done manually Therefore, it will make the presenter has another problem in constructing a good sentence with correct grammar/vocabulary because the presenter needs to think twice about the grammar rule Rajoo (2010) pointed out that grammar also plays an important role in the students’ mistake It is because students sometimes make a sentence without considering the grammar

Grammar, according to James (2005), is a study of the structure of the language that defines how words are placed together to form coherent sentences According to Tanveer (2007), there are several characteristics of English grammar that cause difficulty for English as a Second Language / English as a Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) students According to Mart (2013), grammar is the study of linguistic norms as well as the system and structure of a language Grammar will teach students how to mix words to construct sentences Grammar expertise is required to generate completely developed sentences The reasons for making grammatical errors during presentations include students placing more emphasis on grammar structures or tense than on speaking fluently, and they also do not commonly utilize English in social interactions outside of class As a result, grammatical rules can help students acquire the habit of thinking rationally and clearly, and they will become more accurate when using language

In truth, students usually struggle with grammar and syntax They make errors in subject-verb agreement, pronouns, tenses, articles, and prepositions, as well as basic sentence constructions Students understand how to construct tenses, but when it comes to using them in presentations, they become confused

Furthermore, learning grammar can be hard since no one like following rules Rules memorization is worse than rules application This is because first and second languages

19 do not share the same language pattern or grammatical norms If the presenter does not know enough about grammar and does not comprehend the laws of language, they may struggle to utilize acceptable phrases, causing listeners to be confused

Native speakers may express themselves freely since they are fluent in the language

If they have difficulty expressing themselves, they try to communicate in different ways They may make syntactical errors, but these errors do not modify the sense of the sentences they intend to communicate and do not cause severe difficulty for the listeners to understand them Non-native speakers, on the other hand, make errors that modify the meaning of the utterances they wish to transmit and might cause issues with comprehending (Mahripah, 2014)

Therefore, English of Foreign Language (EFL) learners should have the knowledge of words and sentences Grammatical competence can help speakers apply and perceive the structure of English language correctly that leads to their fluency (Latha, 2012) In addition, grammar rules help students to make their communication to appear coherent and more logic

Thornbury and Slade (2007) believe that one of the students’ problems in speaking was transferring L1 into L2 which was done manually Therefore, it will make the presenter has another problem in constructing a good sentence with correct grammar/vocabulary because the presenter needs to think twice about the grammar rule Rajoo (2010) pointed out that grammar also plays an important role in the students’ mistake It is because students sometimes make a sentence without considering the grammar

In addition to other challenges, language is another issue that students run into when giving an oral presentation A crucial part of language proficiency is vocabulary, which provides the foundation for good speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills (Richard & Renandya, 2002, p 255) According to Wilkins (1972), “…while without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” (p.111) Students struggle to select appropriate words in specific settings Students that lack vocabulary struggle to communicate their views They lack the vocabulary

20 necessary to effectively convey their ideas through their presentation

Without a strong vocabulary foundation, students will have fewer opportunities to apply what they have learned in context, such as when reading, watching television, listening to the radio, or conversing with native speakers In particular, when giving an oral presentation, students will find it challenging to convey what is on their minds

In addition, Tokoz (2014) found that the main problem of students' inability to speak English was fear of a limited vocabulary in which students could not express what they would like, and they gave up speaking Similarly, Rababah(2003) suggested that Arab learners feel troubled when involved in communicative interactions because they have less vocabulary, which makes them unable to further conversations

According to Schewertly (2012), selecting acceptable terminology is a vital component of every presentation A lack of vocabulary knowledge will make it difficult to select the appropriate terms Thus, according to Miles (2009), a lack of vocabulary not only hinders speaking but also comprehending others, resulting in a breakdown in communication

From the previous, it is plausible to conclude that vocabulary plays an essential part in learners' presenting processes The more fabulous speakers' amount of language is, the better their oral presentations is

When giving an oral presentation, one of the learner's obstacles is pronunciation It is essential for students who desire to improve their public speaking skills According to Grussendorf (2007), pronunciation is related to the creation of sounds that we employ to generate meaning It is crucial since it is a subset of successor all productive or communication skill (Hismanoglu, 2006)

Furthermore, it is difficult for students who are not fluent in English and are required to talk in the target language, particularly during English classes (Khairi & Nurul Lina, 2010) Furthermore, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students are afraid to speak because they are embarrassed by their inability to pronounce certain terms Hamouda (2013) discovered that 71.70% of Saudi students suffer pronunciation issues in his study on their unwillingness to speak

The pronunciation of English words differs from their spellings Words with similar spellings are occasionally pronounced differently due to their surrounding circumstances, such as tenses and phonemes This can present several issues for non-native speakers, who may require clarification while forming English terms They must understand how words are broken down into distinct sounds and how sentences are emphasized in different ways In example, if the speakers regularly pronounce specific words wrongly, the listeners require aid to recognize the essential information and the meaning of what they hear and absorb the content This diminishes the audience's capacity to listen and hence the oral presentation's success

In brief, students should train and improve their pronunciation since it helps them build their oral presenting abilities and convey messages to the audience

Previous studies

Although oral presentations have been extensively studied, most previous studies

26 have placed it in the context of other activities (Akindele & Trennepohl, 2014), and a large number of studies have investigated the influence of anxiety on oral effects (Joughin, 2007) Some studies take into account students' disagreements about oral and written statements (Akindele & Trennepohl, 2014), while others take into account competencies and performance in oral statements (Alwi & Sidhu, 2013) Pay attention to the use of oral statements for learning and evaluation In addition, most of these studies are conducted in the context of English as a Second Language (ESL) (Zappa-Hollman, 2007); Few courses are conducted in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or in English classes (Abu ElEnein, 2011) Moreover, most of these studies are conducted on graduates of other disciplines, such as engineering, medicine, and business (Preub, Schoofs, Schlotz & Wolf, 2010; Radzuan & Kaur, 2011; Alwi & Sidhu, 2013) Therefore, there is a lack of research that provides more detailed insights into university classroom presentation as an evaluation form in the EFL higher education environment (Joughin, 2007; Zappa-Hollman, 2007; Alwi & Sidhu, 2013) Morita (2000) found that oral activities such as speeches are challenging and complicated in terms of interaction and psychological process and suggested more research Ercan, Irgil, Sigirli, Ozen & Kan (2008) suggested investigating students' views to understand their thoughts

