CONSOLIDATING AND IMPROVING VOCABULARY THROUGH COMMUNICATIVE SPEAKING TASKS FOR THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING, PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES - NGHIÊM THỊ HẰNG CONSOLIDATING AND IMPROVING VOCABULARY THROUGH COMMUNICATIVE SPEAKING TASKS FOR THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING, PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY (CỦNG CỐ VÀ PHÁT TRIỂN TỪ VỰNG THÔNG QUA NHIỆM VỤ NĨI MANG TÍNH GIAO TIẾP CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT KHOA TÀI CHÍNH – KẾ TỐN, TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC PHƢƠNG ĐÔNG) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hanoi, 2014 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES - NGHIÊM THỊ HẰNG CONSOLIDATING AND IMPROVING VOCABULARY THROUGH COMMUNICATIVE SPEAKING TASKS FOR THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS AT THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING, PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY (CỦNG CỐ VÀ PHÁT TRIỂN TỪ VỰNG THƠNG QUA NHIỆM VỤ NĨI MANG TÍNH GIAO TIẾP CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT KHOA TÀI CHÍNH – KẾ TỐN, TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC PHƢƠNG ĐƠNG) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr Phạm Đăng Bình Hanoi, 2014 DECLARATION I hereby, certify the thesis entitled “Consolidating and Improving Vocabulary through Communicative Speaking Tasks for the First-Year Students at the Department of Finance and Accounting, Phuong Dong University” is the result of my own research for the Minor Degree of Master of Arts at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi The thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other universities or institutions I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library can be accessible for the purposes of study and research Hanoi, 2014 Nghiêm Thị Hằng i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my great gratitude and indebtedness to my supervisor Dr Pham Dang Binh for his careful instructions, valuable advice and inspiration during the process of this research My sincere thanks also go to all the English lecturers at the Faculty of PostGraduate Studies for providing me useful lectures and suggestions that have helped me much in my study I would like to extend my deep appreciation to my colleagues and students at Phuong Dong University for their cooperation and support so that I could complete my necessary data collection for the research Finally, I wish to thank my family and friends, who have always been by my side to encourage and support me throughout my study Without their help and encouragement, I could not have completed this thesis ii ABSTRACT T his thesis is to investigate consolidating and improving vocabulary through communicative speaking tasks for the first-year students at the Department of Finance and Accounting, Phuong Dong University In more details, it makes clear the current application of communicative speaking tasks in vocabulary lesson, advantages and disadvantages, and suggestions for more effective use of this technique To achieve these objectives, the researcher uses survey questionnaires and semi-structured group interviews for both the English teachers and the first-year students at the Department of Finance and Accounting The results show that many types of communicative speaking tasks were used to review and develop students’ vocabulary Despite some remaining difficulties, the majority of the participants assumed a great number of strong points of these tasks and desired to apply them in consolidating and improving vocabulary Additionally, their pedagogical suggestions for the effective application of communicative speaking tasks in reviewing and developing vocabulary are presented iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, FIGURES AND TABLES ABBREVIATIONS: PDU Phuong Dong University % Percentage FIGURES AND TABLES: Figure 1: The application of communicative speaking tasks in consolidating and improving the students’ vocabulary Figure 2: Types of communicative speaking tasks Figure 3: Difficulties in applying communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary perceived by teachers Figure 4: Difficulties in applying communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary perceived by students Figure 5: The teachers and the students’ attitude towards the necessity of applying communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary Table 1: The participants’ interest in the types of communicative speaking tasks (%) Table 2: Advantages of applying communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary as perceived by the teachers Table 3: Advantages of applying communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary as perceived by the students iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, FIGURES AND TABLES iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study Aims of the study Objectives of the study Research questions Scope of the study Significance of the study Methodology An