A case of 10th-form students at Hoằng Hoá 4 High School = Nghiên cứu về sự dè dặt, ít nói của học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Hoằng Hóa 4 trong các giờ học nói tiến

Based on my seven-year teaching experience at HH4 high school, I know that the students rarely speak English, even in English speaking classes, though they have been learning English sin

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

LÊ THỊ HỒNG MINH

A STUDY INTO STUDENTS’ RETICENCE IN ENGLISH

AT HOẰNG HOÁ 4 HIGH SCHOOL

( Nghiên cứu về sự dè dặt, ít nói của học sinh lớp 10

trường THPT Hoằng Hoá 4 trong các giờ học nói Tiếng Anh)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology

Code: 60 14 10

Ha Noi- 2013

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

LÊ THỊ HỒNG MINH

A STUDY INTO STUDENTS’ RETICENCE IN ENGLISH

AT HOẰNG HOÁ 4 HIGH SCHOOL

( Nghiên cứu về sự dè dặt, ít nói của học sinh lớp 10

trường THPT Hoằng Hoá 4 trong các giờ học nói Tiếng Anh)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology

Code: 60 14 10

Supervisor: Dr Nguyễn Huy Kỷ

Ha Noi- 2013

ESL: English as a Second Language

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

v

LISTS OF CHARTS AND TABLES

LISTS OF CHARTS

Chart 1: Students‟ opinions on the importance of speaking skill

Chart 2: Students‟ frequency of speaking English in class time

Chart 3: Students‟ opinions on the speaking topics of “ Tiếng Anh 10” text book

Chart 4: Teacher- related factors making students reticent in oral activities

Chart 5: Students‟ desires on communicative teaching activities

Chart 6: Teaching methods currently used in teaching speaking skill

Chart 7: Teacher‟s attitude towards unwilling speakers

Chart 8: Techniques to create good relationship with students

LISTS OF TABLES

Table 1: Students‟ reasons for learning English

Table 2: Students‟ interest in learning speaking skill

Table 3: Students‟ opinions on the speaking tasks of “ Tiếng Anh 10” textbook

Table 4: Student- related factors making students reticent in oral activities

Table 5: Students‟ desires on what teacher should do to encourage them to speak English Table 6: Difficulties teachers encountered in teaching speaking skill

Table 7: Teachers‟ attitude towards mistake makers

Table 8: Techniques applied by teachers to encourage reluctant students to speak English

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

2 Objectives of the study

3 Research questions

4 Methods of the study

5 Significance of the study

6 Scope of the study

7 Organization of the study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Theoretical background of reticence

1.1.1 Definition of reticence

1.1.2 Possible causes of language learning reticence

1.1.3 Effects of reticence in class

1.2 Theoretical background of speaking skill in second/ foreign language learning

1.2.1 Definition of speaking

1.2.2 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity

1.2.3 Approaches to the teaching of speaking

1.3 Summary

CHAPTER 2 : METHODOLOGY

2.1 Research setting

2.2 Participants

i

ii iii

iv

v

vi

1

1

1

2

2

2

3

3

4

4

4

4

5

7

8

8

9

10

12

13

13

14

vii

2.3 Data collection instruments

2.4 Procedures of data collection

2.5 Procedures of data analysis

2.6 Summary

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS

3.1 Data analysis of the first survey questionnaire and the interview for students

3.2 Data analysis of the second survey questionnaire for teachers

3.3 Summary

CHAPTER 4: MAJOR FINDINGS, DISCUSSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1 Major findings and discussions

4.2 Recommendations

4.3 Summary

PART C: CONCLUSION

1 Conclusions

2 Limitations of the study

3 Suggestions for further study

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS

APPENDIX 2: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS

APPENDIX 3 : INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS

APPENDIX 4: INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

14

16

16

16

17

17

27

31

32

32

34

39

40

40

40

41

42

I VII

IX

XI

As we can see, for a long time, the language teaching and learning have been based on the out-of-date methods in which students only passively sit, take notes but rarely contribute

to the lessons They do not ask their teacher questions, even when they have problems Therefore, when approaching new teaching methods such as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), students feel passive in classroom This results in numerous problems inflicting students in learning the speaking skill, one of which is the reticence in oral activities

There have been a variety of studies on this situation and various solutions have been given, including changing teaching methods, changing syllabus or textbooks,

upgrading teachers‟ qualifications, changing formats of speaking tests and so on

However, students‟ reticence is still common occurrence in language classrooms in Vietnam Based on my seven-year teaching experience at HH4 high school, I know that the students rarely speak English, even in English speaking classes, though they have been learning English since they were at the lower secondary school

It is important to involve students in classroom learning activities and minimize their reticence because involvement in classroom interaction will help students explore and learn English much better

For such reasons I choose “A study into students‟ reticence in English speaking lessons: A

case of 10 th -form students at Hoằng Hoá 4 High School” as a theme for my thesis

2 Objectives of the study:

The study is carried out to meet the following objectives:

2

(1 ) To find out some factors causing 10th- form students at HH4 high school to be reticent

in English speaking activities

(2 ) To give some suggestions to stimulate students to speak English

(2) What should be done to minimize the students‟ reticence in speaking English?

