Applying Problem-Solving Activities in Teaching Speaking Skills for the Second-year English-Major Students at Vietnam University of Commerce

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ THANH HÀ APPLYING PROBLEM-SOLVING ACTIVITIES TO TEACH

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ THANH HÀ

APPLYING PROBLEM-SOLVING ACTIVITIES TO TEACH

SPEAKING SKILLS TO THE SECOND YEAR ENGLISH-MAJOR

STUDENTS AT VIETNAM UNIVERSITY OF COMMERCE

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60.14.10

HANOI, 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ THANH HÀ

APPLYING PROBLEM-SOLVING ACTIVITIES TO TEACH SPEAKING SKILLS TO THE SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS AT VIETNAM UNIVERSITY OF COMMERCE

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60.14.10

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Trần Xuân Điê ̣p

HANOI, 2014

DECLARATION

I hereby certify that the minor thesis entitled: “Applying Problem-Solving

Activities in Teaching Speaking Skills for the Second-year English-Major Students

at Vietnam University of Commerce” is the result of my own research to fulfill the

MA Degree at Post-Graduate Department, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi The substance of this thesis has not, wholly or partially, been submitted for degree to any other university

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would love to express my deep indebtedness to a number of people whose invaluable support and encouragement were of great help in the completion of this study

First and foremost, I would like to advance my special gratitude and respect to

my minor thesis advisor, Assoc Prof Dr Tran Xuan Diep for his invaluable suggestions, continuous support, great encouragement, motivating attitude as well

as critical comments from the beginning of my study I could never have achieved this without his support

I am also thankful to all my teachers at the English department, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

My special thanks to 40 second-year students at Vietnam University of Commerce for their invaluable support and cooperation to start and complete my thesis

Lastly, my special words of thanks are extent to my family for their endless help, patience and support

ABSTRACT

The current study entitled “Applying Problem-Solving Activities in Teaching

Speaking Skills for the Second-year English-Major Students at Vietnam University

of Commerce” was carried out to find out the effectiveness of problem-solving

activities in improving students‟ speaking competence as well as investigate the students‟ motivation towards the use of problem-solving activities in speaking lessons at Vietnam University of Commerce (VUC), and then give some pedagogical implications for teachers An action research was implemented with 40 students of English Department at VUC during four weeks Data were collected by observations, oral tests, questionnaires, and student‟s journals To answer two research questions (1) To what extent does the application of problem-solving activities improve students‟ speaking skills? and (2) What are the effects of problem-solving activities on students‟ motivation?, four speaking lessons were conducted in the form of problem-solving activities The main findings highlighted the students‟ improvement in speaking skills after the treatment This was shown by the students‟ journals and comparisons of results of oral pre-test and post-test, which have the same format and criteria for assessing The analyses of the post-intervention questionnaire and observation sheet also indicated that the students are more interested and involved in speaking lessons Thus, it is expected that the results of this study could benefit English teachers in general and English teachers

in VUC in particular to enhance their speaking lessons

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1: Procedures of the Study 25

Table 2: Results of Question 1 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 27

Table 3: Results of Question 2 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 27

Table 4: Results of Question 3 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 28

Table 5: Results of Question 4 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 28

Table 6: Results of Question 5 in the Questionnaire Before the Intervention 29

Table 7: Means and Standard Deviations of the Scores of the Pre-test and Post-test 31