overview of the rest of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Vocabulary 1.1.1 Definition of vocabulary 1.1.2 The importance of vocabulary 1.1.3 Aspects of vocabulary knowledge 1.1.4 Stages in teaching vocabulary 1.2 Communicative speaking tasks in vocabulary learning 1.2.1 Communicative speaking tasks 1.2.2 Communicative speaking tasks in vocabulary learning 10 1.2.3 Types of communicative speaking tasks to increase vocabulary knowledge 11 1.3 Previous studies 13 v 1.3.1 Foreign researches 13 1.3.2 Vietnamese researches 14 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 17 2.1 Participants 17 2.2 Instruments 18 2.3 Data collection procedures 20 2.4 Data analysis procedures 21 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 23 3.1 Research Question 23 3.2 Research question 29 3.3 Research question 33 3.4 Research question 36 PART III: CONCLUSION 39 Recapitulation 39 Limitations of the study 42 Suggestions for further research 43 REFERENCES 44 vi PART I: INTRODUCTION Statement of the problem and rationale for the study Nowadays, English is widely spoken all over the world and it has become a second language in many countries In the context of Vietnam, the teaching and learning of English have been paid a lot of attention because of its significance in promoting mutual understanding and cooperation between Vietnam and other countries English has recently been taught as a compulsory subject from the third grade However, after several years of learning English, most students still find it hard to communicate with foreigners Even at colleges and universities like Phuong Dong University, teachers have to teach non-major students English from the beginning Many students may be good at English grammar, but they cannot express their ideas in English effectively When asked for the reason, most of them said that it was due to their vocabulary limitation They may know very well the meaning of words when doing exercises, but they can hardly use them in real situations According to many linguists, in communication, vocabulary is more important than grammar David Wilkin (1972) pointed out “Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” (as cited in Thornbury, 2002:47) Therefore, vocabulary, one of the major components of language, ought to be taken into consideration in both English language teaching and learning However, only focusing on teaching new vocabulary is not the most effective way of handling vocabulary It is more effective if teachers spend time consolidating words the students have learnt before helping them learn more new ones Moreover, students ought to be given more speaking opportunities so that they can be familiar with real life communication To improve students’ vocabulary as well as their speaking ability in real communication, one of the suggested ways is to implement communicative speaking tasks in consolidating and improving the active vocabulary for the students All the aforementioned factors have inspired the researcher to conduct a study named “Consolidating and Improving Vocabulary through Communicative Speaking Tasks for the First-Year Students at the Department of Finance and Accounting, Phuong Dong University.” Aims of the study The research aims at finding out whether applying communicative speaking tasks has a positive influence on consolidating and improving vocabulary for the first-year students at the Department of Finance and Accounting, PDU From that, some recommendations for better employments of communicative speaking tasks in reviewing and developing students’ vocabulary are suggested Objectives of the study The specific objectives of the research were as follows: - Investigate how communicative speaking tasks have been applied in consolidating and improving vocabulary for the first-year students at the Department of Finance and Accounting, PDU - Find out the fundamental advantages of using communicative speaking tasks in consolidating and improving the vocabulary in the teaching and learning process of both the teachers and the students - Clarify the main difficulties in using communicative speaking tasks in the same context - Figure out several pedagogical implications for better employments of communicative speaking tasks in the context of consolidating and improving vocabulary for the first year students at PDU Research questions How have communicative speaking tasks been applied by the teachers in consolidating and improving English vocabulary for the first-year students at the Department of Finance and Accounting, PDU? What are the advantages of communicative speaking tasks in consolidating and improving vocabulary as perceived by the teachers and the students? Đánh giá hứng thú bạn với loại nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp việc củng cố phát triển từ vựng: Rất khơng Khơng thích Bình thƣờng Thích thích Rất thích Đạt đồng thuận Hướng dẫn lại Giải vấn đề Trao đổi cá nhân 5 Xây dựng câu chuyện Mô đóng vai Theo bạn việc củng cố phát triển từ vựng thơng qua nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp cho sinh viên năm thứ có ưu