4 Methods of the study:

To achieve the objectives of the study, several methods were used, but the researcher used mainly quantitative and qualitative methods Each methodology has its strengths and weaknesses, thus it cannot alone help to find out satisfactory and sufficient information That is the reason why the researcher chose to make full use of both approaches rather than employ one so as to achieve the reliable results

The data serving the research analysis and discussions were collected by means of:

+A survey questionnaire for students

+ A survey questionnaire for teachers

+ A follow-up interview for students

All the comments, recommendations and conclusions provided in the study were based on the data analysis of the study

5 Significance of the study:

Firstly, the information about students‟ reticence in English speaking lessons in this minor thesis is believed to be useful for the teachers of English in general and the English teachers at HH4 high school in particular so that they can apply suitable and effective techniques to teaching oral activities

Secondly, this research may help raise the students‟ awareness of causes of silence they have in foreign language lessons, and from that they can make progress in speaking English

3

Thirdly, the study may be used as a reference on which other researchers can conduct other studies in similar areas

6 Scope of the study:

In the previous studies, reticence in learning English has been mentioned by many researchers so far and they aimed at several levels of learners Because of the limited time and within an M.A minor thesis, only speaking skill was chosen on the ground that speaking seems to be the most challenging language skill to English learners in Vietnam

in general

Moreover, the subjects chosen for this study are 10th- form students at HH4 high school, Thanh Hoa province where the researcher is teaching Thus, it cannot be said that the results of this study are general to other language skills and to all Vietnamese high school students

7 Organization of the study:

This minor thesis is divided into three main parts:

Part A- INTRODUCTION- contains rationale, objectives of the study, research

questions, methods, significance, scope and organization of the study

Part B- DEVELOPMENT- consists of the following chapters:

- Chapter 1- Literature Review- provides the basic theoretical background of reticence

such as definition, causes of reticence, effects of reticence in class; and framework of speaking skill

- Chapter 2- Methodology- deals with the picture of how the research was carried out

from the first step of determining research setting, participants, data collection instruments, procedures of data collection to the last one of procedures of data analysis

- Chapter 3- Data Analysis – provides the analysis of the first survey questionnaire and

the interview for students and the analysis of the second survey questionnaire for teachers

- Chapter 4 -Major findings, discussions and recommendations- shows major

findings, discussions and recommendations for the teachers to minimize the students‟ reticence in English speaking lessons

Part C- CONCLUSION- addresses the key issues in the study, limitations of the study

and suggestions for further study

4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter consists of two sections Section one concerns the issues of reticence

which include the definition of reticence, possible causes of language learning reticence and effects of reticence in class as well Section two deals with the issues of speaking skill

in second/ foreign language learning which cover many matters such as definition of speaking, characteristics of a successful speaking activity, and approaches to the teaching

of speaking

1.1 Theoretical background of reticence:

Reticence on the part of students in second or foreign language classrooms has received increasing attention in recent decades By observing, interviewing, and doing surveys, studies have revealed that learners, especially Asian learners, often seem reticent and quiet in language classes Dick and Robinson (1995) reported that Malaysian students

“preferred not to say anything during lecture discussion sessions If an instructor asked a general question, the classes became deadly silent” (p 5) Korean students “speak only when invited by their instructors” and “the professors also regard those who don‟t ask any questions as very good students” (p 268) Japanese students are “nervous about asking questions in class” because they are unsure if a question was appropriate and they would choose “to ask questions after class, only with teachers” (Chen, 2003, p 267)

1.1.1 Definition of reticence:

Reticence is generally viewed as an abstract concept and has been defined by many researchers McCroskey (1977) portraits it as “an individual‟s level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person

or persons ” Reticent people often speak less and for shorter durations; their language tends to be less comprehensible, less immediate, and less intense (Evans, 1996) According to Keaten & Kelly (2000), reticence is a communication problem with cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions and is due to the belief that one is better

of remaining silent than risking appearing foolish Reticent individuals refer to those who view themselves as incompetent communicators In their minds, reticence is typified by a set of faulty beliefs about communication, for example, good communicators speak

Reticence in English classroom belongs to the category of foreign language anxiety, which stands for the feeling of uneasiness, worry, nervousness and apprehension experienced by non-native speakers when learning or using a second or foreign language These feelings may stem from any second language context whether associated with the productive skills of speaking and writing, or the receptive skills of reading and listening

A student‟s reticence in class not only reveals that he/she is unwilling to talk in certain circumstances; it could also indicate any of the following symptoms:

(1) the student‟s apathy toward the topic at hand or to the learning process itself;

(2) the student who is not comprehending is overwhelmed, or is bored;

(3) the student is isolated from the learning community;

