Teaching speaking skill to large English classes at Thanh Do University difficulties and solutions

Teaching speaking skill to large English classes at Thanh Do University: difficulties and solutions Trần Thị Dương Trường Đại học Ngoại Ngữ Luận văn ThS. Chuyên ngành: English Linguistics; Mã số: 60 22 15 Người hướng dẫn: Dr. Nguyễn Huy Kỷ Năm bảo vệ: 2010 Keywords: Kỹ năng nói; Tiếng Anh; Phương pháp dạy học Content: PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1. Review of related studies There is vast literature on issues related to the teaching and learning in large classes. The following division of issues on large classes may help the readers have an overview on this topic. a. Advantages and disadvantages in large classes The advantages of large classes include decreased instructor costs, efficient use of faculty time and talent, availability of resources, and standardization of the learning experience (McLeod, 1998). However, there are significant disadvantages to large classes, including strained impersonal relations between students and the teacher, limited range of teaching methods and discomfort among teachers teaching large classes (McLeod 1998). b. Class size and student performance There have been conflicting results among extant researches on the relationship between class size and student performance. The results of some studies show no significant relationship between class size and student performance (Hancock, 1996; Kennedy & Siegfried, 1997), while other studies favor small class environments (Gibbs, Lucas, & Simonite, 1996; Borden & Burton, 1999; Arias & Walker, 2004). Results vary based on the criteria used to gauge student performance, as well as the class size measure itself. When traditional achievement tests are used, small classes provide no advantage over large classes (Kennedy & Siegfried, 1997). However, if additional performance criteria are used (e.g., long-term retention, problem-solving skills), it appears that small classes hold an advantage (Gibbs et al., 1996; Arias & Walker, 2004). c. Effectiveness of teaching methods The traditional passive view of learning involves situations where material is delivered to students using a lecture-based format. In contrast, a more modern view of learning is constructivism, where students are expected to be active in the learning process by participating in discussion and/or collaborative activities (Fosnot, 1989). Overall, the results of recent studies concerning the effectiveness of teaching methods favor constructivist, active learning methods. The findings of a study by de Caprariis, Barman, & Magee (2001) suggest that lecture leads to the ability to recall facts, but discussion produces higher level comprehension. Further, research on group-oriented discussion methods has shown that team learning and student-led discussions not only produce favorable student performance outcomes, but also foster greater participation, self confidence and leadership ability (Perkins & Saris, 2001; Yoder & Hochevar, 2005). Hunt, Haidet, Coverdale, and Richards (2003) examined student performance in team based methods. In contrast to these findings, a study by Barnes & Blevins (2003) suggests that active, discussion-based methods are inferior to the traditional lecture-based method. A comparison of lecture combined with discussion versus active, cooperative learning methods by Morgan, Whorton, & Gunsalus (2000) demonstrated that the use of the lecture combined with discussion resulted in superior retention of material among students. d. Students’ preferences for teaching methods In terms of students’ preferences for teaching methods, a study by Qualters (2001) suggests that students do not favor active learning methods because of the in-class time taken by the activities, fear of not covering all of the material in the course, and anxiety about changing from traditional classroom expectations to the active structure. In contrast, research by Casado (2000) examined perceptions across six teaching methods: lecture/discussion, lab work, in-class exercises, guest speakers, applied projects, and oral presentations. Students most preferred the lecture/discussion method. Lab work, oral presentation, and applied projects were also favorably regarded. Hunt et al (2003) also noted favorable student attitudes towards active learning methods. In Vietnam, Trần Thị Ngọc Bắc (2005) conducted an experiment with the use of group work and questioning techniques for increasing students’ participation in communicative activities in large classes at Thái Nguyên College of Education. She came to the conclusion that these techniques strongly increase the students’ talking time and particiaption and reduce teacher’s talking time in language activities. Đặng Quỳnh Trâm (2006) carried out a survey research to find solutions to improve co-operative learning in non-English major multilevel classes at Thái Nguyên University of Education. In a research by Trịnh Lan Hương (2008), she suggested some communicative activities for large multilevel classes at Electric Power University to help students acquire grammatical knowledge in a communicative way. In 2009, Nguyễn Đức Hưng carried out a study on increasing students’ participation in commnunicative activities in large classes by using group work and questioning techniques at Marie Curie High School, Hải Phòng. He proved that the two techniques: group work and questioning will help students increase their participation in communicative activities in large classes. In short, although there have been a variety of books and researches on teaching and learning in large classes, but there is inadequate research touching upon the issues of teaching speaking skill to large English classes. Moreover, speaking skill is fundamental to people’s communication. This fact leads me to do this study. 