Therefore, investigating EFL female college students' cognition of classroom oral presentation difficulties as a form of evaluation is helpful for us to better understand and meet students' needs and recognize and admit their weaknesses The results of this study hope to supplement the existing research on the challenges faced by non-native speakers in higher education Therefore, the purpose is to clarify the challenges experienced by students in the process of oral presentations that have a negative impact on their performance According to Zappa-Hollman (2007), language problems are considered to be the most challenging problems in speech Dornyei and Kormos (2000) pointed out that the challenge faced by students is that despite their limited language ability, they try to convey their thoughts and understand how to speak at the same time The result This leads to different emotions when communicating in the mother tongue Thus, this study intends to further gain insight into the specific challenges faced by college students and English majors in classroom presentation, not only in the EFL context but also in the

Arabic context where social and cultural differences affect students' cognition

According to Al-Nouh et al (2015), when conducting research aimed at investigating the difficulties faced by students while giving oral presentations, the oral presentation skill is considered one of the most important skills needed for higher education and good support in the future work of students In the study, the author is interested in investigating the perceptions of university students studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL) about the difficulties they encounter with oral presentations as a form of assessment A survey was conducted with 500 EFL undergraduates from different classes enrolled in a four-year preparatory teacher education program at the College of Basic Education (CBE) in Kuwait City, Kuwait The survey questionnaire was designed by the researcher on a five-level Likert scale and divided into three main sections: personal characteristics, oral presentation skills, instructor, and audience In addition, a structured interview for the instructor's opinion was conducted The results showed that the student's perception of the difficulties they experienced was average (M

= 3.10) However, significant differences in the results were found when taking into account the student's nationality and grade point average

Qutbi Alam (2013) conducted research focusing on improving the Oral Communication Skills of students of Pakistan Public Schools through oral presentation skills, those students who lack opportunities and rarely come into contact with the English language in general and oral communication in particular Results of the pre-and post-intervention phases of the four participants showed that students' communication skills showed marked improvement by providing opportunities to practice oral language, providing conducive learning environments, and the use of new teaching strategies through the use of oral presentations

A study conducted by Juhana (2012) showed that linguistic factors such as lack of vocabulary, lack of understanding of grammatical patterns, and incorrect pronunciation are obstacles for students to present in English class Besides that, Tanveer’s (2007) study revealed that sociocultural factors such as “limited exposure to the target language and lack of opportunities to practice speaking in such environments” (p 24) are setbacks to the development of students’ communicative abilities As a result, students feel

28 embarrassed or stressed when they are required to present in front of the class There are also other sociocultural factors, such as cultural differences, social status, self-identity, and gender, which contribute to students’ difficulties when they engage in oral presentations

There are several reasons that demotivate students to carry out an oral presentation Some students are afraid that their peers or teachers may judge their English proficiency, which makes them feel embarrassed Therefore, they prefer to remain passive and unwilling to participate in oral presentation tasks Another reason is that the students are not interested in the English subject; thus, they are not motivated to participate in any form of speaking activities, such as oral presentations (Mezrigui, 2011) Besides, students’ lack of knowledge about speaking activities also demotivated them to participate (Juhana, 2012)

A classroom with many students provides little opportunity for students to practice their oral presentations in class (Mezrigui, 2011) The teacher is not able to give individual attention in providing guidance or training to each student Besides, the students do not have their share in oral presentation tasks due to time constraints, especially if the oral presentations are conducted individually In addition, the classroom atmosphere also influences students’ performance in conducting an oral presentation A carefree and jovial atmosphere encourages students to present well and confidently On the other hand, an apprehensive and tense atmosphere caused by a number of circumstances gives rise to invisible barriers that hinder the students from doing well in their oral presentations (Mezrigui, 2011)

Generally, students are given the freedom to select their own presentation topics based on a theme assigned by their teachers The teachers would recommend the students choose presentation topics that they are familiar with, in terms of their connection to real life and topics that suit the level of the language required to talk about them; this step is aimed at increasing students' interest and making the presentation easier for them (Mezrigui, 2011) According to Singh and Chua (2012), Malaysian manufacturing employers' views on the desire of fresh graduates for English skills, some employees' poor writing and oral communication skills have affected their work performance

According to Hamidah Yamat (2012), some senior students need clarification about their language ability It is because they are not sure whether their language level is sufficient to enable them to undertake their specific professional fields or even be employed from the beginning

Before they enter the workplace, the student's performance in college speeches has shown that they are not fully prepared for effective communication Every time a speech is assigned, students usually feel depressed and scared According to King (2002), this is especially true when they are dealing with research problems and need communication skills to speak successfully In addition, according to Abdullah, & Abdul Rahman (2010), there is also great pressure on students who are not fluent in English but must speak in the target language, especially in English classes They usually assign oral presentations to more skilled members of their team However, students need to gain relevant skills and self-confidence to avoid oral presentation tasks It is important to master oral presentation skills because they may need to use these skills when entering the work world, such as attending job interviews or submitting papers to a group of colleagues or superiors at meetings Oral presentation skills should be taught to students in universities and colleges because these skills provide them with the opportunity to hone their public speaking skills and build up stage confidence in front of an audience Students are required to develop their communicative skills to achieve this oral ability According to Yusoff (2010, p 103), students' communication skills are expressed through their ability to make convincing and clear statements to specific audiences (in this case, industry and department heads) in a way that arouses reaction, understanding, appreciation, and consent

Some studies have been carried out to investigate students' difficulties in presentation Kakepoto, Habil, Omar and Said (2012) studied the factors that affect the oral presentations effect of engineering students The results show that the main factors hindering the effective presentation of engineering students are poor presentation ability, poor self-confidence, and anxiety Although engineering students have realized oral presentation skills, they have yet to use appropriate presentation skills in their presentations, according to Habil, & ab Rahman (Rahman, 2010), this may be due to

Other studies have identified communication phobia as the main reason why anxiety surrounds students' oral statements Research conducted by Elenein (2011), Nguyen Thi Van (2010) and Chen (2009) show that the common challenges of oral expression among college students are low language proficiency, such as lack of fluency, inaccurate pronunciation, and lack of vocabulary And the grammar is incorrect Moreover, they also have difficulties dealing with psychological factors such as a lack of self-confidence and fear of making mistakes These problems are probably due to the lack of relationship between students and their teachers, coupled with insufficient practice-which increases the limitation of their language ability and hesitation in communication

Foran (2002) explained that the objectives of the situational presentation method include developing critical thinking ability, cultivating confidence in identifying and solving problems through decision-making and situational role learning, and training and developing the ability of public speech and team problem-solving

Author Mahmuda (2015) has done research on the topic "Improving the student's speaking ability through case presentation method." Research results have shown that using oral presentations regularly helps students improve a lot of speaking skills, especially in vocabulary and pronunciation In addition, having to present periodically to classmates has helped many students eliminate the fear of speaking English in front of a crowd