điểm gì? Hồn tồn Khơng đồng ý Trung lập Đồng ý khơng đồng ý Hồn tồn đồng ý Sử dụng nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp giúp sinh viên ý đến học Sử dụng nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp làm cho học hấp dẫn gần gũi với thực tế Nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp giúp củng cố lại vốn từ vựng sinh viên Nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp giúp học sinh tiếp thu kiến thức từ vựng cách tự nhiên XIII Thông qua tương tác, sinh viên mở rộng vốn từ vựng Từ vựng không dạy thành từ riêng lẻ, mà dạy ngữ cảnh xác thực Điều giúp sinh viên có nhìn xác ý nghĩa cách sử dụng từ Nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp tạo cho sinh viên nhiều hội thực hành kĩ nói dựa tình giao tiếp thực tế Nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp thúc đẩy lực giao tiếp người học Sử dụng nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp làm cho người học có trách nhiệm với việc học khuyến khích họ phát hình thức cấu trúc ngơn ngữ đích cho thân 10 Sử dụng nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp giúp phát triển tinh thần hợp tác nhóm người học, đồng thời ni dưỡng tính cá nhân việc bày tỏ quan điểm ý kiến cách tự thông qua đối thoại tương tác người học 5 Theo quan điểm bạn, khó khăn gặp phải việc củng cố phát triển từ vựng thơng qua nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp gì? Hồn tồn Không đồng ý Trung lập Đồng ý không đồng ý Việc tìm kiếm nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp phù hợp với chủ đề học trình độ sinh viên khơng dễ tốn nhiều thời gian, đặc biệt với giáo viên thiếu kinh nghiệm Sử dụng nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp địi hỏi giáo viên phải có lực chun mơn cao Bên cạnh đó, giáo viên cần phải có khả khác, khả tổ chức, nhìn sâu sắc người học XIV Hoàn toàn đồng ý 5 Thời gian học lớp tương đối ngắn, giáo viên phải dạy kỹ ngơn ngữ, phát âm, ngữ pháp; đó, thời gian dành cho việc dạy từ vựng bị thu hẹp Nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp có phần không phù hợp thiếu hiệu việc tập trung làm rõ tất khía cạnh từ; cung cấp cho sinh viên nghĩa cách sử dụng từ ngữ cảnh định Các nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp sách hạn chế Trong lớp tiếng Anh thường có đơng sinh viên, điều tạo khó khăn việc áp dụng nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp đánh giá mức độ tiến từ vựng & khả nói sinh viên Áp lực thi cử tạo nên nhiều căng thẳng cho sinh viên, điều phần làm nhiều sinh viên giảm trọng vào mục đích học tiếng anh để giao tiếp 5 5 Bạn có nghĩ việc sử dụng nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp đem lại hiệu cho việc củng cố phát triển từ vựng sinh viên? Có Khơng Tùy thuộc (Xin làm rõ) ………………………………………… Nếu bạn chọn Có Tùy thuộc câu hỏi 6, xin nêu gợi ý nhằm áp dụng hiệu nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp việc củng cố phát triển từ vựng? …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… XV APPENDIX 2A INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS What communicative speaking tasks you often use to consolidate and improve vocabulary for the first-year students? How often you use these communicative speaking tasks? How you apply communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary? What are the major advantages of using communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary? What you think of the difficulties of communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary? What are your suggestions for more effective application of communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve vocabulary? XVI APPENDIX 2B INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN What communicative speaking tasks does your teacher often use to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary? Giáo viên bạn thường sử dụng nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp nhằm củng cố phát triển từ vựng sinh viên? How often does your English teacher use these communicative speaking tasks? Giáo viên bạn có thường xuyên sử dụng nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp khơng? How does your English teacher apply communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve vocabulary? Giáo viên bạn áp dụng nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp để củng cố phát triển từ vựng? Are communicative speaking tasks interesting and effective in consolidating and developing your vocabulary as well as speaking skill? If yes, in what ways? Các nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp có thú vị mang lại hiệu việc củng cố phát triển từ vựng kĩ nói bạn ko? Nếu có, xin nêu rõ hiệu XVII Have you found any difficulties for both teachers and students when using communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve vocabulary? If yes, what are they? Bạn nhận thấy có khó khăn cho giáo viên sinh viên sử dụng nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp để củng cố phát triển từ vựng khơng? Nếu có, khó khăn cụ thể gì? What are your suggestions for more effective application of communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve vocabulary? Bạn có đề xuất để áp dụng hiệu nhiệm vụ nói mang tính giao tiếp nhằm củng cố phát triển từ vựng? XVIII APPENDIX TRANSCRIPTION OF THE INTERVIEWS I The transcription of the teachers’ interview Background of the subject Date of interview: May 18th, 2014 Interview duration: 30 minutes Gender: Female Years of teaching: and years Content Interviewer: I Teachers A & B Good morning! I am conducting a study named “Consolidating and improving vocabulary through communicative speaking tasks for the first-year students at the department of Finance and Accounting, Phuong Dong University” and your valuable information will help me carry out my study successfully Now let’s start our interview! I: First of all, how often you use communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary? A: I often try to use the most communicative speaking tasks in the lesson for students to consolidate and improve their vocabulary B: Honestly, I’m quite fond of using communicative speaking tasks I often use them not only in vocabulary lessons but also in other skills like listening and speaking XIX I: Could you tell me what communicative speaking tasks you often use to consolidate and improve vocabulary for the first-year students? A: The most common communicative speaking tasks in classroom? Actually, I give students the situations, topics and then let them discuss in groups and present in front of the class They are some kinds called problem-solving Besides, I use role play I let the students prepare a role play using their ideas to create their own stories by your language capacity Finally, I ask students to answer my questions or give their opinions B: Actually, I often use some kinds of communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary such as problem-solving, role play, interpersonal exchange, reaching a consensus, etc However, I am really fond of problem solving because through dealing with the problem, students not only can improve their English vocabulary and speaking skills, but they can also get experience in life I: What communicative speaking tasks are you interested in? And why? A: I’m myself interested in role play activity It’s very fun and creative This activity requires students spend time finding the ideas, collecting vocabulary, practicing both students’ speaking skills, interaction between members in groups, creative thinking and emotional expression In classroom, I try my best to create the students to have a language playground to show the best of them to others I: In what ways you often apply communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary? A: In fact, it depends on the type of communicative speaking task I use However, I usually ask students to work in pairs or groups Then, ask them to make a talk based on a model or situation I also give clear instructions for students to understand and follow While students are doing the task, I move around the class to observe and support them XX I: What about you? How you apply these tasks to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary? B: Uhm, because it depends on the type of tasks, the level of students, the lesson theme, so I am very flexible to the tasks However, I always try to give students as many speaking opportunities as possible At the beginning, I ask them some questions relating to the task to attract their attention Then I provide the task for them to and also instruct them what to During the task, I encourage them to take part in the task Especially, when the task finishes, I review all the new words for students I: According to you, what are the major advantages when applying communicative speaking to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary? A: In my opinion, there are some major advantages First of all, it helps attract students to participate in activities Additionally, students can remember vocabulary easily as well as vocabulary’s usage in context Especially, it creates interaction between students and teacher, and makes students interested in studying English Finally, it improves students’ critical thinking and creativity I: Are there any strong points of applying communicative speaking tasks you want to share with me? B: When I apply communicative speaking tasks into lessons, my students are very eager to join in activities They can be confident to talk with their friends and can speak more Gradually, my students become confident to speak in public and their pronunciation and vocabulary are also better and wider Besides, through interaction with friends and teachers, they share and know how to use the vocabulary correctly in context I: How about the difficulties when applying communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve vocabulary, can you say something about it? XXI A: I think that teachers must have broad knowledge and experience, creativity skill and thinking to create the activities for students It also requires time of teacher and students to prepare for the activities B: Moreover, students not have enough vocabulary to make a full conversation/stories Students