MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY
NGUYEN THI HAI YEN
APPLYING TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING TEACHING SPEAKING SKILL AT NGHI LOC 5 HI
SCHOOL
MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION
Nghé An, 2013
Trang 2
ACKNOWLEGEMENTS
I would like to acknowledge and express my gratitude to my supervisor Nguyén Thi Van Lam M.A for her valuable guidance and encouragement throughout my research
I also wish to thank and express my appreciation to English teaching teachers and students at Nghi Loc 5 High School who have helped me with data collection for this study
Trang 3ABSTRACT
This study aims at examining the effect of TBLT in teaching speaking skill at Nghi Loc 5 High School This study used survey questionnaires, observations of classes, and some daily discussion among English teaching teachers at Nghi Loc 5 High School to check applying of TBLT in teaching speaking skill at Nghi Loc 5 High School The participants in this study were 6 teachers and 82 students at Nghi Loc 5 High School The major findings of the study showed that that most of the surveyed participants realized teaching and learning Speaking skill based on TBLT was effective and encouraged the students to speak more Moreover, all of them felt pleased with speaking lessons as the lessons made exciting class atmosphere, promoted communicative skill and the generation gap between teachers and students was reduced However, some difficulties still existing in speaking lessons such as limited time, large class, students’ low level of English proficiency,
students’ laziness, and teachers’ teaching method also affected the effect of this
approach when applying at Nghi Loc 5 High School Furthermore, some students lack confidence when speaking due to being afraid of mistakes and losing face All in all, through the findings from this study, the results indicated that applying TBLT in teaching speaking skill could be implemented effectively at Nghi Loc 5 High School
Trang 4Survey Questionnaire For Teachers
This survey questionnaire is conducted to study the status of teaching and learning English at Nghi Loc 5 High School, for the research “ Applying Task-Based Language Teaching in Teaching Speaking Skill at Nghi Loc 5 High School” The author would be very grateful to the information that you will provide below Thank for your cooperation and your precious time!
Before answering the questions, please fill in the following information: How long have you been teaching English?
A 0-3 years B 6-8 years C 4-5 years D more than 10 years
Please circle the appropriate answers for the following questions You may choose
more than one option
1 What do you think of speaking skill?
A Very important B.Important C Less important D Not important at all 2 What do you think of your students’ speaking competence?
A Very good B.Good _ C Quite good D Bad E Very bad 3 What do you think of topics in textbook?
A Relevant B Irrelevant
4 What are your difficulties in teaching speaking ?
A Students’ low motivation E Large class
B students’ low level of English proficiencyF Inappropriate materials C Time limitation G Poor teaching equipments D Students’ laziness H Others (please specify) 5 What do you think of TBLT?
A Help students enjoy learning English
B Provide a relaxed atmosphere to promote target language use C Students are active
Trang 5F The role of grammar is not defined clearly
G Others (please SDeCIẨY) c TQ QQnSnnn HS nh nhe 6 What do you usually do before a speaking task?
A Do nothing and get students do the task D Brainstorm the topic B Provide some key vocabulary E Give guiding questions
C Play game F Others (please specify) 7 What do you often do while students do tasks?
A Go around the class to monitor B Stay at your seat and relax C Take time to do other things D Others (please specify) 8 What do you often do after your students complete tasks?
A Call some pairs to present B Appoint one or two groups to present C Exchange pairs to pairs / groups to groups D Others (please specify) 9 Which activities among the following activities do you often organize to teach Speaking skill?
A Role-play/simulations E Storytelling B Information gap F Discussion C Interviews G Picture describing
D Questionnaire H Others (please specify) 10 What do you do when students show low motivation in speaking activities?
A Give students marks for participation B Let them choose their favourite partners
C Give them some more support about vocabulary, structures and ideas D Encourage students to willingly take part in the activities
E Ignore them
9-10) 1) eea 11 How do you deal with students’ low level of spoken English?
A Organize simple communicative activities
B Give students chances in different Speaking activities
Trang 6D Criticize them for their low level E Neglect them
EF Others (please specIẨY) cọ SH HH He 12 What do you often do to encourage your students to speak?