(4) the student has not learned the value or strategies of engagement or he/she does not appreciate or believe in that value

It can be seen that different researchers approach reticence‟s definitions in different ways However, they all share the same point of view that reticence is quite pervasive in ESL and EFL classrooms and can negatively affect the learning of the target language

1.1.2 Possible causes of language learning reticence:

In the past few decades, an increasing number of studies in ESL/EFL have been conducted to explore the reasons for students‟ reticence in classrooms The findings have shown that the reasons are very complex and involve multiple learner variables such as motivation, confidence, anxiety, etc (MacIntyre, Clement, Do¨rnyei, and Noels 1998; Hashimoto 2002; Yashima 2002; Liu 2005)

Educational researchers often attribute Asian students‟ reticence to „Confucianism‟,

6

which has influenced the cultures in many Asian countries for more than two thousand years (Kennedy, 2002; Scollon & Scollon, 1995) The major principles of Confucian legacies include “respect for hierarchy and age, group orientation and preservation of face…Confucian imperative of working to achieve harmony, to which all other goals are subordinate” (Chen & Pan, 1993, p 13, quoted in O‟keefe & O‟keefe, 1997) Because of the “differentials in power relationships” (Stables & Wikeley, 1999) between teachers and students, little interactional space is being granted to the learners The study conducted by Lee (2006) is also in support of the above findings According to Lee‟s observation, there are strict behavioural rules between the teacher and students in English classrooms In most cases, students only speak when they are spoken to The character of the interaction between the teacher and students is that the teacher leads students initiatively and students‟ verbal participation is passive These cultural values generally have encouraged reticence and helped make students more apprehensive and less willing to communicate in English

In Tsui‟s study, there are some contributing factors from the learners themselves for their reticence Firstly, their low English proficiency prevents them from speaking up in classroom In fact, some students know the answer but they do not know how to express their thought in English Secondly, students are unwilling to speak in English for the fear

of making mistakes and being laughed by their classmates Even when their students have

a well-preparation for the lesson, they are still afraid of losing face if they give the wrong answer Another factor is students‟ lack of confidence in their language proficiency and their shyness When they feel unconfident in their English knowledge, they prefer remaining silent to risking making mistakes

Moreover, teachers‟ intolerance of silence is a widespread phenomenon It‟s easy to realize that in class interaction, teachers often asks one question after another without giving students much time to think about the answer because they are afraid that a longer wait-time will slow down the pace of the lesson and lead to boredom and interruption in the classroom One more important factor in student reticence is the teacher‟s subconscious choice to allocate speaking turns to brighter students The fact that brighter students are more likely to provide the right answer can save time so that more can be

(1) low self esteem – students who think of themselves as unworthy or unable to communicate successfully, so they tend to remain silent out of shame

(2) fear of being ridiculed when they inappropriately or inaccurately respond

(3) fear of success – this occurs when a student interacts successfully; they attributes their success to luck or accident and then is apprehensive for others expecting him/herself to continue excellent performance, which means to interact with similar or superior success

in the future

(4) cultural differences – various cultures forbid or strongly discourage individuals from speaking up in classroom settings; sometimes for the reason of deference towards teachers; elder students‟ behaviour could also contribute to this phenomenon

(5) “to avoid conflict – inexperienced, shy, or less competent communicators rely upon silence to avoid conflict scenarios Such avoidance should normally be easily diagnosed by alert teachers; and this strategy needs to be confronted delicately with alternative strategies offered as substitutes for unwanted silence” (Verderber and Verderber, 1986)

(6) communication apprehension – a clinical fear of communicating with or in the presence of others

The present study, therefore, tries to explore this issue in more depth and to make contributions to foreign language literature by especially focusing on the causes of reticence on the part of grade 10 students in English classrooms at HH4 high school

1.1.3 Effects of reticence in class:

The effects of reticence are particularly evident in ESL/ EFL classes and it, to some degree, is a strong indicator of academic performance Reticence negatively affects everything from the teachers‟ expectations of student performance, actual classroom performance, and perceptions of others while communicating (Burgoon et al., 1987;

8

Evans, 1996; Miller, 1987)

Reticent learners suffer from mental blocks during spontaneous speaking activities, lack confidence, are less able to self-edit and identify language errors and are more likely to employ strategies such as skipping class Reticent students also forget previously learned material, volunteer answers less frequently and have a greater tendency to remain passive

in classroom activities than their less reticent counterparts

The effects of reticence could also extend outside the second language classroom A high level of reticence might also correspond with communication apprehension, causing individuals to be quieter and less willing to communicate in other public occasions As a result, people who exhibit this kind of communication reticence are more likely to be perceived as less trustworthy, less competent, less socially and physically attractive, tenser, less composed and less dominant

Therefore, working on reticence problem in and out of class is of great significance not only in academic development, but also in mental development of the students

