Factors affecting oral presentations of the second-year English major students at Hanoi University of Industry kỹ năng thuyết trình của sinh viên chuyên Anh năm

HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES Department of Postgraduate Studies NGUYEN THI PHUONG NHUNG FACTORS AFFECTING ORAL PRESENTATIONS OF THE SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH MAJO

FIELD: ENGLISH METHODOLOGY CODE: 60 14 10

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITYHanoi university of languages and international studies

Department of postgraduate studies

 -NGUYỄN THỊ PHƯƠNG NHUNG

FACTORS AFFECTING ORAL PRESENTATIONS OF THE YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF

SECOND-INDUSTRY những yếu tố ảnh h-ởng kỹ năng thuyết trình của sinh viên chuyên anh năm thứ hai tr-ờng đại học

công nghiệp hà nội

MA MINOR THESIS

HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Department of Postgraduate Studies

NGUYEN THI PHUONG NHUNG

FACTORS AFFECTING ORAL PRESENTATIONS OF THE SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Declaration i

Acknowledgements ii

Abstract iii

Table of contents iv

List of tables vii

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims of the study 2

3 Scope and significance of the study 2

4 Methods of the study 2

5 Design of the study 2

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

1.1 Knowledge and skills 4

1.2 Speaking skills 5

1.2.1 Nature of Speaking 5

1.2.2 Types of Classroom Speaking Performance 6

1.3 Oral Presentations 7

1.3.1 Definition and Structure 7

1.3.2 Types of Oral Presentations 8

1.3.3 Presenting techniques 10

1.3.4 Characteristics of a good presentation 11

1.3.5 Teaching Oral Presentation skills in the language classroom 12

1.3.6 Factors affecting oral presentation skills 14

1.3.6.1 Students’ language proficiency 14

1.3.6.2 Students’ personality 15

1.3.6.3 Teacher’s role 16

CHAPTER II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 17

2.1 Context of the study 17

2.1.1 The teachers 17

2.1.2 The students 17

2.1.3 Learning and teaching facilities 18

2.1.4 Speaking syllabus 18

2.2 Research Methods 19

2.2.1 Research questions 19

2.2.2 Participants 19

2.2.3 Data collection instruments 19

CHAPTER III: MAJOR FINDINGS AND DICUSSIONS 21

3.1 Results of the survey questionnaire and interviews 21

3.1.1 Students’ attitudes towards oral presentation skills 21

3.1.2 Students’ evaluations of their own presentation skills 21

3.1.3 Factors affecting the students’ oral presentations 22

3.1.3.1 Students’ language proficiency 22

3.1.3.2 Students’ personality characteristics 25

3.1.3.3 Teacher factor 26

3.2 Results from Class Observation 29

3.3 Students’ suggestions 32

CHAPTER IV: RECOMMENDATIONS 34

4 1 Recommendations for students 34

4.1.1 Having thorough preparation 34

4.1.2 Taking part in self-evaluation and peer evaluation activities 35

4.2 Recommendations for teachers 35

4.2.1 Improving students’ oral proficiency 35

4.2.2 Improving students’ nonverbal skills 35

4.2.3 Building up students’ confidence 36

PART III: CONCLUSION 38

1 Summary of the study 38

2 Limitations and suggestions for further study 38 REFERENCES

APPENDIXES

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Students’ difficulties in terms of language 22 Table 2: Students’ personality characteristics 25 Table 3: Students’ reflection to their teachers’ activities 27

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Today, it is internationally acknowledged that English has become the world’s most important language that is used as a medium for international communication, especially in trade and business Therefore, the demand for studying English is great Many students choose to study this language as their major at university in the hope that they will be able

to find a good job after graduation because employers always seek applicants who have excellent oral communication skills Capability to speak English fluently in general and presenting effectively in particular may be advantages for students in their future jobs Making oral presentations brings students a lot of benefits which are bridging the gap between language study and language use, using the four language skills in a naturally integrated way, helping students to collect, inquire, organize and construct information, enhancing team work, and helping students become active and autonomous learners As a matter of fact, a language learner's ability to present in the target language is dependent on

a number of factors which are not solely related to their knowledge of the language systems (grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation) but personality factors such as timidity

or self-confidence also play an important part To get the best result for the presentations, students need to master a wide range of skills and techniques such as the use of language, the way to organize all ideas, the use of gestures, posture and eye-contact, and the ability to speak clearly and confidently

Being a teacher of English, the researcher realizes that many second-year English majors at Hanoi University of Industry fail to deliver a presentation successfully and making effective presentations is always their desire Some serious students who invest time and effort into an oral presentation do not always get the intended outcomes Other students try

to get through the ordeal as quickly as possible, but do not improve their speaking skills under such stressful situations They have a lot of ideas for their presentations, but they do not perform well in the class to attract the audience’s attention These problems are the

motivation for the researcher to carry out a study on factors affecting oral presentations of

the Second-Year English major students at Hanoi University of Industry

2 Aims of the study

The main aim of the study is to investigate the factors affecting oral presentations of the Second-Year English Major Students at Hanoi University of Industry The specific objectives of the study are:

- To identify the students’ attitudes towards oral presentation skills

- To get to know their evaluations of their presentations

- To investigate the factors affecting their oral presentations

- To give some suggestions to improve their presentation skills

3 Scope and significance of the study

The study focuses on oral presentation skills in English in the classroom context of 82 second-year English majors at Hanoi University of Industry Hopefully, the findings and recommendations of this study will be of some help for both teachers and students of English in the process of teaching and learning oral presentation skills The results of this study may also be useful for those who are interested in this field

4 Methods of the study

To fulfill the above aims, the study was carried out with different methods of data collection:

- A questionnaire was delivered to 82 second-year majors

- Informal interviews with students were also employed

- Class observation was carried out to have deeper look at students’ presentations in the classroom

5 Design of the study

The study is divided into three parts

Part one, INTRODUCTION, presents reasons for choosing the topic, the aims, scope, significance, methods as well as design of the study

Part two, DEVELOPMENT, has four following chapters:

Chapter one is the Literature Review which deals with theories and concepts related to speaking skills and oral presentations in English

Chapter two is Methodology in which the current situation of teaching and learning English in general and speaking in particular at Hanoi University of Industry is described

The research methods which cover research questions, the participants, and data collection instruments are also mentioned in this chapter

Chapter three presents some major findings and discussions based on the results of the questionnaire, interviews, and class observation

Chapter four, namely recommendations, offers some suggestions for students and teachers

at Hanoi University of Industry to improve students’ oral presentation skills

Part three, CONCLUSION, summarizes what are addressed in the study The limitations of the study and suggestions for further study are also included in this part

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW

In the attempt to investigate factors affecting students’ oral presentations in English Foreign Language classrooms, it is thought that the study needs to point out the relation

between knowledge and skills, particularly speaking skills Then the nature of speaking, types of classroom speaking and some aspects of oral presentations are to be explored These issues are the focus of this chapter

1.1 Knowledge and skills

It is not easy for foreign language teachers to help learners become proficient in using the language Being a proficient user of a language means having both good knowledge and skills of using the language From that point of view, Bygate (1987) indicates that foreign language teachers must understand the interrelation between knowledge and skills

Right from the start, he points out that one of the basic problems in foreign language teaching is to prepare learners to be able to use the language For instance, in order to speak a foreign language, it is necessary to know a certain amount of grammar and vocabulary However, the knowledge of the language is never sufficient He emphasizes the importance of skill; it is skill that is “the most realizable” in a speaking class and in an oral exam: “To test whether learners can speak, it is necessary to get them to actually say something To do this they must act on knowledge of grammar and vocabulary By giving learners “speaking practice” and “oral exams” we recognize there is a difference between knowledge about a language and skill in using it” To illustrate his viewpoint, he gives an example of a car driver as follows:

“An analogy with the driver of a car may be helpful What knowledge a car driver needs? Clearly he or she needs to know the names of the controls; where they are; what they do and how they are operated … However, the driver also needs the skill to be able to use the controls to guide the car along a road without hitting the various objects that tend to get in the way; you have to be able to do this at a normal speed…; you have to drive smoothly and without getting too close to any dangerous obstacles And it is not enough to drive in a straight line; the driver also has to be able to manage the variations in road conditions safely.”

He also gives another example in language: when a learner of English leaves “s” sound at the end of English words in his flow of talk In this situation we are not convinced that he does not know the rule In fact, he knows it but as he speaks, he fails to follow that rule Knowledge is defined by Bygate as “what they conceive and memorize” But what make the above student exclude “s” sound? Bygate points out that the answer to this question is a skill, which is a special ability to do something well This is acquired only when much imitation and practice are offered It seems that Bygate’s opinion of knowledge and skill is

true with students’ oral presentations Many of them have knowledge of grammar, knowledge of the topic and content but they still can not produce a good presentation

In conclusion, “knowledge itself is not enough; knowledge has to be used in action” That

is the reason why we need skills, which can be gained with practice But what skills does a learner of a foreign language need in order to obtain good oral communication? To answer this question, it is necessary to have a look at speaking skills

1.2 Speaking skills

1.2.1 Nature of speaking

Language skills involve four-macro skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing, which are inter-related According to Byrne (1986), the supportive relationship among these skills is clearly revealed when we look at oral communication which is a two-way

process between speaker and listener (or listeners) and involves the productive skill of speaking and the receptive skill of listening He states that “the speaker has to encode the

message he wishes to convey in appropriate language, while the listener has to decode (or interpret) the message” Of the four skills, speaking plays a very important role since it is the first step to identify who knows and does not know a language From Ur’s point of view (1996), speaking seems intuitively the most important: “people who know a language are referred to as “speakers” of that language as if speaking included all other kinds of knowing; and most foreign language learners are primarily interested in learning to speak” The nature of speaking has attracted many scholars’ attention so far According to Bygate