A Suggest interesting topics for discussion
B Give students some useful suggestions related to the topic C Let students choose topics themselves to discuss
D Use other authentic materials (visual aids, stories, songs, video clips, etc.)
E Involve students in the real English Speaking environment F Give students marks for participation
G Do nothing
lệ 0ìì /1()- 31)0-viyl:iaddđđdđddiiiiiiiđiẳiẳỶ Thank for your cooperation!
Trang 7Bản câu hồi này được thiết kế để phục vụ cho đề tài nghiên cứu “Ứng dụng đường hướng dạy học theo nhiệm vụ trong việc dạy kỹ năng nĩi ở trường trung học phổ thơng Nghỉ Lộc 5” Tác giả rất cảm ơn sự giúp đỡ của các em trong việc trả lời các câu hỏi sau Tat cả các thơng tin được cung cấp ở đây chỉ sử dụng cho mục đích nghiên cứu; vì vậy rất mong các em trả lời các câu hỏi một cách chính xác và trung thực Cảm ơn sự hợp tác của các em!
A Thơng tin cá nhân Lĩp:
Em đã học tiếng Anh được bao lâu rồi? LI5năm LÌÏ Trên 5 năm B Câu hỏi khảo sát
Em hãy khoanh trịn những câu trả lời phà hợp Em cĩ thể chọn nhiều hơn một câu trả lời cho mỗi câu hỏi dưới đây
1 Theo em, kỹ năng nĩi cĩ quan trọng khơng?
A Rấtquantrọong B.Quantrong C.Ítquantrong D Khơng quantrọng 2 Em đánh giá khả năng nĩi tiếng Anh của em như thế nào?
A Rất tốt B Tốt C Bình thường D.Kém E.Rấtkém
3 Em cảm thấy những giờ học nĩi như thế nào?
A Ratthivi B.Thúvị —C Bình thường D Tẻ nhạt 4 Em đánh giá như thế nào về những hoạt động trong giờ học nĩi? B Ratthivi B.Thivi C.Bìnhthường D Tẻ nhạt 5 Em đánh giá như thế nào về những chú đề nĩi trong sách giáo khoa?
A Phù hợp B Khơng phù hợp
6 Em cĩ thích làm việc theo nhĩm, theo cặp trong giờ học nĩi khơng?
A.Ratthich B.Thíh C.Khơngthích D Khơng thích lắm
Trang 8A Giao tiếp với người nước ngồi D Cĩ thể nĩi tiếng Anh trơi chảy và lưu lốt
B Đạt được điểm cao E Đi du lịch ở nước ngồi
C Vượt qua các kỳ thi F.Ý kiến khác: ccc s2
9 Điều gì làm em cảm thấy khĩ khăn khi học nĩi?
A Khơng biết cách phát âm D Khơng cĩ khả năng
B Thiếu vốn từ vựng E Thiếu tự tin
C Dùng sai cấu trúc ngữ pháp E Ý kiến khác: -sc c2 22222 s2sssee 10 Điều gì làm em ngại nĩi tiếng Anh trong giờ học nĩi?
A Ngại nĩi sai D Mục đích học tiếng anh khơng phái để giao tiếp
B Chú đề khĩ E Khơng hứng thú
C Giáo viên dạy chưa hay F Ý kiến Khác: 2S c S221 1s xe 11 Điều gì làm em hứng thú trong giờ học nĩi?
A Chủ đề thú vị D Hoạt động nĩi đa dạng
B Khơng khí lớp học sơi nổi E Sự cạnh tranh giữa các nhĩm
C Giáo viên dạy hay E Ý kiến khác: -sc c2 22222 se 12 Em thích giáo viên làm gì trước khi giới thiệu phần việc?
A Tổ chức trị chơi D Cung cấp thơng tin liên quan đến phần việc B Cung cấp từ vựng E Khơng làm gì cả
C Đưa câu hỏi dẫn dắt F Ý kiến khác: cS S S222 S222 ssee 13 Những hoạt động nào trong giờ học nĩi làm em thấy thích?
