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Luận văn thạc sĩ Lý thuyết và phương pháp giảng dạy tiếng Anh: Factors fostering communication in English classroons: A study on English language majors at tertiary level

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Cấu trúc

  • CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION (11)
    • 1.1 Rationale (11)
    • 1.2. Aim and Objectives (14)
      • 1.2.1. Aim of the Study (14)
      • 1.2.2. Objectives of the Study (14)
    • 1.3. Research Questions (14)
    • 1.4. Scope of the Study (14)
    • 1.5. Significance of the Study (15)
    • 1.6. Organization of the study (0)
  • CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW (17)
    • 2.1. Communicative Competence (17)
      • 2.1.1. Oral and Written Communication (18)
      • 2.1.2. Challenges in Oral Communication (20)
    • 2.2. Factors affecting oral communication (22)
      • 2.2.1. Psychological factors (22)
      • 2.2.2. Context factors (23)
      • 2.2.3. Teacher’s and Learner’s attitudes toward English Speaking (24)
    • 2.3. Factors fostering communication in English classrooms (27)
      • 2.3.1. Teaching activities (27)
      • 2.3.2. Teamwork (28)
      • 2.3.3. Students – Students’ interaction (30)
      • 2.3.4. Supportive relationships (31)
      • 2.3.5. Classroom environment (32)
      • 2.3.6. Task instruction (34)
      • 2.3.7 Feedback (35)
        • 2.3.7.1. Positive feedback (36)
        • 2.3.7.2. Negative feedback (37)
      • 2.3.8. Intrinsic Motivation (38)
    • 2.4. Speaking activities developing communication in English classrooms 29 1. Role-play (39)
      • 2.4.2. Group work (41)
      • 2.4.3. Pair work (41)
      • 2.4.4. Interviews/ Talk shows (41)
      • 2.4.5. Games (42)
      • 2.4.6. Debate (42)
      • 2.4.7. Storytelling (43)
    • 2.5. Previous studies on the factors fostering speaking skills (43)
  • CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY (46)
    • 3.1. Research design (46)
    • 3.2. The research setting and participants (47)
    • 3.3. Research Instruments (48)
      • 3.3.1. Observation (49)
      • 3.3.2. Questionnaires survey (50)
      • 3.3.3. Interview (52)
    • 3.4. Procedures for data collection (53)
      • 3.4.1. Observation (53)
      • 3.4.2. Questionnaire (54)
      • 3.4.3. Interview (55)
    • 3.5. Procedures for data analysis (55)
    • 3.6. Ethical considerations (56)
  • CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION (57)
    • 4.1. Factors fostering communication in English classrooms from Teachers‘ and Students‘ perspectives (57)
      • 4.1.1. Findings from Students’ questionnaire (57)
        • 4.1.1.1. Teaching activities (57)
        • 4.1.1.2. Team work (59)
        • 4.1.1.3. Students – Students’ interaction (60)
        • 4.1.1.4. Supportive relationships (61)
        • 4.1.1.5. Classroom environment (62)
        • 4.1.1.6. Task instruction (63)
        • 4.1.1.7. Feed back (64)
        • 4.1.1.8. Intrinsic motivation (65)
      • 4.1.2. Findings from Teachers’ questionnaire (66)
        • 4.1.2.1. Teaching activities (66)
        • 4.1.2.3. Students – Students’ interaction (68)
        • 4.1.2.4. Supportive relationships (69)
        • 4.1.2.5. Classroom environment (70)
        • 4.1.2.6. Task instruction (71)
        • 4.1.2.7. Feed back (71)
        • 4.1.2.8. Intrinsic motivation (72)
    • 4.2. Findings from observation (73)
      • 4.2.1. The overview of observation (73)
      • 4.2.2. Results of the observation (74)
  • CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS (81)
    • 5.1. Conclusion (81)
    • 5.2. Teaching implications (83)
    • 5.3. Limitations of the study (84)

Nội dung

INTRODUCTION

Rationale

In teaching, there are diversified aspects which are needed to be done to create a successful lesson/ classroom and a skillful teacher Teaching every English skill needs many factors to carry out and involve the whole class This study seeks to examine the factors that can contribute to students‘ willingness to communicate in English classrooms Communication is the key in the classroom: successful teaching is generally considered to require only 50% knowledge to 50% communication skills Besides, an English-speaking teacher should be proficient in all four modes of communication – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – and should know how to utilize this proficiency effectively in a school environment Being able to do this has been proven to impact the success students achieve in their academic lives, as well as the teacher‘s own career success Teachers will also get to know more some of the strategies which can be used to enhance student‘s oral communication skills

Speaking is a useful skill while communicating verbally Like the other skills, it requires more than just word pronunciation and is more difficult than it first appears to be The majority of second language learners frequently view "communicative competence," or "an appropriate ability to pass along or give knowledge, or the ability to make known by talking or writing‖

(McCroskey & McCroskey, 1988), as the primary aim of learning Speaking fluency is often seen as the benchmark for language proficiency among language learners Fluency is defined by these students as the capacity for interpersonal communication, rather than the capacity for reading, writing, or understanding oral language They view speaking as the most crucial ability they can learn, and they gauge their success based on how well they are able to communicate verbally The voluntary participation of students in communication classrooms is influenced indirectly by motivation through confidence It is shown that learners‘ belief has a direct impact on motivation and confidence The active communication appears to be a major predictor of language acquisition success since it is thought to be the result of a mix of proximal and distal characteristics including psychological, linguistic, pedagogical, and communicative components of language (Mystkowska- Wiertelak & Pawlak, 2014) In order for a teaching setting to be effective, meaningful interactions are required There are three main routes of communication in the classroom: teacher to student, student to student, and student to instructor As the teacher creates his/her syllabus and organizes classroom activities, be careful to define the teacher‘s expectations for how students should interact with each channel on a regular basis

Numerous research initiatives have concentrated on the variables that help or impede communication in the target language For instance, Kang (2005) researched the factors developing willingness to communicate of Korean students and found that characteristics including security, excitement, and responsibility may contribute to situational second-language speaking skills In a different study, Cao and Philp (2006) contrasted subjects' self- reported interaction decisions and willingness to communicate behavior in an L2 classroom setting They found that a variety of variables, including familiarity with the issue, familiarity with the interlocutor, interaction patterns, self-confidence, communication medium, and cultural background, all have an impact on the active communication A large-scale investigation of factors fostering the willingness to communicate in English-as-a-foreign- language (EFL) classes is the focus of this research Using structural equation modeling, a model including willingness to communicate in English, communication confidence, motivation, learner beliefs, and classroom environment was assessed Exploratory factor analyses on a dataset obtained in a pilot project and confirmatory factor analyses in the full research were used to validate the measures

The idea to carry out this study was not only from the importance of this skill as stated in the literature but also originated from the writer‘s experience It was interesting to find out that it is totally different when teaching communication for young learners and students at university There were numerous researchers who researched about this field but with children such as David K Dickinson, (2011) or Jennifer J Chen (2011) The kids are easy to get involved in the lesson‘s activities and they are always ready to talk or answer any questions without being afraid of anything In contrast, studies that related to this issue but at the tertiary level are rare Students at university seem to lack the confidence to speak up in the communication classroom and

I recognize that this aspect is needed to be done The shyness usually happens with older students since they find it challenging to communicate in English Hence, encouraging college students to communicate, participating in classroom activities during communication English class and motivating, engaging students in classroom practices or activities are Herculean tasks for English teachers at the tertiary level, because students do not value English as a subject or recognize the necessity of having confidence in communicating in English

As a result of the importance of understanding the factors affecting communication skills and the writer‘s experience, the study of these factors fostering communication skills of English tertiary students was chosen, aiming at exploring these factors and some activities to help boost these skills.

Aim and Objectives

This study is aimed at investigating what the teachers and students at tertiary level perceived as important factors when developing and fostering oral communicative skills

In order to achieve this aim, the researcher tried to fulfill the following objectives:

- To explore factors that are essential for developing and fostering oral communication in English classes at Quy Nhon University from teachers‘ and students‘ perspectives

- To identify speaking activities that teachers of English use in speaking classes to develop students‘ oral communication skills

Research Questions

In order to achieve the above aim and objectives, the researcher collected data and analyze it in order to answer the following questions:

1 What factors are essential for developing and fostering oral communication in English classes at Quy Nhon University from teachers‘ and students‘ perspectives?

2 What speaking activities do teachers use in English-speaking classes to foster their students‘ communication competence.

Scope of the Study

As mentioned above, this study aims at identifying some factors building up students‘ ability in speaking English at the tertiary level The study was conducted with the samples selected from students and teachers from Quy Nhon University in Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province The data for this study was obtained through observation, interview and questionnaire administered to the total number of 8 EFL teachers and 120 second-year English-major students It examined the way speaking was taught at University and what speaking activities teachers applied in EFL classrooms Some suggestions in teaching speaking skills with university students in English classrooms were also mentioned in this study

The main part of this thesis is about the factors fostering communication It is obvious to see that there are many factors that can enhance students‘ speaking skills; however, I just focus on eight mains factors which are: Teaching activities; Team work; Students – Students‘ interaction; Supportive relationships; Classroom environment; Task instruction; Feedback and Intrinsic motivation Furthermore, there are also seven speaking activities which contribute to the active participation of students in English-speaking classes They are: Role-play; Group work; Pair work; Games; Interview/ Talk show; Debate and Storytelling.

Significance of the Study

This study concentrated on the factors fostering communication in EFL speaking classrooms at tertiary level and speaking activities that were used in English classrooms to enhance students‘ speaking ability This study helps teachers understand more about students‘ desire The findings of this study will be used by the teacher as a basis for teacher's efficiency This thesis would help the author achieve a deeper understanding of the features of classroom engagement and the effectiveness of interacting in the right way when teachers teach different ages

The thesis consists of 5 chapters:

Chapter 1, Introduction, consists of Rationale, Aims, Objectives,

Significance and Organization of the study This chapter introduces the rationale for selecting the study and gives readers a general overview of it The study's goal and importance are then presented Finally, it outlines how was the study organized

Chapter 2, Literature review This section summarizes previous research on factors promoting communication in English classrooms and activities that assist students improve their speaking abilities

The next chapter is Chapter 3, Methodology The study's objectives, research design, research technique, and research questions are all handled through methodology The research topics and hypotheses for the current study are first presented Second, it provides information on the study's participants and research design Thirdly, it provides a thorough introduction of the materials utilized for the intervention as well as the research tools that were used to gather data for the study Finally, the procedures used to perform the study and analyze the data will wrap up this chapter

Chapter 4, Findings & Discussion, summarizes the conclusions drawn from the data analysis The instruments' dependability is introduced first The results of the questionnaire surveys are then displayed Following that, the data gathered throughout the observation will be examined Finally, in order to provide more reasons for the study's findings, the data from the semi- structured interviews will be evaluated

The last chapter, Conclusions, presents the findings from the investigation on the elements promoting communication in tertiary English classrooms.