METHODOLOGY

Research design

In order to answer the research questions, a quasi-experimental design was adopted Quasi-experimental research was a method of research that resembles experimental research but was not true experimental research It also aimed to determine causal relationships by applying a treatment or condition to one group and comparing the outcome with a control group Sometimes, however, it was not possible to assign test subjects randomly to the treatment group and control group for a variety of reasons Therefore, the quasi-experimental design was more extensive It allowed the researchers to evaluate the impact of quasi-independent variables under naturally occurring conditions

Based on the analysis above, a quasi-experimental design was suitable for this research to describe and prove the effectiveness of oral presentations in teaching speaking skills to improve students' speaking skills retention

There were several types of quasi-experimental design, such as One group pre- test, and post-test design; Nonequivalent control group design; Interrupted time series design; Time series with nonequivalent control group design, and so on The most appropriate design for this research was a non-randomized control group design The reason for this choice was that there were both control and experimental groups, but there was a lack of randomization The list of students in two classes was fixed according to the school's allocation from the beginning of the school year, and the researcher had no right to choose who would be in the class to apply the treatment

Figure 3.1 Non-randomized control group design

The independent variable was oral presentation which was applied to teach speaking skills, and the dependent variable was the students’ scores in the speaking tests.

Population and sample

This study's participants were university students from Thu Dau Mot University, and the study would be conducted in the second semester of the academic year 2019-2020 The reason why the writer chose the university students was that the students at Thu Dau Mot University just studied English in their first year As a result, in order to apply oral presentations to all students, the writer had to select first-year students Furthermore, students' English levels were high school when they entered college, but speaking skills were revealed to be a weakness for many of them As a result, students had to achieve level C1 by graduation (intermediate).

There would be 200 students joining the lessons and tests; then 200 first-year would participate in the survey questionnaires

To carry out the study, there would be 200 students took part in the pre-test After that, the teacher divided students randomly into two groups: the experimental group and the control group Students just changed between two groups, but the schedule and knowledge of the fixed curriculum Then, students of two groups would be taught the speaking part (following curriculum, lesson plan, and textbook) with different treatments Experimental groups would be taught by applying oral presentations; otherwise, the Experimental group Pre test Treatment Post test

Control Group Pre test Post test

36 control group would be taught without oral presentations Next, all groups would be given the post-test after the lesson.

Instrumentation

In the pr-empirical stage, the writer carefully considered the characteristics of the research, both subjective and objective factors And it was decided that this research was both qualitative and quantitative descriptive The data was collected by collecting and calculating students’ scores based on their pre and post-speaking skills tests and by analyzing the interview results after the setting time

The whole procedure of the study is expected to follow four phases below:

There are many different views about "test" According to Hughes (2003), a test is a tool to measure the language proficiency of students Brown (2004:3) stated that a test is

37 a method of measuring a person's ability, knowledge, or performance in a given domain

In the same line, Anthony J Nitko (1983:6) defined a test as a systematic procedure for observing and describing one or more characteristics of a person with the aid of either a numerical or category system

In short, a test is like an instrument of evaluation that includes description, collection, and interpretation The final purpose of the test is to measure and assess what the test takers have got in the learning process In other words, the result of the test reflects the effectiveness of teaching and learning

In this study, the writer used pre-test and post-test The pre-test was the test students took before the treatment to help teachers better understand their students' abilities Post- test was a test given to students after completion of the treatment It had a conjunction with a pre-test to measure students' achievement as well as the effectiveness of the applied method

Regarding the test, the writer did concern about the validity and reliability of the test Validity is the state of being logically or legally acceptable (Hornby, 2000:1319) Fraenkel and Wallen (1990:127) state that validity refers to the degree to which evidence supports any inferences a researcher makes based on the collected data using a particular instrument In other words, validity is the ability of the test to measure what it is purposed to measure, and it refers to the accuracy of an assessment

Before the test was given to the students, the test materials checked the validity in testing the speaking skills of the students The test was valid as the content could measure the student’s ability and knowledge in speaking skills

The maximum point for the oral presentation test was 10 points, and the mark of the test was the average mark of the three following criteria: Organization, Content (Theme), Presentation, (Appendix C)

Reliability refers to the consistency of the scores obtained and how consistent they are for each individual from one administration of an instrument to another and one set of items to another (Fraenkel and Wallen, 1990:133)

A test will be given to 200 Thu Dau Mot University students to check their English speaking before applying for oral presentations The test will be in the form of multiple- choice questions, matching, coloring, and gap-filling with 20 test items It is designed to assess students’ speaking before training The time allowance is 30 minutes

This is the most important phase of the study After doing the pre-test, the two classes will experience different speaking lessons The objectives of the lessons for both classes are identical; in other words, the word items to be taught for each class are the same However, the treatments for each group in terms of the method were different After that, each group would experience different speaking skills lessons The objectives of the two lessons were identical, or in other words, the word items to be taught for each group were the same However, the treatments for each group in terms of the method were different The experimental group would learn using oral presentations, whereas the control group would learn with other techniques without oral presentations

At this stage, it was necessary to prepare all materials and lesson plans for the Experimental and Control group It spent most of the time preparing lesson plans for each group in this phase because two different lesson plans were needed to prepare This training would carry out in 6 weeks Each week students studied a topic following the textbook for teaching English at Thu Dau Mot University)

In the lesson plans of the two groups, class descriptions, time allowance, objectives, assumed knowledge, and anticipated problems were the same Objectives were the most important component in the lesson plan because they would be in relationship with the aims of the tests following

In the control group, students would be taught traditional techniques (English – Vietnamese translation, pictures, and videos by using power point ) following the official lesson plans of the Department of English Language – Thu Dau Mot University, and students in the experimental group would learn with oral presentations

Right after the lessons, students of both groups were given the first post-test to evaluate their memory of the language items taught eight weeks ago to measure the students’ speaking when teaching speaking applying oral presentations Three weeks later, students of the two groups would take another post-test in order to check the memory of students after a period of time from the lessons

The questionnaire includes three key questions related to the advantages and disadvantages of applying oral presentations to speaking teaching and speaking retention for the Thu Dau Mot University students (See Appendix B)

Data analysis procedures

The writer randomly divided students into two groups: the control group and the experimental group Two groups were given a Pre-test After lessons of two groups with different treatments, the writer gave two post-tests in order to analyze the result of the tests There were two steps in analyzing: (1) individual scores and (2) conversion of percentage range

The formula is used to know the individual score: X = x 100

X – The result of English-speaking skills scores

R – The total number of correct answers

N – The total number of test items

Table 3.3 Conversion of percentage range

In the procedure of this step, the response of students to the questions was counted, rated in percentage, then synthesized and presented in the form of charts and tables to illustrate more clearly the current situation of using oral presentations to teach speaking skills for first to last year students in Thu Dau Mot University