A Đĩng kịch E.Kể chuyện
B Tìm kiếm thơng tin E Thảo luận theo nhĩm, cặp
C Phĩng vấn G Miêu tả tranh
D Đáp trả H Ý kiến khác: 5522-22 < <<
Trang 9TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page ACKNOWLEGEMENTTS (5 on HH HH Hư Hưng i ABSTRACT ali IV ))09/9)1069016021)5 57 5.54 1 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Trang 10CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVTEỀN se sec 9 2.1 Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) - - 5<: s5: 9 2.2 Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) -:-: 55-555 s5s52 II VN ii o oạ se 11 2.2.2 Features Of “”TasK” - - + ST HH HH HH He 14 2.2.3 Type of “ TiaSK”” c- S2: S12 22125121 11122111 15101 1211111020111 112112 16 2.2.4 The nature of TBLT (TBLT) ¿5-2522 522522222252 v2z*szzxs2 17 2.2.5 Task design -.- c1 2 212212115211 1212111221111 2121118281111 811 cxer 19 VU N 9.00 20 2.2.7 Students' ĐỌe - -: c - SE 2E HH HH He 21 2.2.8 Advantages on in 2 2.2.9 Disadvantages of TBL/T . c5 2322222221151 2112E 1E EErkesrsre 22 2.3 Teaching Speaking SkIll - - 5: 2 2222 222232232232 2s szxeszxv2 23 2.3.1 The Nature of Speaking . - -¿- 2222 S2 2v 12x s22, 23 2.3.2 Teaching Speaking and Communicative Language Theory 25 2.3.3 Principles for Teaching Speaking SKIlls 5525552 - 27 2.3.4 Classroom Speaking AcfIVI{I€S 52c Sc ì stress 29 2.3.5 Textbook "English 10, 11, 12'" -.-+ + + srvevrerxeee 30 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLLOY 5 <5 5< S5 << xe sex ceree 32 3.1 Setting of the Study - ¿222522222222 xscsxsrsesrsssrxexsexcev 222 E xi Ừ 32 3.3 Data Collection Ínsfrumens - +: 55-2 +2+x+c+e+szvxseserexex 33 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 36
Trang 11CHAPTER Š: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION - 61 5.1 Summary of the Sftud\y - +5: 5c S2 S2 S2 222 £sxsxssksrkesrersre 61 5.2 Pedagogical Implication ¿2 ¿52552 2252 *ss*sxssx+ssxss++sx + +++ Õ2 5.3 Limitation and Suggestions for Further Research - 63 TREEERENCES - 5c 5< SƠ TH KH HH HH HH nh chư 65 APPENDICCEE 5< « HH HH HH HH họ Tư hư nhe cư rg APPENDIY L - 5 <5 << 5S Sư HH HH HT Thư Thư nh ngờ APPENDIX 2 5c S5 Sàn HH HH HH Thờ
Trang 12LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES
Chart 4.1: Teachers and students’ attitude towards speaking skill Chart 4.2: Teachers and students’ opinion about speaking competence Chart 4.3: Students’ attitude towards speaking lessons and speaking tasks Chart 4.4: Teachers and students’ ideas about topics in textbook
Chart 4.5: Students’ opinion towards pair work, group work
Chart 4.6: Students’ review of the advancement in their speaking competence Chart 4.7: Speaking activities in English class
Table 4.1: Students’ reasons for learning English speaking Table 4.2: Students’ difficulties in learning English speaking Table 4.3: Teachers’ difficulties in teaching English speaking Table 4.4: What makes students unwilling to speak in English class Table 4.5: What makes students motivate in speaking lessons
Trang 13Table 4.7: Teachers’ opinions about TBLT in teaching speaking Table 4.8: Teachers’ activities in pre-speaking
Table 4.9: Teachers’ activities in while-speaking Table 4.10: Teachers’ activities in post-speaking
Table 4.11: What teachers do to motivate students to speak in English class Table 4.12: What teachers do to deal with students’ low level of spoken English
Table 4.13: What teachers do to encourage students to speak in English class
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the Study
English as an international language has an important place in the present and to be considered as a major subject in general curriculum program me in Vietnam today However, how to teach and learn English in Vietnam has still been encountering many problems Although some schools have conducted English teaching trial program me from Grade one, the amount of students in Vietnam who can use English as a communicative tool in real life is not much The fact is that almost students may master in using grammatical structures, yet they cannot use English to communicate fluently and effectively For the reasons, finding out a new way in teaching and learning English is vital to improve English communicative skills among students
