A STUDY OF USING AUTHENTIC SUPPLEMENTARY TASKS IN TEACHING SPEAKING TO 10 GRADE STUDENTS AT DOAN THUONG UPPER-SECONDARY SCHOOL, HAI DUONG PROVINCE

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES VŨ THỊ QUYÊN A STUDY OF USING AUTHENTIC SUPPLEMENTARY TASKS IN TEACHING SPEAKING TO 10 GRADE STUDENTS AT DOAN THUONG UPPER-SECONDARY SCHOOL, HAI DUONG PROVINCE NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG NHIỆM VỤ BỔ TRỢ XÁC THỰC ĐỂ DẠY KỸ NĂNG NÓI CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10 TRƯỜNG THPT ĐOÀN THƯỢNG, HẢI DƯƠNG M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 601410 HANOI, 2012 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES VŨ THỊ QUYÊN A STUDY OF USING AUTHENTIC SUPPLEMENTARY TASKS IN TEACHING SPEAKING TO 10 GRADE STUDENTS AT DOAN THUONG UPPER-SECONDARY SCHOOL, HAI DUONG PROVINCE NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC SỬ DỤNG NHIỆM VỤ BỔ TRỢ XÁC THỰC ĐỂ DẠY KỸ NĂNG NĨI CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10 TRƯỜNG THPT ĐỒN THƯỢNG, HẢI DƯƠNG M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 601410 SUPERVISOR: ĐỖ BÁ QUÝ, M.Ed HANOI, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS page Declaration i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Table of contents iv List of abbreviations vi List of tables, charts and figures vii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Aims and objectives of the study Scope of the study Methods of the study Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 An overview of Task-based Language Teaching 1.1.1 Definition of a task 1.1.2 Task components 1.1.3 Types of tasks 1.2 An overview of supplementation 1.3 Speaking skill 10 1.4 Authentic tasks in speaking 11 1.4.1 Definition of authentic tasks 11 1.4.2 Levels of authentic tasks 12 1.4.3 The means of achieving authenticity 14 15 1.5 Overview of related studies iv 1.6 Summary of the chapter 16 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 17 2.1 Participants 17 2.1.1 Overview of Doan Thuong Upper-secondary School 17 2.1.2 The context of teaching and learning English speaking skill in DTUS 17 2.1.3 The teacher informants 18 2.1.4 The student informants 18 18 2.2 Data collection instruments 2.2.1 Questionnaire 18 2.2.2 Classroom observation 19 2.3 Data collection procedure 22 2.4 Data analysis methods and procedure 23 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 24 3.1 Research question 1: What are the teachers’ perceptions of attitudes towards using AST in teaching speaking to 10 grade students? 24 3.1 Research question 2: What are the students’ attitudes towards the effects of AST on their speaking lessons? 32 3.3 Summary of the chapter 35 PART C: CONCLUSION 36 Summary of the findings 36 Pedagogical implications 37 Limitations of the study 39 Suggestions for further studies 40 REFERENCES 41 APPENDICES I Appendix : Survey Questionnaire for Teachers I Appendix : Survey Questionnaire for Students V Appendix : Classroom Observation Checklists VII v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS - AST : Authentic Supplementary Tasks - CLT : Communicative Language Teaching - DTUS : Doan Thuong Upper-secondary School - TEFL : Teaching English as a Foreign Language vi LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS AND FIGURES Page List of tables Table : Task components‟ classifications Table : Task components according to Nunan (2004) Table : Basic profiles of six teacher informants 18 Table : Basic profiles of student informants 19 Table 5: Teacher‟s attitudes towards teaching speaking and using 26 authentic tasks in teaching speaking in general Table 6: The stage of the lesson that teachers preferred to use 30 authentic tasks Table 7: The work distribution that teachers preferred when using 30 authentic tasks Table 8: The advantages and disadvantages of AST as perceived by 33 the students Table 9: Results from open-ended questions 35 List of charts and figures Chart 1: Teachers‟ perceptions of the importance of authentic tasks in 24 TEFL Chart 2: Teachers‟ identifying of authentic and pedagogical tasks 25 Chart 3: Teachers‟ attitudes towards authentic tasks‟ advantages 28 Chart 4: Teachers‟ attitudes towards authentic tasks‟ disadvantages 29 Chart 5: Teacher‟s frequency of using authentic tasks 29 Chart 6: Students‟ responses as perceived by the teachers 31 vii Chart 7: Teachers‟ difficulties in exploiting AST 31 Chart 8: Students‟ attitudes towards AST‟s effects 