2. Rationale Most teachers agree that teaching a small group of students is easier, more enjoyable, and less time consuming than teaching a large group. Unfortunately, due to budgets, space, or lack of teachers, many ESL schools only offer large classes. In some schools, large classes may consist of up to 50 or more students and Thành Đô University is not an exception. What Gorlach (1995) said is true in the case of Thành Đô University. Class size ranges from forty to fifty students, which makes it difficult for teachers to arrange activities enabling students to practice speaking. Over-sized English classes make speaking lessons stiff and unmoving. Speaking skill should be kept in mind to be the most popular and effective way of communication. But how to teach speaking skill effectively when there are so many students in a class is a matter of great concern. The study is designed to find out the problems of large size English speaking teaching classes and to suggest the use of some solutions to minimize the difficulties of this reality. 3. Objectives of the study The objectives of the study comprise the followings: a. To identify the practical problems of large size English speaking teaching classes at Thành Đô University. b. To discover suitable solutions to minimize the difficulties and enhance the effectiveness of teaching English speaking skill in large classes at Thành Đô University. 4. Research questions To reach the objectives of the study, the two research questions are addressed: a. What are the teachers’ most common problems of large English speaking classes at Thành Đô University? b. What are the solutions to minimize the difficulties and enhance the effectiveness of teaching English speaking skill in large classes at Thành Đô University? 5. Significance of the study It is hope that the study will help to better my own teaching and give the colleagues at Thành Đô University and those whose are concerned with large classes in terms of teaching speaking skill as well as some suggestions to improve this situation at Thành Đô University and also at colleges and universities nationwide. 6. Scope of the study This study limits itself to the investigation of teachers of English at Thành Đô University, Hanoi to find out their difficulties in teaching speaking skill to large non-English-major classes through questionnaire and classroom observation. The classes observed are first year non-English-major college students. 7. Methods of the study Both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed to carry out the study. That is, the data serving the research analysis and discussion were collected by means of: a. Questionnaire b. Classroom observation 8. Design of the study The study consists of three chapters, excluding the Introduction (which contains Literature review, Rationale, Objectives of the study, Research questions, Significance of the study, Scope of the study, Methods of the study and Design of the study) and the Conclusion (which review the main content and findings of the study and end with some suggestions for further researches). Chapter 1, Theoretical background, presents the basic theoretical background on two issues: Teaching English in large classes in general and teaching speaking skill in large classes in particular. Chapter 2, Practical research, consists of three parts: The first part, The English teaching and learning context, provides the background information about the university, the teachers, the students, the materials as well as facilities for English teaching and learning. The second part, Methods of the studies, shows how the research was carried out. Subjects, instruments of the study, procedure of data collection, and methods of data analysis are found in this part. The third part, Data analysis & discussion, presents the results of the questionnaires and classroom observations. Chapter 3, Findings and recommendations, proposes the findings concluded from the results of the third part of chapter 2 and some recommendations for teachers at Thành Đô University in the hope of helping them to minimize the difficulties and maximize the benefits in large classes which are not only common in Thành Đô University but also in Vietnam’s universities and colleges. REFERENCES IN ENGLISH 1. Arias, J., & Walker, D. (2004). Additional evidence on the relationship between class size and student performance. Journal of Economic ducation, 4(3), 311-329. 2. Barnes, D., & Blevins, D. (2003). An anecdotal comparison of three teaching methods used in the presentation of microeconomics. Educational Research Quarterly, 27(4), 41-60. 3. Borden, V., & Burton, K. (1999, June). The impact of class size on student performance in introductory courses. Paper presented at the 39th Annual Conference of the Association for Institutional Research, Seattle, WA. 4. Brown, G. and Yule, G. (1983). Teaching the spoken language. Cambridge University Press 5. Brown, H.D. (1994). Teaching by principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagory. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents. 6. Casado, M. (2000). Teaching methods in higher education: A student perspective. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 12, 65-70. 7. De Caprariis, P., Barman, C., & Magee, P. (2001). Monitoring the benefits of active learning exercises in introductory survey courses in science: An attempt to improve the education of prospective public school teachers. The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 1(2), 1-11. 8. Felder, R. (1997). Beating the numbers game: Effective teaching in large classes. ASEE Annual Conference, Milwaukee, WI, June. [verified 12 Jan 2001] . 9. Fosnot, C. (1989). Enquiring teachers, enquiring learners. New York: Teachers College Press. 10. Gibbs, G., Lucas, L., & Simonite, V. (1996). Class size and student performance: 1984-94. Studies in Higher Education, 21(3), 261-273. 11. Gorlach, M. (1995). More Englishes: New studies in varieties of English 1988-1994. Amsterdam: John Bemjamins. 12. Hancock, T. (1996). Effects of class size on college student achievement. College Student Journal, 30(2), 479-481. 13. Hayes, D. (1997). Helping teachers to cope with large classes. ELT Journal, 51(2), Oxford University Press. 14. Hunt, D., Haidet, P., Coverdale, J., & Richards, B. (2003). The effect of using team learning in an evidence-based medicine course for medical students. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 15(2), 131-139. 15. Kennedy, C. and Kennedy, J. (1996). Teacher attitudes and change implementation system, 24(3). Elsevier Science Ltd. 16. Kennedy, P., & Siegfried, J. (1997). Class size and achievement in introductory economics: Evidence from the TUCE III data. Economics of Education Review, 16(4), 385-394. 17. Kickbush, K. (2000). Class Sizes. [verified 12 Jan 2001] http://www.weac.org/sage/research/CLASSIZE.HTM 18. McLeod, N. (1998). What teachers cannot do in large classes (Research Rep. No. 7). Leeds, UK: Leeds University. 19. Morgan, R., Whorton, J., & Gunsalus, C. (2000). A comparison of short term and long term retention: Lecture combined with discussion versus cooperative learning. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 27(1), 53-58. 20. Nalasco, R. and Athur, L. (1993). Large classes. London: Macmillan. 21. Nunan, D. (1991). Language Teaching Methodology, London: Prentice Halls. 22. Nunan, D. (1992). Research Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge: CUP 23. Perkins, D., & Saris, N. (2001). A jigsaw classroom technique for undergraduate statistics courses. Teaching of Psychology, 28(2), 111-113. 24. Qualters, D. (2001). Do students want to be active? The Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 2(1), 51-60. 25. Richards, J.C., & Lockhart, C. (1994). Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classroom. Cambridge University Press. 26. Seliger, H.W., & Shohamy, E. (1995). Second Language Research Methods (3 rd ). Oxford: OUP. 27. Terwel, J. (1999) Constructivism and its implications for curriculum theory and practice. Journal of curriculum studies, Vol. 31, No 2. UNESCO (nd) Regional Workshop on Education, Moi University, Kenya. 28. Ur, P (1996). A course in language teaching: Practice and theory, Cambridge: CUP 29. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2005). The condition of education 2005 (NCES 2005-094). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. 30. Yoder, J. & Hochevar, C. (2005). Encouraging active learning can improve students’ performance on examinations. Teaching of Psychology, 32(2), 91-95. IN VIETNAMESE 31. Trần Thị Ngọc Bắc. (2005). Using group work and questioning technique to increase students’ participation in communicative activities in large classes at Thái Nguyên College of Education. Unpublished M.A Dissertation. College of Foreign Language- Vietnam Nation University. 32. Nguyễn Đức Hưng. (2009). A study on increasing students’ participation in communicative activities in large classes by using group work and questioning teachnique at Marie Curie High School, Hải Phòng. Unpublished M.A Dissertation. College of Foreign Language-Vietnam Nation University. 33. Trịnh Lan Hương. (2008). Using communicative activites to support grammar teaching for large multilevel classes at Electric Power University. Unpublished M.A Dissertation. College of Foreign Language-Vietnam Nation University. 34. Đặng Quỳnh Trâm. (2006). An investigation into cooperative learning in non-English major multilevel classes at Thái Nguyên University of Education. Unpublished M.A Dissertation. College of Foreign Language-Vietnam Nation University. . of large English speaking classes at Thành Đô University? b. What are the solutions to minimize the difficulties and enhance the effectiveness of teaching English speaking skill in large classes. Teaching speaking skill to large English classes at Thanh Do University: difficulties and solutions Trần Thị Dương Trường Đại học Ngoại Ngữ Luận văn ThS. Chuyên ngành: English. inadequate research touching upon the issues of teaching speaking skill to large English classes. Moreover, speaking skill is fundamental to people’s communication. This fact leads me to do this study.