Trang 15in speaking lessons Most of them hesitate to speak and feel anxious when speaking before class Additionally, it is also not enough time for students to complete all tasks in speaking activities and the teacher may almost have to speak much while students are passive through activities From the practice of teaching speaking skill there, the author realizes that it should be necessary to find a new way which is suitable for their level as well as promote their speaking skills
For the above-mentioned reasons, the author wishes to conduct the study entitled “Applying Task-Based Language Teaching in Teaching Speaking Skill at Nghi Loc 5 High School” The author hopes that the study will be a contribution in improving to teaching and learning English speaking skill 2 Aims of the Study
This study aims at examining the application of Task-Based Language Teaching in teaching speaking skill at Nghi Loc 5 High School To achieve this aim, the study focuses on:
e Examining the effect of Task-based Language Teaching in teaching speaking skill
e Finding out some ways which promote learners to improve speaking skill
3 Scope of the Study
The study is carried out with the focus on examining the application of Task- Based Language Teaching in teaching speaking skills at Nghi Loc 5 High School The other skills will be not mentioned in this study
Trang 161 What is the effect of Task-Based Language Teaching on teaching Speaking skill at Nghi Loc 5 High School?
2 In what ways will task-based speaking activities help learners improve speaking skill at Nghi Loc 5 High School?
4 Methods of the Study
In this study, both quantitative and qualitative methods are used The two survey questionnaires for teachers and students at Nghi Loc 5 High School, class observations, and daily discussions with English teachers at Nghi Loc 5 High School are used to measure The produces of the study is described as follows:
- To gain theoretical background for the study, a careful consideration of related literature has been carried out What has been found in this chapter will be the foundation for the study
- The study is carried out with 82 students and 6 teachers at Nghi Loc 5 High School, which will be presented in detail in chapter 2 Data about the participants is collected by the form of questionnaires These questionnaires are designed to investigate students’ needs and wishes as well as teachers’ opinions and teaching techniques in teaching and learning speaking skill 5 Organization of the Study
The study is divided as follows: Chapter 1: Introduction
In this chapter, the rationale for the study, the aims of the study, the scope of the study, the methodology and the organization of the study are mentioned here
Trang 17This chapter reviews the theoretical background concerning second or foreign language teaching and learning, Task-based Language Teaching and speaking theories
Chapter 3: Methodology
This chapter includes the setting of the study, participants, and techniques for collecting data
Chapter 4: Findings and Discussion
This chapter deals with the findings and discussion from statistical results Chapter 5: Conclusion
This chapter is the summary of the whole study It states the limitations of the thesis and some suggestions for further research
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter presents some literature review related to Communicative Language Teaching, Task-Based Language Teaching and Speaking theories 2.1 Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
Trang 18effectively and fluently, with the focus not only on linguistic forms, but also emphasizes on both meanings and functions as well It is clearly impossible to engage in purposeful communication in a language without understanding the structures of that language However, CLT focuses mainly on using language rather than learning more about grammar structures
Nunan (1991: 279) lists five basic characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching as follows:
e An emphasis on learning to communicative through interaction in the target language
e The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation
e The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on the language but also on the learning process itself
e An enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning
e An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the classroom
According to Richards and Rodgers (2001: 76-77), the range of exercise types and activities in CLT is unlimited, provided that they engage learners in communication in which learners have a purpose for communicating such as “to buy an airline ticket, or to write a letter to a newspaper.”