1.2 Theoretical background of speaking skill in foreign language learning:

1.2.1 Definition of speaking:

It is known that language has been divided into four inter-related skills, in which listening and speaking are called the oral skills because of the manners by which they are formed (they are related to articulator organs); reading and writing are called the literacy skills as they connect with manual script Of all the four skills, Ur (1997: 120) believes, speaking seems intuitively the most important Most language learners, she adds, are primarily interested in learning to speak Similar view is held by Hedge when he writes that

“Learners may need the skill to establish and maintain relationships, to negotiate, to influence people Speaking is the skill by which learners are assessed when the first impression is formed ” (Hedge: 261)

As mentioned above, “speaking is the productive, oral skill” ( Bailey and Savage 1994: 2) Speaking consists of producing systematic verbal utterances to convey meaning Speaking

is “an interactive process of constructing meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information” (Florez, 1999 as cited in Bailey and Savage 1994) It is “often spontaneous, open-ended and evolving”, but it is not completely unpredictable

9

According to Brown and Yule (1983), spoken language consists of short, fragmentary utterances in a range of pronunciation It consists of two main types of conversation called dialogue and monologue In monologue, you give uninterrupted oral presentation while in dialogue, you interact with one or more other speakers for transactional and international purposes

A comprehensive discussion of speaking is provided by Bygate (1987) , who shows that

in order to be able to speak a foreign language, it is obviously necessary to have linguistic skills, that is, to understand some grammar, vocabulary and the rules governing how words are put together to form sentences He defines speaking as “Oral expressions involves not only the use of the right sounds in the patterns of rhythm and intonation, but also the choice of words and inflections in the right order to convey the right meaning.” ( Bygate, 1987: 5)

micro-In summary, speaking is believed to be one of the most challenging skills and should be paid attention in both learning and teaching Bygate‟s definition of speaking seems to coincided with the author‟s opinion on speaking

1.2.2 Characteristics of a successful speaking activity:

Speaking has the following characteristics:

Firstly, its form and meaning are dependent on the context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves, their collective experiences, the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking It is often spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving

Secondly, speaking requires that learners not only know how to produce specific points of language such as grammar, pronunciation, or vocabulary (“linguistic competence”), but also that they understand when, why, and in what ways to produce language (“sociolinguistic competence”)

Thirdly, speech has its own skills, structures, and conventions different from written language A good speaker synthesizes this array of skills and knowledge to succeed in a given speech act

Lastly, Bygate (1987) considers speaking as an undervalued skill in many ways The reason is that almost all people can speak, and so take speaking skill too much for

of an acceptable level Each characteristic is explained as follows:

1) Learners talk a lot

As much as possible of the period of time allocated to the activity is in fact occupied by learners talk This may be obvious, but often most time is taken up with teacher‟s talk or pauses

4) Language is of an acceptable level

Learners express themselves in utterances that are relevant, easy comprehensible to teach others and of acceptable level of language accuracy

To sum up, it is undeniable that speaking is key to communication By considering what good speakers do, what speaking tasks can be used in class, and what specific needs learners report, teachers can help learners improve their speaking and overall oral competence

1.2.3 Approaches to the teaching of speaking:

- The Grammar- Translation Method (GTM)

As children, people generally learn how to speak before they learn how to write and read However, in the GTM approach, this natural learning method is reversed Students are only taught how to read and write the language GTM approach focuses on sentence structure, grammar, vocabulary and direct translations of the native language to English

11

Because lessons using GTM are not interactive and engaging for students, they become more likely to lose interest in their subject and less motivated to learn Furthermore, the method does not require students to participate in any activities or communicate with each other, so they will not learn how to use the language in a real-life conversation or situation There are few opportunities for expressing original thoughts or personal needs and feeling in English ( Bailey, 2005: 16)

Unfortunately, this method has ever dominated in teaching and learning English in Vietnam for so long and it seems to be that it still has effect these days

- The Audio- lingual

The Audio-lingual is a method of foreign language teaching which emphasizes the teaching of listening and speaking before reading and writing In Audio- lingual approach, speaking is taught by having students repeat sentences and recite memorized dialogues from the textbook Repetition drills are designed to familiarize students with the sounds and structural patterns of the language Lessons are followed by the sequence of presentation, practice, and production (cited in Bailey, 2005: 17)

However, in this approach, the skill of speaking was rarely emphasized in connection to its purpose, i.e the ability to use a language in real-life situations, the ability to communicate If it was addressed, then it usually was only in terms of accuracy That can

be seen in the following quotation: “Oral expression involves not only [….] the use of the right sounds in the right patterns of rhythm and intonation, but also the choice of words and inflections in the right order to convey the right meaning” (Bygate: 5) The quotation reflects the conception of speaking at that time The emphasis on the formal part, i.e the correct sounds, the correct choice of words and inflections etc., led to the accuracy oriented practice The result was that, although learners knew the patterns and memorized the rules, they were not able to use their knowledge in practice They were not capable of exploiting the rules and patterns in real interaction

- The Communicative Language Teaching ( CLT)