Organization of the study

In this chapter, a theoretical framework of this thesis presented and contextualized within the relevant field of research The content presents in four sections: Communicative Competence; Factors affecting oral communication; Factors fostering communication in English classrooms and Speaking activities regarding similar research to this study

In today's global environment, communication is critical to achieving success in any sector Language is utilized as a communication tool and communication is the most basic kind of speech Without the use of a language, perfect communication is impossible Furthermore, people cannot attain their ambitions, objectives, or goals if they do not communicate effectively A vast number of languages are only spoken and do not have a written alphabet Even in languages having writing scripts, the majority of languages prefer to utilize their spoken forms above their written versions According to Anuradha, Raman & Hemamalini (2014): ―It is an agreed fact that language is learnt by speaking it first after a lot of listening to the sounds, words, phrases and sentences from the surroundings‖ No one knows exactly how one learns a new language until now Throughout history, however, many alternative ideas have been proposed Skinner, a behaviorist, wrote Verbal Behavior in the late 1950s, which featured a hypothesis that stated that one learns a language by positive or negative reinforcement (Skinner 1957) This cleared the path for a number of scholars to react to Skinner's language acquisition hypothesis (Harmer 1991: 33) Noam Chomsky, a linguist, published Review of Skinner's book Verbal Behavior, in which he explains his 'Cognitive Theory' (Chomsky, 1959) Language is taught, according to Chomsky, by learning the rules of the language system and progressively acquiring the ability to generate the language Chomsky was chastised by a

LITERATURE REVIEW

Communicative Competence

In today's global environment, communication is critical to achieving success in any sector Language is utilized as a communication tool and communication is the most basic kind of speech Without the use of a language, perfect communication is impossible Furthermore, people cannot attain their ambitions, objectives, or goals if they do not communicate effectively A vast number of languages are only spoken and do not have a written alphabet Even in languages having writing scripts, the majority of languages prefer to utilize their spoken forms above their written versions According to Anuradha, Raman & Hemamalini (2014): ―It is an agreed fact that language is learnt by speaking it first after a lot of listening to the sounds, words, phrases and sentences from the surroundings‖ No one knows exactly how one learns a new language until now Throughout history, however, many alternative ideas have been proposed Skinner, a behaviorist, wrote Verbal Behavior in the late 1950s, which featured a hypothesis that stated that one learns a language by positive or negative reinforcement (Skinner 1957) This cleared the path for a number of scholars to react to Skinner's language acquisition hypothesis (Harmer 1991: 33) Noam Chomsky, a linguist, published Review of Skinner's book Verbal Behavior, in which he explains his 'Cognitive Theory' (Chomsky, 1959) Language is taught, according to Chomsky, by learning the rules of the language system and progressively acquiring the ability to generate the language Chomsky was chastised by a number of sociolinguists for failing to include socio-cultural factors (Malmberg 1993: 72) In reaction to the criticism directed at Chomsky, sociolinguist Dell Hymes produced a paper that enlarged Chomsky's definition of "competence" and introduced a new concept known as

"communicative competence" (Hymes, 1968) In addition to knowing the forms and patterns of a language, Hymes (1968) argued that competency should incorporate the learner's understanding of how language is utilized in various social settings (Young 2005: 429) As a result, a language is required to communicate with individuals who reside all over the world Because English is considered an international language and is used all over the globe, it is useful for talking with individuals who reside in different parts of the world, including different areas, states, nations, and continents The evolution of spoken language acquisition from a historical viewpoint explored in this section The 'communicative classroom' defined using ideas that support the concept of 'communicative competence.'

There are two bases for communication: Oral communication and Written communication Oral communication is the verbal and visual transmission of information from one person to another It is affected by various factors including social, institutional, psychological, and linguistic factors Presentations, speeches, and dialogues are all examples of oral communication Oral communication can be accomplished in a variety of ways It's critical that the words are appropriately structured and delivered in the appropriate pitch and tone A successful oral communication method must have clarity, brevity, and accuracy To ensure that the information is adequately communicated, it is best to avoid convoluted language and jargons Establishing eye contact and modulating body language based on the message is critical A rigorous instruction, for example, might be transmitted more effectively with a formal and stern body language than with a relaxed and welcoming one

Speaking and listening are the two skills that are taught and learned in fast succession out of the four, according to Rao (2012), who quotes experts on skill development Speech is the finest introduction to other language acquisition abilities The instructor provides the language item in the class, and the students contextualize it Speaking is a natural approach for EFL learners to acquire a foreign language; speech is significant because it allows for the practical application of the language; speech promotes fluency, correction, and correctness among EFL learners; and speech allows the instructor to make efficient use of class time Language is primarily a spoken, rather than a written, phenomenon Before there was anything to read, people chatted and listened for a long time This is why it is believed that the development of writing was a recent occurrence in the lengthy history of humanity Speaking is an important communication skill Every teacher is always concerned about how the skill of speaking is taught in communication classrooms; what are the prevalent beliefs about the skill of speaking; what are the principles of learning and teaching speaking skills; the various activities and tasks associated with improving communication skills; and, finally, how to teach pronunciation to communication learners

The act of transmitting a message using written symbols is referred to as written communication In other terms, written communication refers to any message sent between two or more people using written language The appropriate word choice, proper sentence structure, and coherence of the sentences all contribute to the efficacy of written information Written information is seen as being more legitimate and lawful than spoken information Additionally, consumers depend more on written material than spoken communication However, unlike verbal communication, written communication does not immediately elicit a response since it takes time to develop into a comprehensible format However, written communication has a lot of drawbacks It takes a lot of time Writing a message requires a lot of time It takes time to write letters, type orders, notices, etc., and transmit them to the correct location Additionally, the feedback process takes time It is expensive not so much because of mail fees as it is because so many people are devoting so much time to it In contrast to spoken communication, it is not feasible to preserve strict confidentiality If anything is not clear in a written letter, there is no way to get it clarified right away Because it is written, it is less adaptable and more difficult to modify In an urgent situation, it is useless In this study, the researcher just mentioned about the Oral communication which is practical and used popularly in English-speaking classrooms

Communication skills are critical in today's society, and mastery of these abilities is required to achieve success in one's chosen career In order to communicate effectively in our global environment, speaking is the most critical of the four language skills Because English is widely spoken across the world, learners must master its communication abilities in order to succeed in their chosen industries As a result, the classroom is an excellent place to learn solid communication skills, particularly speaking abilities Teachers must comprehend the issues faced by ELLs (English language learners) and attempt to use various teaching tactics in their classrooms in order to improve their students' speaking abilities in English

When encouraging pupils to talk in class, teachers may run into a few speaking-related issues These include reluctance, a lack of relevant expertise, a lack of involvement, and the usage of mother tongue (Tuan & Mai, 2015) The first issue that pupils face in class is inhibition They may experience speech inhibition when they want to speak out in class They worry about making errors and are afraid of being judged They are embarrassed by how much the other pupils are focusing on them According to Littlewood (2007), a language-learning environment can also make pupils feel uneasy and inhibited The students' complaints that they can't think of anything to say and aren't motivated to express themselves is the next issue Rivers (1968) argues that students frequently have nothing to say because their lecturers chose a subject that is either inappropriate for them or about which they lack sufficient knowledge According to Baker and Westrup (2003), who also support the aforementioned notion, it is very challenging for students to respond when their teachers ask them to describe something in a foreign language because they have little guidance on what to say, which vocabulary to use, or how to correctly use grammar The low level of engagement in the speaking class is another issue

Each student in a large class will have very little opportunity to speak since only one person speaks at once while the others struggle to hear him or her Some students dominate the whole speaking class, whilst others speak infrequently or never at all Another significant issue with speaking skills is that when students have the same mother language, they attempt to utilize it in speaking class since it comes naturally to them (Tuan & Mai, 2015) There are a few reasons why students employ their home tongue in speaking sessions, according to Harmer (1991) The first reason is that students will attempt to use their language when professors ask them to speak on a subject about which they are unfamiliar The second reason is that using mother tongue comes extremely naturally to students Students will immediately utilize their native language to explain anything to their classmates if teachers do not encourage them to speak in English The fourth justification is that students will feel more at ease speaking in their native tongue in speaking class if professors consistently utilize it.

Factors affecting oral communication

Some psychological traits, such as anxiety, inhibition, and risk-taking, are linked to a fear of speaking English Anxiety might arise when learning a new language Extreme anxiety can sometimes lead to despondency and a sense of failure in students (Bashir, Azeem, & Dogar 2011) According to Woodrow (2006), anxiety has a deleterious impact on English speakers' oral performance Adults are extremely cautious about making mistakes in whatever they say Errors, they believe, demonstrate a lack of awareness, which might make it difficult for them to speak English in public Speaking anxiety may arise as a result of a classroom situation with language learners of varying abilities The students are sorted into two groups: those who are strong and those who are weak Strong learners frequently outnumber sluggish and inept students The weak learners normally do not like to speak in front of the strong ones, so they remain silent during the class activity Besides, teachers also play an essential role to help students feel at home in English-speaking classes

Communication skills are especially important for interactions with students since teaching itself necessitates them Teachers are responsible for understanding and breaking down complicated material, communicating it clearly to students, presenting it in a way that keeps their attention, and listening to and addressing any concerns or problems in teachers‘ job Teachers must also adapt content to different learning styles, inspire students to learn, establish supportive connections through encouragement and empathy, manage the classroom, and provide feedback in order to create a secure and helpful learning environment in English speaking classroom All of these factors necessitate effective communication

Effective communication depends on the vast amount of shared knowledge between various people, which is why context, also known as the communal condition of an environment, refers to a process that involves the evaluation of information that will have an effect on the probability of success regarding the communication process The process of the transmission's result, taking into account whether the message was comprehended by the recipient, must be understood in order for one to comprehend a unit of communication on a technical level One way to recognize applicable contextual settings is to observe how one's demeanor varies depending on whether they are at work or out with friends or family However, there are currently five distinct types of context (Louw and Cilliers, 2014) The researcher mentioned three main contexts that can affect to students‘ communication They are: Physical context; Social context and Cultural context