Trang 19Morrow (in Johnson and Morrow, 1981), three common features in true communication are information gap, choice, and feedback An information gap is an activity in which one person in an exchange knows something the other person does not Moreover, true communication only takes place with response from a listener which helps the speaker realizes whether her question has been understood or not In other words, the communication is real and effective only when these three features are applied
Trang 20repetition and cue-response drills Finally, the students use the new language to make sentences of their own
2.2 Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) 2.2.1 Definition of “Task”
Trang 21a cheque, finding a street destination and helping someone across a road In other word, by “task” is meant the hundred and one things people do in everyday life, at work, at play, and in between”
Tasks when they are transformed from the real world to the classroom, they become pedagogical in nature Pedagogical task is “an activity or action which is carried out as the result of processing or understanding language (i.e as a response) For example, drawing a map while listening to a tape, listening to an instruction and performing a command may be referred to as tasks Tasks may or may not involve the production of language A task usually requires the teacher to specify what will be regarded as successful completion of task The use of variety of different kinds of tasks in language teaching is said to make language teaching more communicative since it provides a purpose for a classroom activity which goes beyond the practice of language for its own sake” (Richards & Rodgers, 2001) Tasks are here considered in pedagogical perspective and defined in terms of what the learners will do in class rather than in the world outside the classroom The importance of having a non-linguistic outcome of task is also emphasized in the above definition Another definition of a pedagogical task, according to Breen (1987: 23) as follows: “any structured language learning endeavour which has a particular objective, appropriate content, a specified working procedure, and a range of outcomes for those who undertaken the task “Task” is therefore assumed to refer to a range of work plans which have the overall purposes of facilitating language learning — from the simple and brief kind of exercise type, to more complex and lengthy activities such as group problem-solving or simulations and decision-making”
Trang 22e Meaning is primary
e Learners are not given other people’s meaning to regurgitate
e There is some sort of relationship to comparable real-world activities e Task completion has some priority
e The assessment of a task is in terms of outcome
Trang 23As Widdowson (1998) has pointed out, learners will need to pay attention to both meaning and form on both tasks and exercises For example, learners involving in “making an airline reservation’ will need to find the linguistic forms to explain where they want to fly to, what time they want to fly, etc Also, learners completing a blank filling exercise designed to practice the use of the past simple and present perfect tenses in English will need to pay attention to the meaning of sentences to determine which tense to use Widdowson argues that what distinguishes a task from an exercise is not “form” or “meaning” but kinds of meaning involved Whereas a task is concerned with pragmatic meaning, i.e the use of language in context, an exercise is concerned with semantic meaning
2.2.2 Features of “Task”
Trang 24learners should use language in ways that will promote language learning Skehan (1998) also represents the core features of tasks within four defining criteria: there is a goal to be worked towards; the activity is outcome- evaluated; meaning is primary; and there is a real-world relationship Tasks can be effectively organized based on systematic components including goals, input, setting, activities, roles, and feedback Briefly, goals refer to the general aim for the task and input represents verbal or non-verbal materials that learners can manipulate Setting refers to the environment in which the task is performed and activities involve the things participants will be doing in a given setting The roles of teacher and learner are closely related to the successful implementation of the task, and feedback concerns the task evaluation The framework of task components provides second language acquisition researchers with some meaningful insights in a task-based syllabus design and authentic material development, for it can serve as the beginning point for designing task-based activities Thus, in this paper, it is suggested that the central components of task-based framework include goals, input data, classroom settings, activity types
2.2.3 Type of ‘Task”
Trang 25Below are the types of tasks of TBLT listed in Willis (1996: 149):
1 Listing: including a brainstorming with the outcome of a mind map This type of task helps train students' comprehension
2 Ordering, sorting: including sequencing, ranking and classifying The purpose is to order and sort the information according to certain specific criteria This type helps enhance comprehensible and reasoning ability
3 Comparing: including matching, finding similarities or differences This type encourages students' ability of differentiation
4 Problem solving: including analyzing real situations, and decision-making This type helps promote students' reasoning and decision-making abilities 5 Sharing experience: including narrating, describing, and explaining attitudes, opinions This type helps students to share and exchange their knowledge and experience
6 Creative tasks: including brainstorming, ordering and sorting, comparing and many other activities The outcome is an end product which encourages students’ problem-solving abilities as well as reasoning and analyzing abilities