In chapter 3, materials for this study have been described in detail Next, data collection and data analysis procedures have also been conducted Besides, from the literature review in chapter 2, the theoretical framework of the present study has been proposed as an adoption of previous research Lastly, the validity and reliability of the aforementioned theoretical framework have been presented as well

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Results

As stated, the purpose of the study was to improve the university students’ paragraph speaking skills at Thu Dau Mot University by using oral presentations in teaching oral expression Through the data collected, the researcher could evaluate the effectiveness of oral presentations applied to speaking skills, including paragraph speaking skills, and reveal the university students’ attitudes towards oral presentations used in teaching speaking skills

4.1.1 Score analysis of the pre-test

During the first two weeks of the second term, academic school year 2019-2020 In writing lessons, the researcher found that the students at Thu Dau Mot University, where she works, were relatively passive in their learning In other words, they could have contributed more actively to the writing lessons, and they often made more mistakes Most of the students need more content and confidence when doing the writing task As a result, the student’s oral presentation ability was not good The teacher-researcher decided to make a change to improve the student’s oral presentations First of all, the teacher gave students a pre-test which took place among students (See Appendix A) Then, after ten weeks, when the teacher applied oral presentations, the students took part in a post-test to see the improvement in oral expression ability

As presented in the methodology, students were randomly divided into two groups: experimental and control groups Each group had 35 students The pre-test was carried out to check students’ knowledge of the language item which was going to be taught in the trial lessons And all the pre-test scores of students are presented in the Table below However, the results in appendix A were the correct answers of students, not their final scores Now, the scores would be evaluated with the formula of Individual Scores (Methodology Chapter) as follows:

Table 4.1 Students’ scores of experimental group in the pre-test

Students’ scores Frequencies Percentage Qualification

The same pre-tests were given to both groups to check oral expression The scores ranged from 0 to 30, and two groups were randomly divided with the same level of students Then they would study the following lessons into two separate groups: experimental and control groups Students in control groups were taught the trial lessons they learned, while those in experimental groups studied English speaking with oral presentations Then they took part in two same post-tests to evaluate speaking-related skills such as pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, etc ability of students when they learned using oral presentations

Table 4.2 Students’ scores of control group in the pre-test

Students’ scores Frequencies Percentage Qualification

The pre-test and post-test scores were assessed by three criteria, which were calculated statistically for 200 students at the researcher’s university They gave scores to the students according to Assessing Speaking Performance- Level B1 (CEFR) with a rating scale for writing tests (See Appendix 4) that was appropriately applied for the researcher’s university students in terms of the five categories: Criterion 1: Content (Theme), Criterion 2: Organization, Criterion 3: Presentation

Chart 4.1 Students’ mean score of average mark

According to chart 1, the mean scores of the post-test (M= 7.65) were higher than that of the pre-test (M= 6.97) The participants had significant mean scores on the post- test higher than the pre-test The results indicated that the university students developed their oral presentations after participating in an oral presentation In other words, this proves that the students’ speaking competence has been enhanced

Comparing the results of the post-test and the pre-test by three criteria, it is evident that all the criteria have been improved dramatically

As can be seen from the result, the mean score of Criterion 2 increased the most (from 6.68 to 7.73), followed by Criterion 1 (from 6.85 to 7.45), and Criterion 3 (from 7.05 to 7.35) It was also concluded that the student’s English speaking is enlarged, and their confidence improved considerably (Criterion 2 and Criterion 3) The rest three criteria’s mean scores also show that the students can address the test questions better, expand their ideas, and make progress in Inherence and Coherence However, their structure was enhanced a little

The results of tests help evaluate the effectiveness of the oral presentation technique applied to oral expression teaching From all the data analyzed in the previous part, the researcher himself has an unbiased judgment on the technique applied in the lessons In summary, the analysis and comparison of the results of the tests show that the effectiveness of applying the oral presentation technique is reliable

4.1.2 The results of data analysis of the post-test

Students of two groups were given the same post-test 1 after their lessons Based on the table below, the average score of students in the experimental group is 18.90 – a good result The highest mark was 30, and there were 5 students who reached this score, while there were 28 students who got the lowest score 15 In general, the percentage of excellent scores was about 65% and higher than good scores The detailed data of student scores of the experimental group in post-test one can be seen in the table below (See appendixes A and C)

Table 4.3 Students’ scores of the experimental group in the post-test

Students’ scores Frequencies Percentage Qualification

The table below shows the students' scores of the control group in the post-test

As seen in the table, the average score of students in the control group in the post- test was 15 – much lower than that of students in the experimental group There

48 were several students who got Excellent scores, but only three students reached to score 28, and no one reached a score of 30 And the lowest score was 0, which was a very poor score There were over 20% of students got Poor and very poor scores, and the percentage of others' scores had an inappreciable difference

Table 4.4 Students’ scores of control group in the post-test

Students’ scores Frequencies Percentage Qualification

The mean scores of students in the two groups had distinct differences Students in the experimental group taught with oral presentations had a mean score higher than those in the control group And here was the comparison between the scores of post-test of students in the control and experimental group From the result shown in the chart below, there was an appreciable difference between the scores of

49 students in the control group and the experimental group

Figure 4.1 The comparison between scores in post-test of control and experimental group

As can be seen in the bar chart, there was a significant change in the pre-test score and post-test two scores of students in the experimental group Post-test 2 was carried out three weeks after the training to check the memory of students after a period of time from the lessons After six weeks trained using the oral presentation technique, the percentage of the very poor and poor scores of experimental group students strongly decreased Instead of that, the percentage of good scores, especially excellent scores, had a drastic increase This was significant evidence of the improvement in students’ speaking-related skills, such as pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, etc., when applying the oral presentation technique

Consequently, the result of English-speaking tests proved that students who were taught using oral presentation had improvement in vocabulary retention Alternatively, in other words, using the oral presentation technique to teach English speaking to Thu Dau Mot students is proven effective

In the survey, question 4 was also conducted to collect students’ opinions

Very poor Poor Enough Good Excellent

50 about the benefits and difficulties of using oral presentation techniques in teaching and learning English speaking skills Those were the advantages of oral presentations in teaching and studying language items From their answers, these were all benefits for learners which resulted from teaching with oral presentations

For instance, almost students who learned with oral presentations asserted that learning with oral presentation helped them easily to memory and retained their

Discussions of results

This research showed the difference between students who learned with oral presentation techniques and without oral presentations

In the survey, students were required to answer the first question: “1 How often do you have to make an oral presentation in English?” In this question, there were some techniques listed that teachers often used to teach English presentations to students at Thu Dau Mot University There was space for students to add more techniques that teachers used to teach them; however, no one had any more techniques Therefore, this study only analyzed six techniques given; they were: English explanation, English – Vietnamese translation, Context clues, Real objects, PowerPoint, and oral presentations