(1987), there are two basic ways in which we do can be seen as a skill They are

motor-perception skills and interaction skills Motor-motor-perception skills involve perceiving,

recalling and articulating in the correct order sounds and structures of language Interaction skills involve making decisions about communication, such as what to say, how to say it and whether to develop it in accordance with one’s intentions, while maintaining the desired relations with others To be more specific, Bygate discusses another term in speaking called “routines” which are conventional ways of presenting information He

provides two kinds of routines: information routines and interactional routines

Information routines may be described to involve two sub-routines: expository and evaluation The former includes description, comparison, and instruction The latter consists of explanation, prediction, justification, preference and decision Interactional routines are telephone conversations, interview conversations, conversations at parties, lessons, radio or television interviews, which are structured in characteristic ways

Other authors examining the nature of speaking are Brown and Yule (1983) In “Teaching the spoken language”, they propose the distinction between two basic language functions These are the transactional function, which is primarily concerned with the transfer of information, and the interactional function, in which the primary purpose of speech is the maintenance of social relationships They also focus on another distinction when considering the development of speaking skills They are dialogue and monologue They state that the ability to give an uninterrupted oral presentation (monologue) is rather different from interacting with one or more other native speakers for transactional and interactional purposes Therefore, presentation skills have to be learned and practiced carefully

To sum up, speaking is a process of transferring information and maintaining relationship and learning to speak a foreign language is never an easy task

1.2.2 Types of classroom Speaking Performance

Brown (1994) gives six categories of oral production that students are expected to carry out

in the classroom They are imitative, intensive, responsive, transactional (dialogue),

interpersonal (dialogue) and extensive (monologue)

The first type of speaking performance is imitative which is carried out in the form of

drilling Imitation of this kind is not for the purpose of meaningful interaction, but for focusing on some particular element of language form As stated by Brown, drilling is a legitimate part of the communicative language classroom “Drills offer students an opportunity to listen and to orally repeat certain strings of language that may pose some linguistic difficulty – either phonological or grammatical… They allow one to focus on one element of language in a controlled activity They can help to establish certain psychomotor patterns … and to associate selected grammatical forms with their appropriate context.”

The second type is intensive which goes one step beyond imitative to include any speaking

performance that is designed to practice some phonological or grammatical aspect of language It can form parts of some pair work activity, where learners are “going over”

certain forms of language

The next type is responsive performance: short replies to teacher or student initiated

questions or comments For example, the teacher’s questions: “How are you today?” is replied “Pretty good, thanks, and you?” by the students “These replies are usually sufficient and do not extend into dialogues.”

The fourth type is transactional (dialogue) which is carried out for the purpose of

conveying or exchanging specific information, is an extended form of responsive language Conversations may have more of a negotiative nature than merely responsive speech

The fifth type, interpersonal is carried out more for the purpose of maintaining social

relationships than for the transmission of facts and information

The final speaking performance is extensive (monologue) Students at intermediate to

advanced levels are called on to give extended monologues in the form of oral reports, summaries, or perhaps short speeches which can be planned or impromptu

1.3 Oral Presentations

1.3.1 Definition and Structure

Oral presentations are defined as “brief discussions of a focused topic delivered to a group

of listeners in order to impart knowledge or to stimulate discussion They are similar to short papers with an introduction, main body and conclusion” (Ohio Wesleyan University)

In the classroom, presentation is a popular kind of activity where a student or a group of students give a speech on a topic of their own choice or given by the teacher Such talks are subject matter oriented, they are prepared and “writing like”

An oral presentation has three main parts: introduction, body, and conclusion The

introduction aims to state the topic and get the audience’s attention It gives the audience the preview of the presentation The body must inform or persuade the audience including main points and sub-points The last main part is the conclusion which summaries the information presented in the body

1.3.2 Types of Oral Presentations

Oral presentations are classified into different types due to their modes of delivery and purposes In terms of delivering modes, Dwyer (2000) gives five forms of presentations or

speeches which are: impromptu speech, manuscript speech, memorized speech, briefing,

and team briefing

The impromptu speech is unexpected and thus delivered with very little or no preparation

Some impromptu speeches are special occasion such as welcomes, introductions or acknowledgements As this occasion for a speech usually takes the speaker by surprise, it

is important to think clearly, analyze the situation quickly and speak briefly and to the point A successful formula used by many speakers for an impromptu speech is the PREP

formula, in which P stands for the main point; R stands for the reason for the speech; E stands for the example to illustrate the main point; P stands for restating the main point

