research title use applications to practice english speaking skills by second year english major students at hue university of foreign languages and international studies huflis

ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA: TIENG ANH BAI TIEU LUAN RESEARCH PROPOSAL Research title: Use applications to practice English speaking skills by second-year English ma

ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

KHOA: TIENG ANH

BAI TIEU LUAN

RESEARCH PROPOSAL Research title: Use applications to practice English speaking skills by second-year English major students at Hue University of Foreign Languages and International

Studies (HUFLIS)

Sinh viên thực hiện : Đoàn Minh Anh

Mã sinh viên: 2l F7510002

Nguyễn Thị Kỳ Duyên

Mã sinh viên: 2l F7510040 Lê Thị Kim Ngân Mã sinh viên: 2l F7510680 Trần Nguyễn Kiều Vân Mã sinh viên: 2l F7511093

Giảng viên phụ trách : Nguyễn Thị Bảo Trang

Huế, tháng 6 năm 2023

CONTENTS

RESEARCH TITLE I INTRODUCTION 1 Background to the topic 2 Significance

3 Research problem II RESEARCH AIMS AND QUESTIONS Ti LITERATURE REVIEW

1 Research the impact of apps on speaking skills 2 Research some specific apps created and applied to influence speaking skills

3 Summary Gaps IV RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 1 Participants

2 Research methods 3 Validity and reliability V.TIMELINE VI EXPECTED OUTCOMES/IMPACT REFERENCES

Use applications to practice English speaking skills by second- year English major students at Hue University of Foreign

Languages and International Studies (HUFLIS)

I INTRODUCTION

1 Background to the topic English is widely recognized as a global language and has become a vital tool for communication in many fields such as business, science, and technology As a result, the demand for learning English has increased significantly around the world, including in Vietnam In Vietnam, English is a compulsory subject in schools, colleges, and universities However, despite the emphasis on English language learning, many students still struggle with speaking skills To address this issue, many language learners have started using applications to practice their speaking skills Hue University of Foreign Languages and International Studies (HUFLIS) is one of the universities where sophomores majoring in English are using mobile apps to improve their English speaking skills

2 Significance Using mobile applications to practice English speaking skills is a relatively new trend in language learning, and there is little research on its effectiveness in the context of Vietnam Therefore, this study aims to contribute to the literature on language learning by investigating the impact of using mobile applications on the speaking skills of second-year English major students at HUFLIS The study will analyze how app-based training can improve language learners' speaking skills Additionally, the findings of this study could provide information for language teachers and curriculum developers on how to integrate the use of mobile applications in language teaching to improve students! speaking skills Overall, the research will contribute towards enhancing the development of effective language training strategies through app-based learning

3 Research problem Speaking is a crucial skill in English that every student must develop in order to succeed in school and at work However, this skill also causes students difficulties when it requires elements such as pronunciation and vocabulary As a result, many English-speaking training apps have been developed to assist students in practicing their speaking skills This

study was designed to determine how English-speaking training apps affected the speaking skills of HUFLIS second-year English major students

- No one has ever used a second-year foreign language major as a study object for the "Use applications to practice English speaking skills" study before

- The number of sophomores exposed to technology is increasing day by day

II, RESEARCH AIMS AND QUESTIONS

This study aims to explore the English-speaking apps used by HUFLIS second-year English language students Thus, understanding how those apps affected second-year English language majors' speaking skills at HUFLIS Our research seeks to answer two questions:

- What English-speaking practice applications do HUFLIS second-year English language students use to learn their speaking skills?

- How do those apps affect second-year English language majors' speaking skills at HUFLIS?

I LITERATURE REVIEW In this section, relevant literature will be reviewed These studies are divided into two groups as follows

- Research the impact of apps on speaking skills - Research some specific apps that are created and applied to influence speaking skills 1 Research the impact of apps on speaking skills

Five studies have been conducted about the impact of technology on speaking skills Firstly, Baron (2020) researched how students felt about online apps in order to find suitable online applications for students learning English speaking skills The data was collected by means of an interview, observation, and questionnaire with 20 postgraduate students in the English Language Program at Universitas Indraprastha Jakarta The findings showed students use Google Hangouts Meet and Zoom cloud meetings to carry out learning in the form of video calls instead of face-to-face learning to practice speaking English They could easily make monologue videos and upload them to YouTube so that the teacher could easily provide an assessment Besides, Google Classroom has a fairly complete menu This is so that the teacher can simply assign and grade assignments In addition, the students learn communication through the use of social media This study is very useful because the author

has clearly analyzed students' views on using applications corresponding to situations in which students can apply