From the students’ answers, it can be said that the English – Vietnamese translation was the most favored English – Vietnamese translation was the traditional technique, so through the answers of the learners, it could be known that almost teachers often applied this technique in teaching speaking Sometimes teachers used PowerPoint to introduce and explain vocabulary through pictures and videos, but it was not frequently, while context clues and oral presentations were rarely used In spite of their negligible percentage of usage frequency, at least, as the writer expected, the oral presentations had not been used to teach vocabulary to the students at Thu Dau Mot University

Based on the results collected, participants pointed out that oral presentations were rarely used in the lessons There were a few students who stated that they had applied but not regularly and had applied in other subjects Almost all of those who had been taught English speaking-related skills using oral presentations were students of the experimental group

Therefore, to reinforce this question, “To what extent does the use of oral presentations help students to improve English speaking skills?” the writer would base on the speaking test

The result of the speaking test proved the improvement in students’ vocabulary memory through six weeks trained using the oral presentation technique

According to Buzan (2009), an oral presentation technique is an expression of radiant thinking and uses visual, interaction, and speaking; based on a set of simple rules and natural toward the human mind By using oral presentations, the list of information so long and boring could change into a colorful diagram and make it easy to remember and present By applying the oral presentation approach in teaching speaking, the scores of speaking tests proved oral presentation technique was a creative note-taking method, which made students easily retain information The mind-mapping technique was stated as a graphic organizer and visual tool which the learners could use to generate ideas, take notes, organize thinking in the major categories, and develop concepts This technique stimulated learners’ speaking skills mastery ability by identifying vocabulary in different categories,

58 combined with symbols and pictures, and interacting with other people around Thanks to that, helped the learners improve their speaking skills better It was proved by the scores of students in speaking tests The experimental group, which learned with the oral presentation technique, had a plain increase in the scores of two post-tests Additionally, it was significant evidence for the effectiveness of applying oral presentation techniques in teaching and learning English skills After the lessons studying oral presentations, students in the experimental group showed enjoyment when making oral presentations They had abundant ideas to make oral presentations They imagined and classified vocabulary into multi categories based on property, environment, etc When they imagined and made an oral presentation by themselves, those vocabularies would be more impressive in their mind, and they could retain them for a longer time

The students showed their opinions about the benefits and difficulties of using the oral presentation technique in teaching and learning English speaking skills From their answers in the questionnaire, almost students who learned with oral presentations asserted that learning with oral presentations helped them easily to memorize and improved their speaking skills longer In addition, studying using the oral presentation technique made the lesson lively and straightforward and brought more joy to the learning atmosphere It made interesting, boring vocabulary lessons However, the learners faced some difficulties in using oral presentations for learning vocabulary It was thought that oral presentations could be extremely useful in a brainstorming session, as it encouraged creativity and innovation; however, in some circumstances, they needed help understanding the oral presentations of the others According to the learners who need to improve at imagination and drawing, creating an oral presentation might take much time Alternatively, choosing titles and words for each branch of an oral presentation also gave students difficulty in learning soft skills with oral presentations techniques There were some limitations to applying the oral presentation approach in teaching and learning English skills However, this did not mean that these few drawbacks could make the oral presentations less useful

The oral presentation is also reported to improve students’ results because it makes students more motivated and active during the learning process The frequent reciprocal interaction and interactive learning tasks encourage students to participate more actively and enthusiastically Through such interaction, each student’s goals in cooperative situations are determined under the influence of the actions of other students (Johnson & Johnson, 2009) This confirms previous research findings and extrapolations in the relevant literature on the effect of oral presentation learning on students’ achievement

Furthermore, through oral presentation activities, students can develop their self-confidence, argumentative group communication, and working skills, which helps develop individual and group responsibility Students become more cooperative and supportive of the final success of their peers These findings also corresponded with the constructionist learning theory in which learners are in control of constructing their own meaningful knowledge through interaction with their environment (Bruner, 1996) From a constructionist perspective, students improve their achievement because they are actively involved in constructing their knowledge It helps create critical, logical, and independent thinking, which is essential for successful learning Besides, students learn most from working with others and getting help, and they perceive the instruction as more interactive, cooperative, and student-centered The results of this study are consistent with the findings of previous research (Harmer Nicola, 2014; Hilton-Johns, 1988; Thomas, 2000), which indicate that oral presentation results in higher speaking confidence and self-control

From the analysis of the data collected, the writer has discovered that students’ ability to remember words was better if they were taught using the oral presentation technique This chapter presented and compared the results of pretest posttests between two groups; analyzed and collected opinions of students to find out the limitation of using the oral presentation technique in learning English speaking.

CONCLUSION

Conclusion

English was an important language taught in almost universities and colleges in Vietnam Hence, learning English became a great interest to many students, especially major English students The best way to assess proficiency in communication was through oral presentations However, creating a good presentation, in fact, was not easy In the process of making and delivering a presentation, students encountered many problems that prevented them from achieving success Besides, thanks to important information from questionnaires and interviews, researchers could make some suggestions that students should participate in many speaking or presentation activities in class, prepare content psychologically well before delivering, broaden their knowledge in many aspects and collect ideas from teachers

The action research project was carried out in optional lessons for 12 weeks in the second semester of 200 students at Thu Dau Mot University The previous chapters show that using oral presentations in English writing lessons consumed a lot of time However, from the author's experience in teaching English with the oral presentations, two lessons can be drawn First, an oral presentation can be used effectively to develop students' English content and structure skills Second, it offers a good solution to English teaching and learning in optional lessons

The thesis has described research in which the author made every effort to solve problems in terms of the low English proficiency of the students in speaking skills by applying oral presentations The results of the research represented those students had a positive attitude toward the use of oral presentations in English lessons As a result, most of the students had the greatest improvement in speaking skills In addition, their collaborative skill improved dramatically After the project work, students knew that being team members, they had to learn to be responsible for the presentation assigned to them Most importantly, most of the students, regardless of language performance or motivational intensity, seemed to have

61 developed their cooperative skills Also, their computer skills improved, mainly the ability to use the internet to search for information To sum up, the oral presentations provide students with not only good English-speaking skills but also some necessary skills for integration and development in the 21st century

The research data analysis also interpreted that the students had to cope with some difficulties, as mentioned above The teacher remedied these problems by providing procedures for task completion and engaging students in different projects in the hope that they could overcome the difficulties.