The manuscript speech, which is researched and structured, involves writing a

presentation word-for-word and reading the presentation to the audience It is suited to longer, more technical and difficult business presentations at meeting or conferences It is also suitable for legal presentation, a parliamentary address, a press release or a speech that will be reported or quoted It is used when the speaker needs to be precise in what he/ she says Even though the speaker is reading the manuscript, it is important to look at the audience as often as possible to maintain eye contact and use facial expressions and gestures

The memorized speech is suited to short talks It involves writing a presentation

word-for-word and reciting the presentation from memory To sound relax and confident, the presenter should try to memorize the introduction carefully – this applies to any speech

The briefing speech is a short oral summary or report of a plan Its aim might be to inform,

propose or justify solutions, or persuade the audience An oral briefing that invites the audience to participate is usually more effective than a long speech For this type of speech, it is important for the presenter to:

- prepare the briefing

- concentrate on its main purpose

- present background information

- discuss alternatives

- analyze their advantages and disadvantages

- encourage audience participation, questions and suggestions

- show interest in audience response

Team briefings are becoming more common All members in the team take part in the

presentation First, they consider the purpose of their presentation and the audience nature Then the team designs the structure of the presentation and organizes it into sections A particular section is then allocated to each speaker However, the team aims for a unified and coherent message rather than a series of individual presentations, so it is important to decide who will:

- present the introduction

- develop the main body and provide supporting ideas

- reinforce the ideas outlined in the main body and present the conclusion

In business communication, briefings and oral reports are most often used for staff meetings, customer contacts, and reports to supervisors and managers on progress, results

or problems

In terms of purposes, oral presentations in college courses generally fall into two

categories: informative and persuasive presentation

Informative presentation has audience learning as its primary goal An informative speech

may explain a concept, instruct the audience, demonstrate a process, or describe an event

In an academic setting, the informative speech may take many different forms such as individual or group report; oral briefing … The presenter must keep a presentation brief and relevant, stick to the acts and avoid complicated information

Persuasive presentation is used to influence what the audience thinks or does Four goals

of persuasive speaking are:

- to reinforce the attitudes, beliefs, and values the audience already holds

- to inoculate the audience against counter persuasion

- to change attitudes

- to motivate the audience to act

Persuasion is a very complex process that combines three essential elements: ethos, the credibility of the speaker; logos, the logical proof and reasoning presented in the word of speech; and pathos, the use of emotional appeals to influence the audience Therefore, to succeed with a persuasive presentation, the presenter must present sufficient logic, evidence, and emotion to sway the audience to his/ her viewpoint

In second language classroom, the teacher will assign the students a particular type of presentation and/ or a topic to investigate In other times, the students may be given freedom to choose both the topic and the type of presentation that they wish to give

1.3.3 Presenting techniques

In fact, many students are very good at English in terms of grammar or pronunciation or they can produce short utterances to exchange information rather well but they may fail to give an effective oral presentation This is due to characteristics of presentations; therefore, students need to be prepared some necessary presenting techniques besides the language factor for presentation Emden & Becker (2004) indicate that “The ability to speak well enough to interest, influence or persuade other people is a major asset, whatever you choose to do in the future” They place great weight on the importance of body language in oral presentations including eye contact, facial expression, hand movement, and posture

because making enough interaction with the audience is very important for a good presenter Emden and Becker add that “most poor presenting is the result of bad habit such

as not looking at the audience or muttering instead of speaking clearly” Body language is used to build essential rapport between the speaker and the audience that convinces the listeners of what he/ she is saying and encourages their response In turn, the listeners will reflect how they feel about the presenting skills (impressed, encouraged, or bored) and about the message (interested, agreeing or disagreeing) It is essential, therefore, that the presenter uses appropriate non-verbal communication at each stage while speaking and recognizes the signals the audience is sending out

In addition, voice quality during the presentation is also extremely important: “People’s voices have qualities that may be attractive or unattractive: a low voice is usually easier to listen to than a high-pitched voice, a harsh quality of voice can sound aggressive even when its owner feels at ease, a very soft voice may be pleasant at first, but becomes irritating if we, the listeners, have to concentrate hard to catch the words”

Besides, using good visual aids also has good effects on oral presentations According to Emden and Becker (2004), listening is not easy and “it helps a great deal if you have something to look at” Audiences are grateful for the reinforcement of a good visual aid because human beings tend to remember what they see more steadily than what they hear

To conclude, teachers should make students aware of the importance of these presenting techniques as their ability to use body language, visual aids and their voice properly is one

of the factors that decide the success of their presentations

1.3.4 Characteristics of a good presentation

In general, the following criteria can be seen as characteristics of a good oral presentation

in which the presenter:

- stands up straight, looks relaxed and confident

- shows a full understanding of the topic

- often uses pitch and conveys emotions appropriately

- always listens to, shares with, and supports the effort of others in the group

- uses body language and facial expressions to generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others