2.2.4 The nature of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT)
Trang 26students’ own experiences is important contributors to learning and the use of language is focused on rather than the knowledge about the language
TBLT is an approach which emphasizes communicative ability, so in order to complete a task, students need “to have sufficient organizational competence, illocutionary competence to convey intended meaning, strategic competence to compensate for unforeseen difficulties, and then all the tools of discourse, pragmatics, and even nonverbal communicative ability.” (Brown, 2004) In TBLT, the tasks are central to the learning activity, based on the belief that students may learn more effectively when their minds are focused on the task, rather than on the language they are using In the model of TBLT described by Willis (1998), the tradition PPP (presentation, practice, production) lesson is reversed The students start with the task When they have completed it, the teacher draws attention to the language used, making corrections and adjustments to the students’ performance
Trang 27Below are the key assumptions of TBLT summarized by Feez (1998): The focus is on process rather than product
Basic elements are purposeful activities and tasks that emphasize communication and meaning
Learners learn language by interacting communicatively and purposefully while engaged in the activities and tasks
Activities and tasks can be either: Those that learners might need to achieve in real life Those that have a pedagogical purpose specific to the classroom
Activities and tasks of a task-based syllabus are sequenced according to difficulty The difficulty of a task depends on a range of factors including the previous experience of the learner, the complexity of the task, the language required to undertake the task, and the degree of support available
There is a huge variety of tasks
It is the strongest approach of Communicative Language Teaching and therefore it promotes communication and interaction
TBLT is effective because it uses all the skills
To sum up, TBLT, like a communicative methodology, has allowed teachers and students to concentrate on how we achieve things with language, and how we can use language for certain tasks It provides for natural learning and because students are free to use what they want for learning and the tasks are familiar to them, they are easier to participate in communicative activities in the classroom
Trang 28Nunan (2004) offers a framework which consists of six steps for task design and implementation: “schema building”, “controlled practice”, “authentic listening practice”, “focus on linguistic elements”, “provide freer practice”, and “introduce the pedagogical task”
Nunan (2004: 35-38) also states seven principles for planning task-based lessons as follows:
1 Scaffolding
In order to complete the tasks, learners need to have sufficient language Thus, it is necessary for teachers to provide materials to learners with specific language forms and vocabulary to carry out the given task
2 Task dependency
Task dependency refers to the organization of tasks It means that the ability to complete task A depends on the completion of task B and it helps teachers ensure that tasks have outcomes
3 Recycling
Recycling refers to a series of tasks related to some issue or theme 4 Active learning
Tasks are units of work; therefore, tasks should be structured to have learners do it
5 Integration
Integration is ways of connecting form and meaning This helps learners have the opportunity to realize the relationship between linguistic form and communicative function and semantic meaning
6 Reproduction to creation
Tasks are moved from reproduction activity to production activities where learners work with the language
Trang 29Learners should have opportunities to reflect on what they have learned and how well they are learning it The goal of TBLT here focuses on achieving an outcome for learners
2.2.6 Teacher's Role
Willis (1996) assigned the following roles for the teachers in the framework for TBLT:
In the pre-task, the teacher should: Present and define the topic
Use activities to help students memorize/learn some useful words and phrases
Ensure that students comprehend the task instructions
Play recordings of others performing the same task or a similar one In the task cycle, the teacher should:
Act as a monitor and motivate students Ensure that the purpose of the report is clear Act as a language advisor
Help students review oral reports
Act as chairperson; selecting who will speak next Offer brief feedback on content and form
Play a recording of others doing the same or similar task In the post-task, the teacher should:
Review each analysis activity with the whole class
Bring other useful words, phrases and patterns to students' attention Review language items from the report stage
Trang 302.2.7 Students' Role
- Write down useful words and phrases from the pre-task activities and/or the recording
- Spend a few minutes preparing for the task individually In the task cycle, the students should:
- Perform the task in pairs or small groups
- Prepare to report how they performed the task and what they discovered to the class
- Rehearse what they will present to the entire class - Present their spoken reports to the class
In the post-task, the students should:
- Perform consciousness-raising activities to identify and process specific language features from the task and transcript
- Ask about other features they noticed
- Practice words, phrases and patterns from the analysis activities 2.2.8 Advantages of TBLT