The phrase "physical context" is used to describe the overall ecological circumstances of a specific environment where communication takes place However, these places may take the shape of offices, public parks, restaurants, and classrooms (Louw and Cilliers, 2014) Physical context entails analyzing how different geographical areas, as well as temperature and weather, impact the context of communications during communication Learning what kinds of statements are appropriate in particular ecological situations is crucial for developing successful communication skills However, the physical context helps students recognize which messages are suitable in certain settings An illustration of this would be if a students have an interview activity with his/her partner This would undoubtedly affect how the two students shared information about how bad the situation was with each other

The overall setting or conditions in which the social framework of interpersonal and individual behavior occurs are referred to as the social context, on the other hand Additionally, the social context describes a studetnt's disposition with reference to their interactions with other individuals The status relationships that different students have with one another are an essential aspect of the social setting Due to this reality, the social context dictates that learners typically alter their communication styles in accordance with the declared status of the person they are speaking with Additionally, the "social context" hypothesis has a social psychology bent that is employed to detect instances of socialization inside the predetermined living environment in addition to societal institutions (Earle n.d, p.3)

It is crucial that individuals ask themselves the question, "What is culture?" in order to comprehend what the cultural context entails with relation to how it impacts communication between students The set of values, attitudes, ideas, and worldviews that are ingrained in our fundamental principles is referred to as culture These qualities affect how we think and how we see the outside environment Additionally, "culture" has an impact on students‘ communication styles as well as our individual preferences in terms of requirements, wants, and desires However, it is because of this all- encompassing reality that misunderstanding happens so frequently in both social and classroom settings

2.2.3 Teacher’s and Learner’s attitudes toward English Speaking

Willingness to communicate was initially thought of in terms of communication in a speaker's native tongue "The heterogeneity in talking behavior rooted in a personality trait," McCroskey and Baer (1985) defined readiness to speak The situational context is one of the most important aspects that influences whether or not a person is willing to speak with another individual For example, a person's emotional condition during the contact, schedule restrictions, the perspective of the other speaker, and a variety of other environmental circumstances may all influence a person's readiness to communicate Willingness to communicate does, however, constitute a single, cohesive feature since people are likely to show comparable patterns of willingness to communicate in a variety of contexts Except for students who are already confident or good at communicating in English, many other students are often afraid to use English in communication English class Although knowing the important of the communication English class and teacher apply many interesting tasks in the classroom, many students – especially from university do not really take part in the speaking activities This issue comes from their not willingness to communicate, there are a lot of fear with these students Some of them just refuse to have conversation in the second language verbally They are frequently hesitant to communicate in English because they are self-conscious and embarrassed about it They are quite sensitive, and they are afraid that classmate would make fun of them when they utter words in English They are also frightened of making grammatical mistakes As a result, they refuse to communicate in English, and their attitude toward learning a second language gradually worsen

Teachers may do this in the classroom by implementing intrinsically motivated activities that encourage students to fully engage and actively participate in the learning process Deci and Ryan (1985) suggested that, in order to boost intrinsic motivation, the learning environment should encourage students to solve optimum difficulties on their own They think that in order for students to be intrinsically driven and hence more likely to succeed, learning settings should meet their three psychological requirements for competence, and relatedness Teachers have to include some group and pair activities in their normal English classes so that ELLs can greatly improve their speaking abilities According to Brown and Yule (1983)

"Speaking is the talent that the students will be assessed on the most in real- world circumstances,‖ Regardless of its importance, teaching speaking skills has been underestimated, and most EFL/ESL teachers continue to teach speaking skills in the same way they teach memorization of dialogues or drill repetition

Teacher plays an important role to help students enhance confidence and get rid of their shyness Since teacher who react when learners answer questions or do the task, will take the responsibility for making students‘ willingness to communicate around 50% As a result, kids will achieve greater academic gains According to studies, students' performance is closely connected to dynamic, engaging educational environments created by capable teachers (Mashburn et al., 2008) Furthermore, how teachers interact with students may have a beneficial impact on their attitudes toward school, their position in the classroom, themselves and their skills, and their drive to achieve (Dobbs & Arnold, 2009) This, however, works both ways: weak communication skills – and consequently bad teaching techniques – lead students' understanding levels to decline, thus damaging their academic development It might also lead to a lack of desire, a dislike of education, and a belief that they are unable to succeed This might have long-term effects for them Without a question, excellent teaching entails the capacity to develop connections; it entails caring for and supporting our pupils rather than simply imparting knowledge The focus of this thesis will be on the relationship between professors and students in the classroom, namely the interaction between the two Looking at the value of having a supportive teacher in the classroom since it may help to establish a safe environment, as well as how building relationships with students can allow them to better orient themselves and increase their learning.

Factors fostering communication in English classrooms

Learners can utilize the target language in a communicative style for meaningful activities (paying weight to communications generated or tasks performed) rather than form (language accuracy and structure) It will enable pupils to obtain what they want and desire for usage in real-world scenarios

As a result, any activity in which a person addresses an audience orally qualifies as an interactive activity Effective English classroom communication should not be overlooked; it may have an impact on students' academic achievement, feelings of self-worth, school attitudes, and even teacher‘s own career According to Jinping (2005) ―A teacher should make great effort to be more sensitive to students‘ needs, feelings, have a non- mental and positive regard to each student, and understand them as complex human being with both virtues and faults‖ Using communication methods might help teacher becomes a more effective teacher who is better able to fulfill the requirements of students For a number of reasons, adult English language learners of all skill levels, including literacy and beginning level learners, must speak and comprehend spoken English Learners of all levels of competence can communicate, and they love being pushed and encouraged to improve their abilities They engage in interactive, communicative activities in all areas of the class, including icebreakers, needs assessments, and goal-setting, as well as life skills, phonics, and spelling This is especially true in classrooms with a strong community that encourages students to use natural language

Dramatic activities, also known as creative play activities, drama tactics, and dramatic activities, have been employed in language instruction under a variety of titles However, the integration of multiple activities employing mime, role-playing, improvisation, simulation, language games, story-telling, and dramatization is a sub feature of drama activities (Praputkit, 1983) Dramatic exercises, according to Maley and Duff (2001), give learners with the chance to employ their personal personalities in speaking skills; they can role-play using gestures, facial expression, imagination, recollections, and possibly prior experience to portray the parts provided Furthermore, Davies (1990) stated that dramatic activities, if used properly by teachers, will aid in the development of individuals' communication skills, even if the dramatic activities are just role plays Students respond physically to the teacher's directions, displaying their understanding Some instructions need the use of large-motor abilities, whilst others necessitate interaction Teacher should apply: Survey (students report on the result that they achieve); Information Gap (to get the information, students have to ask their friends, then they produce the language); Role Play (students practice with the dialogue that was prepared already, then they do it again with their own language and understanding); Story Telling (teacher can give some vocabulary and students have to make it into a sentence then the next one continue to make these sentences into a story.); Games (there are many games that can apply in communication class that can motivate students and surround students‘ interest)

Teamwork and group discussions help to create a more welcoming climate in the classroom Previous studies have stated that ―group work plays an important role in students‘ integration into the university environment and develops their communication skills‖ (Hassanien, 2006; Popov et al., 2012) Students may more readily express their thoughts and develop their communication skills by working in small groups These exercises also allow children a chance to ask questions of the teacher and receive feedback on their work, resulting in improved communication in front of the class, a better comprehension of the lesson, and academic advantages Many researchers have found that group work is quite helpful with second language learners since it allows for more interaction and helps pupils improve their oral language skills Nunan (1991) also believes that learners will be more successful in learning a foreign language if they are actively involved in seeking to communicate in groups Similarly, according to Brown (1994), group work fosters communication by relieving students of the worry of having to speak in front of the entire class Furthermore, it is a great strategy for promoting active learning and giving possibilities for all students at the same time It also assists students in completing tasks without the direct and immediate supervision of an instructor

As the members of the group engage with, challenge, push, and stretch each other and their leader, certain components are tempered and modulated, others are bolstered, a new one is created, and some are tossed aside In the end, they support all of the group's members The group's inner psychic battle, as played out via its members' interactions, advances toward resolution of opposing sentiments, just as the individual's inner psychic struggle must reconcile conflicting feelings before psychic health can be realized As a result, the group as a whole start at a low level and progresses to a higher one, increasing its odds of surviving and enhancing the quality of that survival The analogy between the person and the group aids in understanding the movement dynamic we refer to as "group process." The process is the group's psychological energy, the force of interaction, the latent dynamic that lies behind the evident content, the group's unconscious Any group worker can attest to the fact that that energy is a force to be reckoned with Many workers have been challenged and horrified by the power of an individual's unconscious desires, but imagine that force magnified six to ten times Any group leader has experienced it as if they were riding a tiger, unable to keep on and fearful of falling off

Peer engagement can help with acquisition by encouraging learner production, feedback, and form awareness Learners' knowledge of form during peer contact in role-playing and debate activities, for example, might have a positive or negative influence on their involvement The task as well as social concerns influence students' propensity to respond to challenges with language form during peer task-based engagement According to Roger T Johnson, David W Johnson (1985): ―Cooperative learning is a powerful instructional technique that prospective teachers must learn in order to appropriately foster the interpersonal and academic growth of students‖

Positive student-student interactions can also increase perceptions of safety and motivate students to participate in class (Baker, Grant, and Morlock 2008) Students who have stronger relationships with their classmates are more likely to feel secure and believe that their ideas are valued, making them more eager to engage and express themselves As a result, it is thought that students who have excellent connections with their classmates are more likely to participate in class debates and dialogues, increasing chances to promote social involvement Student-student interactions can differ from teacher-student relationships in many ways Positive student-student interactions, for example, may not always promote an open environment and can be distracting and less exciting in the classroom Beside, creating an open atmosphere becomes more difficult without these strong relationships with fellow students, which are supposed to promote safety in class and the willingness and incentive to participate in conversations

Supportive relationships between students and teachers have been found to improve class engagement, participation, and achievement When students are encouraged, they are more comfortable expressing their own opinions and ideas in class discussions, taking on challenges, and asking for help when they need it Communication is used to create a supportive learning environment: teachers should get to know their students well and show them that they are neither judged or humiliated in the communication classroom Always being a good listener for students to come and talk to the instructor about any difficulties they are having, and always be empathic and kind while interacting with them Hargreaves (1994) stated: ―Good teaching is charged with positive emotion It is not just a matter of knowing one‘s subject, being efficient, having correct competencies, or learning all the right techniques Good teachers are not just well oiled machines They are emotional, passionate beings who connect with their students and fill their work and classes with pleasure, creativity, challenge and joy.‖