32 Chart 9: Students‟ opinions towards teachers‟ applied AST 34 Figure 1: A frame work for Task-based Language Teaching Figure 2: The relation among four language skills 10 Figure 3: Comparison between Brown and Menasche‟s levels of 13 authentic tasks and Nunan‟s classification of tasks viii PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study Nowadays, English has increasingly become one of the most popular languages with more than one billion speakers all over the world English is playing a key role in today‟s modern world because it is used as an international language in many areas such as: science and technology, business and commerce, international relations and diplomacy, etc Therefore, “Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the national education system for the period 2008 - 2020” project was launched and carried out Its goals are by 2020 : “making the majority of Vietnamese youth ( ) have enough foreign language capability to use independently, be self-confident in communication and learning, work in an environment of integration, multi-language and multi-culture; making foreign languages (mainly English) become the strength of Vietnamese people and contributing to the industrialization and modernization of the country” The long– term plan set up an urgent requirement for foreign language teachers, in general, and English teachers, in particular to innovate and “learn the newest and best methods of teaching” (Hiệp, 2005, p 3) Another aims are to teach learners a working command of English to satisfy various communicative needs in their life and to build a friendly school with students‟ active learning (Hiệp, 2005) Fortunately, according to Hiệp (2005), since the early 1990s, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has widely spread out for the fact that, in comparison with traditional pedagogy -which is based on language study (grammar, literature) and written exercises (translation) rather than real life communication and speech, it meets the requirements of English learning in an era of integration and globalization However, in the context of Vietnam education, it is lack of motivation from learning environment or even from the textbook that actuates Vietnamese learners to communicate successfully in English Therefore, it is necessary for English teachers to not only adapt the textbook but also apply authentic materials These, with appropriate selection and implementation, can be reliable sources for designing tasks in which formulaic language learning can be avoided, and can provide a bridge between the linguistic skills of learners and their ability to take part in native-like real world activity (Valeriu, 2000) Recognizing the gap, many researchers, both worldwide and in Vietnam, have analyzed the term “authenticity” in teaching Reading, Writing and Listening However, the number of researched Speaking Authenticity ones is still limited while, thirty-five percent of our daily communication time is spent on speaking (Burely-Allen, 1995) Therefore, the exploitation of authentic speaking tasks should receive worthy attention Within the context of DTUS, Hai Duong province – a rural area school, students have few chances to use English in their daily life The teachers pay much attention to grammar while student‟s proficiency is even not enough to master some particular tasks in the textbook From my point of view, among four skills, speaking is the least preferred by students due to students‟ low level and the disparity between the textbook and students‟ needs Therefore, it requires some supplementation for the textbook to gradually upgrade the students‟ level as well as to motivate them to actively participate in English lessons, especially speaking ones From the reasons mentioned above, the researcher finds her duty in conducting the study on “A Study of Using Authentic Supplementary Tasks in Teaching Speaking to 10 Grade Students at Doan Thuong Upper-Secondary School, Hai Duong Province” Aims and objectives of the study The study aims at searching Doan Thuong Upper-Secondary School tenth grade teachers and students‟ attitudes toward exploiting authentic supplementary tasks in speaking lessons To teachers, the researcher closely focuses on their perception of authentic tasks, using authentic supplementary tasks in speaking skill as well as the difficulties they encounter when carrying out the tasks To learners, concentration is put in another