Suggestions

Oral presentation skills are critical for language learners in further and higher education However, students continue to confront challenges while presenting presentations, limiting their competency and opportunities for self-development This section appears to support the idea that teachers may assist pupils in completing challenging activities by providing support and direction Active learning also helps students enhance their presentation abilities

Despite the majority of students understanding the significance of presentation skills, many struggled with their oral presentations due to anxiety As a result, teachers should provide students with a supportive and encouraging learning environment Teachers can also raise students' awareness of the importance of oral presentation skills in English studies Teachers, in particular, use classroom activities to push students to learn English Teachers can also create chances for students to be commended for doing the right thing, performing well, trying, and displaying a positive attitude toward learning

Additionally, in order to mitigate the adverse effects of psychological challenges such as fear of pronunciation and grammar faults, teachers should devote adequate learning time to developing presenting skills Furthermore, teachers should continually search for intriguing themes to incorporate into courses in order to assist students in obtaining the most up-to-date social knowledge and becoming more secure in expressing their opinion

Based on the findings of the study, the researcher would like to make the following suggestions:

Students should be aware of the practical advantages of presentation skills for self-development and success Oral presentation courses should be included in the first year of the curriculum to give students with the required abilities to cope with the assessment criteria Also, from the first years of school through higher education, there is a need to encourage students to share ideas, have conversations, and give presentations in order for them to become confident, and outspoken

Students should also take advantage of any possibilities for English language exposure Attending conferences, joining English-speaking clubs, and socializing with foreigners in tourist places that need English abilities, for example Currently, the creation of an English learning and presentation environment is invested to provide English language learners with the most practical and professional environment to improve their presentation skills Additionally, group study not only helps students feel more motivated but also creates a dynamic presentation environment for students

In addition, students actively practice and develop their vocabulary because vocabulary is an essential component of every language A big vocabulary can assist presenters to feel more confident and prevent the shame of not being able to articulate themselves or comprehend what their opponent has just stated To improve presentation abilities, students must have a large vocabulary Using simple and familiar terms to convey can assist learners in quickly catching up to the local people's reaction speed Along with expanding vocabulary, emphasis should be placed on the pronunciation of new words, sounds, stress, intonation, and enjoying sounds They also learn how to present in front of an audience, such as using eye contact and body language to make an effective presentation

At the same time, the best way to learn to present well is to increase practice time while maintaining consistent and scientific study time As a result, students can utilize laptops or other Internet-connected devices for self-study at home or the

63 center, offering opportunities for students in challenging circumstances to practice their speaking abilities themselves

It is not simple to improve students' English presenting abilities First, it takes time to modify an ancient foreign language learning practice that is no longer appropriate in the current scenario Furthermore, perfecting a talent needs a suitable amount of practice time and a strong collaboration between teachers and students Finally, it is significantly more critical that learners' motivations, attitudes, and learning practices contribute to their success.

Implications

This research result showed that oral presentations was a creative and effective technique in teaching and learning English speaking Therefore, it was effective to apply the oral presentation approach in teaching English speaking in order to improve students’ speaking-related skills such as pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, etc

Applying oral presentation technique, English teachers were expected to: Teaching English speaking by using oral presentation techniques in order to create a more relaxed atmosphere in the process of teaching and learning English speaking motivates and makes students interested in practicing speaking skills Teaching using the oral presentation approach had an influence on student’s ability to memorize vocabulary and could help students have better and longer memory of word items In conclusion, the application of oral presentations was an effective technique for teachers in teaching English-speaking-related skills

Teachers at Thu Dau Mot University were expected to use the oral presentation technique in teaching English speaking and other skills so as to make students more interested in learning a foreign language and help students at Thu Dau Mot University have better and longer memory of word items In addition, the application of the oral presentation technique was suggested to use in other skills, such as public speaking, group interaction, and so on, to help students summarize and focus on the main ideas

Being taught by applying an oral presentation approach, students at Thu Dau Mot University were expected to improve their English-speaking-related skills retention; find extra study activities to support their ability, especially in learning vocabulary Teaching and learning English speaking related skills using oral presentation technique was believed to make students interested in learning and love the English language as one of the important subjects in the school and be active students

Applying oral presentations in other skills and other subjects would help students focus on the main knowledge, easier understand and summarize, and gain more confidence The researcher hoped that the students realized their problems so that they could explore appropriate solutions and effective learning methods to improve their skills of oral presentation and become good speakers.

Limitations of the study

The time limitation due to the inconvenience of the academic schedule did not allow writers to convey more lessons using oral presentation techniques or enlarge the number of participants This fact might threaten the study's external validity, as pointed out above

If the researcher meets the school’s curriculum, she cannot carry out the lessons with oral presentations for other classes due to the time limitation Besides, the researcher’s practical experience and knowledge of oral presentation are limited because this method is still very new to teachers Hopefully, these problems will be solved in future research to see how effective oral presentation works in language learning and teaching

This is the first time a researcher has conducted such a real study as well as the researchers' limited time and knowledge about oral presentation skills studies, so mistakes in the course are unavoidable The number of participants who took part in the research was limited because there were only four classes However, the researcher strongly hopes that this research, in its scope, was able to contribute its usefulness to the English majored students at Thu Dau Mot University on their oral

Recommendations for further research

Based on the limitations mentioned above, it is better if the further research will focus on a larger scale with students from many different courses so that the results could be more diversified, practical and reliable In addition, as the researcher already completed the work of investigating the factors affecting English majored on oral presentation skills, hopefully in the near future, other researchers are going to conduct more researches better to figure out other obstacles as well as solutions to help students overcome their problems

The study is a quasi-research project which was conducted to help the teacher- researcher find ways to improve the teaching of speaking skills The findings of this study provide a good foundation for the researcher to design and conduct either an action research study in the future The researcher believes that if oral presentation learning can be used in combination with other speaking techniques, the student’s skills will certainly get better

It is obvious that language teaching and learning is a potential research interest when considering further study Therefore, teaching and learning speaking skills is not one exception Especially the use of oral presentation learning techniques to teach writing has not had any references in Vietnamese Therefore, oral presentation skills applied in teaching English with other skills can also be a selection of the author herself and other researchers In a nutshell, the present study is a preliminary investigation of the researcher herself, so more comprehensive investigations and further explorations are need

A Burns and, J C Richards (2012), The Cambridge Guide to Pedagogy and

Practice in Second Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University

Abdullah, K I., & Abdul Rahman, N L (2010) A study on second language speaking anxiety among UTM students http://eprints.utm.my/10275/

Baker, S C., & MacIntyre, P D (2000) The role of gender and immersion in communication and second language orientations Language Learning, 50(2), 311–341 https://doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.00119

Bentler, P.M and Chou, C (1987) Practical Issues in Structural Modeling

Sociological Methods and Research, 16, 78- 117 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0049124187016001004