Table 8: Correlations of the Pre-test and Post-test 31

Table 9: Paired Sample T-Tests 32

Table 10: Students’ Level of Involvement 35

Table 11: Students’ Interest and Benefits 36

Figure 1: Action Research Model ( Kemmis, 1988) 19

Figure 2: Comparison of Results of Pre-test and Post-test 30

Figure 3 Students’ Level Motivation 34

Abbreviation

VCU: Vietnam University of Commerce

TABLES OF CONTENTS

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale of the Study 1

1.2 Aims of the Study 2

1.3 Objectives of the Study 2

1.4 Research Questions 2

1.5 Scope of the Study 3

1.6 Significance of the Study 3

1.7 Methodology 3

1.8 Design of the Study 4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1.1 Theoretical Background 5

1.1.1 An Overview of Speaking 5

1.1.1.1 Some Concepts of Speaking 5

1.1.1.2 The Roles of Speaking Skills in Language Teaching 6

1.1.1.3 Principles of Teaching Speaking 7

1.1.1.4 Classroom Speaking Activities 7

1.1.2 Problem-Solving Activities 8

1.1.2.1 Definitions of Problem Solving 8

1.1.2.2 Kinds of Problem-Solving activities 10

1.1.2.3 Advantages of the Application of Problem-Solving Activities in Teaching Speaking 11

1.1.3 Procedures of Conducting Problem-Solving Activities in a Group 13

1.2 Review of Related Works 14

1.3 Justification for the Study 15

1.4 Summary 16

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODS 17

2.1 The Setting 17

2.2 Subjects 18

2.3 Research Approach 18

2.4 Data Collection Instruments 19

2.4.1 Speaking Pre-test and Post-test 19

2.4.2 Questionnaires 20

2.4.3 Observation Sheet 20

2.4.4 Students’Journals 21

2.5 Intervention: The Application of Problem-Solving Activities 21

2.6 Data Collection Procedures 24

2.7 Data Analysis 25

2.8 Summary 26

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 27

3.1 Preliminary Investigation 27

3.1.1 Findings 27

3.1.2 Discussion 29

3.2 Evaluation 30

3.2.1 Research Question 1 30

3.2.1.1 Results from Pre-test and Post-test 30

3.2.1.2 Discussion 32

3.2.1.3 Results from Students’ Journals 33

3.2.2 Research Question 2 34

3.2.2.1 Results from Observation Sheet 34

3.2.2.2 Discussion 35

3.2.2.3 Results from Questionnaire 2 35

3.2.2.4 Discussion 37

3.3 Summary 37

PART C: CONCLUSIONS 39

4.1 Recapitulation of Main Ideas 39

4.2 Limitations of the Study 40

4.3 Suggestions for Further Studies 40

REFERENCES 41

APPENDICES………I

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the Study

Among four skills, speaking plays the most essential part in communication In fact, Vietnamese students realize the necessity as well as importance of enhancing language skills in order to meet future job‟s needs and communicate in social conversations However, it is hard for most of them to use English in the real situations In the real context of Vietnam University of Commerce, lecture-oriented method is still applied at present although there have been a large number of changes about teaching materials and supplementary activities Students do not feel elated and enthusiastic when participating in speaking lessons Their lack of confidence as well as uninteresting speaking activities leads to demotivate them to join in In addition, other problems such as lack of vocabulary, involvement or

enjoyment have great impacts on their participation in speaking lessons

To solve these problems, more effective speaking activities need to be exploited

so as to enhance learners‟ communicative competence and help them get more involved in speaking lessons, so current teachers need to actively engage students in speaking activities that are enjoyable and are based on a more communicative approach One of them is problem-solving activities, which received many supports from scholars and teachers Using problem-solving activities is regarded as an effective way to practise communication skills in which students work with each other to find out appropriate solutions to a specific problem Therefore, this is a good chance for them to interact with teachers or other students, which encourage them to be more cheerful and inspired Moreover, their discussion will help them share information, create new ideas and boost their self-confidence Thus, their speaking skill will also be improved Students use target language as a means to solve a problem, which also increases their motivation, participation and critical

thinking

The above mentioned situation has urged the researcher to conduct a study of

“Applying Problem-solving Activities in Teaching Speaking Skills to the year English-Major Students at Vietnam University of Commerce” This study is

Second-intended to make a contribution to helping students at Vietnam University of Commerce improve their speaking skills

1.2 Aims of the Study

The study aimed at finding out whether the application of problem-solving

activities has a positive impact on the speaking skills of the Second-year Major Students at Vietnam University of Commerce Then, suggestions on how to use problem-solving activities effectively to enhance students‟ speaking competence are given

English-1.3 Objectives of the Study

The specific objectives of the study were as follows:

 To investigate the extent to which the application of problem-solving activities has improved the speaking competence of the Second-year English-Major Students at Vietnam University of Commerce

 To exploit the effects of problem-solving activities on students‟ motivation in speaking skills

1.4 Research Questions

In this investigation, the following research questions were addressed:

1 To what extent does the application of problem-solving activities improve students’ speaking skills?

2 What are the effects of problem-solving activities on students’ motivation?

1.5 Scope of the Study

The study was conducted on 40 Second-year English-Major Students at Vietnam University of Commerce in the first semester of 2014-2015 via the application of problem-solving activities in teaching speaking skills

1.6 Significance of the Study

The foremost significance of this study is that it will contribute to a more effective use of problem-solving activities in order to enhance speaking skills for

the Second-year English-Major Students at Vietnam University of Commerce

The findings of the study will provide an insightful understanding of the current situation of exploiting problem-solving activities in teaching speaking skills to the Second-year English-Major Students at Vietnam University of Commerce In other words, the study also helps revisit the features and principles of problem solving in education Moreover, English teachers may find the recommended problem-solving activities a useful reference to make their speaking lessons more communicative, meaningful and practical

1.7 Methodology

An action research was applied in this minor thesis to improve students‟ speaking skills and teaching speaking in the researcher‟s own class In order to collect sufficient and relevant data for the study, four instruments were employed:

- Pre-test and post-test to assess student‟s speaking ability

- Observation sheet to find out students‟ motivation during the intervention

- Survey questionnaires to investigate students‟ achievement and motivation before and after the intervention

- Student‟s journals to investigate students‟ improvement towards this application

1.8 Design of the Study

The study consists of three parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion

The Introduction presents the rationale, aim, objectives, scope, significance and

methodology

The Development includes three chapters which are as follows:

Chapter One covers an in-depth review of the literature in which a relevant

theoretical background and a review of related studies concerning applying problem-solving activities in teaching speaking skills

Chapter Two features the research methods including the background information

of the context, the subjects of the study, the instruments used to collect data, and the procedures of data collection and data analysis Moreover, a detailed description of data analysis is provided

Chapter Three shows the findings and discussions, the results of the study are

shown

The Conclusions ends the report with the recapitulation of main ideas, the

limitations of the study and the suggestions for further studies

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Theoretical Background

1.1.1 An Overview of Speaking

1.1.1.1 Some Concepts of Speaking

Speaking skill plays an essential role in teaching and learning a foreign language There are a variety of views on the term “speaking” given by different linguists

According to Chaney (1998), “Speaking is the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols in a variety of contexts” (p 13) While Byrne (1986, p 8) defined that speaking is “a two-way process between speaker and listener, involving the productive skill of speaking and the receptive skill of understanding” The speaker plays the role of encoding the message to be conveyed in an appropriate language, while the listener has to decode the message A similar view of “speaking” given by Scott, R (1981) was that speaking is “an activity involving two (or more) people in which the participants are both hearers and speakers having to react to what they hear and make their contributions at high speed” Through the interaction, each participant will try to achieve his communicative goals and fulfill his ability of interpreting what is said to him Expressing message or sharing information through verbal and non-verbal symbols is actually effective ways in real-life situations which will help people understand each other without words Theodore Huebner stated that “language is essentially speech, and speech is basically communication by sounds” According to him, speaking is a skill used by someone in daily life communication whether at school or outside The skill is acquired by much repetition; it primarily a neuromuscular and not an intellectual process It consists of competence in sending and receiving messages

To sum up, it is obvious that speaking is one of the most important skills for learners The ability to speak fluently, appropriately and understandably every time, everywhere and in every situation is the goal as well as the desire of language learners It is not easy for them to master immediately because speaking skills require learners to practice regularly and patiently From these reasons, Bygate (1987, p 2) considered speaking skills as “a skill which deserves attention every bit

as much as literary skills in both first and second language”

1.1.1.2 The Roles of Speaking Skills in Language Teaching

Speaking creates motivation in language learning According to Crook and Schmidt (1991), motivation is defined as the learner‟s orientation with regard to the goal of learning a second language Learning a language is to know to learn how to use it, as Nunan (1991) stated “success is measured in terms of the ability to carry out a conversation in the (target) language” Mastering a language is that learners can use it flexibly in every situation If students cannot speak or they do not have a chance to speak, they will get bored and lose their interest in learning a language Therefore, the right activities need using in a right way, which makes speaking in class be cheerful and raises learners‟ motivation as well as creates a dynamic English language classroom