aspect: their perception of the effects of the authentic supplementary tasks on their speaking lessons To realize these aims, the answers to the following questions are sought: What are the teachers‟ perceptions of and attitudes towards using authentic speaking supplementary tasks in teaching speaking to 10 grade students? What are the students‟ attitudes towards the effects of the authentic supplementary tasks on their speaking lessons? Scope of the study Initially, the study only covers the tenth form teachers and students at DTUS With a large number of participants as well as the variety of students‟ level, these samples can be considered an appropriate reflection of DTUS‟ teachers and students‟ language competence Secondly, “the authentic speaking tasks” term of the study belongs to the supplementary term which does not contain the designed tasks in the textbook Therefore, the evaluation of the textbook in terms of authenticity is not included in the study Only the teachers and students‟ beliefs and attitudes towards the term are presented Finally, the “speaking tasks” mentioned in the thesis only means the activities that teachers and students carry out in the speaking periods (according to the course distribution) Any further tasks, for examples, in reading or listening lessons, are beyond the scope of this study Methods of the study To reach the aims of the study, both qualitative and quantitative approaches are made used of Data are collected from questionnaires and classroom observation The quantitative data collected from survey questionnaire were then analyzed statistically, while qualitative data were obtained from classroom observation Hopefully, with the combination of these methods, the study would yield reliable and valid findings Design of the study The thesis consists of three main parts: P Authentic tasks not satisfy the desire for passing grammar-focused examinations Q Authentic tasks are unfamiliar and irrelevant in contents R Authentic tasks contain unnecessary vocabulary items and complex language structures How often you use authentic supplementary tasks in speaking lesson? A Never B Rarely C Sometimes D Often E Always If your answer is not A, continue answering: In which kinds of lesson have you applied authentic supplementary tasks? A In curricular lesson B In follow up lesson C Both Number the stages of the lesson in which you applied authentic supplementary tasks in speaking lesson in the order from the most frequent to the least frequent A Before you speak B While you speak C After you speak Number the work distribution you used authentic tasks in your speaking lesson in order from the most preferred to the least preferred A Individual B Pair work C Group work How most of your students respond when they are asked to carry out authentic tasks in speaking lesson? A Remain silent all the time B Do the tasks with little interest C Do the tasks with great interest D Chat with other members about other topics E Speak Vietnamese F Do other things (Please specify………………………………………) 10 Which difficulties may you cope with when exploiting authentic tasks in English speaking lesson? A Students‟ low language proficiency B Unavailable sources of authentic tasks III C Little knowledge of task-based instruction D Large class size E Lack of time F Failure in choosing suitable tasks G Others (Please specify……………………………………………….) 11 Will you continue to exploit authentic tasks in English speaking lessons? A Yes B No ***THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION!*** IV Appendix 2: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS PHIẾU CÂU HỎI ĐIỀU TRA CHO HỌC SINH Phiếu câu hỏi điều tra thiết kế cho đề tài “ Nghiên cứu việc sử dụng nhiệm vụ bổ trợ xác thực để dạy kỹ nói cho học sinh trường THPT Đồn Thượng, Hải Dương” Tơi mong em giúp trả lời câu hỏi điều tra theo quan điểm, cách đánh tình hình học tập thực tế em Tôi xin đảm bảo tất thông tin khơng sử dụng ngồi mục đích nghiên cứu ********************************************************* (Đánh dấu tích (√) , khoanh trịn viết câu trả lời ngắn gọn cho câu hỏi đây) A Thông tin cá nhân: Giới tính: Nữ Nam Lớp: Em học tiếng Anh năm Khả nói tiếng Anh em (theo nhận định cá nhân) A Xuất sắc B Tốt C Bình thường D Kém B Nhóm câu hỏi việc sử dụng hoạt động bổ trợ xác thực để dạy kỹ nói Giáo viên em có hay sử dụng hoạt động bổ trợ xác thực để dạy kỹ nói hay khơng? A.Khơng B.Hiếm C.Thỉnh thoảng D.Thường xuyên E.Luôn Theo em, hoạt