C Griffiths (2008), Lessons from Good Language Learners, Cambridge: Cambridge

C S Kenkel (2011), “Teaching presentation skills in online business communication courses,” MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, Vol 7, no 3, pp 412-418

Chen, L.Y (2009) A study of EFL graduate students’ oral presentation anxiety

(Unpublished Master’s thesis, National Chung Cheng University)

Chivers, B., & Shoolbred, M (2007) A student’s guide to presentations : making your presentation count SAGE Publications

Chuang, Y Y (2010) A study of using Task-based Approach to teach EFL speaking

Journal of National Formosa University, 29(4), 37-52

De Grez, L (2009), "Optimizing the instructional environment to learn presentation skills", dissertation, University of Gent, Gent

El Enein, A H A (2011) Difficulties encountering English majors in giving academic oral presentations during class at Al-Aqsa University (Unpublished

Master’s thesis, Islamic University of Gaza)

Haber, R J., & Lingard, L A (2001) Learning oral presentation skills Journal of

Habil, H., & Ab Rahman, N A (2010) An investigation of engineering students’ oral presentation delivery skills: A case study

Hanafi Zaid, Y., & Kamarudin, H (2011) Oral communication needs of Mechanical

Engineering undergraduate students in UTM as perceived by the learners

Hancock, A B., Stone, M D., Brundage, S B., & Zeigler, M T (2010) Public speaking attitudes: Does curriculum make a difference? Journal of

Hill, M., & Storey, A (2003) SpeakEasy: online support for oral presentation skills

Hou, M 2008 A New Approach To Public Speaking Course In ESL Classroom

I V Tkachenko (2014), “Teaching presentation skills to students of business

English,” Financial Space, vol 4, no 16, pp 231-234

Ireland, C (2020) Apprehension felt towards delivering oral presentations: a case study of accountancy students Accounting Education, 29(3), 305-320 doi:10.1080/09639284.2020.1737548

Kakepoto, I., Habil, H., Omar, N A M., & Said, H (2012) Factors that influence oral presentations of engineering students of Pakistan for workplace environment Information & Knowledge Management, 2(7), 70-78

Kho, M.G W & Leong, L.M (2005) Causes of academic oral presentation difficulties faced by Students at a Polytechnic in Sarawak The English Teacher, 44(3), 132-142

King, J (2002) Preparing EFL learners for oral presentations The Internet TESL

Journal, 8(3) Retrieved from http://iteslj.org/Lessons/KingPublicSpeaking.html

Leichsenring, A (2010) What do 1st year Japanese EFL students learn by preparing and presenting a group work oriented oral presentations? Online submission to the Institute of Education Sciences, ED 537529 Retrieved Friday 18th April from http://eric.edu.gov./

Levin, P., & Topping, G (2006) Perfect presentations! Berkshire: Open University

Mogg, K., Bradbury, K E., & Bradley, B P (2006) Interpretation of ambiguous information in clinical depression Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(10), 1411–1419 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.10.008

N A Al-Nouh, M M Abdul-Kareem, and H A Taqil (2015), “EFL college students’ perceptions of the difficulties in oral presentation as a form of assessment,” International Journal of Higher Education, vol 4, no 1, pp

Nguyễn Minh Quang (2016) Nghiên Cứu Các Yếu Tố Ảnh Hưởng Đến Kỹ Năng

Thuyết Trình Của Sinh Viên UEH Đại học Kinh tế Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

Nguyen Thi Van, H (2010) A study on oral presentation difficulties of Second-Year

English Majors of Phuong Dong University in the speaking lessons and solutions (Unpublished Master’s thesis, Vietnam National University)

Oliver, J., & Kowalczyk, C (2013) Improving student group marketing presentations: a modified pecha kucha approach.Marketing Education Review, 23(1), 55–58

Pittenger, K K S (2004) Using real-world standards to enhance students' presentation skills Business Communication Quarterly, 67(3), 327–336

R Miles, “Issues related to teaching oral presentations in Japanese universities,” in

Richards, J C., & Renandya, W A (2008) Methodology in Language Teaching: An

Anthology of Current Practice Cambridge: Cambridge University

S Mandel (2000), Effective Presentation Skill; Practical Guide to Better Speaking,

S Živković (2014), “The importance of oral presentations for university students,”

Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, vol 5, no 19, pp 468-475

Singh, M K M., & Chua, J S C (2012) Manufacturing industry employers' perception of graduates' English language skills proficiency

InternationalJournal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 1(4), 114-

Tanveer, M (2007) Investigation of the factors that cause language anxiety for

ESL/EFL learners in learning speaking skills and the influence it casts on communication in the target language Unpublished Master’s thesis, University of Glasgow, Scotland

Wang, A.Y., & Chang, W J (2011) Developing intercultural awareness and language speaking proficiency for foreign language learners through cross– cultural voicemail exchange International Journal of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Teaching, 1(4), 17-32

Wolfe, A (2008) Oral presentations in marketing courses: Students' attitudes and self-assessment Presentation & Paper published in the proceeding in the Marketing Management Association (MMA) 13th Annual Fall Educators Conference, Louisville, Kentucky

Yusoff, M (2010) Analysing communication competence in oral presentations:

Engineering students' experiences Journal of Human Capital Development, 3(1), 99-118 Živković, S (2015) Language Skills among Students in the Field of

Engineering European Journal of Language and Literature, 1(3), 82–89 https://doi.org/10.26417/ejls.v3i1.p83-90

Selected topic for speaking presentation

● My Dreams Are High But No Jobs

● Empty Pocket Taught A Life Lesson

● Native Language is Better than English?

Selected topic for speaking presentation

● An Impact of management failure

● Social Media Is Our New Friend

● Marketing Life Only a Marketer Know

● My Father is My Strength

● Li-fi New Wi-fi Technology

I am currently a Master student at Thu Dau Mot University I am now carrying a research to understand the performance and the challenges of English-majored students in oral presentations at Thu Dau Mot University This is also the research objective for my Master thesis I would be grateful if you take your valuable time to complete the following survey questions

Your personal information will be only used for academic purposes All your answer and opinions you provided in the survey will be treated as strictly confidential and not be published A copy of my final thesis copy will be sent to you upon request Once again, thank you very much for your cooperation

Please tick with the ✔ in the boxes the most appropriate answer based on your opinions

1 How long have you been studying English?

From 2 to 5 years From 5 to 7 years

From 7 to 9 years Over 10 years

2 Have you ever made a presentation? (Tick your answer)

3 When did you first make oral presentations in English?

4 What type of presentation did you make?

II Difficulties in giving oral presentation in English

1 How often do you have to make an oral presentation in English? (Tick your answer)

Very often Often Sometimes Seldom Rarely

2 Are you offered/ given enough time to prepare for an oral presentation? (Tick your answer)

Always Often Sometimes Rarely Never

3 How would you rate your presentation in English? (Tick your answer)

Poor Adequate Fair Good Excellent

4 What are your biggest difficulties in making an oral presentation in English?

(Please sort the most difficult elements in descending order with (1) =the most to (6) )