In a similar setting, Soparno and Tarjana (2021) conducted a study titled “Students' Perceptions Towards Using Mobile Applications in Learning Speaking” The researchers collected data through semi-structured interview forms and an observation sheet developed them The study involved five vocational school students who were selected through purposive sampling in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia The findings revealed that the students had positive feelings about using the Learn English Conversation application to learn to speak English All participants believed that using the application brought many benefits in helping them learn both inside and outside the classroom English Conversation Learning application provides a great learning opportunity, especially in correcting pronunciation errors, improving vocabulary, expressions, and intonation, and helping to enhance speaking skills that can be used outside of school hours This study provides valuable insight into students’ perceptions of using mobile applications to improve their speaking skills

In addition, Maran and Hashim (2022) explored the effectiveness of English-speaking skill training via digital technology, including mobile applications, in improving the speaking skills of language learners As the article is a systematic review, M Maran and M.I Hashim did not collect the primary data themselves Rather, they reviewed and analyzed the findings of previous studies on the use of technology to enhance ESL learners! speaking skills They likely obtained their data by searching through various databases and academic journals for relevant articles and then extracting and synthesizing the data from those articles The finding revealed that various forms of technology, including mobile applications, virtual reality, and speech recognition software, can be effective tools for enhancing ESL learners' speaking skills This study is very useful because it provides a comprehensive summary and analysis of the research on the use of technology to improve the speaking skills of ESL learners The review examines a variety of technologies, including mobile apps, virtual reality, and speech recognition software, and evaluates their effectiveness in enhancing speaking proficiency

In a similar setting, Thanh et al (2021) examined whether students at Van Lang University should use English learning apps to improve their spoken English performance 400 students from Van Lang University who were enrolled in four majors that required

fluency in English were given 20 open-ended surveys and 10 semi-structured interview questions as part of the research's data collection process The findings showed Duolingo, Elsa, and Cake are the most well-liked apps known to practice speaking English, according to a total of 392 responses Using English-speaking practice software allows students to study wherever they choose, improve their English-speaking abilities, and demonstrate that they are more comfortable speaking English as a result This study is very valuable because the author has collected data and evaluated it clearly to help readers see the need as well as the choice of suitable apps for students to learn to speak English

Moreover, Sangmin-Michelle and Tae Youn (2016) analyzed the user experience of a mobile-based learning system improved by speech recognition technology to improve the speaking proficiency of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners The data was gathered through an open-ended survey of middle-school students in Korea, which is equipped with automated speech recognition (ASR) for students' self-regulated speaking practice The findings revealed that students had generally positive opinions toward the usage of the application for learning to talk, with a particular interest in the speech recognition function because it quickly exhibited the outcome of their speech input This study is extremely beneficial because the author's findings emphasize the possible use of mobile phones and ASR for learning to speak in the context of EFL

2, Research some specific apps created and applied to influence speaking skills Three studies have been studied about some specific apps created and applied to influence speaking skills

Firstly, Yusnidar and Harahap (2022) studied the effect of using the Cake application for mobile-assisted language learning on the English-speaking- skills of students at SMP Hang Tuah | Belawan in Indonesia The research data was collected from 67 students in two different classes The research instrument was a questionnaire The study found that using Cake significantly improved students' English speaking skills compared to the control group, indicating that mobile-assisted language learning can be an effective approach to improving students' language proficiency The study also found that most of the students had positive attitudes toward using mobile technology for language learning This research is very valuable because it provides insights into the effecttveness of mobile applications,

specifically the Cake application, for enhancing the English-speaking skills of students in an Indonesian school

In a similar setting, Kholis (2021) studied the application of Elsa Speak - an application used for automatic speech recognition (ASR) to supplement English pronunciation skills The data were collected using a test of pronunciation and an interview with 16 students from the English Department of the Nahdlatul Ulama University of Yogyakarta (UNU) The study was divided into three phases, or cycles, each consisting of about five meetings The results showed significant changes in students who were using the Elsa Speak app as a medium In the initial study prior to the post-test, the average score of the students’ pronunciation test was 60 from 16 students, and after the cycle, the average score increased to 80 Research has been successful in helping students improve their pronunciation as well as speaking skills This study is very insightful because it provides necessary and useful information for people who are looking for a tool to help support their speaking skills