- speaks clearly and distinctively

- does not mispronounce words

- uses vocabulary appropriately for audience, and defines new ones

- takes from five to eight minutes to present

To be more detailed, Comfort (1997) identifies things that make a presentation effective are as below:

Over all: - awareness of the audience

- clear objectives System:

- planning – have a clear structure and a sense of timing

- organization – have clear connections between the different parts or ideas

- information – make sure that it is interesting and relevant to your audience

- impact – make sure to have a strong introduction and conclusions

Delivery:

- clear, simple, and fluent

- use of natural spoken language

- use of pauses for emphasis

Body language:

- use of strong, clear gestures for emphasis

- good eye contact with the audience

- positive, confident, and relaxed manner

- no distracting gestures

Visual aids:

- clear and simple messages

- efficient, professional use of equipment

The above criteria can be used to evaluate students’ oral presentations

1.3.5 Teaching Oral Presentation skills in the language classroom

Oral presentations, if properly guided and organized, provide a learning experience and teach life long skills that will be beneficial to learners in all school subjects as well as later

in their careers Making oral presentations brings students a lot of advantages which are: bridging the gap between language study and language use; using the four language skills

in a naturally integrated way; helping students to collect, inquire, organize and construct information; enhancing team work; and helping students become active and autonomous learners

For learners of English, making a presentation in English can be difficult and demanding because it has content, structure and needs preparation Making a presentation is even difficult for native speakers themselves As stated by Brown and Yule (1983), a student who can make good conversations in English may be unsuccessful in delivering a speech:

“A short turn consists of only one or two utterances, a long turn consists of a string of utterances which may last as long as an hour’s lecture… What is demanded for a speaker

in a long turn is considerably more demanding than what’s required of a speaker in a short turn As soon as the speaker “takes the floor” for a long turn, tells an anecdote, tells a joke, explains how something works, justifies a position, describes an individual, and so on, he takes responsibility for creating a structured sequence of utterances which must help the listener(s) to create a coherence of what he is trying to say What the speaker says must be coherently structured The general point which needs to be made is that it is important for the teacher to realize that simply training the students to produce short turns will not automatically yield students who can perform satisfactorily in long turn”

Underhill (1987) suggests that in a less formal situation, mini-presentation may be a routine part of the daily teaching schedule Each day one learner in turn makes his presentation lasting from five to ten minutes to the rest of the class He is expected to refer

to notes; but reading aloud is strongly discouraged The use of simple aids such as an overhead projector, black board or flipchart diagrams is encouraged if appropriate At the end of the presentation, the speaker is expected to deal with any questions related to the topic When this procedure has been established, the whole activity, from introducing the speaker at the beginning through the presentation and Questions and Answers session to a final summary, can be conducted by the learners without the intervention of the teacher

He also states that choosing the topic is very important “It should be relevant to the aims

of the program or the needs of the learners and should contain new information or put over

a new viewpoint It should not be so specialized that only the speaker himself is interested, nor should it be so general that it has no apparent purpose other than a long exercise Ideally, the topic should be chosen by the learner in consultation with his teacher who will help match the ability of the learner with the difficulty of a given topic”

Vo (1994) suggests the following procedure for the teachers to assign oral presentations (students have a certain amount of time to prepare for their presentations at home):

1 At the beginning of the term, announce to the students that they all will have an opportunity to speak in front of the group

2 Put up a large calendar so that students can pick up the date they prefer

3 After the break of every class session, have one student come forward and speak about the topic he or she chose

4 During the speech, sit in the audience

5 Have each student speak for about five minutes

6 Have the other class members hold their questions and comments until the speaker has finished

7 After each speech, give the speaker some feedback

Oral presentations can also be carried out as class activity Students work in a small group

to discuss a topic After the discussion, each representative from each group will present his/ her group’s ideas or each member will take turn to be responsible for each part of the presentation

To sum up, teaching oral presentations skills is an important task for teachers so as to help learners develop the ability to speak to an audience which is necessary for them in the future

1.3.6 Factors affecting oral presentation skills

1.3.6.1 Students’ language proficiency

It is obvious that students’ language proficiency is one of the factors contributing to the success or causing the failure of an oral presentation Language proficiency is the ability of

an individual to speak or perform in an acquired language Rod (1985) defines:

“Proficiency consists of the learner’s knowledge of the target language; it can be considered synonymous with “competence” Proficiency can be viewed as linguistic competence or communicative competence Second Language proficiency is usually measured in relation to native speaker proficiency.”According to Stern (1992), proficiency can be looked at as a goal and thus be defined in terms of objectives or standards These can then serve as criteria by which to assess proficiency as an empirical fact, that is, the actual performance of given individual learners or groups of learners He states that