may not have enough life experience to cope with problems in studying I: Do you think that this technique should be conducted elsewhere in vocabulary lesson? A: Yes, communicative speaking tasks can completely be conducted in vocabulary lesson With the major advantages and strong points, totally this technique should be engaged in vocabulary lesson B: Of course This is a useful technique for students to review and develop their vocabulary and communication I: Can you share with me your suggestions for further application of communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve students’ vocabulary? B: In my opinion, the preparation for tasks is very important Teachers should plan the input vocabulary and choose suitable tasks for their students They should not abuse too many tasks in a vocabulary lesson that results in boring lesson and lack of time A: To apply effectively communicative speaking tasks into consolidating and improving students’ vocabulary, teachers should have some method to keep all groups in control to make sure that all the members in the group involve in the task I: Thank you very much for your help Your ideas are actually valuable to my research XXII II The transcription of the students’ interview Background of the subject Date of interview: May 20th, 2014 Interview duration: 50 minutes Major: Finance and Accounting Content Interviewer: I Students: S1, S2, S3, S4 Good morning! I am conducting a study named “Consolidating and improving vocabulary through communicative speaking tasks for the first-year students at the department of Finance and Accounting, Phuong Dong University” and your valuable information will help me carry out my study successfully Now let’s start our interview! I: First of all, how often your English teachers use communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve vocabulary? S4: Exactly, usually, my teacher uses them to consolidate and improve vocabulary S1: Uhmm, my teacher often uses communicative speaking tasks in vocabulary lessons S2: Yes Communicative speaking tasks are always applied by my English teacher I think they are very motivating S3: Actually, communicative speaking tasks are the most popular way that my teacher applies to consolidate and improve vocabulary I: What types of communicative speaking tasks your teachers often use? XXIII S1: My teacher often asks students to exchange information with each other in order to increase mutual understanding Besides, it is group discussion She gives hot issues in society and asks students for opinions Additionally, she mentions problems that we can meet in daily life, and asks us to discuss with partners for solutions S2: My teacher gives topic relating to the lesson, and asks students some questions about it Students will talk in pairs or groups In addition, students make dialogues asking and answering questions relating to their studying and life S3: My teacher also uses these tasks Moreover, she asks students to discuss and have short presentation about one topic S4: My teacher uses many communicative speaking tasks, especially problem solving, discussion in pair or group, and role play And in all these types of tasks, I like group discussion most because group members can assist each other Besides, exciting atmosphere in group discussion makes the vocabulary lesson more interesting I: What communicative speaking tasks are you interested in? S2: I myself prefer talking to my friends about issues relating to our life Because we have vocabulary about it, so it seems easier for us to express ideas From that, we can understand more about each other and life around us S1: I’m really interested in discussion and problem solving because they are quite familiar to my life S3: Oh, I like role play most, mainly because it makes us more relaxed as well as active Besides, it not only helps extend our vocabulary but also gives us chance to get some experience in handling daily life situations I: How your teachers apply communicative speaking tasks to consolidate and improve vocabulary? S1: Before the lesson, teacher asks students to discuss about topics and make dialogues during the lesson She also organizes games at the end of the lesson XXIV S2: My teacher in the class often gives a topic or a problem Then she asks us some questions She writes down the answer on the board to help review our vocabulary If students not know how to express ideas in English, she will give support to them It helps develop students’ vocabulary After that, students work in pairs or groups to talk about it Finally, she calls some pairs or groups to present in front of the class S4: At the beginning of the lesson, teacher gives students a task or asks questions as a way of reviewing their vocabulary in the previous lesson Then she leads students to the lesson She divides the class into the small groups and assigns them specific tasks Teacher will guide them what to and support them with new words Then she asks students to work in their group and check their work After that teachers will review and explain all the words learnt in the lesson in more