B Use correct grammar and sentence structure

C Use a variety of vocabulary related to the topic of the presentation

D Use linking languages in the presentation

(Please sort the most difficult elements in descending order with (1) =the most to (5) )

A Make eye contact with the audience

B Use body language in the presentation

D Adjust the voice and intonation in the presentation

(Please sort the most difficult elements in descending order with (1)=the most to (4) )

A Fear of speaking in public

B Fear of teacher’s negative evaluation/ comments

C Lack of confidence in knowledge related to presentation topic

(Please sort the most difficult elements in descending order with (1)=the most to (5))

Contents and structures Number chosen

B Control the presentation time for each presentation content

C Make the content clear, logical and understandable with many examples to support the ideas

D Make good use of visual tools in presentations

6 What do you think should be done to improve their oral presentation skills?

Please indicate your opinion after each statement that you agree or disagree

(1 Strongly disagree 2 Disagree 3 Neutral 4 Agree 5 Strongly agree)

Add rich vocabulary on many different topics Practice English speaking skills Especially public speaking skills

Train the ability to link between paragraphs in a presentation, so it is seamless

Practice eye contact to get your audience to listen and participate in your presentation Practice the ability to use body language flexibly in presentation activities Increase engagement with the audience during the presentation

Adjust the voice and intonation in the presentation to suit the context and content of the presentation Others

Solve your fear of public speaking

Facing negative reviews and comments from friends and teachers From there, gradually improve the shortcomings, and improve presentation skills

Prepare sufficient knowledge related to the presentation topic before making any presentation topic

Background Train your ability to hold an oral presentation properly knowledge Practice organizing clear, logical, and understandable content with lots of examples to support ideas when making presentations Strengthen training in the use of visual tools in oral presentations

7 How would you rate the current Presentation course length?

Not enough for students to master presentation skills

Sufficient for students to master presentation skills

8 Please indicate if there any areas you want to improve in the training programme of oral presentation skills in English at your university?

(1 Strongly disagree 2 Disagree 3 Neutral 4 Agree 5 Strongly agree)

1 Go online to learn more about good

2 Read more books about how to present effectively to enhance presentation skills

3 Learn more vocabulary and improve pronunciation

4 Study the way to design effective slides

5 Cultivate, organize ideas, and makes the content of the presentation more attractive

6 Make a note of the main ideas that are relevant to your presentation topic.

7 Practice using body language to engage with your audience.

8 Practice staying calm, like breathing deeply to avoid anxiety.

9 Practice speaking in front of the mirror or with friends.

10 Ask your teacher about difficulties you have encountered when preparing your presentation.

This is the end of the questionnaire survey Your time and answers are valuable for my research Thank you again for your cooperation

The type of presentation is appropriate for the topic and audience 2

Information is presented in a logical sequence 3 Presentation appropriately cites requisite number of references 5

Introduction is attention-getting, lays out the problem well, and establishes a framework for the rest of the presentation

Technical terms are well-defined in language appropriate for the target audience 2 Presentation contains accurate information 3 Material included is relevant to the overall message/purpose 2

Appropriate amount of material is prepared, and points made reflect well their relative importance 1 There is an obvious conclusion summarizing the presentation 1

Speaker maintains good eye contact with the audience and is appropriately animated (e.g., gestures, moving around, etc.)

Speaker uses a clear, audible voice 2 Delivery is poised, controlled, and smooth 2 Good language skills and pronunciation are used 1 Visual aids are well prepared, informative, effective, and not distracting 1

Length of presentation is within the assigned time limits 1

LECTURER’S IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW PART A INTRODUCTION

I am currently a Master student at Thu Dau Mot University I am now carrying a research to understand the performance and the challenges of English-majored students in oral presentations at Thu Dau Mot University This is also the research objective for my Master thesis I would be grateful if you spend your valuable time answering the following interview questions

Your personal information will be only used for academic purposes All your answer and opinions you provided in the survey will be treated as strictly confidential and not be published A copy of my final thesis copy will be sent to you upon request

Once again, thank you very much for your cooperation

1 How long have you been teaching English?

2 What year of students have you been teaching English?

3 How many hours of speaking lessons are you teaching?

4 What subjects do you teach in the English-majored curriculum?

II Overall opinions on students’ performance of oral presentations

5 In your opinion, do you like oral presenting activities? Why? / Or why not?

6 Do you think oral presenting activities help you in your English Oral presenting skills in English teaching? If yes, in what way? If not, please tell me your reasons?

7 In the teaching process, what problems have you noticed that students often face when making oral presentations?

8 Do you have any suggestions regarding allocating teaching hours, curricula, training programs, etc., to improve students' oral presentation skills?

THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM Independence - Freedom - Happiness

Title: An Investigation into Oral Presentation Skills Among English-Majored Students at

Student’s Name: Nguyễn Thị Ngọc Linh Supervisor: Tran Thanh Du,PhD

Examiner: Lê Thị Thanh, PhD Role: Second Reader

1 Study significance, scientific and practical implications

As the title denotes, the thesis starts with a concrete objective of examining how English- majored students at Thu Dau Mot University have delivered oral presentation in their learning English and the challenges they have encountered The study adopts the experiment method and the data were collected among 200 students divided into 2 groups (one group would be taught using oral presentation while the other group would have no oral presentation) for investigating the effects of applying Oral Presentation The objectives are challenging but they made significant academic and practical ELT implications

2 Appropriateness of the research topic

In general, the thesis, with 66 pages of the main content, 4 pages for the reference list and 10 pages for Appendixes attached necessary documents, has proved how research topic can fit the scope of language teaching

The variety in the research methods (descriptive, contrastive and statistical ones) shows how the researcher could handle the requirements of reliability in data collection and analysis The instruments for collecting data, questionnaire, pre-test, post-test and interview could provide the study with the qualitative and quantitative data for proving the effect of using Oral

Presentation in the study and the participants’ attitudes for discussions and recommendations

However, the title of thesis is “An Investigation into Oral Presentation Skills Among English- Majored Students At Thu Dau Mot University”; so, questionnaire can provide enough data for answering the research questions about how they used and felt about using Oral Presentation in their oral expression Therefore, the experimental design with pre-test and post-test scores among 2 groups of learners to determine the effect of oral presentation in improving oral expression should be combined in a more effective and convincing way or another objective should be added

4 Structure and format of the paper