Communicative Language Teaching, with an emphasis on meaning and communication, and a goal to develop learners‟ “communicative competence”, evolves as a prominent language teaching method and gradually replaced the previous GTM and Audio-lingual

12

method Since the concept of “communicative competence” was first introduced by Hymes in the mid-1960s, many researchers have helped develop theories and practices of CLT approach

Features of CLT could be concluded as: “(1) an emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language; (2) the introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation; (3) the provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on the Learning Management process; (4)

an enhancement of the learner‟s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning; (5) an attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside the classroom.” (David Nunan‟s, 1991)

In CLT context, learners are seen as active participants in the construction of knowledge, rather than passive recipients of information provided by the teacher or the textbook In contrast, language teachers are no longer viewed as the authority of the knowledge, playing a dominant role Rather, they share different roles such as communication facilitator, independent participant, needs analyst, counselor, and group process manager (Richards & Rodgers, 2001, p.167) to create more fascinating experiences for the learners

In general, each teaching method still exists both advantages and disadvantages It

is difficult to say which method is the most appropriate without considering the background in which it is applied However, in term of teaching the speaking skill, I think that CLT might be the most effective way of creating opportunities for reticent students who are always inactive to seek for their own, for the reason that it puts emphasis on learning to communicate over memorize Moreover, CLT can help break the silence in class and raise the motivation of talking

1.3 Summary:

To conclude, this chapter has reviewed a theoretical framework of reticence and the speaking skill in second language learning including definition of speaking, characteristics of a successful speaking activity and approaches to the teaching of speaking In the following chapter, the methodology used in the study will be dealt with

13

CHAPTER 2 : METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the setting of the research, participants, methods of the study

as well as the procedures of collecting and analyzing data

2.1 Research setting:

The study was conducted at Hoằng Hoá 4 high school, a rural school of Thanh Hoa province The school was established in 1989 and it has recorded a lot of achievements in training provincial gifted students for some recent years

The school has 30 classes with over 70 teachers of different subjects Currently, there are approximately 1200 students ranged from grade 10 to grade 12 Each class consists of 45 to 52 students Most of the students come from the villages in the district where English learning and teaching does not get much attention The only sources from which students can get knowledge are the textbooks and their teachers

English is the only foreign language taught and learnt at the school The total number of English teachers at HH4 high school is 9 All of them are female aged from 23

to 52 They were trained from training courses in English language teaching at different universities in Vietnam Two of them are experienced teachers who have devoted nearly 30 years of their life to teaching students Others are young teachers who are friendly, active, knowledgeable and full of inspiration for teaching

The main English textbooks used in teaching English at this school are Tieng Anh 10, Tieng Anh 11, and Tieng Anh 12 ( Basic stream) There are only three periods of English every week, with 45 minutes for each period The teaching method applied by the teachers at this school is various and integrated, but mainly GTM

The teaching of English in general and the teaching of English speaking in particular at this school has encountered many difficulties Firstly, because the national English tests are designed in written form, the speaking skill is often considered less important and even neglected Secondly, the teachers have to teach in large- sized classes ( more than 45 students), so it is difficult for them to organize oral activities as well as to pay attention to all students during class time The third is that most of the students are not familiar with teaching in English They don‟t understand when new words, new structures are explained in English and they feel pressured when using English to express

14

themselves It is set as a habit and when students come to upper grades, they become more reluctant to speak English Therefore, it is very necessary for the staff at HH4 high school to find out effective ways to minimize the difficulties in teaching English and from then, to improve the quality of English speaking lessons

2.2 Participants:

The subjects of this study consist of 149 participants placed into two groups:

- The first group contains 140 students of three classes: 10A1, 10A8, 10A10 chosen randomly from ten 10th- form classes at HH4 high school It includes 78 male and 62 female students with the age of 16 Although all of them have learned the new syllabus since they were in Grade 6, their English proficiency is mostly pre-intermediate Few students in the study can speak English fluently Most of them hardly say a thing in English When participating in this study, they were in the second term of the school year They are the subjects for the first questionnaire The researcher delivered the first survey questionnaire to these students in order to investigate why they were reticent in learning English speaking skill

To obtain a more comprehensive insider view of reticence in the speaking class, ten of 140 students were invited for a follow-up interview

- The second group includes 9 female teachers of English at HH4 high school Among them, five teachers graduated from University (U.) of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National U ( two of whom were in- service training course and one of whom used to be a teacher of Russian but she took an English course as the second diploma and now works as an English teacher ) Two teachers graduated from the English department of Hong Duc U., one from Vinh U and the youngest teacher who graduated last year was trained at Hue U Apart from the youngest, other teachers have at least 6 years of teaching English They are friendly and dedicated in their jobs They are selected

to be the subjects of the second survey questionnaire The results from these teachers will give objective view on students‟ reticence in speaking English