Speaking also helps other language skills be improved It is obvious that

speaking and listening are the two inter-dependent macro skills A student who is good at speaking is more likely to be good at listening than the others A student who speaks English well also has a higher chance of reading and writing English

better than the others (Nation, 1990, p.21)

Speaking is fundamental to human communication In fact, we speak more than

we write, whereas many English teachers still spend the majority of class time on reading and writing Speaking and listening skills are not really esteemed Therefore, this creates an unbalance among these skills If the goals of the language

course are to help students communicate English, speaking skill should be regularly taught and practiced in a language classroom

1.1.1.3 Principles of Teaching Speaking

Speaking plays a significant role in developing communicative competence, and teachers‟ responsibility is to equip students with knowledge and skills to be able to use English for communication in the real world Thus, Harmer (2001: 102) suggested some principles in teaching speaking First of all, speaking helps students overcome their initial reluctance, which helps them be more motivated Secondly, students are asked to talk about what they want to talk about Next, teaching speaking requires appropriate feedback to be provided The last one is that speaking

is also combined with listening and reading

1.1.1.4 Classroom Speaking Activities

Speaking is regarded as a means of effective communication The question of how to increase communicative competence is the most crucial one Many speaking activities suggested by researchers and educators are useful for teachers in improving the quality of speaking lessons and promoting students‟ attitudes and participation in learning a language

Harmer (2001, p.271-274) proposed some speaking activities The first one is

acting from a script In this section, teachers ask students to perform the play based

on the dialogue in the script Thus, the teacher as a director and the students perform the dialogue Communication games are the second one which can make students relaxed in learning a language This technique is particularly suitable for the children in mastering the language It is designed to provoke communication between students in order for them to solve a puzzle, draw a picture, put the things

in a right order, and find differences between pictures Lastly, it is Role Play that is

a stimulated activity in which students pretend that they are in a different situation, either as themselves or playing the role of someone is quite different We could ask

them to be a guest at some parties and go there as different characters They could,

as themselves, pretend to be at an airport trying to check luggage, or either as themselves or another character take part in a television program The students in all these cases are using language in order to participate in the activity rather than other way round Some students find it very comfortable to use language in a simulated environment, and playing the role of someone else which allows them to experiment freely to be another people

1.1.2 Problem-Solving Activities

1.1.2.1 Definitions of Problem Solving

Problem solving is a popular way to stimulate students‟ interest and motivation Students work in pairs or groups to share their opinions and feelings about a specific problem They work together to discuss, analyze and evaluate the problem, then reach proper solutions

A problem is a situation which is experienced by an agent as different from the situation which the agent ideally would like to be in A problem is solved by a sequence of actions that reduce the difference between the initial situation and the goal (F.Heylighen, 1998)

According to Ormond (2006: 111), “problem solving is using existing knowledge and skills to address an unanswered question or a troubling situation”

Mayer and Wittrock (2006, p 287) defined problem solving as “a cognitive process directed at achieving a goal when no solution method is obvious to the problem solver” This definition consists of four parts:

Problem solving is cognitive, that is, problem solving occurs within the problem solver's cognitive system and can only be inferred from the problem solver's behavior

Problem solving is a process, that is, problem solving involves applying cognitive processes to cognitive representations in the problem solver's cognitive system

Problem solving is directed, that is, problem solving is guided by the problem solver's goals

Problem solving is personal, that is, problem solving depends on the knowledge and skill of the problem solver

In Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics (Richards, J C., Platt, J., & Platt, H 1997), problem-solving activities are defined

as simple tasks, often involving word puzzles or simple drawings, used to stimulate pair work and oral discussion among small groups of second language learners The use of such tasks is characteristic of some phases of lessons in the communicative approach

In the book “Keeping Talk” (1984), Klippel presented that in problem-solving activities, learners have to find solutions to various types of problem They must work together to discuss several ways of solving the problems in pairs or groups There are many kinds of problem-solving activities shown in this book which are useful for learners to practise speaking skills such as making suggestions, giving reasons and modifying

In problem-solving activities, learners have to share their feelings and opinions, analyze and evaluate the problems to reach a decision together Shumin (1997) stated that “problem solving is directed towards the solving of a specific problem that involves both the formation of responses and the selection among possible responses”