Trang 31are learning, rather than just the target language of the lesson On the other hand, TBLT also helps learners promote communicative skills and encourage them to experiment with whatever English they can recall without fear of failure and public correction, and to take active control of their own learning 2.2.9 Disadvantages of TBLT
Although TBLT is increasingly promoted world-wide and has the advantages as described above, many issues should be considered in planning instruction around it Firstly, the words and forms the students know may be just getting by, this may lead to the risks of error Secondly, in group tasks some students can hide and rely on others to do the work of learning Another issue is that applying various valuable language teaching methods may be difficult to conduct in large and time limited classes
2.3 Teaching Speaking Skill 2.3.1 The Nature of Speaking
There are many definitions related to speaking Speaking is an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and processing information (Brown, 1994; Burns and Joyce, 1997) In this process, there are five elements involved including pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, gesture and mimics, fluency and accuracy (Harmer, 2001) Speaking requires that learners not only know how to produce specific points of language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary (linguistic competence), but also understand when, why and in what ways to produce language (sociolinguistic competence) (Cunningham, 1999)
Trang 32overlap between each speaker Brown and Yule point out that the loosely organizational syntax, the use of non-specific words and phrases and the use of fillers such as “well”, “oh”, and “uhuh” makes spoken language less dense than other types of language Brown and Yule also draw a useful distinction between two basic language functions of speaking: transactional function and interactional function The transactional function is concerned with the transport of information whereas the interactional function is used to maintain social relationships
Another distinction which is mentioned by Nunan (1991b) when considering speaking is between monologue and dialogue Monologue includes speeches, lectures, readings, news broadcasts, etc which can be planned or unplanned with the stretch of speech without interruption Dialogue involves two or more speakers with more assumptions, implications, and other meanings hidden between the lines Dialogues can take interactional (interpersonal) function or transactional function in which participants may be familiar or unfamiliar
According to Richards and Rodgers (2001), they state that effective oral communication requires the ability to use the language appropriately in social interactions that involves not only verbal communication but also paralinguistic elements of speech such as pitch, stress, and intonation Moreover, nonlinguistic elements such as gestures, body language, and expressions also play an important role in conveying messages directly without any accompanying speech
Trang 33also expresses how you say by using body language, gestures, eye contact, physical distance and other non-verbal messages
Brown and Yule (1983a) summarize some characteristics of spoken language as follows:
incomplete sentences
very little subordination (subordinate clauses, etc.) very few passives
not many explicit logical connectors (moreover, however)
topic comment structure (as in ‘the sun — oh look it’s going down’) The syntax of the written language would probably have a subject- verb-predicate structure
replacing/refining expressions (e.g ‘this fellow/this chap she was supposed to meet’)
frequent reference to things outside the ‘text’, such as the weather for example This kind of referencing is called is called “exospheric’
the use of generalized vocabulary (thing, nice stuff, place, a lot of) repetition of the same syntactic form
the use of pauses and ‘fillers’ (‘erm’, ‘well’, ‘uhuh’, ‘if you see what I mean’, and so on.)
2.3.2 Teaching Speaking and Communicative Language Theory
Trang 34Richards and Rodgers (1986:71) point out the following four characteristics of communicative language theory:
Language is a system for the expression of meaning
The primary function of language is for interaction and communication The structure of language reflects its functional and communicative uses
The primary units of language are not merely its grammatical and structural features, but categories of functional and communicative meaning as exemplified in discourse
According to Nunan (2003), teaching speaking is to teach learners to: Produce the English speech sounds and sound patterns
Use word and sentence stress, intonation patterns and the rhythm of the second language
Select appropriate words and sentences according to the proper social setting, audience, situation and subject matter
Organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical sequence Use language as a means of expressing values and judgments
Use the language quickly and confidently with few unnatural pauses, which are called as fluency
Trang 35concerned with the teaching of written language which characterized by well- formed sentences They suggest that, to be contrast with the teaching of written language, teachers concerned with teaching the spoken language must confront types of questions as follows:
1 What is the appropriate form of spoken language to teach?
2 From the point of view of pronunciation, what is a reasonable model? 3 How important is pronunciation?
4 It is all right to teach the spoken language as if it were exactly like the written language, but with a few “spoken expressions” thrown in?
5 Is it appropriate to teach the same structures to all foreign language students, no matter what their age is or their intentions in learning the spoken language?
6 Are those structures which are described in standard grammars the structures which our student should be expected to produce when they speak language?