2.3 Data collection instruments :

The instruments include two survey questionnaires ( one for students and the other for

teachers), and a follow- up interview for students

15

2.3.1 Survey questionnaires:

- The first questionnaire has 10 questions and was delivered to 140 students from class 10A1, 10A8, 10A10 at HH4 high school The questionnaire was conducted in Vietnamese because the students might not understand all information in English, which may affect the result of the study The students‟ questionnaire is about 3 aspects :

+ Students‟ attitudes towards speaking skill (questions 1, 2, 3,4 )

+ Factors making students reticent in speaking lessons ( questions 5, 6, 7, 8 )

+ Students‟ desires to stimulate them to speak English ( questions 9, 10)

- The second questionnaire was delivered to 9 English teachers It consists of 6 questions concerning 4 aspects:

+ Their teaching method used in teaching speaking skill ( question 1)

+ Difficulties they usually encounter when teaching the speaking skill ( question 2)

+ Their attitudes towards reluctant speakers and mistake makers ( question 3, 4)

+ Their recent techniques to motivate reluctant speakers ( question 5, 6)

The two questionnaires consist of closed questions in which the respondents were required to choose a suitable answer from the list given by the researcher

The researcher did not design all question items but modified most of them from other researchers because there are many similar questionnaires which can suit the researcher‟s purpose

2.3.2 Interview:

In this thesis, the aim of the researcher for interview is to get better insights into the research questions and to discuss for further information about the items raised in the first questionnaire for students The interview was carried out in Vietnamese in the form of an informal conversation between the researcher and 10 students randomly chosen from the three classes after students had done their survey questionnaire Each interview lasted about 15 minutes The questions in the interview were based on the questions in the first questionnaire for students, but were extended to get more thorough understanding of the matter The data collected from the interview were recorded, transcribed, and then translated into English for the purposes of the study

2.4 Procedures of data collection:

16

The questionnaire was issued to students first in the middle of the second semester of the academic year 2012- 2013 and then a following audio-recorded interview was conducted with students individually The reason why the researcher conducted the questionnaire to students prior to the interview is that students unfamiliar with the researcher may be reluctant to divulge relevant information (Hopkins, 2002) During the interview with individual students, the researcher used the items on the first questionnaire that they already answered beforehand as the prompts to elicit further information from them

The questionnaire for teachers was conducted after interviewing students to gather information about the problems teachers have to encounter when teaching the speaking skill and their pedagogical practices to minimize students‟ reticence

The participants were asked to complete the questionnaires at home and returned their responses two days later so that they would have as much time as they needed

2.5 Procedures of data analysis:

Data analysis is not simply a single description of the collected data and information In fact, it is the process by which the researcher interprets the data and

information collected from the survey questionnaires and the interview

The information collected was first read through for a sense of overall data Then it was analyzed both descriptively and interpretatively The information from the questionnaires was displayed in the form of tables and charts, while the information from the interview was showed in quotations

17

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS

This chapter aims at analyzing the data collected A careful analysis is clearly presented to investigate the reticence among the students during speaking activities

3.1 Data analysis of the first survey questionnaire and the interview for students:

3.1.1 Students’ attitude towards speaking skill:

Question 1: How important is speaking skill to you?

Chart 1: Students‟ opinions on the importance of speaking skill

Surprisingly, the statistical results from Chart 1 above revealed that students in general attached to speaking a considerable importance The high percentage of the respondents (44%) considered speaking skill quite important to them 40% of the respondents mentioned speaking was a very important skill 12% did not highly evaluate the importance of the speaking skill when they said that the speaking skill was little important Only 4% of them thought the speaking skill was not important at all

From this fact, it can be concluded that the majority of the students were aware of the importance of speaking skill It was, thus, the teacher‟s role to find the ways to stimulate the students to participate in the speaking activities effectively

not at all 4%

quite important

44%

little important

12%

very important 40%

very important quite important little important not at all

Table 1: Students‟ reasons for learning English speaking

As can be seen from table 1, the highest percentage (82%) of the students wanted to learn English because they thought that English was one of the obligatory subjects for learning

in the school‟s curriculum When being interviewed by the researcher, one student said :

- “I don‟t have any specific purpose in learning English It is a compulsory subject, so I guess I have no other choices”

A frequent students‟ answer (33%) was that they had to learn English because it is an important means of communication The future job was also the thing that students concerned 24% of them thought that English was necessary for their future job A small number of the students ( 8%) affirmed that they were fond of learning speaking skill because it was easier for them to get higher marks in speaking tests than in the tests of other skills The lowest percentage of the respondents (2%) claimed they wanted to study abroad in the future Whether they could achieve their wishes or not, it was the reason why they tried to study English About 11% of the participants answered that they were interested in English, especially English culture and people Besides, 12% revealed they were interested in learning English as it helped them relax when listening to music, playing games, reading books, magazines, newspapers…in English One interviewee said:

- “I have been studying English since I was at secondary school I am completely keen on listening and singing English songs I also want to know more about English culture, so I

19

find English very interesting”

The above results suggested that students may enjoy learning speaking skill due to a genuine interest in English, but this intrinsic motivation only made up a small proportion

of students (23%)

It may be concluded that the reasons for which students learn English mostly arise from external stimuli, i.e the requirements of their school; the demands of the contemporary society in general and the needs in their future profession Therefore, they often feel unwilling and forced to learn English This partly leads to their reticence in oral activities

Question 3: How much do you feel interested in speaking English in class?