Problem solving is one of many communicative interactive techniques for language teaching that received many attentions from researchers and educators Littlewood (1990) proposed that “problem-solving activity is a type of communicative activities that have been designed to provide opportunities for

learners to produce a language that they have recently learnt” The application of problem-solving activities encourages students to think carefully and talk together

to seek solutions to tasks or problems Moreover, these activities increase students

„participation and motivation towards speaking skills In other words, they also create a fascinating and eventful learning environment to help learners understand more about the importance and necessity of speaking skills

1.1.2.2 Kinds of Problem-Solving Activities

A number of kinds of problem-solving activities have been used for teaching language in EFL classrooms These activities are organized in different ways in which their main aim is to enhance speaking skills

Byrne (1986, p 94) proposed different some problem solving activities which are as follows:

Linking activities:

Finding connections: Students have to establish connections between two items (presented to them verbally or in the form of pictures) Two such items might be horse and book Some possible connections are:

(1) The horse is famous because it has won lots of races, so its owner has decided to write a book about it

(2) The horse belongs to a man who likes reading and riding When he goes for a ride on his horse, he often takes a book with him to read

Finding differences and similarities: Students may be asked to find differences and similarities as two separate activities or as part of the same activity For example, Students can be asked to find differences (either a set number or as many as possible) between two pictures Or students can be asked to list both similarities and differences (for office and classroom) Categorising activities:

Putting items in categories: Students are given a list of items and asked to locate these under headings according to different features For example: Everyday objects can be divided into essential/ non-essential; cheap/expensive; imported/home-produced

Identifying categories: Students are given a list of items and asked to identify for themselves the categories into which the items can be arranged They may be asked to find a set number of categories or as many as possible For example, for clothes, some categories might be: worn all the year round/worn only in winter; or with sleeves/ without sleeves

Grading activities:

Grading: This involves putting a list of items in order according to certain agreed criteria For example: Students can be asked to grade the subjects they study at school on a scale from most to least difficult (interesting, useful and so on)

Deciding on priorities: Students have to put in order of priority, or they can also be asked to put in order of importance (such as a school or a social club)

Planning activities:

Planning a picnic: Students have to decide: when, where and how to go, what to take and what to do Similarly, students can be asked to plan a party

Planning a park: Students have to decide what facilities they would like their park to have and also where they would like these sited

1.1.2.3 Advantages of the Application of Problem-Solving Activities in

Teaching Speaking

It is essential to provide students with a variety of speaking activities so that they will be able to cope with different situations in a real life Speaking activities

make the classroom cheerful and dynamic, and applying problem-solving activities

in teaching speaking brings about some benefits for both teachers and students

First of all, problem-solving activities increase students’ motivation towards learning speaking Concerning the motivation of classroom activities, Littlewood

(1981, p.17) suggested that “Language learners‟ ultimate objective is to take part in communication with others Also, most learners‟ prior conception of language is as

a means of communication rather than as a structural system” Thus, the motivation

of most language learners is to gain a capacity to speak in that language

Problem-solving activities in speaking lessons will produce a high level of motivation and participation In addition, problem-solving activities are considered

a stimulus to elicit speech Furthermore, problem-solving activities are often designed in the form of games, which is said to stir and maintain students‟ interest and motivation Challenge – an essential element of every game will create a competition among learners and impulse their eagerness in the learning process

Secondly, problem-solving activities encourage students’ equal participation Ur

(1996:128) explained that “participants tend to become personally involved; they begin to relate to the problem as an emotional issue as well as an intellectual and moral one” A problem-solving activity requires a good cooperation and full participation from students who share work and contribute to the common task This might establish a kind of atmosphere that encourages learners to help one another or ask for the help from their peers In other words, no student is too dominant or the others keep silent during the activity Better students have a chance to help their weaker partners while the weaker ones can put aside their inhibitions and learn something from better friends This is also a way for students to learn from others Moreover, the encouragement to participate in the activity from the teacher also makes a better different impression of closeness on students

Thirdly, problem-solving activities offer students language practice

opportunities In fact, learners in many EFL classrooms do not have enough time to

practise the new language Therefore, they find it difficult to gain communicative

competence Thanks to problem-solving activities, students are provided with the opportunities for individual personal expression (Lawrence, 1972) Furthermore, reaching a decision requires students to interact with each other, so the total individual practice time is available to each student; and each student has a chance

to practice language by exchanging ideas with the others It explains why Rivers (1987) stated that the interaction as the key to improve English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners‟ speaking ability