Teachers can also participate in conversations as L2 learners' peers, rather than as teachers The teacher normally assigns pupils to conduct a speaking task and only intervenes when necessary to provide feedback or fix faults Teachers can use this role to understand the problems students have during speaking exercises When assigning a work to students, teachers might perform the activity themselves in order to foresee obstacles that the students may have and better provide them with techniques for the assignment The instructor can ensure that pupils participate and are involved in the task as a participant On the other hand, he or she should not be the center of attention According to Harmer, the next position is that of a "feedback supplier." After the speaking exercise, the teachers provide comments Overcorrection can demotivate pupils' motivation to speak, thus teachers should be cautious while providing comments However, positive answers may encourage pupils to do oral activities with self-assurance, which will increase their speaking abilities

Real classroom interaction necessitates a teacher's ability to facilitate students while remaining in the background; to closely monitor students; to give students complete authority in developing and carrying out activities; and to accept all types of opinions and be tolerant of errors made by students while attempting to communicate At the same time, instructors should not be scared or hesitant to engage in potentially chaotic and unworkable interactive activities Teachers must organize, offer security, inspire, instruct, model, lead, inform, give feedback, encourage, and assess language learners, according to Brown (1994) Students must also have a strong personal drive to learn the target language, as well as confidence, a good attitude, the willingness to express oneself even when they don't know how to do so effectively, and the willingness to make errors and learn from them Teachers and students collaborate to construct intellectual and practical activities that shape and improve their knowledge of the target language, as well as the processes and effects of individual growth, via their interactions with one another

The physical and social characteristics of a classroom generated and encouraged by the instructor are characterized by Wu, Tennyson, and Hsia (2010) Many elements impact student learning in terms of behavior and performance, and the classroom environment is one of them Peng (2015) looked at university freshmen in China to see what the most important aspects of the classroom setting were, and came to the conclusion that English lessons should be a motivating atmosphere with books and instructional techniques

When studying a second language, the physical aspects of the classroom setting can have a beneficial or negative impact on a student's motivation (Harmer 1993) As previously said, a teacher must establish a pleasant environment in which classroom dialogue may occur while also providing opportunities for pupils to grow their confidence According to Segrist & Hupp (2015) ―Humor has been shown to improve learning, self-motivation, and positive connections between students and instructors when used in the classroom‖ It enables you to build connection with your students and keep them engaged in the session Students then find that teacher is really friendly and they will not be shy to participate in the speaking lesson Teacher may tell jokes or humorous tales, provide lighthearted personal experiences, or laugh at students' jokes However, teachers should avoid using negative humor, such as demeaning or embarrassing pupils, as well as humor that is unrelated to the subject, unpleasant, aggressive, sexual, or forced Only apply comedy that has gained positive feedback from students When students participate, teachers should utilize smiles, nods, and thumbs up to encourage them Moving around the classroom while teaching can assist to break down barriers between the teacher and the students

Akdemir, Barin, and Demiroz (2012) conducted research with university students taking speaking classes and discovered evidence that real materials are the best way to teach speaking When planning speaking exercises, teachers should consider the age and level of the students, according to Sim and Pop (2016), since this may impact student motivation and satisfaction Moradi and Talebi (2014) looked into speaking courses and university students, concluding that instructors' choice of relevant assignments to engage students in successful classroom communication provided an engaging atmosphere Teachers should use a variety of group work activities to encourage students to interact in the classroom Yurt and

Aktas (2016), for example, found that peer coaching in English speaking classes improves students' speaking efficacy while also increasing their satisfaction In addition, Espinel and Canara (2010) discovered that when students participate in cooperative learning, they are affected by one another, resulting in the development of verbal social relationships Teachers' primary responsibility is to establish a learning environment in which students not only study language components and apply what they've learned, but also have as much exposure to the target language as possible so that they can use it naturally and fluently Teachers should be encouraged to use their energy, expertise, and passion to reach this level of excellence As a result, instructors should take on a variety of tasks depending on the students' abilities and requirements Teachers in the ELT profession serve as assessors, organizers, facilitators, prompters, motivators, participants, monitors, feedback providers, models, and so on

Short instruction can help students quickly understand what they need to do and feel confidence with what they do It also help in class activities, Sagotsky,Wood Schneidler, and Konop (1981) emphasized that ―direct instruction can improve cooperation among children when engaged in maladaptive competition in a game situation‖ As a result, the instructor must constantly be precise and unequivocal Use proper scaffolding when asking kids questions to ensure that they comprehend exactly what you're asking Therefore, good communication between teachers and students is important

Speaking activities developing communication in English classrooms 29 1 Role-play

Students are concerned about making errors, are afraid of being judged, or are plain bashful Students are unable to express themselves because they lack drive Due to huge courses and the tendency of certain students to dominate while others say very little or not at all, only one participant can speak at a time Learners who share the same mother language are more likely to utilize it since it is simpler and they feel less exposed if they do Therefore, the researcher believe that curriculum for teaching speaking skills should aim to expose students to real-world situations where they may practice speaking English and encourage active student participation in the class Learner-centered classroom activities such as group discussions, speeches, storytelling, theater, debates, poetry recitation, songs, and tongue twisters are proposed as possible solutions to the problem of poor oral skills These classroom exercises increase active involvement, encourage students, and introduce them to real-world applications of the English language

Speaking abilities can be developed by repetition of rhymes, look-and- say activities, oral composition, pronunciation drills, reading aloud, open- ended storytelling, narration, and description of festivals, festivities, and events (Jyothsna&Rao 2009) Additionally, Kumari (2014) claims that a range of task-based activities and tasks may be employed to improve speaking abilities In this study, the researcher focused on seven main speaking activities which were applied widely at university These activities include: Role-play; Group work; Pair work; Interviews/ Talk shows; Games; Debate; Storytelling

Role playing is a common strategy used in classrooms to improve speaking abilities There are three different kinds of role plays: clue-based, fully guided, and free Students can act out a scene or take on a character's role during role-playing activities Students can take on these parts individually, in couples, or in groups to act out a more complicated situation Students participate in role plays that put them in "stressful, unfamiliar, difficult, or contentious" real-world events or scenarios, forcing them to consider their own attitudes toward other people and their circumstances (Bonwell & Eison, 1991, p.47) Compared to lectures and non-context specific book learning, role playing allows students to learn in new (and alternative) ways Students can improve their speaking abilities from a range of learning circumstances by using role plays under the leadership of well- defined objectives and instructions

Students can learn a variety of skills through group projects that are becoming more and more crucial in the working world (Caruso & Woolley, 2008; Mannix & Neale, 2005) Positive group experiences have also been demonstrated to improve student learning, retention, and overall performance in college (Astin, 1997; Tinto, 1998; National Survey of Student Engagement, 2006) There might be a lot of discussion when we solicit perspectives on contentious issues or circumstances The students may be split up into groups that talk and express their viewpoints Students can express their views in a variety of ways and develop stronger communication skills here

Pair work is when students collaborate in groups of two Increased possibilities for students to use English in class is one of the key reasons to promote pair work in the English language classroom By employing action research strategies, such as asking the students how they feel about working in pairs or actually engaging in a pair activity and analyzing this experience afterward, teachers may assess the impact and efficacy of pair work on their students

Fabelia (2017) defines an interview as a communication process that involves asking questions and receiving responses Because it may encourage the brain to think, an effective interview is employed in the learning of speaking Interviewers provide questions, interviewees listen, and they then give answers to the questions Each person receives the message and then examines it to compare it to their knowledge Communication may become more engaging and important as a result This is another intriguing function- based interviewing strategy, in which the interviewer or surveyor tries to learn about the test, preferences, attitudes, knowledge, etc of the subject

Even when taking an online English speaking course, games may be quite helpful while learning a language When students are engaged, they comprehend more Games may contribute to a more successful teaching- learning process if they are appropriately developed These activities may be entertaining while learning English and provide a useful context for language use Games provide a space where students may express themselves freely and practice utilizing new phrases Numerous studies have shown that engaging in such activities may be a useful approach to improve interpersonal connections, communication skills, and self-confidence Games encourage teamwork and are very motivating

Language games are one of the most crucial components of an efficient language teaching strategy Donn Byrne, a well-known author, has stressed the significance of English language games In addition to giving the lecture routine a much-needed break, he emphasizes that games are an essential component of learning Language games are enjoyable and entertaining, according to Jane Ellis, who writes about them in her book "Teaching English

- A Course in Classroom Language and Teaching."

All four English language skills are practiced when debating is employed in EFL lessons Additionally, debaters must be proficient in word stress, vocabulary, brainstorming, script writing, logic construction, argumentation, and rebuttal Since practicing English debate needs a variety of abilities, it is inevitable that they will learn English (Alasmari, Ahmed

2013, p 148) That is why debate could help foster speaking skills There might be a lot of discussion when we solicit perspectives on contentious issues or circumstances The students may be split up into groups that talk and express their viewpoints Students can express their views in a variety of ways here Fluency, pronunciation, and vocabulary will all be improved with regular debate practice Teachers will give feedback on pronunciation, word choice, information relevance, grammatical structure, logic development, and content coherence

The first method of instruction was through storytelling Depending on the pupils' situation and proper age, many intriguing storytelling techniques are applied Using storytelling in English classes is one of the best exercises for encouraging pupils to learn the language Additionally, listening to stories might give students more confidence in their ability to express themselves freely and artistically The fundamental component of oral and written language understanding, language expression, and critical thinking is the act of linking words and thought to picture reading and listening comprehension, linguistic fluency, and vocabulary, all of which have improved

Previous studies on the factors fostering speaking skills

This section reviews various research that are relevant to the elements that improve speaking ability The relationship between speaking performance, self-confidence, and anxiety among second language learners was examined by Park and Lee (2005) Participants in this study were 132 Korean students The findings of this study demonstrated a negative correlation between students' levels of anxiousness and their oral performance Boonkit (2010) conducted research on the variables influencing how well learners' speaking abilities grow The findings indicated that a useful tactic to lessen speakers' nervousness is the use of suitable speaking- skills exercises The findings also showed that the freedom of topic selection encouraged participants to feel at ease, encouraged them to speak English, and boosted EFL learners' speaking confidence Based on motivational orientations, Ali Dincer and Savas Yesilyurt (2013) conducted research on instructors' perceptions of speaking abilities The findings of their study suggested that instructors' attitudes about speaking teaching were unfavorable despite their belief in its importance for speaking abilities The findings also showed that despite having different motivational inclinations toward speaking English, the teachers felt unqualified in oral communication According to the researchers, learners' perspectives on the value of speaking abilities in the English language varies, and this variation is connected to the learners' motivational orientations and their perceptions of their speaking abilities as competent or incompetent The findings showed that learners' assessments of their own speaking abilities were unfavorable and that they perceived themselves as poor English speakers Only a few of them said they were in a good position to participate in speaking responsibilities