Table 2: Students‟ interest in learning speaking skill

The statistics from table 2 show a surprising fact that only 22% of all students felt interested in speaking lessons while 51% felt little interested and 27% of them responded

that they did not feel interested at all

From these figures, we can come to conclusion that the students with low interest made

up the higher proportion than those with high one interest

Question 4: How often do you speak English in English class time?

As can be seen from the chart above, only 9% of the respondents usually spoke English or were willing to speak in any activities, whereas 63% spoke it rarely or never spoke

Question Options No of students Percentage (%)

20

English except from the teacher‟s requests Also, 28% of them said that they liked oral activities but sometimes, they were not used to speaking in class In observation, the researcher realized that most students were reluctant to speak English and tended to keep silent until their teacher required or got oral marks When answering the researcher‟s questions, one interviewee said:

- “ I know English is very important for my study and future, but I don‟t know why I can‟t speak it willingly I am afraid my classmates will laugh at me because I am very bad at English pronunciation”

Shared the same idea, another student said:

- “ I rarely speak English in class although I know class is a good environment for me to practice I don‟t feel self- confident”

In a nutshell, from the results shown in Chart 1, Chart 2, Table 1 and Table 2, it can be said that most of the respondents regarded speaking as an important skill However, the percentage of the students who often felt reluctant to speak was bigger than that of students interested in speaking English in class So the question raised here is what factor made many students uninterested and reluctant to speak English in class The following responses will be the answer to the question

3.1.2 Factors making students reticent in English speaking activities in class:

Question 5: What do you think about the speaking topics in the textbook “ Tiếng Anh 10”?

Chart 3: Students‟ opinions on the speaking topics of “ Tiếng Anh 10” text book

D E

21

When answering this question, nearly two- third of the respondents stated that

topics in “ Tiếng Anh 10” textbook were OK 6% of them believed the topics were very

interesting and 18% found them interesting The number of students that had negative assessment was minimal, only fifteen percent

The result reveals that speaking topics in the textbook were not the factor that caused to the students‟ silence in speaking classes, because the rate of students that had positive assessment of the topics took the majority The cause of the problem was, therefore, not the topics of “ Tiếng Anh 10” textbook , but something else which should

be explored in other aspects

Question 6: What do you think about the speaking tasks in the textbook “ Tiếng Anh 10”?

Table 3: Students‟ opinions on the speaking tasks of “ Tiếng Anh 10” textbook

Table 3 shows that only 8% of the students regarded the speaking tasks easy or too easy 37% found the tasks suitable for their proficient level On the contrary, 55% complained about the difficulties of the tasks with the reason that too many tasks had to be completed

in each lesson and they couldn‟t find ideas and structures to speak out

In conclusion, difficulties of the speaking tasks in the material “ Tiếng Anh 10” is one of the reasons that made students unwilling to speak English in class

Question 7: What student- related factors cause you to be reticent in oral activities in class?

Question Options No of students Percentage (%)

Lack of vocabulary and grammatical structures 92 66

Nothing to say ( no ideas) 65 46

Fear of being laughed at when making mistakes 76 54

Not accustomed to speaking English in class 72 51 Learning goal is not to communicate 22 16 Not have enough time to prepare 35 25

Introversive personality 57 40

Fear of “ Showing off” 18 13 Traditional cultural beliefs 37 28

Table 4: Student- related factors making students reticent in oral activities

As can be viewed from the table, low English proficiency was the greatest contributor to the students‟ reticence in oral English lessons 66% of the respondents

couldn‟t find words or structures to express their opinion when speaking 64% said that

their pronunciation was poor, so they couldn‟t speak English fluently 46% of them thought that nothing to say for the given topic was one of the big troubles preventing them from participating in oral activities A student when interviewed answered:

-“I cannot speak because I cannot find the appropriate structures to express my idea”

Another important factor was the fear of being laughed at by their peers when they made mistakes, taking 54% One interviewee said:

- “ I do not want to talk in my speaking class because others can laugh at me, which

irritates me a lot.”