In short, problem-solving activities facilitate all students to think, speak and act while discussing to solve problems

1.1.3 Procedures of Conducting Problem-Solving Activities in a Group

A problem-solving group suggested by Tuckman (1965) quoted in Wright (1987)

which is as follows:

Stage 1 Forming: In the group, there is some anxiety There is a great deal of

dependence on the leader (the teacher) and a great deal of behavior directed towards finding out the nature of the situation and also what behavior is acceptable

At the same time, group members attempt to find out what the task is, what the rules are for carrying out the task and the methods that are appropriate

Stage 2 Storming: There is now a conflict between sub-groups and also rebellion

against the leader Opinions are extreme and there is resistance to group control Role relations are not agreed upon All of this behavior is a resistance to the demands of the task

Stage 3 Norming: The group develops cohesion: norms of behavior emerge and

participants begin to accept group control Conflicts are forgotten and members begin to support each other At this stage co-operation is the rule and there is open exchange of views and feelings about the task and each other

Stage 4 Performing: All individuals‟ problems are resolved and there is a great deal

of interpersonal activity Members‟ roles in the group now lose their rigidity and

become more functional At this stage solutions to the problems of the task are found and all efforts are devoted to completing the task

1.2 Review of Related Works

There are a number of studies on the use of problem-solving activities in language teaching Many researchers pointed out that applying problem-solving activities in language classroom is very useful in creating an attractive learning environment for learners

Thanyalak Oradee (2012) did a study of comparing English speaking skills using three communicative activities: Discussion, Problem solving, and Role playing of Grade 11 students before and after learning She pointed out the effects of using these communicative activities in the language classroom in Thai context In this study, a one group pre-test and post-test design was also employed for 49 students

at a secondary school in Udon Thani, Thailand to assess their English ability The design of the research was mixed method design The quantitative data came from the speaking test and the students‟ attitude towards teaching English speaking The qualitative data were drawn from a Learning Log, a semi-structured interview and a Teacher‟s Journal The findings were as follows: 1 The students‟ English speaking abilities after using the three communicative activities were significantly higher than before their use (Pretest = 60.80; Posttest = 85.63) 2 The students‟ attitude towards teaching English speaking skills using the three communicative activities were rated as good (Χ=4.50) The results revealed a positive role of using these communicative activities in developing English speaking skills

Another study that investigated the effect of applying problem solving in teaching foreign languages to students of pedagogical departments was of Natela Doghonadze and Gulnara Gorgiladze (2008) An experimental study was conduct The aim of the study is to review some existing research and to offer some practical recommendations for methods of teacher training in foreign

languages based on problem solving The researchers gave some typical activities which helped to increase students „motivation in learning foreign language

The another one is that a study into teaching speaking skills using solving method at class tenth of Sma Bina Muda Cicalengka by Asep Rahmat Hidayat (2008) proved that the use of problem-solving activities in learning English speaking is very useful for learners The research used quantitative method with one group pretest - posttest design The instrument of this study was the test with the population of 47 of class tenth students of SMA Bina Muda Cicalengka The data of this research were collected by using the pretest and posttest to the students‟ sample The results of the study proved that teaching speaking skills through the use

problem-of problem-solving activities is clearly improved

Chuyen (2011) did an MA thesis about using problem-based strategy in teaching English in a high school This study was carried out with the participation of 45 students who are at elementary level The subjects took part in the 10 week experimental teaching The study was conducted as a quantitative study, using pre-test and post-test along with questionnaires to collect data After the experimental teaching, the students showed positive attitudes towards the strategy

From these related works, it would be worth investigating applying solving activities in teaching speaking skills at Vietnam University of Commerce

problem-1.3 Justification for the Study

The mentioned discussion of related studies in the area concerning teaching language by the application of problem-solving activities demonstrates how the current study could be fit into the existing literature

Firstly, a number of studies have just elaborated on the role of communicative activities in teaching speaking skills in which problem-solving activities are proved

as a technique to increase students „motivation Therefore, the current study could play an important role in exploring this issue further to enrich the literature