động bổ trợ xác thực có hiệu tiết học nói không? A Không hiệu B Không đáng kể C Rất hiệu Lý cho phương án trả lời: ((Em có nhiều lựa chọn) Hoạt động bổ trợ xác thực a khiến cho học thú vị tạo động lực cho học sinh b liên quan mật thiết đến nhu cầu người học c đặt người học vào ngôn ngữ xác thực ngữ cảnh thực từ giảm lo lắng người học thúc đẩy tự tin giao tiếp d mang đến kiến thức văn hóa xác thực e khuyến khích học sinh sáng tạo, tự thể tự chủ f tăng cường tương tác thành viên lớp g thúc đẩy lực ngôn ngữ kỹ giao tiếp cho học sinh h giảm động lực học tập học sinh V i chứa kiến thức từ vựng không cần thiết, ngôn ngữ phức tạp j tốn thời gian k không quen thuộc tương đương nội dung l không giúp học sinh vượt qua tập ngữ pháp kiểm tra, thi m khó hiểu có khác biệt văn hóa Lý khác(Nêu rõ: ) Em có suy nghĩ hoạt động bổ trợ xác thực mà giáo viên em áp dụng học nói? Hãy đánh dấu √ vào tương ứng với ý kiến em: 1= đồng ý 2=đồng ý 3= trung lập 4=không đồng ý 5=rất không đồng ý a Độ khó hoạt động phù hợp với khả em b Các hoạt động phù hợp với lứa tuổi sở thích em c Em tham gia nói tích cực có hoạt động bổ trợ xác thực d Em nghĩ tiến tham gia hoạt động thường xuyên e Em mong giáo viên tiếp tục áp dụng hoạt động bổ trợ xác thực học nói f Hướng dẫn giáo viên chưa rõ ràng g Thời gian cho hoạt động cịn h Cách đánh giá, nhận xét giáo viên sau hoạt động chưa hợp lý i Còn thiếu thiết bị bổ trợ tranh ảnh, phim, bối cảnh, âm thanh, để hoạt động giống thực Em nghĩ giáo viên nên làm để hoạt động bổ trợ xác thực hiệu học nói? *** XIN CHÂN THÀNH CẢM ƠN CÁC EM!*** VI Appendix 3: Classroom observation Appendix 3.1: Classroom Observation Checklist for task 1 Task profile:  Ss match the picture with its appropriate milestone in the Goal timeline Ss match the years with its appropriate milestone in the timeline Ss make a full speech to summary the life of Obama up to now  Input: Pictures and handouts  Time duration minutes  Requirement: Work in groups to choose the correct pictures and years to fill in the milestone Then make a speech about Obama‟s life  Stage After you speak  Period Unit 3: People‟s Background – Part B: Speaking (regular lesson) Class profile  Location : 10D  Time : October 2nd, 2011  Class size : 42 students The process of introducing and carrying out the task Teacher Introduce the Students -Raised questions about Obama task -Answered questions and seem to be attracted by the topic Giving the -Asked Ss to listen to teacher‟s -Paid attention to the teachers‟ instruction explanation of the requirement of instruction the task -Asked students to sit in groups -Sat in groups -Provided students with pictures, -Started to the task handouts of events and a large paper to draw the timeline Carry out the - Went around to see how students VII -Looked around all the pictures task discussed and carried out the tasks and matched them with the appropriate milestones Present the - Stopped all the groups - Stopped working result -Asked each group to choose a - Presented representative - Used pictures and years to tell -Called a group to present their about the obama‟s life and speech focused more on his hobby -Asked the other groups to check and comment Feedback - Checked some spelling and - Noted down grammar mistakes Students’ interaction with the task Group Number of No No No No 6 English English Vietnamese English Based on years Based on the students Language use & Vietnamese Idea Based on Based on the improvement years pictures Work All the group Ss chose the All the group One group leaders arrangement members pictures members sticked the cooperated 2Ss chose the cooperated pictures and years pictures years The others chose 2Ss sticked on the correct ones to the timeline give him Task All the All the One did not One could not involvement members members receive any participate pictures or years because others jostled Evaluate the authenticity of the task VIII Authenticity through -Main focus: meaning (biography) the genuineness of -Communicative goals: talking about a person‟ biography through purpose pictures and main events Authenticity through -Students usually heard and read news about famous person the real world target -They were excited about telling the biography of a celebrity => very authentic Authenticity through Students discussed to choose the right years and pictures to the classroom interaction period of time => Very authentic Authenticity through - Students even provided more information than