Tanveer (2007) looked at the elements that affect speaking capacity learning anxiety in learners and how it affects communication in the target language The findings showed that learning and performance capacities are hampered by learners' feelings of stress and worry The researcher noted that the students' speaking performance is negatively impacted by their significant nervousness Bozorgian (2012) looked at the connection between listening ability and other linguistic abilities The findings showed a strong relationship between linguistic ability and listening comprehension In other words, the speaking score improves as the listening score increases Lukitasari (2003) conducted research on how learners might overcome their speaking difficulties According to the study's findings, students in speaking classes frequently struggle with speaking issues such hesitation, a lack of something to say, poor involvement, and the usage of their mother language The study's other findings show that students' speaking abilities did not improve since they did not master the three speaking-related skills of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation

There were number of studies which have researched about teaching speaking skills; however, I found that some of those thesis just focus on the young students or many other aspect of speaking, most of them forget that there are also many problems with university students in learning oral skills

In contrast, I also agree with the statement of the study which I based on According to Jennifer J Chen (2011) ―Communicating effectively is a significant social skill that contributes to young children's school readiness, social adjustment, and academic success‖ This statement not only true with kids but also with older students or even adults After graduating at university, students will open a new gate in their life, they have to be independent and do everything by their own skills Therefore, at this time English communication is not just a subject anymore English now is a language that is needed in any occupation and oral skills now is a tool that helps student success in their work and in social as well As the result, it is essential to instruct and motivate students at tertiary level to express their ideas, their feeling or just simply what they want to talk about in classroom.

METHODOLOGY

Research design

In order to garner sufficient data for the research questions, the current study was grounded in the mixed method design, which is ―the combination of at least one qualitative and at least one quantitative component in a single research project or program‖ (Bergman, 2008, p 1) According to Creswell (2012), the underlying assumption inspiring mixed methods research is that

―the uses of both quantitative and qualitative methods, in combination, provide a better understanding of the research problem and question than either method by itself‖ (p 535) Therefore, to help everyone comprehend how this study was carried out, it is important to select the most appropriate design for achieving the aims of the study Therefore, the researcher concentrated on mix – method design, in which quantitative and qualitative analyzes were used to discover factors fostering communication in English classrooms at tertiary level Regarding finding out factors fostering communication in English classrooms at tertiary level both of two research techniques: quantitative and qualitative were needed to analyze data in this thesis

The quantitative analysis approaches were applied to reveal what factors can foster students in EFL classrooms at tertiary level through a questionnaires survey which was represented by Likert Scale, which means that this quantitative method was used for answering the first research question Besides, the factors involving the active participation of students were also discovered through the first and second questions of the semi- structured interviews Moreover, the second research question was answered by using qualitative method which contained the class observation and also through the interview‘s last question The qualitative technique was used to find out what speaking activities enhance students‘ participation in English- speaking classes Through the questionnaires, observation and interviews of second-year English major students at Quy Nhon University, the researcher can examine closely the students‘ and teachers‘ perceptions of both factors and the teaching activities fostering communication.

The research setting and participants

This study was conducted with second-year English major students at Quy Nhon University in Binh Dinh Province The participants of the study were 120 second-year English major students in 3 English-speaking classes The number of male students is 11, accounting for 9.2% By contrast, 109 is the number of female student, which is approximate 90.8% They were about

20 years old students The samples are at the same level in English, they are studying Foreign Department, so they have quite good knowledge of English to be able to understand the verbal instruction There was also the participation of eight teachers who teach Speaking classes The majority of students share the same background as they come from the central parts of Vietnam Most of the teachers of these classes had training for teaching profession in general and particularly for tertiary level The academic staff at this faculty is qualified and well trained All of them have fulfilled their Master degree in English Teaching Methodology and English Linguistics They are open-minded, enthusiastic and creative in their teaching practice

According to the university curriculum officially designed for English majors, there are five speaking courses that students have to complete to acquire good speaking skill To be more detailed, the course ―Speaking 1‖ aims to help students manage simple conversations on familiar and routine matters such as Hometowns; Jobs; Studies; Hobbies, etc After that, they attend the course ―Speaking 2‖ which is expected to enhance students‘ ability to communicate effectively topics for A1-B2 level In ―Speaking 3‖, students are equipped with necessary vocabulary, knowledge and skills to deal with real-life communication situations effectively and fluently In order to further enhance their speaking skill, students are then required to attend ―Speaking 4‖, which provides them with phonetics, essential grammars and vocabulary to discuss about requested topics of different aspects in our life such as Education; Environment; Technology; etc After they had finished those four courses of speaking, students would attend the course ―Speaking 5‖ This course seeks to equip students with vocabulary, structures and ideas to present their point of view or debate with others about topical and controversial topics Moreover, at the end of the course, students will know how to organize their ideas in a way that is more convincing

The current study was conducted in the first semester of the school year 2021-2022 with the focus put on the course ―Speaking 2‖ This course is suitable for the study of the researcher since the time students have learnt is accordance with the time the observation took place Due to the Covid-19 the researcher carried out the observation with 21 online lesson in 3 speaking classes at Quy Nhon University The procedure of collecting the data lasted for approximately a month.

Research Instruments

In this study, the data was gathered using three instruments The three instruments used to achieve the aims of the study came through the Observation; Questionnaire survey and Interviews While class observation and interviews were utilized to get qualitative data, a questionnaire was employed to collect quantitative data

The researcher attempted to discover factors fostering communication in English classrooms; therefore, classroom observation seemed to be an effective tool for data collection Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2007), emphasize that ―observational data are attractive as they afford the researcher the opportunity to gather ―live data‖ from ―live situations‖ (p.305) As suggested by Mackey and Gass (2005), observations are useful for collecting large amounts of rich data on the participants‘ behavior and actions within a specific setting Moreover, with the use of ―over time and repeated observation, the researcher can gain a deeper and more multilayered understanding of participants and their content‖ (Mackey & Gass, 2005, p.176) In other words, classroom observation enables the researcher to gain thorough understanding into how the participants engaged in the classroom by providing direct evidence of the eye to witness events first hand

The seven class observations were carried out online because of the Covid-19, the researcher used digital devices to record the observation In this study, classroom observation was carried out to discover speaking activities that can enhance students‘ communication As mentioned earlier, there are many teaching activities used in English-speaking classes; however, the researcher just observed seven speaking activities that were applied widely in teaching They are Role-play; Group work; Pair work; Games; Interview/ Talk show; Debate and Storytelling Those activities were put in a Check list and the researcher commented on the activity that was used during the observation The classroom observation Check list helps the researcher examine how many times these seven activities were used in communication classes and how effectively they were performed, which means these speaking activities have an essential impact on fostering communication

Brown (2001) defines questionnaires as ―any written instruments that present respondents with a series or statements to which they are to react either by writing out their answers or selecting from among existing answers‖ (p.6) The researcher utilized questionnaires as one of her fundamental instruments to accomplish the research due to its usefulness Mackey and Grass (2005) suggest that one of the most popular ways to get information regarding attitudes, beliefs and opinions from a big number of participants is through questionnaire surveys It has been used to investigate various lines of inquiry in L2 research

This section consists of 20 questions that are based on a five-point Likert type scale (1 = Strongly Disagree; 2 = Disagree; 3 = Neutral; 4 Agree; 5 = Strongly Agree) This scale was created for this study to determine what elements encourage conversation in English classrooms There were two version of questionnaires survey: Students‘ questionnaires and Teachers‘ questionnaires The two questionnaire surveys which contained twenty items for each version The 20 items in the questionnaire were divided into 8 groups of 8 factors The questionnaires were intended to obtain factors fostering communication in English classroom and some reasons that teachers think that make students involved in the lesson The two questionnaire versions both consisted of two parts The first part revealed the participants‘ demographic background information The second part was a twenty questionnaire-item which are statements about eight factors that were mentioned in this study: Teaching activities (3 items); Team work (2 items); Students – Students‘ interaction (3 items); Supportive relationship (2 items); Classroom environment (4 items); Task instruction (1 item); Feedback (2 items) and Intrinsic motivation (3 items),

To evaluate the code's dependability, the researcher computes the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for internal consistency reliability The degree to which components on an instrument are consistent with one another and with the entire instrument is referred to as internal consistency reliability In other words, Cronbach's alpha analyzes and codes the data to determine how each item in the instrument relates to each other and to the entire instrument in order to assess the internal consistency reliability of the instrument (Gay, Mills, & Airasian, 2006) After analyzing their responses with an SPSS statistics program, the Cronbach‘s alpha was found the results of Students‘ and Teachers‘ questionnaires in the tables below:

Table 3.1 The Reliability of Students‘ questionnaire

Table 3.2 The Reliability of Teachers‘ questionnaire

According to Nully as cited in Weda (2017), reliability and validity of the questionnaire are reliable and valid if Cronbach‘s Alpha > 0.60 The measurement used to measure reliability and validity measures of Students‘ questionnaires and Teachers‘ questionnaires with alpha method in this study was obtained Cronbach‘s Alpha 764 and 799 where these value are bigger than 0.60 This means that the questionnaire in all items is reliable and valid

Apart from questionnaires, semi-structured interviews were also exploited as a data collection instrument for obtaining further information on the issues of the study Mackey and Grass (2005) indicate that interviews can

―investigate phenomena that are not directly observable, such as learners' self- reported perception or attitudes‖ and ―elicit additional data if initial answers are vague, incomplete, off-topic or not specific enough‖ (Mackey & Gass,

2005, p.176) In addition, the combination of the questionnaire and interview permits a degree of triangulation in the study (Richards & Schmidt, 2002) For that reason, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews so as to grasp more detailed and comprehensive information about students‘ feelings, thoughts or opinions that may be undetected with the quantitative method

To encourage accurate recall, stimulated recall interviews were immediately deployed after observing each class The interview was conducted with six randomly selected second-year English major students and three English-speaking teachers held at the end after the observation and the questionnaire survey There were three questions for students and teachers All the participants listened to the questions in both L1 and L2 The participants could share the ideas by English or their mother tongue The participants were asked to describe their learning/teaching experiences and evaluate students‘ communications in English-speaking classrooms, some activities which foster communication The interviews were conducted by the present researcher, digitally audio-recorded and were transcribed into English in this study

The interviews started with general probing questions about their feelings of the class observed and their perceptions about their participation in class The purposes of interviews are to discover what factors and what speaking activities that can foster communication in English-speaking classes through teachers‘ and students‘ perception The interview took about ten minutes in length for each participant with three questions Especially, teachers and students shared their ideas about what activities that foster communication in English-speaking classrooms through the interview The interview questions helped to deeper understand the attitude and opinions of the learners and teachers.