Additionally, the related studies were simply based on the quantitative method Accordingly, in those investigations, there might be inevitably potential limitations

of relying on a single approach The current study which used both qualitative and quantitative data attempted to address this gap

In sum, the present study was carried out to motivate students in learning foreign language, especially in speaking skills The study is expected to create a cheerful and eventful atmosphere for learners as well as to become a useful tool for teachers

to improve their performance of English classes at Vietnam University of Commerce

1.4 Summary

This chapter has discussed theoretical background with the concepts of the key terms related to speaking skills Then, an overview of problem-solving activities in developing speaking skills has been provided

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODS 2.1 The Setting

The study was carried out at Vietnam University of Commerce (VUC) which has

a reputation in training students in the field of business and commerce With the aim

“Training good entrepreneurs for the country”, VUC focuses on equipping students with knowledge related to their own majors as well as improving learners‟ English skills in order to satisfy the needs of businesses after graduation English Department at VUC was established seven years ago with more than 400 students in which its mission is not only to teach English to students of different departments in this university but also to train qualified graduates with both English proficiency and economic background Students in English non-major classes are required to complete four courses of English as a part of their general education requirements The students of English-major classes follow a curriculum which four receptive and productive skills (Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing) are focused In addition, they also learn other subjects related to English theoretical linguistics

The current teaching material for the Second-year English-Major Students is The

Business Intermediate designed by John Allison with Paul Emmerson (Mc Millan

Publisher, 2007) It is one of the latest business books which provide students with authentic materials of spoken language, communicative activities in which pair work and group work are used to help them practise using the language in the classroom There are 8 units in this book which contains in such specific parts as about business, vocabulary, speaking, grammar, writing and case study Students are provided with useful and authentic models related to real situations in business They have a good chance to learn new words in business and improve their speaking skills

2.2 Subjects

The subjects of the study comprised 40 Second-year students from English Department at Vietnam University of Commerce, which the teacher as a researcher takes charge of The students were from both urban and rural areas including 8 boys and 32 girls They are at pre-intermediate level of English speaking ability

 It leads to change and the improvement of

 practice not just knowledge in itself; and

 It is context-specific

Kemmis (1988) suggested the action research model He proposed the process

of action research as a spiral of steps They are planning, acting, observing, and reflecting (Figure 1)

Figure 1: Action Research Model ( Kemmis, 1988)

Nunan (1992) proposed seven steps, namely Initiation, Preliminary

investigation, Hypothesis, Intervention, Evaluation, Dissemination, and Follow-up

The general steps of an action research cycle suggested by Nunan were used for this study

2.4 Data Collection Instruments

2.4.1 Speaking Pre-test and Post-test

In this thesis, in order to explore the effects of the application of problem-solving activities in teaching speaking skills, the researcher used materials from the

textbook The Business Intermediate to design pre-test and post-test The purpose of

two major tests was to check the participants‟ achievement after the intervention It

is the reason why the role of pre-test and post-test is important to this study because

it will determine whether the use of problem-solving activities is effective to

improve students‟ speaking skills at VUC In the pre-test and post-test, students were asked to work in pair role playing a situation within 8 minutes The results of both tests were the key sources of data to assess the impact of applying problem-solving activities on the students‟ speaking ability

Criteria for speaking test assessment were adapted from Harris (1969, p.18)

including five subscales as pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, fluency and

comprehension The marking scales range from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) due to the

proficiency of participants when performing the tests (see Appendix 4)

2.4.2 Questionnaires

Two questionnaires were employed to investigate the participants‟ attitudes and thoughts before and after applying problem-solving activities in speaking lessons According to Brown (2001), “Questionnaires are any written instruments that present respondents with a series of questions or statements to which they are to react, either by writing out their answers or selecting from among existing answers.”