“proficiency ranges from zero to native - like proficiency… Complete competence is hardly ever reached by second language learners” Bachman (1990) defines language proficiency as the language ability or ability in language use Maleki and Zangani (see website www.asian-efl-journal.com/March_07_am&ez.php) suggest that the grading criteria for assessing speaking proficiency in second language are pronunciation (intonation, word stress, and sentence stress), fluency, and accuracy (grammar and

vocabulary) Regarding to speaking skill in general and presentation skills in particular, accuracy and fluency are the two most concerning aspects

Accuracy is the ability to produce correct sentences using correct grammar and vocabulary

In terms of language knowledge, students need introducing language areas such as the use

of linkers and connectors, referring to graphs and charts, emphasizing and minimizing information, and the contrast between written and spoken language

English fluency means being able to use the language with ease Fluency is the ability to read, speak, or write easily, smoothly, and expressively In other words, the speaker can read, understand and respond in a language clearly and concisely while relating meaning and context Language teachers who concentrate on fluency help their students to express themselves in fluent English They pay more attention to meaning and context and are less concerned with grammatical errors

The emphasis on accuracy or fluency has changed a lot About a hundred years ago, language teaching and learning was almost entirely about accuracy Today, we can say that the mastery of communication is the main objective, in other words, grammar is the support system for communication, not an end in itself The fact is, however, that self-conscious learners don't like making mistakes and that is the reason why they have to strike

a careful balance between accuracy and fluency

1.3.6.2 Students’ personality

It is obvious that the presenter plays the most important role in making his oral presentation successful or not In the classroom, students with different characteristics, especially different levels of anxiety - an aspect of personality (Scovel, 1978) may result in different levels of success According to many researchers, feelings of anxiety, apprehension and nervousness are commonly expressed by foreign language learners in learning to speak a foreign language, particularly when they have to make an oral presentation in that language

General anxiety is defined by Spielberger (1983) as “the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system” According to Horwitz and Cope (1986) foreign language anxiety belongs to situational-specific anxiety: “a distinct complex of self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors related to classroom language learning arising from the uniqueness of the language learning process” Psychologists make a distinction between three categories of

anxiety: trait anxiety, state anxiety, and situation-specific anxiety Trait anxiety is relatively stable personality characteristic while state anxiety is a transient anxiety, a

response to a particular anxiety-provoking stimulus such as an important test The third

category, situation-specific anxiety, refers to the persistent and multi-faceted nature of

some anxieties It is aroused by a specific type of situation or event such as public speaking, examinations, or class participation King (2002) considers speech anxiety is one

of the major problem that lead to learners' oral presentation failures This anxiety comes in part from a lack of confidence in the general linguistic knowledge, the embarrassment of exposing the language imperfections in front of others Besides, learners’ personality traits such as shyness, quietness, and reticence are considered to frequently precipitate communication apprehension It is obvious that such feelings in the learners may prevent them from achieving the desired goal

1.3.6.3 Teacher’s role

King (2002) emphasizes that working with students on oral presentations is a challenging job for teachers because it not only involves training in other disciplines such as speech communication and public speaking, but also demands more of teachers in terms of time and effort in lesson planning and teaching strategies Furthermore, the importance of creating a supportive learning atmosphere, acquiring interaction skills, incorporating project work, developing cooperative learning skills and applying computer/technology in enhancing teachers' facilitative skills should be emphasized The teacher is the guide, organizer, consultant, resource person, and supporter The teacher's role in oral presentations not only involves preparing detailed guidelines, organizing groups, helping students to select topics, guiding their research and helping them learn the use of various visual aids, but also holding of Question & Answer sessions, providing feedback on the sequencing of ideas, and evaluating their performance

Conclusion

The chapter so far has presented literature concerning the subject matter of the study It dealt with the knowledge and skills, especially speaking skill The focal point of the chapter was on oral presentation skills with some aspects related Furthermore, some factors related to oral presentations of students in the classrooms have been reviewed as well

CHAPTER II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.1 Context of the study

Hanoi University of Industry is one of the universities that has a long tradition of training qualified practical engineers in the fields of mechanical engineering, chemical technology, and electronics However, to meet the demand of the modern society with globalization trend, some new majors have recently been taken into the training programme, one of which is English The Faculty of Foreign Languages was established in 2006, it is responsible for teaching English to both English majors and non-English majors

2.1.1 Teachers

In connection with the teaching staff, there are 50 teachers in the Faculty, among whom 11 teachers are regularly in charge of working in the English major Division Their ages range from 23 to 37, all of them graduated from the English Department - College of Foreign Languages or Hanoi University of Foreign Languages and have been teaching for the Division at least one year Six people have got an M.A degree, three are doing M.A course One of their difficulties is that a teacher has to deal with different subjects related to English at the same time due to the lack of teachers However, all of them are energetic, inquisitive and always try to apply effective methods of teaching to increase teaching and learning quality