Procedures for data collection

This section is divided into three parts The first one presented the process of the observation and the second one describing questionnaires survey Both of these parts included a justification of the method, recruitment of participants and the recording process The third part presented the interview that were taken into consideration while conducting the data collection and data analysis were conducted

First, the researcher asked for the permission of the head of the Department of Foreign Languages in Quy Nhon University Then the researcher received the agreement of the instructors of the English-speaking classes The researcher introduced herself in front of the class The researcher prepared a Check list during the observation In the context of this study, there were 120 students and 3 English-speaking teachers who joined in the classroom observation To have a clearer picture of factors fostering communication in English classroom, 21 speaking lessons in three English- speaking classes were observed and each class was observed three hours per day and this procedure lasted around a month Due to Covid-19, the classroom observations were conducted online by using Google meet and Zoom The participants involved themselves in classroom interaction, by wearing clip-on microphones attached to individual digital recorders The learning materials were given to participants in class by the screen share on Google meet or Zoom, including handouts which were sent in the group text box and course materials, were also collected with the time and manner of their use having been contained in the field notes The observer also took notes and recorded to get the data

Data from the questionnaire were collected from Quy Nhon University second-year English major students The researcher made contact with the university's head of the Department of Foreign Languages as the initial stage in the data gathering process, outlining the nature and goals of the study The investigation was permitted to be carried out After the students ended their lesson, the researcher gave them the form of questionnaire and asked them to finish it, which took around twenty minutes After the questionnaires were ready and the permission to collect the data was given by English Speaking teachers, the writer conducted the data after the observation of English speaking classes, so it did not bother the learning process Both English and Vietnamese were used to write the questionnaire The participants were surveyed on their opinions of the elements promoting communication in EFL classes The questionnaires for the students were adapted from the willingness to communicate interview questions of Cao and Philip (2006) The students were asked about factors that make them participate in English while being engaged in different classroom tasks The teachers were asked to evaluate factors fostering their students‘ engagement in English in the classroom based on their experience

After receiving permission from the university's head of the department of foreign languages to carry out the research, the steps for data collecting for the qualitative component got underway Individual interview participation was voluntarily undertaken At the interview, the researcher prepared three questions for the three English-speaking teachers and three questions for six students who were picked randomly in three English-speaking classes Students‘ ideas and teachers‘ view about speaking activities enhance students‘ communication in English classroom were recorded The researcher made an effort to retain the position of an engaged listener throughout the interviews by engaging in conversation with the participants rather than inserting personal tales about the researcher's experiences with evaluation The interviews had a conversational feel to them, letting the interviewee freely answer and share his or her opinions and understanding of a certain incident The average time of each individual interview was 15 minutes The teacher informants were encouraged to consider the reasons for conducting speaking activities in the various classroom tasks that they had frequently used The data was mainly obtained qualitatively through the interviews of the participation of students and also the teacher who took the role of the facilitator with some teaching activities and as well as factors enhancing communication.

Procedures for data analysis

In terms of the questionnaire survey, the quantitative analysis was employed to find out the statistical result of the questionnaire The Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 26 was taken advantage to quantitatively analyses the questionnaire because its purpose was to statistic and measure the mean and the frequency of each variable analyzed

Descriptive statistics was used to investigate how teachers and students perceive the factors fostering the communication ability by the mean score of each construct and each item in each construct The mean values were interpreted as follows (Srakang & Jansem, 1998):

This study was analyzed using content analysis approach (Zacharias, 2012) Triangulation was employed to compare the participants‘ actively participation as observed in class, with their reported factors in interviews and questionnaire Qualitative data collected from the interviews and observation checklists were inductively analyzed using content analysis (Guba & Lincoln, 1994).

Ethical considerations

In every step, this research is ensured to be legal and ethic Prior to the conduction of this study, the researcher got advice and permission the Foreign Language Department at Quy Nhon University The EFL teachers and students took part in this research voluntarily That meant they had their own freedom to withdraw from the research whenever they wanted Students did not need to be afraid that their marks in class would be influenced when they stopped participating in this project Issue of confidentiality was also guaranteed The information gathered during this study was recorded in such a manner to ensure confidentiality of the subjects The researcher did not use participant‘ information for any purposes outside of this project All the information was anonymous For data collection and analysis, data were recorded, coded, and reported without any manipulation or bias.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Factors fostering communication in English classrooms from Teachers‘ and Students‘ perspectives

Table 4.1 Students‘ perception of Teaching activities

No Statements N Min Max Means Std

1 Funny and motivating activities help me improve my speaking skills

2 The activities are related to the topic and vocabulary of the new lesson, which helps me remember quickly

3 Participating in class activities helps develop fluency

As can be seen from table 4.1, the three items related to activities used in speaking class are highly perceived by students as important parts helping them enhance their speaking; More specifically, students are aware of the essential part of participating in class activities (item 3) (M = 4.31; SD 606) They strongly agreed in the relatedness of the activities and the topic or the vocabulary in helping them remember the lesson quickly (item 2) (M 4.23; SD = 616) Furthermore, many of them stated that their speaking skills can be improved through funny and motivating activities (item 1) (M = 4.25;

The results from the interview also confirmed that using activities in English classrooms develop their speaking performance by all the interviewed participants Six students expressed their attitude toward the activities which help them practice English more in communication English classrooms and stated the reasons for their ideas

S1 thought creating activities in speaking class brought her the environment to speak more S1 said: ―…… My classmates and I like playing games during the lesson.‖

S2, S3 and S4 also showed their high agreement They gave the similar reasons They believed that games or some tasks from speaking activities gave them more chance to practice speaking and they even felt extremely comfortable thanks to these activities

S5 expressed that activities give her particular context which helps her communicate more easily She said:“… Activities give students context to speak……it is easier to communicate."

Student 6 could practice English more with his partners or his classmate naturally through speaking activities

In short, activities in English-speaking classrooms bring students a comfortable atmosphere which is easy for them to express their ideas or what they want to talk about Especially, through activities students can learn the vocabulary better

Table 4.2 Students‘ perception of Team work

No Statements N Min Max Means Std

4 Group work is the best way to enhance my speaking skills

5 I found it is easy to have conversations in class discussions

According to table 4.2, the students positively agreed that ―Team work‖ helps them in learning speaking in English classroom The majority of students agreed that in the group work of the class discussion, they can make the conversation easily (item 5) (M = 4.21; SD = 699) Moreover, they also strongly affirmed that the best way helping them speak English more is working in groups (item 4) (M = 4.44; SD = 570)

Besides, in the Semi-structured interview, when participants were asked about what makes them speak English more in communication classes, there was a student saying that he feels comfortable when practicing English just in pair, with his partner He said,

―I always feel shy when talking in front of many people, I like talking in pair more” S6 said

It is obvious to see that group work plays an important role in students‘ integration into the university environment and develops their communication skills As a result, many participants showed their positive perceptions of the factor ―Team work‖ and teacher can use this method in the lesson to foster students‘ communication

Table 4.3 Students‘ perception of Students – Students‘ interaction

No Statements N Min Max Means Std

6 I like practicing speaking with friends 80 3 5 4.14 689

7 I am not afraid of making mistakes in front of my classmates

8 The cooperation among students positively affects my speaking performance

As presented in table 4.3, the majority of the participants expressed their perception on how they love practicing speaking with their friends (item 6) (M = 4.14; SD = 689) The participants confirmed that they are not shy with their friends if they make mistakes when they perform their speaking ability (item 7) (M = 4.23; SD = 656) The numerous students agreed that their speaking performance would be definitely better if they have their classmates‘ supports (item 8) (M = 4.34; SD = 674) These items all elicited the agreement on the effect of Students – Students‘ interaction on the development of students‘ speaking skills

Moreover, there were two participants stated that they feel more confident when their friends do not judge them if they make mistakes during speaking English because ―If my friends laugh at me, I will feel embarrassed and do not want to practice speaking English in the next class‖ said S2 S3 also commented that ―My classmates are good; they don’t make fun of any members if they say anything wrong in English That’s why I like speaking English more in my class and with my friends.‖

To sum up, the relationship between students can help them to be more confident to raise their voices in speaking lessons without shyness or afraid of making mistakes I would say that interaction among students enhances students‘ learning outcomes

Table 4.4 Students‘ perception of Supportive relationships

No Statements N Min Max Means Std

9 I am not nervous to express opinions with my teacher

10 I feel at home when I talk about any difficulties in learning

English speaking with my teacher

The role of teacher in the classroom has been investigated by many researchers In this study as shown in table 4.4, students achieved a mean of 4.01 and SD = 684 (item 9) for stating that they feel free to share their opinions with teacher Additionally, they strongly agreed that if they have difficulties in learning speaking skills they would ask teacher comfortably (item 10) (M = 4.26; SD = 707)

The result showed that participants can share their struggle in the way they perform in speaking classrooms; however, there are some of them still feel shy and afraid to express their idea for the teacher Some students were in the neutral choice for this factors Although ―Teacher‘s supports‖ is a perfect way to enhance students‘ skills, some students are still not really open to teachers Students should give more open discussion with their teacher, especially in communication classroom

Table 4.5 Students‘ perception of Classroom environment

No Statements N Min Max Means Std

11 I have enough opportunities to perform my speaking skills

12 I enjoy the friendly atmosphere of the classroom

13 The facilities in language laboratories are fully equipped

14 Appropriate time for speaking classes gives me a good mood in learning

Regarding table 4.5, participants responded equally to four items of the factors ―Classroom environment‖ The Means of the item 11 was 4.39; SD 703, which was a high result The participants shared that there are enough chances to practice speaking skills in their class Besides, the majority of participants strongly agreed to the item number 12 (M = 4.49; SD = 551) that the enjoyable environment in the class motivate them to speak more In addition, the facilities in the classroom and the time setting in the items 13 and 14 were also received positive feedback from the participants by the following results (M = 4.45; SD = 571) and (M = 4.43; SD = 569)

The participants expressed their agreement with these statements The setting of the classroom directly affects students‘ attention; a friendly class atmosphere brings learners a comfortable mood and easy to join any activities The facilities are also important which support students in the lesson and their performance as well