One questionnaire was administered after the participants completed the test, and the other one was given after they finished the post-test

There are 5 questions (See Appendix 1) designed with either four or five options

in the questionnaire before the intervention These questions related to problems or difficulties which students encounter when learning speaking

In the questionnaire after the intervention (See Appendix 2), nine questions were

presented which focused on investigating student‟s motivation towards the application of problem-solving activities in speaking lessons

2.4.3 Observation Sheet

Observation was conducted to know whether problem-solving activities made any effects on students‟ motivation during the teaching and learning process The

observation (See Appendix 3) adapted from Nunan (1989, p.110) was used to assess

overall class motivation generated by the application of problem-solving activities

during the intervention The observation was manifested by levels of learner interest, enthusiasm, and persistence with speaking activities, concentration and enjoyment during class Each item was scored on a scale of one (low) to five (high) Observations were made for the whole 4 weeks while the experimental teaching was carried out

2.4.4 Students’ Journals

Besides the instruments mentioned above, data were also gathered by means of the students‟ journals during the implementation of the study Wallace (2001: 62) defined journals as, “”… they have been written to be read as public documents – albeit, possibly, by a restricted readership of collaborator-researcher.” Their purpose

is to help the teacher as the researcher to have a deeper understanding about the information

2.5 Intervention: The Application of Problem-Solving Activities

Some suggested problem-solving activities were adapted to help English learners

in general and the Second-year English-Major Students of English Department at VUC in particular promote their speaking competence This section will present the procedures of the activities which the researcher used for the study

The lesson in the first week is “Corporate Culture” Based on the literature review mentioned in chapter 2, the researcher designed some problem-solving activities for the lesson in group which were adapted from Byrne The procedures of

conducting problem-solving activities proposed by Tuckman (1965) cited in Wright

(1987) for the study was illustrated which are as follows:

Stage 1 Forming: In the group, there is some anxiety There is a great deal of

dependence on the leader (the teacher) and a great deal of behavior directed towards finding out the nature of the situation and also what behavior is acceptable

At the same time, group members attempt to find out what the task is, what the rules are for carrying out the task and the methods that are appropriate

Stage 2 Storming: There is now conflict between sub-groups and also rebellion

against the leader Opinions are extreme and there is resistance to group control Role relations are not agreed upon All of this behavior is a resistance to the demands of the task

Stage 3 Norming: The group develops cohesion: norms of behavior emerge and

participants begin to accept group control Conflicts are forgotten and members begin to support each other At this stage co-operation is the rule and there is open exchange of views and feelings about the task and each other

Stage 4 Performing: All individuals‟ problems are resolved and there is a great deal

of interpersonal activity Members‟ roles in the group now lose their rigidity and become more functional At this stage solutions to the problems of the task are found and all efforts are devoted to completing the task

Activity: Deciding on priorities

The teacher gave the task: “Look at the following words and put them in order of

importance or size Give your specific ideas to explain your answer

1 Department division branch office subsidiary company

2 Task assignment project

Time: 15 minutes

Procedure

Stage 1: The researcher divided students into groups Each group has three or four

members The leader who was chosen for each group is quite good at English and gives appropriate solutions for the whole group The researcher realized that at this stage, group members were quite nervous and excited because they were not clear about the specific meaning of these words They tried to form ideas in their mind Time was not much whereas they had to find out a suitable answer and explain it

Stage 2: Members advanced their opinions They discussed and argued with each

other For example: some people said that “department, office, branch, unit,

subsidiary, division, company” (by size) and task, job, assignment, project (by importance).However, they could not explain the reason for it Other people did not

think it is a right order There was a conflict between members because people had their own argument It was difficult for the leader to control the group

Stage 3: The researcher told group members to be calm and comfortable The most

important thing is to find a proper solution to the problem Therefore, they need to cooperate and support each other The researcher asked them to exchange their feelings as well as views about the activity They asked some questions such as why, what, and so on

Stage 4: Interpersonal activity helped group members to find out proper solutions

The researcher noticed that group members become cooperative and functional All

of them showed their solidarity and efforts to complete this task The leader on behalf of the group gave the following answer:

1 “ department, office, branch, subsidiary, division, company” (by size)

Department: a section of a large organization such as a government, business,

university (e.g sales department)

Office: a room in which a particular person works, usually at a desk (e.g.: Come into

my office)

Branch: a local office or shop/store belonging to a large company or organization It

might do business in rented quarters, but it would not be incorporated separately (e.g.: the bank has branches all over the country)

Subsidiary: it is a separate legal entity, with a different name, that is partially or

wholly owned by the “parent” firm A firm in one country that wants to open a factory or distributor in another country might be required by that country's laws to have a “subsidiary”, a separate company with partial local ownership, incorporated

in the second country, but controlled by the “parent” firm because it owns a