2.1.2 Students

In respect of the English major students, about 80 students are enrolled each year, based on their results of the university entrance examinations Their levels of English proficiency are generally various and not very high Firstly, this can be seen from their English marks

at the entrance examinations mainly ranging from 3 to 6 (the statistics provided by the Faculty’s assistants) Secondly, many of them still apply a passive way of learning,

especially the first year students For a long time, they were familiar with doing exercises focusing on grammar and vocabulary at High School and hardly did they practice speaking and listening skills Moreover, most of them come from rural areas with no favorable chances for learning English; they are shy and not very self-confident During their university time, they are always encouraged to study actively and creatively to achieve better results

2.1.3 Teaching and learning facilities

Concerning the teaching and learning facilities for English majors, it is obvious that teachers and learners are working in a rather good condition The Faculty’s library has a variety of English books, CD, VCD, cassettes, and computers with Internet connection There are 10 rooms for studying English; all are equipped with head projectors, computers and cassettes Using modern technology effectively is highly encouraged in English lessons

2.1.4 Speaking syllabus

Right from the first semester, students have four skills (reading, listening, speaking and writing) taught as isolated subjects using Interactions textbooks published by McGraw-Hill ESL/ELT (Interactions 1 and Interactions 2) During the third and fourth semester, students have Mosaic 1, 2 also by McGraw-Hill ESL/ELT For speaking skills, the target for second-years students is to achieve the intermediate level; students are supposed to describe and express their ideas, opinions, and points of view systematically Also, students are expected to have good expressions, structures in their certain favorite topics; therefore, they can improve their ability to express and support their points of view as well

as give suitable examples The total time allowed for speaking of the second English majors – the fourth term – is 45 class hours, 3 hours a week The syllabus is as theme-based with reference to Interactions and Mosaic course books, as below:

At the beginning of the term, teachers inform students all the required themes and let them choose their subtopic for group oral presentations Each group performs their presentations twice during the third term

2.2 Research Methods

2.2.1 Research questions

The final purpose of the study is to find out factors affecting oral presentations of the second-year English majors at Hanoi University of Industry To achieve this aim, it is necessary to answer the following questions:

1 What are the students’ attitudes towards oral presentations in English?

2 What are the students’ evaluations of their presentation performances?

3 What are the factors affecting their oral presentations?

4 What are the students’ suggestions to help them make better presentations?

2.2.2 Participants

This research was carried out with the participation of 82 students of three classes, DHTA1, DHTA2 and DHTA3 (27, 27, and 28 students respectively) This is also the total number of the second-year English majors at Hanoi University of Industry Most of them are female (8 students are male) at the age ranging from 18 to 20 There are 69 students coming from rural areas and small towns, 11 are from big cities like Hanoi, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh in which there are favorable English studying conditions The amount of time they have learnt English is various, ranging from 4 to 8 years More than half of them (60 students – 73%) have spent 4 years studying English All students have been studying three terms at the University and during this time, few students had excellent results of the English final – term tests Especially, their marks of speaking in the third term were not very high, varying from 5 to 9 11 students (13%) got mark 5, 21 students (26%) got mark

6, 42 students (51%) got mark 7, 7 students (9%) got mark 8 and only 1 student (1%) got mark 9 (according to the marking system of 1 – 10)

2.2.3 Data collection instruments

Instrument 1: Survey questionnaire

The survey questionnaire (see appendix 1) was delivered to 82 second-year English majors after being given to some teachers being in charge of working with those students for their

comments This method helps the researcher to collect data in quantitative form for analyzing, summarizing and reporting

The questionnaire consisted of three parts The first part was about students’ personal information with their gender, place of domicile, the number of years they had learnt English, their final speaking mark in the third semester In addition, their attitudes toward the importance of oral presentation skills and their evaluations of their presentation performances were also included in this part

The second part was designed to find out the factors affecting their oral presentations in the classroom All questions were adapted from various sources (Emden & Becker, 2004; Reinhart, 2002; Comfort, 1997…) and based on the researcher’s experience

The last part included one question asking students for their suggestions to help them make better presentations

The questionnaire was written in English; however, students were advised to use either English or Vietnamese to answer the open-ended questions Some questions were with examples so that the students did not get confused

Instrument 2: Interviews

In order to have more data for persuasive conclusions, the researcher interviewed 12 students of whom 4 students came from each class They were chosen randomly and with their agreement, the researcher asked them 10 questions (see appendix 2) Those questions covered such aspects as their attitudes, evaluations, problems and suggestions related to their oral presentations During the interview, the researcher modified the questions and took notes of their answers

Instrument 3: Class observation

The researcher observed two presentations in class DHTA1 and DHTA3 to check the reliability of the data collected The reason that the researcher did not choose DHTA2 was that class 1 and 2 were working with the same teacher The observation form (see appendix 3) was adapted from Reinhart, 2002