Table 4.6 Students‘ perception of Task instruction

No Statements N Min Max Means Std

15 Teachers‘ task instruction is clear, easy to understand and involves students in studying

The students achieved a mean of 4.44 and SD = 548 for student‘s perception in table 4.6 Most of the participants highly agreed that students are actively involved in their learning thanks to clear, simple instructions Teachers‘ instruction-giving sequences are critical for task completion, and they can take an interactive form with students With the range 3.50 – 4.49 is Agree; the figure was high, it is obvious to see that many students agreed with this factor and it definitely can enhance students‘ communication when they get what they are going to do

Table 4.7 Students‘ perception of Feed back

No Statements N Min Max Means Std

16 Positive feedback from teachers boost my self- confidence up

17 Teacher‘s negative feedback helps me look back on my mistakes so that I can enhance my speaking performance

Findings from observation

The observation was conducted during 21 lessons of 3 English communication classes: seven lessons of T1, seven lessons of T2 and seven lessons of T3.The observation was carried out during the Covid-19; therefore, there were all online classes In each online class, there were a foreign teacher and a Vietnamese teacher The researcher used an Observation checklist to find out what speaking activities that teachers use in Speaking classes to develop students‘ oral communication skills and how students involved in those activities In each lesson, teachers used many techniques and activities, the researcher used an observation checklist with seven activities to analyze how those teachers‘ activities can foster communication in English-speaking classrooms by the number of times that teachers and students use these activities in the communication classroom

Table 4.17 presents the total number of times using English speaking activities that were observed for each teacher Within about 17.5 hours of classroom teaching (made up from 3 teachers x 21 lessons x 50 minutes), the total amount of the using speaking activities provided by the three teachers was 49 times

Table 4.17 Times using English speaking activities

Number of times using English speaking activities 18 15 16

Average number of times using English speaking activities per lesson 2.6 2.2 2.3

It can be noted from table 4.17, the number of times using English speaking activities provided by individual teachers varied strongly Among three teachers, T1 conducted the activities the most frequently with an average number of 2.6 per lesson, followed by T3 with 2.3 activities each lesson and T2 had the similarity figure with T3 2.2 for using activities in a lesson It is obviously to see that all three teachers used the activities frequently in each lesson

Table 4.18 Observation checklist of the first online class Lesson

As can be seen from table 4.18, on the first class observation, the activities were used in every lesson The teacher used activities 18 times in total The activity with highest result of using from teacher and students in the first class was Group work with the figure 33.3% The high results coming up was Games with 22.3% Role-play was also used many times in this communication class (16.6%) Pair work and Interviews had the same percentage (11.1%) Debate was used least in seven activities The percentage of the use of debate activity in this first class was (5.6%) Teacher in this class did not use the Storytelling activities through the seven lessons

Table 4.19 Observation checklist of the second online class

From table 4.19, the second class was also observed in seven lessons

In general, this class used fewer activities than the first English-speaking class The seven activities were applied 15 times during the observation The Pair work got the highest result with around 26,7% Games and Group work achieved the same figure (20%) which gave these two activities the second position in the findings of this class‘ observation Role-play was used 2 times during 7 lessons (13,4%) The three activities: Interviews; Debate and

Storytelling was just applied 1 time and achieved the figure (6,7%)

Table 4.20 Observation checklist of the third online class

According to table 4.20, the third class received 16 times using activities in total Group work and Pair work were used popularly in this class (25%) Students seemed like these two activities They discussed actively in an excited way Three speaking activities: Role-play; Games and Interviews received 12.5% for each activity The use of two activities Debate and Storytelling were rare These two activities just were applied one time during seven lessons (4.16%)

The findings from three classes’ observation

After observing 3 English-speaking classes, the researcher collected 21 speaking lessons, in which the activities were used 49 times in total According to this figure, the researcher had the table below to find out what speaking activity was applied by teacher and students the most Through this, the researcher can discover what activities foster communication

Table 4.21 The findings from three classrooms‘ observation

In regard to table 4.21, the Group work activity achieved the highest figure with 26.5% This activity was also mentioned by students and teachers in the interviews This showed that the factor Team work and the activity Group work were applied popularly to foster students‘ speaking performance This activity is not only easy to carry out but also effective in English- speaking classes Besides Group work, Pair work was widely used when speaking tasks occurred This activity got the figure 20.4% which was received positive feedback from students During the Interview, S2 mentioned that Group work is an effective activity to foster communication Discussing in group allowed her to “share opinions, give solutions, or agree or disagree on a particular topic” Not only students but also teachers like this activity

Teachers shared their experience about the activity that they found it can help increase students‘ engagement in English -speaking classrooms

Both teacher 1 and teacher 2 chose Group work for the best activity in their communication classes With many benefits that this activity brings, two teachers and two students who were in the interviews chose this activity for their favorite to use T1 said:“… helps students share their individual ideas with their peers without anxiety” And T2 stated:“…… makes students speak more and confidently share their opinions.”

Coming up next is an equally exciting activity – Games which was conducted 9/49 times during the observations (18.4%) Although the barriers of online class, games still boost students‘ speaking skills through the screen

In the interview, students were asked about the activities in English-speaking classes that they like best and how these activities help to increase their engagement in communication S3 described her love to games in English- speaking class She affirmed that: ―……Thanks to games, I can practice many structure and vocabulary…‖ Moreover, S3 also mentioned about games, he shared that he feels relax when he speaks English during games: ―……many game activities give me opportunities to use the language we are learning in enjoyable contexts” From two answers, we can see that game activities give students enjoyable environment to communicate in English-speaking classrooms

Role-play (14.3%) and Interview (10.2%) got the support of teacher and students; however, conducting these activities quite takes time, so teachers do not use them regularly Interviews were the kind of activity that was mentioned by S4 She positively shared about the way the interviews were carried out in her class and why this activity helps her practice English better: “… This activity allows me to practice my speaking ability not only in class but also outside the classroom” she said

S1 and S6 were fond of Role-play They felt the ease when this activity is conducted S1 assumed that this activity can help him practice the conversation better He said: ―…We have fun and speak English a lot in this activity” S6 likes to imitate the character in the textbook or in real-life topic

Due to this, she could practice speaking without shyness She expressed:“…

This task put me into situations in text book or in real-life topics”

Role-play comes the next with 14.3%, T3 talked about Role-play which is also an interesting activity and has been applied in many classes It seems that students like drama activities like role-playing so that they can be freely creative in the way they talk or create their own context, and situation

Lastly, Debate and Storytelling were less applied than the others These 2 activities required a lot of vocabulary combined with grammar structural Therefore, they are more complicated than other activities These tasks are suitable for students who are already into practicing English speaking like S5‘s case She shared: ―I like Debate activities, it’s more academic, students can speak English a lot and this activity gives students two viewpoints about a problem.”

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Conclusion

To sum up, the study has answered the two research questions successfully To answer research questions 1, the findings have shown some factors fostering communication skills from both students‘ and teachers‘ perspective As for students‘ perspective, the results of this study showed that the students acknowledged two key factors that they found important for developing their speaking skills, namely Teaching activities and Team work Through the questionnaire and interviews, students stated their speaking abilities were improved through activities such as Role-play; Group work and Games Through these activities, students usually can control the conversation as well as can sometimes chose the topic that they want to say The students felt that they gained confidence when they were speaking about topics they were interested in as well as when they had the opportunity to choose topics by themselves Another factor from the results showed that the students felt comfortable when they discuss in pairs or groups When working with friends, students are not shy or afraid of making mistakes, which helps a lot in their speaking abilities Students thought that they must be allowed to make mistakes independently, be creative and play around with the language so their oral language skills can develop and gradually become internalized Besides, six other factors namely Students - Students‘ interaction; Supportive relationships; Classroom environment; Task instruction; Feedback and Intrinsic motivation were also received positive responses from students

These factors create the environment which push students‘ speaking performance

Besides, from the teachers‘ perspective, the findings shown two key elements which they found important when fostering students‘ oral communication skills: Classroom environment and Intrinsic motivation The teachers expressed that the foremost aspect one must consider before any oral communication can take place is the classroom environment That is, without a classroom environment that allows a student to feel safe enough to make mistakes, learning will not happen Furthermore, the classroom environment must be a space where the student feels that his or her thoughts are valued It is vital that the classroom environment is a positive space for the students to develop their oral skills without the fear of doing ‗wrong‘ Teacher believed that creating a positive classroom environment and letting students try and work out the language together can develop student‘s confidence Another aspect of the classroom environment was classmates Moreover, teachers discussed that Intrinsic motivation is an important factor when fostering oral communication The teachers encouraged the students to do public speaking so they could develop their communicative skills to achieve goals professionally That is, the students are provided with instrumental motivation Furthermore, when the teachers encourage the student to do public speaking they are making them conscious of the target language by emphasizing how this knowledge will be useful for them professionally By making the students conscious of the language, the teachers are fulfilling the need such as the ‗social use of language‘ When teachers made unwilling students speak This provided the potential for pushed output, where students were ―pushed‖ outside their own comfort level Teachers also highly evaluated other factors Through the findings, teachers showed their agreement on the factor Feedback; Students – Student‘s interaction and

Teaching activities as well Teamwork was the factor that teachers believed they can foster students speaking skills through some activities like group discussion; work in pair,… The factor: Supportive relationships and Task instruction were help in teaching, which was also stated by teachers

To answer Research question 2, the results showed that there were several speaking activities that the students and teachers found developing and fostering of oral communication skills The students expressed that they found developing for their oral communication skills through activities in English-speaking classes In addition to these activities, the teachers and students mentioned some everyday activities that were practiced in their classrooms that they considered enhanced oral communication skills According to the observation, Group work, Pair work, Games and Role-play were four main activities used in English-speaking classes.

Teaching implications

This study has confirmed that teachers may aid pupils in boosting their drive and self-confidence This may be achieved by designing classes around themes that students find interesting and by allowing them to select their own topics while engaging in oral communication activities This study may provide insights to the policymakers to work on issues related to communications and medium of instructions at tertiary level Teachers may focus on basic communication skills in English to their students who would actively participate in communication when the classroom environment is comfortable enough and the inserting activities During the questionnaire survey, the major of participants strongly agreed on how important the classroom environment is in order to develop students‘ ability to speak English The findings demonstrate that an open classroom environment where a student thinks that his ideas and views are respected and not mocked is necessary for him to develop his aptitude in anything So a teacher should start by creating that in the classroom A learner then feels at ease It is equally comfortable to speak correctly and incorrectly If the school atmosphere is unpleasant, the students will never feel at ease The learning is always partial if the youngster is not at ease Additionally, both instructors stress that in order for any learning to occur, the teacher must establish a welcoming classroom environment The study also provides insights for the reformers and educators about how to give richer understanding while diluting the barriers among the students, with a culturally and contextually more sustainable environment in the classroom In addition to these results, the instructors' interpretation of the data is that there are other aspects that might make it easier for pupils to be able, willing, and dare to use English As was previously said, a good outcome may be achieved by keeping students' interests in mind and fostering an environment in which they feel inspired and unrestricted by a fear of making mistakes By progressively assigning them challenging objectives and well-balanced exercises, teachers may assist their pupils in speaking English

Additionally, a teacher might encourage a student's desire to use English by engaging them in unstructured conversations about subjects that interest them or by having them give presentations Last but not least, a teacher can encourage a student to use English by setting up role-plays where the student won't be afraid to express his or her own opinions, or by simply pushing the student at the right levels through progressive input of the language before going on to the forced output Giving pupils challenging, balanced exercises over time will help them learn to speak English.