they were required engagement about the US 44th President - They wanted to know more about him from the teachers by asking questions - They even, after the tasks, made up their own biography => very authentic Researcher’s comments Good points Weak points - The task was rather authentic - Some groups had problems with vocabulary - Students were excited Most of them (Teachers should preteach some new words) involved in the tasks - Some students still used Vietnamese when - Teachers carried out the task in a suitable discussing time duration - Only two groups presented - Handouts with pictures and timeline added - Teachers didn‟t pay attention to check authenticity and attracted students students‟expression IX TASK 1: Choose the correct pictures and years to fill in the following milestone, then make a speech of Obama‟s life (1) (2) August 4th, 1961 1982 (3) (4) (5) 1992 2006 2009 X (6)(7)(8) 1988 1971-1979 Appendix 3.2: Classroom Observation Checklist for task Task profile:  Goal  Input Pictures and handouts  Requirement Work in pairs to spot 10 differences in in two pictures  Time duration minutes  Stage Before you speak  Period Unit 8: The Story of My Village – Part B: Speaking (regular Ss find out 10 differences in in two pictures lesson) Class profile  Location : 10A  Time : November 29th , 2011  Class size : 40 students The process of introducing and carrying out the task Teacher Introduce the task -Asked students the content of the Students -Answered the questions reading passage in the previous lesson Giving the -Asked students to listen to her - Paid attention to the instruction and then, she explained about the teachers‟ instruction requirement of the task -asked students to work in pairs -provided students with pictures Carry out the task -Formed their pairs -Started to the task Went around to see how students Focused on the two pictures, discussed and carried out the tasks spot the differences and discussed Present the result -Stopped all the students - Stopped working -called pairs to take turn and - Came to present present the differences - asked the others to check and comment XI Feedback - Checked some pronunciation mistakes Students’ interaction with the task Number of pairs 20 Language use English & Vietnamese Idea improvement Spot the differences on the pictures then form sentences Work arrangement Both Task involvement both Evaluate the authenticity of the task Authenticity through -Main focus: meaning (differences) the genuineness of -Communicative goals: finding the differences between the two purpose pictures Authenticity through -Students were familiar with this kind of activities in real world the real world target => very authentic Authenticity through Students discussed to choose the differences classroom interaction => Very authentic Authenticity through - Students explained for the changes engagement => very authentic Researcher’s comments Good points Weak points - The task was rather authentic - Some students still used Vietnamese when - Students were excited Most of them discussing involved in the tasks - Only two groups presented - Teachers carried out the task in a suitable - Teachers didn‟t paid attention to check time duration students‟ expression - Handouts with pictures added authenticity and attracted students XII TASK 2: SPOT THE DIFFERENCES Picture a Picture B Appendix 3.3: Classroom Observation Checklist for task Task profile:  Goal  Students make decision to buy players for their team  Students make a speech to explain for their choice XIII  Input Six profiles of six footballers  Requirement Work in groups to choose the appropriate footballers to buy for the team  Time duration minutes  Stage After you speak  Period Unit 14: The World cup –Follow-up lesson Class profile  Location : 10E  Time : March 3rd, 2012  Class size : 40 students The process of introducing and carrying out the task Teacher Students Introduce the -Summarised the knowledge learned in -Answered teachers‟ task the while-you-speak stage questions Giving the - Explained the requirement of the task: - Paid attention to the instruction (Students are the owners of a football teachers‟ instruction club The club has a lot of problems and they aren’t winning matches Because of the fans have stopped coming to the games.Students have just been given £6 million pounds to spend on new players to help the club start to win again.) - Asked students to sit in groups - Sat in groups - Provided