7 How is it possible to give students any sort of meaningful practice in producing spoken English? (Brown and Yule 1983: 3)
2.3.3 Principles for Teaching Speaking Skills
Nunan (1991) and Brown (1994) share one common view that teachers should focus on both fluency and accuracy when teaching speaking skill According to Richards (2006 :14), “fluency is natural language use occurring when a speaker engages in meaningful interaction and maintains comprehensible and ongoing communication despite limitations in his or her communicative competence” while “accuracy focuses on creating correct examples of language use’ Thus, it is difficult to acquire successful communication without one among two the above factors
Trang 36e the ability to articulate phonological features of the language comprehensibly
e mastery of stress, rhythm, intonation patterns e an acceptable degree of fluency
e transactional and interpersonal skills
e skills in taking short and long speaking turns e skills in the management of interaction e skills in negotiating meaning
e conversational listening skills (successful conversations require good listeners as well as good speakers)
e skills in knowing about and negotiating purposes for conversations e using appropriate conversational formulae and fillers
Moreover, he states that the teacher can apply the bottom-up and top-down approach to speaking The bottom-up approach to speaking means that the learners begin with the smallest units of language, i.e individual sounds, and move through the mastery of words and sentences to discourse The top-down approach, on the other hand, proposes that the learners start with the larger chunks of language, which are embedded in meaningful contexts, and use their knowledge of the contexts to comprehend and use the smaller language elements correctly
Brown (2001: 271) adds that in teaching oral communication, a focus on both the forms of language and the functions of the language are very important Below are micro skills of oral communication mentioned by Brown:
1 Produce chunks of language of different lengths
Trang 373 Produce English patterns, words in stressed and unstressed positions rhythmic structure, and into national contours
4 Produce reduced forms if words and phrases
5 Use an adequate number of lexical units (words) in order to accomplish pragmatic purpose
6 Produce fluent speech at different rates of delivery
7 Monitor your own oral production and use various strategic devices pauses, fillers, self-corrections, backtracking- to enhance the clarity of the message 8 Use grammatical word classes (nouns, verbs, etc), system (e.g tense, agreement, and pluralization), word order, patterns, rules, and elliptical forms 9 Produce speech in natural constituent in appropriate phrases, pause groups, breath groups, and sentence
10 Express a particular meaning in different grammatical forms 11 Use cohesive devices in spoken discourse
12 Accomplish appropriately communicative functions according to the situation, participants and goals
13 Use appropriate registers, implicative, pragmatic conventions, and other sociolinguistics features in face to face conversations
14 Convey links and connections between events and communicate such relations as main idea, supporting idea, new information, given information, generalization, and exemplification
15 Use facial features, kinetics, body languages, and other non verbal cues among with verbal language to convey meanings
Trang 382.3.4 Classroom Speaking Activities
There are many types of classroom speaking activities Harmer (2001: 348- 352) states six classroom speaking activities They are acting from script, communication games, discussion, prepared talks, questionnaires, simulation, and role play
a Acting from script
In this kind, the teachers as theatre directors, drawing attention to appropriate stress, intonation, and speed
b Communication games
The games are used based on the principle of the information gap in order to solve a puzzle, draw a picture, put a thing in the right order, or find similarities and differences between pictures Television and radio games are also brought into the classroom and create fascinating activities
c Discussion
In discussion, the students are able to express their real opinions freely on a relevant topic in a lesson This activity encourages the students to speak effectively and also they can work with various people and learn to open to different ideas
d Prepared talks
In prepared talks, students make a presentation on a topic Such talks can be prepared by writing However, students should be encouraged to speak from notes rather than from a script
e Questionnaires
Trang 39f Simulation and Role play
Another way of getting students to speak is role-playing In role-play activities, students play various social roles, thus it is easier for shy students to express their ideas in different contexts Simulation is similar to role play; however, students can bring items to the class to create a realistic environment
2.3.5 Textbook "English 10, 11, 12"
Trang 40CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
The major focus of this study is to investigate the effect of TBLT in teaching speaking skill at Nghi Loc 5 High School This study aims to address the following research questions:
1 What is the effect of Task-Based Language Teaching on teaching speaking skill at Nghi Loc 5 High School?
2 In what ways will task-based speaking activities help learners improve Speaking skill at Nghi Loc 5 High School?
This part includes information about setting of the study, participants, data collection instruments, and data analysis procedures
3.1 Setting of the Study