Limitations of the study

Since the Covid-19 pandemic is the reason for doing this research, numerous restrictions were carefully taken into account Therefore, it is possible that the online classes had an impact on the observation's findings There are fewer activities that teachers can plan than in direct instruction In addition, a small number of people participated because of the time constraints and the social isolation brought on by Covid-19 This study is limited and the conclusions drawn cannot be generalized on a larger scale

The 128 participants‘ sample size is another potential restriction; as a result, the findings of this study cannot be generalized to the entire community Although there were enough students to run descriptive statistics, it could have been more beneficial if the population size had been greater than twice as large to increase the reliability of the results Not paying enough attention to the questionnaires and interviews might have also affected the outcomes by affecting the students' interests and motivation for communication in English- speaking classrooms

This study just focused on factors fostering communication and speaking activities that could enhance students‘ participation in English- speaking classrooms Therefore, there are factors that decrease students‘ involvement in communication classes Some negative factors that can let students down and being unwilling to communicate If teachers know more about these negative factors or even positive factors, it would be better for teachers in improving students‘ communication What is needed in future studies on related topics is to explore the influential factors underlying the students‘ intention to participate in willingness to communicate The topic suggested is: Factors Affecting Students‘ English Speaking Skills

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PART I: PERSONAL INFORMATION (THÔNG TIN CÁ NHÂN)

3 How do you evaluate your speaking skills in English classes? (Em hãy tự đánh giá kỹ năng nói của em trong lớp học Tiếng Anh?)

PART II: FACTORS FOSTERING COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH CLASSROOMS (NHỮNG NHÂN TỐ THÚC ĐẨY VIỆC HỌC GIAO TIẾP TRONG LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH)

Section 1: Indicate the extent of your agreement by selecting and putting a tick () in the table below

(Hãy xác định mức độ đồng ý của bạn bằng cách lựa chọn một ô ở dưới và đặt một dấu  vào ô đó)

1 = Strongly disagree (Hoàn toàn không đồng ý)

3 = Neutral (Không đồng ý cũng không phản đối)

5 = Strongly agree (Hoàn toàn đồng ý)

Factors Fostering Communication in English

Funny and motivating activities help me improve my speaking skills

Các hoạt động vui nhộn và tạo động lực giúp tôi cải thiện kỹ năng nói của mình

The activities are related to the topic and vocabulary of the new lesson, which helps me remember quickly

Những hoạt động liên quan đến chủ đề và từ vựng của bài học mới thì giúp tôi ghi nhớ nhanh hơn

Participating in class activities helps develop fluency

Tham gia vào các hoạt động trong lớp giúp tôi phát triển độ lưu loát

Group work is the best way to enhance my speaking skills

Làm việc nhóm là cách tốt nhất để cải thiện kỹ năng nói

I found it is easy to have conversations in class discussions

Tôi thấy việc thảo luận trong lớp học giúp tôi tạo được cuộc hội thoại dễ dàng hơn

I like practicing speaking with friends

Tôi thích thực hành nói với các bạn

I am not afraid of making mistakes in front of my classmates

Tôi không ngại việc có lỗi sai trước mặt các bạn trong lớp

The cooperation among students positively affects my speaking performance

Sự hợp tác giữa các học sinh ảnh hưởng tích cực đến sự thể hiện kỹ năng nói của tôi

I am not nervous to express opinions with my teacher

Tôi không lo lắng khi bày tỏ ý kiến của mình với bạn bè và thầy cô

I feel at home when I talk about any difficulties in learning English speaking with my teacher

Tôi cảm thấy thoải mái khi nói về bất cứ khó khăn nào trong việc học nói tiếng Anh với giáo viên của tôi

I have enough opportunities to perform my speaking skills

Tôi có đủ cơ hội để thể hiện ký năng nói của mình

12 I enjoy the friendly atmosphere of the classroom

Tôi thích không khí thân thiện trong lớp học

The facilities in language laboratories are fully equipped

Cơ sở vật chất trong lớp học ngôn ngữ được trang bị đầy đủ

Appropriate time of speaking classes gives me a good mood in learning

Thời gian thích hợp của các lớp Nói mang lại cho tôi tâm trạng tốt trong việc học

Teachers‘ task instruction is clear, easy to understand and involves students in studying

Giáo viên hướng dẫn nhiệm vụ rõ ràng, dễ hiểu và thu hút học sinh tham gia học tập

Positive feedbacks from teacher boost my self- confidence up

Những lời nhận xét tích cực của giáo viên đã đẩy cao sự tự tin trong tôi

Teacher‘s negative feedback helps me look back to my mistakes so that I can enhance my speaking performance

Phản hồi tiêu cực của giáo viên giúp tôi nhìn lại những lỗi sai để mà tôi có thể nâng cao khả năng nói của mình

I can be more confident to speak if that is my favoritre topic

Tôi có thể tự tin nói nếu đó là chủ đề yêu thích của tôi

19 I feel excited to stand in front of the English class and present my presentation

Tôi cảm thấy hào hứng khi được đứng trước lớp và trình bày bài thuyết trình của tôi

Having good speaking skills gives me more job opportunities

Có kỹ năng nói tốt cho tôi có nhiều cơ hội việc làm

Section 2: If you would like to share any ideas about the factors that can foster communication in English classrooms, please leave your comments below

(Nếu bạn muốn chia sẻ thêm ý tưởng gì về những nhân tố có thể thúc đẩy giao tiếp trong lớp học Tiếng Anh, xin vui long để lai bình luận của bạn dưới đây):

Thank you for your participation

PART I: PERSONAL INFORMATION (THÔNG TIN CÁ NHÂN)

2 How long have you been teaching English? (Thầy/Cô đã học Tiếng Anh được bao lâu rồi?)

More than 7 years (Hơn 7 năm)

PART II: FACTORS FOSTERING COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH CLASSROOMS (NHỮNG NHÂN TỐ THÚC ĐẨY VIỆC HỌC GIAO TIẾP TRONG LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH)

Section 1: Indicate the extent of your agreement by selecting and putting a tick () in the table below

(Hãy xác định mức độ đồng ý của bạn bằng cách lựa chọn một ô ở dưới và đặt một dấu  vào ô đó)

1 = Strongly disagree (Hoàn toàn không đồng ý)

3 = Neutral (Không đồng ý cũng không phản đối)

5 = Strongly agree (Hoàn toàn đồng ý)

Factors Fostering Communication in English

Funny and motivating activities help students improve their speaking skills

Các hoạt động vui nhộn và tạo động lực giúp học sinh cải thiện kỹ năng nói của mình

The activities are related to the topic and vocabulary of the new lesson, which helps students remember quickly

Những hoạt động liên quan đến chủ đề và từ vựng của bài học mới thì giúp học sinh ghi nhớ nhanh hơn

Participating in class activities helps develop fluency

Tham gia vào ác hoạt động trong lớp giúp phát triển độ lưu loát

Group work is the best way to enhance learners‘ speaking skills

Làm việc nhóm là cách tốt nhất để nâng cao kỹ năng nói của người học

I found it is easy for students to have conversations in class discussions

Tôi thấy việc thảo luận trong lớp học dễ dàng giúp học sinh tạo được cuộc hội thoại dễ dàng hơn

Students like practicing speaking with friends

Học sinh thích thực hành nói với các bạn

7 Students are not afraid of making mistakes in front of their classmates

Học sinh không ngại việc có lỗi sai trước mặt các bạn trong lớp

The cooperation among students positively affects speaking performance

Sự hợp tác giữa các học sinh ảnh hưởng tích cực đến sự thể hiện kỹ năng nói

Students are not nervous to express opinions with teacher

Học sinh không lo lắng khi bày tỏ ý kiến của mình với bạn bè và thầy cô

Students talk about any difficulties in learning

Học sinh nói về bất cứ khó khăn nào trong việc học nói tiếng Anh với tôi

Students have many opportunities to perform their speaking skills

Học sinh có nhiều cơ hội để thể hiện kỹ năng nói

12 The classroom has friendly atmosphere

Không khí trong lớp học rất thân thiện

The facilities in language laboratories are fully equipped

Cơ sở vật chất trong lớp học ngôn ngữ được trang bị đầy đủ

Appropriate time of speaking classes gives learners the good mood in learning

Thời gian thích hợp của các lớp Nói mang lại cho người học tâm trạng tốt trong việc học

Clear and simple task instruction helps students easy to understand and involve students in studying

Giới thiệu nhiệm vụ đơn giản, rõ ràng giúp học sinh dễ hiểu và thu hút học sinh tham gia học tập

Positive feedbacks from teacher boost students‘ self-confidence up

Những lời nhận xét tích cực của giáo viên đã đẩy cao sự tự tin của học sinh

Teacher‘s negative feedback helps students look back to my mistakes so that students can enhance their speaking performance

Phản hồi tiêu cực của giáo viên giúp học sinh nhìn lại những lỗi sai của mình để mà có thể nâng cao khả năng nói

Students can be more confident to speak if that is their favorite topic

Học sinh có thể tự tin nói hơn nếu đó là chủ đề mà họ yêu thích

Students are excited to stand in front of the

English class and present their presentation

Học sinh hào hứng khi được đứng trước lớp và trình bày bài thuyết trình của họ

Students have orientation for the future

Học sinh có định hướng cho tương lai

Section 2: If you would like to share any ideas about the factors that can foster communication in English classrooms, please leave your comments below:

(Nếu thầy/cô muốn chia sẻ thêm ý tưởng gì về những nhân tố có thể thúc đẩy giao tiếp trong lớp học Tiếng Anh, xin vui long để lai bình luận của thầy/cô dưới đây):

Thank you for your participation!

Ngày đăng: 04/08/2024, 09:33