students with handouts of six -Started to the task footballers‟ profiles -Attracted Carry out the - Went around to see how students - Looked around all task discussed and carried out the tasks profiles and made comparison between the footballers Present the -Stopped all the groups - Stopped working results -Asked each group to choose a - Presented XIV representative - Used evidence to prove -Called a group to present their speech for their choice, they also -Asked the other groups to check and added some personal comment feelings Students’ interaction with the task Group Number of No No No No 6 English English Vietnamese Vietnamese students Language use & Vietnamese Idea Based on the Based on the Based on the Based on the improvement profile personal preference profile attitudes Work All the group‟s All the All the group‟s One group leaders arrangement members members members wrote down the cooperated discussed to cooperated evidence make The others chose comparison the appropriate between the person and discuss three athletes and the official one to see the strong points and weak points of each person Task All the One did not All the Some spoke too involvement members receive members loud and agreement when overlapped the talking, then he other ideas stopped speaking XV Evaluate the authenticity of the task Authenticity -Main focus: meaning (evidence for choice making) through the -Communicative goals: making a decision to buy players for a football genuineness of team purpose => authentic Authenticity -Students usually had to make a decision in their daily life through the real -Many of them were chosen to take part in sport events world target -They were excited about buying players => authentic Authenticity Students discussed to choose the right person based on his achievements in through classroom their profession interaction => Very authentic Authenticity Students even provided more information than they were required through They added some more personal ideas and feelings of the athletes engagement => like the way we in real life They also took care of the moral of the athletes as criteria beside the sports results => very authentic XVI TASK FOOTBALL PLAYERS FOR SALE Thomas Brown Matthew Black He‟s a star player and has scored lots of goals He‟s very young and hasn‟t had much He is sure to bring many more fans to the experience, but did score a goal in his very games and that could help to make more first match A lot of people are saying he money from ticket sales He‟s getting older will be a big star, but he is undisciplined and will probably have to retire after a couple and is rumoured to argue a lot with other more seasons players Price: £5 million Price: £3 Million Frank Gold Jonathan Grey He‟s a young player and he doesn‟t have His career got off to a very good start, but much experience He‟s played a few games he had some problems and missed a season and has done well but hasn‟t produced Nobody is sure what the problems were, but anything outstanding until his very last he now wants to return to the pitch Some game of the season when he scored a people say that his game has suffered and he fantastic goal Some people say it was just no longer plays so well, but some people luck, but other people say that he has got still believe he could become one of the best over his initial nerves and has the potential players in the country to be a much better player Price: £2 million Price: £1 million Patrick Green Bobby White He is a good reliable player, but isn‟t really He‟s a great football player but is past his a big goal scorer He‟s fit and still has a best years and coming to the end of his quite a few years playing left career as a player He „s had a few injuries Price: £2.5 million lately, but when he doesn‟t play he still draws crowds to the stadium Price: £4 million XVII ... investigation into using authentic supplementary tasks in teaching speaking to grade 10 students at Doan Thuong Upper-Secondary School, Hai Duong Province? ?? Your assistance in fulfilling the following... researcher finds her duty in conducting the study on ? ?A Study of Using Authentic Supplementary Tasks in Teaching Speaking to 10 Grade Students at Doan Thuong Upper-Secondary School, Hai Duong Province? ??... “task” appears almost essential to get a close and deep look at the theory of ? ?authentic task” Since CLT approach became an innovative approach in language teaching, task-based language teaching