Additionally, Ade and Mesa (2021) examined class X SMK Darulullum Kuningan in the 2020/2021 school year to determine the usefulness of the Busuu application on students' speaking skills, the impact of the Busuu app on pupils' spoken communication skills In class X, the researcher employed a pre-experiment-based research method The study was divided into three meetings, the first of which was for the pre-test, the second for the treatment, and the third for the post-test The findings revealed substantial changes in pupils who were taught to use the Busuu application as a medium The pupils’ pre-test had an average score of 61,875 Following that, the class average on the post-test was 73,750 Busuu application media is utilized to instruct successful class X students in speaking This study is really helpful since the author gathered information and made detailed assessments to help readers understand the value of using "Busuu" while instructing speaking

3 Summary Gaps Of the studies reviewed here, none have yet investigated the use of technology apps to improve the speaking ability of second-year English language majors Our proposed study, therefore, aims to discover and clearly evaluate the factors influencing the decision to use applications to improve the speaking skills of 2nd-year English major students

IV RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 1 Participants

Two hundred second-year English students from Hue University of Foreign Languages and International Studies will participate in the present research Most of them are twenty to twenty — one year old Because the majority of students are females, two-thirds of the survey respondents are female Moreover, 200 people who take this survey will have spent 8 to 9 years learning English And their major is English language or English pedagogy We will use a convenient strategy to select students to join our research by giving an online Google form to individuals and continuing the process until the requisite number is obtained They will participate in our research voluntarily

2 Research methods A questionnaire will be employed to collect data for research It is very convenient because participants can answer questions anywhere and whenever they want

The questionnaire is intended to find out the reasons for English — Speaking training applications among second-year students at Hue University of Foreign Languages and International Studies and the effects of those applications on their speaking skills

This questionnaire will consist of three parts Part one is the participants’ information, such as their full name, age, contact information, etc In part two, each individual will answer 10 questions about English — Speaking training applications Students only need to read and choose A, B, C, D In this part, we will capture information about the effects of English — Speaking training applications for some second—year students at Hue University of Foreign Languages and International Studies And the last part will be the participants’ suggestions to help students find out about some English — Speaking training applications This part contains only one question to ask participants The questionnaire will include questions in English because study participants are all second—year students in the English department, so they can understand all the questions we ask and the design of the questionnaire in English also helps students practice their English reading skills Students will take about 10 minutes to answer and think The questionnaire will be administered online We will post the link containing the questionnaire on the school’s Facebook page to find volunteers Some of the pages that we plan to post are Dai Hoc Ngoai Neu Hue The link will be open for a week to get 200 people to participate in the survey If within a week we have not recetved enough 200

volunteers to participate in the survey, we will continue to extend the time to open the link until there are enough people to register for the survey This makes it easy for us to get the data and aggregate it quickly, and we think that through those pages we will easily find the number of students needed for our research

3 Validity and reliability

3.1 Validity

We utilize Google Forms to administer our questionnaire, which automatically saves responses and extracts data Our questionnaire is designed with clear, concise questions that accurately reflect our research objectives Additionally, we conduct a pre-test with a small group of participants to ensure that the questionnaire accurately measures the intended variables This helps identify any potential issues with the questionnaire, such as confusing or ambiguous questions, and allows for adjustments to be made before administering the survey to the larger sample group

3.2 Reliability

Objectivity: To ensure reliability, the study will be conducted objectively, without bias or prejudice about the effectiveness of using speaking apps We will try to stay neutral and avoid any influence on participants or data

Sampling: Sample size and participant selection can also affect the reliability of a study We will ensure that the sample size is large enough to represent the population of sophomore English majors at HUFLIS In addition, the selection of participants will be random and unbiased, to avoid any possibility of selection bias

Data collection: The reliability of the study will also depend on the data collection techniques used We will use reliable and valid tools to measure the English-speaking skills of 2nd-year English language students before and after using the apps Data collection will also be consistent and standardized to ensure that the results are reliable

Data Analysis: We use appropriate statistical techniques to analyze data and draw valid conclusions Statistical analysis is reliable and transparent, allowing other researchers to repeat the study and verify the results

V TIMELINE This research is supposed to be carried out within a 9-month period