Conclusion

This chapter has presented the methodology used in the research The next chapter will present the results of the study

CHAPTER III: MAJOR FINDINGS AND DICUSSIONS

3.1 Results of the survey questionnaire and interview

3.1.1 Students’ attitudes towards oral presentation skills

According to the survey, 100% of students agreed on the importance of oral presentation

skills They wrote “very important” or “important” to answer the question “How important

are oral presentation skills?” To explain for their answers, they said that oral presentation

skills were very important for them to help them improve their speaking skills, develop their reading skills for getting main ideas and organize those ideas logically; especially

they would need these skills in their future job In the interview, all students said “Yes” to

answer the question whether they thought oral presentation skills were important The

reasons they gave were various such as: “When I have to make an oral presentation, I have

to stand in front of a group of people and this helps me to build up my confidence, even my courage”, “If I have to make a presentation about a topic, I have to read a lot to find out as much information related as possible, so I can widen my knowledge of both the topic and the language” Being aware of the importance of oral presentation skills, students really

wanted to have as many chances to practice these skills in the class as possible since it was

their teachers and friends who would listen to their presentations and had some comments

to help them improve their presentation skills

To conclude, all participants were aware of the importance of oral presentation skills, had positive attitudes to these skills and wanted to be more skillful through practicing

3.1.2 Students’ evaluations of their own presentation skills

Results of the survey showed that 100% of the students had made oral presentations in English in the class; however, they seemed to have a negative evaluation of their oral presentation skills They considered their success and satisfaction so limited as follows:

- 2 students (2%) admitted that they were very unsuccessful

- 31 students (37%) claimed that their presentations were unsuccessful

- Nearly half of them – 40 students (49%) admitted their limited success

- Only 9 out of 82 participants (11%) thought they were successful

- No one thought that they had given oral presentations very successfully

Moreover, 8 out of 12 students interviewed expressed their lack of satisfaction with their

presentations One student said: “Honestly, I have never been satisfied with my

presentation, my best mark is 7 and I wish I could make it better in the future” When

asked to evaluate the students’ presentations in the class, some teachers said that most of their students did not make effective presentations

To sum up, all students had made oral presentations and majority of them did not have positive evaluations of their performance The next part will present the factors affecting their presentations in the classroom

3.1.3 Factors affecting the students’ oral presentations

3.1.3.1 Students’ language proficiency

All participants passed the university entrance examination including 3 subjects which were mathematics, literature and English However, as mentioned in the previous chapter, their English marks were not high (from 3 to 6) Their speaking marks in the third semester were not satisfactory as well (only 1 student got mark 9, 7 students got mark 8, and the others got lower marks) They had a lot of difficulties in terms of language which is presented below and which was one of the factors that led to their unsuccessful presentations in English

1 Having appropriate usage of vocabulary and structures 5% 45% 50% 0%

2 Using signposting language to organize your presentation

(for example, saying “I’ll begin by…/ My next point is …/

Now, turning to …)

17% 33% 50% 0%

3 Having almost no grammatical errors in your presentation 23% 60% 17% 0%

4 Delivering the presentation clearly with correct

pronunciation

68% 30% 2% 0%

5 Delivering the presentations fluently 82% 18% 0% 0%

6 Having proper pausing while delivering the presentation

(Pausing is defined as slowing down or coming to a complete

stop at a particular point Example: John is studying business //

at the University of Michigan //// His area of interest // is

managing nonprofit corporations.)

10% 87% 3% 0%

7 Stressing words correctly and properly 40% 59% 1% 0%

8 Delivering the presentation with proper intonation pattern

(Intonation is the rise or fall of the pitch of your voices as we

speak)

44% 55% 1% 0%

Table 1: Students’ difficulties in terms of language

It can be easily seen from the table that a large percentage of students considered items 1-8 difficult or very difficult

To begin with, students thought that delivering the presentations fluently was the most

challenging task (82% claimed it very difficult) The following answer can clarify the finding:

I find it extremely difficult to present fluently I say “ahh” or “uuhmm” many times because I forget what I want to say, and so do other students in my class Sometimes I speak slowly because I am afraid of making mistakes Even I make the pronunciation of certain words indistinguishable because I am not sure how these words should be pronounced

In addition, students often made too many unnecessary pauses as they lacked confidence or

as they could not remember the right words which would be suitable to their sentences (Only 3% found having proper pauses while delivering the presentation easy) This can be explained by their lack of practice As mentioned earlier, when they were at high school, they paid much attention to doing grammatical exercises and had very little time for speaking English During the first year at university, they spent much more time practicing short utterances to maintain a conversation with their friends than producing long ones or a speech

The next most difficult items were pronunciation, words stress and intonation 99% of the students considered delivering the presentation with appropriate stress and intonation very