The next, which affected 51% of the respondents, was that they were not accustomed to speaking English in class This may be affected by their prior learning experiences at school As one interviewee said, when they were at primary school, the teacher told them to be quiet in the classroom, listen to her and speak only if she asked them to do The people who made noise were to be punished by the teacher It meant that the teacher was a powerful figure These didn‟t change when they grew up

In addition to that, 40% of the students also thought that reticence was so strongly related

to personality It was the introversive personality that prevented students from taking part

23

in speaking lessons actively 28% agreed that student reticence in oral English classes was concerned with traditional cultural beliefs, which emphasized modesty and respect to elders and people in authority This was truthfully reflected in the classrooms where

teachers were considered as figures of authority As a student respondent stated:

- “Vietnamese people don‟t like to show their views in public Culture is deep in

everyone‟s mind It is passed from generation to generation So in our mind, it is all right

to be reticent We like to be silent and listen to others”

Contributing to the reasons of the student reticence, 25% said that they were not given enough time for the preparation of their topics, 16% said that their learning goal is not to communicate The smallest percentage of the respondents ( 13%) expressed concern about how their peers would regard them if they spoke up frequently in class They did not want to be labeled as a „show-off‟ This occurrence is developed in language classes when learners are criticized or even ostracized by classmates if they are viewed as taking

a more active role than the rest

All the above-mentioned factors deter students from speaking unwillingly Gradually, they will lose their interest in trying to speak and become discouraged to speak English anymore

Question 8: What teacher- related factors cause you to be reticent in oral activities in class?

Chart 4: Teacher- related factors making students reticent in oral activities

Teacher talks too much in class

Teacher's boring teaching method

Teacher keeps a distance from students

Teacher's uneven allocation of turns

Teacher's unsuitable speaking style

42

6

24

Statistics provided in Chart 4 show that 54 % of the students felt reluctant to speak English because their teacher often stopped them and corrected their mistakes when they were speaking Error correction is indispensable for effective teaching and learning, but what remains the most crucial is the manner of correction In this study, most participants did not agree with the behaviour of a teacher‟s correcting mistakes immediately It made them think of losing face in front of their peers and after listening to the teacher, they were likely to forget what they were talking about Below was the remark of one student:

- “If a teacher interrupts me to correct a mistake, I get confused and forget what to say next.”

In Chart 4, it can also be realized that 52% of the respondents thought that another factor related to teachers was teacher‟s too much talking time According to some student interviewees, their teacher spent more class-time than students providing new words, explaining grammar structures, giving examples, etc As a result, time for students‟ speaking practice was much reduced A lot of students sit in silence in class, took notes and participated in the lesson only when they were asked to

The analysis of the data shows that 42% of the students complained their teachers preferred selecting the particular students who were able to provide the expected answers That was the reason why some lower proficient students in class had few chances to speak out And as Tsui (1996) stated, some teachers‟ intolerance of silence in class and uneven allocation of turns might lead to reticence on the part of students in the language classroom The chart also states that boring teaching way was one of the factors which made students reluctant to speak English ( taking 32%) So the teachers should not ignore this idea, but consider it and have necessary changes in their teaching ways

Only a very small percentage of the respondents blamed their reticence for the teacher‟s speaking style (3%) and for teacher‟s unenthusiasm (6%) Most of the student interviewees said that their teachers often gave clear instructions with average speaking speed, simple words and sometimes they spoke instructions in Vietnamese to help them understand the task All informants also agreed on the idea that their teachers were friendly, considerate, funny, tolerant, sympathetic, and patient To express a positive attitude towards their teachers, some students commented as follow:

3.1.3 Students’ desires to stimulate them to speak English:

Question 9: Which of the following factors do you think your teacher should do to encourage you to speak English in class?

students

Percentage

(%)

Be enthusiastic, friendly and helpful 52 37

Give you speaking tasks appropriate to your ability 65 46

Provide you with main ideas of the topics 78 56

Provide you with new words and structures relating to the topics 97 69

Not interrupt you when you make mistakes 59 42

Encourage you with marks and rewards 15 11

Table 5: Students‟ desires on what teacher should do to encourage them to speak English

As can be seen in table 5, what most students ( 69%) would like their teachers to do in speaking lessons was providing them with new words and structures relating to the topics Secondly, 56% hoped that their teachers would suggest them main ideas of the topic Next, teachers should give students speaking tasks which were suitable to their level in

26

order to maximize their involvement in speaking lessons In addition, 42% of the participants wanted their teachers not to interfere them to correct while they were speaking 37% took the great notice of teacher‟s enthusiasm, friendliness and helpfulness Pleasant class atmosphere was one of the factors students wished their teachers to create ( taking 26%) The class in which classmates helped each other, both weak and good students shared ideas, both teacher and students together solved the tasks was the best environment for students to practise speaking Only 11% of the students chose teacher‟s giving good marks and rewards for their motivation in speaking

Question 10: Which of the following communicative teaching activities will motivate you to speak English?

Chart 5: Students‟ desires on communicative teaching activities

From the result collected in Chart 5, it can be recognized that 100% of the respondents were fond of working with their friends in pairs or in groups The reason for this could be that pair work and group work helped them reduce anxiety and reluctance in speaking

One interviewee shared:

- “ Yes, of course Pair work and group work are suitable and useful to us We can help each other correct mistakes and share ideas”

Some other activities preferred by many students were structure- based activities (85%), ask and answer questions (72%) and games (75%) The explanation for these could be such activities were easy to prepare and speak up What is more, taking part in games helped them reduce stress and motivated them to get involved in the tasks 43% of the

based activities