details S3: Beside all of the mentioned things, my teacher gives clear instructions to students and also makes a sample dialogue for students to know how to During the tasks, she moves around the class to support weak students When the task finishes, she reviews all vocabulary knowledge in the lesson and gives extra exercises for students to at home I: In your opinion, what are the advantages of communicative speaking tasks? S1: First of all, I find that using communicative speaking tasks makes the lesson close and interesting to students’ life Besides, it motivates students to learn and pay attention to the lesson Students can study new words in a natural way They can develop both speaking and presentation skills Especially, it encourages students’ communicative ability S2: Yes Moreover, it makes students confident in communication and helps enlarge their vocabulary size Pronunciation can also be improved because teachers will correct students when they pronounce wrongly S4: I agree with you Additionally, it helps students develop their vocabulary and practice speaking skills, too S3: Personally, I strongly believe that students can take many advantages from communicative speaking tasks Students can learn a lot of new words and how to use them Besides, it can promote students’ team cooperation to finish work XXV I: Is your vocabulary consolidated and improved through communicative speaking tasks? S1: Certainly, my vocabulary is much improved with the help of communicative speaking tasks S2: So I S3: Surely, communicative speaking tasks are extremely effective in consolidating and improving my vocabulary This is due to the fact that when you speak and put words in a context, you will remember them more easily and deeply I: Could you explain in more details? In what aspects is your vocabulary consolidated and improved? S1: When discussing with teacher and classmates, my vocabulary is reviewed and developed Besides, my communication skills can also be improved S2: My vocabulary size can be enlarged, especially words relating to daily life S3: Vocabulary is consolidated and improved in both quantity and quality It means that I learn a large number of new words and how to use them exactly and appropriately S4: Yes I also share the same points of view I: Ok Do you think of any difficulties of communicative speaking tasks in consolidating and improving vocabulary? S1: It is the limitation of class time, so students not have much chance to discuss and express opinions in the class Additionally, because of test pressure, students not pay much attention to studying English for communication purposes S2: We cannot extend dialogues because of vocabulary limitation S4: Furthermore, students are not really confident in speaking, so teacher needs to encourage them to take part in the tasks S3: I think the most difficulty of communicative speaking tasks is how to attract students so that they want to participate themselves in lesson I: Do you want your teacher to continue using communicative speaking tasks in vocabulary lesson? XXVI S1: Yes, of course I expect my teacher to apply these communicative speaking tasks in vocabulary lesson S2: Me too S3: Certainly, because these tasks are very beneficial to students in improving vocabulary and other skills, so they are still the best choice for teacher S4: Yes The majority of my classmates like these communicative speaking tasks I: Do you have any suggestions for using communicative speaking tasks more effectively in consolidating and improving students' vocabulary? S1: At the end of the lesson, teacher should provide the theme of next lesson for students to prepare Teacher should not put test pressure on students, and should combine games and songs in the English vocabulary lesson to create exciting atmosphere in the class S2: Teacher should talk to students in English and ask questions relating to the lesson S3: I suggest that teacher should design interesting and appropriate communicating speaking tasks S4: Teacher should be creative in teaching method to make the lesson interesting Teacher should understand the levels of students, their needs and interest, especially the weak students to have suitable method for them Besides, I hope to have extra curriculum activities for students to practice English, especially with the native speakers Therefore, students’ communication skills will be much improved I: This is the end of the interview Thank you very much for your cooperation! XXVII ... review and develop vocabulary for the first-year students at the department of Finance and Accounting, PDU Figure 1: The application of communicative speaking tasks in consolidating and improving the. .. Vocabulary through Communicative Speaking Tasks for the First-Year Students at the Department of Finance and Accounting, Phuong Dong University? ?? is the result of my own research for the Minor Degree of. .. consolidating and improving vocabulary for the first-year students at the Department of Finance and Accounting, PDU From that, some recommendations for better employments of communicative speaking tasks